Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 NEW YORK, Dec. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces it is investigating potential breaches of fiduciary duties by the directors and officers of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) in connection with Southwest Airlines information technology infrastructure impacting Southwest Airlines business, operations, and stock price. If you currently own shares of Southwest Airlines stock, please visit the firms website at https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=10716 for more information. You may also contact Phillip Kim of Rosen Law Firm toll free at 866-767-3653 or via email at case@rosenlegal.com. Why Rosen Law: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs Bar. Many of the firms attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. ------------------------------- Contact Information: Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 case@rosenlegal.com www.rosenlegal.com Featured Many pastors have the calling to be native doctors but they are refusing to answer-Yul Edochie Graphic Showbiz Showbiz News Dec - 15 - 2024 , 10:00 1 minute read Controversial Nollywood actor and self-acclaimed cleric, Yul Edochie, has claimed that a lot of Nigerian pastors are called to be native doctors. According to him, many pastors abandoned their original call to become native doctors because westerners and the movie industry tagged native doctors as evil. The actor urged some Nigerian clerics to consider abandoning Christianity and becoming native doctors. He emphasised that a native doctor has a divine call and that native doctors help humanity. Advertisement On his Instagram page, Edochie wrote, Many pastors today actually have the calling to be native doctors but they are refusing to answer the call bcos oyibo people brainwashed us to believe it is evil. And Nollywood has also contributed in making native doctors look evil. Being a native doctor is a divine call from God Almighty, it means you have been chosen to help humanity. A true native doctor fights evil. Unless he decides to be evil. Same way a pastor can decide to be evil. Go and answer your call. You may never have fulfilment in your life if you dont answer your call. Featured Martha Ankomah turns down Lil Wins apology in GH5 million defamation Graphic Showbiz Showbiz News Dec - 14 - 2024 , 23:56 2 minutes read Actress Martha Ankomah has dismissed Kumawood actor Lil Win's public apology, deeming it insufficient in resolving the GH5 million defamation suit she filed against him. According to a court report, Ankomah expressed that Lil Win's apology lacked the essential elements of retraction and remorse. The defamation suit, filed on February 14, 2024, stems from allegedly defamatory comments made by Lil Win in a viral video. Ankomah is seeking GH5 million in damages, as well as a formal apology and retraction with the same level of publicity as the original statements. On Friday, December 13, 2024, the High Court presided over a three-hour in-camera hearing of the defamation case between actress Martha Ankomah and Kumawood actor Lil Win. During the closed-door session, both parties and their legal representatives engaged in discussions aimed at reaching an amicable resolution. Advertisement The court has adjourned proceedings until February 25, 2025, to allow the parties sufficient time to finalize the terms of settlement. It is expected that Lil Win may issue a revised public apology that meets Ankomah's demands as part of the settlement process. Ankomah's legal team has noted that any resolution must include a comprehensive retraction and apology that adequately addresses the harm inflicted on her reputation. The adjournment provides a window of opportunity for both parties to work towards a mutually acceptable agreement. Background of story Earlier in February, Martha Ankomah took a legal action against Lil Win. She sued him for defamation and demanded a Gh5 million compensation in addition to other damages for comments that insinuated that she was promiscuous. Next article: Kwabena Kwabena set to celebrate 20 years in music Previous article: Many pastors have the calling to be native doctors but they are refusing to answer-Yul Edochie Featured Mona Gucci acquitted and discharged over fraud charge GNA Showbiz News Dec - 15 - 2024 , 09:55 2 minutes read Monalisa Abigail Semeha, aka Mona Gucci, who was accused of defrauding a trader of GHC103,400 has been acquitted and discharged by an Accra Circuit Court. Monalisa, a Travel/Event Consultant, is said to have collected the amount to secure American visas for clients of Comfort Obiri, the complainant in February 2019 but failed. Charged with defrauding by false pretences, Monalisa pleaded not guilty. Prosecution led by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Seth Frimpong during the trial called three witnesses. Advertisement Defence Counsel filed a submission of no case on the grounds that prosecution had not made out a prima facie case against Monalisa. The Court presided over by Mr Isaac Addo in his ruling on the submission of no case held that the case before it was a civil matter which went bad. The court therefore acquitted and discharged the accused person. The prosecutions case is that the complainant, Comfort Obiri, is a resident of Ofankor, Accra and Monalisa is a resident of Odorkor, Accra. In February 2019, the complainant was introduced to the accused person by one Esther as a person who could secure a United State of America Visa for her. Prosecution said the accused told the complainant that she could secure the visa at a cost of GHC40,000. The court heard that the complainant introduced three people to Monalisa for her to secure USA visas for them. Prosecution said Monalisa collected GHC103,400 from them under the pretext of securing the USA visas but failed. The prosecutor said Monalisa promised to refund their money to them. Monalisa could not honour her promise. Previous article: Why Vladimir Putin has not been invited to Donald Trump's inauguration Featured Billionaire founder of fashion chain Mango Isak Andic dies in accident Sky News International News Dec - 14 - 2024 , 23:32 2 minutes read The billionaire founder of fashion chain Mango Isak Andic has died in a mountain accident today, according to police. The 71-year-old businessman reportedly slipped and fell from a 150-metre cliff while hiking with relatives in the Monserrat caves near Barcelona, a police spokesperson said. His family called the emergency services at about 12.30pm local time, Spanish newspaper El Pais reports. A helicopter and an ambulance were dispatched but they confirmed his death upon arriving at the scene of the accident. Advertisement He was believed to be the richest man in Catalonia and one of the wealthiest in Spain as Forbes estimated his worth at $4.5bn (3.6bn). Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed his condolences to Mr Andic's family in a post on X and praised the businessman saying: "All my love and recognition for his great work and business vision, which has turned this Spanish firm into a world leader in fashion." Mango's CEO Toni Ruiz said in a statement Mr Andic's death was "unexpected". He paid tribute to Mango's founder saying: "Isak has been an example for all of us. He has dedicated his life to the Mango project, leaving an indelible mark thanks to his strategic vision, his inspiring leadership and his unwavering commitment to values that he himself has instilled in our company." The statement on Mango's website goes on to say: "His departure leaves a huge void but all of us are, in some way, his legacy and the testimony of his achievements. "It is up to us, and this is the best tribute we can make to Isak and which we will fulfil, to ensure that Mango continues to be the project that Isak aspired to and of which he would feel proud." The president of Spain's region of Catalonia, Salvador Illa Roca, said in post on X he was dismayed by the death of Mr Andic, who "contributed to making Catalonia great and projecting it to the world". He added Mr Andic "leaves an indelible mark on the Catalan and global fashion sector". Next article: Why Vladimir Putin has not been invited to Donald Trump's inauguration Featured Kemi Badenoch: UK Conservative Party leader says Nigerian police stole her brothers shoe, watch GraphicOnline International News Dec - 15 - 2024 , 07:35 3 minutes read The leader of the United Kingdoms Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has described the Nigerian police as "armed robbers" who use guns to intimidate and exploit citizens. Speaking on a podcast hosted by Bari Weiss, editor of The Free Press, Ms. Badenoch recounted a personal experience involving her younger brother. You know, the police in Nigeria would rob us. So when people say, I had this bad experience with the police because Im black and theyre white, I was like, well. You know, I remember the police stole my brothers shoes and his watch, Ms. Badenoch said during the interview on Friday. Elaborating on the incident, she added, They took his shoes and his watch. Its a very poor country. So people do all sorts of things. Comparing police systems Ms. Badenoch drew a sharp contrast between her negative experiences with the Nigerian police and her positive interactions with law enforcement in the UK. You remember my experience with the police in Nigeria was very negative. And coming to the UK, my first experience with the police was very positive. And giving people a gun is just a license to intimidate, she stated. Advertisement The British politician emphasized that police officers should act as the first reliable line of security for citizens, noting the professionalism she encountered in the UK. For example, the police were there, very helpful. They eventually caught the persons [responsible for a burglary]. So the police are the first line of defence for everything, she said, while stressing that the standards for British policing should remain high. Backlash and criticism Ms. Badenochs comments have sparked backlash from Nigerians, including Vice President Kashim Shettima, who dismissed her criticisms as inconsequential. In a pointed response, Mr. Shettima said, If she does not want any association with the greatest black nation on earth, the nation called Nigeria, she can go ahead and change her name. The vice president reaffirmed his confidence in Nigerias resilience, insisting the nation would overcome its challenges despite criticisms from detractors. History of critique Ms. Badenoch has frequently used her platform in British media to highlight systemic corruption and security issues in Nigeria. Her remarks have drawn mixed reactions, with some applauding her for speaking candidly about Nigerias struggles, while others view her statements as a betrayal of her roots. As leader of the UKs Conservative Party, Ms. Badenochs views continue to stir debate on the global stage, raising questions about the balance between addressing systemic issues and maintaining national pride. Watch the video below; Featured Why Vladimir Putin has not been invited to Donald Trump's inauguration Sky News International News Dec - 14 - 2024 , 23:43 2 minutes read Vladimir Putin has not been invited to attend Donald Trump's inauguration next month, Moscow has said. The Kremlin said it had not received an invitation for the Russian president to attend the US president-elect's swearing-in ceremony on 20 January. Meanwhile Mr Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend the inauguration in Washington DC, despite him threatening massive tariffs on Chinese goods. Mr Trump's incoming press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, confirmed he invited Mr Xi but said it was "to be determined" if he would attend. Advertisement "This is an example of President Trump creating an open dialogue with leaders of countries that are not just our allies, but our adversaries and our competitors too," Ms Leavitt said during an interview on Fox News. "We saw this in his first term. He is willing to talk to anyone and he will always put America's interest first." In an interview with NBC News last week, Mr Trump said he "got along very well" with Mr Xi and said they "had communication as recently as this week". It would be unprecedented for either of the presidents of Russia or China, US rivals, to attend the inauguration. Mr Trump's impending inauguration has seen US President Joe Biden rush to get billions of dollars more in military aid to Ukraine and attempt to bring Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza to a close. The president-elect has insisted Moscow and Kyiv reach an immediate ceasefire, and has said Ukraine should likely prepare to receive less in the way of US military aid. Both Mr Biden's outgoing and Mr Trump's incoming administrations have said they hope to end the Israel-Hamas war before the president-elect's inauguration in January, but months of ceasefire talks have stalled repeatedly and no end appears to be in sight. Featured Farmer allegedly kills wife and daughter at Agona Bobikuma GNA Dec - 15 - 2024 , 09:49 2 minutes read The Upper Bobikuma Police are hunting for a 48-year-old farmer who allegedly killed his wife and daughter at Esaase, a village near Upper Bobikuma in the Agona West District of the Central Region. A police source stated that the suspect, Stephen Alartey, is said to have used a cement block to hit both his wife and daughter's heads until they died, and then fled the scene. According to the police source, on Thursday, December 12, 2024, Alartey allegedly asked his wife, Aku Motso, aged 37, and their three children, who were all staying with their grandmother at Agona Kwaman, to come and stay with him at Esaase near Bobikuma. The police source hinted that on their way to Esaase village, the suspect used a different route instead of the old bush path that many people used to reach their various destinations. Advertisement The source reported that upon reaching the middle portion of the road, the suspect took a cement block and hit his wife and daughter, Ophelia Alartey, aged 7, killing them on the spot. According to the source, a hunter who heard the noise and screaming appeared at the scene suddenly. The suspect then asked the hunter to lead him to the police station to report the incident. The source added that the hunter asked the suspect to take the lead so he could follow, but Alartey refused and instead coerced the hunter to go first. Later, Alartey reportedly found another cement block by the roadside and used it to hit the hunter on the head. When the hunter fell unconscious, Alartey used his cutlass to slash the hunter's head, leaving a deep cut, took the hunter's gun, and bolted. Meanwhile, two of his children who witnessed the incident unfold ran back to the town to report the case, and the police rushed to the scene. The source confirmed that the suspect is at large and the Bobikuma Police are seeking information on his whereabouts. The bodies of the two victims have been deposited at the Agona Swedru Municipal Government Hospital for autopsy. Next article: VIDEO: This is what Haruna Iddrisu said about the future of Jean Mensa as EC Chair Previous article: VIDEO: Mahama warns potential appointees, says 'Its not going to be a walk in the park' Featured We are not interested in artificial job creation measures like NABCO - Mahama GraphicOnline Dec - 15 - 2024 , 12:24 3 minutes read President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, has expressed his intention to focus on sustainable job creation strategies, firmly rejecting what he described as "artificial initiatives" like the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) that fail to address the countrys long-term unemployment challenges. In an interview with VOA on Saturday, December 14, Mr. Mahama critiqued the outgoing New Patriotic Party (NPP) governments NABCO, a programme launched in 2018 to tackle graduate unemployment. He referred to it as ineffective and unsustainable, highlighting that young people were promised jobs after three years of temporary employment and allowances but were ultimately left without permanent job opportunities. We are not interested in the artificial job creation measures that have been done in the past, like NABCO, where young people were taken through three years, paid an allowance and promised that they would be graduated into jobs, and at the end of the process theyve been abandoned, Mr. Mahama stated. He went on to affirm his administrations commitment to utilising the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), an existing institution, to create real opportunities for job training and orientation. We are not going to do those artificial job creation measures. We already have the Youth Employment Agency that is creating those opportunities for training and for orientation for jobs, Mahama said, stressing that his focus would be on providing genuine pathways to employment rather than temporary measures. Mahama further addressed the challenges of relying on the public sector as a primary source of employment, noting that the government sector only employs less than a million people in a country of 33 million. He asserted that the public sector could not absorb the large number of young people entering the job market. We think that Ghanaians are not all consigned to become employees. If you look at the government sector, the government sector employs less than a million people out of a population of 33 million. And so it's not a viable sector where all the teeming youth can get a job, he explained. The President-elect argued that the real solution to youth unemployment lies in the growth of the private sector, which he promised to support more seriously than previous administrations. The best place to get a job would be for the private sector to grow. And in the past, we've done paid lip service to the private sector. It is time to take the private sector seriously, both in terms of expanding their capacity to employ, but at the same time creating opportunities for young people to create their own jobs, he said. With the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) now in place, Mr. Mahama highlighted that there is an opportunity for Ghanaian businesses to expand production and export goods across the continent, which could lead to more job creation. Now that we have the African Continental Free Trade Area, it should be possible for us to encourage Ghanaian business to take advantage of that and increase production. So that we can export to other African countries, Mahama said, outlining his vision for an economy driven by private sector growth and regional trade. NABCO, which originally aimed to provide temporary employment for 100,000 graduates, faced challenges, including delayed stipend payments and a lack of permanent job placements. The programme officially ended on Thursday, September 1, 2022. Featured Ursula Owusu-Ekuful signals parliamentary exit after election loss Mohammed Ali Politics Dec - 15 - 2024 , 10:10 2 minutes read The Member of Parliament for Ablekuma West, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has hinted at ending her parliamentary career following her defeat in the 2024 general election. In a cryptic Facebook post on Saturday, December 14, 2024, the MP thanked her constituents and expressed her readiness to embrace the next chapter of her life. "Thank you, Ablekuma West!! Sayonara.Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to serve. Next chapter in my life unfolding, so lets see what He has in store for me. Looking into the future with confidence," she wrote. Representing the New Patriotic Party (NPP), she lost her seat to Rev. Kweku Addo of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in a closely contested race. Rev. Addo secured 31,866 votes, while Ursula Owusu-Ekuful garnered 26,575 votes. Advertisement During her tenure, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful served as Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, where she championed Ghanas digital transformation agenda and spearheaded major initiatives aimed at improving connectivity and digital infrastructure. Post-election attack In the wake of the election, an attack occurred at her office and residence on Monday, December 9, 2024. A group of about 15 men reportedly stormed the premises, vandalising property and stealing items, including a branded Nissan Hardbody vehicle, three brand-new motorbikes, a 32-inch Samsung television, a printer, mobile phones, food supplies, two stabilisers, and an undisclosed amount of cash. They also destroyed CCTV cameras, barbed wire, and the office door. The police have since recovered the stolen Nissan pickup and launched investigations to apprehend the culprits. Mrs. Owusu-Ekufuls defeat to the NDCs Rev. Kweku Addo marked the halt of her parliamentary career, which began in 2012. Below is her full Facebook post: Read also Parliament has affected my mental, physical health, I'll now mentor young aspirants - Andy Appiah-Kubi, defeated Asante Akim North NPP MP Residents are invited to support young business owners at the Neni Christmas Market, a festive celebration of young entrepreneurship and community spirit. The event will take place on Sunday, Dec. 22, at the GPO near Cinnabon, providing a vibrant marketplace for Neni entrepreneurs or NENtrepreneurs to showcase their unique business concepts for the community, a release from Nenpire states. The children have been working hard to turn their ideas into reality. Were excited for them to experience a day of being a business owner at the market, said Storm Piper, one of the lead organizers. The Neni Christmas Market will take place the Sunday before Christmas, so residents have time to stuff their stockings with one-of-a-kind gifts and holiday crafts that go beyond the ordinary. Each purchase directly supports the hard work and dreams of our youth, making it a meaningful way to shop this Christmas season, Nenpire said in a release. The event will feature: A Christmas Marketplace: Explore a diverse array of products created by young, aspiring entrepreneurs. Children, six to 13, have worked hard during the Nenpire Startup Series Program, learning the different steps to starting a business. Now they will have the opportunity to be a business owner for a day, offering their unique products to the community in a festive environment. Kid talent: The Neni Market will feature live music from local children. Come out to support the Hurao Childrens Choir, The Obispos School Band, kid DJs, and other talented Nenis. Fun for the family: Enjoy a free cup of hot chocolate with every purchase at the Neni Christmas Market sponsored by Kings Restaurant. Theres fun for everyone with some festive activities from face painting to mini games. A visit from Santa on his day off at his Christmas Tree Farm. The Nenpire is a youth entrepreneurial program dedicated to fostering the passions and talents of our ambitious children on the island. Participants partake in engaging workshops led by Nenpires team and local entrepreneurs, covering different aspects of starting a business. The series culminates with a marketplace experience, where the community can come out to support and engage with our Nentrepreneurs. In addition to the Start-Up Series, the group has a Launch Pad Program that supports passionate Nentrepreneurs as they continue to grow their businesses. The program is geared towards the kids who want to pursue their businesses beyond the neni markets. For more information about the program, email nenpire@picassonenis.com or follow on Instagram @nenpire. IF YOU GO The Christmas Neni Market Date: December 22, 2024 Time: 12 p.m.-4 p.m. Location: Guam Premier Outlets (near Cinnabon) Admission: Free The Senator Angel Leon Guerrero Santos Latte Stone Memorial Park in Hagatna is temporarily closed off pending about $48,000 worth of renovations, according to the Guam Visitors Bureau. This week, caution tape could be seen wrapped around the park and the statue of late activist and former Sen. Angel L.G. Santos. Exposed rebar protruded from several concrete benches and walkways, and light fixtures were on the ground. Large roots from trees in the area have erupted from the ground and damaged park equipment, according to GVB spokesperson Lisa Bordallo, and it cracked benches and sidewalks. Completion of work at the park is expected around the end of January, according to Bordallo. She said GVB has hired a contractor to demolish and replace the old concrete fixtures, and will be updating the signage and lights around the park and restroom, as well as water blasting the facilities. Bordallo said the park pavilions will get a fresh coat of paint, new plants will be installed to update the space, and foliage thats accumulated atop the latte stones will be manually removed. The parks metal gate will also be refurbished, along with the entrance to the World War II-era cave built during the Japanese occupation of Guam. The Angel Santos park is technically under the jurisdiction of the Department of Parks and Recreation, but DPR Director Angel Sablan said GVB had offered to help out with the refurbishment. Sablan said Parks and Rec took any assistance it could. GVBs Bordallo said the agency opted to assist with the project as part of its broader efforts to spruce up areas frequented by visitors. Weve been working closely with Parks and Rec. A lot of the tourist spots are in need of repair, Bordallo said. The park happened to be one spot in need of some of the most fixing, she said. Originally the Latte Stone Park, the site contains eight latte stone pillars that were moved there by the Navy from their original spots at the Menu and Fena regions in southern Guam, according to Guampedia. It was renamed after the late senator Santos through public law in 2003, in recognition of his efforts to support the CHamoru people, and a statue was erected in his memory. Santos frequented the park, and often prayed there, according to Public Law 37-44. Lately, the park has become a popular tourist spot, and several visitors were seen standing outside of the caution tape on Monday afternoon. Costs for the current renovations are about $48,000, and Arkana Pacific was hired on as a contractor for the project, according to Bordallo. GVB does have some other renovations in the pipeline, and others already completed, she said. Other projects include the Matapang Beach flood remediation project, and plans for the Gov. Joseph Flores Memorial Beach Park at Ypao, according to Bordallo. Bordallo noted that priorities could be moved around, depending on the new tourism recovery plan being weighed by the bureaus board. GVBs board is weighing a $60 million tourism recovery plan to help resuscitate the lagging Japanese tourism market. You have permission to edit this article. 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Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe Haiti - FLASH : Two Bahamian military ships expected in Haiti The Bahamas substantial involvement in a Multinational Security Support Mission (MSSM) in Haiti could begin by the end of December, according to National Security Minister Wayne Munroe, who said two Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) patrol boats, the HMBS Bahamas and the HMBS Nassau, will be deployed by December 22, 2024 to monitor Haitis coastline, intercept smuggled weapons and ammunition, and prevent migrants from leaving the country. Munroe summarized, "You have no maritime security, so people do whatever they like. You would be looking to stop contraband going in, people going out. Should be noted that the HMBS Bahamas and HMBS Nassau patrol boats are 60m vessels with a crew of nearly 60 men. These patrol boats are armed with several .50-caliber Browning M2 heavy machine guns and a light automatic cannon. They are commonly used to intercept illegal immigrants (especially from Haiti), for anti-piracy and anti-smuggling missions, for hurricane relief, for search and rescue, for routine patrols and to assist maritime police. Minister Munroe clarified that the ships will not patrol simultaneously but will take turns, each ship could be deployed for missions of four to six weeks... It should be recalled that the government of the Bahamas has committed to sending 150 officers as part of the MMSS. SL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - News : Zapping... Piracy : A boat and 53 passengers hijacked On Friday, December 13, 2024, the "Nono", a boat that was crossing between the island of Gonave and Arcahaie, with 52 passengers and 6 crew members on board, was hijacked in the open sea by heavily armed men and taken to Mariani, a territory under the control of the criminal coalition "Viv Ansanm" according to Sony Augustave, Director of the Maritime and Navigation Service of Haiti (SEMANAH). Sunrise Airways : Additional Flights on December 22 and 23 Private airline Sunrise Airways is adding additional flights between Miami and Cap Haitien on December 22 and 23, 2024. Special fare: Starting at $674 roundtrip Book today at sunriseairways.net Cap-Haitien : Reopening of the Higher Institute of Technology The Higher Institute of Technology of Cap-Haitien reopens after 7 months of closure; an essential structure for the training of young laboratory technicians and for the offer of services in this field. Fair Artisanat en Fete last day More than 230 artisans, who have worked and waited all year, offer their creations on Saturday, December 14 and Sunday, December 15, 2024 at the Karibe Convention Center, a must-see. Shipwreck off Petit-Goave The boat named "La Sicilia" which was coming from Port-au-Prince to Miragoane was shipwrecked during the night of Friday 13 to Saturday 14 December, off Petit-Goave, near the "Cocoyer Bleach" area. So far, more than 20 people have been rescued thanks to the rapid intervention of teams on the ground, confirmed Erick Prevost Junior, Director General of the Maritime and Navigation Service of Haiti (SEMANAH). However, the exact number of passengers on board remains unknown because this trip had not been supervised by the competent authorities. The search continues to find any missing persons, declared Herwil Gaspard, Minister Delegate in charge of Solidarity and Humanitarian Affairs, late Saturday. Norway : Training to Better Cultivate Peanuts... Thanks to the Government of Norway and the World Food Programme (WFP) who work with Meds & Food for Kids to strengthen farmers and feed schoolchildren. 750 producers receive training to better cultivate peanuts used to make healthy biscuits, purchased and supplied by WFP and partners to Haitian schools. HL/ HaitiLibre We're a family of eight living in Georgia where Andrew's a professor at GSU and Nancy is a PhD student at UGA. You can read more about us here HENLEY fire station is recruiting up to 10 on-call firefighters to help keep the community safe. It currently has eight on its books but more people are needed to ensure that the town has adequate cover. This follows a number of departures in the past year due to work and family commitments or people moving away from the town. On-call firefighters receive the same training as full-time firefighters but instead of being based at the station they are called out to respond to incidents when alerted. Recruits come from every walk of life but they need to be aged over 18 and live or work five minutes away from the station, which is in West Street, behind the town hall, although people can still apply if they can work from the station. Paul Robinson, 54, of Wilson Avenue, works as a portfolio manager but balances this with being an on-call firefighter in the evenings. He joined the station in June and had initially thought he was too old to do it. Mr Robinson, a father to two teenage daughters, said: When I saw the advertisement I was intrigued to see if there was an age limit or anything like that. But when I looked into it, it was more like a fitness and an ability level to do something, so I wanted to give it a try. It was more of a personal challenge to me and whether I could, at my age, be as good as the people who were doing it already. I wanted to try and give something back to the community as a whole. Some people join because its something that theyve always wanted to do but Im older than most normal recruits. It was something Id never really been able to do before until my children grew up. Ive found that theres much more to being a firefighter than climbing up buildings and rescuing cats from trees. In addition to responding to emergency calls, on-call firefighters carry out work in their local community, including visits to schools and social clubs and offering prevention advice. To qualify they must undergo a strict two-week training programme, including strength tests, water rescue, working at height and using rescue equipment. Full training for new firefighters can take up to three years but they can still respond to calls in this time. Mr Robinson described the training as exceptional and he has learnt to use heavy equipment, how to undertake water rescues and dealing with working in confined spaces. He said: On the course that I did I was the oldest and the people on it ranged from someone who had just graduated from university up to me and we were from all sorts of walks of life. Once youve learned the basic skills and completed the course and learned the skills of command, you go back to the station which, for me, was Henley. Every Wednesday we have a training night where we learn a little bit more. The learning never stops. I still dont know as much as people who have been there a year or two years but the team wants you to succeed. There are people always keeping an eye out for you and, as you get more confident at what youre doing, it makes things a lot easier. Every time you go out on a call you dont know what youre going to be confronted with but I know that my colleagues have gone through the training and I know they will be there to help me if Im not sure what to do. Mr Robinson balances his day job with offering on-call availability during unsociable hours. He said: The career can be flexible. In theory, I could take my laptop to the station and do my work there. I give up a lot of time in the evenings because I know that I can do that with my work. Part of the commitment is giving up my free time to go and help people and thats the crucial bit as youre making a commitment to do that. I give up my time on the weekends as well. But you can fit it around family life. In the last six months he has been called out to incidents including severe flooding in north Oxfordshire, road traffic collisions and a field fire. Mr Robinson said: When you get to an incident, youre super professional and you switch off from your day job and your worries about work and the nine-to-five job. Youre there to help people and that for me was the really big challenge, whether I was capable or good enough. The support network in the fire service focuses on both emotional and physical training. People have seen things before that I may never see but you can talk to them about it and theyre very open and helpful. Theres also a huge sense of pride in this role. I wholeheartedly recommend it. Katy Snoodyk, 43, who lives in Vicarage Road, has been an on-call firefighter for more than two years. She joined the crew after having previously worked as a firefighter in South Africa. She moved to Henley in 2019. She works two other jobs as a project manager and as a crossfit trainer and lives with her two dogs. She was initially worried about signing up but has never looked back. Ms Snoodyk said: I was a bit worried about some of the things like the claustrophobia test. But I went through the process and met the crew in Henley and I had a chat with them about what it was about and we found that I could offer them what they needed. The process was extremely daunting but its incredible how you can rise to the challenge when its something you really want. Fortunately, I do 99 per cent of my work from home and that makes it quite convenient and because of the nature of my role, its very rare that theres something extremely urgent that I need to do. If Im called away, I can make up time elsewhere. The challenge of the job is all the additional training you need to do but for something you are emotionally invested in, you will find the time to do it. On average, on-call firefighters are expected to be called out two or three times a week for about an hour at a time, at night or during the day. It is requested that they spend a minimum of 40 hours per week to be available on-call. The maximum quota is 120 hours per week. Ms Snoodyk said the role is a great motivator to stay fit. Its a very physical job and you need to stay on top of your game, she said. With the training development, we get to be exposed to things that in ordinary walks of life, you would never get to see or experience. If you want to learn about society and what goes on, its a very interesting way of doing it. We also have school visits where pupils come up to the station and were there to educate the children, which we hope they will then pass on to their families. The job is definitely challenging. Its important that you know that you are going to have to make sacrifices. However, the crew are very understanding about the fact we have day jobs. I think when people join, they realise its an amazing thing to do and theres that sense of accomplishment and being a part of something, you understand why you make some sacrifices. Id say to anybody who wants to join, come and talk to us and come and see what we do. Michael Clarke, crew manager at Henley Fire Station, said: Weve lost quite a few people to the service recently as people have moved jobs or started young families so its got to a point where we need 10 new people to join. If we have more firefighters, then theres more resilience, more people to cover for different hours, different times of the day. Years ago, an on-call firefighter would probably stay for five or six years and then either move on to whole time employment or theyve served their time and move on. Nowadays, were seeing across the board thats the whole of Oxfordshire and other counties that people are serving for less and less time, maybe two, maybe three years so we need to have a big, big push. Were also trying to target people who can work from the station. Weve got an office there and two offices downstairs where people will be able to work. They can work from the station itself and provide some day cover. The initial development course you complete within about three years. Within that time, they will do most of those skills. Were always recruiting to try and get our numbers up. The number of skills that they learn once they join the fire service is immense. Henley fire station is part of Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, run by Oxfordshire County Council. Goring fire station, in Icknield Road, is also recruiting. For more information, including for employers about staff becoming on-call firefighters, and to apply, visit www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/ council/working-oxfordshire-county-council/fire-service-recruitment CHRISTMAS trees with a difference have been installed in a Benson cul-de-sac. Two crocheted specimens have been installed in Chiltern Close, one thats 6ft tall at the entrance to the road, and another thats 7.5ft tall thats closer to the properties. Each tree is made up of granny squares, which is a square of crocheted fabric made in rounds, typically using clusters of double crochet stitches. The project was organised by Silvia Lane, who lives in the road. She has muscular dystrophy and was challenged by a support group she is part of to make the trees. Ms Lane, who is originally from Switzerland, said: About two years ago I was challenged in my muscular dystrophy community to do something like this but I never got round to it because there was never anyone else there who did crochet. But I moved here 17 months ago and got to know a few other people who crochet and then the project started. Together with her neighbours Barbara Holtom and Margaret Mortimer, they began crocheting the squares in February. They had a break from April to September and when they restarted other volunteers would help. Ms Lane said: From April until September I didnt touch any Christmas tree stuff because otherwise it was becoming a long year with Christmas. In September, when we started again, we had even more people making the squares. There are 320 granny squares across both trees but Margaret did not see them completed because she sadly passed away before they were put up. But her daughter Diana used her old jewellery, comprising pins and a silver feather, to decorate the star on one of the trees. Ms Lane said: We have some solar-powered Christmas lights only at the top, that is one thing Margaret wanted. I chose to crochet the squares together using green wool to make it look like a Christmas tree. All the squares look like a decoration on the Christmas tree but it is all tied together with cable ties to try avoiding it being blown away. People have been commenting and sending me cards saying how wonderful they think it is and that, when their relatives have come to visit, how much they love them, too. It is really nice and a great community thing. The trees have been created in such a way that the squares can all be removed and be washed and reused again next year. Each tree is in three parts. The people from Norman R Cox and Partners in Checkendon provided the tree frames and will take the trees and keep them for us for the next year. Ms Holtom has been crocheting for 25 years and said she has really enjoyed the process, as she is still crocheting granny squares now. She said: I did it all the time and I crochet every night. It is very pleasant to see how people receive it. Everybody seems to have a lot of fun looking at it. It has been nice, the frame was made for us and everything, I think everybody involved has got a lot of pleasure out of it. I love to see the children come up here and admire the tree. You think of it as being continental, Christmas trees are Christmas trees. I guess there has never been something like this here before, it has been good fun. State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. 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Whether youre brushing up on compliance, rethinking how you use tech, or finding new ways to wow your customers, this is your year to thrive. Lets dive into some tips from the pros to help your business crush it in 2025! Matt Loop, VP and Head of Asia, Rippling 2025 will mark a turning point for Australian SMEs, with many facing a wave of Industrial Relations reforms that could redefine how they operate. With the criminalisation of intentional wage underpayment coming into effect in January, the Right to Disconnect extending to businesses with fewer than 15 employees in August, and ongoing changes to casual employment rules, many SMEs will spend much of the year ensuring they are prepared for these new laws. The experience of larger businesses offers valuable insights. Ripplings research shows that, following the introduction of the Right to Disconnect in August 2024, 23% of Aussie business leaders reported challenges with roles requiring after-hours availability. SMEs can expect similar hurdles: to stay ahead, they should treat 2025 as a runway for compliance and cultural adjustment. So, whats a practical, actionable resolution for SMEs? Focus on building the compliance muscle early. This means conducting audits of current practices, training teams on new poicies, and adopting tools that simplify compliance and workforce management. Beyond processes, these reforms also demand new ways of thinking, whether thats building a culture that respects work-life boundaries, or ensuring employment contracts and practices align with new legal definitions. The real challenge lies in embedding these changes without compromising the agility and flexibility that SMEs thrive on. By taking proactive steps to build a solid foundation, SMEs can navigate reforms confidently, avoid last-minute scrambles, while creating a sustainable, future-ready work environment. Resolution: Build compliance capabilities now. Conduct audits of existing practices, implement team training on new regulations, and invest in tools for streamlined compliance and workforce management. Beyond processes, foster a culture that respects work-life boundaries while aligning employment contracts with evolving legal definitions. Proactive preparation ensures agility and confidence in navigating these reforms while preserving SME flexibility and innovation. Rakesh Prabhakar, Head of Zoho Australia and New Zealand Just as technology is one of the biggest drivers of growth for SMEs, its one of the biggest inhibitors of it too. Zoho research shows that only 53% of SMEs feel well-prepared to keep up with technological advancements. In 2025, a more strategic, consolidated approach to technology will be critical for businesses, irrespective of the challenge theyre seeking to overcome or the opportunity theyre trying to seize. Instead of relying on multiple siloed solutions from different vendors, SMEs should consolidate their tech stack with a single, integrated provider. An integrated technology approach streamlines operations, boosts efficiency, and reduces costs by eliminating redundancy. Relying on multiple platforms for different processes can be more expensive and impedes the flow of insights across a business. After another year of economic uncertainty, there are green shoots of optimism beginning to emerge, according to Zoho research which found that almost half of Australian SMEs are forecasting their cash flow to increase in the next 3-12 months. Businesses who are more consolidated, integrated, and strategic in their technology adoption will be better placed to overcome challenges, improve cash-flow and turn short-term optimism into long-term growth. Resolution: Embrace integrated technology to future-proof operations. As optimism growswith nearly half of SMEs forecasting improved cash flow in the coming monthsthose investing in streamlined, strategic tech adoption will convert short-term optimism into long-term resilience and growth. Simon Le Grand, Senior Director of Marketing, APAC, Lightspeed Australia is an entrepreneurial, innovative nation, with almost half of all Australians employed at a small business. As is often the case, the turn of the year brings new hope, optimism and focus. However, as with any year, 2025 will include some challenges. Take, for example, small businesses in industries like retail and hospitality, which collectively employ over one million Australians. One of their most common challenges but also a major opportunity is turning acquired customers into retained customers. Businesses should consider focussing on two things: experience and incentivisation. If a customer receives a personalised, memorable experience where they feel like their needs are genuinely understood their affinity will grow. Online, that can mean using data to provide personalised shopping or dining recommendations, and ensuring every touch point is convenient and customer-friendly. In physical locations, that could be as simple as ensuring polite, well-trained and well-rostered staff are present and willing to help and listen. Guest experience is a compelling incentive for them to return, so too are loyalty schemes. Lightspeed research shows that 39% of consumers say loyalty programs influence their decision to visit a business. A strategic, well-designed loyalty program not only entices people to return, but it also serves businesses post-purchase, offering invaluable data for targeted marketing campaigns and customer retention. Resolution: Invest in exceptional customer experiences and loyalty initiatives. From tailored digital experiences to in-person service excellence, focus on strategies that foster retention. A robust loyalty program not only drives repeat visits but generates valuable data for targeted marketing and sustained customer relationships. Paul Hadida, General Manager, APAC GTM, SevenRooms Theres a growing optimism amongst the business community that in 2025, economic headwinds could ease and more prosperous conditions might return. Thats certainly the case in the hospitality sector, where operators hope to use the peak summer season as a springboard into longer-term success. For small businesses which account for 36% of total GDP and 44% of employment in the sector the key focus in 2025 must be about getting back to basics. During uncertain times, its easy to assume that elaborate ideas or outside-the-box thinking are the key to overcoming their biggest challenge: improving cash flow. Instead, businesses must focus on doing the fundamentals well. Instead of tapping into every technology on the market, or overhauling their menu every week, businesses must identify what makes people visit a hospitality venue, what makes them return, and how they can meet those needs. Ultimately, consumers today want meaningful, customer-centric and human-focused experiences, and the businesses who can provide that will win. Businesses that use the right centralised technology platform to automate everything from reservations to personalised marketing, and then invest the time-savings in providing personalised experiences to guests will be best-placed to boost acquisition and retention establishing a growing cash flow in 2025. Resolution: Double down on delivering personalized, guest-focused experiences. By automating operational tasks and reinvesting time savings into human connection, hospitality SMEs can enhance retention, improve cash flow, and build long-term success. Josh McNicol, Director of Growth, Zeller 2025 will be the year of accessible omnichannel commerce for businesses, regardless of their maturity, size, or scale. SMEs can position themselves for growth by adopting technology enabling them to accept payments in more places and deliver a seamless shopping experience for customers regardless of how theyre transacting, be it in-person, online, apps, or self-checkout kiosks. Previously available only to larger businesses in the retail and quick-service restaurant (QSR) sectors, technology enabling omnichannel payments is now accessible to SMEs thanks to advancements like Tap to Pay. This technology allows merchants to manage a complete POS and payment solution from an NFC-enabled smartphone, reducing the costs and complexities traditionally involved. The continued displacement of cashwhile unlikely to disappear completely in 2025 emphasises the importance of optimising checkout processes and offering a suite of reliable electronic payment solutions. By integrating these innovations, SMEs can meet evolving customer expectations, enhance convenience, and drive loyalty.Adopting omnichannel payment technologies enables SMEs to compete more effectively with larger enterprises, ensuring they are prepared to grow and adapt in an uncertain economic environment. Resolution: Adopt accessible omnichannel payment technologies to enhance convenience and competitiveness. By leveraging innovations previously exclusive to larger enterprises, SMEs can drive growth, meet customer demands, and position themselves for success in an evolving economic landscape. Rob Hango-Zada, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Shippit In 2024, many businesses face the challenge of balancing customer acquisition with retention. As competition intensifies, its clear that success hinges on excelling at boththough retention requires additional focus. Consider, for example, the retail industry; one of the biggest sectors by both employment and GDP. According to data from Shippits State of Shipping Report, over half of customers will not return after a poor delivery experience. This underscores the importance of seamless, reliable delivery in driving customer loyalty and repeat business. For retail businesses, investing in retention isnt just about keeping customers happyits a cost-effective strategy for growth. Retaining customers can cost up to five times less than acquiring new ones, and loyal customers tend to spend 67% more over time. While acquisition remains key to growth, especially as ecommerce players like Temu and Amazon gain ground, retention is an area where businesses can establish a competitive edge without significant extra investment. Looking to 2025, businesses that focus on enhancing their delivery processes, leveraging real-time data, and offering diverse, flexible delivery options will be best positioned to foster customer loyalty and sustain growth. Prioritising retention in this evolving landscape is the practical step businesses can take to thrive in the year ahead. Resolution: Businesses should invest in improving the overall delivery experience to ensure customer satisfaction, as seamless and timely deliveries are key to driving loyalty. By tapping into real-time data, businesses can better understand customer preferences, predict demand, and optimize delivery operations, ensuring a personalized and efficient service. Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. An art exhibition featuring the works of Chinese teenagers was simultaneously held Saturday on China's orbiting Tiangong space station, as well as in Beijing and Macao. This exhibition, themed "I love my motherland," is the fourth of its kind to be held aboard the Tiangong space station, while it is the first time that such an event takes place simultaneously in space and on Earth. This year's exhibition features 75 artworks that were sent to the Chinese space station in mid-November. The paintings were selected from over 20,000 submitted by teenagers across China. The Shenzhou-19 crew aboard Tiangong space station showcased these works while sending video greetings back to Earth. Art shows, parts of the event, were also held on Saturday at an exhibition hall in the Palace Museum in Beijing and at the Macao Science Center. The exhibition coincides with the 25th anniversary of Macao's return to China. The Shenzhou-19 crew wished the motherland prosperity and peace, and Macao a better future. An aerospace education program organized by the Palace Museum, the China Space Foundation and other institutions was launched on Saturday at the same site of the art show in the Palace Museum. The two events will remain open to the public until Jan. 6, 2025. The 2024 Startup Muster report, Australias largest survey of startups, highlights the progress, challenges, and opportunities in the startup ecosystem, with a special focus on the deep tech sector in collaboration with Main Sequence. As we say goodbye to 2024, Australias startup scene is buzzing like never before. From uni grads with big ideas to seasoned entrepreneurs whove learned from the trenches, theres a new wave of Aussie founders ready to shake things up. Theyre tackling everything from tech and AI to sustainability, all while juggling the highs and lows that come with launching a business. Curious about whos behind the next big thing? Lets dive into the real stories of whos making moves, why theyre doing it, and whats keeping them up at night. Whos Behind the Startup Boom? The founders driving todays startups come from some of Australias top universities, including the University of Technology Sydney, the University of New South Wales, and the University of Sydney. These schools are breeding grounds for future innovators. But the story doesnt end with academic credentials. Around 45% of founders are still involved in previous ventures, either running them or pivoting to something new. This shows a strong entrepreneurial spirit, with many balancing full-time startup work alongside part-time jobs. When it comes to education, its clear that degrees matter. Many founders hold advanced degrees, with a notable number from Monash University and the University of Queensland. A Masters or Bachelors degree provides a solid foundation, but its the specialized knowledge and entrepreneurial mindset that seem to fuel success. These degrees help founders tap into networks and gain the technical expertise needed to navigate the complex world of startups. While many are thriving, the path to success isnt always smooth. A surprising 42% of founders report challenges in co-founder dynamics, which can make or break a business. Funding hurdles and user acquisition issues are also common struggles. Yet, despite these obstacles, many founders report positive experiences, including selling their startups for amounts theyre happy with. These successes provide a glimmer of hope for those still working to break through. Whats the driving force behind all these new ventures? For many, its personalsolving problems theyve faced themselves or turning research ideas into marketable products. Others are driven by dissatisfaction with their previous jobs or the thrill of building something from the ground up. The COVID-19 pandemic also pushed many people to rethink their careers and explore entrepreneurship as a viable option. Whether its a deep-rooted need for change or a spontaneous idea that turned into a business, the reasons for starting up are as varied as the founders themselves. While some are still working from their home offices, many founders are seeking community and collaboration in coworking spaces like Stone & Chalk, Fishburners, and UTS Startups. These spaces arent just places to worktheyre ecosystems of innovation, where founders can network, share ideas, and find support. However, the shift from home offices to dynamic workspaces is growing, with many planning to move to better locations as they scale. What are they creating? The industries startups are focusing on in 2024 are cutting-edge, with a heavy emphasis on technology and sustainability. Artificial intelligence, software development, medtech, and fintech are leading the charge, reflecting the global demand for solutions that tackle complex, real-world problems. From greentech and cybersecurity to healthtech and education, the breadth of industries being impacted is impressive. Its a clear sign that innovation is happening everywhereand its accelerating. When it comes to revenue, most founders are betting on B2B sales and subscription-based models to generate income. As for growth, the focus is not just on Australiamany are eyeing global expansion, with the USA and the UK topping the list of target markets. On average, its expected that it will take about six years to reach $10 million in annual revenue, which highlights the patience and long-term vision required to succeed in the startup world. In conclusion, the startup landscape in 2024 is thriving with energy, creativity, and resilience. Founders are pushing boundaries, solving problems, and making bold moves to grow their businesses. With the right mix of education, motivation, and strategy, the future looks bright for the next generation of entrepreneurs. Team Skills and Hiring Trends In 2024, startups are focusing on building well-rounded teams with strong technical and business development skills. The most commonly sought skills include software development, sales/business development, and product management. Skills startups wish were in their teams: Many founders highlighted gaps in AI skills, data science/analysis, and legal expertise . . Employee growth: Startups averaged 10 paid employees and 5.5 outsourced workers over the past year, with plans to hire more in the coming year. There is a significant increase in demand for AI expertise, which is now integral in key functions such as content creation, marketing, and customer service. Despite the growing need for specialized talent, 33% of founders reported struggles with finding candidates who possess the necessary skills. In particular, technical competencies, real-world experience, and communication skills are in high demand. Outsourcing: Many startups continue to rely on outsourced workers, especially in areas like accounting, marketing, and legal. Australia remains the top destination for outsourcing, but a growing number of startups are also working with teams in India and the Philippines. The role of AI AI continues to gain traction, with 70% of startups using AI to assist in various business functions. The most common areas for AI application include content creation, software development, and marketing. AI is also driving operational efficiencies, although some startups are still not monetizing their AI capabilities directly. AI Tools: Popular AI tools among startups include OpenAI, Claude, and Gemini, with many startups integrating these into their products or services. Certifications: A growing trend In the realm of certifications 24% of startups currently hold certifications, with 29% planning to acquire them. Certifications like ISO27001, SOC2, and B-Corp are seen as crucial for expanding into regulated industries and improving credibility. Certified startups tend to report higher revenues and are more likely to scale successfully. Revenue Impact: Startups with certifications report higher average revenues, averaging $3.9M compared to $800K for those without certifications. Startups are increasingly outsourcing work, with 80% of startups outsourcing tasks such as software development, graphic design, and content creation. While compliance certifications are important, many startups, especially those in their early stages, prioritize rapid growth and innovation over regulatory compliance. Compliance Insights: 72.7% of startups currently operate without formal certifications, reflecting a focus on speed and adaptability over regulatory requirements. However, as startups mature, certifications and compliance are likely to become more critical. Challenges and triumphs founders faced Starting a business is a journey that can feel like a thrilling rollercoaster ridefull of ups, downs, and unexpected twists. If youre thinking of launching your startup, youre not alone in feeling a mix of excitement and uncertainty. For many founders, the road to success is paved with challenges, and understanding these obstacles can be key to overcoming them. Lets break down some of the most common hurdles that entrepreneurs face today, as well as the surprising insights into whats holding back potential founders. 1. Lifes Big Demands Life doesnt stop when you start a business. Whether its caring for dependents, dealing with a mortgage, or simply needing to save money before diving into the world of entrepreneurship, many founders find their personal responsibilities competing with their business ambitions. Almost 27% of founders say personal life circumstances are a major barrier, while others struggle with a lack of time, confidence, or even childcare support. Its a balancing act! 2. Financial Hurdles Money is always a big concern, and for 39% of founders, securing funding remains the most significant challenge. Whether its accessing venture capital, finding investors, or managing resources effectively, financial uncertainty can create roadblocks at every stage. Plus, 16% of founders are also bogged down by the need to save money before making a leap into entrepreneurship. 3. Lack of Support Going solo can be a lonely path, especially when youre missing key resources like technical skills, mentorship, or even emotional support from a partner. Almost 12% of founders mention the lack of support from loved ones as a critical factor that slows them down. And without the right community or collaboration opportunities, its easy to feel stuck. 4. Confidence Crisis Starting a business requires believing in yourself and your idea. However, a lot of founders struggle with self-doubt. Around 12% of entrepreneurs admit they lack confidence in their abilities, which can hold them back from taking those bold steps that lead to success. If youre doubting your potential, remember that even the best founders face these fears! 5. Where to Start? A whopping 20% of would-be founders are simply unsure where to begin. The fear of not knowing the right steps to take can freeze entrepreneurs in their tracks. The key here? Start small, ask questions, and take that first step, no matter how daunting it seems. Unique challenges for female founders When it comes to gender, female founders face a distinctive set of challenges. According to recent data, 39% of female entrepreneurs struggle most with securing capital, while male founders tend to focus more on customer acquisition and scaling. Theres also a significant gender gap in accessing networks and support services, which is crucial for growth. As your business grows, so does the temptation to take it global. Founders are increasingly eyeing international markets, but expanding beyond Australia is easier said than done. Many founders face regulatory hurdles, expensive operational costs, or a simple lack of infrastructure in foreign markets. About 41% of founders wish to expand sales outside Australia, but the reality of execution is often much more complicated than the dream. Where do founders turn for advice? Surprisingly, many rely on trusted books and online platforms. A popular read is The Lean Startup, a bible for those navigating the tricky waters of building a business. In addition, platforms like LinkedIn, Coursera, and even YouTube offer valuable learning opportunities, providing insights and inspiration for entrepreneurs across the globe. But even with all these resources at hand, 52% of founders still admit that finding the right help and connections is a challenge. Despite these challenges, many entrepreneurs continue to push forward, spurred on by the belief that success is within reach. The key to overcoming these obstacles is resilience, creativity, and a willingness to learn from others. Whether youre looking to expand your customer base, raise capital, or simply find your first paying customer, the journey might be tough, but its also incredibly rewarding. So, if youre ready to take the plunge, know that youre not alone in facing these struggles. Every founder has been therefacing the fear, doubting their abilities, and wondering if theyre making the right decisions. But with the right mindset and support, those hurdles can be cleared, and the path to entrepreneurial success can be yours. Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 15. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has allocated technical assistance for the project "Enhancing Outcomes of the Nature Solutions Finance Hub (NSFH) for Asia and the Pacific," engaging Uzbekistan, Trend reports via ADB statement. The projects will also be implemented in Bhutan, Mongolia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and Thailand. According to the statement, the main objectives include mobilizing financing, developing institutional capacity, and engaging the private sector. "The TA will enhance the outcomes of the NSFH. The NSFH will scale up support on nature-based solutions (NBS) as well as nature-positive investments. The TA will also help developing member countries (DMCs) strengthen their institutional capacity, including policies, knowledge, and expertise required to address challenges," emphasized ADB. The key goals and objectives include increasing investments in NBS projects, strengthening national and regional policies, and creating tools to attract private capital. "The TA financing amount is $5.44 million, with funds coming from various sources, including ADB, Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD), the Green Climate Fund, and others. The program will be implemented through grants and partnership funding," the statement said. Key areas of work include preparing six pre-project studies for NBS projects, establishing an incubator for issuing 'nature bonds', and organizing training and knowledge exchanges for governments and stakeholders. By 2028, key outcomes include attracting $1 billion in investments for NBS, of which 15% will come from private capital, and developing sustainable financing models for NBS projects. "A decision has been made to allocate and administer funds from various donors, including the OPEC Fund, AFD, and others," the bank stressed. BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 15. The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is developing a technical assistance project, "Digital Transformation of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Project Management Processes in the Kyrgyz Republic," at the expense of its Technical Assistance Fund, the Director of PPP Projects at EDB Svetlana Maslova told Trend. According to the EDB's PPP Projects Director Svetlana Maslova, the project will cost up to $250,000. Its goal is to create digital infrastructure to improve the efficiency of PPP project management. Moreover, it is planned to introduce digital technologies and platform solutions, which will contribute to: - increasing the efficiency of the processes of tenders or direct negotiations, as well as the conclusion of PPP agreements and monitoring of their implementation, - transformation of PPP project management processes in the context of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the ESG Agenda ("sustainable" and "green" procurement and PPP agreements), - reducing the time and financial costs of PPP project management processes, - improving communication between participants of PPP project management processes, - ensuring transparency of PPP project management processes, raising the level of awareness and investor confidence; - improvement of monitoring of PPP agreements implementation, including monitoring of fulfillment of contingent liabilities of state partners under PPP agreements. Maslova noted that the beneficiary of the project is the PPP Center under the National Investment Agency under the President of Kyrgyzstan. The project implementation is planned for the first or second quarter of 2025. The project director emphasized that the initiative will be an important step to increase transparency and efficiency in PPP. To note, EDB is a multilateral development bank founded in 2006. The financial institution carries out investment activities in Eurasia; member states are Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Belarus, and Armenia. The authorized capital of the EDB is $7 billion. The EDB's investment portfolio as of June 30 this year amounted to $4.8 billion and included 78 projects in all member countries. The total amount of the bank's investments in the economies of the member countries reached $15.3 billion. TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, December 15. Uzbekistan plans to launch 18 new solar and wind power plants with a total capacity of 3,400 MW in 2025, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev said, Trend reports. He spoke during the ceremony of launching new capacities and construction of new projects in the energy sector in Uzbekistan. Energy storage systems with a capacity of 1,800 MW will also be introduced. This will be an important step in the development of renewable energy sources and the country's transition to clean technologies. Green energy production is expected to reach 12 billion kWh next year. This figure will be able to meet the annual needs of 5 million households, as well as reduce harmful gas emissions into the atmosphere by 6.5 million tons. By 2030 Uzbekistan plans to build 19,000 MW of renewable energy facilities, increasing their share in the energy balance to 54 percent. In the next two years, a large-scale program to create more than 2,000 small and micro hydropower plants in partnership with the private sector will also be implemented. Meanwhile, Uzbekistan is set to commission five new thermal power plants with a total capacity of 4,183 MW by 2027. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that Russia had begun deploying North Korean soldiers to storm Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region. He spoke after Russian authorities said their firefighters were battling a blaze in the western Oryol region caused by a drone attack, with Ukraine saying it had hit a major oil terminal. "Today, we already have preliminary data that the Russians have begun to use North Korean soldiers in their assaults. A significant number of them," said Zelensky in his evening address. "The Russians include them in combined units and use them in operations in the Kursk region," he said. While so far they had only been deployed there, they might also be sent to other parts of the frontline, he said, adding: "There are also already noticeable losses in this category." Washington and Seoul have accused Pyongyang of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to help Moscow, after Russia and North Korea signed a landmark defence pact this summer. The two US foes have strengthened their military ties since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Zelensky said last month that 11,000 North Korean troops were in Russia's western Kursk region and had already sustained losses. Taken by surprise by the Kursk incursion, Russia has since steadily clawed back territory, halting Ukraine's advance and rushing reinforcements to the region. A Ukrainian army source told AFP last month that Kyiv still controlled 800 square kilometres (300 square miles) of the Kursk region, down from previous claims it controlled almost 1,400 square kilometres. Earlier Saturday, Russian officials said firefighters were battling a blaze caused by a drone attack in the western Oryol region. Ukraine has been targeting fuel depots in Russia in retaliation for Moscow's strikes wreaking havoc on its power-generation network. The Ukrainian military said Saturday morning that its forces had attacked a major oil depot in Stalnoi Kon, about 165 kilometres (100 miles) into Russian territory. One of the largest terminals in Russia, it served Russia's "military industrial complex" supplying the army, the General Staff said. The governor of Oryol region, Andrei Klychkov, said on Telegram that a fire was blazing at "a fuel infrastructure facility" in Stalnoi Kon after a "massive drone attack". By Saturday evening, he said, firefighters appeared to be getting it under control, but local residents were advised to keep windows closed and not go out. Russia's Interfax news agency reported that the attack targeted a facility owned by Transneft-Druzhba, which operates the Druzhba oil pipeline, a key supply route for Russian oil heading to much of central Europe. Russian media showed images, purportedly of the attack, with clouds of smoke billowing up into the night sky from a fire. Governor Klychkov said there were no casualties in the attack, during which air defences had downed 11 drones. In Russia's Belgorod region, which also borders Ukraine, a drone attack killed a nine-year-old boy and wounded his mother and baby sister, said the governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. He posted photos of the family's home with a huge hole in the facade and the roof partially torn off. Ukraine regularly attacks military and energy infrastructure in Russia, sometimes deep into its neighbour's territory, in response to Russian attacks on its own infrastructure. Kyiv's General Staff said Russia had attacked overnight with 132 drones, claiming 130 of them were downed or failed to reach targets. Russia's military said Saturday that it had meanwhile downed 60 drones overnight. Subscription to paid content Gain access to all that Trend has to offer, as well as to premium, licensed content via subscription or direct purchase through a credit card. BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 15. Some of the personnel of Russian foreign missions have been evacuated from the Syrian capital Damascus, the Department of Situation and Crisis Center (DSCC) of the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, Trend reports. It is reported that part of the personnel of Russian foreign missions in Damascus was delivered to Chkalovsky airport by a special flight of the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Defense Ministry. It is noted that the work of the Russian Embassy in Damascus continues. Tim Rumney, CEO at BWH Hotel Group GB. - Image Credit BWH Hotel Group 91% of UK hoteliers report a significant cost increase since the Autumn Budget, with 60% noting a surge of over 20%. The increases are attributed primarily to hikes in employers' National Insurance and rises in the National Living and Minimum Wage. A survey conducted by BWH Hotels, representing over 200 independently run hotels, including Best Western branded properties, across Great Britain, revealed that the Autumn Budget has brought about a steep increase in costs for hoteliers, with 91% noting a rise and 60% observing a surge of more than 20%. Over a third (36%) of the hoteliers expect their costs to go up by more than 100,000. For some, this could be crippling, as the increases might reach as high as 750,000. Half of the surveyed independent hoteliers link this hike to employers' National Insurance increases, while 32% attribute it to the rise in the National Living and Minimum Wage. As a result, 83% of hoteliers believe they will have to cut staff hours, and 77% feel they need to increase room rates and food and beverage prices. This could lead to guests having to pay more. Furthermore, 68% of hoteliers plan to delay maintenance or upgrades, and 64% will have to minimize staff pay raises in an industry already suffering from shortages. The hoteliers are seeking support from the government, with 79% calling for a reduction in VAT on hospitality. Additionally, 73% back business reform and 65% want a new Employer NICs band and exemptions for lower-band taxpayers. The survey findings indicate a growing concern among independent hoteliers, urging their local MPs to bring the issue to Parliament for debate. The CEO of BWH Hotels, Tim Rumney, expressed concern about the recent budget's impact on the hospitality industry, which is recovering from COVID-19. He emphasized the need for support to help hotels navigate these challenges while preserving their unique identities. He underscored the importance of turning challenges into opportunities during these trying times. MassDOT Grant to Optimize the Use of Drone Technology for Infrastructure Projects BOSTON The Aeronautics Division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has received $1 million in funding from the Federal Highway Administration's Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) Demonstration Program, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and authorized to accelerate innovation in highway transportation. This grant funding goes toward the second stage of a three-phase project, using Unmanned Aircraft Systems ("UAS," also known as drones) to create a "digital software systems infrastructure." Phase one of the project was funded with an AID grant received in 2021 and with additional match funding of $250,000. Implementing the necessary UAS digital infrastructure to integrate UAS technology into the operations of MassDOT's Highway Division and a variety of MassDOT agencies will enhance the state's ability to collect, store, process, and disseminate UAS data throughout MassDOT. "The Massachusetts Department of Transportation Aeronautics Division is recognized as being a leader in the use of drones for tasks of the Highway Division and the funding from this second phase of the AID grant will give us a unique opportunity to improve and expand digital software systems for drones," said Transportation Secretary and CEO Monica Tibbits-Nutt.?"We are grateful to the Biden-Harris Administration and our congressional delegation for supporting our application and we look forward to continuing to innovate when it comes to drone technology." The UAS-based digital infrastructure is designed to integrate with MassDOT Highway projects across Massachusetts, ranging from rural to urban locations, supporting a range of projects, including advanced bridge inspection, asset mapping, construction monitoring, and highway corridor asset detection/inspection. The new technology is anticipated to lower the costs of some projects, provide enhanced asset inspection opportunities, and allow for the monitoring of many construction projects simultaneously. "The Highway Division looks forward to an active partnership because this MassDOT Aeronautics project works to make surface transportation safer, more responsive to public needs, and more adaptable to new technologies," said MassDOT Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver. The AID grant request is part of the Healey-Driscoll Administration's whole-of-government strategy to compete for federal dollars. This award joins the administration's record of recent successes, which includes $1.72 billion to replace the Cape Cod Bridges, $335 million for the Allston Multimodal Project, $145 million to lay the groundwork for West-East Rail, as well as more than $1.33 billion in still pending federal funding applications to advance projects that further equity, mobility, competitiveness, workforce development, and climate resiliency in communities across Massachusetts. Taconic High School Spanish and world language teacher Yamila Badui believes immersing her students in language and culture helps them to learn. Teacher of the Month: Yamila Badui Her students say her classes are welcoming and engaging and feel like they learn better. PITTSFIELD, Mass. Taconic High School Spanish and world language teacher Yamila Badui has been selected as the December Teacher of the Month. The Teacher of the Month series, in collaboration with Berkshire Community College, will run for the next five months and will feature distinguished teachers nominated by community members. You can nominate a teacher here Badui has been a teacher for about 20 years, starting as an elementary school teacher while living in Puerto Rico. When she moved to the United States, she not only adapted to life in a new country but also transitioned into teaching a new age group. She chose this new path because of her love for her native language, Spanish, and culture. "Spanish opens the doors to many opportunities. The Spanish language is one of the most spoken languages globally speaking, and it's practical to learn that skill," Badui said. "It opens doors, teaching students that it is not only about the language, but it's also about building bridges across cultures." Spanish is more than just grammar and vocabulary. It is about cultural exchange and personal connection, she said. "Teaching Spanish is about sharing a piece of who I am because of that love that I have for my language. And I feel privileged to introduce this to many people. For me, it's amazing that I can be here teaching so many different kinds of students from Latin America and the United States," Badui said. "So, I feel very, very lucky and privileged. I love helping them to develop skills that will benefit them for life, whether traveling, or for work, or forming relationships in diverse communities. I love the fact that I can be a piece of that learning experience." Badui strives to create a supportive classroom environment free of judgment. She understands the fear behind talking when you are not using your native language because she has lived it. She emphasized that the students learning and making mistakes is part of that process. When junior Valentina Chimarro moved to the United States three years ago, she felt alone because she didn't know English but said Badui's classroom makes her feel at home. "I feel like she helped me feeling, like, comfortable here and seeing all those people that also came here, and they were in the same kind of situation of me," Chimarro said. "I feel really comfortable and really welcome here, and she made me feel really, really happy and special too." This sentiment was echoed by Cristian Villeda, who also moved here three years ago. "[Badui's] class makes for you a new family [and] made you feel confident So, I think it's really helpful to be here, because they help you to feel confident in your country and new life. So, that help you to process the new change," Villeda said. Chimarro also said continuing to elevate her native language, Spanish, and learning English will provide her with more opportunities in the future because she will be bilingual. Badui highlighted how the job can be challenging and stressful as it involves managing the behaviors of many students, however, it's important for teachers to remember why they entered into this career. "I think that when you are happy in what you do, you are not working; you are living. And this is my life. I am a teacher because I love what I do," Badui said. "I love the fact that I can change people's perspectives and lives, and I can help them be better person because of what I do, and I take that very seriously. It's my life; it's what I love to do." Students commented on Badui's engaging and interactive teaching style noting how it is fun and helps them learn. "I'm not a native Spanish speaker, but since having Mrs. Badui it's gotten a lot better and I've been more comfortable with speaking it," senior Riya Patel said She also demonstrated how Badui, being a native Spanish speaker, has been helpful. Unlike other Spanish classrooms where the class is taught in English and the assignments are taught in Spanish, Badui encourages her students to speak and fully immerse themselves in the language, Patel said. "I think she's a phenomenal teacher. She has humor, she's very friendly, her activities are all qualities that a teacher needs and I think she has these qualities, and I think she definitely deserves teacher of the month," freshman John Stevenson said. Interim Principal Angela Johansen commented on Badui's ability to immerse her students in the Spanish language and culture and include families and the community in the student's learning. "Spanish is her native language, and it's apparent in her lessons that she immerses students in authentic learning and cultural experiences," she said. "Badui goes out of her way to connect with her students, families, and the community, making her an invaluable part of our school, particularly with families whose home language is not English. Her commitment to excellence and her ability to inspire others truly set her apart." Last year, Badui started the Fiesta de Taconic event as part of Hispanic Heritage Month, Johansen said. The event featured Spanish music, dancing, and food, which Badui and her students prepared. "We had a lot of parents and siblings come, and this year it was even bigger. We do need to find a new location for next year as it was very popular," Johansen said. Freshman Louis Daunais said he did not do well in his Spanish class when he took it with a different teacher last year in eighth grade, but Badui's hands-on teaching has helped him learn the language this year. These remarks were echoed by freshman Ashleigh Timoney, who said she didn't learn much when she took Spanish in eighth grade because the teacher was not a native Spanish speaker. "I think we all get along, and it's all just like we're all friends, so it's fun. [Having this atmosphere in the classroom is important] because you're not embarrassed to say something," Timoney said. "You can speak out loud without the worry of anyone judging you or making you embarrassed. I might want to take Spanish again, because of how fun she makes it and how much she makes me want to learn it." J Smegal's head of field production Jeff Porter, left, and owner Jason Smegal with BFit Challenge co-captains Robert Leary and Katie Meddars. Smegal has donated $10,000 to the Pittsfield Fire Department's BFit team. From left, the firefighters' union has provided coats for kids through Operation Warm, sponsored 25 children for Christmas through DCF and accepts the BeFit donation from Smegal. PreviousNext J Smegal Donates $10K to BFit Challenge PITTSFIELD, Mass. A local business has boosted the Pittsfield Fire Department's BFit Challenge fundraiser by $10,000, doubling last year's total. When Jason Smegal, owner of J Smegal Roofing and Gutters, became aware of firefighters' increased risk for occupational cancer and the fundraiser for early detection, he knew he wanted to help out. "I thought it was a great cause," he said. "And I also thought it was great that all the money stayed local and stayed in Mass, so we are directly able to help all the people that help us." Every February, members of the department travel to Boston to climb the stairs of the TD Garden in support of the New England Fire Cancer Fund. First responders, military members, and other community members each raise $300 to participate in the event powered by National Grid. Fundraising has grown exponentially in just a few years. For the 2024 BFit event, the department raised just over $12,000; for 2025, it expects to collect as much as $25,000. Co-captain of the local BFit team Robert Leary said he first participated in 2020 with just himself and another firefighter, that year only raising $600. Fifteen firefighters and five friends and family members have already signed up this year. "Jay and his company stepped up and said they'd help sponsor us and offered us a tremendously generous donation of $10,000, which has really helped with our fundraising goals," Leary said. "Each year we've gone up. Basically all of the money, 100 percent of proceeds goes to fighting early detection for cancer in firefighters. So it's between screenings, between early diagnosis, and any support that we can give firefighters and it does stay all local within the state of Massachusetts so it is pretty beneficial to us." He said Fire Department members have had things picked up on screenings that they weren't aware of a couple with asymptomatic stage four cancer. "It's a benefit but at the same time, it's hard because we're getting some of these diagnoses," he added. "But it's been huge and this year, they're trying to break over the $1 million mark of funds raised. Last year, they were up just below $900,000." This will be co-captain Katie Medders' fourth year doing the BFit Challenge. While the most important aspect is the fundraising for important first responders and military causes, camaraderie is also a plus. Teams can dictate where the funds they raise will go. "Each year we just try to get more of the department involved because not only is it a great benefit for this organization, it also helps us stay healthy and active," she said. "And it really is a fun event to do, brings us closer together." "They're just a good organization that does a lot locally," he said. "So when we were thinking about organizations that we can give back to, they were at the top of the list." He said this is a tradition that they try to carry on whenever the state affords the opportunity. The union has given out a couple hundred coats through this program over the years. Fans of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have discovered Meghan Markle's hidden talent. In the new episodes of the Netflix series Polo, which stars the royals, Prince Harry' s wife demonstrated an impressive command of a foreign language. ADVERTISIMENT During one of the scenes, Markle talked to the legendary polo player Adolfo Cambiasso. The athlete played in a team with the son of the King of Great Britain, and at some point Harry noted that his beloved was fluent in Spanish. This was reported by Express. Impressed, Adolfo exclaimed, "Really?" before he and Megan began a quick exchange in Spanish. "I lived there about 20 years ago. In Palermo Viejo. And in Las Canitas, too," the former actress said, according to the translation. Megan reportedly mastered the language while studying at Northwestern University, when she interned at the US Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and during her previous study abroad in Madrid, Spain. ADVERTISIMENT In August 2024, the Duchess of Sussex showed her knowledge of Spanish for the first time during the couple's visit to Colombia. Markle and Harry were guests of a forum on women's empowerment, where the American addressed the audience in Spanish. Then the prince's wife thanked for the Colombian hospitality. She also praised the country's culture and history, describing her visit as a dream and emphasizing the strong sense of unity she felt. After her speech, Meghan jokingly portrayed wiping sweat from her forehead and then switched to English. Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote about Prince Harry's ironic comments about his divorce from Meghan Markle. Rumors about the breakup of the Duke and Duchess arose on the Internet against the background of the fact that the spouses have been traveling separately for the last few months. Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy What has become of Russell Crowe? When the Australian-Kiwi actor, 60, signed on to star in Kraven the Hunter, he might have thought he was onto a winner: a blockbuster Spider-Man spinoff, in which he plays the father of the man many think will be the next James Bond (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Critics duly hunted Kraven down, and Crowes performance along with it shooting it, skinning it, and turning it into a winter coat. The Independents Clarisse Loughrey described Crowes attempts at a Russian accent as Boris-and-Natasha from Rocky and Bullwinkle-level; IndieWires David Ehrlich wrote that Crowe yammers about weakness, fear, and breaking his enemies with enough borscht in his voice to make Ivan Drago seem like a respectful depiction of the average Soviet by comparison. Sadly, this has become all too common for Crowe, an actor who was once electric. When he broke through in the Nineties as a bruiser with a badge in LA Confidential, or the set-upon whistleblower in Michael Manns The Insider he was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, a versatile and specific character actor full of gruff gravitas and blunt, no-nonsense machismo. With 2000s Gladiator, he announced himself as a bona fide star; the Oscar win was inevitable. (Its a performance that seems better than ever, in the light of Paul Mescals pallid imitation in Gladiator II.) His hot streak continued the showy, awards-lavished A Beautiful Mind; the brilliant and enduring Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World up until around 2007, and the superlative remake of the western classic 3:10 to Yuma. Since then, though, its been a cavalcade of dross. This year alone, Crowe has starred in four films, including Kraven. There was the dimly reviewed spiritualist horror The Exorcism, cheap and uncompelling crime thriller Sleeping Dogs, and, way back in February, the Luke Hemsworth action thriller Land of Bad. Any sense of quality control is utterly out the window. Crowe has been wandering through his own Land of Bad for a while now; they say hes thinking of buying a villa there. You could argue that the nadir may have been 2022s self-directed Poker Face, an absolute dirge of a crime thriller, but theres plenty of competition. From his turn as a visibly checked-out and green screen-ensconced Zeus in Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), to his scenery-devouring part as Jekyll and Hyde in the abortive franchise-starter The Mummy (2017), Crowes career has gone from feast to creative famine, an interminable string of one for them films in succession. What is behind this wayward pivot? Watching Crowe on screen, you often get the impression that he simply cant be bothered. Hes obviously not the only great actor content with simply collecting a paycheque even titans of the art form like Robert De Niro and Al Pacino have struggled for decent projects in the modern landscape. There are also factors outside of Crowes control. He is no longer the lithe young leading man; good, meaty roles for actors of Crowes profile are few and far between. He has other irons in the fire too: this year has also seen Crowe pursue his side-hustle as a musician; a new album was followed by an international tour, and a slot at this years Glastonbury Festival. On stage, Crowe proves himself innately very funny sharp-edged, sardonic and forceful with a punchline. (Its a good thing too, as the Les Mis star has never been renowned for his pipes.) Crowe your own way: Russell stars in new supervillain blockbuster Kraven the Hunter' ( Sony ) Its telling, perhaps, that Crowes best late-career roles draw on this comic sensibility. He is wonderful, for instance, in 2016s The Nice Guys, playing it hilariously straight as no-nonsense gumshoe Jackson Healy opposite Ryan Goslings daffy counterpart Holland March. Last years papal horror movie The Popes Exorcist was also something of a minor win for Crowe, thanks in part to the incongruously comic and, on certain corners of the internet, much-memed slant to his performance. (The sight of Crowe in priest getup, moped-ing around the streets of Rome, is delightful by itself.) There is no doubt that Crowe is capable of a comeback. Even in his worst recent fare, there is always some enjoyment to be wrung from his performances, no matter how overwrought or phoned-in they may be. But he has to start picking better material. Do this, and a career revival is surely on the cards in this life or the next. Kraven the Hunter is in cinemas Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy British film director Asif Kapadia, who won an Oscar for his 2015 Amy Winehouse documentary, has revealed that he spent a decade on a US watch list after a taxi driver reported him to the authorities. Kapadia, 52, is back with a new sci-fi film 2073, and in an interview to promote the film he spoke about being profiled back in the 2000s, after 9/11, while travelling home to the UK from New York. Theres a beautiful, gorgeous sunset over Manhattan, he told The Observer. Im in a limo being taken to the airport. And I was taking photos of Manhattan because I was driving over Brooklyn Bridge and its just all so cinematic and I became subconsciously aware of the driver watching me in the rear view mirror. When he got to the airport, he was relaxing in the Virgin lounge and heard his name being called out. He recalled: I thought: Have I left a bag or something? But then five or six people come: homeland security. And they stop me in the lounge in front of everyone, the only person of colour in there, and empty out my bag, and they say: Someones reported you. Youve been acting suspicious. And its like: Who are you? Why are you here? What were you doing? In the end, Kapadia was allowed to travel that day, but for a decade afterwards he was on a watch list, and would be stopped and interviewed every time he tried to travel to the US. I started realising that every time I show my boarding pass, instead of a green light going off, a red light goes off, and then you have to be taken somewhere for an interview. At one point, when he was making a movie, Universal Studios had to give him a letter to show to authorities to say: Asif is working on this project for us. He said he got used to being watched and paranoid. ( Getty Images for Universal Pictu ) Kapadia is also known for making the documentaries Senna and Diego Maradona. His new feature film is a mixture of drama and documentary, and is set in New San Francisco in the aftermath of a mysterious catastrophe. 2073 opens in UK cinemas on 1 January. Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Jamie Foxxs 57th birthday party was cut short on Friday night (13 December) after he was left injured in a physical altercation. The Django Unchained actor, who recently revealed he suffered a stroke last year, had been celebrating his birthday at Mr Chow in Beverly Hills when someone from another table threw a glass at him, according to a statement shared by his publicist. Jamie Foxx was at his birthday dinner when someone from another table threw a glass that hit him in the mouth, the representative said. He had to get stitches and is recovering. The police were called and the matter is now in law enforcements hands. It comes as Beverly Hills Police Department said they received a call shortly after 10pm local time on Friday about a possible assault with a deadly weapon at the restaurant. Officers arrived at the scene and determined the report was unfounded and that instead the incident involved a physical altercation between parties. On Sunday (15 December), Foxx shared a post on Instagram saying: The devil is a lie. Cant win here thank you to everybody that pray and check on me when your light is shining bright they try to bring you darkness but they dont know that youre built for it the lights have been shining bright. Earlier this month, in his Netflix special What Happened Was, Foxx opened up about the health scare that led to him being treated in hospital in 2023. Foxx doing his Netflix special ( PARRISH LEWIS/NETFLIX ) He told audiences that he had suffered a near-death experience and fell into a weeks-long coma, after a brain bleed that led to a stroke. In the special, he also described how his youngest daughter helped him through his illness by playing guitar to him at his bedside. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free He called her guitar his spiritual defibrillator. Joking about his near-death experience, Foxx added: Your life doesnt flash before you. It was kind of oddly peaceful. I saw the tunnel, I didnt see the light. It was hot in that tunnel. Speaking about the day he went to hospital, he said: April 11, I was having a bad headache, and I asked my boy for an aspirin. I realised quickly that when youre in a medical emergency, your boys dont know what the f*** to do. Before I could get the aspirin [clicks his fingers] I went out. I dont remember 20 days. Foxx explained that his sister, Deidra Dixon, saved him by taking him to a hospital in Atlanta where doctors diagnosed the bleed and performed surgery. After his surgery, Foxx said Dixon was told: We didnt find where it was coming from, but he is having a stroke. He may be able to make a full recovery but its going to be the worst year of his life. Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Chris Rock made the crowd groan during his Saturday Night Live monologue by saying of Elon Musk: Nobody knows how to get rid of people like a South African. The 59-year-old stand-up comedian and actor hosted the sketch comedy show last night (December 14). During his monologue, Rock made reference to Donald Trumps successful year, noting that hed survived an assassination attempt, been re-elected to the US presidency and been named Times Person of the Year. It could happen to a nicer guy, quipped Rock. He went on to joke about Trumps alliance with South African-born Telsa and Space X owner Elon Musk, saying: Hes working with the number one African American in the world. The richest African American in the world: Elon Musk. Thats right. He is African American. Elons got more kids than the Cleveland Browns. Thats right. Nobody knows how to get rid of people like a South African. Chris Rock delivering the monologue on Saturday Night Live, December 14 2024 ( Saturday Night Live/NBC ) The crowd groaned awkwardly after this line, as Rock continued to joke about Trumps planned mass deportations: Oh, hes serious. Trump is not playing. Hes got Elon. Theyre gonna put them on a rocket ship, call it Space Mex. Elsewhere in his monologue, Rock also joked about the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, saying that while he had condolences for his family, sometimes drug dealers get shot. The nights show had opened with Saturday Night Live jumping into the nations morbid fascination with Thompsons alleged assassin, Luigi Mangione. The cold open kicked off with Sarah Shermans incredulous true crime entertainer Nancy Grace, who complained that women and gay guys alike have made Mangione into a sex symbol. She said Mangione looked like Dave Franco with Eugene Levys eyebrows. This man is not a sex icon. This man is and I cannot say this any clearer a murderer, she said, slurring the u into incoherence. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free Later in the sketch, she asks a character played by Kenan Thompson if he believes social media users are actually attracted to the sexy slayer, to which Thompson replied: Well I mean, you can look at him and tell he had h**s. I mean, women love bad boys, said Thompson, whose character was at the Altoona, Pennsylvania restaurant where police discovered Mangione. The sketch kicked back to Grace asking his character about the state of healthcare in the US, then cut back to Thompson shoving a McDonalds burger into his mouth. People are saying healthcare in this country is bad. Then how come my dentist gives me breast exams for free? she asked. Well Nancy, I been eating McDonalds every day for 10 years, Thompsons character said. Ive got type-10 diabetes. ... You know what my health insurance plan is called? Hoping it goes away. Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Pete Davidson has explained his decision to step back from his celebrity status, saying he felt oversaturated. The Staten Island-born comedian, 31, left his role on Saturday Night Live in 2022. At one time he was a tabloid staple, with high-profile relationships with the likes of Ariana Grande and Kim Kardashian. However in a new interview with W Magazine, Davidson said: I dont know if youve noticed it, but Ive been laying low. He went on to explain his withdrawal from the spotlight by agreeing that the idea of oversaturation had been on his mind. Youre 100 percent correct, because I was oversaturated, Davidson told the fashion magazine. In The Sopranos, theres this line from Tony thats like, You ever feel like you got into something at the end? When the good times were over? Thats how I feel about show business and being a celebrity. Its over. Pete Davidson in New York in November 2023 ( Getty Images for Hellman's ) When youre first coming up, and getting all these offers, its hard to say no, because youre hungry. I made the mistake of doing literally everything. Now Im older and wiser, and Im realizing that less is more. Like Christian Bale. He does one movie every two, three years, but you go f***ing see it. Leo[nardo DiCaprio] does one movie every four years, but its the biggest thing in the world. Its because you miss them. People have to miss you. He added that moving away from fame had been good for his mental health, saying: Luckily, I got hit on the face with the Hollywood shovel. It was a long time coming, and I needed it. Im very happy where I am right now, mentally. As for his future plans, Davidson said: I just want to be known for doing good work. I want to be out there only when its movie, stand-up, charity, or business ventures. Thats when I want to be seen. I dont want to be this f***ing loser who just dates people. Thats not who I am. But people hate celebrities now. The media takes a handful of celebs every couple of years, and they just destroy them. For some reason, Im one of the people they chose to go after. Its actually, in a way, a blessing, because it allowed me to take a step back and evaluate things. What do you want to be? Who are you? Im someone who is from Staten Island, wanted to do stand-up, and if I got to do anything else because of stand-up, it was a miracle. Earlier this month, Davidson revealed how he used his first paycheck from Saturday Night Live. The 6-year-old Prince Louis, who is usually in the public eye for his behavior, broke a royal tradition followed by the men of the monarchy. According to the royal family's fans, he should have appeared at the carol concert in shorts, not a suit. ADVERTISIMENT Prince Louis surprised the public by looking dapper in unison with his older 11-year-old brother George and his father, Prince William. According to the Daily Express, over the past few years, the 6-year-old member of the Welsh family has worn only shorts to public events. According to tradition, boys of the monarchy are required to wear short underwear until the age of 7. However, probably due to the cold winter weather, Prince Louis' parents decided to break the rule and put the child in a suit. It is known that Prince George first wore his business suit at the age of seven when he attended the Euro 2020 final in London. ADVERTISIMENT "Today, boys usually start wearing pants around the age of seven. Prince George is always seen wearing shorts because upper class and upper middle class parents believe that little boys should look like little boys and so they try to keep their offspring looking as cute and innocent as possible for as long as possible," explained British etiquette expert William Hanson in 2018, "Pants for young boys are considered a bit suburban and lower class. Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy South Koreas main opposition party has decided not to impeach acting president Han Duck Soo, providing a critical lifeline to the countrys leadership amid continuing political upheaval over Yoon Suk Yeols short-lived declaration of martial law. The news comes amid reports that Mr Yoon did not comply with a summons from prosecutors on Sunday. The authorities plan to issue another order as they investigate the martial law decree, the Yonhap news agency reported. The Democratic Party, which holds a parliamentary majority, stated that further impeachment efforts could destabilise governance and deepen national confusion. Given that the prime minister has already been confirmed as acting president and considering that excessive impeachments could lead to confusion in national governance, we have decided not to proceed with impeachment procedures, said Democratic Party leader Lee Jae Myung in a statement on Sunday. This decision came a day after President Yoons impeachment, following his 3 December martial law decree, which lasted only six hours before being overturned by parliament. The crisis has raised alarm domestically and internationally, with allies and markets seeking assurances of stability. Mr Han, a seasoned bureaucrat elevated to the role under constitutional provisions, moved swiftly to reassure South Koreas partners and maintain the countrys diplomatic and economic footing. open image in gallery South Koreas main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae Myung speaks during a press conference on the impeachment of president Yoon Suk Yeol ( AP ) Mr Han held a phone call with US president Joe Biden on Sunday to discuss the unfolding situation and regional security concerns, including North Koreas nuclear threat. According to statements from both governments, Mr Biden reaffirmed the iron-clad commitment of the US to South Korea, expressing confidence in the resilience of its democratic institutions. South Korea will carry out its foreign and security policies without disruption and strive to ensure the South Korea-US alliance is maintained and developed steadfastly, Mr Han said in a statement issued by his office. He also convened cabinet and National Security Council meetings, directing military readiness to prevent provocations from North Korea and tasking ministers with mitigating the economic fallout from the political turmoil. open image in gallery Protesters celebrate as parliament votes to impeach South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol ( Getty ) The Democratic Party, which has been a fierce critic of Mr Yoons administration, emphasised the need for the swift resolution of the impeachment case, urging the Constitutional Court to expedite its review. The court has up to 180 days to decide whether to remove Mr Yoon from office or reinstate him. A prompt ruling is the only way to minimise national confusion and the suffering of people, Mr Lee said during a televised address, further proposing a cooperative council between the government and parliament to stabilise state affairs during the interim period. The special prosecution team handling the investigation into Mr Yoons failed attempt to impose martial law sent him a summons asking him to appear for questioning at 10am on Sunday but he did not show up, reported Yonhap. Mr Yoon and a number of senior officials face criminal investigation on potential charges of insurrection, abuse of authority and obstructing people from exercising their rights. The prosecution plans to issue another summons on Monday, the report added. Prosecutors also sought arrest warrants on Sunday of senior military officials, including the head of the Army Special Warfare Command and chief of the Capital Defence Command, Yonhap reported. The impeachment vote against Mr Yoon followed his unprecedented deployment of troops and police to block a parliamentary session aimed at overturning his martial law decree. The measure, which marked the first imposition of martial law in the country for over four decades, was widely condemned as unconstitutional. South Korean law permits martial law only during wartime or similarly grave emergencies, and opposition lawmakers accused Mr Yoon of attempting to suppress parliamentary functions unlawfully. Mr Yoon, who has denied wrongdoing, described the martial law declaration as a warning to what he called anti-state forces within the Democratic Party. I will fight to the end, he said in a defiant statement. However, his actions led to significant political backlash, with key allies arrested, including his defence minister and police chief. Investigations into possible charges of rebellion are continuing, and Mr Yoon, while still immune from most prosecutions as president, faces potential treason charges. He has been banned from leaving the country. Economic concerns have compounded the crisis. South Koreas central bank pledged on Sunday to intervene decisively to stabilise financial markets, acknowledging heightened vulnerabilities in the current global economic climate. The Bank of Korea warned that this impeachment period presents greater risks than previous ones, given external uncertainties such as increased global competition and challenges in key industries. The announcement followed a week of volatility in the markets, triggered by Mr Yoons declaration of martial law and subsequent impeachment. open image in gallery Protesters celebrate the impeachment of South Koreas president Yoon Suk Yeol ( Getty ) Mr Hans appointment as acting president has been met with cautious optimism internationally. Philip Turner, a former New Zealand ambassador to South Korea, said Mr Hans experience and reputation will provide some reassurance to the countrys allies. He is capable, experienced, and well respected in foreign capitals, Mr Turner said, adding that while South Koreas professional bureaucracy is expected to maintain foreign policy continuity, the lack of a permanent leader could create difficulties in providing clear direction. Mr Lee, the Democratic Party leader who has emerged as a frontrunner to replace Mr Yoon should the court rule against the president, called for investigations into all individuals and institutions involved in the martial law decision. An independent investigation by a special prosecutor must begin without delay, Mr Lee asserted, referring to a recent parliamentary motion authorising such a probe. open image in gallery Protesters in front of the National Assembly following Yoon Suk Yeols impeachment ( Getty ) As the Constitutional Court prepares to deliberate, South Korea faces months of uncertainty. If Mr Yoon is dismissed, a presidential election must be held within 60 days. Meanwhile, the acting president is tasked with steering the nation through this volatile period, maintaining critical alliances, and navigating economic challenges. International partners are closely monitoring the situation, with Mr Biden and other leaders reaffirming their commitment to the US-South Korea alliance as the cornerstone of regional stability. While the Democratic Party has tempered its impeachment drive, citing the need for national stability, its leaders remain focused on resolving the crisis and restoring trust in the government. The National Assembly and government will work together to quickly resolve the crisis that has swept across the Republic of Korea, Mr Lee said. However, some within Mr Yoons People Power Party have accused Mr Lee of overstepping his authority in state matters, setting the stage for further political tensions in the weeks ahead. Additional reporting by agencies Yvette Cooper has described the number of people arriving in the UK on small boats as too high. But she has also steadfastly refused to set a deadline for when voters might see the figures fall. Why? Precedence. Or, perhaps, fear. Fear, that is, of what happened to her predecessor. Rishi Sunak, when he was prime minister, staked his reputation on being able to cut the number of small boat crossings into Britain. In fact, he even said that he would stop the boats. It was one of his five key pledges to the public he said they could judge him upon in a general election. And they did. Mr Sunaks administration lost in July in what was a landslide defeat to Labour. As time went on, the pledge to stop the boat began to be seen as less of a slogan and more of a millstone hanging around Mr Sunaks neck. Every day that there were reports of more migrants landing off the British coast was a reminder that he had failed to keep his promise. Ironically, at the same time there was, in terms of numbers at least, a much bigger immigration story happening on his watch. While it would not be revealed until later, at the same time as Mr Sunak was trying and failing to stop the boats, his government was letting in hundreds of thousands of people through legal migration. An inflatable dinghy carrying around 65 migrants crosses the English Channel in March ( Getty ) It is complex Ms Coopers plans to cut the crossings dont involve one big idea like the Tory governments Rwanda plan. That, if you remember, said that everyone who arrived in Britain on a small boat would be removed to the African state of Rwanda on a one-way ticket. They would not be able to return to Britain, even if they were found to be genuine asylum seekers. Instead, Ms Coopers plans, and those of the prime minister Keir Starmer, can be summed up as stop the gangs rather than stop the boats. The prime minister and his home secretary want to smash the international smuggling rings that every day take desperate people and try to bring them to Britain on one of the most dangerous sea routes in the world. The trade is lucrative, however, meaning that in recent years, it has become more and more industrialised. The government is also seeking to do a series of international deals to help return people home if they come here in a small boat and dont qualify for asylum. The government has removed nearly 13,500 migrants since the election, the highest rate since 2019. The problem is that nearly 35,000 people have arrived in Britain on small boats so far this year, up 20 per cent on this time last year but down 22 per cent on 2022. Factors beyond her control One problem the home secretary faces is, of course, a volatile world that she cannot control. The recent events in Syria and South Korea show just how things can change in other countries in an incredibly short period of time. As more and more parts of the world also start to experience the negative effects of climate change, more and more migrants are expected to be displaced from their homes, and a proportion of those, it is expected, will start to try to make their way to the UK. In short even if Yvette Cooper had given the public a deadline for when they would see small boat numbers fall, she might not have been able to keep it. Sign up for the Independent Women email for the latest news, opinion and features Get the Independent Women email for free Get the Independent Women email for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy James Kennedys girlfriend Ally Lewber has spoken out in the wake of his domestic violence arrest on December 10. Yesterday (December 14), the 32-year-old Vanderpump Rules stars partner of almost three years shared a message to thank her supporters for all their kind messages since news of the incident broke. This was the first statement Lewber, 28, issued since news of the incident broke. Thank you to everyone who has reached out with love and support and for checking in on me, she started. Im okay and taking the time I need right now. I deeply appreciate all the kindness and respect for my privacy during this time, Lewber continued. open image in gallery James Kennedys girlfriend, Ally Lewber, thanks her supporters for sending their love after his domestic violence arrest ( Instagram/@allylewber ) Earlier this week, Kennedy, whose real name is James Kennedy Georgiou, was taken into custody when authorities arrived at a residence in Burbank, California following a report of a man and woman verbally fighting inside around 11:30 p.m. open image in gallery Kennedy and Lewber met at a New Years Eve party ( Getty Images ) According to an arrest log obtained by E! News, the woman told police her boyfriend lifted her up and threw her to the ground. Upon further investigation, Burbank police concluded there was a domestic violence incident between Kennedy and the unidentified woman. Kennedy was charged with a misdemeanor of domestic battery and jailed. However, the TV personality has since been released on a $20,000 bond. Reports indicate that Kennedy and Lewber had attended Kathy Hiltons holiday party hosted by DIRECTV in Beverly Hills. While Lewber only just broke her silence, the internet icon stepped out to host a party in Los Angeles with the brand Windsor. Kennedy and Lewber started dating in January 2022, about one month after Kennedy called it quits with ex-fiancee and co-star Rachel Leviss. open image in gallery Kennedy called it quits with his ex-fiancee Rachel Leviss one month before he started dating Lewber ( Getty Images ) Leviss and Kennedy met at a New Years Eve party in 2016, dating for five years before getting engaged in 2021. Kennedys former flame reacted to his arrest on December 13. The amount of times I convinced myself that the abuse I endured by James Kennedy Georgiou was a misunderstanding is sickening, she wrote on her Instagram story next to a screenshot of TMZs headline: James Kennedy DV [domestic violence] Arrest Was a Misunderstanding!!!! Gf Ally Standing By DJ. Leviss also shared a link to her podcast episode Bad At Love. During their relationship, Kennedy was struggling with alcohol addiction and starting his sobriety journey. In 2020, the on-screen star announced that hed been California sober for one year, meaning he was still smoking marijuana. But when Kennedy and Leviss split, the former SUR busser went back to drinking. Though Kennedy admitted hed learned a lot from not drinking those two years in February 2023, he wasnt confirmed to be sober again until January 2024, when he was with Lewber. Following Kennedys arrest, his attorneys told E! News: We are in the process of conducting our own investigation into the allegations levied by the Burbank Police Department against James. We understand that there were no injuries and we are hoping that, after careful review, the citys attorneys will decide not to file formal charges. The Independent has contacted representatives for Kennedy and Lewber for comments. Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Selling Sunset star Bre Tiesi has clarified the status of her relationship with Nick Cannon in response to mounting speculation. Tiesi, who joined the Netflix series in 2022 as one of the real estate agents working at the luxury Hollywood Hills brokerage, The Oppenheim Group, shares a son named Legendary Love with Cannon. In a recent episode of the Wednesdays podcast with Sophie Habboo, Tiesi clarified that she and the Wild n Out host are very much together but said he is also involved with other partners. Tiesis choice to parent with Cannon who is father to 11 more children with different women was a cause of disagreements between Selling Sunset cast members in recent episodes of the series. In several episodes, Tiesi was forced to defend her lifestyle choices when she sensed judgement from other brokers on the team. Id like to be very clear. We dont co-parent, we are very much together, said Tiesi. And thats why people are confused. Me and my partner have been on and off for years. Basically, he has other partners, and were just open and happy and thats our thing... People call it all kinds of s***. I call it, I do what I want to do. Tiesi went on to say she doesnt want a conventional relationship and added that shes not a jealous person. She continued: I dont want a full, live-in person Im responsible for. Like, Im responsible for my child. I feel like this is probably which is so crazy the healthiest relationship Ive ever had. We never fight, we never have any toxicity, we dont argue, nothing. open image in gallery Tiesi pictured with Legendary Love Cannon in September ( Getty Images for Rookie Kids Fas ) Tiesi praised Cannon for his involvement in their two-year-old sons lives, calling him the best dad. The people he doesnt deal with dont necessarily want or need him around, but I feel like anyone that chooses that or wants that, hes happy to do that. He obviously understands the situation that were in, so hes really good at doing just what makes everybody happy, she said. In January 2022, Cannon announced that they were expecting their first child together. Cannon first became a father when he and his ex-wife Mariah Carey welcomed their twins Moroccan and Monroe, in 2011. open image in gallery Cannon and Tiesi pictured together in 2023 ( Getty Images for NYFW: The Shows ) He welcomed his most recent child, daughter Halo Marie Cannon with Alyssa Scott, in December 2022. He is also dad to sons Golden, seven, and Rise, two, and daughter Powerful, three, with Brittany Bell. He shares twins Zion and Zillion, three, and daughter Beautiful, two, with Abby De La Rosa, and a daughter Onyx, two, with LaNisha Cole. Cannon has often spoken about the joys of having a big family, though it comes with its challenges. He previously told People that his goal in life is to provide for his children. I understand that my lifestyle isnt typical to society and can be viewed as unorthodox in some ways. But my goal in life is just to love my kids and be there for my kids and provide for them, he said. Last year, it was reported that Cannon pays $3m annually in child support, though Cannon revealed he actually pays a lot more. Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A young woman has confessed to throwing dirty dishes in the trash instead of washing them. In a now-viral clip, a college student named Sam Neff sat her parents down to participate in TikToks latest trend, We listen and we dont judge, in which each person takes turns revealing secrets theyve kept from one another. The rule is no ones allowed to argue, critique, or reprimand anyone for anything they say. To her parents disappointment, Sams first reveal had to do with an old habit from when she was in high school. We listen and we dont judge, the family of three repeated in the December 10 video that amassed over 2.7 million views. Sam continued: Okay, this is mostly like high school, but when I would clean my room and I had dishes in there, I would just throw them away. Immediately, Sams mom gasped, biting her tongue to refrain from saying anything else as her daughter encouraged them to once again say, We listen and we dont judge. While her mom mightve been concerned after only the first secret was revealed, Sam thought her parents were more bothered by the final confession she spilled. Okay, in like second grade when I had that drooling thing and went to the hospital for that, I was faking it, she said, prompting both her parents jaws to drop. For the next few seconds, both her mom and dad were speechless, looking around the room not knowing what to say while Sam giggled next to them. We paid a lot of money for that, Sams mom finally said through her own laughter. Sam never offered any further details on the infamous trip to the hospital despite many pleas to elaborate from her viewers. However, she later revealed: They were not too happy with me after that last one. Elsewhere in the video, Sams mom told her husband: Sometimes when I buy chips at the store, I dont bring them in the house because I dont want to share them with you. The dance team Im on at school, I actually quit three months ago and didnt tell you guys, Sam added, while her father admitted: I thought Wicked was stupid. Viewers praised Sam and her parents for their hilarious remarks. I gasped along with your parents omg, one amused person said. Another wrote: This was the best we listen and we dont judge Ive seen. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A red fox frantically scratches the wires of its small cage. An Arctic fox meanders lazily with a bloody tail. Other furry creatures, some with teary eyes, stare blankly into a light on an activist's video camera. Finnish advocacy group Oikeutta Elaimille, or Justice for Animals, and Humane Society International have released images taken from an undercover investigation at three fur farms in western Finland in late October to highlight the behind-the-scenes realities of the trade. The activists incursion came as the European Union, which counts Finland as a member, is awaiting advice in March from the EU agency that oversees animal welfare before deciding in March 2026 whether it should propose a ban on fur farming altogether. FIFUR, a Finnish fur-breeders group, blasted the covert filming of the farms, accusing the intruders of breaching strict biosecurity requirements on farms where operations are strictly controlled by national laws and regulations and where veterinarians monitor animal welfare. Some viewers might ache over the conditions of the cuddly-looking creatures; others might wonder what the big deal is: The industry is at least for now legal and regulated. Aside from the animals captivity in small cages with sometimes more than one in a single cage none of the images shows abuse in progress. No explanation was given for the bright red blood on what looked like an open gash and exposed bone in a single Arctic foxs tail area. These pictures and these intrusions ... it creates a false image of normal lab animal welfare and animal keeping in the farms," said FIFUR spokesman Olli-Pekka Nissinen, adding that his group believed the initiative to ban fur farming will be rejected. The breeders' group said the fur sector has among the highest welfare standards of any form of animal husbandry, and Nissinen suggested that farmers have little incentive to mistreat them. "Animal welfare first shows in the animals fur and its very important for farmers to take care of the animals so that they can have decent incomes. FIFUR says most of its 442 member farms as of December last year are run by family businesses, and nearly all the farms are in the Ostrobothnia region along the Baltic Sea. Finland is the world's largest producer of certified fox pelts, the industry group said. Oikeutta Elaimille spokesman Kristo Muurimaa says the operation involved entering the farms to observe and document the conditions in which the animals are kept and that the photos were taken in compliance with Finnish law. Neither side has announced plans for any legal action. Fur has been used by people for a long time, since the Stone Ages basically," Muurimaa said. However, a practice where animals are kept in very small barren cages is not that old. It is a product of modern times where animals are seen just as products. This kind of treatment of animals doesnt belong to this day. Times have moved on and now its time to leave this kind of cruelty behind, he added. Nobody needs fur in modern times. Fur is mostly used as a status symbol by the rich elite in countries like China and Russia. The 27-country EU, according to its most recent figures, estimates about 1,000 fur farms with roughly 7.7 million animals including mink, fox and raccoon dogs are active in the bloc. In neighboring Switzerland, which is not an EU member, a three-month public consultation ended last month on a government proposal to ban the import and sale of furs drawn from the mistreatment of animals. The measure would allow authorities to seize such furs. Activists want the Swiss government to go further, seeking a broader definition of mistreatment and wider range of fur farms affected. The issue, currently low on Switzerland's full referendum calendar, could be put to a public vote in late 2026 at the earliest. Humane Society International, in a statement last month, said tens of millions of animals suffer and die each year in the global fur trade and the vast majority of animals killed for their fur are kept in barren battery cages on fur farms. Finland, the advocacy group said, is one of the last European countries where farming such animals for their fur remains legal and finger-pointed a number of retail brands that use fox fur from Finland. China is the world's most important export market for furs, followed by South Korea and the Western Europe-North American market, said FIFUR, which counts hundreds of farms in Finland as members. In Europe, as of 2023, Poland and Greece were the biggest producers almost entirely from mink while Finland is third, according to a report by the industry association this year. Bird flu and coronavirus outbreaks hit the fur industry hard, notably in Denmark, since 2020, but the trend line in supply has been declining for many years. FIFUR's report showed supply volumes of mink pelts plunged by roughly three-quarters since 2010 to 12,285 last year a similar percentage decline to that for mink pelts, which totaled 2,440 in 2023. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Pope Francis one-day visit to the French island of Corsica on Sunday, two days before his 88th birthday, will put a dual focus on the Mediterranean, highlighting local traditions of popular piety on the one hand and migrant deaths and wars on the other. The visit to Corsicas capital Ajaccio, birthplace of Napoleon, will be one of the briefest of his papacy beyond Italys borders, just about nine hours on the ground, including a 40-minute visit with French President Emmanuel Macron. It is the first papal visit to the island, which Genoa ceded to France in 1768 and is located closer to the Italian mainland than France. Papa Francescu, the popes name in Corsican, will address more than 400 participants at the Conference on Popular Religiosity in the Mediterranean, organized by the bishop of Ajaccio, Cardinal Francois-Xavier Bustillo. The popes remarks will include reflections on local religious traditions, especially strongly held in in Corsica, including the cult of the Virgin Mary, known locally as the Madonuccia, which protected the island from the plague in 1656 when it was still under Genoa. The Mediterranean is the backdrop of this trip, surrounded by situations of crisis and conflict, which is expected to be echoed in the popes address, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. The pope has often referred to the tragedy of migration, which he has said has turned the Mediterranean into "Europe's largest cemetery.'' After the conference address, he will travel to the 17th-century cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta to meet with clergy, stopping along the way at the statue of the Madonuccia. Francis will celebrate Mass at the Place dAusterlitz park, where it is said Napoleon played as a child. Around 7,000 faithful are expected. He will meet privately with Macron at the airport before departing for the 50-minute flight back to Rome. The pontiff pointedly did not make the trip to Paris earlier this month for the pomp surrounding the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral following the devastating 2019 fire. The visit to Corsica seems far more suited to Francis priorities than a grand cathedral reopening, emphasizing the church of the peripheries. It is Francis third trip to France, each time avoiding Paris and the protocols that a state visit entails. He visited the port of Marseille in 2023, on an overnight visit to participate in an annual summit of Mediterranean bishops, and went to Strasbourg in 2014 to address the European Parliament and Council of Europe. Corsica is home to more than 340,000 people and has been part of France since 1768. But the island has also seen pro-independence violence and has an influential nationalist movement, and last year Macron proposed granting it limited autonomy. _____ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A murder investigation has been launched after a woman was killed and a man was left in a critical condition following a triple shooting in north-west London. Describing the incident as a heinous act of violence, the Metropolitan Police said officers were called at around 9.15pm on Saturday night to Gifford Road in Brent. Local residents described seeing bodies on the ground and hearing a lot of crying and screaming amid the pandemonium. open image in gallery A murder investigation has been launched after a woman was killed and a man was left in a critical condition following a triple shooting in north-west London ( Aaron Chown/PA Wire ) A woman, believed to be in her 40s, was pronounced dead at the scene. Two men, both in their 30s were also injured. One is in hospital in a critical condition while the second mans injuries are non-life threatening. open image in gallery Police forensic officers at the scene on Gifford Road in Brent ( Aaron Chown/PA Wire ) A neighbour, who lives on Gifford Road, said people had been at a wake in a nearby church at the time of the fatal shooting. People came out of the church, they were at a wake and they saw the bodies on the ground, they said. I heard a lot of crying and screaming. Another local resident, who also did not wish to be named, said he was inside the River of Life Elim Pentecostal Church on Gifford Road, which is behind the police cordon, on Saturday night, when someone came into the church to say there had been a shooting. He described the scene outside as pandemonium. A different resident of Gifford Road said: My daughter came though the door 10 minutes before it happened. My son thought there were fireworks, then I heard my neighbour screaming and I realised there was a shooting. open image in gallery The Metropolitan Police said officers were called at around 9.15pm on Saturday night to Gifford Road in Brent ( Aaron Chown/PA Wire ) Its crazy, its sad. Its scary, it does not feel safe. Ive lived here since 2008 and Ive never heard anything like this before. She added the victim did not live in the area. A resident of Creukhorne Road said they heard five gun shots in a row on Saturday night. Superintendent Tony Josephs, from the North West Command Unit, which covers Brent, said: This is a truly shocking incident and I understand the concern this will cause the local community and those across London. open image in gallery Road closures remained in place on Sunday morning, with the junction of Gifford Road and Creukhorne Road cordoned off by police ( PA Wire ) I want to reassure people that a team of experienced detectives are already working at pace to piece together the events of last night and identify whoever was responsible for this heinous act of violence. If you were in or around Gifford Close at the time of the shooting, or have any information about who was responsible, please get in contact with us. A family has been left devastated and we need to work together to provide them with answers. Seven officers and a team from the Mets forensic services crime scene investigation unit were at the scene on Sunday morning. Road closures remained in place, with the junction of Gifford Road and Creukhorne Road cordoned off by police. No arrests have been made and inquiries continue. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call police on 101 or X @MetCC, quoting CAD7137/14Dec. Information can also be provided anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Rachel Reeves Budget measures will devastate care providers, leaving vulnerable disabled and elderly people without care next year, healthcare experts are warning. The disastrous scenario could also bankrupt local authorities, care providers say. The rise in employers national insurance in April, together with increases in the minimum wage and national living wage, will threaten the future of care companies, according to the Homecare Association, a membership body for care providers. It follows a report by industry analysts LaingBuisson that found a widening gap between the profits of providers reliant on privately paying customers and those of providers dependent on clients funded by the state or NHS. The care sector is especially sensitive to minimum wage changes because care worker pay is among the lowest in the UK, statistics show, and most workers are on low wages. The association says that if care providers fold, the UK risks widespread failure of care provision, which could leave people without care, overwhelm family carers and cripple NHS services. The Homecare Association and Care England, which jointly commissioned the report, warned the chancellor, health secretary Wes Streeting and deputy PM Angela Rayner in a letter: Local authorities could not cope with contract hand-backs or failure of multiple providers. Councils would have to provide the care themselves. This would cause insolvency of councils. open image in gallery Councils are already struggling with spiralling costs ( In Pictures via Getty ) The care sector is already in a precarious financial state, even without the extra costs, the association says. Companies serving people whose needs are state-funded are most at risk. Local authorities and the NHS buy up to 80 per cent of care services, and the fees they pay are said to be too low to cover costs, while the small, local providers that provide most of the care operate on thin margins, lack financial resilience and are very vulnerable. But councils have already warned that local authorities in England face a funding shortfall of 54bn over the next five years, leaving them at risk of becoming insolvent. Directors of adult social services have warned government promises on increases in funding for social care fall short of the estimated 1.8bn in extra costs facing councils, chiefly driven by the chancellors October Budget measures. The Homecare Association estimates that employment costs will surge by at least 10 per cent in the next financial year. Martin Green, chief executive of the charity Care England, said: When care providers fail, its not just businesses that collapse. Its entire support systems for people needing and receiving services. The human and economic cost will be devastating. Jane Townson, chief executive of the Homecare Association, said: We risk a significant reduction in care and support services. This could leave thousands of older and disabled people without essential support; force family members to quit their jobs to provide care; and increase NHS waiting lists. She called on the government to invest at least 2.8bn in care, saying evidence showed that every 1 invested saved 3 in longer-term costs, and to make care providers exempt from changes to employers national insurance. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: We are tackling the challenges facing adult social care and taking the first steps towards building a National Care Service by introducing legislation that will establish the first ever fair pay agreement for care professionals and increasing the Carers Allowance earnings threshold by over 2,300 the biggest rise since the 1970s. We are giving local authorities an additional 3.5bn in 2025-26, including a 680m increase in the social care grant to support the sector. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy An alleged Chinese spy at the heart of the latest scandal to engulf Prince Andrew has been named as Yang Tengbo. The 50-year-old businessman was barred from the UK in 2023 because authorities felt he was likely to pose a threat to national security. Mr Yang was named after days of growing pressure from MPs demanding he should be identified following a court order that was issued protecting his anonymity. He has now insisted he has done nothing wrong and rejected allegations of being a spy as entirely untrue. Here, The Independent takes a look at who Mr Yang is and the allegations surrounding him and the Royal Family. open image in gallery The 50-year-old businessman was barred from the UK because he was likely to pose a threat to national security ( @hamptonholding ) Who is the alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo? Born in 1974, Mr Yang studied at university in China and worked as a junior civil servant for a number of years, according to the judgment. In 2002, he moved to the UK and studied a masters degree in public administration and public policy at the University of York. Three years later Mr Yang founded a Chinese investment consultancy business which would go on to establish various high-profile China-related events. open image in gallery Mr Yang founded a Chinese investment consultancy business which would go on to establish various high-profile China-related events ( China.com ) What are the allegations against him? In 2021, Mr Yang was detained under the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act - where he was forced to surrender his mobile phone and computer. The Home Office alleged correspondence was unearthed showing he worked for the United Front Work Department (UFWD) - a shadowy arm of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). On this basis, former home secretary Suella Braverman barred him from the UK - but Mr Yang later appealed to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission. What is his connection to Prince Andrew? open image in gallery The Home Office alleged correspondence was unearthed showing he worked for the United Front Work Department (UFWD) - a shadowy arm of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ( Sky News ) The Special Immigration Appeals Commission dismissed Mr Yangs appeal - which made his case public. The judgment cited evidence provided by the Home Office alleging Mr Yang was a close confidant of Prince Andrew and was able to act on his behalf with investors in China. Later reports suggested he used this connection to secure invitations to Buckingham Palace and other royal residences. He also met David Cameron at a Downing Street reception and Theresa May at a black-tie event, keeping photos of both encounters, which took place over the last 15 years, according to The Sunday Times. Mr Yang founded a Chinese investment consultancy business in 2005 which would go on to establish various high-profile China-related events;. open image in gallery The Home Office alleged Mr Yang was a close confidant of Andrew and was able to act on his behalf with investors in China ( Supplied ) It also emerged that documents retrieved from Mr Yangs phone showed that Andrew allegedly wanted advice from Jiang Jianguo, a minister of Chinas State Council Information Office, in 2019. Alistair Michie, secretary-general of the British East Asia Council, told the minister that Andrew wanted to organise a conference for world leaders in China. What has Mr Yang said about the allegations? Mr Yang said he had done nothing wrong or unlawful and the widespread description of me as a spy is entirely untrue. He said: Due to the high level of speculation and misreporting in the media and elsewhere, I have asked my legal team to disclose my identity. I have done nothing wrong or unlawful and the concerns raised by the Home Office against me are ill-founded. The widespread description of me as a spy is entirely untrue. This is why I applied for a review of the Home Office decision in the first place, and why I am seeking permission to appeal the SIAC decision. It is also why an order extending my anonymity up to the point of determination of the appeal process was granted. I have been excluded from seeing most of the evidence that was used against me under a process which is widely acknowledged by SIAC practitioners as inherently unfair: decisions are made based on secret evidence and closed proceedings, which has been described as taking blind shots at a hidden target. On their own fact finding, even the three judges in this case concluded that there was not an abundance of evidence against me, their decision was finely balanced, and there could be an innocent explanation for my activities. This has not been reported in the media. The political climate has changed, and unfortunately, I have fallen victim to this. When relations are good, and Chinese investment is sought, I am welcome in the UK. When relations sour, an anti-China stance is taken, and I am excluded. I am an independent self-made entrepreneur and I have always aimed to foster partnerships and build bridges between East and West. I have dedicated my professional life in the UK to building links between British and Chinese businesses. My activities have played a part in bringing hundreds of millions of pounds of investment into the UK. I built my private life in the UK over two decades and love the country as my second home. I would never do anything to harm the interests of the UK. Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of the Chechen Republic, complained that air defense units "deliberately do not shoot down" drones attacking Grozny. The war criminal also said he would look for those responsible for regular attacks. ADVERTISIMENT It is noteworthy that Kadyrov threw a tantrum after the occupiers in Grozny suffered significant losses. This was reported by the Kremlin Snuffbox Telegram channel. Sources close to Kadyrov said that the attack on December 15 had particularly severe consequences. According to preliminary data, more than 10 people were killed, including officers. After that, the Chechen leader threw a tantrum and claimed that UAVs were deliberately allowed to fly into Grozny. However, the war criminal did not specify who was "missing the strikes" and why. At the same time, Russian media stated that drones began to arrive in Grozny more often, allegedly after some harsh statements and actions by Kadyrov. As a reminder, on the morning of December 15, powerful explosions occurred in Grozny as a result of an attack by unmanned aerial vehicles. Several UAVs hit military facilities of the terrorist country of Russia. The occupiers tried to shoot down the drones using small arms. As reported by OBOZ.UA, Kadyrov confirmed that on December 15, drones attacked the base of the Russian riot police in Grozny He cynically stated that Russia "took revenge" on Ukraine. Ukraine by attacking Kharkiv. Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has threatened to name the Chinese spy who was revealed to have links with Prince Andrew, amid reports he also met two former prime ministers. Mr Farage says the party may use parliamentary privilege which provides legal immunity for MPs in cases such as this to reveal the name of the businessman in the House of Commons. The alleged spy, known as H6, has been described in court as having formed an unusual degree of trust with Prince Andrew and has been banned from entering the UK since 2023. The Home Office, led at the time by Suella Braverman, said the spy had engaged in covert and deceptive activity on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party. It comes following a Sunday Times report that H6 also met David Cameron at a Downing Street reception and Theresa May at a black-tie event, keeping photos of both encounters, which took place over the last 15 years, in his London office. It is unclear whether the meetings took place while either was in office. On Thursday, a specialist tribunal in London found that Ms Braverman was entitled to conclude that H6 was a risk to national security. open image in gallery Farage said Reform UK is prepared to lift the anonymity order ( PA Wire ) Mr Farage told the Mail on Sunday that H6 should be named immediately, saying that a failure to do so smacks of an establishment cover up. He added: If its not resolved in the courts, he should be named in the Commons. Its clearly in the national interest. Labour MP Graham Stringer told the paper that it was ludicrous for H6 to remain anonymous in the country he was allegedly spying on. Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith is believed to be seeking a Commons debate on H6s alleged activities, despite the parliamentary convention that MPs avoid discussing the affairs of senior members of the royal family. Sir Iain told the Mail on Sunday that parliament has a right to know because the Royals are at the top of the government. In this debate, MPs would be protected if they were to reveal the identity of H6. Parliamentary privilege prevents MPs from being chased with legal action and has previously been used to publicise information which is subject to a court order banning its publication. But parliamentarians cant discuss active court cases in order to avoid the possibility of influencing legal outcomes. open image in gallery Sir Iain has for years taken a hardline stance against China ( AFP/Getty ) Sir Iain, one of the UKs most prominent China hawks, said on Saturday: Prince Andrew needs to be clear and honest. He has made a mistake, he was in a vulnerable period at the time. But now he needs to be properly open about what happened. There needs to be a full, proper investigation by the security services. Get ready for project kowtow on steroids. The UK government crawling on their bellies in obedience. The government doesnt want to upset China because theyre so desperate over the economy. The Chinese businessman brought a case to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) after he was expelled from the UK. The appeal was dismissed on Thursday, but the alleged spy has been granted an interim anonymity order protecting his identity. The tribunal was told that H6 had been invited to Andrews birthday party in 2020, and an adviser to the duke had said he could act on his behalf in dealing with potential investors in China. A letter from Dominic Hampshire, the adviser, was found on H6s computer. As well as referencing the birthday party, it said: I also hope that it is clear to you where you sit with my principal and indeed his family. You should never underestimate the strength of that relationship Outside of his closest internal confidants, you sit at the very top of a tree that many, many people would like to be on. A statement from Prince Andrews office said: The Duke of York followed advice from His Majestys government and ceased all contact with the individual after concerns were raised. The duke met the individual through official channels with nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed. Sign up for the Independent Women email for the latest news, opinion and features Get the Independent Women email for free Get the Independent Women email for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A reality TV star has said she was forced to move home four times to escape her ex-partners relentless harassment as she told of how he would jump balconies to track her down. Malin Andersson, who was on Love Island, told The Independent her ex-partner Tom Kemp beat her black and blue while pregnant and she believes this contributed to her daughter Consys death at just over four weeks old. Kemp was sentenced to just over nine months in prison in September 2020 for assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Be a brick, buy a brick and donate here or text BRICK to 70560 to donate 15 Ms Anderssons story comes as The Independent continues its Brick by Brick campaign in partnership with the leading charity Refuge to raise enough to build two safe homes for survivors of domestic abuse. More than 520,000 in donations has poured in so far. The 32-year-old, who works as a motivational speaker and is now mother to two-year-old Xaya, hailed the campaign as amazing as she explained she had been fortunate enough to be able to afford to move to escape her ex-partner but some women arent in a financial position to do so. open image in gallery Ms Andersson and her daughter Xaya, 2 ( Malin Andersson ) Ms Andersson said a refuge for domestic abuse victims would have been ideal for her but as she was not a mother at the time, she did not look into it after wrongly assuming they were only for women with children. It would have been perfect because I would have been incognito, she added. Discussing the early days of her almost two-year on-and-off relationship, she told of how her ex love-bombed her bombarding her with messages, lavishing her with gifts, as well as over-complimenting her. It's the usual. They're all just the clones of each other, she said of domestic abusers. She did not see the love bombing as a red flag due to not receiving love from her parents, she explained. It was quite quick until he revealed his anger bursts, Ms Andersson said. A lot of it was emotional, a lot of it physical as well. A lot of gaslighting, putting down, name-calling, belittling me, making me feel like nothing, and that I don't have anyone. I even had cameras put up in my living room because he would knock on the neighbours door and say Oh, I think my girlfriends ill and he would jump balconies to get to me. Malin Andersson She explained her ex used the fact her mother, dad and daughter were no longer alive against her many times. He hit, punched and kicked me, threw me around and spat on me, even sprayed deodorant on my face, Ms Andersson recalled of her exs violence. But the emotional abuse would be even worse he would call me all sorts of diminishing insults like slag and worse. I think Ive blanked the worst of it out. She told of how her partner had slapped and punched her and then threw her into a wardrobe when she was six months pregnant. I fell on my back and my stomach hit the side of the bed. A few days later I noticed the baby wasnt moving around that was the first sign something was wrong, she added. The abuse was a big part of her [my daughters] death. I was beaten black and blue when I was pregnant, and that had a huge impact. I feared for her every day of the pregnancy there wasnt a minute I felt happy or safe. She said Kemp was still abusing her behind the scenes after Consy was born and they were staying at Great Ormond Street as their daughter had to be hospitalised. Her ex sought to control her during their relationship, she said, adding that he would ask where she was and turn up at places. She added that after she left him, he would kept turning up everywhere I lived, and she had to move multiple times to escape him. He wouldn't take no for an answer so if I blocked him on all my lines, he would email me, she said. I feared for her every day of the pregnancy there wasnt a minute I felt happy or safe. Malin Andersson I even had cameras put up in my living room because he would knock on the neighbour's door and say Oh, I think my girlfriend's ill and he would jump balconies to get to me. I had severe post-traumatic stress disorder at night because he'd do it at night time if he had been drinking. The interview comes as Ms Andersson has joined forces with domestic abuse charity Hestia and Vodafone UK to raise awareness of the Bright Sky app a free resource for those enduring abuse as well as the individuals around them. She urged domestic abuse survivors who remain trapped with perpetrators to recognise their situation can only change if they choose to flee, with the help of a charity such as Refuge which can help them do it safely. Nothing will change until you leave, Ms Andersson said. Everything will keep repeating itself the good days, the bad days, them being nice to you, then repeating the same cycle. The only change comes from within yourself. No one else can force you to. You have to want to do it. Please donate now to the Brick by Brick campaign, launched by The Independent and charity Refuge, to help raise another 300,000 to build a second safe space for women where they can escape domestic abuse, rebuild their lives and make a new future. Text BRICK to 70560 to donate 15. The national domestic abuse helpline offers support for women on 0808 2000 247, or you can visit the Refuge website. There is a dedicated mens advice line on 0808 8010 327. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Hundreds of shooting stars are once again lighting up the night sky across parts of England, in one of the last major meteor showers of the year. The Geminid meteor shower was visible in the early hours of Saturday morning, with streaks of white were spotted from Northumberland to Somerset. Striking photos from keen stargazers revealed the beautiful celestial scene, which will return to British skies on Saturday night into Sunday - and continue to be active until December 20. The shower - one of the most active of the year - is currently peaking and stargazers are seizing the opportunity to potentially witness dozens of shooting stars in the space of just hours. open image in gallery Photographer Lee Reid captured a shot of the Geminid meteor shower over Lindisfarne in Northumberland (Lee Reid/PA) ( PA Media ) Photographer Lee Reid drove an hour from his home in Newcastle to Lindisfarne in Northumberland, where a clear patch of sky allowed him to watch the shower. I could actually see the meteors on drive up, and I was getting, obviously, quite excited, Mr Reid said. Lindisfarne seems to be my lucky spot behind me was cloud but a big portion of the skies, at sort of 5.30am in the north east region was clear. Its amazing because when youre planning things for a few days and hoping and praying for some clear skies so its good when a plan comes together. Known as a meteor storm due to the intensity of the shower, the Geminids are one of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year, physics research fellow Dr Minjae Kim at the University of Warwick said. open image in gallery A man watches a meteor during the Geminid meteor shower (PA) ( PA Archive ) Alongside the Quadrantids, the Geminid meteor showers are they only which dont originate from a comet. The shooting stars which you can see lighting up the night sky can be caused by asteroid particles as small as a grain of sand, Royal Museums Greenwich (RMG) said. Whats the best way to see the Geminids? The Geminid meteor shower has been known to produce a peak of more than 150 meteors per hour, according to RMG. In reality, the number which can be seen is significantly less. Unfortunately for this years shower - which is peaking on 14th and 15th December - the moon is full, meaning viewing conditions arent favourable. But it is still your best chance to see a meteor shower all year. The museum advises that you bring a comfy chair and wrap up warm, as watching meteors is ultimately a waiting game. Binoculars and telescopes arent necessary as the meteors can be seen with the naked eye. But dont expect to see them as soon as you step outside - you will need to wait for your eyes to adjust to the dark. Dont look at the moon or the stars. Instead, watch the darkest areas of the sky for the best chance of spotting a meteor. Avoiding all light pollution around you - including street lights, roads, and your home - gives you the best chance of spotting a meteor. Although meteors are visible across the night sky, they will often appear to originate from the Gemini constellation, RMG added. Find a wide open space to give you the largest possible view of the sky, get comfortable, and wait for the nighttime spectacle to begin. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A vicar in Hampshire has apologised to upset children and their angry parents after telling year six pupils that Santa Claus wasnt real. Parents complained of a ruined Christmas after Reverend Dr Paul Chamberlains visit to Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School this week to speak to a religious education class about the birth of Jesus, according to reports. Youre all year six, now lets be real, Santa isnt real, Rev Chamberlain told the children during the lesson, according to GB News. As the children took in the shocking revelation, he went a step further and explained that their parents were the ones who ate the biscuits left out for Father Christmas. Many of the 10- and 11-year-old children reportedly burst into tears. I dont know how it can be undone, but I think its absolutely disgusting, a mother was quoted as saying by The Times. The parent said the school could not bring the magic back. Many parents have had to confess to their children since the incident, the reports said. A formal complaint has been lodged against Rev Chamberlain by a parent and the school launched an effort to restore the festive spirit by giving out believe badges, the report said. Santas existence has been thrown into significant doubt by the comments ( Getty/iStock ) A spokesperson for the Diocese of Portsmouth said: We understand that the vicar of St Faiths, Lee-on-the-Solent, the Rev Paul Chamberlain, was leading an RE lesson for 10 and 11 year olds at Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School. After talking about the Nativity story from the Bible, he made some comments about the existence of Father Christmas. Paul has accepted that this was an error of judgment and he should not have done so. He apologised unreservedly to the school, to the parents and to the children, and the headteacher immediately wrote to all parents to explain this. The school and diocese have worked together to address this issue, and the headteacher has now written to parents a second time, sending them Pauls apology. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Police have launched a murder inquiry following the brutal and senseless death of a woman in Co Down. The victim, who suffered a head injury, has been named as Karen Cummings, 40. A death notice said she was a mother of two and had worked as a nurse. Two men have been arrested over her death at a house in Banbridge on Saturday. A PSNI spokesperson said: Police received a report at approximately 6.30pm on Saturday evening, December 14, of an unconscious woman with a serious head injury inside a house in the Laurel Heights area of the town. Officers attended, alongside colleagues from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, who provided medical treatment at the scene. Sadly the woman, who has been named as 40-year-old Karen Cummings, was pronounced deceased a short time later. A post-mortem examination will take place in due course. The spokesperson added: Two men have been arrested in connection with the investigation. A 42-year-old man was arrested at the scene on Saturday evening, December 14, on suspicion of murder and remains in police custody as inquiries continue. Meanwhile, a second man aged in his 30s, was arrested in the local area today also on suspicion of murder, and is in custody at present. The spokesperson said the investigation is at an early stage and police are working to establish the full circumstances that led to this brutal and senseless murder. District commander for Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon, Superintendent Brendan Green said: Our thoughts are with Ms Cummings family and friends as they struggle to come to terms with what has happened, and they have our full sympathy at this time. Cordons remain in place today, Sunday December 15, and local residents will continue to see an increased visible police presence. Please be reassured that our officers will be doing everything in their power to conduct a thorough investigation into what has happened, and we would urge members of the public not to speculate. Local people will see our officers in and around the area. Should anyone have any concerns or want to ask for help or advice, please speak to us. We want to help. A death notice from Heaney Keenan Funeral Directors said: Karens heartbroken family ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate the devastating and tragic loss of Karen. Local representatives have told of their shock at the murder of Ms Cummings. Alliance Party deputy leader and Upper Bann MLA Eoin Tennyson said it was an absolutely shocking incident. He added: Today is a dark day for the local community. My thoughts and condolences are with Karens loved ones as they come to terms with this tragic loss. Karen is the seventh woman now to be killed in Northern Ireland just this year. This is a devastating statistic, and violence against women and girls is a sickening scourge on our society that must be eradicated. Mr Tennyson added: We must all recommit ourselves to the Executives recently launched framework to end violence against women and girls and do everything we can to put a stop to all forms of violence, harm and abuse in our society. The local community is shocked and saddened by the death Councillor Kevin Savage Sinn Fein councillor Kevin Savage said: My heartfelt thoughts are with this womans loved ones as they come to terms with this tragic loss of life. The local community is shocked and saddened by the death of this woman and I would appeal to anyone with information to bring it forward to the PSNI. Police in Northern Ireland have made tackling violence against women and girls a priority for the force following a series of murders in the region in recent years. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The Foreign Office has admitted it doesnt know how much money has been spent on the Chagos Islands deal. The admission was made after The Independent submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), asking for details on how much money was handed to Mauritius as part of the deal, as well as asking for the other expenses involved in striking the deal. The department admitted that details on how much money has been spent so far is not centrally held and is not readily retrievable, adding that responding to the request would take a substantial amount of work and staff hours. While the department said no money has yet been handed over to Mauritius directly as part of the deal as the treaty is still being finalised, it was unable to produce a figure for how much has been spent on legal costs, travel costs and other expenses. open image in gallery David Lammy has repeatedly insisted the deal is a good one ( REUTERS ) It comes amid growing concern over the cost of the controversial deal to the taxpayer, as question marks hang over whether or not the deal will succeed as a result of ambivalence from the new Mauritian government and the incoming Trump administration. The government announced in October it had reached a political agreement to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius following negotiations which began in 2022. The prime minister and his foreign secretary David Lammy have insisted they had no choice but to hand over the islands, including Diego Garcia where the UK and US have their major air base. Mr Lammy has since doubled down claiming that the deal is a good one guaranteeing the use of the airbase for the next 99 years. But the government has refused to publish details and costs of the deal. The government has repeatedly claimed it is not normal practice to reveal the value of payments made by the UK for military bases across the globe due to security risks. However, previous written answers and statements showed that the government has published the costs of bases. Pressed on the issue of cost by The Independent last month, Downing Street 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. This newspaper previously revealed that the new Mauritian government has ordered an independent review of the Chagos Islands agreement, throwing the future of Sir Keir Starmers deal into even greater uncertainty. open image in gallery The incoming Trump adminstration has raised concerns about the deal ( AP ) The new administration in Mauritius, which took over after elections last month, has previously expressed doubts about the terms of the agreement, with the UKs national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, travelling to the country in an attempt to smooth over any issues. But sources in Mauritius have since said the new government feels it was kept in the dark over the agreement. Even if Mauritius does agree to stick with the agreement, the deal could be vetoed elsewhere, with Mr Trumps team hardening its opposition to what it considers a major security risk for the West. Shadow Armed Forces Minister, Mark Francois warned Trumps opposition to the deal could be the death knell for the whole ill-judged misadventure. The governments Chagos chaos continues, he said. This surrender deal was supported by an outgoing US President and was negotiated with a now defeated Mauritian PM, whose successor has just effectively disowned it. Given the absolutely critical importance of the strategic base on Diago Garcia to our US allies, if the incoming Trump administration now opposes the deal - privately or even publicly, - that might just be the death knell for the whole Ill-judged misadventure. The FCDO has been contacted for comment. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Sir Keir Starmers government has hailed the UK becoming the first European nation to officially join an Indo-Pacific trade bloc, despite having said the impact of the deal would be very small less than two years ago. At the beginning of 2023, when the UK began the process of joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), he offered a lukewarm view of the trade deal, pointing out that the net contribution to our economy will be something in the order of 0.08 per cent. But on Sunday, his business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the agreement would boost trade and create opportunities for UK companies abroad. The UK will become the 12th country to join the trade agreement, following years of procedure, having first put in an application in early 2021. Britain will enter into the agreement with eight of the blocs 11 existing members who first ratified the accession on Sunday: Japan, Singapore, Chile, New Zealand, Vietnam, Peru, Malaysia and Brunei. open image in gallery Sir Keir Starmer said the impact of CPTPP would be very small in 2023 ( PA Wire ) Then on Christmas Eve, it will come into force with Australia, who later ratified the deal. Canada and Mexico are yet to finally rubber-stamp the UKs membership, but it is understood that officials expect them to do so at some point in the future. Officials hope the move could boost the economy by as much as 2bn a year compared with levels of GDP projected for 2040 without the CPTPP deal. It is expected that the CPTPP will get larger in the coming years, and last month it was announced that Costa Rica would be the next country to work through the process of joining. But expressing hesitance about the deal in 2023, Sir Keir had said it would be better to have a closer relationship with the EU to go alongside it something he is currently pursuing through his plan to reset relations with the bloc. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who was trade secretary when the UK formally agreed to join the bloc in 2023, pointed out Sir Keirs initial equivocation over the agreement claiming Labour spent the last parliament mocking our CPTPP negotiations. The Conservatives delivered CPTPP a trade deal that brings enormous benefits to everyone from British farmers to fintech and small businesses to the largest manufacturers, she said. The deal places the UK in a bloc with the fastest-growing economies in the world and was a key Brexit benefit to add to our EU trade deal. However, joining a trade bloc is only the start. Labour spent the last parliament mocking our CPTPP negotiations, and they now have a responsibility to ensure that UK companies can make the most of this landmark deal. Mr Reynolds said: Britain is uniquely placed to take advantage of exciting new markets, while strengthening existing relationships. open image in gallery Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said CPTPP would boost trade and create opportunities for UK companies abroad. ( PA Wire ) Todays news is further proof that the UK is a wonderful place to do business, with an open, outward-looking economy driving the growth people can feel in their communities. Agreements like this boost trade and create opportunities for UK companies abroad. This is a proven way to support jobs, raise wages and drive investment across the country, which is key to this governments mission to deliver economic growth. Our trade strategy, published next year, will finally put in place a long-term strategic plan for international trade that helps businesses and consumers and, ultimately, grows the economy. The Department for Business and Trade has been contacted for comment. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of continuing the previous Tory governments so-called hostile environment approach to migration after the Home Office hailed a new crackdown on immigration crime. On Sunday, the government announced that nearly 13,500 migrants have been removed from Britain since the election, as well as pledging to put 8m towards technology for immigration enforcement operations such as raids and arrests. It comes after Labour previously pledged to return more people who do not have a right to stay in the country halfway through their first year in office than any other six-month period since 2018. While the government said the figures show it is on track to deliver on its returns pledge, which would need to be met by early January, campaigners have hit out at the approach, comparing it to that of the previous Tory government. The Conservative Party, which put a controversial plan to send migrants to Rwanda at the centre of their migration strategy, was often accused of using dehumanising language to describe refugees. Julia Tinsley-Kent, head of policy and communications at the Migrants Rights Network told The Independent: In line with previous governments, the new government has made it crystal clear that it is content to continue the trend of criminalising migration. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, second left, during a Calais Group meeting on Tuesday (PA/Henry Nicholls) ( PA Wire ) They fail to understand that people are forced into making dangerous crossings because safe routes do not exist. Punishing migrants without permission to work or reside fails to address the fundamental failures within the immigration system that continuously pushes migrants into exploitative conditions because they can become undocumented so easily. Ms Tinsley-Kent said enforcement operations such as raids are a terrifying apparatus of the hostile environment faced by migrants, warning that increasing surveillance and policing of migrant and racialised communities will only drive fear and increase suffering. She said: At the Migrants Rights Network, weve been campaigning for greater transparency around opaque immigration raids, surveillance and deportation policies. We call on the government to abandon authoritarian measures which intimidate racialised and migrant communities. Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UKs Refugee and Migrant Rights Director, said:Its deeply disappointing to see so little change of attitude or understanding by the new Government.Racing to remove larger numbers of people from the country is not going to reduce human exploitation and does nothing to dismantle organised crime. The dangers in this include that people with good claims to stay or who ought to be key witnesses in the investigation or prosecution of those who have exploited them are among those being hastily expelled. That ministers have barely had time to repair the damage done to the immigration system by the previous Government increases the concern that many peoples removal may be unsafe and unwise. Meanwhile, creating an atmosphere in which more people feel threatened by authorities that seem to care little for what their true circumstances and rights may be, can only benefit those who will unscrupulously exploit the fear and marginalisation the Government is creating. On Sunday, the Home Office said almost 13,460 people had been removed since the country went to the polls on July 4, which is the highest rate of returns since 2019. The announcement comes amid a continued rise in Channel crossings, with more than 21,000 migrants having arrived in Britain by small boat alone since July. Home secretary Yvette Cooper, who visited Rome on Saturday for talks with her Italian counterpart on people-smuggling, insisted the Labour administration had intensified border security measures since coming to office. She pledged a crackdown on exploitative illegal working to address the promise of illegal jobs that are used by criminal smuggling gangs to sell spaces in small boats. New technology including body-worn cameras and fingerprint kits will be rolled out next year to more than 1,200 immigration enforcement officers in a bid to strengthen evidence that can be collected in raids, the government said. It has also announced it has launched a new upstream communications campaign aimed at debunking lies about job prospects in the UK told by people-smuggling gangs to encourage small boat crossings. The strategy will include warnings to potential migrants about the exploitative practices of employers and the inhumane living conditions faced by workers, based on real testimonies, the department said. Ms Cooper described illegal working as a blight on our economy, saying: It is deeply exploitative and undercuts those employers who do the right thing and play by the rules. She added: Since the election, we have intensified our efforts to crackdown on exploitation and illegal working the number of operations and arrests are up, and we are on track to meet our target of increasing removals to the highest level for five years. I am boosting the capabilities of our immigration enforcement officers to make sure they have the tools they need to further crack down on illegal working and shine a light on the hidden economy and false promises that criminal smuggling gangs are using to encourage people to cross the Channel in small boats. If you employ people illegally, you will face consequences. The rules must be respected and enforced. The Home Office has been contacted for comment. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The UK foreign secretary David Lammy has said the government has opened diplomatic contact with the Syrian rebels who ousted Bashar al-Assads regime last weekend. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is still a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK, Mr Lammy said on Sunday, during remarks in which he also announced a 50 million humanitarian aid package for vulnerable Syrians. open image in gallery Foreign secretary David Lammy says the UK has opened up contact with HTS ( PA Wire ) "We want to see a representative government, an inclusive government. We want to see chemical weapons stockpiles secured, and not used, and we want to ensure that there is not continuing violence, Mr Lammy told the BBC. "For all of those reasons, using all the channels that we have available, and those are diplomatic and of course intelligence-led channels, we seek to deal with HTS where we have to." open image in gallery HTS is led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, previously known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani ( AP ) Since HTS led the rebel offensive which caused the collapse of the Assad regime, Western governments have debated how the new Syrian rulers should be approached, given HTSs links to al-Qaeda. His US counterpart Antony Blinken said on Saturday the US had made direct contact with HTS. The 50m humanitarian aid package will be delivered through UN and NGO agencies to Syrians in the country and to refugees in Lebanon and Jordan, the Foreign Office said. It comes after Britain joined talks hosted by Jordan in Aqaba on Saturday, attended by delegates from the US, France, Germany, the Arab Contact Group, Bahrain, Qatar, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the EU and the UN. They agreed that a non-sectarian and representative government is needed in Syria, alongside the protection of human rights, access for humanitarian aid, the safe destruction of chemical weapons and the continued fight against terrorism. The Foreign Office said on Sunday: The UK urges the transitional government to adhere to these principles to build a more hopeful, secure and peaceful Syria. open image in gallery Syrians gathered across the country after morning prayers on Friday to celebrate the fall of the Assad regime ( AP ) 30 million of the funding will be allocated for food, shelter and emergency healthcare, 10 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) in Lebanon and 10 million to WFP and the UNs refugee agency, UNHCR in Jordan. Some 120,000 has also been allocated to the Organisation of the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the department added. Mr Lammy said: The fall of the horrific Assad regime provides a once-in-a-generation chance for the people of Syria. Were committed to supporting the Syrian people as they chart a new course, first by providing 50 million in new food, healthcare and aid to support the humanitarian needs of vulnerable Syrians. Second, by working diplomatically to help secure better governance in Syrias future. This weekend the UK and its partners came together to agree the principles required to support a Syrian-led transitional political process. It is vital that the future Syrian government brings together all groups to establish the stability and respect the Syrian people deserve. Sir Keir Starmer told a virtual meeting of the G7 leaders that Assads fall should be welcomed but we must be cautious about what comes next. A statement on Thursday from the group said they were committed to working to ensure any future Syrian government demonstrates respect for the rule of law, universal human rights, including womens rights, the protection of all Syrians, including religious and ethnic minorities, transparency and accountability. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A leading British businessman has warned Rachel Reeves that her Budget spooked business as he suggested a recession could be around the corner. James Reed, chairman of the recruitment giant, Reed, urged the chancellor to change course. Mr Reed told the BBCs Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg that the economy was "cooling" and has been "for several months". He added that data for November showed that vacancies had fallen by 13 per cent month on month, which he described as a "significant decline". He added that when he had seen similar figures in the past that had been an indicator that recession was around the corner". The chancellor Rachel Reeves (Peter Byrne/PA) ( PA Wire ) Labours Budget "has spooked business", he said, as he urged the chancellor to rethink her decision to increase employers national insurance. Talking about the national insurance hike last month, the co-founder of Cobra Beer Lord Bilimoria told Times Radio: If they can hear, this is not just me. This is a unanimous voice of business saying you have not listened to us. This is not going to generate growth. This is going to damage business. Please listen to us. Please work with us. And Im up for them to do that. Its not too late. Its not too late. In November Ms Reeves was accused by business chiefs of making it hard to invest in Britain, prompting her to insist there was no alternative. The boss of the CBI warned that her measures would deter companies from expanding. Squaring up to her detractors, she told the CBI conference: I have heard a lot of feedback about my Budget but not any alternative suggestions. A Treasury spokesperson said: With our public services crumbling and an inherited 22bn fiscal black hole, we had to make difficult choices to fix the foundations of the country and restore desperately needed economic stability. Independent forecasts made by the Office of Budget Responsibility indicate that the economy will grow next year, and that employment will rise over the next three years. Meanwhile we have been able to begin fixing the public services which will see waiting lists come down and more teachers in schools. Kyivstar mobile operator is going to increase its tariffs significantly. On average, they will increase by 25%. It is expected that the cost of offers will increase on December 20. ADVERTISIMENT This was reported by the operator itself. They noted that they intend to compensate for the price increase by increasing the content of offers and additional bonuses. In particular, on December 20, the cost of some prepaid tariffs will be changed. "In the updated tariffs, we will offer subscribers more services: additional gigabytes of mobile Internet, minutes for calls to other networks, and the ability to connect additional Bezlim Superpowers," the statement said. In addition, Kyivstar noted that starting January 1, 2025, tariffs for business customers will be increased. The company emphasizes that the offers will change their name and content. "For corporate subscribers, Bezlim's Superpowers will become available: Internet, calls and SMS. Also, customers will be able to connect Personal Internet in most tariffs," the operator said. ADVERTISIMENT How much will tariffs increase? Tariffs will rise by an average of 25%, the company told Interfax-Ukraine. At the same time, they reminded that they have already revised some of the tariff plans for contract subscribers. "Kyivstar always strives to provide high-quality communication, stable Internet and additional services that meet the modern needs of our subscribers. That is why the company has revised the terms of some tariff plans for contract subscribers and will revise some more subscription tariffs by the end of the year. On average, the price will change by 25% of the tariff cost," Kyivstar said. At the same time, it is emphasized that the choice of tariffs to be changed depends on many factors. In particular, they include: growth in service consumption; the fact that the price of some tariffs has remained unchanged for a long time. It is also noted that a subscriber can choose another tariff that best suits his or her needs and capabilities. This can be done in: the Tariffs section on the company's website; My Kyivstar application; any Kyivstar branded store. As OBOZ.UA previously reported, mobile operators Vodafone Ukraine and lifecell will not raise tariffs after Kyivstar. However, the operators are not likely to completely abandon the idea - they will just pause for a few months. The point is that in contrast to a competitor that has raised prices, they may try to lure its subscribers to them. Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Don't fall for fakes! Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Households are going to be hit with a hike in water bills of at least 20 per cent to fix the UKs broken sewage system, the environment secretary has said, sparking a backlash amid fears for vulnerable customers. On Thursday, independent regulator Ofwat is expected to announce that charges will increase by more than 20 per cent by 2030, which means an average rise of 20 a year per household over the next five years, with the average bill soaring from 448 a year to 542. Steve Reed acknowledged bill-payers would be angry but insisted a rise is necessary to repair the damage after years of neglect and under-investment, with promises Labour will reset our water sector by fixing pipes and building reservoirs, not paying water chiefs bonuses. Blaming the previous Conservative governments for having left our water system in ruins, he wrote in The Telegraph on Saturday: This week, the independent water regulator will announce water bill rises to repair the damage. The public are right to be angry. Tory recklessness has caused untold damage. Consumer groups argued some households will not be able to afford a sharp rise in water bills, and urged water companies to provide more support. open image in gallery Scandal-hit Thames Water was close to needing to be bailed out by taxpayers this year ( Alamy/PA ) After confirming in July that it would allow costs to increase by 21 per cent, with a view to fund investment in new infrastructure worth 88 billion, Ofwat has been negotiating with 11 providers over their demands to be able to significantly raise bills. Southern Water supplier of Kent, Sussex and Hampshire wants to be allowed to increase them by 84 per cent, while scandal-hit Thames Water wants 53 per cent. The watchdog is unable to confirm any decisions ahead of Thursdays announcement, however The Independent understands that there will be pressure on households water bills. There are even fears Ofwat will end up agreeing to rises well over the 21 per cent that was initially agreed due to the dire state of the industry. However, the regulator has insisted it will deliver a balanced package. Water UK, the industry body, argued bills have fallen in real-terms by around 20 per cent since 2010. After a succession of sharp utility bill increases for households over recent years, Mike Keil, chief executive of the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), told this newspaper: There needs to be far greater ambition from some water companies in providing support to households who are not going to be able to afford these large bill rises. Companies existing plans fall short of meeting the commitment they previously made to end water poverty in England by 2030 and Ofwat should push them harder to deliver on this. open image in gallery Labours lack of energy and action will not wash when bills rise on their watch, says shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins ( PA Archive ) Tom MacInnes, director of policy at Citizens Advice, added: We know water firms need to fund investment, but many households will struggle to shoulder these price rises. Social tariffs for water cheaper rates for those who need them should be the safety net. The problem is theres a postcode lottery for this support and our advisers report that people often dont know about the tariffs, or face hurdles applying for them. With high bills likely here to stay, the government and suppliers must work together to get people the help theyre entitled to. Mr Reed accused the Tories of failing to build new reservoirs and pipes and that sewage spills had left our rivers, lakes and seas are choked by pollution. Customers money had been used to line the pockets of executives and shareholders rather than implement much-needed improvements to the system, he argued. He pledged to introduce reforms, including ring-fenced money from the rise in charges to be spent on new infrastructre, new legislation on mandatory reporting of sewage leaks to be introduced to the Commons on Monday, with bosses who refuse to cooperate with investigations facing prison, and nine new reservoirs and 8,000km of new pipes to be built over the long-term. He said: This is a once in a generation chance to reset our water sector and deliver the change we all want to see. After years of pollution and decline its time to invest in new opportunities and restore our clean rivers, lakes and seas. Meanwhile, shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins said: Labour spent years making promises to the public about improving waterways yet, six months after the election, all they do is talk about the Conservatives. Labours lack of energy and action will not wash when bills rise on their watch. The Conservatives began the crucial reform to ensure that in the long-term Britains water system is clean and sustainable that requires billions of pounds of private of investment if bill-payers are to be protected. The Government must work out what its doing and who will pay for this investment, or our water bills will keep rising under Labour. A spokesperson for Water UK said: We urgently need investment in our water and sewage infrastructure and recent research has shown that there is widespread public support for this. We understand increasing bills is never welcome. To protect vulnerable customers, companies have proposed increasing the number of households receiving support with their bills to three million over the next five years. An Ofwat spokesperson said: Our intention is to set a balanced package on Thursday that delivers better services for customers and ensures the sector attracts the investment it needs to deliver cleaner rivers and seas. We know that many customers continue to struggle with cost-of-living pressures and need extra help at this difficult time. Water companies in England and Wales are planning a significant increase in support for customers struggling to pay. The proportion of customers that receive social tariff support will rise to at least 8% in the 2025-30 period. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Ministers are under increasing pressure to act after an alleged Chinese spy became a close confidant of the Duke of York and reportedly met two former prime ministers, as MPs threatened to name him if the courts do not. Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith accused a weak Labour government of not wanting to be seen to criticise China, while the shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said the public deserved to know the full facts behind the case, warning we cannot turn a blind eye. The businessman, who liked to divide his time between China and the UK, had previously been granted indefinite leave to remain in Britain where he established himself as a close confidant of the Duke of York. He was expelled from the country in 2023 by then-home secretary Suella Braverman, with the Home Office saying he was considered to have engaged in covert and deceptive activity on behalf of the United Front Work Department (UFWD), which is an arm of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) state apparatus. open image in gallery Home secretary Yvette Cooper said Britain had a complex relationship with China ( PA ) Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said the courts should now name him. The spy should be named I hope the court changes or cancels their anonymity order. There may be other people who have had contact with that person, he said. As calls mounted, Lord Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong accused the government of being too soft on China and urged ministers to set out a pretty clear statement on their policy towards the state. The demands came as home secretary Yvette Cooper claimed the governments approach was complex because Britain needed to have economic cooperation with China even as she warned the communist state the UK would take a very strong approach to national security. On Monday, Sir Iain will seek to drag ministers to the Commons to answer questions on the scandal by tabling an Urgent Question. There were warnings of a major security breach after reports on Sunday that David Cameron met the businessman at a reception in Downing Street. The businessman is also reported to have met a second former prime minister, Baroness May, and kept pictures of both of them in his London office. Earlier this week, Prince Andrews connections to the alleged spy became the latest scandal to engulf the Duke of York, after the man was barred from the UK because he was judged likely to pose a threat to national security. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has told The Independent he could name the businessman, known only as H6, as early as Wednesday if the courts do not. He said his party may use parliamentary privilege which provides legal immunity for MPs to reveal the name of the man in the House of Commons. open image in gallery Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said everyone needs to be vigilant about China seeking influence in the UK ( PA ) Home Office minister Dame Angela Eagle said the man had been thought to pose a threat especially in his relationship with Prince Andrew, which is why he was barred from coming to the UK. She also said: I cant tell you anything (about him) because it is a security and intelligence issue and the courts have made some decisions about that. But she warned Mr Farage to be very careful before using parliamentary privilege to name him. However, a leading businessman added his name to those expressing concerns over the mans identity. James Reed, the chief executive of Reed Group, told the BBC: Im wondering who this spy is it is so important to know who somebody is and who you can trust. Sir Iain told The Independent his urgent question would ask ministers: What do they know and are they going to take action? This is a blatant attempt to gain access to organs of government, of which the royal family is one, and also to government, as now there are prime ministers that have been photographed with this character, he said. He accused Ms Cooper of making a very weak statement, adding: Its essentially saying we have to deal with China, and that comes with risks. Well, theyre not just risks. He accused the government of being desperate about growth, and claimed that it doesnt want to answer this question, they dont want to criticise China, they dont want to call in the ambassador. Ms Patel said: We should be in no doubt that China represents a threat to the national security of our country. As this case of the spy at the heart of the Whitehall has shown, there is substantial evidence that China works to undermine our institutions and the very values which underpin our country. It is in the public interest to know the full facts behind the spy, their motivation and statecraft. We cannot turn a blind eye to the hostile incursions of China which have persisted for over a decade and continue to breach trust between our two countries. open image in gallery The Chinese businessman was barred from Britain because of his troubling links to the Duke of York ( PA ) Labour mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham described reports Lord Cameron had met the alleged spy in No 10 as a major security breach. Labour grandee Baroness Harman said the government, parliamentarians, the royal family and society more widely had to up our game in spotting the potential threats in relation to China. An expert on China, Jemimah Steinfeld, the chief executive of Index on Censorship, said the case was a wake-up call for the country. Asked about calls from former Conservative security minister Tom Tugendhat for an investigation, Mr Philp said: This needs looking at very carefully. He said he was deeply concerned by the alleged activities of the Chinese Communist Party in the UK and warned people in public life to be extremely vigilant. He added: I think everybody in public life and involved in business and academia needs to think very, very carefully about people who might be connected to the Chinese state. I think in fairness to Prince Andrew, as soon as he was warned of the risk he cut all contact but this does illustrate the risks are there and everyone needs to be extremely vigilant. Mr Philp said the Chinese Communist Party has been engaging in organised and systemic attempts to influence political life for many years. He said: Im deeply concerned by the activities of the Chinese Communist Party. Former Conservative education secretary Gillian Keegan said: We do need to be more vigilant they are the biggest strategic threat we have. Asked on the BBCs Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme what her message to China would be, Ms Cooper said: We will continue to take a very strong approach to our national security, that includes to any challenge to our national security including to our economic security from China, from other countries around the world, that will always be the approach that we will take. Of course, with China we also need to make sure we have that economic interaction, economic co-operation in place as well. So its a complex arrangement. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Yvette Cooper has refused to set a deadline to reduce dangerous small boat crossings in the Channel. The home secretary described the numbers making the journey as too high but claimed it would have been thousands higher if the Conservative Party were still in power. Some 34,880 people have arrived in Britain on small boats so far this year, up 20 per cent on this time last year but down 22 per cent on 2022. Ms Cooper repeatedly declined to say when the public could expect to see the number of small boat crossings fall. She told the BBCs Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: These levels are far too high, this is dangerous whats happening. Of course we want to continue to progress, of course we want to see the boat crossings come down as rapidly as possible. Ms Cooper conceded that remaining under 2022s record high would be no comfort to people while numbers continue to rise. But she suggested the figures could have been as much as 50,000 under the Tories. open image in gallery Migrants crossing the Channel in a small boat earlier this year ( Getty ) She said: What we inherited from the first half of this year... record high levels of boat crossings had that continued we were on track really for the worst year ever for small boat crossings. Had that continued we would have had many thousands more crossings over the course of the summer and through the autumn. As it is, were around a quarter lower than 2022, that was the peak year. But look, that is no comfort when you still have these small boat crossings, where weve got lives being put at risk and huge numbers of lives being lost, and also these criminal gangs are profiting from undermining our border security. Speaking during a visit to Italy this week she said: We have a responsibility, a moral responsibility to go after those gangs who are putting lives at risk. When you see these flimsy boats, the way that its women and kids who get put in the middle of the boats, so when the boat folds, they are the people who get crushed, who end up drowning. open image in gallery Cooper says there is a moral reason to try to tackle boat crossings ( PA ) Ms Cooper also reiterated the governments refusal to rule out using a third country to process asylum claims, saying she will look at whatever works. Home office minister Angela Eagle when asked on Sky News how long it will be before the public see the number of Channel crossings come down, said: Im not going to sit here and give you a date. Meanwhile, Harriet Harman, who was a Labour Party MP for 41 years, called for a royal commission on immigration. She said: I think they are being very diligent, the government. But I think we need a bit of a wider conversation with the public about this in terms of what people actually want and what is achievable. She also hit out at claims by previous Conservative governments that they could cut immigration to the tens of thousands, saying it was very dangerous to democracy to offer people something that could not be delivered. Ms Cooper received the backing of the Labour mayor of greater Manchester Andy Burnham, who said he had great confidence in her. The shadow home secretary Chris Philp said Labour has been foolish to scrap the Rwanda deterrent scheme for migrants, blaming it for the rise in the number of small boat crossings this autumn. He told Sky Newss Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: Thats a significant increase, and the reason those illegal and dangerous small boat crossings have gone up under Labour is they scrapped the Rwanda deterrent before it had even started. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The scores of prisoners freed after the downfall of the Bashar Assad regime in Syria are giving hope to Debra Tice, mother of the American journalist Austin Tice, who has been missing since being detained in 2012. "Its almost like having a rehearsal, you know? Just an inkling of what its going to really feel like when it is Austin walking free," Tice told NBC Newss Meet the Press on Sunday. Shes been closely following reports out of the country, where another missing American, religious pilgrim Travis Timmerman, was found in the town of Dhiyabiya, after being held for seven months. Initial reports wrongly identified him as Tice. "My oldest daughter came into my room at 4:25, and said, Mom, you know, we have this video. You need to look at it. We dont think its Austin, but a lot of people think its Austin, so we want you to look and see if its Austin," Debra Tice said on Meet the Press. "I took a glance and I said, No, that is not Austin." open image in gallery Debra Austin has been urging officials in Washington D.C. for support to find her son Austin Tice, who has been missing since traveling to Syria 2012 ( AP ) The White House has said it believes Tice is still alive and pledged to keep search for him. We believe hes alive, President Joe Biden said last week after the fall of Assad. We think we can get him back, but we have no direct evidence of that yet. Tice, a former Marine Corps captain and law student, went to Syria to report on the civil war consuming the country, even though he had little journalism experience. He was hearing reports from Syria saying this is happening but it cant be confirmed because there really are no reporters on the ground, his father, Marc Tice, told The Daily Star 10 months after his sons disappearance. And he said, You know, this is a story that the world needs to know about." open image in gallery Debra Tice recently met with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan about the disappearance of and seach for her son Austin Tice ( REUTERS ) Tice embedded with the Free Syrian Army rebel group and ended up filing dispatches and making appearances for McClatchy newspapers, The Washington Post, the BBC, and CBS News. As he headed towards the Lebanese border ahead of a planned break, Tice was detained in a government-controlled area and hasnt been seen since. The State Department has said it believes Tice was being held by the Syrian government, which the Assad regime denied. Tice is now the longest-held American journalist in U.S. history. A former regime prisoner told NBC News he was held in a cell across from Tice and saw him alive as recently as July 2022, while the new government has said its actively seeking information on Tice. Families throughout the region are similarly searching for news of family members who were detained, tortured, or disappeared by the brutal regime. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot outside of a Midtown Manhattan hotel on December 4. He was laid to rest at a private funeral service in his Minnesota hometown on December 9. That same day, murder suspect Luigi Mangione was arrested in Pennsylvania following a week-long manhunt. Ten days before the exec was shot dead outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan on December 4, the suspected shooter was believed to have traveled to New York City on a Greyhound bus. Five days after the shooting, Mangione was in handcuffs. The 26-year-old suspect is being held in a federal detention center in New York, where he faces more than a dozen state and federal counts, including murder charges. He has pleaded not guilty. Heres everything we know so far in the build-up and aftermath of the fatal attack on the 50-year-old insurance CEO: open image in gallery UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot in the leg and back in a premeditated attack in New York City ( UnitedHealth Group ) Thompson shot in premeditated attack The suspected shooter had been hiding behind a car outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan for about five minutes when Thompson exited, police said. The suspect was spotted at a nearby Starbucks on West 56th Street and 6th Avenue shortly before the shooting. The shooter, who was wearing a mask, approached Thompson from behind and shot him in the right calf and back at 6:46 a.m. Video of the incident shows the shooter calmly walking up behind Thompson before firing, then calmly crossing the street. The footage also showed a bystander running away as the killing unfolded. open image in gallery Luigi Mangione was taken into the Blair County Courthouse on December 10 shortly after his arrest in Pennsylvania. He faces both state and federal charges in connection to killing Thompson ( AP ) The shooter then walks toward the victim and continues to shoot. It appears that the gun malfunctions as he clears the jam and begins to fire again, New York Police Departments Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters. The shooting was a premeditated, pre-planned targeted attack, police said. Thompson appeared unaware he was in danger and had no security detail near him. Thompson was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital about 30 minutes later. The shooter fled the scene through an alleyway on an e-bike. He biked via 6th Avenue to Central Park. Security footage shows the suspect entering the Port Authority Bus Terminal, police said. However, they did not find footage of him leaving the depot, indicating he had left the city on a bus. open image in gallery Surveillance footage of the suspect who shot Thompson in the middle of a New York City street ( NYPD News/Reuters ) Thompson was in the city to speak at the UnitedHealth Groups annual Investor Conference the day of his death. Brian was a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him, the company said in a statement. Our hearts go out to Brians family and all who were close to him. New clues emerged On December 5, police released images of the suspect with his mask pulled down. The photos came from a surveillance video at the New York City hostel where the Mangione was staying. Police say he arrived in New York City on November 24 after jumping on a bus departing from Atlanta. open image in gallery The NYPD released a photo showing the face of the suspect who stayed at a hostel before the killing ( NYPD ) On the day he arrived in New York City, Mangione was captured on surveillance video stepping off the bus at around 9 p.m. and spotted walking through the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan, police said. He then checked into an Upper West Side hostel, left on November 29 and then used a fake New Jersey ID to check back in on November 30. While in the hostel, he slept in a multi-person room with two other men and wore a mask for the majority of his stay, according to CNN. Both Greyhound and the hostels parent company, Hostelling International USA, told ABC News in a statement that they are fully cooperating with the NYPD but cannot comment further due to the active investigation. Authorities found three live 9mm rounds and three discharged 9mm shell casings, as well as a cell phone, at the scene of the shooting. They also recovered a candy wrapper and water bottle believed to belong to the suspect, according to ABC News. The bullet casings police found at the scene had the words deny, defend and depose written on them. A 2020 book by Jay Feinman about the insurance industry bears a similar title: Delay Deny Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It. The book describes itself as an expose of insurance injustice and a plan for consumers and lawmakers to fight back. Feinman did not comment when contacted by The Independent. At the time of his Pennsylvania arrest, Mangione was carrying a 262-page manifesto, a ghost gun, silencer and false ID cards, police said. He also had a spiral notebook which laid out his plot to wack Thompson at his parasitic bean-counter convention, according to The New York Times. Wife reveals Thompson received threats as police search for motive Thompsons wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News in the hours after the shooting that her husband had been receiving threats. UnitedHealth Group was aware of concerning threats against its executives, CNN reported. "There had been some threats," she told the outlet. Basically, I dont know, a lack of [health insurance] coverage? I dont know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him. Family and leaders mourn CEO Family, friends and business leaders gathered for Thompsons private funeral service in his Minnesota hometown on December 9 the same day his suspected shooter was arrested in Pennsylvania. Over a dozen state troopers, 100 cars and two dozen black SUVs lined the Life Lutheran Church in Maple Grove, as security measures were put in place for mourners, according to Fox News. The news outlet reported that a sniper was spotted on the church roof and a security code was needed to get into the service. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Thompsons sister Elena Reveiz told The New York Times that her brother was a good person, and I am so sad. Brian was an incredibly loving, generous, talented man who truly lived life to the fullest and touched so many lives, Thompsons family said in a statement to Minnesota news outlet KARE. We appreciate your condolences and request complete privacy as our family moves through this difficult time, the statement continued. open image in gallery Flags fly at half mast outside the UnitedHealthcare corporate headquarters in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Thompsons family described him as a loving, generous, talented man ( Getty Images ) Thompson was a father of two. Before taking the CEO job in 2021, he worked as the companys head of government programs. As CEO, Thompson worked out of UnitedHealthcares offices in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Thompson kept a low profile with little public name recognition, the Associated Press reported. Thompson was also named in a lawsuit filed by a Florida pension fund earlier this year accusing UnitedHealth of hiding an antitrust investigation by the Justice Department from shareholders while insiders sold stock, according to the Journal. Thompson had not answered the claims in court before the shooting on December 4. Under his leadership, UnitedHealthcare provided coverage to more than 49 million people, making it the largest insurance company in the U.S. The network includes 1.3 million physicians and care professionals across nearly 7,000 facilities. Under Thompson, the company made $74 billion in revenue in the most recent quarter, earning the title of the largest subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group. Thompson made $10.2 million annually and was one of the companys highest-paid employees. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in a brazen shooting on a busy Manhattan street has been charged with murder in the second degree. Luigi Mangione, 26, was arrested with a 3D-printed gun in a McDonalds in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday morning following a six-day manhunt for the hooded shooter who gunned down the healthcare executive on a Manhattan street. The gun matches three shell casings found at the crime scene and marked with deny, defend and depose, police officials said this week. Mangione also possessed a silencer, a 262-word manifesto, a spiral notebook containing a to-do list, and several false ID cards. Mr Thompson, 50, was shot in the back on 4 December outside the New York Hilton Midtown, with surveillance footage showing a dark-hooded figure with a grey backpack firing from several feet away. open image in gallery Luigi Mangione, 26, a suspect in the New York City killing of UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson ( Supplied/NYPD ) Since the shooting, the high-profile killing has gripped international headlines. Mangione is currently being held in a Pennsylvania jail without bond as he awaits extradition to New York where he faces a murder charge. He also faces charges for gun law violations in Pennsylvania. However, under New York law, he is only charged with murder in the second degree, which carries a penalty of 15 years to life in prison. This is because the tougher first-degree murder charge only applies to a narrow list of aggravating circumstances, including when the victim is a judge, a police officer or a first responder, or when the killing involves a murder-for-hire or an intent to commit terrorism, according to CNN. It is not yet known if prosecutors will consider upgrading the charge to first-degree murder if new details in the case emerge, or if federal prosecutors decide to bring charges against the suspect. David Shapiro, a lecturer at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told CNN that if prosecutors can find evidence the plot was inspired by terrorism this could bump-up the charge. Terrorism is defined, basically, as creating, intimidating the civilian population or influencing a government unit to act in a certain way, he said. You can easily imagine a set of facts where Mangione was attempting to do the same or did the same. Im sure there are a host of insurance company executives that are afraid of copycats. open image in gallery United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, was shot in the back on 4 December outside the New York Hilton Midtown ( AP ) If the charge remains second-degree, Mangione has the option to argue an "affirmative defense" which could reduce the charge to first-degree manslaughter, which carries a maximum of 25 years in prison. The suspect could also be looking at federal charges with stiffer penalties if officials find he travelled across state lines to commit an act of violence, according to former federal and state prosecutor Elie Honig. Mangione is understood to have arrived in New York days before Mr Thompsons killing via a Greyhound bus that originated in Atlanta, according to reports. After his arrest, Mangione was charged and arraigned on five Pennsylvania offenses including forgery, falsely identifying himself, and carrying a gun without a license. On Monday, he made a brief appearance at the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg where he was informed of the charges against him and said he understood. open image in gallery Suspect Luigi Mangione outside a courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania ( (Benjamin B. Braun/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP) ) The suspect returned to the Blair County Courthouse as he faced an extradition hearing Tuesday after New York prosecutors charged him with second-degree murder in connection with the Mr Thompson's killing. Its completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people and their lived experience, Mangione yelled as he was escorted in handcuffs into the courthouse. Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks said both Pennsylvania and New Yorks governors remain confident they can get the warrant to transfer him back to the Empire State before the 30-day deadline. Mangione was denied bail, is fighting extradition, and will remain in a Pennsylvania jail. He is set to plead not guilty to all charges, his attorney Thomas Dickey told NewsNation on Tuesday. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, will now face federal charges in addition to the New York state murder indictment already brought against him, according to reports. Federal charges which will be brought by prosecutors from the US Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York, according to The New York Times would potentially allow prosecutors to pursue the death penalty should Mangione, 26, ultimately be found guilty of murder, capital punishment having been outlawed in New York for decades. According to documents unsealed on Thursday, and a sworn affidavit by an FBI agent, federal prosecutors intend to charge him with murder through use of a firearm, two stalking charges and a firearms offense. The documents do not specify whether the death penalty will be sought, with the matter likely to be decided by incoming president Donald Trumps new-look Justice Department next year. The development comes after Mangione appeared in a Pennsylvania courtroom on Thursday and formally waived his right to an extradition hearing before being returned to New York. open image in gallery A court sketch shows Luigi Mangione being led out of Pennsylvania court after waiving his right to an extradition hearing ( REUTERS ) Earlier this week, the suspect was formally indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on three murder charges over the attack on Thompson, 50, who was shot dead outside of the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan on December 4 by a masked assailant armed with a handgun who had lain in wait for him. The incident led to a five-day manhunt, culminating in Mangione being arrested at a branch of McDonalds in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9 after local police received a tip-off from a fellow customer responding to an image of the shooter circulated by the NYPD. He was found to have a pistol, ammunition and fake identification cards about his person, as well as a 262-word manifesto denouncing the American healthcare system, having recently undergone back surgery. In bringing the charges, Bragg called the episode a frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation. The toughest penalty Mangione could face in state court, should he be convicted of Thompsons murder, would be life imprisonment without parole, which the Justice Department could deem insufficient. open image in gallery Luigi Mangione leaves Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, on Thursday December 19 2024 ( AP ) The state case will proceed in parallel with any federal case, said Danielle Filson, a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorneys Office. This defendant brazenly shot Mr Thompson point blank on a Manhattan sidewalk. The Manhattan DAs office, working with our partners at the NYPD, is dedicated to securing justice for this heinous murder with charges of murder in the first degree. Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Mangiones lawyer, said in a statement that the Southern Districts involvement in the case raised a number of issues she found disconcerting. The federal governments reported decision to pile on top of an already overcharged first-degree murder and state terror case is highly unusual and raises serious constitutional and statutory double jeopardy concerns, she said. We are ready to fight these charges in whatever court they are brought. open image in gallery Officers stand outside the federal courthouse in Manhattan, where Luigi Mangioni is set to be arraigned on charges including murder ( REUTERS ) The suspects supporters continue to donate generously to a defense fund set up on his behalf after he became a problematic folk hero to some during his flight from justice. The anonymous fund, The December 4th Legal Committee, had amassed almost $157,000 in donations via the crowdfunding website GiveSendGo at the time of writing. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has already been forced to denounce vigilante justice in response to the dark fandom Mangione has attracted. In America, we do not kill people in cold blood to resolve policy differences or express a viewpoint, he said in the aftermath of the suspects arrest. In some dark corners, this killer is being hailed as a hero. Hear me on this: he is no hero. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Luigi Mangione supporters have donated tens of thousands of dollars to defense funds set up for him after he was arrested on suspicion of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The anonymous fund December 4th Legal Committee surpassed more than $130,000 in donations on the crowdfunding website GiveSendGo by Monday afternoo. The groups name is an apparent reference to the day the 26-year-old allegedly gunned down the healthcare executive on a busy Manhattan street. open image in gallery Brian Thompson, 50, was shot in the back on 4 December outside the New York Hilton Midtown ( AP ) We are not here to celebrate violence, but we do believe in the constitutional right to fair legal representation, the group said in a statement. It comes after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg described support for Mr Mangione as abhorrent amid fears he was being turned into a martyr. Celebrating this conduct is abhorrent to me. Its deeply disturbing, Mr Bragg told ABC News on Wednesday night. And what I would say to members of the public, people who as you described are celebrating this and maybe contemplating other action, that we will be vigilant and we will hold people accountable, he added. Mr Mangione was arrested with a 3D-printed gun at a McDonalds in Pennsylvania on Monday following a six-day manhunt for the hooded shooter who shot Mr Thompson last week. The gun matches three shell casings found at the crime scene and marked with deny, delay and depose, police officials said this week. Mangione also possessed a silencer, a 262-word manifesto, a spiral notebook containing a to-do list, and several false ID cards. open image in gallery It comes after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg described support for Mr Mangione as abhorrent amid fears he was being turned into a martyr ( Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) Mr Thompson, 50, was shot in the back on 4 December outside the New York Hilton Midtown, with surveillance footage showing a dark-hooded figure with a grey backpack firing from several feet away. Since the shooting, the high-profile killing has gripped international headlines. Mangione is currently being held in a Pennsylvania jail without bond as he awaits extradition to New York where he faces a murder charge. He also faces charges for gun law violations in Pennsylvania. open image in gallery ( REUTERS ) However, under New York law, he is only charged with murder in the second degree, which carries a penalty of 15 years to life in prison. This is because the tougher first-degree murder charge only applies to a narrow list of aggravating circumstances, including when the victim is a judge, a police officer or a first responder, or when the killing involves a murder-for-hire or an intent to commit terrorism, according to CNN. After his arrest, Mangione was charged and arraigned on five Pennsylvania offenses including forgery, falsely identifying himself, and carrying a gun without a license. On Monday, he made a brief appearance at the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg where he was informed of the charges against him and said he understood. The suspect returned to the Blair County Courthouse as he faced an extradition hearing Tuesday after New York prosecutors charged him with second-degree murder in connection with the Mr Thompsons killing. Its completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people and their lived experience, Mangione yelled as he was escorted in handcuffs into the courthouse. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Saturday Night Live jumped into the nation's morbid fascination with Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The cold open kicked off with Sarah Shermans incredulous true crime entertainer Nancy Grace, who complained that women and gay guys alike have made Mangione into a sex symbol. She said Mangione looked like Dave Franco with Eugene Levy's eyebrows. This man is not a sex icon. This man is and I cannot say this any clearer a murderer, she said, slurring the u into incoherence. Later in the sketch, she asks a character played by Kenan Thompson if he believes social media users are actually attracted to the sexy slayer, to which Thompson replied: Well I mean, you can look at him and tell he had h**s. I mean, women love bad boys, said Thompson, whose character was at the Altoona, Pennsylvania restaurant where police discovered Mangione. open image in gallery Saturday Night Lives Sarah Sherman, as a confounded Nancy Grace, opens the shows December 14 episode with a segment on Luigi Mangione ( NBC ) The sketch kicked back to Grace asking his character about the state of healthcare in the US, then cut back to Thompson shoving a McDonald's burger into his mouth. People are saying healthcare in this country is bad. Then how come by dentist gives me breast exams for free? she asked. Well Nancy, I been eating McDonald's every day for 10 years, Thompsons character said. I've got type-10 diabetes. ... You know what my health insurance plan is called? Hoping it goes away. Graces final guest: a guy who looks like Luigi Mangione, played by cast member Emil Wakim. Being mistaken for Mangione hsa kind of a rollercoaster for me, he said. On one hand I keep getting tackled by bounty hunters, but on the other I've gotten some of the horniest DMs of my life, he said. Saturdays host, comedian Chris Rock, also tackled the phenomenon surrounding Mangiones fan in his opening monologue. Rock joked that if Mangione look like Jonah Hill, no one would care. Theyd already give him the chair already, OK? he said. Rock expressed sympathy for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, reminding the audience that he was a real human being with a family. But sometimes, he said, drug dealers get shot. Thompson was shot on the streets of Manhattan by a gunman alleged to be Mangione which kicked off a days-long manhunt for the killer. He's now facing second-degree murder charges in New York. open image in gallery Chris Rock hosts SNL on December 14 ( Rosaline OConnor/NBC ) The CEOs killing has brought to light the absolute disdain that some Americans have for the private US health insurance industry. Some social media commenters have expressed a total lack of sympathy for Thompson, with many recalling how their loved ones either died after their healthcare insurance claims were rejected or live in pain due to claim denials. Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore whose 2007 documentary Sicko interrogates the US healthcare industry was allegedly mentioned by name in Mangione's manifesto. After being asked by some media outlets to condemn the murder, he said he did but he also condemned what he called the murders of Americans at the hands of health insurance companies and the politicians who protect a for-profit healthcare industry. He said Americans were "1,000 percent justified" in expressing rage towards health insurers, and said he wanted to "pour gasoline" on that fire. Even the UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty acknowledged that the US insurance industry is broken. We know the health system does not work as well as it should, and we understand peoples frustrations with it, Witty said in a recent op-ed for The New York Times. No one would design a system like the one we have. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy In the decade since SpaceX arrived on the Texas coast, billionaire Elon Musk's company has created thousands of jobs near the Mexico border, launched rockets and sprung up new homes all around an area dubbed Starbase. Now SpaceX wants to make Starbase a recognized city. Nearby residents are asking for an election to incorporate the area, which sits on the southern tip of Texas at Boca Chica Beach. Musk posted on his social platform X on Thursday that SpaceX HQ will now officially be in the city of Starbase, Texas! open image in gallery SpaceXs mega rocket Starship as it is prepared for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on March 13 ( AP ) But turning Starbase into a new Texas city with its own government won't happen overnight, and questions remain, including what SpaceX and residents would stand to gain. Already, the idea is drawing pushback from local activists who have raised concerns about SpaceX's environmental impact. Becoming a city SpaceX's operations are in Cameron County, which has roughly 426,000 residents. Judge Eddie Trevino Jr., the countys top elected official, said SpaceX's petition delivered this week formally starts the process for becoming a city. Our legal and elections administration will review the petition, see whether or not it complied with all of the statutory requirements and then well go from there, Trevino said. He did not offer a timetable. But if the process moves forward, Trevino said the county elections department would next create the jurisdiction to decide who gets to vote and then plan a vote. open image in gallery Elon Musk is joining Donald Trumps administration as a quasi-government agency chief to recommend drastic cuts in federal spending ( AFP via Getty Images ) Neither SpaceX nor local officials have said how many people live in the area who would become Starbase residents. More than 3,400 full-time SpaceX employees and contractors work at the Starbase site, according to a local impact study issued by Trevino earlier this year. Possible changes Robert Greer, an associate professor at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, has studied how cities incorporate. He said a city would need to create its own charter, provide services, create local ordinances and levy taxes. It could also shift the tax burden on residences or businesses. "If you create your own city, and its a relatively small area now, you have kind of control over that area, Greer said. SpaceX officials have said making Starbase a city is necessary to continue growing the area's workforce and the company's development. Incorporating Starbase will streamline the processes required to build the amenities necessary to make the area a world class place to livefor the hundreds already calling it home, as well as for prospective workers eager to help build humanitys future in space," Kathryn Lueders, Starbase's general manager, wrote in a letter to the county this week. open image in gallery SpaceXs mega rocket Starship prepares for a test flight on November 18 ( AP ) SpaceX has faced local opposition to its impact in the area. Most recently, they faced a lawsuit from Save RGV, a regional nonprofit group which alleged SpaceX was dumping polluted water into the nearby bay. SpaceX said in response that a state review found no environmental risks and called the lawsuit frivolous. Some of the questions that we have is what this will mean in terms of regulation and oversight by the county," said Jim Chapman, a Save RGV board member. A widening Texas footprint Musk has long been planting business roots in Texas and has spread them far and wide across the Lone Star State. The billionaire moved to Texas in 2020 and relocated to or expanded a number of his companies in the state, citing the state's business friendly climate. Tesla's massive, 10-million square foot (930,000 square meter) Gigafactory, where the company makes its Cybertrucks, opened near Austin in 2022 and will also serve as the company headquarters. In 2021, Musk moved his Boring Co., a tunnel construction business, to Bastrop, another Central Texas community near Austin. Musk has said he has a vision to build out a Texas utopia where employees could live and work. The company has its own small community of mobile homes and a store called the Boring Bodega, which serves as a general store, lunch spot, barbershop, bar and public playground. In 2023, Musk and Texas Governor Greg Abbott broke ground for the site of a Tesla lithium refinery near coastal Corpus Christi. Lithium is the key ingredient used to make batteries for electric vehicles. And in September, Musk moved X headquarters from San Francisco to Bastrop, leaving the California spot that had been the companys home since 2011. ___ Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas. The renowned Chinese electric vehicle brand BYD held a roadshow for its new car model, the Dolphin 2024, in Brunei, local media reported. According to the local daily Borneo Bulletin, this was the first roadshow for the BYD Dolphin 2024 in Brunei, and the first five units are available at a special promotional price. "We are excited to bring a new era of electric mobility to Brunei and look forward to contributing to a greener future for this beautiful nation," said Chan Key Hong, managing director of Maju Motors. At the event, Chan Key Hong also unveiled the BYD app, a smart platform that allows BYD owners to monitor their vehicle's battery and fuel levels, lock and unlock the car, and turn the air conditioning on or off, according to the Borneo Bulletin. Brunei, located in Southeast Asia, has a population of 340,000 citizens and a strong social welfare system. Chinese automobile brands are becoming increasingly popular in the Brunei market in recent years. The latest technologies are developing rapidly, and artificial intelligence is no longer a surprise. AI is related to neuroscience, including cognitive, systemic computing, mathematics, robotics, and even philosophy. Some scientists believe that AI will soon be able to surpass the abilities of the human mind by tens, thousands, or millions of times in a split second. ADVERTISIMENT Therefore, this field creates unlimited space for fantasies that can become reality. OBOZ.UA has collected the best movies about artificial intelligence and the development of modern technologies. The Creator Year: 2023 Genre: sci-fi, thriller, action, drama, adventure Director: Gareth Edwards Actors: John David Washington, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Gemma Chan, Allison Janney, Ken Watanabe It is 2065. The mysterious Creator has developed artificial intelligence that is used in all spheres of human life. But a catastrophe occurs as AI causes a nuclear explosion in Los Angeles, so the government decides to ban the technology, fearing a repeat of the tragedy. Five years later, the military hires Joshua for a mission to infiltrate the Creator's laboratory to destroy an innovative secret weapon. Suddenly, during the mission, he discovers an AI girl who looks and behaves like a human. Joshua is faced with a difficult choice. ADVERTISIMENT Transcendence Year: 2014 Genre: sci-fi, thriller, detective, drama Director: Wally Pfister Cast: Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany, Cillian Murphy, Kate Mara Talented researcher Will Caster works in the field of artificial intelligence and tries to create a unique computer. He wants technology to surpass the human mind and accumulate all knowledge and experience. There is an anti-technology group in the world called RIFT, known for its radical actions. They organize terrorist attacks, destroying laboratories where artificial intelligence was being developed. Will was injured during one of the attacks. He was fatally wounded by a bullet containing radioactive polonium. Doctors conclude that the protagonist will live no more than five weeks, but Will has his own plans... ADVERTISIMENT Bigbug Year: 2022 Genre: science fiction Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet Cast: Elsa Silberstein, Isabelle Nanty, Stephane De Groodt The story takes place in the year 2045. Almost all work is done by artificial intelligence, not humans. Suddenly, a real uprising of machines takes place in the house of old-fashioned Alice. The androids lock her house, and then the houses of all her neighbors, ostensibly for safety. However, in reality, AI seeks to change the existing order. Superintelligence ADVERTISIMENT Year: 2020 Genre: comedy, romantic drama, sci-fi Director: Ben Falcone Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Bobby Cannavale, James Corden, Brian Tyree Henry, Sam Richardson A superintelligence has three scenarios for the future: to save people from all troubles, enslave them, or destroy them. The AI is looking for a guinea pig to conduct tests. It needs a typical representative of humanity. An elderly and not very happy American woman, Carol Peters, becomes the perfect candidate. The AI informs her in the voice of a famous TV presenter that it will be her companion for three days. Carol has three days to change her life, and her success or failure will be a pardon or a sentence for modern civilization... I Am Mother Year: 2019 Genre: sci-fi, thriller, drama, detective Director: Grant Spector Cast: Clara Rugaard, Hilary Swank, Rose Byrne, Luke Hawker, Summer Lenton, Hazel Sandery, Tahlia Sturzaker A global catastrophe hits the Earth. Humanity is destroyed. Then a special emergency program is triggered in an underground bunker. A robot with the highest level of artificial intelligence selects a human embryo and begins to raise it as its own child. The girl is born, grows up, and studies various sciences under the robot's supervision. However, one day a strange woman enters the station. Now the girl has doubts about the real intentions of the robotic mother and does not understand how the world works. Subscribe to OBOZ.UA channels on Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest events. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thousands of everyday investors who used banking apps to gamify personal finance have been left with mere pennies after a fintech company collapsed earlier this year. The collapse and bankruptcy of fintech middleman Synapse in May has left more than 100,000 Americans locked out of a collective $90 million of their own money, prompting a class action lawsuit. One of those customers was Kayla Morris, a former school teacher from Texas who was saving money to buy a largerhome for her growing family. When she and her husband sold their home in 2023, they took their earnings $282,153.87 and deposited it into fintech app Yotta, where they believed their money would be safe. After the Synapse collapse, Evolve Bank & Trust worked to return the money tied up in complicated ledger mishaps back to the customers, but Morris was left wanting. We were informed last Monday that Evolve was only going to pay us $500 out of that $280,000, Morris said during a court hearing, according to CNBC. Its just devastating. Her situation was not unique; Zach Jacobs, who had $94,468.92 deposited in Yotta said he was getting less than $130 back from his bank. Morris, Jacobs and other customers affected by the downfall of Synapse likely had never heard of the company before May 11. They used apps like Yotta or Juno banking apps that were not banks, but gamified personal investment platforms which in turn relied on Synapse's services. In April, approximately $265 million of users money was tied up in the end of Synapse. Since then, some $90 million is still unaccounted for. But that's not the worst part; not only are the users locked out of their funds, but due to alleged improper ledger keeping on Synapse's end, it's unclear exactly how all of those funds should be distributed. How did a fintech middleman end up in the center of this level of monetary chaos? The rise and fall of Synapse Synapse was founded in 2014 and was backed by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. The company's aim was to provide fintech companies like Juno or Yotta with a means of providing banking services despite not holding banking licenses. Fintech platforms that don't have banking licenses aren't protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. If a major US bank fails, customers who keep money with the bank aren't left holding an empty bag the FDIC will reimburse them up to $250,000 per depositor, per banking institution. As a result, fintech companies typically need to partner with FDIC-insured banks to hold their customers' money in special accounts that give the companies the ability to manage those funds. That also means fintech companies need a middleman to perform bookkeeping tasks and maintain their ledgers; which is where Synapse entered the picture. Synapse had no lack of customers in need of its services; before its bankruptcy, it had contracts with 100 fintech companies representing approximately 10 million end users, according to an April court filing. After Synapse declared bankruptcy in April, its four banking partners lost access to a critical system they used to identify the company's records. That meant that end-users using fintech apps like Yotta were left with their money tied up, and their banks without the means to determine who had what deposited where. In response to the chaos, the FDI proposed a new record keeping rule in September requiring more robust ledger keeping for any bank deposit received from a third-party or non-bank entity fintech companies if they accept deposits from consumers or businesses. Since the chaos began, the partner banks working with Synapse have been trying to reconcile with customers. A report filed by the Troutman Pepper lawsuit, published in September, found that the between $65 million and $95 million of the $265 million is still unaccounted for. FDIC response and lawsuit The FDIC's rule proposes new requirements for any "custodial deposit accounts with transactional features," according to Banking Dive. The aim is to force banks to maintain "direct, continuous, and unrestricted access to the records" of any third-party groups maintaining ledgers for third-party entities, like fintech companies. The rule was a direct response to what happened with Synapse, and will, hopefully, prevent something like this from happening again in the future. But what happens in the future isn't going to make whole the users who still don't have access to their money. American Bank, AMG National Trust, Lineage Bank, and Evolve Bank & Trust Synapse's banking partners have been hit with a lawsuit seeking class action status in a federal court in Colorado. That lawsuit, filed in late November, was brought primarily by Yotta and Juno customers who allege the banks engaged in "gross mismanagement of cash deposits of ordinary consumers who have lost access to their holdings" in the wake of Synapse's bankruptcy. Unfortunately, the Partner Banks failed to adequately maintain and safeguard customers funds, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit comes as the banks are still working to get the money back to the customers. Last month, Evolve announced it was ready to disburse $46 million back to Synapse end users. It has been a long road for everyone involved, but the right road, and we are proud to have completed this exhaustive reconciliation process, which we believe was the responsible course of action to properly return end user funds, an Evolve spokesperson told Banking Dive in an email. However, some of those payouts have left customers overwhelmed; according to a Banking Dive report, some Evolve customers who have received payouts report receiving as little as $0.84 on more than $10,000 in funds, and $9.01 on a $28,660 deposit. As a result, it's unlikely the suing customers will be backing off anytime soon. The result is that many customers are left without access to their cash deposits and with no clear ability to discern which of the Partner Banks holds their money, the lawsuit said. But their money is necessarily held by one or more of the Partner Banks. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy ABCs $15 million settlement with Donald Trump following the president-elects defamation lawsuit has alarmed legal analysts and drawn criticism that the network and its Disney parent company gave up without a fight. Knee bent. Ring kissed, prominent Democratic elections lawyer Marc Elias wrote. Another legacy news outlet chooses obedience. Former Washington Post media reporter Paul Farhi called the settlement an awful precedent and a huge sellout. open image in gallery Donald Trump sued ABC and anchor George Stephanopoulos for on-air remarks stating that the president-elect was found liable for rape ( AFP via Getty Images ) Im old enough to remember and to have worked on cases where newspapers vigorously defended themselves against defamation cases instead of folding before the defendant was even deposed, wrote former federal prosecutor and MSNBC legal analyst Joyce Vance. On Saturday, it was announced that ABC and host George Stephanopoulos agreed to settle the claims at the center of Trumps lawsuit against the network and one of its star anchors, who was sued for stating that Trump was found liable for rape by a jury. The $15 million settlement goes towards Trumps presidential library. Stephanopoulos mischaracterized the jurys precise findings in a long-running legal battle involving allegations that Trump sexually assaulted a woman in a department store in New York in the 1990s, and then defamed her by saying she was lying about it. His comments appeared to summarize what a federal judge overseeing those cases explained to the former president last year, but the judge handling Trumps lawsuit disagreed that Stephanopouloss statements were substantially true teeing up what would become a protracted legal battle if it went to trial. What the judge said in E Jean Carrolls case E Jean Carroll has contended that Trump assaulted her in a dressing room where, among other things, he forcibly penetrated her vagina with his fingers, Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote last year in the New York case Under New York criminal law, rape involves vaginal penetration by a penis. Trump was ultimately found liable for penetrating Carroll with his hand. Kaplan said the distinction in this case is largely a semantic one. A jurys unanimous verdict was almost entirely in her favor, but of the only point on which Ms. Carroll did not prevail was whether she had proved that Mr. Trump had raped her within the narrow, technical meaning of a particular section of the New York Penal Law, Kaplan added. open image in gallery E Jean Carroll won a defamation case against Donald Trump, who was found liable by a jury for sexual abuse ( Getty Images ) That section of law defines rape as used in criminal prosecutions only to vaginal penetration by a penis, while the forcible, unconsented-to penetration of the vagina or of other bodily orifices by fingers, other body parts, or other articles or materials is instead labelled sexual abuse, the judge noted. The finding that Ms.Carroll failed to prove that she was raped within the meaning of the New York Penal Law does not mean that she failed to prove that Mr. Trump raped her as many people commonly understand the word rape, he wrote. Indeed, as the evidence at trial makes clear, the jury found that Mr. Trump in fact did exactly that. The jury implicitly found that Trump deliberately and forcibly penetrated Ms. Carrolls vagina with his fingers, causing immediate pain and long lasting emotional and psychological harm, according to Kaplan. Judge overseeing Trumps lawsuit rejected ABCs key argument Earlier this year, the federal judge overseeing Trumps lawsuit against the network rejected ABCs arguments that the statements were substantially true and thus protected under Floridas so-called fair report privilege. She said she was not persuaded that such broad latitude exists in Florida, where the suit was filed. Florida law absolves media outlets from being technically precise in their descriptions of legal issues, but the privilege does not protect media where the omission of important context renders a report misleading, the judge wrote. open image in gallery Donald Trump has mounted an aggressive legal campaign against news outlets for critical coverage, including a $10 billion suit against CBS News ( REUTERS ) She argued that a reasonable viewer who watched the ABC News segment could have been misled by Stephanopouloss statements, which did not include the jurys original findings and only fleetingly referenced the interpretation Judge Kaplan later offered. Judge Kaplans findings do not have preclusive effect here, she added. To win the lawsuit, Trump would have had to prove that ABC was reckless when it came to the truth or falsity of the statements Stephanopoulos made, Vance explained. That would be a tough bar for Trump to reach in this case because of the kinds of statements that were made and the outcome of the E. Jean Carroll defamation case against Trump, she said. Judge Kaplans lengthy filing could have been powerful evidence to combat Trumps defamation claims, according to Vance. Settlement avoids potentially damaging evidence process Media analysts have suggested that a payout pre-empted potentially embarassing emails and messages that would have been leaked out during the pre-trial evidence process That information could have made ABC look bad or would be advantageous to Trumps lawyers in other ways, according to CNNs Brian Stelter. He referenced the pre-trial discovery process in Dominion Voting Systemss lawsuit against Fox News, which revealed damning messages among top Fox personalities and leadership as the network amplified bogus conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 presidential election. Fox eventually settled, resulting in the largest-ever settlement of its kind, to the tune of $787 million. Settling seals the case and lets ABC (and parent company Disney) move on, Stelter said. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator who has campaigned for a national healthcare system, has said the UnitedHealthcare CEOs shooting underscores peoples frustration with the industry. Sanders, an Independent who caucuses with the Democrats, made the remarks on Meet the Press on Sunday morning. What I think has happened in the last few months is that what you have seen rising up is peoples anger at a health insurance industry, which denies people the health care that they desperately need while they make billions and billions of dollars in profit, the senator told the shows host Kristen Welker in response to a question about whether now is the right time to be discussing health insurance policy. Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the murder, allegedly gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4 in New York City. He was arrested days later at a McDonalds in Altoona, Pennsylvania. At the time, police said they found a handwritten manifesto on him outlining his motive. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming. A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy, Mangione allegedly wrote. Hes been charged with second-degree murder in New York and gun-related charges in Pennsylvania. While condemning Mangiones murder, Sanders, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, reiterated some of the points made in the alleged manifesto. open image in gallery A poster reading Free Luigi near the scene where UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot dead on December 4 ( AP ) We need to ask ourselves when we talk about health care is why we are the only major country on earth not to guarantee health care to all people, why we have a life expectancy which is significantly lower than in other countries, why working-class people die five to ten years shorter than the people on top, he said I think the time is long overdue for us to guarantee health care to every man, woman, and child, especially at a time when were spending twice as much per capita on health care as the people of every other nation. Other Democratic lawmakers have recently highlighted problems with the healthcare system. In a TV interview earlier this week, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren said you can only push people so far and then they start to take matters into their own hands. open image in gallery Sanders and Elizabeth Warren arrive for a vote at the Capitol on September 25, 2024 in Washington, DC. Theyre both highlighting the problems with the US healthcare system after the UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting ( Getty Images ) She later said: I should have been much clearer that there is never a justification for murder. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Congresswoman from New York, said the shooting revealed a mass bubbling of resentment. Of course, we dont want to see the chaos that vigilantism presents, she told Business Insider. We also dont want to see the extreme suffering that millions of Americans confront when your life changes overnight from a horrific diagnosis. UnitedHealthcare denies more claims than other insurers, according to a report from Forbes. After Mangiones arrest, his supporters donated tens of thousands of dollars to his defense funds, surpassing $100,000. Hes currently being held in a Pennsylvania detetion facility while he fights extradition to New York. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Donald Trumps incoming border czar has suggested the president-elects plans for mass deportations will begin in Chicago, part of a plan that would deploy law enforcement officers into communities across the country for broad sweeps targeting people living in the country without legal permission. The Windy Citys mayor is vowing to protect his citys residents from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents who could push into schools and workplaces, butting against so-called sanctuary policies barring federal forces from using local police for deportation enforcement. What the Trump administration has called for is for local police departments around the country to behave as ICE agents. In sanctuary cities, that is not permissible, Chicagos Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson told CNN. If there is someone here in this country that commits a violent crime and they are undocumented, they are in the hands of the law, he added. That is clear. Immigrants who have committed crimes already will be identified by police once they are arrested and in custody, then the law, of course, is fully prepared to prosecute, he said. open image in gallery Chicago Mayort Brandon Johnson has vowed to protect his citys residents after Tom Homan suggested Trumps mass deportations would begin in the Windy City ( AFP via Getty Images ) Look, no one is going to harbor or protect criminals, whether you have come here as an immigrant or undocumented or otherwise, Johnson continued. Any administration that would look to disrupt the sensibility of public accommodations, consider [it] a threat to our democracy. This week, Homan told a group of Illinois Republicans that he wants Democratic officials to get the hell out of the way of Trumps plans. Trumps pledge to arrest, detain and deport people living in the country without legal permission as part of his day one agenda is going to start right here in Chicago, Homan said. If your Chicago mayor doesnt want to help, he can step aside, he added. But if he impedes us if he knowingly harbors or conceals an illegal alien I will prosecute him. Trumps allies expect to expand his pledge to target potentially millions of people beyond the scope of undocumented immigrants who are accused of committing crimes. Trump and Homan have also said that US citizen children of non-citizen parents are expected to be deported along with their families. open image in gallery Trumps border czar Tom Homan also met with New York City Mayor Eric Adams this week ( AP ) Chicago has welcomed more than 50,000 people who arrived in the country from the US-Mexico border since 2022, largely from Republican-driven measures to send people seeking asylum from their states into Democratic-led cities. Immigrants advocacy groups are warning that the Trumps administrations agenda could violently disrupt vulnerable immigrant communities and the citizens and legal residents within them. We are talking about disrupting households. Were talking about disrupting communities. Were talking about disrupting local economies, said Fred Tsao with Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights told Chicago ABC affiliate WLS. We have the right to be safe in our homes, and to require a warrant if law enforcement wants to come in, he added. Its no secret that Illinois will face countless, baseless attacks over the next four years from the Trump Administration, a spokesperson for Illinois Governor JB Pritzker told The Independent this week. Rather than responding to every ridiculous boast from Trump lackeys, Governor Pritzker is focused on what he was focused on during the first Trump term: leading our state with competence instead of chaos, the statement added. Homan also met with New York City Mayor Eric Adams this week, and the mayor told reporters that he shares the same desire to go after those who have committed repeated violent acts among innocent New Yorkers and among migrants and asylum seekers. But he said he is exploring how to unravel the citys sanctuary policies and get clarity on what we can do and cant do. We need to examine them and see what my authority is to use executive orders to make New York City safe, he added. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A server in Washington, D.C. has been fired after she said she would refuse to serve certain officials in Donald Trump's incoming administration who have been accused of sexual misconduct. The server was working at Beucherts Saloon on Capitol Hill when she made the comments to Washingtonian magazine for a story about D.C. preparing for the influx of Trump officials to the city's dining spots. After the story ran, Fox News ran its own story following up on her comments and learned she had been fired for what her employer called her base prejudice. I personally would refuse to serve any person in office who I know of as being a sex trafficker or trying to deport millions of people, Suzannah Van Rooy told the magazine. Its not, Oh, we hate Republicans. Its that this person has moral convictions that are strongly opposed to mine, and I dont feel comfortable serving them. open image in gallery A server at Beucherts Saloon on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. was recently fired after she said she would refuse to serve some officials in the Donald Trump administration ( Google Maps ) She said that while she expects most servers will just grin and bear having to serve people they are morally and ideologically opposed to, she hopes that some will make their opposition clear. People were a lot more motivated the first time around to do those kinds of shows of passion. This time around, there is kind of a sense of defeat and acceptance, she told the magazine. But I hope that people still do stand up to this administration and tell them their thoughts on their misbehavior. Beuchert's called Van Rooys comments to the magazine unacceptable. Recent comments made by a member of staff who had no authority to speak on behalf of our entire restaurant have been, quite rightly, flagged as inappropriate, hostile, intolerant, and unacceptable. This staff member does NOT speak for us as a restaurant, the restaurant said in a statement. As previously reported, a number of incoming Trump officials and Trump himself have been accused of sexual misconduct. Elle magazine writer E Jean Carroll was awarded more than $80 million following a defamation trial in which he was found liable for sexual abuse. Former congressman Matt Gaetz was being investigated by both the Department of Justice and the House Ethics Committee for allegations of sexual relations with a minor before he dropped out of consideration for Trump's Attorney General. He withdrew his nomination hours before CNN published a report about a second alleged sexual encounter with a 17-year-old girl. open image in gallery Trumps nominee for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is among potential administration officials who have been accused of sexual misdonuct ( Getty Images ) Elon Musk who has been been tapped by Trump to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency pseudo-agency alongside failed Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has been sued by eight former SpaceX employees over sexual harassment-related allegations. In the lawsuit, former employees allege Musk treated women as sexual objects to be evaluated on their bra size, bombarding the workplace with lewd sexual banter. Trumps proposed defense secretary, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, was accused of sexually assaulting a staff member from the California Federation of Republican Women in 2017, and Robert F Kennedy Jr Trumps nominee for the Department of Health and Human Services has been accused of sexually assaulting a former babysitter in the 1990s. Linda McMahon, Trumps proposed pick for Secretary of Education, has been named in a lawsuit alleging that her and her husband, former WWE head-honcho Vince McMahon, failed to stop an employee form sexually abusing children in the 1980s and 1990s. Vince McMahon is also being sued for allegedly sex trafficking a woman in his employ. open image in gallery Donald Trump and Elon Musk are both acused of sexual misconduct ( via REUTERS ) This isnt the first time drama involving the Trump administration and D.C.-area restaurants has made headlines. Former Trump press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was kicked out of the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia in 2018 by its co-owner, saying that she publicly defended the presidents cruelest policies. Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters made headlines shortly after she called for supporters to confront Trump officials in public spaces like restaurants to let them know the public opposed their policies. Republicans argued at the time that Waters was encouraging public harm to administration officials. Around the same time, protesters confronted Trump's then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristjen Nielsen while she was dining at a local Mexican restaurant and voiced their opposition to the administration's mass deportation policies. The protesters, including members of the Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America, entered the MXDC Cocina Mexicana near the White House with signs and jeered at the official. Van Rooy has removed her LinkedIn profile, likely to avoid harassment by angry Trump supporters. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A lawmaker on the House committee overseeing the US intelligence community on Sunday batted down rumors being leveled about mysterious sightings of drones in New Jersey and possibly elsewhere along the US east coast. Federal agencies put out a joint statement on Thursday declaring that the spotted drones in New Jersey did not represent a foreign threat or any danger to public safety, but did not provide an explanation for what worried New Jerseyans were seeing from their homes. DHS secretary Alejandro Mayorkas also addressed the matter on Sunday, becoming the first administration official to do so on camera. We know of no foreign involvement with respect to the sightings in the northeast. And we are vigilant in investigating this matter, the Department of Homeland Security, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the lead, he said on ABCs This Week. Jim Himes, a member of the House Intelligence Committee appeared on Fox News Sunday to discuss the drone sightings and apparent lack of a vocal, coordinated response from the federal government, which lawmakers have said is allowing misinformation to fill an information vacuum. His committee is due to receive a classified briefing on the drone sightings later this week. Theres no question that drones are being sightedThere are thousands of drones flown every day in the United States recreational drones, commercial drones." DHS Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas responds to numerous aerial sightings reported across East Coast. https://t.co/VM1aZSe1W6 pic.twitter.com/7v5CSSjzbe This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 15, 2024 There are a lot of us who are pretty frustrated right now, Himes, a Democrat from Connecticut, told Fox. The answer we dont know is not a good enough answer when people are anxious, when they are nervous, and this has been true since weve been a species on this planet. People will fill a vacuum with their fears and anxieties, Himes said, quipping: Oh my god, theres an Iranian mothership hovering off the coast of Asbury Park! Let me say something I know with confidence: It is not the Iranians, it is not the Chinese. They arent Martians. He concluded And so my frustration is the FAA in particular, which is the agency of jurisdiction for our domestic skies, ought to be out Saturday morning debunking conspiracies and giving clear explanations for the phenomenon. WATCH: Rep Jim Himes @jahimes on growing bipartisan frustration over the federal governments response to drone sightings. pic.twitter.com/7UR9DLPUzP Fox News Sunday (@FoxNewsSunday) December 15, 2024 Himess overall points largely mirrored the stance of the federal government, though the congressman was clear in his frustration over the Biden administrations failure to provide clear leadership as the stories run rampant on social media. The congressman, who has access to classified intelligence briefings, did not give specific reasons for his assertion that the spotted drones (or, in some cases, commercial aircraft) were not Iranian of origin. The congressman could go on to bat down similar conspiracy theories being spread online later in the day. He criticized Georgia Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene for claiming in a tweet (without any evidence) that the drone sightings were of unmanned government aircraft. This is absolutely not true. And really irresponsible to say. https://t.co/IUDPYbzIXl Jim Himes (@jahimes) December 15, 2024 Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, trashed Mayorkas on ABC after the latters interview. He urged the federal government to discover the real origin of the drones and report it to the public with speed. Ive lived in New Jersey my whole life, said Christie, an ABC News contributor. This is the first time that Ive noticed drones over my house. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security said last Thursday that federal authorities had no evidence of a foreign nexus for the drones allegedly spotted by residents of New Jersey. We take seriously the threat that can be posed by unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), which is why law enforcement and other agencies continue to support New Jersey and investigate the reports. To be clear, they have uncovered no such malicious activity or intent at this stage. While there is no known malicious activity occurring in New Jersey, the reported sightings there do, however, highlight the insufficiency of current authorities, said the agencies. President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris have not made any public statements about the matter, however, and numerous local officials and elected lawmakers in New Jersey and down the east coast have pushed back against the statement from the DHS and FBI, given the lack of clarity around the drones origins. Some have even shared images of what appear to be commercial aircrat as fears of the drones quickly spread on social media. It remains to be seen if they will address it at all: the outgoing Biden administration is now approaching the holidays as much of Washington readies for the imminent arrival of Donald Trump and the MAGA GOP in January. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Former New York congressman George Santos was hit with a cup of coffee as he walked through Times Square, according to a video making the rounds on social media. The clip begins with an unnamed man wearing sunglasses speaking into camera, saying, This guy has got [the] audacity to show his face, as he follows Santos. After getting the former congressmans attention, the man throws a drink on Santos, and asks, How do you like that? What the f*** is wrong with you? Santos responds. The clip, based on digital headlines circulating on news tickers in the background, appears to be from November. The Independent has contacted Santos for comment. The video prompted criticism online, even from opponents of of the controversial Republican. As much as we dont like the guy, this is unacceptable, the popular X account Republicans Against Trump wrote on X. Stop assaulting people just because you disagree with them politically. The comment appeared to be a reference to the recent fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was allegedly gunned down outside of a Manhattan hotel earlier this month by Luigi Mangione, an outspoken critic of the healthcare system. Santos was accused of making numerous false statements about his background and expelled from Congress in December of 2023, one of just six members of Congress in history to be kicked out of the House. The other five were members of the Confederacy. In August, Santos pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and wired fraud charges. Santos admitted to wire fraud, stealing credit card information for personal use and lying to the Federal Election Commission. He will have to repay more than $300,000 to his victims, prosecutors said. Since leaving office, Santos has maintained a high public profile, playing on his scandal-plagued persona. This month, he began advertising a new podcast called Pants on Fire and said he was burying his political career. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A Department of Justice watchdog report on the FBIs operations during the January 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol vindicates Donald Trumps allies continued suggestion the agency had a hand in the chaos, according to Senator Mike Lee even though the report found no evidence undercover agents were there. Now it appears we werent so crazy after all, the Republican senator told Fox Newss Sunday Morning Futures. We had perfectly legitimate reasons to asked the questions. Lee went on to baselessly suggest that Democrats may be hiding further information about the nature of January 6. What I do know is that after the Democrats lost the majority [in the House of Representatives], when the new majority came in and they started looking for documents, there was a bunch of stuff missing, he said. As far as who may have destroyed what, I dont know. In the months after the 2020 election, Lee encourage the Trump team to hire attorneys and set them loose challenging the election results and urged state legislators to appoint illegitimate pro-Trump alternative electors, according to text messages obtained by CNN. "Well, you know, had I known that my texts would be leaked to the public selectively, perhaps I wouldve said less in text messages, Lee later said in defense. open image in gallery Trump allies have long suggested federal agents were in crowd at January 6 insurrection, a claim a recent inspector general report largely disproves ( REUTERS ) Nearly four years later, the January 6 insurrection remains a political live wire. More than 1,500 people have been charged for their involvement in January 6, the largest federal prosecution in U.S. history. Trump himself has been charged with conspiracy and obstruction for his attempt to overturn the 2020 election results, though special counsel Jack Smith has moved to dismiss the case since Trumps election, citing Justice Department guidelines against prosecuting a sitting president. Trump has said he will grant pardons to large numbers of January 6 defendants, whom he has referred to as patriots and hostages. open image in gallery Trump nominated Kash Patel to lead the FBI, whose director Christopher Wray whom Trump initially appointed during his first administration is stepping down before Trump takes office ( REUTERS ) Critics of the incoming administration worry that FBI nominee Kash Patel will use the agency to go after figures who scrutinized Trump on January 6 and other issues. Patel, who has pushed a variety of conspiracy theories, has previously published an enemies list of figures, many of them Democrats, he says deserve prosecution. Patel has also said he wants to turn the FBI headquarters into a museum of the deep state, a shadowy cabal many on the right believe is running national affairs. Yes, were going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections were going to come after you, he said on an episode of War Room last year. Whether its criminally or civilly, well figure that out. Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar warned on CBS Face the Nation on Sunday that Patel is on a revenge mission when we should be on a national security safety mission. This is not the direction we need to go, she said. Senator Adam Schiff of California, who Trump regularly pilloried for his work on the January 6 investigation in Congress, warned this week that Patels only qualification is his blind obedience to Trump. The president can find other people who are loyal to him and to his interests, but who are also loyal to the rule of law, Schiff told ABC. Patel is not one of them. Others like Republican Senator Eric Schmitt argue the FBI is in need of change after years of controversy. That agency is in desperate need of reform, he told ABCs This Week. Kash Patel is very qualified and I think hes going to get the support in the Senate. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Five Australians convicted as part of the infamous Bali Nine drug smuggling ring have returned home after serving nearly two decades in Indonesian prisons. The transfer follows diplomatic negotiations between Jakarta and Canberra that culminated in a repatriation agreement earlier this month. Prime minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the return of Matthew Norman, Scott Rush, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen, and Michael Czugaj in a statement on Sunday. "These Australians served more than 19 years in prison in Indonesia. It was time for them to come home," Mr Albanese said. The Bali Nine, a group of Australians arrested in 2005 while attempting to smuggle over 8kg of heroin from Bali, captured international attention. The two ringleaders, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were executed in 2015, sparking diplomatic tensions and leading Australia to recall its ambassador in protest. Of the remaining members, the groups sole woman, was released in 2018, while another member died of cancer the same year. Mr Albanese expressed gratitude to Indonesia for its cooperation. We would like to convey our deep appreciation to the government of Indonesia for its cooperation to facilitate the mens return to Australia on humanitarian grounds, he said, highlighting the deal as a testament to the strong bilateral relationship and mutual respect between the two nations. open image in gallery Bali Nine refers to a drug smuggling ring convicted for trying to smuggle 8.3 kilograms of heroin from the Indonesian resort island of Bali to Australia in 2005 ( EPA ) The men, who landed in Darwin on Sunday morning after being transferred from Bali, will now have the chance to rebuild their lives. The men will have the opportunity to continue their personal rehabilitation and reintegration in Australia, Mr Albanese noted. open image in gallery Australian Matthew Norman, left, a member of the Bali Nine group and serving life sentences for drug smuggling ( AP ) The Indonesian government provided details on the transfer, with senior minister for legal affairs Yusril Ihza Mahendra explaining the terms of the arrangement. The agreement bars the five from returning to Indonesia and ensures Australia upholds the original court rulings. Indonesia would respect any decision taken by Australia when the prisoners returned home, including if the group was granted a pardon, Mr Yusril said earlier. He clarified that the transfer did not involve an exchange of prisoners. Additional reporting by agencies What parameters of a suitcase are important to you: capacity, precise dimensions, sturdy wheels, etc. and color at the very end of the list. It turns out that an unsuccessfully chosen color for a suitcase increases the risk of losing it, and also affects the quality of your trip. Oboz.ua has found out the expert opinion, and now you will definitely choose the right color for your trip. Don't miss the life hack on how to save 50% on baggage fees when flying with Ryanair. ADVERTISIMENT Ryanair explains how the color of a suitcase increases the risk of losing it When choosing the color of a suitcase for a trip, most people take a practical approach to this issue. What could be more practical than dark colors, because during a trip, a suitcase can quickly get dirty and worn out. But it turns out that dark colors, black, blue, brown, gray, significantly increase the risk of losing your suitcase. Now imagine that these are the colors that 99% of travelers choose for their suitcases. The press service of Ryanair explained why it is better not to choose dark colors for suitcases: the presence of a large number of dark colors of luggage on a black luggage belt leads to a real collapse when looking for your suitcase. Confusion, quarrels, and queues ensue. one black suitcase among 20-50 others is easier to steal and take out. This is what thieves usually use. ADVERTISIMENT So, if you don't want to spend your vacation searching for your luggage, you should choose bright and catchy colors for your suitcases, even if you have to wipe them 10 times. If you are a "lucky" owner of a black suitcase, don't rush to throw it away and buy a new one, Ryanair has given some more useful tips: make your suitcase as distinctive as possible by arming yourself with stickers or ribbons. Turn your black suitcase into a zebra or a ladybug, use your imagination, or get your kids involved; you can place a colored ribbon on the handle of your suitcase, and consider a tag with your name, surname and contact number for your suitcase. ADVERTISIMENT How suitcase color affects the quality of your trip - color experts The influence of color on human consciousness has long been no secret. Psychologists and color experts say that the color of your suitcase can affect the quality of your trip. How does it work? Since colors can change our perception of the world, our mood, and even our reaction, the color of a suitcase can help or hurt in the mood and the process of traveling. Among the most favorable colors of suitcases for vacation: blue (not dark) - evokes calmness and trust; green - harmonizes and sets you up for a positive mood; yellow - warms up your joy and happiness while traveling; gray - if the trip is of a business nature. Focuses on the purpose of the trip. You can dilute it with other colors to make it stand out. Do not choose these colors for traveling suitcases: ADVERTISIMENT black - concentration and restraint, which is tiring while traveling; red - can increase the feeling of stress, anxiety and danger; white - a very beautiful and aesthetic, even elegant color, can turn into a real trigger while traveling. All scratches and stains are visible on white. This can ruin your mood and lead to increased stress levels. The perception of color can be influenced by personal strong associations. So if you personally associate yellow with something bad, avoid this color for your suitcase. How to save on luggage using Ryanair low-cost services Buying airline tickets is a science with many rules and even more ways to get around them. You can save a lot of money by taking an interest in flight life hacks. For example, families will be pleased to know that you can halve the amount of money you pay for huge suitcases for vacation. You just need to register your suitcase for a child. The fact is that Ryanair offers a 50% discount on children's luggage, while the size requirements for suitcases are not reduced. Unfortunately, this does not apply to winter skis, as you can pay up to 80 euros for the flight of winter equipment across Europe. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy At least 11 people have died after Cyclone Chido caused devastating damage in the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, France's Interior Ministry said Sunday. The ministry said it was proving difficult to get a precise tally of the dead and injured amid fears the death toll will increase. A hospital in Mayotte reported that nine people were in critical condition in the hospital and 246 others were injured. The tropical cyclone blew through the southeastern Indian Ocean, also affecting Comoros and Madagascar. Mayotte was directly in the path of the cyclone and suffered extensive damage on Saturday, officials said. The prefect of Mayotte said it was the worst cyclone to hit Mayotte in 90 years. Chido has now made landfall in Mozambique on the African mainland, where emergency officials had warned that 2.5 million people could be impacted in two northern provinces. ___ AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy At least five people have died after a wooden migrant boat capsized off Greeces southern island of Gavdos on Friday night, sparking a huge rescue operation. So far, 39 men onboard the boat, mostly from Pakistan, have been rescued by the cargo ships sailing in the area. They have been transferred to the island of Crete, the Greek coastguard said. The number of missing people has not yet been confirmed, but survivors of the boat said there were dozens of others onboard. These reports have not been confirmed by Greek officials. Coastguard boats, naval aircraft, merchant vessels and an Italian frigate have been scouring the area since Greek authorities were alerted about the incident on Friday night as the wooden boat approached Europes most southerly point of Gavdos. open image in gallery An unknown amount of people are still missing ( via REUTERS ) More than 100 other people were rescued in separate rescue operations south of the island of Crete, the Greek coastguard said. Three operations involved separate incidents off the island of Gavdos and a fourth off the southern Peloponnese region on the southern mainland. Coastguard officials believe the boats left together from Libya, but this is yet to be confirmed. In the two other operations off Gavdos, 136 people were rescued. A Malta-flagged cargo ship rescued 47 migrants from a boat around 40 nautical miles from Gavdos, while 89 migrants were rescued around 28 nautical miles off the tiny island in Greeces south coast. Another 28 people were rescued off the Peloponnese, with no one reported missing. open image in gallery A capsized migrant boat off the island of Gavdos ( via REUTERS ) The coastguard was supported by navy helicopters and vessels from the European border protection agency Frontex during its overnight search and rescue missions. From 2015 to 2016, Greece was the favoured gateway to the European Union for people from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Nearly one million people landed on Greek islands, mostly via inflatable dinghies, in this period. This year, incidents involving migrant boats and shipwrecks near Crete and Gavdos have increased. The United Nations Refugee agency (UNHCR) estimates that 58,226 men, women and children had arrived in the country by 8 December compared with of 48,720 last year. In 2023, hundreds of migrants drowned in one of the Mediterranean seas deadliest ever disasters, when an overcrowded vessel capsized and sank in international waters off the southwestern Greek coastal town of Pylos. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A migrant survivor of a shooting at a French refugee camp said he saw his friends murdered by the angel of death. Matin, a 25-year-old Kurdish migrant, said a guy came with a shotgun and showered us with bullets during the attack on Saturday. A 22-year-old French gunman shot dead two migrants and two security guards at the camp in Loon-Plage, near Dunkirk, with another victim targeted in a nearby town. Initially, we thought he would fire in the air and then he loaded the gun and aimed at us. We saw Azrael [the Islamic Angel of Death], Matin told Sky News. The two victims, named Hamid and Hadi, were walking along with their two friends, Rashad and Matin, when the assailant opened fire. open image in gallery File photo of migrants attempting to cross the English Channel from northern France in April ( AFP/Getty Images ) The group, all aged around 25, had just been rescued from the English Channel by French police after their dinghy collapsed on the way to Britain. He said the group was rescued after falling into the sea without life jackets and had returned to land to get dry clothes from a charity as they were dying of cold. The gunman came and, all of sudden, drew a shotgun. We saw death with our own eyes. It was Gods will that we survived. In one day, we saw death twice, he said. He said the gunman fired around 15 bullets and his friend Hamid was hit in the head as he and Rashad managed to hide. A 22-year-old man claiming to be the assassin handed himself to the nearby Ghyvelde police station at 5pm local time on Saturday. Authorities found three more weapons in the suspects car, French media reported. It was not immediately clear what the motives were for the shootings. Refugees have been camping in the area for years, predominantly Kurdish or Afghan and including many families with small children, according to the charity Care4Calais, Loon-Plage is home to refugee camps and is near to Calais and the Strait of Dover, the closest point between England and France where thousands of migrants cross the Channel from mainland Europe each year. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Israel said Sunday it will close its embassy in Ireland as relations deteriorated over the war in Gaza, where Palestinian medical officials said new Israeli airstrikes killed over 30 people including several children. The decision to close the embassy came in response to what Israels foreign minister has described as Irelands extreme anti-Israel policies. In May, Israel recalled its ambassador to Dublin after Ireland announced, along with Norway, Spain and Slovenia, it would recognize a Palestinian state. The Irish cabinet last week decided to formally intervene in South Africas case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, which accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. Israel denies it. We are concerned that a very narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide leads to a culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimized, Irelands deputy premier and foreign affairs minister, Micheal Martin, said in a statement. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar's statement on the embassy closure said that Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with Israel. Ahead of Israel's announcement, Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris had called the decision to close the embassy deeply regrettable. He added on X: I utterly reject the assertion that Ireland is anti-Israel. Ireland is pro-peace, pro-human rights and pro-international law. Israeli strikes hit Gaza Israeli forces continued Sunday to pound largely isolated northern Gaza, as the Palestinian death toll in the war approached 45,000. One airstrike hit the Khalil Aweida school in the town of Beit Hanoun and killed at least 15 people, according to nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital where casualties were taken. The dead included two parents and their daughter and a father and his son, the hospital said. In Gaza City, at least 17 people including six women and five children were killed in three airstrikes that hit houses sheltering displaced people, according to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital. Israel's military in a statement said it struck a terrorist cell in Gaza City and a terrorist meeting point in the Beit Hanoun area. Another Israeli airstrike killed a Palestinian journalist working for Al Jazeera, Ahmed al-Lawh, in central Gaza, a hospital and the Qatari-based TV station said. The strike hit a point for Gazas civil defense agency in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp, Al-Awda Hospital said. The civil defense is the main rescue agency in Gaza and operates under the Hamas-run government. The war in Gaza began after Hamas and other militants from Gaza stormed southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking well over 200 hostage. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed almost 45,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministrys count does not distinguish between combatants and civilians, but it says over half of the dead have been women and children. ___ Melzer reported from Nahariya, Israel. Associated Press writer Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report. ___ Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Russia has deployed North Korean soldiers in significant numbers for the first time to support its offensive in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky said. The Ukrainian president said North Korean troops are reportedly being used in assaults on Ukrainian forces defending an enclave in Russias Kursk region. Today, we already have preliminary data that the Russians have begun to use North Korean soldiers in their assaults. A significant number of them, Mr Zelensky said during his nightly wartime address. Mr Zelensky warned the deployment of Norths forces could extend to other battle zones. Kyiv estimates around 11,000 North Korean troops are now in the region, bolstering Russias forces. Andrii Kovalenko, an official with Ukraines National Security and Defence Council, stated the North Koreans have already suffered casualties. The Russians are counting on numbers and are trying to carry out assault operations with the help of the Koreans, when the task of the Koreans is to run under the blows of our forces and occupy certain areas, Mr Kovalenko wrote on Telegram. The Kremlin has not confirmed or denied the involvement of North Korean troops. open image in gallery Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky lays flowers at the site of the missile strike carried out by Russia on 10 December in the city of Zaporizhzhia ( Ukrainian presidential press service ) Ukraine first reported the presence of North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region in October. This comes as Ukraine faces increasing pressure to hold the enclave it captured in August during a surprise incursion into Russian territory. The operation, aimed at diverting Moscows forces, has since drawn criticism for stretching Ukraines manpower across an already extended front line. While Kyiv maintains the move was strategic, Moscows counteroffensive has led to some of its fastest territorial gains in eastern Ukraine since 2022, although Russian forces have reportedly sustained heavy casualties. open image in gallery A Ukrainian tank crew member of the 68th Jaeger Brigade walks next to a Leopard 1A5 tank at the position where they take a break in fighting ( AFP via Getty Images ) Ukrainian military reports indicate an escalation in fighting on the Kursk front, including intensified airstrikes, artillery barrages, and glide bomb attacks. In a broader context, the deployment of North Korean troops underscores deepening ties between Moscow and Pyongyang. The two nations signed a defence treaty in June, committing mutual military aid in the event of an attack. Since then, North Korea has reportedly supplied Russia with over 100 ballistic missiles and millions of artillery shells. In return, Moscow has allegedly offered economic aid and support for Pyongyangs nuclear weapons programme. Mr Zelensky criticised the Kremlins actions, accusing Russian president Vladimir Putin of dragging another state into the conflict. In essence, Moscow has dragged another state into this war, and to the fullest extent possible. And if this is not escalation, then what is the escalation that so many have been talking about? he said. The Ukrainian leader used his address to urge Western allies to strengthen their support for Kyiv. He is scheduled to meet leaders from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Nato, and the EU in Brussels next week to discuss bolstering military aid. Meanwhile, Russias defence ministry reported the destruction of 15 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 13 over the Black Sea and two in the Kursk and Belgorod regions. Additional reporting by agencies For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The Syrian military defector codenamed Caesar, who smuggled out more than 53,000 haunting images showing tortured, emaciated corpses of Syrian detainees evidence that led to landmark sanctions has warned that they are merely a snapshot of the full extent of crimes committed under the Assad regime. Speaking exclusively to The Independent, the photographer also revealed how he managed to get the photographs out of Syria, hiding USB flash drives of evidence in his underwear before he was smuggled out of Syria with the help of rebels via a flour truck to Jordan. His family reported him kidnapped and murdered by terrorists to provide cover for his escape. open image in gallery Syrian citizen Ismail Elhany, from Idlib, father of Muhammad who was tortured and killed by the Assad regime. He learned of the death of his son in photos leaked by Caesar ( Anadolu Agency/Getty Images ) The former military photographer, who has testified anonymously about the evidence of savagery he witnessed to governments around the world, called for global efforts to assist Syria in bringing those responsible for the worst crimes of the 21st century to account. The Independent spoke to Caesar, who has been living in absolute secrecy for a decade, by phone as our correspondent visited Military Hospital 601 in the Mezzah neighbourhood of Damascus, the exact spot where he took many of the horrific images that shocked the world. Now empty since the stunning overthrow of Bashar al-Assad last weekend, the building stands as a chilling monument to the industrial-scale horrors committed by the former regime. The images Caesar took, which also included photos of attack sites and the bodies of armed fighters or civilians killed in assaults, provided the first extensive glimpse into the atrocities committed by Assads government after the start of the 2011 revolution, which turned into a bloody civil war. The images which showed emaciated mutilated bodies, some with eyes gouged out and numbers written on their arms or heads, were verified by human rights organisations and the FBI. I took photographs from 2011 to 2013. During that time, I personally saw at least 11,000 dead men, women, children, and elderly people, he told The Independent from exile, in his first interview since the fall of the Assad regime. I took almost 55,000 photographs of people who were tortured. And that was just in one place just in Damascus. It was only a snapshot in time, geography, and place. I can tell you this was happening everywhere else. So, in terms of how many people have been literally tortured to death, its in the hundreds of thousands. He said that during the three years he was taking these photographs and smuggling them out, he lived in fear and terror, knowing that if the government found out what he was doing, I would become one of those bodies. Despite this, he expressed his willingness to return to help with investigations in Syria and called on the international community to support these efforts. The Independent spoke to Caesar together with Mouaz Moustafa, the founder of a US-based NGO, the Syrian Emergency Task Force, which helped smuggle the photos out of Syria via USB drives and raise awareness globally. Moustafa, who has missing family members and friends himself, stood in a scrubby courtyard where bodies were once laid out, numbered, documented, and photographed, their faces and bodies mutilated, emaciated from starvation and illness. During our interview, Moustafa spoke to Caesar on the phone to confirm the exact location although some of the buildings have been changed since the photos were taken over a decade ago. open image in gallery Mouaz Moustafa, founder the Syrian Emergency Task Force, outside the Military Hospital 601 in Damascus, where Caesar took many of the images of Syrians killed under the Assad regime ( Bel Trew ) He explained that Caesar spent two-and-a-half years uploading images from his job onto a flash drive, which he hid in his underwear or socks each day, as he went through checkpoints on his way home. Some images were sent via the internet, but the sheer volume of files made it impossible to send everything that way. Eventually, Moustafa says he was smuggled through rebel-held areas of Damascus and then out of Syria, hidden in a truck carrying flour, into Jordan. Along with him were the hard drives containing images, photos of documents showing command responsibility, and evidence of disappearances. Moustafa said Caesars family then reported to the regime authorities a week later that he had been kidnapped and killed by terrorists and requested permission to attend a funeral in southern Syria, which provided a cover for their escape. Caesar then undertook a gruelling journey through multiple countries in the region before finally reaching Europe where he was granted asylum. Since escaping Syria a decade ago, Caesar has toured the world anonymously his face and voice concealed testifying before governments and parliaments. He repeatedly warned that the 150,000 people believed to still be imprisoned in Syria could meet the same fate as the people in his photographs. This warning is proving chillingly accurate, as families of the countrys missing have flocked to prisons, morgues, and hospitals that have opened for the first time since Assads dramatic ouster last week. His photographs led to the landmark Caesar Act in the US in 2019, which imposed sanctions on regime officials and those supporting Assads military efforts during the Syrian civil war, including foreign businesses. The act also granted authority to the US secretary of state to support entities collecting evidence and pursuing prosecutions against individuals who committed war crimes in Syria. open image in gallery A visitor looks at photographs from the exhibition, Caesars Photos: Inside Syrias Secret Prisons, held in Washington DC in 2015 ( Getty ) Speaking from the hospital, Moustafa described how detainees bodies were ferried there on trucks, within sight of the presidential palace located just a kilometre away on a nearby hill, with numbers written on their foreheads. We spoke to physicians who explained that after Caesar photographed the bodies in this area, they were loaded onto trucks and taken away. For a long time, we didnt know where they went until we discovered the mass graves when we met the gravediggers, he added. Caesar, who still has not revealed his true identity, has offered to return to Syria to help the incoming authorities collect evidence. Ive spent my life serving the Syrian people, he told The Independent. Even after I finished the photos, I travelled the world, going to the United States Congress and showing what was happening. Back then, today, and in the future, I will continue to serve Syria. If the new government of Syria calls on me to come and help with accountability, I would be the first one here. Absolutely. I will intervene. He also stressed that the world must work to find and prosecute those responsible. The whole world should remember that the Syrian people suffered the worst crimes of the 21st century. What we are seeing now, as they investigate the liberated intelligence branches and prisons, is the worst kind of torture. It is very important that Assads regime and the thugs who committed these horrible genocidal crimes are held accountable. For far too long, there was no justice. Father and son property developers Charles and Max OReilly Hyland are seeking to reignite plans to develop student accommodation in south Dublin. Last week, Orchid Residential, a property development firm owned by the OReilly Hylands, said it hopes to build a 220-bed purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) development on a site in Goatstown. It intends to apply for planning permission for the large-scale residential development from Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council. It is understood the proposed PBSA development would represent an additional investment of 30m to build over and above what it cost Orchid to buy the land. The development would include the demolition of a used-car garage on site, with the PBSA building ranging in height from four to six storeys. CGI illustration of the proposed Goatstown development's aerial view by 3D Design Bureau In response to the Sunday Independent, Orchids Max OReilly Hyland said he was delighted to have the opportunity to deliver critically required student accommodation adjacent to UCD. Dublin is experiencing a crisis in relation to lack of supply of student accommodation, he said. This crisis is having a real-world impact on our student population and is both deterring students from accepting Dublin-based courses and driving decisions to forego attending third-level education. "We need more PBSA in the city and this Goatstown Road site is a perfect location. A CGI illustration of the proposed Goatstown development by 3D Design Bureau News in 90 seconds - 15 December 2024 Orchid has already tried to build a 239-bed student accommodation development on the same site. In late 2020, it lodged an application to build the property with An Bord Pleanala, who granted the proposal the following February. OReilly Hyland said Orchid was also considering delivering student accommodation in other European cities However, the validity of the permission was queried in the High Court and, on the consent of An Bord Pleanala, was quashed in March 2022. OReilly Hyland said the company was also considering delivering student accommodation in other European cities. He claimed that the cost of delivering student beds in some of these cities was around 30pc to 40pc of the cost of delivery in Ireland. There is currently a shortage of PBSA across Ireland. In September, a paper published by the Department of Education showed that publicly owned PBSA was oversubscribed by about 29,773 applications for the 2023/2024 academic year. On average, there are three applications for every one student bed on campus, the paper said. This does not take into account the Technological University sector. Those students who are unsuccessful in obtaining a place are forced into the private market. Without an influx of new workers into the industry, housing numbers will not be met, warns ACEI Ireland needs thousands more skilled workers if we are to solve housing crisis. Photo: Getty Thousands of overseas workers will need to be encouraged to come to Ireland to work in construction if the new government is to have any chance of hitting likely ambitious housing targets, a group representing consultant engineers has warned. Without an influx of new workers into the industry, the new government would be under pressure to build as many as 60,000 homes per annum to meet the housing deficit, said the Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland (ACEI) secretary general Shane Dempsey. The government - when it is formed - also needs to deliver 16bn worth of infrastructure by 2030, as well as on targets to retrofit all public sector buildings. We are sounding the warning bell now that none of this ambition will be realised without a transformative focus by government on increasing the numbers of people working in the industry, said Dempsey. The construction industry would require tens of thousands of new workers in the coming years to deliver essential housing, infrastructure and climate action, he said. The reality is that a significant proportion, indeed thousands of skilled emigrants will have to be encouraged to come to Ireland to work and live, he said. Engineers would be required to develop new sustainable methods and technologies to meet the housing, infrastructure and climate action targets, he said. The construction industry will not be able to deliver a fraction of our required infrastructure and housing without skilled emigrants. Everything should be done to streamline the permits process to attract people into this country. Currently it is too cumbersome and costly to bring talented engineers into this country, he said. Construction and engineering companies required certainty and consistency in project starts, he said. Whilst at a macro-level there is certainty how many houses are required to home our population, contracting agencies such as Uisce Eireann are still operating on an annual budget basis, he said This militated against construction and engineering companies investing in their teams Ireland as it made strategic planning more difficult. Uncertainty in both the pipeline of new water infrastructure projects and in data centre construction has seen talent in relevant sectors of the construction industry focus on other jurisdictions such as the UK, said Dempsey. The reality is that more investment in our grid would facilitate data centre construction and allow these critical pieces of infrastructure generate sustainable energy whilst powering an AI economy. As it is, those highly skilled teams with globally sought after experience, are now leaving these shores to focus on the countries that are now eating Ireland's lunch in terms of data centre construction, he said. The construction industry had lost a major cohort of essential staff such as foremen and site managers in the wake of the financial crash and a subsequent wave of emigration saw many young workers take up jobs in the construction in places such as Australia. That means that lots of construction companies face a dearth of the skills necessary to deliver modern construction projects, said Dempsey. Facility was closed after consultations with industry regulator Ofsted A Denis Brosnan-backed special needs schools operator has been in talks with lenders after a linked firm closed a facility for vulnerable children amid allegations of abuse last year. Last June, Kedleston Group, founded in 2006 by former Kerry Group chairman Denis Brosnans son Paul Brosnan and Tony Hurran, closed a school and home for vulnerable children in Cumbria, England. The school was operated by a subsidiary company called Kedleston (Wings Education) Limited. The closure followed consultations with industry regulator Ofsted. It had carried out an inspection in May of the school, finding it was inadequate. At a follow-up monitoring visit in June, Ofsted noted further concerns. The regulator found the school was unable to demonstrate sufficient action to meet steps in the compliance notices. Some children say that staff use physical restraint as a form of discipline and compliance, the report said. They say excessive force is used and that they have sustained physical injuries. These are now being investigated by the appropriate safeguarding professionals. After the inspections, a consultation followed between Kedleston and the regulator. Kedleston decided to deregister the school, and it subsequently closed. The BBC reported last week that Cumbria Police were investigating the allegations of abuse at the school. It is not known what knowledge Paul or Denis Brosnan had, if any, of the conditions at the school. When reporting on the closure in July, the Irish Independent made efforts to contact Denis Brosnan about the allegations but did not receive a response. Denis Brosnan is not listed as a director of Kedleston (Wings Education) Limited. He is listed as a director of Kedleston Group. In results covering 2023, Kedleston Group said the schools closure in June had impacted the groups covenant position with its lenders. However, the company said ongoing talks with lenders are positive to resolve these technical issues. The company said it had enough cash reserves to cover the closure of the school. The results for 2023 also showed Kedleston Group recorded revenue of over 52.63m for 2023, up 8.9m. This growth was a result of additional sites. Operating profit at Kedleston was over 7.51m, up from 5.59m. However, when accounting for interest payable and other charges, the group reported a pre-tax loss of 239,113 in 2023. Total pay packages for directors were valued at over 1.24m in 2023, up from 1.02m. The accounts said the highest-paid director at Kedleston had a package valued at 473,500 last year, an increase of 165,740. Average staff numbers for the year also grew from 636 in 2022 to 762 this year. Total staff costs for Kedleston hit 29.8m, up from 25.2m. In a strategic report accompanying the results, Kedleston Group also said it had committed to several new development sites and expansion projects at existing sites. These projects had been facilitated by the refinancing of Kedlestons bank facilities and additional funding from its parent company. Forestry Industries Ireland said licences issued by the Department of Agriculture represent 4,417 hectares of potential new forestry projects An expected increase in new forestry activity could inject more than 27m into the rural economy next year. With 560 new afforestation licences issued by the Department of Agriculture in 2024, Forest Industries Ireland (FII) has forecast an increase in forest planting in 2025. The group, which represents the forestry and timber industry group within Ibec, said that the licences represent 4,417 hectares of potential new forestry projects. In each of 2023 and 2024, about 1,650 hectares were actually planted, which FII estimated had generated around 10m in grants and premiums for those new forests in those years. But Mark McAuley, director of FII, said the sector was calling on the Forest Service and all other stakeholders in the industry to ensure that the maximum possible number of new afforestation projects go ahead in 2025. The combined value of the forestry grants and premiums for this level of activity was estimated at 27.5m next year alone. Under the current forestry programme, the grants paid to finance the planting of new forests are up to 6,744 per hectare. Farmers then receive forest premiums for 20 years of up to 1,103 per hectare. All of this money goes directly into Irelands rural economy, mostly to farmers and forestry contractors. Looking further out, considering forest premiums are payable for 20 years to farmers, the total cash injection into the rural economy would be over 105m stemming from the planting of 4,417 hectares of new forests, he said. But he warned that was always an attrition rate between the number of licences issued and projects that actually go forward to planting. It is really important this attrition rate is minimised by minimising the additional conditions and requirements placed on farmers when they seek to plant new forests, he said. Around 1,800 hectares of forests are forecast to be planted in 2024. Even if this number can be increased to 3,000 hectares of afforestation in 2025, that would mean almost 18m would be spent with farmers, forestry companies, and forestry contractors across rural Ireland next year, said McAuley. Forestry plays a key role in Irelands rural economy with commercial forests supplying timber to Irelands wood-processing sector which exports almost 1bn worth of products each year. The timber-processing sector and the 10,000 jobs it creates is reliant on a steady flow of raw material, said McAuley. If you are looking for the perfect destination for a winter vacation, you should pay attention to the Alto Douro region in Portugal or the popular Scandinavian capital. Emerald Cruises experts recently conducted a survey and analyzed online search data to determine the most popular winter vacation destinations. ADVERTISIMENT Portugal, Copenhagen, and Vietnam have become the leading destinations, with Portugal topping the list due to its stunning landscapes and cultural richness. The details were reported by the Express. In particular, the Douro River region in Portugal attracted 201,000 searches per month, making it the best choice for winter vacations. The Douro is a wine region located at some distance in the upper reaches of Porto and protected by mountain ranges from the coast. It produces the best wines in the country. Douro is protected from the Atlantic winds by the Marao and Montemuro mountains and has a continental climate with hot and dry summers and cool but mild winters. ADVERTISIMENT Copenhagen is a rather cozy city for a European capital. Tourists note that the local population is very friendly and speaks excellent English. The city is located on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmo, Sweden by the resund. The Oresund Bridge connects the two cities by rail and road. "There's very little litter, no hassle, relatively little traffic, lots of bikes and none of the frenetic feeling you get in many big cities. So for a city break its very relaxing," travelers write on social media. It is worth going on an evening canal tour - it is a great opportunity to discover the city in a new way. Copenhagen's oldest neighborhood is often called Middelalderbyen (medieval city). ADVERTISIMENT However, the most characteristic neighborhood is Frederiksstaden, home to Amalienborg Palace, which is dominated by the dome of the Marble Church and several elegant 18th-century Rococo mansions. The inner city includes Slotsholmen, Christiansborg Palace and Christianshavn. Brsen and Frederiksborg Palace are prime examples of the Dutch Renaissance style. Copenhagen is a relatively small city, so it is the perfect option for walking. There are also free bicycles, but they can be hard to find. Alternatively, you can rent a bike in one of the many services located throughout the city. Subscribe to OBOZ.UA on Telegram and Viber channels to keep up with the latest developments. My Money: Kerry comedian on his relationship with money Kerry comedian and actor Bernard Casey amassed a cult following on social media for viral online sketches such as the Healy-Raes voicing Planet Earth and the Polish-Irish barman. The 34-year-old, who now lives in Cork with his fiancee Laura and their two children, has featured in commercials for Lidl, Virgin Media and Bulmers, and his live shows have sold out the Cork Opera House and Vicar Street in Dublin. Left out of daddys will? What you need to know about contesting a will and the costs involved Contesting a will is not easy so make sure the gains outweigh the costs, which can be more than just financial Jeremy Strong (Kendall Roy), Kieran Culkin (Roman Roy) and Sarah Snook ('Shiv' Roy) in 'Succession'. Photo: Graeme Hunter/HBO/Florence Gabrielle Monaghan Sun 15 Dec 2024 at 03:30 Fans of the TV drama Succession would pay good money to be a fly on the wall over Christmas to watch the Murdoch family squabble amid a real-life succession battle over the media empire. A Tullow Oil drilling rig; the company was set up in 1985 by Irish man Aidan Heavey The potential takeover by Kosmos Energy Ltd of Tullow Oil, the Irish-founded oil explorer, could resolve its balance sheet issues, but debt refinancing would be a challenge, according to analysts. Both companies acknowledged early merger talks yesterday following media speculation. Together, they would create an Africa-focused explorer with production exceeding 120,000 barrels of oil a day. Under stock-exchange rules, Dallas-based Kosmos must announce whether or not it will make an offer by January 9. There can be no certainty that any offer will be made, nor as to the terms on which any offer might be made, the companies said in their press statement. Further announcement will be made when necessary, it added. The discussions emerge days after Tullows CEO, Rahul Dhir, said he would step down. While he refocused on the legacy assets in West Africa and improving the indebted firms finances, Tullows shares have slumped 39pc this year. Tullow, headquartered in London, accumulated billions of dollars in debt from its free-spending days as a wildcatter The approach by Kosmos may be somewhat opportunistic due to the leadership change, James Hosie, an analyst at Shore Capital Group, said in a note. While a deal presents a way to address the balance sheet, a structure that appeases both shareholders and creditors remains a key obstacle, he said. Tullow, headquartered in London, accumulated billions of dollars in debt from its free-spending days as a wildcatter. Wildcat wells are exploration oil wells drilled in places not known to have oil. Part of that debt requires refinancing, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Will Hares. Tullows shares fell 10pc in London yesterday, paring this weeks gain to 11pc. It shut its office in Dublin four years ago, as part of a programme of corporate restructuring While Kosmos has operations spanning a wider portion of the continent, including a liquefied natural gas project with BP in Senegal, it is already a partner with Tullow in key fields in Ghana. Tullow was set up in 1985 by 31-year-old accountant Aidan Heavey. It shut its office in Dublin four years ago, as part of a programme of corporate restructuring, and abandoned its listing on the Irish stock exchange last year. Its market valuation has been weak in recent years, falling from about 18.1bn in 2012 to about 450m now, according to London stock exchange records. Victoria Smurfit: I have flown under the radar for... 30 years? Ive done loads of great stuff, but I think this is the first thing that has been collectively brilliant The actress on Rivals success, her first year of marriage and feeling comfortable in her skin Irish actress Victoria Smurfit stars in 'Rivals'. Photo: Getty Barry Egan Sun 15 Dec 2024 at 03:30 The barman in the pub on the banks of the Thames near where Victoria Smurfit lives says the actress is at the back, around the corner, by the Christmas tree. Following the directions, I cant find her. Irish scientists are using game-changing technology on tiny particles of DNA taken from jar-size samples of lake water to identify creatures swimming below the surface without ever setting eyes on them. The use of environmental DNA shed by fish as they move through the water is allowing scientists to search for some of our rarest species by testing the water in a laboratory. We can detect something on the scale of 1 trillion of a gram in a litre of water. So in other words, its easy for us to find a needle in a huge haystack, said Professor Paulo Prodohl from the North-South Research Programme. While the tests dont yet give an idea of quantities, it gives an unprecedented snapshot into the creatures living in an ecosystem without having to dive into the water or catch marine life. Knowing whether the species is there or not is still a massive game-changer for people that have to carry out the surveys year in and year out, said Prof Prodohl, from Queens University. It is hoped DNA technology can be used to identify the presence of Arctic Char, one of Irelands rarest fish As fish swim, they shed minuscule fragments of genetic material in skin cells, scales, and even mucus. By examining these traces of DNA from samples of lake or seawater, scientists can determine the presence of species under the surface with unprecedented accuracy using a Covid-19-style test. The fish material has a short lifespan. We can, for a while, collect material from the environment, and detect this DNA without seeing the fish in the first place, he said. An Arctic Char, one of Irelands rarest fish It is hoped DNA technology can be used to identify the presence of Arctic Char, one of Irelands rarest fish, in lakes around the country such as Lough Melvin in Co Leitrim. On the Red List of Threatened Species, the fish is an incredible survivor from the end of the Ice Age in Ireland, having been trapped in various lakes for 10,000 years, but is rarely spotted by humans. What actually happened here in the ice retreat, some of those char that were actually distributed in the southern region got trapped in the Irish lakes, and they learned to survive without having to go to sea. There are, on average, about 12,000 lakes in the island of Ireland, said the scientist. We know of char present about 45 to 50 of those. This is less than 1pc of all the lakes. So the Arctic Char is perhaps the rarest species of freshwater fish in this island. When they are looking for a species, he explained, they first need to find one fish to take a tiny sample. This material is taken to the lab, he said, explaining that the DNA is then sequenced. That allows us to know exactly the DNA composition of this particular fish. Current methods to monitor fish stocks include techniques like electrofishing which involves stunning the fish so that they can be caught with nets, then later released. In the RTEs series 10 Things to Know About, the scientists demonstrate how they identify particular species of fish with a new method similar to a Covid-19 antigen test on jars of water samples taken from the lake. Professor Anne Parle-McDermott, from the DCU Life Sciences Institute, who is also part of the North-South Research Programme, said they can design tests to identify a particular fish. She said they hope to be able to do tests on-site at lakes in the future which promise to revolutionise conservation efforts. 10 Things to Know About airs on RTE One tomorrow at 8.30pm. LATEST | Second man arrested over serious assault of two off-duty gardai near Temple Bar Second man in his 30s has been arrestedViolent criminal arrested on suspicion of attacking two off-duty gardai in Dublin city centre previously jailed for a similar serious attack in the same areaOne garda remains in a critical condition in Beaumont Hospital Two off-duty gardai attached to the Armed Support Unit (ASU) and are understood to have been on a Christmas social night out Gardai have appealed for witnesses to the assault. Robin Schiller and Maeve McTaggart Mon 16 Dec 2024 at 12:00 A second man has been arrested in connection with an attack on two off-duty gardai in Dublin city centre this weekend. A chartered engineer who surveyed more than 100 homes affected by defective concrete believes decisions to repair homes previously in line for demolition are dangerous and devoid of any engineering logic. Many homeowners in Donegal affected by the crisis had their home recommended for demolition by engineers as they sought access to a redress scheme but consultants working for the Housing Agency, which oversees the scheme, later downgraded about 120 of these decisions. It means many houses would be repaired instead of being knocked and rebuilt, stoking fears the homes could be at risk of deteriorating again afterwards or worthless and hard to sell. Martin Doherty, a chartered engineer, surveyor and lawyer, based in Buncrana, Co Donegal, said he believes the downgrade decisions are motivated by a desire to limit redress spending. He called for decisions made on behalf of the Housing Agency to be reversed, saying they are not justified given engineers who supported repairs instead of demolition did not visit the affected homes. Their work was based on desktop surveys of reports and images. Whenever we were commissioned by the homeowners to do the assessments, testing and categorisation, one of the prerequisites was to visit the property, Mr Doherty said. I know many engineers feel the same way, that demolition is the best possible solution for these properties We visited the property, took a sample and sent it to labs in the UK, we got results back, investigated them and wrote up a report. From that, we combined all of our knowledge from the site inspection, testing and scientific analysis before reaching a conclusion. Martin Doherty, an engineer in Burnfoot, Co Donegal. Photo: Joe Dunne In a lot of the cases where houses were downgraded, that conclusion was a full demolition. I know many engineers feel the same way, that demolition is the best possible solution for these properties because they do have defective blocks. Repair solutions put forward in place of demolitions include measures such as removing and replacing exterior, interior or sections of cavity walls. Mr Dohertys own home is affected by defective concrete and was the subject of a downgraded decision. Six homes he recommended be demolished were downgraded to alternative remediation options by the Housing Agency. Blocks that are known to be defective should not be retained inside or outside in a load-bearing capacity He said such options could prove more costly in the long run because of the complex nature of some repairs. I believe it is a commercial decision by government. Some of the remedial solutions are simply not buildable. The idea of retaining a roof and inside walls while demolishing outside walls is a ludicrous proposal and may cost more than a full demolition in some cases. It is dangerous. Blocks that are known to be defective should not be retained inside or outside in a load-bearing capacity. Housing Minister Darragh OBrien last month said homeowners who are not granted a full demolition can have their case reviewed after research showed elevated levels of pyrrhotite causes the concrete to crumble, not mica. This means the crisis was previously misdiagnosed and a technical standard used to test affected homes is outdated. Experts have also warned cracks can return to repaired homes if foundations and other sections affected by defective concrete remain in place. Mr Doherty said the Housing Agency should reverse the downgraded decisions. Engineers Ireland, a representative body for the profession, has suggested the most conservative option should be considered where conflicting remediation options are recommended by two different surveyors. An Post has said 16,000 parcels have still to be delivered out of 500,000 following the closure of Holyhead Port. Last weekend, Holyhead Port in Wales was damaged during Storm Darragh and is expected to remain closed for several days. The closure has led to a significant backlog in deliveries as thousands of parcels were re-routed across the UK. An Post has said it is securing air freight capacity to get parcels and mail that would traditionally have been shipped via Holyhead moved out of Ireland to meet posting date promises. An extra Stena ship called the Stena Estrid is due to arrive in Dublin this afternoon and to be put into service as an extra sailing on the Dublin to Liverpool route. The Stena Estrid is not normally on Irish routes and would be brought over to ease the backlog. A spokesperson for Stena Line was contacted and said they werent in a position to comment this evening. Minister James Lawless will meet Ken Skates, Wales transport secretary, this evening at 6.30pm. The Department of Transport announced yesterday a temporary relaxation of rules around drivers hours has been granted for a 14-day period from Dec 14, 2024 until Dec 27, 2024. The last time such exceptional permission was granted was during the covid-19 pandemic. The department said that the rule relaxation allows for truck drivers to compliantly operate for more hours during this period and will support logistics companies to keep freight flowing. In a statement, An Post said: All parcels received into An Post hubs are being processed and delivered immediately and we will continue to support all our Irish and international ecommerce customers to find delivery solutions. Trucks and trailers sit parked at Holyhead Port. Photo: Matthew Lloyd/Bloomberg News in 90 seconds - 15 December 2024 These large hubs have the latest technology, equipment and additional Christmas staff to meet this challenge and to deal with parcels arriving by air, as well as large volumes of domestic parcels being posted by Irish brands and personal customers. An Post has said that it is endeavouring to deliver all items into its hubs by Saturday December, 21. All An Post collection, sorting, driving, delivery, Post Office and support staff are working around the clock, as are 1,400 Christmas Casual workers. The postal service has advised Irish customers to contact the seller for an update if they are still awaiting on a delivery of any items ordered before Storm Darragh by tomorrow evening. If they are waiting on an order from UK retailers, customers are advised to check with them regarding their delivery dates for Ireland, but to consider that dispatch times from the UK may take longer than usual. An Post has warned customers that the deadline for postage of cards to Europe and Great Britain is fast approaching: Tuesday, December 17 for Europe and Wednesday, December 18 for Great Britain. An Post advised customers to shop local with Irish e-tailers, to buy Irish and post parcels and cards as soon as possible. Caitriona Lucas who died in a sea rescue mission off Kilkee, Co Clare, on September 12, 2016 The Irish Coast Guard is facing criticism over the transition to the new 800m search-and-rescue helicopter (SAR) contract and its separate handling of a management issue for the Doolin Coast Guard unit in Clare. The Irish Coast Guard has defended its decision to appoint Martony Vaughan as acting officer in charge (OIC) at the Doolin Coast Guard unit. The North Clare unit has been beset by difficulties since the death of one of its experienced volunteers, advanced coxswain Caitriona Lucas, in September 2016. A petition objecting to the recent appointment and calling for Mr Vaughans removal on safety grounds has been initiated by a former Doolin Coast Guard member Deirdre Linnane, and has almost 500 signatures. Friends of Ms Lucass husband Bernard, a former Doolin unit member now with a new separate voluntary search unit, have described Mr Vaughans appointment as completely insensitive. Caitriona Lucas who died in a sea rescue mission off Kilkee, Co Clare, on September 12, 2016 News in 90 seconds - 15 December 2024 Mr Vaughan had been OIC at the neighbouring Kilkee Coast Guard unit, which had been beset by internal difficulties in the lead up to Ms Lucass death. The 41-year-old mother of two was assisting Kilkee due to a shortage of volunteers when she died after a rigid inflatable boat (RIB) capsized. At the November 2023 inquest into her death, the jury heard that Mr Vaughan had just stepped down from his role in Kilkee but attended the scene on the day of the incident. Kilkees deputy OIC Orla Hassett told the inquest she believed that its D-class rescue craft could have been on scene within 10 minutes to rescue Ms Lucas if she had enough trained crew to launch it, but Mr Vaughan had left the scene to drive to a nearby cliff. Ms Lucas had been conscious in the water for almost 17 minutes, the inquest heard. Responding to the criticism, the Department of Transport for the Irish Coast Guard said senior volunteers will regularly take over as acting volunteer OIC during periods where the OIC is unavailable or where the position becomes vacant... to ensure the 24/7 availability of the service. It added: Mr Vaughan is one of a number of senior volunteers within the Doolin Coast Guard Unit authorised to act in the role of acting OIC, as he has on multiple occasions over the last number of yearand is currently acting in the role. The department said Mr Vaughan is a dedicated member of the Irish Coast Guard, there have been no findings of any wrongdoing against him, and it would challenge the personalised narrative towards him. It said it retained full confidence in him and the Doolin unit continues to provide a vital SAR service within Co Clare and wider region. Mr Vaughan said he did not wish to comment. In a separate development, former Irish Coast Guard director Chris Reynolds has told the Sunday Independent he believes that the timeline is too tight for the handover for all four SAR helicopter bases from current contract holder CHC Ireland to Bristow Ireland. Mr Reynolds said he had already tried to warn the Department of Transport of serious safety risks if a transition is rushed, and had offered his services free of charge to the department and Irish Coast Guard to give advice some time ago but didnt receive a reply. Safety is imperative, particularly since the loss of four Irish Coast Guard lives in the Rescue 116 crash off Blackrock island, north Mayo, in March 2017, he noted. Bristow Ireland, which has been awarded the new Irish Coast Guard search-and-rescue contract, took over the Shannon base from CHC Ireland, with the first of the AW 189 helicopters this month. It has confirmed that a winchman was recently injured during a training exercise off the west coast. The exercise was part of the transition from Sikorsky 92 aircraft flown by CHC Ireland to the AW189 aircraft provided by Bristow. As the Sunday Independent has recently reported, a reference to switching SAR providers shared on an internal Coast Guard safety management system last July said timelines were compressed. It referred to an incident during a handover between the two operators for an Equinor contract in the North Sea where one woman died, and said that while investigators did not point to the handover being a factor, the transition was questioned and perceived as tight. Reynolds, who headed up the Irish Coast Guard from 2007 to 2017, said that three months minimum per helicopter base is required for a handover, but they are trying to have it all done by July 1, 2025. The Department of Transport responded that it does not comment on ill-informed speculation regarding contract transition and must also be mindful of commercial sensitivity and ongoing legal proceedings dating back to 2023 in relation to initial contract award. Contract transition is progressing well and is on schedule for completion by the end of June 2025, a department spokesperson said. Bristow Ireland said its global experience and capabilities underpin our carefully planned approach, and it is ensuring a safe, phased, responsible transition to the new contract which becomes fully operational mid-2025. Fears over how poorly resourced school laboratories, insufficient funding and teacher uptake could affect pupils outcomes The teachers said official discussions about changes were limited. Picture posed Science teachers have raised fresh doubts over the governments ability to introduce Leaving Cert reforms after the educators dissociated themselves from syllabus changes to allow students to earn marks by carrying out research investigations. The proposals are designed to reduce exam pressure and are due to come into effect for students entering fifth year next September. However, teachers and academics have questioned the changes and claimed these could adversely affect students at poorly resourced schools. The Irish Science Teachers Association (ISTA) unanimously decided to formally dissociate itself from the new subject specifications in biology, chemistry and physics following a recent meeting of its council. It confirmed the decision last Friday. It said the decision was based on issues around the involvement of teachers in groups responsible for developing the new subjects. The association also questioned the number of marks being allocated to the research investigations where students could earn up to 40pc of their final grade through work completed during the two years before sitting Leaving Cert examinations. Science teachers say this is a disproportionate amount of marks for the time which would be spent on the additional assessment components. ISTA also questioned how poorly resourced school laboratories, insufficient funding and teacher uptake could affect student outcomes. The ASTI has also disassociated itself from the proposed science syllabuses Other groups, including the ASTI, representatives from the Irish Universities Association and bodies representing scientists previously raised doubts about the plans. The ASTI has also disassociated itself from the proposed science syllabuses after accusing the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) of failing to share files from a public consultation with the groups tasked with supporting the development of the new subjects. ISTA complained discussion around introducing the new assessment components was limited. The feedback from the public consultation on the specifications, including the ISTAs extensive report from the NCCAs public consultation on these additional assessment components and on the wider specifications, was not shared with members of the biology, chemistry and physics subject development groups, an ISTA spokesman said. It cannot be claimed that teachers were involved in all aspects of the assessment when the feedback on the consultation was not shared with those on the development groups. The association said it remained committed to Leaving Cert reforms. We recognise science as an ever-evolving process and that our science curriculums require updating, it said. ISTA has suggested trialling the additional assessment components before a widespread rollout. It also it said the number of marks allocated to these assessments should be debated and changed so these are proportional to the volume of work carried out over a Leaving Cert course. ISTA also called for an audit of school resources and safety to ensure schools can do what is expected of them to deliver the new components. The Department of Education has previously said the introduction of the new science curriculums would be accompanied by a strong package of supports for teachers and schools. It has said it planned to consider the resources and facilities schools would require to support students carrying out the additional assessment components. In 1852, the famous British pioneering photographer Roger Fenton visited Kyiv. Thanks to him, we have the first pictures of the Ukrainian capital that have survived to this day. ADVERTISIMENT The old photos and the story were published in the community "Spraha: Kyiv is interesting" on Facebook. You can see how the city looked like more than 170 years ago. "Roger Fenton's Kyiv. The very first known calotype photographs of Kyiv and St. Andrew's Church were taken in 1852 by the famous British master Roger Fenton (1819-1869), who went down in history as a man who changed the world. In those years, Fenton began to engage in a new kind of art - photography, and his trip to Kyiv was connected with the construction of the first major bridge across the Dnipro by Charles Vigneault," the statement reads. ADVERTISIMENT As noted in the community, it is impossible to say how many photos were taken in Kyiv because the ones that have survived are scattered around the world. The Briton took pictures of the Dnipro River, the panorama of Kyiv from the left bank, and views of Podil, as well as sketched the first buildings on Khreshchatyk. ADVERTISIMENT Fenton presented some of the views taken in the Russian Empire in 1852 at the December exhibition at the Royal Society of Arts, and in April 1853 he organized the world's first commercial photography exhibition. "Russian beauties" were sold to the English public for 7 shillings and 6 pence, while British views were sold for only 3 shillings, and a photo with a view of the Kyiv Cave Monastery was so popular that it was asked for as much as 12 shillings. ADVERTISIMENT Roger Fenton is an innovative British photographer, one of the first photographers to work in combat zones. He is the author of the first photos of the capital of Ukraine. As OBOZ.UA previously reported, one of the forgotten symbols of Kyiv was located on the spot where the Ukrainian Freedom Arch is today, until 1979. The Elephant Fountain managed to survive the Second World War, but not the Soviet regime. Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and in Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Tim Magennis, who has died aged 96, was a fearless and engaging journalist, sailor and adventurer who is believed to be the only Irishman to have sailed around the world under a gaff-rigged vessel. Irishman, journalist, philosopher and dreamer is how he was described in a documentary on that mid-1960s circumnavigation on the Norwegian ketch Sandefjord, filmed by his skipper and crewmates, brothers Patrick and Barry Cullen. Born in Ardglass, Co Down, in 1928, he was the youngest of six boys, all of whom were taught by their father, who was principal in the local primary school. From early on, he developed a love of the sea, offering to sweep prawns which had no value off the decks of local fishing vessels, or nobbies. One of his brothers, Art, became an Army officer who served through the Emergency and was decorated for bravery during his service in the Congo in 1961. Tim attended St Malachys College in Belfast and went straight into journalism after secondary school, initially with a newspaper in Tyrone. He joined the Argus newspaper group, publishing in several British protectorates on the African continent, and worked as a reporter for The Rhodesia Herald in Nyasaland (now Malawi). However, when he warned in his reports in late 1961 of a food shortage in Nyasaland, stating that the Doctor, as in political leader Dr Hastings Banda had failed to make an impression on agriculture, Bandas associates called him a liar. Magennis sued for libel and was awarded 250 in damages and costs. He refused to take the payment, saying people there deserved more money than him. However, he had to leave the country, as a contact in the Nyasaland police warned him his life was in danger. He secured work in Durban, South Africa, and was reporting on activities in the port in 1964 when he met the Cullen brothers, then restoring a 50-year-old timber ketch, Sandefjord, which had previously saved 117 lives with the Norwegian Lifeboat Society. When the Cullens told him they planned to sail it around the world, he decided to go with them, bringing his typewriter and his guitar on a 30,279 nautical mile voyage. With rations for 400 days, the crew set out from Durban in February 1965, sailing through the West Indies, Panama Canal, crossing the Pacific and finishing back in Durban in November 1966. On board were Patrick (24) and Barry (28), along with US navy man Wally Stright (26), Fanie Louw (21) from the Transvaal, and New Zealand teacher Mary Clayton, also in her 20s. Tim was the oldest on board, at 32. During gales on the leg from Polynesia to Australia, the vessels mizzen mast broke, and they had 20 cans of baked beans left when they berthed in Sydney. After the voyage, Tim took a job with Coras Trachtala, the export marketing board, in London. There he met Anne Hanly of the Hanly weaving company. The couple moved to Barbados where they married and then to Noank in Connecticut where Patrick Cullen and his family had settled. Tim and Patrick worked together on sailing boats up and down the east coast of north America, and Anne and Tim then returned to Ireland where their daughters Kira, Sophie and Kate were born. As Kira recalled at his funeral, the three girls grew up with tales of his adventures and played with conch shells from the Caribbean in a south Dublin home filled with many memories of his travels. He joined Bord Failtes publicity department in August 1970, where he worked till 1996. He continued sailing and restoring traditional wooden vessels, and linked up with a soul mate in 1990 when Sean Cullen, son of his friend Patrick and an experienced sailor, came to Ireland. The pair restored several timber vessels, including two clipper-bowed gaff sloops designed in the 1890s by Herbert Boyd, the Eithne and the Marguerite. As Cullen recalled, Tim was like my Irish father and my best friend, and was passionate about traditional craft be it revival of Galway hookers, restoration of the original Asgard, or tracking down barges used by Guinness Brewery . He was a founder of the Dublin Bay Old Gaffers Association he became president of the parent organisation in Britain and was made an honorary life member. He edited the Maritime Institute journal, Iris na Mara, sat on its council and was, as maritime historian Cormac Lowth notes, a kind, affable, and generous hearted man who was loved and will be missed by all. Tim Magennis was predeceased by his wife, Anne, and survived by his daughters, Kira, Sophie and Kate and extended family. Taoiseach expresses deep disappointment at move, which follows Irelands recognition of Palestinian state and support for South Africas case at the International Court of JusticeTanaiste Micheal Martin says Ireland's embassy in Israel will remain openJewish Representative Council of Ireland deeply concerned by deterioration in relations Israel's foreign minister accused Taoiseach Simon Harris on Monday of anti-Semitism as he defended Israel's decision to close its embassy in Dublin over Ireland's policies. "There is a difference between criticism - and antisemitism based on the delegitimization and dehumanization of Israel and double standards towards Israel," Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in a statement. "Last night Ireland's anti-Semitic Prime Minister Simon Harris said in an interview 'Ireland is not anti-Israel but Ireland is absolutely anti the starvation of children'," Saar said. "Is Israel starving children?" He claimed Israel was working to enable humanitarian aid to reach Gaza and prevent civilian casualties. This claim comes as the death toll in Gaza crossed 45,000 since the beginning of the war. Gideon Saar, Israeli Foreign Minister. Photo: Reuters/Amir Cohen Simon Harris accuses Israel of engaging in 'distraction' policies after announcement of embassy closure The decision to close the Israeli embassy in Dublin has highlighted Israel's increasing international isolation over the Gaza war, triggered by the October 7, 2023, assault on Israeli communities which led to the killing of 1,200 Israeli citizens and the kidnapping of 250 more. A spokesperson for the Taoiseach said: The Taoiseach will not be responding to personalised and false attacks and remains focused on the horrific war crimes being perpetrated in Gaza, standing up for human rights and international law and reflecting the views of so many people across Ireland who are so concerned at the loss of innocent, civilian lives. Earlier today Mr Harris expressed his deep disappointment after Israel announced it is going to close its embassy in Dublin as they claim that the Irish government has extreme anti-Israel policies and crossed all red lines towards Israel. The Government in recent days announced Ireland would join South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, which accuses Israel of genocide. Tanaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin confirmed there are "no plans" to close Ireland's embassy in Israel. "Ireland and Israel will continue to maintain diplomatic relations. Inherent in that is the right to agree and disagree on fundamental points," he said. "There are no plans to close Irelands embassy in Israel, which is carrying out important work." Israel's ambassador to Ireland, Dana Erlich, said the move to close the Israeli embassy was made in response to a "growing incitement and hatred towards anything Israeli" in Ireland. Both the Taoiseach and the Tanaiste released statements shortly after the Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar told Israeli media they were closing the embassy in Dublin. "Ireland's antisemitic actions and rhetoric against Israel are rooted in delegitimisation and demonisation of the Jewish state and reflect clear double standards, Gideon Sa'ar said. "Ireland has crossed all red lines in its treatment of Israel. We will redirect our resources toward advancing bilateral relations with countries based on priorities that reflect how different nations relate to Israel." The minister said Irelands actions reflect a clear double standard. Ambassador Erlich accused the Irish government of taking steps that are "about isolating and discriminating against Israel" and the country has taken an "extreme" position. She said the stance taken by Ireland has "crossed the line" and it is "not criticism, but this is pure hatred and obsession that is now also directed to Israelis and the Jewish community". "These are tough days. It was a tough decision that was not taken lightly but unfortunately, in the currently hostile atmosphere in Ireland, supported, fostered by the Irish government, this is the correct diplomatic decision to take." She directed members of the Israeli and Jewish communities with concerns to bring those concerns to the Irish government who "needs to make sure that they are safe, that there is a future for the Jewish community in Ireland". Ms Erlich, who was recalled back to Israel in May when Ireland recognised Palestinian statehood, said there has been a "surge" in anti-Semitism in Ireland and claimed there is "a growing incitement and hatred towards anything Israeli, and unfortunately, it has crossed the line". "This is not criticism, but this is just pure hatred and obsession that is now also directed to Israelis and the Jewish community, unfortunately, we've seen it throughout this year." Speaking to RTE's News at One, she said the Israeli government will continue to help Jewish and Israeli communities in Ireland, adding: "We will continue in contact with our allies and supporters, but the format of the embassy must change in light of these anti-Israeli steps". Ms Erlich accused the Irish government of taking steps that are "about isolating and discriminating against Israel" and said the claims brought to the International Court of Justice are "baseless". She described the case brought against Israel as "an abuse of the international multilateral system by South Africa" that the Israeli government was "sorry" to see Ireland join. Ms Erlich said the Irish intervention in the case was not about respecting international law, but about "abusing international systems and playing into the propaganda of terrorism organisations like Hamas, who applauded and welcomed this step". "This joins an accumulation of steps, rhetoric and initiatives that we've seen Ireland trying to promote this past year. We've seen it do it also on a bilateral level, for different legislation. We've seen it trying to promote anti-Israel measures within the EU. We've seen it foster hostility in different UN resolutions." She said Israel still sees Ireland as an "extreme voice in the international arena", adding that it has taken an "extreme position" that no other country has put itself in and accused the Irish Government of fostering "incitement and hatred". On whether the same steps would be taken against Spain or Norway, who also recognised Palestinian statehood earlier this year, Ms Erlich said: "We see Ireland in a more extreme stance than any other country." She said Israel made the decision to close the embassy in order to "recalculate our efforts and our resources to a country that does want to broaden engagement with Israel" and ruled out that this would include steps that would see the closure of the Irish embassy in Tel Aviv. Ms Erlich also claimed that there is "for lack of a better word, an obsession with anti-Israeli steps" in Ireland which are "not about pro-peace" but about "isolating Israel". Asked whether Israel hopes this move will damage how Ireland is viewed by the international community and the United States, Ms Erlich said Ireland's actions to date have already "caused questions in the international community". "It's not about our messages, it's the actions of the Irish government that are sending messages to other countries, not just Israel". Israeli ambassador to Ireland Dana Erlich Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar said there are countries which instead want to build on their links with Israel, such as Moldova and resources will instead be deployed there. "There are countries interested in strengthening their ties with Israel where we don't yet have diplomatic missions," he said. "We will adjust our diplomatic network while considering, among other factors, different countries' approaches and actions toward Israel in the international arena." Bad day for diplomacy The former Irish ambassador to the US Dan Mulhall has said the closure of the Israeli embassy in Dublin marks a "bad day for diplomacy". He said there will now be a reduction in the Israeli diplomatic presence in Dublin who could speak to the Irish media, people and government about their position and attempt to "bridge the gaps that are there between our two countries". Mr Mulhall added that a consulate could potentially remain or the Israeli ambassador to the UK could also be accredited to cover Ireland following the closure, but there will be an inevitable "reduction in the level of contact between Ireland and Israel, which is not a good thing between two countries like ours". Speaking to RTE's Morning Ireland, Mr Mulhall acknowledged that the closure of the embassy in Dublin will also be a "complicating factor" in the Irish relationship with the US. "When the new administration comes in, it will be a moment of risk and jeopardy for Ireland in our relations with the United States because whatever we do with regard to Israel will be looked at carefully in Washington - and there will certainly be a big gap between their instinctive approach to these things and ours and that carries a risk for Ireland, given the importance of our relationship with the United States." He said the Irish position is "very reasonable" but it will be "difficult to get through to some of the people who have very strong views and are very supportive of Israel and may not hear what we have to say". "We're not anti-Israel, we're not anti-Jewish, not anti-Semitic. We simply have concerns and we're opposed to certain aspects of Israeli government policy. I mean, if someone criticises Ireland for some particular diplomatic move we've made, it doesn't mean they're anti-Irish." Mr Mulhall said there will be a need to be "careful" in the approach once US president-elect Donald Trump assumes office. "I'm not saying we should abandon our policies or positions - certainly not - but we will have to factor in how those positions might go down in Washington and what the consequences might be for our vital relationship with the United States." Chair of Jewish council deeply concerned The chair of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland said he was "deeply concerned" by the deterioration in relations between Ireland and Israel. Maurice Cohen told RTE that the Irish Governments intervention in the ICC case risks "oversimplifying a highly complex and tragic conflict, unfairly isolating Israel, and undermining the integrity of the term 'genocide'". He said the closure of the embassy was "particularly distressing for the Jewish community in Ireland". "For these individuals, the closure of the embassy represents not only a symbolic blow but also a practical disadvantage, he said. "Consular services provided by the embassy are vital for those maintaining connections with family, culture, and heritage in Israel. Losing this resource will leave many feeling unsupported and aggrieved. "Closing the embassy risks alienating a significant segment of Irish society and sends a message that dialogue is being replaced by disengagement," he said. He said the council was committed to peace and the protection of innocent lives "on all sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict", while also supporting Israels right to defend itself from "terrorism and existential threats". Mr Cohen called on the Irish and Israeli governments to rebuild trust and make sure diplomatic channels remained open. Ambassador recalled Israels ambassador to Ireland, Dana Erlich, was recalled back to Israel in May when Ireland recognised the state of Palestine. The embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It is not clear on what date the embassy will close. Releasing a statement on Sunday afternoon, Taoiseach Simon Harris said: Irelands foreign policy is founded on our deep commitment to dialogue and to the peaceful resolution of disputes. Embassy of Israel to Ireland in Ballsbridge, Dublin. Picture: Arthur Carron "Resident embassies play a very important role in that regard. Keeping channels open has never been more important so that we can better understand each others positions, even when we disagree. He continued; I utterly reject the assertion that Ireland is anti-Israel. Ireland is pro-peace, pro-human rights and pro-international law. Gideon Saar, Israeli Foreign Minister. Photo: Reuters/Amir Cohen News in 90 seconds - 15 December 2024 Ireland wants a two-state solution and for Israel and Palestine to live in peace and security. Ireland will always speak up for human rights and international law. Nothing will distract from that. Speaking in Brussels this morning, Tanaiste Micheal Martin said any action taken by the Irish government in relation to the ongoing situation in Palestine has been motivated only by a respect of international humanitarian law and human rights. He sad Ireland would not be closing its embassy in Israel. "We've consistently called for an immediate ceasefire, release of all hostages and a massive surge of humanitarian aid. Recognising a state of Palestine, which we did with Norway and Spain - and which other countries have done - is not a hostile act, and should not be seen as a hostile act, he said. Mr Martin said the utilisation of the international courts "should not be seen as a hostile act". "Ireland stands by the approach it has taken which has been motivated towards full accountability for what is happening in Gaza and for respect for international humanitarian law and human rights that applies to Hamas, it has applied to Hezbollah, and it applies to the Israeli government as well." He added: "I find it very difficult to comprehend how those acts could be described as hostile acts. They are not hostile acts." "What's happening in northern Gaza at the moment, for example, in my view, is beyond any moral compass, defies any explanation at this stage, given how long this war has waged. We're having daily reports of the killings of children and men and women - and Irish people are repulsed by that. That's basically the essence of the Irish response and we believe passionately that there's an alternative route now". He said Ireland continues to call on Israel to "open up Gaza" to allow the international community and the media to bear witness to what is happening. "I have no doubt if that happened, that the world would be shocked in terms of the level of the destruction that has occurred there and the absolute need for a fundamental change of approach, Mr Martin said. Gaza latest Israeli forces continued to pound Gaza on Sunday, including the largely isolated north, as the Palestinian death toll in the war approached 45,000. A large explosion lit up the southern Gaza skyline on Sunday night. An Israeli airstrike hit a school and killed at least 16 people in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital, where the bodies were taken. There was no immediate Israeli military statement. In the north, an airstrike hit the Khalil Aweida school in the town of Beit Hanoun and killed at least 15 people, according to nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital where casualties were taken. The dead included two parents and their daughter and a father and his son, the hospital said. Palestinians carry UN-donated flour in Khan Younis, in central Gaza, on Saturday (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP) And in Gaza City, at least 17 people including six women and five children were killed in three airstrikes that hit houses sheltering displaced people, according to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital. We woke up to the strike. I woke up with the rubble on top of me, said Yahia al-Yazji. I found my wife with her head and skull visible, and my daughters intestines were gone. My wife was three months pregnant. Israels military said in a statement it struck a terrorist cell in Gaza City and a terrorist meeting point in the Beit Hanoun area. Another Israeli airstrike killed a Palestinian journalist working for Al Jazeera, Ahmed al-Lawh, in central Gaza, a hospital and the Qatari-based TV station said. The strike hit a point for Gazas civil defence agency in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp, Al-Awda Hospital said. Also killed were three civil defence workers including the local head of the agency, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital. The civil defence is Gazas main rescue agency and operates under the Hamas-run government. We, the civil defence, are carrying out humanitarian work like in any country in the world. Why are we being targeted? said Kerem Al Dalou. Israels military said it struck a militant command centre embedded in the civil defence offices. The war in Gaza began after Hamas and other militants from Gaza stormed southern Israel on October 7 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking well over 200 hostage. Israels retaliatory offensive has killed almost 45,000 Palestinians, according to Gazas Health Ministry. The ministrys count does not distinguish between combatants and civilians, but it says more than half of the dead have been women and children. Most of Gazas population of some two million has been displaced, often multiple times. The hospitals that are still functioning say they lack medicines, fuel and other basic supplies, while aid groups warn of widespread hunger. The head of the World Food Programme, Cindy McCain, told US broadcaster CBS on Sunday that the UN agency was able to get just two trucks of supplies into Gaza in November, citing insecurity there. We need a ceasefire, and we need it now, she said. We can no longer sit by and just allow these people to starve to death. Ralph Fiennes pictured at the Abbey Theatre for the T. S. Eliot Lecture 2024. *** NO REPRO FEE**** Photography: Conor Healy / Picture It Photography Ralph Fiennes pictured at the Abbey Theatre for the T. S. Eliot Lecture 2024. Photo: Conor Healy / Picture It Photography Actor Ralph Fiennes delivered a reading of TS Eliots Four Quartets at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin yesterday as part of the annual TS Eliot Lecture. As well as the reading, Fiennes (61) discussed the American-born poets works. Four Quartets is lauded as the culminating achievement of Eliots poetic career, a meditation in time of war on the spiritual and philosophical themes that preoccupied him. It is also considered to be his most intensely personal work. This year marks the 80th anniversary of its first publication as a single volume in 1944. British actor Fiennes, who spoke to Irish actor Ingrid Craigie on stage, first familiarised himself with Four Quartets during his childhood, part of which was spent in Ireland. In 2020, he committed its near-1,000 lines to memory during lockdown. When restrictions were lifted, he embarked on a UK tour concluding with six weeks in Londons West End. After yesterdays reading, Fiennes and Craigie discussed Four Quartets and the relationship between performer and work, as well as the challenges of poetic performance. This years lecture was introduced by journalist and editor Catherine Heaney, who is the daughter of the late Irish poet Seamus Heaney. The lecture has been presented at the Abbey Theatre since 2016. It is inspired by Eliots legacy and impact on modern literature. Previous speakers included Paul Muldoon, Steven Pinker, Samantha Power, Sean Scully, Edna OBrien, Es Devlin, Sally Rooney and Jeanette Winterson. My favourite room: Here I am taking off from the Queens airport with Bono in the back Pilot turned restaurateur Grace ORiordan has high-flying style Owner and co-chef of Harrys in Malahide, Grace ORiordan, has an eclectic collection of furniture and artworks showcasing both her flying and cooking careers, in her welcoming Edwardian terraced house Pilot/restaurateur Grace ORiordan in her living room with its bay window and her beagle Charlie. The rug is by Paul Costelloe. Photo: Tony Gavin Mary O'Sullivan Sun 15 Dec 2024 at 03:30 There are so many pieces related to planes in Grace ORiordans home that it is clear flying figures in her life somehow. Theres a large model aircraft in the living room, a real plane propeller in the bathroom and flight posters hanging on the walls. Life did change after my mother left and after she took my brother and sister - Ernie OMalleys son Cormac Cormac OMalley didnt learn of his fathers storied republican career until the state funeral Ernie O'Malley travelled across the country collecting stories Emily Hourican Sun 15 Dec 2024 at 03:30 Ernie OMalley, who died in 1957 aged 59, is no doubt best remembered as a republican and a revolutionary. He saw himself primarily as a soldier who had fought and killed the enemies of our nation. Were starting to think we could learn a thing or two from the Syrians about New Energy and, indeed, government formation. Coalitionology? They had one ready-made to go when the time was right. Indeed, there was something familiar about the Syrian rebels sweeping down from a far-flung corner of the country in 4x4s. Militants HTS had been quietly working away in their corner of the country, creating their own empire, patiently getting everyone on board, then they hit the road in convoy to head to the seat of power, cheered on in each town they went through. Luke ONeill: Eat, drink and be merry but beware the danger foods this Christmas Ultra-processed products, such as soft drinks and salty snacks, are not good for you so we should aim to cut back on them Photo: Stock image, Getty Luke O'Neill Sun 15 Dec 2024 at 03:30 Donald Trump has nominated Robert F Kennedy Jr to be health and human services secretary in his new administration. This has caused consternation among some people in the US. Last week 77 Nobel laureates signed a letter asking the US senate to reject the nomination, stating he is not fit for the job and will put the health of Americans in jeopardy. Patrick Crinnion was a Garda intelligence officer who worked for MI6 in the 1960s and early 1970s As a high-up and well-trusted member of An Garda Siochana serving in core intelligence units, Patrick Crinnion was privy to the most explosive secrets of his day. Before his ascension through the ranks of the gardai, Crinnion worked as a male model. Thanks to his high IQ, he was also a member of Mensa. No ordinary man, in other words. Crinnion would eventually find himself standing atop the precipice of a world of lies and deception. In this arena, loyalty could be bought and sold for the right price, and the British government seduced Crinnion to join a network of spies used by MI6 to infiltrate the Irish State. He is alleged to have played a pivotal role in one of the most controversial sagas in the nations history, the 1970 arms crisis, a plot to smuggle weapons into Northern Ireland that became a hugely divisive political scandal. How does such a man operate? Why did he switch sides? What made him so appealing to both British and Irish enforcers? And should Patrick Crinnion be remembered as a patriot or a traitor? On this episode of The Indo Daily, host Fionnan Sheahan is joined by David Burke, author of The Puppet Masters: How MI6 Masterminded Irelands Deepest State Crisis, to look at an incredible true story fit for the silver screen. Although some people may have breathed a sigh of relief once the winds of Storm Darragh weakened last weekend, the storm was not truly over for restaurants who were forced to deal with significant power outages in the days after. One such restaurant was the Holy Grail restaurant in Ballindaggin, a very popular gastro bar that offers internationally-inspired cuisines. The business was forced to inform customers that they would be unable to open to the public on Saturday, December 7 due to a power outage caused by the storm. Following ESB works in the area they were able to open Sunday evening. However, owner Bino said that the business had been greatly affected by the time the power came back. "I lost trade all of Saturday and Sunday up until the afternoon, which would generally be our busiest time of the week particularly at this time of the year, he said. "On top of that, I lost a significant amount of stock and fresh meat that couldnt be used by the time the power came back, he added. Although many areas in Ireland were badly affected by the storm, Wexford was badly hit by the weather as over 39,000 premises faced a power outage the following day. Although Storm Darragh disrupted many peoples plans over the weekend, on Sunday morning more than 40 people travelled from Wexford and as far as Wicklow, Kilkenny, Carlow to Fianna Fails Liam Mellows Commemoration. The storm cleared before the commemoration at Castletown Church in north Wexford and the weather was cold, crisp and bright according to local Councillor Joe Sullivan. The keynote address was given by MEP Cynthia Ni Mhurchu who spoke about the background behind the commemoration and Liam Mellows contribution to the 1916 Rising. "She gave an outline about his ongoing support for the anti-treaty side which culminated in his execution on December 8, 1922 as a result of the assassination of Government Minister Sean Hales on December 7, 1922 as well as his upbringing in England and Ireland and his ideals for the Irish Republic, said Cllr Sullivan. Cllr Sullivan says its important this date is continued to be marked more than 100 years on as it, was a very significant time in Irish history, it probably laid the foundation for the Republic we have at the moment and as a result of the actions of those men, we have the country we have now. Were probably still some way away from achieving the ultimate goal of a united Ireland, it will be something that will come in its own time with the consent of the people on both sides of the border. Afterwards, attendees enjoyed refreshments at the Golden Anchor. December is the time to buy a lot of Christmas gifts, the design of which is often as important as their content. ADVERTISIMENT Some people decorate the packages with ribbons and bows, while others simply pack them in boxes or bags. In the meantime, scientists say they have discovered the secret of perfect packaging. According to MailOnline, it turned out that most people prefer to receive gifts in simple packages. A team from the Beijing University of Technology and Business examined people's attitudes toward overly packaged gifts through a series of studies involving more than 2,600 participants. In one study, people were asked to rate how they felt about a gift after being shown it in three types of packaging: overpackaging, regular packaging and no packaging. ADVERTISIMENT In another experiment, participants were asked to imagine giving or receiving a gift - packaged excessively or normally - from a close or distant friend. The analysis showed that people who give gifts tend to favor overpackaging, believing that it shows they are thoughtful. However, recipients tended to prefer simple packaging, considering extravagance to be wasteful. When the event was mandatory or the relationship was distant - for example, exchanging gifts in the office - negative views of excessive packaging were stronger. When it came to exchanging gifts with close people - for example, a good friend's birthday - overpackaging did not influence opinions. Haijiao Shi, lead author of the study, said, "Gift-givers see overpacking as a thoughtful gesture, while recipients often view it as wasteful. Our study highlights the importance of understanding these differing perspectives, suggesting that simpler packaging could improve recipient satisfaction." Only verified information is available on OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! A family from Newcastle, County Wicklow, who lost their beloved son, are the faces behind the Laura Lynn Christmas appeal this year. The Gibson OGara family, who lost their son Martin in 2021 at just 10 years old, have kindly offered to support Irelands only childrens hospice as it launches its annual Christmas appeal, highlighting the vital support it provides to families like them. Martin, who was also a brother to Patrick, spent precious moments at Laura Lynn, creating memories that his family will treasure forever. Laura Lynn offers specialist paediatric palliative care services to babies, children, and young people with life-limiting conditions across Ireland. Since its opening in 2011, the hospice has supported 860 children and their families, helping them live well and make the most of every moment when life is short. The hospice relies primarily on fundraised income to provide its essential services. The late Martin Gibson O'Gara. Sarah Gibson, Martins mum, shared her heartfelt experience as the appeal was launched. Martin was non-verbal, needed intensive nursing care, and was regularly in-and-out of hospital. But none of this stopped Martin from making the most of his life, and he absolutely adored spending time at LauraLynn. "His eyes lit up every time we arrived there. Laura Lynn is so in tune with every family member and so experienced and skilled at providing the right kind of support. I made a promise that Martins light would never go out, and taking part in Laura Lynns Christmas Appeal means we have been able to tell Martins story. Hopefully, it will help so many families like ours. Martins light is definitely shining a little brighter today, she said. In 2023, Laura Lynn provided 1,804 nights of in-hospice care and 2,143 community visits, offering services free of charge, including symptom management, music and play therapy, psychological support, family and sibling camps, short breaks, crisis care, end-of-life care, and bereavement support. Care is provided in hospice, at hospital, or in a childs home. The Gibson O'Gara family with the late little Martin and Santa. Kerry McLaverty, CEO of Laura Lynn, expressed gratitude for the support of all those who helped and donated during the year. We are so very grateful to Sarah, Marty, and Patrick for taking part in this years Christmas Appeal, and we hope that by hearing Martins story, people will support us to help even more families like the Gibson OGaras all across the country. "Children with palliative care needs and their families deserve to receive the care and support they need at every stage of their journey, from diagnosis to end of life and into bereavement. We are asking our supporters to help LauraLynn families like Martins continue to receive the care and support they need by donating, she said. LauraLynns services are provided free of charge, and the hospice relies primarily on fundraised income to continue its work. To support LauraLynns Christmas Appeal and help families like the Gibson OGaras, visit: lauralynn.ie/donate. A new book has been launched which highlights the importance of the archaeological landscape in the Baltinglass area. Baltinglass and the Prehistoric Hillforts of Ireland documents recent discoveries and explores the broader context of the Baltinglass sites in relation to hillfort landscapes both in Ireland and abroad. The Baltinglass area of south-west Wicklow has the largest concentration of prehistoric hillforts in Ireland. As many as thirteen enclosures of varying design are prominently sited on hills overlooking the modern town. These include some of the most impressive Irish hillforts, the construction of which required coordinated planning and a massive investment of resources. This unique landscape has been the focus of a recent study undertaken by University College Cork. The project combined remote sensing and GIS analysis with conventional archaeological survey and excavation to examine the hillforts in their cultural landscape setting. A paleoecological study was undertaken at a small bog near Baltinglass to examine the record of human interaction with the local environment over time. For wider context, the Baltinglass sites were also considered in relation to hillfort landscapes in other parts of Ireland and abroad. The results of this study shed new light on an important archaeological landscape in Ireland. The earliest hill-top enclosures at Baltinglass date back some five and a half thousand years to the first farmers of the Neolithic age. Dr James ODriscoll lectures at the University of Glasgow and specialises in the application of remote sensing and geospatial techniques to the study of prehistoric landscapes across Ireland and Britain. In 2016 he completed a PhD study of the Baltinglass landscape at University College Cork. Dr Alan Hawkes is a graduate of University College Cork where he completed doctoral research on the subject of burnt mound archaeology. Published in 2018 as an Archaeopress monograph, this remains the most comprehensive study of these prehistoric sites in Ireland. Since completing his studies, he has worked on a number of hillfort research projects, including recent excavations at Rathcoran in the Baltinglass landscape. Professor William O'Brien is a graduate of University College Cork where he completed doctoral research in 1987 on prehistoric copper mining. Prior to his appointment to the Cork chair in 2006, he lectured for 16 years at the University of Galway. Research interests include the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age in Ireland, early mining and metallurgy in Atlantic Europe, upland archaeology, the study of hillforts and all aspects of monumentality in the later prehistoric period. Published by Wordwell Press, Baltinglass and the Prehistoric Hillforts of Ireland is available for sale at 50. Jamie Foxx has been injured during a birthday meal following an altercation in a restaurant, his spokesman said. The comedian and actor was at the Mr Chow restaurant in Beverly Hills on Friday as he turned 57, when a glass was thrown in his direction and hit him in the mouth. It follows the Oscar-winning actor making a comeback to the comedy stage in the Netflix special Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was following his recovery from a stroke last year. A spokesman for the comedian and actor told the PA news agency: Jamie Foxx was at his birthday dinner when someone from another table threw a glass that hit him in the mouth. He had to get stitches and is recovering. The police were called and the matter is now in law enforcements hands. Jamie Foxx (Matt Crossick/PA) The Beverly Hills Police Department told the AP news agency it responded around 10pm Friday to a reported assault with a deadly weapon and determined it was unfounded. Instead, the incident involved a physical altercation between parties, said a department statement. The BHPD conducted a preliminary investigation and completed a report documenting the battery. No arrests were made. A telephone message seeking details was also left Sunday at Mr Chow, AP said. Last week, Foxxs programme aired on Netflix, where he said he was fighting for his life in 2023, when he briefly had to use a wheelchair and learn how to walk again. He also said the doctor told his sister that Foxx was having a brain bleed, that led to a stroke. He says his sister was then told if I dont go in his head right now, were going to lose him, and he was sent for surgery, and my sister knelt down outside the operating room and prayed the whole time. Your life doesnt flash before your face, Foxx added. It was kind of oddly peaceful, I say this all the time; I saw the tunnel. I didnt see the light. I was in that tunnel, though. It was hot in that tunnel. Foxx also said that the doctor said the medical staff didnt find the origin of the brain bleed, but he was diagnosed with a stroke, and says he does not recall 20 days of his illness. On Sunday morning, Foxx thanked those who had checked in on him along with promoting the new special, in an Instagram post. He wrote: The devil is busy but Im too blessed to be stressed. Wicklow jewellery designer and One Dame Lane founder Lyndsey Cavanagh is helping Irish women stand out with her statement pieces. She shares her Spanish inspiration and why mothers are facing inequality in business I lived in the south of Spain for a time and I found Spanish women really embrace statement pieces they like to be seen, says jewellery designer Lyndsey Cavanagh. They embrace colour and are very glamorous. But the Irish market tends to be quite conservative, people here dont want to be seen as much. I agree. Often, when Irish women make a bold fashion statement, its only to hear: Where does she think shes going in that? Humbleness is at the base of our DNA, which can restrict us even when it comes to something as simple as a fashion choice. Kylie hoops, 75, onedamelane.com Cavanaghs jewellery brand One Dame Lane aims to disrupt this. We like to push boundaries with Irish women, she says. We want to help them embrace bolder looks, a statement piece can make such a difference to an outfit. She points to the brands cuff bracelet. I didnt think our cuff would do that well but its sold out twice! Gold cuff, 48, onedamelane.com The designers pieces were worn by the My Therapist Ghosted Me pair Vogue Williams and Joanne McNally early on. When we first opened, stylist Corina Gaffey used a lot of our pieces for photoshoots. Vogue Williams ended up being a massive support to us. She spoke about the brand on her podcast several times and then that linked us into doing a collab with Joanne McNally. We also made a set of hoops for Rozanna Purcell. She wore them to all of her events and online. We ended up calling them the Roz hoops and now have a whole family of Roz jewellery. Weve been lucky that we never really had to pursue anyone to work with us, it just came about. This jewellery isnt just fit for Irish celebs Disney princesses have also taken an interest. The dress department of the movie Disenchanted also came to us. Amy Adams wore our Ginkgo earrings. Its an achievement that no doubt impresses her five-year-old daughter. Jewellery designer and One Dame Lane founder Lyndsey Cavanagh Cavanaghs had the privilege of watching her little girl grow along with her business. However, she still feels the playing ground still isnt equal. I think the business world is still for men, their approach to family too is quite different. It makes it so hard for women, and childcare, schooling and organising seem to always fall on us. The biggest challenge for me was growing my business during the pandemic, I was a new mother. Trying to manage all of that on my own was a huge learning curve. It changes your character. Roxy earrings, 379, onedamelane.com I think its good for my daughter, though. She knows that you really have to work if you want to create something and achieve your goals. For anyone out there whos a single parent and trying to work/run a business, I completely relate. Ive had many meltdowns! she laughs. Shes been in the shop since she was six months old, now shell come in and tidy the displays for us! That was the lovely part we made it, me and her. See onedamelane.com Kylie hoops, 75, onedamelane.com Christmas Gift Guide The good, the bad and the Oirish: Our critics give their take on the best- and worst- of Irish film Senators fear companies have co-ordinated efforts to block partners from doing business with newer players Two US senators are calling on the countrys consumer watchdog to investigate gambling giant Flutters American business over alleged anti-competitive practices. Senators Mike Lee and Peter Welch claimed in an open letter that the conduct of Flutter and its US rival DraftKings may be violating rules around coordination to obstruct or impair competition. The pair sent the letter to the US Federal Trade Commission urging it to investigate the claims. Alia Bhatt and Vedang Rainas Jigra released on Netflix recently and many people have already streamed the film over the weekend. Jigra, which was released in theaters a few days ago, opened to mixed reactions by critics and movie-goers; however, since it has landed on OTT, it is getting a great response. The movie is about how a sister gives it her all to help her brother escape from jail after he was framed in a drug dealing case. If you have watched the movie or are interested to know about the end then here is the Jigra ending explained for you. (Spoilers ahead, you know what to do) Jigra ending explained With all the assistance she could get, Satya broke into the prison during Jigra's conclusion. The electricity was switched off, and the place went completely dark before Hans Raj could electrocute Ankur because of his death sentence. After much effort, Satya eventually found Ankur and the others again and saved them. With the assistance of one of Muthu's coworkers, the goal was to pose as Doctors without Borders, cross the boundaries of Hanshi Duo, and arrive in Malaysia via boat. However, Shekhar Bhatia was shot in the confusion as the police chased Satya and the others. Hans Raj Landa trailed Satya, Ankur, and others after they made it to international waters. The Malaysian naval forces arrived just as he was ready to shoot them, and he was killed for firing outside of his authority. Satya was able to save Ankur and others and come back to India after all that she did to save her brother from his death sentence. the climax scene of jigra is literally everything and the best part about the movie for me pic.twitter.com/XKAPGHupfQ (@alfiyastic) December 6, 2024 In the last scene we see all of them moving into Satya and Ankurs childhood home. The brother-sister duo are also seen recollecting the time when they saw their father committing suicide from the balcony of the same house. You can stream Jigra on Netflix. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. Razakar OTT release: This Telugu actioner had a theatrical release on 15th March this year and was supposed to stream on Zee5 in April only. However, things didnt work out and the epic historical was indefinitely postponed. Now, the Yata Satyanarayanas film has finally seen the light of day. Razakar: The Silent Genocide Of Hyderabad will be streaming on Aha. While the OTT platform is confirmed, the date is yet to be announced officially. Several media reports suggest that Razakar will be out on either December 20 or 26th. Razakar cast and crew This action drama stars Bobby Simha, Tej Sapru, Makarand Deshpande, Raj Arjun, Annusriya Tripathi, Vedhika, Anasuya Bharadwaj, Indraja, Prema, Thalaivasal Vijay, Chandhunadh, Tarak Ponnappa, Arav Choudary, Vijay, Cheluva Raj and Keshav Deepak among others. Razakar was produced by Gudur Narayana Reddy under the banner of Samarveer Creation LLP and was met with criticism regarding some caste dynamics and historical realities shown in it. Razakar plot summary Razakar shows the turmoil in Hyderabad State following India's independence on August 15, 1947. While the rest of the nation celebrated freedom, Hyderabad remained under Nizam's rule for another year. During this period, the people suffered under the brutal oppression of the Razakars, a militant group loyal to the Nizam. The film shows the atrocities carried out by the Nizam and the Razakars, as well as the bravery of the heroes who rose to fight against their tyranny. 123Telugu rated it 3 out of 5. Razakar is sure to leave you shocked with its horrifying facts and neatly documents the ordeal of common people. Performances are very good and the film is rich technically. The first half is slightly slow, with some repetitive scenes, but the second half grabs our attention every minute, a part of their review read. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. Prabhas will soon be seen in The Raja Saab, which is slated to hit the screens next year. The horror-comedy features the mass hero in a new avatar and is touted to be a treat for his fans. Here is the latest update about the film. According to the latest reports, Nayanthara is set to join its cast. Nayanthara joins the cast of The Raja Saab? Nayanthara is one of the biggest names in the film industry. She enjoys a strong fan following because of her sincere performances and striking screen presence. Here is an exciting update for those fond of her work. According to the latest buzz, 'Thalaivi' is set to feature alongside Prabhas in The Raja Saab. The actress will appear in a special number and not have a full-fledged role in the flick. The makers of The Raja Saab, however, are yet to issue an official statement about her association with the film. Prabhas and Nayanthara previously worked together in Yogi, which was a remake of Shivarajkumar's Jogi. About The Raja Saab The Raja Saab is a horror-comedy that features Prabhas in multiple getups. The storyline is still under wraps. However, given the genre, one can expect it to feature a mix of pulsating twists and hilarious gags. It is directed by Maruthi and is the biggest film of his career. The Raja Saab stars Malavika Mohanan as the leading lady and marks her first collaboration with Prabhas. Nidhhi Agerwal also plays a key role in the film, which has S Thaman as the music composer. Coming back to Nayanthara, she was recently in the limelight because of her documentary. The Netflix original centred on her career and her marriage with Vignesh Shivan. The Jawan star currently has Sundar C's Mookuthi Amman 2 and the R Madhavan-led The Test in her kitty. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. The biggest concern for owners who have driven gas cars all their lives may be whether they will be able to handle an electric one. Experts say that the transition period can be easy if you choose the right model. ADVERTISIMENT The GoBankingRates publication has put together a list of car that are best suited for those who want to give up the traditional engine. These are inexpensive and easy-to-drive models that you will quickly master. Chevrolet Bolt EV The model has been called one of the cheapest and most popular electric vehicles in the last few years. With a claimed range of 415 kilometers, the Chevrolet Bolt EV is one of the longest-range vehicles in its price range. The Chevrolet Bolt EV also offers safety features such as active lane control. It has plenty of space inside, and as well as a touchscreen display. Nissan Leaf ADVERTISIMENT Nissan Leaf offers two different battery options. The standard one provides a range of up to 240 km on a single charge, while the improved one can travel up to 345 km. Regarding safety, the model has automatic emergency braking and intelligent lane intervention. In addition, it is a compact car that is perfect for the city, making it is a great option for everyday activities. MINI Cooper SE This is a great choice for first-time buyers of a stylish, compact and elegant electric vehicle. It provides a range of up to 180 km on a single charge, which is suitable for daily city driving. Still, it is not the greatest range. Charging the electric MINI is quick and easy. On the fast mode, you can fill the battery up to 80% in just 30 minutes, which is one of its main advantages. Its safety features include automatic emergency braking and blind spot warning. ADVERTISIMENT Hyundai Kona Electric A small SUV, it can be conveniently used for daily commuting and short weekend trips. It has an impressive range of 420km. Hyundai Kona Electric has a lane keeping system and a forward collision warning, which greatly improves passenger safety. The Kona is also equipped with a huge Apple CarPlay and Android Auto touchscreen. Kia Niro EV The Kia Niro EV offers the best balance between range, price, and practicality. The battery has a range of 405 km, which is a good solution, especially in the city. The model boasts advanced safety features, including lane keeping assist and forward collision warning. The Niro EV is also impressive in terms of technical features as it offers a 10.25-inch touchscreen and wireless smartphone charging. Tesla Model 3 This is an elegant, high-tech and high-performance vehicle. The base model offers 435 km of range with rear-wheel drive and an impressive 575 km in the long-range version. The downside is a slightly higher price than the segment average. Tesla is known for its features such as autopilot for semi-autonomous navigation and frequent software updates to improve safety functionality. There is also a 15-inch touchscreen inside that makes driving much easier. Subscribe to OBOZ.UA channels on Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest events. Diwali 2025 Date: Diwali also known as Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali is one of the major festivals in India. Diwali is an auspicious Hindu festival falling on the new moon of Kartik month--that comes after 20 days of Dussehra or Vijayadashami every year and lasts for five days from Dhanteras to Bhai Dooj. In 2025, Diwali will be celebrated on Monday, October 20, 2025, across the country. When is Diwali in 2025? Diwali is a five-day celebration observed in the Hindu lunisolar months of Ashvin and Kartika (mid-October to mid-November). The ancient calendar states that Diwali is celebrated annually on Amavasya or the fifteenth day of the month of Kartik. In 2025 year the festival of lights will fall on October 20, 2025, Monday. On this day, Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, is worshipped and Her blessing is sought by the devotees. There are many stories behind this festival and each of them symbolises the same thing. 5 Days of Diwali dates in 2025 Diwali 2024 Puja Dates Day Festival Date Diwali Festival Day 1 Dhanteras October 17, 2025, Friday Diwali Festival Day 2 Chhoti Diwali or Narak Chaturdashi October 18, 2025, Saturday Diwali Festival Day 3 Diwali, Laxmi Puja October 20, 2025, Monday Diwali Festival Day 4 Goverdhan Puja October 22, 2025, Wednesday Diwali Festival Day 5 Bhai Dooj October 23, 2025, Thursday 2025 Diwali Calendar Diwali Day 1: Dhanteras (October 17, 2025) Dhanteras is the first day of Diwali and is considered to be a very auspicious day to buy new utensils and jewelry. On this day, people worship Lord Dhanvantari, the god of medicine and health. Diwali Day 2: Chhoti Diwali or Narak Chaturdashi (October 18, 2025) Choti Diwali is the second day of Diwali and is also known as Kali Chaudas. On this day, people worship Lord Hanuman and Goddess Kali. It is also a day to clean the house and get rid of old and unwanted things. Diwali Day 3: Diwali, Laxmi Puja (October 20, 2025) Diwali is the third day of Diwali and is the main day of the festival. On this day, people worship Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity. They also light diyas (oil lamps) and candles to illuminate their homes and businesses. Diwali Day 4: Goverdhan Puja (October 22, 2025) Govardhan Puja is the fourth day of Diwali and is also known as Annakut. On this day, people worship Lord Krishna and offer him a mountain of food made from various grains and vegetables. Diwali Day 5: Bhai Dooj (October 23, 2025) Bhai Dooj is the fifth and final day of Diwali. On this day, sisters apply tilak (vermilion mark) on the foreheads of their brothers and pray for their well-being. Brothers in turn give gifts to their sisters. Diwali 2025: History & significance The origins of Diwali can be traced back to ancient Hindu mythology. According to legend, Lord Rama, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu, returned to his kingdom of Ayodhya after defeating the demon king Ravana. The people of Ayodhya welcomed Lord Rama by lighting diyas (earthen lamps) and decorating their houses with rangolis (colored patterns). This event is believed to have occurred on the day of Amavasya (new moon day) in the Hindu month of Kartik, which is why Diwali is celebrated during this time. Diwali 2025: Significance Diwali is not only a festival of lights, but it also has great cultural and spiritual significance. The festival symbolises the victory of good over evil, light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance. The lighting of diyas is believed to represent the inner light that protects us from spiritual darkness. It is also a time for families and friends to come together, share sweets and delicacies, and exchange gifts. Diwali 2025: FAQs When is Diwali celebrated? Diwali is celebrated in the Hindu month of Kartika, which falls between October and November. The exact dates of the festival vary from year to year, but it typically falls in late October or early November. Are there any customs associated with Diwali puja (worship)? Diwali puja involves prayers to deities such as Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, and Ganesh, the god of auspicious beginnings. Families clean and decorate their homes, perform puja rituals, and seek blessings for prosperity and well-being. Why do people light lamps and candles during Diwali? Lighting lamps and candles symbolises the victory of light over darkness and is believed to invite the blessings of deities into the home. It also represents the dispelling of ignorance by the light of knowledge. What is the significance of Diwali? Diwali signifies the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance. It is associated with various mythological stories, including the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya after defeating the demon king Ravana. For more informative articles on historical and upcoming events from around the world, please visit Indiatimes Events. Everyone likes the iconic LBD (little black dress), but not all black dresses are created equal. A daytime outfit will be different from a nighttime party outfit. For example, on Saturday, actor Suhana Khan walked out in Mumbai wearing a body-con black dress with significant '90s vibes, which she paired with her metallic bag, making it ideal for a night out. Suhana Khan shines in a classic LBD Suhana Khan, dressed in black, made an instant impression when she stepped out of her car and posed for the photographers outside a Mumbai restaurant on Saturday night. Her outfit, combined with her stunning soft curls hair and subtle yet luminous makeup, exuded an enhanced cocktail appearance. Steal the look Suhana is wearing the Versace Crystal Mini Dress, which costs 421,600 on the designer label's website. This sleeveless mini dress has a draped cowl neckline, subtle crystal embellishments, and accent Medusa '95 hardware on the shoulder straps. Suhana wore a Valentino Garavani Small Loco Shoulder Bag, priced at $2,495 (approx. 2,11,599) on Farfetch, with Christian Louboutin Clare Slingback Pumps. Style the look If you want to liven up your little black dress, layer it with slacks or sneakers. You may also go with a black fit-and-flare dress and blazer combo; there's something timeless about a perfectly cut head-to-toe black ensemble. Wearing all-black accessories will not seem overly heavy if your dress is sheer. Consider black loafers and a matching handbag. Apart from her stunning look, Khan's daughter also had a moment with paps fav Bidu aka Jackie Shroff. Have a look. Also read: Kareena Kapoor, Suhana Khan, and Kiara Advani radiate boss babe energy at Tiras store launch For more on such stories on celeb lifestyle and fashion from around the world please visit Indiatimes Lifestyle. Isak Andic, the founder of the renowned fast-fashion company Mango, died at the age of 71 after a fatal hiking accident near Barcelona. His death was announced by the corporation on Saturday, December 14, 2024, and has left the fashion and business circles in sadness. Andic was widely admired for his business energy, which helped Mango grow from a little boutique in Spain to one of the world's leading fashion stores. All about Isak Andic Credit: X Andic was born in Istanbul, Turkey, and co-founded Mango in 1984 with his brother Nahman Andic. Under his direction, what began as a single store in Barcelona swiftly became a worldwide fashion powerhouse. Mango is known for its fashionable yet affordable apparel, and it now has 2,700 outlets in 120 countries. The company reported record-breaking sales of 3.1 billion ($3.2 billion) in 2023 and is growing its presence in the United States, with ambitions to build 65 outlets by 2025. What was Andic's net worth? Andic died with a net worth of $4.5 billion, according to Forbes. His riches were mostly derived from Mango, but he also had substantial assets in Banco Sabadell, one of Spain's biggest banks. Despite his wealth, Andic was recognized for his humble lifestyle and commitment to corporate innovation and sustainability. Tributes poured in Tributes have flooded in from all across the world. Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, commended Andic's vision and contributions to the country's economy, describing him as a fashion pioneer. The founder of fashion giant Mango, Isak Andic, died unexpectedly in an accident on Saturday, the company announced. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Andic died in an accident in the caves of Monserrat, located outside Barcelona. pic.twitter.com/aWg5JWR3UX Sumner (@renmusb1) December 14, 2024 Mango also issued a statement, saying that Andic's leadership and passion would continue to inspire the company as it moves forward. It is with deep regret that we announce the unexpected death of Isak Andic, our non-executive Chairman and founder of Mango, in an accident that occurred this Saturday. Isak has been an example for all of us. He dedicated his life to Mango, leaving an indelible mark thanks to his pic.twitter.com/lWoayEcXEh MANGO (@Mango) December 14, 2024 Also read: Rohit Bal: The master of opulent silhouettes and bold Indian motifs who redefined couture For more on such stories on celeb lifestyle and fashion from around the world please visit Indiatimes Lifestyle. AIBE 19 Admit Card 2024: The Bar Council of India (BCI) is all set to release the AIBE 19 admit card 2024 today on 15th December 2024, reported in TOI. Aspirants registered for the All India Bar Examination (AIBE 19) can access their hall tickets on the official website: allindiabarexamination.com. This examination, which is a mandatory certification for law graduates to practice law in India, is scheduled for 22nd December 2024. What is the AIBE 19 Admit Card? The AIBE 19 admit card is a crucial document required for entry to the examination centre. It contains key details such as: - Candidates name - Roll number - Exam centre address - Exam date and time Candidates are advised to thoroughly check their admit card for accuracy. In case of any discrepancies, they should immediately contact the authorities for correction. How to Download AIBE 19 Admit Card 2024 Follow these steps to download your AIBE 19 admit card: Visit the Official Website: Go to allindiabarexamination.com. Go to allindiabarexamination.com. Login: Enter your registered ID and password to access the candidate portal. Enter your registered ID and password to access the candidate portal. Locate the Admit Card Section: Click on the "Admit Card" tab. Click on the "Admit Card" tab. Download and Print: Once displayed, download the admit card and take a printout for exam day. Documents to Carry on Exam Day Candidates must bring the following documents to the exam centre: AIBE 19 admit card A valid photo ID (e.g., Aadhar card, PAN card, voter ID, or driving licence) Without these, candidates will not be allowed to take the exam. AIBE 19 Exam Details The All India Bar Examination (AIBE 19) will take place on 22nd December 2024, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. The exam consists of 100 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) covering 19 subjects. Key details include: Marking Scheme: 1 mark for each correct answer; no negative marking for incorrect answers. 1 mark for each correct answer; no negative marking for incorrect answers. Syllabus Coverage: Includes core law subjects such as Constitutional Law, IPC, and Contract Law. Possibility of AIBE 19 Exam Date Postponement There is a potential clash between the AIBE 19 exam date and the UPPSC Combined State / Upper Subordinate Services Examination 2024, both scheduled for 22nd December 2024. The Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh has requested the Bar Council of India (BCI) to reconsider the schedule to avoid inconvenience to candidates registered for both exams. As of now, no official decision has been announced regarding a date change. Candidates are advised to regularly visit the official AIBE website for updates. If a postponement occurs, the BCI will release a revised exam schedule. The AIBE 19 admit card 2024 is your gateway to one of the most crucial exams for aspiring lawyers. Make sure to download and verify it as soon as it is available. Stay prepared, keep your documents ready, and check the official website for any updates or changes to the schedule. By following the steps and guidelines, candidates can ensure a hassle-free experience on exam day. Best of luck! After congratulating D Gukesh for becoming the youngest world chess champion, Elon Musk reacted to an X (formerly called Twitter) post by Aravind Srinivas, the Indian-origin CEO of Perplexity AI, which has created a buzz on social media. The billionaire Elon Musk, in his post, answered Srinivass question on whether he should get a green card. This goes back to the earlier post when the CEO mentioned that he has been waiting for this citizenship status for three years. Moreover, Musk is known for his witty and hilarious remarks on social media but why has this one become the talk of the town? Elon Musks answer steals the show; see here In the post, Srinivas wrote, I think I should get a green card. What do you think? To which Elon Musk replied in one word, which stole the show and immediately grabbed the attention of the fam on X. Musk answered and wrote just Yes; on the other hand, not missing out on the opportunity, Aravind Srinivas took the opportunity to respond to the remark, and he did so by using two emoticonsone with a red heart emoji and the other with a folded hands emoticon. Elon Musk replied to Aravind Srinivas https://t.co/J28QFRFDpS pic.twitter.com/39vySklYTI ELON ALERTS (@ElonAlertsX) December 14, 2024 Aravind Srinivas and Elon Musks previous conversation on X: This is not the first time the Tesla owner has reacted to a post by Aravind Srinivas. If we go back a few days, we can note that he responded to the Indian-origin CEOs post about waiting for a green card, where he wrote, "We have an upside-down system that makes it hard for highly talented people to come to America legally but trivial for criminals to come here illegally. Why is it easier to get in illegally as a murderer than legally as a Nobel Laureate? @realDonaldTrump and DOGE will fix this," Musk wrote, referencing the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Who is Aravind Srinivas? Aravind Srinivas is the CEO of Perplexity, an AI-powered search engine that is backed by various high-profile investors such as Jeff Bezos. The company was founded by Aravind Srinivas, Andy Konwinski, Denis Yarats, and Johnny Ho in 2022. Srinivas started his work with OpenAI and was an IIT Madras graduate. Later on, he completed his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. For more informative articles on upcoming events from around the world, please visit Indiatimes Events. Stock Market holidays in 2025: If youre an investor or trader in the stock market, its essential to stay informed about Stock Market holidays for 2025. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) will observe 14 trading holidays in the calendar year 2025. These holidays are distributed across various months, allowing markets to pause for national and regional celebrations. Lets take a closer look at the Stock Market holidays 2025, including BSE holidays 2025, NSE holidays 2025, and other important details. Stock Market Holidays 2025 List Date Day Holiday 26 February 2025 Wednesday Maha Shivaratri 14 March 2025 Friday Holi 31 March 2025 Monday Eid-Ul-Fitr (Ramzan Eid) 10 April 2025 Thursday Mahavir Jayanti 14 April 2025 Monday Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti 18 April 2025 Friday Good Friday 01 May 2025 Thursday Maharashtra Day 15 Aug 2025 Friday Independence Day 27 Aug 2025 Wednesday Ganesh Chaturthi 02 Oct 2025 Thursday Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti 21 Oct 2025 Tuesday Diwali-Laxmi Pujan (Muhurat trading session) 22 Oct 2025 Wednesday Diwali-Balipratipada 05 Nov 2025 Wednesday Gurunanak Jayanti 25 Dec 2025 Thursday Christmas No Stock Market Holidays in January 2025 The first month of 2025 has no special Stock Market holidays. Even though January 26, Republic Day, is a national holiday, it falls on a Sunday. As a result, there will be no additional trading holidays in January. February: First Trading Holiday on Mahashivratri The stock market will experience its first holiday on February 26, Wednesday, for Mahashivratri. This marks the first pause for traders in 2025. March: Two Holidays for Major Festivals The month of March brings two important Stock Market holidays. March 14, Friday: Markets will be closed for Holi celebrations. Markets will be closed for celebrations. March 31, Monday: Trading will pause for Id-Ul-Fitr (Ramzan Id). April: Three Holidays for Religious Observances April sees the highest number of trading holidays in the first half of the year, with three closures: April 10, Thursday: Shri Mahavir Jayanti Shri Mahavir Jayanti April 14, Monday: Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti April 18, Friday: Good Friday May: Maharashtra Day Brings a Break On May 1, Thursday, the markets will shut down to observe Maharashtra Day, a state-specific holiday celebrated across Maharashtra. August: Two Holidays for Independence Day and Ganesh Chaturthi In August, there are two significant Stock Market holidays 2025: August 15, Friday: Independence Day Independence Day August 27, Wednesday: Ganesh Chaturthi October: Three Closures Including Diwali October will witness three market holidays due to major festivals: October 2, Thursday: Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti and Dussehra Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti and Dussehra October 21, Tuesday: Diwali Diwali October 22, Wednesday: Diwali Balipratipada Additionally, the Muhurat Trading session will be conducted on October 21, 2025, as part of Diwali celebrations. The exact timings will be announced later by BSE and NSE. November: Prakash Gurpurb Observed November will have one holiday: November 5, Wednesday: Markets will close for Prakash Gurpurb, marking Sri Guru Nanak Dev Jayanti. December: Christmas Holiday The final holiday of the year falls on December 25, Thursday, when markets will close to celebrate Christmas. Holidays Falling on Weekends in 2025 Some important holidays fall on weekends in 2025, meaning there will be no additional trading holidays for these dates: January 26 (Sunday): Republic Day Republic Day April 6 (Sunday): Shri Ram Navami Shri Ram Navami July 6 (Sunday): Muharram Muharram June 7 (Saturday): Bakri Id The BSE Holidays 2025 and NSE Holidays 2025 reflect a mix of national and regional observances, ensuring traders plan their schedules accordingly. Whether youre an investor or trader, staying updated about these holidays will help you strategise your trading activities. Make sure to mark these dates in your calendar and stay tuned for updates on holidays in 2025 to avoid last-minute surprises. For the latest and more interesting financial news, keep reading Indiatimes Worth. Click here. Former federal lawmaker, Shehu Sani, has urged the North not to abandon President Bola Tinubus government. Sani emphasized that the North should not leave the government to others who did not vote for it. He stated in a video sighted on X, If Im not mistaken, this is a government the North brought into office. So why should you antagonize a baby that you delivered? Advertisement Sani also encouraged the North to support positive reforms by the Tinubu administration. The ex-lawmakers statement follows the Norths opposition to Tinubus Tax Reforms Bills currently before the National Assembly. READ ALSO: Shehu Sani Expresses Sadness Over FGs Alleged Sack Of Workers With Degrees From Benin Republic Universities Highlighting the Norths rich natural resources, he said, Theres no part of the country thats so blessed like the northern part of the country. We cover about 65% percent of the total landmass in Nigeria. Sani also pointed out that key positions in the government are held by individuals from the North. Until now you have the Minister of Education. The Chief of Defence is always from here. The Minister of Commerce of Information is from here, National Security Advisor is from here, Minister of Agriculture is from here, Minister of Defence is from here, he said. Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the United Kingdom (UK) Conservative Party, has made a scathing remark about the Nigeria Police, accusing them of robbing citizens instead of protecting them. Badenoch, who has been critical of Nigeria in the past, made this comment during an interview with a UK journalist as reported by The Niche. When asked if she trusted the UK police, Badenoch responded, I do. My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive. Advertisement READ ALSO: Kemi Badenoch Denounces Nigerian Heritage, Says She Only Identifies As Yoruba She went on to share a personal anecdote, saying, The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because Im black, I say wellI remember the police stole my brothers shoe and his watch. Its a very poor country. People do all sorts of things. So, giving people a gun is just a license to intimidate. But thats not just the problem. That is not the bar we should use for the British Police. When I was burgled, for example, the police were there. They were helpful before they eventually caught the person. This was in 2004, that was 20 years ago. Badenochs comments continue to spark a heated debate, with some Nigerians defending the countrys police force and others criticizing Badenoch for her remarks. A 60-year-old technician, specialised in air conditioning and refrigerator repairs and known as Najeem, has died while working at a residence in the Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State. While climbing a ladder, he lost his balance, fell, and hit his head on the concrete floor. The police spokesperson in the state, Omolola Odutola, confirmed the incident to DAILY POST on Saturday, stating that the A/C repairer, who had arrived from Lagos, suffered severe bleeding and died on the spot. Advertisement Odutola stated that the occupant of the residence, Abraham Popoola, reported the incident to the command at approximately 9 p.m. on Friday. She said, On December 13, 2024, around 9 pm, Abraham Popoola, a resident of Adams Ajakaya Street, Olambe Junction, Ogun State, reported an incident involving Najeem, a 60-year-old air conditioning and refrigerator technician from Ikorodu, Lagos State. READ MORE: Anambra Police Arrest Father For Negligence After 7-Year-Old Sons Death At Construction Site Najeem was working at Popoolas residence, which is located in a building that is about two stories tall. While attempting to refill the A/C gas, he climbed a ladder while holding a small gas cylinder. Unfortunately, he lost his balance and fell, hitting his head on the concrete floor, which resulted in bleeding and his immediate death. According to Odutola, officers from the Ajuwon division responded to the report, visited the scene, took photographs, and transferred the body to the Life Channel mortuary. President Bola Tinubu has again appealed to Nigerians to endure the current economic hardship, describing it as unintentional. He made this statement at the 48th convocation ceremony of Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile-Ife, Osun State. I am not unaware of the harsh economic situation of our country, neither do I take pleasure in inflicting pains and anguish on my compatriots. Advertisement However, we were faced with the stark reality of results of some policies hitherto executed by past administrations, but which had no direct positive impact on the generality of our people, Tinubu, represented by Tope Fasua, his Special Adviser on Economy, said. READ ALSO: Hardship: Senate Leader Calls For Improved Healthcare System, Says Treatable Deceases Killing Nigerians Tinubu assured Nigerians that his reform policies are aimed at making Nigeria work for everyone, but acknowledged that the pains that come with the reform must be endured in the meantime. We have gladly accepted the assets and liability of our heroes past without any intention of apportioning blames or pointing an accusing finger at any individual or group of people, he added. The President also expressed optimism about the future, saying, As we are trying to fix, reconfigure and correct past mistakes and errors, we implore all Nigerians to cooperate with us, endure this unintentional hardship so that, like the graduates of today, we all can celebrate and be celebrated at the end of the day. I am certainly seeing the light at the end of our tunnel. The use of the Ukrainian language in educational institutions in Ukraine has decreased in recent years. This means that high-quality Ukrainian-language content is not enough - it is necessary to start with the culture of parental behavior. ADVERTISIMENT This was stated by Taras Kremin, the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, during the roundtable "Strengthening the Position of the Ukrainian Book". According to him, since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, there has been a significant loss of reading ability among schoolchildren. "We need to start with home skills, with the culture of home reading, with the culture of parental behavior, which also affects the habits of children," Kremin said. For three years in a row, studies have shown that the share of the Ukrainian language in general secondary education institutions has been declining. Kremin emphasized that there should be an appropriate response from the Ministry of Education and Science, founders of educational institutions and parents. ADVERTISIMENT He added that bilingualism is present on television and in home communication. This has led to a decrease in the share of the Ukrainian language at school. "In 2024, according to our data, the share of violations of the Law on the State Language in both schools and universities increased. In fact, every 10-15 appeals received by the Ombudsman's Office concerned violations in the field of education. I hope that these statistics will be an additional tool for public authorities to make informed, responsible decisions," Kremin said. As OBOZ.UA previously reported, the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science and Innovation, Serhiy Babak, commented on the idea to ban the Russian language during breaks and named the problems of Ukrainianization of children. Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) has expressed deep dissatisfaction with President Bola Tinubus administration, citing regrets from northern Nigerians who voted for him in 2023. According to Alhaji Shettima Yerima, President of the AYCF, the expectations that President Tinubus government would correct the wrongs of former President Muhammadu Buharis administration have not been met. Yerima told Saturday Vanguard, In some quarters, there are certain regrets in the northern region. Dont forget that the eight years of Buharis administration brought nothing to the north. Advertisement READ ALSO: Rivers: Arewa Chair Knocks Fubara For Appointing Only Igbos, Excluding Northerners From Cabinet He added that the people of the region are disappointed with the present administration, as they are not getting what they expected from President Tinubu. The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) had earlier declared that Nigerians in the region regret their support for Tinubu in the 2023 election, stressing that such mistakes will not be repeated in 2027. Some political bigwigs in the region have reportedly begun making moves aimed at removing the president from Aso Rock Villa in 2027. The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has dismissed claims that it approved a lung-cleansing herbal tea for smokers. According to Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General of NAFDAC, the product, identified as Lungitox (smokers pride), was rejected during registration due to its unsubstantiated and dangerous claim that smoking could be made healthy by consuming the product. In a Saturday statement, NAFDAC said, The attention of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has been drawn to a misleading video circulating on social media, alleging that NAFDAC approved the registration of a herbal product claiming that smoking is healthy when used with their product. Advertisement READ ALSO: NAFDAC Raids Factory Producing Fake Alcoholic Drinks, Nabs Three Suspects In Lagos (Pictures) NAFDAC emphasized that the product in question, Lung Detox Tea or Lungitox (Smokers Pride), is not registered by the agency. The agency also warned the public to disregard the misleading video and report any suspicious claims or products to them through their official channels. NAFDAC reiterated its commitment to protecting public health and ensuring that only safe, effective, and scientifically substantiated products are approved. The agency also stated that herbal products and other related items are not allowed to make any therapeutic claims unless scientifically validated through proper clinical trial studies. Participants walk down Martin Luther King Drive during the 32nd Annual AIDS Walk on Oct. 21, 2018. Read more A Philadelphia organization that has raised millions to combat AIDS is shutting down after more than three decades. AIDS Fund Philly, the group behind the citys annual AIDS Walk and other charitable efforts, announced Sunday that it would shut its doors Dec. 31. Advertisement Founded in 1989, the group offered a lifeline to Philadelphias LGBTQ community as the HIV/AIDS epidemic neared its peak. But according to organizers, AIDS diagnoses are falling in the city and nationwide, and the groups work is less needed than before. The landscape has changed dramatically since we started our work, said Robb Reichard, executive director of the AIDS Fund. We actually hoped that we would one day close our doors, because we would no longer be needed. Since it was started by volunteers in 1987, the annual AIDS Walk has raised more than $18 million to combat the disease and raise awareness. In the last decade, the AIDS Fund has pivoted to offering grants to support those with the disease, providing financial assistance with housing and health-care costs. Its a bittersweet end for the group; HIV and AIDS cases have dropped in the last decade, as new medications and treatment options can leave HIV at undetectable levels in the bloodstream and prevent transmission from occurring. For example, new HIV diagnoses in Philadelphia fell by 12% between 2018 and 2022, according to city health data. Meanwhile, about 19,000 people nationwide died from AIDS in 2022, compared with around 50,000 at the diseases peak in 1995. The funds work affected all corners of the city. Each October, thousands of supporters gathered at the Philadelphia Museum of Art for the 5k AIDS Walk fundraiser. And since the AIDS Fund launched its grant program in 2017, the group has given nearly 2,000 microgrants totaling around $700,000 to some of Philadelphias most vulnerable people with the disease. The AIDs Fund is also behind GayBINGO, the longtime monthly fundraiser that received nationwide recognition and became the subject of a 2001 WHYY documentary. Fans of the event will be pleased to hear that while the fund is coming to an end, GayBINGO will continue. The AIDS Fund is transferring oversight of the event to Action Wellness, a nonprofit organization for people living with chronic diseases in the Greater Philadelphia area, according to Reichard. And the fight against AIDS isnt over, Reichard said. A little more than 18,000 Philadelphians are living with the disease, according to city health data. AIDs still disproportionately affects Black and brown men who have sex with men, as well as opioid users who may contract the disease though syringe use, Action Wellness CEO Evelyn Torres said. Prescription medications like PrEP have greatly curbed the transmission of HIV through sex and drug use in recent years, according to Torres. But social determinants of health, such as homelessness and food insecurity, are still contributing to the spread of AIDS, she said. A CDC study found that other areas like substance abuse, incarceration, and education level can increase someones likelihood of acquiring infectious diseases. Were happy to continue the legacy of GayBINGO, Torres said, because theres still a lot of nonmedical issues that we need to address if we hope to end the epidemic. For 30 years, the Ann Silverman Clinic has served those with low incomes from its offices inside Doylestown Hospital. Health is last on their list," nurse practitioner Ann Ruesch said of the clinic's patients. They pay the rent and they get food before they get healthcare. Read more Advertisement Theres not a dime left for the doctor. Health comes last last after rent, after food, after clothes for the children, gas for the car, and heat for the house. A lot of our patients are too busy trying to eke out a living, nurse-practitioner Ann Ruesch said, taking a break in an empty exam room at the free Ann Silverman Community Health Clinic in Doylestown. Health is last on their list. They pay the rent and they get food before they get health care, she said. Since 1994, when the Ann Silverman Clinic opened in a tiny vacant room on the ground floor of Doylestown Hospital, more than 17,000 Bucks County children and adults with low incomes have received free medical, dental, vision, and behavioral health care, primarily from volunteers. There is also help with prescriptions. The Silverman Clinics patients present with the persistent problems of poverty. Diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, said Ruesch, who volunteered for a year before becoming a paid staffer in 1996. There are a lot of muscular skeletal issues from repetitive motion at work. Theyre in factories, landscaping, lifting backbreaking labor. The patients illnesses may differ, but what they have in common is a desperate need for care. Amanda Myers, of Southampton, now has a full-time hospital job that comes with health insurance. But when she and her son, then 10 years old, moved back to the area from Florida, I couldnt find a job right away, she said. I didnt have insurance. What she did have were raging headaches from uncontrolled ear infections. I couldnt sleep. I couldnt breathe. It was painful, she said. Through the Silverman Clinic, she received antibiotics to curb the infection and a referral to an ear, nose, and throat specialist who was willing to treat her for free. He told me I was allergic to everything, she said. She still visits that doctor for monthly allergy shots, only now her health insurance picks up the tab. In the in-between period, a Silverman Clinic case manager helped her obtain Medicaid, government-funded health insurance for people with low incomes. The Silverman Clinic also cared for her son, now 17, providing the physical examinations he needed to participate in sports. They were giving out backpacks and school supplies, Myers said. They actually cared, she added. There were people at the clinic who would help me with my hopes and my dreams. Yes, the Silverman Clinic helped Myers get on her feet and get rid of her ear infections, but Myers said the clinics influence goes beyond the assistance provided to any single patient. It helps us be kind and caring and loving to support each other and to stand by our community family, she said. Its a roundabout circle. They helped me and now, Im helping them. Stories like these make Meri L. Gaumond, executive director, proud, as does the fact that the Silverman Clinic relies completely on philanthropy money, volunteer help, and the donation of space from Doylestown Hospital. The clinic is named after Ann Silverman, the first wife of Herman Silverman, a Bucks County philanthropist and business owner who founded Sylvan Pools and generously supported the mission. Both are deceased. Its truly a beautiful model, the way we restore lives, and all through philanthropy, Gaumond said. Like Myers, Gaumond, who took over as director last year, sees her work as a roundabout circle. I grew up in Albania and came here when I was 21, she said. I grew up in communism. When I came here, I did not have services. I was serviced in a free clinic in Bensalem, and I never forgot that experience. I was grateful to find health-care services at a time no doctor would see me. It solved a problem I had at that time. I couldnt go anywhere. I had no insurance as a student. Gaumond decided to do something for other people that would make them whole. I felt this job description was written for me. Im happy to be here and to make a difference in the lives of families. The desire to make a difference motivates staff and volunteers, although volunteer Frank Scafuro, of New Britain, was additionally inspired by his wife who kindly advised him upon retirement that I had to do something. I had to get out of the house, he said, laughing. Scafuro volunteers by waiting: To help patients contact telephone customer service agents, he will sit on hold on a call in their place, an exercise that can last upward of an hour. On the other end of the phone line, eventually, he will reach a representative of a pharmaceutical company and help the clinics clients obtain free or low-cost prescription drugs. Late last month, for example, he helped a woman with cancer obtain drugs that would have cost her $2,000 every three months. Her husband is a landscape laborer, Scafuro said. He has end-of-life cancer, but hes still working. I felt good that hopefully it buys them some more time and makes it a little better for them, he said. In this situation, it is literally a matter of life and death. Many of the Silverman Clinics clients come from Latin America, and their stories resonate with Sandra Adame, of Doylestown, a patient navigator who emigrated from Bogota, Colombia, 25 years ago. She worked in pharmaceutical manufacturing as a validation manager until she was laid off in 2020. Through her church, Adame met some young Guatemalan men, then 15, who had left their families behind to find work in America. At the time, her son was 13, almost the same age, and she could not imagine him undertaking a similar perilous journey. They told me the story of coming from Mexico, that it was traumatic, how they were hiding. They were coming to support their families financially. Everything is different. They dont have their parents, and they dont know the language. They needed help, she said, and her family became their unofficial American family. When Adame lost her job, what she learned from the Guatemalan boys inspired her to volunteer at the clinic, which numbers immigrants among its patients. This was my opportunity to serve. Im bilingual, she said. I took classes in counseling and trauma and now Im coordinating appointments for behavioral health specialists and scheduling appointments with specialists. A year later, she joined the staff. As much as she helps the Silverman Clinics patients, the clinic has also helped her. It changed me knowing that I have the tools, that I can be the bridge, the piece thats missing, she said. It gives me a sense of purpose. Jane M. Von Bergen spent more than 25 years as a reporter and editor at The Inquirer. janevonbtheater@gmail.com This article is part of a series about Philly Gives a community fund to support nonprofits through end-of-year giving. To learn more about Philly Gives, including how to donate, visit phillygives.org. About the Ann Silverman Community Health Clinic Mission: To provide free medical and dental care, behavioral health, and social services to low-income, uninsured residents of Bucks County. People served: 2,600 patients received medical, dental, vision, or behavioral health help. Annual spend: $1 million Point of pride: We dont turn away anyone who is poor and uninsured. You can help: Provide medical expertise volunteer nurses, doctors, therapists and other practitioners are needed. Volunteers can assist with clerical functions and can help sort, pack, donate, and deliver toys during the holidays, backpacks in August, and clothing and food year-round. Support: phillygives.org/philly-gives/ Connect: 595 W. State St., Doylestown, PA 18901 Website: aschealthclinic.org What your Ann Silverman Community Health Clinic donation can do Philadelphia office users are increasingly downsizing their physical footprint, but often paying more per square foot. Read more For the venerated Philadelphia law firm Dilworth Paxson, this December brought a flashback to 2020. The company has gone fully remote again for at least the next four weeks, as it moves offices from its home of 15 years at troubled Centre Square to smaller, but more expensive, accommodations at One Liberty Place. Advertisement In the old days, you would have to do this move over a long weekend and have people working literally around the clock, said Lawrence McMichael, the law firms chairman. In todays world, we dont need to do that. We like being in the office, but we dont need to be in the office. The COVID-19 pandemic and the proliferation of remote work brought seismic changes to American workplaces. Nearly five years later, the regions office landscape is smaller than it was and may shrink further amid a tide of expiring leases in 2025. On average, when companies have renewed or sought new leases, they have been downsizing by over 20%, according to real estate consultancy JLL. Office leases tend to be executed on long timelines, so plenty of companies are still renting space that was locked in pre-pandemic. But next year, downtown Philadelphia will see the highest number of expiring leases between now and 2030, covering 1.6 million square feet, according to JLL and business advocacy group Center City District. Theres a higher than average share of leases coming up for renewal, said Clint Randall, vice president of economic development at Center City District. Its a good time to focus on what choices these tenants are making, and what those choices can tell us about broader office trends. Many employers have downsized their offices as they require workers to come in fewer than five days a week, and many in-office mandates are often less than rigorously enforced. Foot traffic from nonresident workers downtown in 2024 is 73% of what it was in 2019, while in the Market Street office district west of City Hall, it is only 62%. As a result, aging structures like Centre Square face staggering levels of vacancy, and their owners are awash in bad debt. A handful of such buildings have been sold for conversion to residential or hospitality, with the 1.4 million-square-foot Wanamaker building the latest slated for apartments, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal. Even if demand for office space has permanently shrunk, building owners able to invest in quality space, and thus attract tenants, can still maintain healthy occupancy. The regions predominant office owner, Brandywine Realty Trust, reports larger average leases than it did before the pandemic and rising rents. Were going through an obsolescence phase for some of the office inventory, but for good landlords with good product its going to be a very, very positive landscape for the next several years, said Jerry Sweeney, CEO of Brandywine. The really good buildings have lower vacancy, so we are able to get the rent we want. The trend toward downsizing The trend toward less office space encompasses many employment sectors, but law firms are among the most aggressive downsizers. The pandemic and its aftermath hastened space reduction in a sector that once boasted amenities like in-house law libraries. These are now being shed, along with other traditional accoutrements. The international firm Morgan Lewis signed a 21-year lease on a new office building at 23rd and Market Streets just before the pandemic. It now inhabits 305,000 square feet, down from a previous 430,000 split across two buildings. The firms former headquarters at 1701 Market St. is being converted to residential. It can also be easier for law firms to shrink because lawyers are not expected to be in the office all the time. They are often out meeting clients, traveling, or in court. Dilworth Paxson requires many of its employees to be in-office three or four days a week, depending on their profession. For example, receptionists have to be in every day, whereas IT professionals are given generous leeway. But the lawyers have no such requirements. One person in Dilworth Paxsons municipal finance department works entirely remotely from Israel. The firms new home, as a result, saves space by eliminating individual offices for lawyers. We dont need separate offices for five lawyers that are working from home, McMichael said. We need one office for the five lawyers who are working from home, and they can share it. He did note that the firms hybrid work policies remain under consideration and could change. We will settle into One Liberty first and see how things go before making any changes, McMichael said in a follow-up email. According to Center City District, large law firms have reduced their office footprint by an average of roughly 40% since the pandemic. But the downsizing trend isnt true only of law firms. In terms of total share, theres more law firms [shrinking], but its across industries, Randall said. Its undeniable that the vast majority of industries are continuing to seek efficiencies when they renew their leases. Theyre continuing to favor less space overall, so the total occupancy is continuing to go down. Consider a mainstay of Philadelphias employment market like Temple University. Many of the health-care and higher education jobs require being in person, but other roles are largely administrative. What its enabled us to do is rethink priorities, said Ken Kaiser, Temples chief operating officer. Do we need to have new administrative space? The answer to that is probably no. If you would have asked me before remote work, I would have said yes, its something were definitely going to need. Office vacancy rates are still very high by historical standards, in both the city and the suburbs. A third-quarter report from real estate brokerage Colliers noted that vacancy in Center City increased to 20.4%, and in the suburbs to 19.8%. The Colliers report noted that tenants of all kinds are leasing less than they used to: a large deal now typically means one or two floors rather than an entire building, the authors said. The bullish case for the office market That doesnt mean industry experts are prophesying doom. If anything, given some of the projections during the pandemic about the future office market, the situation looks better than it could have been. The good news is that as companies have realigned; they all still want an office, said John Susanin, senior managing director with Colliers. What were seeing is that the downsizing trend is really starting to wind down. A significant percentage of companies are saying we want our people back. The real estate analytics firm CoStar projects that 2024 will be the first year since 2018 that the Philadelphia region or Center Citys West Market Street corridor has seen more space leased than vacated. Among office owners, the winners tend to be those at the top of the market. Brandywines Sweeney says the average lease with his company is substantially larger today than it was before the pandemic: 12,000 square feet vs. 8,000 pre-pandemic. (According to Center City District, however, the average Center City lease is almost 7,000 square feet, while in 2019 it was over 9,300.) Although some of Brandywines new tenants may be downsizing, they are doing so by relocating from struggling buildings or submarkets to areas like Center Citys West Market Street, Conshohocken, or Radnor. The company has been able to raise rents over the last two years, he says, and kept occupancy above 90% in the city. Sweeney is also bullish on employers requiring more in-office days, noting that smaller tenants with under 50,000 square feet have been more aggressive about reducing hybrid work. He believes bigger companies could still follow, noting the recent example of Amazon, which will require five days in-office beginning in January. Some tenants have downsized, clearly, but overall our expansions have outweighed our contractions, Sweeney said. You have to look beyond the headlines about this building having high vacancy or that building selling for this. The reality is the really good quality inventory is going to do very well. More employers are trying to get their workers back to the office, in an attempt to revert to pre-pandemic norms. Read more Early this year, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker announced that the City of Philadelphia would require its workers to return to the office five days a week. The policy change was meant to improve public services, increase a sense of safety in Center City, and convince private-sector employers to bring their workers back to the office and downtown Philadelphia full time. Advertisement Hybrid work accommodations have become less widely available over the last two years, and employees of major firms are worried that the days of work-from-home flexibility are dying out. One Comcast employee said there are fears about a five-day in-office mandate because of Parkers policy. Once the city went to five days, there was definitely a panic in Comcast because the city relies pretty heavily on the business Comcast employees bring in. When asked for comment, Comcast said, We do not have plans to go to five days a week. The Comcast employee and other office workers who spoke with The Inquirer are not named in this article because of their concern about job security. Based on interviews with a dozen office workers and managers in Philadelphia and its collar counties, the work-from-home debate is far from settled. U.S. Census Bureau data showed the ranks of remote workers defined as those who work at least partially from home in Philadelphia shrinking from 19.4% in 2022 to 16.2% in 2023. What weve seen over the last 18 months is a slow but increasingly decided move back to full-time in the office, said Milton Corsey, director of human capital solutions at AchieveNEXT, a Wayne-based HR consultancy that works with dozens of companies in the region. The trend has been clear. Ultimately, the goal is a return back to pre-pandemic for a lot of places. Throughout President Joe Bidens administration, employers have acted cautiously because of a tight labor market that empowered workers who could more easily find a new job. A hybrid option is still a strong incentive companies can use to secure talent. At the same time, managers and owners like to work from home, too. In many industries, norms may have simply changed too much since 2020 to require full-time in-office employment. Youre seeing this battle between the employee and the employer, said Sarah McDaniel, employee benefits executive at AssuredPartners, an insurance broker that works with hundreds of local employers. We dont know if [hybrid work is fully] reversible. At the end of the day, the employer has to remain competitive and get the best talent. The accelerating atrophy of hybrid work After the COVID-19 vaccines debuted in early 2021, many office-based employers eased into return-to-office policies and maintained a hybrid work schedule. Three days in and two days at home proved a popular model, which also allowed employers signing new leases to seek smaller but more expensive and higher-quality office space. Starting in 2023, major employers like Comcast and health insurer Independence Blue Cross began requiring more days in the office. The trend continued into 2024, and local public-sector employers like SEPTA and Parkers administration joined the trend of a more intensive in-office policy. Office boosters say that trend is still gaining momentum. The mayor showed a great deal of courage by bringing people back to the office five days a week, and were seeing more and more companies do that, said Jerry Sweeney, CEO of Brandywine Realty Trust, the regions dominant owner of office buildings. In the early days of return-to-office policies, Mondays and Fridays were the most common work-from-home days, while in-office time was typically in the middle of the week. But now, in our inventory, the traffic were seeing on Monday in our offices is much higher than it was on Tuesdays a year ago, Sweeney said. Were kind of working our way back. The European business software company SAP, with almost 3,000 workers in the Philadelphia area, is an example of this recent trend. It offered greater hybrid flexibility than most other companies before the pandemic, but in early 2024, it instituted a three-day in-office policy. SAP is also an example of the nuances of return-to-office policies. The pushback to three days a week was immediate, as employees felt betrayed by a company that had long allowed more remote work. The company granted flexibility within the mandate, specifically for workers hired before or during the pandemic or who live more than 40 miles from the office in Newtown Square, Delaware County. According to an SAP spokesperson, the company offers temporary exceptions to the in-office requirements for both business and personal reasons. A similar exception process will be available (but not guaranteed) for any new hires or those planning to move farther than 40 miles from Newtown Square. No further alterations of the hybrid policy are are planned. A lot of people dont have managers in the same office as them, so theres no one policing it, said one SAP employee. They havent gotten strict yet about checking to make sure whos in and whos not. Workers at other companies agree that implementing in-office policies is more nuanced than employers admit. Mandates issued thus far are often riddled with exceptions, with much dependent on individual managers and some workers allowed to maintain full-time remote work if given special dispensation. Some industries, such as finance, have returned full-time, while others, like tech and law, have been more likely to stick with hybrid schedules. Fridays in the skyscraper canyons of Center City or on office-lined Swedesford Road in Wayne still feel like a pre-pandemic Saturday. I havent seen any [policies] that are actually ironclad, said McDaniel of AssuredPartners. Ive not heard of any company locally or regionally thats put out a firm, blanket policy that isnt being adjusted as needed to keep good talent. New president, new economy, new office policies Heading into 2025, some office market observers see that changing. The historically tight job market has been showing signs of fraying, weakening workers bargaining power. In 2020 many business leaders hoped remote work would boost employee productivity, and it may have done so for a time, but federal government data show that was a fairly short-lived phenomenon and employers are doubting whether sitting at home actually allows their staffs to accomplish more. Corsey at AchieveNEXT says some clients are considering ending hybrid work as customers complain about poor service from home-based workers. Office-minded employers have supporters in President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the worlds richest man and a close ally of the incoming administration. Both are remote-work foes planning a new push to bring federal workers back to the office full-time. With the election, theres this promise of the return to the norm and pushing from the highest levels of government to encourage that to happen, McDaniel said. Some Philadelphia-area office workers do not believe that their employers current hybrid work policies are set in stone either. At a recent IBX company town hall, managers told employees that they are not looking to change the current Tuesday-through-Thursday in-office regimen, but workers there said they saw the statement as a temporary stance, not a permanent guarantee. I am worried they will mandate a five-day RTO, especially given that the city has a five-day in-office policy, one IBX worker said. For 2025, I could comfortably guess that they will not change the policy. For 2026 and on, though, I am not so sure. Employers who have been lenient about their return-to-office policies are beginning to crack down. Workers at Comcast reported that badge swipes are checked more assiduously and that lenient managers are being forced to get tougher. Much depends on the job market. The Philadelphia-area unemployment rate is still at a historically low 3.6%, but many of the employees interviewed felt they would have a tough time finding an equivalent job. That could embolden employers to further roll back hybrid work. The winds shifted in the past year or two. Its more of an employers market at this point, said one Vanguard employee. I feel like [Vanguard leaders] know there would be a lot of pushback, but the job market is changing, so hopefully they dont take advantage of that. This story has been updated with information from SAP. In Ukraine, in December 2024, low-income families and a number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) will receive a one-time payment of UAH 6,500 of "winter assistance" for children. OBOZ.UA learned the key details of the new program from the Ministry of Social Policy. ADVERTISIMENT "Winter 6500 UAH" will not be distributed to everyone. Who will receive it? Low-income people who received appropriate assistance in November-2024. Important! The family must include children under the age of 18. IDP families with children under the age of 18 who received an "in-migration" payment in November-2024; IDP families with persons with disabilities of the first group who also received "resettlement" payments in November-2024. Please note: the age of each child is calculated as of November 2024 - in this month they must be under 18 years old. Who will receive more than UAH 6500? The allowance is not paid for the whole family, but for a child or a person with a disability. That is, families with more than one person in these categories will receive UAH 6,500 for each of them. What can I spend the money on? So far, no one will check whether the money has been spent on purchasing warm clothes for children. whether the money has been spent on purchasing warm clothes for children. The payment was developed in response to one of the most frequently voiced needs of parents - the purchase of winter children's clothing. However, recipients will not be limited to a list of specific retailers or websites where they can buy goods for children. In the future, there may be a mechanism to track the targeted expenditures of the recipients. ADVERTISIMENT What else should you know about the new payment? There is no need to apply for UAH 6,500 , recipients will be determined automatically based on data from state registers; , recipients will be determined automatically based on data from state registers; the money will be paid to the bank cards of the recipients of state aid - to the same account to which the person receives other assistance; the money is expected to be transferred to the cards in the first half of December ; ; the payment will not affect the amount of subsidies and other assistance that depends on family income. As OBOZ.UA previously reported, Ukrainians will also be able to increase their Zelensky's "thousand" by UAH 100. The state bank told what to do for this. Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Don't fall for fakes! State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Puerto Rico US Virgin Islands Armed Forces Americas Armed Forces Pacific Armed Forces Europe Northern Mariana Islands Marshall Islands American Samoa Federated States of Micronesia Guam Palau Alberta, Canada British Columbia, Canada Manitoba, Canada New Brunswick, Canada Newfoundland, Canada Nova Scotia, Canada Northwest Territories, Canada Nunavut, Canada Ontario, Canada Prince Edward Island, Canada Quebec, Canada Saskatchewan, Canada Yukon Territory, Canada Postal Code Two memories stand out for me in the run up to Christmas as a child. One is making little sweets and boxing them up as presents for friends and teachers. The other is helping to decorate the Christmas chocolate log. We had a tiny plastic robin that was stored away with the Christmas tree decorations each year, wrapped in a piece of kitchen towel. It was wrapped along with a fat bellied Santa that was a little scuffed, but sat proudly beside the robin. The chocolate log was slathered in icing and I delighted in making tree bark like indents along the top and at each end. After the cake was iced, it was then time to pipe little mushrooms around the edge and dust them with cocoa powder. Eating the trimmings off the sponge has always been one of my favourite parts of baking. For some reason these little slivers of chocolate goodness always taste more satisfying than a full slice of the cake at the end. You can make a Yule log with a roulade base instead of a sponge if you wish. This is particularly handy if people in your family do not eat wheat or gluten. I find the sponge has more structure so it is easier to decorate, but either will work well. Bakers Tips Folding the flour and cocoa powder into the egg mixture rather than stirring it is an important step. To fold it in I find a spatula works best. Slice the spatula down the centre of the mixture, then twist it to gently flip the mixture back onto itself. Repeat this all around the bowl to incorporate the ingredients without deflating air bubbles. Be careful not to overbake the sponge or it will crack when it is being rolled up. You will know when the sponge is baked because it should spring back when you press the centre. Use a swiss roll tin that is approximately 10x15 inches. Anything too much bigger will result in a flat sponge that will dry out when it is being baked. Scoring the sponge allows you to roll it up nicely. It stops the sponge cracking and will give you a much more even log to decorate. When you are making the nicks ensure that you do not cut right through the sponge, just cut about a quarter of the way through. Use the towel to help you roll the sponge evenly. It helps create the shape but it also stops the sponge sticking to itself when it is cooling in the swiss roll shape. If you leave out this step it makes it much more difficult to roll the sponge when it has cooled completely. Dusting the towel with sugar will also help to prevent sticking. It will create a small barrier between the towel and the sponge. Give your sponge plenty of time to cool. It will generally need at least three hours before you can add the cream. A bread knife works best when you are cutting slices of your Yule log. Use a gentle sawing motion to help prevent the cream from squelching out. Yule Log recipe by:Michelle Darmody You can make a Yule log with a roulade base instead of a sponge if you wish Servings 8 Preparation Time 35 mins Cooking Time 12 mins Total Time 47 mins Course Baking Ingredients 5 eggs 150g caster sugar 110g self raising flour 25g cocoa powderTo decorate: 25g caster sugar 3 tbsp water 175g icing sugar 1 rounded tbsp cocoa powder 220ml cream, whipped to stiff peaks 80g jam, can use raspberry Method Preheat your oven to 180C/gas mark 4 and line a swiss roll tin with parchment. Beat the eggs and sugar until they are thick and very pale. Sieve the flour and cocoa powder together. Gently fold the flour mixture into the eggs and sugar. Scoop the mixture into your prepared swiss roll tin. Bake in the centre of your oven for 12 minutes, until it has risen and springs back when gently pressed. Allow the sponge to cool in the tin until it is cool enough to handle. Sieve some caster sugar onto a clean dry tea towel and place it sugar side down onto the top of the sponge. Turn the sponge out onto the tea towel. Cut four nicks in the long side of the sponge with a sharp knife. Roll the sponge up into a swiss roll shape with the towel. To make the icing, heat the caster sugar, water, and cocoa powder until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the icing sugar. Set aside to firm up slightly. When the sponge has cooled unroll the tea towel and trim the edges (the tasty part). Spread the whipped cream and jam onto the sponge leaving space all around the edge so it has room to spread when you roll it. Roll up your sponge. Spread your icing onto the outside of the rolled up log and decorate. 3 delicious variations Cherry filled log The cherries may leak a little if they are very juicy so I use arrowroot to thicken the compote, otherwise I find it is too messy. Mix a tablespoon of cold water with a tablespoon of arrowroot. Add 230g of frozen cherries without any stones, a half tablespoon of lemon juice, a teaspoon of vanilla and 30g of sugar and allow to come to a simmer. Stir it as it does. When it starts to bubble it should start to become translucent and thicken. Allow it to bubble for about five minutes then set it aside to cool completely. Use this to fill your sponge with some whipped cream. Spiced orange chocolate log Orange and chocolate are a great combination, and with the addition of some spices to the sponge it makes for a lovely festive variation. Add a teaspoon of mixed spice to the cocoa powder then add the zest of two oranges when you are folding in the egg mixture. I use an orange curd in place of the jam in this version. Espresso chocolate log You can make an espresso icing for the log by whisking 150g of soft butter with 300g of icing sugar and 30mls of very strong espresso. You can use this inside in place of the jam as well if you wish This year, I won the lottery. Well, the Faroe Islands volunteer tourism lottery, to be exact. In a world where the impact of spiralling tourism numbers is wreaking havoc globally, every May, the far-flung Nordic nation, located between Scotland and Iceland, shuts down its main attractions and opens its doors to tourists from all over the world to roll up their sleeves and volunteer at sites across the archipelago. And, after my number finally came up, I had the opportunity to travel north to participate in what you could call a hybrid holiday, for the times we live in. One of the most dynamic tourism initiatives to emerge in recent times in my book, the Closed For Maintenance campaign launched five years ago as a strategy for the Faroe Islands to swap out the issue of over-tourism with regenerative tourism. Much like its neighbour Iceland, the Faroes had metamorphosed from a niche destination as little as a decade ago to a trending travel spot in the Instagram era. As the travel consumers search for the ever-more aesthetic getaway increased, the Faroes rugged appeal was clear: landscapes where waterfalls whoosh over cliff faces and sea stacks burst out of the Atlantic with cinematic majesty and where Tolkien-like villages of traditional grass-roofed homes offer the ultimate Airbnb goals. This growing popularity put a strain on the Faroes delicate terrain and the country was eager not to make the same mistakes as Iceland, where a surge to that countrys star attractions had diluted their appeal and sustainability. Traditional grass-roofed homes in Bour village. The upshot? The Faroes began mitigating the impact of tourist behaviour, from introducing a ban on flying drones at some of its top content creation hotspots to installing contactless payment turnstiles along some of the countrys most popular walks. This is a country which felt nature merited a paywall. As a step further, Closed For Maintenance aimed to reimagine tourist behaviour by inviting travellers to the Faroes to reverse the footprint, literally, of those who went before them. I had attempted to win one of the campaigns 80 volunteer spots two years previously but without success. About 6,000 hopefuls from 100 countries enter the draw annually. Its a long but not entirely remote shot. However, 2024s lottery marked a different selection process in that, for the first time, 30 of the 80 winners would be cherry-picked based on relevant work experience; the remainder to be selected at random. I noted in the short online application that I had some trail maintenance know-how from previous volunteering trips and, while Im not sure if that was a factor, a few weeks later, I received the inbox news Id been waiting for: Youve been selected, in a dream subject line. Once chosen, I had 48 hours to book my flight to the Faroe Islands. Flights are the only expense applicants are required to pony up for the experience. However, a 25% voucher is offered for the countrys national carrier Atlantic Airways (they fly via the likes of Edinburgh or Copenhagen). So a few hundred euro and four months later, I took off to the Faroes last May, where the countrys ethereal coastlines and stubbornly snow-dusted peaks revealed themselves through the clouds. This may be a tiny country but the drama unfolds before you land. Touching down at the countrys Vagar airport, a flurry of activity awaited our fleet of arrivals, from a merry troop of welcome representatives, bedecked in Faroese sweaters, to a Swiss news crew who had flown in to cover the story. Orientation in Bour. Picture: Klara Johannesen First up, our group is bussed to the nearby village of Bur, where we pull up a pew in the village church for a welcome orientation from our hosts, Visit Faroe Islands. Then, theres the matter of work permit distribution (the Faroes are an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark so, like Greenland, are not in the EU), followed by a delicious fish soup lunch and a visit to a pop-up used Faroese sweater market. Closed For Maintenance projects are dispersed in eight locations across the archipelago and vary from restoring wetlands in order to increase carbon storage to fencing protected habitats from grazing sheep. Groups are split by colour and Im designated to the brown team (with the beanie hat to prove it), which meant Id one final cathartic journey to make. I am ferried off to Nolsoy, a bright island (population of 230) known for being an artsy retreat from the big town life of the capital Torshavn (population of 24,000) its all relative in the Faroes. Islander Anja Hartmann Wardum, our project leader, welcomes us at the pier and, together with my six international and six Faroese comrades, we would be rehabilitating the islands main hiking trail towards its scenic lighthouse. For three days, we work on our project, set along a lofty mountain trail backdropped by breathtaking coastal views spanning across the sound. Our two foremen, locals Nicolaj and Svein, are charismatic, bearded gents with a background in carpentry, boat-building, and amateur dramatics. Theyre never short of a local legend, a shot of herbal liquor, or a dry Faroese joke as we work. Did you hear its going to be 19 degrees this weekend? is a personal favourite. Ten on Saturday on nine on Sunday. together with my six international and six Faroese comrades, we would be rehabilitating the islands main hiking trail towards its scenic lighthouse. Picture: Kirstin Vang The labour itself is tasked to all experience levels, from clearing water gullies to basic masonry. I was content to be a materials gopher, seeking the most perfect or imperfect rocks across the hillsides to reinforce the trail and walls a task not dissimilar to tile shopping but in the most spectacular, open-air setting. Indeed, in those moments of soaking in the surroundings, its only natural to feel a familiarity with the Faroese terrain; these boggy, boreal grasslands, tightly sheared by mountain sheep, are redolent of the coasts of Mayo or Donegal. As the crow flies the Faroes are, in fact, as close to Tory Island as they are to London, so its little wonder they feel a little like home. Off the clock, island life in Nolsoy is idyllic, serene, and blissfully chilled; the whirr of an electric Volvo or two about the only disruption to the languid soundtrack. Its seriously fun too thanks to our quickly bonded team. We all share a small house in the village, and personal boundaries are swiftly upended from sharing bathrooms, bedrooms, and that workspace on a mountain ridge together. Days typically start (and end) with a bracing sea plunge, while evenings offer a chance to kick back, sauna, and relax. One evening is fish and chips night at Maggies, Nolsoys landmark cafe-bar where owner and national musical legend Terji Rasmussen performs a series of national classics between pulling pints. The next, we enjoy the Faroese custom of heimablidni (home hospitality), where local Maud Wang Hansen hosts us for a long table of delicious Faroese cooking, even if the traditional whale blubber is a hard no. Maud Wang Hansen serves up some Faroese delicacies. Following three days of back-testing but rewarding graft, our trail target was reached, our trail mission was complete, and it was time to bid farvl to Nolsoy. However, no good volunteerism deed goes unrewarded in the Faroes and our efforts would culminate with a goodbye bash in Torshavn hosted by Visit Faroe Islands. So here, in one of the citys craft breweries, all groups, from red to rust and blue to brown, regathered to deliver their project reports before celebrating with beer, barbecues, and music. The highlight was joining our hosts for a Faroese long dance where scores of locals in native dress chanted and side-stepped through countless rousing stanzas of a traditional seafaring ballad. Perhaps this, I pondered, is the sense of belonging American tourists feel in Johnnie Foxs pub during a rendition of Riverdance. I couldnt help but feel an emotional connection with this not-too-distant land, as I stood arm-in-arm with my comrades, now friends, as they danced and sang their hearts out in their native, mellifluous tongue. No doubt, Id be back again to this soulful home from home. Perhaps to admire my trail handiwork or to head back to visit Nlsoys Lighthouse. We were so busy working, we didnt make it to the end of the trail. Maybe thats the hallmark of the best tourism experience of all. escape notes The next Closed For Maintenance lottery opens from January 16 to 18, 2025, with the next campaign taking place from May 1 to 3. See visitfaroeislands.com for more. An Post will secure air freight capacity to get parcels delivered in time for Christmas, as the fallout from the closure of the crucial Holyhead Port in Wales rumbles on. In an update on Sunday, the company admitted that despite the contingency measures put in place, there is still some shortfall on the freight that would have been available to come into Ireland via Holyhead. The alternate ports require great driving time, so it takes more time to transit freight, it said. Through close collaboration with UK retailers and logistics companies, An Post has received almost all outstanding items impacted by the Storm Darragh/Holyhead outage. All but 16,000 of the 500,000 affected parcels have been received and these are now in transit to us. Extensive damage was caused to the key port during Storm Darragh, bringing significant delays and forcing freight and passengers to reroute due to the uncertainty over whether it can reopen this side of Christmas. Major retailers that used Holyhead to transport to and from Dublin have secured alternative routes, with those buying online from Britain urged to check with the retailer if their products will arrive before Christmas. An Post CEO David McRedmond said that it has been told Holyhead will re-open on Friday, December 20, but said we have to be sceptical about it reopening so soon. You get a bad feeling about these things, he told RTE Radio. Were not assuming any traffic will come through from Holyhead this sign of Christmas Over the weekend, the junior minister for transport, James Lawless, said the Government is hoping for the best but preparing for the worst when it comes to the reopening of Holyhead. Typically, 33,000 vehicles would come across from Holyhead to Dublin in the Christmas period. It is about 100,000 passengers over half of them would come by car, but some would come on foot, he told RTE radio. "Ive said to the National Transport Authority (NTA) and my Welsh counterparts that we need to make sure that sufficient public transport is in place so if your typical foot passenger is trying to make that journey next week, that there will be a bus service in place. Junior Transport Minister James Lawless met with Ken Skates MS, Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, on Sunday evening for talks to help clear the trade backlog. Further ministerial meetings are expected this week. Temporary relaxation to hauliers' rules Mr Lawless and Transport Minister Eamon Ryan signed into a law a temporary relaxation of the rules for hauliers that will see them able to drive longer and with shorter breaks. The daily, weekly, and fortnightly limits have been extended in a move to ensure backlogs in parcel delivery can be cleared in time for Christmas. An Post said it welcomed this decision from the Government and will support all logistics companies to keep freight flowing. An Post also told customers not to leave it to the last minute to post any more letters or gifts. Picture: iStock On Saturday, it said 350,000 parcels were delivered with the same number set to be delivered on Monday. Air freight to provide additional capacity is also being explored to meet the latest posting date promises, it said. Our advice to customers is that, if they are still awaiting a delivery of any items ordered before Storm Darragh by tomorrow evening, they should contact the seller for an update If you are planning to order from UK retailers, check with them regarding their delivery dates for Ireland many of them have secured working routes into Ireland, though dispatch times from the UK may take longer than usual. Mr McRedmond said the Holyhead delays should add at least an extra day to deliveries, and major retailers are giving accurate information in terms of estimated delivery times when customers are ordering items. He also paid tribute to hauliers who are doing an incredible job to cover longer distances to ensure freight arrives in time for Christmas. An Post also told customers not to leave it to the last minute to post any more letters or gifts. Ferry services Meanwhile, the Government is due to speak to ferry operators to discuss its services heading into Christmas. For these passenger services, additional routes have been explored as thousands will have made bookings to return home for Christmas. Due to the ongoing closure of Holyhead port, Irish Ferries has cancelled all ferry sailings on the Dublin-Holyhead route to end Thursday, December 19, and are deploying ships on alternative routes to boost capacity, Irish Ferries said. Stena Line has also cancelled all Dublin-Holyhead passenger services through to Friday. Picture: Paul Ellis/AFP We are currently contacting customers booked to travel on the route to outline options available to them including sailing on the Rosslare-Pembroke route, where we have added more space. Stena Line has also cancelled all Dublin-Holyhead passenger services through to Friday. To assist in the continuity of trade and passenger flows, Stena Line has added a new route from Dublin to Fishguard for passengers and freight, and additional sailings for the freight only services on DublinBirkenhead and BelfastHeysham, it said. It also added additional Belfast-Cairnryan services over the weekend. Gardai re-examining the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier say they are examining extensive material from the writings of Ian Bailey in a bid to see if they can find anything to link him to the killing. It comes as the family of the French woman believe that there will not be a resolution in the case in her parents lifetime. It is almost 28 years since the 39-year-old film producer was found battered to death outside her holiday home in Toormore, Schull, on December 23, 1996. Mr Bailey, who died suddenly in January, was questioned twice by gardai about the murder but was never charged in Ireland. He became a suspect in the case while covering the murder as a freelance reporter based in West Cork. In 2019, Mr Bailey was found guilty in his absence, and without legal representation, of the murder in a trial in France. A 25-year sentence was imposed, but his extradition to France was blocked by an Irish High Court decision in October 2020. He died in January, after becoming ill on the street in Bantry, as the cold case review into her murder set up in 2022 continued. He was cremated privately and his ashes were returned to Britain. Following his death, gardai searched his rented home in Bantry and seized several items including vast amounts of written material. Reviewing the case They have been poring over it to establish if Mr Bailey left any indicators relating to whether or not he had killed the French woman, including looking for anything that would contradict what he had told gardai when arrested. A source told the Irish Examiner: We are still reviewing it [the case] and it is still being investigated. "Every bit of information we have is being reviewed and is being followed up. We are going through stuff belonging to Bailey. The problem is he never stopped writing. The volume of material is incredible, and trying to make sense of it and trying to piece it all together is difficult We are interviewing people so, if anyone has anything to offer, come forward. We are going to keep at it, we are going to follow it out to the very end. "We are going to keep at it until we have it totally exhausted and if anyone has anything to say, dont assume that we know it or assume because of other accounts that it is being dismissed. We will take it all on board and weigh it all up. Mr Bailey was a prolific writer and a self-published author who penned poems about the murder and its impact on his own life. Ms Toscan du Plantiers uncle, Jean-Pierre Gazeau, says her family are not expecting justice for her murder in the lifetimes of her elderly parents, Georges and Marguerite Bouniol. He said it is almost a year since the death of Mr Bailey, but there has been no concrete development since in the cold case review. In October, Tanaiste Micheal Martin commented at the launch of a book on the murder by journalist Senan Molony that the State had failed in its duty to find and convict a bloody murderer, and our system blocked alternative routes when others were not willing to accept our failures. Pope Francis one-day visit to the French island of Corsica on Sunday, two days before his 88th birthday, will put a dual focus on the Mediterranean, highlighting local traditions of popular piety on the one hand and migrant deaths and wars on the other. The visit to Corsicas capital Ajaccio, birthplace of Napoleon, will be one of the briefest of his papacy beyond Italys borders, just about nine hours on the ground, including a 40-minute visit with French President Emmanuel Macron. It is the first papal visit to the island, which Genoa ceded to France in 1768 and is located closer to the Italian mainland than France. Papa Francescu, the popes name in Corsican, will address more than 400 participants at the Conference on Popular Religiosity in the Mediterranean, organised by the bishop of Ajaccio, Cardinal Francois-Xavier Bustillo. The popes remarks will include reflections on local religious traditions, especially strongly held in in Corsica, including the cult of the Virgin Mary, known locally as the Madonuccia, which protected the island from the plague in 1656 when it was still under Genoa. The Mediterranean is the backdrop of this trip, surrounded by situations of crisis and conflict, which is expected to be echoed in the popes address, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. The pope has often referred to the tragedy of migration, which he has said has turned the Mediterranean into Europes largest cemetery. Pope Francis greets the journalists aboard his flight bound for Corsica (Remo Casilli/AP) After the conference address, he will travel to the 17th-century cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta to meet with clergy, stopping along the way at the statue of the Madonuccia. Francis will celebrate Mass at the Place dAusterlitz park, where it is said Napoleon played as a child. Around 7,000 faithful are expected. He will meet privately with Mr Macron at the airport before departing for the 50-minute flight back to Rome. The pontiff pointedly did not make the trip to Paris earlier this month for the pomp surrounding the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral following the devastating 2019 fire. The visit to Corsica seems far more suited to Francis priorities than a grand cathedral reopening, emphasising the church of the peripheries. It is Francis third trip to France, each time avoiding Paris and the protocols that a state visit entails. He visited the port of Marseille in 2023, on an overnight visit to participate in an annual summit of Mediterranean bishops, and went to Strasbourg in 2014 to address the European Parliament and Council of Europe. Corsica is home to more than 340,000 people and has been part of France since 1768. But the island has also seen pro-independence violence and has an influential nationalist movement, and last year Mr Macron proposed granting it limited autonomy. French police are investigating the deaths of five people who were fatally shot in the Dunkirk area of northern France on Saturday. A 22-year-old man later turned himself in to police, according to authorities and local media. A former associate of traitor Viktor Medvedchuk, Yuriy Boyko, suddenly saw "radicals" in Ukraine who "abuse people." The "violence," in his opinion, is the demolition of monuments associated with Soviet ideology and the aggressor state of Russia and the decommunization of the names of settlements in Ukraine. ADVERTISIMENT He also issued a speech about the "ban on the church" and the "right to speak one's native language." Anatoliy Shtefan, an officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, drew attention to Boyko's speech, which again surprisingly resonated with Kremlin narratives. Yuriy Boyko, a former Party of Regions member, former number one on the list of Medvedchuk's Opposition Platform - For Life, and now the head of the Platform for Life and Peace parliamentary group, created from the wreckage of this pro-Russian party, after a rather long lull, has once again begun to voice narratives that are in tune with the Kremlin's. In a video he recorded and posted on Telegram by Shtefan, Boyko delivers a speech in the same style as before the full-scale invasion - with "radicals," "oppression of Russian speakers" and "an attack on the church." ADVERTISIMENT "A few years ago, we witnessed the demolition of monuments to Columbus, the discoverer of America, in America itself. It seems that our radicals have taken the same course and started demolishing monuments across the country, renaming cities, forbidding people to speak their native language, and banning the church they want to attend in Ukraine. And today we see that these movements continue, violence against people continues," Boyko said. According to Boyko, citizens oppressed by "radicals" who are very annoyed by the demolition of monuments associated with Russia, the decommunization of place names, the need to learn Ukrainian in Ukraine, as well as the state's desire to close such a powerful channel of influence on Ukrainians as the Moscow-subordinate church for the aggressor, are drawn to him and his like-minded people. ADVERTISIMENT "That is why more and more people support us, those who oppose such violence, for unity in the country, for supporting people," the former regional leader said. Shtefan reacted to Boyko's "reincarnation" in the public space quite sharply. "The devils have become active again. The fright has passed and they have re-emerged in the information space with narratives we have known for a long time. Radicals, American influence, Western funding for the last 10 years, but the m*zine has not talked about Russian aggression for the last 10 years. Let me remind you that we pay too high a price for tolerating such f***ers. Maybe someone will finally put an end to these traits?" the officer was indignant. ADVERTISIMENT However, the old-new song about "radicals" and "oppression" of the electorate of pro-Russian political forces in Ukraine has not only affected Shtefan. In the comments to the same video, which Boyko's press service posted on his TikTok profile, Ukrainians did not hold back in expressing their opinions on what Medvedchuk's former ally had to say. "Boyko, follow Yanukovych," "That's enough! We have heard enough of you", "And you have the conscience to address the people!?", "And the devils are already starting to raise their heads, why is he and many other such collaborators at large?", "Aren't you interested in how the Rashists are demolishing entire Ukrainian cities and villages? You're a Rashist bastard," "go to Moscow, they don't forbid anything there," "look, his voice has broken through," Ukrainians write. ADVERTISIMENT Commentators also wonder why the SSU has not yet taken up Boyko, remind us of the responsibility of the OPFL and its functionaries for the fact that Ukraine is now repelling a full-scale Russian invasion, demand that the MP, who is supported by the state budget, speak Ukrainian, and argue whether the former regionalist should be given an assault rifle before being sent to the front line.In addition, many commentators suspect that Boyko's appearance in public space is a sign of upcoming elections. ADVERTISIMENT ADVERTISIMENT ADVERTISIMENT As a reminder, it has recently become known that Boyko and his wife Vira keep their wealth in a Russian bank. They keep money and gold worth more than 7.6 million rubles in a Moscow financial institution. According to the ex-regionalist's declaration, Vira Boyko has 3,347,721 rubles in her account at the NK Bank Joint Stock Company in Moscow. In the same bank, Boyko's wife keeps assets in the form of gold worth 4,297,620 rubles. Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber . Do not fall for fakes! Western partners should transfer frozen Russian assets abroad to Ukraine. Not only the profits, but also these assets themselves should be used to support Ukraine's defense and recovery. ADVERTISIMENT The aggressor should be forced to compensate for the losses and damage caused by the aggressor itself, both legally and fairly. This was written by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andriy Sybiga, on his account on the X network. "As for the immobilized Russian assets, it is time to move from freezing to confiscation - to use not only the profits but also the assets themselves to support Ukraine's defense, resilience and recovery. Forcing the aggressor to compensate for losses and damage is fair and legal," the Ukrainian Foreign Minister emphasized. Earlier, Sybiga spoke about Russia's ultimatum for Ukraine's surrender. The aggressor put it forward at the beginning of the invasion and the Kremlin's position remains unchanged. Unlike Russia, Ukraine really wants the war to end. The diplomat is convinced that now it is important to focus on how to increase the cost of further aggression for Russia and force it to the negotiating table. Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber . Do not fall for fakes! Dec 16 (Jowhar) The President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, His Excellency Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, chaired the National Security Council meeting held today at the National Security Office. The meeting was about the general security situation and the transition plan for the ATMIS operation, with the participation of the Prime Minister of the Federal Government of Somalia, His Excellency Hamse Abdi Barre, his Deputy, His Excellency Saleh Ahmed Jama, Ministers who are members of the National Security Council and the Commanders of the National Forces. During the meeting, the strategy for strengthening national security and completing the reform of the Somali forces, which are currently engaged in providing security in the areas vacated by the Somali peacekeeping operation ATMIS and preparing for the new AUSSOM operation, was discussed. The meeting was also invited to and listened to an important report from the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, which presented a solution to the challenges facing Somali farmers, especially checkpoints and illegal money collected in some regions of Middle Shabelle and Lower Shabelle. The Committee described this as a major obstacle that undermines the countrys production and economic development. The President urged relevant agencies to work urgently to resolve these challenges, so that farmers have opportunities to improve their production and the Somali people can benefit from the countrys rich agricultural resources. ABC News Anchor Set to Apologize for Comments About Trump ABC News will pay a settlement of $15 million (14 million) to resolve a defamation lawsuit filed by President-elect Donald Trump, as detailed in court documents. The lawsuit originated from comments made by prominent anchor George Stephanopoulos, who claimed during an interview with US Representative Nancy Mace that Mr. Trump was found liable for rape, which aired in March. As part of the settlement, ABC News is obligated to contribute $15 million to a fund aimed at supporting a presidential foundation and museum for Mr. Trump. The news organization and Mr. Stephanopoulos will also issue public apologies, expressing their regret for the statements made regarding Mr. Trump during the interview, in addition to paying $1 million in attorney fees. Mr. Trump was deemed liable for sexual abuse in a separate case initiated by writer E Jean Carroll. This settlement signifies another win for Mr. Trump in his recent string of legal successes following his victory in the presidential election on November 5. Last month, a US appeals court approved the dismissal of charges related to Mr. Trumps alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House. US Special Counsel Jack Smith has also paused a second federal case concerning Mr. Trumps attempts to overturn the 2020 election results; however, he still faces racketeering charges tied to this matter in a separate case from Georgia. Concerning Mr. Trumps May conviction in the hush money casehis only criminal charges to proceed to trialJudge Juan Merchan has indefinitely delayed sentencing. At least 18 casualties reported in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza According to medics, at least 18 Palestinians lost their lives in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, while the Israeli military stated it aimed at gunmen operating from shelters and aid storage facilities. Medics reported that at least 10 individuals were killed in an airstrike near the municipality building in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, where people had gathered to collect aid. Casualties were transported on foot, in rickshaws, and private vehicles from the attack site to the hospital, medics indicated. This strike resulted in the death of the head of the Hamas-run administrative committee in central Gaza, according to a Hamas source. A spokesperson for the Israeli military mentioned that they were investigating the report. Previously, Israeli aircraft targeted militants and weapon caches close to an aid warehouse, as the military stated that gunmen had fired rockets into Israel from that location. The UNRWA Al-Majda Wasila Governmental School, which is accommodating displaced Palestinians, was also struck. The military indicated that it was unclear if any of the other deceased were fighters, asserting that precautions were taken to minimize civilian casualties. A separate airstrike in Gaza City resulted in the death of a local journalist, according to medics. The military is looking into this report, as stated by a spokesperson. The conflict in Gaza erupted when the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of 1,200 individuals, primarily civilians, and the abduction of over 250 hostages back to Gaza, as reported by Israeli authorities. In response, Israel initiated a comprehensive air, sea, and land offensive that has reportedly killed at least 44,000 individuals, mainly civilians, according to claims from authorities in Hamas-run Gaza, displacing nearly the entire population and leaving a significant portion of the territory in ruins. Recent weeks have seen a renewed effort by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States to establish a truce. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi engaged in discussions with visiting US officials regarding efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a potential hostages-for-prisoners agreement, according to his office. Syrians See a Promising Future Now That the Assad Regime Has Collapsed Young Syrians residing in Ireland express that they feel as if a burden has been lifted now that the Assad regime has been overthrown. A week has passed since the Syrian opposition seized control of Damascus and ousted President Bashar al-Assads regime, which had been in power for half a century. RTE News interviewed young Syrians in Ireland about their experiences over the past week and their aspirations for Syrias future. Originally from Aleppo, she moved to Ireland with her family when she was just six months old. I will always be a proud Dubliner! said Ms. Abouhajar. I watched the regimes downfall unfold at 2 am. The relief I feel is immense. Theres a surge of emotions within the Syrian community. Anger exists as well, for had we been united from the outset, we might have avoided the past 13 years. We have endured oppression for such an extended period. Even in Ireland, we had to be cautious with our words, lest family members still in Syria face repercussions. People werent afraid of death; they feared torture. I aspire to help rebuild Syria. We all have something valuable to contribute for the betterment of the country. While Ireland will always be my home, it would be wonderful to see my parents retire in Syria if they choose to. Abdul Shakerdi, 21, is a medical student at Trinity College Dublin. I was born in Ireland. My father worked here, and then we lived in Syria until I was about ten or eleven. We returned to Ireland in 2014. Honestly, the past week has been surreal. If someone had told me this would happen two weeks ago, I would have thought they were insane. We feel both overwhelmed and ecstatic. A significant weight has been lifted from our shoulders. Previously, when communicating with family in Syria, we had to use code names for the government. Fear was constant. Although we face a brief period of instability now that the Assad regime is gone, its crucial that we unite. People from diverse political and religious backgrounds need to come together to rebuild Syria. I believe in their capacity to recover. At least we now have a glimmer of hope; its not just a never-ending decline. Now, Syrians require basic human rights like food and water. That underscores how low the bar has been set by the regime. Suleyman Elterkavi, 37, relocated to Ireland from Homs in Syria only two months ago to pursue a Masters in Humanitarian Action at University College Dublin. I am thrilled about Syrias liberation and the overthrow of the Assad regime, which dominated the country for over 50 years. This marks a pivotal moment for the nation. The enthusiasm among the people is palpable, and they are transforming that enthusiasm into actionable steps on the ground to forge a new Syria. The reports from the prisons are harrowing. The experiences of those who were detained for so long are shocking. They are experiencing freedom for the first time after decades of imprisonment. Witnessing the torture instruments that were employed in the prisons is shocking for the entire world and clearly illustrates why Syrians risked everything to flee the brutality of Assad. In the past, there was no hope at all. But now, theres hope for a new Syria and a bright future for its people. ( Middle East Monitor ) It was bound to happen. With continuing operations in Gaza and increasingly violent acts against Palestinians in the occupied territories, human rights organisations are making progressively severe assessments of Israels warring cause. While the world awaits the findings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on whether Israels campaign, as argued by South Africa, amounts to genocide, Amnesty International has already reached its conclusions. In a 296-page report sporting the ominous title You Feel Like You Are Subhuman, the human rights body, after considering the events in Gaza between October 2023 and July 2024, identified a pattern of conduct indicating genocidal intent. These included, among other things, persistent direct attacks on civilians and objects; deliberately indiscriminate strikes over the nine-month period, wiping out entire families repeatedly launched at times when these strikes would result in high numbers of casualties; the nature of the weapons used; the speed and scale of destruction to civilian objects and infrastructure (homes, shelters, health facilities, water and sanitation infrastructure, agricultural land); the use of bulldozing and controlled demolitions and the use of incomprehensible, misleading and arbitrary evacuation orders. The report does much to focus on statements from the highest officials to the common soldiery to reveal the mental state necessary to reveal genocide. One hundred two statements made by members of the Knesset, government officials and high-ranking commanders: Dehumanised Palestinians, or called for, or justified genocidal acts or other crimes under international law against them. The report also examined 62 videos, audio recordings and photographs posted online featuring gleeful Israeli soldiers rejoicing in the: Destruction of Gaza or the denial of essential services to people in Gaza, or celebrated the destruction of Palestinian homes, mosques, schools and universities, including through controlled demolitions, in some cases without apparent military necessity. From its alternative universe, the Israeli public relations machine drew from its own agitprop specialists, working on mangling the language of the report. The formula is familiar: attack the authors first, not their premises. The deplorable and fanatical organisation Amnesty International has once again produced a fabricated response that is entirely based on lies, came the howl from Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein. Other methods of repudiation involve detaching Hamas and its war with Israel from any historical continuum, not least the fact that it was aided, supported and backed by Israel for years as a counter to Fatah in the West Bank. Isolating Hamas as a terrorist aberration also serves to treat it as alien, artificially foreign and not part of any resistance movement against suffocating Israeli occupation and strangulation. They, so goes this argument, are genocidal, and countering such a body can never be, by any stretch, genocidal. The pro-Israeli group NGO Monitor abides by this line of reasoning, calling allegations of genocide against Israel: A reversal of the actual and clearly established intent of Hamas and its allies (including its patron, Iran) to wipe Israel off the map. Israels closest ally and sponsor, the US, proved predictable in rejecting the findings while still claiming to respect the humanitarian line. The US State Departments principal deputy spokesperson, Vedant Patel, expressed disagreement with: The conclusions of such a report. We had said previously and continue to find that the allegations of genocide are unfounded. Patel did, however, pay lip service to the: Vital role that civil society organisations like Amnesty International and human rights groups and NGOs play in providing information and analysis as it relates to Gaza and whats going on. Vital, but only up to a point. Far less guarded assessments can be found in the US pro-Israeli chatter sphere. These follow the usual pattern. Orde Kittrie, senior fellow of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a name that can only imply that crimes committed in such a cause are bound to be justifiable, offers a neat illustration. Amnesty, he argues: Systematically and repeatedly mischaracterises both the facts and the law. Kittrie suggests his own mischaracterisation by parroting the Israel Defense Forces line that Hamas had: Increased casualty counts by illegally using Palestinian civilian shields and by hiding weapons and war fighters in and below homes, hospitals, mosques, and other buildings. This conveniently ignores the point that the numbers are not necessarily proof of genocidal intent, though it helps. Crimes against Humanity, Digital, Dream / Dreamland v3 / Clip2Comic, 2024 The report also notes that, even in the face of such tactics by Hamas, Israel was still: Obligated to take all feasible precautions to spare civilians and avoid attacks that would be indiscriminate or disproportionate. Amnesty Internationals report is yet another addition to the gloomy literature on the subject. Human Rights Watch, in November, pointed to violations of the laws of war, crimes against humanity and the provisional measures of the ICJ issued urging Israel to abide by the obligations imposed by the United Nations Genocide Convention of 1948. The Israeli human rights organisation BTselem stated in no uncertain terms in October that: Israel intends to forcibly displace northern Gazas residents by committing some of the gravest crimes under the laws of war. Battling over the designation of whether a campaign is genocidal can act as a distraction, a field of quibbles for paper-pushing pedants. The specific intent in proof must be unequivocally demonstrated and beyond any other reasonable inference. A smokescreen is thereby deployed that risks masking the broader ambit of war crimes and crimes against humanity. But no amount of pedantry and disagreement can arrest the sense that Israels lethal conduct, whatever threshold it may reach in international law, is directed at destroying not merely Palestinian life but any worthwhile sense of viable sovereignty. Amnesty Israel, while rejecting the central claim of the parent organisations report, did make one concession: the countrys brutal response following 7 October, 2023: May amount to crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor or Informed Comment. You are here: Business Ghanaians are increasingly falling in love with Chinese automobiles, a business executive said late Friday. Fan Dongyun, deputy managing director of Zonda Ghana Limited, a Chinese automobile assembly company in Ghana, made the remarks at a customer appreciation activity held in the Ghanaian capital of Accra. Fan said the company's premium brands assembled in Ghana, including sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks, cross-country vehicles, tipper trucks, and earth-moving machines, are becoming more and more popular among Ghanaians as sales pick up. The company introduced various models of China's Great Wall Motors in June, and according to her, these models have also seen increased sales among Ghanaians over the six months. Due to the popularity of the brands, Zonda introduced another two new models into the local market on Friday night. Fan thanked the Ghanaian government for removing the value-added tax (VAT) on vehicle assembly, which made vehicles more affordable for Ghanaians. She expressed confidence that with the zero-VAT sales, the company's brands of automobiles, conditioned for the Ghanaian and African terrain, would continue to enjoy high patronage. She added that by assembling these vehicles in Ghana, Zonda has created local jobs and transferred technology to Ghanaians. Kwabena Amaning, a senior manager at Ghana's Imperial Insurance, lauded Zonda for its track record in the Ghanaian automobile market. "With the Chinese company, it is always possible to get whatever vehicle you want at an affordable price," Amaning said. The military leadership of the terrorist country Russia may use the North Korean military in eastern Ukraine. The enemy may take this step because of significant losses of manpower. ADVERTISIMENT If such a decision is made, DPRK troops are likely to be involved in assault operations. This was stated by Nazar Voloshyn, spokesman for the Khortytsia operational and strategic group of troops, during a telethon. According to him, Putin's troops have already begun to engage North Korean military for assaults in consolidated units in the Kursk region. To date, there is no information on the use of DPRK troops in eastern Ukraine. At the same time, Voloshyn does not rule out the possibility that the Russians could redeploy North Korean troops to other parts of the front because of heavy losses. At the same time, he emphasized that Ukrainian servicemen are ready to repel the North Korean military and will be destroyed in the same way as the Russian occupiers. "It is possible that soon, due to heavy losses on the eastern directions, North Korean representatives may also be used on our frontline, who will take part in hostilities together with Russian soldiers," Voloshyn said. ADVERTISIMENT As a reminder, on December 14, Russian troops engaged North Korean soldiers in infantry attacks on Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation, which resulted in losses for them. As reported by OBOZ.UA, according to the GUR, the Russian command has incorporated the DPRK forces into the combined units of the Russian marines and airborne troops. North Korean soldiers have already suffered their first sanitary and irreversible losses as a result of a successful fire strike by the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the Kursk region. Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Sunday, December 15, 2024 - Kisumu County Governor, Prof. Anyang Nyongo has cautioned leaders seeking to replace Raila Odinga as Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader. Speaking during a media interview on Friday, Nyongo who is acting ODM party leader, acknowledged that many young leaders within the party had ambitions of replacing the ODM boss should he get elected as the next African Union Chairperson in 2025. While noting that the ambitions were good, he cautioned the leaders against having blind ambitions which can ruin their careers. According to Nyong'o, young leaders within the party needed to understand the party and leadership demands needed at various levels, especially that of the party leader. "These are young people who must have ambitions and that is normal. But they have to be realistic. You might have been in the party for two or three years but the history of the party is longer than that," he stated. "There are a lot of things that you have to learn about being at the party and being up there. Blind ambition may not be the best thing to have. Blind ambition is very dangerous as it may take you to political hell." The Kenyan DAILY POST Sunday, December 15, 2024 - Veronicah Waithira Waigwe, a 19-year-old high school student from Muranga who went missing a week ago, has reached out to her family and confirmed that she is safe. Veronicas family had approached a renowned social media personality to help them find her after she went missing on 8th December under mysterious circumstances. She later called her family and informed them that she was safe and happily married. However, she did not give them her location, despite assuring them that she was okay. It remains unclear whether she plans to return to school to complete her studies. The Kenyan DAILY POST. Sunday, December 15, 2024 - Acting ODM Party Leader Anyang' Nyong'o is too scared to replace former Prime Minister Raila Odinga as ODM Party leader. Speaking during an interview, Nyongo cautioned other leaders seeking to replace Raila Odinga against having blind ambitions. Even though the Kisumu Governor acknowledged that many young leaders within the party had ambitions of replacing the ODM boss should he get elected at the AU in 2025, he cautioned them against having blind ambitions that can ruin their careers. According to Nyong'o, young leaders within the party needed to understand the party and leadership demands needed at various levels especially that of the party leader. "These are young people who must have ambitions and that is normal. But they have to be realistic. You might have been in the party for two or three years but the history of the party is longer than that," he stated. "There are a lot of things that you have to learn about being at the party and being up there. Blind ambition may not be the best thing to have. Blind ambition is very dangerous as it may take you to political hell." Notable leaders who have shown interest in replacing Raila as the party leader include Embakasi East MP Babu Owino. In the meantime, the governor noted that he was undertaking his duties on an interim basis as the party awaits the AU elections in February 2025. He noted that despite being the acting party leader, he occasionally consults with the former premier for direction on various decisions undertaken in the party. The Kenyan DAILY POST Sunday, December 15, 2024 - Police officers have launched a manhunt for rowdy youth who disrupted President William Rutos speech on Thursday during Jamhuri Day celebrations. The youths disrupted the county commissioner from reading Rutos speech at Rongo Primary School Grounds. Rongo Sub-County Police Commander Salim Fundi said the stubborn youth had been identified and will soon be rounded up to face the law. Fundi further said that rowdy youth not only interrupted the national event but also attacked a police officer who was manning the gate. The rowdy youth not only interrupted the national event but also attacked a police officer who was manning the gate. This behaviour will not be tolerated, Fundi said. He added that the officer sustained bone injuries during the attack and is currently receiving treatment at Royal Hospital. The Kenyan DAILY POST Sunday, December 15, 2024 - President William Ruto has opened up on a two-month discussion with the military leadership following former President Uhuru Kenyattas advice. Speaking during the Kenya Navy 60th Anniversary held at the Kenya Navy Base in Mtongwe, Mombasa County, yesterday, Ruto revealed that Uhuru advised him on one issue before he handed over power to him. He explained that the advice was centred on modernising the countrys security agencies, including the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), to improve its capabilities. The Head of State detailed that for the last two months, he held discussions with top KDF officials, including Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya, to deliberate on how to improve the military. There is only one piece of advice I got from the commander in chief that came before me, and he asked me that when resources become available, modernise our security agencies, Ruto revealed. Therefore, the discussions I have had with the leadership of the Ministry of Defence are on the course because development going forward is going to be anchored on peace, security, and stability, without which all other endeavours of our nation will be in jeopardy, he added. According to the president, one of the main aims of modernising the military was to put in place a high state of readiness to ensure that military officers can respond swiftly and effectively to security concerns. He went ahead to commend former military officers for their sacrifice, vision, and hard work, noting that their work contributed to the current achievement in the KDF. In his speech, Ruto also called on the KDF officers to continue with their efforts in upholding the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and excellence. The Kenyan DAILY POST Sunday, December 15, 2024 - The sudden disappearance of two notorious cybercriminals along the Narok-Mai Mahiu Highway has left residents of Bomet and Narok counties in a state of alarm. Kiplangat Maritim, alias Elvis Chepkosa, and Dominic Kipng'eno Lang'at, known as Hillary Muge, have been missing since December 5, 2024. The two were reportedly travelling from Nairobi to Bomet when their Toyota Prado was shot at, its tyres punctured, and the occupants abducted by masked assailants. The vehicle, which was registered in 2022, had previously been intercepted while transporting sandalwood worth Ksh 2 million in the Maili Saba area along the Nakuru-Nyahururu highway. Authorities in the area have launched a probe and Chepalungu Sub-County Police Commander Panton Analo has confirmed that his office is working with the families to locate the missing men. Rumours abound that the men may have been abducted by their associates over a dispute related to their illicit dealings. Sources suggest the possibility that they orchestrated their own disappearance to mislead their criminal associates into believing they were targeted by law enforcement. Others speculate that vengeful victims of their scams may be behind the kidnapping, seeking retribution for losing large sums of money to their fraudulent activities. Chepkosa and Lang'at, aged 34 and 28 respectively, are infamous for executing complex cyber scams, including SIM swapping, credit card fraud, and even armed robberies. Their modus operandi involved exploiting mobile network vulnerabilities to gain access to victims financial accounts, from which they transferred stolen funds using platforms like Neteller and Skrill. The duo also laundered money by converting it into cryptocurrency and hiding it in digital wallets, which was later cashed out by third parties. They have recruited hundreds of youth from Bomet County, many of whom are involved in phishing schemes that target personal information for further SIM swapping and theft from mobile wallets and bank accounts. Living a life of luxury funded by the proceeds of their cybercrime, Chepkosa and Lang'at have amassed substantial wealth, including palatial homes, commercial plots, and livestock. Chepkosa, a well-known philanthropist in Bomet, has built a multi-million-shilling mansion in Chepalungu Sub-County and owns significant property in the region. Lang'at, too, has recently completed an opulent home in Narok West Sub-County and owns multiple vehicles and plots across Narok County. The two have gained notoriety for using their wealth and influence to lure young people into the cybercrime trade, offering them the allure of quick riches. Many of these youths, often school dropouts, are now involved in the expansive cybercriminal network that spans counties such as Narok, Nakuru, Uasin Gishu, Kisumu, Nairobi, and Mombasa. Their activities have not only defrauded countless victims but have also caused emotional and financial devastation, with some victims spiralling into depression or, in extreme cases, committing suicide. Cybercrime remains a growing menace in Kenya, with perpetrators continuously evolving their tactics to exploit emerging digital vulnerabilities. Police have intensified efforts to tackle the issue, while cybersecurity experts urge the public to be vigilant. They recommend implementing two-factor authentication, using strong, unique passwords and avoiding sharing sensitive financial information. Citizens are also advised to report lost or stolen cards immediately to their financial institutions and to avoid clicking on suspicious links from unknown sources. The disappearance of Chepkosa and Lang'at serves as a stark reminder to the youth drawn into cybercrime that the illicit pursuit of wealth often leads to unforeseen consequences, including involvement in dangerous criminal networks and the risk of law enforcement action. Authorities warn that while cybercrime may appear lucrative, it ultimately offers no security, only misery and destruction. The Kenyan DAILY POST. Judith Butler, 68, isnt particularly interested in lists, even when they top them. I am in illustrious male company, they remark upon hearing the names of Thomas Piketty, Noam Chomsky, and Jurgen Habermas the next most influential thinkers, according to experts questioned by EL PAIS. Does that make me a man? they quip. Butler a pioneering voice in feminism, gender studies, critical theory, and contemporary philosophy registered as non-binary in California years ago. While their pronouns changed to they/them, they chose to keep their name, a decision, they say, surprised the courthouse clerk at the time. Butler has been teaching and researching at Berkeley since the 1990s, where they live with their partner, the political scientist Wendy Brown. Butler met us at the university clock tower on a stormy day in San Francisco Bay. They spoke of the enduring impact of their most famous book, Gender Trouble especially on young people as well as the seismic reaction those theories provoked in society, politics, and even pop culture, a shockwave explored in their latest book, Whos Afraid of Gender? (2024). The conversation took place the same day House Speaker Mike Johnson announced he would ban Sarah McBride the first trans congresswoman in history from using the womens bathrooms in the Capitol, and just two weeks had passed since Donald Trumps election victory. The conversation turned to analyzing how these events came to pass and what might lie ahead, with Butler approaching the topics with a characteristic blend of generosity, patience, and wit. Days later, in a follow-up email, Butler reflected on their position in the EL PAIS ranking, expressing hope that their influence stems from their intellectual work rather than the public controversies they often navigate: from debates on the Gaza conflict to the feminist disputes about the inclusion of trans women. Butlers contributions extend far beyond these flashpoints or the queer theory they helped establish in the late 1980s. Butler has written brilliantly about censorship, non-violence, and the insurgency of Antigone. Their reflections, often crafted in dialogue with other thinkers a format they find inspiring have tackled themes like secularism and the erosion of the nation-state. Currently, Butler is working on a long-awaited essay on Kafka. Question. Who would you have voted for as the most influential thinker? Answer. [Indian writer] Arundhati Roy. Her words about the pandemic, oppression or about struggles for justice are very powerful. At least in my world, when she speaks, people listen. Q. And who are the three intellectuals who have inspired you the most? A. Probably Hegel and Freud, and either [Michel] Foucault or Simone de Beauvoir. I dont want to have to choose now... Q. This month marks the 35th anniversary of Gender Trouble. Has your view of gender changed over time? A. As a person who is still alive, which means my thought is living, of course, Ive gone through some important changes. I moved away from gender after the book Undoing Gender, and spent 20 years working on other topics. Returning to the topic [in their latest book] was awkward because I had to learn the field as it has emerged in the last few decades. When I wrote Gender Trouble, I was getting to know post-structuralist and French feminist theory, which is hastily called French theory in the United States. That influence was one of the reasons that made the text difficult. And yet, even as a dense book, it is strangely popular. What I make of that is that the reading public is more curious and intelligent than we generally assume. Q. Would you say that the public is more interested in ideas than it was then? A. Maybe in Europe or in Spain, where you have regular festivals of books and long articles in EL PAIS on philosophers [laughs]. In the United States, theres a stronger division between whos an academic and whos a public writer. Sometimes I cross that divide, sometimes I dont. I dont like the category of the public intellectual, because it focuses on the individual. When somebodys work becomes publicly interesting, its because something is already happening in the world: changes in the way young people think about the future and themselves; alterations in the family form; openness about sexuality; curiosity about gender... These public issues, often vexing, are what bring certain intellectuals into prominence because theyre reflecting on what turns out to be really important to people at the time. Piketty is important because he helps us think about social and economic inequality in new ways. And we appreciate the fact that someone like Dipesh Chakrabarty thinks long and hard about climate catastrophe, a pressing and urgent issue of our time. Most of our work is collaborative, even when only a single author is named. I couldnt have written Gender Trouble without a history of feminist theory, gay and lesbian activism, certain academic culture and even a bar scene in New Haven [where Butler was living at the time]. That work comes out of several legacies. I then sign my name. Judith Butler at UC Berkeley's Stephens Hall on November 20. Carlos Rosillo Q. Is there any aspect of Gender Trouble that you regret? A. I dont regret it exactly, but what was most exciting to readers was the concept of performativity. Many people understood it to be a radical free choice that effectively said you can be whatever you want, and decide to change who you are. It emerges only in the last part of the book, where drawing from Simone de Beauvoirs idea of a situation I say clearly that we always exercise freedom within scenes of constraint and histories of subject formation. Butler pauses to listen to the rumble of a protest coming from the street, which appears to be about the Gaza war. It looks like a manif, says Butler, using a chic French colloquialism. Unless they have permission, theyll be dealing with security. Q. It was predicted that this would be a heated autumn of protests on campuses, but that hasnt quite happened, has it? A. When you see people being beaten at other universities, you realize that administrators are not always honoring freedom of expression. They are more willing to take draconian measures. Under Trump, that is more likely to become intensified. I think the protesters are rethinking their strategies. Q. Last year, these protests were presented as a collision between freedom of expression and antisemitism A. I love that the manif has changed our conversation. We live in a world in which conversations have to adapt to those changes. It is imperative to oppose antisemitism as one would oppose any racism. The problem is the definition of antisemitism. It cannot be the case that if you criticize Israel, youre attacking the Jewish people. Within Israel itself, you see some pretty strong criticism, including of Zionism. If HaAretz can accommodate debates like that, why do we imagine that open debate [in the United States] can only be a form of antisemitism? Censorship and baseless allegation takes the place of difficult conversations. But it is the latter that we need, especially now that so many democracies are on the verge of succumbing to authoritarian powers. Q. You recently defined Hamas as a resistance movement A. Its unfortunate: people take a phrase and then that comes to stand for my full position. Theres such a rush to censorship and condemnation that it is very difficult to be part of an open discussion. If I say that Hamas is a resistance movement, I am describing it, but I am not supporting it. And yet there are these litmus tests: you must utter some words, and not others, and if you fail the test, your reputation will be damaged. And then theres the fact that if you say resistance in France, youre using a word reserved for the most important liberation movement in the history of the modern France. For them, resistance is an ultimate value, and terrorism is the name you are obligated to give to groups like Hamas without saying anything more. Q. I was born in Spains Basque Country, and I remember how delicate language can be. For example, when the BBC kept calling ETA a separatist group. Isnt Hamas a terrorist group? A. Hamas uses terrorist tactics, for sure, but I know that within the United Nations it is not always classified as a terrorist group: it has a non-military wing which provides social services and distributes humanitarian aid, and this is one reason the Israeli state is bombing those convoys. And why is it that Israeli state violence, which is much more destructive and commits crimes against humanity on a regular basis, is not called state terrorism? In the United States, even [Palestinian thinker] Edward Said was called a terrorist. It is a word that puts an end to a conversation. But if we want to know why Palestinians had such an uprising, then you have to tell a longer history. To make an issue like that discussable doesnt mean youre exonerating them. I wrote an entire book, The Force of Nonviolence, that makes clear what my commitments are to nonviolent practices. I think its bad faith, if not intellectual irresponsible, to argue that, because I can acknowledge that this is the armed faction of the Palestinian movement for liberation, I therefore support that movement, betraying all my principles. Q. That connects with one of the most interesting points of your work, the idea of grievability, the notion that there are people who deserve to be mourned more than others. A. Those who wage war often conceive of those they annihilate as lives that were not worth living anyway. They dont grieve the loss of those lives when they are killed because they are not considered to be valuable lives. Palestinians are being regarded as threats to Israeli life, not as living beings. Once a group of people has been so dehumanized that they no longer count among the community of humans, then the pathway is cleared toward genocidal action. And what were seeing in Gaza are genocidal actions. Q. Not quite a genocide A. A genocidal action is one that not only targets a very specific ethnic or racial group, but also the infrastructures of life. Raphael Lemkin, who devised the doctrine of genocide in 1944, was very clear about that. Francesca Albanese, the special rapporteur on Palestine for the U.N., accepts his definition for the current condition in Gaza. So I think what we are seeing is genocidal conduct. Whats harder for people to fathom is that these kinds of tactics and this form of killing, of forcible dispossession, did not start in retaliation for the killings of October 7 [2023] but have been component parts of Israeli state violence since 1948 [when the state of Israel was created]. Q. Lets go back to the point before we were interrupted by reality. We were talking about performativity in Gender Trouble A. That book was important for many people because it allowed them to see that they were born into a world where there were very strong expectations about what it means to be a man or a woman. Some people fail to meet those expectations, but that failure is actually very promising if considered through lens of an autonomous spirit that deviates from the path, not agreeing to abide by norms, finding another way. Q. Where do you draw the line for considering a minor ready to break these rules? A. Thats a very practical question. Young people should be able to take time to find their own way. If you teach gender in school that doesnt mean youre telling them that they should become homosexual or trans. Not providing support to gender non-conforming youth strikes me as an act of cruelty. I dont think every time a kid says, oh, I want hormones, you rush to the doctor. But you also dont refuse the idea. Q. In your latest book, you speak of a phantasm created to stoke fears about gender. Do you sympathize with parents who are worried about their children making mistakes? A. Yes. Those parents have a fear, but I cant understand why they dont want to know about certain things. I had a man say to me in Chile that he didnt want a gay or lesbian family living next door to him. Im heterosexual, married, I enjoy reproductive sexuality, my way of life is the way that God has mandated, and it is the only correct and moral one. His fear was that if there were different kinds of legitimate families, then his form would become less natural and less necessary. Q. One of the main criticisms of gender ideology is that the pharmaceutical industry has interests in it A. Pharma has interests in hormone replacement, but my understanding is that hormone replacement therapy for women who are postmenopausal is a much bigger industry. Of course, Big Pharma is an issue for many health issues, including depression, but that is not the main reason why kids are questioning gender norms, including the version of masculinity that Trump represents. They need spaces where they can exercise their autonomy. Where can they assert themselves? Sometimes its in choosing a pronoun. Q. Do you understand the concerns of feminists who think that gender could result in the erasure of women? A. Some feminists, I think unwittingly, have allied themselves in places like the U.K. and Spain with the far right when it comes to instigating this phantasm about gender. I understand those fears, but that doesnt mean that I think theyre based on knowledge. Perhaps those feminists need a better understanding of who trans people are. Womanhood wont be erased just because we open the category and invite some more people in. This is a moment for expanding alliances, not to have sectarian struggles about bathrooms. Women know what its like to be denied health care. They are currently being deprived of access to reproductive health in several parts of the world, including the U.S. Women know how difficult and necessary it is to struggle for autonomy. So why would they not support trans struggles for health care and to live free of the fear of violence? Q. The phantasm seemed to work for Trumps campaign. One of his slogans was: Kamalas for they/them. President Trump is for you. The issue was whether or not to give gender treatment to the migrant inmate population, which is a tiny portion of the society. But that, and Harris failure to refute it, was a powerful reason for the Republican victory. A. I doubt that that was the reason for his victory. People were already living with many fears about the economy, war, climate catastrophe, and Trump knew how to exploit and repackage those fears to scapegoat minorities. That message appealed to anxiety. Trump put his anti-migrant discourse together with his anti-trans and anti-feminist discourse: Harris, the woke, the Marxist, the feminist, Black and brown, who presumably supports trans surgery (terrifying) on migrants who flooded over the border (also terrifying). On the left, we dont know how to appeal to peoples deep passions. We think were very smart and very critical. But wheres the radical imaginary by which people will be passionately absorbed? I did not like the blame game that started after the defeat. I did not like the pundits who said: Oh, we didnt realize how anti-trans and anti-migrant people are. Q. It wasnt just Trumpism. Some Democratic voices say its time to move beyond the issue of trans rights in areas like sports, which affect very few people. A. You could say that about the Jews, Black people or Haitians, or any very vulnerable minority. Once you decide that a single vulnerable minority can be sacrificed, youre operating within a fascist logic, because that means there might be a second one youre willing to sacrifice, and a third, a fourth, and then what happens? Protest against Judith Butler's visit to Sao Paulo in 2017. The demonstrators, mostly women, ended up burning her effigy. NELSON ALMEIDA/Getty Images (AFP via Getty Images) Q. J. K. Rowling has sarcastically predicted that in order to take on Trump, The Guardian newspaper will spend four years publishing emotive longform pieces from [left-wing British writer] Owen Jones complaining that American taxi drivers arent reading enough Judith Butler. Is the rift between the elites and so-called normal people insurmountable? A. Taxi drivers were Democrats until about 20 years ago. Bernie Sanders had the taxi drivers. And Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Theyre both progressives on social, economic, and gender politics. If opposing the increasing disparity between rich and poor becomes the main task of a Democratic or liberal-left coalition, and not just as an add-on, then we will perhaps have a Bernie effect again. By the way, I have great discussions on gender with taxi drivers. I find that many of them are excellent theorists of the everyday. Q. This has been a gendered election, but not in the sense that one of your readers would have imagined. It was the election of men versus women. Of the triumph of the misogynistic manosphere. Do you interpret this as a reaction to what you represent and have defended for decades? A. Its part of the picture. But the important thing is how we think about the gender division in relation to increasingly virulent forms of racism. Who is to say that gender and race in the person of Harris was not a fundamental issue in a country that is becoming increasingly misogynist and racist. Q. Did it prove once again that the United States is not ready to elect a woman, or was it that particular woman? A. I dont agree with a lot of what she stands for fracking, migration, Palestine and I did not actively support her candidacy. But I did vote for her. We have a pernicious history of misogyny, which is being celebrated in the person of Trump. Guilty of sexual crimes, he has done more than any other American person to demean and degrade women as a class. The people who say, Oh, I dont like that part of his behavior, but Im going to vote for him anyway because of the economy, theyre admitting that they are willing to live with that misogyny and look away from his sexual violence. The more people who say that they can live with racism and misogyny in a candidate, even if theyre not enthusiastic racists, the more the enthusiastic racists and the fascists become stronger. I see a kind of restoration fantasy at play in many right-wing movements in the U.S. People want to go back to the idea of being a white country or the idea of the patriarchal family, the principle that marriages are for heterosexuals. I call it a nostalgic fury for an impossible past. Those in the grip of that fury are effectively saying: I dont like the complexity of this world, and all these people speaking all these languages. Im fearful that my family will become destroyed by gender ideology. As a consequence of that, theyre furiously turning against some of the most vulnerable people in this country, stripping of them of rights as they fear that the same will be done to them. Q. Does the election result mean that woke is broke? A. I dont even know what the woke is. Its just a slur that the right wing uses. Q. Ill rephrase the question. Does Trumps victory mark some kind of end to identity politics? A. Identity is, for me, a point of departure for alliances, which need to include all kinds of people, from trans to working people to those taxi drivers that J. K. Rowling is worried about. Identity is a great start for making connections and becoming part of larger communities. But you cant have a politics of identity that is only about identity. If you do that, you draw sectarian lines, and you abandoned our interdependent ties. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Sunday, December 15, 2024 - Jubilee Party Secretary General, Jeremiah Kioni, has downplayed the Monday meeting between President William Ruto and former President Uhuru Kenyatta. Ruto and Uhuru met at the latters home in Ichaweri and the meeting raised political eyebrows in the Mt Kenya region, especially at a time when the former is facing a violent rebellion in the vote-rich bloc. However, in an interview with one of the local dailies, Kioni dismissed claims of a political partnership between the former and current President. On the issue of whether or not Uhuru is going to second experts like ODM, that is not his style. He believes and he would like to see a vibrant opposition because a vibrant opposition enables our democratic space to grow, Kioni noted. He (Uhuru) does not believe in swallowing. He doesnt believe in getting people into government in that manner, he added. Kioni added that Uhuru meeting Ruto should not be construed as a sign of an impending alliance. City lawyer Nelson Havi has also downplayed the surprise meeting. Havi said Ruto and Uhuru have individually let down the vote-rich Mt Kenya region and cannot do anything to appease the areas voters to increase their political prospects. The Kenyan DAILY POST Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. The next Irish government should include planning for constitutional change across the island among its commitments, a former SDLP leader has said. Colum Eastwood said his partys New Ireland Commission set up to facilitate discussions on the possibilities of a united Ireland had written to all the parties in the Republic of Ireland before and after the general election. Exploratory talks between parties are continuing in Dublin with the aim of forming a government in the new year, with Fianna Fail and Fine Gael together just a couple of seats short of a Dail majority. Mr Eastwood told the BBCs Sunday Politics programme that conversations about a unity referendum had moved to a different level since Brexit in 2016. The Foyle MP said: I have heard people talking about it that I wouldnt have heard talking about it before and I think we now have really a responsibility on those of us who want to see change to make it happen, but also to make it happen in a way that brings people with us. Weve had probably thousands of conversations in different places places you wouldnt imagine with people who dont agree with us and people who do agree with us, but now we have to move that on. Over the past number of months, one of the things we did was work with the parties in the south. Before the election in the south, we asked them all to make a commitment to working towards Irish unity and to planning for Irish unity, if they form part of the next government. Every one of them wrote back with that commitment and we saw that in their manifestos. Now we have the very interesting process of forming a government in the south where there is going to be long periods of negotiation. Ive written and spoken to them again about the need to turn those manifesto pledges into real commitments in the programme for government and I am hopeful that will happen. I think part of the problem for the last number of years has been lots of parties have been saying the right thing about this but not actually putting their shoulder to the wheel to do it. Mr Eastwood said Irish unity would be a major undertaking and couldnt be achieved unless we have the planning work done by the Irish government. He added: What we have to do is make sure all of the parties who say they believe in this are committed to actually working towards it. Weve got that major commitment in the manifestos, I think well get that commitment in the southern programme for government. The SDLP politician said he had more time to devote to working with the New Ireland Commission since he resigned the party leadership earlier this year. He added: The reason we want to see a new Ireland and constitutional change is because we think we can do better with the health service, we think we can have a better, more open, more prosperous economy for our young people as part of a new Ireland. This has to be about lifting people out of poverty, giving people opportunity, having better public services. The bottom line is that aint working as part of the UK with all the conversations weve heard about the state of public finances in Britain affecting people in Northern Ireland. I think we can do things better, I think we can design our own future that involves everybody, that makes sure that people on this island are making decisions about their economic and social future. He said: The next stage is the civil service in the south and the political parties are tasked with actually preparing the case for constitutional change. It has to be remembered this decision around a referendum will be taken in London and it will make absolutely no sense for a Dublin government not to have done the preparatory work, not just to make the case but to be ready if it happens. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement sets out that the Northern Ireland Secretary can call a border poll when he or she believes a majority of people in the region support a change to the constitutional status. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously said the issue of a united Ireland is not on his horizon and Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn has said he believed the prospect of a vote on Irish unity is off into the distance. Id rather the Government doesnt own any banks (except the Reserve Bank) but as it does own Kiwibank, Im wondering if it should be mandated to provide banking facilities to customers who cant get banking service elsewhere? Organisations and businesses simply cant function without a bank account they can receive money in and pay money from. It isnt a nice to have, but a must have. The Herald reports: The Bank of New Zealands chief executive has admitted the decision to deny a business account to a women-owned sexual wellness brand was the wrong one and strayed into acting like the moral police. Girls Get Off, a New Zealand-based sex toy and accessory brand, had its application for a business account denied last week as the nature of its operations were outside of BNZ policy. I dont think banks should have policies about what types of customers they have, so long as they are law abiding. But a bank as a private company can decide otherwise. BNZ now refuse to allow Gloriavale to bank with them, and are saying they will ban petrol stations from 2030 from banking with them. In a few years their woke agenda may see them refuse to lend to dairy farmers. Now this is in theory ok, if those declined at BNZ can bank with ANZ etc. But what if no bank will take them as a customer. You basically have the banks deciding who can and can not operate a business in NZ, rather than Parliament. You could require banks as a condition of their licence, to not decline legal customers, but an easier way to deal with this problem is simply use the ownership of Kiwibank to direct that they cant decline banking facilities for any legal customer. So if a customer is fundraising for a terrorist organisation, they could still be declined. But if they simply provide a service a bank doesnt approve of, they could not. Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp More Pinterest Print Tumblr Gabino Baltazar was studying education and natural medicine when he learned that, according to the Mayan calendar, his destiny lay in pedagogy and healing. Since that day, the rural professor from Huehuetenango, Guatemala, has concerned himself with the education of young people from his community. For the last three years, he has also attended to patients in his home. Although he would like to bring the knowledge of his ancestors, such as the medicinal plants with which he cured his mother, the benefits of knowing each ones destiny and explanations of energetic implications to other audiences, he has been limited in that mission by the fact that his degree, for which he studied seven years, doesnt count when it comes to hospital appointments. In eight years, Ill retire as an educator and I would love to be certified before that, so that I can set up my own clinic. There is a great need in the territories, he says in a phone interview. Cities are also losing all of our knowledge. In Guatemala, there are six Mayan universities: Ixil, Kaqchikel, Chorti, Poqomchi, Qeqchi, and Iniciativa Mam. All are propelled by the same basic objective: Expanding our knowledge beyond oral tradition, says Vitalino Similox, rector of the Maya Kaqchikel University, one of the centers of higher learning that have been designed for the Indigenous community. In Guatemala, this population comprises more than 60% of the country, though it continues to be referred to as ethnic minorities. Despite their efforts, and the fact that international regulation is on their side in recognizing their rights and worldview, none of these schools have been able to certify their degree programs. In their eyes, this has much to do with the historical racism from which their people have long suffered. Guatemala is home to 17 million inhabitants hailing from 21 Mayan communities, plus the Xinka and Garifuna communities and individuals of mixed heritage. Over the last century, two extremely important historical processes for these peoples have taken place: the democratic period and the signing of peace agreements after a long civil war. Until 1944, the Central American country had no regulations ensuring the political participation of Indigenous communities. Twelve years later, with the ratification of the peace accords in particular, the Agreement on the Identity and Rights of Indigenous People the state recognized that the countrys armed conflict led to widespread displacement and racism towards Indigenous communities. From then on, Guatemala has been nominally committed to the participation of these communities in the elaboration and implementation of public, legislative, and administrative policies that affect them, as well as in the decisions, actions and measures related to the mitigation of historic, structural, socioeconomic, and political causes that gave rise to its internal armed conflict. But to Similox, these promises have amounted to little more than words. Racism is in my countrys structure. Its time to rework the state, which is very centralist. And with a single government, that wont be possible. It will be a slow change, he says, referring to the election of President Bernardo Arevalo, which took place thanks to support from the countrys Indigenous movements. We have seen Arevalos good intentions, he has a calling to help, but here, there is an elite that keeps things as they are, he says. Bernardo Arevalo participates in a Mayan ceremony at the Kaminal Juyu archaeological site, last January. CRISTINA CHIQUIN (REUTERS) Our outlook is not economistic, but social Despite these challenges, Similox remains objective and optimistic when he speaks about the care that goes into this work. The school he runs offers six bachelors degrees: pedagogy, with its emphasis on Kaqchikel culture and language; general comprehensive medicine; rural sociology, with a specialization in interculturality; agricultural science engineering; business administration, and Mayan science, philosophy and technology. We have our own way of producing knowledge, science and wisdom. We have our own languages and our own forms of justice, a different cosmovision of nature. We have a lot to offer, he says in an interview that takes place by video call. Our outlook is not economistic, but social. Indigenous or intercultural universities stem from the recognition of the rights of Indigenous people and the necessity of creating alternative academic models. The accords are based on documents like the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and on the Organization of American States Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Historically, public and private universities have excluded this population from the educational system, from representation among students and teachers to language and content that is used in curriculums. The plurality of Indigenous peoples has led to each school being designed differently. Its an enormous wealth that has been gradually lost, says Similox. And its precisely due to this leakage of Native languages that hes sure that we cannot wait for the government. The conviction has led him to take on his role at Maya Kaqchikel University, despite receiving no pay for his work. While some of the intercultural schools may receive government funds, most, like the six Guatemalan institutions, are supported by the people themselves. Students pay teachers salaries, despite most coming from poverty. My job is to give back to my people the opportunities that I had and that others did not, says Similox. He is the author of the books Experiencia: investigacion y aprendizaje en Universidad Maya Kaqchikel: Una propuesta espistemologica desde la Filosofia Maya (Experience: research and learning at Maya Kaqchikel Univerisity: An epistemological proposal from Mayan philosophy) and La participacion y representacion politica de los pueblos mayas de Guatemala (Participation and political representation of Guatemalas Mayan peoples). Young Mayan girls during a celebration in a small community near Todos Santos, Cuchumatan, in 1992. David McNew (Getty Images) The rector is proud of having introduced academic alternatives to typical university degrees. We are an alternative to linear and finite development education that looks to eat the fruits of nature, he says. Here, we talk about the fullness of life, focus on education, respect, and harmony with nature. Our work is different. This is why, in Baltazars medicine classes, they take a holistic look at the body and energy of each person that goes beyond the science of the Global North. I feel like we are going further, he says. According to his estimates, 75% of the content taught at his school is Native. Mayans have made incalculable contributions to society. It is to them we owe the solar calendar, key architectural advancements such as the pyramids, the digit 0 in mathematics, the cycles of Venus, as well as various stars and constellations, rubber, and chocolate. Its ironic that the entire world has learned from us and now, it doesnt let us teach, says Similox. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Choi hosts string of emergency meetings as countrys interim second-in-command By Yi Whan-woo Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok has begun implementing contingency plans to contain risks deriving from the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, Saturday. Economists and market observers believe that the impeachment has helped ease some of Korea's economic uncertainties, especially in comparison to the aftermath of the National Assembly's previous failed impeachment attempt on Dec. 7. At that time, uncertainties rattled the stock exchange, the currency market and other parts of the country's economy as Yoon retains his position despite being politically constrained. While Yoon's presidential powers have been suspended, economic risks are feared to persist as the impeachment will need to be finalized by the Constitutional Court, a process potentially taking up to six months. I assure you that Korea will successfully cope with the recent political turmoil and that its economy and financial markets will remain stable, Choi said while presiding over a meeting of economy-related ministers at the Government Complex Seoul, Sunday. He implicitly referred to lingering economic concerns, such a weakening Korean currency that has since Dec. 7 remained in the 1,430 level against the U.S. dollar which is well below the psychological threshold of 1,400. The volatility in the foreign exchange market is in contrast to the benchmark KOSPI. On Dec. 9, it plummeted to 2,360.58 points the lowest level in more than a year but managed to bounce back and is now in the pre-Dec. 7 range of 2,400. Three global rating agencies Moody's Ratings, Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor's Global Ratings (S&P) deemed that Korea's credit rating remains stable despite the political turmoil. However, such views can possibly change over the next six months depending on political and economic developments. "Under the circumstances, I ask for all stakeholders to bolster efforts for the country's economy to go on in a sustainable manner," Choi said. The meeting was the first of three emergency gatherings led by Choi on the day, following the orders of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who has assumed office as acting president. The second meeting had a broader range of participants, including trade and foreign ministers. Choi, who also doubles as the deputy prime minister, was given the right to preside over the gathering as he is now interim second-in-command of the Cabinet after Han. The third meeting included four top officials overseeing fiscal, monetary and regulatory policies, including Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Rhee Chang-yong, Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Kim Byoung-hwan and Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Lee Bok-hyun. All three meetings are scheduled to take place every day for the time being. In a separate economic assessment, Sunday, the BOK reckoned that heightened volatility in financial and foreign exchange markets has been easing. With the recent passage of the impeachment motion in the National Assembly improving the predictability of the political process, market volatility is expected to decline further, it noted. The central bank, however, warned that the economy can be adversely affected if the political conflict surrounding Yoon's impeachment takes longer than the impeachment cases of two of his predecessors Roh Moo-hyun in 2004 and Park Geun-hye in 2016. The court took 91 days to review the impeachment of Park and 63 days for Roh. Should the duration of political conflict prolong beyond the previous cases amid forthcoming political developments, the economic impact may expand," it said. Meanwhile, major business lobby groups urged the government and National Assembly to minimize chaos concerning state affairs in the wake of Yoons impeachment. They included the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), which called on them to pay special attention and make relevant efforts to swiftly stabilize political circumstances. The Korea Federation of SMEs proposed a joint emergency meeting of the bipartisan parties and the government to address economic issues. A similar proposal was also made by Rep. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that Russia had begun deploying North Korean soldiers to storm Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region. He spoke after Russian authorities said their firefighters were battling a blaze in the western Oryol region caused by a drone attack, with Ukraine saying it had hit a major oil terminal. "Today, we already have preliminary data that the Russians have begun to use North Korean soldiers in their assaults. A significant number of them," said Zelenskyy in his evening address. "The Russians include them in combined units and use them in operations in the Kursk region," he said. While so far they had only been deployed there, they might also be sent to other parts of the frontline, he said, adding: "There are also already noticeable losses in this category." Washington and Seoul have accused Pyongyang of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to help Moscow, after Russia and North Korea signed a landmark defence pact this summer. The two U.S. foes have strengthened their military ties since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Zelenskyy said last month that 11,000 North Korean troops were in Russia's western Kursk region and had already sustained losses. Taken by surprise by the Kursk incursion, Russia has since steadily clawed back territory, halting Ukraine's advance and rushing reinforcements to the region. A Ukrainian army source told AFP last month that Kyiv still controlled 800 square kilometres (300 square miles) of the Kursk region, down from previous claims it controlled almost 1,400 square kilometres. Oil depot attacks Earlier Saturday, Russian officials said firefighters were battling a blaze caused by a drone attack in the western Oryol region. Ukraine has been targeting fuel depots in Russia in retaliation for Moscow's strikes wreaking havoc on its power-generation network. The Ukrainian military said Saturday morning that its forces had attacked a major oil depot in Stalnoi Kon, about 165 kilometres (100 miles) into Russian territory. One of the largest terminals in Russia, it served Russia's "military industrial complex" supplying the army, the General Staff said. The governor of Oryol region, Andrei Klychkov, said on Telegram that a fire was blazing at "a fuel infrastructure facility" in Stalnoi Kon after a "massive drone attack". By Saturday evening, he said, firefighters appeared to be getting it under control, but local residents were advised to keep windows closed and not go out. Russia's Interfax news agency reported that the attack targeted a facility owned by Transneft-Druzhba, which operates the Druzhba oil pipeline, a key supply route for Russian oil heading to much of central Europe. Russian media showed images, purportedly of the attack, with clouds of smoke billowing up into the night sky from a fire. Governor Klychkov said there were no casualties in the attack, during which air defences had downed 11 drones. In Russia's Belgorod region, which also borders Ukraine, a drone attack killed a nine-year-old boy and wounded his mother and baby sister, said the governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. He posted photos of the family's home with a huge hole in the facade and the roof partially torn off. Ukraine regularly attacks military and energy infrastructure in Russia, sometimes deep into its neighbour's territory, in response to Russian attacks on its own infrastructure. Kyiv's General Staff said Russia had attacked overnight with 132 drones, claiming 130 of them were downed or failed to reach targets. Russia's military said Saturday that it had meanwhile downed 60 drones overnight. (AFP) Andres Villavicencio, a 31-year-old lawyer, had just a minute to think about the decision that changed his life. As in the last eight elections that have taken place since he came of age, on July 28, 2024, he was an electoral observer for the opposition coalition at the Paraguana Institute, in the municipality of Carirubana. This is an impoverished area between the Caja de Agua and Antiguo Aeropuerto sectors of the oil-producing state of Falcon, on Venezuelas west coast. However, this past election was the only time in which he ever had to demand the records that must be given to each observer a struggle with the electoral authorities that he faced by reciting (again and again) what the law says. This confrontation lasted a little more than half-an-hour, before it was his time to shine. On election night, he went out to the voting center and read aloud the local results in front of hundreds of local residents. Some recorded him with their cell phones. President Nicolas Maduro: 195 votes. Opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia: 1,046 votes. His voice was lost amid shouts and applause. The video went viral and the authorities went to his house to look for him. The intimidation grew, as did the number of people arrested amid protests following the results that were announced by the National Electoral Council. More than 2,000 were jailed. Villavicencio had his passport revoked. This punishment has been imposed on activists, electoral observers, and journalists, according to testimonies collected in reports such as those published by the UNs Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela. After several weeks of seeing unmarked cars stop in front of his house with those inside taking photos he received a phone call. Someone tipped him off, informing him that a specific van, which had been parked in front of his residence for over four hours, was there to take him to the notorious Helicoide prison, which has been filled with political prisoners throughout the Maduro administration (2013-present). Thats when the clock started ticking. I thought about what to do for a minute. Then, I spoke with my family. We packed our bags in half an hour. I arranged for someone to hide me until dawn the next day. I disconnected my phone, because thats how they can locate you. The night I left, there was a blackout: this helped me get out without being seen. The next morning, I crossed into [the Colombian town of Maicao] from the state of Zulia. This was how Andres Villavicencio escaped from Venezuela. He has been in exile in Madrid for the past four months. The story that he tells EL PAIS resembles what has been experienced by an incalculable number of people who have left the country after July 28, forced out by threats from the Maduro government. Villavicencio was a municipal leader for the Primero Justicia opposition party. As a lawyer, he has been denied his ability to practice his profession in a country that has a fragile rule of law. Hence, this young man has survived with remote work in the marketing sector. Hes part of a generation that has practically only known the rule of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), first under the administration of the late Hugo Chavez, (1999-2013), and then Maduro. The electoral observers were key players in the machinery that allowed the opposition to demonstrate that they won the 2024 Venezuelan presidential elections. On other occasions that saw close results, they hadnt been able to achieve this. As a result, the observers have been targeted by the security forces. The decision that Villavicencio had to make in just a minute separated him from his family. Still, he doesnt regret it. The tens of thousands of official ballots that the opposition managed to collect while making an effort to show them to the international community are documents that will rattle the legitimacy of Maduros inauguration on January 10, 2025. Thats when a new presidential term begins a date shrouded in uncertainty for Venezuelans. Venezuelans take part in a demonstration called by the opposition in Madrid's Plaza de Cortes, in October of 2024. Foto: Rodrigo Jimenez (EFE) Villavicencio fought to gather the results from the three tables in his polling station, as did thousands of other observers that the opposition managed to train. They were able to compile the results from at least 83.5% of ballot boxes. According to such a high figure, Edmundo Gonzalezs victory would be irreversible. In my polling center, in 2012, Chavez won with 56% of the votes. [The PSUV] has always won [this district]. When I read the [2024] results, I knew that this was a thermometer of what had happened in the country. At midnight, when they announced the results, we learned that they had committed fraud and they had done it behind the backs of the PSUV electoral observers themselves. That night, they knew they had lost. Part of the plan devised by former congresswoman and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was unknown to supporters of the government. The vote tallies were collected by officials from the opposition campaign headquarters the next day and taken to local centers. Few people knew about these locations, which contained satellite internet and professional scanners. Villavicencio found out about this later. In exile, Villavicencio still hasnt unpacked the suitcase he took with him, although hes begun his asylum application process. Each week, I think that Ill return the following week, he shrugs. My expectation is to return, when Edmundo [Gonzalez] is sworn in. Like almost everyone, he doesnt know how it will happen even though the opposition leader himself foresees this outcome with complete certainty. I have confidence in Maria Corina Machados plans and in Edmundos convictions, Villavicencio tells EL PAIS by phone. He said that hell be sworn [into power] in Venezuela. We cannot turn the page. Every day is July 28, until Edmundo is sworn in. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Korea demonstrated its democratic resilience and the United States is ready to work with acting President Han Duck-soo, the top U.S. diplomat said Saturday after the National Assembly voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his botched martial law attempt. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the remarks during a press conference in Aqaba, Jordan, reiterating America's commitment to the "ironclad" alliance with Korea. "I think the most important thing is that the Republic of Korea (ROK) has demonstrated its democratic resilience. We've seen it follow peacefully, a process laid out in its Constitution," Blinken said, referring to Korea by its official name. "We are ready to work with President Han as he assumes office," he added. The secretary voiced strong support for Korean people and the long-standing partnership between the two countries. "We strongly support the ironclad alliance that joins our two countries together, and it's done so much over the last few years," he said. In a separate statement, Matthew Miller, the spokesperson for the State Department, reiterated the U.S.' backing for South Korea, its citizens, democratic processes and the rule of law. "Our commitment to the U.S.-ROK Alliance is ironclad. In recent years, that Alliance has made enormous strides, and the United States looks forward to partnering with the ROK on achieving further progress," Miller said. "We stand ready to continue this work with Acting President Han Duck-soo and the ROK government to advance our mutual interests and shared values." Korea's legislature passed the impeachment motion against Yoon hours earlier, suspending him from presidential duties until the Constitutional Court decides whether to unseat him or return him back to office. Han has taken over as the acting president. Yoon declared emergency martial law on Dec. 3 only to retract the decree hours later following social and political blowback. He has defended his martial law declaration as "an act of governance." (Yonhap) Acting President Han Duck-soo held phone talks with U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday and vowed to maintain and develop the two countries' alliance, his office said. Han held the 16-minute phone conversation with Biden after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached by the National Assembly on Saturday over his short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3. "Our government will carry out our diplomatic and security policies without disruption and work to ensure that the South Korea-U.S. alliance continues to be maintained and developed without wavering," he said, according to his office. Han stressed the importance of solidifying the combined Korea-U.S. defense posture in the face of common challenges, such as the nuclear threat posed by North Korea and the deepening cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang. He also explained that all state affairs will be run strictly in accordance with the Constitution and the law. Biden thanked Han for the explanation and voiced confidence in South Korea's democracy while also noting its resilience, according to Han's office. Biden said "the ironclad South Korea-U.S. alliance remains unchanged and that he will continue to work together with the South Korean side for the development and strengthening of the South Korea-U.S. alliance and South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation," it said. Han thanked Biden for his attention and efforts in dramatically developing the bilateral alliance and trilateral cooperation with Japan during his term. Biden vowed to continue to support the development of the alliance. Han, as prime minister, assumed office as acting president immediately after Yoon was suspended from his duties following his impeachment. (Yonhap) By Kim Hyun-bin Foreign ambassadors in South Korea reacted to the National Assembly's impeachment vote on President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday, offering diverse perspectives on the political unrest and its potential impact on relations with their countries. While several ambassadors expressed support for Korea's democratic process, they also stressed the importance of maintaining stable bilateral relations. "This is a decision made by the Koreans themselves based on constitutional application. Bilateral relations and the diplomatic agenda should not be affected, and we will make our best effort to ensure that this continues, a South American ambassador told The Korea Times Sunday on condition of anonymity. We value the democratic participation of the Korean people, whose mobilizations and pressures, since the very beginning of the crisis, have allowed for the end of the series of speculations and uncertainties that had surrounded Korean political life in recent days." A Southeast Asian ambassador said, We are confident of the Republic of Koreas ability to navigate challenges through peaceful and constitutional means, reflecting the strength and maturity of its democracy." U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg emphasized his unwavering support for South Koreas democratic process. "Our commitment to peace and security on the Peninsula and in the region is unwavering," Goldberg posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account. "Foreign Minister Cho and I reaffirmed that our Alliance is and will remain ironclad. We will continue to be in close contact with the government as the democratic process continues in accordance with the constitution." He reiterated the United States' support for Koreas constitutional process and its people during this period of uncertainty. British Ambassador to Korea Colin Crooks also expressed confidence via X in the continued partnership between South Korea and the United Kingdom, emphasizing the strength of their bilateral relationship. "Korea is a Global Strategic Partner for the UK. We look forward to working with Acting President Han Duck-soo and the administration," Crooks posted. The European Union delegation in Seoul issued a more measured statement, stressing the importance of upholding the Constitution, a point echoed by other EU ambassadors. "The EU takes note of the decision by the National Assembly to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol. It is important now to ensure a swift and orderly resolution of the current political crisis in line with the Korean Constitution," the spokesperson said. The EU highlighted Korea's importance as a strategic partner and hopes for a resolution that would maintain political stability. The German Foreign Office expressed confidence in South Korea's democracy, even amid the political turbulence. "Korea is a key partner in the Indo-Pacific. Tens of thousands of people gathering peacefully in the streets have demonstrated that Korea's democracy is resilient. We are confident that political stability will be restored with todays impeachment motion in parliament." On the other hand, Russian Ambassador to South Korea Georgy Zinoviev offered a more cautious and critical view, claiming to have recently observed a noticeable deterioration in bilateral relations. However, he acknowledged that Seoul had not yet crossed the "red line" and hoped that the domestic political situation would not hinder the potential recovery of ties. South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized the Russian ambassador on Sunday for publicly linking the impeachment to bilateral relations. The ministry stated it was inappropriate for foreign diplomats to comment on South Korea's domestic politics. "If Russia wishes to restore South Korea-Russia relations, the first step should be to cease illegal military cooperation with North Korea, which threatens peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," a ministry official said. By Kevin Grabb This is really red, I tell myself as I stare down at a plate of roasted chicken and rice. I have come to Persian Palace, located in a tight alley across from Sungkyunkwan University's Seoul campus, on a personal mission. Im a spice lover, and I had been told that this place has a special spice mixture and that the spice scale runs from zero up to 3.5. I have ordered the 3.5, which is three times spicier than "nakji bokkeum" (stir-fried octopus). Shapour, the owner, brings me my meal. Be careful, many Korean ajeossi cannot eat this, he warns me. I look down. Nothing is more daunting than staring down a meal that you know will be painful. The pain later is almost a relief, for knowledge and experience can bring growth and personal victory. Its the anticipation and the fretting of hands on how much it will hurt that is the real stress here. I dig in, with the optimism only a fool could harbor. I pick up the chicken thigh with a trembling hand and tuck in. Im pleasantly surprised. For all the bluster and muster I do sometimes have about eating the spiciest food I can get my hands on, this is quite nice. All spice challenges come down to two variables: One, how many actual scoville units is this how much pain will I be in? and two, does this actually taste good? The pain builds up to a manageable burn, a 6/10 that lingers but doesnt escalate or offend. My chest gets hot and I start to breathe a bit heavier. Im in heaven. As I scarf down my meal with the enthusiasm of a giddy child, I realize something. If the food that is supposed to hurt tastes this good what am I missing out on with the normal menu? With a lot of spicy challenges (the "dijinda donkatsu" challenge in Sindae-bang, the now-controversial One Chip Challenge), its all pain 100 percent pain and no flavor. Shapour has managed to find a very good balance between those two conflicting spice ideologies. I suppose I dont need to clean your dishes, Shapour exclaims as he returns to an almost virgin-white plate, with only a few minuscule smears of curry sauce remaining. How do you make the different levels of the spice mixes? I ask. Follow me to the kitchen, he replies. Shapour then proceeds to tell me about Sahara pepper which I had never heard of. These are desert peppers, which receive so little rainfall, they are tiny and concentrate all that heat into a smaller package. This is in combination with 23 other spices that are mixed in various quantities across his numerous spice levels. I ask him about himself and he tells me he moved to Korea as a student in 1990 and that the restaurant came later in 2002. Its now a staple of the SKKU area. During my visit, it was fairly busy, even at 1:30 p.m. I vow to return with friends later as I take a look at the menu again. Kobideh kebabs? Saffron ice cream? Ive only started my Persian food adventure. Persian Palace is open every day from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Visit persianpalace.com or follow @persianpalace_irankebab on Instagram for more information. Kevin Grabb is a Canadian homebrewer and YouTuber. His channel Korea Brewing Adventure covers Korean alcohol from production to consumption. Prosecutors on Sunday sought an arrest warrant for the head of the Army Special Warfare Command over his role in President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived imposition of martial law. Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun, who sent special operations troops to the National Assembly after martial law was declared on Dec. 3, is accused of inciting a riot to subvert the Constitution by allegedly colluding with Yoon, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and others. Prosecutors sought the arrest warrant for Kwak from a military court on charges of insurrection and abuse of power as their investigation into the martial law declaration picks up pace. They reportedly filed the warrant by considering the gravity of the charges and concerns of him attempting to flee or tampering with evidence. Last Tuesday, Kwak told lawmakers that he had been ordered by Kim on Dec. 1 to secure six locations, including the National Assembly, three offices of the National Election commission and the headquarters of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, just two days before the martial law declaration. Kwak also said that he had been instructed by Yoon to break open doors and "drag out" lawmakers at the National Assembly during the imposition of martial law, but refused to follow orders after discussing them with troops at the site. Despite Kwak's claim of defying orders, prosecutors still believe he played an important role in the alleged insurrection. Kwak underwent questioning by the prosecution last Monday and Friday. Officials who have been arrested over their alleged role during the imposition of martial law include former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and Lt. Gen. Yeo In-hyung, chief of the Defense Counterintelligence Command. (Yonhap) Nearly nine out of 10 small merchants in Korea saw a decrease in their sales following the botched martial law declaration by President Yoon Suk Yeol earlier this month, a survey showed Sunday, amid growing concerns over the negative impact of the ongoing political turmoil on the domestic economy. In a three-day survey on 1,630 mom-and-pop merchants across the nation from Tuesday, 88.4 percent said their sales dropped after the martial law declaration on Dec. 3, according to the Korean Federation of Micro Enterprises. The small merchants have shown concerns the domestic economy will get worse as the political turmoil over the incident continues with the National Assembly having passed a motion to impeach Yoon. The country's retails sales index decreased 1.9 percent on-year to 100.6 points in the third quarter, extending its losing streak to the longest-ever of 10 consecutive quarters, according to Statistics Korea. The weak Korean won is also expected to increase the financial burden on companies. "We expect to see the aftermath of the recent weakening of the Korean won to show a month after at the soonest and three months after at the latest," an official at a supermarket chain said on the condition of anonymity, noting the prices of goods would rise about 3-5 percent on average. The Korean won has been under downward pressure due to significant market uncertainties triggered by the botched martial law declaration, even dipping below the 1,440-won level in offshore trading at one point, marking its lowest in more than two years. The Korean won closed at 1,433 won against the U.S. dollar this week. (Yonhap) The leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) proposed Sunday forming a consultative body between the parliament and the government to stabilize state affairs, a day after President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment over his declaration of martial law. DPK leader Lee Jae-myung made the proposal after the National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against Yoon on Saturday over his short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3, suspending his duties as president. "The normalization of the Republic of Korea is urgent," Lee said in a press conference. "The Democratic Party of Korea will actively cooperate with all political parties for the stabilization of state affairs and to recover international trust." Lee also said he would not take steps for the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who assumed duties as acting president immediately after Yoon's impeachment. Han has been asked by the police to appear for questioning as part of their investigation into the martial law declaration. "Too many impeachments could lead to confusion in state affairs. As for now, we have decided not to take impeachment steps (against Han)," he said. Lee also called for the Constitutional Court to take "swift" steps for Yoon's dismissal, saying that it is the only way to "minimize the country's chaos." The court has 180 days to decide whether to approve the parliament's decision that will either remove Yoon from office or have him reinstated. (Yonhap) The leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) plans to hold a press conference on Monday, officials said Sunday, amid growing calls for his resignation after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached. Earlier in the day, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon abruptly cancelled a press conference where he had been expected to announce his resignation. Han will instead hold the presser at 10:30 a.m. Monday, according to PPP officials. Han had earlier vowed to continue his duties in response to calls for his resignation after the National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon on Saturday. He has since faced growing pressure to step down after all five elected members of the PPP's Supreme Council expressed their intent to resign. Han expressed support for Yoon's impeachment on Thursday despite his earlier calls for Yoon's "orderly" resignation. Should Han step down, floor leader Kweon Seong-dong will become the acting head of the ruling party. (Yonhap) Lee Jae-myung maintains lead in opinion polls, despite lingering legal risks By Jung Min-ho After being convicted of violating the election law and being handed a suspended prison term only four weeks ago, Rep. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), faced a bleak political future. If the ruling stands, he will be stripped of his National Assembly seat as well as the opportunity to run for president in the next election. But then, an incredible political scenario unfolded for Lee. In what critics call a self-destructive move, President Yoon Suk Yeol suddenly imposed martial law on Dec. 3, which baffled even Yoons most ardent defenders and prompted lawmakers to vote to impeach him. Now, Lee stands as a clear favorite to win the next presidential election, which could be held early next summer. By law, the Constitutional Court is required to decide whether to uphold the impeachment in 180 days and if it rules against Yoon, a presidential election must be held in the next 60 days. Lee is a heavy favorite to win. In a survey released on Thursday by pollster Embrain Public, 37 percent of 1,005 respondents picked Lee, with other potential rivals lagging far behind. Only 7 percent chose Han Dong-hoon, leader of the ruling People Power Party, followed by 6 percent for Cho Kuk, former leader of the minor liberal opposition Rebuilding Korea Party. After the Supreme Court upheld his convictions of academic fraud involving his children and illegal interference with a government inspection last week, Cho is banned from running for public office for seven years. This could mean additional liberal support for the DPK leader. But it is still premature to conclude that everything will turn out fine for Lee, with many challenges and variables to consider in the coming months, experts say. At the height of former President Park Geun-hyes impeachment crisis, her approval rating was 5 percent and her partys was 17 percent, a Gallup Korea poll showed. The figures were far lower than Yoons current approval rate of 11 percent and 24 percent for his party, Shin Yul, professor of political science at Myongji University, told The Korea Times. This suggests that many dont see the DPK as a reliable alternative and that new challengers could emerge if the election is indeed taking place. Shin said he believes Han appears to be the only conservative contender with a serious chance of winning. But fresh challengers could still arise from the liberal bloc, he noted. Woo Won-shik, speaker of the National Assembly, is one of them. He is gaining popularity currently not because the president was impeached under his watch, but because he led the effort to prevent (what many view as Yoons) self-coup attempt, Shin said. In a Gallup Korea poll released on Friday, Woo was selected by 56 percent of respondents as a politician they trust the most over Lee at 41 percent and Han at 15 percent. The legal risks Lee faces are another important factor. Under the Supreme Courts guidelines, the trial for his election law violation is expected to finish in six months. If it is upheld by the appeals and the top court, he will be banned from running for public office for 10 years. This would mean a de facto end to the 61-year-olds political career. In addition to the trial, he is facing four other lawsuits on charges of instigating perjury and corruption. At Sundays press conference, Lee called on justices at the Constitutional Court to expedite the process for Yoons impeachment trial to minimize social and political confusion. He then proposed a consultative body through which the executive and legislative branches of government can work together for the stability of state affairs. He also said his party would not impeach Han Duck-soo as the nations acting president, at least for now. The truth and accountability for this outrageous case should be uncovered in order to hold those responsible accountable and prevent it from happening again. I call for a fast, rigorous and thorough investigation to find the truth, Lee said. Those who played their roles in the insurrection (martial law) should cooperate with the investigations. Dont forget that the whole country is watching. Later that day, Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, the ruling party's floor leader, said he will not accept the consultative body proposal. Prosecutors summon Yoon for questioning, but he defies request By Jung Da-hyun Investigators are expected to expedite a probe into President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges of treason and abuse of power, after his impeachment by the National Assembly on Saturday. As the anti-corruption investigation body has signaled the possibility of detaining or arresting Yoon, attention is focused on whether he could become the first sitting president in Korea to face arrest. Prosecutors made the first move by summoning the president to appear for questioning in the martial law probe. But Yoon defied the request, they said. "We notified President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday to appear at 10 a.m. today (Sunday) for questioning. But he did not show up. We will make a second request," the prosecutors' special investigation headquarters said. The impeachment motion against Yoon was centered on allegations that his abrupt declaration of martial law earlier this month constitutes treason. Lawmakers highlighted that the declaration lacked both substantial and procedural constitutional and legal grounds. According to the legal community, treason charges are categorized into three levels of culpability the leader who orchestrates and directs the treasonous activity, key operatives involved in planning and commanding and general participants who carry out or support the treasonous activity without a clear role. Ongoing investigations have so far targeted primarily high-ranking military and police officials suspected of playing key roles in the presidents botched martial law declaration. With Yoon now suspended from duty, investigators will likely focus on the president, who could face charges as the mastermind who directed the insurrection. How will the investigation proceed? Uncertainties remain over how the investigation into the president will proceed and which agency will take charge. Discussions are ongoing about the possibility of arresting him or obtaining a warrant to trace his whereabouts if he refuses to comply. On Wednesday, Oh Dong-woon, chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), said the agency could pursue an emergency arrest or a court-approved warrant if legal conditions are met. Despite the impeachment motion being passed, potential clashes with the presidential security service remain a challenge, as Yoon retains full security and protocol privileges until a formal dismissal. There is also the increasing possibility of a search and seizure targeting Yoons communication records and his Seoul residence. The National Office of Investigation (NOI) attempted to enter the presidential office last Wednesday to secure documents and materials related to Yoon's martial law declaration. However, the search was cut short as the Presidential Security Service did not comply with the notice, citing the need for prior consultation. Instead, the police were provided with limited documents by the security service. Therefore, authorities may also attempt to conduct another search and seizure at the presidential office. Currently, the probe into the presidents martial law declaration is being conducted by two main bodies the prosecutions special investigation headquarters and the cooperation investigation headquarters comprised of the police, the CIO and the Ministry of National Defense's investigation headquarters. Tensions have escalated as investigative agencies compete to secure witness statements first, leading to overlapping schedules. Earlier, Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun, head of the Army Special Warfare Command, and former National Intelligence Service Deputy Director Hong Jang-won were summoned by both the CIO and prosecutors on the same day and underwent separate questioning at each location. Amid unclear boundaries over investigative authority, concerns have been raised that suspects, including Yoon, could exploit the situation by choosing the investigative agency they perceive as more favorable. More arrests Meanwhile, investigations into key figures involved in the martial law incident have gained momentum. On Sunday, Kwak was accused of deploying troops to the National Assembly during the imposition of martial law on Dec. 3. He is also alleged to have colluded with the president and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun to incite a riot aimed at subverting the Constitution. Lt. Gen. Yeo In-hyung, former chief of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, was arrested on Saturday on charges of orchestrating operations to mobilize military and police forces to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission. On Friday, the Seoul Central District Court issued warrants for Cho Ji-ho, commissioner general of the National Police Agency, and Kim Bong-sik, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, citing concerns over the potential destruction of evidence. Both are accused of ordering police officers to enter the National Assembly and prevent lawmakers from voting to repeal Yoons martial law decree. Former Defense Minister Kim, believed to be the mastermind behind the entire martial law fiasco, was formally arrested last Tuesday. Kims legal counsel said Saturday that he would exercise his right to remain silent during questioning ahead of his scheduled appearance before prosecutors. The Shire is now located in western Spain. It has private houses with brightly colored round doors, surrounded by forests and a stream and impressive mountains in the background. Obviously, neither Bilbo, Frodo or Sam live there, but everything has been built in such a way that anyone familiar with these characters through books or movies will be reminded of them, and perhaps even feel like them. In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit, is how J.R.R. Tolkiens The Hobbit begins. The story, a classic of universal literature, narrates the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, a small being who lived in a quiet place surrounded by nature. Based on the story, the entrepreneurial couple Iryna Zhelvanava and Oscar Munoz launched the Comarca de Veratton project in the north of the Extremadura region, within the municipality of Villanueva de la Vera (Caceres). The location has a lot of real-life history as well: it is near here that Emperor Charles I of Spain and V of Germany spent his last years, in the Monastery of Yuste. The project that kept Zhelvanava and Munoz busy for more than 10 years encompasses three houses embedded in a grassy hill, similar to those seen in the Lord of the Rings films. The project has a lot to do with us, with our hobbies, explains Munoz. I am very interested in architecture, particularly bioclimatic and fantasy architecture. In his opinion, human beings have sought to feel protected since their origins, and doing so under layers of earth has something ancestral about it, something that comes to us straight from our cave-dwelling ancestors. The idea of bringing Tolkiens fantasy world to the Extremadura countryside arose in 2012. The first steps consisted of looking for an area that was consistent with the story. Two plots of land were considered, one in the province of Avila and another in the north of Caceres. We looked at many plots of land, and we found some that could fit the bill, but they had power lines or were too close to the villages. We didnt like it at all because of the light pollution. Then, at the time of greatest crisis due to the Covid pandemic, the entrepreneurs decided on the final location. Villanueva de la Vera, in the province of Caceres, has since become a meeting point for fans of The Lord of the Rings. In addition to the land on which to develop their idea, the project also involved buying 19th-century furniture. Our job was to restore furniture that we bought in different places, as well as all kinds of tableware such as English porcelain plates and glasses, say the owners. The biggest challenge was to create houses similar to those inhabited by hobbits and those that appear in the Lord of the Rings saga. They put themselves in the hands of a local builder who was also enthusiastic about the project. The houses are built on a plot of about 100,000 square metres that takes advantage of the side of a hill to embed the three houses that make up the complex. As for the development process, its creators say that it was very hard due to the workload and the emotional stress. The initial idea was to build four houses, but we had to do without one because of the increase in the price of materials. We dont know if we will expand in the future, but we need to stabilize ourselves, say the entrepreneurs, who went through a long and tortuous journey to reach not Mordor but their crazy dream. Building houses like these requires a lot of craftsmanship. For example, the iconic round wooden door, which also has to close tightly. The facilities have their own photovoltaic panels with batteries that are not connected to the grid, and the fact that the roof is not flat also complicated the installation. In short, it was a crazy idea for two geeks who had been excited about this project for many years, says Munoz. The madness finally took shape on a ten-hectare plot of land with incredible views of the Almanzor peak in the Sierra de Gredos mountain range. Then, it was time to give a name to that madness. The little houses are called El Carpintero (The Carpenter), with its characteristic round green door that appears in the films; La Costurera (The Seamstress), with a yellow door, and El Druida (The Druid), with a red door. Regarding the region of La Vera, in Caceres, the couple say that they saw something special and somewhat similar to the world of Tolkien. It maintains its traditions, and the way of life of the people is very similar to what we know about the hobbits, says Munoz. As a child I came to spend the summer in the area, it always seemed to me a region where time seems to have stood still. The entrepreneurs are not doing badly these days. They say that the publics reaction has been very good and that travellers interested in fantasy and nature come from far away, especially from Britain, the Netherlands and the United States. As for the name of the project, Comarca de Veratton, they say that the first part of it is a nod to Tolkiens work (a comarca is a demarcation similar to shire) and the second to the Vettones, a pre-Roman people who lived in the area during the Iron Age. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Lack of effective leadership puts South Korea in vulnerable position amid incoming Trump administration By Anna J. Park A leadership vacuum in Korea is feared to disrupt state affairs, diplomacy and many reform plans, after President Yoon Suk Yeols duties have been suspended following the National Assembly's vote to impeach him over his botched imposition of martial law. Judges of the Constitutional Court began, Sunday, to review whether to uphold or reject the motion, a process that could take up to six months according to the relevant law. This will likely result in a delay or halt in decision-making for key policies. On Saturday, the Assembly passed the impeachment motion against Yoon in its second attempt over his sudden declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, which lasted only about six hours but put the entire nation and the world into shock. Although Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has assumed leadership as acting president, many express concerns that his ability to govern will be limited. The absence of a fully functioning leadership until the next administration takes office raises concerns about potential risks facing the country. These concerns are amplified as the leadership vacuum coincides with Donald Trump's return to the White House in January. Other world leaders are already lining up to meet the U.S. president-elect to safeguard their national interests, while Korea is unable to engage in similar high-level diplomatic efforts due to the absence of a functioning leadership. Typically, when there is a change in government in either country, Korea sends a delegation to Washington to discuss key issues in the bilateral alliance, clarify its position and highlight its contributions to the partnership. However, this time, Korea faces the imminent start of Trump's second term without fully capitalizing on the opportunities it could have seized. Reform initiatives lose momentum Foreign policy is not the only area facing a lack of effective leadership. Reforms in health care, pensions and labor areas that Yoon had placed significant emphasis on from the outset of his administration are also at risk of being stalled. In particular, health care reforms had been one of the key policies that the president insisted on pursuing, even though the issue has since gone on to become a nearly 10-month-long saga between doctors and the government. In February, the Yoon administration unveiled plans to increase the number of medical school admissions by 2,000 each year for the next five years to address regional and essential medical service shortages. This initiative, which would mark the first increase in the medical school quota in 27 years, faced strong opposition from doctors. Despite the mass walkout by junior doctors, the government had remained steadfast in its commitment to reform the health care sector. However, the president's martial law decree has made the reform initiative lose momentum with questions rising over his intent. The short-lived decree included a directive for all doctors, including striking junior doctors, to return to work within 48 hours, with threats of punishment under martial law for noncompliance, shocking many in the country. Additionally, the budget for the 2025 health care reform initiative was drastically reduced. For instance, the government had originally planned to allocate 392.2 billion won ($273 million) for the training and management of the medical workforce more than 13 times the amount allocated this year. But the budget passed by the opposition-led Assembly saw a 23.3 percent cut from the governments proposal. Given these developments, concerns are rising that the increased medical school quota may be reduced back to the original level in 2026. With talks with the medical community severed, health care reform is highly likely to be derailed. The pension reform plan is also at risk of being scrapped. In September, the government announced a reform plan that includes increasing the contribution rate gradually from the current 9 percent to 13 percent, while maintaining the income replacement rate at 42 percent. As the opposition party has consistently opposed the government's plan, the completion of pension reform appears to be a distant prospect as well. Political watchers say it is crucial to swiftly establish and activate a high-level consultative council involving both major parties and the government to address the leadership vacuum. "Korea needs to quickly activate a high-level consultative council, consisting of both rival parties and the government. The council should include the acting president, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok and the floor leaders of both parties. It is essential to promptly establish this high-level council to tackle key issues," Eom Kyeong-young, director of the Zeitgeist Institute, a private political think tank, told The Korea Times, Sunday. The political analyst also said that he believes the two rival parties' cooperation is needed now more than ever. "I think it is right for the ruling party to continue playing its assumed role until the impeachment decision is made. Going forward, the ruling party should adopt a more proactive cooperative stance, engaging in cooperative dialogue toward policies proposed by the opposition. The opposition should also recognize the ruling party's role and status," he said. "I believe it is appropriate for the acting president to take a more passive and defensive approach on politically sensitive bills or major issues. While the government should be proactive on issues affecting people's livelihoods, it should adopt a more cautious approach on politically contentious matters." However, ruling People Power Party (PPP) floor leader Rep. Kweon Seong-dong on Sunday refused the proposal by main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Rep. Lee Jae-myung to form a consultative body between the two parties and the government. "The PPP is still the ruling party," Kweon told reporters at the Assembly. "It is not right that the DPK acts like it is in charge of state affairs after the impeachment." Earlier in the day, Lee suggested a consultative body through which the executive and legislative branches of government can work together for the stability of state affairs. Meanwhile, the acting president pledged to stabilize the nation's political turmoil and restore normalcy. "I take full responsibility for the unfortunate situation facing the people. It is my last mission in my long public career to settle the confusion swiftly and manage the state stably," Han said during his meeting with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik at the Assembly, Sunday. He said the government will make decisions based on the Constitution and laws. In response, Woo said, "It is crucial that the Assembly and the government work together to establish and operate a national policy consultative body. Stabilizing the situation and ensuring the stability of the government should be our top priority." The acting president also held a phone conversation with U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera, sharing views on the Korea-U.S. defense posture. Han expressed concerns over North Korea's possible provocations by taking advantage of confusion in the South, stressing communication between the allies. Han officially assumed the role at 7:24 p.m. on Saturday, after the Assembly's resolution on the impeachment was delivered to the presidential office and Yoon's duties were suspended. Prosecutors on Sunday sought an arrest warrant for suspended Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park An-su, who served as the chief martial law commander during President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived imposition of the order earlier this month. Shortly after the martial law announcement on Dec. 3, a military decree barring all political activities was issued under Park's name. Prosecutors have looked into circumstances surrounding the release of the military decree and details of a discussion between Park and Yoon after the president's declaration. Park was suspended from his duties last Thursday, joining a number of other military commanders, during a probe into their role in Yoon's martial law imposition. Park argued during a parliamentary session that he learned about the martial law imposition through Yoon's televised address declaring the order, claiming he was not responsible for the drafting of the document. He offered to resign to former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun on the day the martial rule was lifted but had remained in office after Yoon rejected his offer. (Yonhap) By Chun In-bum The passage of the bill to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol has once again highlighted the deep political divides within the country. With 204 votes cast in favor, 85 against, three abstentions and eight invalid votes, the opposition declared victory. However, a closer examination reveals that this result is less clear-cut than it might appear. While the opposition secured the majority needed to pass the bill, the numbers fell short of the ideal threshold of 210 or more votes. On the ruling partys side, only about a dozen members voted for impeachment, far fewer than the magic number of 20 or more needed to demonstrate a meaningful defection. The impeachment vote also sparked large-scale public demonstrations, reflecting the intense polarization in Korean society. Despite freezing temperatures, approximately 200,000 people gathered near the National Assembly to support impeachment, while around 30,000 assembled in central Seoul to oppose it. These gatherings underline the sharp divisions among the populace. On one side, critics of Yoon cite alleged abuses of power and betrayal of public trust, while his supporters continue to rally behind his narrative, including his controversial description of the opposition as a den of criminals. The willingness of so many to brave the harsh weather for their beliefs demonstrates not only the depth of polarization but also the strong civic engagement of Koreans. However, it also underscores the challenge of fostering a sense of national unity in the face of such entrenched divisions. While the opposition may celebrate the vote as a triumph, the demonstrations reveal that a significant portion of the population remains steadfastly loyal to Yoon and his administration. With the impeachment bill passed by the National Assembly, the next critical step is deliberation by the Constitutional Court of Korea. As the highest court responsible for constitutional adjudication, the Constitutional Court plays a pivotal role in determining the legality and validity of impeachment motions. Established under the current Constitution, which was ratified through a national referendum in 1987, the court symbolizes the principle of separation of powers within Koreas judiciary. The court is composed of nine justices, appointed as follows: three by the president, three elected by the National Assembly and three nominated by the chief justice of the Supreme Court. Among them, one serves as the president of the Constitutional Court. This structure is designed to balance the influences of the executive, legislative and judicial branches. The court is headquartered in Seoul and has 90 days to adjudicate the impeachment bill. However, the current situation presents a significant challenge there are only six sitting justices instead of the full nine. This means that a unanimous decision is required for impeachment to proceed. The shortage of justices stems from political deadlock over appointments. Traditionally, the three vacancies would be filled through an agreement between the ruling and opposition parties: one nominee from each, with the third selected through bipartisan consensus. However, the opposition has disrupted this arrangement by demanding two of the three appointments, breaking from the long-established norm. This impasse has persisted for two months, leaving the court under-resourced and ill-equipped to handle such a critical case. The current composition of the court includes two conservative, two progressive and two moderate justices. This balance makes the outcome uncertain, as even one dissenting vote among the six would block impeachment. While the opposition is eager to fill the vacancies to tip the scales in their favor, their actions highlight a broader pattern of prioritizing majority dominance over respect for minority voices. This approach, often criticized as the tyranny of the majority, risks undermining the legitimacy of democratic institutions and alienating moderates. The impeachment process offers a lens through which to examine the state of Korean democracy. On one hand, the process demonstrates the robustness of institutional checks and balances. The Constitutional Courts role as an impartial arbiter ensures that impeachment is not merely a political weapon but a legal process subject to rigorous scrutiny. On the other hand, the political gridlock and polarization surrounding this case reveal the fragility of democratic norms and the challenges of fostering constructive dialogue across ideological divides. The oppositions insistence on controlling the judicial appointment process reflects a troubling trend in Korean politics: the erosion of bipartisan cooperation. While it is natural for political parties to seek an advantage, the disregard for established norms and the exclusion of minority opinions weaken the foundations of democracy. True democratic governance requires not only majority rule but also respect for dissenting voices and a commitment to fair process. Rather than celebrating a tenuous victory, the opposition should take this moment to reflect on their approach and priorities. The failure to secure overwhelming support for the impeachment bill and the ongoing public demonstrations in favor of Yoon indicate that their mandate is far from universal. To strengthen their position, the opposition must engage in genuine dialogue with conservatives and moderates, building coalitions that transcend party lines. Negotiation and compromise are essential for restoring public trust and ensuring the legitimacy of democratic processes. The oppositions current strategy of maximizing short-term gains at the expense of long-term stability risks deepening divisions and alienating potential allies. By respecting minority opinions and adhering to established rules, they can demonstrate a commitment to democratic principles and set a positive example for the Korean people. The impeachment saga also serves as an important wake-up call for the Korean public. Democracy is more than a tool for achieving immediate political goals; it is a system that requires active participation, informed decision-making and respect for differing perspectives. The intense public engagement surrounding the impeachment vote reflects a growing awareness of these responsibilities. However, it also reveals the need for greater political maturity. Koreans must recognize that democracy is not just about your bowl of rice a metaphor for personal or economic interests. It is about fostering a political culture that values transparency, accountability and inclusivity. Unless the public demands better from their leaders and holds them accountable to democratic principles, the cycle of polarization and gridlock will persist. The impeachment of Yoon is a pivotal moment for Korea. It offers an opportunity to reaffirm the nations commitment to democracy while addressing the shortcomings that have hindered its progress. For the ruling and opposition parties, this means prioritizing collaboration over confrontation and demonstrating a willingness to compromise. For the Constitutional Court, it means upholding its role as an impartial arbiter, free from political interference. And for the public, it means continuing to engage with the political process while demanding accountability and fairness from their leaders. Ultimately, the resolution of this impeachment case will not only determine the fate of Yoon but also shape the future of Korean democracy. By embracing the principles of negotiation, respect and civic responsibility, Korea can navigate this crisis and emerge stronger as a democratic nation. Chun In-bum (truechun@naver.com) served as a lieutenant general in the ROK Army and was commander of Special Forces Korea. By Min Seong-jae I first heard about the political turmoil in Korea through a news headline that my American friend shared via social media on the morning of Dec. 4: South Korean President Yoon declares an emergency martial law. My groggy, half-awake brain misread the word martial as marital, and I briefly thought Korea had finally taken bold action to address its declining marriage and birth rates. But then I saw the image of armored vehicles and soldiers patrolling the streets of Seoul and gasped. How naive I had been. Martial law. The word evokes Koreas darkest political moments. The last time it was invoked was in 1980, when Chun Doo-hwan, a military dictator who seized power in a coup, declared martial law to suppress dissent. That crackdown resulted in the deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians during the Gwangju Uprising. Martial law, for many Koreans, symbolizes the oppression, human rights violations and violence that defined Koreas turbulent modern history of democratization. Fast-forward to 2024: President Yoon Suk Yeols decision to declare martial law as a political maneuver to suppress opposition lawmakers defies comprehension. Facing plunging approval ratings and mounting personal crises, Yoon resorted to martial law, citing election fraud and threats from North Korea. Both are convenient conspiratorial tropes. For his own political agenda, Yoon enacted a law that restricts press freedom, prohibits political activities, bans public protests and permits warrantless arrests of citizens. His absurd declaration of martial law lasted only about six hours, but its repercussions are seismic, opening a new political chapter for Korea. And it offers valuable lessons for other democracies worldwide. Yoons impeachment is now a reality. His downfall wasnt driven by the inherent absurdity of his actions, nor solely by institutional checks and balances or opposition resistance. Instead, it was the collective will of the people that overturned his overreach. Ordinary citizens took to the streets, voicing their dissent and reclaiming power from an overreaching president. Korea in 2024 is not the Korea of 1980. Decades of liberal democracy have fortified civil society, and a digitally connected population is politically informed and highly organized. Even soldiers, bound by duty to enforce martial law, questioned the legitimacy of Yoons commands and hesitated to follow orders. Lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties recognized the illegitimacy of Yoons actions and moved swiftly to impeach him. However, early attempts were blocked by political maneuvering as some lawmakers sought to exploit the crisis for their own political gain. Then the pressure from the public escalated. More people took to the streets. Their demonstrations were peaceful and even felt like a concert with a dose of K-pop. But their voices were loud and clear and the National Assembly finally acted decisively. Yoon has now been impeached, though final legal proceedings are pending before the Constitutional Court. Some of my American friends asked me how an advanced industrial democracy like Korea could see the reemergence of martial law that limits political and personal liberties as well as freedom of expression. I answered I didnt know because it is still incomprehensive to me as well. Yet, what I highlighted was the remarkable resilience of Koreas direct democracy. The people intelligent, vigilant and deeply aware of the hard-fought value of their freedoms resisted a leaders authoritarian overreach. Koreans understand that democracy was not simply handed to them; it was earned through decades of bloody struggles. This recent episode in Korea should serve as a critical case study of how democracy functions and how it can falter. Democracy is a rather fragile institution. Democratically elected political leaders may as well turn tyrannical as observed throughout history. Even in the worlds oldest democracies like the United States, there are presently serious concerns about authoritarian actions, wild conspiracy theories and political violence. Around the world, surveys also reveal a troubling decline in public commitment to democratic ideals, with growing support for strongman politics and authoritarianism. Such trends underscore the urgency of safeguarding democracy from within. How do we counter these dire challenges? The answer lies in a renewed collective commitment to democracy, freedom and the rule of law. Democracy is more than elections and representative institutions; it is a culture, a spirit and a way of life. It cannot be taken for granted. Citizens must nurture and protect it, as the Korean people powerfully demonstrated. The events in Korea remind us that democracys survival depends on the vigilance and courage of ordinary people. Thats why many, especially those in the Western media, are keeping a close eye on the developments in Korea. It is a lesson democracies across the globe cannot afford to ignore. Min Seong-jae (smin@pace.edu) is a professor of communication and media studies at Pace University in New York. He was a 2023-24 Fulbright U.S. Scholar to Korea. By Robert Neff On Nov. 25, 1885, Signor Luigi sailed into Jemulpo (modern Incheon) harbor aboard his small blue schooner, the Prospector, with the Italian flag proudly fluttering from its mast. Although the Prospector was the first Italian merchant vessel to visit a Korean port, it was not the first to sail into Korean waters. That dubious honor belonged to the 666-ton Italian barque Bianca Pertica, which wrecked off the coast of Jeju Island during a powerful typhoon in 1878, shortly after departing Nagasaki. Only one crew member survived, and he provided an account of his ordeal at sea and subsequent rescue by the islanders an account both fascinating and, at times, almost unbelievable. We know almost nothing about Signor Luigi, as his name does not appear in the regional directories. However, according to regional newspapers and Korean Customs records, the Prospector departed Nagasaki on Oct. 31 with a 5-ton cargo of general goods. There were only five men aboard the ship: Luigi, his unnamed German captain and three Japanese sailors. They sailed around Jeju Island to Geomundo (known as Port Hamilton on contemporary Western maps), a group of Korean islands then occupied by the British navy. Judging from other accounts, Luigi and his ship were likely not welcomed by the British garrisons commander even for a short stay and were probably encouraged to leave immediately, likely without ever setting foot ashore. From Port Hamilton, the Prospector sailed through the treacherous Korea Strait, where many ships in the past had met their doom. Fortunately for the schooner, it was smooth sailing, but several Korean junks were lost to storms in the following month some of their crews eventually drifted to Japanese waters and were rescued. But Korea was plagued with storms and not just those at sea. When the schooner arrived in Jemulpo, the port was abuzz with activity. Chen Shutang, the Chinese representative to Korea, was preparing to return to China. Although this was ostensibly due to poor health, it was more than likely due to his inability to negotiate the increasingly turbulent Korean politics and Russian influence that had prompted the preventive occupation of Port Hamilton. Prior to his departure, Chen attended a tiffin (luncheon) given by Carl Wolter, the representative of the German firm, Messrs. E. Meyer & Co., which at the time was the leading Western mercantile firm in the port. According to an eyewitness: His Excellency [Chen] was met there by the local Consular body (excepting the Japanese representative, who, unfortunately, had been unavoidably prevented from [attending] the gathering) and most other leading residents. Mr. Wolter did the honors of the day in his usual hospitable style, and a few hours at tiffin were most agreeably spent. The health, prosperity and success of the Minister were the subject of a very able toast by the host, to which His Excellency responded immediately in eloquent and fluent English, pronounced, however, with somewhat of an American accent; which cannot be wondered at considering that Chen formerly held a consular post in California. The unavoidable absence of the Japanese was due to the ongoing political maneuvering in Korea between the Chinese and Japanese governments following the failed Korean coup the previous year. The Chinese government supported the conservative Korean court, while Japan sided with the defeated progressive revolutionists even providing sanctuary to several of their leaders. Unfortunately, neither Luigi nor his crew left an account of their stay in Jemulpo. The only detail we know is that Luigi unsuccessfully tried to sell his schooner. However, from other sources, we learn that the country was wracked by uncertainty and change. Horace Allen, an American missionary, wrote in his diary on Dec. 1 that altogether we dont feel secure here just now. Rumors circulated that the Korean revolutionists in Japan had been supplied with dynamite in America and are now on their way back to blow up the Royal Family and others. According to Allen, the Korean monarch was so alarmed by these reports that he asked George C. Foulk, the naval officer serving as the American representative in Seoul, if there was any truth to the rumors. Many other ugly questions arose within the Korean court and on the streets of the capital, asking why the American government had not returned the traitors to Korea. In a letter to his parents, Foulk described Koreans as being deeply superstitious about dates, noting that the whole city believes violent unrest would sweep through Seoul on Dec. 4, the anniversary of the previous years failed coup. Foulk explained, When people make up their minds a row is coming in this part of the world, it is rather reasonable to suppose one will come. Almost as if tempting fate, an official dinner was held at the Foreign Office to honor the arrival of the new Chinese representative, Yuan Shikai. Foulk recalled that the streets were perfectly deserted as he made his way to the event. Unsurprisingly, he found only the Chinese representatives, four Korean officials and the secretary of the Russian Legation in attendance. Foulk continued: In a few minutes, the President of the Foreign Office said he was sick and went home. I asked where the other foreign officers were, and learned the Englishman had a headache, the German, dysentery (good! scared into it!), the Japanese were not well, and the Russian minister had hurt his leg! I snickered at all these lies, and felt comfortable because a coldness in my back made me think of the revolver, which was strapped up and down my spinal column. The dinner was a quiet affair. The atmosphere was heavy with fear and anticipation, heightened by the sound of servants poking holes into the paper doors and windows to peek in at the diners. On Dec. 5, Paul Georg von Mollendorff the former German adviser to the Korean government and his family departed Korea for China. Given his staunch anti-Japanese and pro-Russian sentiments, few foreigners in Seoul save the Chinese and Russians mourned his departure. However, many Koreans, including the royal family, were saddened to see him go. According to Mollendorffs biographer, Yur-bok Lee, Thousands of Korean well-wishers came to see [him] off. While Lees statement might be an exaggeration, a correspondent for a Chinese newspaper lends some credence to the claim. He observed that as Mollendorff and his family prepared to board a Chinese warship, a large company of Chinese, natives and foreigners, assembled on the new jetty, where there was no end to the leave-taking. The Japanese, however, were conspicuous by their absence. As the ship departed, three hearty cheers for the [German] rent the air. On the following day, Jemulpo was once again filled with excitement. A foreign resident, writing as a correspondent for a Chinese newspaper, reported on the days unusual festivities: [Today] our Japanese fellow residents celebrated well, what do you think? Nothing less than the massacre of last year! An enviable occasion to celebrate, truly. The Japanese burial grounds and the settlements for the live [Japanese] were gaily decorated with flags and illuminated at night, and during the daytime, many of our amiable Japanese fellow residents were fairly well illuminated themselves. Temperance Union, please dont copy. Although the exact date is uncertain, around this time, the Prospector departed the Land of the Morning Calm for Japan. The seas were, unsurprisingly, stormy, but on Dec. 21, the little blue schooner safely sailed into Nagasaki harbor. Within days of its arrival, another small schooner departed Yokohama, reportedly bound for Jemulpo. According to a Tokyo newspaper, on Dec. 26, the Penelope, an otter hunting schooner, departed Yokohama carrying a few boxes of dynamite, which were to be delivered to Korea presumably to Korean revolutionists. However, due to the strict vigilance of the Japanese authorities, the schooner diverted to Oshima Island to avoid suspicion. Unable to complete her mission, the Penelope returned to Yokohama on Jan. 3, 1886. A Yokohama newspaper, however, disputed this account from its Tokyo rival. It claimed the Penelope had, indeed, left port but not for Oshima Island, nor to avoid suspicion, but simply to sail down the ay with a party on a picnic. There was no dynamite. Despite this dismissal, the Yokohama editor conceded there was some grain of truth to the story: Some Japanese, apparently strangers in Yokohama, were last month seeking to charter a small foreign vessel at this port, and from their answers to the interrogatories of the owner of a suitable ship, they appeared to be persons entirely unaccustomed to the business proposed, and much disinclined to state the actual destination of the vessel. The strangers admitted their intended cargo was gunpowder. One schooner owner entertained the proposal but ultimately declined the charter. For his trouble and perhaps to keep the business secret the prospective charterers paid him $200. As to the fate of the Prospector, it remains unclear. A review of my copies of the Nagasaki shipping reports (printed in the local newspaper) yield no further mention of the ship. It is not difficult to imagine, however, that the schooner found new opportunities in one of the treaty ports of Japan or China the details of its adventure forgotten in some diplomatic archive. I wish to thank Diane Nars for her invaluable assistance and for allowing me to use her image. Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books, including "Letters from Joseon," "Korea Through Western Eyes" and "Brief Encounters." By Casey Lartigue Jr. For years, Freedom Speakers International (FSI) has worked to empower North Korean refugees by recognizing their talents and contributions within our own organization. However, I have noticed that, because we work with them on a daily basis, it often felt like we were friends nominating friends for awards and recognition. In 2024, FSI facilitated 103 domestic events with travelers to South Korea, welcoming 1,806 participants. These events were typically small, intimate forums. Twenty-seven North Korean refugee speakers participated throughout the year, sharing their stories and building their confidence. We received incredible feedback from both the refugees and the tourists. These domestic engagements were impactful and valued, but in my observation, the seven trips abroad we organized this year had far greater significance. One of those trips was a remarkable excursion to India. FSI North Korean Refugee Author Fellow Han Song-mi, FSI North Korean Refugee Keynote Speaker Maeng Hyo-shim, FSI co-founder Lee Eun-koo, and I spent three days in India in July, meeting with college students, opinion leaders, journalists and influencers. At our final event, Dr. Anthony Raju of the All India Council on Human Rights, Liberties and Social Justice was so moved by our presentations that he invited us to return to India because he wanted to give our organization an award. This past week, Freedom Speakers International returned to India to receive a Global Peace Award at a ceremony hosted by Dr. Rajus organization on the United Nationss Human Rights Day on Dec. 10. The experience highlighted how powerful external recognition can be, especially from international platforms with a global audience. For many North Korean refugees, escaping their homeland means leaving a closed, controlled environment where interactions with the outside world were almost nonexistent. Before their escape, their understanding of the world beyond North Korea was often limited to rumors, smuggled videos, or fragmented information. After reaching South Korea, their engagement with non-Koreans remained largely confined to South Korea itself. But getting on an airplane, traveling to a foreign country, and meeting people in their own environments is an entirely different experience for North Korean refugees. Many of them traveled to places they either didnt know about or had only seen snippets of in videos. These trips broaden their horizons in ways that domestic opportunities, as valuable as they are, simply cannot. These experiences offer not only the chance to engage with new cultures but also a profound sense of being seen and heard on a global stage. As the American co-founder and chairman of FSI, I was the primary recipient of the recognition this past week. I participated in a panel with other keynote speakers and was called to the stage during the award ceremony to receive the award. However, as I always do, I made a point to call my entire team to join me on stage. Thanks to the generous support of our donors, we were able to bring Song-mi and Hyo-shim on this trip. After the ceremony, I spoke with both refugees and could see how moved they were by the experience. One of them shared that it was such an honor to be invited on stage and to receive recognition in front of an international audience. I was so nervous, she said, but also so proud to be part of this moment. It reminded me that there are people in this world who are concerned about what happens to North Koreans. The other refugee reflected on how such opportunities have come to her because of her involvement with FSI. She expressed gratitude for being invited and for the platform to share her story, saying it was a moment she would always treasure. I have been on stage numerous times, receiving individual as well as organizational awards, so I may have forgotten how meaningful it was for them as newcomers to be invited. While FSI has celebrated their work internally, and they have participated in domestic events, this was the first time they were publicly honored on an international stage by strangers who saw their value. It was an experience unlike anything they had previously encountered, and it showed me how much external recognition can mean for North Korean refugees. Each award domestic or international has been an honor and a validation of the work FSI has done. I enjoy when FSI and I receive special recognition, but I believe it is time for North Korean refugees to receive recognition as well. Our friends in India made it a point to invite the North Korean refugees who had joined us in July to return with us to receive the award. Thanks to our donors, we were able to cover the costs. Who else can nominate North Korean refugees for awards? My former podcast co-host Yeonmi Park has received numerous awards in the U.S. and probably from some international organizations. FSI North Korean Refugee Keynote Speaker Jihyun Park has received numerous awards. Advocacy awards, whether domestic or international, not only celebrate their work but also elevate their voices and stories to wider audiences. These opportunities empower refugees to step out of the shadows and into leadership roles, helping the world see them not just as survivors but as changemakers. Casey Lartigue Jr. (CJL@alumni.harvard.edu) is the co-founder of Freedom Speakers International with Lee Eun-koo and co-author with Han Song-mi of her memoir "Greenlight to Freedom: A North Korean Daughters Search for Her Mother and Herself. By David Tizzard In Korean culture, "In-yeon" describes the invisible thread that connects individuals through destiny and shared experience. Its not just about chance or fortune, however. In-yeon suggests something that transcends time, place and logic. It weaves together lives in ways that are subtle yet meaningful. It is brushing arms with a stranger in the street. It is sitting next to someone on the subway. It is when a bird lands on a branch. It is the coming together of two things. And when this happens 8,000 times across various lives, a complete In-yeon has been built and the two can finally be together. Unsurprisingly, this idea has roots in Buddhist philosophy. Karmic ties from past lives influence current relationships. Over the years, Ive had Korean women say to me, In our previous lives you were a dog and I was a master, or Last time I was the man and you were the woman. Similarly, you might hear people remark on their current good fortune by saying, I must have saved the country in a previous life! At first I brushed these statements off as the ramblings of alcohol or merely something said to fill uncomfortable silences. It was only later I realized that, for many people, they were true. Something felt at a cultural or spiritual level that was very far removed from my Western experience. Three films"Past Lives" (2023), "Lust, Caution" (2007), and "Decision to Leave" (2022) explore this concept. Each presenting characters entangled by fate. The most interesting thing is that although we have characters brought together powerfully by In-yeon, it is still not enough for them to ultimately be together in this life. Maybe the adage is true: East Asians prefer love stories that are complex, with a mix of pain and even hate, reflecting the love they experience in their families. And thus we are treated to an ending that might feel disorienting or unsatisfactory to some but nevertheless speaks of something that has been and will be again. 'Past Lives' Directed by Celine Song, "Past Lives" offers perhaps the most explicit engagement with In-yeon. Nora and Hae-sung are childhood friends separated by migration. Yet they reconnect decades later through social media and grapple with the question of "what might have been." The film portrays their In-yeon not as romance but as their enduring emotional ties formed across time: layers of shared memories and untapped potential. Their final meeting however underscores how In-yeon doesn't always culminate in fulfillment; sometimes, it reminds us of the inevitability of letting go. The ending of Past Lives feels like a sigh suspended in time. Nora and Hae-sung eventually part ways after a heart-wrenching moment stood waiting for an Uber. Their relationship remains unresolved. This ambiguity contains sorrow, longing and beauty. While some narratives might push for reconciliation or closure, urging characters to "seize the moment" or find a definitive resolution, Past Lives reflects a different sensibility: accepting the unfulfilled potential and the In-yeon shared, even if it never reaches its "destination." The silence as Hae-sung walks away is as powerful as any grand declaration, leaving viewers to feel, not judge. Lost in Translation, made 20 years earlier by another female director, provides a great cultural comparison and offers similar vibes as Bob and Charlotte part, unlikely to see each other until their next life. 'Lust, Caution' Ang Lees "Lust, Caution" explores In-yeon in a darker, more morally fraught narrative. The story of Wong Chia Chi, a young woman turned spy, and Mr. Yee, the target of her seduction, reveals how these connections of karma can pull individuals into treacherous waters. Their relationship is dangerous, adulterous, and yet it carries an intensity that suggests something deeper than mere circumstance. As if they were once princes or slave owners, cattle or catfish, in past lives. The movie ends with a devastating betrayal and execution, but it is not a simple tale of right and wrong. Wong Chia Chi's decision to warn Mr. Yee a man she was tasked with assassinating defies logic and moral clarity. Her act of compassion seals her fate, yet it is impossible to categorize it as purely heroic or foolish. Those who have seen the movie argue intensely about the feelings between the two characters, just as they do about the relationship between Hae-sung and Nora. The ambiguity lies in the human complexity of Wong Chia Chis actions. Was she driven by love, guilt, or something else between them? Western films might have framed her as a tragic heroine or punished Mr. Yee to restore moral balance. Instead, the film embraces the messiness of human emotions, leaving viewers questioning whether her In-yeon with Mr. Yee was worth the cost. The lack of resolution is quintessentially Taoist: an acknowledgment that life's truths often resist categorization. 'Decision to Leave' Park Chan-wooks "Decision to Leave" offers a noir-infused interpretation of In-yeon as police detective Hae-joon becomes entangled with a Chinese murder suspect Seo-rae in a relationship fraught with ambiguity, attraction and betrayal. Like "Lust, Caution," this film uses In-yeon to explore how moral boundaries blur when two lives become inexplicably linked. But unlike Hae-sung and Nora, this connection is not one of destiny or karma; instead, it is shadowed by the inevitability of separation. The decision to leave the other will come, just as it did in the other movies. Seo-raes final act burying herself in the sea where Hae-joon cannot find her reflects the tragic weight of their In-yeon. It is a connection that can neither thrive nor be broken, existing only as a haunting memory. The film concludes not with answers, but with silence and loss. Seo-raes actions are both self-sacrificial and unexplained. Does she love Hae-joon, or is she fleeing him out of guilt and shame? The film resists the urge to provide catharsis. Instead, it leaves viewers with the idea that love and morality are irreconcilable. Some stories are destined to remain unresolved. Ambiguity as a reflection of life What makes these endings feel "Asian" is their rejection of binary thinking. Some traditions often seek moral closure, pitting good against evil and rewarding justice. In contrast, these films embrace ambiguity, reflecting a worldview where life is not about definitive victories but about navigating shades of gray. This aesthetic speaks to deeply rooted philosophies in Asian culture. How Confucianism emphasizes relational harmony over absolute truth, valuing what is left unspoken. How Taoism teaches acceptance of paradoxes and the flow of life. To be water. And as Buddhism reminds us of impermanence. For audiences accustomed to definitive answers, such endings can feel jarring. I see it on some peoples faces when they watch these movies for the first time. But for those open to the beauty of uncertainty, they offer a meditative experience. The unresolved is not a failure of storytelling but a mirror of life. A poem to reality: messy, complex, and achingly gorgeous. They invite us to sit with our feelings, to ponder, and to find meaning in the silences between the words. In a society driven by content, by never-ending news, stories and the latest trends delivered to our faces 24-hours a day, to sit and watch a story between two characters that doesnt resolve and yet remains gripping is a pleasure. The antidote almost. It is in such art, such ambiguity, that we find ourselves and our meaning. We need only the patience to explore it. If you pay attention, nothing is trivial. David A. Tizzard has a doctorate in Korean Studies and lectures at Seoul Women's University and Hanyang University. He is a social-cultural commentator and musician who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. He is also the host of the "Korea Deconstructed" podcast, which can be found online. He can be reached at datizzard@swu.ac.kr. Uncertainties shadow key gov't energy drives By Ko Dong-hwan Key energy development projects led by President Yoon Suk Yeol face an uncertain future following the National Assembly's vote on Saturday to impeach him over his martial law order. Although Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun remains in office, speculation is mounting that Yoons political absence could jeopardize key initiatives, including a maritime gas field development project, the expansion of domestic nuclear power plants and a bid to construct nuclear reactors in the Czech Republic. Amid these unexpected circumstances, the government is scrambling to keep the momentum going, while state-run companies in charge of these respective projects are downplaying concerns. The political upheaval is expected to put the brakes on the governments 11th Basic Plan for Long-Term Electricity Supply and Demand, released in May, which requires the Assemblys approval to proceed. The plan outlines the countrys power supply strategy for the next 15 years, including the introduction of three new nuclear reactors and four small modular reactors. Before the impeachment of Yoon, the ministry had intended to launch the site selection process for the reactors following the plans anticipated approval earlier this month. Opposition parties, including the Democratic Party of Korea, which holds 170 of the 300 seats in the National Assembly, have criticized the plan for its limited focus on renewable energy, aside from nuclear power. As a result, the plans passage is likely to be delayed and may require revisions. The leadership vacuum has also cast doubts on Korea Hydro & Nuclear Powers (KHNP) ongoing bid to construct two nuclear power reactors in the Czech Republic. Although the state-run company was named the preferred bidder in July after beating the U.S.' Westinghouse Electric Co. and Frances EDF there are whispers that Yoons absence may jeopardize the finalization of the bilateral deal, scheduled for March 2025. Conjecture persists despite the Czech government and CEZ Group confirming last week that the bilateral deal will proceed as planned. The confirmation came after Yoons controversial declaration of martial law on Dec. 3. The KHNP said on Sunday that Koreas ongoing political situation does not pose a risk to the Seoul-Prague energy deal. The process leading up to the deals scheduled finalization is proceeding as planned. This prospect is also shared by our Czech counterparts. Yoons impeachment has raised concerns among our partners but there is nothing beyond that, a KHNP official said. Ive also heard that the nuclear power sector in France is facing challenges due to the countrys political situation." Regarding speculation that Yoons actions may have cost the KHNP political support for a rumored deal with Westinghouse, which would involve providing the American company with projects worth trillions of won in exchange for a future energy partnership, the KHNP declined to comment. That matter is currently under legal dispute, so we cannot confirm anything at this point, an official said. The Great Whale gas field development project in the countrys southeastern sea is facing an increased risk of being halted. Led by the Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC), the project has come under criticism from opposition parties, which argue that there is insufficient evidence of gas reserves to justify the investment. A drillship is currently docked in Busan awaiting the projects first drill, scheduled for Tuesday. Earlier this month, the Assembly slashed the governments 49.7 billion won ($35 million) budget allocated for the first drilling attempt, projected to cost 100 billion won. The cut left the KNOC solely responsible for financing the task. The government and the KNOC had previously announced that at least five drilling attempts would be made to locate a viable gas reserve. The KNOC declined to provide any comment to The Korea Times regarding the potential impact of Yoon's impeachment on the project. Kim Soo-hyuns agency says he dated Kim Sae-ron for 1 year after she became adult U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday named former Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell as his presidential envoy for special missions that he said covers "some of the hottest spots" around the world, including North Korea. Trump announced Grenell, one of his staunchest supporters, as the presidential envoy, saying that he will fight for "peace through strength" and push for his America First agenda. "I am pleased to announce Richard Allen Grenell as our Presidential Envoy for Special Missions. Ric will work in some of the hottest spots around the World, including Venezuela and North Korea," the president-elect wrote on Truth Social. He added, "Ric will continue to fight for Peace through Strength, and always put AMERICA FIRST." During Trump's first term in office, Grenell served as the U.S. ambassador to Germany, acting director of national intelligence and presidential envoy for Kosovo-Serbia negotiations. The announcement on Grenell came amid expectations that after taking office on Jan. 20, Trump could seek to revive his personal diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to help address the recalcitrant regime's nuclear quandary. Trump has also named Alex Wong, who was engaged in working-level nuclear talks with North Korea during his first term, as his principal deputy national security adviser. His selection of Grenell and Wong bodes well for the resumption of the U.S.' diplomacy toward Pyongyang, observers said, though skepticism lingers over whether Pyongyang would accede to any diplomatic feelers from Washington given its deepening partnership with Moscow. In a recent interview with U.S. magazine TIME, Trump boasted again that he gets along "very well" with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, while claiming that he is the "only one" that Kim has ever dealt with. During his first term, Trump had three in-person meetings with the North Korean leader, including the first summit in Singapore in 2018. Since the no-deal summit in Hanoi in 2019, meaningful nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have been stalled. Grenell earned his bachelor's degree in government and public administration from Evangel University in Missouri and a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. (Yonhap) There was a migrant crisis in the United States. Was, because today the southern border, where just a year ago thousands of migrants crossed daily, is a mostly calm and stable place. Anyone would be forgiven for thinking that the crisis has continued, since candidate and now president-elect Donald Trump based his entire campaign on the fact that the border was collapsed. While the Republican is not known for his faithfulness to the facts, for the first three years of Bidens presidency, that description was basically correct. But after Trump quashed a bipartisan bill that would have drastically tightened the border in the first few months of this year, President Joe Biden signed a sweeping executive order in June that put a sharp halt to migrant inflows. While this measure has effectively shut the door almost entirely to asylum seekers although asylum can still be sought from applicants countries of origin or some third countries thanks to a series of offices that Biden established during his term, which along with other measures has made that process much more efficient it has been the combination of this, with Mexicos intensification of its activity to detain migrants on its territory, that has meant the biggest change to the border that Biden is leaving behind. This is what Doris Meissner, director of the U.S. immigration policy program at the Migration Policy Institute and head of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), predecessor of the current Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE), points out between 1993 and 2000. [The change] has been achieved as a result of two things. One is something the United States did and the other is something that Mexico did. The highest numbers were about a year ago, and that led to very high level talks between senior officials of both countries. Mexico had already been doing a great deal to work with the United States on reducing flows coming through to the border. But that accelerated and heightened beginning in January of 2024, Meissner said by phone. On the other hand, the rule in place since the summer that suspends the acceptance of new asylum applications until the average flow of migrants over two weeks falls below a certain threshold that threshold has been lowered as crossings have decreased has eliminated the incentive to cross the border, turn oneself in to the Border Patrol, and request asylum. This was the strategy that migrants followed before the new measures. Applying for asylum at the hands of the Border Patrol began a long process that meant that people were released while their cases were resolved. With a backlog of almost three million cases about 10 times more than a decade ago for some 700 immigration judges in the country, the date for a court date could be several years in the future. In addition, while they wait, migrants have the right to remain in the country, and although they cannot work legally, many still do so illegally. Likewise, migrants who know in advance that their asylum application would be rejected for whatever reason can miss their court date and become undocumented. Migrants walk in a caravan along a highway on their way to the U.S. border, in Villa Comaltitlan, Mexico, November 7, 2024. Daniel Becerril (REUTERS) With this door closed and now if they pass through and turn themselves in they are deported directly migrants have had no choice but to wait in a virtual line on the CBP One application. Through this app, people can request immigration appointments at official ports of entry where they can request asylum. Appointments can be given weeks or even months in advance and migrants, alone or with their families, must wait in Mexico. Despite this, and complaints about numerous flaws and dangers in the application, U.S. authorities have viewed it as a success that has generated order on the southern border. The numbers bear this out. According to customs information published exclusively by NewsNation last Friday, in November, for the first time in history, there were more encounters with migrants at official ports of entry than on the rest of the southern border. Encounters with migrants in general have also decreased month over month since June, with each new number of migrant crossings being the lowest since Biden took office. According to CBP figures, in October of this year, the most recent numbers openly published, there were 106,344 encounters along the entire southern border, a drastic reduction compared to the 301,981 in December 2023, the highest number in history. The expected increase in migrants seeking to reach the United States before Donald Trump takes office has not materialized precisely because Mexican authorities are dissolving the migrant caravans that have been forming in recent weeks, and because once they reach the border, there is no way to cross without being deported on the spot. Despite the success of Bidens measures and Mexicos implementation of a much more aggressive strategy to stop migrants on their way to the U.S. border, it seems that this victory has come too late for the Democratic president to claim. Precisely, the legislation negotiated in Congress by both parties, which was even more comprehensive than the executive order that finally reduced the migrant flow, was overturned by order of Trump so that he could campaign with the message of a collapsed border. And, by all accounts, it worked. So the question remains as to why Biden took so long to take decisive action in the face of the situation. The Biden administration has been searching throughout its tenure for ways to establish effective border control, but also have humane policies that make it possible for people to gain protection in the United States if they are eligible for asylum. Weve seen continual efforts from the beginning of the Biden administration to look for that balance, but it has really faced very difficult cross currents because of the way in which the flows have changed and also a tremendous amount of political pressure from its own constituencies. And so thats been a real struggle for the administration. They were trying very hard to gain greater resources from Congress to make it possible to process more people and make it possible to decide asylum claims more quickly, but Congress ultimately did not agree to either the appropriations or to legislative measures. And so the administration waited and hoped for Congress to act, and that waiting ultimately, in retrospect, took too long, Meissner said. Asylum door closed, but refugee system well-oiled The search for more humanitarian policies has been particularly evident in what has happened with the refugee resettlement system; although in the midst of an electoral campaign in which the border was at the center, this issue, somewhat convoluted with specific terms, has gone somewhat under the radar. While there is much talk about asylum seekers, the word refugee is less common. This is because technically they are exactly the same thing people who flee their countries due to a lack of guarantees about their safety for various reasons but there is a big difference: asylum seekers ask to be welcomed once they are already in the new country, while refugees process their request from their country of origin. During Bidens presidency, the door to asylum has closed, but the refugee resettlement system, on the other hand, has been oiled. The 100,034 refugees resettled in the United States in fiscal year 2024 represent the highest number of resettlements in 30 years and a notable rebound from the roughly 11,400 admissions three years earlier, the lowest on record. The turnaround reaffirms the United States role as the worlds leading resettlement destination, far outpacing other major resettlement countries in Europe and Canada. In addition, the nearly 25,400 refugees from the Western Hemisphere were the most on record, quadrupling the previous years 6,300. This remarkable change was brought about by a series of new policies implemented that have streamlined a very rigorous process that used to take several years from start to finish. For one, security interviews have now been conducted remotely and the system has been digitized. Combined with the expansion of the refugee officer corps, this system modernization dramatically increased the number of interviews conducted, from approximately 1,200 in FY 2020 to more than 141,900 in FY 2024. In addition, the simultaneous processing of different stages, rather than being tiered, has also helped to streamline the process dramatically. Together, these changes allowed the resettlement program to expand its decision-making. In FY 2024, officials decided more than 149,600 cases, up from a low of 7,000 in FY 2020. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Isak Andic, the founder of Spanish fashion brand Mango, has died after suffering an accident, the company said on Saturday. He was 71. It is with deep regret that we announce the unexpected death of Isak Andic, our non-executive chairman and founder of Mango, in an accident that occurred this Saturday, Mango CEO Toni Ruiz said in a statement, without providing details. Spanish news agency EFE and other media outlets, including La Vanguardia newspaper, said Andic died following a fall while hiking near Barcelona. Spains Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez paid tribute to Andic on social media, lauding his hard work and business vision that transformed a Spanish brand into a global fashion leader. Andics family moved from Turkey to Spain when he was young. He opened Mangos first store in Barcelona in 1984 and over the following decades helped Mango grow into one of Europes leading fast fashion makers. Mango has 2,700 stores in 120 markets around the world. It set a company record of 3.1 billion euros ($3.2 billion) in sales in 2023. It is currently expanding in the U.S. and plans to have 65 stores there by the end of 2025. (AP) By Jonathan McCambridge, PA People in Banbridge are in shock following the sudden death of a woman, local representatives have said. Police remain at the scene in Laurel Heights in the Co Down town on Sunday with a road sealed off. Emergency services were called to an incident shortly after 6pm on Saturday. Police remain at the scene in Laurel Heights on Sunday (Jonathan McCambridge/PA) The PSNI said detectives are investigating the sudden death of the woman and cordons are currently in place. The ambulance service said two paramedics attended the scene. A statement said: The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service received a 999 call at 18:23 following reports of an incident in the Laurel Heights area of Banbridge. NIAS despatched two rapid response paramedics and an emergency crew to the incident. Following initial assessment, no patients were taken from the scene. DUP MP Carla Lockhart described it as a tragic incident. She said: My sympathies are very much with the family of the deceased at this very difficult time. The PSNI are currently holding the scene, and there will be a significant police presence in the area for some time. I would ask everyone to give officers the time and space they need to conduct their investigation. If anyone has any information that could assist the police, I would urge you to come forward as soon as possible. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this difficult situation. Local representatives have said Laurel Heights is a close-knit community (Jonathan McCambridge/PA) Alliance Party councillor Joy Ferguson said people in the town were really shocked by the death. Here in Laurel Heights particularly, this is a very close knit community. They really feel this tragedy, she told the BBC. Its not what we want to see and we as a community want to rally round everyone who is impacted. Ulster Unionist MLA Doug Beattie said it was awful news. In a social media post, he added: My thoughts are with the family and friends of this woman and the police officers dealing with it. New Delhi [India], December 15 (ANI): Godrej Agrovet informed stock exchanges that the Gujarat government has allotted area to it in three districts for the expansion of oil palm cultivation under the palm oil mission. Those three districts are Vadodara, Surat, and Tapi, the company informed stock exchanges in a filing late on Saturday. The filing didn't elaborate further details about the allotment of land. Also Read | NBA Cup 2024 Semifinal: Oklahoma City Thunder's Fiery Second Half Downs Houston Rockets, Sets Up Finals Clash With Milwaukee Bucks. India is the world's second-largest consumer and number one vegetable oil importer, and it meets 60 per cent of its need through imports. A large part of it is palm oil and its derivatives, which are imported from Indonesia and Malaysia. Although oilseed production in India has grown over the years, the production has lagged behind its consumption, resulting in continuous dependence on imports. Also Read | These Healthy Foods Can Reduce Your Chronic Pain. The company Godrej Agrovert has an expertise of more than three decades in the oil palm business. Last year, Godrej Agrovet was allotted about 47,000 acres of land in Sangareddy district in Telangana for oil palm plantation. Godrej Agrovet had inaugurated an edible oil refinery at Chintalapudi in the Eluru district. The central government launched the National Mission for Edible Oils - Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) in August 2021. The mission is committed to escalating oil palm cultivation and elevating Crude Palm Oil production to 11.20 lakh tonnes by 2025-26. The scheme is presently operational in several states nationwide, covering a potential area of 21.75 lakh hectares. The Oil Palm Mission has been designed to promote oil palm in new geographies, providing end-to-end support to farmers in terms of assistance in planting material, assured buyback from private players involved, and protecting the farmers from the global price volatility in oil palm by providing viability gap payment (VGP) to hedge farmers' risk. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Chennai, Dec 15 (PTI) In its executive committee and general council meeting here, the AIADMK on Sunday accused Chief Minister M K Stalin of being arrogant and said the ruling party-led government's days are numbered. AIADMK leader and former minister B Valarmathi accused Chief Minister Stalin of being at the 'peak of arrogance' and mocking at opposition parties. She claimed that the DMK government's 'days are numbered,' and added that the chief minister's chair has become ready for Edappadi K Palaniswami, her party chief. Also Read | Kerala State Coordinator of Hindus of America and RSS Leader P Sreekumar Presents Rig Veda to Pope Francis at Vatican in Rome. Recently, Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam chief and actor Vijay had accused the DMK of being arrogant by claiming to win 200 seats and had also said that people will 'minus' the 'selfish alliance calculations' of the ruling party. Valarmathi used the same Tamil word (Irumappu) used by Vijay to level her allegation of arrogance against Stalin. AIADMK's Villupuram strongman C Ve Shanmugam said the frequently asked question of forging alliance with parties will happen at the right time and recalled that the AIADMK won Assembly polls hands down in the years, 2001 and 2011, and alliances then were formed just ahead of the state elections. "Alliance will be formed, the general secretary will take care of that." Also Read | Delhi-NCR Air Pollution: Supreme Court Likely To Pass Directions on Implementation of Policy To Curb Pollution on December 16. Vijay's party, the TVK said last month that its goal was to form the government by winning the 2026 Assembly polls and had ruled out alliance with the AIADMK. Telling the story of an 'eagle,' senior leader D Jayakumar alleged the DMK top leaders M K Stalin, Udhayanidhi Stalin, beginning from the days of late party patriarch M Karunanidhi 'looted' the state and wanted the people to end the 'family rule,' and make Edappadi Palaniswami the Chief Minister in 2026. Party presidium chairman Tamilmagan Hussein praised Edappadi Palaniswami's leadership. Coimbatore-based party heavyweight SP Velumani, dared the DMK leadership to face the polls all alone and win elections. Urging functionaries to be united, he claimed resentment among several sections of people, including government employees. He said the AIADMK could win big by bagging more than 200 seats in 2026 Assembly election if cadres 'worked right.' Severe traffic congestion was witnessed in and around suburban Vanagaram, the venue of the AIADMK meeting. A grand welcome was accorded by party leaders and workers to Palaniswami. The premises was decorated, using sugarcane, banana plants and trees, in a traditional manner befitting auspicious occasions. The AIADMK, for a considerably long time had held its meetings at Srivaaru Venkatachalapathy palace, a marriage hall, at Vanagaram near Maduravoyal. It was chosen, for the first time, as the venue for party meetings, during the 2000s, by late party matriarch J Jayalalithaa. Since then, the party had held its meetings mostly at the same venue. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) KYODO NEWS - Dec 15, 2024 - 13:45 | All, Japan, Travel/Tourism Hands-on experiences of brewing Japanese sake has been a hit with tourists in central Japan even before the techniques used to produce the traditional alcoholic beverage were added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. One such experience organized by a travel firm in Saku, Nagano Prefecture, offers visitors the chance to become a "kurabito," or sake brewer. Participants stay in a traditional-style home where brewers once lived during the brewing season and take part in the processes of sake-making, including rice washing, steaming and fermenting using "koji" mold. About 40 percent of participants in the sake-making tour at Kitsukura Shuzo brewery company are foreigners, according to the travel firm Kurabito Stay Inc. The drawing card for many visitors is not only in exploring the brewery site and trying sake, but also in taking part in the process themselves while staying at the over 100-year-old timber house. Antoni Gandia, 38, visiting from Switzerland, said he joined the tour because he wanted to know about the brewing process and culture. The tours began in March 2020 and have so far drawn around 650 guests from some 30 countries, according to Kurabito Stay, which also offers English interpretation services. The firm's president, Marika Tazawa, was among those who praised the traditional knowledge and skills used in the production of sake and "shochu" distilled spirits being added to the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's list earlier this month. "I want to spread the value of Japanese sake to the world through having people take part in the authentic brewing process," she said. Related coverage: Japan sake-brewing added to UNESCO intangible heritage Dam fine vintage: Japan sake brewers take novel approach to storage FEATURE:Japan's food makers eye "fermentation tourism" for foreign visitors Samastipur, December 15: Father of deceased Bengaluru techie Atul Subhash on Sunday, pleaded for custody of his grandson. Subhash's father, Pawan Kumar Modi, has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and others to ensure the custody of his grandson. Although Pawan Kumar expressed gratitude towards the police for arresting the accused, he asserted that he still has not received justice as a new case has been filed against him in the name of his grandson for maintenance. Atul Subhash Suicide Case: Accused Nikita Singhania, Her Mother Nisha Singhania and Brother Anurag Singhania Sent to 14-Day Judicial Custody. "We don't know where she has kept our grandson. Has he been killed or is he alive? We don't know anything about him. I want my grandson to be with us...I thank the police for arresting the accused...I still haven't got justice as a case has been filed against me. A new case has been filed against me in the name of my grandson for maintenance. We appeal to PM Modi, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and other leaders to ensure that my grandson comes to me...For a grandfather, his grandson means more than his son...The whole society, people are standing in my support..." Pawan Kumar told ANI. Bikas Kumar Modi, the brother of the deceased man has also expressed concerns regarding the whereabouts of his nephew. He said that two arrests in the case were yet to be done. Atul Subhash Suicide Case: Bengaluru Police Arrest Wife Nikita Singhania From Haryanas Gurugram, Mother Nisha Singhania and Brother Anurag Singhania From Uttar Pradeshs Prayagaraj. "Our biggest concern right now is that we don't know where my nephew (Atul Subhash's son) is. We couldn't find him in the photograph circulated by the police. We want to know where he is. I thank the Karnataka Police for arresting these three... Two other arrests are pending. I hope they will also be arrested soon..." Bikas Kumar Modi told ANI. Three people have been arrested in connection with the death case of Atul Subhash, who committed suicide by hanging alleging harassment by his wife, Nikita Singhania, Karnataka police said, adding that she has been arrested from Haryana's Gurugram. According to the police, the other two accused, identified as Nisha Singhania, mother of Nikita Singhania and her brother, Anurag Singhania, were arrested from Uttar Pradesh's Allahabad. All the three accused in this case were sent to judicial custody as per the order of the court, police said. "Accused A1 Nikita Singhania has been arrested from Gurugram, Haryana. Accused A2 Nisha Singhania and Accused A3 Anurag Singhania were arrested from Allahabad and were produced before the court and given to judicial custody," Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) White Field Division, Bengaluru, Shivakumar said in a release. Atul Subhash, the 34-year-old deputy general manager of a private firm, died by suicide on Monday in his Bengaluru apartment, leaving behind a 24-page suicide note, accusing his wife and her relatives of harassment. In his suicide note, he also alleged that a judge had demanded Rs 5 lakh to "settle" the case. Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Helpline Numbers: Tele Manas (Ministry of Health) 14416 or 1800 891 4416; NIMHANS + 91 80 26995000 /5100 /5200 /5300 /5400; Peak Mind 080-456 87786; Vandrevala Foundation 9999 666 555; Arpita Suicide Prevention Helpline 080-23655557; iCALL 022-25521111 and 9152987821; COOJ Mental Health Foundation (COOJ) 0832-2252525. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Bhubaneswar, Dec 15 (PTI) A CBI summons to senior IAS officer Bishnupada Sethi in connection with a Rs 10 lakh bribery case triggered a political slugfest in Odisha on Sunday. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on December 10 issued a summons to Sethi, the principal secretary of ST&SC Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare Department. He also holds additional charge as principal secretary of Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Department. Also Read | AAP vs BJP Flashpoint: Delhi High Court To Hear on December 16 Plea Against 'Suppression of CAG Reports' by CM Atishi. The CBI on Saturday interrogated Sethi's three drivers in connection with the case. Sethi was summoned to join the investigation at CBI's Bhubaneswar office on December 11, sources said, adding that the bureaucrat sought more time through his lawyers. ST&SC Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare Minister Nityananda Gond said that everything will be clear after the probe. Also Read | Assam TET Admit Card 2024 Out at madhyamik.assam.gov.in: Hall Ticket for Assam Teacher Eligibility Test Examination Released, Get Direct Link and Know Steps To Download. While opposition Congress raised doubts over the final outcome of the case, BJD demanded that the investigation into corruption cases should not be delayed. Former OPCC president Jayadev Jena feared that there may not be any concrete action in the case. "The hype being created now, may gradually die down," Jena said. He alleged that the corruption cases which came to the fore during the previous BJD regime were later "neutralised" by the BJP. "Keeping in view the past record, the present case may also end up in the cold storage," Jena alleged, while demanding stringent action against the corrupt officers irrespective of his or her position. Senior BJD leader Sudhir Samal said that during the previous Naveen Patnaik government, the Vigilance department cracked down on corrupt officials. "A senior IAS officer was suspended in the housing scam," Samal said. He said that the BJP has no reason to boast of its 'double-engine' government, if it failed in taking action against corrupt persons. The ruling BJP, on the other hand, claimed that the Mohan Majhi government in the state is determined to take stringent action against anyone, including bureaucrats and political leaders, if found involved in corrupt practices. "The state BJP government will not tolerate any form of corruption," BJP MLA from Bhubaneswar-Ekamra, Babu Singh, said. Stating that corruption had become widespread during the BJD's 24-year rule in Odisha, Singh said stringent action will be taken against anyone found involved in corruption. "The chief minister has said that corrupted persons will find their place in jail in the BJP regime," Singh said. The CBI wanted to ascertain from Sethi some important facts regarding the bribery case in which the investigating agency has arrested three persons, including Chanchal Mukherjee, group general manager, Bridge and Roof Construction Company Ltd, Bhubaneswar. In a letter to the IAS officer, CBI inspector Gurjinder Singh on December 10 said, "It is learnt that you are acquainted with some important and relevant facts and circumstances of the instant CBI case, which are required to be ascertained from you." Meanwhile, Mukherjee's lawyer Rajesh Mishra said he would move the court seeking bail for his client. The CBI is scheduled to produce the three arrested accused in the court after completion of their five-day remand on Monday. "My client is unwell and I will move a bail petition in the court," Mishra told reporters on the CBI office premises here. "I have not been able to talk to him since he has been taken to hospital. I will move a bail petition tomorrow," Mishra said. On October 19, 2024, Sethi wrote to Mukherjee regarding assignment of projects for upgrading an ashram school to high school and a high school to higher secondary school in Boudh and Nayagarh districts. The two projects are worth Rs 37 crore, state government sources said. However, the CBI has not made it clear whether these school upgradation projects have anything to do with the bribery case. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Hubballi-Dharwad (Karnataka) [India], December 15 (ANI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Sunday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi could hold office because of the independence granted by the Constitution. It was due to the Congress party that PM Modi has all the rights, he said. He (PM Modi) couldn't have been the Prime Minister of this country if not for the Constitution, the Karnataka Deputy CM said. Also Read | PM Narendra Modi To Chair National Conference of Chief Secretaries Today in Delhi. "Prime Minister should know that Congress only has given him all rights - with the Constitution, with the national flag, with the national anthem and independence. That is why, when independence has been given to him and democracy has been given, now he is the Prime Minister of this country. He couldn't have been the Prime Minister of this country if not for the constitution," Shivakumar told ANI. Speaking on the 11 pledges presented by PM Modi, Shivakumar said, "Let us see. Let us hope for the best for this country." Also Read | Sambhal: Encroachment Removed, CCTV Cameras Installed in Reopened Temple in Uttar Pradesh (Watch Video). Modi launched a scathing attack on Congress on Saturday, accusing it of disrespecting the Constitution and presented eleven pledges for India's bright future, noting that the government and people should follow their duties and the country's politics should be free of "parivarvad". Responding to a two-day discussion in Lok Sabha on 75 years of the Constitution, PM Modi made repeated reference to the Nehru-Gandhi family, accusing every generation of its leaders of disrespecting the Constitution. "Congress has continuously disrespected the Constitution. It has made attempts to reduce its importance. History of Congress is full of such examples," he said. He took the "biggest jumla" jibe at Congress over its 'Garibi Hatao' slogan and said his government's mission is to free the poor from their difficulties. "If we follow our fundamental duties, no one can stop us from making Viksit," the Prime Minister said. Slamming Congress for the emergency, he said the country was turned into a prison, citizens' rights were snatched, and press freedom was curtailed. Taking a dig at Congress, he said from 1947 to 1952, India did not have an elected government but a temporary, selected one, with no elections held. He highlighted that before 1952, the Rajya Sabha was not formed, and there were no state elections, meaning there was no mandate from the people. The two-day debate on 75 years of the Constitution started in Lok Sabha on Friday. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Four members of a gang have been arrested for kidnapping actor Mushtaq Mohammad Khan from the Delhi airport, holding him hostage in Bijnor district of Uttar Pradesh and demanding ransom, officials said. According to police, the miscreants were also plotting to abduct veteran actor Shakti Kapoor on the pretext of inviting him to an event. Bijnor Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhishek Jha shared the details on Saturday, saying that Mushtaq Khan's event manager, Shivam Yadav, had filed a complaint on December 9. Mushtaq Khan Kidnapping Case: Bijnor Police Files FIR, Reveals Shocking Details in Official Statement (Watch Video). According to the complaint, Lavi alias Rahul Saini had on October 15 sent an advance payment of INR 25,000 and an air ticket to invite Khan to an event in Meerut. Upon arriving at the Delhi airport on November 20, Mushtaq was received by a cab driver who took him to a famous 'shikanji' shop between Meerut and Delhi. There, Khan was forced into another vehicle, where more individuals joined him. The actor was then threatened and informed that he had been kidnapped and was being held captive at the home of Lavi, a criminal involved in the case, police said. "During his captivity, the kidnappers took Mushtaq Khan's bank account details and password. On the night of November 20, the accused consumed alcohol and slept. The following morning, Mushtaq Khan managed to escape and reached a mosque in Mohalla Chahshiri, where locals contacted his family and helped him return home. "On November 21, the kidnappers withdrew INR 2.2 lakh from Mushtaq Khan's bank account while shopping in Meerut and Muzaffarnagar," the officer said. The arrested gang members have been identified as Sarthak Chaudhary, Sabiuddin, Azim, and Shashank. Police have also recovered INR 1.04 lakh from their possession. Police revealed that the gang was involved in abducting film stars by sending advance payments and air tickets under the guise of event invitations. The investigation has also revealed that actor Shakti Kapoor was offered INR 5 lakh to attend a similar event, but the deal fell through due to a high advance request. Police are now investigating whether the gang was involved in the kidnapping of other film stars. Efforts are on to track down the remaining members of the gang, including Lavi. Meanwhile, in a related development, Arjun, one of the kidnappers involved in comedian Sunil Pal's abduction, was shot and injured during an encounter with police in Meerut on Sunday. Arjun, who was arrested on Saturday, attempted to escape while being escorted for a medical checkup at Lalkurti police station by snatching the pistol of a sub-inspector, the Meerut police said. Welcome Actor Mushtaq Khan Kidnapped Days After Sunil Pals Abduction in Similar Circumstances; Case Filed at UPs Bijnor Police Station. Arjun, while trying to flee, opened fire indiscriminately at the police team. The police team retaliated, and Arjun was shot and injured in the exchange of fire. Meerut Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Vipin Tada said that police had recovered from Arjun an SUV, a Scorpio, used in Sunil Pal's kidnapping last month, along with INR 2.25 lakh cash and a mobile phone used in the crime. "Arjun was immediately taken to the hospital in an injured condition. Police are now searching for his associates, as they believe the gang involved in the kidnapping is based in Bijnor. Authorities have also contacted the victim for further statements and are continuing their investigation into the case," the SSP said. Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], December 15 (ANI): Several members of the Muslim Shia community, carried out a candlelight march in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh against the 'atrocities' against the Hindu community in Bangladesh. The candlelight march was carried out at the Chhota Imambara in Lucknow on Saturday. Also Read | Manipur: 2 Migrant Workers From Bihar Shot Dead by Gunmen in Kakching District. Maulana Kalbe Jawad, who led the march, urged the Union government to pressure the United Nations to take stock of the atrocities against minorities in Bangladesh and also declare Pakistan a 'terrorist country.' "We are always taught to stand up against the oppressor and in favour of those being oppressed...We urge the Indian government to pressurise the United Nations and Pakistan should be declared as a terrorist country," Jawad told ANI. Also Read | Maharashtra Cabinet Expansion: BJP To Keep Home Ministry, Shiv Sena May Get Housing Ministry; NCP To Retain Previous Portfolios. He also called for "strict action" against Bangladesh if the atrocities are not stopped. "If Bangladesh does not mend its ways, strict action should be taken against them also," Jawad added. During the march, protestors chanted slogans against the atrocities. They criticised Israel, and Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while affirming support for Syrians and reaffirming their stance to stand with the oppressed people and fight against the oppressors anywhere in the world. Notably, there have been multiple attacks on Hindus and other minorities by extremist elements in Bangladesh. There also have been cases of arson and looting of minorities' homes and vandalism and desecration of deities and temples. India has repeatedly Bangladesh authorities to ensure the safety and security of Hindus and all minorities, including their right to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression. Recently, Foreign Secretary Misri visited Dhaka on December 9. It was the first high-level visit from India to Bangladesh since Sheikh Hasina was deposed as Prime Minister in August this year and since the interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, assumed office. During his visit to Bangladesh, Misri told the media that India desires positive, constructive, and mutually beneficial relationships and that the relationship is people-centric. The Foreign Secretary told reporters in Dhaka that he had a frank, candid, and constructive exchange of views with his interlocutors and discussed the entire gamut of issues in the "extremely important bilateral relationship". He also raised the issue of attacks on minorities, including Hindus, with Bangladesh leaders and officials. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kolkata, Dec 15 (PTI) IT industry veteran and Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy on Sunday emphasised the need for using advanced technologies, including Artificial intelligence (AI), in India, stating that technology is a "great leveller". Technology can help reduce the gap between the well-to-do and the not-so-well people, Murthy said while speaking at the centenary celebration of the Indian Chamber of Commerce here. Also Read | EVM Tampering Row: Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah Tells Congress To Accept Poll Results, Stop Whinging About Electronic Voting Machines. "Technology is about reducing cost. It's about increasing revenues and profitability. So technology has a lot of value. It also does something that most people don't realise. Technology is a great leveller. So we need technology in India if we want to reduce the gap between the well-to-do and the not-so-well. That's what financial inclusion has done," he said. "My personal view is there are areas where we cannot do without AI," Murthy said. Also Read | AAP vs BJP Flashpoint: Delhi High Court To Hear on December 16 Plea Against 'Suppression of CAG Reports' by CM Atishi. He said AI can be used in areas like automatic cars, precision operations, disease detection and hazardous operations in which human beings may be exposed to high risk. Murthy stressed the need for hard work and performance to earn respect for oneself and for the country. "I urge the youngsters to understand that we have a great responsibility to fulfil the pledge of our founding fathers (of the nation). We have greater responsibility as enunciated by scriptures. We have to show fairness and justice to create opportunities for the less fortunate one. That is why we have to work hard," he said. Murthy also asked entrepreneurs to embrace "compassionate capitalism" which is practising capitalism while combining it with the best aspect of liberalism and the best aspect of socialism. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Chennai, Dec 15 (PTI) Senior Congress leader EVKS Elangovan, who died following illness, was cremated here on Sunday with full government honours, marked by a 21-gun salute by the police. Leaders led by Chief Minister M K Stalin and people, paid homage to the departed leader here and later, the body was cremated at the Mugalivakkam electric crematorium. The Congress party held a condolence meeting here. Also Read | Anura Kumara Dissanayake's India Trip: In First Foreign Visit After Assuming Office, Sri Lankan President Lands in Delhi, Will Hold Bilateral With PM Narendra Modi (Watch Video). The state government on Sunday announced full state honours as a mark of respect, considering his long standing public service in various capacities. A former union minister, ex-chief of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee and an MLA representing Erode East Assembly constituency, he was the grandnephew of 'Periyar' EV Ramasamy. Also Read | EVM Tampering Row: Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah Tells Congress To Accept Poll Results, Stop Whinging About Electronic Voting Machines. EVKS Elangovan passed away here on December 14. (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, Dec 15 (PTI) The Delhi Police has arrested a snatcher after a brief exchange of fire in the Aman Vihar area of Delhi's Rohini, an officer said on Sunday. Police said the arrest followed two snatching incidents in Aman Vihar. Also Read | CAT 2024 Results: IIM Calcutta Likely To Release CAT 2024 Results Today at iimcat.ac.in, Check Details Here. The accused has been identified as Raj Kumar, police said. "After arresting one of his accomplices, Rohit, police gathered intelligence about Raj Kumar's involvement and began tracing his hideouts. On Saturday, police received a tip-off about Raj Kumar's presence at the Central Park in Aman Vihar," the officer said. Also Read | PM Narendra Modi To Chair National Conference of Chief Secretaries Today in Delhi. A raiding team was formed and a trap laid. As Raj Kumar arrived at the spot on a stolen motorcycle, the team attempted to apprehend him. However, the accused opened fire, forcing the officers to act in self-defence, police said. "A warning shot failed to deter him and in the ensuing confrontation, police fired a single shot, injuring Kumar in the leg," the officer added. The accused was taken to a hospital for treatment. Crime and forensic science teams were called to the spot and further investigation has been launched, police said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Chennai, Dec 15 (PTI) Suspended Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi leader Aadhav Arjuna, the son-in-law of lottery mogul Santiago Martin, on Sunday said he has decided with a 'heavy heart' to quit the party. Writing to VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan, he said he does not like his views, which are changing into a topic of debate, to drive a wedge between them. Also Read | Kerala State Coordinator of Hindus of America and RSS Leader P Sreekumar Presents Rig Veda to Pope Francis at Vatican in Rome. Thanking Thirumavalavan, the VCK and its cadres, he said his journey towards equality, equal justice and democracy for the sake of people will continue. VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan on December 9 announced the suspension of party deputy general secretary, Aadhav Arjuna for six months. That action followed Arjuna's 'monarchy' comment aimed at the ruling DMK. Also Read | Delhi-NCR Air Pollution: Supreme Court Likely To Pass Directions on Implementation of Policy To Curb Pollution on December 16. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 15 (ANI): Lauding the 'respect' for the labour force under the Bharatiya Janata Party government, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath compared how Prime Minister Narendra Modi honoured the construction workers who worked at the Ram Mandir in Agra, and how the hands of workers behind Taj Mahal were "chopped off." The UP Chief Minister was addressing the annual conference of the World Hindu Economic Forum (WHEF) here in Mumbai. Also Read | Manipur: 2 Migrant Workers From Bihar Shot Dead by Gunmen in Kakching District. "You would have seen how on 22nd January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was giving respect to the workers who constructed the Ram Mandir. That is one side where the PM was raining flowers on them, but on the other hand, the situation before was such that the workers who constructed the Taj Mahal had their hands chopped off," CM Yogi said in his address on Saturday. He also mentioned that workers in the fine cloth industry in history also had their hands chopped off, destroying a whole tradition and legacy. Also Read | Maharashtra Cabinet Expansion: BJP To Keep Home Ministry, Shiv Sena May Get Housing Ministry; NCP To Retain Previous Portfolios. "Today, India respects its labour force, gives them all kinds of protections. On the other hand, there were rulers, who chopped off the hands of labourers and destroyed the legacy of fine cloth, destroyed the tradition completely," the UP CM said. Talking about India's historical contribution to the world's economy between the first and fifteenth century, CM Yogi said, "From the first century to the 15th century, even scholars associated with Europe accept that at that time India's share in the world economy was more than 40 per cent, and that was the situation continuously till 15th century." The 'World Hindu Economic Forum' kickstarted on December 13 and will go on till today (December 15) at the Jio World Convention Center at BKC in Mumbai. Speaking further, the UP CM lauded Prime Minister Modi for bringing India out of the 'identity crisis'. He "Today, those who are encouraging and nurturing terrorism today...These people claim our heritage when they were nowhere to be seen, even their seeds had not sprouted, even then our heritage was there," he said. He added, "Before 2014, India was facing an identity crisis... We are grateful to the respected Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who in the last 10 years has rescued India from the demonic rigidities and has shown us the vision of a 'New India'." (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) KYODO NEWS - Dec 15, 2024 - 22:01 | All, Japan A 15-year-old junior high school student has died after she and a male classmate were stabbed Saturday while waiting in line at a fast-food restaurant in Fukuoka Prefecture in southwestern Japan, according to local police. The assailant, described as a man around 40 years old and approximately 170 centimeters tall, remains at large following the incident. Police identified the girl on Sunday as Saaya Nakashima, a third-year junior high school student from Kitakyushu. The other victim, also 15, said they were "stabbed by a complete stranger." According to the police, the man entered a McDonald's restaurant in Kitakyushu and stabbed the two students once each at around 8:30 p.m. as they waited near the back of the line to order. He carried out the attack in silence and fled on foot, spending less than 30 seconds in the store, they said. Nakashima was stabbed in the abdomen and was taken to the hospital, showing no vital signs. She was later confirmed dead, with an autopsy determining the cause of death as blood loss. The boy was stabbed in the waist, but the injuries appear not to be life-threatening. The pair, believed to have been on their way home from cram school, had entered the McDonald's together more than 10 minutes before the incident. The police said the attacker was wearing a gray top, black pants, and what appeared to be yellow footwear, adding his face was visible during the stabbing. It remains unclear if the attacker had any connection to Nakashima. The police are investigating the case as murder. Kitakyushu canceled all extracurricular activities and events at city-run schools and kindergartens on Sunday. Related coverage: Man in jail for murder newly accused of killing another girl in 2007 8 killed as 21-year-old man stabs people in province near Shanghai Ajaccio, Dec 15 (AP) Pope Francis' one-day visit to the French island of Corsica on Sunday, two days before his 88th birthday, will put a dual focus on the Mediterranean, highlighting local traditions of popular piety on the one hand and migrant deaths and wars on the other. The visit to Corsica's capital Ajaccio, birthplace of Napoleon, will be one of the briefest of his papacy beyond Italy's borders, just about nine hours on the ground, including a 40-minute visit with French President Emmanuel Macron. Also Read | Cyclone Chido in France: 2 Killed As Cyclonic Storm Causes Severe Damage in Mayotte (Watch Video). It is the first papal visit to the island, which Genoa ceded to France in 1768 and is located closer to the Italian mainland than France. Papa Francescu, the pope's name in Corsican, will address more than 400 participants at the Conference on Popular Religiosity in the Mediterranean, organised by the bishop of Ajaccio, Cardinal Francois-Xavier Bustillo. Also Read | India Sends 60 Tonnes of Emergency Medical Equipment, Generators and Other Utilities to Disaster-Hit Jamaica (See Pics). The pope's remarks will include reflections on local religious traditions, especially strongly held in Corsica, including the cult of the Virgin Mary, known locally as the Madonuccia, which protected the island from the plague in 1656 when it was still under Genoa. The Mediterranean is the backdrop of this trip, surrounded by situations of crisis and conflict,' which is expected to be echoed in the pope's address, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. The pope has often referred to the tragedy of migration, which he has said has turned the Mediterranean into "Europe's largest cemetery.' After the conference address, he will travel to the 17th-century cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta to meet with clergy, stopping along the way at the statue of the Madonuccia. Francis will celebrate Mass at the Place d'Austerlitz park, where it is said Napoleon played as a child. Around 7,000 faithful are expected. He will meet privately with Macron at the airport before departing for the 50-minute flight back to Rome. The pontiff pointedly did not make the trip to Paris earlier this month for the pomp surrounding the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral following the devastating 2019 fire. The visit to Corsica seems far more suited to Francis' priorities than a grand cathedral reopening, emphasising the church of the peripheries. It is Francis' third trip to France, each time avoiding Paris and the protocols that a state visit entails. He visited the port of Marseille in 2023, on an overnight visit to participate in an annual summit of Mediterranean bishops, and went to Strasbourg in 2014 to address the European Parliament and Council of Europe. Corsica is home to more than 340,000 people and has been part of France since 1768. But the island has also seen pro-independence violence and has an influential nationalist movement, and last year Macron proposed granting it limited autonomy. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Damascus, Dec 15 (AP) A UN envoy on Sunday called for a quick end to Western sanctions against Syria as the country's new leaders and regional and global powers begin to chart a path forward following the fall of President Bashar Assad. The Syrian government has been under strict sanctions by the United States, the European Union and others for years as a result of Assad's brutal response to what began as peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 and later spiralled into a civil war. Also Read | Kerala State Coordinator of Hindus of America and RSS Leader P Sreekumar Presents Rig Veda to Pope Francis at Vatican in Rome. The rebel alliance that ousted Assad and broke his iron grip on the country just days ago faces a nation wracked and deeply isolated by tough international sanctions, which compounded Syria's previous economic troubles. But other challenges also complicate Syria's rebuilding: the new transitional leadership has not laid out a clear vision how the country will be governed, and the main group behind the offensive is saddled with a terrorist designation by the US. Also Read | UK Shocker: Man Rapes Unconscious Mother of 3 Repeatedly Until She Dies, Jailed For Life. The UN envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, told reporters in Damascus that setting Syria back on track after the past few tumultuous weeks will be helped by a speedy relief of sanctions. We can hopefully see a quick end to the sanctions so that we can see really a rallying around building of Syria, he said. Parts of Syria's biggest cities remain damaged or destroyed by years of fighting. Reconstruction has been stymied largely by sanctions that aimed to prevent rebuilding of damaged infrastructure and property in government-held areas in the absence of a political solution. Pedersen travelled to Damascus to meet with officials from the new interim government set up by the former opposition forces who toppled Assad, led by the Islamic militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS. Officials in Washington have indicated that the Biden administration is considering removing the group's terror designation. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday that officials have been in direct contact with the group. Over the weekend, Blinken attended an emergency meeting in Jordan where he said he secured the backing of the 12 foreign ministers from the Arab League, Turkey and top officials from the European Union and United Nations on how Syria should be run after decades of Assad family rule. They agreed that the new government should respect the rights of minorities and women, prevent terror groups from taking hold, ensure humanitarian aid reaches those in need, and secure and destroy any remaining Assad-era chemical weapons. Blinken has promised that the United States would recognize and support a new government that met those principles. With the clock on the Biden administration running out, it isn't clear what approach President-elect Donald Trump will take on Syria. Syria's interim government is set to rule until March, but it has not yet made clear the process under which a new permanent administration would replace it. We need to get the political process underway that is inclusive of all Syrians, Pedersen said. That process obviously needs to be led by the Syrians themselves. He called for justice and accountability for crimes committed during the war and for the international community to step up humanitarian aid. In a sign of Syrians' yearning for a return to normalcy, even after the whirlwind rebel offensive of the past weeks, schools in Damascus reopened Sunday for the first time since the insurgents marched in the capital. At Nahla Zaidan school in the capital's Mezzah neighbourhood, teachers hoisted the three-starred revolutionary flag in place of the former government's two-starred Syrian flag. Syria is trying to build up this country with these children who came. Although I think some of them are afraid, they came to build Syria and to live the victories of this country, said Maysoun Al-Ali, director of the school. God willing, there will be more development, more security and more construction in this beloved country. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Washington DC, December 15: Chairman John Moolenaar of the Select Committee of Chinese Communist Party (SCCP) and his colleagues have strongly criticised the Joe Biden administration's decision to extend the US-China Science and Technology Agreement (STA) for another five years. The extension comes despite repeated requests from Congress to either suspend the agreement or implement stronger safeguards to protect US national security, human rights, and intellectual property. In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Moolenaar and his fellow lawmakers argue that renewing the STA in the final days of the current administration represents an effort to "tie the hands" of the incoming administration. They assert that this move would limit the new leadership's ability to either exit the agreement or negotiate a better deal for the American people. Donald Trumps Tariff Threat: Chinese President Xi Jinping Rebuffs US President-Elects Threat of Tariffs, Says 'China Will Safeguard Its Sovereignty, Interests. The letter reads, "We urge you to immediately suspend efforts to renew the US-PRC STA before January 20, 2025. Suppose the Biden Administration is confident their new agreement with the PRC will adequately protect US national security. In that case, they should have no problem making the case for renewal to the incoming administration." Earlier this year, the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the "Science and Technology Agreement Enhanced Congressional Notification Act," introduced by Representative Andy Barr. The bill, which is still pending law, would require a 15-day notification period before any STA renewal and mandate the inclusion of explicit protections for human rights, as well as restrictions on dual-use research, which can have both civilian and military applications. Lawmakers said that the Biden Administration has ignored these safeguards, emphasising concerns over US intellectual property and security. Moolenaar and his colleagues argue that the administration's failure to include such protections demonstrates a disregard for Congress's articulated concerns and raises further questions about the impact of continued US-China scientific collaboration. US Updates Science, Technology Pact with China to Reflect Growing Rivalry, Security Threats. The STA extension comes at a time of growing bipartisan scrutiny of US-China relations, particularly around issues of national security and technology transfer. Many critics argue that scientific exchanges with China could contribute to the development of advanced technologies with military applications, potentially undermining US security interests. As the Biden Administration moves forward with the STA extension, lawmakers are calling for greater transparency and accountability, stressing that any renewal should be delayed until after January 20, 2025, to allow the next administration the opportunity to review and potentially renegotiate the agreement. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Caracas (Venezuela), Dec 15 (AP) Members of Venezuela's political opposition who have been sheltering for months in the Argentine diplomatic compound in the capital, Caracas, on Saturday detailed their deteriorating living conditions as they sought to grow a sense of urgency among the governments working to secure their safe departure from their home country. Their comments to reporters via an online news conference came three days after Argentina's government urged the Organization of American States to pressure Venezuela to allow the safe passage of the six members of the opposition living at the ambassador's residence. Also Read | US Shooting: 1 Person Fatally Shot at Army Base in Georgia in 'Isolated' Incident, Gunman Apprehended. The harassment, according to those who spoke to reporters, includes constant surveillance by heavily armed security agents, the interruption of water and electric services, and this week's arrest of a longtime local employee of the Argentine embassy. We are seeing how the process of violating our basic human rights is accelerating, and it is urgent to be able to stop this situation of control and repression against us, whether psychological or real, said Magalli Meda, campaign manager of opposition powerhouse Maria Corina Machado. Also Read | US Special Envoy Deborah Lipstadt Commends UAE's Experience for Promoting Tolerance, Coexistence, Acceptance of Others. Venezuela's Minister of Interior Diosdado Cabello last week called the group's allegations a farce. The government of President Javier Milei in August transferred custody of the diplomatic compound in Caracas to Brazil after Venezuela expelled Argentina's diplomats. The move followed a July presidential election marred by serious fraud allegations and which both President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition claim to have won. But Maduro revoked Brazil's authorisation to guard the facility in September, even though that nation's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, had attempted to help Venezuela break its political stalemate following the presidential vote. The Brazilian Foreign Ministry has made the contacts and the corresponding arrangements, said Pedro Urruchurtu, who along three other men and two women has lived at the diplomatic facility since March. "We ask Brazil to have a much greater sense of urgency, in this sense it means redoubling efforts and coordination with the region and understanding that this situation can clearly get worse and therefore demands the attention of the entire region. Venezuela's protracted political crisis deepened after the July 28 presidential election. The country's National Electoral Council, which is stacked with Maduro loyalists, declared him the election winner hours after polls closed. But unlike previous presidential elections, electoral authorities did not provide detailed vote counts. Meanwhile, the opposition, led by Machado, collected tally sheets from 80 per cent of the nation's electronic voting machines, posted them online and said the voting records showed that the faction's candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, had won the election with twice as many votes as Maduro. On Wednesday, Brazil's ambassador to the Organization of American States, Benoni Belli, told country representatives gathered in Washington to address the situation at the diplomatic compound that the safe passage of the opposition members has been the subject of high-level negotiations involving Venezuelan and Brazilian officials, including the countries' foreign affairs ministers. Diplomatic premises are considered foreign soil and inviolable under the Vienna treaties and host country law enforcement agencies are not allowed to enter without permission from the ambassador. Belli said that Venezuelan officials through informal statements have reiterated that the inviolability of the property in Caracas will be preserved. Afterward, more than a dozen members of the regional organization joined Argentina's call on Maduro's government to allow the safe passage of those living at the ambassador's residence and end the alleged harassment. (AP) (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, December 15: Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Saturday hit out at the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his speech on the Constitution and said that his "grandmother Indira Gandhi herself became a "dictator" and today her grandson is giving advice to others". Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Saturday also criticised the Congress leader and said the Gandhi family never did anything beyond enjoying the benefits of power. Constitution Debate: Opposition Criticises PM Narendra Modis Parliament Address, Points to BJPs Past Promises. Giriraj Singh Slams Rahul Gandhi Over Parliament Speech on Constitution #WATCH | Delhi: On Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi's address in Lok Sabha, Union Minister Giriraj Singh says, "The Constitution was violated dozens of times and her grandmother became a dictator and he is giving advice to others..." pic.twitter.com/b86EwSgMcx ANI (@ANI) December 14, 2024 "It is beyond my understanding that he (Rahul Gandhi) is the leader of a party that was in power for most of the time after independence, and today he is making such promises. What were you doing all these years? Even 10 years ago, you were in government; at that time, you could have conducted a caste census. Their language changes once they move to the opposition," Paswan said. "He (Rahul Gandhi) and his family have never done anything except enjoy the privileges of power," he added. During his address in the Parliament on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi lashed out at the Central government, accusing it of "cutting off" opportunities for youth by "handing over" various sectors to industrialists. Samvidhan Debate: 75 Years of Indias Constitution Is Memorable Journey of Worlds Greatest, Largest Democracy, Says PM Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha. During a discussion on the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of India, the Lok Sabha LoP referred to his earlier speech where he likened the current political landscape to a battle reminiscent of the Mahabharata, asserting that the Opposition is defending the Constitution's ideals. "In my first speech, I described the idea of a battle, referring to the Mahabharata and Kurukshetra. There is a battle taking place in India today. On this side (the Opposition) are the defenders of the Constitution's idea. From each state, we represent those who upheld these ideals: in Tamil Nadu, we have Periyar; in Karnataka, Basavanna; in Maharashtra, Phule ji and Ambedkar ji; and in Gujarat, Mahatma Gandhi. You (the ruling party) praise these figures hesitantly because you have to, but the truth is that you want India to be run as it was in the past," Gandhi said in the Lok Sabha. He reiterated his 'commitment' to a caste census, promising that it would lead to "a new kind of development" in India. "We want to tell every poor person: you are protected by the Constitution. The BJP constantly attacks the Constitution, 24x7. I had promised in the House that we would implement a caste census." A new kind of development will take place in India after that," Gandhi asserted. Rahul Gandhi also vowed to ensure the removal of the 50 per cent cap on reservations. The Winter session of Parliament commenced on November 25, with both Houses witnessing early adjournments due to disruptions. The session is scheduled to continue until December 20. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 15, 2024 08:08 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Kolkata, December 15: In a gruesome crime, a woman was beheaded and her body chopped into three parts by her brother-in-law after she rejected his advances. The incident came to light when the severed head was found in a garbage dump on Graham Road in south Kolkata's Tollygunge area on Friday. Police arrested the accused, Atiur Rahman Laskar, a construction worker, from his native village in South 24 Parganas' Diamond Harbour within 24 hours. The 35-40-year-old victim, separated from her husband for two years, worked as a domestic help in the Regent Park area. She had reportedly been avoiding Laskar for over a week and had blocked his phone number, which enraged him further. Kolkata Shocker: Severed Head of Woman Recovered From Litter Van in West Bengals Gold Green Area. According to DCP (South Suburban) Bidisha Kalita, Laskar forced the woman to accompany him to an under-construction building after work on Thursday evening. There, he strangled her, beheaded her, and dismembered the body into three parts. He then dumped the severed head in a garbage vat on Graham Road and disposed of the torso and lower body near a pond in the Regent Park area. Mumbai Shocker: Unknown Man Stalks and Harasses Woman in Colaba, Masturbates Outside Her Apartment Before Fleeing; Case Registered. The severed head, found in a plastic bag, bore injury marks and blood stains, indicating the murder occurred within 12 hours of its recovery. Police deployed sniffer dogs and analyzed CCTV footage to trace the movement of the suspect. This led investigators to a residential apartment about a kilometer from the garbage dump. Laskar reportedly confessed to the crime, stating that his advances had been repeatedly rejected, which fueled his rage. The police are also probing the possible involvement of others. Samples from the crime scenes have been collected for forensic examination, and further investigation is underway. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 15, 2024 12:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Lucknow, December 15: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday paid tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his death anniversary. In a post in Hindi on X, Adityanath said Patel's efforts to unite the country are the inspiration behind working towards building "Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat". "Humble tributes to the architect of modern India, farmer well-wisher, Iron Man, 'Bharat Ratna' Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel ji on his death anniversary! His contributions in giving a form to the unity, integrity and sovereignty of the nation will always inspire us to work towards building 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat'," the chief minister said. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Death Anniversary 2024: PM Narendra Modi Pays Tribute to the Iron Man of India on His 74th Death Anniversary. At a tribute meeting on Patel's death anniversary, Adityanath highlighted the country's first home minister's unwavering dedication to Mother India. "As a key member of the Constituent Assembly and the first home minister of independent India, Sardar Patel spearheaded the integration of more than 563 princely states into the Republic, laying the foundation for a unified and strong nation. The India we see today is a testament to Sardar Patel's vision, efforts and tireless commitment to the ideals of 'One India, Great India, Safe India'," he said. According to a press statement, the chief minister highlighted Patel's active participation in major movements for India's independence, including the Champaran Movement, Salt Satyagraha and Quit India Movement, during which he was also imprisoned. PM Modi Speech in Lok Sabha: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thanks Makers of Constitution, Describes India As Mother of Democracy (Watch Videos). Adityanath also launched numerous public awareness campaigns aimed at ensuring the prosperity of farmers. He noted that Patel's vision laid the foundation for Gujarat's strong cooperative movement, which played a key role in empowering farmers and elevating them to new heights of prosperity. Adityanath further said Patel, a great son of Mother India, not only led the campaign for the country's unification but also ensured the restoration of its dignity, which was tarnished during the colonial period. He highlighted that the revival of the Somnath temple, a symbol of cultural resurgence, was part of this mission. The chief minister said if Patel was alive today, Article 370 of the Constitution would never have been imposed on Jammu and Kashmir. He lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for abrogating the provisions of the article on August 5, 2019, dismantling the foundation of terrorism and paving the way for a unified and strong India. Adityanath also highlighted that the Ram temple in Ayodhya is a significant part of a new, cultural India, drawing a parallel with the revival of the Somnath temple initiated by Patel in 1948. Patel, who was India's first deputy prime minister and home minister, breathed his last on December 15, 1950. Born in Gujarat's Nadiad in 1875, Patel was a pivotal figure in India's struggle for independence. Renowned for his exceptional leadership and unyielding commitment to national integration, he is fondly remembered as the "Iron Man of India". The "Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat" initiative was announced by the BJP-led Centre on October 31, 2015, on the 140th birth anniversary of Patel. It aims at enhancing interaction between people living in states and Union territories and promoting mutual understanding. Lucknow, December 15: The Winter Session of Uttar Pradesh Assembly is set to begin from Monday. The session will last for just five days but is likely to be stormy as the Opposition led by the Samajwadi Party (SP) will look to put down the government over its 'failures' on Sambhal violence, anti-encroachment drives and more. Ahead of the Winter Session, an all-party meeting was convened on Sunday. The meeting, chaired by Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana, sought to bring an end to the differences and evolve a strategy for smooth proceedings of the House. At the all-party meeting, the Chief Minister, along with the Speaker, called for the cooperation of all parties to ensure the efficient functioning of the Assembly. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Inspires Us To Work Towards Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat, Says Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath on His Death Anniversary. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath emphasised that the constructive discussions in the House contribute to both the state's development and the resolution of public issues and hence, as public representatives, "we must address their concerns and problems with priority". The Chief Minister also stated that the House serves as a platform for meaningful discussions that accelerate the state's development and resolve key issues. He urged that no disruptions should hinder the House's work and that everyone must work together to ensure its smooth operation. "The cooperation of all parties is essential to keep the House functioning effectively," he added. Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath Attends Shatabdi Mahotsav in Varanasi (Watch Video). Those present at the meeting included Finance and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna, Leader of Opposition Mata Prasad Pandey, Cabinet Minister Sanjay Nishad, Congress MLA Anuradha Mishra Mona, Raghuraj Pratap Singh 'Raja Bhaiya' of Jansatta Dal, Anil Tripathi and more. The Winter Session of both Houses of state legislature is proposed to be held from December 16 to 20. The supplementary budget is likely to be presented on December 17, followed by discussion on the next day. The legislative work will be done on December 19 and 20. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 15, 2024 07:44 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). The opposition on Sunday decided to boycott the customary tea meeting convened by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis here on the eve of a week-long winter session of the state legislature. The opposition parties that met this morning claimed there was no point in attending the tea meeting amid rising atrocities against Dalits, deteriorating law and order. Ameer Aulia, an account claiming to be Zakir Hussain's nephew, has denied reports of the tabla maestro's death, urging that the false information be corrected. Hussain, the son of the legendary Ustad Allah Rakha, is in the ICU of a San Francisco hospital, being treated for heart-related issues. Hussain's nephew Ameer Aulia said, "My uncle Zakir Hussain is very much alive, and we would ask the news media not to post misinformation. We ask for prayers, and we ask for everyone's well-wishes." Latest reports, the legendary tabla player is being treated for serious ailments in a San Francisco hospital, USA. Tabla Maestro Zakir Hussain Hospitalised in ICU Following Heart Related Complications in San Francisco, USA. Zakir Hussain's Nephew's Post I am Zakir Hussain nephew and he has not passed away. We ask for prayers for my Uncle's health. Can you please remove this misinformation. He is in a serious condition and we ask for all his fans around the world to pray for his health Ameer Aulia (@AmeerAulia) December 15, 2024 Perviaz Alam's post I checked the latest with his brother in law in London at 1640 GMT on 15 December. The family has not confirmed the news of his death as reported by a few news outlets. Pervaiz Alam (@pervaizalam) December 15, 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.) KYODO NEWS - Dec 15, 2024 - 09:28 | All, World The accession to a trans-Pacific free trade pact by Britain, which has overseas territories in the region, took effect Sunday, marking the first expansion of the framework since it came into force in 2018. Britain's participation in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership increases the number of members to 12, raising the bloc's share of global economic output to 15 percent, up from 12 percent. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to return to the White House in January, withdrew the United States from the framework during his first administration from 2017 to 2021 as part of his "America First" trade protectionism. Since leaving the European Union, Britain has sought to boost trade with the Indo-Pacific region, signing a bilateral comprehensive free trade pact with Japan that took effect in 2021. The two nations are close allies of the United States. The launch of the 12-member TPP is expected to accelerate the lifting of tariffs on Japanese goods traded with Britain under the bilateral deal, such as the immediate abolition of tariffs on tires for construction machinery. The other members of the free trade framework are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. Related coverage: Japan big manufacturers' confidence improves as auto output recovers: BOJ Japan moving to ease visa requirements for Chinese visitors: source China resumes visa-free scheme for short-term Japan visitors The Kerala State Lotteries will announce the Akshaya AK-681 lottery result today, December 15, 2024, at 3 PM. The live draw will be streamed online, allowing ticket holders to watch the lucky draw and see if they have won the grand prize. The first-place winner will take home a bumper prize of INR 75 lakh. The draw will be held at Gorky Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram, and the full list of winners will be updated on the official Kerala Lottery Result Chart. Stay tuned for the live updates and winner announcements. Kerala Lottery Result Today 3 PM Live, Karunya KR-684 Lottery Result of 14.12.2024, Watch Lucky Draw Winner List. Kerala Lottery Result Chart 2024 Kerala Lottery Result Live Streaming (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.) New Delhi, December 15: OpenAI hits back at Elon Musk, stating that he initially wanted the company to adopt a for-profit structure. The revelation comes amid Musk's legal battles against OpenAI, where he claims the organisation has moved away from its founding mission as a non-profit. OpenAI shared emails and texts that suggest Elon Musk pushed for a for-profit model back in 2017. The situation has escalated as Elon Musk's xAI competes with OpenAI. Elon Musks legal filing against OpenAI indicates his fourth attempt in less than a year to reframe his claims regarding the company's structure. In response, OpenAI published a series of emails and texts in a blog post that highlights Musk's earlier support for an OpenAI for-profit model. OpenAI said, "When he didnt get majority equity and full control, he walked away and told us we would fail. Now that OpenAI is the leading AI research lab and Elon runs a competing AI company, hes asking the court to stop us from effectively pursuing our mission." OpenAI Introduces Projects To Simplify Organising Chats and Files for ChatGPT Users. Timeline of Events In November 2015, OpenAI was established as a nonprofit organisation, which raised some questions from Elon Musk. By December of the same year, OpenAI made its public announcement about its mission and goals. As the company progressed in its research during early 2017, it became clear that it would require billions of dollars to acquire the computing power necessary to develop Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). By the summer of 2017, OpenAI and Elon Musk agreed that transitioning to a for-profit model was essential for the company to further its mission. However, in the Autumn of 2017, Elon demanded to have majority ownership, and complete control, and to take on the role of CEO for the new for-profit entity. In September 2017, he established a public benefit corporation named Open Artificial Intelligence Technologies, Inc. OpenAI turned down Elon Musk's demands, as granting him sole control over OpenAI and its technology would go against its core mission. In January 2018, Elon expressed his belief that OpenAI was destined to fail unless it merged with Tesla. Elon Musk Promoting Crypto Giveaways? X User Warns About Deepfake Video Scam, Urges To Stay Safe (Watch Video). The following month, Elon Musk stepped down from his position as co-chair of OpenAI. By December 2018, he urged OpenAI to secure billions per year immediately or forget it. In March 2019, OpenAI introduced OpenAI LP, a capped-profit model that operates within the non-profit and in March 2023, Elon Musk launched his competitor to OpenAI, called xAI. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 15, 2024 07:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). More than a dozen shops opened their doors and celebrated new chapters in Phillipsburg this year. On Main Street, Joes Steak Shop and Ponzi Taylor Shop celebrated a combined 135 years in business, while several brothers and a black dog revitalized the towns business district on the hill. Chipotle, Popeyes and QuickChek rounded out the year in construction along the Route 22 thruway through the town on the rivers edge. This is whats now open in Phillipsburg and the surrounding areas. Editors note: This is not a comprehensive list, but email gepps@lehighvalleylive.com if theres a business milestone that youd like us to consider including. Close to two dozen shops opened their doors and celebrated new chapters in Phillipsburg this year.Glenn Epps Open Now Arbys opened in the wake of a swell of excitement in early January 2024. The restaurant opened on the site of the former Aharts grocery store, Phillipsburgs only supermarket. Customers were eager to tour the inside of the former Cathers Food Mart at 159 Hudson St. in August. On opening day, the restaurant served more than 100 free sandwiches to waiting patrons. The Bloomin Cottage began outgrowing its backyard in operation in 2021. This year, the owners opened the doors on a new chapter at a location on South Main Street. Two brothers are making many folks happy at a new restaurant on the hill where the foods well-worth taco-ing about. The fast-casual Mexican chain opened their doors on April 30 at 1341 Route 22 in the Phillipsburg area. Chef Joe on The Go Chef Joe knows his way around a well-seasoned empanada. The professional meal prep and consultant opened his brick-and-mortar pop-up shop in April at 60 S. Main St. in April. Damage caused by an apartment fire temporarily closed COE Insurance in 2023. The agencys owner celebrated a reopening at a new location across the street from the former location in February. The iconic Route 22 diner with a key for a landmark is reopened in June. Mamies African and Caribbean Cuisine Mamies opened in December at 407 S. Main St. Mack and Willie Sullivan, who owned Sullivans On The Main at 371 S. Main St. for more than two decades before an illness forced them to shutter it in fall 2022, have now launched Sullivans Mercantile, 338 S Main St. Sushi Kingdom The all-you-can-eat Sushi Kingdom opened in October at 1278 US-22 in the Pohatcong Plaza. The location was previously occupied by Ruby Tuesdays and Mountain Dudes. President Joe Bidens visit to the Lehigh Valley wasnt the only big event prompting throngs to gather in January. Popeyes Louisiana Fried Kitchen opened on 680 Memorial Pkwy to 500 orders in its first hour on opening day. A Phillipsburg storefront that remained vacant for more than 15 years got a stylish tenant in July. The owner of Ginos Deli quietly closed his business after 46 years in 2023. Quality Time Foods is now open as of Dec. 4. QuickChek Construction on a QuickChek in Phillipsburg finished in December. The fuel station and sub shop opened in the location previously occupied by Warren Lanes Bowling Alley. 5 Brothers Tacqueria The owners of the popular Mexican Tacqueria in Washington Borough expanded their operation to Phillipsburg. Closed Okaysions and Daily Dish (in Alpha) Stop + Shop Big Lots Poblanos Eatery (in Phillipsburg) El Noa Noa Sabor Latino (in Phillipsburg) Charlies Bakery and Doodle Diner Ginos Deli and Convenience Store Anniversaries Joes Steak Shop turns 85 Johnnys Fry Shop celebrates 80 years Nicolosis Pizza celebrates 60 years Ponzi Taylor Shop turns 50 years Top Notch and Cloth celebrates 40 years Habitat for Humanity celebrates 25 years Glenn Epps can be reached at gepps@lehighvalleylive.com or glenn_epps_on X (formerly known as Twitter.com), Facebook and Threads. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe to lehighvalleylive.com today. A man who was drunk and disorderly at Portlaoise Hospital told responding gardai to f off and go arrest real criminals. John Dervin (43) of Room 1, Holyhead Hostel, Gardiner Street, Dublin admitted being intoxicated and engaging in threatening and abusive behaviour at the Midland Regional Hospital, Portlaoise on May 23 last. Garda Sergeant JJ Kirby said garda responded to reports of a highly intoxicated male at the hospital at 5.20pm on the date in question. There the defendant told them to f off and arrest real criminals before his arrest, said Sgt Kirby. He said the man had four previous convictions. Solicitor Josephine Fitzpatrick said her client wasnt present as he was in hospital in Galway. She said he had pleaded guilty at a previous sitting of Portlaoise District Court. He has an alcohol addiction and also has been relying on the mental health services, she said. She said the man had previously worked in hospitality and in a bookstore and she had a letter to show the man had engaged with services. Judge Susan Fay fined the man 200 for engaging in threatening and abusive behaviour and she took the intoxication charge into consideration. Prison reform campaigners have demanded that the new Goverment act to tackle record breaking prison occupancy at jails in Portlaoise and other parts of the country. The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) is calling for the next Programme for Government to focus on a humane and solutions-focused approach to addressing and alleviating what it says are severe pressures on the criminal justice system evident in the Irish Prison Service (IPS) Annual Report 2023 published on December 13 by the Irish Prison Service. The Trust says hundreds of prisoners are sleeping on floors and thousands sharing cells in unsafe conditions despite the fact the the cost per prisoner rising to 90,000 per inmate annualy. The Trust says the IPS Annual Report 2023 shows a significant increase of people committed to prison in Ireland in 2023 including an increase in people committed on short sentences of less than 12 months, more women imprisoned and nearly a tripling of the number of people being imprisoned for non-payment of fines. IPRT Executive Director, Saoirse Brady, said her organisation welcomes the publication report and recognises the efforts made to include detailed data on prison education and access to mental health services which helps to provide greater transparency. She said progress in the continued rollout of in-cell telephones, which enables people in prison custody to maintain essential communication with their families, children and support networks is great to see as it is a vital tool for rehabilitation and community reintegration. However, she said negotiations to form the next government are underway must include prisons. "The incoming government faces an immense task to tackle both chronic and acute problems in prisons and in the criminal justice system more widely to stem the flow of people on short sentences into our prison system and help more people move on from offending. The IPS in its 2023 annual report rightly highlights the ever-increasing pressures it faces with an 11 per cent increase in the daily number of people in custody from the year before. "Notably, since the end of 2023 weve continued to break new prison overcrowding records - with safe capacity levels breached daily. Any new government needs to shift its thinking to deliver what is needed immediately rather than continuing with the endless refrain of building more prison spaces as if that will be a silver bullet. These spaces are years in the making. Yet officials right across the criminal justice sector have already identified tangible short-term solutions in the Prison Overcrowding Response Groups final report which sets out practical measures that could quickly take the pressure off and provide the IPS with some much-needed breathing space. MORE BELOW TABLE FROM NEW REPORT. "The public has also spoken and appears to be much less punitive than our politicians might think. In public attitudes polling commissioned by IPRT in October 2024, four out of five people stated that it is important for them that the next government prioritises alternatives to imprisonment in response to non-violent offending (81 per cent). Two thirds of people did not think that prison expansion was the solution to address overcrowding, and when asked how they would spend a budget of 10 million to tackle crime, additional prison places ranked fifth out of a list of seven options. "We urge the incoming government to engage with those proposals and commit the necessary resources to reduce the number of people in prison overall. Today, the rights and needs of many people in prison remain unmet. This includes hundreds of people sleeping on floors, thousands of people sharing cells, limited access to recreational space and significant waiting lists to access nearly all vital services," she said. Ms Brady highlighted costs. "The cost of an annual prison space rose to almost 90,000 in 2023. Prison is expensive not only in terms of the cost to the taxpayer but also in terms of the human cost. IPRT is concerned at the continued trend of short sentences with a 10 per cent year-on-year increase in 2023 of sentences between three and six months. Looking at the pressure on services right across the prison estate, clearly people entering prison for a matter of days, weeks or months will never reach the top of any waiting list to get the necessary to address any underlying issues they might have, she said. Saoirse Brady added that homeless is emerging as an issue before peole are jailed. MORE BELOW PICTURE. IPRT is particularly alarmed by the number of people experiencing homelessness immediately before their imprisonment. On 31 December 2023, almost 800 people (16.4 per cent) reported being of no fixed abode upon committal to prison. This particularly impacts women with 28.6 per cent of the female prison population reporting that they were homeless before committal. "Since the commencement of the Fines (Payment and Recovery) Act 2014, we had seen a steady decline in the number of people imprisoned for non-payment of fines. "However, IPRT is concerned that in the midst of a cost-of-living and homelessness crisis, there is a reversal of that trend with a significant increase in the number of people ending up in prison because of not paying a fine rising from 205 in 2022 to 552 in 2024. "IPRT calls on any and all parties and individuals who will shortly enter Programme for Government negotiations to have the political courage to invest in proven solutions and deal with people who offend in a more effective, humane, and less costly manner which ultimately leads to more resilient individuals, safer communities and fewer people in the criminal justice system, she said. The trust describes itself as Ireland's leading non-governmental organisation campaigning for the rights of everyone in prison and the progressive reform of Irish penal policy, with prison as a last resort. Irish music legends Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan have reunited after 30 years to record a moving Christmas song titled "Well Be Missing You This Christmas." The song serves as a powerful tribute to absent loved ones during the holiday season. The project is part of the Light Up A Life campaign for Our Ladys Hospice & Care Services, with all proceeds from the song going directly to support this vital cause. The campaign raises essential funds to maintain care services, including at the new facility in Harolds Cross, which requires an additional 5.5 million annually to sustain operations. "It's about that empty space at the table on Christmas Day, whether it be a son or daughter in Australia or America, or somebody who has passed away," said McGettigan. "It says we're thinking about you just because you're not here doesn't mean you're not in our hearts." The inspiration for the track is deeply personal for both musicians. Paul Harrington dedicated the song to his late sister, Siobhan, who passed away several years ago. "Shes always in his heart. He always talks about her, dreams about her. She's there," McGettigan shared. McGettigan and his family also dedicated the song to his son, Shane, who passed away in 1998. "We all have someone we miss at Christmas," he said. "The song gives people a way to honour those memories." Supporters who purchase the song for just 2 have the option to dedicate it to a loved one, whether that person is far away or has passed on. The purchase not only offers a chance for personal reflection but also contributes to the essential care services provided by Our Ladys Hospice. The song has become the centerpiece of this years Light Up A Life campaign, which includes a remembrance ceremony at Our Ladys Hospice in Harolds Cross. McGettigan and Harringtons song serves as the campaigns anthem, reinforcing its message of love, memory, and togetherness during the festive season. Charlie McGettigan will be performing live at Cryans on December 30th, giving fans a chance to experience his music in person and continue to celebrate the message of love and remembrance that his Christmas song embodies. For the modest price of just 2, you can download and own this soul-stirring Christmas ballad HERE JERUSALEM, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Israel announced Sunday that it will close its embassy in Ireland, attributing the decision to the Irish government's "extreme anti-Israel policies." In a press release, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar accused Ireland of actions and rhetoric against Israel, which he stated are rooted in "the delegitimization and demonization of the Jewish state, along with double standards." "Ireland has crossed every red line in its relationship with Israel," he said, adding that "Israel will invest its resources in advancing bilateral relations with countries worldwide according to priorities that also take into account the attitudes and actions of these states toward Israel." In a post on social media platform X, Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris called the decision a "deeply regrettable" one, saying, "I utterly reject the assertion that Ireland is anti-Israel. Ireland is pro-peace, pro-human rights, and pro-international law." He stressed that "Ireland wants a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine to live in peace and security," adding, "Ireland will always speak up for human rights and international law. Nothing will distract (the country) from that." Israel recalled its ambassador from Dublin in May, following Ireland's formal recognition of Palestine as a state. Despite this, Ireland has not withdrawn its envoy from Israel. Last week, Ireland's cabinet announced its support for South Africa's case at the International Court of Justice, which accuses Israel of "genocide." It has been announced that the Israel Embassy in Dublin is set to close after Isreali Minster, Sa'ar says Ireland has "crossed all lines". A statement by Sa'ar says the reason for this is that "Last week, Ireland announced its support for South Africa's legal action against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing Israel of 'genocide'". Read Next: ALERT: Urgent recall notice for dessert following possible presence of Listeria He went on to say "Ireland's antisemitic actions and rhetoric against Israel are rooted in delegitimization and demonization of the Jewish state and reflect clear double standards," Sa'ar said. "Ireland has crossed all red lines in its treatment of Israel. We will redirect our resources toward advancing bilateral relations with countries based on priorities that reflect how different nations relate to Israel." Taoiseach Simon Harris has responded on his X account saying: "This is a deeply regrettable decision from the Netanyahu government. I utterly reject the assertion that Ireland is anti-Israel. Ireland is pro-peace, pro-human rights and pro-International law." "Ireland wants a two state solution and for Israel and Palestine to live in peace and security. Ireland will always speak up for human rights and international law. Nothing will distract from that." The full post by the Taoiseach can be found below this article. Fianna Fails refusal to include Sinn Fein in talks over the formation of a new government in Ireland is stupid, TD Claire Kerrane has said. The Sinn Fein representative said her partys mandate from the recent general election, when it emerged with the second largest number of seats, should be respected. Fianna Fail secured 48 of the Dail parliaments 174 seats in last months election, while Sinn Fein took 39 and Fine Gael won 38. However, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael are expected to partner in coalition, with exploratory talks under way with the aim of forming a government in the new year. Fianna Fail, led by Micheal Martin, and Fine Gael, led by current Taoiseach Simon Harris, have both ruled out entering power with Sinn Fein. Together, they are a couple of seats short of a majority of 88 and are expected to partner with some independent TDs to form a government. Mr Kerrane told RTEs The Week in Politics programme that Fianna Fail and Micheal Martin in particular had spoken for a long time about not wanting to speak to Sinn Fein about government formation. She said: Frankly, I think thats stupid, I think he should reflect on that. We got over 400,000 votes. Why shouldnt Sinn Fein be involved in the talks to go into government? We are in government in the north. He (Mr Martin) should come to the table and he should speak to us, he should respect the mandate. She added: No matter what happens after a general election, everyone should be adults, they should get around the table and they should respect the mandate of every political party, including mine. Ms Kerrane said it was unfortunate that the second largest party after the election was not getting a look-in. She added: I am not happy with the idea that independents get deals when they go into government, I dont think that is really how it should be. I think the government should be formed on the back of the numbers, we have the second largest numbers going into Dail Eireann, we should be part and parcelwe are not. Leader of the Labour Party Ivana Bacik, whose party won 11 seats in the election, has held separate meetings with both Mr Harris and Mr Martin since the election. However, she has said it is unlikely Labour would enter government with the two larger parties. TD Ciaran Ahern said the party wanted to be in government implementing its own policies, not stewarding through someone elses policies. He added: We have some leverage, maybe we have more leverage than some people may give us credit for. But we do need to see the colour of their money. We have put proposals, given both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael our asks. In any negotiation someone has to put something on the table, there has to be an offer on the table. At the moment we have nothing, no offer from the government parties. If they are serious about involving us, if they want us in government, it cant just be vibes. They have been flirting with us for the entire election but they have come with no concrete offer. The Social Democrats also emerged from the recent election with 11 seats, but has since suspended newly elected TD Eoin Hayes over misleading statements over his shares in a company linked to the Israeli military. Party TD Gary Gannon said he believed his party was not the preferred coalition partner because they would make it more difficult for the larger parties. He added: But we are right there willing to enact our policies in government. We want to strike a hard bargain, but it wont be easy for them (Fianna Fail and Fine Gael), so they will likely just go off with the independents. The second Womens Academy for Rural Innovation, a European Leadership Academy (ELA) programme developed under the patronage of Huawei has taken place in Zagreb. The programme brought together 20 rural female leaders from across Europe, including Siobhan Gallagher from Leitrim, to share her expertise and underscore the pivotal role of women in creating new opportunities for rural Europe. Over 50 global thought leaders and mentors joined the groundbreaking programme to share their expertise and underscore the pivotal role of women in creating new opportunities for rural Europe. After taking part in the programme, Siobhan noted that: During my time at the European Leadership Academy for Rural Innovation, I gained invaluable insights that continue to resonate with me even now, after returning home. One of the most powerful lessons was the importance of networking. Connecting with the nineteen other female entrepreneurs from rural areas made me realise how much more we can achieve together than individually. The shared knowledge, experiences, and support highlighted the strength in community especially for rural female entrepreneurs, who often lack access to such networks. READ NEXT: You won't believe what the average person in Leitrim spends on Christmas gifts "Working in intense environments on proposals and pitches during the week also showed me how much we could achieve in such a short time. It was an experience filled with so many valuable lessons, and I continue to reflect on different aspects of it, finding new inspiration each day. The Academy also heard from Ana Le Chevillier, Clinical Research Manager Data and AI at AI PREMie who spoke on a panel about artificial intelligence, innovation and the new digital economy. Reflecting on her experience she said: "Participating in the Womens Academy for Rural Innovation was an incredibly inspiring experience. The students truly took charge of the event, engaging with full attention and enthusiasm. Their dedication and openness set the tone for thoughtful and impactful discussions. "The event united students and speakers from across the EU, shedding light on the common challenges faced by women in rural and depopulated areas while emphasising the importance of learning from our neighbouring countries. It was inspiring to see how sharing our personal 'Aha' moments, the turning points that sparked our journeys into tech, can empower and motivate other women. "I wholeheartedly recommend the Academy to anyone looking to drive change and connect with like-minded individuals committed to closing the gender and urban-rural divide." While in attendance in Zagreb, Mary Coughlan, former Tanaiste and longstanding supporter of the European Leadership Academy, remarked that the energy here is fantastic, and the opportunities given here will be grabbed with both hands, adding that digitalisation is very much part of improved opportunities in rural areas and women are catalysts for development." The Womens Academy for Rural Innovation presents a unique learning experience, providing participants with the opportunity to dialogue and learn from global mentors and expert speakers. Luke McDonnell, Head of PR, Huawei Ireland said: The programme demonstrates Huaweis continued commitment to closing both the gender gap and the urban-rural gap. It was fantastic to see such strong Irish representation. As a father of a young daughter, Im especially proud of Huaweis ongoing commitment to creating a platform for strong female role models. If she can see it, she can be it. The programme demonstrates Huaweis continued commitment to closing both the gender gap and the urban-rural gap, contributing to a world where rural women are empowered to shape a sustainable, digital future. Students participate in panel discussions, lectures, deep-dive workshops and teambuilding activities on entrepreneurship, the use of recent technologies for green innovation and the digitalisation of SMEs through to accessing funding and placing local products in global markets. Participants are encouraged to explore solutions that can deliver tangible results in their regions, becoming role models for other rural women. For the first time, a European Leadership Academy programme was opened to candidates from Iceland, Turkiye, and Switzerland in addition to the previous candidate countries across the EU Member States, Ukraine, and the Western Balkans. The 20 students, selected from a competitive talent pool, come from a wide variety of backgrounds, including engineering, medicine, agriculture, and social sciences, and are united by their desire to unlock new opportunities for rural communities. Chosen by an independent jury, they have each received a full Huawei scholarship to attend the Academy and are the living embodiment of the companys motto Leave no one behind. DEPUTY Richard ODonoghue said he is strongly opposed to the Mercosur deal, which he says will reduce tariffs on most European Union exports to major Latin American economies while increasing access to the European market for imports, including agricultural products. Mr ODonoghue, general secretary of Independent Ireland, was at a European Parliament session in Brussels to express his opposition at the weekend. The Mercosur Deal threatens not only the future of Irish farming but also our food security, environmental commitments, and democratic integrity, he stated. The agreement will flood the European market with 99,000 tonnes of South American beef annually, produced under standards far below those adhered to by Irish farmers. This could drive Irish beef prices down by an estimated 30%, delivering a devastating blow to an already struggling sector and endangering the livelihoods of rural communities across the country. Mr O'Donoghue also raised serious concerns about the environmental impacts of the deal, noting that beef imports from Mercosur countries are often tied to deforestation and unsustainable farming practices. It makes no sense to undermine Irish farmers, who meet some of the highest environmental and animal welfare standards in the world, while encouraging imports from regions that contribute to global environmental degradation, he added. READ MORE: Local farming family win the day in 2m Limerick land auction Mr ODonoghue has written to Taoiseach Simon Harris and Tanaiste Micheal Martin on the issue, and has encouraged the pair to travel to France, Italy, and other EU member states to build alliances with European leaders such as President Emmanuel Macron in France and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Italy, who have also expressed concerns about the deal. If 35% of the EU population opposes the pact, it must be put to a vote. Ireland must lead the charge to ensure the voices of farmers and citizens are heard, The stakes could not be higher, concluded Mr ODonoghue. THE VOTE to back or reject the proposed 500m deal - Kerry Co-op purchasing Kerry Groups dairy division - is dominating most Limerick dairy farmers minds this week. At noon in the INEC Arena in Killarney this Monday, December 16, eligible, voting shareholders will determine the future direction of their co-operative society. A huge crowd, with many attendees standing, turned up at a Munster Milk Producer Organisation public information meeting at the Longcourt House Hotel in Newcastle West last Monday night. Independent experts addressed the meeting and took questions, including outlook for milk price given the funding obligations on Kerry Co-op and the impact on co-op shareholders. However, one Limerick dairy farmer has more immediate concerns after he had five milking machine units stolen. Garda John Finnerty, of Henry Street garda station, has appealed for the publics assistance in helping investigating officers solve the crime. He said a thief targeted a farmyard at OMalleys Cross in Bulgaden between 6pm last Friday evening, December 6 and 10am on Saturday morning, December 7. The thief broke the lock on the gate leading into the farmyard. Then, he broke the lock on the door leading into the milking parlour. He went into the milking parlour and stole five Dairymaster milking machine units, said Mr Finnerty. READ MORE: Limerick TD in Brussels to oppose Mercosur deal The Limerick Leader understands that depending on their sophistication the estimated loss is 2,000 per unit. The thief would have utilised some form of transport to bring the milking machine units away with him, said Garda Finnerty, who appealed for witnesses. If you were in this area - O Malleys Cross, Bulgaden - at any stage between 6pm last Friday evening and 10am on Saturday morning and you noticed unusual movements, then we would like to hear from you. Contact the gardai at Kilmallock at 063 98018 or Bruff on 061 382940, said Garda Finnerty. Separately, there is also an appeal for a missing Hereford (black) steer, 400kgs approximately,which has been missing from the Ayle area of Doon since Friday, November 22. It is understood it was being loaded at the time but it escaped and hasnt been since. Any information, contact 087 7920127. ITC Ltd will continue to scale its existing food brands and look for opportunities in the premium segment, as multitudes in India's relatively poorer parts, such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, are entering the consuming class, potentially boosting demand for branded food products, a senior company official said. The Kolkata-based fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company, which operates in categories such as staples, snacks, health foods, dairy and beverages, is also open to acquisitions to bolster its brand portfolio and drive growth, hinting at a couple of deals shortly. Acquisitions and food portfolio ITC has stepped up launches within its foods portfolio over the past few years, entering more categories within dairy, spices and adult nutrition as it expands its over 17,000-crore foods portfolio. More consumers turning to branded from unbranded foods will help drive growth for the company, Hemant Malik, executive director, ITC Ltd, and head of the company's food business, said. The packaged food category is only 18% of overall foods. With our experience in the staples business, we have understood the drivers to affect this shift across multiple categories. This is a prime vector to drive business growth. We have added many adjacencies to our Aashirvaad staples portfolio including rava, besan, vermicelli, organic etc," he told Mint. Malik said that large swathes of population in north and west India are entering the consuming classsuch markets offer potential for increasing the penetration of branded products. The second vector is capturing growth from what we call the emerging markets, particularly states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. Till a few years ago, growth was mostly driven from the southern region due to higher per capita, spending power, higher levels of industrialization etc. However, South is now reaching a level of saturation on penetration, it now primarily presents opportunities for further premiumization," he added. The hotels to packaged goods company had in 2022 said that its range of fast-moving consumer goods spanning packaged flour, chips, biscuits and soaps had a substantial headroom to growwith an estimated total addressable market potential of 5,00,000 crore by 2030. This means that ITC will tap categories and markets across personal care, home care and packaged foods that can help it expand its business. Also Read: Winter wear sales pick up after warm November slows start The companys FMCG business reported revenues of 20,967 crore in FY24, up 9.6% over the previous year, according to the company's annual report. ITC has outlined plans to "fortify and scale" its mega food brands like Aashirvaad (staples), Sunfeast (biscuits), Bingo (salty snacks), and Yippee (noodles), exploring adjacent categories and future-focused investments. Recent launches include Aashirvaad soya chunks, Sunfeast egg and milk biscuits, Yippee Korean noodles, and the Right Shift portfolio for adult nutrition (oats, cookies, flour, etc.). The company annually introduces 60-70 new food products. Strategy for growth Malik said the company is also open to acquiring brands, apart from launching more premium products. In 2020, the company spent 2,150 crore to acquire spice maker Sunrise Foods Private Ltd. In 2023, the company also acquired health foods company Sproutlife Foods Private Ltd that sells products under the Yoga Bar brand. Acquisition opportunities remain a key part of our growth strategy; after Sunrise and Yoga Bar, there are few other opportunities under evaluation," he said. On premiumization (strategy of selling costlier, better-quality products), the company will continue to create more niches", tapping into the needs of the top end of the population. Their FMCG spends are almost 2.5 times the average household. This is where you have to create more products and more value proposition," he added. Premium products accounted for 22% of the company's foods business as of the September quarter. The move comes as more FMCG companies are getting aggressive with launching new products, particularly at the premium end of the market. Indias market for packaged consumer goods is expected to grow to $192 billion by the end of 2024, and further to $220 billion in 2025, up from the $167 billion in 2023, according to a report by TeamLease Services released earlier this year. Additionally, post-covid, consumer goods makers such as ITC Ltd, Dabur India, Hindustan Unilever Ltd and Tata Consumer Products have been spending money to buy spice makers, wellness brands as well as organic food companies to expand into new areas. ITC, which competes with Hindustan Unilever, Nestle India and Tata Consumer Products in India, aims to take the inorganic route to build capabilities otherwise missing within the company. While evaluating acquisition opportunities, on one hand we focus on categories where we currently operate; we are also evaluating white spaces emerging/developing in the market. We remain open to various structuring mechanisms to ensure flexibility," Malik said. Our priority is value-accretive acquisitions, and we assess opportunities based on the size and strategic fit of the business. We typically avoid companies that are too small, focusing instead on those that meet a certain scale. Acquisitions are pursued when they add value to our business or bring expertise that we do not possess," he added. China's tone-setting Central Economic Work Conference held this week has demonstrated a strong determination to bolster economic growth and is expected to significantly boost market confidence, experts said. According to the conference readout, China will adopt a more proactive fiscal policy and a moderately loose monetary policy next year while seeking better coordination across various areas. "The scale of the policies aimed at stimulating the economy are unprecedented, reflecting the central leadership's strong resolve," said John Gong, professor of economics at the University of International Business and Economics. He noted that this was the first shift in monetary policy from prudent to moderately loose in over a decade. "The emphasis on expanding demand through supportive macroeconomic policies next year is clear, and these policies are expected to significantly boost market confidence," said Zhang Liqun, a researcher at the Development Research Center of the State Council. Zhang Jianping, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation at China's Ministry of Commerce, also pointed out expanding domestic demand as a key highlight of the conference. He noted that China has increasingly relied on domestic demand in recent years, and the proposed fiscal and monetary policies will further stimulate effective demand. The conference listed nine key tasks for the 2025 economic agenda, with the first task prioritizing vigorous efforts to increase consumption, enhance investment efficiency and broaden domestic demand. The conference also called for a campaign to stimulate consumption while reducing burdens on low- and middle-income groups. "To expand domestic demand on all fronts, it is essential to systematically coordinate the relationship between investment and consumption. Consumption is the goal, while investment is the means to achieve it," Zhang Liqun said. He explained that large-scale government investment in public goods is now necessary to boost consumption, adding that this approach will help increase business orders, stimulate production, improve employment and consequently boost consumption. "There is enormous potential in consumption, particularly in services, to drive economic growth," Gong said, noting that consumption comprises less than 40% of China's GDP, well below that of developed countries. In recent months, Chinese authorities unveiled a package of incremental policies to boost the economy. The measures focused on enhancing counter-cyclical adjustments, expanding effective domestic demand, supporting business operation, promoting the recovery of the property market, and invigorating capital markets. Dong Yu, executive vice president of the China Institute for Development Planning at Tsinghua University, noted a strong rebound in consumption, services and trade following the rollout of the policy package. "The policies next year are expected to align with and build on this package," Dong said in an interview before the Central Economic Work Conference. He noted that 2025, as the final year of the 14th Five-Year Plan period and the primary drafting year for the 15th Five-Year Plan, will likely see major projects, policies and reforms introduced. "China's macroeconomic governance always considers both short-term and long-term planning," Dong said, "These initiatives will strengthen economic measures and provide stability for development over the coming years." "China will align its short-term economic growth goals with its 2035 objectives to implement measures that stabilize growth, employment, trade and foreign investment while ensuring steady economic progress," Zhang Jianping said. "As policy effects continue to unfold and accumulate, conditions for economic recovery will steadily strengthen," Zhang Liqun said. "With support from various factors, China's economy is expected to see broad recovery and growth next year." Israeli troops are seen in the buffer zone in the Golan Heights, on Dec. 15, 2024. The Israeli government approved a plan on Sunday to expand settlements in the Golan Heights, a Syrian territory currently occupied by Israel, according to a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. (Photo by Jamal Awad/Xinhua) JERUSALEM, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli government approved a plan on Sunday to expand settlements in the Golan Heights, a Syrian territory currently occupied by Israel, according to a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. The 10.81-million-U.S. dollar plan, unanimously approved by the cabinet, is being advanced "in light of the war and the new front with Syria," the statement said. According to the statement, the plan aims to double the Israeli population in the Golan Heights. It includes establishing a student village, a development program to integrate new residents, and initiatives to strengthen the education system and renewable energy infrastructure. "Strengthening the Golan is strengthening the State of Israel, and it is especially important at this time," Netanyahu said at the start of the cabinet meeting on the plan. "We will continue to hold on to it (Golan Heights), make it flourish, and settle in it." Israel captured part of the Golan Heights during the 1967 war and annexed it, despite international condemnation. Following the downfall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government on Dec. 8, Israel seized the UN-monitored buffer zone, a demilitarized area established in 1974 under a ceasefire agreement between the two countries. Israeli forces also took control of a Syrian army outpost and stationed troops on the summit of Mount Hermon on Golan. Meanwhile, Israel increasingly launched airstrikes on Syrian army assets across the country, claiming to prevent the weapons "from falling into the hands of terrorist elements." Israel's military actions have sparked condemnation from regional countries and prompted calls from the international community for respect for Syria's sovereignty. Israeli troops are seen in the buffer zone in the Golan Heights, on Dec. 15, 2024. The Israeli government approved a plan on Sunday to expand settlements in the Golan Heights, a Syrian territory currently occupied by Israel, according to a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. (Photo by Jamal Awad/Xinhua) Israeli troops are seen near the buffer zone in the Golan Heights, on Dec. 15, 2024. The Israeli government approved a plan on Sunday to expand settlements in the Golan Heights, a Syrian territory currently occupied by Israel, according to a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. (Photo by Jamal Awad/Xinhua) Israeli troops are seen in the buffer zone in the Golan Heights, on Dec. 15, 2024. The Israeli government approved a plan on Sunday to expand settlements in the Golan Heights, a Syrian territory currently occupied by Israel, according to a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. (Photo by Jamal Awad/Xinhua) Israeli troops are seen in the buffer zone in the Golan Heights, on Dec. 15, 2024. The Israeli government approved a plan on Sunday to expand settlements in the Golan Heights, a Syrian territory currently occupied by Israel, according to a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. (Photo by Jamal Awad/Xinhua) In speculative fiction writer China Mievilles novel The City and The City (2009), a police inspector in the fictional East European city-state of Beszel investigates the murder of a student involved in political turmoil between his nation and its "twin city", Ul Qomatwo separate social, cultural and political entities that exist parallelly, often occupying the same geographical space, but divided by harsh, unbreachable laws that ask residents of both cities to unsee the other. It is a fantastical, heartbreaking novel that examines the idea of how people who occupy the same physical space may often experience it in spectacularly different ways, to the extent that they seem to exist in parallel universes. The Sentence by Gautam Bhatialawyer, constitutional law expert and the author of the science-fiction duology The Wall and The Horizon, both set in a walled city-state bound by rigid rulesis, at first glance, about a world similar to Mievilles. Here, too, there are two city-states that once made up the great city of Peruma before it was partitioned into two distinct political entitiesthe Council and the Communewho struck a deal to co-exist in a sort of limbo for 100 years before deciding their individual and collective futures. Here, too, is a murder, which took place 100 years ago, at the time the cities were divided, and must be investigated. There may be other echoes of Mievilles novel here, but The Sentence feels painfully urgent in a way that The City and The City doesnt. It also feels like an ironic, even hopeful, look at how humanity can createand someday resolvedifferences that arise out of shared but separate spaces, cultures, and ideologies: India, Pakistan, Kashmir, Red America, Blue America, Israel, Palestine Also read: Despatch review: Breaking news, broken man Our ancestors were wise. They knew that if they tried to solve everything, they would solve nothing. So they agreed to postpone their gravest disagreements to another day," says the head of the Council at the beginning of The Sentence, at the cusp of events that will decide the cities fates. They trusted their descendants to accomplish, in a quieter time, what their generation could not." The author almost hints: heres a blueprint for humanity, can you make it work? The Sentence is a fascinating, complex work; a novel about the nature of politics and power itself rather than their more obvious manifestations of utopia and dystopia, that binary so beloved of speculative fiction. At the centre of it is Nila, a member of the Confederation of Guardians, an apolitical, non-partisan body set up by both cities at the time of their division, tasked with resolving disputes without taking sides, whose edicts are binding on both the populations. Nila is hoping to make it to the tribunal that will decide a new arrangementreset the clock and start from the point of partition as if it had never happened, or forge a fresh pathbut to her disappointment, she is not chosen. As it turns out, Nila may have a yet larger role to play. She is approached by a member of the public to reopen the investigation into a murder that set the ball rolling towards the current point in Perumas history; a murder for which a young man, Jagat, was convicted and sentenced, not to death, because capital punishment has been abolished, but to cryogenic preservation for a century. The idea is to leave space for doubt and re-examination; to not inflict state-sanctioned violence. Nila has to go back in time (not literally; this is not that kind of novel) to unravel the case and prove Jagats innocence or guilt beyond any doubt. The events unfold over seven daysthe two cases, one being judged by the tribunal of guardians, and the seemingly smaller, more personal case being investigated by Nila, nestled within each other as they hurtle towards a point of crisis. There are several science fiction novels seemingly preoccupied with solving a murder mysteryMalka Olders The Mimicking of Known Successes (2023) as well as Richard Morgans classic Altered Carbon (2002), a mind-bending novel about humans practically achieving immortality by transferring their consciousness to new bodies. Then theres James SA Coreys sprawling, multi-novel space opera Expanse (2011-22) that begins with a murder investigation. The Sentence would fit right into this micro-genre-within-a-genre, and the book has sly easter eggs throughout that seem to nudge the somewhat astute reader towards making these delicious connections. A murder mystery is, after all, an extremely convenient, delectable device to hang any novel on. Its very existence provides a structure and a clear moral core to any work that wants to dig deeper into human frailty and its consequences as, The Sentence does, and doesnt want to take itself too seriously. Surprisingly for all the questions it raises about politics, justice, the law and the morality of statecrafta character at the beginning talks about moral luck, a philosophical concept about morally right decisions still ending up with a harmful outcomethis is an immensely fun book to read. This is why: The scene above takes place at an Urumi contest (a fencing-like game taken up as high art in the world of the novel) and the craft of fencing is clearly a metaphor for the jousting and parries of politics in the novel but it is also a clever way to foreshadow the events that will take place later in the novel; the moral conclusion that the fast-paced plot is briskly moving to reach. A quick Google search tells me that the author is an enthusiastic fencer himself, and if this is a clever way to make fencing cool, hes got it. Also read: Dayanita Singh takes her museums on a tour Zara Chowdharys powerful debut, The Lucky Ones , is pitched as a memoir, but it is much more than just a personal story. It is, rather, an exploration of the dark recesses of Indian society, a long perspective into the history of violence against minorities running across the subcontinent and, most poignantly, a shattering reminder of the bruised and battered world we live in. While the focus of her narrative is on the 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat following the burning of Sabarmati Express in Godhra, Chowdhary zooms in and out expertly to give us a telescopic view of the depredations of humanity. Fittingly, she begins with one fateful date on which her world, as a 16-year-old girl, turned upside down: 27 February 2002. That day, as it turns out, comes trailing a long history of upheavals, both cosmic and human. Also read: The voice of Mrinal Sen and Payal Kapadia On this date in 837 CE, Haleys comet is spotted by humans moving closest to Earth. In 1803, the Great Fire of Bombay burns down the city on the same day. A century later, in 1921, Fascists rise against communists in Italy, and in 1933, the Nazis and communists lock horns in Germany on 22 February. These wounds of the past turned into scabs over time, picked at and prodded occasionally by disruptive forces, leaving their mark on the world at large. But the devastations of 2002 fester to this day, leaving deep gashes on the body politic of India from which the nation is far from recovered. As trident-bearing mobs unleash unspeakable destruction on their Muslim neighbours, Chowdhary is months away from taking her board exams. Instead of revising hard for the first major trial of her life, her head is filled with names and events that have now become seared into our collective consciousnessBilkis Bano, Best Bakery Case, Maya Kodnani, Haren Pandya, and Ahsan Jafri, among others. Like the concentric circles of hell, described by the Italian poet Dante in The Divine Comedy, ever-widening layers of danger surrounded Chowdhary and her family in those days and weeks of February and March 2002. If the outermost fringe of these layers had rampaging fanatics baying for the blood of Muslims, abetted by key actors in the state government, closer home, Chowdhary experiences the slow and insidious alienation from her school friends, neighbours and, finally, from her own family. Even as she relives the horrors relayed on television 24x7, Chowdhary weaves in a deeply intimate account of her growing up in a Muslim family, fractured by its own inner politics and prejudices. As Ahmedabad, the city of her birth, burns outside, Chowdhary, her sister Misba, and their Amma are, in a sense, the lucky ones," hiding away on the eight floor of their building, Jasmine, saved by the skin of their teeth from the marauding crowd by their quick-thinking neighbour, the 80-year-old Pant auntie. View Full Image The Lucky Ones, by Zara Chowdhary, Contxt, 304 pages, 699. Secularism and pluralism werent distant constitutional values here," Chowdhary writes, describing the ethos of the neighbourhood she grew up in, here they constituted the very names on the Jasmine nameboard by the elevators." For her part, Chowdhary opts to study Sanskrit in school with more fervour than she does her Arabic lessons with a lazy maulavi. The cultural markers of her identity remain heterogeneoussome may even say heterodoxand admiringly so. Yet, at the peak of the curfews, when her Hindu schoolfriends secure in their unchanged lives across the river forget her, Chowdhary must seek comfort from her neighbours, a feisty Yemeni girl and another Muslim family of three girls brought up by their single mother. Inside the claustrophobic apartment, though, its another story. The girls are snubbed, their mother relentlessly taunted by the rest of the family for being an outsider from the southforced to live like second-class citizens." The ChowdharysZaheer, the girls father, Dadi (their paternal grandmother), Phupu (aunt) and Apa (older cousin)gang up against the trio at every opportunity. Chowdharys grandfather, Dada, is long dead, a broken man passed over for promotions by the Gujarat government, which he had faithfully served for many decades. The origin of this discrimination went back to 1965, when Dada had the temerity to visit his extended family in Pakistan, an act that was deemed by secular" independent India as being unforgivably partisan. The embers of this rejection, inflamed by the targetted Islamophobia of decades to come, singes the familys morale. It runs like a poison in the line, as Chowdharys father, in a fit of misguided arrogance, joins government service after ruining his chances in the US. He, too, spends his working life seething with fury against the injustices of the system, becomes an abusive alcoholic, and takes out his frustrations on his wife and daughters, before dying of cancer at the age of 53. It wouldnt be unfair to read The Lucky Ones as Chowdharys own version of The Diary of a Young Girl, except, unlike Anne Frank, she never received the pure love of her kin. Also read: A review of Sakshi Malik's memoir Witness If the terror of being in lockdown with your own people, who never have a kind word for you, creates an air of cloying tension, Chowdharys story doesnt lose sight of the bigger picture. For The Lucky Ones is as much a story of irreversible change wrought on Ahmedabad, the city where the author was born and had grown up in, but had never felt an uncomplicated sense of belonging. In the last few years, Ahmedabad has parted along the banks of the Sabarmati like the Red Sea," she writes. Most of them live on the west, and we live on the east." This perception of being marked as the other" is much more complex than simply being alienated from the mainstream. For it is inflected by class and privilege, a double-edged sword in the best of times. To become aware of your minority status brings with it this understanding of the ghetto," Chowdhary writes. It is a place that constantly saves you, even as every day it threatens to kill you on the inside." Not everyone is as lucky. Even as Chowdhary and her family are ensconced in the cocoon that is Jasmine apartments, the slum where their household help Gulshan lives is riddled with threats. Chowdharys history teacher, wife of one of the leading Hindu police officers in the city, arranges to send her students supplies, when rations are perilously low. But no one has any idea how the likes of Gulshan manage to make it through each day, each meal. And so, even as Chowdhury presents the events of 2002 from a wide angle, compelling the reader to reckon with the brutality of the past unsparingly, it never flattens the predicament of all Muslims as being one. In the end, there were, as the title gracefully acknowledges, the lucky ones, who lived to tell their tales, or found the language to do so with delicate craft. As one among the latter, Chowdhary leaves a priceless gift in the form of her book, not only to the memories of those who no longer are, or cannot speak, but also for the rest of us, so that we may never forget, never repeat the mistakes of the past. Also read: A review of Nusrat Jafri's This Land We Call Home The year is set to end as the hottest on record, marking the second consecutive year of unprecedented warming after 2023 claimed the same title. Escalating global warming is driving extreme weather events, resulting in significant human and economic losses. In India alone, in just the first nine months of the year, 3,238 lives were lost to such events, compared to 2,923 in the same period in 2023, according to the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a think tank. Data from the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service shows that that average global temperature in nine out of the first 11 months in 2024 was already 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Scientists warn that extreme heat is likely to continue into early 2025. This has triggered a surge in extreme weather conditions globally, from devastating droughts in Italy and South America to unprecedented floods in Africa and central Europe, and record-breaking heatwaves in Mexico and Asia. The CSE report said that on 93% of the days this year until September, at least some part of the country recorded severe weather conditions, such as heatwaves, heavy rainfall, floods and cyclones, up from 86% in 2022 and 88% in 2023. There was a surge in 27 states and Union territories compared to 2023. Also read | Indian stock markets review 2024: A tale of two halves The report said 2024 set several climate records for India: January was the ninth driest since 1901; February recorded the second-highest minimum temperature in 123 years; May saw the fourth-highest mean temperature on record; while July, August, and September registered their highest minimum temperatures since 1901. Funding test All of this made the world turn its eyes to the 29th global climate summit, COP29, in Baku in November, with renegotiating climate finance for suffering developing nations a key part of the agenda. Developed countries agreed to mobilise $300 billion annually by 2035 to support vulnerable nations. But this further widened the conflict between developed and developing countries. India led the charge in challenging the funding, arguing that $300 billion was abysmally inadequate compared to the $1.3 trillion a year demanded by developing countries. An analysis by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) estimates that developing countries need trillions of dollars in additional investment for adaptation and mitigation. The first real test of this contentious agreement will come in February 2025, when countries submit updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)their strategic climate action plans for a net-zero future. The ambition and practicality of each country's climate strategy will be directly tethered to the financial resources available. Race for alternatives In 2024, India experienced a significant surge in power demand, fuelled by robust economic growth and a severe summer heatwave. Despite mounting pressure to transition to cleaner energy, the country continues to rely heavily on fossil fuels, particularly coal. While experts say India's persistent energy poverty will necessitate continued coal use, government initiatives are gradually steering the economy towards cleaner alternatives. Also read | 2024: A year of IPO boom as retail interest zooms By November, India's installed renewable energy capacity reached 158 gigawatts. However, a critical challenge remains: a balanced mix in electricity generation. A CSE investigation based on Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) data observed that many clean-energy projects were yet to be commissioned and there appear to be very few takers" for renewable source-based power. The transition challenges extend beyond power generation. Electric vehicle sales have slowed dramatically in 2024, likely due to relatively lower government incentives, a rising preference for hybrid vehicles, inadequate charging infrastructure, and high prices. Pollution emergency Despite India's progress towards cleaner energy, the country faces a major domestic problem: pollution. Air pollution in India is a serious environmental issue causing severe health impacts, with doctors reporting increased asthma cases among children and adults. A pan-India study has uncovered a disturbing link between infant mortality and exposure to dangerous PM2.5 levels. The government's National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) aims to address the issue, but research reveals gaps in pollutant coverage and uneven implementation. A report by Dehradun-based think tank Nagrika highlights that 83 of the 100 most polluted cities globally are in India, and that 90% of these are small and mid-sized citiesindicating a nationwide crisis. Also read | Dont let air pollution cloud the success story of Indias economic emergence The pollution challenge extends beyond air quality. Water sources are increasingly contaminated, posing additional risks to public health that demand comprehensive national action. As 2024 draws to a close, Indias response to climatic challenges will not only test its own resilience but could serve as a model for other developing nations. The day of reckoning has arrived for Yoon Suk Yeol, South Koreas president. The countrys National Assembly voted on December 14th to impeach him for his short-lived attempt to impose martial law earlier this month. Outside the assembly, crowds of tens of thousands erupted into cheers and applause when the results were announced; demonstrators embraced and shed tears. Into the New World", a hit K-pop-song-turned-protest anthem by Girls Generation, rang out from the speakers: The end of wandering that I was longing for." The impeachment marks the end of an extraordinary ten days. Late on December 3rd, Mr Yoon declared martial lawonly to pull back early the following morning in the face of opposition from the parliament, his own party and the public. Mr Yoons party, the Peoples Power Party (PPP), boycotted a first impeachment motion on December 7th. Following that disappointing result, I was sad, so I went drinking," says Kim Seong-nam, an electronics-company employee who has come out to protest four times since the martial law declaration. Mr Yoons defiant stance in the ensuing week turned even some in his own party against him. The PPP participated in the second impeachment proceeding, with 12 of its members voting in favour. That pushed the motion over the required two-thirds threshold, with 204 of 300 lawmakers voting to impeach the president. This time, I am happy, so Ill go drinking!" says Mr Kim. Yet the turbulence is far from over. The affirmative vote in the assembly triggered Mr Yoons immediate suspension from office; the prime minster, Han Duck-soo, a career technocrat appointed by the PPP, has taken over as acting president. The impeachment now passes to the constitutional court, the countrys top legal body, which has up to 180 days to issue a final ruling. Given the urgency of the case, the proceedings may move more swiftly: the court took 92 days to uphold the impeachment of Park Geun-hye, a former president, in 2017; the case against Roh Moo-hyun, one of her predecessors, in 2004, took just 64, with the court overturning the impeachment. I hope theyll rule quickly," Mr Kim says. The longer the uncertainty lasts, the more damage it does for us." The case at the court is hardly straightforward. Following the retirement of three justices in October, only six of the nine seats are currently filled. Six affirmative votes are necessary to rule on impeachment; one of the justices is a conservative appointed directly by Mr Yoon. (The remaining seats may be filled before the case is heard.) Following the impeachment vote Mr Yoon pledged to never give up". Allies say he believes he did nothing illegal; he will try to argue to the court that imposing martial law was within his authority as president, and that he followed proper constitutional procedures for doing so. The president and some in his party seem to have a different view of reality", says Jung Bo-ram, a protester who brought her two young children to the demonstration on December 14th. The court tends to take public opinion into account. Mr Yoons approval ratings have fallen to as low as 11%; some 75% of South Koreans believe he should be impeached. The justices know where the South Korean people stand. Just look at this crowd," says Park Song-mi, a screenwriter, gesturing to an impromptu dance party that broke out near the National Assembly in the wake of the vote. If the court does uphold the impeachment, new presidential elections must be held within two months. Mr Yoon also faces a possible separate criminal trial for treason. Investigators have already placed him on a no-fly list and attempted to search the presidential office. Ms Park was first impeached, and then convicted on corruption and abuse of power charges. She served nearly five years of a 20-year sentence in prison, before being pardoned by Moon Jae-in, Mr Yoons predecessor. For many Koreans, the sense of deja vu is unsettling. We didnt quite work out the kinks last time," Ms Park laments. Calls for more fundamental political reform are building again. When South Korea democratised in the late 1980s, the country adopted a system with a powerful president limited to a single five-year term and checked by a unicameral legislature. A more straightforward parliamentary system or introducing multiple, shorter presidential terms could help improve accountability and decentralise power. The current system has reached the end of its lifespan", Yoon Young-kwan, a former foreign minister, argued in a recent column in the JoongAng, a South Korean daily, noting that in the past four decades, four presidents have been imprisoned and now two impeached. How long will we tolerate this kind of political situation?" For South Korea as a whole, the reckoning has only just begun. 2024, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. A judge wanted proof that a woman who failed to appear in court on a third occasion for dishonestly taking 4,000 for a wedding reception was in hospital. May Stanley (58) of 3 Slieve Bloom Heights, Rathdowney, is accused of dishonestly taking 3,500 from one person and 500 from another person for a wedding reception on dates between February 1, 2022 and February 10, 2022. The woman didnt appear before a sitting of Portlaoise District Court where her solicitor Josephine Fitzpatrick said she had been instructed that the defendant was in hospital. She was on her holidays in July, Judge Susan Fay noted about a previous none appearance by the woman. Also read: Longford woman elected as Vice-President of the Public Relations Institute of Ireland And then she had Covid in September, Ms Fitzpatrick confirmed. She said she had brought a sum of 2,000 to court for the injured parties. Also read: Man caught in possession of cannabis in Longford hit with 300 fine Garda Sergeant JJ Kirby described it as a fairly serious incident. He said he would like to see some proof that the woman wasnt in court because she was in hospital. Ms Fitzpatrick said she didnt believe she would be able to get a letter before court had finished. Also read: Missing Leitrim man (23) was last sighted on train that departed Dromod three days ago Judge Fay ordered that 1,500 be given to one injured party and a 500 be given to the other from the 2,000 in court. She remanded the case back to March 10, 2025 and said the defendant was to have a letter from the hospital confirming she was in treatment on the date of the court sitting. Local News By Long Island Published: December 15 2024 To date, Attorney General James has removed more than 8,400 guns from New York state since taking office in 2019. New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that 111 firearms were turned in at a community gun buyback event in Bohemia hosted by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), the New York State Police, and the Suffolk County Sheriffs Office. This event was part of Attorney General James ongoing effort to combat gun violence and keep New Yorkers safe. To date, Attorney General James has removed more than 8,400 guns from New York state since taking office in 2019. Gun buyback events empower local community members to be a part of the solution against gun violence and turn in unwanted firearms with no questions asked, said Attorney General James. Every one of the guns collected today is an effort to keep New Yorkers safe from the scourge of gun violence facing our communities. I thank the New York State Police, the Suffolk County Sheriffs Office, and my partners in local government for their commitment to protecting New York families. Together, we will continue to work towards a safer community for everyone, especially our children. Todays buyback event in Bohemia resulted in 111 guns being turned in, including 11 assault weapons, 51 handguns, and 39 long guns. Following todays gun buyback event, Attorney General James has helped remove more than 8,400 guns out of New York communities. "Reducing gun violence starts by removing firearms from our streets. These weapons, when left unsecured or forgotten, can lead to devastating tragedies, said Senator Monica Martinez. I thank Attorney General James, Sheriff Toulon and the partnering community organizations for organizing this potentially lifesaving event. We remain committed to keeping Long Islanders and our state safe. As a former police detective, I have seen firsthand the devastating impact of gun violence on our communities, said Deputy Speaker Phil Ramos. Programs like the Attorney Generals Gun Buyback initiative are essential to building safer neighborhoods by providing a secure and accessible way for individuals to dispose of firearms while removing dangerous weapons from circulation. These efforts, alongside proactive measures we have implemented statewide, are crucial to protecting our communities. I want to commend Attorney General Letitia James for her unwavering dedication, strong partnership, and steadfast commitment to reducing gun violence and safeguarding the people of New York. Thousands of Syrians decided to flee Syria due to security concerns amid chaos following the dramatic power shift in the already war-torn country. At the Masnaa crossing on the Lebanon-Syria border, hundreds of people were still waiting to cross into Lebanon. Born in Pittsburgh, Andrea Hairston is a playwright, author, retired professor of theater and Africana studies at Smith College and artistic director at the Chrysalis Theater. Hairston graduated from Smith in the mid-70s where she was a physics-math major. After a year of editing math textbooks for publisher Houghton Mifflin, which she called waitressing of the mind, Hairston went to graduate school at Brown University where she earned a masters degree in playwriting. She wrote and produced plays for many years before becoming a science-fiction novelist. Hairstons latest novel, Archangels of Funk, is her fifth and was released in May. Her work can be described as dystopian, but falls within the popular Hope Punk genre. Hairston is from the Florence section of Northampton, and as an avid bicyclist who doesnt own a car, she draws on her knowledge of the area to create the settings in her novels. Hairston sat down with us recently to talk about her latest novel, her reason and inspiration for writing and to give us a little preview of her sixth novel, which could be released sometime in late 2025. Q: Looking at you history as a writer and playwright, you have written a lot of plays, But lately, more novels. What has moved you in that direction? A: Well, I got a graduate degree from Brown in playwriting, and I love the theater. Its amazing, theres nothing like it, absolutely nothing. It is the most difficult art form because you have to corral all of these people plus your words. I was also a director and I worked with musicians and puppets. So I did festivals, which is featured in my book. That is really unbelievably hard. You need all kinds of resources. Your voice as a playwright, you speak in a choir of other artists. It requires really amazing skills of cooperation, creativity and a lot of energy to raise money, find the actors, find the spots, put it on. I was doing pretty much everything while teaching at Smith College. I had a theater company and I did that for many years, but I had stories that wouldnt fit on stage because a stage play or a carnival is actually a certain length of story length. And then a screenplay is another length and a novel or a short story, those are all different story sizes. And I had stories that werent going to fit on stage or on screen. At first, I was writing those stories as novels and then I loved writing novels. I taught at the University of Hamburg in Germany for a semester. I was a guest professor. I taught Black women playwrights in Germany. It was great experience. While I was in Germany, I had the experience of Im fluent in German, but I learned German from southern Germans and I was in north Germany. I actually had a wow (experience), this is really weird. These Germans arent like those other Germans, which of course, makes total sense. But it did this thing to my head that I realized how we slot people ... how I slot people. All the ways that growing up in America makes me view people somewhere else, whereas they dont view themselves that way. And people in northern Germany viewed me as southern, you know, Italian or German. And Im like, No, Im African American, we have all that same stuff, but they had their reference points that allowed them to make sense of me. So they put me in their story and I was like, Oh, wow. So thats when I decided I had to write science fiction novels. I wrote a novel and that was my first. Well, I wrote one and then I had to write another one. That was my first time writing novels. There were huge stories. I was like, OK, Ive got all these characters, Ive got all this stuff. It will not squeeze into a two-hour play. I then went to Clarion West, which is a sort of professional boot camp for science fiction and fantasy writers in 1999, and I worked on becoming a novelist. I was continuing to do my theater all along, and then I decided I would focus on the novels because I had these stories to tell that were larger and ... the theater is exhausting. But I love the theater, so I put theater artists in my novels. That was very satisfying. In Archangels of Funk, theres a festival, and I know a lot about putting on festivals, so it gave me a really good source for writing those moments, doing the research to make it live on the page. Q: When you say you have these stories and these characters, theyre in your head and you have to get them out. What do you mean by that? A: The story comes to me. I start writing it down. And the characters come talk to me and demand that I tell their whole story and figure out the rest of whats going on with them and how they relate to each other. Thats usually what happens. I wake up in the morning. I often I have a pen right by my bed so I can quickly write notes. Ive been like that most of my life. It used to be poems, but I dont publish poems, but I think through writing these, either character monologues or explorations of a setting or someone says something and my interest is like, Wow, what would that mean? Or how would that work? And then I write about it. So its like I have a sketchbook. The way a visual artist sees something and then starts their imagination, goes away with it, and they can then develop it into a sculpture or a painting or a drawing or whatever. That happens to me with ideas. Q: Archangels of Funk. Your latest book. Its science fiction, is it fair to say its dystopian? A: Yes. But Im what some people call hopepunk. I start with it being really bad, and how are we going to figure our way out of it? Thats my question. It has to be real. Its not like, and then they all lived happily ever after. The task of the characters is to solve their impossible problems. I hope myself that I will be able to do it. Periodically, as Im writing, Im like, are you going to be able to do it? Ive given them a really hard problem. Its work that I as a writer have to do as well as the characters ... to work within really difficult and challenging situations to see how we can make that way out of no way. Q. Published in 2024 did the pandemic inspire it at all? A. I started the book in 2020 right before (the pandemic) like March 1st. So Im starting to write and the pandemic hit. People were, Youre getting up and writing? and I said, Yeah its like my way out of no way. So it literally helped me ... and I observed all the amazing things that people in my community were doing during the pandemic. They were solving impossible problems that we had yet to encounter. And community members were coming together and figuring out ways to address it. ... I was deeply impressed with the ways in which people managed, like artists, like, who are performance artists, had to figure out how to perform during the pandemic and stay in touch with each other. I taught during the pandemic online theater classes. So we had to figure out how to do something that is essentially a live art form on camera, you know, separated from one another. Q: Cinnamon Jones is the main character in the book. Where did you come up with her? A: I wrote another book called Will Do Magic for Small Change and Cinnamon Jones appears in that book as a young person. I interviewed a bunch of people who all grew up in the 80s. Thats when Cinnamon Jones is growing up, which is 20 years after I did. I wanted to know what it was like. I got really good, amazing stories from a whole range of people about what it was like to grow up in the 80s. So I wrote that book, and it was about the 80s. And then in Archangels of Funk, I have her be 60 or almost 60. I wanted it to be someone who felt like she came from an amazing group of people. Her ancestors made a world possible for her, so shes able to be things that her grandparents couldnt have been. Shes able to do things that they didnt get to do, and still, despite all of that, its not looking good. The first line of the book is, Whos afraid of the future? And she feels like shes let down this whole line of people that have sacrificed, have worked hard, have made a way out of no way so that she could have all these opportunities and possibilities, and she squandered that and hasnt really done very much with it. She has a whole range of very critical thoughts about herself, and she has stratospheric expectations, which is a line from the book, about herself. ... She didnt quite succeed in terms of her own assessment. Many people might think she succeeded if they looked at her, but she feels like she let down (all these people). Q. Youve described the setting of your book as the Massachusetts of your mind. How did this area influence the book? A: Totally. One, Im a cyclist and I bike everywhere. I could just use that knowledge. I know all the people, people on the bike path all over, and I bike all over Western Mass. It (the novel) really takes place in the Pioneer Valley, in Northampton and Amherst, some alternative version of that with the bike path essential, with the malls and the colleges and universities and the farms and all the major features. If you are from this area, you will recognize it. I have some moments that take place in Florence, Mass. Theres a Sojourner Truth statue there. I use that in the book. Theres a great tree walk where you can see these ancient old trees that were here when Sojourner Truth was here. There are the malls, the dead mall, that has been revived. I use the Valley; I call it, were on the other side of the tofu curtain. So I make fun of us as well, of course. And Ive been here a long time, so I have a sense of it for a long time. Its like a near-future alternative Massachusetts, Western Mass. Q. What is the inspiration for your work? What do you get out of writing, the satisfaction level, if you will? A: I have to write. I come from a family of talkaholics, and my grandfather was a Baptist minister. I swear the pulpit was an excuse for him to tell stories to large groups of people on a regular basis. And the stories were glorious. He was a biblical scholar, so he could pull anything from anywhere ... yesterdays headline, a novel he read, a comic book he saw and put it all together and on Sunday. He had magic. He would do that every week. I used to sit in his study with him when I was a little girl while he wrote those sermons, and he would read little excerpts to me. So I think I come from a family of storytellers, and then I got to watch him work as a writer because he had to write that sermon every week. So it was a discipline as well as a calling. But, back to life, (my writing) what is my part of the relay race? Its something that I have to offer the world. I feel that in the relay race, this is what Im doing. I write. I observe the world like my grandfather. So its definitely, you know, straight up from him. And I try to make sense of who we are at this moment in relation to who we have been and who we might become. Theres a delight in being creative and playful and playing and then sharing that with others. Again, when I say theres nothing quite like theater, writing novels is pretty much like doing a play, because you have to do the costumes, the sets, the lights, the characters, the backstory, the whole thing. Q. Whats on your horizon? What are you working on now? A. Im writing another novel, which was due in August, and it did not get done. Ive been a little off my game the last few weeks, but Ive been writing every day. So Im hoping that sometime at the beginning of the year, Ill have it done. Its a murder mystery, so Im very excited. Ive never done that before. It came to me; its called The Redemption Center is Closed on Sundays. Its also science fiction and theres a dog character who is one of the major detectives. I do a lot of research on dogs, and ... there are two dogs in Archangels of Funk, and I come from their point of view. And all the dogs are different. Theyre just like other characters. Im really having a lot of fun trying to understand how my dog is going to communicate to the people. The thing that the dog knows the dog knows a whole lot of stuff, but doesnt have verbal language. The people are walking by clues that they dont even notice. But they know things the dog doesnt know. Im very much struck by how the worlds we make are like a dog. They dont have as many colors as we have, so the world visually looks different. But they can map the scents. They can tell time with scent. They know this was recent, as in, you know, a few minutes ago, or youre still here, go find you. Or this was a year ago and you used to come here ... Im really enjoying it. Im in New England and Im writing about people who are facing difficult challenges. A lucky Massachusetts State Lottery player bought a winning Powerball ticket worth $1 million at Leicester Package Store on Saturday. The liquor store is located near the intersection of Main Street and Route in Leicester. In Powerball, players select five numbers between 1 and 69 and one Powerball number between 1 and 26. They then choose how many drawings they want to use those numbers for. Players that match all five numbers and the Powerball number win the jackpot. They have 1 in 292,201,338 chances of winning this way. Players that match all five numbers but not the Powerball number win $1 million. They have 1 in 11,688,053.52 chances of winning this way. Saturdays winning numbers were 12, 17, 23, 52 and 67, and the Powerball number was 1. The Powerball jackpot prize stands at $55 million as of Sunday. Powerball drawings take place every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. Overall, at least 217 prizes worth $600 or more were won or claimed in Massachusetts on Saturday, including five in Springfield and 11 in Worcester. The Massachusetts State Lottery releases a full list of winning tickets every day. The list only includes winning tickets worth more than $600. So far, the largest lottery prize won in Massachusetts this year was worth $1 million a year for life. The prize was from the lotterys Lifetime Millions scratch ticket game. The winner claimed their prize through a trust on July 10, and opted to receive a one-time payment of $15.4 million. Boston police arrested two men who flew a drone dangerously close to Logan Airport Saturday evening. Charlestown resident Robert Duffy, 42, and Bridgewater resident Jeremy Folcik, 32, have been charged with trespassing, but may face further fines and charges, Boston police said in a press release. Around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, a Boston police officer detected an unmanned aircraft system operating dangerously close to the airport, police said. Using aircraft monitoring technology, the officer identified the drones location, altitude, flight history and its operators position in Boston Harbor. A jury found a 19-year-old Cambridge man guilty of crimes connected to a May 2023 shooting near a Boston park on Friday, according to the Suffolk County District Attorneys Office. The jury convicted Machyus Battle on charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and four illegal firearms charges, the district attorneys office said in a press release. The charges stem from a non-fatal shooting that took place near Ramsay Park in Bostons Roxbury neighborhood on May 24, 2023. Security video of the incident shows a person in a red sweatshirt fire multiple shots at a group of seven males, the district attorneys office said. The shooter who was later discovered to be a minor then runs away, but no one was hit by the gunfire. Editors note: The Republican and New England Public Media collaborated on a monthslong investigation into the practice of civil asset forfeiture in Western Massachusetts. This story is one part of that series. GREENFIELD When a Greenfield woman was arrested in 2005 on a drug crime, state police seized less than $100 from her and another man. It wasnt until 15 years later that police and prosecutors notified her she had an opportunity to fight for the return of the money. CARACAS, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Leaders from Latin American and Caribbean countries gathered in Caracas on Saturday to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People's Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) during its 24th summit. The summit opened with a private meeting of the heads of state from the bloc's 10 member nations, followed by a public plenary joined by guests Haiti, Honduras, and Palestine. A key focus of the event is adopting a declaration reaffirming the alliance's principles and long-term goals. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Telegram called ALBA-TCP the "vital core of independence, dignity, and sovereignty." "We are here to ensure that its strength is invincible through unity," Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel wrote on social media platform X. Ahead of the summit, delegations met on Friday to discuss strategies for achieving the 2030 Strategic Agenda. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil highlighted the need to navigate political uncertainty and enhance regional security. Founded in 2004, the 10-country ALBA-TCP bloc aims to reduce Latin America's reliance on Western aid by promoting intra-regional alliances and cooperation in key sectors such as energy and trade. Info/News: La zone perturbee sest creuseeDeces de Jean Marie Le PenNicolas Pompigne-Mognard named among the 100 Most Influential Africans for 2nd consecutive yearFirst special communique for St BrandonNavin Ramgoolam rend hommage a Jimmy CarterSe preparer pour le passage dun cycloneMeteo du 7 janvier 2024Deces de Reynolds PermalJustin Trudeau a annonce sa demission5e systeme de la saison cyclonique 2024-2025Renouvellement du permis doperation pour les pharmacies priveesLes prochaines rencontres de football de la MFAMeteo du 6 janvier 2025Modoki La Nina dans le PacifiqueZone pluvio-orageuse au Nord-Nord Ouest de MauriceTrois Jumbo Express ferment leurs portesDeces de Lady Nancy Ah-ChuenSpace42s Thuraya 4 Satellite successfully launched into orbit[Video news] Baby John au Sirsa[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 4 janvier 2025Sanjiv Ranjan is the new Secretary-General of the IORA SecretariatLettre ouverte au Premier ministre du PakistanLettre ouverte a lAmbassadeur des Etats Unis a MauriceIPLOOK Networks 2024 RecapThe Best-Performing CEOs in Africa in 2024iHerb Debuts Digital Wellness HubHinen to showcase advanced energy storage technologyContribution decisive des Nouveaux Democrates dans la victoire du 10 Novembre 2024DTOS Group lance une initiative innovante pour renforcer les relations intergenerationnelles en entreprise[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 3 janvier 2025La piscine de Mare dAlbert dans un etat piteuxLa residence dHarvesh Seegoolam perquisitionneCommunique de HM Technologies : Precisions sur la cessation de contrats de 11 collaborateurs[Document] Les chansons de lannee de 2024 de Radio One[Video news] Petards a Poste de FlacqUne fille, premiere nee de la Generation Beta[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 1er janvier 2025[Video News] Message du nouvel an de Navin RamgoolamProcession religieuse a Petite RiviereMessage du 1er Janvier 2025 de Pravind Jugnauth[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du decembre 2024[Video news] Cotton Bay a lheure de 2025[Video News] Pointe aux Sables passe en 2025Bonne et heureuse annee 2025Message de fin dannee de Patrick BelcourtDemission du CEO du Mauritus Telecom GroupLa Mauritius Meteorological Services a lance une brochures, clip video et timbre poste.Tournee Patient Day pour Anil BaichooLa revendication mauricienne est basee sur trois criteresMessage de Steven Obeegadoo pour 2025[Video News] Studying in ChinaGalettes des rois by hotels Ninety-Six !ITL Foundation a apporte la magie de Noel aux enfants de SAFIRE !Five years ago Covid-19800 millions de livres sterlings par anneeEnd of year statement by WHO Director-GeneralAucun avertissement de fortes pluies nest en vigueur a MauricePluie: 140 mm a Riche en Eau en 24 heures[Video News] Les consignes de Pravind Rughoo pour les Late Night ShoppersApercu du temps pour Rodrigues du 31 decembre 2024 jusquau 03 janvier 2025Apercu du temps pour Maurice de mardi 31 decembre 2024 jusquau vendredi 03 janvier 2025Communique du Ministere du Bien-etre de La Famille: Fermeture des crechesCommunique du National Emergency Operations CommandAvertissement de fortes pluies pour Maurice ( 30-12-2024)Communique National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management CentreVeille de fortes pluies en vigueur a Maurice (30-12-2024)Que quelques heures pour voter pour votre chanson de lannee sur R1Homelie de Mgr Durhone a loccasion de la messe de Noel a la prison de Melrose147.8 mm a Riche en eau en 24 heuresTrois zones perturbees dans le nord de la region[Document] Export and Import Price Indices for 3rd Quarter 2024Deces de Jimmy CarterFin de la Veille de fortes pluies pour MauriceDeux zones perturbees et une perturbation tropicaleOrages dans lOuestSoft Robotics to debut at CES 2025Bulletin meteo special pour AgalegaPremiere cohorte de femmes certifiee en gestion de pepiniere au sein de lAgri-Hub de la Vallee de FerneyLegend Hill ouvre son paradis panoramique aux Mauriciens en mars 2025Communique du National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Centre ( 29/12/2024)30.2 mm de pluie en trois heures a Riche en Eau[Document] 50 mm de pluie pour les premiers 15 jours de decembre 2024[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 28 decembre 2024[Video News] Dawood Rawat a rencontre les investisseurs dans la BAIBulletin de Veille de fortes pluies pour MauriceUne voiture detruite par les flammesThe 100 Most Influential Africans of 2024Recrutement de personnel de cabine dEmirates Airlines a Mauriceblink by Emtel annonce les 10 premiers gagnants de la 2 edition de sa campagne blink & WinMerck Foundation Chairman and First Ladies share their partnership journey in Transforming Patient Care Landscape[Video news] Message de fin dannee de Paul Berenger[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 27 decembre 2024Avis de fortes pluies en vigueur a AgalegaSarat Lallah retrouve la MT Towerle Premier ministre a rendu hommage au Dr Manmohan Singh,Revocation de lInformation and Communication Technologies (Registration of SIM) Regulations 2023Amaresh Singh Ramlugan, nomme president du Conseil dAdministration de la MBCDecisions du Conseil des Ministres du 27 decembre 2024Apercu du temps pour Rodrigues du 28 au 31 decembre 2024Apercu du temps pour Maurice du 28 au 31 decembre 2024 Info/News: Huawei : Leader mondial des Wearables selon lInternational Data CorporationMauritian Prime Minister pays tribute to Former American President Jimmy Carter during Condolence Book signingDes grands villages pourraient devenir des villes[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 7 janvier 2025Meteo du 8 janvier 2025La zone perturbee sest creuseeDeces de Jean Marie Le PenHuawei releases Top 10 Trends of FusionSolar 2025Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard named among the 100 Most Influential Africans for 2nd consecutive yearFirst special communique for St BrandonNavin Ramgoolam rend hommage a Jimmy CarterSe preparer pour le passage dun cycloneMeteo du 7 janvier 2024Deces de Reynolds PermalJustin Trudeau a annonce sa demission5e systeme de la saison cyclonique 2024-2025Renouvellement du permis doperation pour les pharmacies priveesLes prochaines rencontres de football de la MFAMeteo du 6 janvier 2025Modoki La Nina dans le PacifiqueZone pluvio-orageuse au Nord-Nord Ouest de MauriceTrois Jumbo Express ferment leurs portesDeces de Lady Nancy Ah-ChuenSpace42s Thuraya 4 Satellite successfully launched into orbit[Video news] Baby John au Sirsa[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 4 janvier 2025Sanjiv Ranjan is the new Secretary-General of the IORA SecretariatLettre ouverte au Premier ministre du PakistanLettre ouverte a lAmbassadeur des Etats Unis a MauriceIPLOOK Networks 2024 RecapThe Best-Performing CEOs in Africa in 2024iHerb Debuts Digital Wellness HubHinen to showcase advanced energy storage technologyContribution decisive des Nouveaux Democrates dans la victoire du 10 Novembre 2024DTOS Group lance une initiative innovante pour renforcer les relations intergenerationnelles en entreprise[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 3 janvier 2025La piscine de Mare dAlbert dans un etat piteuxLa residence dHarvesh Seegoolam perquisitionneCommunique de HM Technologies : Precisions sur la cessation de contrats de 11 collaborateurs[Document] Les chansons de lannee de 2024 de Radio One[Video news] Petards a Poste de FlacqUne fille, premiere nee de la Generation Beta[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 1er janvier 2025[Video News] Message du nouvel an de Navin RamgoolamProcession religieuse a Petite RiviereMessage du 1er Janvier 2025 de Pravind Jugnauth[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du decembre 2024[Video news] Cotton Bay a lheure de 2025[Video News] Pointe aux Sables passe en 2025Bonne et heureuse annee 2025Message de fin dannee de Patrick BelcourtDemission du CEO du Mauritus Telecom GroupLa Mauritius Meteorological Services a lance une brochures, clip video et timbre poste.Tournee Patient Day pour Anil BaichooLa revendication mauricienne est basee sur trois criteresMessage de Steven Obeegadoo pour 2025[Video News] Studying in ChinaGalettes des rois by hotels Ninety-Six !ITL Foundation a apporte la magie de Noel aux enfants de SAFIRE !Five years ago Covid-19800 millions de livres sterlings par anneeEnd of year statement by WHO Director-GeneralAucun avertissement de fortes pluies nest en vigueur a MauricePluie: 140 mm a Riche en Eau en 24 heures[Video News] Les consignes de Pravind Rughoo pour les Late Night ShoppersApercu du temps pour Rodrigues du 31 decembre 2024 jusquau 03 janvier 2025Apercu du temps pour Maurice de mardi 31 decembre 2024 jusquau vendredi 03 janvier 2025Communique du Ministere du Bien-etre de La Famille: Fermeture des crechesCommunique du National Emergency Operations CommandAvertissement de fortes pluies pour Maurice ( 30-12-2024)Communique National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management CentreVeille de fortes pluies en vigueur a Maurice (30-12-2024)Que quelques heures pour voter pour votre chanson de lannee sur R1Homelie de Mgr Durhone a loccasion de la messe de Noel a la prison de Melrose147.8 mm a Riche en eau en 24 heuresTrois zones perturbees dans le nord de la region[Document] Export and Import Price Indices for 3rd Quarter 2024Deces de Jimmy CarterFin de la Veille de fortes pluies pour MauriceDeux zones perturbees et une perturbation tropicaleOrages dans lOuestSoft Robotics to debut at CES 2025Bulletin meteo special pour AgalegaPremiere cohorte de femmes certifiee en gestion de pepiniere au sein de lAgri-Hub de la Vallee de FerneyLegend Hill ouvre son paradis panoramique aux Mauriciens en mars 2025Communique du National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Centre ( 29/12/2024)30.2 mm de pluie en trois heures a Riche en Eau[Document] 50 mm de pluie pour les premiers 15 jours de decembre 2024[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 28 decembre 2024[Video News] Dawood Rawat a rencontre les investisseurs dans la BAIBulletin de Veille de fortes pluies pour MauriceUne voiture detruite par les flammesThe 100 Most Influential Africans of 2024Recrutement de personnel de cabine dEmirates Airlines a Mauriceblink by Emtel annonce les 10 premiers gagnants de la 2 edition de sa campagne blink & WinMerck Foundation Chairman and First Ladies share their partnership journey in Transforming Patient Care Landscape[Video news] Message de fin dannee de Paul Berenger[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 27 decembre 2024Avis de fortes pluies en vigueur a AgalegaSarat Lallah retrouve la MT Tower by Tanya Gazdik , December 14, 2024 Mini USA and Pantone teamed up to celebrate color and design at this years Pantone Color of the Year 2025 event in New York City. The new 2025 Mini Cooper Convertible, which arrives at dealers in January, was featured at the annual event in Pantone 17-1230 Mocha Mousse, the Pantone Color of the Year 2025. Although it was well received, Mocha Mousse will not be offered on any Mini models in the future, according to the automaker. The Dec. 5 event featured immersive exhibitions, design interpretations of this years color, and installations that brought the Pantone Color of the Year to life. Partnering with Pantone to unveil the Color of the Year 2025 was a natural fit, uniting two brands that share a passion for bold design and inspiring creativity through color, says Mike Peyton, vice president Mini Americas region. advertisement advertisement The collaboration between Mini and Pantone exemplifies our commitment to innovative design and vibrant expression, Peyton tells Marketing Daily. This partnership allows Mini to demonstrate one of the many ways that we inspire creativity and individuality with our owners through color. Mini owners are known for embracing a wide variety of colors, showcasing their love for personalization and bold self-expression, says Patrick McKenna, department head of marketing, product and strategy at Mini USA. This enthusiasm for unique hues reflects Mini's focus on offering a diverse color palette that resonates with individual styles, McKenna tells Marketing Daily. Historically, Chili Red and British Racing Green have been popular colors for Mini, reflecting the brand's vibrant personality and racing heritage, he says. Mini's palette also includes Sunny Side Yellow, Indigo Sunset Blue, Blazing Blue, Icy Sunshine Blue, Ocean Wave Green and Copper Grey. At Mini Takes the States, the automakers biennial road rally, it is common to see Minis in every color of the rainbow and also a full range of designs, decals, and artwork as Mini owners proudly showcase their uniquely customized vehicles, McKenna adds. This colorful display reflects the brand's strong emphasis on individuality, creativity and self-expression, which are core to the Mini community. Instagram's grip on US teens is tightening! Usage has surged from 8% to 12% in just a year. 90% of #US_teens are glued to #YouTube! Whats the allure? #socialmedia #Internetaddiction Internet Addiction Trusted Source Internet addiction Go to source Trusted Source Internet addiction - (https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/internet-addiction) A new study reveals that a staggering 50% oflike YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. This raises significant concerns about the potential impact of excessive screen time on young people's well-being.Overall, 73 percent of teenagers said they watch YouTube daily, making it the most widely used and visited platform. This share includes 15 percent who describe their use as almost constant.Excessive internet use can lead tocharacterized by an overwhelming urge to be constantly online. This can result in neglecting real-life responsibilities, strained relationships, and a decline in mental and physical health. It's crucial to maintain a healthy balance between online and offline activities to prevent the negative consequences of internet addiction. Nearly half of teenagers say they are online almost constantly, up from 24 percent a decade ago. This share has stayed consistent over the past few years. Overall, nearly all teenagers 96 percent report using the internet daily, the report said.The alarming report comes even as the Australian government, last month, passed a social media ban for children under 16. The ban will apply to Instagram, X, Snapchat, and others from late 2025. Meanwhile, Pew research showed that about 6-in-10 teenagers in the US reported using TikTok and Instagram, and 55 percent said they use Snapchat. About six-in-10 also reported visiting TikTok daily. This includes 16 percent who report being on it almost constantly. Roughly half of teenagers said they go on Instagram or Snapchat daily. This includes about one-in-10 who say theyre on each of these platforms almost constantly.The use of Facebook (32 percent) and X (17 percent) has steeply declined over the past decade among teenagers. Further, about a quarter of teenagers (23 percent) said they use WhatsApp, while 14 percent reported using Reddit.Across all five platforms, one-third of teens use at least one of these sites almost constantly. Notably, no gender differences were observed in the shares of teenagers who reported using Instagram and Facebook almost constantly. Yet, teenage girls use Instagram (66 percent vs. 56 percent) and TikTok more widely than teenage boys (66 percent vs 59 percent). On the other hand, boys are more likely than girls to use YouTube (93 percent vs. 87 percent).Source-IANS AQABA, Jordan (AP) U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has wrapped up perhaps his last Middle East as Americas top diplomat, with the aim of preventing Syria from spiraling out of control after the sudden ouster of President Bashar Assad. Blinken was one of several senior U.S. officials traveling across the region in the Biden administrations final weeks amid deep uncertainty in Washington and abroad over how Donald Trump will approach the Mideast when he takes office on Jan. 20, 2025. Blinken held meetings Jordan, Turkey and Iraq with the aim of trying to shape the future of post-Assad Syria by forging consensus among regional partners and allies whose interests often diverge. We know that what happens inside of Syria can have powerful consequences well beyond its borders, from mass displacement to terrorism," he told reporters Saturday in Aqaba, Jordan. "And we know that we cant underestimate the challenges of this moment. The primary goal of his 11 previous trips to the region since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023 was securing a ceasefire in Gaza that resulted in the release of remaining hostages. Now, suddenly, that wasn't his priority and was being handled by President Joe Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, who traveled to Israel, Egypt and Qatar this week. Blinken said he used his own meetings to press forward on a ceasefire deal. Biden's team is running out of time to cement a legacy in the Middle East after drawing widespread criticism that it turned a blind eye to Israels military conduct and its treatment of civilians in Gaza. They did succeed in helping lead a push for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon that, while tenuous, is holding. Here are some takeaways from Blinken's trip: Charting a new course for Syria While hopes remain for concluding a Gaza ceasefire by the time Biden leaves the White House, helping shape a new Syria may prove to be lower-hanging fruit. Blinken left Washington just three days after Assad fled for Russia, a longtime ally. Blinken said his goal was to convince countries in the Mideast and elsewhere that they should commit to backing the U.S. view of how Syria should be run after decades of Assad family rule. To that end, he said he had secured the backing of the 12 foreign ministers from the Arab League, Turkey and top officials from the European Union and United Nations who held an emergency meeting Saturday on Syria in the Jordanian port city of Aqaba. They agreed that the new Syrian government should respect the rights of minorities and women, prevent terror groups from taking hold, ensure humanitarian aid reaches people in need, and secure and destroy any remaining Assad-era chemical weapons. Blinken has promised that the United States would recognize and support a new government that met those principles. Seeking stability to deter the Islamic State group Syria is riven by partisan and sectarian infighting that led in part to rise of the Islamic State militant group in the first place. Turkey, Syrias neighbor to the north, is deeply suspicious of Syrian and Iraqi Kurds. Turkey deems them terrorists, although some of those Kurds have proved to be key American partners in the fight to destroy IS. The U.S. helped broker an agreement between the Turks and one of those Kurdish groups, the Syrian Defense Forces, after Assads departure, although its unclear how long that can last. We have the urgency of now, Blinken said Saturday. The urgency of now is to ensure that the success that weve had in ending the territorial caliphate of ISIS ... remains a critical mission," he said, using a different acronym for the group. The SDF runs detention facilities holding some 10,000 fighters, and Blinken said its role is key because "this is a moment of instability in which ISIS will seek to regroup and take advantage of. Just after Assad's downfall, the U.S. struck about 75 IS targets in the Syrian desert in an effort to prevent the group from gaining a foothold. The U.S. also has about 900 troops in Syria to battle the group. Facing Trump's return to power There are concerns in the region about how the incoming Trump administration will handle the Middle East, apart from deepening ties with Israel. Trump has demanded the immediate release of hostages in Gaza, threatening on social media that otherwise there would be HELL TO PAY, and has urged the U.S. not to get involved in Syria. Nonetheless, current U.S. officials believe the Republican is unlikely to abandon American military positions in Syria, as he had wanted to do during his first term. Their belief stems from the fact that Trump frequently takes credit for vanquishing IS by finishing the liberation of their territory that began during the Obama administration. The threat of the possible return of IS would be too great for Trump risk, according to these officials. They say Iraq, which signed an agreement with the U.S. in September under which the U.S.-led anti-IS coalition will withdraw next year, is already hinting that conditions could force a change in that timetable. On a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, Sullivan expressed cautious optimism that conditions were ripe for halting the long-running conflict before the end of the Biden administration's end. I wouldnt be here now if I didnt think this thing was just waiting until after Jan. 20, he said this week. Sullivan also said there has been good cooperation with the incoming Trump administration, with widespread agreement between them. Searching for missing Americans The Biden administration has made it a priority to find Austin Tice, an American journalist believed held in Syria for more than a decade. Since Assads ouster, the U.S. has redoubled efforts to find Tice and return him home. Blinken said Saturday that the U.S. has been in direct contact with the rebels that ousted Assad, including about the importance of helping find Austin Tice and bringing him home. Washingtons top hostage negotiator, Roger Carstens, traveled to Lebanon this week in hopes of getting information on Tice. Meanwhile, U.S. officials said Friday that another American, Travis Timmerman, was transported by the U.S. military out of Syria, where he had disappeared seven months ago into Assad's prison system. Timmerman was among the thousands released this week. Officials say Timmerman, 29, was flown to Jordan on a U.S. military helicopter Friday, and its unclear where he may go next. He was detained after he crossed into Syria from Lebanon while on a Christian pilgrimage in June. AQABA, Jordan (AP) American officials have been in direct contact with the terrorist-designated rebel group that led the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday. Blinken, speaking at a news conference in Jordan, was the first U.S. official to publicly confirm contacts between the Biden administration and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which led a coalition of armed opposition groups that drove Assad from power and into asylum in Russia last weekend. Along with counterparts from eight Arab nations and Turkey and senior officials from the European Union and United Nations, Blinken signed off on a set of principles meant to guide Syrias transition to a peaceful, nonsectarian and inclusive country. Blinken would not discuss details of the contacts but said it was important for the U.S. to convey messages to the group about its conduct and how it intends to govern in a transition period. Yes, we have been in contact with HTS and with other parties, Blinken said in the port city of Aqaba. He added that our message to the Syrian people is this: We want them to succeed and were prepared to help them do so. Blinken also stressed that the success that weve had in ending the territorial caliphate of the Islamic State group remains a critical mission. And citing the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurdish fighters who in recent years drove IS out of large areas of Syria, he said it was very important at this moment that they continue that role because this is a moment of instability" in which IS "will seek to regroup and take advantage of. HTS, which was once an affiliate of al-Qaida, has been designed as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department since 2018. That designation carries with it severe sanctions, including a ban on the provision of any material support to the group or its members. The sanctions do not, however, legally bar U.S. officials from communicating with designated groups. In an interview Saturday on Syrian television, the groups leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, did not address any direct contact with the United States, but said the new authorities in Damascus are in touch with Western embassies. He also said that "we dont intend to enter any conflict because there is general exhaustion in Syria. HTS has worked to establish security and start a political transition after seizing Damascus and has tried to reassure a public both stunned by Assads fall and concerned about extremist jihadis among the rebels. Insurgent leaders say the group has broken with its extremist past. A joint statement after the meeting of foreign ministers urged all parties to cease hostilities in Syria and expressed support for a locally led transitional political process. It called for preventing the reemergence of extremist groups and ensuring the security and safe destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles. We dont want Syria to fall into chaos, Jordans foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, told journalists. A separate statement by Arab foreign ministers called for U.N.-supervised elections based on a new constitution approved by Syrians. Their statement condemned Israels incursion into the buffer zone with Syria and adjacent sites over the past week as a heinous occupation and demanded the withdrawal of Israeli forces. U.S. officials say al-Sharaa has been making welcomed comments about protecting minority and womens rights but they remain skeptical that he will follow through on them in the long run. On Friday, the rebels and Syrias unarmed opposition worked to safely turn over to U.S. officials an American man who had been imprisoned by Assad. U.S. officials are continuing their search for Austin Tice, an American journalist who disappeared 12 years ago near Damascus. "We have impressed upon everyone weve been in contact with the importance of helping find Austin Tice and bringing him home, Blinken said. In other developments: Turkey reopened its embassy in Damascus, becoming the first country to do so since the end of Assads rule. The embassy suspended operations 12 years ago due to insecurity during Syria's civil war. Al-Sharaa said in the TV interview that the pretexts that Israel uses have ended for its airstrikes that have destroyed much of the Syrian army's assets in recent days. He said the Israelis have crossed the rules of engagement but that the insurgent group is not about to enter a conflict with Israel. The leader of Lebanons Hezbollah militants said the group has lost its military supply line through Syria but that the new authority there might reinstate the route. A Syrian war monitor and a citizen journalist said gunmen attacked members of a Syrian insurgent group, Failaq al-Sham, in the countrys coastal region, killing or wounding 15 of them on Saturday. That region is home to many members of Assads minority Alawite sect. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) Israel said Sunday it will close its embassy in Ireland as relations deteriorated over the war in Gaza, where Palestinian medical officials said new Israeli airstrikes killed over 30 people including several children. The decision to close the embassy came in response to what Israels foreign minister has described as Irelands extreme anti-Israel policies. In May, Israel recalled its ambassador to Dublin after Ireland announced, along with Norway, Spain and Slovenia, it would recognize a Palestinian state. The Irish cabinet last week decided to formally intervene in South Africas case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, which accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. Israel denies it. We are concerned that a very narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide leads to a culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimized, Irelands deputy premier and foreign affairs minister, Micheal Martin, said in a statement. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar's statement on the embassy closure said that Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with Israel. Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris called the decision to close the embassy deeply regrettable. He added on X: I utterly reject the assertion that Ireland is anti-Israel. Ireland is pro-peace, pro-human rights and pro-international law. Israeli strikes in Gaza kill a journalist and children Israeli forces continued Sunday to pound largely isolated northern Gaza, as the Palestinian death toll in the war approached 45,000. One airstrike hit the Khalil Aweida school in the town of Beit Hanoun and killed at least 15 people, according to nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital where casualties were taken. The dead included two parents and their daughter and a father and his son, the hospital said. In Gaza City, at least 17 people including six women and five children were killed in three airstrikes that hit houses sheltering displaced people, according to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital. We woke up to the strike. I woke up with the rubble on top of me, said a bandaged Yahia al-Yazji, who grieved for his wife and daughter. "I found my wife with her head and skull visible, and my daughters intestines were gone. My wife was three months pregnant. His hand rested on a body wrapped in a blanket on the floor. Israel's military in a statement said it struck a terrorist cell in Gaza City and a terrorist meeting point in the Beit Hanoun area. Another Israeli airstrike killed a Palestinian journalist working for Al Jazeera, Ahmed al-Lawh, in central Gaza, a hospital and the Qatari-based TV station said. The strike hit a point for Gazas civil defense agency in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp, Al-Awda Hospital said. Also killed were three civil defense workers including the head of the agency in Nuseirat, according to al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital. The civil defense is Gaza's main rescue agency and operates under the Hamas-run government. The war in Gaza began after Hamas and other militants from Gaza stormed southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking well over 200 hostage. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed almost 45,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministrys count does not distinguish between combatants and civilians, but it says over half of the dead have been women and children. ___ Melzer reported from Nahariya, Israel. Associated Press writer Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report. ___ Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war ___ This story has been corrected to reflect that the Irish prime ministers statement came after Israels decision was announced. SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Kweon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the South Korean ruling party, said on Sunday that his party has rejected a proposal by the country's main opposition party to set up a consultative body to stabilize the operation of state affairs. The People Power Party is still the ruling party and an acting president has already been appointed according to the Constitution, Kweon said at the National Assembly on Sunday. Earlier in the day, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, said in a press conference that it is imperative for the country to realize a speedy normalization as the national defense and security posture have been undermined by the "insurrection" incident, referring to the botched emergency martial law imposition earlier this month by the now-impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol. Lee called on the country's parliament and government to set up a consultative body to stabilize the operation of state affairs in the spirit of multi-party cooperation in governance. This week is the series finale of Yellowstone, and viewers everywhere will be tuning in to learn the fate of the Duttons family ranch. Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 episode 14 airs on Sunday, Dec. 15, at 8/7c on Paramount Network. Stream the series finale for free with a trial from Philo. Watch live, or set it to record. You wont want to miss this nearly two-hour finale. About the show: Yellowstone follows the Dutton family, who own and run the largest contiguous ranch in the country. The series has constantly shifting alliances, unsolved murders and plenty of open wounds. Between corrupt politicians, billionaires looking to buy out property, Americas first national park and a Native American reservation with historical ties to the land, there is always some trouble at the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch borders. Based in Montana, patriarch John Dutton was in charge until he was found dead earlier this season. His adult children have been trying to save the ranch from a disastrous fate, and things started looking up last episode. If you missed Season 5 Part 2 episode 13, catch up before tonights finale. Read a recap of the episode here or find out where to watch episode 13 now. Yellowstone is not on Paramount+ despite airing on Paramount Network, so make sure not to confuse the two. In tonights episode, Life Is A Promise, the Duttons and the Yellowstone cowboys finally lay patriarch John to rest, and the fate of the ranch is revealed. Tune in tonight, Dec. 15, for the Yellowstone series finale at 8/7c on Paramount Network. Stick around afterward for a new-to-cable episode of 1923: A Yellowstone Origin Story at 9:50 p.m. ET. Find in depth information about the entirety of Yellowstone, casts, plot lines, spinoffs, recaps and more in our MLive Yellowstone guide. Where to watch Yellowstone Season 5 part 2: $28/month, ditch cable and unlock 70+ channels of reality TV, movies, and more. Get access to over 70,000 movies and shows on-demand, plus AMC+. Philo (start free trial) - For, ditch cable and unlockof reality TV, movies, and more. Get access to over 70,000 movies and shows on-demand, plus AMC+. Click here to watch. Season 5 part 2 cast: FLINT, MI -- Mott Community College was one of more than 71 organizations across the country and the only one in Michigan to receive a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to improve training and employment services for young workers. Mott Community College will receive $1.5 million, according to a news release from the department. These funds will support YouthBuild pre-apprenticeships to educate and train young people ages 16 to 24 in the market for construction jobs and employment in other high-demand industries, according to the release. YouthBuild grants are investments in young people who want to pursue education and receive hands-on training, while providing service to neighbors in need, Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Jose Javier Rodriguez said in a statement. (The awards) will help ensure that young people, regardless of their background, benefit from the opportunities created by the Biden-Harris administration. MCCs YouthBuild program allows students to earn certificates in construction and nursing by participating in a 26-week program. YouthBuild is a community-based pre-apprenticeship program that gives job training and education services for youth who left school without a secondary diploma. The program is administered by the Office of Workforce Investments Division of Youth Services. Want more Flint-area news? Bookmark the local Flint news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Flint daily newsletter. GRAND RAPIDS, MI A new coffee shop is coming to Grand Rapids Eastown neighborhood. The Grand Rapids Planning Commission signed off Thursday, Dec. 12 on plans for Foxtail Coffee Co. to open a cafe at the former Little Caesars building at Wealthy Street SE and Fuller Avenue SE. We think that it will be a great addition to that community, revitalize that corner, and turn it into a place that the community can gather, said Sam Nichols, the director of business operations for Baton Collective, the Ada-based company thats serving as the local franchisee for Foxtail Coffee Co. Foxtail Coffee Co. is a Florida-based chain that operates more than 70 locations in Florida, Georgia, Nevada, as well as three spots in Ada, Holland and Byron Center. Baton Collective is a real estate development firm owned by Cheri DeVos. The coffee shop is expected to open in late spring, Nichols said. Foxtail Coffee is craft coffee, very high-quality coffee that is in a very cozy and friendly environment, he said, adding the company also sells tea, pastries and sandwiches and a type of ice cream called gelato. Related: New coffee shop opens in Ada, will be chains first location in Michigan The new location, 1200 Wealthy St. SE, was originally a Standard Oil gas station but housed other businesses over the years, including Sandmanns BBQ and Little Caesars pizza. With Foxtail set to take over, the building is being renovated and will include two new outdoor patios. Because the building is located in a historic district, the citys historic preservation committee also signed off on the project. The exterior renovations, including a sign and garage-style doors, are being done to preserve the buildings historic status, said Ken Dixon, the projects architect. The building will have 36 seats inside, 12 seats on a rear patio, and 32 seats in a patio on the buildings north side along Wealthy Street, he said. PORTAGE, MI A school district is facing a federal lawsuit over allegations that two Black students were harassed about their race and the district didnt take sufficient action to help. Adam Baylis III, the childrens father, and Nakia S. Baylis, their stepmother and legal guardian, filed the lawsuit Thursday, Dec. 12, in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Michigan. It names the Portage Public Schools district and administrators as defendants, as well as a bus driver and counselor. The two students, while enrolled at Portage West Middle School in 2023-2024, allegedly faced harassment from other students. They were sent messages containing the n-word, monkey, ape and comments like go pick some cotton, both in person and through text and social media, the lawsuit claims. The lawsuit includes images of messages, including a person wearing blackface and another that shows a KKK figure dangling a piece of chicken over a Black man. The Baylis family repeatedly reported the incidents to school officials, but the school failed to take meaningful action to stop the harassment, the lawsuit states. On Oct. 31, 2023, the students bus driver allegedly chased one of the students through the neighborhood, accusing him of taking too much candy from an unattended bucket. The bus driver allegedly shouted racial slurs, including Donkey Kong. The middle schooler, who was trick-or-treating, fled, injuring his ankle, the lawsuit states. The school took no corrective action after the incident was reported, the suit alleges. Despite Dr. Bayliss repeated attempts to resolve the harassment with the school, the administration failed to take meaningful action, ultimately forcing the family to remove (the students) from the school and relocate, incurring significant financial and emotional burdens, the lawsuit states. The lawsuit alleges racial harassment appears to be embedded in the culture of Portage Public Schools and other parents have the same concerns. The lawsuit asks for whatever amount of money the court determines the family is due in damages. It seeks an injunction from the court to establish proper procedures and safeguards within the district. As the lawsuit is ongoing, the district is unable to comment at this time, PPS spokeswoman Michelle Karpinski said. MLive also left a message seeking comment with the bus driver named in the suit. Want more Kalamazoo-area news? Bookmark the local Kalamazoo news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Kalamazoo daily newsletter. KALAMAZOO, MI A couple Canadians have long claimed to host the first ugly Christmas sweater party in 2002 in Vancouver. The claim, by Chris Boyd and Jordan Birch, has been referenced in recent years on CNN, the Washington Post, at uglychristmassweater.com and in the Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Book: The Definitive Guide to Getting Your Ugly On. Not so fast, says a group of Western Michigan University alumni. They claim they began hosting such parties in Kalamazoo in 2000. And they have receipts. The Kalamazoo Gazette even previously reported on the history of ugly sweater parties in 2004, giving the trendsetters their own weekender cover story. Two of the extravaganza founders, Michael St. Aubin and Jason Weeby, were interviewed for the story before the fifth annual gala. A Kalamazoo Gazette article from 2004 details the Turtleneck and Sweater Holiday Extravaganza Holiday party tradition in Kalamazoo.Kalamazoo Gazette The two, along with fellow party founder Bob Wedge, spoke with MLive from their homes in California and Northern Michigan about their role in shaping the holiday tradition. Its hard to admit that you started a fashion fad, but I can tell you we were doing it and I never heard of anyone doing it before then, Wedge said. True origins The first party was nothing more than a small holiday gathering at a student rental house on Kalamazoos Cedar Street in 2000. Only a handful of the roughly 80 partygoers dressed the part, Weeby said. It was a typical turn-of-the century college party with people carting in 18-packs of Icehouse beer, he said. Off in a corner, however, Weeby, St. Aubin and a few friends were sporting mustaches, sweaters and turtlenecks, drinking eggnog and playing vinyl Christmas records. From left, Cort Maclean, Bob Wedge, Andrew Phillips, Matt Eldon and Tim Williams pose for a photo at the 3rd Annual Turtleneck and Sweater Extravaganza in December 2002. The party took place at a rental home on Lafayette Avenue in Kalamazoo, Michigan, known affectionately as The Big Chill by those who lived there.Provided by Bob Wedge It was like a party within a party, Weeby said. But we had so much fun, other people I think thought it was a fun idea, too. The next year, the party moved to another home in Kalamazoo. The roughly 30 attendees all dressed the part. Everyone loves the retro, Wedge said. Back when we were little kids, youd flip through the photo album and youd see dad on the barbecue with these short shorts grilling burgers. And then youd see these Christmas parties. And everything was amazing. Theres just this this sense of warmth and home with all that. And when we were in our early 20s, it was like, Man, we want to do it, too. Wedge dug through closets and drawers to find the perfect sweater for the extravaganzas. One of the original vests I wore was my grandmas, he said. He wore it for years, in part, because it was homemade. Bob Wedge, Jason Weeby and Andrew Phillips pose for a photo at one of the early turtleneck and sweater extravaganzas at the since-closed Kraftbrau Brewery in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The brewery was the site of the fourth, fifth and sixth annual extravaganzas, held between the years of 2003 and 2005.Provided by Bob Wedge Those sweaters were like beautiful pieces of handmade artwork, like Santa Claus with an American flag on a sled, Wedge said. It was just so cool to see the craftsmanship of all these sweaters and you know these were all made in the 70s and 80s because no one would throw them away because you only wore them once a year for a Christmas party. We just tried to bring that back to life. Controversy addressed By Year 3, formal invitations were going out across Kalamazoo cordially inviting people to the annual Turtleneck and Sweater Holiday Extravaganza. The invitation was highlighted by a Sears Portrait Studio photo of Weeby and St. Aubin taken in 2000 in their Christmas sweaters. It promised crackling fireside chats, Mel Tormes velvet holiday voice and magical mustachioed moments. This was 2002, the year the Canadian guys said they invented it, St. Aubin said. But you can see from the actual program that we made, it was our third annual, he said. By that third party, there were also people we knew who had started hearing about this. We were seeing photos of them doing it in California and doing it in Chicago. So, this claim has long been a bit of a thorn in our side. Jason Weeby, seated, and Michael St. Aubin, standing, pose for a Christmas photo at the Sears in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 2000. The photo was used for the flyer for the 3rd Annual Turtleneck and Sweater Extravaganza in December 2002.Provided by Bob Wedge While they want to set the record straight, one point the Canucks could seize on is, the former Broncos did not refer to their Kalamazoo events as ugly Christmas sweater parties. Instead, they were turtleneck and sweater holiday extravaganzas. We didnt think they were ugly, Weeby said. To us, they represented a sense of nostalgia. This was not just people showing up at a bar or a house. We had real traditions that we carried on. The parties included an annual holiday fashion show, the crowning of the prince and princess of Christmas, the singing of the 12 Days of Christmas to close each party and the ceremonial pouring of the eggnog which sometimes wound up on the head of a reveler. Jason Weeby, standing on the table in a Santa Bear hat, pours eggnog on Nick Kupps Klimaski at one of the early turtleneck and sweater extravaganzas at the since-closed Kraftbrau Brewery in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The brewery was the site of the fourth, fifth and sixth annual extravaganzas, held between the years of 2003 and 2005.Provided by Bob Wedge Bands like Chicagos Baby Teeth and Wedges Griffin Shepherds would also perform. And there was a philanthropic component each year, with money going to area charities. As all the friends graduated from WMU in 2002 or 2003 and moved away, the extravaganza moved for a few years to the since-closed Kraftbrau Brewery in Kalamazoo. The brewery even made a Mustache Ale special for the 2003 party, its first year hosting the event. The party would eventually make its way to the Detroit area in 2006, spending one year at an American Legion Post in Berkley before moving to Ferndales Magic Bag from 2007 through 2012. Relinquishing control The friends, who retired the party after 2012, said they may resurrect it in 2025. The hope is to bring it back to Kalamazoo to honor the 25th anniversary. I was curious if the ugly sweater thing would run its course, but these parties still pop up every year, Weeby said. Originally, what made it great was this odd pairing of nostalgia and novelty. Jason Weeby brushes his mustache before the 3rd Annual Turtleneck and Sweater Extravaganza in December 2002. The party took place at a rental home on Lafayette Avenue in Kalamazoo, Michigan, known affectionately as The Big Chill by those who lived there.Provided by Bob Wedge They were looking back to what their parents did in the 70s and 80s. But it was new for them, he said. Eventually, that novelty and nostalgia gave way to commercialization. Such sweaters can now be purchased online or at Walmart and Meijer, which has taken away from the magic, the friends agreed. Yet, they still feel good seeing others embrace the tradition. I hope that they have a fraction of the feeling of the friendship and joy that we had when we were doing our parties, Weeby said. Those were some of the best nights of my life. We were surrounded by friends and there was just a level of absurdity of fun and joy and camaraderie that you just dont get anywhere else. Partygoers come together for a group photo at the 2nd Annual Turtleneck and Sweater Extravaganza on Dec. 8, 2001, in Kalamazoo, Michigan.Provided by Bob Wedge While the allure of rifling through an older relatives closet to find the ideal sweater may be gone, none of the friends blame people for trying to make a dollar off the trend. Once something becomes popular, Weeby said, you have to relinquish control. I think it belongs to everybody now, he said. And they can take it whichever direction they want. Wedge, while not the host, still participates in a sweater-themed party annually with work friends in Northern Michigan. This thing totally grew its own wings, it flew and it evolved, he said. The ugly thing was just a natural thing that happened ... because when you look at them, theyre gaudy. Wedge said its another thing Kalamazoo can be proud of. From being the birthplace of Gibson and Heritage Guitars, the Kalamazoo Promise and Bells Beer, this adds to the list of things that got their start in Kalamazoo. We didnt commercialize it, but we culturized it, St. Aubin said. We created a culture of wearing this stuff about and celebrating Christmas in this nostalgic and kitschy way. Kalamazoo Gazette/MLive offers free email news alerts. Click here to sign up for alerts or for the daily 3@3 Kalamazoo news roundup. Bookmark the local Kalamazoo news page here. MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - Many people are struggling to make ends meet, especially during the holiday season. Here are some ways you can give back to the community during the holidays in the Muskegon area. Muskegon Heights annual toy drive, childrens party The 41st annual Chief Clinton Johnson Toy Drive and Childrens Christmas Party will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Dec. 21 at Muskegon Heights City Hall. Kids aged up to 17 years old are welcome to the event and will receive free snacks, their choice of a gift and will get to meet and take a photo with Santa. Its open to anyone, said Willie Watson, event organizer and former Muskegon Heights city council member. He said they expect to see around 300 kids this year. Donations have come from local attorneys, dispensaries, police officers and more. Watsons family and family members of the late Chief Johnson volunteer at the event. To donate or get more information, contact Watson at 231-557-0455. Adopt a Working Family The United Way of the Lakeshore is making it so community members can sign up to adopt a working family for the holidays, helping to still bring holiday magic to those experiencing financial hardship. Donors can see the adoptable families online when registering, then will be matched with a family. Shop for gifts and deliver by Dec. 18. YMCA Winter Coat Drive A Winter Coat Drive is being run by the Muskegon YMCA through Jan. 6. Donations, which go to local schools, can be dropped at the YMCA, 1115 Third St. Toys for Tots The Muskegon County Toys for Tots program is still accepting toy donations, which then get distributed to local nonprofits who get them to families in need. Last year, 26,533 toys were distributed to 6,120 Muskegon County children. Salvation Army Angel Tree Community members can pitch in to sponsor families in need by donating to the annual Muskegon County Salvation Army Angel Tree. Families may apply online for children and/or senior adults to be sponsored. Childrens gift donations include toys and clothing. Volunteer to help sort gifts and distribute toys on Dec. 16-20. Adoptable dogs on Wednesday, Sept. 11 at the Big Lake Humane Society in Muskegon during a fundraiser event. Kayla Tucker Supporting animals in the shelters Must Love Dogs in Grand Haven is hosting a giving tree to benefit Big Lake Humane Society in Muskegon through Jan. 1, 2025. The holiday tree is decorated with ornaments that state the different needs of the shelter, and people can shop the pet store and donate items as gifts under the tree. Heaven Can Wait Animal Haven in Muskegon is hosting a litter drive. Donations of cat litter can be dropped off to the Heaven Can Wait Resale Store, 1639 W. Sherman Blvd., through Dec. 31. The litter will go to the cat rescue nonprofit. Want more Muskegon-area news? Bookmark the local Muskegon news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Muskegon daily newsletter. SAGINAW, MI Here are a few headlines from Saginaw County last week that attracted reader interest: DNA links man to killing, rape of wifes aunt in 2003 cold case, police say SAGINAW, MI A Saginaw man has been charged with killing a local grandmother whose body was found in the Flint River more than 20 years ago. Michigan State Police troopers on Tuesday, Dec. 10, arrested 47-year-old Jason R. Cabello at his Saginaw home. Cabello later the same day appeared before Saginaw County District Judge M. Randall Jurrens for arraignment on single counts of first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder, and first-degree criminal sexual conduct. All three charges are life offenses. Cabellos charges stem from the homicide of Jeanette I. Wilton, 57. Wiltons body was found in the Flint River in Taymouth Township near her Birch Run home on Feb. 22, 2003. Autopsy results showed Wilton was strangled, stabbed several times in her neck, and suffered blunt-force trauma to her head and face, with postmortem abrasions, according to the Michigan Attorney Generals Office. For more than a decade, Jeanettes loved ones have lived without answers, but with these charges, we are now one step closer to delivering long-awaited justice, AG Dana Nessel said in a statement. I want to thank the Michigan State Police, whose incredible efforts made this breakthrough possible. Their work proves that no case is too cold to be solved, and no victim is forgotten. Read more here. Saginaw County commissioner joins boards censure vote, punishing himself SAGINAW, MI An elected official joined his Saginaw County Board of Commissioners in a unanimous vote to censure him. Saginaw Countys governing body during a Tuesday, Dec. 10, special meeting admonished Rich Spitzer, a Republican commissioner criticized for a since-deleted November social media post critics have called racist and misogynist. The vote to censure a board action that formally expresses the groups disapproval of the actions of one of its own members passed by an 11-0 tally. Spitzer, who did not abstain from the vote, was among its supporters. Read more here. Police identify Saginaw business owner killed in weekend shooting SAGINAW, MI Police have identified the most recent victim of Saginaws gun violence, the 20th such death in the city this year. Julian L. Arroyo, 33, was the man police found suffering from a gunshot wound in the 1600 block of Delaware Street about 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7. Paramedics took Arroyo to an area hospital, where he died. Investigators offered their thoughts and prayers to Arroyos loved ones. Arroyo was the owner of local landscaping company Mid-Michigan Lawn & Maintenance Control. Police have made no arrests in the shooting, nor have they disclosed additional context apart from saying Arroyo did not reside where the shooting occurred. Read more here. After robbery attempt and bogus bomb threat, Saginaw man gets probation SAGINAW, MI A Saginaw man has received a probation term for trying to rob a gas station with a faux bomb threat. Saginaw County Circuit Judge Andre R. Borrello on Wednesday, Dec. 11, sentenced 36-year-old Phillip M. Stoeckl to 18 months probation. He further ordered Stoeckl to pay $248 in fines and costs, plus a monthly supervision fee of $30. Borrello scheduled a restitution hearing for Jan. 13 to determine how much Stoeckl may owe to the Saginaw Police Department for damaging one of their vehicles during his arrest. Stoeckl in November pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed weapon and malicious destruction of property between $200 and $1,000. The former is a five-year felony and the latter is a one-year misdemeanor. Prosecutors dismissed a life offense of armed robbery and malicious destruction of police or fire department property. Read more here. Saginaw man gets jail, probation for severing mans spine in marijuana-grow shooting SAGINAW, MI A Saginaw man has received jailtime and probation for shooting a coworker earlier this year inside a marijuana-growing operation, severing the wounded mans spine. Owen M. Pipkins, 52, on the afternoon of Monday, Dec. 9, appeared before Saginaw County Circuit Judge Darnell Jackson for sentencing, having pleaded no contest in October to assault with intent to do great bodily harm. The charge is a 10-year felony. The sentencing occurred quickly, Pipkins only shaking his head in the negative when Jackson asked if he had anything to say for himself. Pipkins maimed victim was not present in the courtroom. Jackson sentenced Pipkins to one year in jail with credit for 183 days already served. Upon release, Pipkins is to be on probation for three years, during which he is to pay a $30 monthly supervision fee. The judge further ordered Pipkins to pay $198 in fines and costs, due within 30 days of his release from jail, and to complete an anger management course. Read more here. Want more Bay City- and Saginaw-area news? Bookmark the local Bay City and Saginaw news page or sign up for the free 3@3 daily newsletter for Bay City and Saginaw. by Mulyanda Djohan Adnan JAKARTA, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Facing year-on-year decline in oil lifting (post-sale production) and disruptions in global supply chains, Indonesia has been grappling with challenges in maintaining oil security. Global supply chain disruptions caused by escalating international conflicts have led to significant volatility in global oil prices, impacting Indonesia's oil imports. Over the years, Indonesia has transitioned from being a net oil exporter to a net oil importer due to aging wells and slow investment. According to Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia, Indonesia currently imports 1 million barrels of oil per day at an annual cost of 500 trillion rupiahs (around 31.33 billion U.S. dollars). The country's oil lifting has decreased to around 600,000 barrels per day this year, down from 605,500 barrels per day last year. Additionally, oil purchases are heavily affected by price volatility in the global market, while the growing economy increases energy demand, including for oil. To tackle these challenges, the Indonesian government has implemented several measures, including expanding refinery production capacity, building an oil reserve, intensifying exploration and reactivating aging or idle wells. To ensure the smooth progress of the ongoing Refinery Development Master Plan (RDMP) project in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan province, Bahlil and Investment Minister Rosan Roeslani will plan a joint inspection. The RDMP project, designated a national strategic initiative, aims to boost the refinery's processing capacity. "This is Rosan's and my responsibility to check the project. If the RDMP project isn't completed, our oil imports will keep rising," he said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, to mitigate reliance on volatile global oil prices, Bahlil noted that Indonesia plans to construct an oil reserve facility on an island near Singapore. This facility will enable state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina to purchase oil in bulk when prices are low and store it for use when prices rise. The reserve facility, designed to store various types of oil for 30 to 40 days, will surpass the country's current storage capacity of 21 days. On the production front, the Indonesian government has intensified oil exploration and research over the past five years to boost domestic oil output. According to Dwi Soetjipto, Head of the Special Task Force for Upstream Oil and Gas Business Activities (SKK Migas), these efforts have included drilling 130 exploration wells, conducting 11 regional studies, and completing over 600 geological and geophysical surveys. "This shows the government's commitment to encouraging oil and gas discoveries to achieve short-term and long-term targets," he said. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has identified 6,000 idle wells with reactivation potential. Deputy Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Yuliot Tanjung said that these efforts could increase oil lifting by up to 20,000 barrels per day. MANILA, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- A fire broke out in a residential area in the Philippine capital before dawn Sunday, claiming the life of a 19-year-old male and injuring two others, the Philippines' Bureau of Fire Protection said. The bureau said the fire started in one of the houses in Pasig City before 4 a.m. local time and spread in the crowded community in minutes, trapping the victim in his home. It took firefighters over two hours to control the blaze, as the narrow alleys made it difficult for fire trucks to penetrate the burning houses. The bureau added that the blaze gutted at least 30 houses and impacted about 50 residents. The bureau is looking into the cause of the fatal fire. Francois Bayrou speaks at the transfer of power ceremony in Paris, France, on Dec. 13, 2024. (Photo by Henri Szwarc/Xinhua) As French President Emmanuel Macron's centralist ally navigates the fractured domestic political landscape, Bayrou could restore much-needed France-Germany cooperation with a second Donald Trump term on the horizon. PARIS, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Francois Bayrou's nomination as French prime minister -- the fourth this year to serve in the post -- provides a silver lining in France's political impasse. As French President Emmanuel Macron's centralist ally navigates the fractured domestic political landscape, Bayrou could restore much-needed France-Germany cooperation with a second Donald Trump term on the horizon. BAYROU'S TIGHTROPE Following Bayrou's nomination, the far-right wing party National Rally (RN) announced that the party would not immediately censure Bayrou. The president of the RN, Jordan Bardella, told French news channel BFMTV that Bayrou should "understand that he has no democratic legitimacy nor the majority in the National Assembly, which requires a dialogue with all the forces represented in the parliament." The RN's former president, Marine Le Pen, who came in third in the previous presidential elections, called on Bayrou to "hear and listen to the oppositions to build a reasonable and thoughtful budget." "Any other policy that would simply be an extension of Macronism, twice rejected at the ballot box, could only lead to deadlock and failure," she said on her X account. Former French far-right party leader Marine Le Pen speaks during a debate on no-confidence motions against the government at the National Assembly in Paris, France, on Dec. 4, 2024. (Photo by Aurelien Morissard/Xinhua) Meanwhile, the hard-left party La France Insoumise has announced it will launch a no-confidence vote to bring down Bayrou. The party has repeatedly said that the prime minister's position should be given to someone from the alliance of left-wing parties, which won the most seats in this year's snap legislative elections. But other parties from the left-wing alliance New Popular Front are less aggressive about Bayrou's nomination and have laid out conditions for their support. In a letter addressed to Bayrou, the Socialist Party said Macron's choice to nominate a "prime minister from his camp" risked "worsening the political and democratic crisis in which he has placed the country since the dissolution (of the National Assembly)." The Socialist Party demanded that the new prime minister renounce using special constitutional powers to pass laws without a vote in the National Assembly in exchange for not voting to topple him. The party, which will not participate in the upcoming government, also asked Bayrou to distance himself from the far-right-wing party RN and the "xenophobic" program of the RN. The French Communist Party announced it wouldn't topple Bayrou "if there is no Article 49.3," the special constitutional power deployed by the last Prime Minister Michel Barnier to force passage of the 2025 social security budget without parliamentary approval. Francois Bayrou (R, Front) shakes hands with outgoing French Prime Minister Michel Barnier (L, Front) at the transfer of power ceremony in Paris, France, on Dec. 13, 2024. (Photo by Henri Szwarc/Xinhua) For Marine Tondelier, leader of The Ecologists party, if Bayrou refuses to take action on pensions, the environment, and tax justice, her party would see no choice but to vote to topple him. TWO BANKS OF THE RHINE Following Donald Trump's election victory, Macron spoke with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, seeking to "work for a more united, stronger, more sovereign Europe." Yet, a stronger France-Germany cooperation faces challenges as both countries struggle with domestic political gridlock. According to Politico, at the Berlin Global Dialogue held in October, Scholz and Macron diverged on key topics, including proposals for joint EU borrowing, trade talks with South American countries, and how to counter the protectionist United States. Germany, Europe's largest economy, is also mired in a political crisis. Next week, the current government will face a vote of confidence in the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag. Last month, governor of the French central bank Francois Villeroy de Galhau called on France and Germany to unite to tackle risks facing Europe. "Today, the French-German dialogue has been weakened, mainly due to domestic political instability on both sides of the Rhine," de Galhau said. "To divide us would be to condemn us, and to condemn Europe," he said. De Galhau referred to long-term challenges facing Europe like climate change, an aging population, digitalization, geopolitical crises and Trump's election victory. Europe appears to have made partial strides with the appointment of France's new prime minister. However, it remains to be seen whether Europe, guided by France and Germany, can be a balancing force during a second Trump term. HOW FRANCE GOT HERE France's political instability started in June when Macron announced the dissolution of the National Assembly after being defeated in the European parliamentary elections. In the two rounds of legislative elections held on June 30 and July 7, Macron's centrist coalition lost the absolute majority, allowing the left-wing alliance of parties, the New Popular Front, to secure a relative majority in the 577-member National Assembly. Instead of immediately nominating a prime minister from the winning camp, Macron accepted the resignation of Gabriel Attal but asked him to lead a caretaker government. The ministers from Attal's government voted in the election of the speaker of the National Assembly, during which Yael Braun-Pivet, from Macron's party, was re-elected. Yael Braun-Pivet reacts after being re-elected as Speaker of the French National Assembly in Paris, France, on July 18, 2024. (Photo by Henri Szwarc/Xinhua) Two months after the legislative elections, Macron finally nominated Michel Barnier from the right-wing The Republicans party to form an "inclusive" government. With Barnier using special constitutional power 49.3 to force passage of the 2025 social security budget without parliamentary approval, the deputies of the French National Assembly voted in favor of a no-confidence vote, forcing Barnier to resign and his government to collapse. A total of 331 deputies, mainly from the New Popular Front and RN, voted in favor. In the history of French politics, it was a rare sight to behold for the left and far right to join forces. It marked a significant political crisis for France, as Barnier's government became the first to fall to a no-confidence vote since 1962. In 2024, France has seen four prime ministers: Elisabeth Borne, Attal, Barnier, and now Bayrou. DAMASCUS, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem confirmed on Saturday that the Lebanese armed group has temporarily lost its weapons supply route through Syria following the recent fall of Bashar al-Assad's government. In his first televised address since the collapse of Assad's government, Qassem acknowledged the disruption, describing it as a "detail" in the broader scope of Hezbollah's operations. He added that the supply route could be restored once a new regime is in place, or Hezbollah may seek alternative pathways. - - - - Israel intensified its airstrikes against Syrian military facilities on Saturday, conducting 24 air raids in the countryside of Damascus, according to a war monitor. The strikes reportedly hit tunnel-equipped installations carved into a mountainside in the targeted area, as reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The latest raids bring the total number of Israeli airstrikes on Syrian territory to 426 since the collapse of the Syrian government on Dec. 8. These operations have spanned 13 Syrian provinces, according to the observatory. - - - - Ahmad al-Shara, leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), acknowledged on Saturday the enormous scale of destruction in the Syrian capital Damascus and beyond after the downfall of Bashar al-Assad's government. In an interview with Syria TV, al-Shara said Syria now stands at a critical juncture, requiring careful data-driven strategies and the establishment of a rule-of-law state to ensure lasting stability. Al-Shara, who led the military operation that resulted in the collapse of al-Assad's government, emphasized the need to govern with a state-oriented mindset. He called for building institutions based on law and justice. - - - - Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan discussed here Saturday the latest developments in Gaza and Syria, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement. The meeting reviewed both sides' efforts to reach a ceasefire and facilitate the exchange of captives in the Hamas-Israel conflict. Al-Sisi emphasized the urgency of delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza, particularly as winter approaches. The two sides also discussed the implementation and maintenance of the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon as a key element in regional efforts for calm. - - - - Qatar Charity, a non-governmental charity and humanitarian group based in Doha, has dispatched a 40-truck humanitarian aid convoy to Syria to support those affected by the ongoing crisis, the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported on Saturday. The initiative aims to meet urgent needs as harsh winter conditions worsen the hardships faced by vulnerable populations, according to the report. The aid includes flour for bakeries and families, food baskets with essential supplies, winter clothing kits, personal hygiene kits, non-food item kits, medical supplies, and consumables. The total cost of the convoy's assistance is estimated at 4.5 million Qatari riyals (1.24 million U.S. dollars), according to the QNA. Syrians fleeing Syria are stuck at the border with Lebanon in the Masnaa border crossing area on Dec. 12, 2024. (Photo by Maher Kamar/Xinhua) DAMASCUS, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Ahmad al-Shara, leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), acknowledged on Saturday the enormous scale of destruction in the Syrian capital Damascus and beyond after the downfall of Bashar al-Assad's government. In an interview with Syria TV, al-Shara said Syria now stands at a critical juncture, requiring careful data-driven strategies and the establishment of a rule-of-law state to ensure lasting stability. Al-Shara, who led the military operation that resulted in the collapse of al-Assad's government, emphasized the need to govern with a state-oriented mindset. He called for building institutions based on law and justice. "We must pivot to the tasks of state-building," he said, stressing that the country's future depends on inclusive governance and a professional, accountable bureaucracy. Al-Shara vowed to end Syria's role as a hub for illicit activities, including the production of Captagon. The new administration, he said, is determined to restore the rule of law and ensure that the country's wealth benefits its citizens. He vowed to rebuild and improve Syrians' living conditions, restore essential services, and strive for a more stable and just future. He urged caution and diplomacy, urging all parties, including global powers, to act responsibly and avoid sparking new conflicts. Al-Shara accused Israel of using weak justifications for its recent strikes inside Syria, cautioning that continued Israeli overreach could provoke unnecessary escalation. He called on the international community to intervene diplomatically to preserve regional peace. "We are not currently seeking to engage in a conflict with Israel," he said in the interview. He stressed that diplomatic solutions are the only path to ensuring security and stability. Syrians fleeing Syria are stuck at the border with Lebanon in the Masnaa border crossing area on Dec. 12, 2024. (Photo by Maher Kamar/Xinhua) BEIRUT, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Upon learning of the sudden fall of Bashar al-Assad's government, Abdul Razzak Abdul Hay and his wife Laila rushed to the Lebanon-Syria border, the Masnaa border crossing, without even a second thought. "Everything happened suddenly. We lost our security, and we had no choice but to flee," said the husband. "We left everything behind us: the house, the neighbors, and even the memories," said Laila, carrying a small bag containing valuable and light items. "We had no time to think about anything but fleeing to Lebanon, the country we hope will receive us and provide us with the necessary needs for displacement," she said. The couple is among the thousands of Syrians who made the decision to flee Syria due to security concerns amid chaos following the dramatic power shift in the already war-torn country, in contrary to the other thousands of Syrian refugees who chose to return home from neighboring countries like Lebanon and Turkiye. Syrians fleeing Syria are stuck at the border with Lebanon in the Masnaa border crossing area on Dec. 12, 2024. (Photo by Maher Kamar/Xinhua) Syrian militant groups, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, waged a major offensive from northern Syria starting on Nov. 27 and captured the capital, Damascus, within 12 days, leading to the collapse of al-Assad's government on Dec. 8. Since then, 1,000 to 1,200 people entered into Lebanon from Syria legally every day, a source at the Masnaa border crossing told Xinhua. Those people either hold residency permits for Lebanon or possess travel tickets for flights departing from Beirut Airport. Yet an additional 90,000 Syrians have entered through illegal routes, estimated the Lebanese General Security. Lebanon is currently hosting about 2 million Syrian refugees who fled the country after it was enguled by a civil war in 2011. The Masnaa crossing is still packed with hundreds of people waiting to cross the border. With heavy steps and anxious faces, mothers clutch their children in tight embraces, while the children, clearly exhausted, lag behind, their feet dragging on the ground. The young ones, in the meantime, are burdened with as many luggage and plastic bags as they can manage. Syrians fleeing Syria are stuck at the border with Lebanon in the Masnaa border crossing area on Dec. 12, 2024. (Photo by Maher Kamar/Xinhua) "I fear for the thousands of families who were surprised by the rapid collapse of the regime and left in a hurry," 20-year-old Jumana Abu Asali told Xinhua. "I also feel sorry for my country which has been suffering from wars for more than 13 years; we had dreamed of a decent and safe life, and now we have become displaced and do not know what awaits us in the future," said Asali, accompanying her family, adding, "We will try to start over; we have no other choice." And for those who have already gotten into Lebanon, while a small number migrated to the capital Beirut, the majority settled in the Baalbek-Hermel region in eastern Lebanon, Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) reported. About 52,600 displaced people reside in homes, whereas some 33,000 live in the 133 makeshift shelters established inside local Husseiniyas, mosques, halls, and cafes, the NNA reported. There could be some 25,000 displaced Syrian families in eastern Lebanese towns, Afif Shoman, head of private charity group the Ta'awun Association, told Xinhua. "We are working on distributing food rations to the displaced in Husseiniyas, clubs, and charitable associations. We seek to equip and secure three field kitchens shortly to provide hot lunches. We have also worked on distributing heaters and securing diesel to face the winter cold," Shoman said. "The ministry is following up on the conditions of thousands of Syrians who have been displaced to Lebanon, and discussing with its partners, especially the UN organizations, ways to secure their humanitarian needs for the displaced and monitor their health," the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said in a recent statement. A capsized fishing vessel was found in the central area of the Yellow Sea off the east coast of China at around 11 a.m. on Saturday, according to the Shandong maritime search and rescue center. The vessel has been preliminarily identified as the one reported missing from an area nearby at around 11 p.m. on Friday -- which was carrying 12 people. Search and rescue efforts continue. BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) is supporting the Borneo Bike Gathering in Temburong District of Brunei, local media reported on Sunday. BIBD is the largest bank in Brunei, and the event is being held from Dec. 12 to Dec. 15, bringing together members of the public, entrepreneurs and enthusiasts in a showcase of Temburong's natural and cultural attractions. Designed to highlight Temburong's potential as a sustainable tourism destination, the event also provides an opportunity for local businesses to connect with a wider audience, driving economic activity in the district. BIBD's support for the event underscores its dedication to fostering collaboration and creating lasting positive impacts for the community, according to the report. Brunei is located on Borneo Island, and the Brunei government places great importance on the sustainable development of the country. Members of Copacabana Fort Orchestra take part in a rehearsal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Dec. 14, 2024. Copacabana Fort Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro has taken part in various cultural exchange events between China and Brazil. During a series of events marking the 50th anniversary of the China-Brazil diplomatic ties, the orchestra performed music that symbolized the friendship between the two countries. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong) Members of Copacabana Fort Orchestra take part in a rehearsal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Dec. 14, 2024. Copacabana Fort Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro has taken part in various cultural exchange events between China and Brazil. During a series of events marking the 50th anniversary of the China-Brazil diplomatic ties, the orchestra performed music that symbolized the friendship between the two countries. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong) A member of Copacabana Fort Orchestra takes part in a rehearsal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Dec. 14, 2024. Copacabana Fort Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro has taken part in various cultural exchange events between China and Brazil. During a series of events marking the 50th anniversary of the China-Brazil diplomatic ties, the orchestra performed music that symbolized the friendship between the two countries. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong) A member of Copacabana Fort Orchestra takes part in an outdoor rehearsal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Dec. 14, 2024. Copacabana Fort Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro has taken part in various cultural exchange events between China and Brazil. During a series of events marking the 50th anniversary of the China-Brazil diplomatic ties, the orchestra performed music that symbolized the friendship between the two countries. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong) Members of Copacabana Fort Orchestra take part in an outdoor rehearsal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Dec. 14, 2024. Copacabana Fort Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro has taken part in various cultural exchange events between China and Brazil. During a series of events marking the 50th anniversary of the China-Brazil diplomatic ties, the orchestra performed music that symbolized the friendship between the two countries. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong) Members of Copacabana Fort Orchestra pose for a group photo during an outdoor rehearsal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Dec. 14, 2024. Copacabana Fort Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro has taken part in various cultural exchange events between China and Brazil. During a series of events marking the 50th anniversary of the China-Brazil diplomatic ties, the orchestra performed music that symbolized the friendship between the two countries. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong) Members of Copacabana Fort Orchestra take part in a rehearsal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Dec. 14, 2024. Copacabana Fort Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro has taken part in various cultural exchange events between China and Brazil. During a series of events marking the 50th anniversary of the China-Brazil diplomatic ties, the orchestra performed music that symbolized the friendship between the two countries. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong) Members of Copacabana Fort Orchestra take part in a rehearsal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Dec. 14, 2024. Copacabana Fort Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro has taken part in various cultural exchange events between China and Brazil. During a series of events marking the 50th anniversary of the China-Brazil diplomatic ties, the orchestra performed music that symbolized the friendship between the two countries. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong) Members of Copacabana Fort Orchestra take part in a rehearsal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Dec. 14, 2024. Copacabana Fort Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro has taken part in various cultural exchange events between China and Brazil. During a series of events marking the 50th anniversary of the China-Brazil diplomatic ties, the orchestra performed music that symbolized the friendship between the two countries. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong) Members of Copacabana Fort Orchestra take part in an outdoor rehearsal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Dec. 14, 2024. Copacabana Fort Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro has taken part in various cultural exchange events between China and Brazil. During a series of events marking the 50th anniversary of the China-Brazil diplomatic ties, the orchestra performed music that symbolized the friendship between the two countries. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong) Members of Copacabana Fort Orchestra take part in an outdoor rehearsal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Dec. 14, 2024. Copacabana Fort Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro has taken part in various cultural exchange events between China and Brazil. During a series of events marking the 50th anniversary of the China-Brazil diplomatic ties, the orchestra performed music that symbolized the friendship between the two countries. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong) Members of Copacabana Fort Orchestra take part in an outdoor rehearsal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Dec. 14, 2024. Copacabana Fort Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro has taken part in various cultural exchange events between China and Brazil. During a series of events marking the 50th anniversary of the China-Brazil diplomatic ties, the orchestra performed music that symbolized the friendship between the two countries. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong) USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Lee Jae-myung, leader of South Korea's main opposition party, said on Sunday in a press conference that his party will not consider for now an impeachment against Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the country's acting president. Lee stressed to Han the importance of managing state affairs in a neutral stance during their phone call on Saturday, the chief of the Democratic Party of Korea told reporters. President Yoon Suk-yeol has been suspended from his presidential duties since the National Assembly voted on Saturday to impeach him over his botched martial law imposition. RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's contribution of around 30 percent to global growth underscores its role as a key economic anchor despite global challenges, said a Brazilian scholar in an interview with Xinhua. China's GDP grew 4.8 percent in the first three quarters of 2024, highlighting the Chinese economy's sound fundamentals, favorable conditions, strong resilience and great potential have not changed, while its general trend of high-quality development and steady progress has been maintained, said Evandro Carvalho, a professor at Brazil's prestigious Getulio Vargas Foundation. Looking ahead, China has decided to adopt a more proactive fiscal policy and a moderately loose monetary policy to stabilize the economy, boost consumption, and expand domestic demand, he noted. Carvalho sees these measures as a strategic response to global slowdowns and domestic challenges. "Implementing a (more) proactive fiscal policy demonstrates China's commitment to sustaining the upward trend of its economy amidst uncertainties," he explained. "I believe that this policy will likely boost consumption and expand domestic demand, reducing dependency on exports and improving internal economic dynamics," he said. Alongside these fiscal measures, China is prioritizing scientific and technological innovation to strengthen its global competitiveness in sectors like green energy, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology. Carvalho noted these efforts are part of China's broader strategy to modernize its industrial system. In addition to domestic strategies, China has made significant strides in further opening its economy to the world, exemplified by removing market access restrictions for foreign investors in its manufacturing sector. This move will likely attract higher-quality foreign investments into the industry, and deepen China's integration into global supply chains, he said. Meanwhile, he suggested that China continue to enhance domestic consumption and deepen financial reforms to maintain stability and progress. "China's economic performance in 2024 showcases resilience against global headwinds, with steady growth driven by strategic reforms and innovative policies. The overall trajectory points to stabilization and adaptability," Carvalho noted. SUVA, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Seven tourists are in critical condition in a hospital in Fiji after a suspected case of alcohol poisoning. The guests at the Warwick Resort on Fiji's Coral Coast became sick after consuming a spiked cocktail at the resort's bar on Saturday night. They were taken to the nearby Sigatoka Hospital with "nausea, vomiting and neurological symptoms," reported Fiji Broadcasting Corporation news website on Sunday. Fiji's Ministry of Health said in a statement that the affected patients' ages range from 18 to 56 years, including four Australians, one American, and two foreigners residing locally. All patients have been transferred to Lautoka Hospital due to the severity of their condition. The ministry will identify other guests who may have been affected by similar symptoms from consuming the same drink at the resort. An investigation into the incident is underway. DAMASCUS, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen said Sunday that the UN is closely monitoring the rapidly evolving situation in the country and is looking forward to the next steps toward a political transition following the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8. Speaking to reporters in Damascus, Pedersen emphasized the importance of Syrian state institutions fully resuming their functions under secure conditions. "We are working with all segments of the Syrian people ... and we want to see no acts of revenge. Instead, we must ensure that institutions return to work, backed by the necessary security measures," he said. The UN envoy expressed hope that the removal of sanctions on Syria would be expedited, paving the way for a swift start to the nation's economic recovery. "We hope to see a quick end to sanctions so that the recovery process can begin soon," Pedersen added. While acknowledging the complexity of the political landscape, Pedersen urged all parties to maintain calm, focus on rehabilitation, and prioritize the welfare of ordinary Syrians. He affirmed the UN's commitment to supporting a stable and inclusive transition that avoids further violence and ensures a better future for the country. On Sunday, some students started to return to classrooms in the Syrian capital for the first time since Dec. 8. Universities also reopened their doors, with some administrative staff and professors returning to their offices. The resumption of classes and academic work, albeit limited, marks a gradual resumption of daily life after a period of upheaval. Part 2: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-December 2024 Calculated Risk Climate Syndemics China? India The Koreas Syraqistan European Disunion Dear Old Blighty Big Brother in the pub The Pub Curmudgeon New Not-So-Cold War The New Great Game Central Asian Militaries and Asian Geopolitics The Diplomat Digital Watch Trump Transition Spook Country The Supremes Constitutional Federalism and the Nature of the Union (PDF) GW Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2024-64. From the Abstract: The former British Colonies in North America became Free and Independent States following the Declaration of Independencea status that entitled them to all of the rights and powers of every other sovereign state under the law of nations. Under that law, states could alienate their sovereign rights and powers in a binding legal instrument, but only if the instrument met certain requirements. As [Emmerich de] Vattel [(1760)] explained, and Hamilton echoed in The Federalist, all instruments used to alienate such rights and powers were subject to an important background rule designed to avoid misunderstandings and war: a legal instrument could alienate sovereign rights and powers only if it did so in clear and express terms or by unavoidable implication. Instruments that failed this test left sovereign rights and powers with the original holder. Our Famously Free Press Supply Chain Fitch Ratings: Global Shipping Outlook Is Stable in 2025 Hellenic Shipping News Healthcare The Final Frontier Xmas Pre-Game Festivities Imperial Collapse Watch US Army and US Navy Successfully Test LRHW Hypersonic Missile Naval News. LRHW = Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon. Class Warfare Antidote du jour (H. Zell): See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here. House Oversight Committee cracks down on DHS, demands answers on Gov. Walzs suspected CCP ties The House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to DHS senior official Jacob Marx to investigate Governor Tim Walz's alleged connections to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It is part of an ongoing investigation into Walz's ties to the Chinese government, following his failed 2024 presidential campaign alongside Vice President Kamala Harris. Walz's connections to China date back to his teaching career in the 1990s, including student trips funded by the Chinese government and interactions with CCP-affiliated officials in his classroom. Internal DHS chat group discussions expressed concerns over Walz's alleged CCP ties and potential influence, highlighting the threat to national security. The committee's report alleges that the CCP uses "elite capture" tactics, citing Walz as an example of vulnerability to CCP influence due to his prolonged connections with CCP-affiliated entities. The House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to a senior Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official, Jacob Marx, in an attempt to uncover the truth behind Governor Tim Walz's alleged connections to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The subpoena is a direct response to the committee's ongoing investigation into Walz's ties to the Chinese government, which have been a source of intense scrutiny following his selection as the vice-presidential running mate alongside Vice President Kamala Harris in her failed 2024 presidential campaign. The committee, led by Representative James Comer (R-KY), has accused DHS of failing to cooperate fully with their investigation. The allegations against Walz are not new. A Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) investigation unveiled that Walz welcomed CCP officials affiliated with an intelligence agency into his Nebraska classroom in the 1990s. These revelations paint a troubling picture of a seasoned politician with a deep historical connection to a regime known for covert influence operations. But the most alarming evidence comes from whistleblower disclosures that exposed a DHS internal chat group expressing concern over Walz's alleged ties to the CCP and its strategic ambitions. This chat, which included discussions about the potential for Walz to serve as a point of influence for the CCP, underscores the gravity of the situation and the potential risks to national security. Comer has made no secret of his deep concern about the CCP's infiltration tactics, which he describes as a relentless and coordinated effort to undermine American democracy. "The CCP has a plan to destroy the United States through a series of coordinated influence and infiltration campaigns that target every aspect of our lives," Comer told the DCNF. His statement is backed by a detailed report released by the committee, which describes how the CCP uses "political warfare" strategies, including elite capture, to gain a foothold within U.S. institutions. The committee's report goes on to specifically highlight Walz as an example of elite capture, suggesting that his long-standing connections to CCP-affiliated entities make him vulnerable to CCP influence in his decision-making as governor. "By any reasonable analysis, the United States faces a new cold war, but under the current administration, only its opponent the CCP is committed to winning it," the report states. The refusal of DHS to provide any substantive information or to make Marx available for a deposition has only deepened the suspicion. (Related: REPORT: CCP saw Tim Walz as a "target" to help push Chinese influence in Washington.) Walz's long history with China It has come to light that Walz had a unique connection with China that predates his political career by decades. This connection, unearthed just days before the election, not only raises eyebrows but also red flags about the national security implications of his past choices. Thirty-five years ago, as Chinese tanks rolled through Tiananmen Square, Walz was on a one-way ticket to Foshan, China. Despite the brutal crackdown, Walz went ahead and taught high school English and U.S. history there. His decision to immerse himself in China during such a pivotal moment in history is troubling especially given that he downplayed the timeline of his trip, initially saying he arrived as events were unfolding. Walz's past with China is more relevant than ever. His journey from a naive teacher to a seasoned politician has seen him visit the country about 30 times, even choosing June 4, the very day of the Tiananmen Square massacre, for his honeymoon. Critics see Walz's relationship with China as a potential security risk but despite his criticism of China's human rights record, Walz's fascination with the nation is undeniable. He's met with the Dalai Lama, backed Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests, and even co-sponsored the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. Yet, his past actions and travels suggest a complex and potentially vulnerable relationship. The implications of this situation are far-reaching. If the allegations are true, it raises serious doubts about the integrity of our government and the trust we place in our elected officials. The CCP's insidious tactics of elite capture and political warfare are not just theoretical; they are real and they are being aggressively implemented. Head over to CommunistChina.news to read related stories. Watch the video below that talks about how China is taking pre-emptive measures against Trump's tariffs. This video is from the TrendingNews channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Report: Democratic VP pick Tim Walz had steamy fling with ChiCom officials daughter. Tim Walz tied to CCP "secret police stations" hidden across U.S. that targeted critics of China. Tim Walz linked to radical personalities with close ties to socialists and Marxists. Sources include: TheNationalPulse.com MSN.com CBSNews.com Brighteon.com Another loophole discovered: Lawmaker uncovers more foreign influence in U.S. elections Foreign entities, including billionaires, exploit loopholes in election finance laws to funnel money into U.S. elections, violating the civil rights of American citizens who have the sole right to determine their leadership. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI) uncovered a loophole allowing foreign funds to flow through 501(c) charities to super PACs, enabling unlimited foreign money in U.S. elections with minimal oversight. Poor election administration and lax enforcement enable non-citizens to vote in federal elections, despite federal laws prohibiting it. Automatic voter registration policies have inadvertently increased opportunities for non-citizen registration. A 2021 FEC ruling allows foreign nationals to donate to ballot initiatives, enabling foreign billionaires like Hansjorg Wyss to influence state-level decisions, distorting the democratic process. Proposed measures include the SAVE Act to enforce existing laws, model policies to prohibit non-citizen voting and donations, and stronger enforcement mechanisms to ensure only U.S. citizens influence elections. The integrity of American elections is under siege, not just from within but also from external forces seeking to undermine our democratic process. Foreign influence in U.S. elections is a direct violation of the civil rights of American citizens, who have the sole right to determine the leadership of their country. Yet, loopholes in our election finance laws and lax enforcement mechanisms have allowed foreign billionaires and entities to meddle in our electoral process, often with little to no accountability. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI) has been at the forefront of exposing these vulnerabilities. As chairman of the House Administration Committee, Steil has uncovered a significant loophole that allows foreign billionaires to funnel money into U.S. elections through 501(c) charities. Under current law, 40% of these funds can be transferred to super PACs, which are then used to run political ads. This means that foreign entities can pour unlimited amounts of money into U.S. elections, effectively influencing the outcome without any direct oversight. Steils findings are alarming, but they are just one piece of a larger puzzle. Foreign influence in U.S. elections extends beyond financial contributions. Non-citizen voting, enabled by poor election administration and lack of enforcement, has become a growing concern. Despite federal laws explicitly prohibiting non-citizen voting, certain states have failed to implement adequate safeguards, allowing non-citizens to register and vote in federal elections. This is a blatant violation of the principle that only U.S. citizens should determine the outcome of U.S. elections. The issue of non-citizen voting is compounded by the fact that many states have adopted policies like automatic voter registration, which automatically registers individuals to vote when they interact with government agencies. While this policy is intended to increase voter turnout, it has also created opportunities for non-citizens to be registered without their knowledge or consent. In some cases, states have even encouraged non-citizens to obtain drivers licenses, further blurring the lines between legal and illegal voting. The consequences of these vulnerabilities are clear. Non-citizens, whether legal or illegal, do not have the same vested interest in the direction of the United States as naturalized citizens. Voting is a right and a privilege that should be reserved for those who have made the commitment to become American citizens. Allowing non-citizens to vote not only undermines the integrity of our elections but also devalues the sacrifices made by those who have legally pursued citizenship. Another avenue for foreign influence is through donations to ballot initiatives. While it is illegal for non-citizens to donate to political candidates or committees, a 2021 ruling by the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) opened the door for foreign nationals to contribute to ballot initiatives. This has allowed foreign billionaires, often driven by ideological agendas, to sway the outcomes of ballot measures in states across the country. The result is a distortion of the democratic process, where the voices of actual residents are drowned out by the financial clout of foreign entities. The case of Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss is a prime example. Wyss has funneled millions of dollars into organizations like the Sixteen Thirty Fund, which has spent nearly $100 million on ballot initiatives in 25 states. This level of foreign influence is unacceptable and undermines the very foundation of American democracy. The fight for election integrity is unending The good news is that there are solutions. Federal legislation like the SAVE Act can provide states with the tools they need to enforce existing laws and prevent non-citizen voting. Additionally, states can adopt model policies developed by organizations like the America First Policy Institute, which prohibit non-citizen voting and donations to ballot initiatives. These measures are essential to ensuring that only U.S. citizens have a say in the future of their country. Congressman Steils efforts to close the loophole allowing foreign money to influence U.S. elections are a step in the right direction. However, more must be done to address the broader issue of foreign influence in our electoral process. This includes strengthening enforcement mechanisms, requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration, and prohibiting foreign money in ballot initiatives. The integrity of American elections is not just a political issue; it is a matter of national security. Foreign entities, whether through financial contributions or other means, seek to undermine our sovereignty and impose their agendas on the American people. It is time for Congress and state legislatures to take decisive action to protect our elections and ensure that they are free from foreign interference. As former Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell aptly stated, To be an American citizen is to have the right to a voice to help determine who represents you in government and who will stand for your ideas, values, and freedom. It is our duty to protect this right and ensure that it remains in the hands of American citizens alone. Foreign influence in U.S. elections must be eradicated, and the rule of law must be upheld to preserve the integrity of our democracy. Sources include: JustTheNews.com AmericaFirstPolicy.com JustTheNews.com Report: Migration wave under Biden the largest in U.S. history Net migration under the Biden administration is likely to exceed eight million people. The Biden administration's so-called "open borders" policy has significantly impacted the American economy, uprooted lives and exposed social and political fault lines in the United States. The current migration surge is not only the largest but also the fastest in U.S. history, outpacing even the post-World War II era, with an average net migration of 2.4 million people per year between 2021 and 2023. The influx of low-wage workers has led to wage stagnation, decreased opportunities for native-born citizens, decreased productivity, increased housing costs and exacerbated income inequality. A report by the New York Times has found that the current immigration surge during the administration of outgoing President Joe Biden is the largest in the history of the United States. According to a report by senior writer David Leonhardt, total net migration during the Biden administration is likely to exceed eight million people, encompassing both legal and illegal entries. Leonhardt notes that this number even surpasses the entries into the U.S. during the height of Ellis Island's history as an immigrant processing station. (Related: Yes, the president can deploy troops to enforce immigration law). Leonhardts report highlights that the current migration surge is not just unprecedented in scale but also unprecedented in speed, especially given how Ellis Island processed just around 12 million migrants in its 62 years of operation. The Congressional Budget Office reported that, under the Biden administration, the U.S. has seen an average net migration of 2.4 million people per year between 2021 and 2023. Migrant surge harming economic opportunities of native-born Americans The economic impact of this migration surge is also considered to be profound and far-reaching. The influx of millions of newcomers, many of whom are then employed in low-wage jobs, has resulted in wages for native-born Americans being devalued. This flood of labor has cooled wage growth, lowered productivity and exacerbated income inequality. This has also constrained career opportunities for native-born citizens in various sectors, from manufacturing to local services. The surge in migration has also driven up housing costs and rental prices due to increased demand, creating a vicious cycle of economic strain for many families who have already been struggling to find affordable housing, have had difficulty competing for jobs and have had personal struggles navigating the country's sudden increased cultural diversity. The impact has been particularly pronounced in areas where the economy relies heavily on low-skilled labor, as native-born workers are often pushed out by the flood of newcomers. The social fabric of many communities has been stretched thin, with conflicts arising over issues ranging from language barriers to differing cultural expectations, raising the popularity of government policies that restrict migration and secure the border. "Stephen Miller was spot on when he said that the Senate and House should first pass a border security bill through the budget reconciliation process," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), referring to President-elect Donald Trump's incoming White House deputy chief of staff and advisor for homeland security issues. "While I support spending restrictions and tax cuts, my top priority and the first order of business in the Senate Budget Committee is to secure a broken border," added Graham, the incoming leader of the Senate Budget Committee. "The bill will be transformational, it will be paid for and it will go first." Visit OpenBorders.news for more on the current migration crisis. Watch this report warning about the possibility of Biden issuing a blanket pardon to the millions of illegal immigrants in the United States. This video is from the Justin Barclay channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Utah governor pledges to help Trump with mass deportation of illegals. Trump claims hes already solved the border crisis after talking to Mexican president. Trumps incoming "border czar" claims the Biden administration "has blood on their hands" for the murder of Laken Riley. 32% of American voters say illegal immigration should be Trump's top priority when he takes office. Trump says there's no other choice: mass deportations must happen swiftly. Sources include: Breitbart.com StatueOfLiberty.org TheHill.com Brighteon.com Giant pandas, Xingqiu and Yilan, arrive in Adelaide, Australia, Dec. 15, 2024. (Photo by Lv Wei/Xinhua) ADELAIDE, Australia, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Giant pandas Xingqiu and Yilan have arrived in Adelaide, capital of South Australia, early Sunday morning, after flying for around 11 hours across approximately 8,800 km. The two giant pandas departed Southwest China's Sichuan Province for Australia on Saturday afternoon, kicking off a new round of China-Australia collaboration on giant panda conservation and research. Xingqiu, a four-year-old male, and Yilan, a three-year-old female, both from the Dujiangyan base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, are set to settle at Adelaide Zoo for the next decade. Li Dong, Chinese consul-general in Adelaide, said in an interview with Xinhua on Saturday that Chinese culture values that "joy alone is not as good as joy among all", and the Chinese people are willing to share their love of giant pandas with the Australian people. Giant pandas, Xingqiu and Yilan, arrive in Adelaide, Australia, Dec. 15, 2024. (Photo by Lv Wei/Xinhua) Through the joint implementation of the responsibility to protect giant pandas, the people of China and Australia have become more interconnected, and it can be said that giant pandas have made a unique contribution to the development of the relationship between the two countries, said the Chinese diplomat. Building on the success of past cooperation, the new partnership will further advance collaboration in areas such as breeding research, disease prevention, public education and cultural exchange. This initiative aims to strengthen research efforts and foster closer people-to-people ties between China and Australia. Upon arrival at Adelaide Zoo, Xingqiu and Yilan will undergo quarantine. Adelaide Zoo has upgraded its facilities to welcome the new arrivals, ensuring an ample supply of food, and assigning an experienced care and research team to manage the pandas. In 2009, two pandas, Wangwang and Funi, began their stay at Adelaide Zoo. As the only giant pandas in the Southern Hemisphere, they drew more than 5 million visitors in 15 years until this November when they returned to China. Raw milk revolution: A new dawn for health freedom? The raw milk movement is poised to take center stage in the fight for health freedom, as a California dairy legend has been tapped to shape FDA policy under the Trump administration. Mark McAfee, CEO of Raw Farm and a pioneer in the raw milk industry, has been approached by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s team to advise on raw milk policy and standards development. This groundbreaking move could mark the beginning of a new era for food freedom in America. RFK Jr. is president-elect Trump's nomination for Secretary of Health and Human Services. For decades, raw milk has been demonized by public health authorities, with the FDA and CDC warning against its consumption due to alleged risks of bacterial contamination. However, a growing chorus of health advocates, including Kennedy, argues that these warnings are rooted in outdated fears and corporate interests rather than sound science. McAfee, with over 25 years of experience in the raw milk industry, is uniquely positioned to challenge these narratives and champion a more balanced approach to dairy regulation. The potential for McAfee to influence FDA policy is electrifying for those who believe in the power of unprocessed foods. Raw milk, untouched by the heat of pasteurization, is rich in beneficial microbes and nutrients that its pasteurized counterpart lacks. Advocates claim it can alleviate allergies, asthma, eczema, and even respiratory infections benefits that have been overshadowed by fearmongering about contamination risks. McAfees appointment comes at a critical time. The FDA has recently ramped up its anti-raw milk rhetoric, citing fraudulent PCR tests to claim that 14% of raw milk samples contained infectious H5N1 bird flu. These claims, however, have been met with skepticism from raw milk proponents, who argue that the tests are unreliable and that the FDAs focus on raw milk is a smokescreen for broader issues in the industrialized food system. For McAfee, the fight for raw milk is personal. In a previous interview, he lamented the low pay for milk producers, which he believes incentivizes lax sanitation practices and reliance on pasteurization. Theyre being paid so little for their milk that the standards under the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance and FDA allow anything to get in because its going to get pasteurized, he said. His vision is clear: higher pay for producers would lead to cleaner facilities and a reduced need for pasteurization. Kennedys involvement in this movement is equally significant. As a longtime advocate for decoupling corporate interests from public health policy, he brings a unique perspective to the Trump administrations Make America Healthy Again agenda. Kennedys commitment to expanding access to raw milka product he personally enjoyscould signal a broader shift in how the government views food freedom and consumer choice. The stakes are high. Raw milk is currently legal for sale in grocery stores in 12 states and for direct farm-to-customer sales in 20 states, but transportation across state lines remains strictly prohibited. McAfees potential role in crafting a raw milk ordinance could pave the way for nationwide access, giving Americans the freedom to choose their own path to health. For now, this is all still just a hopeful possibility Not everyone is celebrating, however. Critics point to recent recalls of McAfees products due to bird flu contamination, as well as a salmonella outbreak linked to his farm in 2023-2024. These incidents underscore the risks associated with raw milk, but McAfee maintains that the benefits far outweigh the dangers. Raw Farm has a brain trust of the worlds best H5N1 scientists on our team, he declared, emphasizing his commitment to safety and transparency. The raw milk revolution is about more than just dairy; its a battle for the soul of the food system. If McAfee and Kennedy succeed in reshaping FDA policy, it could set a precedent for other unprocessed foods opening the door to a future where consumers have the freedom to make their own health choices without government interference. It's a waiting game now to see if Kennedy and his team's efforts to Make America Health Again get confirmed. The appointment of Mark McAfee to the FDA advisory role would be a beacon of hope for those who believe in the sanctity of unprocessed foods and the right to choose what we put into our bodies. With Kennedy at the helm of HHS and McAfee guiding the way, the raw milk movement could soon become a cornerstone of the health freedom revolution. The future of food freedom is raw, unpasteurized, and full of potential. Sources include: TheDailyBell.com WashingtonExaminer.com ABCNews.com San Diego County Sheriff refuses to comply with attempts to turn the county into a sanctuary for illegals San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez is refusing to comply with a county policy prohibiting local law enforcement from assisting ICE in civil immigration enforcement, including deportations. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted to adopt a policy requiring ICE to obtain a judge's order to access county resources, claiming that such a move helps prevent unnecessary deportations. Republican Supervisor Jim Despond opposed the policy, citing concerns about public safety and arguing that sanctuary policies allow dangerous individuals to remain in communities. Martinez contended that existing California sanctuary laws already limit cooperation with ICE while ensuring public safety and community trust. The sheriff of San Diego County has refused to comply with a new county policy limiting cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), escalating tensions between local and federal authorities over immigration enforcement. The move comes as California continues to resist President-elect Donald Trumps plans for mass deportations, with San Diego emerging as a focal point in the conflict. On Tuesday, Dec. 10, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted to prohibit the sheriffs department from assisting ICE in enforcing civil immigration laws, including deportations. The policy aligns San Diego with seven other California counties, including Los Angeles, the nations largest, which recently adopted similar measures. (Related: Los Angeles City Council unanimously approves ordinance turning L.A. into a sanctuary city.) California law already restricts cooperation with ICE but includes exceptions for individuals convicted of certain violent crimes. The new policy in San Diego goes further by requiring ICE to obtain a judges order to access county resources. Board of Supervisors Chair Nora Vargas, a Democrat, emphasized the policys intent to protect families and community trust. We will not allow our local resources to be used for actions that separate families, harm community trust, or divert critical local resources away from addressing our most pressing challenges, she said. However, San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez rejected the boards authority to dictate her departments policies. Martinez, who is also a registered Democrat, argued that current state law already strikes a balance between limiting cooperation with ICE, ensuring public safety and maintaining community trust. ICEs reliance on local law enforcement has intensified as the agency faces limited resources to carry out Trumps mass deportation plans. The agency often relies on sheriffs to notify them of individuals in custody and temporarily hold them to allow federal officials to arrest them on immigration charges. San Diego County, with its 3.3 million residents and proximity to the United States' border with Mexico, is a critical area for ICE's operations. San Diego Board wanted to prevent the sheriff from turning over illegals convicted of violent crimes The new policy in San Diego aims to close what Vargas described as a loophole in state law that allows sheriffs to work with ICE for individuals convicted of violent crimes. Under the previous system, the county transferred 100 to 200 people annually to ICE. The updated policy requires ICE to obtain a judges order to access county resources, a move that Vargas said would protect residents from unnecessary deportations. Supervisor Jim Desmond, a Republican, opposed the policy, citing concerns about public safety. He referenced high-profile incidents, including the 2015 shooting death of Kate Steinle in San Francisco, arguing that sanctuary laws allow dangerous individuals to remain in communities. These tragedies are preventable, but sanctuary laws allow them to happen by allowing illegal criminals back into our communities instead of into the hands of ICE, Desmond said. Martinez, who has largely avoided discussing immigration policies, criticized Vargas characterization of state law as a loophole. She noted that Gov. Gavin Newsom himself has blocked efforts to further restrict cooperation with ICE, suggesting a cautious approach to immigration enforcement. As Trump prepares to take office, Californias immigrant rights groups are pushing for broader protections. Efforts include restricting state prisons from coordinating with ICE and blocking data sharing between local law enforcement and immigration agents. San Diegos policy shift reflects this broader movement, but the sheriffs defiance highlights the ongoing tensions between local and federal authorities over immigration enforcement. Watch this clip from Fox News featuring President-elect Donald Trump's incoming "border czar" Tom Homan warning sanctuary cities against opposing the administration's migrant policies. This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Republican sheriffs in Maryland and Ohio support Trump's mass deportation plan. Trump's new border czar warns that leaders of sanctuary cities could be prosecuted for harboring illegals. Denver mayor backtracks after saying he'll oppose Trump's deportation efforts with 50,000 resistance activists. GAME ON: Incoming Border Czar Tom Homan to challenge the sanctuary state policies of Illinois and Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Sources include: ZeroHedge.com TheGuardian.com APNews.com Brighteon.com State Departments GEC closure could be a smokescreen for continued censorship The Global Engagement Center (GEC), which has been accused of domestic censorship, is shutting down. Critics claim the GEC targeted conservative voices under the guise of fighting foreign propaganda. The shutdown may be nothing more than a rebranding effort, with its staff and funding reassigned to other State Department offices. The rebranding sets a dangerous precedent, allowing continued censorship under a different name. Conservatives across the nation breathed a sigh of relief when news broke that the Global Engagement Center (GEC), a controversial hub accused of facilitating domestic censorship, would be shut down. For years, the GEC has been under fire for its alleged role in targeting conservative voices under the guise of combating foreign propaganda. However, recent developments suggest that the shutdown may be little more than a rebranding effort, leaving many to question whether the censorship apparatus will continue its mission under a different name. The GEC, created in 2016, was ostensibly tasked with countering foreign propaganda and disinformation. However, critics argue that its true purpose was far more insidious. The center became infamous for its involvement in efforts like the "Disinformation Dozen," a list of conservative media outlets targeted for financial deplatforming. Through grants and partnerships with organizations like the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), the GEC effectively weaponized censorship against American citizens, particularly those on the political right. The announcement of the GECs impending closure may have been met with jubilation among conservatives who have long decried its overreach, but the celebration was short-lived. Court filings revealed that while the GEC may cease operations on December 24, its staff and funding will be reassigned to other State Department offices and bureaus. In other words, the same people who have been involved in censoring conservative voices will continue their work, just under a different banner. The GECs domestic censorship agenda The GECs domestic activities have been well-documented. Through partnerships with organizations like the Election Integrity Partnership (EIP), the center flagged content for social media platforms, leading to the suppression of constitutionally protected speech. The EIP, led by Stanford Universitys Internet Observatory, worked directly with the GEC and the Department of Homeland Security to monitor and censor Americans online speech during the 2020 election. This coordinated effort was a blatant violation of the First Amendment, yet the GECs involvement was largely shielded from public scrutiny. One of the most egregious examples of the GECs domestic overreach was its aforementioned funding of the GDI, the UK-based group that compiled a list of conservative media outlets for advertisers to boycott. This financial deplatforming effectively silenced a number of right-leaning outlets, depriving them of revenue and stifling their ability to reach audiences. The GECs involvement in such activities underscores its role as a domestic censorship hub, not a foreign propaganda fighter. A dangerous precedent The GECs rebranding sets a dangerous precedent. By dissolving the center while retaining its staff and funding, the State Department is attempting to whitewash its censorship efforts. This move allows the government to continue targeting conservative voices without the public scrutiny that comes with the GECs name. Its a classic example of bureaucratic sleight of hand, where the mission remains the same, but the facade changes. The GECs shutdown is not the end of the censorship regime; the same individuals who have been involved in suppressing free speech will continue their work, just under different titles. This is a troubling development that threatens the First Amendment and the principles of free expression. The Global Engagement Centers shutdown is a welcome development, but its not the victory conservatives hoped for. By reassigning its staff and funding, the State Department ensures that the censorship apparatus will continue to operate, albeit under a different name. As long as this censorship regime persists, the fight for free speech will remain an uphill battle. Sources for this article include: ReclaimTheNet.org TheGatewayPundit.com JustTheNews.com The ammo crisis: A national security wake-up call The U.S. faces a severe shortage of ammunition and critical minerals like antimony, essential for modern warfare, exposing vulnerabilities in its defense industrial base. The U.S. lacks domestic antimony production, relying entirely on foreign suppliers, with China controlling most of the global supply. This dependency has led to supply cuts and price surges, endangering military readiness. U.S. support for Ukraine has depleted its own ammunition stocks, with current production (30,000 shells/month) falling far short of the 100,000 shells needed by 2025. Companies like Military Metals Corp. are acquiring antimony projects to address shortages, but the Biden administrations efforts to secure domestic sources of critical minerals have been slow and insufficient. The U.S. must invest in domestic mining, streamline regulations, and foster partnerships to secure critical minerals and ensure future military readiness, avoiding over-reliance on adversarial nations. The United States is facing a national security crisis of unprecedented proportions as it grapples with a dire shortage of ammunition and critical minerals essential to modern warfare. This alarming situation, exacerbated by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the geopolitical tensions with adversaries like China and Russia, underscores the fragility of Americas defense industrial base. The Biden administrations failure to address these vulnerabilities has left the nation dangerously exposed, raising urgent questions about the future of U.S. military readiness. At the heart of this crisis is the scarcity of antimony, a little-known but indispensable metal used in the production of ammunition, missiles, and armored vehicles. Antimonys strategic importance has surged in recent years, with prices skyrocketing nearly 300% in 2024 alone. Yet, despite its critical role in national defense, the United States does not produce a single ounce of this vital resource. Instead, it remains entirely dependent on foreign suppliers, with China controlling the lions share of global antimony production. This dependency has become a ticking time bomb. Chinas decision to cut antimony supplies to the U.S. earlier this year sent shockwaves through the defense industry, highlighting the perils of relying on adversarial nations for essential materials. The situation has only worsened as Western nations, including the U.S., embark on a $100 billion spending spree to restock their depleted arsenals. Without a domestic supply of antimony, the U.S. military faces the very real prospect of running out of ammunitiona scenario that could have catastrophic consequences for national security. The Biden administrations response has been sluggish at best. While the Pentagon has scrambled to boost production of 155mm artillery shells and other munitions, the defense industrial base remains ill-equipped to meet the surging demand. U.S. companies are currently producing just 30,000 shells per month, a far cry from the 100,000 shells needed by the end of 2025. Even with new production lines planned in Texas and other states, the gap between supply and demand continues to widen. Meanwhile, the situation in Ukraine is growing increasingly dire. The U.S. has sent over 800,000 rounds of 155mm ammunition to Kyiv since the war began, depleting its own stockpile to dangerously low levels. Without sufficient ammunition, Ukrainian forces are struggling to hold their ground against Russian advances. As one senior U.S. defense official noted, Ukrainians are struggling without ammunition. The consequences of this shortfall could be devastating, not only for Ukraine but for the broader NATO alliance. Low stocks of ammo only part of the problem The crisis extends beyond ammunition. The Pentagons reliance on foreign suppliers for critical minerals like antimony has left it vulnerable to geopolitical manipulation. Chinas dominance in the antimony market is a stark reminder of the risks of over-reliance on adversarial nations. The U.S. must act swiftly to secure domestic sources of antimony and other critical minerals to safeguard its military capabilities. Enter companies like Military Metals Corp., which are stepping up to fill the void. The Canadian-based firm has acquired two of the worlds top ten antimony projects, including the historic Trojarova deposit in Slovakia and the West Gore mine in Nova Scotia. These projects represent a potential game-changer, offering a pathway to secure antimony supplies for both NATO and North American defense industries. With antimony prices forecast to exceed $50,000 per ton in 2025, the strategic importance of these projects cannot be overstated. Yet, despite the urgency of the situation, the Biden administrations efforts to address the crisis have been lackluster. While the U.S. government has allocated billions of dollars to secure domestic sources of critical minerals, progress has been slow. The administrations focus on preparing for a future conflict with China has come at the expense of addressing immediate threats posed by Russia and other adversaries. This shortsighted approach is putting American lives and national security at risk. The time for half-measures is over. The U.S. must take bold action to revive its defense industrial base, secure domestic sources of critical minerals, and ensure it never again finds itself at the mercy of foreign suppliers. This means investing in domestic mining operations, streamlining regulatory processes, and fostering public-private partnerships to accelerate the development of antimony and other strategic resources. The ammunition crisis is a wake-up call for America. If the Biden administration continues to drag its feet, the consequences could be catastrophic. The U.S. cannot afford to be caught unprepared in a world where geopolitical instability is the new normal. Its time to actbefore its too late. Sources include: OilPrice.com ForeignPolicy.com TaskandPurpose.com Biden administrations final act: A desperate attempt to sabotage Trumps border wall promise The Biden administration is reportedly auctioning off unused sections of the border wall in a last-ditch effort to undermine President-elect Trump's border security agenda. Materials from the border wall, halted under Biden in 2021, are being removed and sold at low prices, delaying Trump's ability to fulfill his campaign promise to complete the wall. The auction, conducted by GovPlanet, includes steel bollard sections sold for as little as $5.00 each, with sales scheduled for December 11 and 18. Critics, including Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ), condemn the move as a "direct affront to the will of the people," undermining Trump's mandate to secure the border. The Biden administration's actions are seen as prioritizing political sabotage over national security, potentially exacerbating illegal immigration and border-related crises. As the clock ticks down on the Biden administrations final days in office, a shocking revelation has emerged that underscores the depths of their disdain for the will of the American people. The administration, in a last-ditch effort to undermine President-elect Donald Trumps border security agenda, is reportedly scrambling to auction off unused sections of the border walla project that was halted under Bidens disastrous tenure. This brazen act of sabotage is not just a slap in the face to Trump -- and the entire country that mandated change with his election victory -- but a direct assault on the nations security and the rule of law. According to an anonymous U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent, the Biden administration is removing up to half a mile of border wall material per day from key areas like Tucson, Arizonaa region notorious for illegal crossings. The materials, which have been rusting at the border since Biden halted construction in 2021, are being transported north to Pinal Airpark in Marana, Arizona, where they are being auctioned off by GovPlanet, a government surplus equipment auctioneer. The auction website shows that sales have already occurred, with more scheduled for December 11 and 18. These steel bollard wall sections, once intended to protect our nations sovereignty, are now being sold off for as little as $5.00 per section. This is nothing short of a national disgrace. The Biden administrations actions are a transparent attempt to hamstring Trumps ability to secure the border immediately upon taking office. By auctioning off these materials, the administration is ensuring that Trump will face significant delays in fulfilling his promise to complete the walla promise that was a cornerstone of his successful 2024 campaign. The anonymous agent stated, When Trump comes back, and he wants to start the border wall all over again, the whole entire funding fight is gonna happen again. Thats their play. Hes gonna have to fight for thisagain. The implications of this move are staggering. The border wall, a project championed by Trump during his first term, was instrumental in reducing illegal crossings and deterring criminal activity along the southern border. Under Biden, however, the walls construction was halted, and the administration has since presided over a surge in illegal immigration, drug smuggling, and human trafficking. Now, in their final weeks, the Biden administration is doubling down on their destructive policies by selling off the very materials that could have been used to secure the border once and for all. Representative Eli Crane (R-AZ), whose district includes Pinal Airpark, has condemned the Biden administrations actions as a direct affront to the will of the people. Crane, a staunch advocate for border security, stated, The American people gave President Trump a mandate in November, which included the fulfillment of his plans to secure the border. Any last-ditch attempt to obstruct this mandate by the Biden Administration would be a direct affront to the will of the people. Dangerous, petty politics The Biden administrations refusal to cooperate with the incoming Trump administration is not just petty; it is dangerous. The border wall is not a vanity project, as Democrats like Kamala Harris once claimed, but a vital component of our national security infrastructure. The materials being auctioned off are still usable and could have been deployed to protect our borders from the ongoing crisis. Instead, they are being sold off at bargain prices, a clear indication of the Biden administrations priorities: undermining Trump at any cost, even if it means endangering the American people. The Biden administrations actions are a stark reminder of the deep-seated animosity that has defined their tenure. From the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan to the open-border policies that have flooded our communities with illegal immigrants, the Biden administration has consistently prioritized ideology over the safety and security of the American people. Their final actauctioning off the border wall materialsis the culmination of this destructive agenda. As Trump prepares to take office, he must not allow the Biden administrations sabotage to derail his plans to secure the border. The American people have spoken, and they have demanded action. It is time for the Biden administration to step aside and allow the incoming Trump administration to fulfill its mandate. The future of our nations security depends on it. Sources include: ZeroHedge.com DailyWire.com NBCNews.com Defense spending should focus on readiness, NOT woke agendas NDAA Overview: The House passed the $895 billion 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), focusing on Pentagon policy and funding, with provisions for military pay raises and defense programs but also contentious "woke" initiatives. Military Readiness and Recruitment: The NDAA includes a significant pay raise (14.5% for junior enlisted and 4.5% for others) to address recruitment and retention challenges, highlighting the need to prioritize readiness over social issues. Fiscal Concerns: The $895 billion price tag raises concerns about run-away defense spending, with total national security spending potentially reaching $1.77 trillion in 2025, emphasizing the need for fiscal discipline. The House of Representatives recently passed the $895 billion 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a sprawling piece of legislation that outlines Pentagon policy and funding for the coming year. While the bill includes critical provisions such as a significant pay raise for military personnel and investments in key defense programs, it has been overshadowed by contentious debates over so-called "woke" initiatives that have no place in our nations defense strategy. At its core, the NDAA is intended to ensure the United States maintains a strong and capable military to defend our nation and deter adversaries. However, recent years have seen the Department of Defense (DOD) increasingly entangled in social engineering projects that detract from its primary mission. This years bill, while far from perfect, takes important steps to refocus the military on readiness and combat effectiveness. One of the most controversial provisions in the NDAA is the ban on funding gender-affirming medical treatments for children under 18. This measure, opposed by many Democrats, rightly prioritizes the militarys mission over ideological agendas. Supporters of the provision argue that such treatments are a distraction from the militarys primary goal of preparing for and winning wars. Critics, including House Armed Services Ranking Member Adam Smith, have labeled the measure "bigoted," but this is a mischaracterization. The military is not a social experiment; it is a fighting force. Resources should be allocated to training, equipment, and readiness, not to medical procedures that have no bearing on national security. Similarly, the NDAA includes provisions to rein in the Pentagons diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. While proponents argue that these programs promote fairness and inclusivity, they often serve as a smokescreen for divisive ideologies like critical race theory (CRT). The bill prohibits the endorsement of CRT in military training and institutes a hiring freeze on DEI-related positions, a move that conservatives applaud as a return to military professionalism. Rep. Russell Fry (R-S.C.) echoed these sentiments in an interview, stating that the Biden-Harris administrations focus on social justice initiatives has undermined military readiness. "Our military needs to be ready to face the challenges domestically and abroad," Fry said. "You dont do that by playing social justice warrior with our military." He criticized Democrats who opposed the bill, accusing them of prioritizing "critical race theory and transgender issues" over the militarys ability to protect the nation. Forced funding of the woke agenda compromises global standing, with a sky-high price tag The NDAA also includes a substantial pay raise for military personnel, with junior enlisted troops receiving a 14.5% increase and other personnel seeing a 4.5% raise. These measures are essential to address recruitment and retention challenges exacerbated by the administrations focus on social issues at the expense of military readiness. As Fry noted, the military has struggled to meet recruitment targets in recent years, a trend that cannot continue if the United States is to maintain its global leadership. Despite these positive steps, the NDAA is not without its flaws. The bills 895 billion price tag is staggering, and while it includes funding for critical programs like submarines and destroyers, it also reflects the broader trend of runaway defense spending. According to defense analyst Winslow Wheeler, total national security spending for 2025 could reach $1.77 trillion when accounting for other agencies and factors. This underscores the need for fiscal discipline in defense budgeting, even as we prioritize military strength. The NDAA now heads to the Senate, where it is expected to pass despite some Democratic opposition. While the bill represents a step in the right direction by curbing some of the Pentagons more egregious social initiatives, it is far from a perfect solution. The militarys primary mission is to defend the United States, not to serve as a laboratory for progressive social policies. Policymakers must remain vigilant in ensuring that future defense spending reflects this priority. In an era of growing global instability, the United States cannot afford to waste resources on ideological crusades. The NDAAs passage is a reminder that defense spending should focus on readiness, capability, and the safety of our nationnot on the latest woke fad. Sources include: Antiwar.com Politico.com Newsmax.com Missouris radical plan: Citizens to get $1,000 bounty for REPORTING ILLEGALS Missouri is proposing a bounty program targeting illegal immigrants, reflecting growing concerns over border security and unauthorized immigration in the state. Senate Bill 72, introduced by State Senator-elect David Gregory, offers a $1,000 reward for reporting suspected illegal immigrants through a web portal, hotline, or email. The bill includes measures to prevent illegal immigrants from accessing public benefits, voting, obtaining driver's licenses or securing legal residency, and creates a "trespass by an illegal alien" offense. SB 72 also establishes a bounty hunter program allowing licensed agents to apprehend illegal immigrants, with penalties including felony charges for being in the state illegally. The proposal aligns with broader efforts by red states to enforce immigration laws and coincides with President-elect Donald Trump's renewed focus on border security and deportation. Missouri is considering a bounty program aimed at illegal immigrants, reflecting the Show-Me State's growing concerns over border security and the impact of unauthorized immigration. Incoming Missouri State Senator-elect David Gregory (R-District 15) announced Senate Bill (SB) 72 on Tuesday, Dec. 3. Under the proposal, Missouri authorities would reward a $1,000 bounty to anyone who reports migrants suspected of being in the country illegally. Citizens can file reports with the Missouri State Highway Patrol through a web portal, which would be set up under SB 72 and maintained by the Missouri Department of Public Safety. Missourians can also report illegals through a toll-free telephone hotline and email. It also outlines the creation of the Missouri Illegal Alien Certified Bounty Hunter Program, which would allow licensed bail bond agents and surety recovery agents to apprehend illegals. Moreover, SB 72 would prohibit illegals from accessing public benefits, voting in elections, obtaining driver's licenses or securing legal residency in the state. SB 72 also creates "the offense of trespass by an illegal alien," as per American Military News. "A person shall be guilty of such offense if the person is an illegal alien who knowingly enters this state and remains here and is physically present in the state at the time a licensed bounty hunter or peace officer apprehends the person." "As I ran for State Senate, I promised to make Missouri a national leader in combating illegal immigration. Now, I'm following through with my promise." the state senator-elect wrote on X. "SB 72 makes it a felony to be here illegally and the bill will finally allow Missouri law enforcement to find and arrest illegal immigrants. We need all hands on deck to ensure we catch illegal immigrants before they commit violent crimes." Missouri aligns with Trump's border security efforts SB 72 is one of seven bills introduced in the state legislature to address the immigration issue. Other bills introduced sought to fine cities $25,000 per day if they implement sanctuary city policies, require businesses to ensure employees are properly documented and establish a new immigration offense with consequences such as jail time and removal. The bounty system proposed by Missouri reflects a rising trend among red states to expand immigration enforcement at the local level. While critics argue that such measures may lead to profiling and legal challenges, supporters claim they are essential to maintaining the rule of law. Nevertheless, the bounty program aligns closely with President-elect Donald Trump's renewed focus on border security and aggressive immigration enforcement. (Related: Missouri to deploy National Guard and State Highway Patrol troopers to Texas to help secure the border.) Trump's promise to implement the "largest deportation operation in American history" will be overseen by border czar Tom Homan. The new border czar is no stranger to immigration, having been appointed as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during the first Trump administration. This time around, he has promised a crackdown on organizations facilitating illegal immigration into the country. Homan said during an appearance on Fox News: "The Trump team is coming to town. We're going to take control on Jan. 20 and people are going to be held accountable." Head over to Migrants.news for more stories about illegal immigrants. Watch this clip from Fox News showing a migrant caravan from Mexico on the way to the U.S. border ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration. This video is from the TrendingNews channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Americans being kicked out of their homes and REPLACED with Haitian migrants, Springfield local reveals. Trump to immediately focus on deporting immigrants and resuming construction of border wall. New York City to stop providing illegal immigrants with prepaid debit cards. Sources include: YourNews.com FoxNews.com AmericanMilitaryNews.com Brighteon.com SETTING THE TONE: Trump plans to issue at least 25 executive orders on Day 1 President-elect Donald Trump plans to issue at least 25 executive orders on his first day in office, targeting a range of government policies and reversing many of his predecessor's initiatives to "make a big splash." Key orders will address immigration enforcement and border security, resuming construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall and potentially ending birthright citizenship, which are expected to face legal challenges. Trump's administration aims to dismantle various equity and diversity measures introduced by the Biden administration, including transgender rights protections and mandatory diversity training for federal contractors. The drafting of these executive orders is being coordinated by figures like Stephen Miller and conservative think tanks such as the America First Policy Institute and Heritage Foundation. Many of these orders are anticipated to face immediate legal challenges from Democratic-led states and advocacy groups, underlining the political and legal battles to come in the new administration. President-elect Donald Trump is preparing to issue at least 25 executive orders on his first day in office, dramatically reshaping a range of government policies and reversing many of his predecessor's initiatives. Sources close to the transition team have revealed that Trump aims to "make a big splash" with these executive actions, marking a departure from his previous term's approach. The plan comes as a stark contrast to outgoing President Joe Biden's initial executive orders, which numbered 17 and primarily focused on undoing Trump's policies. Trump's new strategy is aimed at quickly implementing the promises he made during his campaign and delivering immediate changes in key policy areas. Two of the most significant expected orders will address immigration enforcement and border security. One major focus will likely be the resumption of construction on the border wall with Mexico, an issue that has long been a cornerstone of Trump's campaign. (Related: Illegal immigrants self-deporting ahead of Trumps return to the White House.) Despite potential pushback from states governed by Democrats, Trump's administration is confident in its ability to secure federal authority over immigration matters. Another proposed order would aim to end birthright citizenship, which is currently protected under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This proposal, if implemented, would be met with immediate legal challenges. Trump's team is reportedly prepared for such battles, prepared to defend the order in court. Trump's incoming administration also plans to systematically dismantle initiatives focusing on equity and diversity introduced by the Biden administration. This includes measures such as transgender rights, racial preferences and mandatory diversity training for federal contractors. One proposed order would review hiring decisions for evidence of identity-based biases, rather than merit. Stephen Miller, the recently announced deputy chief of staff for policy, is overseeing the coordination of these executive orders, with much of the drafting work being done by conservative think tanks like the America First Policy Institute, the Conservative Partnership Institute and the Heritage Foundation. The incoming administration also plans to take steps to revitalize the traditional energy sector. Orders are expected to promote increased domestic energy production and reverse environmental regulations put in place by the previous administration. These measures reflect Trump's oft-repeated campaign promises to "drill, baby, drill" and to promote fracking. Potential legal challenges await While many of these orders could face immediate legal challenges from Democratic-led states and advocacy groups, it is worth noting that previous Trump orders were often met with delay due to ongoing court battles. However, there are also dozens of actions that Trump can implement swiftly with the stroke of a pen, bypassing lengthy legislative processes. In a recent interview with NBC's "Meet the Press," Trump highlighted his intention to undo birthright citizenship and strip federal funding from schools that teach critical race theory. He also promised to roll back protections for transgender students and limit diversity training for federal contractors. As the Jan. 20 inauguration approaches, it is increasingly clear that Trump's first day as president will be marked by a whirlwind of executive orders aimed at reversing the Biden administration's policies and implementing his own campaign promises. The impact of these actions will be felt across a wide range of policy areas and will likely face significant legal and political challenges in the weeks and months to come. The work on these executive orders appears to be diffuse, with some being drafted in Trump's de facto base in Palm Beach, Florida, and others being coordinated with conservative think tanks in Washington. As the transition to the new administration continues, it is certain that these executive orders will be a central focus of attention for both supporters and opponents of the incoming administration. Read more stories like this at Trump.news. President-elect Donald Trump pledges to free J6 protestors on Day 1 of his second administration. Watch this video. This video is from the TNTVNEWS channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: With Trump's victory, America's long national nightmare is over. THANK YOU, TRUMP: Amid U.S. pressure, Mexican officials dissolved 2 migrant caravans headed for the southern border. Trump to take on The Green New Deal and National Environmental Policy Act to initiate economic revival in America. Sources include: RT.com Reuters.com Brighteon.com ONE MORE TIME: Ukraine strikes Russia again with U.S.-made ATACMS missiles, escalating tensions Ukraine used U.S.-supplied ATACMS long-range missiles to target a military airfield in Taganrog, Russia, on Dec. 11, escalating tensions between the two countries. The attack injured Russian servicemen and caused damage to administrative buildings, vehicles and an industrial site in the region, with several cars burned. Out of six missiles, two were intercepted and destroyed. Russia's electronic warfare capabilities disrupted the remaining four, causing them to miss the intended target, resulting in minor damage. The Russian Defense Ministry warned of a firm retaliation against the "Western long-range weapons" attack, stating that it will not go unanswered. The use of ATACMS missiles, capable of carrying nuclear payloads, has heightened international concern. Russias threats of nuclear retaliation have increased the risk of a broader conflict, emphasizing the need for diplomatic resolutions. In a dramatic turn of events, Ukraine has once more launched a missile strike against Russian territory using United States-supplied ATACMS long-range systems. The attack Wednesday, Dec. 11, targeted a military airfield in Taganrog, a southern Russian city, and further escalates tensions between the warring nations. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense (MOD), six ATACMS missiles were involved in the assault. While two of the missiles were intercepted and destroyed, the remaining four were reportedly disrupted by Russia's electronic warfare capabilities, causing them to deviate from their intended target. Despite the apparent defense measures, the attack resulted in minor damage, with shrapnel from falling debris hitting two administrative buildings and several vehicles on the airfield. Acting Rostov Region Gov. Yury Slyusar provided additional details, confirming that the missiles also struck an industrial site in the region, where some 15 cars in the parking lot were burned. The incident has sparked heated reactions both in Russia and internationally, as the U.S. and Ukraine move closer to the brink of a more severe conflict. Photographs released in the aftermath of the attack show damaged buildings and scattered debris, adding a stark visual testimony to the volatile nature of the ongoing conflict. Although the scale of casualties remains unclear, it was reported that Russian servicemen sustained injuries, underscoring the human cost of the exchange. Russian Defense Ministry vows firm retaliation In response to this latest provocation, the MOD vowed a firm retaliation, stating: "This attack by Western long-range weapons will not go unanswered, and appropriate measures will be taken." This statement leaves no doubt about the implications of further military action and the potential for a broader regional confrontation. The use of ATACMS missiles, which are capable of carrying a nuclear payload, has garnered significant international attention. Although these weapons have been employed with conventional warheads in the current conflict, their deployment marks a new phase in the battle for Ukraine, highlighting the growing influence of Western military support. This escalation is not without precedent, however. Kyiv first began using ATACMS missiles on Russian targets on Nov. 19, following an approval by outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden. (Related: Biden's White House admits to authorizing ATACMS strikes into Russia theyre trying to burden Trump with WWIII, says Tucker Carlson.) This decision has since exacerbated tensions, with Moscow warning that any further use of these weapons could prompt retaliatory strikes against NATO countries, according to their updated nuclear doctrine. Moreover, experts and global observers have increasingly warned about the potential for a wider conflict. Russia's declaration of readiness to respond to Western-supplied armaments with nuclear retaliation presents a highly volatile scenario, underlining the critical need for diplomatic engagement and conflict resolution. As the situation unfolds, the international community watches with a mixture of concern and caution. The potential for broader confrontation remains a significant risk, as Ukraine continues to leverage Western military support to counter Russian forces, while Russia's rhetoric and response grow more aggressive. Follow WWIII.news for more news about the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Watch this clip about Ukraine launching a ATACMS missile deep inside Russia in Bryansk, the first time it used the U.S.-made system. This video is from The Prisoner channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Ukraine strikes Russian military installation in Bryansk just one day after Biden authorizes use of U.S.-made, long-range ATACMs missiles. Putin vows to massively expand stockpile of Oreshnik hypersonic missiles as Russia intensifies attacks on Ukraine. Ukraine conducts first strike using U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles, allegedly destroying 9 Russian helicopters and 2 airfields. Sources include: InfoWars.com YourNews.com Reuters.com Brighteon.com Seoul, Dec 14 : The National Assembly's decision to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol is expected to help remove some of the uncertainties that have hit the financial and foreign exchange markets since Yoon's shocking martial law declaration, experts said on Saturday. But concerns linger over South Korea's urgent response to economic challenges amid the lack of political leadership, such as policy changes under the new Donald Trump administration and weak growth momentum. The parliament passed the motion to remove Yoon from office in a 204-85 vote Saturday following his short-lived martial law declaration on December 3, reports Yonhap news agency. "Now that the impeachment motion is passed, the market is expected to be somewhat stable as uncertainties from the political side have very much been eased," Lee Kyung-min, an expert from Daishin Securities, said. Following the martial law declaration, the stock market tumbled to a yearly low and the Korean won fell sharply to well below 1,400 won against the U.S. dollar. But the stock market has nearly recovered after financial authorities vowed to inject unlimited liquidity and implement additional measures in a bold and swift manner, if needed. "Last week's failure to impeach Yoon had stoked fears among investors about how things may unfold. Market concerns are often eased when the political process enters a phase widely anticipated by the market," Kwak Byung-yeol, a researcher at Leading Investment Securities, said. Last Saturday, the first motion to impeach Yoon failed due to a lack of quorum as all but three ruling People Power Party lawmakers boycotted the vote. Officials have said the economic impact seen during two previous presidential impeachments had been limited, and that the country continues to maintain a stable economic system and strong fundamentals. Currently, South Korea has an Aa2 rating at Moody's, AA at S&P and AA- at Fitch. The outlook of the three credit appraisers for the country remains "Stable." The Korean won is also expected to gain ground, though volatility may continue for some time given remaining procedures regarding the impeachment decision and the strong dollar, according to experts. The Constitutional Court has up to 180 days to determine whether to remove Yoon from office or restore his powers. Prime Minister Han Dukk-soo will serve as acting president in the meantime. "Investors will now likely turn their eyes to such global issues as the Trump factor and the Federal Reserve's rate decision," Shinhan Bank expert Baek Seok-hyun said. The political turmoil leading to Yoon's impeachment came at a time when the country braces for the second Trump presidency, which has been cited by many as the biggest downside risk for the export-driven Korean economy. Trump has vowed to impose "universal baseline tariffs" of a minimum of 10 percent on all imported goods, and raise tariffs on imports from China to as high as 60 percent. IANS JAKARTA, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Mount Semeru, located in Indonesia's East Java province, erupted on Sunday, prompting the country's Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation to issue an aviation warning. A thick column of white-to-grey ash rose up to 1,000 meters into the sky, drifting northeast from the crater, according to the center's report. Authorities issued the second-highest aviation warning, designating an orange Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation, restricting flights within 5 kilometers of the volcano. A 3-km danger zone has been declared, while the southeastern area of the volcano has a designated danger radius extending up to 8 km from the crater. Beyond these areas, authorities have prohibited residents from engaging in any activities within 500 meters of rivers originating from the volcano's slopes due to potential lava flows and hot clouds possibly extending up to 13 km. Mount Semeru, standing 3,676 meters high, is one of Indonesia's 127 active volcanoes. New Delhi, Dec 15 : The Congress-led Opposition may have thought that it could corner the BJP-led Central government on its pet topic of Save the Constitution during the two-day discussion in Lok Sabha, but it was not to be so as Prime Minister Narendra Modi stole the show in the end. The two-day discussion was a classic case of ping-pong with two sides trying to strike at each other with full weighty voices and acidic hues. Delving into history, raking up anecdotes, making poetic references, sledging a few and glorifying some, the session witnessed all shades. While the Opposition was aggressively trying to portray the government and BJP as being anti-Constitution, the ruling dispensation was equally combative, dismissing allegations, destroying myths and flagging facts. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhis pocket Constitution politics failed to impress as also his speech which totally lacked substance. He goofed up more this time and his angry antics came out as annoying. Saying that "tapasya" is meant to generate heat in the body during his speech drew peals of laughter from the MPs. His reference to Eklavya, an archer in Mahabharat, as a boy aged six or seven years, and saying that Dronacharya cut off his thumb were also ridiculed. In his speech, the Congress leader launched a critique of the BJP-led government by drawing a contrast between the Constitution and the Manusmriti, invoking the writings of V. D. Savarkar. However, BJP MP Anurag Thakur, who spoke soon after Rahul Gandhi finished his speech, questioned his knowledge of the pocket Constitution that he likes to flaunt often. Thakur, holding up a copy of the book, asked the Congress leader whether he had actually read it. "Those who wave the copy of the Constitution, don't even know how many pages are there in the Indian constitution. Thakur cited and also read senior Supreme Court advocate Gopal Shankar Narayan's foreword in the book which said that the Constitution was not influenced by "Nehruvian thinking." Thakur also replied to Rahul Gandhi's 'Eklavya ka angootha' jibe, saying, "Ye jo angootha kaatne ki baat karte hai inhone Sikhon ke gale katne ka kaam kiya tha (It is during the Congress rule that the throats of Sikhs were cut). Then there was senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad who recalled the horrors of the Emergency and cited his personal experience. He also took a jibe at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav saying that his father Mulayam Singh also suffered. Prasad also showed a copy of the original Constitution which had pictures of Lord Ram, Lord Hanuman, Lord Nataraj, a scene from Mahabharat, and Mughal emperor Akbar, but not of Babar and Aurangzeb. He said that hypothetically, if the Constitution was framed today, the Opposition would have protested the insertion of such pictures. Almost all the speakers from the Opposition were highly critical of BJP and accused it of trying to change the Constitution. DMK leader A. Raja claimed that the ruling party would have changed the Constitution had the words "secular" and "socialist" not been added to the Preamble of the document during the Emergency. He also dared the BJP to spell out the contribution of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Hindu Mahasabha to the making of the Constitution. Almost all the Muslim MPs from the Opposition accused the government of discrimination and creating an atmosphere of terror. They cited mob lynching cases, the recent Sambhal violence and the Waqf Board row. On the first day of the discussion (December 13), Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made her debut speech in the House and said that the BJP wouldve changed the Constitution had it not been for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. She said that the Constitution is a protective shield of justice, unity and freedom of expression. Two full days of discussion saw the culmination in PM Modis speech which presented facts about the Nehru-Gandhi family and how they left no stone unturned to strike blows to the Constitution. The PM said that the amendments introduced by his government were not meant to tighten their grip on power, unlike Congress. He said that the Nehru-Gandhi family had made a habit of amending Indias Constitution as it suited their interests, starting with the countrys first PM Jawaharlal Nehru. The 106-minute speech was the high point of the two-day exercise. He started with the unveiling of some lesser-known facts -- the First Constitutional Amendment Bill of 1951 was introduced by Nehru, which was opposed by many, was about the Right to Freedom of Expression which was attacked. He said that Nehrus daughter Indira Gandhi took this forward with her amendments and imposition of the Emergency when she was in power. The Congress, he said, amended the Constitution 75 times in six decades. While the Opposition leaders accused the BJP-led government of deliberately ignoring the diversity, PM Modi highlighted Ambedkars focus on strengthening the nation's unity. Saying that his government was only following Ambedkars dream, he cited all the 'One Nation' initiatives which have been brought in to strengthen the unity of the country. PM Modi ended his speech in his signature style, laying down 11 duties and pledges for citizens, including zero tolerance for corruption and an end to the dynastic system, to achieve a Developed India by 2047. (Deepika Bhan can be contacted at deepika.b@ians.in) Brisbane, Dec 15 : Left-handed batter Travis Head continued to be a thorn in India's flesh as he hit his second straight Test century, while Steve Smith found his groove through an unbeaten fifty to put Australia in total command against India on day two of the third Test at the Gabba on Sunday. At tea, Australia have reached 234/3 in 70 overs, with Head and Smith unbeaten on 103 and 65, respectively, while their unbroken fourth-wicket stand is at 159. If the morning session was even-stevens, Australia ensured they totally dominated the post-lunch session by amassing 130 runs and scoring at 4.8 per over. The Australian camp would be giving big thanks to Head feasting on a listless Indian bowling attack and their lack of proactive field settings to render the visitors ineffective. It was yet another show of scintillating batting from Head, who produced a stunning array of shots off the front and back foot to deflate India. After Smith began the session with a streaky inside edge going for four off Jasprit Bumrah, Head began his stunning show. With the ball being a little bit softer, Head ramped Bumrah over slip for four, before pulling Ravindra Jadeja for another boundary. Despite Akash Deep beating Smith with three rousing deliveries, including India burning a review, the batter drove and cut him for two cracking boundaries. Head lofted and hammered Jadeja for two boundaries, before reaching his fifty in 71 balls. Indias ploy to bang it short didnt work as Head ramped, pulled and slashed Siraj for three fours, even as Smith got his fifty. After carving Siraj over gully, Head proceeded to hammer Jadeja for another boundary, before he and Smith took a four each off Nitish Kumar Reddy. Despite India getting Bumrah back, there was no stopping Head as he unfurled a drive on the up through mid-on for four and after Smith punched Reddy through point for a boundary, Head whipped for three runs to get his ninth Test hundred and notch up another game-defining knock against India. Brief Scores: Australia 234/3 in 70 overs (Travis Head 103 not out, Steve Smith 65 not out; Jasprit Bumrah 2-51, Nitish Kumar Reddy 1-33) against India Jaipur, Dec 15 : Even as just one year has passed since the BJP-led Bhajanlal government came to power in Rajasthan, it has won public appreciation in the wake of various welfare schemes, development works and investment of crores of rupees into the state. Moreover, the BJP's victory in five out of seven seats in the by-election has shifted the political narrative, especially after it lost eight seats in the Lok Sabha elections. Notably, the state government set a new record by signing MoUs worth Rs 35 lakh crore at the Rising Rajasthan Global Investment Summit. However, the government is looking into the issues of paper leaks and district formations. Despite the public appreciating the government, evident from the by-election results, the opposition keeps on launching blistering attacks over one or the other issues. In the paper leak case, Rajasthan Public Service Commission member Babulal Katara and former member Ramuram Raika were arrested but the opposition was trying to corner the government over bail to 26 trainee Sub-Inspectors (SIs). The opposition repeatedly flags the issue of the creation of new districts, announced by the previous Gehlot government. The Bhajanlal government has formed a review committee to assess the feasibility of the creation of districts, and speculation is rife that several smaller districts might be dissolved. However, no conclusive decision has been made, adding to uncertainty. Even though the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) received national status after the BJP came to power and an MoU was signed between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh on the Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal (PKC)-ERCP river interlinking project, the opposition criticised the government for not making the MoU public, fueling speculation about its terms. However, veteran BJP leader Rajendra Rathore said, "Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma has become the "modern Bhagirath" of Rajasthan and is working towards providing drinking water to 21 districts through the revised ERCP." The BJP's performance in the by-elections - winning five out of seven seats - helped the party recover from its Lok Sabha losses, positioning Chief Minister Bhajan Lal on a stronger political footing. However, Congress leaders, including state president Govind Singh Dotasra, have accused the BJP government of failing to fulfil its promises. The Bhajanlal government has four more years to script a new story of growth while wading through challenges. New Delhi, Dec 15 : The significant drop in tuberculosis (TB) cases and deaths in India is "remarkable", said Mario C. B. Raviglione, former Director of the Global Tuberculosis (TB) Programme at the World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday. Speaking exclusively to IANS, Raviglione noted that this indicates a "high level of political commitment." There has been major progress in India in the last 25 years. The 18 per cent decline is about 2 per cent per year in the last decade. It is something remarkable for a country like India which is the number one contributor to the global TB epidemic with an estimated 2.8 million people getting TB every year, said Raviglione, a Professor of Global Health at the University of Milan, Italy. As per recent government data, the incidence rate of TB witnessed a 17.7 per cent decline from 237 per 100,000 population in 2015 to 195 per 100,000 population in 2023. Similarly, deaths due to TB have reduced by 21.4 per cent from 28 per lakh population in 2015 to 22 per lakh population in 2023. Having achieved this incidence decline in a country as massive as India is certainly a sign that something good has been done, said Raviglione. I think that the high level of political commitment that has been seen in India over the past few years is absolutely remarkable. It is almost unique in the world. I've not seen many heads of state going loudly like Prime Minister Narendra Modi on tackling diseases, he added, noting that it must be absolutely maintained to help the country fight the deadly infectious disease. While the decline is still remarkable, it is far too slow to achieve anything, such as ending an epidemic like that of TB, Raviglione said, about Indias aim to eliminate TB by 2025, five years ahead of the global target of 2030. The Professor called on the need to boost rapid molecular testing. It must be available at every point of care, it is essential for India to do much better than the progress achieved, he said. Expanding its use can not only diagnose TB more rapidly but also boost the diagnosis of drug-resistant TB, which has a major implication. This will help in choosing the appropriate treatment. He also suggested, campaigns of massive screening of the population to save lives because it will help detect TB cases early. This may help the physicians decode whether the contacts of people with TB have been affected or must be given prophylaxis to safeguard them from the disease in the future. Further, to counter TB in India, he suggested the need to focus on social determinants such as undernutrition, smoking tobacco, alcoholism, poverty, air pollution, both indoor and outdoor; and a multi-sectoral approach. The former WHO Director for TB also urged the need to tackle TB patients' suffering from catastrophic expenditure. The cost of having tuberculosis is still very high, even if you have a country where the drugs are given free of cost like in India, Raviglione said. He said this citing the diagnostic pathway opted by people, months before they get the correct diagnosis, and the treatment is initiated. During that period, they visit several doctors, from modern medicine to Vedic medicine. So that means that they spend their money on several tests. For a person who lives under the poverty level, it becomes impossible to hold, the Professor told IANS. Brisbane, Dec 15 : Australia batter Steve Smith was in awe of his teammate Travis Head as the duo added a 241-run massive fourth wicket partnership on Day 2 of the third Test against India at The Gabba on Sunday. Head, who scored 152 off 160 balls, was the aggresor during the partnership and struck his ninth Test century. It was also his second consecutive century against India in the series after hitting 140 in the first innings of the pink-ball Test at Adelaide Oval. On the other hand, Smith, who was struggling in the series, ended his 18-month century drought to capitalise on the occasion to bring up his 33rd Test hundred, surpassing Australia great Steve Waugh.Reflecting on his stand with Head that put Australia in a commanding position in the match, Smith praised his partner for making things easy for him in the middle. "It was nice. The top three did a pretty good job. They played 50 balls each. The new ball was doing a fair bit. It was nice to get in, get some luck early and get that partnership with Heady. He makes things look easy. The scoreboard is moving so quickly. I was toe-to-toe with him after the break but it was wonderful to watch him go. I had the best seat in the house, Smith told the Australian broadcaster. India started the day on high with early wickets of openers Usman Khawaja (21) and Nathan McSweeney (9) off Jasprit Bumrah in the opening spell. Despite hitting the perfect length from the other end, Akash Deep failed to get any breakthrough as Nitish Kumar Reddy gave India their third wicket - Marnus Labuschagne (12) - that left Australia at 75/3. But Smith and Head made sure that Australia didn't lose any more wickets in the session and went on to shift the momentum in their favour with the match-setting partnership. We have had few partnerships before and hopefully, more to go. I felt good. Missed out for a little while now. Nice to get to triple figures. I said to a few guys. Batting has been difficult, especially against the new ball. A lot of credit must go to them as well, Smith added. Australia were 405/7 at the stumps with Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc unbeaten on 45 and 7, respectively. For India, Bumrah returned with the figures of 5-72 while Mohammed Siraj and Nitish Kumar Reddy only got one wicket apiece. Mumbai, Dec 15 : Music composer Salim Merchant says the one word to describe singer Sonu Nigam is perfection and said that it is inspiring to see him do what he does. Salim took to Instagram, where he shared a behind-the-scenes video featuring Sonu in a studio recording the song Jaan Le Gayi, for Salim-Sulaimans Bhoomi 2024. One word.. perfection. Thats what @sonunigamofficial is Its inspiring and motivating to see him do what he does - his magic Was a treat for everyone at the studio to witness this ! @shraddhapandit has written this so beautifully. @rajpandit17always on top of his game to capture Sonus finest vocal takes (very hard to select) @shivansh.j capturing all the epic moments. #JaanLeGayi, the caption read. SalimSulaiman is a music composer duo consisting of siblings Salim Merchant and Sulaiman Merchant. SalimSulaiman were inspired by their father Sadruddin Merchant, who used to lead Ismaili Scouts Orchestra in India. Salim mastered the piano on at the Trinity College of Music in London while Sulaiman took up tabla training with such legends as Taufiq Qureshiand Ustad Zakir Hussain. Few years after their first music composition for a Bollywood film, they received acclaim for the film score of Bhoot. The two have composed music for films such as Neal 'n' Nikki, Chak De! India, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Fashion. They were predominantly composing background scores for movies, until the Karan Johar-Shah Rukh Khan production Kaal, for which their song compositions received acclaim. They have worked on a hollywood remix for Lady Gaga's songs Born This Way. They also worked on I'm A Freak By Enrique. Talking about Sonu, he recently asked politicians to not attend performances if they have to leave midway as it is disrespectful for the artist. In a video, Sonu was heard speaking in Hindi, where he said: In the middle of the show, I saw that the CM and the rest of the people left. As soon as they left, all the delegates also left. I have a request to all politicians, if you do not respect your artists, then what will the people outside do? I have a request to all of you. If you have to leave, then do not come. Or leave before the show starts. Leaving in the middle of an artist's performance is very disrespectful. This is an insult to Saraswati. New Delhi, Dec 15 : Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake arrived in New Delhi on Sunday for his three-day visit to India, marking his first foreign trip since assuming office in September. Randhir Jaiswal, Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, in a post on X, said, Warm and special welcome! President Anura Kumara Dissanayake of Sri Lanka was warmly received by MoS Dr L Murugan as he arrived in New Delhi. This is President Disanayakas first bilateral visit to India since he assumed Presidency. An opportunity to further deepen India-Sri Lanka ties and add momentum to the people-centric partnership. During the visit, Dissanayake will meet President Droupadi Murmu and hold discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on bilateral issues of mutual interest. President Dissanayake will also participate in a business event in Delhi to promote investment and commercial linkages between India and Sri Lanka. Further, he will leave for Bodh Gaya as part of the visit. Sri Lanka is Indias closest maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and holds a central place in the Prime Ministers vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and Indias Neighbourhood First policy. The visit of President Dissanayake to India is expected to further strengthen the multi-faceted and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries. The Sri Lankan Presidents visit follows an invitation extended by External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar during his visit to Colombo earlier this year, shortly after the National People's Power (NPP) party came to power. During his one-day visit to Colombo on October 4, Jaishankar called on President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and conveyed India's strong commitment to advance bilateral cooperation based on its 'Neighbourhood First' policy and SAGAR outlook. In his meeting with President Dissanayake, the EAM spoke about ongoing initiatives in the field of energy production and transmission, fuel and LNG supply, solar electrification of religious places, connectivity, digital public infrastructure, health and dairy development. He also highlighted that they would contribute to economic sustainability and provide new streams of revenue. The Sri Lankan President had mentioned that India's economic support is critical to realise his vision of a prosperous Sri Lanka and meeting the aspirations of the people. He referred to the potential of the export of renewable energy to India, which could help reduce production costs in Sri Lanka and create additional resources. ACCRA, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- After securing an electoral victory that marks his return to the presidency, Ghana's President-elect John Dramani Mahama has outlined 26 key policies that he aims to implement within his first 120 days in office. In a document titled "Mahama's First 120 Days: A Social Contract with the People of Ghana," the incoming president reveals his plan to nominate all cabinet ministers within 14 days of his swearing-in for approval, and to form "the leanest government" within the first three months. Mahama is set to be sworn in on Jan. 7. Tackling Ghana's economic challenges will be a central focus of Mahama's administration. To address the country's harsh economic conditions, the president-elect plans to host a national economic dialogue to assess the economy and develop a fiscal consolidation program that will guide the 2025 budget. Among his proposals, Mahama has committed to implementing a 24-hour economy. This initiative, which he campaigned on, will prioritize the drafting of necessary legal amendments and preparation for its rollout. According to the 2024 manifesto of the National Democratic Congress, which Mahama leads, the 24-hour economy aims to stimulate economic growth by allowing businesses and public institutions to operate around the clock in three eight-hour shifts. This policy seeks to revive the Ghanaian economy and create sustainable, well-paying jobs. To address youth unemployment, Mahama plans to launch several priority job creation programs in his first budget, including a national apprenticeship program and the "One Million Coders" initiative. Additionally, an accelerated export development council will be established to promote exports as part of a broader strategy for economic transformation. As part of his efforts to ease the financial burden on Ghanaians, Mahama's administration will also scrap several levies, including the electronic levy and the 10 percent levy on betting winnings. Moreover, he will review taxes and levies on vehicles and equipment imported for industrial and agricultural use. In education, Mahama has pledged to convene a national consultative conference within his first four months in office to build consensus on necessary reforms. His administration will also implement a "no-academic fee" policy for all first-year students in public tertiary institutions and provide free tertiary education for all persons with disabilities. Furthermore, his government will distribute free sanitary pads to female students in all primary and secondary schools nationwide. To promote good governance, Mahama intends to establish a code of conduct and set standards for all government officials. He will also introduce a policy prohibiting political appointees from purchasing state assets during his first 120 days. On Dec. 7, Ghanaians voted to elect a president and 276 members of parliament. According to the Electoral Commission, Mahama secured 56.55 percent of the total valid votes from 267 of the 276 constituencies, officially declaring him the winner of the presidential race. In his acceptance speech on Monday, shortly after being declared president-elect, Mahama pledged to implement important governance reforms and potentially tough measures over the next four years to reset the nation, Meanwhile, outgoing President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo inaugurated a joint transition team on Wednesday to ensure a smooth transfer of power to the incoming administration. New research from Curtin University has revealed increasing cigarette prices over the past several years have seen more older Australians turn to cannabis use as an alternative. Researchers from Curtin's School of Accounting, Economics and Finance investigated the buying habits of nearly 100,000 Australians from 2001 to 2019 by analysing data from the Australian National Drug Strategy Household Survey. The team found when cigarette prices increased cannabis use decreased in Australians under 40 years of age, with no change for people aged between 40 and 50. However, it also showed cannabis use increased among people aged over 50 when cigarette prices rose. Study author John Curtin Distinguished Professor Mark Harris said the results were surprising because cannabis and tobacco are generally consumed as a bundle. "In economic terms, if they're consumed together and it becomes more expensive to buy tobacco, you'd expect cannabis consumption to also fall," Professor Harris said. "But what we've found is the relationships between the drugs, and the way people use them, potentially changes with the age of a consumer: cannabis can change from a complement of tobacco, to a replacement." As part of the study, researchers ran a simulation of what would happen if tobacco prices rose by 10 per cent through higher taxes or other means. They found 68,000 people aged over 50 would start using cannabis in response, whether increasing existing cannabis use or opting to try cannabis for the first time as a tobacco substitute. Co-study author Dr. Ranjodh Singh said applying consumer behaviour research could help create effective health promotion strategies. In economics, we have this idea that people behave rationally, that we act according to price. But different segments of the population will respond differently to price increases, that's why we use the term 'life cycle approach' when looking at consumption. So on average, increasing tobacco prices makes cannabis use go down - but the opposite is true for this particular age group." Dr. Ranjodh Singh, co-study author Dr. Singh said the findings could help shape future health policies and messaging. "This shows applying blanket policies for everybody may not be the best way to improve outcomes across all demographics," Dr. Singh said. The study was conducted in collaboration with RMIT University's Dr. Preety Srivastava. Immune checkpoint blockades, or ICBs, have revolutionized treatment for various advanced cancers. However, their effectiveness has plateaued due to therapeutic resistance that renders tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, or TILs, ineffective. Thus, finding ways to disarm that resistance and rejuvenate anti-cancer TILs - so they can kill tumor cells - is an important goal for cancer clinicians. Yet any potential intervention has to take place under unusual conditions - the cancer microenvironment nearly devoid of oxygen due to fast growth of a tumor and the poor oxygen delivery by the abnormal tumor vasculature. In a study published in Nature Communications, Lewis Zhichang Shi, M.D., Ph.D., and University of Alabama at Birmingham colleagues show, for the first time, how HIF1 in T cells is key for induction of interferon gamma, or IFN-, in that hypoxic environment. The cytokine IFN- is known to be essential to induce the tumor-killing capacity of T cells. Additionally, an alternative metabolism called glycolysis, which is able to produce energy in human cells when no oxygen is present, is similarly known to be required for IFN- induction in T cells. "Intriguingly, under normal oxygen levels in the body, called normoxia, IFN-g induction and glycolysis in T cells are not mediated by HIF1, a primary regulator of glycolysis, but by its widely regarded downstream target LDHa, as reported in an early study by another group," said Shi, a professor in the UAB Department of Radiation Oncology. "However, it has been unknown, under hypoxia, whether and how HIF1 regulates IFN- induction and glycolysis in T cells." The UAB researchers found that HIF1-glycolysis is indispensable for IFN- induction in hypoxic T cells. HIF1 is a subunit of HIF, or hypoxia-inducible factor, that is known to play a crucial role in orchestrating cellular responses to hypoxia. Shi and colleagues showed this key role for HIF1 in hypoxia by combining genetic mouse models, metabolic flux analysis using 13C-labeled glucose tracing assays and a Seahorse analyzer, as well as pharmacological approaches. In both human and mouse T cells that were activated under hypoxia, they found that the deletion of HIF1 from the T cells prevented the metabolic reprogramming shift from catabolic metabolism to anabolic metabolism, of which anaerobic glycolysis is a major component; the deletion also suppressed the induction of IFN-. Additionally, pharmacologic inhibition of T cell glycolysis under hypoxia prevented induction of IFN-. Conversely, stabilization of HIF1 by knocking out a negative regulator of HIF1 increased IFN- under hypoxic conditions. With regard to defense against cancer, the researchers found that hypoxic T cells deleted for HIF1 were less able to kill tumor cells in vitro. In vivo, tumor-bearing mice that had the HIF1-deleted in T cells did not respond to ICB therapy. The researchers then showed a way to overcome that resistance to ICB therapy. Elucidation of the mechanistic function of the HIF1 deletion showed that loss of HIF1 greatly diminished glycolytic activity in hypoxic T cells, resulting in depleted intracellular acetyl-CoA and attenuated activation-induced cell death, or AICD. Restoration of intracellular acetyl-CoA by supplementing growth media with acetate reengaged AICD and rescued IFN- production for hypoxic Hif1-deletion T cells. Shi and colleagues then demonstrated, in living mice, that acetate supplementation was an effective strategy to bypass ICB resistance in tumor-bearing mice with specific deletion of HIF1 in T cells. When Hif1-deletion tumor-bearing mice were given acetate supplementation followed by combination ICB therapy, the mice had significant improvement in ICB therapy, as seen by potent suppression of tumor growth and greatly reduced tumor weights. TILs and tumor cells utilize the same metabolic pathways for their growth and function, and co-live in the metabolically harsh tumor-microenvironments characterized by hypoxia and poor nutrition, placing them in a fierce metabolic tug-of-war. How to tilt this metabolic battle to favor TILs would be key, and we showed that acetate supplementation restored IFN- production in Hif1-deletion-TILs and overcame ICB resistance derived from HIF1 loss in T cells." Lewis Zhichang Shi, M.D., Ph.D., University of Alabama at Birmingham "Our study, together with an early report by others, compellingly shows that the impaired HIF1 function in T cells is a major T cell-intrinsic mechanism of therapeutic resistance to ICBs, like anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1/L1," Shi said. Co-authors with Shi in the study, "HIF1-regulated glycolysis promotes activation-induced cell death and IFN- induction in hypoxic T cells," are Hongxing Shen, Oluwagbemiga A. Ojo, Haitao Ding, Chuan Xing, Abdelrahman Yassin, Vivian Y. Shi, Zach Lewis, Ewa Podgorska and James A. Bonner, UAB Department of Radiation Oncology; Logan J. Mullen, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska; M. Iqbal Hossain and Shaida A. Andrabi, UAB Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology; and Maciek R. Antoniewicz, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Support came from UAB; the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB; National Institutes of Health grants CA230475-01A1, CA25972101A1 and CA279849-01A1; V Foundation Scholar Award V2018-023; Department of Defense-Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs grant ME210108; and Cancer Research Institute CLIP Grant CRI4342. At UAB Radiation Oncology and Pharmacology and Toxicology are departments in the Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine. Shi is a scientist in the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center and holds the Koikos-Petelos-Jones-Bragg ROAR Endowed Professorship for Cancer Research. A team of researchers at The Keck School of Medicine of USC have received a $3.4 million federal grant to advance research on an innovative approach to slowing age-related cognitive decline. The award is from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), an agency withing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that funds transformational research to tackle tough health problems. The grant is part of ARPA-H's Sprint for Women's Health initiative to address critical unmet challenges in women's health, champion transformative innovations, and tackle health conditions that uniquely or disproportionately affect women. USC will receive $3.4 million in funding over two years through the Sprint for Women's Health spark track for early-stage research efforts. Young-Kwon Hong, PhD, Chief of the Division of Basic Science Research in the Department of Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, and his team are working on slowing age-related cognitive decline in women by helping the brain's lymphatic system clear more waste. With their longer lifespans, aging women have a higher susceptibility to dementia and neurodegenerative disorders. Two out of every three patients diagnosed with cognitive decline are women." Dr. Young-Kwon Hong, PhD, Chief of the Division of Basic Science Research in the Department of Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of USC Dr. Hong and his team have already discovered a drug that may delay the onset of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease by improving the performance of the brain's lymphatic system. They believe that by clearing waste buildup in the brain, they can slow the progress of cognitive decline. Their Sprint for Women's Health project will test the combination of that drug with focused ultrasound treatment to accelerate the removal of waste. "Anyone with a loved one in cognitive decline knows how devastating - and terrifying - it can be for the patient and for everyone around them. I believe that combining targeted ultrasound therapy with our drug therapy may offer hope to thousands of people. We may even be able to refine the treatment to a simple at-home process. This has an enormous potential to help people keep their dignity and their connection to loved ones." ARPA-H sought solutions within six topics of interest in women's health, and received an unprecedented response of submissions - more than 1700 from 34 countries, with only 24 applicants receiving funding. ARPA-H launched the Sprint for Women's Health in February, with First Lady Jill Biden announcing the funding as the first major deliverable from the White House Initiative on Women's Health Research. The ARPA-H Sprint for Women's Health is conducted in collaboration with the Investor Catalyst Hub of ARPANET-H, the agency's nationwide health innovation network that connects people, innovators, and institutions to accelerate better health outcomes for everyone. USC will work with an ARPA-H Program Manager and the Investor Catalyst Hub over two years to develop their proposed solution, receiving milestone-based payments aligned to research activities and performance objectives. About The Department of Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of USC Under the leadership of Department Chairman Vaughn A. Starnes, MD, The Department of Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of USC has developed a strong focus on scientific research. The program actively works to promote both clinical research and bench science, offering both financial support and a structure to make sure researchers set up rigorous scientific protocols. In addition, promising surgical residents may do up to two years of pure research and have the opportunity to present their findings at national conferences. "I am immensely proud of the work Dr. Hong is doing," said Dr. Starnes. "This started from a personal interest and an educated hunch that he had. When we give our researchers the support they need to pursue those, it benefits our whole community." Dr. Sukhvir Wright at Aston University Institute for Health and Neurodevelopment (IHN), and honorary consultant neurologist at Birmingham Children's Hospital (BCH), has been awarded a 3.4m Career Development Award from Wellcome to research autoimmune encephalitis (AE), an inflammatory brain condition, in children. Every minute, someone in the world is diagnosed with encephalitis, which can be caused by an infection or have an autoimmune cause, where the body's own immune system starts attacking the brain. AE accounts for around a third of cases, with patients experiencing seizures, cognitive and sleep dysfunction and movement disorders. Although medical professionals are getting better at recognising and treating AE earlier, the long-term outcomes remain frustratingly poor, particularly in children under five. Some symptoms of the disease, such as seizures, can resolve but others, such as problems with learning and memory, behavioral change and sleep disorders, can become chronic. Why some of these symptoms get better and others persist is not well understood. Dr. Wright carried out a world-first preliminary study in a group of children with AE at least 18 months after they first developed the condition, using magnetoencephalography (MEG) brain scans. She found distinct long-term brain structure and network changes and believes that these brain changes are responsible for the chronic symptoms of the disease. During this Career Development Award, Dr Wright will use laboratory models to characterise the mechanisms causing the chronic symptoms, examining the underlying changes from single brain cells to whole brain networks. She will also examine longitudinal brain network changes in children immediately following the acute attack of AE and for up to eight years afterwards using a new optically pumped magnetometer (OPM) MEG scanner. IHN is an ideal location for the research project, as it houses the UK's only paediatric clinical and research Wellcome Trust MEG laboratory. The MAG4Health OPM MEG scanner that will be used by Dr Wright was installed in 2024 following a Medical Research Council (MRC) equipment grant for 800,000 led by Aston University's Dr. Caroline Witton in partnership with Birmingham Children's Hospital (BCH). The Aston-BCH OPM MEG uses an adjustable cap with sensors which is placed on the patient's head, which allows some degree of movement and is therefore more acceptable for children. Combining the data from the laboratory models and human patients will enable Dr Wright and her research team to identify common pathophysiological targets, mechanisms and predictive biomarkers to reduce the adverse effects of AE and improve long-term outcomes. Dr. Wright is part of the neuroimmunology team at BCH, led by paediatric neurology consultant Professor Evangeline Wassmer. The AE research project will involve Professor Wassmer's team, the BCH Psychology department led by Dr. Jo Horton, Professor Stefano Seri (neurophysiology) and Dr Laavanya Damodaran (liaison psychiatry). Children and families with lived experience of AE will be directly involved with all aspects of the research to ensure it is answering questions that matter to them, including the family of one of the first AE patients ever treated by the neurology team at BCH. This patient and family involvement will be facilitated by the Epilepsy Research Institute's Shape Network and Encephalitis International, two charities with which Dr Wright has strong links. Dr. Wright said: "We hope that this project will transform outcomes and optimise brain health in paediatric autoimmune encephalitis and beyond by delivering a significant shift in understanding the acute and long-term effects that autoimmune encephalitis has on children and young people." Wildfire smoke has long been known to exacerbate health problems like heart disease, lung conditions, and asthma, but now a new study finds that smoke from these fires can lead to poor health thousands of miles away. Researchers from the University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing (UM-IHC) found that medical visits for heart and lung problems rose by nearly 20 percent during six days in June, 2023, when smoke from Western Canadian wildfires drifted across the country, leading to very poor air quality days in Baltimore and the surrounding region. The new findings were published today in the journal JAMA Network Open. During the summer of 2023, severe Canadian wildfires created a vast plume that drifted 2000 miles across the country, leading to poor air quality on the East Coast of the United States, and many individuals experiencing breathing issues that led them to the doctor's office. "Baltimore had very dark skies, and we could all smell the smoke in the air," said Mary Maldarelli, MD, pulmonary critical care fellow at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) who is the first author on the study. "But most importantly, my patients came in to me saying they were coughing quite a bit more and needed their medications more often, so they felt much sicker than they usually did when these wildfires occurred." Dr. Maldarelli is also a resident in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center. To determine whether the smoke-filled days led to quantifiable health consequences, she partnered with data scientists and visualization experts at the UM-IHC, which has access to nearly 2 million de-identified patient records from the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS). The researchers analyzed satellite data and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data to identify six "hotspot" days in June 2023 with high levels of wildfire smoke-related air pollution in the Maryland area. These were days that exceeded the EPA's standards for safe air quality in all 23 counties in Maryland. The team then culled through the de-identified electronic health records from UMMS, comparing medical visits for heart-lung or cardiopulmonary conditions from June 2023 with medical visits during June 2018 and June 2019. These included emergency department visits, hospital admissions, and outpatient clinic visits. We found that hotspot days were associated with an 18 percent increased likelihood of patients going to the doctor for complications related to a cardiopulmonary condition. We also found a 55 percent increase in the risk for an outpatient visit for heart and lung conditions; these patients tended to be older, non-smokers, and more socio-economically affluent than typical patients who see their doctors for cardiovascular conditions on good air quality days." Bradley Maron, MD, study corresponding author, Professor of Medicine at UMSOM and Co-Executive Director of the UM-IHC That finding could highlight the importance of healthcare access and may indicate that more economically disadvantaged patients are not getting the medical care they need on high-risk days filled with wildfire smoke. With more climate events expected in the future, doctors may require better tools to help disadvantaged patients on hotspot days. "We have the opportunity to leverage the capabilities of the UM-IHC to proactively identify patients who are most at risk and provide them with anticipatory care," said UMSOM Dean Mark T. Gladwin, MD, who is the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and vice president for medical affairs at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. "There may be crucial ways we can prevent cardiovascular complications on polluted smoke air days simply by providing them with telehealth visits or other ways to access care." Amir Sapkota, PhD, and Hyeonjin Song, PhD, of the University of Maryland School of Public Health, performed the satellite and EPA analyses for the study. Study co-authors also included faculty from the University of Maryland, College Park, the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, and the University of Maryland Medical System. "Being able to access clinical data at a granular level and our ability to apply advanced analytical tools such as this is critical and essential to the future of health care and enables UMMS to be at the forefront of innovative medicine that will help drive patient care in the years ahead," said study co-author Warren D'Souza, PhD, Co-Director of the UM-IHC and Senior Vice President/Chief Innovation Officer at UMMS. Funding for the study was provided by Montgomery County, Maryland, and The University of Maryland Strategic Partnership: MPowering the State, a formal collaboration between the University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Maryland, Baltimore. 5-Day Workweek For Bank Employees: When Will It Be Implemented? What We Know So Far Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 09:44 IST Though the five-day workweek for bank employees was expected to be implemented from December 2024, the proposal now seems to be taking longer as the final approval from the finance ministry remains pending. While the IBA and bank unions have agreed on the five-day workweek proposal for bank employees, the final decision now lies with the government. The long-debated proposal of introducing a five-day workweek for banks in India is gaining traction once again. Banking institutions have traditionally operated for six days a week, with alternate Saturdays off. Though the five-day workweek for bank employees was expected to be implemented from December 2024 as per speculations, the proposal now seems to be taking longer as the final approval from the finance ministry remains pending. The Indian Bank Association (IBA), the apex body representing banks, has been discussing the possibility of a five-day workweek for several years. The idea has been proposed multiple times during negotiations between the IBA and the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), which represents banking employees. related stories The primary rationale behind the proposal is to align Indias banking work culture with global practices, improve employee well-being, and enhance productivity. Recent Developments In December 2023, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Indian Banks Association (IBA), which includes both government-run and private lenders, and bank unions. This agreement included a proposal for a 5-day workweek, subject to government approval. Subsequently, on March 8, 2024, the 9th Joint Note was signed by the IBA and bank unions. The Joint Note, signed by IBA and the All India Bank Officers Confederation, outlined the transition to a 5-day week with Saturdays and Sundays off. The government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have also been brought into the conversation, as their approval is crucial for such a structural change. While the IBA and bank unions have agreed, the final decision now lies with the government. The proposal will also be discussed with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as it regulates banking hours and interbank activities. Theres no official deadline announced by the government on that. Impact on Customers For customers, especially those in regions with limited digital banking penetration, a shorter workweek could mean longer waiting times and the need to plan visits to branches more meticulously. However, bank employee unions have assured that the 5-day workweek would not lead to a reduction in customer service hours. To ensure this, the timing will also be revised to extend working hours by nearly 40 minutes, apart from enhancing mobile and internet banking platforms. Challenges to Implementation While the idea is appealing, its implementation faces several hurdles: 1. Regulatory Approval: The RBI and the Ministry of Finance must approve the change before it becomes a reality. 2. Banking Operations: Maintaining uninterrupted banking services in a country as large and diverse as India is a logistical challenge. 3. Union Agreements: Employee unions and management need to find common ground on compensation, working hours, and other operational adjustments. What Is The Practice Globally? Globally, banks in countries like the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia already operate on a five-day workweek. This model has often been cited as a reason for Indian banks to adopt a similar system. However, the unique socio-economic conditions in India necessitate a carefully tailored approach. Whats Next? top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The IBA and UFBU are expected to continue their discussions, with further updates likely in the coming months. Rupam Roy, general secretary of the All India Bank Officers Confederation, told news18.com, said, We are in the process of finalising plans to initiate an agitation soon. We have also extended invitations to our affiliate unions/ associations of UFBU to join the movement. As of now, there is no indication from the government regarding the implementation of the five-day workweek." First Published: December 15, 2024, 09:44 IST This photo taken with a mobile phone shows a plane carrying giant pandas Xingqiu and Yilan landing at Adelaide Airport in Adelaide, Australia, Dec. 15, 2024. Giant pandas Xingqiu and Yilan have arrived in Adelaide, capital of South Australia, early Sunday morning, after flying for around 11 hours across approximately 8,800 km. The two giant pandas departed Southwest China's Sichuan Province for Australia on Saturday afternoon, kicking off a new round of China-Australia collaboration on giant panda conservation and research. (Photo by Lyu Wei/Xinhua) ADELAIDE, Australia, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Giant pandas Xingqiu and Yilan have arrived in Adelaide, capital of South Australia, early Sunday morning, after flying for around 11 hours across approximately 8,800 km. The two giant pandas departed Southwest China's Sichuan Province for Australia on Saturday afternoon, kicking off a new round of China-Australia collaboration on giant panda conservation and research. Xingqiu, a four-year-old male, and Yilan, a three-year-old female, both from the Dujiangyan base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, are set to settle at Adelaide Zoo for the next decade. Li Dong, Chinese consul-general in Adelaide, said in an interview with Xinhua on Saturday that Chinese culture values that "joy alone is not as good as joy among all", and the Chinese people are willing to share their love of giant pandas with the Australian people. Through the joint implementation of the responsibility to protect giant pandas, the people of China and Australia have become more interconnected, and it can be said that giant pandas have made a unique contribution to the development of the relationship between the two countries, said the Chinese diplomat. Building on the success of past cooperation, the new partnership will further advance collaboration in areas such as breeding research, disease prevention, public education and cultural exchange. This initiative aims to strengthen research efforts and foster closer people-to-people ties between China and Australia. Upon arrival at Adelaide Zoo, Xingqiu and Yilan will undergo quarantine. Adelaide Zoo has upgraded its facilities to welcome the new arrivals, ensuring an ample supply of food, and assigning an experienced care and research team to manage the pandas. In 2009, two pandas, Wangwang and Funi, began their stay at Adelaide Zoo. As the only giant pandas in the Southern Hemisphere, they drew more than 5 million visitors in 15 years until this November when they returned to China. Vishal Mega Mart IPO Allotment: GMP At 24.36%, A Step-By-Step Guide To Check Allotment Status Online Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 09:28 IST Vishal Mega Mart's unlisted shares are trading in the grey market at Rs 97, reflecting a premium of Rs 19 or 24.36 per cent above the upper IPO price of Rs 78, signalling a decent listing gain for investors. Vishal Mega Mart IPO. Vishal Mega Mart IPO Allotment Status, GMP: The IPO of Vishal Mega Mart Ltd is poised for key milestones, with the allotment finalisation set for Monday, December 16, and the listing on both the BSE and NSE scheduled for Wednesday, December 18. Heres everything you need to know about the IPO. The Vishal Mega Mart IPO, open for subscription from December 11 to December 13, garnered a total subscription of 28.75 times. The breakdown of the subscription categories is as follows: related stories Retail Investors: Subscribed 2.43 times. Subscribed 2.43 times. Non-Institutional Investors (NII): Subscribed 15.01 times. Subscribed 15.01 times. Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIB): Subscribed an impressive 85.11 times. The IPO price band was set at Rs 74 to Rs 78 per share, drawing considerable interest across all categories. Vishal Mega Mart IPO GMP Today As of today, Vishal Mega Marts unlisted shares are trading in the grey market at Rs 97, reflecting a premium of Rs 19 or 24.36 per cent above the upper IPO price of Rs 78. The GMP has shown steady growth, increasing from the 20.51 per cent recorded at the IPOs outset. While grey market premiums are indicative of market sentiment, they can fluctuate and are not guaranteed predictors of listing performance. Vishal Mega Mart IPO Allotment and Listing Dates Investors eagerly awaiting their allotment can expect confirmation by the evening of December 16. Successful applicants will receive a debit message from their banks. Shares will debut on the BSE and NSE on December 18, marking an important step for the Gurugram-based supermart chain. Vishal Mega Mart IPO: A Step-By-Step Guide To Check Allotment Status Online To check the allotment status for Vishal Mega Mart IPO, follow these steps: 1. Visit the official BSE portal: (https://www.bseindia.com/investors/appli_check.aspx). 2. Select Equity under Issue Type. 3. Choose Vishal Mega Mart Ltd from the dropdown. 4. Enter your application number or PAN details. 5. Complete the CAPTCHA and click Search. Alternatively, allotment details can also be accessed via Kfin Technologies portal: (https://ipostatus.kfintech.com/). Vishal Mega Mart IPO: Structure and Key Details Unlike many other IPOs, Vishal Mega Marts public issue is entirely an offer-for-sale (OFS) by its promoter, Kedaara Capital-led Samayat Services LLP. The company raised Rs 2,400 crore from anchor investors a day before the IPO launch, reflecting strong institutional confidence. Vishal Mega Mart is a leading name in Indias retail segment, offering a diverse range of products across three primary categories: Apparel, General Merchandise, and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). As of June 30, 2024, the company operates 626 stores nationwide, supplemented by its mobile app and e-commerce website, ensuring a strong omnichannel presence. The IPO is managed by prominent book-running lead managers, including Kotak Mahindra Capital Company, ICICI Securities, Intensive Fiscal Services, Jefferies India, JPMorgan India, Morgan Stanley India. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Conclusion The Vishal Mega Mart IPO has generated significant buzz with its robust subscription numbers and decent GMP. As the allotment and listing dates approach, investors are optimistic about the companys potential in the retail market. First Published: December 15, 2024, 09:28 IST What Was Net Worth of Isak Andic, The Founder Of Mango Who Has Passed Away In Accident? Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 12:09 IST Isak Andic, the founder of the global fast-fashion brand Mango, passed away at the age of 71 following a tragic hiking accident near Barcelona. Isak Andic Net Worth: His wealth primarily stemmed from Mango, which he co-founded in 1984 with his brother Nahman Andic. Isak Andic Net Worth: Isak Andic, the founder of the global fast-fashion brand Mango, passed away at the age of 71 following a tragic hiking accident near Barcelona. His death, announced by the company on Saturday, December 14, 2024, has sent ripples across the fashion and business communities. Known for his entrepreneurial vision, Andic transformed Mango from a small Spanish store into an international fashion powerhouse. Isak Andics Net Worth related stories At the time of his death, Isak Andics net worth was estimated at $4.5 billion, according to Forbes. His wealth primarily stemmed from Mango, which he co-founded in 1984 with his brother Nahman Andic. The company operates 2,700 stores across 120 markets worldwide and achieved a record-breaking 3.1 billion ($3.2 billion) in sales in 2023. Beyond Mango, Andic held investments in Banco Sabadell, one of Spains leading banks, contributing further to his impressive financial portfolio. Mangos Global Success Starting with a single store in Barcelona, Mango grew to become one of the worlds leading fashion retailers under Andics leadership. Known for its stylish yet affordable clothing, the brand thrives in over 120 markets and continues to expand, particularly in the United States, with plans to establish 65 stores there by 2025. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Tributes and Legacy Spains Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez commemorated Andics contributions to the countrys business landscape, praising his vision and hard work. Despite his significant fortune and achievements, Andic was known for his low-profile lifestyle, focusing on innovation and sustainability within the fashion industry. First Published: December 15, 2024, 11:59 IST Assam TET 2024 Admit Cards Released, Exam On December 29 Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 13:25 IST Assam TET 2024 Admit Card: Candidates who have applied for the exam can now download their hall tickets from the official website at madhyamik.assam.gov.in According to the official notice, the Assam TET examination will be held on December 29. (Representative/File Photo) The Directorate of Secondary Education, Assam has released admit cards for the Assam Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) recruitment exam 2024. Candidates who have applied for the exam can now download their hall tickets from the official website at madhyamik.assam.gov.in. The applicants will need their login credentials such as their registration number and password to download their admit cards online. According to the official notice, the Assam TET examination will be held on December 29. There are two exam papers, each held for 2 hours and 30 minutes. Each paper contains 150 multiple-choice questions. Blind candidates receive an additional 20 minutes to write the exam. related stories Students appearing for the exam are required to carry a hard copy of the admit card along with a photo identity card issued by the government (such as an Aadhaar card, PAN card, driving license, or voter ID). PwBD (Disabled) candidates must carry a document recognized by the competent authority as a certificate to the exam centre. Assam TET 2024 Admit Card: How To Check? Step 1: Once out, candidates need to go to the official website of Assam TET, which is, madhyamik.assam.gov.in, to download the hall ticket. Step 2: Upon reaching the homepage, search for and click on the Assam TET Admit Card 2024 Download link. Step 3: Key in your application number and password in the provided space and then click submit. Step 4: Once done, your Assam TET Admit Card 2024 will be displayed on your screen. Step 5: Download and save a copy of the same and take a print out for future use. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Assam TET 2024 Admit Card: Details To Check Upon downloading, candidates must check the following details mentioned on the Assam TET admit card 2024. The details include the name of the candidate, date of birth, examination date, roll number, signature, photograph, examination name, reporting time, exam centre name and address, as well as exam day instructions. In case of any discrepancy, candidates must report to the official authorities and get it rectified at the earliest. First Published: December 15, 2024, 13:18 IST Himachal: BTech Student Found Hanging in Una, Police Suspect Suicide Over Exam Failure Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 18:05 IST According to police, when he did not respond even after repeated calls, his family members went to the room and found him hanging with a scarf. Police said that no suicide note has been found from the spot and the family members statements have been recorded.(Representative Image) A 17-year-old student was found hanging at his aunts house in Himachal Pradeshs Una town, with police suspecting that he committed suicide after failing his exams. The victim has been identified as Pankaj, from Kalyana village of Hamirpur district. He was pursuing Bachelor in Technology from a private institute in Pandoga, they said. The incident occurred on Friday night in ward number 10 of Baihali Mohalla, when the family members, including his parents, were having dinner, the police said. related stories They said that, Pankajs family kept asking him to come out of his room and join them for dinner but he did not respond. According to police, when he did not respond even after repeated calls, his family members went to the room and found him hanging with a scarf. They brought him down and informed the police about the incident, Una Superintendent of Police (SP) Rakesh Singh said. He said that no suicide note has been found from the spot and the family members statements have been recorded. The scarf which was used to commit suicide has been seized and further investigation in the matter is under, Singh said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Pankajs father is a shopkeeper and mother is a housewife, he added. DISCLAIMER: If you or someone you know needs help, call any of these helplines: Aasra (Mumbai) 022-27546669, Sneha (Chennai) 044-24640050, Sumaitri (Delhi) 011-23389090, Cooj (Goa) 0832- 2252525, Jeevan (Jamshedpur) 065-76453841, Pratheeksha (Kochi) 048-42448830, Maithri (Kochi) 0484-2540530, Roshni (Hyderabad) 040-66202000, Lifeline 033-64643267 (Kolkata) Location : Himachal Pradesh, India First Published: December 15, 2024, 18:02 IST Ayodhya's Ram Mandir Project Bags Sword of Honour Award For Safety Excellence Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 14:53 IST Ram temple project in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya bagged the prestigious Sword of Honour award, one of the highest accolades in safety management. Ayodhya's Ram Mandir decorated with flowers ahead of its opening in January | File Image/PTI The Ram temple project in Uttar Pradeshs Ayodhya bagged the prestigious Sword of Honour award, one of the highest accolades in safety management. Nripendra Misra, the chairman of the Construction Committee of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, confirmed the development, expressing his happiness over the new milestone achieved by the project. related stories The British Safety Council conducts the audit of the process, practices, and finally on-site activity assessments and only those who achieve a five-star assessment are eligible to enter the Sword of Honour award contest, according to a statement released by the Ram Mandir construction committee read. In another achievement, Larsen & Toubro, a multinational company responsible for the construction of the Ram temple, was also awarded the Golden Trophy by the National Safety Council for safety measures taken in the construction of the Ram Temple, the statement added. The temple project blends cultural heritage with engineering excellence. According to the statement, the construction by Larsen & Toubro was closely coordinated with Tata Consulting Engineers, with effective oversight provided by the Construction Committee of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust to ensure quality. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The temple, which hosted a grand consecration ceremony earlier in January, is expected to be fully constructed by 2025. The construction of the first and second floors, including the temples Shikhar, along with other significant structures, has entered its final phase. Location : Ayodhya, India First Published: December 15, 2024, 14:23 IST Bangladeshi War Veterans Reach Kolkata For Vijay Diwas, CM Mamata Banerjee To Attend Event Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 12:17 IST Vijay Diwas is celebrated to honour the Indian Army for its victory in the 1971 war against Pakistan that gave birth to Bangladesh Retired officers say the Muktijoddhas have been an inalienable part of the fanfare and if they give the Vijay Diwas celebrations a miss, it will be a significant moment in India-Bangladesh ties. (News18) Mukti Joddhas or war veterans of Bangladesh have arrived in Kolkata for the Vijay Diwas celebrations in the Eastern Command headquarters on December 16. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, too, will make her first appearance at the event, they added. Vijay Diwas is celebrated to honour the Indian Army for its victory in the 1971 war against Pakistan that gave birth to Bangladesh. Every year, war veterans of Bangladesh, who were an essential part of the guerrilla resistance force Mukti Bahini, come to the Eastern Command headquarters in Kolkata to mark the occasion. In 2022, 29 Mukti Joddhas and six Bangladesh Army personnel had attended the event. related stories After former PM Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh and sought refuge in India, the relationship between the two countries has seen a change, amid efforts to maintain a stable diplomatic relationship. Earlier, there was uncertainty over the visit of Mukti Jodhhas for the event, but at least eight war veterans have arrived. They will be present at the wreath-laying ceremony and also for the special military tattoo show. Last week, Foreign Secretary of India Vikram Mistri met Chief Advisor of Bangladesh Md Younus. This came two weeks after the arrest of ISKCON devotee Chinmoy Krishna Prabhu in Bangladesh, followed by various reports of torture of minorities in Bangladesh. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Following this, Bangladesh admitted that after Hasinas exit in August, 88 cases of attacks on religious places have been registered, and 70 arrests have been made so far. Relations between the two countries are closely watched by the international fraternity, making this Vijay Diwas different and important. First Published: December 15, 2024, 12:15 IST Is Atul's Son Alive? After Bengaluru Techie's Wife's Arrest, His Family Seeks PM's Help Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 14:11 IST Atul Subhash's wife was arrested from Gurugram days after the registration of the FIR. Atul's family has expressed concerns about the whereabouts of the child. Bengaluru techie Atul Subhash and his father and brother (Photo: X/ANI) Atul Subhashs Suicide Case: Hours after Nikita Singhania, her mother, and her brother were arrested in Atul Subhashs suicide case, the deceased techies family on Sunday expressed concerns about the whereabouts of Atuls son, urging the authorities to find and hand him over to them. Atuls father Pawar Kumar urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure that his grandson returns to him safely. related stories This comes after Atuls estranged wife Nikita, her mother Nisha and brother Anurag were arrested by the Bengaluru Police for abetment of suicide in connection with the techies suicide case which shook the entire country. What Did Atuls Family Say? Atuls father asked if his grandson was even alive stating that he did not know anything about his whereabouts. #WATCH | Samastipur, Bihar: Atul Subhash suicide case | On the arrest of accused Nikita Singhania, Nisha Singhania and Anurag Singhania, Pawan Kumar Modi, father of deceased Atul Subhash says, We dont know where she has kept our grandson. Has he been killed or is he alive? We pic.twitter.com/8TBQcWtQfM ANI (@ANI) December 15, 2024 We dont know where she has kept our grandson. Has he been killed or is he alive? We dont know anything about him. I want my grandson to be with us," he said. He further appealed to PM Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to ensure the childs safe return to the family. For a grandfather, his grandson means more than his sonThe whole society, people are standing in my support," the father said. Atuls Brother Expresses Concerns About Childs Safety Bikas Kumar, the deceased techies brother, expressed concerns about the safety of the child stating that he was not seen in the picture of Nikita shared by the police. #WATCH | On the arrest of Nikita Singhania along with her mother and brother, Atul Subhashs brother Bikas Kumar Modi says, Our biggest concern right now is that we dont know where my nephew (Atul Subhashs son) is. We couldnt find him in the photograph circulated by the pic.twitter.com/nFMvXJ2dsu ANI (@ANI) December 15, 2024 Our biggest concern right now is that we dont know where my nephew (Atul Subhashs son) is. We couldnt find him in the photograph circulated by the police. We want to know where he is," he said. He thanked the Karnataka Police for making arrests of Nikita, Nisha, and Anurag and said that two more arrests are pending. I hope they will also be arrested soon" he said. Notably, according to Atuls allegations, Nikita had left home in 2021 and had taken their son along with her. Atul Subhash Suicide Case Atul Subhash, a native of Bihars Samastipur, and a techie in Bengaluru, was found dead in his apartment on Monday. A 24-page suicide note was found, with each page beginning with the phrase, Justice is due." A video recorded by Atul went viral on social media, sparking widespread outrage, and flagging the misuse of laws in society. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Atuls family voiced their disappointment with the legal system, stating that while laws protect women, there are no safeguards for men. In his note, Atul alleged that his wifes family had demanded Rs 3 crore as a divorce settlement. First Published: December 15, 2024, 13:08 IST Bengaluru Techie Atul Subhash's Wife Nikita, In-Laws Arrested Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 12:40 IST Atul Subhash Suicide Case: Bengaluru techie's estranged wife Nikita Singhania was arrested from Gurugram in connection with Atul Subhash suicide case. Bengaluru techie Atul Subhash's wife arrested (Photo: Bengaluru Whitefield Police) Atul Subhash Suicide Case: In a massive development in the Bengaluru techie Atul Subhash suicide case, his estranged wife Nikita Singhania was arrested from Haryanas Gurugram for abetment to suicide, the police said on Sunday. Her mother Nisha, and brother Anurag were earlier arrested from Prayagraj and produced before the court in Bengaluru, after which they were sent to judicial custody. related stories Atul Subhash suicide case | Accused Nikita Singhania has been arrested from Gurugram, Haryana. Accused Nisha Singhania and Anurag Singhania arrested from Prayagraj and produced before the court and given to judicial custody: Shivakumar, DCP White Field Division, Bengaluru pic.twitter.com/8XxZUcwkfQ ANI (@ANI) December 15, 2024 How Was Arrest Made? The arrests came days after Atul died by suicide alleging harassment by his wife and her family. He had shot an over-an-hour-long video and left a 24-page suicide note detailing the mental agony he was subjected to. Nikita was arrested from Gurugram and his mother-in-law and brother-in-law were arrested from Prayagraj on December 14 morning. Nikita and her family were reportedly on the run since Atuls video went viral, leading to the registration of the FIR by the Marathahalli police earlier this week. Earlier, after Nikita went absconding, the Bengaluru Police pasted a notice outside her residence in Uttar Pradeshs Jaunpur asking them to appear within three days. Atul Subhashs Family Reacts To Arrests Bikas Kumar, Atuls brother, said that their biggest concern is where Atuls son was, stating that he could not be found in the photo circulated by the police. He sought to know his whereabouts and also thanked the Karnataka Police for arresting the three accused. Our biggest concern right now is that we dont know where my nephew is. Two other arrests are pending. I hope they will also be arrested soon," he said. #WATCH | On the arrest of Nikita Singhania along with her mother and brother, Atul Subhashs brother Bikas Kumar Modi says, Our biggest concern right now is that we dont know where my nephew (Atul Subhashs son) is. We couldnt find him in the photograph circulated by the pic.twitter.com/nFMvXJ2dsu ANI (@ANI) December 15, 2024 Pawar Kumar, Atuls father, asked if his grandson is alive or has been killed stating that the family has received no information about him. want my grandson to be with usI thank the police for arresting the accusedThe judge (of the accused) was corrupt," he said. The father appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to ensure his grandsons safe return to him. For a grandfather, his grandson means more than his son," he said while making an emotional appeal to the top leaders. #WATCH | Samastipur, Bihar: Atul Subhash suicide case | On the arrest of accused Nikita Singhania, Nisha Singhania and Anurag Singhania, Pawan Kumar Modi, father of deceased Atul Subhash says, We dont know where she has kept our grandson. Has he been killed or is he alive? We pic.twitter.com/8TBQcWtQfM ANI (@ANI) December 15, 2024 Atul Subhash Suicide Case Atul Subhash, hailing from Bihars Samastipur and working in Bengaluru, was found dead in his flat on Monday and a 24-page suicide note was found with every page beginning with Justice is due". His video went viral on social media, creating a storm with users flagging the misuse of laws in the society. Atuls family expressed disappointment over the system stating that there are laws in the country for women, not men. Social media was flooded with calls for justice for Atul Subhash as several people came out with #MensToo on X, expressing their stories. Atul had alleged that his wifes family had demanded Rs 3 crore as a divorce settlement. In his suicide note and video, Atul claimed he married Nikita in 2019 after meeting her on a matchmaking website. The couple welcomed a son the following year. Subhash alleged that Nikita and her family frequently demanded large sums of money to start businesses. When he refused, tensions escalated, leading Nikita to leave their home in 2021, taking their son with her. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Atul further alleged that in 2022, Nikita filed multiple cases against him and his family, accusing them of cruelty, dowry harassment, and even murder. The Singhania family also alleged that Atul and his relatives harassed Nikitas father for dowry, claiming it contributed to his death. However, the case was later withdrawn. First Published: December 15, 2024, 08:58 IST BJP Debunks Congress Defence On Soros Link In 6 Points. Heres What They Are Published By : News18.com Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 14:21 IST BJP president JP Nadda had last week said the party must clarify the report linking its senior leadership with anti-India forces". The Congress had dismissed the allegations, calling it a ploy to divert focus from other important issues Union minister Giriraj Singh stages a protest over Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's alleged links with an organisation funded by the George Soros Foundation, in New Delhi, on Thursday. (PTI) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in a thread on X, continued its attack on the Congress over its alleged links to Hungarian-American businessman and investor George Soros, who is reportedly involved in anti-India" activities. BJP president JP Nadda had last week said the party must clarify the report linking its senior leadership with anti-India forces". The Congress had dismissed the allegations levelled by the BJP, calling it a ploy to divert focus from other important issues. related stories Congress leader and spokesperson Jairam Ramesh had said that the George Soros issue has been created to divert from other important issues". Lets take a look at the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF)a key vehicle for the Congress party, chaired by Sonia Gandhi. Has it been using foreign funds to push anti-national agendas? Well, in 2007-08, RGF partnered with the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), an organization that pic.twitter.com/sT9nQ5sLhx BJP (@BJP4India) December 15, 2024 top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The six points raised in the post: Lets take a look at the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF)a key vehicle for the Congress party, chaired by Sonia Gandhi. Has it been using foreign funds to push anti-national agendas? Well, in 2007-08, RGF partnered with the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), an organization that received substantial funding from George Soros Open Society Institute. Why would a foundation linked to a major Indian political party tie up with a foreign organisation with such dubious connections?" HRLN, which has deep links to Soros and his organisations, hasnt exactly been neutral when it comes to Indias laws. From campaigning against sedition laws to providing legal aid to illegal Rohingya migrants, HRLNs activities have often undermined Indias sovereignty. How can the Congress tie up with such organisations that have consistently sought to undermine Indias sovereignty and national security? What were the true intentions of the tie-up between RGF and HRLN?" But it doesnt stop there. The RGFs foreign-backed efforts extend further. In 2018-19, the foundation teamed up with the Aman Biradari Trust (ABT), founded by none other than another Soros ally Harsh Mander. Mander, who was involved in drafting the anti-Hindu Communal Violence Bill as a member of Sonia Gandhis National Advisory Council, is yet another link in a troubling chain of foreign influence. What does this say about the Congress partys true priorities?" The RGF wasnt just funded by foreign entitiesit also received taxpayers money under the Congress government in 1991, when Manmohan Singh was the Finance Minister. Should taxpayers be funding a foundation that advances foreign-backed agendas, undermining Indias sovereignty?" And heres the kickershockingly, RGF also accepted donations from the Chinese government. How can any political party, claiming to care for Indias security, take funds from a nation that poses a direct threat to our sovereignty? While Indias borders were under threat, Congress, through RGF, was willing to accept money from those very same forces. What does this say about how compromised the Congress is? It seems that one has to be anti-India to work with the Congress party!" The Congress party, under the Nehru-Gandhi family, has repeatedly shown that it is willing to do anything, including undermining Indias security, sovereignty, and national interests for the sake of power. Whether its the surgical strikes, Balakot, or the Galwan Valley clash, one thing is clear: Congress partys priorities have always been survival at any cost. But at what cost to the nation?" First Published: December 15, 2024, 14:12 IST 'He's Alive, Pray For His Health': Zakir Hussain's Nephew Rejects Misinformation On His Death Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: December 16, 2024, 00:31 IST Widely considered as one of India's most celebrated musicians, news of Zakir Hussain's demise shocked people across India and the world. Tabla Maestro Zakir Hussain is currently hospitalised in critical condition in the US. (PTI/File) As reports of tabla maestro Zakir Hussain flooded social media on Sunday night, sparking a wave of condolences and tributes from politicians, celebrities and millions of fans worldwide, these claims were denied by Hussains nephew Ameer Aulia, who called for an end to this misinformation. I am Zakir Hussains nephew and he has not passed away. We ask for prayers for my Uncles health. Can you please remove this misinformation. He is in a serious condition and we ask for all his fans around the world to pray for his health," said Aulia in a post on his unverified X handle. related stories I am Zakir Hussain nephew and he has not passed away. We ask for prayers for my Uncles health. Can you please remove this misinformation. He is in a serious condition and we ask for all his fans around the world to pray for his health Ameer Aulia (@AmeerAulia) December 15, 2024 Hussains sister Khursheed also confirmed that he was still alive. She told news agency PTI that her brother is very very critical" but is very much breathing at the moment". My brother is deeply ill at this time. We are asking for all his fans around India and around the world to pray for him, to pray for his health. But as Indias greatest ever exports, do not finish him off just yet," she said. I feel so bad watching all this information on Facebook which is very wrong." What Happened To Zakir Hussain? Zakir Hussain, 73, has been admitted to ICU after experiencing heart-related and blood pressure issues, according to his friend Rakesh Chaurasia. He is unwell and admitted in the ICU right now. We all are worried about the situation," Chaurasia told PTI. His manager Nirmala Bachani also confirmed the same. He has been admitted to a hospital in San Francisco for a heart-related problem for the last two weeks," Bachani said. Ustad Zakir Hussain, Tabla player, percussionist, composer, former actor, and the son of legendary Tabla player, Ustad Allah Rakha is not well. Hes being treated for serious ailments in a San Francisco hospital, USA, informed his brother-in-law, Ayub Aulia," said journalist Pervaiz Alam on X. However, reports of his death spread like wildfire on social media, leading to an outpouring of grief and condolences from politicians like Yogi Adityanath, Rahul Gandhi and Himanta Biswa Sarma, celebrities and millions of Hussains fans. Taking to X, Pervaiz Alam said, I checked the latest with his brother in law in London at 1640 GMT on 15 December. The family has not confirmed the news of his death as reported by a few news outlets." Who Is Zakir Hussain? The son of legendary tabla player Ustad Allah Rakha, Zakir Hussain started playing the instrument from a young age and his prowess has been recognised by legendary figures in the far ends of the musical world. His collaborations span diverse genres and artists, including Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, George Harrison, John McLaughlin, and Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all He became one of the youngest recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1990, and was awarded the Padma Shri in 1998, Padma Bhushan in 2002 and Padma Vibhushan in 2023. He earned his first Grammy award in 2009. He also received the Indo-American Award in 1990 for his outstanding cultural contribution to the relationship between the United States and India. The tabla maestro scripted history at the 66th Grammy Awards this year as he became the first Indian to win three Grammy awards in a single event. Zakir Hussain won Grammys for Best Global Music Performance for the song Pashto", Best Contemporary Instrumental Album and Best Global Music Album. First Published: December 16, 2024, 00:05 IST While wandering along the scenic Yongding River in Beijing, Liu Ling's heart soared as she finally spotted the great bustards she had always dreamed of seeing. With her newly upgraded photography gear in hand, these breathtaking shots wouldn't be the last she snaps that day. A Beijing resident and avid bird enthusiast, Liu reflected that she used to have to venture deep into suburban forests to photograph birds, but now unexpected encounters of rare species occur much closer to home. "Rising water levels and improved ecology in the Yongding River over the past few years have made weekend walks with my family a treat, often filled with sightings of various bird species," said Liu. Starting in late autumn, when birds begin to migrate, the river has welcomed dozens of rare bird species, including peregrine falcons and black-winged kites, igniting a birdwatching frenzy among Beijing's bird enthusiasts. Wild birds are a barometer of a region's ecological environment. Their arrival reflects, to some extent, the improvement of the local ecological conditions. A similar scene is also unfolding in the bird habitat enhancement demonstration area northeast of Beijing's Miyun Reservoir, where over 10,000 migratory birds have gathered in the past months. "In recent years, the reservoir has seen enhanced biodiversity and a more stable ecosystem with its strengthened efforts in biological protection and restoration," said Wang Qun from the management office of the reservoir. By the end of December 2023, the Miyun Reservoir had documented 235 bird species, an increase of 45 compared to 2020. Some species under first-class national protection have become regular visitors. It has not, however, always been this way. Rapid urbanization, surging population and over-exploitation of water resources used to cause ecological degradation and land subsidence in Beijing. "Back then, the riverbanks were just sandy or overgrown with weeds. Aside from sparrows, hardly any birds could be seen," said Guo Dongjiang, who has long worked in river management and protection. Changes emerged at the end of 2014, when water from central China's Hubei Province began to quench Beijing's thirst thanks to the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The majority of Beijing's drinking water travels over 1,000 kilometers along the middle route from Danjiangkou Reservoir in Hubei. Today, nearly 80 percent of water consumed in the city's urban areas has made this 15-day journey from Danjiangkou. Water flows north via canals and pipelines, crosses beneath the Yellow River, and finally arrives in the city's water treatment plants. According to the Beijing water authority, after ensuring the sufficiency and quality of water supplies, the water diversion project channels water to key reservoirs in Beijing, including Miyun, Huairou and Daning reservoirs. In 2023, the water ecological monitoring and health assessment report of Beijing assigned 83 percent of the main rivers, lakes and wetlands in Beijing to healthy status. Furthermore, Beijing's latest terrestrial wildlife catalog, released by the Beijing Municipal Forestry and Parks Bureau, lists 519 bird species, accounting for one-third of the country's total, up around 100 from a decade ago. "We're confident that with the ongoing increase in water diversion and ecological usage, Beijing's aquatic ecosystems will thrive with greater biodiversity," said Liu Bo with the Beijing hydrological station. The South-to-North Water Diversion Project, the largest of its kind in the world, has diverted more than 76.7 billion cubic meters of water to the country's northern regions through its middle and eastern routes over the past 10 years, according to a press conference Thursday. More than 185 million people in China have directly benefited from the project. KAMPALA, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Uganda has allocated 50 billion shillings (about 14 million U.S. dollars) for the immediate relocation of over 5,000 households in the mountainous eastern part of the country, where landslides killed more than 30 people last month, a senior official said Sunday. The funds will be used to relocate people from landslide-prone areas in the Mt. Elgon region to Bunambutye, a government resettlement village in the eastern district of Bulambuli, Lilian Aber, minister of state for relief, disaster preparedness and refugees, told Xinhua. Aber said that under a presidential directive, each at-risk household will receive a cash package and two acres of land in Bunambutye. "We need all the people living in landslide-prone areas in the Mt. Elgon region to move to safer areas to prevent the frequent deaths and destruction of property caused by destructive landslides," said Aber. Last month, the government urged people living in the disaster-prone mountainous areas to evacuate immediately after a landslide, triggered by a 10-hour downpour, left 36 people dead and another 100 missing in the eastern district of Bulambuli. Landslides have become frequent in Uganda during periods of heavy rainfall. In August, more than 30 people lost their lives in a landslide at a garbage dump site in central Uganda following days of torrential rain. Earlier in May, landslides in the western district of Kasese killed eight people. Man Dies After Being Thrashed By Angry Mob In Bihar On Suspicions Of Theft, 2 Arrested Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 19:08 IST Shambhu Sahni, along with three accomplices, was allegedly caught trying to steal a tractor and was thrashed by the mob overnight in Muzaffarpur. Shambhu Sahni was beaten to death for allegedly trying to steal a tractor in Muzaffapur, Bihar. (Representative Image) A man was brutally thrashed to death by an angry mob overnight in Bihars Muzaffarpur overnight on suspicions of stealing a tractor. The victim, identified as Shambhu Sahni, died after he was beaten by the mob throughout the night despite his calls for mercy, according to police. The incident took place in the Yogiya village of Rajkhand North Panchayat in Muzaffarpur, located about 70 km from Patna. Police said Sahni was allegedly accompanied by three men and all of them were caught red-handed while attempting to steal the tractor. related stories ALSO READ: 2 Teenage Migrant Labourers Shot Dead By Gunmen In Manipurs Kakching While his accomplices managed to escape the scene, Sahni was caught and brutally thrashed by the mob, reported Deccan Chronicle. Disturbing images from the crime scene showed Sahni, dressed in a blue shirt and grey jacket, lying motionless on the ground while his feet were tied to an autorickshaw. His hands were tied as well and his body was covered in hay. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all After the police arrived on the scene, Sahni was rushed to the hospital where he was declared dead on arrival by the doctors. Two people, identified as tractor owner Ganga Sahni and his nephew Pukar Sahni, were arrested in connection with the case. As per the claims of villagers, Shambhu Sahni and his accomplices were trying to steal the tractor when the owner heard a noise and started chasing them. The deceased victim was caught by the mob and brutally thrashed, which the police described as a murder in collaboration with anti-social elements. Location : Muzaffarpur, India First Published: December 15, 2024, 19:08 IST Christian Wedding Ceremony: Music And Hymns To Play On The Occasion Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 16:11 IST Whether you prefer any trending Christian songs or the timeless appeal of hymns, these musical selections promise to create a celebratory mood during your big day. Christian Weddings are known for their simplicity, elegance and melodious music. (Image: Pexels) Wedding day is extremely special for everyone as it marks the beginning of lifes new phase with your partner. However, wedding ceremonies differ throughout the world as every religion and culture has its own traditions, rituals and customs. Among all, Christian Weddings are known for their simplicity and elegance. While maintaining the Indian culture, Indian Christians have adopted some Western rituals. Their wedding clothes and ceremonies show a mix of Indo-Western traditions. related stories But the one thing which unites the wedding functions of each community is Music. Agree? There is no celebration in India without good music. Including wedding worship music in your celebration adds spiritual depth to the occasion. Whether you prefer any trending Christian songs or the timeless appeal of hymns, these musical selections promise to create a celebratory mood during your big day. ALSO READ: Unique Christian Wedding Decorations: Altar, Church Flowers, Reception Themes If youre looking for the best Christian wedding music and traditional hymns to fill the atmosphere with melody weve got you covered. Following are some of the best Christian songs and hymns for your big day. Take a look: 7 CHRISTIAN WEDDING SONGS FOR YOUR BIG DAY God Gave Me You Sung by Dave Barnes, the song depicts divine providence in love and its ideal for the time you make your commitment to each other in front of the deity. Love Never Fails The Brandon Heath song could be the perfect choice for your big day as it is a reminder of the enduring nature of Christian love, reflecting the commitment of marital vows. When God Made You This one is considered one of the best Christian wedding songs as it celebrates the divine hand in bringing the two souls together. It is sung by NewSong and Natalie Grant. ALSO READ: Christian Wedding Traditions: Ideas For Best Cake Cutting Ceremony I Will Be Here The melodious track by Steven Curtis Chapman is a tribute to strong love and lifelong commitment, reflecting the promises youre making. You Raise Me Up This song could be the best option for the bride as she walks down the aisle. Sung by Josh Groban, the song highlights support and divine love. Bless The Broken Road Sung by Rascal Flatts, the song highlights the journey that has led to the beautiful union under God. Marry Me The track reflects the joy and romance of a Christian marriage. 6 CHRISTIAN WEDDING HYMNS All Things Bright and Beautiful: This one is among the most loved hymns and will help set a joyful tone for your wedding ceremony. Lord Of Hopefulness It is a hymn that requests Gods constant presence throughout the day, which couples may find comforting as they begin married life. One More Step Along The World I Go The hymn could be the best choice for your big day as it highlights the beautiful journey newlyweds are about to embark on. Lead Us Heavenly Father This 19th-century hymn, which asks God for guidance and happiness among other things, could be an excellent choice for individuals ready to embark on a new married life ahead. Love Divine All Loves Excelling The popular classic hymn is ideal for a royal Christian wedding. Notably, it was also performed at the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Praise Ye The Lord This one will help to create a calming environment at your wedding which many guests would like. We Pledge To One Another top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The hymn song portrays a love that will be patient, a love that will be wise, which could be ideal for your big day. Including these songs and hymns on your wedding day could help in making the event memorable. First Published: December 15, 2024, 16:10 IST Vada Pav To Misal Pav: A Culinary Tour Of Mumbais Best Eats Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 16:19 IST Mumbai secured the 5th place on Taste Atlas' list of the '100 Best Food Cities in the World,' making it a must-visit destination for 2025 food lovers. Mumbai's street food captures the city's vibrant spirit. Mumbai continues to impress, and this time it gives you even more reason to indulge in its vibrant food scene. Ranked 5th in Taste Atlas list of the 100 Best Food Cities in the World, the city is a must-visit for any 2025 travel plans. With its rich food legacy and a wide array of affordable, flavourful street food, here are some top picks to enjoy during your next winter evening binge. Vada Pav related stories While opinions may vary, one food that represents Mumbai is the iconic vada pav. This humble yet irresistible snack features a warm pav filled with a thick, golden-brown potato patty, topped with a generous spread of tangy green chutney, and often accompanied by a fiery green chilli. Each bite offers a perfect balance of flavours, with the spicy, crunchy patty complementing the soft bread. No matter how many times you indulge in vada pav, theres always room for moreits the kind of food that never loses its charm, no matter how many times you try to walk away. Pav Bhaji Right behind the vada pav in Mumbais culinary spotlight is the hearty and satisfying pav bhaji. This dish pairs perfectly buttered, golden-toasted bread with a rich, spicy vegetable mash bursting with flavour. Topped with endless heaps of finely chopped onions and a squeeze of fresh lemon, pav bhaji is pure comfort food. Theres a certain joy in knowing a hot, fragrant plate of this Mumbai classic is on its way to your table. Ragda-pattice The one dish on this list that skips the bread entirely is the iconic ragda-pattice a true standout. For those unfamiliar, tasting an authentic plate of this dish is an experience like no other. Its a vibrant medley of flavours: fluffy mashed potato patties drenched in a spiced pea curry, generously topped with crispy sev and heaps of diced onions. Just picturing it is enough to transport us straight to street food paradise! Bombay Sandwich This is one dish you can easily create at home without the need to order in. The secret lies in nailing the perfect consistency of the green chutney, which elevates the Bombay sandwich to a whole new level. Packed with layers of potatoes, beets, cucumbers, and more, its a meal that satisfies not just your hunger but also your spirit. A classic sandwich with a delightful twist, its pure comfort on a plate. Dabeli Originally a Gujarati speciality, dabeli has found a beloved place among Mumbaisvibrant street food offerings. Imagine it as a turbocharged version of vada pav, infused with a delightful hint of sweetness at its core. This irresistible snack has us craving a bite already! Frankie Frankie is a beloved Mumbai street food bursting with bold flavours. It features naan wrapped around spiced fillings of either vegetables or meat, topped with a medley of chutneys and onions. Available in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian varieties, the veggie Frankie skips the egg and is stuffed with potatoes or paneer. This quick and satisfying treat is ideal for when youre on the move! top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Misal Pav Misal Pav is a staple on any list of iconic street foods in Mumbai. This flavourful dish combines curried lentils with poha, spiced potato bhaji, crunchy chivda, fresh tomatoes, and diced onions. Bursting with spice and zest, its traditionally enjoyed with pav, making it a favourite breakfast choice among Mumbaikars. Starting the day with Misal Pav is like kickstarting your morning with a punch of flavour and energy. Some prefer pairing it with a side of yogurt to balance out the heat. If youre craving something bold and spicy, Misal Pav is the perfect pick! Location : Delhi, India First Published: December 15, 2024, 16:13 IST Suhana Khan Turns Heads In A Shimmery LBD And Proves Why It Will Never Go Out Of Style Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 09:56 IST Suhana Khan dazzled in a shimmery little black dress at an event in Mumbai. Her look was perfect for a cocktail night. Suhana Khan opted for a Versace Crystal Mini Dress for an event in Mumbai. When it comes to Gen Z fashion, Suhana Khan has been making statements with her chic outfits which lean more towards classic silhouettes. The Archies actor has been impressing the fashion police with her sartorial picks. Recently, she turned heads in a classic little black dress (LBD) at an event in Mumbai. What set her LBD apart from the usual ones is how it had shimmery details and was perfect for a night out with the girls. In a video shared by a paparazzo, Suhana Khan turned up the heat as she showed up in a classic LBD. She oozed confidence as she posed for the cameras. The LBD was a statement in itself but the actor paired it with a metallic bag which elevated the entire look. She went with her signature makeup style classic soft glam which is perfect for any outing. related stories Take a look at the video here. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Snehkumar Zala (@snehzala) For the event, Suhana opted for a Versace Crystal Mini Dress. The classic LBD was adorned with shimmery details all over the bodice. The sleeveless Versace dress came with a draped cowl neckline, tonal crystal embellishments, and accent Medusa 95 hardware at the shoulder straps. She paired the dress with black Christian Louboutin Clare Slingback Pumps which added oomph to the look. The dress retails for Rs 4,21,600 on the official website. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Bollywood Celebrity Style (@bollywoodwomencloset) top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Suhana added a touch of retro to her look as she opted for a metallic Valentino Garavani Small Loco Shoulder Bag that retails for approximately 2,11,599 on Farfetch. She kept the accessories to a minimum and went with a dainty gold bracelet and a pair of gold earrings. For the makeup, Suhana kept it soft and subtle. She went with a dewy base and styled her hair in soft curls. She let them fall naturally and gracefully frame her face. The actors look is a perfect inspiration on how to effectively style a classic LBD for all the upcoming Christmas and New Year parties. Location : Delhi, India First Published: December 15, 2024, 09:56 IST Hawa Mahal To Amer Fort: A Reddit User's Guide To Explore Jaipur's Top Landmarks In 48 Hours Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 13:17 IST A Redditor revealed some of Jaipur's top landmarks that one must visit if they are in the Pink City for 48 hours. Located atop a hill, the Amer Fort is a fusion of Hindu and Mughal architecture. Steeped in history, Jaipur offers a unique blend of traditions and a glimpse into the glorious Rajput history. The bustling city, also known as the Pink City, is rich in all things art, culture, and heritage. Every nook and corner of the city has something to offer and sometimes even a week is not enough to soak in the beauty of Jaipur. Recently, a Redditor took to the platform and revealed how he spent 48 hours in the city. related stories Taking to the Travel subreddit, a user revealed how he spent 48 hours in Jaipur. The user visited all the iconic landmarks in the Pink City which one should not miss. The list can be a handy guide if you are planning to visit the city over the holidays. Check out what to do in 48 hours in Jaipur below. Hawa Mahal Built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, the Hawa Mahal is an extension of the City Palace. Known for its intricate honeycomb-like windows, it was designed to allow royal women to observe street life without being seen. Its unique architecture features 953 jharokhas which is why its also called the Palace of Winds. View this post on Instagram A post shared by India (@abt_india) Jantar Mantar Built by Maharaja Jai Singh II in the 18th century, the Jantar Mantar in Jaipur houses the worlds largest stone sundial. The complex includes 19 architectural astronomical instruments used for measuring time, tracking celestial bodies, and studying the stars. The precision of these instruments shows the advanced scientific knowledge of that era. Amer Fort A fusion of Hindu and Mughal architecture, the Amer fort is located on a hilltop. Maharaja Man Singh I built this palace complex in the 16th century. The fort is surrounded by the Maota Lake and the Sheesh Mahal inside is a stunning highlight. Nahargarh Fort Perched atop the Aravalli hills, Nahargarh Fort was constructed in 1734 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the founder of Jaipur. It offers panoramic views of the Pink City below. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mahendra Bakle (@mahendrabakle) top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Albert Hall Museum Established in 1887, the Albert Hall Museum is one of the oldest museums in Rajasthan and is housed in a beautiful Indo-Saracenic building. It was initially built to serve as a town hall, but today, it houses an extensive collection of artifacts, including textiles, sculptures, and musical instruments. Location : Delhi, India First Published: December 15, 2024, 13:17 IST Boney Kapoor Recalls Being Called 'Cinderella' By Rishi Kapoor: Id Go Out Only At Midnight Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 13:51 IST Filmmaker Boney Kapoor recently revealed a heartwarming anecdote about being affectionately called "Cinderella" by Rishi and Neetu Kapoor at Raj Kapoor's home. Boney Kapoor shares a touching story about being nicknamed Cinderella by Rishi and Neetu Kapoor at Raj Kapoor's home. One of the most iconic legends of Indian cinema, Raj Kapoor, is being celebrated by the Kapoor family to honor his 100 magical years. In a heartfelt recollection, filmmaker Boney Kapoor recently revealed that he was affectionately nicknamed Cinderella" in Raj Kapoors household. Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Kapoor gave him this name because, as Boney explained, he usually used to step out of the house only around midnight." Speaking with SCREEN, Boney shared memories of living in the same Chembur neighborhood as the Kapoor family. Often, Raj Kapoors car would be parked, waiting for him to return from work, and they would gather for dinner and conversations that lasted until the early hours of the morning. The playful nickname Cinderella," coined by Rishi (known as Dabboo) and Neetu, added a touch of familial affection to their bond. related stories Boney reminisced about the time Raj Kapoor expressed his desire to honor Sridevi, Boneys late wife and one of Indian cinemas greatest actresses, with an award. He recalled how the last event Raj attended before his passing was the silver jubilee celebration of Mr. India. Boney had hoped Raj would present the award to him, but the legendary actor insisted, saying, I will give it to her." Raj Kapoor even shared with Boney his wish for Sridevi to star in a film titled Ghunghat Ke Pat Khol. Beyond the professional ties, Boney described his personal bond with Raj Kapoor as deeply affectionate and transformative. Raj Kapoor saw promise in Boneys early days as a producer, once telling him after Hum Paanch, You will be responsible for the first branch of Kapoors." Boney fondly referred to Raj as a mentor and guide, someone whose career and ethos he deeply admired. He candidly shared that Rajs wisdom and encouragement motivated him to aspire to even a fraction of the Barsaat stars immense success. Their bond extended beyond cinema, with Boney treasuring private conversations and lessons that, he said, would never be disclosed." Boney Kapoors own career is a testament to his passion for storytelling and his contributions to Indian cinema. As one of Bollywoods most successful producers, he has delivered iconic films such as Mr. India, No Entry, Wanted, and Mom. Known for his sharp instincts and ability to back commercially and critically successful projects, Boney has become a defining figure in contemporary Indian cinema. His journey reflects the values instilled by the likes of Raj Kapoordedication, creativity, and a commitment to excellence. First Published: December 15, 2024, 13:51 IST Jackie Shroff Turns Protective For Shah Rukh Khans Daughter Suhana, Asks Paps Light Mat Marana | Watch Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 08:46 IST Jackie Shroff and Suhana Khan were spotted at an event in the city. The video has gone viral on social media Jackie Shroff and Suhana Khan spotted in the city Jackie Shroff and Suhana Khan were recently spotted at an event in the city. But what grabbed our attention was Jackie showing his fatherly instincts when he came to the rescue of Shah Rukh Khans daughter. A video of the incident has been making rounds on social media, earning Jackie praise for his sweet gesture. In the video, shared by Snehzalal, we can see Suhana Khan leaving the event and Jackie is making sure she is safely rescued to her car. The actor even asked Paps not to focus light more. Zyada light mat marna," the actor was heard saying. Suhana was also smiling and later thanked him for the sweet gesture. One of the fans wrote, Wowow so beautiful." related stories Watch the video here: View this post on Instagram A post shared by F I L M Y G Y A N (@filmygyan) Suhana Khan will be seen with her father Shah Rukh Khan in King. As reported by Mid Day, Anirudh Ravichander has been roped in to compose the music for King. Reports reveal that the music composer has started working on the tunes for the film. The report also mentioned that the movie will kickstart the shoot in January. The makers have zeroed in on Budapest which will provide the perfect atmosphere which is needed for the film due to its cold weather. The pre-production will start from October onwards. The dialogues have been crafted by Abbas Tyrewala who recently worked on War 2. The report stated that the first draft of the dialogues had been prepared. Additionally, Shah Rukh, Suhana, Abhishek Bachchan, and Abhay Verma will start the shoot in January. King will explore the story of a complex don who turns to be a mentor to a girl. Shah Rukh will play the role of a don while Suhana will be seen as his mentee. The report mentioned that Bachchan will be seen in a negative role. On the work front, Jackie Shroff will be next seen in Baby John co starring Varun Dhawa, Keerthy Suresh. The film is releasing on Christmas this year. Jointly written by Atlee, Kalees and Sumit Arora, Baby John is the adaptation of Atlees 2016 release Tamil film Theri. While Varun Dhawan stars in the lead role, Keerthy Suresh is making her Bollywood debut with this Kalees directorial. The film is produced under Jio Studios, Cine1 Studios and A for Apple Productions. The film will release on December 25, 2024. First Published: December 15, 2024, 08:46 IST Raj Kapoor Was 'Empty, Lonely' Soul In His Last Years, Says Daughter: 'Papa Ordained His Death' | Viral Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 11:06 IST Raj Kapoor died in 1988, a month after receiving the Dadasaheb Phalke Award from President R Venkataraman. Raj Kapoor died in June 1988. Raj Kapoor was the biggest showman of Bollywood. His legacy comprises not only phenomenal films he has acted in but also films that he directed. While his films have spread love and joy for decades now, in an old interview, his daughter Reema Jain revealed that Raj Kapoor was empty and lonely in the years leading up to his death. In an interview dated back to 2014, Reema opened up about his last days and his death. For the unversed, Raj Kapoor died on June 2, 1988 due to complications related to asthma. In the interview, Reema revealed that her father was empty and lonely in the years that led up to his death. She revealed that he missed his colleagues in the industry, who had passed away before him, and reminisced the days that he worked with them. Raj also re-watched a lot of his older films in the time leading up to his death. related stories Towards his last years, Papa would spend his evenings watching songs from his films. Hed ask his young actresses sometimes Dimple Kapadia, Padmini Kolhapure and later Mandakini to watch his heroines Nargisji, Vyjayanthimalaji, Padminiji Hed say, Innse seekho! Look how she smiles. Look how she lifts her eyes, so delicately." Hed say, They dont make like them anymore. He was an empty, lonely soul towards the end. All his colleagues had left him. Shankar-Jaikishen, Hasrat Jaipuri, Shailendra, Nargisji he missed that era. And when he missed them hed sing Jaane kahan gaye woh din," Reema Jain told Filmfare. After Ram Teri he had begun keeping unwell. Years of neglect had taken its toll. He was suffering from broncho-asthma. His huge torso made it uncomfortable for him to lie down. He had to recline on six pillows and sleep. Yet hed say, I want to run up that mountain My mind is still young, sadly not my body,'" she added. Reema opened up about his death as well. She said, Somewhere, I believe, Papa ordained his death. He was to be conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award on May 2, 1988 in Delhi. He left from Mumbai on April 30. There was a dust storm in Delhi. As soon as the door of the plane opened, he was greeted with a violent gust of wind. Being an asthma patient, it affected his lungs. He attended the function with an oxygen cylinder. Through the function he was restless. He kept pressing my mothers hand hard to show his discomfort. Finally, when his name was announced he couldnt get up. There was hulchul. President Venkataraman saw his discomfort and came down to him to present the award." The President asked the family to take Raj Kapoor to the hospital in his ambulance. The filmmaker was admitted and put on ventilator. In a way, he prepared the family that he was going. The last week was particularly bad. He was irritable and spoke with his eyes. In a way we were relieved when he passed away (June 2, 1988) because he was suffering a lot," she shared. This weekend, Reema joined her family members Neetu Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor and other Kapoor family members to celebrate her fathers legacy as part of his 100th birth anniversary. The family organised a Raj Kapoor Film Festival in his honour. First Published: December 15, 2024, 11:06 IST Saif Ali Khan Says Kareena Kapoor Requested PM Modi To Do THIS During Meet: 'I Asked Him How Much He...' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 08:37 IST Saif Ali Khan opened up about his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The actor joined the Kapoor family to meet PM Modi. Kareena Kapoor Khan with PM Modi and Saif Ali Khan Saif Ali Khan opened up about meeting Prime Minster Narendra Modi at his New Delhi residence. For the unversed, earlier this week, Saif joined Kareena Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor and other Kapoor family members to meet PM Modi. Videos and photos revealed that the family visited the eminent political leader to invite him for the Raj Kapoor Film Festival, hosted as a part of the filmmakers 100th birth anniversary. In a video shared by the Prime Minister revealed that the political leader was hoping to meet Saif and Kareenas sons, Taimur and Jeh. In a new interview, Saif revealed that PM Modi asked him about his sons whereabouts. The Adipurush actor also revealed that Kareena requested PM Modi to give an autograph for their sons to cherish. related stories He asked about my parents individually and said that he thought wed bring (sons) Taimur (Ali Khan) and Jehangir (Ali Khan) to meet him! He also signed a paper for them that Kareena requested him to. To me, he looked like he was working very hard running the country and still taking time to connect on this level," Saif told Hindustan Times. The actor added that he also asked him a question about his lifestyle. I asked him how much rest he gets, and he said about three hours a night. We thanked him for taking out some of his valuable time to see us and give the family so much respect," Saif said. The Kapoor family is honouring Raj Kapoors legacy by hosting a film festival which will play 10 of his biggest films. The festival will feature Raj Kapoors most celebrated works, spanning almost four decades including including Aag (1948), Barsaat (1949), Awaara (1951), Shree 420 (1955), Jagte Raho (1956), Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai (1960), Sangam (1964), Mera Naam Joker (1970), Bobby (1973) and Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985). The family came together on Friday evening, the eve of Raj Kapoors 10th birth anniversary, for a special screening of one of his films. They posed for the cameras before they made their way into the theatre. First Published: December 15, 2024, 08:37 IST Varun Dhawan Calls Amit Shah 'Hanuman Of Our Country', Asks Him 'Difference Between Lord Ram And...' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 08:21 IST Varun Dhawan's interaction with Union Home Minister Amit Shah goes viral. Varun Dhawan spoke to Amit Shah at a recent event. Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan interacted with Union Home Minister Amit Shah at a recent event about Ramayan. The actor was in New Delhi, attending a conclave. After he wrapped his chat at the event, the Baby John star was seen seated in the audience as Amit Shah took the centre stage. During the crowd interaction, Varun stood up to laud Amit Shah and discussed the subject of arrogance in connection with Ramayan with him. People call him Chanakya in politics, but I would like to call him the Hanuman of our country, who serves the nation selflessly," Varun said, while speaking at the Agenda AajTak conclave. Bringing up the subject of Ramayan, the actor asked Shah, What was the biggest difference between Lord Ram and Ravan?" related stories The political leader explained, See, for some people, their interests are determined by their duties (dharma), whether or not they should pursue them. For others, their duties are determined by their self-interests. This is the difference between them." Ram led his life based on his dharma, while Ravan tried to alter duties to fit his own definitions and thoughts," he added. Varun then brought up the subject of arrogance, a topic that Amit Shah had spoken about during the conclave. You mentioned ahankar. Ravan was arrogant about his knowledge, while Ram was knowledgeable about arrogance (ahankar)," he said. Shah replied, This also comes under the definition of dharma." The interaction has caught the internets attention and has become a subject of discussion. Meanwhile, on the work front, Varun Dhawan will be seen in Baby John. The film, the Hindi adaptation of the Tamil film Theri, is set to release on the occasion of Christmas. Varun shares the screen with Keerthy Suresh and Wamiqa Gabbi in the film. Directed by Kalees, Baby John is presented by Atlee, the man behind Jawan. First Published: December 15, 2024, 08:21 IST BEIJING, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Two emperors' mausoleums in Beijing have recently opened to the public, meaning that six out of the 13 tombs in the Changping District belonging to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) emperors are now accessible to the public, according to the management organization of the tombs. The two mausoleums belong to Emperor Jiajing and his consorts, as well as Emperor Chongzhen and his consorts. According to Yuan Jiangyu, vice director of the management center of the Ming Tombs in Changping, the fortress-shaped Minglou Tower in Jiajing's mausoleum was built with exquisite materials. Its eaves, rafters and arches resemble wood, but they are actually made of stone. The mausoleum of Chongzhen, the last emperor of Ming Dynasty, is the smallest among the Ming Tombs. It was built on the renovation of his concubines' tomb, bearing rich historical information, said Yuan. According to the management center, all the 13 emperors' mausoleums are expected to be fully accessible by 2030. Currently, the mausoleum of Jiajing can be visited on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by appointment, while that of Chongzhen can be visited on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Each mausoleum has a maximum of 20 appointments per day. It is expected that the reception capacity will gradually expand based on the number of reservations and the progress of tomb repairs, said Yuan. Maharashtra Cabinet Expansion: BJP Gets 19 Ministers, 11 From Shiv Sena, 9 From NCP Curated By : & News18.com Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 21:34 IST Maharashtra Cabinet Expansion: At least 19 ministers from the BJP, 11 from Shiv Sena and nine from Ajit Pawar's NCP took oath on Sunday. BJP's Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Pankaja Munde taking oath in Nagpur's Raj Bhavan on Sunday. Maharashtra Cabinet Expansion: The Cabinet expansion of the new BJP-led Maharashtra government took place on Sunday as 39 ministers from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) and Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar) took oath at Raj Bhavan in Nagpur today. The Maharashtra cabinet includes 19 ministers from the BJP, 11 from Shinde Sena and nine from Ajit Pawars NCP. The cabinet expansion took place 10 days after Devendra Fadnavis took oath as Chief Minister after a massive mandate in Novembers Assembly elections, while Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar were sworn in as deputy CMs. related stories BJPs state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, Chandrakant Patil, Ashish Shelar, Pankaja Munde, Ganesh Naik, Jayakumar Rawal, Shivendraraje Bhosale, Atul Save, Ashok Ramaji Uike, Sanjay Savkare, Nitish Rane, Girish Mahajan, Madhuri Misal and Meghna Bordikar were among the ministers who took oath on Sunday. From Eknath Shindes camp, Uday Samant, Gulabrao Patil, Dadaji Bhuse, Sanjay Rathod, Sanjay Shirsat, Shambhuraj Desai, Pratap Sarnaik, Prakash Abitkar, Ashish Jaiswal, Bharatshet Gogawale and Yogesh Kadam were among the Shinde Sena ministers who were sworn in today. ALSO READ: Maharashtra Cabinet Takes Shape After Massive Mandate In Assembly Polls | Check List Of Ministers Ajit Pawars NCP saw Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Dattatray Bharne, Aditi Tatkare, Manikrao Kokate, Makarand Patil and Narhari Zirwal among others taking oath today in Nagpur. Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office to the ministers in a ceremony at Raj Bhavan in Nagpur. While 33 legislators were sworn in as cabinet ministers, six took oath as ministers of state. The swearing-in of 39 ministers in Nagpur was the first held in Maharashtras second capital in 33 years, the last such event being the cabinet expansion of the Sudhakarrao Naik dispensation in 1991. Naik was CM from June 25, 1991, to February 22, 1993. Sources earlier said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP president JP Nadda held a brief discussion on the cabinet expansion in Maharashtra. The expansion will take place a day before the commencement of the Winter Session of the Assembly on December 16. Earlier this week, Fadnavis had met the BJPs top leadership in the national capital to discuss the Cabinet expansion. Home Ministry May Go To BJP Sources had earlier said that the BJP is likely to keep the Home Ministry which was a point of deadlock with Shiv Sena. The Shinde Sena was keen on keeping the Home Department, considering Eknath Shinde was demoted from Chief Minister in the previous government to Deputy CM in the new government. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Sources suggest that the Public Works Department (PWD) and Urban Development (UD) portfolios may be assigned to the Shinde faction. Meanwhile, Ajit Pawar is expected to retain the Finance portfolio. Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as Chief Minister on December 5, with Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar assuming office as his deputies. In the November 20 Assembly elections, the Mahayuti alliance secured a resounding victory, winning 230 out of 288 seats in the state. The BJP led the charge with 132 seats, followed by Shindes Shiv Sena with 57 seats, and Pawars NCP with 41. Location : Nagpur, India First Published: December 15, 2024, 08:15 IST Maharashtra Cabinet: Meet The 4 Women Ministers In CM Devendra Fadnaviss Team Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: December 16, 2024, 12:09 IST The four leaders are Pankaja Munde (BJP), Aditi Tatkare (NCP), Madhuri Misal (BJP) and Meghna Bordikar (BJP). While Munde and Tatkare took oath as cabinet ministers, Misal and Bordikar will be MoS (Clockwise from top left) Pankaja Munde, Aditi Tatkare, Madhuri Misal and Meghna Bordikar. (X) In a significant step for Maharashtras political landscape, the Mahayuti government inducted four women leaders Pankaja Munde, Aditi Tatkare, Madhuri Misal and Meghna Bordikar into its newly expanded cabinet during a swearing-in ceremony held at Raj Bhavan in Nagpur on Sunday. A total of 39 ministers, representing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction, took the oath of office. Of the 39 ministers, 33 took the oath as cabinet ministers, while six assumed roles as ministers of state (MoS). related stories The ceremony was presided over by Governor CV Radhakrishnan, in the presence of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CMs Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde. The cabinet expansion aimed to balance regional aspirations, accommodate caste-based dynamics, and introduce fresh leadership, reflecting the governments focus on inclusivity and efficiency. THE FOUR WOMEN MINISTERS Munde, a seasoned politician and a popular leader within the BJP, made a strong comeback to the cabinet as a senior minister. Known for her administrative acumen and grassroots appeal, her induction is expected to strengthen the partys rural outreach and reinforce its connection with marginalised communities. Aditi Tatkare, from the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction, returned to the cabinet as a senior minister. Having previously managed portfolios such as women and Child Development which executed Ladki Bahia scheme successfully, during MVA regime she was junior minister for tourism too. Tatkare is recognised for her administrative capabilities, and her reappointment reflects the factions reliance on experienced leaders. Meanwhile, Misal, a first-time minister representing Pune, took the oath as a minister of state. With a track record of championing social welfare and womens empowerment, her inclusion highlights the BJPs intent to enhance urban representation in the cabinet. Another new entrant, Meghna Bordikar, also assumed the role of a minister of state. A dynamic and emerging leader, Bordikars induction underscores the BJPs commitment to grooming fresh talent and providing a platform for young politicians. While seasoned leaders like Munde and Tatkare bring continuity, newcomers like Madhuri Misal and Meghna Bordikar represent a push for rejuvenation. SENIORS LEFT OUT Interestingly, the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) did not include any women leaders in the Cabinet, sparking criticism and raising questions about its approach to gender inclusivity. This omission has become a talking point in political circles. While several leaders celebrated their induction, some notable names were left out of the cabinet. Sudhir Mungantiwar from the BJP was not included in the list of ministers. From the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction, senior leaders such as Chhagan Bhujbal and Dilip Walse Patil were excluded despite their experience and influence. Similarly, Deepak Kesarkar from the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) did not find a place in the cabinet, a decision that surprised many within his party. The expansion also brought new opportunities for several leaders. NEW FACES Chandrashekhar Bawankule, the BJPs state president, secured a cabinet berth after being overlooked in earlier expansions. Dhananjay Munde of the NCP retained his ministerial role, reinforcing his importance within the faction. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Pratap Sarnaik, a loyalist of the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), finally earned a place in the cabinet after a long wait. This Cabinet reshuffle comes days before the winter session of the Maharashtra assembly begins on December 16. The allocation of portfolios in the coming days will further clarify the governments strategy and the roles these leaders will play in addressing Maharashtras pressing issues. With this new line-up, the spotlight will now shift to the ministers ability to deliver on their promises and meet public expectations. First Published: December 15, 2024, 19:51 IST Couldnt Afford Second Suit: Elon Musks Mother Reacts To 24-Year-Old Pic Of Billionaire Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 17:00 IST The image shared by Maye Musk shows a young Elon Musk rocking a black suit, white shirt and tie, exuding style and confidence. The photo shared by Maye Musk is from the 1990s. (Photo Credits: X) Maye Musk, the mother of Elon Musk, has given a peek into the billionaires early days when he used to work in a bank in Toronto. The photo from the 1990s took everyone to the time when Elon Musk lived a life in contrast to his todays stature, having no association with luxury and wealth. Along with the photo, Maye Musk wrote, This photo was taken in our rent-controlled apartment in Toronto, with my moms painting on the wall. The suit cost $99 (Rs 8,396), including a free shirt, tie and socks. A great bargain!" Quite a contrast to Elon Musks current stature as the richest man in the world. According to Forbes, the net worth of Musk, the founder of companies such as Tesla and SpaceX, is over $430 billion. related stories The image shared by Maye Musk shows a young Elon Musk rocking a black suit, white shirt and tie, exuding style and confidence. She added that Musk had this only suit at the time he was working, reflecting on his contentment despite the financial struggles. He wore this suit every day to his bank job in Toronto. I couldnt afford a second suit. We were happy," she added. This photo was taken in our rent-controlled apartment in Toronto, with my moms painting on the wall. The suit cost $99 which included a free shirt, tie and socks. A great bargain! He wore this suit every day to his bank job in Toronto. I couldnt afford a second suit. We were https://t.co/jh2SHOXwpe Maye Musk (@mayemusk) December 12, 2024 FYI, the Musk family originally hailed from South Africa. They used to reside in Canada before moving to the US. In her memoir, A Woman Makes a Plan Advice for a Lifetime of Adventure, Beauty, and Success, Musks mother revealed that she would work to support her children, providing them with education and other necessities. The memoir also includes a brief description of her struggles including wearing second-hand clothes. We couldnt afford to go out and eat. I fed them peanut butter sandwiches. My kids loved it! They didnt know they were deprived," she shared. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Recently, Maye Musk also sat down for an interview with Fox Business wherein she expressed her wish for others to focus on her sons intellect, instead of labelling him wealthy" or billionaire." I think hes the genius of the world," she said during the conversation. Elon Musk often reflects on the struggles he faced in his earlier life. Earlier in 2020, the billionaire was in the spotlight for sharing that he had sold all his possessions. He even revealed he would not own a house. I am selling almost all physical possessions. Will own no house," read his post on X, highlighting his approach to life. Location : Delhi, India First Published: December 15, 2024, 17:00 IST Scientists Discover Alien-Like Predator 'Darkness' In Ocean Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 10:00 IST To learn more about the Atacama Trench, which is among the ocean's deepest points and lies at a depth of about 7,902 metres (25,928 feet), the group began the expedition. The new species is named Dulcibella camanchaca. (Representative Image) Scientists have discovered a new amphipod in the Atacama Trench, an area situated near the coast of the South American continent. This new species is named Dulcibella camanchaca and has drawn comparisons to alien-like features. The finding was made during the 2023 scientific research trip launched by scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in collaboration with the Universidad de Concepcion. The term camanchaca" is locally derived from the Andean language which means darkness" that perfectly suits the environment of the creature in the deep sea. The group began the expedition to explore the Atacama Trench, one of the oceans deepest points, located at a depth of about 7,902 metres (25,928 feet). They deployed high-tech gear, including remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and special lander systems, and used baits to attract deep-sea organisms. related stories After several days in this extremely hostile environment, they were able to identify four of the specimens to which the new term Dulcibella camanchaca was later assigned. The specimens were subjected to the needed preparations for further lab tests, whereby it was established that they were both distinct from other amphipods and also genetically different from them. The length of Dulcibella camanchaca is about 4 centimetres (approx. 1.5 inches) and it is characterized by its white translucent colour. One of the important features of deep-sea life, in areas where there is no light, is the way they become translucent. These organisms have no pigment, thus they appear in the deepest nook of the ocean and blend in with the darkness around them, a form of protection against predators. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Dulcibella camanchaca has specialised raptorial appendages called gnathopods, which it uses to hunt. These gnathopods are essential for its survival in an environment with limited food. The species scavenges by hunting smaller amphipods, making it a top predator in this extreme ecosystem. The finding of Dulcibella camanchaca deepens the understanding of the biodiversity contained in the hadal zone a largely unexplored and understudied region. The Atacama Trench is expected to be a hotspot for unique species, highlighting its ecological significance. This discovery is expected to offer insights into its evolutionary adaptations to the harsh conditions of its deep-sea habitat. This amphipod could also help scientists understand how life could look like on other planets, especially on the moons of Jupiter and Saturn where water bodies are reported to exist. Location : Delhi, India First Published: December 15, 2024, 10:00 IST Tourists At Ranthambore National Park Face Flak For Getting Too Close To A Tiger Hunting Deer Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 14:00 IST Instagram users voiced their concern about the park officials permitting such intimate encounters. Wildlife enthusiasts were upset with tourists and the Ranthambore authorities. (Photo Credit: YouTube) A group of tourists has come under fire for coming too close to a tiger while it was hunting a deer at Rajasthans Ranthambore National Park. In a now-deleted video, tourists in safari jeeps observe the rare wildlife moment up close. In the background, a tiger hunts while the visitors are absorbed in filming the spectacle on their phones. One of them even takes a selfie. During the safari, tourists experienced a rare and breathtaking moment a tiger hunting a deer right in front of them. The sheer agility, strength, and precision of this majestic predator left them speechless," the caption of the now-deleted post read. related stories Such moments remind them of the beauty and brutality of the wild, where every moment is unpredictable. Truly an unforgettable experience," the caption added. Despite the post being deleted on Instagram, the video has been shared on other social media sites. Within a few hours of being shared, the clip collected over 1,600 views. According to reports, the video immediately infuriated wildlife enthusiasts who blasted the tourists and the Ranthambore authorities for permitting humans to go that close to the tigers habitat. Instagram users voiced their concern about the park officials permitting such intimate encounters. Several reminded the park authorities of their duty to monitor tourist behaviour and animal safety. In September this year, a group of tourists in Ranthambore National Park were startled when a tiger suddenly sprang in front of them, a terrifying moment captured in a video that made headlines. The video stirred a debate regarding appropriate tourist behaviour during safaris. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ranthambore National Park (@ranthambhorewildlife) The video, which Ranthambore National Park uploaded on Instagram, opens with tourists waiting near a road protected from the jungle by a stone wall. The tiger suddenly jumps onto the wall, scaring the gathering. The tiger then takes a brief peek at the surprised people before continuing its stroll down the wall, much to the relief of the tourists. Location : Delhi, India First Published: December 15, 2024, 14:00 IST 11 Dead As Cyclone Chido Wreaks Havoc In French Territory Of Mayotte Published By : Associated Press Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 20:46 IST Mayotte, the poorest island under French control in Africa, was devastated by Category 4 Cyclone Chido which brought winds in excess of 220 kph. French Army shows soldiers working to restore a building in the French territory of Mayotte after Cyclone Chido. (AP) At least 11 people have died after Cyclone Chido caused devastating damage in the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, Frances Interior Ministry said Sunday. The intense tropical cyclone has now made landfall on the east coast of Africa, where aid agencies are warning of more loss of life and severe damage in northern Mozambique. related stories The French Interior Ministry said it was proving difficult to get a precise tally of the dead and injured in Mayotte amid fears the death toll will increase. A hospital in Mayotte reported that nine people were in critical condition there and 246 others were injured. The tropical cyclone blew through the southeastern Indian Ocean, also affecting the nearby islands of Comoros and Madagascar. Mayotte was directly in the path of the cyclone and suffered extensive damage on Saturday, officials said. The prefect of Mayotte said it was the worst cyclone to hit Mayotte in 90 years. Public Infrastructure Severely Damaged In Mayotte French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said Saturday night after an emergency meeting in Paris that there were fears that the death toll in Mayotte will be high" and the island had been largely devastated. Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, who took office on Friday, said public infrastructure on Mayotte had been severely damaged or destroyed, including the main hospital and the airport. He said many people living in precarious shacks in slum areas have faced very serious risks. Chido brought winds in excess of 220 kph, according to the French weather service, making it a category 4 cyclone, the second strongest on the scale. Mayotte has a population of just over 300,000 spread over two main islands about 800 kilometres off Africas east coast. It is Frances poorest island and the European Unions poorest territory. In some parts, entire neighbourhoods were flattened, while local residents reported many trees had been uprooted and boats had been flipped or sunk. The French Interior Ministry said 1,600 police and gendarmerie officers have been deployed to help the population and prevent potential looting." Some 110 rescuers and firefighters have been deployed in Mayotte from France and the nearby territory of Reunion, and an additional reinforcement of 140 people was due to be sent on Sunday. Supplies were being rushed in on military aircraft and ships. French President Macron Closely Monitoring Situation French President Emmanuel Macron said he was closely monitoring the situation, while Pope Francis offered prayers for the victims of the cyclone while on a visit Sunday to the French Mediterranean island of Corsica. Chido continued its eastern trajectory and made landfall early Sunday in Mozambique on the African mainland, where emergency officials had warned that 2.5 million people could be impacted in two northern provinces, Cabo Delgado and Nampula. Landlocked Malawi and Zimbabwe are also preparing to be affected, with both countries warning they might have to evacuate people from low-lying areas because of flooding. In Mozambique, the United Nations Childrens Fund said Cabo Delgado province, home to around 2 million people, had been hit hard. Many homes, schools and health facilities have been partially or completely destroyed and we are working closely with government to ensure continuity of essential basic services," UNICEF said. While we are doing everything we can, additional support is urgently needed." UNICEF Mozambique spokesman Guy Taylor said in a video posted by the group from Cabo Delgados regional capital that alongside the immediate impact of the cyclone, communities now face the prospect of being cut off from schools and health facilities for weeks. December through to March is cyclone season in the southeastern Indian Ocean and southern Africa has been pummelled by a series of strong ones in recent years. Cyclone Idai in 2019 killed more than 1,300 people in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Cyclone Freddy left more than 1,000 dead across several countries last year. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The cyclones bring the risk of flooding and landslides, but also stagnant pools of water may later spark deadly outbreaks of the waterborne disease cholera as well as dengue fever and malaria. Studies say the cyclones are getting worse because of climate change. They can leave poor countries in southern Africa, which contribute a tiny amount to global warming, having to deal with large humanitarian crises, underlining their call for more help from rich nations to deal with the impact of climate change. Location : Cape town, South Africa First Published: December 15, 2024, 20:46 IST 'My Husband Will Kill Me': Harshita Brella Warned Family Weeks Before Murder In UK Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 08:48 IST Harshita Brella was found to be dead on November 14 and her husband Pankaj Lamba became a prime suspect in her murder case. Harshita was allegedly strangled to death in Corby, Northamptonshire, on 10 November | Image/File Harshita Brella, a 24-year-old Indian woman whose body was found in a car boot in London, had allegedly warned her mother weeks earlier that her husband would kill her." Brella was found dead on November 14 and her husband Pankaj Lamba became a prime suspect in her murder case. The cops claimed that Brella, who moved to the UK in April after marrying Lamba in August last year, was strangulated to death days before her body was found in the boot of a car. related stories Almost a month after the incident, Brellas mother, Sudesh Kumari, revealed that she spoke to her daughter weeks before her death. She said I will not go back to him. He will kill me," Harshitas mother told BBC. (Lamba) was making her life miserable," she added. The victims family claims that Pankaj Lamba, her husband and the main suspect in the case, is in India. However, they allege that local police have been unresponsive to their pleas. According to the local police, UK authorities have not yet sought their assistance in the matter. The victims father accused Lamba of domestic violence and claimed that he used to beat his daughter so badly that she had a miscarriage in the weeks leading up to her death. She said he beat me badly. He even beat me in the street. My daughter was crying, crying so hard," Satbir Brella said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Meanwhile, the mother of the main suspect said that she could not believe that her son would have killed her. I dont know anything but I cannot believe this," Sunil Devi told the BBC. According to earlier reports, Brella had filed a domestic abuse complaint with the police in August. Lamba was arrested on September 3 but was later released on conditional bail, with a domestic violence protection order issued against him. Location : London, United Kingdom (UK) First Published: December 15, 2024, 08:48 IST Indian-Origin CEO Asks If He Can Get US Green Card, Elon Musk Reacts Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 18:44 IST Earlier, the tech billionaire had responded to Srinivas comment about the convoluted US immigration system. Srinivas currently serves as the CEO of Perplexity, an AI-powered search engine. (File) Tech billionaire Elon Musk has once again gained the attention of the netizens with his response to to a post by an Indian-origin CEO living in United States (US) regarding his green card application. Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity AI, who has been waiting for three years to secure the Green Card asked his followers on X for thoughts on whether he should get the Green Card. related stories I think I should get a green card. Wdyt?" he said. The Tesla CEO answered his post with just one word and wrote, Yes." This single word, though minimal in content, garnered a flurry of reactions across the microblogging platform from netizens. I think I should get a green card. Wdyt? Aravind Srinivas (@AravSrinivas) December 14, 2024 Srinivas responded to the remark, using two emoticons A red heart emoji and a folded hands emoticon. A green card, officially called a Permanent Resident Card, is a document that grants an individual the right to live and work permanently in the United States. Holders of a green card are non-citizens who have been legally approved to reside in the country permanently. This isnt the first time Musk has interacted with Srinivas. Earlier, the tech billionaire had responded to Srinivas comment about the convoluted US immigration system. He had expressed frustration over the difficulty for talented individuals to enter the US legally. We have an upside-down system that makes it difficult for highly skilled individuals to enter the US legally, while its almost effortless for criminals to do so illegally. Why is it easier for a murderer to cross the border unlawfully than for a Nobel Laureate to enter legally? @realDonaldTrump and DOGE will fix this," Musk had said. We have an upside down system that makes it hard for highly talented people to come to America legally, but trivial for criminals to come here illegally.Why is easier to get in illegally as a murderer than legally as a Nobel Laureate?@realDonaldTrump & DOGE will fix this. https://t.co/RgMGWeyX1X Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 31, 2024 Srinivas currently serves as the CEO of Perplexity, an AI-powered search engine. A graduate from IIT Madras, Srinivas completed his PhD from University of California, Berkeley. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The company is backed by several high-profile investors, including Jeff Bezos. It was founded by Aravind Srinivas, Andy Konwinski, Denis Yarats and Johnny Ho in 2022. Musk, along with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, has been appointed by US President-elect Donald Trump to oversee the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), which is tasked with overhauling the federal bureaucracy. Location : San Francisco, California, USA First Published: December 15, 2024, 18:44 IST Israel Says It Will Shut Embassy In Ireland Over 'Extreme Anti-Israel Policies' Amid Gaza War Published By : Reuters Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 22:07 IST Tensions between Israel and Ireland were high after the latter's recognition of a Palestinian state in May and its backing of South Africa's genocide case in Gaza. Israel accused Ireland of 'extreme anti-Israel policies' including recognition of a Palestinian state. (Reuters) Israel said on Sunday it would close its Dublin embassy due to the Irish governments extreme anti-Israel policies" including recognition of a Palestinian state and support for international legal action against its war in Gaza. Israel recalled its ambassador after Irelands decision on a Palestinian state in May, and was further angered last week when Dublin backed South Africas case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of genocide. related stories The decision to close Israels embassy in Dublin was made in light of the extreme anti-Israel policies of the Irish government," the foreign ministry said in a statement. The actions and antisemitic rhetoric used by Ireland against Israel are rooted in the delegitimization and demonization of the Jewish state, along with double standards. Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with Israel," Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in the statement. Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said the decision was deeply regrettable and his nation would always stand up for human rights and international law. I utterly reject the assertion that Ireland is anti-Israel. Ireland is pro-peace, pro-human rights and pro-International law," he said in a post on X. Ireland wants a two state solution and for Israel and Palestine to live in peace and security." Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said the two countries would maintain diplomatic relations and there were no plans to close Irelands embassy in Israel. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Martin said in March that while it was for the ICJ, also known as the World Court, to decide whether genocide is being committed, he wanted to be clear that Palestinian militant group Hamas Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the ensuing assault in its stronghold Gaza represents the blatant violation of international humanitarian law on a mass scale." The statement from Israels foreign ministry also announced the establishment of an Israeli embassy in Moldova. Location : Jerusalem, Israel First Published: December 15, 2024, 21:57 IST Israel To Double Presence In Golan Heights Citing Threats From Syria Despite Rebels' Moderate Tone Published By : Reuters Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 22:05 IST Since Assad's fall, Israel has carried out strikes on Syria's strategic weapons stockpiles to prevent them from falling into the hands of 'hostile elements'. Around 31,000 Israelis have settled in the Golan Heights, which was captured by Israel in the 1967 war against Syria. (Reuters) Israel agreed on Sunday to double its population on the occupied Golan Heights while saying threats from Syria remained despite the moderate tone of rebel leaders who ousted President Bashar al-Assad a week ago. Strengthening the Golan is strengthening the State of Israel, and it is especially important at this time. We will continue to hold onto it, cause it to blossom, and settle in it," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. related stories Israel captured most of the strategic plateau from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War, annexing it in 1981. In 2019 then-President Donald Trump declared US support for Israeli sovereignty over the Golan, but the annexation has not been recognised by most countries. Syria demands Israel withdraw but Israel refuses, citing security concerns. Various peace efforts have failed. The immediate risks to the country have not disappeared and the latest developments in Syria increase the strength of the threat despite the moderate image that the rebel leaders claim to present," Defence Minister Israel Katz told officials examining Israels defence budget, according to a statement. Netanyahus office said the government unanimously approved a more than 40-million-shekel ($11 million) plan to encourage demographic growth in the Golan. It said Netanyahu submitted the plan to the government in light of the war and the new front facing Syria, and out of a desire to double the population of the Golan". Some 31,000 Israelis have settled there, said analyst Avraham Levine of the Alma Research and Education Center specialising in Israels security challenges on its northern border. Many work in farming, including vineyards, and tourism. The Golan is home to 24,000 Druze, an Arab minority who practice an offshoot of Islam, Levine said. Most identify as Syrian. Rebel Leader Says Syria Not Ready For New Confrontations Syrias de facto leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, said on Saturday that Israel was using false pretexts to justify its attacks on Syria, but that he was not interested in engaging in new conflicts as his country focuses on rebuilding. Sharaa better known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani leads the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that swept Assad from power last Sunday, ending the familys five-decade iron-fisted rule. Since then Israel has moved into a demilitarised zone inside Syria that was created after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, including the Syrian side of the strategic Mount Hermon that overlooks Damascus, where its forces took over an abandoned Syrian military post. Israel, which has said that it does not intend to stay there and calls the incursion into Syrian territory a limited and temporary measure to ensure border security, has also carried out hundreds of strikes on Syrias strategic weapons stockpiles. It has said it is destroying strategic weapons and military infrastructure to prevent them from being used by rebel groups that drove Assad from power, some of which grew from movements linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State. Several Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, have condemned what they called Israels seizure of a buffer zone in the Golan Heights. Syrias war-weary condition, after years of conflict and war, does not allow for new confrontations. The priority at this stage is reconstruction and stability, not being drawn into disputes that could lead to further destruction," Sharaa said in an interview published on the website of Syria TV, a channel that sides with the rebels. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all He also said diplomatic solutions were the only way to ensure security and stability and that uncalculated military adventures" were not wanted. Location : Jerusalem, Israel First Published: December 15, 2024, 22:05 IST by Olatunji Saliu ABUJA, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Aiming to simplify and unify the country's tax system while promising significant incentives for businesses, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the tax reforms recently proposed by the Nigerian government have continued to generate intense debate nationwide. The proposed reforms, which include the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill, aim to overhaul the tax system of Africa's most populous country. With differing views from various citizens, including government officials, experts and stakeholders, many believe that the proposed tax reforms will significantly reduce inefficiencies and boost government revenues. In contrast, others have raised concerns about "the potential negative impacts regarding the balance of fiscal federalism and the distribution of revenues from the value-added tax (VAT)," leading to fierce opposition, particularly from the 19 northern states. "On this tax issue, there are a lot of misconceptions," said Babagana Zulum, governor of the northeastern state of Borno, while recently fielding questions from reporters in Abuja, the Nigerian capital. "We felt that the VAT provision in the tax law ... based on the calculations that we did, only Lagos and Rivers states (in the southern part of the country) will benefit from this scheme. We (the northerners) researched and concluded that we would lose." Zulum, while calling for deeper consultations to understand the details of the tax regime before passing it into law, advised the federal government to pause and remove some of the clauses thought to be "inimical to the northern part of Nigeria." In October, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu urged the bicameral legislature to pass the proposed reform bills. On Nov. 28, amid the fuss generated by the president's request, the tax bills passed a second reading in the Senate, the upper chamber of the legislature. According to Emeka Obegolu, president of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, these reforms represent "a significant step toward improving Nigeria's business environment." Obegolu told Xinhua that provisions, such as the exemption of businesses with annual turnovers below 50 million nairas (about 32,290 U.S. dollars) from tax payments, would enable SMEs to reinvest their earnings into growth and job creation without the burden of high taxes. He noted that the reforms propose overhauling more than 50 redundant taxes, a move expected to reduce operational costs for businesses and enhance their competitiveness. "The proposed establishment of a single tax collection agency would further streamline processes, reduce compliance costs, and promote accountability," he said. Noting the extent of the ongoing debate about the country's tax reforms, Dapo Abiodun, governor of the southwestern state of Ogun, suggested that the discontent over the reforms is largely due to misunderstandings and misinformation. Looking forward to a "more equitable distribution of VAT revenue," which the proposed reforms aim to allow, Abiodun told the media in the state capital of Abeokuta that much of the VAT from industrial activities in Ogun has been accrued to Lagos, despite the bulk of production occurring in the state that he governs. The governor said his expectation was high that under the new model, VAT distribution would be more reflective of where value is added, ensuring a fairer share for industrial states like Ogun. Semiu Lawal, an entrepreneur, said that VAT generated from industrial states, for instance, should be redistributed based on where value is created, rather than where goods are sold. This adjustment is expected to have a profound impact on states like Ogun, which host several major manufacturers, he told Xinhua, adding that the proposed changes to VAT distribution have sparked fierce resistance from governors of northern states because they believe the new derivation-based model could harm their regions' financial autonomy. At a meeting in October, a forum of northern Nigerian governors rejected the model, fearing it would centralize tax authority and reduce their revenues. The National Economic Council, which statutorily comprises the country's vice president and all 36 state governors, acknowledged these concerns and called for wider consultation ahead of the legislative process for the bills. With continued dialogue and negotiation, the hope is that the final tax system will foster greater economic growth and inclusivity for the entire country. While the legislative process continues, the tax reform bills remain open to adjustments based on input from all stakeholders, Bayo Onanuga, a presidential spokesman, said in a recent statement. He clarified concerns over the potential centralization of tax authority, which is alleged to undermine the autonomy of state governments. "The bills will not destroy the economy of any section of the country ... Instead, they aim to enhance the quality of life for Nigerians, particularly the disadvantaged," he added. Schools Reopen, Leaders Shun Hostilities: What Happened In Syria A Week After Assad's Ouster? Published By : AFP Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 21:04 IST A week following Assad's downfall, the US made contact with rebel forces, where participants demanded all parties to cease hostilities. Rebel forces ousted Bashar al-Assad's government in a lightning offensive over a week ago. (AFP) It has been a week since the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other rebels toppled longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad. Here are some key latest developments in Syria: related stories UN Envoy Arrives In Syria United Nations special envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen called for justice and accountability" in Syria, rather than acts of revenge". Arriving in Damascus, he also called for increased, immediate" aid to the war-ravaged country. French Diplomatic Mission To Arrive In Damascus A French diplomatic mission will travel to Damascus on Tuesday to reestablish contact after the fall of Assad, acting Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said. He told France Inter radio the four-strong team would retake possession of our real estate" as well as establishing initial contact" with the new authorities. A Qatari delegation was due in Syria on Sunday to meet transitional government officials for talks on aid and reopening its embassy. Unlike other Arab states, Qatar never restored diplomatic ties with Assad after a rupture in 2011. Turkey To Provide Military Support Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler said Ankara was ready to provide military support to Syrias new Islamist-led government if it is requested. He said the new leadership should be given a chance" and that Turkey was ready to provide the necessary support" if needed, in remarks reported by state news agency Anadolu and other Turkish media outlets. Turkey reopened its embassy in Damascus on Saturday, 12 years after it closed early in Syrias civil war. Ankara has been a major player in Syrias conflict, financing armed groups in the northwest and maintaining a working relationship with HTS. US In Touch With HTS US Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed Saturday that Washington had made contact with Syrias Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels, despite previously designating the group as terrorists". Weve been in contact with HTS and with other parties," Blinken told reporters after talks on Syria in Aqaba in Jordan. He did not elaborate on how the contact took place but when asked if the United States reached out directly, he said: Direct contact yes." Blinken said that the easing of US sanctions on Syria imposed during Assads rule would depend on sustained action" by the rebel-installed interim government to meet the expectations of the international community. Main Players Agree On Common Approach In Aqaba, participants in the talks with Blinken issued a joint statement calling for a Syrian-led transition to produce an inclusive, non-sectarian and representative government formed through a transparent process". It stressed respect for human rights", the importance of combating terrorism and extremism" and demanded that all parties" cease hostilities in Syria. Syria Too Exhausted For War HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani criticised Israel for its incursion into southern Syria this week but said his country was too exhausted for fresh conflict. The Israelis have clearly crossed the disengagement line in Syria, which threatens a new unjustified escalation in the region," he said Israeli troops entered the UN-patrolled buffer zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights last weekend in a move the UN said violated the 1974 armistice agreement. Golani said that despite the violation, the general exhaustion in Syria after years of war and conflict does not allow us to enter new conflicts." Schools And Universities Reopen In Syria Some children went back to school to school in Damascus on Sunday, attending class for the first time since Assads overthrow. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all One school employee said that no more than 30 percent" of pupils were back in class, but these numbers will rise gradually". Universities also reopened, but staff say it may take time to return to normal. Location : Damascus, Syria First Published: December 15, 2024, 21:04 IST "I think this is the most scandalous, mysterious art heist in Canada in the twenty-first century," declares former FBI agent Robert K. Wittman, a specialist in such thefts. He was speaking to Brett Popplewell of the Walrus , who unpacks the unusual heist in question: In late 2021 or early 2022, somebody took a priceless photo of Winston Churchill off the wall at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa and replaced it with a cheap forgery. It took eight months before a hotel workerthe same man who had secured it in place 25 years earliernoticed that it was hanging askew and discovered the theft. Police began investigating, and hotel general manager Genevieve Dumas did as well. In fact, Dumas herself narrowed the timing of the theft to a 12-day period by putting out a public call for photographs people had taken of the hotel's reading lounge, where the "Roaring Lion" portrait by renowned photographer Yousuf Karsh had hung. Investigators thus learned that the real photo was hanging on Dec. 25, 2021, and the forgery was in place by Jan. 6, 2022. The timing counts: That was in the midst of the pandemic, when guests were scarce and the hotel had a skeleton staff. Police aren't saying much about how they unraveled the case"this is the most complex investigation that I've been a part of," says Ottawa detective Akiva Gellerbut it centered on a difficult aspect of any art heist: the sale. Investigators discovered that an unwitting Sotheby's auction house in London sold the photo to an unwitting buyer in Italy, who hung it in his living room. (It sold for a relatively low $7,500, perhaps because neither party realized it was the original print.) The photo is now back in place at the hotel. Police, meanwhile, have charged 43-year-old Jeffrey Wood, a resident of the small town of Powassan, Ontario, roughly 230 miles from Ottawa, in the theft. He has been released on bail and awaits trial, during which more details may emerge. Read the full story, which details how Karsh came to take the most famous photo of Churchill in existenceit helped that the subject was cranky. (Or read other longform recaps.) Samuel Hervey was a 25-year-old having a mental health crisis while stranded in Kyrgyzstan during the pandemic in 2021. "Fmlk" was a troubled 15-year-old Eastern European teenager who'd gotten involved with a dark online community. The Washington Post takes a deep dive into what happened when they met online, a tragic encounter that ended in Hervey's suicide by self-immolation. Fmlk, now 18, spoke to the Post anonymously about how she, feeling like an outcast at school, ended up in chatrooms on Discord and Telegram that posted graphic images including self-harm and child pornography. Those chatrooms became the group known as "764," which the FBI has since defined as meeting the criteria of a domestic terror organization. Group members sought out troubled people online, urging them to film themselves self-harming. When Fmlk met Hervey, he was already talking about wanting to take his life. She admits to the Post that she pushed him to do so, sometimes goading him ("What are you waiting for?") and other times encouraging him ("You can do this."). On his Discord server, which remained operational even as he talked openly there about his plans, at least 29 people were present when he set himself on fire on a video livestream. Some laughed as they watched the horrific sight. The full story at the Post gets into Discord's response, and what happened to Fmlk next. (More Discord stories.) Bashar al-Assad likely saved his own life by escaping to Russia as rebels closed in on Damascus, Syria, and both Reuters and Bloomberg have reports on his final hours there. One key to his escape, apparently, is that Assad lied through his teeth to close associates and his military commanders right up until the moment he fled. Some highlights: Hours before he left, Assad assured a meeting of military and security chiefs that Russia would be sending help to ward off the advancing rebels any moment now, per Reuters, whose account is based on more than a dozen interviews with people familiar with Assad's movements. Assad, however, knew from a meeting at the Kremlin on Nov. 28 that Vladimir Putin would not be sending help. Israel said Sunday it will close its embassy in Ireland as relations deteriorated over the war in Gaza, a decision made in response to what Israel's foreign minister has described as Ireland's "extreme anti-Israel policies." In May, Israel recalled its ambassador to Dublin after Ireland announced, along with Norway, Spain, and Slovenia, it would recognize a Palestinian state . The Irish cabinet last week decided to formally intervene in South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, which accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, the AP reports. Israel denies the charge. "We are concerned that a very narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide leads to a culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimized," Michael Martin, Ireland's deputy premier and foreign affairs minister, said in a statement. Ahead of Israel's announcement, Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris called the embassy decision "deeply regrettable." He added on X: "I utterly reject the assertion that Ireland is anti-Israel. Ireland is pro-peace, pro-human rights and pro-international law." Relations between Ireland and Israel have long been strained, the Guardian points out, with Ireland expressing more pro-Palestinian positions than other European nations. "Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with Israel," Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar's statement on the embassy said. (More Israel-Hamas war stories.) On the first papal visit ever to the French island of Corsica, Pope Francis on Sunday called for a dynamic form of laicism, promoting the kind of popular piety that distinguishes the Mediterranean island from secular France as a bridge between religious and civic society. Francis appeared relaxed and energized during the one-day visit, the AP reports, two days before his 88th birthday, displaying a faded bruise from a fall a week ago. He frequently deviated from his prepared homily during Mass at the outdoor La Place d'Austerlitz, remarking at one point that he had never seen so many children as in Corsicaexcept, he added, in East Timor on his recent Asian tour. "Make children," he implored. "They will be your joy and your consolation in the future." Earlier, at the close of a Mediterranean conference on popular piety, Papa Francescu, as he is called in Corsican, described a concept of secularity "that is not static and fixed, but evolving and dynamic," that can adapt to "unforeseen situations" and promote cooperation "between civil and ecclesial authorities." The pope said that expressions of popular piety, including processions and communal prayer of the Holy Rosary "can nurture constructive citizenship" on the part of Christians. At the same time, he warned against such manifestations being seen only in terms of folklore, or even superstition. The visit to Corsica's capital Ajaccio, the birthplace of Napoleon, is one of the briefest of his papacy beyond Italyabout nine hours on the ground, including a 40-minute talk with French President Emmanuel Macron. Often specific to the places where they are practiced, popular piety in Corsica includes the cult of the Virgin Mary, known locally as the "Madunnuccia," revered as protecting the island from the plague in 1656. Corsica stands out from the rest of secularized France as a particularly devout region, with 92 confraternities, lay associations dedicated to works of charity or piety, with over 4,000 members. "It means that there is a beautiful, mature, adult and responsible collaboration between civil authorities, mayors, deputies, senators, officials and religious authorities,'" Cardinal Francois-Xavier Bustillo told the AP ahead of the visit, adding "there is no ideological hostility." (More Pope Francis stories.) ANKARA, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- A total of 7,621 Syrian nationals voluntarily returned to their homeland between Dec. 9 and Dec. 13, following the downfall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, Turkiye's Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced Sunday. In a statement on the social media platform X, Yerlikaya provided detailed accounts concerning the daily returns of Syrians -- 1,259 on Dec. 9, with 1,669, 1,293, 1,553, and 1,847 recorded in the following days. Yerlikaya underscored that these Syrians' repatriation was conducted in a "voluntary, safe, dignified, and orderly manner." A total of 2,938,261 Syrians are now "under temporary protection" in Turkiye, according to the minister. Turkiye, hosting millions of Syrian refugees who fled civil war since 2011, has recently seen increasing returns of Syrian refugees after the fall of al-Assad and its government on Dec. 8. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. MANILA, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines on Sunday ordered local government units to complete the evacuation of people within the six-km danger zone around Mount Kanlaon volcano by Monday amid rising activity. Kanlaon, which straddles the provinces of Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental on the island of Negros in central Philippines, erupted on Dec. 9, spewing a voluminous plume that rose more than 4,000 meters into the sky. The order, issued by Raul Fernandez, director of the Office of Civil Defense in Western Visayas, directed local government units of both provinces to complete the evacuation by Monday. The order came in light of increased volcanic activity, prompting authorities to act swiftly to protect residents from potential hazards. However, some residents refused to leave the danger zone despite the threat of another explosive eruption. Residents who have not yet evacuated are urged to comply with the order to avoid any risks associated with possible re-eruptions, Fernandez warned. He said the government had implemented a comprehensive evacuation strategy to save lives and minimize suffering in the event of a catastrophic eruption. On Friday, President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos said the government had moved over 45,000 residents from villages around the volcano to safety. Marcos said the government has targeted the evacuation of around 84,000 villagers within the danger zone. On Sunday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said it continued to detect increased volcanic earthquakes and degassing from the volcano, and the volcano edifice was inflated. The institute warned that the activity could lead to another hazardous eruption. A house damaged during armed clashes is seen in Zawiya, Libya, Dec. 15, 2024. Libya's state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) on Sunday declared a state of force majeure at an oil refinery in the western city of Zawiya, some 45 km west of the capital Tripoli, due to damages caused by armed clashes. (Photo by Hamza Turkia/Xinhua) TRIPOLI, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Libya's state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) on Sunday declared a state of force majeure at an oil refinery in the western city of Zawiya, some 45 km west of the capital Tripoli, due to damages caused by armed clashes. "The NOC regretfully declares a force majeure and level three (the highest) emergency. This is because several Zawiya refinery storage tanks sustained significant damage from gunfire on early Sunday morning that led to serious fires. This damage is a direct consequence of armed clashes using light and medium weapons in the refinery's vicinity," the NOC said in a statement. The refinery's security and safety personnel managed to control the fires and gas leaks despite the continuing clashes around the refinery, according to the statement. The Zawiya refinery, Libya's second-largest one built in 1974, produces an estimated 120,000 barrels of oil products daily. The state of force majeure, invoked in exceptional circumstances, allows the NOC exemption from liability for a breach of oil delivery contracts. The NOC called on the relevant authorities to urgently stop the clashes and keep oil facilities out of the conflict zone, saying that damage to the refinery's storage tanks, which contain highly flammable materials, poses a grave danger to civilian lives. Libya's oil industry, the backbone of its economy, has frequently been caught in the crossfire of political disputes and armed conflict since the fall of late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. A house damaged during armed clashes is seen in Zawiya, Libya, Dec. 15, 2024. Libya's state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) on Sunday declared a state of force majeure at an oil refinery in the western city of Zawiya, some 45 km west of the capital Tripoli, due to damages caused by armed clashes. (Photo by Hamza Turkia/Xinhua) Shells are pictured after armed clashes in Zawiya, Libya, Dec. 15, 2024. Libya's state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) on Sunday declared a state of force majeure at an oil refinery in the western city of Zawiya, some 45 km west of the capital Tripoli, due to damages caused by armed clashes. (Photo by Hamza Turkia/Xinhua) When Brianna Dagostino, a member of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation in South Jersey, started at Montclair State in 2019, she said she thought more could be done to recognize Native American culture in New Jersey. Most students, she observed, believe that when Andrew Jackson had his Trail of Tears, all East Coast Native Americans were pushed West or killed. But there were people that stayed behind and that are still here, said the Cumberland County high school teacher. If you are from New Jersey, or go to school in New Jersey, you should know this aspect of local history she said. Indeed, while the state mandates students in elementary school learn about Native American history in New Jersey, many educators believe there is still work to be done to counter misperceptions. Now, under a $1 million grant by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Native American and Indigenous Studies program at Montclair State Universitys College of Humanities and Social Sciences is creating a New Jersey Center for Indigenous Justice that will prioritize connecting with local Native American communities and supporting their sovereignty. The center will focus on matters of environmental justice, language revitalization and increasing political recognition, according to the university. It will also create a digital archive on tribal history and resources to aid the Native American community and the university faculty and students. [It] will be the first and only university-based project in New Jersey that aims to transform public understanding of Native people and to do so in partnership with Indigenous communities across the state, Anthropology Department Chair Chris Matthews and a co-director of Native American and Indigenous Studies said in a statement. New Jerseys landscape is historically tied to the Lenape people. It was part of a vast territory known as Lenapehoking or the homelands of the Lenape, which stretched from western Connecticut to eastern Pennsylvania and from the Hudson Valley to parts of Delaware. Three tribes were recognized by the State of New Jersey between 1980 and 1982: the Powhatan Lenape Nation, the Ramapough Lenape Nation, and Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape. These tribes continue to actively work to reclaim and protect their ancestral land and legacy. Many organizations and schools have adopted land acknowledgements, which is typically a formal statement acknowledging the Indigenous Peoples of a particular area. Montclair State Universitys Land Acknowledgement, released in 2022, recognizes the university is in the Lenapehoking territory and commits itself to working alongside the Native American community. It appears on all Montclair State University syllabi and is read at some formal meetings. We worked directly with Tribal leaders in the state to draft a statement that was meaningful, but also pulled the story forward where Montclair takes responsibility for doing the work of decolonization, said Mark Clatterbuck, a co-director of the Native American and Indigenous Studies program at Montclair State University. Doing that work is different than just saying work needs to be done. Among those in the Native American studies program is Kate Kilroy, a junior, who said that hands-on learning experiences have produced a deeper and more dynamic understanding of indigenous culture, history, and current issues than I would get in a classroom alone. They have included workshops at the universitys childcare center teaching the Munsee language a dialect of the Lenape. Students have also been involved in creating a digital repository to document the environmental damage caused by a Superfund site in Upper Ringwood, which has been impacted the ancestral homeland of Ramapough Turtle Clan. The program also offers a four-week Summer Field School. This past year, students working with the Ramapough Clan at the Ramapough Mountain Cemetery, spent time mapping and documenting burial sites. The best way to get involved in Indigenous issues is through education, said Kilroy, Indigenous people are already telling you how you can help them and what you can do. You just need to listen. Caitlyn Schneider is a student at Montclair State University. An Essex County woman who alleges years of exposure to toxic chemicals in her drinking water caused her to develop kidney cancer has filed a federal lawsuit against some of the nations largest chemical manufacturers, including 3M, DuPont, and Chemours. Marcia Feldman, 77, and her husband, Elihu, 76, residents of West Orange, filed the suit in U.S. District Court on Nov. 20, claiming negligence and defective product design in connection with the contamination of their water supply by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS. The chemicals, used in products such as aqueous film-forming foam, have been linked to various health risks, including cancer, and are often referred to as forever chemicals due to their persistence in the environment, according to the lawsuit. PFAS are found in water, air, fish, and soil across the world. Scientific studies have shown that exposure to some PFAS may be linked to harmful health effects in humans and animals, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The lawsuit states that Feldman was diagnosed with kidney cancer in November 2020 after unknowingly consuming water contaminated with PFAS for years. Her diagnosis led to extensive treatment. The lawsuit alleges the chemicals remain in Feldmans body, putting her at ongoing risk for additional health complications. Marcia Feldman has endured tremendous physical and emotional suffering, the complaint states, adding that her husband has also been deeply affected, suffering a loss of consortium and companionship. The lawsuit names more than 20 defendants, including household names like 3M, DuPont, Chemours, and Raytheon Technologies. The couple accuses these companies of knowingly manufacturing, distributing, and promoting products containing PFAS without providing adequate warnings about their toxic effects. Representatives of large companies named in the lawsuit did not respond to requests for comment. According to the complaint, the companies have been aware of the risks associated with PFAS exposure as early as the 1960s but failed to act responsibly. The lawsuit cites internal research and regulatory findings that the chemicals are harmful to human health, including links to cancer, developmental issues, and immune system damage. The lawsuit alleges that manufacturers prioritized profits over public health, promoting products that released PFAS into the environment and groundwater used for drinking. Municipal water treatment facilities are not equipped to filter out these chemicals, the suit claims, emphasizing that Feldman had no way of knowing her drinking water was unsafe. The lawsuit also highlights the availability of safer alternatives to PFAS-based products that the companies allegedly ignored. The couples attorneys, Madeline E. Pendley and J. Caleb Cunningham, of Pensacola, Florida, argue the lawsuit is not only about seeking justice for the Feldmans but also about holding corporations accountable for their environmental and public health impacts. This case is part of a larger wave of litigation involving PFAS contamination against chemical manufacturers over the health and environmental damages. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Hey, who wants some good news for a change? Well, there are a few news items this week that offer hope that the world isnt an unending pit of doom and chaos. First, it took just eight days for Syrian rebels to depose brutal dictator Bashar al Assad and end the 13 year civil war tearing the country apart, not too mention the al Assad familys half century regime of oppression. The dictator has been forced to flee to Russia where a thoroughly embarrassed Vladimir Putin, who with Iran has spent the duration of the civil war propping up Assad, will surely be delighted to see him. Stay away from the windows, Bashar. Second, and much closer to home, is the signing of the Freedom To Read Act. The act signed into law earlier this week by Governor Murphy is a counter to the alarming number of book bans happening across the nation. The act includes legal protections for librarians who have come under fire from conservative groups, like Moms For Liberty, for merely doing their job and providing access to the full breadth of material libraries have to offer. In addition the act includes measures to curb bad faith actors from elbowing their way into the collections of school and public libraries to keep you from reading material they deem offensive. Book banning is one of the first chapters in the authoritarian handbook, which you should have the right to read no matter how offensive I find it. Take the wins where you can get them. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. By John Farmer, Jr. It is hard to overstate the ethereal majesty of the Cathedral of Notre Dames restoration as it was unveiled last week. By Rev. Christian Iosso The pardon of Hunter Biden is said to be a stain on the Biden Administration, while encouraging a forthcoming festival of Trump favoritism. This is overblown. The real stain on Joe Biden and Kamala Harris is their role as accomplices in the Gaza genocide, and the reinforcement of apartheid in the West Bank and East Jerusalem -- when the settlers are not committing murder outright. Biden/Harris disregard for international law and just war principles has damaged our standing in the world for years to come. Should we even count the billions they have squandered helping Israels right-wing government overextend itself? Late night comedians joked that Hunters pardon was a super Christmas gift, but even the original Christmas had the shadow side of the slaughter of the innocents (Matthew 2: 16-18). Then, as Human Rights Day came and went, Biden made a gesture toward moral consistency last week: The president commuted 1,500 sentences of persons serving terms in home confinement. We hope more actual prisoners may receive justifiable second chances, because pardons can fix flaws in our money-shaped criminal justice system. But how about freeing addicts convicted of federal crimes instigated by their addictions, as in Hunter Bidens case? Many serve overlong terms. What about freeing women excessively punished for resisting abuse, or those of both genders brutalized in prison? What about whistleblowers in national security cases who have revealed violations of the rights of US citizens, or of human rights overseas? Why not pardon defenders of wilderness who have blocked the exploitation of federal lands? Mercy must be rescued from favoritism, but public acts of forgiveness and even repentance can also open avenues for reconciliation and reveal the limits of soul-shrinking vengeance. When it comes to stains on the United States itself, the extra-territorial and unconstitutional prison at Guantanamo Bay has long been a site for cruel and unusual punishment waterboarding, force-feeding, etc. -- and massive violations of due process, however heinous the alleged (and mostly unproven) crimes. If foreign nationals cannot be pardoned for non-convictions, can Biden not drop charges or transfer those captives to more legal and less costly venues? Yes, I remember 9/11, but after the grievous overreactions of Afghanistan and Iraq, it is much harder to see those damaged men as national security threats. In a world of widespread dictatorship, wars usually show not irrational terrorism but efforts of resistance to being crushed and driven to despair. Ukraine is a clear case, and less clearly, Sudan. But so is the situation in the Holy Land, where Palestinians have been denied human rights since 1948. Not to defend the murder of innocents on October 7, 2023, but the wholesale starvation and indiscriminate leveling of Gaza fueled by American weapons mocks any claims for justice, self-defense, or lasting peace. Even the ruler of Saudi Arabia has called out the genocide. Most of the world, including 1.9 billion Muslims -- almost one-quarter of earths population -- have some idea that the American Jews and Christians backing that slaughter have a funny way of showing their values. Or are we just indulging our friends -- no matter what they do, and no matter what the long-term cost? If Biden and the Democrats have any concerns for peace with justice, this is the time to stop pardoning Benjamin Netanyahu and his government of land-stealing settlers. They have made a mockery of the two-state option and seek to destroy humanitarian aid efforts down to repeated bombings of World Central Kitchen and United Nations aid workers. Will Trump be worse? Possibly, but that is no justification for Bidens adding another stain to the U.S. record in the Middle East. The larger question is whether there can be a moral order in international affairs. Beyond un-pardoning Bibi, Biden and Harris should authorize US participation in as many international justice organizations as they can. Yes, it may be easy to cancel these efforts, but Biden needs to show more concern for justice as well as mercy. Exempting ourselves from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, for example, suggests that international law is a bother, rather than a reflection of the image of God in each person. As a pastor whose Christmas celebrations include praying for the peace of Jerusalem, I cannot avert my eyes from the oppression happening there and in other parts of the world. I will pray for those in power as well as the weak, who are to be lifted up. No Christian or congregation is an island, and our moral vision must encompass legitimate differences of opinion. But the Gospel answer to the slaughter of the innocents is not that the Romans will be worse. We and our leaders should be better. The Rev. Christian Iosso, PhD, is interim minister of the Connecticut Farms Presbyterian Church in Union. A New Providence native, he served as an ethicist for the Presbyterian Church (USA). To comment on this op-ed, send a letter to eletters@starledger.com. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. For every drone thats been spotted in the New Jersey skies and in paranoid residents minds there are as many theories, from taunting drone enthusiasts mocking federal agencies and law enforcement to private companies testing and collecting data to motherships launching an invasion on behalf of some of the United States most hated adversaries. With each passing day, the conjecture gets crazier as federal authorities shake their heads and roll their eyes: Is that a drone? No, its a plane. Is that a drone? No, its a star. Is that a drone? No, is a Christmas light at the top of the towns really tall holiday tree. And now, President-elect Donald Trump, never one to miss a body-shaming opportunity let alone a chance to mock former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie posted his own theory on social media on Saturday. Its the typical Trump play for a laugh: ridicule and derision. Trump re-tweeted an AI-generated image that shows Christie chowing down on a McDonalds meal we count roughly seven hamburgers on his tray and a couple more in his hands while several drones delivering more food from Mickey Ds circle above him. A caption on the meme read, We now know the source of the drones over New Jersey. Its not the first time that Trump known for McDonalds binges and fraudulently reporting his own weight has mocked Christies eating habits and weight. Trump, youll recall, even worked the fryer and drive-through at a McDonalds during the campaign in an attempt to rebut Democratic nominee Kamala Harris story about working at a McDonalds as a teen. Christie, of course, has been a meme before thanks to NJ Advance Media photographer Andrew Mills, who caught him sunbathing on a closed New Jersey beach in 2017. Christie, who was one of the first Republicans to endorse Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, filed for his MAGA divorce after the Jan. 6 insurrection. And the former friends have been sniping at each other ever since. Christie, determined to wrestle the GOP from Trump or at least peel off the non-sycophantic branch ran a long-shot bid for the partys presidential nomination with the main purpose of attacking Trump, the guy he once hoped would make him attorney general. Christie ended his cash-poor campaign in January, two weeks before the New Hampshire primary. It turned out that former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley had cornered the market on Trump-tired Republican voters, but even she (nor Harris) couldnt gather enough of them. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. A plane carrying giant pandas Xingqiu and Yilan arrives in Adelaide, capital of South Australia, Australia, Dec. 15, 2024. (Photo by Lyu Wei/Xinhua) ADELAIDE, Australia, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Australian officials have welcomed South Australia's new pair of giant pandas, describing their arrival as evidence of the country's strengthening relationship with China. Four-year-old male Xingqiu and three-year-old female Yilan arrived in Adelaide, capital of South Australia (SA), on a flight from China's Sichuan Province on Sunday morning local time, becoming the only giant pandas in the Southern Hemisphere. The pandas will spend the next 10 years at Adelaide Zoo, replacing the previous pair Wangwang and Funi -- who returned to China in November after 15 years in Australia. Hailing the arrival of Xingqiu and Yilan, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, an Adelaide local, said the pandas would bring joy to tourists from across Australia and overseas and provide a boost for SA's tourism sector. The two pandas will spend one month in quarantine before being moved into the Adelaide Zoo's Bamboo Forest enclosure, which has been upgraded in anticipation of their arrival. "I am looking forward to welcoming Xingqiu and Yilan to Adelaide, and visiting the Adelaide Zoo with my daughters early next year, once the pandas are out of quarantine," said the Australian foreign minister in a joint media release with the Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell, Deputy SA Premier Susan Close and state Tourism Minister Zoe Bettison. "I know families have enjoyed coming to see the pandas at Adelaide Zoo just like my family has," said Farrell in the media release. He hoped to see a spike in visitors coming to see "such majestic creatures" up close. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Australia, which has a very special significance, Li Dong, Chinese consul-general in Adelaide, said at the press conference welcoming the giant pandas on Sunday. The Chinese diplomat said the new round of giant panda cooperation will last for 10 years, during which he looked forward to a better prospect for cooperation in various fields between China and Australia. "I hope everyone will become good friends with Xingqiu and Yilan, and work together to protect the cooperation and exchanges between China and Australia, and between China and South Australia," Li said. Close said that many South Australians are thrilled to have an ongoing panda presence at Adelaide Zoo. She told reporters at the press conference on Sunday that the arrival of the pandas is an example of the renewed strength of friendship between Australia and China. The arrival of the pandas came days after China Southern Airlines returned to SA with the resumption of its direct round-trip services between Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, and Adelaide for the first time since 2020. Bettison said that with the return of the flights and the arrival of the pandas, the connection between the state and China is stronger than ever. "Our relationship with China is incredibly important. That direct aviation link, reinstated after COVID, is a big game-changer for us," she said at the zoo. In 2009, two pandas, Wangwang and Funi, began their stay at Adelaide Zoo. As the only giant pandas in the Southern Hemisphere, they drew more than 5 million visitors in 15 years until this November when they returned to China. Building on the success of past cooperation, the new partnership will further advance collaboration in areas such as breeding research, disease prevention, public education and cultural exchange. This initiative aims to strengthen research efforts and foster closer people-to-people ties between China and Australia. "This is such an exciting new chapter for giant pandas in Australia, and we look forward to learning all about Yilan and Xingqiu's personalities, likes and dislikes," Director of Adelaide Zoo Phil Ainsley said in a statement issued on Sunday. "So we can't wait to see what is in store during this new giant panda era and for the next generation of South Australians to grow up with Yilan and Xingqiu, hopefully sparking a love for their species and conservation into the future." A plane carrying giant pandas Xingqiu and Yilan arrives in Adelaide, capital of South Australia, Australia, Dec. 15, 2024. (Photo by Lyu Wei/Xinhua) James Booker is known as the Bayou Maharajah, the Piano Prince and the Black Liberace, whom Dr. John famously called the best Black, gay, one-eyed junkie piano genius New Orleans has ever produced. The late, great music legend was born on Dec. 17, 1939 85 years ago this week. A child prodigy, James Carroll Booker III began training on the classical piano at age six and played the organ in church, where his father was a Baptist minister. He and his sister spent some time in Bay St. Louis during their childhood, but Booker returned to New Orleans at the age of eight. His high school band director at Xavier Prep School was none other than Ellis Marsalis, who watched him develop a playing style influenced not just by the classics but also Professor Longhair, Ray Charles, Fats Domino and other music greats. Booker made his recording debut at age 14 and was soon performing with local bands and recording with music greats such as Lloyd Price, Smiley Lewis, Dave Bartholomew, Earl King and others. He would also develop the eccentric and flamboyant stage persona for which he would become famous. Booker toured the world and recorded solo albums, though only one of his songs, the 1960 instrumental Gonzo, saw any significant sales. He was addicted to heroin and plagued by bouts of mental illness. Drug arrests brought him in contact with Orleans District Attorney Harry Connick and the D.A.s son Harry Jr., whom Booker tutored on piano and mentored. When Booker died in 1983 at the age of 43, tributes poured in from throughout the music world. Thirty years later, the piano virtuoso was the subject of the acclaimed 2013 documentary film, Bayou Maharajah: The Tragic Genius of James Booker. BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-nine Bruneian military personnel returned from a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission on Saturday, according to Brunei's Ministry of Defence. The troop comprises three officers and 26 other ranks, two of whom are female personnel, and they safely returned to Brunei Darussalam on Saturday afternoon, according to the Defence Ministry. They have completed a 12-month deployment with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), according to local daily Borneo Bulletin. The Royal Brunei Armed Forces has continuously contributed to the UNIFIL peacekeeping mission since 2008, demonstrating its commitment to international peace and stability. The holidays are a time of family gatherings, parties and festivities, and any great Christmas bash is going to include incredible food and drink. I dont know anyone who is catering figgy pudding or Seussian roast beast, but I did get a chance to speak this past week with caterers and vendors who prepare donuts, tamales, smoked meats, mac and cheese, and all sorts of other goodies. Most people get to see the delicious end product of these endeavors, but what does it take to prepare these meals? Santa has his workshop and reindeer; Walt Disney World infamously maintains a network of backstage tunnels within which much behind-the-scenes food prepping and transportation takes place. I know of no such tunnels in Northwest Indiana (someone please get in touch with me if they exist), but these mobile chefs and bartenders will make great use out of the county roads and the (gulp) Borman Expressway over the next few weeks. This job means you are putting 100% of yourself into it, said Melanie Deenihan, owner of the Tipsy Gypsy Traveling Tavern mobile bar. That means tons of sacrifices, being in the service industry. I work weekends. I work late nights. My friends and family work on completely different schedules. Its important to maintain a level head. Some vendors plan events that run through the entire night and into the next morning. Las Mamacitas Food Truck the trucks name is Esmerelda is one of the few vendors that does shifts and can run through the night for a holiday event, said owner Monica Jimenez-Susoreny. If someone wants us at 3 am, were there, Jimenez-Susoreny said. We know in those shifts we dont sleep. But I actually love [these events]. My son looks forward to it every year, he brings his pillow and when he gets tired hell go back to our car and sit in the truck. As one might guess, its a labor of love. Its very humbling to be a part of peoples memories, Jimenez-Susoreny said. Whether its a wedding, or a birthday, or a holiday party. Or a dozen such events at once. This past Thanksgiving, Southern Roots catering cooked for 11 families, owner Darrick Tucker Jr. said (though that includes his own). This is just the beginning, Tucker said. We dont know what Christmas holds yet but I have a feeling its going to be crazy. For Tucker that also includes lots of prepping and planning. I do my research, Tucker said. I may have to source from a few locations. Go to Chicago to get a specialty item. You always have to try and gauge what is feasible, whether you can find a good quality product. Thank god Im okay with working weekends. Hot Toddies and Hot Tamales Tuckers business, Southern Roots, as the name suggests, specializes in southern comfort food, though he said the meals he prepares are flexible for the holidays. No matter what time of year, Tucker says his piggy mac with smoked pull pork tends to be one of the most popular items. Tucker envisions his holiday meals as bridging the gap between food and family, providing something, be it mac and cheese or cajun shrimp and grits. A good family meal, whether its for someone else or his own family, lets people enjoy the camaraderie and take a pause from their busy life. If youre craving holiday mini-donuts, a roving donut truck from the DonutNV franchise is serving gingerbread house flavors this month: donuts topped with cookie butter glaze, cinnamon sugar, gingerbread bits and gumdrop gummies. (Manager Bella Cogley also describes watching the donuts move through a lazy river of oil as part of the frying process, though Im not sure if the donut diners get to witness that.) For Las Mamacitas, the holiday demands are more specific: tamales, tamales and more tamales. Tamale bars are really popular, Jimenez-Susoreny said. Birria is also really popular. But people can also get tacos or piece together their own menu. I can make anything. Jimenez-Susoreny, who grew up in Mexico City, also noted that pozole and menudo soups are also very popular this time of year for part of a traditional Mexican Christmas meal. Jimenez-Susoreny recently started serving a Tinkerbell taco, which she described as an elote quesadilla. For drinks, Las Mamacitas also offers horchata and champurrado, an extra-thick Mexican hot chocolate beverage. And if youre hoping some booze slips into those kind of warm holiday drinks, mobile bars like the Tipsy Gypsy have come prepared. Deenihan said shes recently perfected the art of creme brulee martinis and torching drinks to liven up the holiday menu. Its nice and sweet, Deenihan said, and looks nice in the glass. Speaking of glasses, Deenihan decks out her bar with oversized hot cocoa cups for display along the bar, along with candy canes and wreaths. Deenihan is also proud of a Grinch tree prop she said found at a Five Below in Evergreen Park. I cant ever stop buying things for the business, Deenihan said. You make money to spend it, right? Mamacitas also has some unique props they will bring out for holiday events, including Jimenez-Susorenys collection of succulents, and Mexican blankets. My cacti are real! Jimenez-Susoreny attests. How you present is a big factor in creating the whole experience. That also includes a taco tree ornament. Finding family time Many of those who cook for whole families over the holidays got their start cooking for their own families. Tucker even claims that his wife fell in love with him over a perfectly prepared grilled cheese sandwich. But when you are cooking dozens of meals, and thousands of tamales, for other people on Christmas, you might have to get flexible on when your own Christmas dinner takes place. Jimenez-Susoreny, whose kids have helped out in past years with the food truck and deliveries, is busy during Christmas eve and Christmas day, but Christmas morning is sacred. We dont do any deliveries until after 11 (on Christmas), Jimenez-Susoreny said. And well take a few days off after New Years, to spend all those days together as a family. Being able to plan ahead is key, Cogley said, noting that family time becomes a matter of slotting in between different events. Were pretty much able to make our own schedules, Cogley said, so seeing what that looks like will tell me, essentially, how I can manage my holiday time. It is something everyone in the service industry has to deal with, Deenihan noted, whether you work for a brick and mortar or have a mobile business. And while running a small business often takes a lot of work and effort, particularly in a competitive industry, many mobile vendors actually end up with more flexibility for their life outside work. The beginning years can be tough, Deenihan said. We all know, its no secret, there arent many benefits when it comes to working in the service industry, as far as retirement, insurance goes. But I want to do something that I enjoy doing. And in the end, if you run a successful business, you can retire and make time for yourself. For those interested, contact info for these businesses is below: Las Mamacitas Food Truck, Valpo: email monica@lasmamacitasnwi.com or contact 219-455-1744 Southern Roots, Griffith: email southernrootsbyag@gmail.com or contact 219-671-6575 DonutNV NWI, Schererville: email schererville@donutnv.com or contact 219-268-8884 Tipsy Gypsy Traveling Tavern, Crown Point: email TipsyGypsyTT@gmail.com or TipsyGypsyTravelingTavern on social media SAO PAULO, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is "alert and oriented" following Tuesday's emergency surgery for an intracranial hemorrhage, according to a medical bulletin Saturday morning. The 79-year-old president is eating normally and walking at the Sirio-Libanes Hospital in Sao Paulo and will undergo further blood tests, but no additional diagnostic imaging tests are scheduled. According to his doctors, Lula is recovering in intermediate care and is expected to be discharged soon to return to work next week. On Friday, the president shared a video on social media showing him walking in the hospital hall, talking with a doctor and chatting with his wife, Rosangela da Silva. In a post on X, he wrote that he feels "strong and well." After complaining of a severe headache, Lula was admitted for emergency surgery when a hematoma was found between his brain and meningeal membrane. Doctors confirmed that there were no injuries or other consequences from the hematoma. The issue was linked to Lula's fall at the presidential residence, the Palacio da Alvorada, in late October when he hurt the back of his head and received five stitches, forcing him to cancel several commitments, including his trip to the BRICS summit in Russia. Jerry Davich Metro columnist Follow Jerry Davich Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today The colorful prayer cards hang from a decorative net above a table inside the Chapel of the Resurrection, just above a small statue of Jesus hanging on a cross. How can we pray for you? a sign asks visitors. The display invites guests to write a prayer and share it with God, as well as with the public. For my brother David, who doesnt really believe in Jesus, one card states. And for healing over his injuries. Thank you! Another one simply states, Breaking up with a partner. Another one requests, Help to get my family and loved ones out of Ukraine before winter. Keep them safe and healthy until then. Ive been inside that chapel many times on the campus of Valparaiso University. Ive never noticed the display on the side of the building near an entrance. Weve had a place there for people to write prayers for years, James Wetzstein, the university pastor, told me. Until recently it was a bulletin board to which people pinned their prayers. The netting is new and getting more activity. It wasnt the netting that caught my attention last Sunday when I attended the TubaChristmas concert for a column. It was the prayer cards that tapped me on my shoulder. I am under spiritual warfare, one card states. Please pray for me and my family. Bobby, love and miss you forever, another card states. I stood there captivated for a couple minutes before I left the chapel after taking photos and video of the display. Watch that video and view those photos at NWI.com. I asked Wetzstein what happens to all those prayer cards every day, every month, every year. They serve immediately as peoples prayers thats the most critical, he replied. At the end of the year, we collect the prayers and record them by category that data influences our ministry, especially preaching. He shared with me a chart that summarizes those categories, representing the distribution of 219 prayers from the universitys 2023-2024 school year. The majority of those prayers, 28%, focused on family and friends, followed by improved health, 17%, and peace, 9%. I wasnt sure if those people asked for peace in the world or personal peace of mind. Such a request can bridge the macro to the micro, respectively. Ive never hoped or prayed for world peace but Ive definitely yearned for peace of mind. Other categories include mental health struggles, happiness, blessings, safe travels, money concerns and good grades. What I find compelling is that if we identify those prayers offered on behalf of others, including for peace, we have 59% of the prayers offered on behalf of others, rather than ones own self, Wetzstein said. Ive never considered the data-related aspects of prayers but that statistic is very telling, and very hopeful for our species. Countless people have offered to pray for me throughout my life. Ive always thanked them for the consideration. Some of them pray for my soul to be saved. Others have prayed for me to join their church, their faith or specific belief system. This year, as my family struggled through a serious crisis, a handful of church pastors who I consider friends offered their prayers. They prayed consistently and thoughtfully for my family. Ill never forget their gesture and how it affected me and my wife. The power of prayer is a personal experience that can provide a sense of peace, hope and connection to something greater than oneself. This statement isnt from one of those pastors. Nor is it from a world spiritual leader. Its created by artificial intelligence, or AI, when I did a Google search for the power of prayer. The power of prayer can come from the belief that God hears and answers prayers, and that prayer connects people with God's omnipotence, compassion, and justice, AI replied. The power of prayer isnt in the words you utter, or what you pray for, or how you pray, according to many believers. Its a personal connection to the holy providence of divinity, which means different things to different sects of faith. Prayer is the portal that brings the power of heaven down to earth, writes Priscilla Shirer, author of Fervent: A Woman's Battle Plan to Serious, Specific, and Strategic Prayer. At the VU chapel, I paused to watch this portal in action through the written word. With each one, I wondered the age and demographics of who wrote the prayer cards. A college student? A curious visitor? A desperate guest? Keep an eye on a friend from home. He is burning out and may go down a road he cant come back from, one of the prayer card states. In my past, Ive traveled down that same road. Another prayer card states, Discernment with work/career. Pray for my family as we navigate the 2-year anniversary of my dads passing, another one states. Pray for me that I keep going despite of bullying, another one states. Underneath the cards, delicately dangling from a fragile net of faith, a candle illuminates their hopes and prayers as an image of Jesus watches over guests. Help us to be the hands and feet of Jesus: His word, His will, His way. In Jesus name. Amen, a card whispers to passerby. A tourist takes photos in a lavender field in Brihuega, Spain, July 13, 2021. (Xinhua/Meng Dingbo) Spain's tourist industry appears to have fully recovered from the health crisis and is now looking ahead with optimism. BARCELONA, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Spain is set to register a record number of visitors this year, with some 95 million foreign visitors coming to the country and a turnover of over 2 billion euros (2.10 billion U.S. dollars), according to the Spanish tourist industry organization Mesa de Turismo. With foreign visitor numbers returning to pre-pandemic levels, Spain's tourist industry appears to have fully recovered from the health crisis and is now looking ahead with optimism. In Barcelona, a major holiday destination in Spain and in Europe, the Barcelona Tourism Consortium is aiming to use tourism to transform the city. Chinese tourists pose for a photo outside the Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona, Spain, July 26, 2023. As the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic eases off, Chinese tourists are flocking to Spain. (Photo by Joan Gosa/Xinhua) "The COVID experience was traumatic and taught us that we have an opportunity to use tourism to continue transforming our cities, to attract investment, to reach out to the world, to give recognition to new projects from abroad while making our identity and our culture known to the world," Mateu Hernandez, managing director of the Barcelona Tourism Consortium, told Xinhua on Friday. He said the priority is to attract people who want to fill hotels by offering them an extraordinary range of options. Foreign visitors to Spain have so far spent 11 percent more than last year, says the Mesa de Turismo, and Spanish cities aim to attract more high-spending foreign visitors next year by focusing on such areas as gastronomy, art and culture, festivals, and congresses and conventions. Tourists visit the Casa Batllo, a renowned building designed by architect Antoni Gaudi, in Barcelona, Spain, June 27, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Cheng) To achieve the goal, Hernandez said using technology is "fundamental." "We're investing more than 5 million euros into a technological platform that will allow us to forecast and provide our visitors with a better experience," he said. The organization is now developing a mini-program for the WeChat messaging app that will be launched early next year to help Chinese visitors better enjoy their stay in the city. "We're helping the tourist sector to understand the consumption and behavior patterns of Chinese travelers, which are different from those of North American or European tourists, and so we're learning from China to better offer the experience Chinese visitors want," Hernandez added. People visit the facade of Casa Batllo, a renowned building designed by architect Antoni Gaudi, in Barcelona, Spain, April 23, 2023. (Photo by Joan Gosa/Xinhua) Tourist spending per Chinese traveler in Spain has surged this year, reaching an average of 3,123 euros (3276.18 U.S. dollars) per trip, a rise of 25 percent compared to 2019, according to the Spanish tourism board, Turesapana. THE County Arms in Birr is celebrating a remarkable achievement as its fine dining restaurant, Hacketts Eatery, has been shortlisted for two major honours at the Gold Medal Hotel Awards, one of Irelands most prestigious hospitality accolades. Hacketts Eatery has been named as a finalist for Irelands Best Fine Dining Hotel Restaurant, a recognition that places it among the finest culinary destinations in the country. Adding further prestige to this achievement, the restaurants Executive Head Chef, Gerard ORiordan, has been shortlisted for the coveted title of Irelands Best Chef. This dual recognition is a source of immense pride for both the County Arms and the Midlands community. Hacketts Eatery is not just any finalist - it is the only restaurant in the Midlands to make the shortlist, standing shoulder to shoulder with some of Irelands most renowned dining establishments. The County Arms, a beloved four-star destination in Birr, has long been synonymous with exceptional hospitality, elegance, and charm. Hacketts Eatery, its crown jewel, offers a culinary experience that seamlessly blends innovation with tradition, showcasing the finest local ingredients in imaginative and beautifully crafted dishes. Chef ORiordans talent and leadership have been instrumental in elevating the restaurant to this national stage. The Gold Medal Hotel Awards, recognised as the leading independent awards programme that celebrate the very best in Irish hospitality, and both nominations underscore Hacketts Eaterys commitment to excellence. For the people of Birr and Co. Offaly, it is an opportunity to celebrate local talent making waves on a national level. Experience the award-worthy dining for yourself by reserving a table at Hacketts Eatery. Call (057) 912 0791 or visit www.countyarms.ie. On Nov. 21, the "Global Strategy and Practice of High-Skilled Workforce Development" Parallel Session of 2024 World Vocational and Technical Education Development Conference took place at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Tianjin). The event aimed to chart a new course for vocational education, drive innovations in strategies, policies, and models for skill development, and foster new impetus for the development of vocational education. The parallel session was hosted by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, the National Commission of the People's Republic of China for UNESCO, and the Tianjin Municipal People's Government, organized by the Center for Vocational Education Development at the Ministry of Education (CVED), and co-organized by Tianjin College of Commerce. Over 200 attendees from international organizations, countries, industries, enterprises, colleges and universities gathered to discuss global strategies for highly-skilled workforce development, sharing experiences and practices of industry-education cooperation in high-skilled workforce development and international cooperation in vocational education. Lu Xin, President of the Chinese Society for Technical and Vocational Education and former Deputy Minister of Education, emphasized in her speech that the world is undergoing profound and extensive changes in terms of industrial structure, social structure, technological innovation, and cultural development, which have continuously put forward new requirements for the quality and skills of workforce. "To meet these demands, we must leverage technological innovation, enhance skill training, and develop high-skilled workforces. This parallel session, dedicated to the development of high-skilled workforces, holds practical significance as it facilitates the sharing of experiences and outcomes in policy-making, training models, and innovative institutional practices among various countries," she said. Charlie Than, Minister of Industry of Myanmar, highlighted the need for a robust ecosystem for high-skilled workforce development, including efficient management, qualified teachers, and quality curricula, as well as the importance of collaboration to create a resilient and inclusive environment for high-skilled workforce development. Moustapha Mohamed Mahamoud, Minister of National Education and Vocational Training of Djibouti, presented Djibouti's vocational education plan for 2021-2035, sharing the outcomes of cooperation with China's vocational education sector and expressing a desire to deepen international exchanges and cooperation. Jean-Laurent Syssa-Magale, Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Technological Innovation of the Central African Republic, outlined the country's economic and social development, aiming to strengthen vocational education and capacity building through international cooperation, with plans to establish a new university offering majors more aligned with labor market demands. Somdet Thongchai, Chairman of the Board of the Maritime Silk Road Confucius Institute in Thailand, noted that Thailand, as the first country to integrate Chinese into its national education system, has seen over 1 million students learn the language, which has not only strengthened Thai-Chinese relations but also laid the groundwork for Thailand to adopt Chinese vocational education and skill development practices. The session was chaired by Lin Yu, Director of CVED. In the first special discussion on "Strategies and Policies for High-skilled Workforce Development", Huang Hui, Deputy Director of CVED, outlined China's strategic tasks and measures for developing highly-skilled workforces through vocational education. She analyzed the strategic roles and missions of China's vocational education in fostering new quality productive forces, building a modern industrial system, enhancing social welfare and the people's living standards, serving the comprehensive development of individuals, and contributing to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. She also detailed measures for accelerating the integration of vocational and general education, industry-education integration, quality enhancement, digital transformation, and international engagement. Sanaullah Panezai, Chief of Education at UNICEF China, shared UNICEF's philosophy and initiatives for advancing the development of children and adolescents globally, underscoring the significance of developing core competencies in youth to prepare them for future work and life. He highlighted the importance of vocational education students acquiring not only technical skills but also core competencies such as emotional management and problem-solving. He also presented the recent outcomes of the youth core competency project, a collaboration endeavor between UNICEF and the Ministry of Education of China, implemented through CVED. Aamer Aziz, Deputy Director of the Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority in Punjab, Pakistan, introduced the establishment of "Luban Workshops" in partnership with Chinese colleges and universities, highlighting the collaborative efforts in setting standards, sharing resources, and training faculty and personnel. Fu Xueling, Assistant Director of the Institute of Vocational & Adult Education at East China Normal University, shared scientific methods and paths for analyzing and forecasting the need for skilled workforce in the industry. Fu emphasized the importance of aligning vocational education with industry talent needs and improving the accuracy of talent demand analysis and forecasting as a basis for formulating vocational education policies and guiding institutional curriculum development. Bundit Orkman, Director of the Bureau of Education Policy and Planning Office at the Vocational Education Commission (VEC) of Thailand, presented the structure and functions of the VEC and provided insights into Thailand's vocational education policies in the context of industrialization, sharing the highlights and outcomes of Thai-Chinese vocational education cooperation, including advanced certificate programs and dual-degree courses, the establishment of "Luban Workshops", and the "Chinese + Vocational Education" initiative. In the second special discussion on "Innovative Modes of High-skilled Workforce Development", Damian Jacob Wyman, Executive Director of Global Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives at the Concordia Higher Education Alliance, summarized the essential elements of high-skilled workforces, emphasizing the importance of applying knowledge in target fields, innovating during task execution, thinking deeply when solving problems, collaborating efficiently in team work, and communicating effectively. Dr. Martin Hofmann, Executive Vice President of Volkswagen Group China, highlighted the dual education system and the collaboration with China based on the industrial development of Volkswagen, underscoring the introduction of the "new collar" concept. He stressed that Volkswagen will further enhance its partnerships with Chinese governmental departments, colleges and universities, and enterprises, to jointly develop high-skilled workforces. Wan Limei, Vice Chairman of the CPPCC Changzhou Municipal Committee and Director of the Changzhou Municipal Education Bureau, shared the successful experience of Changzhou as a national pilot city for industry-education integration, with an emphasis on the city's efforts in establishing a support system, a layout system, a collaborative education system, and a development service system for high-quality vocational education. Monique Pascale Tudman, Director of International Operations at TAFE Queensland International Education, detailed the approach of TAFE colleges in Australia to vocational education that is closely aligned with industry needs. She highlighted how these colleges work with enterprises to design vocational education projects, develop curricula, and conduct training activities. Zeng Li, Director of International Education at Lentiz Education Group, detailed the Dutch approach to vocational education that is characterized by robust public-private collaboration, a strong emphasis on practical experience, a focus on emerging sectors, a commitment to lifelong learning, and the development of soft skills. In the third special session on "College Practices for High-Skilled Workforce Development", representatives from various educational institutions shared their experiences, practices, and practical explorations in educational innovation, digital empowerment of specialized courses, international cooperation projects, and the establishment of overseas applied technology universities. These representatives included Prof. Claudio R. Boer from the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland; Lan Zuoping, Vice President of Chongqing Medical and Pharmaceutical College; Prof. Zhou Wei, President of the International Society for Intelligent Manufacturing, Singapore; Huo Xiongfei, President of Qinghai Vocational and Technical University; Prof. Josef Guggemos from the University of Education Schwabisch Gmund; Xie Junwu, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Lanzhou Resource and Environment Vocational and Technical University; Sok Huy, Cambodian President of Cambodia-China University of Technology and Science; Zhang Danyang, President of Tianjin Electronic Information College; Panfilov Aleksei, Vice President of Vladimir State University; and Shen Lin, Secretary of the Party Committee of Changzhou Vocational Institute of Mechatronic Technology. They concurred that in the era of digital and industrial transformation, vocational education and talent development must proactively adapt, explore and take paths of digital, green, and international development. The consensus of the parallel session was that high-skilled workforce development aligns closely with the goal of quality education outlined in the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, representing an essential choice for vocational education to enhance human welfare and collectively embrace a brighter future. The conference topics were common concerns among various countries, displaying both commonality and specificity. The parallel session was characterized by three key features: the pursuit of valuable vocational education policies, the sharing of experiences in practical exploration, reform and innovation, and an emphasis on open cooperation and mutual learning. The discussions elicited strong resonance and enthusiastic responses from attendees, marking a significant event for the exchange of vocational education policies, theories, and practices. This exchange is poised to facilitate international mutual learning, better equipping countries to face future opportunities and challenges, and to align more effectively with new global economic and social development trends and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. PARIS, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Cyclone Chido, which slammed into the island of Mayotte on Saturday, has killed at least 14 people and caused immense damage to the island, French media reported Sunday. According to Ambdilwahedou Soumaila, the mayor of Mamoudzou, the capital of Mayotte, nine people were treated in critical condition and 246 in less severe condition at the Mayotte Hospital Center. "The roads are completely cut, and it is almost impossible to pass ... We will need water and food, and they will have to be transported," he told local media. In a statement, the prefect of Reunion, where most of the reinforcements are being coordinated, said that "other resources will follow during the week, which could amount to a total of 700 civil security personnel." French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau is scheduled to visit Mayotte this evening. Following an interministerial crisis meeting, he said it "will probably take days" to "refine" the exact human toll. Located in the northern Mozambique Channel of the Indian Ocean, Mayotte is an overseas department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It lies off the southeastern coast of Africa between northwestern Madagascar and northeastern Mozambique. TOKYO, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- An approval rating for Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has been on the decline, the latest poll has shown. The approval rating dropped 3.5 percentage points from the previous survey in mid-November to 36.5 percent, with disapproval rising to 43.1 percent as Ishiba's government faces skepticism over its ability to pass key legislation and budget. In addition, 66 percent of respondents demanded greater transparency in political fund usage amid ongoing scandals, while 85.5 percent voiced concerns about misinformation on social media during elections. The nationwide survey collected responses from 1,056 individuals. Chinese officers and soldiers wave goodbye at a port in Zhoushan, east China's Zhejiang Province, Dec. 15, 2024. A new fleet of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy set sail from a military port in Zhoushan, east China's Zhejiang Province on Sunday to take over an escort mission from the previous fleet in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia. (Photo by Wang Ningchuan/Xinhua) HANGZHOU, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- A new fleet of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy set sail from a military port in Zhoushan, east China's Zhejiang Province on Sunday to take over an escort mission from the previous fleet in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia. The 47th navy fleet comprises a guided-missile destroyer, a missile frigate and a supply vessel. It carries over 700 officers and soldiers, with two helicopters and more than 10 special force members on board. Prior to the departure, the fleet conducted trainings focused primarily on the armed rescue of hijacked merchant ships, counter-terrorism and anti-piracy, as well as on the practical use of weapons. Chinese officers and soldiers salute at a port in Zhoushan, east China's Zhejiang Province, Dec. 15, 2024. A new fleet of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy set sail from a military port in Zhoushan, east China's Zhejiang Province on Sunday to take over an escort mission from the previous fleet in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia. (Photo by Yang Jingcong/Xinhua) A farewell ceremony is held for a Chinese navy fleet at a port in Zhoushan, east China's Zhejiang Province, Dec. 15, 2024. A new fleet of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy set sail from a military port in Zhoushan, east China's Zhejiang Province on Sunday to take over an escort mission from the previous fleet in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia. (Photo by Yang Haifan/Xinhua) A farewell ceremony is held for a Chinese navy fleet at a port in Zhoushan, east China's Zhejiang Province, Dec. 15, 2024. A new fleet of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy set sail from a military port in Zhoushan, east China's Zhejiang Province on Sunday to take over an escort mission from the previous fleet in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia. (Photo by Han Lin/Xinhua) A farewell ceremony is held for a Chinese navy fleet at a port in Zhoushan, east China's Zhejiang Province, Dec. 15, 2024. A new fleet of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy set sail from a military port in Zhoushan, east China's Zhejiang Province on Sunday to take over an escort mission from the previous fleet in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia. (Photo by Han Lin/Xinhua) Chinese officers and soldiers stand in formation at a port in Zhoushan, east China's Zhejiang Province, Dec. 15, 2024. A new fleet of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy set sail from a military port in Zhoushan, east China's Zhejiang Province on Sunday to take over an escort mission from the previous fleet in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia. (Photo by Han Lin/Xinhua) A slowdown in the number of people moving into Oregon appears to have reversed itself over the past few months. State data shows thousands more people exchanging out-of-state driver licenses for Oregon licenses beginning last summer, with the pace of arrivals hitting its fastest rate in years. That could be a good sign for the state, which relies on migration for economic growth. OKAYA, Japan Not long after dawn, Japanese sake brewer Mie Takahashi checks the temperature of the mixture fermenting at her familys 150-year-old sake brewery, Koten, nestled in the foothills of the Japanese Alps. She stands on an uneven narrow wooden platform over a massive tank containing more than 3,000 liters of a bubbling soup of steamed rice, water and a rice mold known as koji, and gives it a good mix with a long paddle. The morning hours are crucial in sake making, said Takahashi, 43. Her brewery is in Nagano prefecture, a region known for its sake making. Takahashi is one of a small group of female toji, or master sake brewers. Only 33 female toji are registered in Japans Toji Guild Association out of more than a thousand breweries nationwide. Thats more than several decades ago. Women were largely excluded from sake production until after World War II. Sake making has a history of more than a thousand years, with strong roots in Japans traditional Shinto religion. But when the liquor began to be mass produced during the Edo period, from 1603 until 1868, an unspoken rule barred women from breweries. The storefront of the Koten sake brewery is seen in Okaya, central Japan.AP The reasons behind the ban remain obscure. One theory is that women were considered impure because of menstruation and were therefore excluded from sacred spaces, said Yasuyuki Kishi, vice director of the Sakeology Center at Niigata University. Another theory is that as sake became mass produced, a lot of heavy labor and dangerous tasks were involved, he said. So the job was seen as inappropriate for women. But the gradual breakdown of gender barriers, coupled with a shrinking workforce caused by Japans fast-aging population, has created space for more women to work in sake production. Its still mostly a male-dominated industry. But I think now people focus on whether someone has the passion to do it, regardless of gender, Takahashi said. She believes mechanization in the brewery is also helping to narrow the gender gap. At Koten, a crane lifts hundreds of pounds of steamed rice in batches and places it onto a cooling conveyor, after which the rice is sucked through a hose and transported to a separate room dedicated to cultivating koji. In the past, all of this would have been done by hand, Takahashi said. With the help of machines, more tasks are accessible for women. Sake, or nihonshu, is made by fermenting steamed rice with koji mold, which converts starch into sugar. The ancient brewing technique was recognized under UNESCOs Intangible Cultural Heritage earlier this month. As a child, Takahashi was not allowed to enter her family-owned brewery. But when she turned 15, she was given a tour of the brewery for the first time and was captivated by the fermentation process. I saw it bubbling up. It was fascinating to learn that those bubbles were the work of microorganisms that you cant even see, said Takahashi, who couldnt drink alcohol at the time because she was underage. It smelled really good. I thought it was amazing that this wonderful fragrant sake could be made from just rice and water. So I thought Id like to try making it myself. She pursued a degree in fermentation science at the Tokyo University of Agriculture. After graduation, she decided to return home to become a master brewer. She trained for 10 years under the guidance of her predecessor, and at the age of 34 became a toji at her family brewery. Sake brewer Mie Takahashi prepares steamed rice with koji mold for sake making in a temperature-controlled room at her Koten sake brewery in Okaya, central Japan.AP As the brewery enters the winter peak season, Takahashi oversees a team of seasonal workers and production ramps up. Its labor-intensive work, hauling and turning large amounts of heavy steamed rice, and mixing hundreds of gallons of brew. The master brewer must have the knowledge and skill to carefully control optimal koji mold growth, which needs round-the-clock monitoring. Despite the intensity, Takahashi manages to encourage camaraderie in the brewery, catching up with the team as they hand-mix koji rice side by side in a hot humid room. I was taught that the most important thing is to get along with your team, Takahashi said. A common saying is that if the atmosphere in the brewery is tense, the sake will turn out harsh, but if things are going well in the brewery, the sake will turn out smooth. Sake brewer Mie Takahashi stirs mixture of steamed rice with koji mold and water in a tank at her Koten sake brewery in Okaya, central Japan.AP The inclusion of women plays an important role in the survival of the Japanese sake industry, which has seen a steady decline since its peak in the 1970s. Domestic alcoholic consumption has dropped, while many smaller breweries struggle to find new master brewers. According to the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association, todays total production volume is about a quarter of what it was 50 years ago. To remain competitive, Koten is among many Japanese breweries trying to find a wider market both domestically and abroad. Our main product has always been dry sake, which local people continue to drink regularly, said Takahashis older brother, Isao Takahashi, who is in charge of the business side of the family operation. Were now exploring making higher value sake as well. He supports his sisters experiments - every year she creates a limited-edition series, Mie Special, thats meant to branch out from their signature dry product. My sister would say she wants to try to make low alcohol content, or she wants to try new yeasts - all kinds of new techniques are coming in through her, he said. I want my sister to make the sake she wants, and I want to do my best to sell it. From left, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, attend the 9/11 Memorial ceremony on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, on Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. AP The results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election rattled the country and sent shockwaves across the world or were cause for celebration, depending on who you ask. Is it any surprise then that the Merriam-Webster word of the year is polarization? Polarization means division, but its a very specific kind of division, said Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Websters editor at large, in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press ahead of Mondays announcement. Polarization means that we are tending toward the extremes rather than toward the center. The election was so divisive, many American voters went to the polls with a feeling that the opposing candidate was an existential threat to the nation. According to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters, about 8 in 10 Kamala Harris voters were very or somewhat concerned that Donald Trumps views but not Harris' were too extreme, while about 7 in 10 Trump voters felt the same way about Harris but not Trump. The Merriam-Webster entry for polarization reflects scientific and metaphorical definitions. Its most commonly used to mean causing strong disagreement between opposing factions or groupings. Merriam-Webster, which logs 100 million pageviews a month on its site, chooses its word of the year based on data, tracking a rise in search and usage. Last years pick was authentic. This years comes as large swaths of the U.S. struggle to reach consensus on what is real. Its always been important to me that the dictionary serve as a kind of neutral and objective arbiter of meaning for everybody, Sokolowski said. Its a kind of backstop for meaning in an era of fake news, alternative facts, whatever you want to say about the value of a words meaning in the culture. Its notable that polarization originated in the early 1800s and not during the Renaissance, as did most words with Latin roots about science, Sokolowski said. He called it a pretty young word, in the scheme of the English language. Polarized is a term that brings intensity to another word, he continued, most frequently used in the U.S. to describe race relations, politics and ideology. The basic job of the dictionary is to tell the truth about words, the Merriam-Webster editor continued. Weve had dictionaries of English for 420 years and its only been in the last 20 years or so that weve actually known which words people look up. Polarization extends beyond political connotations. Its used to highlight fresh cracks and deep rifts alike in pop culture, tech trends and other industries. All the scrutiny over Taylor Swifts private jet usage? Polarizing. Beef between rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake? Polarizing. The International Olympic Committees decision to strip American gymnast Jordan Chiles of her bronze medal after the Paris Games? You guessed it: polarizing. Even lighthearted memes like those making fun of Australian breakdancer Rachael Raygun Gunns performance or the proliferation of look-alike contests, or who counts as a nepo baby proved polarizing. Paradoxically though, people tend to see eye to eye on the word itself. Sokolowski cited its frequent use among people across the political spectrum, including commentators on Fox News, MSNBC and CNN. Its used by both sides, he said, and in a little bit ironic twist to the word, its something that actually everyone agrees on. Rounding out Merriam-Websters top 10 words of 2024: Demure TikToker Jools Lebrons 38-second video describing her workday makeup routine as very demure, very mindful lit up the summer with memes. The video has been viewed more than 50 million times, yielding huge spikes in lookups, Sokolowski said, and prompting many to learn it means reserved or modest. Fortnight Taylor Swifts song Fortnight, featuring rapper Post Malone, undoubtedly spurred many searches for this word, which means two weeks. Music can still send people to the dictionary, Sokolowski said. This composite shows multiple images of the April 8, 2024 solar eclipse as seen from Pulaski, New York, through mostly cloudy skies. N. Scott Trimble | strimble@syracuse.com Totality The solar eclipse in April inspired awe and much travel. There are tens of millions of people who live along a narrow stretch from Mexicos Pacific coast to eastern Canada, otherwise known as the path of totality, where locals and travelers gazed skyward to see the moon fully blot out the sun. Generally, the word refers to a sum or aggregate amount or wholeness. Resonate Texts developed by AI have a disproportionate percentage of use of the word resonate, Sokolowski said. This may be because the word, which means to affect or appeal to someone in a personal or emotional way, can add gravitas to writing. But, paradoxically, artificial intelligence also betrays itself to be a robot because its using that word too much. Allision The word was looked up 60 times more often than usual when, in March, a ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. When you have one moving object into a fixed object, thats an allision, not a collision. Youre showing that one of the two objects struck was not, in fact, in motion, Sokolowski said. Weird This summer on the TV news show Morning Joe, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called Republican leaders weird. It may have been what launched his national career, landing him as the Democratic vice presidential nominee. Though its a word that people typically misspell is it ei or ie? and search for that reason, its rise in use was notable, Sokolowski said. Cognitive Whether the word was used to raise questions about President Joe Bidens debate performance or Trumps own age, it cropped up often. It refers to conscious intellectual activity such as thinking, reasoning, or remembering. Pander Pander was used widely in political commentary, Sokolowski said. Conservative news outlets accused Kamala Harris of pandering to different groups, especially young voters, Black voters, gun rights supporters. Whereas Walz said Trumps visit to a McDonalds kitchen pandered to hourly wage workers. It means to say, do, or provide what someone such as an audience wants or demands even though it is not good, proper, reasonable, etc. Democracy In 2003, Merriam-Webster decided to make democracy its first word of the year. Since then, the word which, of course, means a form of government in which the people elect representatives to make decisions, policies and laws is consistently one of the dictionarys most looked up. Theres a poignancy to that, that people are checking up on it, Sokolowski said. Maybe the most hopeful thing that the curiosity of the public shows, is that theyre paying attention. By ANNA FURMAN Associated Press Associated Press polling editor Amelia Thomson-Deveaux contributed reporting. Which words defined the last 10 years, according to Merriam-Webster? 1. 2023: authentic 2. 2022: gaslighting 3. 2021: vaccine 4. 2020: pandemic 5. 2019: they 6. 2018: justice 7. 2017:feminism 8. 2016: surreal 9. 2015: ism 10. 2014: culture At the end of the month, Multnomah County Commissioner Lori Stegmann will complete her second term on the board that oversees and determines the budget for county government. Prevented by voter-enacted term limits from running for re-election, she leaves behind a job that pays her $149,039 a year. She will, however, return to the county on Jan. 1 through the proverbial revolving door this time, as the new director of the countys Youth and Family Services division, which partners with SUN Community Schools to offer after-school programs; provides tens of millions in rent assistance to keep people in their apartments and coordinates services for domestic violence and sexual assault victims. The position will pay her virtually the same salary of $149,600. Since August when the job was posted, Stegmanns time on the governing body that oversees county operations has overlapped with her application, interviews and preparations for filling the role of Youth and Family Services director. For a county already facing widespread public skepticism and distrust for its stammering response to homelessness and substance abuse, the decision to hire a sitting county commissioner to lead a vital county division reinforces a perception of sloppy governance. Even with the countys robust hiring process, the potential conflict of interest for a commissioner with budgetary and policy influence over county departments from which she is seeking a highly paid job is obvious except, apparently, to county officials themselves. To be fair, speculation about why the job went to Stegmann, a staunch ally of Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, is just that speculation. Only those involved in the hiring have the full story and context of why they chose her to fill the position, which has been without a permanent director since February. But that is exactly why the beleaguered county should adopt stronger guardrails around its hiring practices. Theres no better way to help rebuild trust and curtail rumblings of self-dealing than by enforcing standards that shut down the opportunity for that to happen. Stegmann, 64, certainly brings strengths and accomplishments to the position from her eight years as a commissioner representing east Multnomah County, six years as a Gresham city councilor and professional work and volunteer experience. And theres nothing to suggest that she broke any rules she applied for a publicly posted job and checked with the Oregon Governmental Ethics Commission and the countys lawyers about applying. But as The Oregonian/OregonLives Austin De Dios reported, Stegmann was chosen over other top candidates who have directly managed governmental social service programs for years experience that Stegmann lacks. In addition, as De Dios reported, county officials who participated in the hiring process raised concerns over Stegmanns lack of operational expertise and limited background managing large organizations. The Youth and Family Services division has 120 employees and a $98 million budget. While Stegmann in an email said she brings experience leading teams, managing complex budgets and implementing strategic initiatives, this role is significantly different from what she has previously done. There are multiple ways that allowing a sitting commissioner to apply for a job can create problematic situations, considering commissioners interact frequently with county staff on a host of requests and initiatives. Public records show the director of the Department of County Human Services the man who will be Stegmanns boss in January emailing the commissioner asking if its ok to cancel their regularly scheduled meeting, just one week before he sent the official letter offering her the Youth and Family Services position. And as a county commissioner, Stegmann serves as one of the five people who sets the budget in June for the coming year. Many of the votes on how to allocate the countys dollars came down to 3-2 splits, with Stegmann siding almost 100% with Vega Pederson and former commissioner Jesse Beason. Among them: A vote killing Commissioner Sharon Meierans effort to fund a solution to a long-running ambulance crisis a solution the board ultimately adopted weeks later. Another example: A vote to add high-level positions on the chief operating officers team, including two new deputy chief operating officers. Stegmann applied for one of those positions, as De Dios reported. Those positions were approved despite concerns about spending, and figure large in light of last weeks announcement by Vega Pederson that departments across the county should prepare for budget cuts in 2025. Understandably, Stegmann has pushed back against questions of impropriety. In an Oct. 24 board meeting, the first meeting after her new role was announced, she defended her hiring, noting her passion for the countys mission of assisting people in need. Stegmann, who is Korean American and was adopted from a South Korean orphanage as an infant, also suggested that concerns raised about her hiring reflected bias against people of color. As a brown woman, I have to say that I have experienced implicitly and explicitly discrimination where people have often told me you are not good enough, you are not qualified enough, she said in her comments, adding that as an immigrant, she has often felt she has had to work twice as hard to be recognized for being half as good as others. None of this is to say that Stegmann is unqualified. But its a mistake to ignore the potential for problems, as uncomfortable as it is for Stegmann to be the case that prompts change. Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards has said she is developing a slate of good governance measures that she plans to introduce in January to boost accountability and transparency and protect against possible abuses of power or conflicts of interest. Among the ideas: Creating a lobbyist registration and reporting policy and adopting a one-year waiting period before county elected officials and senior staff can lobby the county common practices in other jurisdictions. She also wants the county to adopt a one-year waiting period before commissioners can seek employment with the county except as staff for an elected official. The board of commissioners, with all its new members in January, should promptly take up such reforms. The fact that the county does not even have lobbyist requirements that are in place at the city of Portland shows significant vulnerabilities in its practices. To Stegmanns credit, in her email to the editorial board, she wrote that she understands and respects the concerns that her hiring raised. While she emphasized the thorough hiring process that the county undertakes, she agreed that policies should promote transparency and trust. Its a welcome shift in tone from someone whose commitment to the county is clear and reflects an understanding of the importance of public in public service. -The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board Sign up for our free Oregon Opinion newsletter. Email: This is a letter from the editor about letters to the editor. Letters are a highly popular feature of The Oregonian/OregonLive. But how does a reader get a letter published? How do we choose from the dozens that are submitted each week? Letters are opinion content and fall under the purview of Opinion Editor Helen Jung. Jung considers for publication letters that come in by email (not in an attachment) with first and last name, phone number and home address for verification purposes only. They should be no more than 250 words (most writing programs have a word count function) and submitted to letters@oregonian.com. Selected letters are published in Wednesday and Sunday print editions and go onto OregonLive over the following days. As for content, local is preferred. We favor letters on state and local issues, because thats our core focus as a newspaper, Jung wrote to a reader recently. We certainly do publish letters on national and international topics (and especially, during the election, we ran many national letters). But there are many places for people to find opinions on the war in Gaza, while there are very few places for people to read perspectives on how Portlands first ranked-choice election went or how to address the states ongoing deficiencies in protecting foster children. Also, letters that make a clear point and back it up with reasoned argument rise to the top. We look for letters that add perspectives without being needlessly inflammatory, Jung said. People are certainly entitled to their opinions, but we want to publish letters that add light, not heat, to the subject. We generally do not publish more than one letter by the same author within a four-month period. Letters are published with the authors full name and city of residence. An editor verifies the person really exists and did write the letter (many newspapers over the years have been duped by letters sent in under a false name or, worse, someone elses name). The opinion section does other fact-checking. An editor might ask the author to provide evidence to support factual statements repeated in the letter. We also want to disclose to readers if the letter writer has a relevant connection to the subject they are writing about. This is easy if the letter is from, say, a U.S. senator, but we also want to disclose if the writer is a board member of a nonprofit working on the topic of the letter or the head of a neighborhood association advocating for a position. And we sometimes also just want to disclose if someones name is familiar (So-and-so is a former Washington County commissioner). Thats to answer the question for readers who see the name and wonder if it is the same person. We are open to letters that criticize our news coverage, but when someone raises a question of accuracy that will be kicked to the newsroom (me, in fact) to address. If we get something wrong, we want to correct it. A reader could be left confused if we said one thing and a published letter said another, leaving the accuracy issue unresolved. A common complaint we receive about letters is bias or, relatedly, lack of balance. Heres a recent bias complaint: Sunday, Dec.1, The Oregonian achieved an all-time journalistic low with regard to Letters to the Editor, Oregon needs protection from Trump, a reader wrote. Does the writer of the letter have the right to an opinion? Absolutely yes. Does The Oregonian have a right to publish that opinion? Absolutely yes. However, here is my disagreement. You and your staff choose which letters to publish; not all submitted letters are published. Your bias is obvious in that the majority of letters are generally liberal and it would be nice to see more balanced publishing. He also objected that, in his view, the letter potentially promoted violence and encouraged extremism and therefore should not have been published. I dont think the letter crossed the line. We dont publish letters promoting violence. Jung says the opinion section does try for balance in the letters, but it is never going to be an exact one-for-one equation. For starters, we largely rely on letters that are submitted to us. Were at the mercy of those who choose to write in; we cannot publish letters we dont receive. Its no secret that Portland is a liberal city, and that certainly is reflected in our inbox. As of fall 2024, the city of Portland was home to roughly 253,000 registered Democrats, 150,000 unaffiliated voters and just 35,000 registered Republicans. Of course, we receive letters from all over the metro area and the state, but they dont level things out much. (Oregon overall tilts left as well, due to the higher population in liberal enclaves in the Willamette Valley.) As I have written before, the publication of opinions you do not agree with is not bias. If we went out of our way to select only letters in favor of one issue or candidate and routinely rejected equally good letters on the other side, that would raise bias concerns for me. But thats not what happens. We publish the best letters in rough proportion to the views we receive, and we work hard to find or solicit letters to balance out the comments. Over the past several years, I have asked several right-leaning readers if they wished to have their comments to me considered as a letter to the editor with their name attached. Several of them responded no, saying they were concerned about harassment or even retribution from political extremists on the left. For all these reasons, we receive far fewer pro-Donald Trump letters than anti-Trump ones. We also look for letters that might disagree with our editorial boards position on the issues a way to give readers the last word. At the end of the day, in my view, an opinion section that everyone agrees with is neither attainable nor desirable. Reach me at tbottomly@oregonian.com. When I called up Bert Etling, old-fashioned style using the phone, the first thing I said was that I was one of him. Im a real person, I insisted. I think he believed me? Etlings an editor who has suddenly found himself dueling with robots in a small-town news war of the future. Etling is the editor of Ashland News, in the town of 21,000 in southern Oregon famed for hosting the annual Shakespeare festival. His site is a nonprofit with two reporters that sprang up after the regular newspaper, the Ashland Daily Tidings, folded three years ago. Etling had been the editor there, too. Small-town news has been his career. When the Daily Tidings stopped printing for the first time since 1876, and eventually shuttered its website, too, there was a palpable feeling of sadness and loss, he says. He had set an old Google alert for any mention in the online world of the Daily Tidings. It went silent. His email folder of notifications was like a memory book to a 145-year-old town institution. But sometime last year, it started pinging again. Etling was getting new notifications, lots of them, that the defunct Daily Tidings was alive and kicking, sending out fresh stories again. The sites masthead showed eight reporters a ton for tiny Ashland. Etling knew one of them, so he called him to ask what was going on. He was utterly baffled, Etling says. He said I dont know what youre talking about. Im not writing for them. The Daily Tidings is dead. It turns out its still dead, in the literal sense that nobody living works there. As Oregon Public Broadcasting revealed this past week in an investigation, the entire site now is reported and written by artificial intelligence bots, under stolen or assumed identities. One reporter they tracked down actually lives in the United Kingdom and had no clue he was practicing journalism in southern Oregon. The site pumps out about five stories a day most of them cribbed from real publications, such as Ashland News or The Oregonian, and rewritten by AI programs. The site is populated with ad banners and pop-up videos from big ad-streaming companies such as Google. The previous owner of the Daily Tidings, the defunct real paper, told OPB he looked into suing the AI operation whoever or whatever it is. His lawyers though said its coming from outside the United States, likely China. It would be pursuing a phantom. Its like having your own doppelganger, Etling said. Whats happening in Ashland is not an isolated phenomenon. Sites are popping up everywhere using AI bots to create the vague appearance of journalism, usually by rewriting or repurposing articles culled from the real local media. AI tools have been developed, such as one depressingly called Spin Rewriter, that can digest an article and convert it into 1,000 human-quality facsimile articles, to then be pumped out like verbal effluvia across the internet. Seattle has a site under something called the Hoodline news banner that features bot-written stories under fake bylines. On one day this past week, Dec. 11, intrepid reporter Aaron Washington, who doesnt actually exist, wrote nine stories, culled from press releases and other news sources, that covered everything from the Tacoma city budget to the weather to a cold case police mystery to a feature on a Seattle preschool. You cant get that kind of productivity out of a carping real reporter, thats for sure. Old-fashioned shoe-leather reporting has been replaced by fake people whove never set foot in any of the neighborhoods they write about because they dont have feet, wrote one former Hoodline employee, who lost her job to the bots. The lack of human supervision is sometimes glaring. In October, a Hoodline AI bot glitched out and converted a routine press release, about a prosecutor filing murder charges, into a sensationally false story alleging that the prosecutor was the one who committed the murder. Etling says that in Ashland, the scam journalism has been mostly just annoying. Its a plagiarism operation, so the real town news source, his Ashland News, isnt at much risk of getting scooped. Plus his two reporters are out in the community every day, and hes out meeting with the Rotary Club and the like. So people there know that were real people, he said. But it isnt helping that gnawing sense that nobody believes anything anymore. What theyre doing is theyre polluting the information space, Etling said. Theyre making people trust newspapers less. Its a corruption of what were trying to do. Its maddening because theres not much we can do about it. One thing they tried last month is making a print edition of their web-only site, mailing it to 17,000 homes in town. It was our first and, so far, only print run, Etling says. It made us tangible. This issue of tangibility or authenticity is everything. The top question I get asked when Im out in the community or at public events in Seattle is: Do you use AI to help write your column? The answer is no. AI is embedded in search engines, which I use, but Ive never even tried asking it for writing assistance. I used to joke in response that I havent written my own column in months cant you tell? I dont make that joke anymore, because of whats begun happening in places like Ashland. Etling said it sounds dystopian, but the time may be coming soon when journalists are called upon to verify that theyre actual human beings. Its like a proof-of-life kind of thing, he said. Do we exist? Maybe I should stand on a street corner downtown and do public readings of my column each week, like a town crier. People could come by and poke me to make sure Im not a hologram. Seriously, though, its unsettling that AI has so saturated the human experience, already, that tiny places like Shakespeare-dominated Ashland now are haunted by scam robot news sources. I recall in the 1990s when scientists were decoding the human genome, they set up a bunch of ethical, legal and social restrictions on the uses of gene data. No rigging of insurance rates based on genetic markers, for example. No making of cloned humans. Congress endorsed these restrictions. In contrast, society is acting powerless now before this other form of human cloning, the corporate march of AI. Its obviously a civilization-challenging issue that extends far beyond my little world of journalism. The site ought to at least come with a warning on Google, Etling said about his robot rival. Do we exist? Its not a question thats come up before in my 35 years of asking questions for a living. That its coming up now feels like it ought to be much bigger news to the humans than it is. ___ (c)2024 The Seattle Times Visit The Seattle Times at www.seattletimes.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. DOHA, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- A Qatari diplomatic delegation has arrived in Damascus, the capital of Syria, to complete the procedures for reopening Qatar's embassy in Syria, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said on Sunday. The delegation met with representatives of "Syria's transitional government" and reaffirmed Qatar's commitment to supporting the Syrian people in their pursuit of security, peace, development, and prosperity, according to Al Ansari. Al Ansari also noted that participants of the meeting also discussed ways to enhance the flow of Qatari humanitarian aid and assessed the urgent needs of the Syrian population during this critical phase. Qatar announced on Wednesday to reopen its embassy in Damascus, days after a militant coalition, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), ousted former President Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8. Qatar closed its embassy in Damascus in 2011, following the outbreak of anti-government protests in Syria. Every Thursday, a group of six to eight seniors trickle into a room full of books and knitting magazines in Sherwoods Marjorie Stewart Senior Community Center. They sit around a square table and craft coloring in turkey outlines or making snowmen out of pom-poms but they also talk: About insurance problems. About death. About cremation. And sometimes about suicide. A body was recovered from the Willamette River around noon on Sunday, the Multnomah County Sheriffs Office said. River patrol deputies responded to a call near the Morrison Bridge to recover a body found floating in the river, Sgt. Bryan White said on Sunday. Portland firefighters assisted with the effort. No further information was available on Sunday. White said none would be released until the medical examiner identified the remains, which would be Monday at the earliest. Lizzy Acker covers life and culture and writes the advice column Why Tho? Reach her at 503-221-8052, lacker@oregonian.com. Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com. Sunday will be a relatively dry day for Portlanders looking to venture outside. The National Weather Service predicts just a 40% chance of rain on Sunday with a high near 47 degrees. Not so on Monday, when forecasters predict a 100% chance of rain and showers likely to continue through Wednesday. High temperatures will hover around 50 degrees for most of the week. Meanwhile, Sundays full moon is spurring high tides at the Oregon coast. Lincoln City police on Saturday afternoon posted pictures of king tides flooding a residential area in Cutler City, warning residents that similar flooding was expected for Sunday. Lincoln City police on Saturday posted this picture of king tides flooding a residential area in Cutler City. King tides are extremely high tides that typically happen during new and full moons and can cause flooding.Courtesy of Lincoln City police The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts a 50% chance of high tide flooding on Sunday at its South Beach station, but milder conditions farther south. Charleston has about 35% chance of flooding on Sunday, dwindling to about 5% on Tuesday, the administration predicts, and Port Orford has a 30% chance of floods on Sunday, dropping to about 15% on Monday. The Oregon King Tides Project expects Sunday to mark the final threat of king tides in 2024. The group predicts high tides will return next month around the return of the full moon on Jan 13. RIYADH/DOHA, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar on Sunday condemned the Israeli government's approval of a plan to expand settlements in the occupied Golan Heights. The Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the decision is a continuation of efforts to sabotage Syria's chances of restoring its security and stability. The ministry stressed the need to respect Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The UAE warned in a statement by its Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the Israeli actions could exacerbate tensions in the region. "The UAE categorically rejects all measures and practices aimed at altering the legal status of the occupied Golan Heights," the statement said, stressing that expanding Israeli settlements in Golan Heights poses a direct threat to the security, stability, and sovereignty of Syria. In a statement, Qatar's Foreign Ministry called the decision "a new episode in a series of Israeli aggressions on Syrian territories and a blatant violation of international law." It called on the international community to fulfill its legal and moral responsibilities by compelling Israel to halt its aggressions on Syrian territories and adhere to international legitimacy. The statement reiterated Qatar's unwavering support for Syria's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity. The Israeli government approved a plan on Sunday to expand settlements in the Golan Heights, a Syrian territory currently occupied by Israel, according to a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. According to the statement, the plan aims to double the Israeli population in the Golan Heights. It includes establishing a student village, a development program to integrate new residents, and initiatives to strengthen the education system and renewable energy infrastructure. GENEVA (AP) A red fox frantically scratches the wires of its small cage. An Arctic fox meanders lazily with a bloody tail. Other furry creatures, some with teary eyes, stare blankly into a light on an activists video camera. Finnish advocacy group Oikeutta Elaimille, or Justice for Animals, and Humane Society International have released images taken from an undercover investigation at three fur farms in western Finland in late October to highlight the behind-the-scenes realities of the trade. The activists incursion came as the European Union, which counts Finland as a member, is awaiting advice in March from the EU agency that oversees animal welfare before deciding in March 2026 whether it should propose a ban on fur farming altogether. FIFUR, a Finnish fur-breeders group, blasted the covert filming of the farms, accusing the intruders of breaching strict biosecurity requirements on farms where operations are strictly controlled by national laws and regulations and where veterinarians monitor animal welfare. Some viewers might ache over the conditions of the cuddly-looking creatures; others might wonder what the big deal is: The industry is at least for now legal and regulated. Aside from the animals captivity in small cages with sometimes more than one in a single cage none of the images shows abuse in progress. No explanation was given for the bright red blood on what looked like an open gash and exposed bone in a single Arctic foxs tail area. These pictures and these intrusions ... it creates a false image of normal lab animal welfare and animal keeping in the farms, said FIFUR spokesman Olli-Pekka Nissinen, adding that his group believed the initiative to ban fur farming will be rejected. This photo provided by Humany Society International shows foxes inside a cage at a fur farm in western Finland, in late October 2024. (Humany Society International/Oikeutta Elaimille via AP)AP The breeders group said the fur sector has among the highest welfare standards of any form of animal husbandry, and Nissinen suggested that farmers have little incentive to mistreat them. Animal welfare first shows in the animals fur and its very important for farmers to take care of the animals so that they can have decent incomes. FIFUR says most of its 442 member farms as of December last year are run by family businesses, and nearly all the farms are in the Ostrobothnia region along the Baltic Sea. Finland is the worlds largest producer of certified fox pelts, the industry group said. Oikeutta Elaimille spokesman Kristo Muurimaa says the operation involved entering the farms to observe and document the conditions in which the animals are kept and that the photos were taken in compliance with Finnish law. Neither side has announced plans for any legal action. Fur has been used by people for a long time, since the Stone Ages basically, Muurimaa said. However, a practice where animals are kept in very small barren cages is not that old. It is a product of modern times where animals are seen just as products. This kind of treatment of animals doesnt belong to this day. Times have moved on and now its time to leave this kind of cruelty behind, he added. Nobody needs fur in modern times. Fur is mostly used as a status symbol by the rich elite in countries like China and Russia. The 27-country EU, according to its most recent figures, estimates about 1,000 fur farms with roughly 7.7 million animals including mink, fox and raccoon dogs are active in the bloc. In neighboring Switzerland, which is not an EU member, a three-month public consultation ended last month on a government proposal to ban the import and sale of furs drawn from the mistreatment of animals. The measure would allow authorities to seize such furs. Activists want the Swiss government to go further, seeking a broader definition of mistreatment and wider range of fur farms affected. The issue, currently low on Switzerlands full referendum calendar, could be put to a public vote in late 2026 at the earliest. Humane Society International, in a statement last month, said tens of millions of animals suffer and die each year in the global fur trade and the vast majority of animals killed for their fur are kept in barren battery cages on fur farms. Finland, the advocacy group said, is one of the last European countries where farming such animals for their fur remains legal and finger-pointed a number of retail brands that use fox fur from Finland. China is the worlds most important export market for furs, followed by South Korea and the Western Europe-North American market, said FIFUR, which counts hundreds of farms in Finland as members. In Europe, as of 2023, Poland and Greece were the biggest producers almost entirely from mink while Finland is third, according to a report by the industry association this year. Bird flu and coronavirus outbreaks hit the fur industry hard, notably in Denmark, since 2020, but the trend line in supply has been declining for many years. FIFURs report showed supply volumes of mink pelts plunged by roughly three-quarters since 2010 to 12,285 last year a similar percentage decline to that for mink pelts, which totaled 2,440 in 2023. DENVER (AP) Dozens of kids cheered on a festively decked-out plane in Denver on Saturday when the pilot announced their destination for the day: the North Pole. More than 100 children, some of whom have serious health issues, were then taken on a roughly 45-minute flight near the city before landing back at Denver International Airport and being towed to a hangar transformed by United Airlines employees and volunteers into the North Pole. Streamers, paper snowflakes and tufts of cotton resembling feathery snow dotted the plane and seats. Flight personnel paraded a bubble machine up and down the aisle to shouts of bubbles, bubbles, bubbles from the excited children. Holiday songs played in the background and there were apple snacks and juice for all. Before landing, the children were asked to close their window shades. When they opened, the kids were met by the sight of a waiting Santa and Mrs. Claus and a host of elves. An ice cream truck was on hand and the children received gifts. Bryce Bosley, 6, was tickled to see Santa and all the North Pole had to offer. The North Pole is fun because theres games, food, and all the activities are really fun, he said. Nine-year-old Rylan Hadad, left, walks with his mother, Eva, during the United Airlines annual "fantasy flight" to a fictional North Pole at Denver International Airport, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)AP United Capt. Bob Zimmermann, the holiday flights pilot, was struck by the joy and wonder of the youngsters. Throughout the year Ill think of the fantasy flight, he said. When life seems to get tough or I want to complain about something, I remember these kids and the joy and the love and what this feels like, and it just keeps my life in perspective. United partnered with Make-A-Wish Colorado, Girls Inc., Childrens Hospital Colorado and Rocky Mountain Down Syndrome Association to invite Denver-area kids ages 3 to 10 years on the flight. For more than 30 years, United has staged its annual fantasy flights to fictional North Poles at airports around the world to bring holiday cheer to children and their families. This year they took place in 13 cities, starting Dec. 5 in Honolulu and then in Washington, Houston, Los Angeles, London, Chicago, San Francisco, Tokyo, Cleveland and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and on the island of Guam. Newark, New Jersey, also had a flight Saturday. Jonna McGrath, Uniteds vice president for operations at its Denver hub, has participated in 29 flights and said it is one of her favorite days of the year. It gives them a day where they are away from some of the challenges they face in their day-to-day life, said McGrath, who was dressed as an elf. Bringing a little magic and some gifts to their holiday season is something theyll never forget. NEW YORK Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Friday said he had learned of information suggesting Luigi Mangione, the accused assassin of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, wont challenge his extradition from Pennsylvania to New York. Indications are that the defendant may waive, but that waiver is not complete until a court proceeding, Bragg said at an unrelated press conference in Times Square. Until that time, were going to continue to press forward on parallel paths, and well be ready whether hes going to waive extradition or contest extradition. In a criminal complaint filed Monday, Braggs office charged Mangione, 26, with second-degree murder, three weapons possession offenses, and criminal possession of a forged instrument for the early morning murder that occurred Dec. 4 outside the Hilton Hotel in Midtown. Manhattan prosecutors on Thursday started presenting evidence to a grand jury to secure an indictment for the high-profile killing, according to ABC. The DAs office declined to comment on or confirm the report. Mangione has been detained in Pennsylvania since his arrest Monday and has been denied bail. Bragg and New York Gov. Kathy Hochuls office have said they are coordinating to submit an extradition request to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiros office. Earlier this week, Mangiones attorney, Thomas Dickey, indicated he would challenge his extradition to New York. He could not be reached for comment on Braggs comments Friday. Mangione is next due in court on Dec. 23, according to Pennsylvania court administrators. Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two, was arriving for UnitedHealthcares annual investor conference when he was shot dead in the street, surveillance footage shows. The suspect fled the scene on a bike and police say was en route out of the city within 45 minutes, leading to a five-day manhunt. Cops previously believed Mangione fled the city via a bus taken from a depot near the George Washington Bridge. On Friday, NYPD sources confirmed to the New York Daily News that they now think Mangione rode a southbound A train from the depot to Penn Station and then took a train out of the city. They believe the bike he used as a getaway from the scene was stolen. Mangione was arrested at a McDonalds more than 200 miles away in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after someone in the fast food restaurant recognized him from widely circulated stills taken from footage related to the New York assassination. According to Pennsylvania law enforcement and the NYPD, he was in possession of a 3D-printed ghost gun and silencer and bullets that matched those recovered at the scene which bore the words delay, deny and defend, in an apparent reference to the insurance industry routinely delaying claims to maximize profits as well as fake IDs. Hes charged in Pennsylvania with carrying an unlicensed firearm, forgery and presenting a fake ID to cops. Blair County DA Peter Weeks has said he will not seek to prosecute Mangione on the those charges before he is tried in New York. When he was arrested, Mangione was also in possession of a roughly 260-word note appearing to lay out a motive for his suspected shooting of Thompson, according to the NYPD. In it, he wrote that the U.S. had the most expensive health care system in the world yet ranked 42nd in life expectancy. He wrote that insurers had simply gotten too powerful, continuing to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has (allowed) them to get away with it. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming, Mangione wrote, the police allege. On Wednesday, the NYPD alleged Mangiones fingerprints were found on a water bottle and KIND bar wrapper near the scene. They said they were also testing bullets found in a bag near where a backpack was found believed to belong to Mangione in Central Park. The Ivy League graduate is from a well-known family in Baltimore that owns real estate, including a network of nursing homes and country clubs. His last known address was in Hawaii, according to cops. According to his LinkedIn page, he graduated with masters and bachelors degrees in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020, and he was the head counselor in a Stanford University program that taught artificial intelligence to gifted high school students. After college, he worked as a data engineer for TrueCar in San Francisco. Authorities say Mangione was not a client of UnitedHealthcare, but they are investigating his experiences with the industry for potential motives. The founder of a co-living space in Honolulu where Mangione lived for six months, R.J. Martin, told The New York Times this week that Mangione was suffering from a spinal misalignment. Mangione posted on Reddit and other forums about the long-lasting pain he experienced that led to spinal fusion surgery. His cover photo on X appears to show an X-ray taken after he underwent the procedure. The San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday reported that an officer from the San Francisco Police Department recognized Mangione in video stills due to the missing persons report four days before his arrest and reported it to the FBI. Reached for comment Friday, a spokesman from the FBIs New York bureau confirmed the tip was received and referred to the NYPD. Extensive sharing of the photos by law enforcement led to the identification by a citizen and subsequent arrest by the Altoona Police Department, the spokesman said. The Jones Act, a century-old maritime law requiring goods transported between U.S. ports to be carried on U.S.-built, -owned, and -operated ships, is an unjust burden on Puerto Rico. While it may protect the U.S. shipping industry, it dramatically increases costs for Puerto Rican consumers and businesses, hindering the islands economic recovery and growth. Puerto Rico relies heavily on imported goods, yet the Jones Act makes shipping from the mainland 23 times more expensive than international routes. These higher costs are passed directly to consumers, making basic necessities more expensive. Furthermore, the law forces Puerto Rico to route trade through U.S. ports, isolating it from the global economy and limiting growth opportunities. The laws impact was especially evident after Hurricane Maria in 2017 when emergency supplies faced delays due to Jones Act restrictions. Temporary waivers highlighted how this outdated law obstructs disaster recovery and supply chains. Supporters claim the Jones Act protects national security and U.S. maritime jobs, but it has failed to maintain a competitive fleet, and the economic harm to Puerto Rico far outweighs the benefits. Puerto Rico deserves the same freedom to engage in international trade as any U.S. state. Repealing the Jones Act would lower costs, attract investment, and create jobs, giving the island a fair shot at prosperity. Congress must repeal the Jones Actits time to lift this century-old burden and let Puerto Rico thrive. Edward Harrington Heyburn, East Windsor, Nj. The Pittsburgh Steelers are hopeful they will have wide receiver George Pickens back against the Baltimore Ravens, but hurdles remain for that to happen. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, a national insider, said that Pittsburgh wants Pickens to play next week in Baltimore, but it will all depend on how he responds. This is consistent with most reporting and what sources have told PennLive, and while there is hope he can play, the thought is that Pickens may not return until the Steelers' last game of the regular season against the Cincinnati Bengals. "George Pickens is out for the second straight week, Fowler said on SportsCenter. Theyre hopeful, though, for next week. That would greatly boost the Steelers' chances against the Ravens, even if Pickens would be on a likely snap count. However, the team has to look towards the playoffs, too, and take into account that they need Pickens if they want to make any noise in the postseason. It is a hard proposition to break down, but they are just one win away from clinching a playoff spot, and if the Steelers can beat the Ravens in Baltimore, they will win the AFC North, too. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form MOGADISHU, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Sunday that it requires 1.42 billion U.S. dollars in 2025 to ramp up humanitarian operations in Somalia, where 5.98 million people are in need of assistance. The OCHA, which launched the Somalia 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP), said the plan advocates for scaled-up development and climate financing to address the structural drivers of needs, build resilience, reduce the risk of future disasters and adapt to climate change. The OCHA said HNRP focuses on assistance for people with the most severe levels of needs, and 4.6 million people will be targeted for assistance. "The 2025 HNRP outlines key risks for 2025 as drought and conflict. Drier conditions will increase competition over resources, strain coping mechanisms, heighten risks for disease outbreaks," it said. According to the UN agency, conflict accounted for 53 percent of a total of 455,000 newly displaced people, while climate shocks accounted for the vast majority of displacements in 2023 and 2022. For the first time in years, conflict-generated insecurity was the leading cause or accounted for 53 percent of internal displacement, as inter-clan fighting escalated in the Mudug and Gedo regions of southern Somalia. However, the OCHA said the increased frequency of cyclical droughts and floods strains the coping capacities and resilience of millions of Somalis, adding that below-average Deyr rains (October-December) and essential for crop production raise alarm for drought and humanitarian needs in 2025. Daniel Negreanu Finishes 1st in WSOP Paradise Flight While Lying in Bed Chad Holloway PR & Media Manager Copy link Daniel Negreanu is in contention for his eighth gold bracelet and the second of the year. On Friday night at the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Paradise, the GGPoker Ambassador took a break from live play and instead took time to play chess, stock up on groceries he was still steaming from paying room service $25 for four small tomatoes the day before and to play some online poker from the comfort of his hotel bed. He entered a flight of GGPokers $2,700 buy-in Event #11: $5,000,000 GTD Mystery Millions Online, and after three hours of play, he finished first out of 28 entrants, thus punching his ticket to Day 2 at 13:00 on Sunday, December 15! Players should be in the money at that point as each starting flight plays down to when only 10% of the field remains, and at the ITM Stage, the mystery bounties kick in including two $500,000 top bounties! Negreanu advanced with 726,897 (60.6 BB), while the only other player to make it through was Mexicos Ignacio Moron with 673,103. As of this writing, only 97 players of 1,257 entries have made it to Day 2, though there are still plenty of flights left to go. Even so, at the current time, there is a more than $1.8 million overlay in the event. Negreanu documented it all on Day 7 of his popular vlog: Others who have advanced to Day 2 already are Sami Kelopuro, Corey Thompson, Jesse Lonis, Joao Simao, Paul Hong, and Ren Lin. Two recognizable players at Negreanus virtual table were poker pro Mike Watson and his fellow GGPoker Ambassador Alexandra Botez. Regarding the latter, there was one big hand where there was 16.6 BB in the pot with the board reading AK926. Negreanu had top two pair with the AK and went for the overbet firing out 24.4 BB, which got paid off by the A8 of Botez. Alright, DNegs, off to the races with the overbet on the river, said Negreanu, who chipped up to 82.4 BB. Thats the one we needed LFG. LFG. Im going to say sorry. Sorry, I had to charge you maximum." Alexandra Botez in 2024 WSOP action. In what would be the final hand of the flight, Ukraines Dmytro Shubenok got their stack all in preflop holding the AK and was flipping against Negreanus 88. The board ran out QJ655 and Negreanus pocket pair held to send an excited Negreanu on to Day 2. Alright peeps, we did it, Negreanu told the camera. Mystery Millions, well be in there. Negreanu, who according to his latest vlog is stuck $944,750 at the 2024 WSOP Paradise, will at least be walking away with one cash this trip, though how much wont be known until Sunday. Daniel Negreanu at the 2024 WSOP Paradise. PokerNews will offer a recap of the 2024 WSOP Paradise Event #11: Mystery Millions Online after a winner is crowned, but in the meantime, you can follow all our live updates from The Bahamas here. Share this article Pedro Marques Wins 963,450 in Historic, Record-Breaking EPT Prague Main Event Kai Cocklin Live Reporter Copy link The stage was set for an epic battle inside the Hilton Prague, and it delivered in every way possible. Six players returned, and only one walked away a champion. In the end, it was Pedro Marques who outlasted a record-breaking field of 1,458 and toppled the seemingly unstoppable Paul Runcan to claim the 2024 5,300 PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague Main Event title. For Marques, the victory was more than just another tournament win. "Its an amazing, special feeling. One of the best days of my life, for sure," he said after securing the title and a 963,450 payout following a heads-up deal with Runcan. The Portuguese star, ranked second on his countrys all-time money list, added, "Winning a Main Event is completely different from any of my other winsits a really special moment." Runcan, the days commanding chip leader, showed incredible determination and fearless play but ultimately finished as the runner-up, earning a well-deserved 900,000 in a finale that will be remembered for its drama. Final Table Results Place Player Country Prize 1 Pedro Marques Portugal 963,450* 2 Paul Runcan Romania 900,000* 3 Jaehyung Park South Korea 512,100 4 Barak Oz Israel 393,950 5 Anton Bergstrom Sweden 303,000 6 Siarhei Alontsau Belarus 233,050 7 Tjenno Eskes Netherlands 179,250 8 Siegfried Kapeller Austria 137,900 9 Danut Chisu Romania 106,050 *denotes heads-up deal Winner's Reaction When asked if there was a key moment when he believed victory was possible, Marques pointed to his comeback from a short stack. "The only moment I really felt like this was possible was when I came back from being short-stacked. That gave me the feeling that maybe I could do it." Pedro Marques Marques also shared his thoughts on the idea of the EPT returning to Portugal. "That would be awesome. I remember the stop in Vilamoura years ago, and it was amazing. I was really young at the time, but having the possibility to have one now would be just awesome. Portugal is awesome. Everybody would love it." As for his plans next year, Marques revealed hes focusing more on family these days. "I dont have any big plans right now. Im not playing that many stops nowadays. Im just enjoying my family and my son. But lets see, maybe Ill play a few stops next year." Final Table Action When play got underway, it was clear that Runcan wasnt here to simply ride out his chip lead he was here to dominate. From the very first hand, Runcan showed relentless aggression, putting the bigger stacks to difficult decisions and taking full advantage of the massive pay jumps on the line. Siarhei Alontsau was hoping for a double-up when he looked down at pocket aces, but after his overbet-shove on the flop was quickly called by Marques, it didn't look good for the Belarusian player. Marques had flopped two pair with jack-nine and a clean runout later, Alontsau was out in sixth for a career-best score of 233,050. Jaehyung Park, who showcased a masterclass in short-stack play on Day 5, continued his fight for survival. Early in the day, he managed a crucial double-up against Marques, pairing his ten with king-ten to overcome the Portuguese players ace-queen and keep his tournament dreams alive. Anton Bergstrom For Anton Bergstrom, the day carried the weight of potential history as he aimed to become the only three-time EPT Main Event champion by adding a live title to his online victories in 2020 and 2021. However, that dream was cut short when his ace-ten couldnt outrun Runcans pocket fours. Bergstrom still walked away with his career-best live cash of 303,000 for finishing in fifth. With the shorter stacks jockeying for position and trying to ladder up, Runcan ramped up the pressure, targeting Marques in particular. Time and again, the Romanian player applied maximum aggression, shoving over Marques raises and keeping the Portuguese pro locked in "ICM jail" while the two shorter stacks remained. With the blinds going around the table much quicker with just four players, it was only a matter of time before the next all-in situation occurred. Marques shoved the button with jack-eight into the two shorter stacks, and Barak Oz called from the small blind for fourteen big blinds holding ace-seven. An eight on the flop sealed Oz's fate, and he exited in fourth for a career-best cash of 393,950. Barak Oz Three-handed play was firmly in Runcans favor as he leveraged his towering stack to relentlessly pressure Marques and Park, both vying for the huge penultimate pay jump. Marques found himself at risk with ace-trey but managed to double through Runcans king-queen, landing a temporary blow to the Romanians stack. Yet, Runcan remained undeterred, continuing his aggressive assault and steadily grinding down his opponents. Marques was in trouble again during Level 34, shoving his thirteen big blinds with pocket fours in a flip against Parks ace-king. This time, the board fell in Marques favor, effectively reversing the chip counts between the two. Moments later, Parks remarkable short-stack run came to an end. The South Korean player shoved from the small blind with ace-six, only to run into Runcans Big Slick in the big blind. The dealer offered no reprieve to Park, and he was out in third with 512,100 in his back pocket. Jaehyung Park When heads-up play got underway, Runcan held an almost five-to-one chip advantage over his Portuguese opponent. That lead extended to eight-to-one within a matter of hands, and Runcan was poised to lift the title. However, Marques wasn't going down without a fight and earned a full double-up when he shoved with third pair and got called by Runcan's ace-high. The stacks then almost evened out in a hand where Runcan folded pocket aces on the river. Marques had rivered a straight holding king-nine and shoved over Runcan's river overbet. The Romanian player made a disciplined fold, and immediately after the hand, the deal was struck. Both players agreed to 900,000 each, leaving 63,450 and the EPT trophy for the winner Paul Runcan As soon as the deal was struck, everything seemed to fall Marques' way as he turned a straight with ten-nine and check-called three streets from Runcan, who had just six-high. The very next hand, Runcan three-bet shoved with queen-jack and Marques put him at risk with king-queen. A king on the flop was enough to secure the title for Marques, which meant Runcan was the last player eliminated in the tournament. Share this article The PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague at the Hilton Prague continued today with the final high-stakes event on the roster; the 10,200 No Limit Hold'em. Teun Mulder reigned supreme over the total field size of nine players, laying claim to the lions share of the 87,210 prize pool. Mulder will take home 56,710 in his final attempt to book a win, here in Prague. After dispatching Enrico Camosci in heads-up play, Mulder confirmed that this result was his first cash of this EPT stop, delivered in style as he claimed the final five-figure buy-in PokerStars Silver Spadie of the series 10,200 No Limit Hold'em Results Rank Player Country Prize 1 Teun Mulder Netherlands 56,710 2 Enrico Camosci Italy 30,500 Action of the Day What appeared to be a quiet start, with play commencing three-handed, soon unfolded with electric action. With the addition of Enrico Camosci only a matter of minutes into play, this quartet of skilled high rollers got ready to battle over the felt late into the night. Momentum started in Steve O'Dwyers favor; a timely hero-call with just king-high caught Vladas Tamasauskas' bluff red-handed, sending ODwyer to an early lead. However, this was a short-lived fate for the former EPT champion; only a matter of hands later, it was Camoscis turn to hero-call ODwyers bold bluff to leave him the shortest player in the room. Before the conclusion of Level 1, Mihails Nikitins took the lead in a classic tournament flip against ODwyer to send him to the rail, but time is money, and knowing this, ODwyer reentered the tournament from his phone before the next hand had even been dealt. Another big bluff from ODwyer saw his second stack soon land in the hands of Tamasauskas, putting ODwyer on his third bullet before the first break. Steve O'Dwyer Both Teun Mulder and Thomas Santerne caught news of the action and quickly took to the felt. Santerne was hunting for his fourth title at EPT Prague, but it didnt last long when his flopped straight flush draw collided with the premium pocket pair of Camosci, sending his first entry up in flames. However, the French phenoms trophy hunt continued as he swiftly reentered. Two-Day Tournament Becomes One The rapid departures of Tamasauskas and Nikitins meant only four players remained at the table, prompting the floor to intervene. With two spots set to be paid, the tournament director elected to shut registration and the race toward the money began. The third time was not the charm for ODwyer as his investment of 30,600 saw no return; his departure left the remaining trio on the stone money bubble. I run so bad! were the words of three-time EPT Prague champion, Santerne, as he lost his final flip of the series on the bubble. Although Santerne was in for two bullets today, his combined winnings of 691,975 over the last fortnight, alongside three PokerStars trophies, ensured he left the table in incredibly high spirits regardless. Thomas Santerne The Heads-Up Battle Camosci started this heads-up match with a large chip advantage, but Mulder got straight to work. They played almost as long as the tournament that lead up to it, but pot after pot consistently found their way into Mulder's stack. Given the depth of stacks, both players knew a double-up for Camosci would ensure a battle late into the early morning. So when the match-up eventually came to a head, even Camosci started to root for Mulder to win. "Please be over, I want to be away from this," joked Camosci as his pocket queens collided with the ace-ten of Mulder. Camoscis wish was granted as the board ran out to give Mulder a straight, alongside the trophy, title and 56,710. "That was fun," said Mulder. "We should do this again sometime." he joked. This concludes PokerNews live coverage of the 10,200 No-Limit Hold'em event here at EPT Prague. Stay tuned for updates straight from the tournament floor as both the High Roller and Main event play to a winner tomorrow. The stage was set for an epic battle inside the Hilton Prague, and it delivered in every way possible. Six players returned, and only one walked away a champion. In the end, it was Pedro Marques who outlasted a record-breaking field of 1,458 and toppled the seemingly unstoppable Paul Runcan to claim the 2024 5,300 PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague Main Event title. For Marques, the victory was more than just another tournament win. "Its an amazing, special feeling. One of the best days of my life, for sure," he said after securing the title and a 963,450 payout following a heads-up deal with Runcan. The Portuguese star, ranked second on his countrys all-time money list, added, "Winning a Main Event is completely different from any of my other winsits a really special moment." Runcan, the days commanding chip leader, showed incredible determination and fearless play but ultimately finished as the runner-up, earning a well-deserved 900,000 in a finale that will be remembered for its drama. Final Table Results Place Player Country Prize 1 Pedro Marques Portugal 963,450* 2 Paul Runcan Romania 900,000* 3 Jaehyung Park South Korea 512,100 4 Barak Oz Israel 393,950 5 Anton Bergstrom Sweden 303,000 6 Siarhei Alontsau Belarus 233,050 7 Tjenno Eskes Netherlands 179,250 8 Siegfried Kapeller Austria 137,900 9 Danut Chisu Romania 106,050 *denotes heads-up deal Winner's Reaction When asked if there was a key moment when he believed victory was possible, Marques pointed to his comeback from a short stack. "The only moment I really felt like this was possible was when I came back from being short-stacked. That gave me the feeling that maybe I could do it." Pedro Marques Marques also shared his thoughts on the idea of the EPT returning to Portugal. "That would be awesome. I remember the stop in Vilamoura years ago, and it was amazing. I was really young at the time, but having the possibility to have one now would be just awesome. Portugal is awesome. Everybody would love it." As for his plans next year, Marques revealed hes focusing more on family these days. "I dont have any big plans right now. Im not playing that many stops nowadays. Im just enjoying my family and my son. But lets see, maybe Ill play a few stops next year." Final Table Action When play got underway, it was clear that Runcan wasnt here to simply ride out his chip lead he was here to dominate. From the very first hand, Runcan showed relentless aggression, putting the bigger stacks to difficult decisions and taking full advantage of the massive pay jumps on the line. Siarhei Alontsau was hoping for a double-up when he looked down at pocket aces, but after his overbet-shove on the flop was quickly called by Marques, it didn't look good for the Belarusian player. Marques had flopped two pair with jack-nine and a clean runout later, Alontsau was out in sixth for a career-best score of 233,050. Jaehyung Park, who showcased a masterclass in short-stack play on Day 5, continued his fight for survival. Early in the day, he managed a crucial double-up against Marques, pairing his ten with king-ten to overcome the Portuguese players ace-queen and keep his tournament dreams alive. Anton Bergstrom For Anton Bergstrom, the day carried the weight of potential history as he aimed to become the only three-time EPT Main Event champion by adding a live title to his online victories in 2020 and 2021. However, that dream was cut short when his ace-ten couldnt outrun Runcans pocket fours. Bergstrom still walked away with his career-best live cash of 303,000 for finishing in fifth. With the shorter stacks jockeying for position and trying to ladder up, Runcan ramped up the pressure, targeting Marques in particular. Time and again, the Romanian player applied maximum aggression, shoving over Marques raises and keeping the Portuguese pro locked in "ICM jail" while the two shorter stacks remained. With the blinds going around the table much quicker with just four players, it was only a matter of time before the next all-in situation occurred. Marques shoved the button with jack-eight into the two shorter stacks, and Barak Oz called from the small blind for fourteen big blinds holding ace-seven. An eight on the flop sealed Oz's fate, and he exited in fourth for a career-best cash of 393,950. Barak Oz Three-handed play was firmly in Runcans favor as he leveraged his towering stack to relentlessly pressure Marques and Park, both vying for the huge penultimate pay jump. Marques found himself at risk with ace-trey but managed to double through Runcans king-queen, landing a temporary blow to the Romanians stack. Yet, Runcan remained undeterred, continuing his aggressive assault and steadily grinding down his opponents. Marques was in trouble again during Level 34, shoving his thirteen big blinds with pocket fours in a flip against Parks ace-king. This time, the board fell in Marques favor, effectively reversing the chip counts between the two. Moments later, Parks remarkable short-stack run came to an end. The South Korean player shoved from the small blind with ace-six, only to run into Runcans Big Slick in the big blind. The dealer offered no reprieve to Park, and he was out in third with 512,100 in his back pocket. Jaehyung Park When heads-up play got underway, Runcan held an almost five-to-one chip advantage over his Portuguese opponent. That lead extended to eight-to-one within a matter of hands, and Runcan was poised to lift the title. However, Marques wasn't going down without a fight and earned a full double-up when he shoved with third pair and got called by Runcan's ace-high. The stacks then almost evened out in a hand where Runcan folded pocket aces on the river. Marques had rivered a straight holding king-nine and shoved over Runcan's river overbet. The Romanian player made a disciplined fold, and immediately after the hand, the deal was struck. Both players agreed to 900,000 each, leaving 63,450 and the EPT trophy for the winner Paul Runcan As soon as the deal was struck, everything seemed to fall Marques' way as he turned a straight with ten-nine and check-called three streets from Runcan, who had just six-high. The very next hand, Runcan three-bet shoved with queen-jack and Marques put him at risk with king-queen. A king on the flop was enough to secure the title for Marques, which meant Runcan was the last player eliminated in the tournament. Pedro Marques Congratulations to Marques, who closed out the largest EPT Prague Main Event in style, taking the trophy and 963,450 after a dominant heads-up performance. Runcan, who fought hard throughout, finished second for 900,000 in a finale that will be remembered for his insane bluff on Day 5 as one for the ages. That concludes PokerNews' coverage of the record-breaking EPT Prague. Thank you for following along, and well see you next time at EPT Monte Carlo! KINSHASA, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- A peace summit scheduled for Sunday to address conflicts in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was "called off," the DRC presidential office said. Angolan President Joao Lourenco was set to host DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame in a bid to ease tensions gripping the eastern DRC. According to Kinshasa, the Rwandan delegation refused to participate in the meeting, leading to its cancellation. Tshisekedi arrived in Luanda early Sunday for the summit and met with his Angolan counterpart. Neither Angola nor Rwanda has issued an official statement regarding the cancellation of the summit. The meeting was part of the Luanda Process, a peace initiative launched in 2022 and endorsed by the African Union, aimed at accelerating stabilization efforts in the region. The eastern DRC continues to face instability due to the M23 rebel group, which has been advancing and seizing large areas of territory. The DRC government accuses Rwanda of providing military support to the M23, an allegation Kigali denies. While denying ties to the M23, Rwanda has accused the DRC military of collaborating with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a Rwandan rebel group whose members are blamed for the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Displaced people from Al-Samrab area are pictured inside a school in Al-Ahamda neighborhood of Bahri city, north of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, Dec. 15, 2024. Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) which began in mid-April 2023, has killed more than 28,700 people and displaced over 14 million in the country, according to international organizations. (Xinhua/Mohamed Khidir) KHARTOUM, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a drone attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on a market in El Fasher, western Sudan, has climbed to 38, a non-governmental group said on Sunday. Earlier in the day, state news agency SUNA reported that a drone attack by the RSF on a market in the Awlad Al-Reef neighborhood in El Fasher killed more than 15 people and injured many others. "The death toll from the massacre in the Awlad Al-Reef neighborhood in El Fasher has risen to 38," the Coordination of Resistance Committees in El Fasher, a local non-governmental group, said in a statement. The RSF has not commented on the incident. Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF, which began in mid-April 2023, has killed more than 28,700 people and displaced over 14 million in the country, according to international organizations. Displaced people from Al-Samrab area are pictured inside a school in Al-Ahamda neighborhood of Bahri city, north of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, Dec. 15, 2024. Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) which began in mid-April 2023, has killed more than 28,700 people and displaced over 14 million in the country, according to international organizations. (Xinhua/Mohamed Khidir) Displaced people from Al-Samrab area are pictured inside a school in Al-Ahamda neighborhood of Bahri city, north of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, Dec. 15, 2024. Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) which began in mid-April 2023, has killed more than 28,700 people and displaced over 14 million in the country, according to international organizations. (Xinhua/Mohamed Khidir) Displaced people from Al-Samrab area are pictured inside a school in Al-Ahamda neighborhood of Bahri city, north of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, Dec. 15, 2024. Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) which began in mid-April 2023, has killed more than 28,700 people and displaced over 14 million in the country, according to international organizations. (Xinhua/Mohamed Khidir) Displaced people from Al-Samrab area are pictured inside a school in Al-Ahamda neighborhood of Bahri city, north of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, Dec. 15, 2024. Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) which began in mid-April 2023, has killed more than 28,700 people and displaced over 14 million in the country, according to international organizations. (Xinhua/Mohamed Khidir) Abdulkareem Mojeed, Elena DeBre and Margot Gibbs In Nigeria, the question of what role, if any, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and heavy pesticide usage should play in helping to address food security and climatic challenges has been a focal point of debate, following the recent commercialisation of four GM seeds by the government. Yet, Nigeria remains one of the top importers of pesticides in Africa and has become a leader in GMO crop approvals on the continent. A new investigation led by the PREMIUM TIMES with Lighthouse Reports and other media partners reveals how the US government has been working behind the scenes to facilitate GMO crop approvals and downplay the dangers of pesticides in Nigeria. Through reviewing government contracts, funding documents, and interviews of dozens of sources, this investigation reveals that the US government has been financing a public relations operation that discredited environmentalists who raised concerns about GM and pesticide risks around the world, including several prominent environmentalists in Nigeria. The United States development arm, USAID, denies directing funds to campaigns on pesticide regulations and said that its GM programme, promotes functional regulatory systems, but does not endorse regulatory decisions regarding specific products. GMO/pesticide concerns in Nigeria GM crops are grown from seeds whose genomes have been lab-edited to produce desirable traits, including ]resistance to certain viruses, bacteria, or herbicides. Some studies have found that GMOs can lead to higher crop yields. GMOs are widely used in the US, where Monsanto, the worlds largest seller of GM seeds, is based. (The firm was sold to Germanys Bayer in 2018). US development policy has promoted the adoption of the technology as a way of addressing food security. Environmentalists and scientists say that most GM crops have been designed for use alongside herbicides, most commonly glyphosate, the weedkiller first patented by Monsanto. Glyphosate is the worlds most heavily used herbicide, and in 2015 it was classified as a probable human carcinogen by the World Health Organisation. Concerns have also emerged over the risks GMOs pose to traditional farming methods, growers rights to purchase seeds and environmental biodiversity. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later In Nigeria, efforts to address existing concerns hovering around GMO commercialisation and indiscriminate pesticide usage by smallholder farmers, who are the countrys major producers of food commodities, have remained negligible and ineffective over the past decade. A PREMIUM TIMES investigation in 2022 revealed that while many farmers were enthusiastic about being part of GM trials, many had little knowledge of what the crops were and the environmental risks associated with their use. Derogatory profiling of Nigerians The US government played a significant role in Nigerias adoption of GMOs. It funded a global public relations operation to downplay the risks of pesticides and GM crops while discrediting those warning of their dangers, including several prominent Nigerians. To do this, the US government contracted a US reputation management firm, v-Fluence, to build a private social network to counter opposition to pesticides and GMO crops in Africa, Asia and Europe, according to this cross-border investigation, led by Lighthouse Reports. The network, Bonus Eventus, was created in 2014 and named after the Roman God of Agriculture and meaning Good Outcome in Latin. It hosts over 500 profiles of individuals deemed to be critics of industrial agriculture, including scientists, journalists, and two UN special rapporteurs. Environmental justice campaigner Nnimmo Bassey and the 2023 Lagos State governorship candidate Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party are among the prominent Nigerians who are profiled. The Bonus Eventus private network was built with funds from the same US government programme that supported legislation to enable the commercialisation of GM crop technology in Nigeria. More than 1,000 people have access to the private network. The members include dozens of employees of agrichemical companies and many government officials who work for national biosafety regulators. The profiles inside are often derogatory, contain personal details, and even feature information contested by public documents and news articles seen by the investigation. Mr Bassey, the director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), an environmental think-tank firm headquartered in the capital of Edo State, Benin City, has a profile with disparaging details. The profile alleges that an organisation Mr Bassey co-founded had accused him of engaging in fraud and misrepresentation and that he was found guilty by a Nigerian court and ordered to stop representing himself as affiliated with the NGO, Friends of the Earth Nigeria (called Environmental Rights Action), as a result. In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES and Lighthouse Reports, Mr Bassey described the allegations as misinformation. He clarified that the 2020 lawsuit lodged against him was dismissed by the court as baseless. This was confirmed through reviewed court documents and media reports released at the time, yet this was not included in his profile. Mr Basseys profile also says he collaborated with and promoted the works of those trained in the former Soviet Union. In response, Mr Bassey described the allegation as laughable, saying that The chemical industry would always be happy to package falsehood to find favour this is absolutely ridiculous. While Mr Bassey said that he would expect such profiling to come from the agrochemical industry, he was concerned to hear of the role of the US government. To me, what is disturbing is that the governments, which should protect the lives of people, would invest in people who do hatchet jobs and try to use that to expose Nigerians to the risks of GMOs, he said. Im surprised that the US government would pay attention to such false information. GMO promotion fund The US government was a powerful force and funder behind Nigerias regulatory embrace of GM crops. A USAID programme helped facilitate the Nigerian governments rollout of GMOs in the country. At the same time, this USAID programme was funding the creation of Bonus Eventus that discredited civil society groups/leaders criticising such a move. According to government documents reviewed in the course of this investigation, USAID gave the US PR firm, v-Fluence, more than $400,000 via a sub-contract between 2013 and 2019 to promote positive messaging around GM crops, counter those who opposed it, and build a private social network to host their work. According to US public spending reports reviewed, the contracts listed Nigeria among several African countries where v-Fluence would focus its efforts. The head of v-Fluence, Jay Byrne, denied any past or current contracts with the US government but said that the US government does fund other organisations with whom we work. Mr Bryne wrote in a statement to Lighthouse Reports. Weve had multiple projects funded by the US and other governments. In Nigeria, the same USAID programme funding v-Fluences work was also supporting the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA). The NBMA is an agency domiciled in the environment ministry and saddled with the mandate to provide a regulatory framework, and institutional and administrative mechanisms for safety measures in the application of modern biotechnology in Nigeria with the view to preventing any adverse effect on human health, animals, plants and environment Consequently, the US government programme reportedly worked to help catalyse the passage of the 2015 NBMA Act, establishing the framework for introducing GM crops into the country and giving the agency the ability to assess and approve GMOs in the country. From 2016 to 2019, USAID granted the NBMA over $200,000 to support their GM work, our investigation shows. According to the payment records, NBMA was paid over $20,000 in 2016, $50,000 in 2017, over $100,000 in 2018 and over $20,000 in 2019 to support GM campaigns in the country. When confronted with these findings, the NBMA in an email response said it acts are void of external influence in its decisions and determinations. However, the agency acknowledged that it worked with international agencies that align with our statutory mandate on the 2015 NBMA Act in the areas of knowledge sharing and for the speedy realisation of the Agencys mandate. A spokesperson for USAID said that its GM programme, provides technical and capacity development support to partner-country biosafety regulatory agencies who seek to develop robust, functional regulatory systems to oversee use of agricultural biotechnologies. v-Fluence works to silence critics Nnimmo Basseys foundation, HOMEF, sued the NBMA to stop commercialising GM crops in the country, claiming they had been approved without the required environmental tests and consultations with the public. The Federal High Court in Abuja struck out the case because the deadline to take legal action had expired. The NBMA granted the Nigerian subsidiary of the agrochemical giant Monsanto (now Bayer) permission to release GM cotton onto the market a year after the agencys biosafety bill was passed. The PR firm behind Bonus Eventus, v-Fluence, has close ties with both USAID and Monsanto. v-Fluences founder, Mr Byrne, was a former communications executive for Monsanto and a former spokesperson for USAID. Both Mr Byrne and v-Fluence are being sued in the US for suppressing information that linked Syngentas leading herbicide, paraquat, to the neurodegenerative disease Parkinsons. Mr Byrne has denied the allegations, saying that they are based on claims which are manufactured and false. People who have expressed concerns about the health risks of pesticides and GMOs, like Nnimmo Bassey, are profiled on v-Fluences Bonus Eventus network. These profiles criticise their careers and cast doubts on their credibility. Another profile is about Charles Anudu, a high-powered member of the Nigerian business world who is named as part of the Economic Intelligence Committee of the Presidency, Federal Republic of Nigeria. He founded The Candel Company Limited, an agrochemical developer and distributor in Nigeria, which represents the Monsanto Group (now Bayer) in the country. His profile in the Bonus Eventus network criticises him as supporting anti-GMO movements to sustain existing crop chemicals but notes that this claim is rumoured, unconfirmed. The profile links to three of his personal social media pages. Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the Labour Party candidate in Lagos State, who finished second to the incumbent governor in the 2023 governorship race in the state, has also been profiled by Bonus Eventus. The profile questions his architecture education at the prestigious US university, the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT). It states that Mr Rhodes-Vivour claims to be an MIT architecture school graduate; however, MIT continues to list him as a graduate student without having conveyed a specific degree. Mr Byrne asserted in a written statement to Lighthouse Reports that his profiles only use publicly available and referenced information. MIT has publicly verified that Mr Rhodes-Vivour indeed obtained a masters degree from its architecture school, as previously reported by PREMIUM TIMES. PREMIUM TIMES and Lighthouse Reports saw a copy of his MIT diploma (certificate) and transcript. Mr Rhodes-Vivour, when contacted for comments, described the profiling as a tactic, a strategy which the agrochemical industry uses as a way of diverting peoples attention from the actual issues raised about their products. He raised concerns about the toxication of the environment and the effect of human health brought on by pesticides and GMOs. He expressed frustration that governments and industry are spending resources attacking the people warning of these harms rather than working to mitigate them. A criticisms section of Mr Rhodes-Vivours profile, alleges that he made false and unsubstantiated claims about genetically modified foods. The profile refers to an article by an agricultural journalist, Abdallah el-Kurebe. Records obtained by this investigation show that Abdallah el-Kurebe is also a member of Bonus Eventus. Mr El-Kurebe confirmed that he registered with Bonus Eventus on 14 April 2014, but said he has not utilised their services or participated in any of their activities. In response to his article being quoted in Mr Rhodes-Vivours profile, Mr El-Kurebe wrote, While my articles may have been referenced by others, this does not imply my endorsement or involvement with those entities. Mr El-Kurebe is among 15 Nigerian members of Bonus Eventus, including government regulators and scientists. Another member is the East Africa Regional Coordinator for the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, which was in charge of the testing for GM cassava in the country. Several of the members have associations with the National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NBRDA) and include its chief research officer and an assistant director who also works as an official in the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment. These members could not be reached for comment. Unthinkable and unethical Our reporting found that the Director General and CEO of the Nigerian Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), the Nigerian government agency that used US government funds to roll out GM crops in the country, is listed as a Bonus Eventus member as well. During an exclusive interview with PREMIUM TIMES and Lighthouse Reports, Agnes Asagbra, NBMAs Director General/CEO, said that she was recommended by her immediate predecessor, Rufus Ebegba, to sign up to Bonus Eventus as a way to gather as much information as I could to help me in the execution of my work as the DG of the NBMA. Mrs Asagbra said her subscription to the newsletter from Bonus Eventus was a way to acquaint my knowledge of recent happenings in the modern biotechnology sector. She argued that it has in no way influenced my decisions or actions as NBMA director. She said she had never been to the Bonus Eventus website. Upon learning of the investigations findings, and the profiling of Nigerian citizens on Bonus Eventus, she said in an interview that she condemned v-Fluences profiling activities. I would categorically say it is wrong, she said. Mrs Asagaba described the profiling as unthinkable and unethical. When asked to comment on the NBMAs relationship with USAID, and the fact that the NBMA received funding from the same USAID programme that funded the creation of Bonus Eventus, she said, This situation has shown us that the agency has to be more circumspect in its associations with other organisations going forward. After reviewing the investigations findings, the NBMA wrote in an email that the agency is part of the sovereign government and, therefore, operates without external influence in its decisions and determinations. While the NBMA acknowledged that some staff received a newsletter from v-Fluence, the agency said staff only did this to be in tune with global happenings in the sector. No comment was provided on staff membership of the network. The NBMA wishes to also state categorically that it has no affiliation with v-fluence or Jay Byrne, the agency added. Legal questions According to Kazeem Oyinwola, an Abuja-based lawyer at Amofin Solicitors, the Bonus Eventus files on Mr Bassey and others may breach Nigerian privacy laws. The NBMAs collaboration with a network to profile Nigerians who are critical of GMOs and hazardous pesticides raises significant legal concerns under Nigerian law, he said, citing both the Nigerian Data Protection Act and the Constitution, which guarantees the right to privacy. The lawyer argued that profiling individuals based on their opinions especially in a derogatory manner may not only violate section 37 of the Nigerian constitution, which guarantees the right to privacy but may also violate sections 21 to 34 of the Nigerian Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023 which outline the principles of personal data processing. READ ALSO: NBMA tackles NAFDAC over criticism of GMO consumption in Nigeria Profiling without consent also infringes on the rights of the individuals (Data Subjects) concerned as enshrined in sections 34-38 of the NDPA, and may lead to substantial penalties for the agency, he said. The lawyer argued that section 39 of the Nigerian constitution safeguards the right to freedom of expression, which includes the right to voice concerns on public matters like GMO adoption. Actions by the NBMA that could suppress or disparage these expressions may infringe upon these constitutional rights. As a regulatory body, the NBMA is obligated to maintain objectivity and should not act as an advocacy group, Mr Oyinwola said. He said engaging in or being linked to advocacy for GM crop adoption or profiling individuals concerned about GMO safety may expose the NBMA to legal challenges for overstepping its statutory mandate, violating privacy and data protection rights, and infringing on freedom of expression. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced stringent penalties for deposit money banks (DMBs) and financial institutions involved in the inappropriate disbursement of mint banknotes to currency hawkers and economic agents who profit from the illicit trade. Erring banks will now face an initial fine of N150 million, with more severe penalties for repeated violations under the Bank and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020. In a circular dated 13 December by the Acting Director, Currency Operations Department, Solaja Olayemi, the CBN expressed dismay at the increasing prevalence of Naira hawking, which undermines efficient cash distribution and poses risks to public confidence in the financial system. The bank cited incidents of banks facilitating the illicit flow of mint Naira notes through direct actions or inactions. The bank said it will intensify periodic spot checks at banking halls and ATMs nationwide. CBN officials will also conduct mystery shopping exercises to identify locations where cash hawking activities occur. The CBN emphasised that, in addition to monetary penalties, repeat offenders would face the full weight of the relevant provisions under BOFIA 2020. It called on all banks to tighten internal controls, particularly in their cash management centres, branches, and teller operations. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The move comes as part of broader efforts to curb illicit cash activities and ensure a transparent and effective currency distribution framework. Nigerians have recently faced growing frustration over their inability to access sufficient cash from banks. As a cash-dependent economy, many livelihoods and economic activities rely solely on cash transactions, which have now been severely disrupted. READ ALSO: Reps ask CBN to clamp down on illegal digital loan platforms The CBN on 4 December directed banks to improve cash availability across branches and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). It also published dedicated hotlines and email addresses for the public to report challenges in accessing cash through banks and ATMs. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print On Thursday, Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf sacked the Secretary to the State Government, Abdullahi Baffa, and five commissioners in a cabinet reshuffle that observers described as long overdue. The changes followed allegations of corruption and favouritism in the administration. Announcing the development, the governors spokesperson, Sanusi Bature, said the governor scrapped the office of the Chief of Staff (CoS) and directed its occupant, Shehu Sagagi, to await further instructions. Mr Sagagi got another appointment a few hours later as the secretary of the Kano State Shura Council, headed by Shehu Galadanci, a professor. On Sunday, the governor directed the affected commissioners to ensure a smooth handover before the close of office hours on Tuesday. All the commissioners affected by the changes are directed to hand over their responsibilities between Monday, 16th and Tuesday, 17th December 2024, the spokesperson said. The governor urged the members of the state executive council to double their efforts and uphold a strong spirit of teamwork, dedication and commitment to supporting his administration in serving the people of the state. A long struggle for power cut short Mr Baffa is the only official not offered another position. All others were asked to report to the governors office for possible reassignment. As of Sunday morning, most of the sacked commissioners had not been offered new appointments. PREMIUM TIMES reports that Mr Baffa is a former chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at Bayero University, Kano. He became prominent during the 1 January 2012 protest against former President Goodluck Jonathans attempt to remove fuel subsidies. He was later appointed as an aide to former Minister of Education Adamu Adamu and later headed the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) from 2 August 2016. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later In 2019, former President Muhammadu Buhari sacked him as the Executive Secretary of the TETFund. No official reason was given for his removal. However, it was linked to his alleged role in a faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano opposing the then-Governor Abdullahi Ganduje. After his removal from office, he joined the opposition in Kano led by former Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso. Subsequently, he ran for the Senate as the candidate of the New Nigeria People Party (NNPP) in the Kano North district in 2023 but lost the election to his APC opponent, Barau Jibrin, the current deputy Senate president. Mr Baffa reportedly fell apart with Mr Kwankwaso after his appointment as SSG. Many speculated that he coined the recent campaign in Kano for the governor to stand independent of his political godfather, Mr Kwankwaso was accused of interfering in the administration, allegedly giving orders behind the scenes to some of the commissioners. While Mr Kwankwaso may seem okay with Mr Baffas fate, his feelings would be different regarding the sacking of Mr Sagagi, a trusted political ally. Mr Sagagi was not an official NNPP member when he was appointed as the governors Chief of Staff. He was the state chairman of the PDP and led the Kano delegates to the national convention where the party held its presidential primaries for the 2023 poll. Kano delegates voted for Nyesom Wike and Mr Wikes victory over Atiku Abubakar in the state was seen as a machination of Mr Kwankwaso, who had left the party to run for president as the NNPP candidate. Mr Sagagi was believed to have been compensated with the Chief of Staff position by Mr Kwankwaso. Alleged scholarship fraud Another commissioner linked to Mr Kwankwaso, Yusuf Kofar-Mata, was transferred from the Ministry of Higher Education to the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation amid his investigation by the Kano State Anti-corruption and Public Complaints Commission for alleged fraud in the states foreign scholarship scheme. The state government allocated N4.6 billion for scholarships to be awarded to 1,001 postgraduate students abroad. Mr Kwankwaso was among state officials who handed hard currency to the students at a ceremony where the government bade farewell to the first batch of students leaving for universities in India, Kenya, and Uganda. However, Mr Kofar-Mata was alleged to have supervised the disbursement of a huge part of the funds without the approval of Governor Yusuf. The anti-corruption agency said only 418 students were sent abroad despite the release of a substantial part of the programmes budget. The agency later said it had recovered over N700 million from the alleged fraud. To underscore Mr Kwanwasos influence in the Kano administration, at least 14 of the 19 commissioners appointed by Governor Yusuf in June 2023 were former commissioners, aides, and associates of Mr Kwankwaso. While announcing the cabinet reshuffle, the governors spokesperson said those affected by the cabinet reshuffle are Ibrahim Fagge of the Ministry of Finance, Ladidi Garko of Culture and Tourism, Baba Dantiye of Information and Internal Affairs, and Shehu Yammedi of Special Duties. Political observers said the cabinet reshuffle is a step by the governor towards asserting control over his administration, especially with the scrapping of the office of the Chief of Staff, which Mr Kwankwaso allegedly used to monitor the governors activities. But the governors spokesperson, Mr Bature, dismissed the speculation. He said the governor made the changes to ensure efficiency, stressing that the governor would assign the sacked commissioners new roles. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Language is a dynamic tool shaped by interaction, cultural perception, attitudes, and beliefs. While some see language as a simple system of words, research shows it is a complex set of symbols, expressions, and actions that resonate with specific communities. In Nigeria, known for its creativity and linguistic diversity, 2024 has seen a surge of new words and phrases popularised through social media. These expressions are quickly adopted into daily interactions, showcasing the adaptability and creativity of Nigerians. The year began with the viral slogan no gree for anybody, translating loosely to dont back down for anyone. This phrase embodies resilience, inspiring Nigerians to stand their ground in all areas of life; religious, academic, professional, and social. Mass communication expert Ahmed Animashaun noted, When I first came across the phrase, it motivated me. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later It made me believe that I can be what I want to be, but I was scared that it may cause problems in my interactions if taken wrongly. Similarly, agripreneur Jaja Somieibi explained its layered meanings: It means that if someone does what you dont like or want, make sure that you get back at the person, probably bigger and better. If a person gives you an A, make sure they collect A or AB. Counsellor Amina Olalekan offered a more tempered view, saying, The theme no gree for anybody is an indirect way of saying giving up should not be an option, But if it is taken out of context, it will cause problems for people. I understand that to every theme, some people might bring an opposite interpretation, which can lead to toxicity and unruliness, but I believe that at the heart of this slang/theme, its a push toward better. Another phrase that took Nigeria by storm in 2024 was steeze. Originating as slang for effortless style and charisma, steeze has evolved to encompass a broader ethos of composure and self-awareness. For creative designer Farouq Abdullahi, steeze became a mantra for emotional regulation. When Im on the verge of losing my temper, my friends remind me to maintain steeze, No fumble. And it went on like that, you know, trying to be composed at all times. Even if someone is trying to take advantage of me, I look for steezy ways to handle it, he shared. Fashion designer Sylvia Omon, on the other hand, interprets steeze more literally. For me, steeze is being stylish, attractive, and standing out. I never knew this word existed until this year, I think April or May. It was a game-changer. I became intentionally steezy, if thats a word. It just brought this consciousness of being aware of yourself and the aura you give out. The phrase very demure has also gained traction, often used to describe someone who is modest, reserved, or composed. However, Nigerians have added their characteristic flair by exaggerating its usage, transforming it into a humorous compliment or even a subtle critique. Accountant Favour Osai recounted an amusing encounter while waiting in a bank queue. A staff member called me very demure for staying calm amidst the chaos. I didnt know whether to laugh or take it as a compliment. Social analyst Onah Reuben drew parallels between very demure and steeze. Very demure means being mindful, elegant, and courteous, but steeze means being composed and stylish. If you are observant, Nigerians tend to mix these up, thereby making an ordinary English learner and speaker confused. But trust Nigerians, they understand themselves, so its no issue. Dey play, a simple yet impactful phrase, has become a staple of Nigerian slang. Often used humorously, it serves as a sarcastic retort to someone perceived as unrealistic or overly optimistic. Artist Sayo Adejare remarked, I was surprised. I feel its not only youths that the slang caught on to. Adults used it too. In fact, as long as you are using social media, that word will sneak into your lips. Its a perfect response to some peoples actions or words, but trust Nigerians to exaggerate it; they can use it as a response to someone who is serious and in touch with reality. A teacher, Kunle Fowowe, expressed his admiration for the slang, saying, I think we have to realise that Nigerians are expressive people, and they will use anything, image, or word to express their sentiments. Beyond these trends, social media has reinvigorated more indigenous expressions. Kwechiri (Igbo word for astonishment) became more popular and Nigerians coined new ones such as no evidence (indicating lack of proof) and no cap (a Gen Z phrase meaning truthfulness). These phrases reflect evolving cultural narratives while showcasing Nigerias linguistic creativity in addressing contemporary realities. As social media continues to shape communication, it enables Nigerians to blend humour, resilience, and tradition into a shared language that transcends boundaries. Stakeholders argue that the future of Nigerian language trends relies on preserving indigenous languages while fostering creativity through social media and education. Many believe that tools like memes and digital content can help keep these languages alive, while schools can incorporate slang into their curricula to highlight its cultural significance. Adebayo Akanji, a linguistics expert, says that Nigerian slang is a powerful medium of expression, but without proper guidance, it can be misinterpreted or misused. Mr Akanji, however, urged educators and influencers to provide context to ensure that slang remains inclusive and positive. (NANFeatures) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Johnpaul Kelechi, 30, a mechanical engineering graduate of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University in Anambra State, has made a name for himself in the shoemaking industry with his brand, Kelz Wear. Mr Kelechi, based in Ekiti State, said he ventured into shoemaking out of a desire for self-sufficiency. In this interview with PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Kelechi, who graduated in 2017 and served the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in 2018, said he started his shoe-making business with savings from his NYSC allowance. PT: What drew you into the shoe-making industry? Kelechi: I have always loved crafts since my childhood. I like creating stuff; that was what inspired me. I realised that shoemaking wasnt just about making shoes but about creating something that brings joy. I wanted to do something that would allow me to be creative. That was how I started making slippers. After university, I just thought about doing something for myself because I already had the idea and knowledge of shoemaking, so I ventured into it, and as time went on, I got a lot of interest in it. That was how I started. And I must tell you that my shoe-making business has not only provided me with financial stability but has served as a testament to the potential for entrepreneurship in Nigeria. Kelechi: I raised my startup capital from my NYSC allowee savings. At the time, we were being paid N19,800, but I must tell you that the allowee helped me a lot. I was able to save up some money from it and after my service year, the little money I saved, I started to buy the little things I needed for the business. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later PT: For how long have you been into shoemaking? Kelechi: Up to five years now. PT: What challenges have you faced in this business? Kelechi: I will say the first challenge is the capital because it is not easy venturing into shoemaking. If someone wants to venture into shoemaking in a bigger way, you will need a huge capital. To raise money to buy some machinery, equipment and other tools needed was challenging for me. That is one of the challenges that I encountered. Secondly, poor power supply. You need steady power for this kind of job, but because there is a poor power supply in the country, I spend between N25,000 and N30,000 weekly on fuel (before the recent increase in pump prices). And that mostly affects my income. Unwillingness on the part of young people to learn shoemaking is another challenge. I dont have enough hands because young people see shoemaking as a dirty job, so they dont want to go into it. The rising cost of materials for shoemaking in the market has not also helped. PT: Do you train people? If yes, how many have you trained? Kelechi: I have trained a lot of people. When I was in school during my university days, I organised seminars, and I had a lot of audiences then. In Ondo State, during my NYSC too, I registered for the SAED programme as a resource person. I was training my fellow corpers so I had a lot of them that I trained and after NYSC, from 2018 till now, I have trained more than 20 individuals. PT: How wide is your market? Kelechi: By Gods grace, my shoe has been speaking for itself. The product has been going places and I thank God for that. I am expanding into the global market because I supply shoes to customers abroad; in places like Canada, the United Kingdom and across Nigeria. I have expanded my customer base to these places. When my customers in Canada and the United Kingdom order my shoes, I send it through a logistics company, and this enables seamless delivery of my product worldwide. PT: Have you worked on multiple orders simultaneously, and how do you deal with it? Kelechi: Yes, I have worked on multiple orders several times, and by Gods grace with the help of my trainee and the types of equipment that I have, I was able to meet up with time. Like making 80 pairs and more than that of footwear in a single order. In a week sometimes I make up to 20 pairs of footwear, including shoes and slippers. PT: Since you started this business have you taken a loan? Kelechi: No, I havent. Although I applied several times for a loan but it wasnt coming by so I stopped trying and then decided that the little money I could raise would be put back into the business. PT: Where do you see Kelz Wear in years to come Kelechi: Hopefully, I know its going places. Like I said before, I have customers outside Nigeria, so I am very sure Kelz Wear is going places and its going to be a very big brand in the local and international footwear market in a few years. PT: What is the price range of your footwear Kelechi: The price depends on the design and varies for different genders. For mens shoes, I make it at the rate of N25,000 to N30,000. While for men, slippers are N15,000. The female footwear is between N7,000 and N8,000. PT: Recently, prices of goods and services have skyrocketed in the country; how has the economy affected your business? Kelechi: It has been hard actually. I wont lie about that, but I am trying to meet up. At Kelz Wear, we sell our footwear at the range of what we get materials in the market. The economy has been affecting the business because things have been so expensive in the market but we are trying to keep our quality and make sure the prices are not too high for customers to buy and also maintain quality. PT: What key things have you learned doing this business? Kelechi: I have learnt a lot doing this business. I have learned how to manage the little capital I have to obtain a big project. And how to take risks without fear. And also I have learnt how to work with people. PT: What advice would you give to other young individuals looking to venture into footwear-making? Kelechi: My little advice to them is to keep pushing, be consistent in any legit thing you are doing and believe in yourself. Start small and think big. Let me use this opportunity to tell them to venture into entrepreneurship more because Nigerias economy is taking people by surprise every day. The youth should try not to stay idle. Work on yourself, start up something reasonable and sell value to people. That is one of the ways you can make money without going into fraud or bad things. When you put your mind, hard work, start small and think big, you will achieve it. PT: Some people believe that the quality of things made in Nigeria is low. Do you agree with that? Kelechi: No, I dont agree with that. Let me use my products, for instance. I make quality, durable footwear and my customers can testify to that. We use quality materials for our footwear at Kelz Wear. With our shoes, you can go places because good shoes speak louder than words. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has reiterated its commitment to tackling the menace of counterfeit and substandard pharmaceutical products in Nigeria. The Director General of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, made this known at the 8th annual conference of the Association of Nigeria Health Journalists (ANHEJ) in Abuja on Saturday. Represented by the Director, Post Marketing Surveillance, Bitrus Fraden, Ms Adeyeye said the agency has intensified partnership with countries such as China and India to ensure rigorous testing of products destined for Nigeria. She said the strategy includes appointing independent analysts in these countries to verify product safety before shipment. She also highlighted other proactive measures, including pre-shipment testing, post-marketing surveillance, and consumer engagement, as part of its comprehensive approach to safeguarding public health. We are not a dumping ground for substandard products, she said. Pre-shipment testing ensures that only quality products are sent to Nigeria. This approach reduces waste and prevents counterfeit items from entering our markets. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later She also disclosed that 144 batches of substandard pharmaceutical products were recently intercepted and prevented from entering the country. She said these efforts, combined with routine post-marketing inspections and consumer complaints, have helped to reduce the prevalence of harmful products in circulation. Partnership, collaboration Ms Adeyeye stressed the importance of collaboration in achieving NAFDACs goals, including partnerships with international organisations such as WHO, USAID and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She said locally, NAFDAC is working closely with the Nigeria Customs Service, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), and the police to enforce regulations and monitor pharmaceutical product distribution. We need to work as one to protect lives. Unsafe products harm not only consumers but also legitimate businesses. Collaborative efforts are essential to stopping the proliferation of substandard goods, she said. In his remark, President of ANHEJ, Joseph Kadiri, said with these ongoing efforts, NAFDAC remains steadfast in its mission to eliminate counterfeit drugs and safeguard public health. Mr Kadiri said by leveraging technology, fostering collaboration, and engaging with the public, the agency aims to build a safer and healthier Nigeria. About the conference Mr Kadiri said the association holds conferences annually to examine critical health programmes and policies aimed at improving health outcomes for Nigerians. He said this years conference, themed SWAp Effectiveness in Addressing Poor Health Outcomes: The Role of the Media, is particularly timely given the numerous challenges facing Nigerias health sector, including inadequate funding, inefficient resource allocation, and poor service delivery. He said the Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) was introduced to address these challenges by promoting a coordinated and harmonised approach to health sector development. However, the SWAps effectiveness relies heavily on the active engagement of various stakeholders, including the media. As journalists, we play a vital role in promoting health awareness, education, and advocacy, he said. Through our reporting, we can hold stakeholders accountable for their actions and policies, provide a platform for marginalised voices to be heard, promote evidence-based health information and best practices, and advocate for policy changes and increased funding for health programmes. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print AYBAK, Afghanistan, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- About 35 miners were trapped under the rubble of a coal mine in northern Afghanistan's Samangan province on Saturday, local officials said on Sunday. The provincial health director Sayed Usman Hamidi counted 35 miners under the debris, saying rescue teams and health personnel have been dispatched to the area to rescue the trapped miners. "Preliminary reports indicate that a number of miners were busy in a coal mine in Dara-i-Sufi Payin district of Samangan province yesterday, but part of the mine caved in, and resultantly several miners were trapped under rubble," a statement from the provincial police office released on Sunday said. The statement further said that police personnel, local officials, and villagers have rushed to the site to rescue trapped miners from under the debris. Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against President Bola Tinubu over the failure to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN to work with appropriate anti-corruption agencies to probe allegations that over N57 billion of public funds are missing, diverted or stolen from the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation in 2021 alone. The damning allegations are documented in the 2021 audited report released last month by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation. Joined in the suit as Respondent is Mr Fagbemi. In the suit number FHC/L/MISC/876/2024 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court, Lagos, SERAP is asking the court to compel President Tinubu to direct Mr Fagbemi to work with appropriate anti-corruption agencies to promptly probe allegations that over N57 billion of public funds are missing, diverted or stolen from the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation in 2021. SERAP is also asking the court to compel President Tinubu to direct Mr Fagbemi to work with appropriate anticorruption agencies to prosecute anyone suspected to be responsible for the missing N57 billion, if there is sufficient admissible evidence, and to recover any missing public funds. In the suit, SERAP is arguing that: Investigating the allegations and prosecuting those suspected to be responsible for the missing N57 billion and recovering the missing funds would end the impunity of perpetrators. SERAP is also arguing that, The allegations amount to stealing from the poor. There is a legitimate public interest in ensuring justice and accountability for these grave allegations. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later According to SERAP, Poor Nigerians have continued to pay the price for the widespread and grand corruption in the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviations and other ministries, departments and agencies [MDAs]. SERAP is also arguing that, The consequences of corruption are felt by citizens on a daily basis. Corruption exposes them to additional costs to pay for health, education and administrative services. SERAP said, The allegations also suggest a grave violation of the public trust, the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended), the countrys anticorruption legislation and international anticorruption obligations. The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare and Oluwakemi Agunbiade, read in part: Granting the reliefs sought would go a long way in addressing corruption in ministries, departments and agencies [MDAs] and the countrys budget deficit and debt problems. The damning revelations are documented in the 2021 audited report released recently by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation. Hundreds of billions of naira are also reportedly missing in other MDAs. According to the 2021 annual audited report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, [the Ministry] in 2021 failed to account for over N54 billion [N54,630,000,000.00] meant to pay monthly stipends to Batch C1 N-Power volunteers and non-graduate trainees between August and December 2021. The money was not directly paid to the beneficiaries. The Auditor-General is concerned that the money may have been diverted. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury. He also wants suspected perpetrators of the diversion to be sanctioned in line with the Financial Regulations. The Ministry also reportedly failed to account for over N2.6 billion [N2,617,090,786.00] of public funds meant for the home grown school feeding programme during Covid-19, as the programme was never executed. The money was allegedly paid to five contractors to procure, package and distribute Covid-19 palliatives to Kano, Zamfara and Abia states, but without any trace. The Auditor-General fears the money may have been diverted. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury. The Ministry also reportedly spent over N78 million [N78,373,909.74] to carry out a survey on the Ministrys Covid-19 response to states and vulnerable groups but without any approval or document. The Auditor-General fears the money may be missing or have ended up in the pockets of incompetent contractors. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury. The Ministry also reportedly failed to account for N39.5 million [M39,500,000.00] personal donations to different personalities. The money was paid directly to the minister as reimbursement. The Auditor-General fears the money may have been diverted, resulting in the loss of public funds. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury. The Ministry also reportedly failed to account for N400 million [N400,000,000.00] meant to pay stipends to 4450 independent monitors for October, November and December 2021. The Auditor-General fears the money may have been diverted. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury. The Ministry also reportedly paid over N287 million [287,628,300.00] contractors without any document and justification. The Auditor-General fears the money may have been diverted and wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury. These allegations by the Auditor-General are different from the allegedly missing or unaccounted for N729 billion, which is the subject-matter of the judgment by Justice Deinde Dipeolu. Investigating these allegations and prosecuting suspected perpetrators would advance the right of Nigerians to restitution, compensation and guarantee of non-repetition. The allegations illustrate cases of widespread and systemic corruption in MDAs, documented by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, including in the 2021 audited report and previous reports. Section 13 of the Nigerian Constitution imposes clear responsibility on the government to conform to, observe and apply the provisions of Chapter 2 of the constitution. Section 15(5) imposes the responsibility on the government to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power. Under Section 16(1) of the Constitution, the government has a responsibility to secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality of status and opportunity. Section 16(2) further provides that, the material resources of the nation are harnessed and distributed as best as possible to serve the common good. The UN Convention against Corruption and the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party obligate the government to effectively prevent and investigate the plundering of the countrys wealth and hold public officials to account for any violations. Specifically, article 26 of the UN convention requires the government to ensure effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions including criminal and non-criminal sanctions, in cases of grand corruption. Article 26 complements the more general requirement of article 30, paragraph 1, that sanctions must take into account the gravity of the corruption allegations. No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print A former National Vice-Chairperson of the Peoples Democratic Party in South-east, Fidelis Chukwu, has emerged as the new president-general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo. Mr Chukwu replaces the immediate past president-general of the Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, who died on 25 July after a protracted illness. The spokesperson of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chiedozie Ogbonnia, in a statement said the new president-general emerged at Imeobi Ohanaezes meeting on Saturday in Enugu. Mr Ogbonnia said the new president-general would serve for 27 days to complete the turn of the Imo State which ends on 10 January. The spokesperson Mr Chukwu emerged as a result of a chain of catastrophe which befell Ohanaeze with the deaths of former President-Generals of the group, George Obiozor and Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu between 2022 and 2024. He recalled that the people of Imo State had presented late Iwuanyanwu to Imeobi Ohanaeze to complete the tenure of Imo State and Mr Obiozor, a professor, who hailed from the state. By the application of a doctrine of necessity, Iwuanyanwu was sworn-in on April 30, 2023. Unfortunately, Chief Iwuanyanwu died on July 25, 2024 and was buried on November 1, 2024. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later It is in line with the doctrine of necessity that the Imo State Chapter of Ohanaeze, led by Barrister C.J Ihemedu presented Nze Ozichukwu to the Imeobi Ohanaeze to exhaust the balance of four year tenure allotted to Imo State, he said. Mr Ogbonnia said the Chairperson of Imo Council of Elders, Cletus Ilomuanya, moved motion for the adoption of Mr Chukwu as the new president-general which was supported by Simon Okeke. The motion was adopted through a voice vote, he said. Rivers to produce next president-general of Ohanaeze A communique issued after the meeting said the socio-cultural organisation has resolved that its next president-general will come from Rivers State. The communique was jointly signed by Mr Ogbonnia and the Secretary-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Okey Emuchay. It added that the Imeobi Ohanaeze also resolved that the composition of both Election and Screening Committees for the forthcoming Ohanaeze election will be carried out by the groups National Executive Committee. In attendance at the event were Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, the presidents of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Abia, Anambra, Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Rivers States. Others were Abia South Senator, Enyinnaya Abaribe, former APGA National Chairperson, Chekwas Okorie, former Inspector-General of Police, Mike Okiro, and a former Minister of Power, Chinedu Nebo, a professor. Mr Mbah, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Chidi Onyia, urged the new president-general to ensure that the forthcoming Ohanaeze election was both transparent and credible. Zoning principle in Ohanaeze The position of president-general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo rotates among seven Igbo-speaking states in south-east and south-south Nigeria, PREMIUM TIMES gathered. The South-east has five states namely, Enugu, Anambra, Ebonyi, Abia and Imo while the south-south region has two states which are Rivers and Delta States. Each state is to produce the president-general of Ohanaeze who would serve for a single tenure of four years, according to an existing zoning arrangement of the Igbo group. A state which does not complete its tenure as a result of the death or resignation of the incumbent president-general is permitted to nominate another to complete such tenure subject to ratification by the Imeobi Ohanaeze. Supporters of Mr Chukwus emergence argue that it is the prerogative right of Imo State to nominate a new president-general of the group to complete the remaining 27 days of Mr Iwuanyanwus four years tenure. He becomes the 12th president-general of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print No fewer than 1,814 young Nigerians have been recruited into the Nigerian Navy within the last six months to strengthen joint military operations in the North-east, Niger Delta and Gulf of Guinea. The Chief of Naval Staff, Emmanual Ogalla, said this at the Passing Out Parade of Batch 36 Trainees at the Nigerian Navy Basic Training School (NNBTS) in Onne. He said that the new sailors would be deployed aboard naval warships to engage in counterinsurgency operations, oil theft, and sea piracy, among other things. Over the years, NNBTS has upheld its mandate to transform qualified civilians into skilled and competent Ratings for the Nigerian Navy. The recruitment of 1,814 ratings became necessary to secure our maritime environment, ensuring national economic prosperity. They are joining the navy at a time when unprecedented efforts are being made to revitalise our fleet, rejig our operations and upgrade our training facilities, he said. Mr Ogalla, a vice admiral, said the expansion of the fleet and the improvement of naval operations would achieve optimal results with the deployment of capable and well-trained personnel. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later According to him, the Navy is also actively engaged in land-based operations across the six geo-political zones in collaboration with other security agencies. Our participation in these operations, alongside cooperative efforts with other security and law enforcement agencies, has yielded significant successes in various theatres of operation. These achievements have been made possible by the commitment of our disciplined personnel, equipped with knowledge and skills acquired through rigorous training at our naval institutions, Mr Ogalla added. The navy boss noted that the new ratings underwent expert training in combat fitness, weapons handling, boat drills and both kinetic and non-kinetic operational skills. The induction, he said, formed a key element of the navys capacity-building programme designed to develop, maintain and sustain forces to address threats. Mr Ogalla, who urged the recruits to uphold discipline and obedience, charged them to be apolitical and demonstrate loyalty to the military and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. You will soon be deployed aboard ships where you will receive further training on practical aspects, including seamanship, security duties, naval traditions and customs, he said. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Police Command in Benue has confirmed the arrest of a native doctor, Veror Orduen, and a driver, Aondoaver Viaga, over the alleged theft of a company truck. The Commissioner of Police (CP), Steve Yabnet, disclosed this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Makurdi. Mr Yabnet said that the Benue State Police Command received information on 11 December that a driver with CHEC Construction Company, Taraku Camp, attached to a truck, was missing. The CP further stated that the driver was sent to convey stones from Ohimini to Mase in Gwer-East Local Government Area (LGA) for road construction but diverted the vehicle to an unknown destination. During the investigation, the said driver, one Aondoaver Viaga, and a native doctor, one Veror Orduen, were arrested in possession of the vehicle at Ikyurav in Kwande LGA of Benue. The suspect is unable to give a satisfactory account of why he took the vehicle to the native doctors place for four days and switched off his phone. I advise all criminals to desist from perpetuating crime or leave Benue, as I am not ready to accommodate them. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later I will work tirelessly to ensure that the state is safe during the festive period and beyond, the statement said. NAN reports that CHEC is the construction company handling the dualisation of the Makurdi-Enugu-9th Mile Road. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, says President Bola Tinubu is a leader prepared to lead with courage even at a personal cost considering his tax reforms proposal. Mr Dogara stated this at the 14th convocation and 17th Founders Anniversary of the Achievers University, Owo in Ondo State. The former speaker said that any transformation leader must be brave, stating that a good leader must not just allow history to happen but make it. According to him, the lack of good leadership plunged the country into its current state of mess. With what President Bola Tinubu has done, whether its the freeing of local government areas from the choke-hold of economic stagnation the states had hitherto subjected them to or the groundbreaking bold tax reforms proposals he had placed before the National Assembly, I see a glimmer of hope that we may be dealing with a leader who is prepared to lead with unbridled courage even at personal cost. It gladdens my heart that we are now dealing with a leader who is not avoiding stubborn tasks and is very much unwilling to put off difficult conversations. With him, courage has become a habit and that habit has the power to transform our leadership as the miracles we are desperately yearning for may well lie in the tasks and difficult conversations we are avoiding. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later I support the presidents tax reforms not because they are perfect, but because it is the right thing to do. However, I must concede the fact that those opposed to it have the right to do so. But I do not share their jaundiced nay tenuous and puerile position that because they disagree with some aspects of the reforms, then the reforms must be withdrawn or killed, Leaders who are dedicated to reforms and progress dont make such poor judgement calls, at all, he said. Mr Dogara said that those opposed to the reforms should clearly spell out what they disagree with and make a better proposition than that of the president for Nigerians to compare and contrast in order to make informed choices. The former speaker, who is the Chancellor of the Achievers University, said that a call to do nothing about the reforms was either bad politics or sheer buffoonery or a combination of both. According to him, addressing Nigerias economic challenges requires bold, decisive and coordinated actions across multiple fronts. He said that achieving the vision of the desired transformation would demand sacrifices, accountability and collective resolve from all Nigerians. The chancellor called on the youth to be at the centre of transformation, stressing that through education, innovations and a shared commitment to excellence, we can build a Nigeria that fulfils the aspirations of its people. Mr Dogara, therefore, tasked Nigerian universities to be centres of learning and innovation that would come out with practical solutions to the countrys economic problems. He said that universities must partner with industries and the government to ensure that the knowledge generated has real-world applications. Also speaking, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Achievers University, Bode Ayorinde, called on the graduands not to wait for opportunities, but create them. He said that the future of Nigeria depended on their ability to dream big and act decisively. The pro-chancellor urged the Nigerian government to embark on massive industrialisation. The great nations of the world achieved their status as trillion-dollar economies by harnessing the power of industrialisation. It is industrialisation that creates jobs, drives innovation, generates wealth, reduces crime and insecurity and fosters societal stability. To achieve this, we need to develop industries that process our raw materials locally, create value-added products, reduce import dependency and boost exports. This requires a collaborative effort from the government, private sector and institutions like the Achievers University. We need to create an enabling environment that encourages entrepreneurship, innovation, and investment in key sectors. We are committed to producing graduates who are equipped with the skills, knowledge and values necessary to succeed in the industrial economy, he said. In her speech, the Vice Chancellor of the Achievers University, Omolola Orinoye, said that 700 graduates were awarded degree certificates with 71 students graduating with First Class Honours. Ms Orinoye, a professor, said that 303 students had Second Class Honours (Upper Division) and 243 graduated with Second Class Honours ( Lower Division) while 35 had Third Class Honours. The vice chancellor said that 46 postgraduate students in 17 different academic programmes would receive their certificate awards. The vice chancellor said that no fewer than 319 students had benefitted from its 12-tuition-free academic programmes. She stated that the gesture was in pursuance of the institutions philosophy of promoting access to higher education to young people who might be denied the opportunity due to a lack of resources. The vice chancellor said that the institutions Governing Council had also approved the granting of 65 per cent to 80 per cent tuition scholarships for UTME and Direct Entry candidates in 20 other academic programmes. Three Nigerian personalities: Governor Umar Bago of Niger State, Oba Adedokun Abolarin, Orangun of Oke Ila, Osun State and Fidelis Ayebae, were given doctoral honorary awards for their outstanding contributions to Nigerian society. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2023 election, Umar Ardo, has tackled Governor Ahmadu Fintiri over the new emirate law in Adamawa State. Mr Ardo, in a statement, described the new emirate law and another district creation law as sounding a death knell for Adamawas traditional heritage. Governor Fintiri proposed the emirate law to the state House of Assembly on 9 December. The Assembly passed the bill, titled Adamawa State Chiefs (Appointment and Deposition) and matters incidental thereto, into law on 10 December, and it now awaits Governor Fintiris assent. The law also empowers the governor to create new emirates in the North-east state. The governor signed the other law earlier on 4 December. The District Creation Law 2024 creates 83 new districts. The district creation law reduced the number of local government areas in the Lamido of Adamawa, Mustapha Barkindos domain, from eight to three. Under the new district law, it is left with Girei Jimeta and Yola, with the cut of areas awaiting to be apportioned to new emirate (s). Since the last general elections when the people of Adamawa State massively rejected my candidature at the governorship polls, I had kept my distance from the affairs of the state, letting the people to their fate in the hands of the incompetent and rapacious leadership they elected for the state. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later I had wanted to keep it so, but with how the government, governor, and legislators are running aground the affairs of the state, it is not just right to continue keeping quiet and allow the drift, Mr Ardo said. He said, Not only most of the policies of the state government are rudderless, but the circumvention of the requirements of law and time-tested procedures in the enactment of inter-generational laws for the state is simply not right. Mr Ardo warned that if the law is allowed to pass with disregard for popular interests, the state will soon slide into dictatorship, which should not be permitted. Mr Ardo said the lawmakers granted the governor sweeping powers over the traditional institution of the state, including the appointment and deposition of all traditional rulers. The new law, which was hurriedly and covertly passed without public hearings or any formal deliberations, effectively makes the governor the Chief Pharaoh, wielding absolute powers of life and death over an institution that has for centuries symbolised the soul of our communities. This law is not just an affront to the dignity of Adamawas traditional institution but a blow to the very fabric of our culture and identity as a people. By centralising such power to himself, the governor now holds the fate of our revered chiefs and emirs, District, Village and Ward Heads in his hands, reducing them to mere poppets in his palms, exclusive of any legislative and customary restraints. This not only undermines the sanctity of the traditional institution and erodes its significance in society but also threatens to erode the communal harmony and stability that the institution had long fostered, Mr Ardo said. Mr Ardo said new laws introduced a reckless expansion of the traditional institution, creating more ward, village, and district heads, as well as putting to the absolute discretion of the governor the powers to add limitless chiefdoms and emirates and installing their occupants, but without any clear corresponding roles, powers or resources. He said such a haphazard approach of fragmenting communities and creating overlapping jurisdictions would only foster confusion rather than cohesion. It risks plunging Adamawa into a quagmire of communal disputes over territory, authority and legitimacy, thereby undermining the institutions ability to serve as a unifying force. ALSO READ: Adamawa Governor Fintiri swears in 21 elected council chairpersons He added that the new laws threaten to sever traditional and cultural ties by imposing a political agenda on an institution that should remain above the fray of politics. What Adamawa needs now is not a proliferation of titles and territories, but a strengthening of the traditional institution in a way that respects its autonomy strengthens its powers, and preserves its societal relevance. A functional democracy thrives on checks and balances, but this law upends that principle, concentrating unchecked power in the hands of one individual, Mr Ardo said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print President Bola Tinubu has urged leaders in West Africa to draw inspiration from Ghanas recent peaceful elections as a model of democratic maturity and commitment to national unity. At the opening of the 66th Ordinary Session of ECOWAS on Sunday in Abuja, President Tinubu lauded President Nana Akufo-Addo and the people of Ghana for the resounding success of their recent presidential and parliamentary elections, setting a high standard for the region. I urge all of us in the region to learn from this good democratic practice and prioritise our countrys national unity to ensure political stability of the region so that this manner of peaceful transition becomes the culture of democracy not only in West Africa but also in the entire Africa continent, he stated. Despite the challenges of interrupted democratic governance in some West African countries, the region has continued to record democratic gains. Just a week ago, on December 7 2024, Presidential and Parliamentary elections took place in Ghana, the second-largest democracy in our region. One of the leading candidates who happens to be the incumbent Vice President, His Excellency Mahamudu Bawumia, together with the leadership of the ruling party, New Patriotic Party (NPP), conceded defeat and accepted the outcome of the Presidential election by congratulating the President-elect, His Excellency, John Dramani Mahama of National Democratic Congress (NDC) for his victory, even before the official announcement of the election results. This gesture, as it happened in Nigeria in 2015, demonstrates political maturity and respect for the will of the people of Ghana. During his two-year term, Mr Tinubu praised President Akufo-Addo for his exceptional leadership and unwavering commitment to ECOWAS, describing him as a formidable Pan-Africanist. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later He also congratulated the Government and people of Senegal on their successful parliamentary elections. He praised Ghanas Foreign Minister, Shirley Ayokor Botchwey, for painstakingly leading the ECOWAS Ministerial Committee of the Reform. He wished her a successful tenure in her new role as the Secretary General of the Commonwealth. ECOWAS achievements In his second term as ECOWAS Chair, President Tinubu highlighted achievements from his first term, including strides in regional integration, economic growth, conflict resolution, and counterterrorism efforts. He said the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) and Common External Tariff (CET) have strengthened trade and economic cooperation. Similarly, regional infrastructure projects such as the West African Gas Pipeline, the West Africa Power Pool, and modernising key border posts with advanced equipment and joint border operations utilising state-of-the-art technology have significantly enhanced connectivity and promoted greater regional integration. Furthermore, our efforts in stabilising our region through peacekeeping missions currently in the Gambia and Guinea Bissau, as well as previous operations in Liberia and Sierra Leone, have demonstrated our capacity to act decisively in the face of adversity. President Tinubu said the ECOWAS Regional Action Plan on the Fight Against Terrorism has provided a comprehensive framework to combat violent extremism and enhance regional security. As ECOWAS nears its 50th anniversary in 2025, President Tinubu urged member states to recommit to the blocs founding ideals of economic integration, peace, and prosperity. As a regional community, we must maintain our fundamental responsibility: to protect our citizens and create an enabling environment where they can prosper. As leaders, we know that security is not a luxury but a necessity. Equally, enhancing the living standards of our people is not an aspiration but an obligation, he said. The Presidents of Cote dIvoire, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, and Senegal attended in person alongside the Vice President of Sierra Leone, the Finance Minister of the Benin Republic, the Minister of foreign affairs of Togo, and the Ambassador of Cape Verde to Nigeria. Nigeria commended The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray, commended Nigeria for paying 100 per cent of its community levy for 2023 and substantial remittances for 2024, reflecting Nigerias leadership and commitment under President Tinubu. For the first time in 19 years, Nigeria has paid 100% of its community levy from 2023. Im therefore pleased to announce that on Friday, December 13, 2024, Nigeria paid N85 billion and $54 million, representing 100% of the 2023 levy and the 2024 levy up to July 2024. We all agree that this payment underscores the leadership and commitment of President Tinubu, the government and the people of Nigeria to our community. At a more personal level, it represents confidence in the management I have been privileged to lead since 2022. He encouraged other member states to meet their financial commitments diligently. Bayo Onanuga Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy) December 15, 2024 Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, has said that establishing the Lagos University of Medicine and Health Sciences will increase the production of medical professionals. At the Lagos Medipark groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday, Mr Abayomi said to counteract the brain drain, Were creating the brain gain by making Lagos attractive, and were producing a lot more medical professionals over the next three years. We have just passed the University of Medicine and Health Sciences in the cabinet and are awaiting approval in the House of Assembly. He said the university would facilitate the production of medical professionals, such as doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, pharmacies, and dentists, who are qualified to work with the Medipark project. We have to take a proactive step that in five to six years, were going to be producing 2,500 medical professionals that are going to be the bread and butter workforce of this kind of entity, he said. Medical university upgrade In October, the Lagos State Executive Council (SEC) approved the upgrade of Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM) to the University of Medicine and Health Science (UMH). Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later According to Mr Abayomi, the university will operate across several clinical training facilities, with the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) serving as the main clinical training site. He said: There is no going back on this upgrade by this administration. A sizeable expanse of land has been made available at Ketu-Ejirin in Epe to serve as the universitys main campus, which will house the administrative buildings and the basic medical science programmes, while the clinical training will be at LASUTH and other designated clinical training facilities across IBILE administrative divisions. Comment on the Medipark project The Lagos State Government launched the Lagos Medipark project on Saturday, a healthcare initiative set to redefine medical services in the state. The project is a public-private partnership between the Lagos State Government and IASO Medipark Limited. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu presided over the projects groundbreaking ceremony, which is located on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi. According to its promoters, the medipark is expected to feature a 140-bed multi-specialist hospital, state-of-the-art diagnostics centre, residential spaces, training facilities and commercial and retail medical outlets. In his comments, Mr Abayomi noted that the project seeks to transform medical infrastructure in Lagos, addressing Nigerias staggering 40,000-bed deficit, 10 per cent of which affects Lagos. He said another key initiative in Lagos is the virtual bed strategy, which involves converting physical beds to virtual beds using modern technology to reduce physical hospital expansion. He said the Lagos Medipark project aligns with Mr Sanwo-Olus executive order to integrate healthcare into the mainstream economy, attracting investments in collaboration with the private sector investment. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print In a landmark move to strengthen governance and combat corruption, the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity (CEFTPI) has formalised a strategic partnership with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Offences Commission (ICPC). This is contained in a statement by the centres Public Relations Officer, Victor Agu. The statement noted that the collaboration, signed in commemoration of International Anti-Corruption Day 2024 (IACD2024), aims to enhance fiscal transparency and combat corruption through innovative technology solutions. MoU Mr Agu said the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed at the ICPC headquarters marked the beginning of a strategic collaboration targeting key areas in governance. Under this partnership, CEFTPI and ICPC will advance the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) monitoring framework, promoting compliance with the Transparency and Integrity Index among Nigerias 774 local government areas (LGAs). This initiative will also assess the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures, publishing evidence-based reports to inform policy reforms and improve governance practices. Workshop The statement noted that to commemorate the global anti-corruption day, the centre also hosted a workshop titled The Role of Youth in Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Enhance Anti-Corruption. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The event, it noted, brought together young innovators and an expert from the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) who explored how technology can drive transparency and accountability in governance. The workshop featured an interactive debate titled: Digital Integrity: Can Technology Empower or Corrupt Learning? which engaged participants in a thoughtful exchange on the benefits and risks associated with AI. Advocates discussed how AI democratises knowledge access and enhances critical thinking, while sceptics raised concerns about overreliance on technology and ethical implications. Expert-led panel discussions showcased practical applications of AI in governance, highlighting its potential to minimise fraud in public procurement processes and revolutionising criminal justice with intelligent analytics. The Executive Director of CEFTPI, Umar Yakubu, emphasised the critical role of youth in leveraging AI to combat corruption, stating, The true power of AI lies in the hands of those who utilise it. The event concluded with a call for robust training and mentorship programmes to equip young innovators with the skills to maximise AIs impact against corruption. This collaborative effort underscores CEFTPIs commitment to innovative and collaborative solutions for governance challenges. By harnessing technology and building strategic alliances, the centre is poised to lead efforts that enhance transparency, reduce corruption, and promote efficient resource management at all levels, the centre said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print She hates us with what the Bible describes as a perfect hatred, yet in a much publicised and widely read open letter written in 2010 during her first bid to be elected into the UK Parliament, she begged the Nigerian community in her constituency to support her. I find it interesting that everyone defines me as a Nigerian. I identify less with the country than with my specific ethnic group. I have nothing in common with the people from the north of the country, the Boko Haram, where Islamism is. Being Yoruba is my true identity and I refuse to be lumped with the northern people of Nigeria who were our ethnic enemies, all in the name of being called a Nigerian.- @KemiBadenoch. Kemi Badenoch MP, the leader of the British Conservative Party and Opposition in the @UKParliament, has refused to stop at just denigrating our country but has gone a step further by seeking to divide us on ethnic lines. She claims that she never regarded herself as being a Nigerian but rather a Yoruba and that she never identified with the people from the Northern part of our country, who she collectively describes as being Boko Haram Islamists and terrorists. This is dangerous rhetoric coming from an impudent and ignorant foreign leader who knows nothing about our country, who does not know her place and who insists on stirring up a storm that she cannot contain and that may eventually consume her. It is rather like saying that she identifies more with the English than she does with the Scots and the Welsh whom she regards as nothing more than homicidal and murderous barbarians that once waged war against her ethnic English compatriots! All this coming from a young lady of colour that is a political leader in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural country that lays claim to being the epitome of decency and civilisation! What a strange and inexplicable contradiction this is. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Her intentions are malevolent and insidious and her objective, outside of ridiculing and mocking us, is to divide us and bring us to our knees. I am constrained to ask, what on earth happened to this person in her youth and why does she hate Nigeria with such passion? Did something happen to her when she lived here which she has kept secret? Was she the victim of some form of deviant behaviour, abuse or perversion that has resulted in trauma, long-term psychological damage and mental health issues? Is this why she sees red and gets her pretty knickers in a twist whenever she hears, Nigeria? Why does the mention of the name of our country trigger such compulsive, violent and aggressive emotions and impulses in her? Given her pathological hatred for Nigerians, these are legitimate questions that need to be answered. She hates us with what the Bible describes as a perfect hatred, yet in a much publicised and widely read open letter written in 2010 during her first bid to be elected into the UK Parliament, she begged the Nigerian community in her constituency to support her. At that time, when she still needed us, she identified with Nigerians, but everything changed after she was elected. At that point, in her conflicted and confused mind, all Nigerians became demons, all Englanders became angels and her disdain and contempt for us was unmasked! She hates us with a perfect hatred, yet she still has the effontry and nerve to haul her rotund posterior back to our country with one Hamish, who I am told is her English husband, to watch polo at the Lagos Polo Club. This is the same country that she has described as being a lawless jungle and corrupt stinking edifice from which no good can come and that is filled with nothing but apes, monsters and the criminally insane. The truth is that this fellow called Kemi Badenoch is nothing but a person on heat. She needs to be tamed and caged. She is Aunty Jemima on steroids and the President of the International House Ni*gers Association. Her Nigerian passport (if she still has one) ought to be revoked and she should never be allowed to set her leperous foot in our country again. She should take Vice President Kashim Shettimas @KashimSM counsel seriously and drop Kemi as her name. She should formally wipe her maiden name of Adegoke off the record as well and publicly renounce and disavow her father, mother, siblings and Nigerian lineage and heritage. She does not want to identify with us and we do not want to identify with her. She sees us as being corrupt and evil and we see her as being the devil incarnate and the spawn of satan. There can be no fellowship between us. The truth is that she is no longer a mere irritant or the inconsequential object of our contempt and ridicule but she can now be comfortably and legitimately described as public enemy number one of our beloved nation. She should stick to the affairs of her UK, face its ruling Labour Party and its Prime Minister Keir Starmer @Keir_Starmer and LEAVE NIGERIA ALONE! On a lighter note it is a pity that I stopped playing polo many years ago because if it had been in my days that she attempted to visit the Lagos Polo Club, she would not have got past the gate and if she managed to do so, our grooms and horse-boys would have pasted her self-hating, unpatriotic, ungrateful, treacherous and ever so plain face with Argentinian pony dung before tarring and feathering her. How times have changed! Femi Fani-Kayode is the Sadauki Shinkafi, a lawyer, a former minister of Aviation of Nigeria and a former minister of Culture and Tourism of Nigeria. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Floor leader of South Korea's ruling People Power Party Kweon Seong-dong said on Sunday that the party has rejected a proposal by the country's main opposition party to set up a consultation mechanism to stabilize the operation of state affairs. Fiscal governance and reform is not as complex as the administration and its mouthpieces would like to suggest. Taxation is more than mechanical computation. It is the centrepiece of the social compact between a state and its citizens. With considered inadvertence, the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu has done itself a world of good by inspiring these increasingly raucous debates about the state of that compact in Nigeria or the lack of it. It will be best served by listening to the debate in humility while it learns. A mere four years after emerging from a civil war, in 1974, Nigeria was at the beginning of an oil boom. Then, as today, the country was in the middle of a debate about fiscal federalism and revenue allocation. Unlike today, however, there were significant differences: the country was under military rule and the men leading the debate were all soldiers. In the fifty years since then, the structure of this debate and the geo-political symmetries that define it have evolved only a little. The immediate spark for the debate fifty years ago was the publication of the statutory allocations to the twelve states of the federation for the fiscal year 1974-75. With a population of 2.5 million, Mid-West State received N139.9 million or 23.7 per cent of the allocation. Rivers State, whose population was 1.5 million, received N101.1 million. Isawa Elaigwu, the semi-official biographer of Yakubu Gowon, the army general who was Nigerias military head of state at the time, observed about this that while both Rivers and Midwestern States, comprising 7.3% (4 million) of the countrys total population, shared between themselves 40.83% (N241.00 million) of the total allocation to the states, the ten other states which accounted for 92.7% (51.6 million) of the countrys population, shared among themselves 59.17% (349.2m) of the statutory allocation. Usman Faruk, the commissioner of Police who governed the North-Western State was unhappy with the dissension over the sharing of the allocation because, he said, all of them in the Supreme Military Council then agreed to it. Joseph Gomwalk, another commissioner of Police and then military governor of Gowons own Benue-Plateau State; and Jacob Esuene, who governed the South-Eastern State, called for a more objective system of revenue allocation. If they knew what such a system looked like, they didnt say. Kwaras military governor, David Bamigboye, as well as General Abba Kyari of the North-East, went on record to call for a review of the allocation formula. For their part, Oluwole Rotimi and Mobolaji Johnson, military governors respectively of the Western and Lagos States, advocated for a revenue allocation formula that would guarantee responsible and stable government for Nigeria. Nigerias search for a workable federalism in many ways can be reduced to the search for precisely such a formula. It has proved elusive. If anything, it may have gotten even more so. In the 36 years between 1946 and 1980, spanning the colonial and post-colonial periods and including military as well as elected civilian regimes, the country burnt through the reports of at least eight blue ribbon panels on the question of fiscal federalism. On the eve of independence in 1958, the report of the Raisman Commission recommended the creation of a Distributable Pool Account (DPA) into which was to be paid 30 per cent of revenue from mineral rents and royalties, and from import duties. The regions retained 50 per cent of the revenue from mineral rents and royalties from their region, while the central government took 20 per cent. 70 per cent of the revenue from import duties went to the central government. Even in the midst of an existential conflict at the time, the fuss that followed in the wake of the Dina Committee report was deafening. Officially, the Federal Military Government rejected the Dina Committee Report. In reality, Isawa Elaigwu recalls that .Gowon did not raise dust over the issue but quietly implemented most aspect of this report through the back door at the appropriate time. The result is that the Dina Committee Report has been quite influential in shaping Nigerias version of federalism. Six years later and four years after independence, the Binns Fiscal Commission increased the DPA share of the income from import duties from 30 per cent to 35 per cent at the expense of the share of the central government. Importantly, the report set its face against the principle of derivation, replacing it with that it called the principle of financial comparability. On this basis, it recommended the sharing of the DPA receipts as follows: Northern Region, 42 per cent; Eastern Region, 30 per cent; Western Region, 20 per cent; and Mid-Western Region, 8 per cent. Lagos was then the federal capital. Up to this point, the fiscal balance largely favoured the regions, which contributed resources to the central government. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later In 1968, Nigerias post-colonial crisis of state legitimacy had already exploded into a year-old civil war. Under pressure from both the economic costs of the war, as well as its structural antecedents, Yakubu Gowon, the war-time Supreme Commander (as he was then known), called upon Chief IO Dina, a former History lecturer at the University College Ibadan, to lead what the regime called an Interim Revenue Allocation Review Committee. The legacy of the Dina Committee recommendations was very far-reaching and suited the regimental mood of the military. The Committee addressed frontally the issue of taxation and public goods. It recommended a centralisation of taxation, as well as the harmonisation of the produce marketing boards, which were, until then, mostly regional. The Dina Committee also recommended a centralisation of the funding of higher education and the replacement of the DPA with what it called a State Joint Account. In addition, the committee recommended that states should retain 100 per cent of rent from onshore extractive operations on the basis of derivation and also receive another 10 per cent of royalties revenue as derivation. Even in the midst of an existential conflict at the time, the fuss that followed in the wake of the Dina Committee report was deafening. Officially, the Federal Military Government rejected the Dina Committee Report. In reality, Isawa Elaigwu recalls that .Gowon did not raise dust over the issue but quietly implemented most aspect of this report through the back door at the appropriate time. The result is that the Dina Committee Report has been quite influential in shaping Nigerias version of federalism. Gowon enjoyed three advantages at the time in his handling of the unitarising tendencies that underpinned the recommendations of the Dina Committee. First, the civil war was an extenuating circumstance. Second, the regimental traditions of military government limited the degree of elite dissension. Third, as a military ruler, he ultimately did not have to suffer any institutional constraints similar to those imposed by a parliament or its equivalent under elected civil rule. Fiscal reform on the ambition evinced by the proposals now under consideration in Nigeria assumes the existence of a capable state which enjoys affinity among citizens, an overwhelming percentage of whom should be documented. None of these can be taken for granted in Nigeria. The evidence from across the fields of financial inclusion, electoral participation, and taxation suggests that the proportion of documented Nigerians does not exceed 40 per cent. It will take more than a few convenient ebullitions to address this. For the current incumbent fifty years later, a civilian seeking to accomplish what would be the most far-reaching restructuring of Nigerias fiscal fundamentals in 110 years, none of these advantages exists and he suffers many more debilitations besides. By some coincidence, in the year that Gowon constituted the Dina Committee, the celebrated Kenya political scientist, Ali Mazrui, explained the challenges of structural stability in post-colonial African states in terms of two underlying crises of state legitimacy and of regime legitimacy. Fiscal reform on the ambition evinced by the proposals now under consideration in Nigeria assumes the existence of a capable state which enjoys affinity among citizens, an overwhelming percentage of whom should be documented. None of these can be taken for granted in Nigeria. The evidence from across the fields of financial inclusion, electoral participation, and taxation suggests that the proportion of documented Nigerians does not exceed 40 per cent. It will take more than a few convenient ebullitions to address this. Any government will be challenged in addressing it. An administration that suffers from manifest issues of legitimacy lacks the currency to trade with in this situation. The crisis that afflicts the current proposals is that of a government unwilling to put in the work required to redress deficits of state and governmental legitimacy around the country. To address what is evidently a political problem, the government has chosen instead to escape into self-inflicted technocratic gobbledygook. Fiscal governance and reform is not as complex as the administration and its mouthpieces would like to suggest. Taxation is more than mechanical computation. It is the centrepiece of the social compact between a state and its citizens. With considered inadvertence, the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu has done itself a world of good by inspiring these increasingly raucous debates about the state of that compact in Nigeria or the lack of it. It will be best served by listening to the debate in humility while it learns. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, a lawyer, teaches at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and can be reached through chidi.odinkalu@tufts.edu. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print For the Butcher of Damascus, Bashar al-Assad, the long horrific chapter of his perch at the top of the man-eating power game in Syria came to a screeching halt last week, almost anticlimactically. Even though the world knew that the dictator was living on borrowed time, no one knew that his end would be as ordinary as a dog folding its tail between its legs and voting with its paws! Everything that has a beginning must have an end. For every hello, there will eventually be a goodbye, which, in its turn, contains the seeds of another cry of welcome. There is a lesson to be learnt in the fall of any empire or kingdom or dynasty. Every dictator looks unconquerable until Father Time ticks his box and harvests his scalp. As Amy Poehler argues, You have to remember that goodbyes are temporary because no one ever really leaves and nothing lasts forever. People are always with us, because they are in our hearts and in our memory. The only thing we can depend on is change Life is just a series of moments a string of pearls that make up the necklace of your life and so every once in a while, to complete the circle, you need to end a chapter. Time Up! For the Butcher of Damascus, Bashar al-Assad, the long horrific chapter of his perch at the top of the man-eating power game in Syria came to a screeching halt last week, almost anticlimactically. Even though the world knew that the dictator was living on borrowed time, no one knew that his end would be as ordinary as a dog folding its tail between its legs and voting with its paws! In my neck of the woods, the old Oyo Empire, the king (Alaafin) was second only to the gods. He was the father and mother of death. But he was not omnipotent. If he was considered to have committed a serious infraction against the Earth or misruled in a way adjudged anti-people, he would be presented with a ritual calabash which was a symbolic invitation to man-up and commit suicide. He wasnt expected to cut and run as Bashar did. The same society that honoured him with so much power and wealth had also designed a heroic way of exiting the throne if he had to be shown the door. It was unthinkable that an Alaafin would exit like a plebeian, or, like a Bashar, be found hiding between the legs of Vladimir Putin! One of the lessons that mankind must learn from the failed Assad dynasty is the good old saying that man proposes but God disposes. Imagine, Bashars father and predecessor, Hafez al-Assad, had not planned to have Bashar on the throne. Bashars elder brother, Basil, was the heir apparent until he died in a high-speed car crash in 1994, thus forcing the father to start grooming his second son, Bashar, a quiet medical doctor born on 11 September 1965, for succession. The new heir was soon entered into the Syrian military academy at Homs, and rose through the ranks to become an army colonel in 1999. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Bashar had given the impression that he would be a modernist and so, many people looked up to a new era when his father passed away in June 2000, after more than 25 years in power. His fathers loyalists in the security forces, military, ruling Baath Party and his minority Alawite religious sect, ensured that he was appointed commander of the armed forces and secretary general of the Baath Party, before a referendum confirmed him as president. Twenty-three years ago, Assad decreed a Press Law that tightened government control over all literature printed or published in Syria; ranging from newspapers to books, pamphlets and periodicals. Publishers, writers, editors, distributors, journalists and other individuals accused of violating the Press Law are imprisoned or fined. Censorship has also been expanded into cyberspace, and various websites are banned. Bashar tailored his foreign policy to align with his fathers precepts. He maintained a hardline posture towards Israel. He was one of the few anti-war voices against the US-led invasion of Iraq, which was, indeed, a treasure hunt, not an anti-terror intervention. Repression Historians and political analysts have characterised Assads presidency as a highly personalist dictatorship, which governed Syria as a totalitarian police state and was marked by numerous human rights violations and severe repression. While the Assad government described itself as secular, various political scientists and observers noted that his regime exploited sectarian tensions in the country. Assads early economic liberalisation programmes worsened inequalities and centralised the socio-political power of the loyalist Damascene elite of the Assad family. Twenty-three years ago, Assad decreed a Press Law that tightened government control over all literature printed or published in Syria; ranging from newspapers to books, pamphlets and periodicals. Publishers, writers, editors, distributors, journalists and other individuals accused of violating the Press Law are imprisoned or fined. Censorship has also been expanded into cyberspace, and various websites are banned. The civil war made matters worse. Homs, like many Syrian cities and towns, was devastated by the fighting as rebels seized control of large parts of the North and east of the country, and the opposition National Coalition was recognised as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people by more than 100 countries. When the death toll passed 60,000, Bashar ruled out negotiations with the rebels, labelling them enemies of God and puppets of the West. Chemical Weapons Pro-government forces, in early 2013, launched attacks in southern and western Syria with some help from the Lebanese Shia militant group, Hezbollah. The Syrian army reportedly deployed its arsenal of chemical weapons to decimate the ranks of the enemies. Hundreds of people died after rockets containing the nerve agent Sarin were fired at rebel-held towns in the Ghouta region. The Syrian government suffered a string of defeats in the first half of 2015, losing control of the northern provincial city of Idlib to rebel factions and more territory in the East to IS. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a major air campaign in support of Assad that September. Russian military signatures could be seen all over eastern Aleppo in 2016. The intervention swung the conflict heavily in Assads favour. If you look properly, youll see that history keeps repeating itself. Bashar may not have cut the picture of your favourite cousin, but the US and its allies were okay with him when he professed liberal inanities and cut the picture of a potential puppy, as Osama bin Laden once did. The fact that America prefers the Islamist rebels to Assad tells you that its all about interests. Ask Afghanistan. Russia was accused by a joint UN-OPCW mission of being behind a Sarin attack on the rebel-held northern town of Khan Sheikhoun in April 2017. Almost one million people were displaced by the fighting in Idlib in 2019 and 2020. In late 2019, Assads forces resumed their offensive. Hundreds of people were killed and almost a million fled their homes before Turkey and Russia agreed to another ceasefire in March 2020. Fragile Only two weeks ago, Assad had seemed so secure after Russia, Iran and Iranian-backed militias had helped the military push the rebels trying to overthrow him into a small enclave in the north-west. His newfound confidence made him reject calls to engage in negotiations with the rebels. But the fragility of Assads government was exposed by the launch of a lightning offensive led by the Islamist militant group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Assads foreign allies were busy with their own wars, and were not in a position to help. If you look properly, youll see that history keeps repeating itself. Bashar may not have cut the picture of your favourite cousin, but the US and its allies were okay with him when he professed liberal inanities and cut the picture of a potential puppy, as Osama bin Laden once did. The fact that America prefers the Islamist rebels to Assad tells you that its all about interests. Ask Afghanistan. America doesnt care what happens to a country after getting rid of the strong man. Libya is today a land of warlords after the US helped to get rid of Gaddafi. My prediction: With the dominance of the Islamist ideologues, the new Syria may eventually slip into a protracted sectarian war. Assad may not have been my idea of a president. Nonetheless, with a friend like the Western powers, who are now dancing on his political grave, Syria does not need to light a lantern in search of enemies. Wole Olaoye is a Public Relations consultant and veteran journalist. He can be reached on wole.olaoye@gmail.com, Twitter: @wole_olaoye; Instagram: woleola2021. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Receipts Podcast has built a reputation for its honest and insightful discussions, and this episode with Tiwa Savage is no exception Engaging with Tolani on her podcast provides the opportunity to bare it all in such a way that society does not only get entertained but correct misconceptions. The podcast is not meant to cast, it is a stage to make amends and set the record straight. Tolani Soneyes podcast, The Receipts, is currently trending after hosting African biggest female music star, Tiwa Savage. Tolani Soneye, a UK based, has hosted several other artistes and she is renowned for engaging her guests on insightful conversation and taking on controversial issues. Her contents are usually packed in topics that evoke social interests. In her latest episode with Nigerian Afrobeats sensation, Tiwa Savage and in the usual honest and unfiltered discussions, Tiwa Savage shared her thoughts on success, aging, relationships, and other aspects of her life. During the conversation, Tiwa Savage reflected on the blessings of achieving success at an older age, noting that despite facing age-shaming and criticism, she remains confident and proud of her accomplishments. This aspect revealed an inspirational part of the podcast as Tolani pushed further to get more out of one of African most celebrated artistes. By emphasising that her success is not just about her, but also about inspiring and empowering others, particularly young women, other artistes are likely to take a cue. They try so hard to age-shame me. Every single day, they say a woman of your age still wearing a bikini. But I have the body. Its the most celebrated when you look good in your older age but they will always throw things like when her son grows up, he is going to see this, she stated. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The takeaway here is simply that people should keep their head high despite societal condemnation and shouldnt be swayed. Tiwas extensive discussion with Tolani looks to have put to an end to societal perceptions about single mothers who society tends to suppress and to stop them from living their lives. According to Tiwa Savage, her son will be proud of her, contrary to the opinions of the critics who have criticized her severally for wearing revealing clothes at her age. My son will be like, my mum is a powerful and beautiful woman. I feel like God has done this on purpose because I feel like God delayed my success for a purpose. I used to be like, why was I not successful at my 20s or whatever I didnt start until my 30s but it is to bless other people. It is to bless that girl in her 25. They should open my page and be like, she started in her 30s. So, I still have time, she stated. While also opening up about her experiences in relationships, she revealed that she has never left a partner solely because of infidelity, saying that she prioritises her own well-being and has ended relationships due to issues such as emotional abuse, drug-abuse, and dishonesty. This appears be a caution and an advice to individuals in abusive relationships. It is better to end it, than to keep managing amid frustration and pain. Tiwa Savage said, I have never left a man because he cheated on me. But for so many reasons like drug-abuse, emotional abuse, being ghosted, stealing. But I dont thnk I have ever had orgasm. I dont even have sex toys but I believe in Monogamy. Throughout the conversation, Tolani Soneye provided a supportive and non-judgmental space for Tiwa Savage to share her thoughts and experiences. The Receipts Podcast has built a reputation for its honest and insightful discussions, and this episode with Tiwa Savage is no exception. Engaging with Tolani on her podcast provides the opportunity to bare it all in such a way that society does not only get entertained but correct misconceptions. The podcast is not meant to cast, it is a stage to make amends and set the record straight. Tolani Soneye, who has worked with prominent organisations such as BuzzFeed and the BBC, is the younger sister of Olufemi Soneye, the chief corporate communications officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) Michael Adoyi writes from Abuja. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print By constantly imagining himself as governor of Rivers State and seeking so desperately to control the affairs of the State, Nyesom Wike may be exhibiting the worst strain of all hallucinations the hallucination of power Wike and his proxies have been waging a futile battle in the courts, in the streets, and in the media, to unseat the legitimate government of Governor Siminalayi Fubara. Over the past one year, former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has shown that he is unable to accept the reality that he is no longer the governor of Rivers State. Although he is the current Minister for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with a full bucket of administrative responsibilities to the residents of the FCT, the minister has his total attention fixed on Rivers State, where he still imagines himself as the de facto governor and political godfather. But Wikes psychological inability to accept and operate within reality should be of concern to all Nigerians. In clinical psychology, when a person loses touch with reality, it is called psychosis. A person with a psychotic condition may seem perfectly fine, but they may, in fact, be living a big part of their lives in an alternate universe. For instance, psychotic individuals may hear voices that no one else hears psychologists call this auditory hallucination. They may also see people that no one else sees doctors call this visual hallucination. By constantly imagining himself as governor of Rivers State and seeking so desperately to control the affairs of the State, Nyesom Wike may be exhibiting the worst strain of all hallucinations the hallucination of power. Wike and his proxies have been waging a futile battle in the courts, in the streets, and in the media, to unseat the legitimate government of Governor Siminalayi Fubara. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later On the 7th of October, political hoodlums burnt down the headquarters of four local government area councils in Rivers State, after the successful conclusion of the local government elections by the states independent electoral body. As they set the buildings ablaze, the arsonists could be heard in chilling videos, threatening even more violence and destruction. On 10 October, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja gave one of most bizarre rulings in Nigerias jurisprudence by stopping the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Accountant-General of the federation from releasing statutory financial allocations to Rivers State. Justice Abdulmalik gave her judgement on the basis of what many believed was a completely meritless application, filed in a distant and improbable jurisdiction, by a cohort of Wikes loyalists who seemed bent on destabilising Rivers State. As one of the 36 federating states of Nigeria, Rivers State has a constitutionally guaranteed right to financial allocations from the Federal Government. The allocations are made for the purpose of governance and service delivery to the millions of people who live in the state. Therefore, if there are disputes between organs of government over budgetary matters or financial appropriation, the resolution of such disputes must at least begin within the legal jurisdiction of Rivers State. There are over ten judicial divisions in Rivers State presided over by dozens of high court judges. So, why take matters concerning the internal financial affairs of Rivers State to Abuja a different legal jurisdiction, which is 642.3 kilometres away? But in her rush to judgement, Justice Abdulmalik seemed to see jurisdiction where there was none. Crucially, Her Lordship neglected to reflect on the broader damage to society which her dystopian judgement might have caused. For example, the judgement would have denied thousands of Rivers state teachers, doctors, civil servants, sanitation workers, and retirees of their salaries and gratuities. The judgement would have halted the delivery of basic municipal services, and thrown over two hundred thousand innocent children out of school in Rivers State. In other words, this was a judgement that was guaranteed to break the dam of popular anger in Rivers State and beyond. Throughout his career, the German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, insisted that there was a tenuous link between politics and mental disorder. Nietzsche warned that we should be worried when politics is driven by people with a neurotic attachment to power. Nyesom Wike and his judicial allies may be pushing Nigeria towards the frightening nihilism that Friedrich Nietzsche warned us about. Thankfully, on 13 December, the Appeal Court in Abuja nullified the entirety of Justice Abdulmaliks judgement for want of jurisdiction. But, thanks to Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, lawyers may henceforth define judicial psychosis as a judges uncanny ability to see legal jurisdiction where there is none. Austin Tam-George is a former senior executive fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, Massachusetts. He served as commissioner for Information and Communication in Rivers State between 2015 and 2017. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Firebrand politician, Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo is known for what he does. He is a man whose credibility is best defined by the roles he played in the last hours of the 2023 election as he abandoned his SDP compatriots mid sea to cut deals with different political interests. Before the election, he spared no pejorative to describe the government of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, including manufacturing revenue data (intentionally so) to manipulate the public. He would later eat his words when he praised the same governor for being such a large-hearted statesman who earned his second term on the back of excellent performance and the temperament to manage the tantrums of his ilks. The above offers a fair glimpse into the person of Akogun, a man who likes to be called the irrepressible five-star General of the Otoge battle. Bitter for not getting enough patronage, he was on Channels TV on Friday night to again attack the Governor and market his new mercenary endeavour. As he struggled with vile political platitudes to mask his real intentions, anchor Seun Okinbaloye asked him to discuss governance in Kwara since 2019. Akogun then made two false claims: that Kwara remains 80% dependent on federal allocation (an euphemism that the economy has been stagnant) and that things have remained the same, including in education and healthcare delivery. It is a lie. By many verifiable accounts, including BudgIT, Kwara is one of the states that can easily discharge their monthly obligations without waiting on federal allocation. New GDP computation jointly done by the NBS and SBS shows that the state economy has grown steadily under Abdulrazaq, peaking at 11.52% (growth rate) in 2022. Importantly, the report said this growth was fuelled largely by governments investment and support for agric, enterprise, and services. At N3.9tr (GDP), the report revealed that the state economy is one of the largest in Northern Nigeria. From its wrecked state in 2019, including being on the UBEC backlist between 2014 and 2019, basic education and primary healthcare have improved significantly as recent testimonies show. UBEC Executive Secretary Dr Hamid Bobboyi said Kwara is now a leading state in basic education. Kwara has won the national presidential debate for three times in a row, while its KwaraLEARN programme shows unprecedented progress in basic literacy and numeracy skills. On Thursday night, December 12, the state emerged as the best state in North Central in basic healthcare for the second time in two years. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Along with massive facility upgrades, the government recently hired 1,005 health professionals, including medical doctors, nurses, and midwives, to strengthen healthcare delivery at the grassroots. While every society continues to evolve in gaps of development, Mr Akogun cannot claim a relapse in the standing of Kwara. Seun could not have believed Mr Akoguns fairy tales about Kwara. He has reasons not to, even though he (Seun) is based in Abuja. A proud son of Oko, Seun must have read that the Oko Omu Aran Road has been fixed by Abdulrazaq, making the hitherto tortuous journey along that corridor a smooth one. Further down that axis is the failed antiquated Orisa bridge (Oro Ago), which the Governor has also replaced with a newly built bridge, more than 50 years after the colonialists built it. Located in the same area, the Oro General Hospital was recently renovated on a comprehensive scale by the same Governor, more than 45 years after it was built. This is the story of Kwara, not the fables of Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo. Echoing PDPs goofballs, Mr Akogun said fences are being erected to displace people a veiled criticism of the efforts of the government to restore law and order in the capital city. This assertion, and many others attributed to Mr Akogun, proves the transparency problem in human psychology; in other words, our strategies for dealing with strangers, or humans generally, are deeply flawed. Transparency, a theory from the thinking of Charles Darwin, is the idea that peoples behaviour or demeanour the way they represent themselves on the outside provides an authentic and reliable window into the way they feel on the inside. People mostly mistook Mr Akogun for a progressive who simply wanted a greater Kwara where things are properly done for better outcomes. We are wrong. This transparency problem has proven costly in history. Former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain once claimed profound knowledge of Adolf Hitler to the extent that he misjudged him to act on his words. Chamberlain was grossly mistaken as Hitler acted exactly contrary to the assumption of the British leader. This is what we have repeatedly seen in Akogun. The urban renewal project of the administration has proven critical as Ilorin steadily succumbed to the excesses of human behaviour when not checked. From the Ahmadu Bello Way, Post Office, and Challenge to Oja Oba, nobody respected land use laws and setbacks anymore to the extent that _paraga_ (locally made gin and concoction) joints were already springing up everywhere and going out in the evening, even on the Ahmadu Bello Way, was becoming a nightmare. Young girls were being harassed everywhere, especially at the Post Office and Challenge axis. The urban renewal has instantly reversed the ugly trend as the government massively upgraded the infrastructure in a way never seen in the last 40 years, pushed back the encroachments, and reclaimed setbacks. This is what Akogun and PDPs kamikazes have politicized. Not only has the governor bested his predecessors in infrastructure development and turnaround of Ilorin, he has in fact shown leadership in how he handled projects that he inherited from his predecessors a quality we know to be lacking in many leaders, including Senator Bukola Saraki whose boys now bleat around. From the new secretariat to the Osi and Ilesha campuses of the state university, the Governor made sure the state does not become a mortuary of abandoned projects. Between 2003 and 2019, Sarakis hegemony abandoned projects of his predecessor such as the main auditorium of the Kwara Polytechnic, water projects, and hostels that the Mohammed Lawal regime had started. In prudence, the iconic Revenue House, likely the tallest building in North Central today, attests to how the Abdulrazaq administration has ensured that humongous commissions to consultants in the former administration are instead spent on building a legacy structure of massive economic importance. Tens of thousands of people are productively engaged across different construction sites in the state, including in the capital city Ilorin. If anyone calls projects and programmes like the garment factory, innovation hub, Shea butter factory, Patigi Motel, sugar factory film studio, industrial park, remodeled Kwara Hotel, agroprocessing zone, international conference centre, an inexhaustible list of rural and urban roads, and a few others a white elephant, you can tell where they belong: a band of traditional politicians whose understanding of public good and development is what they get as personal gains or things that appeal to their individual egos. A good side of democracy is that leaders must put up with such persons as the spice of life. Such is the lot of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq. Rafiu Ajakaye is Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Kwara State Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Education stakeholders in Abia and Imo have expressed deep concern over the exorbitant fees charged by private schools in the country. A cross-section of the respondents blamed the phenomenon on the lack of effective monitoring of schools by government regulatory agencies at all levels. In Abia, the people blamed the commercialisation of education by private schools on ineffective regulatory policy framework and weak monitoring mechanisms by agencies of the government. They spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), saying that the onus was on the government to check the unhealthy phenomenon. They called on the state government to evolve an effective monitoring mechanism to ensure that private schools deliver quality service to their pupils and students. Osondu Kalu, a father of two, said that effective monitoring of private schools by the relevant authorities would help keep them in check and ensure quality education. Mr Kalu said that issues of unqualified teachers, substandard curricula, and uneven education quality had become a disturbing trend in private schools.. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later He said that most parents developed a preference for private schools because of the failure of the government to upgrade the educational facilities in public schools. Mr Kalu said that the school fees in highly rated private schools are high and beyond the reach of an average Nigerian parent. According to him, this unfortunate trend among private schools with exorbitant fees ought to be addressed by the government. Mr Kalu, therefore, called for effective monitoring of the private schools by the relevant authorities to ensure that the standard for quality education was maintained. A civil servant, Dorine Ahamefule, said that some private schools were set up with the primary objective of making money rather than imparting knowledge to young minds. Mrs Ahamefule said that the unusual focus on money instead of imparting knowledge had become a serious challenge, especially given their inability to hire qualified teachers or pay well. She said that parents should feel the effect of the high fees they pay on their childrens academic performance. Mrs Ahamefule also said that paying teachers well translates to building a highly motivated teachers staff and better productivity. However, this comes with a downside, where the fees do not always correlate with the quality of education delivered, especially when schools employ unqualified teachers. This practice can lead to substandard education, undermining the value parents expect from their investment. The employment of unqualified teachers is often a cost-saving measure, which can compromise the educational quality and outcomes. This scenario raises concerns about the commercialisation of education, where profit sometimes outweighs educational quality, she said. A disability advocate, Ikenna Ebiri, urged parents and guardians not to equate high fees with high quality, saying that some affordable schools might offer quality education. Mr Ebiri said that in spite of the high fees, not all private schools invest adequately in infrastructure or human resources, leading to disparity in the quality of education. He said that with the proliferation of private schools, maintaining a competitive edge while ensuring affordability and quality is challenging. Mr Ebiri, therefore, called for an enhanced regulatory framework to ensure all schools meet a minimum standard in teacher qualifications, facilities, and curriculum. He called on the government to make education less elitist through scholarships, waivers to private schools and remodelling of the school system. Some parents and education experts also urged the federal and state governments to support private schools in order to lessen the financial burden they transfer to parents. They further called on the government to introduce free education in public schools. They urged the government to make public schools more attractive in order to discourage parents and guardians from patronising substandard and expensive private schools. The Chairman of the Parent-Teacher Association, Holy Rosary Secondary School, Umuahia, Edward Okoro, said the high operational costs contribute to exorbitant fees charged by private schools. Mr Okoro said that most private schools with a population between 50 and 100 students might not be able to cover their expenses in running the school, including payment of teachers salaries. Government has a lot to do and one of them is to make education free in primary and secondary schools. If the public schools are renovated and equipped with qualified teachers, many parents will begin to patronise them, instead of taking their children and wards to private schools. And when that is done, the exorbitant fees by private schools will no longer be there, which might cause some of them to close down, he said. Also, Rose Uzoka, the dean, College of Education, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, urged the government to subsidise private schools to check high charges. Ms Uzoka, a professor, said that most of the private schools pay tangible amount of taxes to the government and needed to recover the money through school fees and other charges. She said: I doubt if there is any private secondary school in the South-east that charges as much as N3 million or N4 million as school fees. The government is not doing enough to help these private schools, but that should not be an excuse to exploit parents in the name of school fees. There are different ways that the government can support the private schools to lessen the burden of exorbitant school fees. A parent, Kalu Ukpai, lamented that some of the private schools charge exorbitant fees but employ unqualified teachers, whom they pay poor salaries. Mr Ukpai said that the high cost of education has become a serious concern, especially now that things are generally tough in the country. Many families are finding it extremely difficult to make ends meet. How, then, can they cope with the high school fees, especially for those with many children? But, I am happy for what Governor Alex Otti is doing in the education sector now in Abia, especially with the remodelling of public schools and his plans to introduce free basic education next year. The governors move will bring back the lost glory in public schools and pull people out from the private schools, he said. In Imo, some private secondary school teachers lamented that they were being underpaid, saying that their salaries and other emoluments were not commensurate with their output and school fees paid by the students. Oluchukwu Ferdinand, who holds a Higher National Diploma in Education and teaches in a private secondary school, said that her employer always referred to the HND/BSc dichotomy as his reason for underpaying his teaching staff. Ms Ferdinand said that the attitude explained why the proprietor employed only HND and Ordinary National Diploma holders, adding that this was affecting the teachers approach to their duties. Another teacher, Uchechi Okoro, said that the lack of government measures to checkmate the activities of private schools was also a factor. Ms Okoro said: Im one of the 15 teachers in the secondary school where I teach, seven are regular staff members, while eight are youth corps members, who get a paltry allowance to augment what they receive from the federal government. But because nobody checks these things, they just keep happening and there is little or nothing the teachers can do about it, she said. She argued that changing corps members annually was affecting the students performance negatively and called on the government not to allow inexperienced corps members to take over the core duties of teachers as assigned in the curriculum. A head teacher, George Ojiaku, blamed the low remuneration of teachers in private schools on the governments failure to provide adequate remuneration for teachers in public schools. Mr Ojiaku said that since the government sets the standard for the private sector, it would be difficult to expect perfection from the latter. The Proprietress of Sound Foundation Academy, Emekuku, Owerri, Chinwendu Osuji, said that the location of a school determines the fees charged which, in turn, determines the remuneration of teachers. Mrs Osuji called on the government to establish modalities for equitable school fees charged by private schools. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The police in Lagos State have transferred detained nurse and activist Olamide Thomas to Abuja following her arrest for her remarks cursing the children of President Bola Tinubu and Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun in a live Facebook video. She live-streamed the video on her Facebook page on 20 October, shortly after she was reportedly brutalised by police officers during the #EndSARS memorial procession at the Lekki Tollgate. PREMIUM TIMES learnt that Ms Thomas, who was arrested at home in Shomolu, Lagos State, at dawn on Friday, was denied administrative bail at Panti Police Station, Yaba, Lagos. She was flown to Abuja on Saturday, PREMIUM TIMES learnt. Our reporter gathered that she was handed over to the cybercrime unit of the Federal Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) in Abuja, but none of the police spokespersons at various levels confirmed it. The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, a superintendent of police, neither confirmed nor denied the development when contacted on phone by our correspondent on Saturday. Similarly, the spokesperson for the FCID, Funmi Eguaoje, said she had no information about the case. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Ill let you know when I have the details, she told PREMIUM TIMES. Olumuyiwa Adejobi, an Assistant Commissioner of Police and the Force Public Relations Officer, could not be reached for comments. However, Ms Thomas associates, who spoke with our reporter over the phone Saturday night, confirmed the development. She has been transferred to the Police Cybercrime Centre under the FCID () in Abuja, Netufo Tomide, an activist and one of Ms Thomaa associates, told PREMIUM TIMES. Another activist in her circle, Folayemi Akinfolarin, told our reporter that Ms Thomas called her on the phone confirming her arrival in Abuja on Saturday in company with the police. I received a call from her informing me that they just landed in Abuja now, Ms Akinfolarin said. In the video that led to her arrest, she expressed deep grievances, invoking divine power and issuing severe condemnations directed at Mr Tinubu, Mr Egbetokun, and the Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi. Made in her moment of pain and sense of injustice by the police, her remarks included curses foretelling loss and tragedy against them. The distressed activist was seen in the video pleading with bystanders to pour water on her head, seemingly after inhaling teargas. PREMIUM TIMES learnt that Ms Thomas, an activist, was arrested at dawn in Shomolu Lagos State on Friday by operatives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) , a special tactical squad that works under the Inspector General of Police. The police were said to have tracked her to her home through her uncle who was arrested and detained earlier on Thursday. Ms Thomas was thereafter taken to Panti police station in Lagos and the Lagos State Police Command headquarters in Ikeja. Her alleged offences are still not clear. Earlier in November, her Facebook friend Lanre Shotunde was arrested and detained by the police in a bid to get to her. The IRT team arrested Mr Shotunde in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, on 6 November and took him to the Sango Ota Police Station on the same day. He was released on the night of 7 November. The Socialist Workers League (SWL), which she belongs to, vehemently condemned what it described as the abduction of nurse Olamide by officers of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) from her home. The group shared on Saturday more insights into how the police arrested her. #EndSARS memorial On 20 October, police reportedly arrested about 23 activists who had gathered at the Lekki Toll Gate to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the #EndSARS protest. Officers initially dispersed the crowd using teargas before detaining the activists and transporting them in a Black Maria to Panti Police Station in Yaba, where they were held. The date marks the tragic events of 20 October 2020, when Nigerian security forces, particularly the Army, opened fire on peaceful protesters at the tollgate, which had become the epicentre of the dayslong #EndSARS movement against police brutality. Many were injured or killed during the incident. Since then, 20 October has been observed by Nigerians to honour the victims and reflect on the struggle against police highhandedness and systemic governance issues. However, the police have consistently blocked #EndSARS memorial gatherings at the site each year. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has said the completion of all developmental projects his administration embarked on since its inception remains his utmost priority. Governor Abiodun also reiterated the financial creativity and transparency of his administration, which according to him, have pushed the State far above almost all the States in Nigeria except Lagos, in Internally Generated Revenue capacity, making Ogun one of the three most viable States in Nigeria. Governor Abiodun, speaking on the sidelines of the budget presentation at the complex of the Ogun State House of Assembly, explained that he remained focused on projects with revenue potential, capacity to enhance employment generation, and consistent with the priorities articulated in the states Economic Development Plan & Strategy 2021 2025. He said his administration was able to reverse the humongous infrastructural deficit it inherited from successive governments in the State in less than six years of his tenure, adding that the ISEYA mantra, as a compass of developmental drive for his administration, had helped in no small way to enhance speedy growth in all sectors. The inherent concept of our developmental agenda is predicated on projects that align with the seven thematic areas contained in the Medium-Term National Development Plan 2021-2025, namely: Economic Growth and Development; Infrastructure; Public Administration (Governance, Security, and International Relations); Human Capital Development; Social Development; Regional Development; Plan Implementation, Communication, Financing, Monitoring, and Evaluation, Mr Abiodun said. The governor, however, promised residents of the state that despite the aggressive move to generate revenue and block leakages, his government would never impose additional burdens on them. It would be recalled that the Ogun State governor presented a budget of N1,054,542,020,147.47 to the State House of Assembly as the States proposed budget for 2025, tagged Budget of Hope and Prosperity, which is made up of N453.56 billion as recurrent expenditure and N600.98 billion as capital expenditures. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print NEW YORK, Dec. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The global defense it spending market size is estimated to grow by USD 23.53 Billion from 2024 to 2028, according to Technavio. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 4.49% during the forecast period. For comprehensive forecast and historic data on regions,market segments, customer landscape, and companies- Click for the snapshot of this report Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Defense IT Spending Market 2024-2028 Report Attribute Details Base Year 2023 Forecast period 2024-2028 Historic Data for 2018 - 2022 Segments Covered Type (Service, Software, and Hardware), Application (Cyber security, IT infrastructure, Logistic and asset management, and Others), and Geography (North America, APAC, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and South America) Key Companies Covered Accenture Plc, Amazon.com Inc., BAE Systems Plc, CRON AI, Cubic Corp., CyAmast Pty Ltd., Dell Technologies Inc., General Dynamics Corp., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., Holo Light GmbH, International Business Machines Corp., Kratos Defense and Security Solutions Inc., Leidos Holdings Inc., ManTech International Corp., Microsoft Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp., Oracle Corp., Pennant International Group PLC, Science Applications International Corp. Inc., and Palantir Technologies Inc. Regions Covered North America, APAC, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and South America Region Outlook North America Europe Asia Rest of World 1. North America - North America is estimated to contribute 46%. To the growth of the global market. The Defense IT Spending Market report forecasts market growth by revenue at global, regional & country levels from 2017 to 2027. The North American defense IT spending market refers to the investments made by defense organizations and agencies in North America on IT products and services. This market is significant due to the presence of major defense entities like the US Department of Defense (DoD). Driving factors include the increasing demand for advanced IT solutions to address escalating security challenges. Cloud computing, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity solutions are key areas of investment. Furthermore, modernization initiatives and the need for efficient decision-making tools are fueling market growth during the forecast period. For more insights on North America's significant contribution along with the market share of rest of the regions and countries - Download a FREE Sample Segmentation Overview Type 1.1 Service 1.2 Software 1.3 Hardware Application 2.1 Cyber security 2.2 IT infrastructure 2.3 Logistic and asset management 2.4 Others Geography 3.1 North America 3.2 APAC 3.3 Europe 3.4 Middle East and Africa and 3.5 South America Get a glance at the market contribution of rest of the segments - Download a FREE Sample Report in minutes! 1.1 Fastest growing segment: The global defense IT spending market encompasses various service segments catering to defense organizations' unique IT needs. These segments include Consulting Services, Systems Integration, Application Development and Maintenance, Managed Services, Cybersecurity Services, Training and Support Services, and Data Analytics Services. Military firms rely on Consulting Services for strategic advice on digital transformation, cybersecurity, data analytics, and technology adoption. Systems Integration ensures seamless communication and interoperability by integrating defense IT systems, tools, and software. Application Development and Maintenance create and manage specialized software applications for defense companies. Managed Services outsource IT tasks to vendors for cost savings and productivity gains. Cybersecurity Services protect critical infrastructure and private military data from cyber threats. Training and Support Services optimize IT system usage and performance. Data Analytics Services extract valuable insights from defense data for informed decision-making and operational efficiency improvements. These essential services enable defense organizations to adapt to technology landscapes, enhance capabilities, and drive the growth of the defense IT spending market. Research Analysis The Defense IT Spending market is a critical sector that continues to evolve, driven by the increasing demand for advanced technologies to support Defense Forces, Civilian Forces, Homeland Security, and other government agencies. This market encompasses various domains, including Cybersecurity, Communication Systems, Intelligence Technologies, IT Infrastructure, Cloud Computing, Data Analytics, and more. Cutting-edge technologies such as Cybersecurity solutions, 5G networks, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Autonomous systems, and Internet of Things (IoT) analytics are increasingly being adopted to enhance security, improve communication, and optimize decision-making in a network centric environment. Additionally, Defense IT infrastructure supports the development of Smart weapons, Battlefield management systems, Decision science platforms, and Healthcare solutions. Communication Systems enable secure and reliable communication between forces, while Intelligence Technologies provide real-time data analysis and actionable insights. VR/AR technology, Flight simulators, and Sensors are also integral to the Defense IT Spending market, enabling advanced training and simulation capabilities. Overall, this market is undergoing a digital transformation, with a focus on integrating the latest technologies to enhance operational effectiveness and improve mission success. Market Overview The Defense IT Spending market is a critical sector that focuses on providing advanced IT solutions to Defense Forces, Homeland Security, and Paramilitary Forces worldwide. This market encompasses various IT sectors, including Cybersecurity, Communication Systems, Intelligence Technologies, IT Infrastructure, Cloud Computing, Data Analytics, and more. Defense IT systems are essential for military capabilities, ensuring secure communications, battlefield management, and decision-making in a network centric environment. The market is driven by Geopolitical Tensions, Defense Modernization, and Government Policies, leading to increased IT Spending on cutting-edge technologies such as 5G, Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Systems, and Digital Transformation. Cybersecurity is a significant concern, with Defense Forces and National Defense Data at risk from cyberattacks. IT Solutions in this sector include Software, Hardware, and Services to protect against threats and ensure secure data transfer. Communication Systems, including sensors, actuators, and control systems, are crucial for military operations, while Unmanned Systems and VR/AR technology provide advanced training capabilities. Defense IT infrastructure also includes IT technologies for healthcare, military infrastructures, and IoT analytics for military actions. Smart weapons, sensors, and actuators are integral components of defense operations, while IT technologies such as flight simulators and battlefield management systems enable effective military decision-making. Overall, the Defense IT Spending market is a dynamic and evolving sector that continues to adapt to the changing needs of defense organizations worldwide. Start exploring market insights by Download a FREE Sample Report in minutes! Key Topics Covered: 1 Executive Summary 2 Market Landscape 3 Market Sizing 4 Historic Market Size 5 Five Forces Analysis 6 Market Segmentation 7 Customer Landscape 8 Geographic Landscape 9 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 10 Venodr Landscape 11 Vendor 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 Themed on "Vocational Education as a Key Driver of Global Sustainable Development", the parallel session of the 2024 World Vocational and Technical Education Development Conference was held in Tianjin on Nov. 21. The session was sponsored by China's Ministry of Education, the National Commission of China for UNESCO, and the Tianjin Municipal People's Government, and organized by Beijing Foreign Studies University. Over 200 representatives from education departments, higher education institutions, and research institutions from nearly 30 countries and regions participated in the parallel session, aiming to delve into the critical role of vocational education in sustainable development against the backdrop of global economic integration and industrial upgrading and consolidate educational strength to build a bridge for international cooperation. Bourema Kansaye, Mali's Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Loyda Barreda Rodriguez, Nicaragua's Director of the National Technological Training Institute, Andrey Alekseyevich Korneyyev, Russian Deputy Minister of Education, Monica Musenero Masanza, Uganda's Minister for Science Technology and Innovation, Liao Pinhu, Vice Chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and Shoichi Kondo, a member of the House of Representatives of Japan, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches. They introduced frontier concepts in vocational education, shared results of international cooperation, explored strategies and methods for sustainable development, and provided references for global vocational education cooperation and sustainable development. Bourema Kansaye pointed out in his speech that vocational education, as a significant means of cultivating talented individuals with practical skills, plays a pivotal role in advancing global sustainable development. He also mentioned that China and Mali have maintained close cooperation and exchanges across various fields. He expressed hope that vocational education could act as a bridge to further deepen the friendship and cooperation between the two countries, fostering a better future together. Loyda Barreda Rodriguez emphasized in her speech the importance of tailoring vocational education to local needs. She called for utilizing the benefits of both bilateral and multilateral cooperation to enhance the development of vocational education, increase employment opportunities, and promote national overall development. Rodriguez conveyed appreciation for the collaborative efforts between China and Nicaragua in areas such as history, culture, and tourism, and anticipated further strengthening of bilateral ties and the inauguration of a new chapter in cooperation. Andrey Alekseyevich Korneyyev highlighted the achievements and experiences in the advancement of Russian vocational education. He stated that Russia places a high value on vocational education and diligently works to promote the integration of industries and education, and facilitate school-enterprise collaboration to closely connect vocational education with the labor market. He noted that Russia has been proactive in using advanced technology, competitions, and assessments to offer platforms and create opportunities for developing a new generation of technical and skilled talents. Monica Musenero Masanza emphasized the crucial role of vocational education in eradicating poverty and driving economic progress, as well as the necessity of cultivating skilled talents to confront future challenges. Musenero introduced the outcomes of projects such as the Luban Workshop and industrial parks developed through China-Uganda collaboration, highlighting the beneficial effects of international cooperation in vocational education on enhancing local R&D, boosting production capacity, and building industrial ecosystems. Liao Pinhu highlighted the practices and outcomes stemming from the development of the China-ASEAN Modern Craftsman Institute. By means of promoting high-quality vocational education development, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has collaborated with countries along the Belt and Road to co-build and share quality vocational education resources. In Shoichi Kondo's speech, he highlighted the accomplishments achieved through the collaboration between China and Japan in areas such as education and the environment. He emphasized the importance of improving skilled talent literacy in the globalized world, shared practices and successes in developing the Japanese vocational education system, and expressed a commitment to further explore specific methods for enhancing the cultivation of international talents in Asia and Africa. Professor Wang Dinghua noted the shared consensus among countries on vocational education development, namely to advance vocational education through global cooperation, focus on building a sound and effective international governance system that incorporates external resources, fosters international outreach, ensures high quality, and promotes integration. The conference has outlined three primary topics for in-depth discussion: "The Concept of Sustainable Development: Green Development and Social Equity," "The Mechanisms of Sustainable Development: Global Vision and International Cooperation," and "The Pathways of Sustainable Development: Technological Innovation and Industrial Upgrading." These discussions are intended to share practical results of vocational education development on a global scale and to explore various strategies for tackling environmental challenges, fostering employment growth, and facilitating industrial transformation. Mohd Zahari Ismail, Director of the Polytechnic Education and Community Colleges Department at the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia, introduced Malaysia's policies, plans, and achievements in using vocational education to promote youth employment, pursue sustainable development goals, and deepen international cooperation. Lv Jingquan, Director of the Expert Committee on the Construction of Luban Workshops under the Ministry of Education and Professor at Tianjin University of Technology and Education, introduced the Chinese vocational education brand, the Luban Workshop EPIP, and highlighted its significant contributions to talent cultivation through international cooperation. Leticia Frazao Alexandre de Moraes Leme, Minister-Counselor of the Brazilian Embassy in China, introduced practical outcomes of the deep integration of sustainable development principles in the field of vocational education, using examples from the development of vocational education in Brazil. Jessica Shuck, Counselor of the British Department for Business and Trade at the British Embassy in China, elaborated on the importance of digital transformation for the development of vocational education based on the China-UK Technical and Vocational Education and Training Digitalization Project. Professor Xu Jianling, President of Shenzhen Polytechnic University, introduced the "One Core, Six Pillars" model for high-quality international development at Shenzhen Polytechnic University. He highlighted how the institution is exploring new pathways and models for internationalizing vocational education by centering on digital transformation and building diverse international cooperation platforms. Li Junfeng, Vice President of Huawei and President of the Public Sector Business Group, outlined Huawei's achievements in exploring collaborative education mechanisms and building a digital and intelligent education ecosystem. Li emphasized that Huawei will continue to promote deeper industry-education integration and cultivate high-quality talents, empowering sustainable global talent development. Tamas Hajab, Senior Advisor to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in China and Head of the OECD Beijing Office, showcased OECD's innovative work in evaluating international vocational education and training. He emphasized the pivotal role of evaluation in enhancing the quality of vocational education and training, fostering international cooperation, and guiding policy development. He also highlighted its contributions to advancing vocational education and training system reforms, strengthening the alignment of vocational education with market demands, and promoting lifelong learning. Tricha Loubna, Director General of the Office of Vocational Training and Employment Promotion of the Kingdom of Morocco, provided a detailed overview of Morocco's achievements and practices in vocational education and interpreted the future pathways for China-Morocco vocational education cooperation. Rachel Lynch, First Secretary (Education and Research) at the Australian Embassy in China, elaborated on the significant role that Australia's vocational education and training system plays in developing individual skills and its contributions to Australia's long-term sustainable development. Zhao Fengwen, Secretary of the Party Committee of Shandong Polytechnic, provided an in-depth analysis from a global perspective on how vocational education and talent development can help address environmental challenges, promote employment growth, and support industrial transformation. Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga, Executive Director of Unitec Institute of Technology Region 1, explained how vocational education and training systems can align with industry needs, thus supporting the development of a workforce with sustainable development literacy. Professor Cai Dapeng, President of Beijing Vocational College of Labor and Social Security, explored how vocational education can provide innovative solutions to real-world societal issues, driving continuous social progress. Georg Stadler, Chief Representative of the Hanns-Seidel Stiftung(German) Gansu Office, elaborated on the significance of sustainable development in Germany's vocational education system, providing a systematic overview of Germany's practical experiences in integrating vocational education with sustainability and environmental protection. Stadler also shared methods and outcomes of incorporating sustainable development principles into vocational education and training. Gareth Rimmington, an expert at Komatsu Group, Corporate Expert at Komatsu Group, emphasized the critical role of vocational education in sustainable underground mining, noting that advancements in mining technology have led to an increased demand for highly skilled talent, thereby driving the standardization and globalization of vocational education. He believes that vocational education is crucial for cultivating professionals capable of safely and efficiently managing complex mining operations, providing continuous talent support for the transformation and upgrading of the underground mining industry. Mayuree Sriraboot, President of Ayutthaya Technical College in Thailand, introduced Thailand's national vocational education plans, policies, and implementation outcomes based on the "UNESCO Strategy for TVET (20222029)." Professor Yuan Dayong, Vice Dean of the Graduate School of Education at Beijing Foreign Studies University, introduced Beijing Foreign Studies University's open, diverse, and innovative internationalization philosophy, highlighting its achievements in areas such as research leadership, platform development, and distinctive activities. Yuan also shared the university's significant achievements gained in exploring the international development of vocational education and promoting global vocational education cooperation. This conference, with a global perspective, brought together diverse forces to focus on sustainable development, share experiences in training technical and skilled talent, and discuss cooperation in vocational education development. NEW DELHI, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Unidentified assailants killed two migrant laborers in India's strife-torn northeastern state of Manipur, local police said on Sunday. The incident took place in the state's Kakching district late on Saturday. The victims, aged 17 and 18, hailed from the eastern state of Bihar. They had been working in Manipur for the past several months. The motive behind the killing was not known. NEW YORK, Dec. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The global heart valve repair and replacement devices market size is estimated to grow by USD 2.58 billion from 2024 to 2028, according to Technavio. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 7.08% during the forecast period. The report provides a comprehensive forecast of key segments below- Segmentation Overview Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global heart valve repair and replacement devices market 2024-2028 Product 1.1 Heart valve replacement devices 1.2 Heart valve repair devices Geography 2.1 North America 2.2 Europe 2.3 Asia 2.4 Rest of World (ROW) Get a glance at the market contribution of rest of the segments - Download a FREE Sample Report in minutes! 1.1 Fastest growing segment: Heart valve replacement devices are essential medical solutions for individuals with damaged heart valves. These devices are categorized into three types based on the valve material: mechanical, tissue/bioprosthetic, and transcatheter. Mechanical valves, manufactured from synthetic materials like plastic, carbon, or metal, offer durability and longevity, typically lasting about 25 years. They are suitable for patients below 65 years with valve stenosis or regurgitation and a history of atrial fibrillation. However, patients must take anticoagulants for life due to the risk of blood clots. Mechanical valves are ideal for patients with small-sized hearts and are represented by products like Medtronic Open Pivot Mechanical Heart Valves, Edwards INTUITY Elite valve system, and Carbomedics Aortic Family. Tissue/bioprosthetic valves, derived from animal tissues or human donor tissue, provide strength and a ten-year lifespan without anticoagulant consumption. They are recommended for older patients above 65 years. However, they may not be suitable for neonatal and pediatric patients due to their tendency to break down. Some popular bioprosthetic valves include Medtronic's Mosaic and Mosaic Ultra Bioprostheses and Abbott's The EPIC MITRAL STENDED TISSUE VALVE WITH LINX ANTICALCIFICATION technology. Transcatheter heart valves, designed to replace the aortic valve, are minimally invasive, requiring mild sedation and few incisions, with short hospital stays. They are beneficial for patients with aortic valve stenosis, improving their survival rate. Complications associated with transcatheter valves include bleeding, stroke, arrhythmias, kidney disease, infections, and heart attack. Boston Scientific Corporation's LOTUS Edge Aortic Valve System, JenaValve Technology's JenaValve Pericardial TAVR System, and Medtronic's Evolut PRO System are some transcatheter heart valves available in the market. The growth of the heart valve repair and replacement devices market is driven by the increasing prevalence of heart valve diseases, technological advancements, and an aging population. The demand for minimally invasive procedures and the rising awareness of heart valve replacement therapies are also contributing factors. These trends are expected to propel the growth of this market during the forecast period. Analyst Review Heart valves are essential components of the cardiovascular system, allowing the efficient flow of blood between heart chambers and the rest of the body. Damage to heart valves due to congenital defects, acquired conditions such as infections, age-related changes, heart attacks, or calcific degeneration can lead to regurgitation or stenosis, requiring treatment. Heart disease patients may first attempt medicines or lifestyle changes, but when these methods fail, heart valve repair or replacement becomes necessary. Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) and Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement (TMVR) are minimally invasive procedures that have gained popularity due to their lower risk compared to open-heart surgery. The FDA has approved several heart valve repair and replacement devices, leading to numerous acquisitions and innovations in the market. Cardiovascular diseases, including heart valve damage, affect millions worldwide, driving the demand for these devices. However, their high cost and stringent regulatory procedures can limit access to some patients. Diagnostic technologies, such as echocardiography, help identify heart valve issues early, allowing for timely intervention. Heart valve repair and replacement devices are crucial for treating various heart conditions, improving patients' quality of life and longevity. The market for these devices is constantly evolving, with ongoing research and development to address the unique needs of different patient populations. Market Overview Heart valves are essential components of the cardiovascular system, allowing the proper flow of blood through the heart. Damage to heart valves can occur due to congenital defects, age-related changes, infections, heart attacks, calcific degeneration, and other heart diseases. Damaged valves can lead to conditions such as regurgitation or stenosis, which can result in heart failure, stroke, blood clots, and even death. Treatment options include medicines, lifestyle changes, and surgical procedures. Heart valve repair and replacement devices are used to address damaged or diseased valves. These devices include prosthetic valves, such as mechanical and biological valves, as well as transcatheter valves like TAVR and TAVI. The industry has seen significant growth due to the increasing prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and the aging population. However, high costs and regulatory procedures, including FDA approval and stringency, can hinder market growth. Heart valve repair and replacement devices are used for both surgical procedures and minimally invasive percutaneous procedures. Mechanical valves and tissue bioprosthetic valves are common types of surgical heart valves, while transcatheter heart valves and percutaneous heart valves are used for minimally invasive procedures. Industry growth drivers include the increasing number of diagnostic technologies for congenital heart defects and the development of new technologies like TMVR. To understand more about this market- Download a FREE Sample Report in minutes! Key Topics Covered: 1 Executive Summary 2 Market Landscape 3 Market Sizing 4 Historic Market Size 5 Five Forces Analysis 6 Market Segmentation 7 Customer Landscape 8 Geographic Landscape 9 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 10 Venodr Landscape 11 Vendor 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 NEW YORK, Dec. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The global medical equipment maintenance market size is estimated to grow by USD 51.2 billion from 2024 to 2028, according to Technavio. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 13.64% during the forecast period. For comprehensive forecast and historic data on regions,market segments, customer landscape, and companies- Click for the snapshot of this report Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global medical equipment maintenance market 2024-2028 Report Attribute Details Base Year 2023 Forecast period 2024-2028 Historic Data for 2017 - 2021 Segments Covered Type (Healthcare systems, Pharmaceutical diagnostics, and Others), End-user (Public sector organizations and Private sector organizations), and Geography (North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of World (ROW)) Key Companies Covered Agfa Gevaert NV, AlphaSource Group, Althea Group S.p.A., Aramark, B.Braun SE, Boston Scientific Corp., Canon Inc., Carestream Health Inc., Dragerwerk AG and Co. KGaA, Edwards Lifesciences Corp., FUJIFILM Corp., General Electric Co., Hitachi Ltd., HOYA Corp., Koninklijke Philips N.V., Medtronic Plc, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Siemens AG, Stryker Corp., and Terumo Corp. Regions Covered North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of World (ROW) Region Outlook North America Europe Asia Rest of World 1. North America - North America is estimated to contribute 33%. To the growth of the global market. The Medical Equipment Maintenance Market report forecasts market growth by revenue at global, regional & country levels from 2017 to 2027. The US is the leading market for medical equipment maintenance in North America, accounting for the largest revenue share. As the world's largest consumer of medical equipment, the US dominates the global market with an annual growth rate of 14.4%, increasing the total value of imports and exports from USD2,028 billion in 2019 to USD2,654 billion in 2021 (WTO data). Traditional export markets for US medical equipment maintenance include EU countries and Japan. The US, being the largest medical equipment market, is expected to maintain its market dominance throughout the forecast period. For more insights on North America's significant contribution along with the market share of rest of the regions and countries - Download a FREE Sample Segmentation Overview Type 1.1 Healthcare systems 1.2 Pharmaceutical diagnostics 1.3 Others End-user 2.1 Public sector organizations 2.2 Private sector organizations Geography 3.1 North America 3.2 Europe 3.3 Asia 3.4 Rest of World (ROW) Get a glance at the market contribution of rest of the segments - Download a FREE Sample Report in minutes! 1.1 Fastest growing segment: The healthcare systems segment is a significant market focusing on maintenance services for medical equipment in hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs). Hospitals rely on meticulous maintenance for diagnostic imaging devices like X-ray machines, CT scanners, and MRI machines, as well as life support systems such as ventilators and anesthesia machines. ASCs require upkeep for endoscopy equipment, surgical instruments, and monitoring devices to ensure optimal patient care. Vendors like Siemens Healthineers offer comprehensive maintenance services, including preventive care, calibration, and repairs. Notable collaborations, such as Anregiomed's ten-year agreement with Siemens Healthineers and Drager, demonstrate the importance of these partnerships in maintaining reliable medical equipment and driving growth in the healthcare systems segment. Belfast Health and Social Care Trust's 20-year Value Partnership with Siemens Healthineers further this trend. These collaborations ensure access to advanced technology and contribute to improved healthcare outcomes. Research Analysis The Medical Equipment Maintenance Market is a significant sector within the healthcare industry, focusing on ensuring the optimal performance and longevity of medical devices. OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) play a crucial role in providing maintenance services for their medical equipment, while healthcare organizations rely on these services to maintain precision and accuracy in patient care. Preventive maintenance is a key strategy to minimize downtime and ensure the continued functionality of medical devices. Patient epidemiology, including chronic conditions such as cancer and diabetes, as well as lifestyle disorders, drive the demand for medical equipment maintenance. The pipeline for new medical devices, including imaging equipment like Computed Tomography (CT) scanners from Canon Medical and Agfa Solutions, requires ongoing maintenance to meet regulatory frameworks and deliver accurate results. With the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and lifestyle-related disorders, the medical equipment maintenance market is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. Market Overview The Medical Equipment Maintenance Market encompasses various types of equipment used in healthcare settings, including diagnostic imaging procedures such as computed tomography and nuclear imaging, as well as dental, endoscopic, surgical, laboratory, ophthalmology equipment, medical lasers, electrosurgical equipment, radiotherapy devices, and durable medical equipment. OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) play a crucial role in supplying these devices, with healthcare organizations relying on them for both preventive maintenance and repairs. Asset management solutions, IoT (Internet of Things), and biomedical engineers are integral to maintaining the precision and accuracy of these devices, ensuring patient safety and care quality. The market ecosystem includes multi-vendor and single-vendor OEMs, service providers, ISOs (Independent Service Organizations), and hospitals and dialysis centers. The patient epidemiology, with a focus on chronic conditions like cancer and diabetes, and lifestyle disorders, drives the demand for medical equipment maintenance. The market is subject to regulatory frameworks and trade regulations, and domestic market players often face hindrances in import-export. Medical manufacturing technologies, such as balloon forming, thermal bonding, folding and pleating, and stent crimping, are essential in producing high-quality medical equipment. Ventilators, Canon Medical's Vantage Fortian, Agfa solutions, and other diagnostic imaging equipment are key devices in the market. Start exploring market insights by Download a FREE Sample Report in minutes! Key Topics Covered: 1 Executive Summary 2 Market Landscape 3 Market Sizing 4 Historic Market Size 5 Five Forces Analysis 6 Market Segmentation 7 Customer Landscape 8 Geographic Landscape 9 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 10 Venodr Landscape 11 Vendor 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 NEW YORK, Dec. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The global online therapy services market size is estimated to grow by USD 16.16 billion from 2024 to 2028, according to Technavio. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 28.09% during the forecast period. For comprehensive forecast and historic data on regions,market segments, customer landscape, and companies- Click for the snapshot of this report Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Online Therapy Services Market 2024-2028 Report Attribute Details Base Year 2023 Forecast period 2024-2028 Historic Data for 2018 - 2022 Segments Covered Type (Cognitive behavioral therapy, Psychodynamic therapy, and Personal centered therapy), Application (Residential use and Commercial), and Geography (North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of World (ROW)) Key Companies Covered 7 Cups of Tea Co., American Well Corp., BreakThrough Counseling Services, Calmerry, CareMe Health, Cerebral Inc., Doctor On Demand Inc., DocVita Inc., Felicity, Heart it out, Manastha, MDLIVE Inc., Mind Voyage, ReGain, TALKSPACE INC, Teladoc Health Inc., ThriveTalk, Thriveworks Counseling, HopeQure Wellness Solutions Pvt. Ltd., and Mental Fuel Inc. Regions Covered North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of World (ROW) Region Outlook North America Europe Asia Rest of World 1. North America - North America is estimated to contribute 42%. To the growth of the global market. The Online Therapy Services Market report forecasts market growth by revenue at global, regional & country levels from 2017 to 2027. The online therapy services market experienced significant growth in 2022, with North America leading the charge. The region's dominance can be attributed to the presence of major market players in the US and Canada. The increasing recognition of online therapy services and in substance abuse cases in the US are expected to fuel market expansion. According to The World Bank Group, US healthcare expenditure reached USD4.1 trillion or USD12,530 per person in 2020, representing a 9.7% increase. This substantial investment in healthcare creates a favorable environment for online therapy services to thrive. For more insights on North America's significant contribution along with the market share of rest of the regions and countries - Download a FREE Sample Segmentation Overview Type 1.1 Cognitive behavioral therapy 1.2 Psychodynamic therapy 1.3 Personal centered therapy Application 2.1 Residential use 2.2 Commercial Geography 3.1 North America 3.2 Europe 3.3 Asia 3.4 Rest of World (ROW) Get a glance at the market contribution of rest of the segments - Download a FREE Sample Report in minutes! 1.1 Fastest growing segment: Online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a significant segment in the thriving online therapy services market. Traditionally, CBT has utilized evidence-based techniques to tackle various mental health concerns. With digital platforms' emergence, CBT has transformed into a convenient and effective psychological support system for individuals worldwide. CBT combines cognitive and behavioral approaches, enabling users to recognize and modify detrimental thought patterns and behaviors causing emotional distress. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 shifted the medical world's perspective on mental health. Lockdowns, social isolation, and heightened stressors led to in demand for remote mental health services. Online CBT, previously an excellent alternative, became a necessity. Post-pandemic, the future of online CBT remains promising. The pandemic normalized telehealth services, and users have grown accustomed to seeking therapy through digital channels. This trend is expected to persist. Online CBT's benefits, including convenience, accessibility, and privacy, make it an attractive choice for diverse users, such as busy professionals and those in remote areas with limited access to traditional therapy. These factors will fuel the expansion of the global online therapy services market during the forecast period. Research Analysis The Online Therapy Services market encompasses various forms of mental health treatment delivered through digital platforms. These include live video chat sessions, messaging apps, and mobile device apps. While traditional in-person therapy remains a gold standard, online therapy offers flexibility and convenience for individuals seeking help. Cognitive behavioral therapy, psychodynamic therapy, and person-centered therapy are among the approaches offered through teletherapy and telehealth counseling. Qualified therapists provide online counseling using smartphone features to enhance the therapeutic experience. Patient privacy is a top priority, with secure platforms ensuring confidentiality. Commercial use of these services is on the rise, with relationship problems, depression, and anxiety among the common reasons for seeking online mental health resources. Mobile health apps, wearable technology, and digital apps are also part of the digital mental health landscape, offering additional tools for mental health treatment. In-person treatment remains an option for those who prefer it, but online therapy is becoming an increasingly viable alternative. Market Overview The Online Therapy Services Market encompasses various digital platforms that offer mental health treatment and support, including live video chat, messaging apps, and cell phones. These services cater to both residential and commercial use, providing alternatives to traditional in-person therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy, psychodynamic therapy, person-centered therapy, and other therapeutic approaches are now available through mobile device apps and real-time instant messaging. Telephone and video conferencing are also popular methods for teletherapy and telehealth counseling. Mental health awareness and telehealth adoption have led to an increase in the use of online therapy services for various mental health disorders, such as depression and anxiety. Artificial intelligence-based chatbots and machine learning technologies are being integrated into free therapy apps to provide additional resources. Dialectical behavior therapy, EMDR therapy, family therapy, and other forms of mental health treatment are also offered online. Qualified therapists provide online counseling through these platforms, ensuring patient privacy and confidentiality. Smartphone features, such as personalized reminders and progress tracking, enhance the user experience. The market includes various mental health resources, from digital apps and wearable technology to ambulatory centers, hospitals, and suicide prevention programs. Substance abuse disorders and prescription medications are also addressed through these services. Young people are increasingly turning to online therapy services for relationship issues and other mental health concerns. Start exploring market insights by Download a FREE Sample Report in minutes! Key Topics Covered: 1 Executive Summary 2 Market Landscape 3 Market Sizing 4 Historic Market Size 5 Five Forces Analysis 6 Market Segmentation 7 Customer Landscape 8 Geographic Landscape 9 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 10 Venodr Landscape 11 Vendor 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 NEW YORK, Dec. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The global steel casting market size is estimated to grow by USD 7.27 billion from 2024 to 2028, according to Technavio. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 4.6% during the forecast period. The report provides a comprehensive forecast of key segments below- Segmentation Overview Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global steel casting market 2024-2028 Application 1.1 Automotive and transportation 1.2 Construction and infrastructure 1.3 Mining 1.4 Power 1.5 Others Product 2.1 Sand casting 2.2 Investment casting 2.3 Die casting 2.4 Centrifugal casting Geography 3.1 APAC 3.2 North America 3.3 Europe 3.4 Middle East and Africa and 3.5 South America Get a glance at the market contribution of rest of the segments - Download a FREE Sample Report in minutes! 1.1 Fastest growing segment: The global steel casting market experienced significant growth in the automotive and transportation sector in 2023. Steel casting is a cost-effective solution for manufacturing various components in this industry, including drums, flywheels, engine casings, gears, suspension systems, steering systems, pipe fittings, exhaust systems, cylinder heads, and others. In automotive manufacturing, the increasing global volume of vehicle production will continue to drive demand for steel casting. Leading automobile producers, such as Germany, South Korea, Japan, India, and China, will contribute to this growth. Additionally, steel casting is extensively used in the railway and locomotive industry for components like chocks, derailers, heel blocks, joint bars, rail braces, railway tracks and lines, and other locomotive parts. In the aerospace sector, steel casting is utilized for manufacturing turbine engines and aircraft components due to its high quality and precision. The rising middle-class population, with an annual income between USD20,000 and USD150,000, is expected to reach over 48% of the global population by 2027. This demographic's increasing spending power on domestic airline travel will fuel the demand for freight aircraft, leading to growth in the steel casting market for this segment. Overall, the automotive and transportation sector's expansion will significantly contribute to the global steel casting market's growth during the forecast period. Analyst Review The global steel casting market is witnessing significant growth due to its extensive applications in various industries. Automotive sector is a major consumer, with the increasing production of lightweight vehicles leading to a higher demand for aluminum casting and magnesium components. Die casting using sand molds is a popular method in automotive manufacturing, while the construction market relies on cast iron and grey iron metal for infrastructure projects and industrial products. Recyclable materials are increasingly being used to reduce environmental impact. The telecom industry utilizes stainless-steel castings for their durability and resistance to corrosion. Emission regulations drive the demand for iron casting in powertrains and engine components. The transportation, water supply, energy networks, and building & construction industries also contribute to the market growth. Skilled labor is essential for the production of high-quality steel castings, making it a labor-intensive process. Ductile iron and various alloys are used in various applications, including vehicle components, pipes, and engine blocks. Market Overview The Steel Casting Market encompasses the production of various types of steel castings, including those made from grey iron metal, ductile iron, and stainless-steel, using processes like sand mold and die casting. This capital-intensive industry caters to diverse sectors, with significant demand coming from the Automotive Sector for manufacturing engine components, transmissions, and lightweight vehicle parts using aluminum casting and magnesium. The Telecom Industry also utilizes steel castings for producing antennas and other infrastructure equipment. Regulations, particularly emission regulations, influence the market's growth, driving the adoption of lightweight casting materials like aluminum alloy and the increase in aluminum content in vehicle production. The European Union (EU) and other regional bodies set regulations that impact regional-level production numbers and penetration. The Metal Casting Industry's average selling price depends on the volume of components produced, material type, and process used. Foundry Equipment manufacturers cater to this industry, providing essential machinery for the production of castings. The market includes various types of castings, such as those for powertrains, body & chassis, and industrial products. The Building & Construction Industry and Infrastructure Projects also rely on steel castings for transportation, water supply, and energy networks. Alternative manufacturing processes like 3D printing and investment casting are gaining traction, potentially impacting the traditional steel casting market. The market's growth is influenced by vehicle type, regional-level production numbers, and regional-level penetration, with thousands of units produced annually. To understand more about this market- Download a FREE Sample Report in minutes! Key Topics Covered: 1 Executive Summary 2 Market Landscape 3 Market Sizing 4 Historic Market Size 5 Five Forces Analysis 6 Market Segmentation 7 Customer Landscape 8 Geographic Landscape 9 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 10 Venodr Landscape 11 Vendor 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 If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here New Delhi, Dec 15 : Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Saturday hit out at the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his speech on the Constitution and said that his "grandmother Indira Gandhi herself became a "dictator" and today her grandson is giving advice to others". Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Saturday also criticised the Congress leader and said the Gandhi family never did anything beyond enjoying the benefits of power. "It is beyond my understanding that he (Rahul Gandhi) is the leader of a party that was in power for most of the time after independence, and today he is making such promises. What were you doing all these years? Even 10 years ago, you were in government; at that time, you could have conducted a caste census. Their language changes once they move to the opposition," Paswan said. "He (Rahul Gandhi) and his family have never done anything except enjoy the privileges of power," he added. During his address in the Parliament on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi lashed out at the Central government, accusing it of "cutting off" opportunities for youth by "handing over" various sectors to industrialists. During a discussion on the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of India, the Lok Sabha LoP referred to his earlier speech where he likened the current political landscape to a battle reminiscent of the Mahabharata, asserting that the Opposition is defending the Constitution's ideals. "In my first speech, I described the idea of a battle, referring to the Mahabharata and Kurukshetra. There is a battle taking place in India today. On this side (the Opposition) are the defenders of the Constitution's idea. From each state, we represent those who upheld these ideals: in Tamil Nadu, we have Periyar; in Karnataka, Basavanna; in Maharashtra, Phule ji and Ambedkar ji; and in Gujarat, Mahatma Gandhi. You (the ruling party) praise these figures hesitantly because you have to, but the truth is that you want India to be run as it was in the past," Gandhi said in the Lok Sabha. He reiterated his 'commitment' to a caste census, promising that it would lead to "a new kind of development" in India. "We want to tell every poor person: you are protected by the Constitution. The BJP constantly attacks the Constitution, 24x7. I had promised in the House that we would implement a caste census." A new kind of development will take place in India after that," Gandhi asserted. Rahul Gandhi also vowed to ensure the removal of the 50 per cent cap on reservations. The Winter session of Parliament commenced on November 25, with both Houses witnessing early adjournments due to disruptions. The session is scheduled to continue until December 20. Ramallah, Dec 15 : One militant was killed and several others were injured after Palestinian security forces clashed with armed Palestinian factions in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, a Palestinian medical source said. Palestinian security forces laid siege to the refugee camp on Saturday after militants affiliated with the "Jenin Brigade" of the Islamic Jihad Movement and other Palestinian factions seized two vehicles belonging to the Palestinian Authority on December 5, according to the source, who requested anonymity. During the armed clashes between militants inside the camp and Palestinian security forces, one militant was killed by the security forces' gunfire, while several others were injured. Five members of the Palestinian security forces were also injured, the source said. Anwar Rajab, spokesperson for the Palestinian security forces, confirmed in a statement that the forces had launched a campaign in Jenin to maintain public security. He said the campaign "aims to restore the Jenin camp from the influence of lawbreakers, who have disrupted the daily life of citizens and deprived them of their right to receive public services freely and safely". The Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has been fighting Israeli forces in Gaza for more than a year, condemned the Palestinian Authority (PA) for the Jenin operation and its allied group Islamic Jihad called for a day of protests. The medical source, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, said one body was brought to Jenin's Ibn Sina hospital on Saturday. Several wounded people, both militants and PA personnel, also arrived at the hospital, said the source. Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007 and has a presence in the West Bank too, identified the dead man as Yazid Jaaysa, saying he was a "resistance fighter". Jenin has also been a hotbed of conflict between the Palestinian militant groups and the Israeli military in recent years. Since March 2022, Jenin and outlying areas in the north of the West Bank have drawn intensified Israeli raids after a spate of Palestinian street attacks. Tensions in Jenin escalated on December 5 after armed men seized two official PA vehicles and paraded through the camp waving flags of the Islamic Jihad group. On Thursday, the PA admitted responsibility for the killing of a 19-year-old man in Jenin three days before. The PA has partial administrative authority in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967. Damascus, Dec 15 : Israel intensified its airstrikes against Syrian military facilities, conducting 24 air raids in the countryside of Damascus, according to a war monitor. The strikes reportedly hit tunnel-equipped installations carved into a mountainside in the targeted area, as reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Saturday. The latest raids bring the total number of Israeli airstrikes on Syrian territory to 426 since the collapse of the Syrian government on December 8. These operations have spanned 13 Syrian provinces, according to the observatory. Israeli airstrikes have been targeting Syrian military assets across the country, according to Israeli officials, who claimed the attacks aimed to prevent the weapons "from falling into the hands of terrorist elements". Israel's military actions in Syria have sparked condemnation from regional countries and prompted calls from the international community for respect for Syria's sovereignty, Xinhua news agency reported. The Observatory said several rounds of bombardment targeted "military sites of the former regime forces, as part of destroying what is left of the future Syrian army's capabilities". Israel air strikes on Friday targeted "a missile base at the top of Damascus's Mount Qasyun", the group said, as well as an airport in southern Sweida province and "defence and research labs in Masyaf", in Hama province. Since Assad's fall, Israel has launched hundreds of strikes against Syrian military sites, targeting everything from chemical weapons stores to air defences. In a move that has drawn international condemnation, Israel also seized a United Nations-patrolled buffer zone on the Syrian Golan Heights just hours after the rebels, led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, took Damascus. On Thursday, UN Chief Antonio Guterres expressed concern over "extensive violations" of Syrian sovereignty and the Israeli strikes in the country, his spokesman said. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported that thousands of Syrian refugees have started returning to the country from Lebanon through the Masnaa border point and other border crossings, going back to Idlib, Damascus, Daraa, Aleppo, and other locations. At the same time, some Syrians have fled to Lebanon. Refugees were also reported returning from Turkey through the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salam border crossings to northwest Syria. Jerusalem, Dec 15 : Israel's military chief Herzi Halevi has said that the country does not intend to intervene in Syria but remains focused on preventing "terror elements" from gaining a foothold in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. Halevi, who visited the Golan Heights for a situation assessment with senior military officials, was seen in video footage addressing commanders on Saturday. He said that Israel had been in the area for almost a week to "defend the border" in the occupied Golan Heights and Mount Hermon. "There was a hostile state here whose army has collapsed. There is a threat that terror elements may arrive here, and we have acted proactively to prevent them from settling," he added. Halevi reiterated that Israel is "not intervening in what is happening in Syria" and has "no intention of managing Syria". His remarks followed a statement from Ahmad al-Shara, leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, regarding the evolving Israel-Syria relationship following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's government. Al-Shara, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, said that they "have no intention of entering into a conflict with it (Israel)". He further argued that Israel "now has no justification" for continuing its strikes and interference in Syria. The comments come after Israel's seizure of the United Nations-monitored buffer zone, a demilitarised area between the two countries established in 1974. Israeli forces also took control of a Syrian army outpost and stationed troops on the summit of Mount Hermon, the highest point in the area. Israeli airstrikes have been targeting Syrian army assets across the country, according to Israeli officials. Israel's military actions have sparked condemnation from regional countries and prompted calls from the international community for respect for Syria's sovereignty. While Israel has maintained that the move into Syria is limited to the buffer zone and is not a permanent occupation, sources have been quoted as saying in Israeli media that the military may remain in the buffer zone for a long time which may extend to years. Following the 1967 Middle East War, Israel has already been in occupation of Golan Heights, which much of the international community considers Syrian territory unlawfully occupied by Israel. Chennai, Dec 15 : Four members of a family, including a newlywed couple, lost their lives when the car they were travelling in collided with a minibus at Murinjikkal in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district. The tragic accident occurred in the early hours of Sunday and the bus was carrying Sabarimala pilgrims. The deceased were identified as Mathayi Eappen, Anu, Nikhil, and Biju George, all natives of Mallassery in Konni. Nikhil and Anu, who had tied the knot on November 30, were returning home from Thiruvananthapuram airport after their honeymoon in Malaysia. Biju George was Anu's father, while Mathayi Eappen was Nikhil's father. Nikhil worked in Canada and was planning to settle there with Anu, who was preparing to join him. The accident happened around 4.05 a.m. on the Punalur-Muvattupuzha State Highway. According to police, the car likely collided with the bus carrying pilgrims from Hyderabad after the car's driver fell asleep at the wheel. Three men in the car died on the spot, while the woman succumbed to her injuries at a private hospital in Pathanamthitta. A few passengers of the bus, including the driver, sustained minor injuries in the crash. The locals arrived at the spot first and tried to help the victims. The police and fire force arrived at the scene and used a hydraulic cutter to extricate the four occupants trapped inside the car. Local residents have raised concerns about the increasing number of accidents on this stretch of the Punalur-Muvattupuzha highway following its recent reconstruction. Kurien Joseph, a local Congress leader, expressed his condolences. He said, "The marriage of Anu and Nikhil was solemnised on November 30 after an eight-year-long love affair. This tragedy struck just seven kilometres from their home." The two families were in a state of shock as neighbours and their relatives tried to console them. The police said they were investigating the accident. SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- South Korean prosecutors said on Sunday that impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol did not comply with a summons for today and they will soon issue another order, Yonhap news agency reported. The special prosecution team handling an investigation into Yoon's botched martial law imposition said it had sent a summons to Yoon on Dec. 11 to call him into the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office for questioning at 10 a.m. Sunday. Yoon did not show up. The summons was sent to Yoon's office and the prosecution had confirmed its delivery, Yonhap said, citing a prosecution official. The prosecution said it plans to send a second summons to Yoon soon, the Yonhap report added. Yoon was impeached in a National Assembly vote on Saturday over his short-lived imposition of a highly controversial emergency martial law earlier this month. The impeached president was accused of abusing his power to declare martial law for unconstitutional and unlawful purposes and to order military commanders to dispatch troops to the parliament and arrest key political figures, the Yonhap report said. Baku, Dec 15 : Azerbaijan's biggest city as well as its capital Baku has many tourist attractions, including numerous historical-architectural monuments of the medieval period that ringed around with the Flame Towers, a trio of skyscrapers, picture-perfect beaches with lush greenery and offers a budget-tourist destination where ancient history meets modern architecture. A short drive from the COP29 conference centre in the Walled City of Baku, with the inner city (Icherisheher) that has preserved much of its 12th-century defensive walls brimming with Oriental architecture and history with the narrow cobblestone streets, takes one closer to a very unique, unparalleled experience among beautiful desert-scape -- mud spewing out from the earth, believed to have medicinal properties. They are mud volcanoes, one of the world's most unique natural phenomena in the Gobustan region that looks like a crater on the moon. Nearly 400 of them have been recorded in Azerbaijan, tucked between Eastern Europe and West Asia, and several of them are located in Gobustan. Some of the gurgling volcanoes date back over 20 million years. A mud volcano is a mixture of mud and subterranean gas instead of molten rock. Unlike traditional volcanoes, they do not spew out molten lava but instead deliver a unique spectacle of thick, bubbling mud. The mud is composed of clay, silt and other minerals which give the surface a unique experience and a rare chance for visitors to behold one of the planet's most outstanding displays and deepen their understanding of the geological marvels. "Many consider the therapeutic properties of the mud volcano and many visit the area to experience mud baths. We don't advise using them without medical consultation," says a guide at the Mud Volcanoes Tourism Complex to the visiting media team. Mud volcanoes are formed from tectonic movements that cause underground gases to reach the surface. During this process, some of the escaping gases ignite and burn perpetually. Some believe that these eternal flames contributed to the rise of Zoroastrianism in Azerbaijan over 2,000 years ago. The Mud Volcanoes Tourist Complex showcases the Gilinj mud volcano. Gilinj means sword in the local dialect. As per the information centre, Gilinj comprises a row of eight cones arranged sequentially that extend towards a valley. The active cones of this mud volcano emit a significant amount of 'breccia' (a type of rock consisting of angular fragments). There is no information in scientific sources about the powerful eruptions of the Gilinj volcano. However, the discovery of geological layers belonging to the Middle Pleistocene and Upper Pleistocene eras in some excavations near the mud volcano indicates that it was active as far back as between 770,000 and 126,000 years ago. Near Gilinj is Toraghay Mud Volcano which has made it into the Guinness World Records as the world's largest mud volcano. The visit to Mud Volcanoes Tourist Complex comes with a ticket price of 15 manat for foreigners, which would be Rs 750. And for the kids, it is really cheap. It's 3 manat or Rs 150. However, the visitors refrained from approaching the volcanoes within a distance of more than five metres. The tourist complex has a natural history exhibition that displays skeletons of giraffes, bears, tigers, lions, wolves, pumas, wild boars and numerous other animals. Visitors can also marvel at rare precious stones, crystals and geological specimens in exhibits sourced from various regions of the country, spanning from Gobustan to Nakhchivan. The mud volcanoes lie in the vicinity of the Unesco heritage site Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape. The landscape with its characteristic broken rocks and boulders was created as a result of earthquakes. The site also features the remains of inhabited caves, settlements and burials, all reflecting an intensive human use by the inhabitants of the area during the wet period that followed the last Ice Age, from the Upper Paleolithic to the Middle Ages. The site, which covers 537 hectares, is part of the larger protected Gobustan reservation. Home to the world's first oil well dug in the mid-1800s with huge gas deposits with thriving wine traditions, Azerbaijan has earned the nickname "The Land of Fire" and has two sites inscribed on the World Heritage List: the Walled City of Baku with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower, and Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape. According to Unesco, Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape was inscribed as an outstanding collection of some 6,000 rock engravings bearing testimony to 4,000 years of rock art. (Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in) Mumbai, Dec 15 : Superstar Kamal Haasan is currently spending his time in Chicago and is seen enjoying the "chilly weather." Mumbai, Dec 15 (IANS) Superstar Kamal Haasan is currently spending his time in Chicago and is seen enjoying the "chilly weather." Kamal took to Instagram, where he shared a string of pictures of himself and the picturesque locale can be seen in the backdrop. The star is seen dressed in sharp winter wear such as an overcoat, a scarf and pants. In one picture, the acclaimed actor is seen standing on a bridge and posing for a picture. For the caption, he wrote: "Chicago also chills!" Taking to his comment section, actor Ranveer Singh dropped a crown emoji for the actor, who did not reveal as to why he is in Chicago. Kamal, who will next be seen in filmmaker Mani Ratnam's "Thug Life", in November had penned a lengthy note where he requested his fans to simply address him by his name. In a post on X, Haasan expressed his gratitude for the affectionate titles he has received, including "Ulaganayagan." However, he humbly declined to accept any such titles or prefixes, stating that he sees himself as a lifelong student of the art of cinema. The actor wrote, "The art of cinema transcends beyond any one individual and I am but a student of the craft, forever hoping to evolve, learn and grow. Cinema, like any other form of creative expression, belongs to all. It is the collaboration of countless artists, technicians, and audience who make it what it is a true reflection of humanity's diverse, rich, and ever-evolving stories." The 'Chachi 420' actor added, "It is my humble belief that the artist must not be elevated above the art. I prefer to remain grounded, constantly aware of my imperfections and my duty to improve. Hence, after considerable reflection, I feel compelled to respectfully decline all such titles or prefixes." "I humbly request that all my fans, the media, members of film fraternity, party cadre, and fellow Indians, to here on after, refer to me simply as Kamal Haasan or Kamal or KH. Thank you again for your gestures of kindness over the years. Please know that this decision comes from a place of humility and a desire to remain true to my roots and purpose, to always be one among all of us, the lovers of this beautiful artform," Kamal concluded his note. Paris, Dec 15 : At least two people died and significant material damage was reported in Mayotte as Cyclone Chido swept through the French Indian Ocean territory. The powerful storm, which brought winds exceeding 220 km/h, caused the fatalities in Petite-Terre. Authorities have activated a red alert on the island. France dispatched reinforcements, including 140 civil security soldiers and firefighters, to assist with rescue and recovery efforts. They are expected to arrive in Mayotte on Sunday. French President Emmanuel Macron said France would 'be there' for the people of Mayotte, while French officials said 250 firefighters and security personnel would be sent to the islands, with some having already arrived. After an interministerial crisis meeting, French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau told the media that "the situation is dramatic, absolutely exceptional." However, he didn't disclose a definitive human toll for the moment, Xinhua news agency reported quoting French Media BFM TW. He is scheduled to visit Mayotte on Monday, his office told French media. Intense Tropical Cyclone Chido is a small but powerful tropical cyclone currently threatening Mozambique. The fourth tropical disturbance, the second tropical cyclone, and the second intense tropical cyclone of the 2024a"25 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season, Chido formed from a tropical disturbance southeast of Diego Garcia that was first noted on December 5. It continued westward and steadily intensified before being named Chido on December 8. After it underwent rapid intensification, Chido made landfall at AgalAga in Mauritius on December 11, peaking in intensity the following day. After passing through northern Madagascar, Chido briefly weakened but quickly regained intensity, before making its second landfall near Bandraboua, Mayotte on December 14, before slightly weakening again later that day. Mayotte was initially placed under a purple alert -- the highest level -- and a "strict lockdown for the whole population, including emergency services" was imposed. It has since been lowered to red to allow emergency services to leave their bases. Seoul, Dec 15 : The National Assembly's decision to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol is expected to help remove some of the uncertainties that have hit the financial and foreign exchange markets since Yoon's shocking martial law declaration, experts said. But concerns linger over South Korea's urgent response to economic challenges amid the lack of political leadership, such as policy changes under the new Donald Trump administration and weak growth momentum. The parliament passed the motion to remove Yoon from office in a 204-85 vote Saturday following his short-lived martial law declaration on December 3, reports Yonhap news agency. "Now that the impeachment motion is passed, the market is expected to be somewhat stable as uncertainties from the political side have very much been eased," Lee Kyung-min, an expert from Daishin Securities, said. Following the martial law declaration, the stock market tumbled to a yearly low and the Korean won fell sharply to well below 1,400 won against the U.S. dollar. But the stock market has nearly recovered after financial authorities vowed to inject unlimited liquidity and implement additional measures in a bold and swift manner, if needed. "Last week's failure to impeach Yoon had stoked fears among investors about how things may unfold. Market concerns are often eased when the political process enters a phase widely anticipated by the market," Kwak Byung-yeol, a researcher at Leading Investment Securities, said. Last Saturday, the first motion to impeach Yoon failed due to a lack of quorum as all but three ruling People Power Party lawmakers boycotted the vote. Officials have said the economic impact seen during two previous presidential impeachments had been limited, and that the country continues to maintain a stable economic system and strong fundamentals. Currently, South Korea has an Aa2 rating at Moody's, AA at S&P and AA- at Fitch. The outlook of the three credit appraisers for the country remains "Stable." The Korean won is also expected to gain ground, though volatility may continue for some time given remaining procedures regarding the impeachment decision and the strong dollar, according to experts. The Constitutional Court has up to 180 days to determine whether to remove Yoon from office or restore his powers. Prime Minister Han Dukk-soo will serve as acting president in the meantime. "Investors will now likely turn their eyes to such global issues as the Trump factor and the Federal Reserve's rate decision," Shinhan Bank expert Baek Seok-hyun said. The political turmoil leading to Yoon's impeachment came at a time when the country braces for the second Trump presidency, which has been cited by many as the biggest downside risk for the export-driven Korean economy. Trump has vowed to impose "universal baseline tariffs" of a minimum of 10 percent on all imported goods, and raise tariffs on imports from China to as high as 60 percent. a"IANS na/ Seoul, Dec 15 : North Korea's state media on Sunday kept mum about South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment, marking a contrast from its swift reporting of the 2016 impeachment of then President Park Geun-hye. The National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against Yoon on Saturday over his botched imposition of martial law on December 3, suspending his duties as president. As of 9 a.m., none of the North's state media, including the Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, and the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), had published any reports on Yoon's impeachment. When Park was impeached on December 9, 2016, North Korea's propaganda outlet Uriminzokkiri reported on it just four hours after the National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against Park. The website also carried a KCNA article on her impeachment later that night, Yonhap news agency reported. The apparent silence on Yoon's impeachment suggests that North Korea could be distancing itself from the South in line with its declaration of inter-Korean ties as those between two 'hostile' states. North Korean media also remained tight-lipped over Yoon's declaration of martial law earlier this month for about a week before reporting on it on December 11. The impeachment motion against Yoon passed 204-85 on Saturday, with three abstentions and eight invalid ballots, after all 300 members of the Assembly cast their votes. The motion's passage came 11 days after Yoon declared martial law in an announcement that caught the nation by surprise and drew outrage, as troops encircled the National Assembly compound in an apparent attempt to stop lawmakers from repealing the decree. The martial law order, which was lifted within six hours after the Assembly voted it down, has prompted investigations by the police, the prosecution and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials into whether Yoon staged an insurrection. He is currently banned from leaving the country. In a televised address from his residence, Yoon said he is 'pausing momentarily' but will not stop the journey he began with the people toward the future. "I will never give up," he said. "I will embrace all the censure, encouragement and support directed at me and do my best for the nation until the end." New Delhi: The capture of Damascus by the radical Islamic forces resulting in the flight of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to Moscow for political asylum on December 8 was seemingly a sudden development but it marked the culmination of what had been happening in Syria and Iraq for years signifying impact of religion on the old superpower rivalry in the region that was somewhere also changing the geopolitics at the global level. It may be recalled that way back in 1928, a Muslim thinker Hasan Al Banna had founded Ikhwanul Musalmeen or Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Syria to oppose the regimes of Gamal Abdul Nasser and Hafez Al-Assad --father of Bashar Al-Assad -- who were looked upon as pro-Soviet 'nationalist' Arab leaders. Banna believed that the Quran was the best Constitution for Muslims and that an Islamic state could live 'in competition, not conflict with the West'. The US-led West appreciated the Muslim Brotherhood movement and even encouraged it. When Maulana Abul Ala Maudoodi, an admirer of Hasan Al Banna, launched Jamaat-e-Islami at Lahore in 1940, this pro-West Islamic stream spread to the Indian subcontinent too and became the ideological anchor of Nizam-e-Mustafa defined by President Zia-ul-Haq as the goal for Pakistan. In the wake of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in 1979 and the Iranian Revolution of 1978, there was a wave of Pan-Islamism in the 1980s supported by the Saudi Arabia-led Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC). At the fourth Islamic Summit held at Casa Blanca in 1984 under the auspices of OIC, Zia-ul-Haq declared that Muslims from 'Morocco to the Philippines' were one community who must stand together to solve any common problems. Pan-Islamism as a movement sought to counter the influence of Communism and was blessed by the US whose closest ally in the Muslim world, Saudi Arabia, was pioneering it. However, there was a much older anti-West sentiment in the Muslim world -- flowing from the historical memory of the 'Wahhabi Revolt' -- the name given to the Jehad launched by the leading Ulema of the times in the 19th century against Western encroachment of Muslim lands. Developments in Afghanistan following the invasion of that country by the Soviet army facilitated the ascendancy of radical fundamentalists in the Afghan territory and this was to influence the course of events in the conflict-prone Middle East in subsequent years. The anti-Soviet armed campaign in Afghanistan was operationally led by the CIA-Pakistan's ISI combine and was run on the warcry of Jehad in which apart from the Pakistan-controlled Islamic militant outfits and Saudi-funded Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), radical forces headed by Al Qaeda of Osama bin Laden also took part. The withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan in 1991 led to the dismemberment of the USSR and the demise of International Communism on one hand and put Afghanistan in the throes of anarchy on the other because of the feud among the warlords -- primarily the contest between General Ahmad Shah Masood heading the nationalistic Northern Alliance and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of Hizbe Islami who was supported by US and Pakistan. In 1993 Benazir Bhutto, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, sent the Taliban -- products of the Deobandi madrasas known for practising a ruthless fundamentalist line -- to Afghanistan to control the situation there and they managed to install the Taliban Emirate at Kabul in 1996 under Mullah Mohammad Omar -- a close relative of Osama bin Laden. Taliban carried the historical memory of the Wahhabi movement -- Darul Uloom Deoband was established near Saharanpur in India by the protagonists of the failed anti-British Jehad, in 1867 -- and the Emirate soon bared its fangs against the US which had to work for bringing down the Emirate by 2001. This laid down the turf for 9/11 which was planned by Osama bin Laden taking shelter in Afghanistan. The 'war on terror' that the US-led Coalition launched against Islamic radical forces first in Afghanistan and then in Iraq, in the aftermath of the attack on the Twin Towers, created worldwide repercussions and not unexpectedly paved the way for the spread of 'radicalisation' in the two theatres. Al Qaeda held on in Afghanistan and its competitor -- not an opponent -- appeared in the Iraq-Syria region in the form of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), later known as ISIS since the Levant stood basically for Syria. Bashar Al Assad had inherited the legacy of his father so far as the hostility of the US is concerned and had the consequent advantage of securing Russian support. Also, the fact of his being an Alawite -- which is a Shia sect -- got him the backing of Iran and Hezbollah on grounds of religion even as Iran-US antagonism had already existed on a strong footing at the political level as well. Bashar's regime allowed Shiites to dominate levers of power disregarding the Sunni majority and this added to the strengthening of radicalisation among the disgruntled Sunnis. Syria ran into a 'civil war' kind of situation internally because the Assad regime had become suppressive in economic distress facing the population and also because it was confronted by Islamic radical forces of Al Qaeda and ISIS on one side and the pro-West Islamic groups on the other. Developments in Syria should be seen in the backdrop of the Arab Spring of 2011 which was a movement for democracy against dictatorial Arab regimes. In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood was in the lead and that pleased the US. As it proceeded in the Arab world, however, the stir allowed radical forces to come to the fore and the Western support to the ruling dispensation in the Arab countries became dependant on whether it was friendly towards the US or not. Muslim societies in general tend to fall back upon their own God in times of difficulties and while this may be true of others as well, they yield to a fundamentalist line or even to the call of Jehad more readily because of the 'pull of exclusivism' of faith that worked on them in those situations. Those behind the faith-based militancy used social media for indoctrination and this is what ultimately made 'radicalisation' a source of terror threat at the global level. Radical Islam has a place in the spectrum of faith and cannot be totally discarded by Muslim societies. In the Middle East, the conflict is both political and faith-based and that is how the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia are broadly in convergence against the Russia-China-Iran axis -- fundamentalist Shiism is ideologically opposed to Capitalism. An anti-Assad block comprising of Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia has also been a key factor in the regional politics. Radicalised Hamas has been embraced by Iran because both are anti-US politically while the Iran-Israel confrontation reflects to an extent the historical conflict between Zionism and Islam. The recent terror attack of ISIS-K on a Moscow concert in which at least 130 persons were killed was primarily a retaliation against the earlier Russian missile attacks on ISIS establishments in Syria and Iraq. For ISIS both the US and Russia with their godless ideology were on the same footing as far as encroachment on Muslim territories was concerned. The US-led West and the China-Russia alliance want a competitive presence in West Asia for political and economic reasons. The US has been countering its primary enemies in the region -- Al Qaeda and ISIS -- by taking out their leadership in Intelligence-based operations. Osama bin Laden was killed in a military operation at midnight carried out at his residence at Abbottabad near Islamabad in May 2011 while his successor Ayman al Zawahiri was eliminated based on precise intelligence in a drone attack in Afghanistan in 2022. Interestingly, the present chief of Al Qaeda -- Saif Al Adel -- is said to be operating out of Iran. ISIS emerged as an offspring of Al Qaeda having been created by Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in 2013 to operate in Iraq and Syria. Nusrat Front, another Al Qaeda affiliate active in Syria, continued to work there independently. Its leader, Abu Mohammad Al Julani who had renamed Nusrat Front as Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, has emerged as the new figure of power in Damascus after the departure of Bashir Al Assad. Al Julani also had organisational links with the Islamic State. It may be mentioned that in Iraq the US had launched air strikes to prevent ISIL from expanding into northern Iraq, as it wanted to shield Christians and Yazidis -- who believed in both the Quran and the Bible. The US also released videos showing how ISIL fighters beheaded Western aid workers and journalists. In 2019 Baghdadi was killed in Syria in a US raid during which he exploded his suicide vest. After Baghdadi, ISIS-K -- 'K' standing for Khorasan -- became the main face of the parent organisation. Khorasan is the region covering Afghanistan, Persia and Turkmenistan. The whole scene in the Iraq-Syria region was marked by violence along sectarian lines. Such conflicts always tended to become unending and indeterminate. From the Indian perspective, it is a challenge to maintain bilateral relations with the major powers in the Middle East-Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel and advocate the cause of global peace and human development. There are signs of a new Cold War on the horizon between the US and the China-Russia combine and in this setting India's strategy would be to remain 'independent' in counselling for stoppage of armed confrontations and commencement of negotiations for peace. India has done this in the case of both the Ukraine-Russia armed conflict and Israel's operations in Gaza. India had no hesitation in promptly condemning the terror attack of Hamas on Israel on October 7 last year. This country must be firmly against faith-based violence and must continue to call for condemnation of terrorism in all its forms, from different multi-lateral forums of which it is a part -- ranging from BRICS and Quad to G20. The problem for India regarding radicalisation is substantially linked to the dubious role of Pakistan which had found a way of remaining on the right side of the US despite its proven track record of harbouring Islamic radical outfits and using terrorism as an instrument of state policy. Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) operates from Pakistan and ISIS-K elements are said to have been seen on the Kashmir front. The Sino-Pakistan alliance is known to be working for covert operations against India. The use of Chinese drones for dropping arms and narcotics in Kashmir and Punjab has been reported multiple times and the two hostile neighbours were also in concert in the sphere of anti-India cyber operations. The flux in West Asia in general and in Syria and Gaza in particular, is a reminder for India that developments in the Islamic world have to be closely watched for their impact on the internal security of this country. (The writer is a former Director of the Intelligence Bureau. Views are personal) Mumbai, Dec 15 : Rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh was joined by actor Varun Dhawan in West Delhi during the promotions of his upcoming film "Baby John" in the National Capital. Mumbai, Dec 15 (IANS) Rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh was joined by actor Varun Dhawan in West Delhi during the promotions of his upcoming film "Baby John" in the National Capital. Varun took to Instagram, where he shared a picture posing with the rapper. In the image, Honey Singh is seen all dressed up in a black overcoat, shirt and pants to beat the winter cold while Varun unfazed by the Delhi chills wore a white half sleeves T-shirt with "Baby John" written on it paired with denims. "My lil brother @varundvn doing nain mattaka in west delhi!! BABY JOHN IS COMING keep it locked #yoyohoneysingh #varundhawan #babyjohn," Honey Singh wrote as the caption. Before Delhi, Varun visited Jaipur to promote the film. He spent a day in Jaipur to promote his upcoming film "Baby John" and savoured on dal bati and vada pav. Varun took to Instagram, where he shared a string of images of himself from Jaipur. In the first picture, the actor is seen wearing the traditional Rajasthani pagdi and trying the authentic Rajasthani thali. The actor in the next image, is seen posing in front of a chartered plane. He then shared a photograph of himself gorging on a vada pav in the flight. He also shared some clips and pictures from the promotional activity for his film, directed by Kalees. "From dal bati to vada pav what a day in Jaipur #babyjohn takeover. #massloading this Christmas it's Babyjohn," he wrote as the caption. During the promotions in Jaipur, Varun revealed that his upcoming movie 'Baby John' is all about the personality transformation of a father with an "innocent face" when pushed to the limits - an analogy that's likely to remind the viewers of a "serious character" he played in revenge-drama 'Badlapur' starring Nawazuddin Siddique. Seoul, Dec 15 : South Korea's prosecutors on Sunday sought an arrest warrant for the head of the Army Special Warfare Command over his role in President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived imposition of martial law. Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun is accused of sending troops to the National Assembly when martial law was imposed on December 3, and allegedly colluding with Yoon and former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun to incite a riot to subvert the Constitution. Prosecutors sought the arrest warrant on charges of insurrection and abuse of power. The National Assembly voted on Saturday to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his botched imposition of martial law, suspending him from his duties until the Constitutional Court decides whether to reinstate him or remove him from office, with citizens cheering over his impeachment. The impeachment motion against Yoon passed 204-85, with three abstentions and eight invalid ballots, after all 300 members of the Assembly cast their votes. The motion's passage came 11 days after Yoon declared martial law in an announcement that caught the nation by surprise and drew outrage, as troops encircled the National Assembly compound in an apparent attempt to stop lawmakers from repealing the decree. The martial law order, which was lifted within six hours of the Assembly's vote, has prompted investigations by the police, the prosecution, and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials into whether Yoon staged an insurrection. He is currently banned from leaving the country. In a televised address from his residence, Yoon said he is 'pausing momentarily' but will not stop the journey he began with the people toward the future. "I will never give up," he said. "I will embrace all the censure, encouragement and support directed at me and do my best for the nation until the end." Yoon was suspended from his duties at 7:24 pm, the moment the impeachment resolution was delivered to his office and about 2 1/2 hours after the impeachment motion passed. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo immediately began his duties as the acting president and convened a Cabinet meeting at the government complex in Seoul, Yonhap news agency reported. "The most important mission at this moment is to swiftly stabilise the confusion in state affairs and return to the people their precious everyday lives," he said in opening remarks, instructing all public officials to stay on task, establish a strong security posture and monitor the economy in real time. In a separate address to the nation, he apologised once again for the current state of affairs while promising the government's best efforts to minimise its impact on people's everyday lives. He also later convened the National Security Council and called for maintaining a 'watertight readiness posture' against North Korea's provocations. Jammu, Dec 15, : A Pakistani drone carrying narcotics was intercepted by the BSF at the international border in the Arnia sector of Jammu, BSF said in a statement on Sunday. "On Dec 14, 2024 at about 2010 hrs, a smuggling attempt was foiled by the alert troops of BSF Jammu deployed in Arnia Sector of Jammu, wherein BSF troops intercepted the Pakistani drone and recovered a Pak drone along with 495 grams of narcotics substance," the statement said. "The relentless dedication and sharp vigil of BSF Jammu personnel have once again defeated nefarious design of anti-national elements, showcasing their unwavering commitment to the nation's security," the statement read. Not just narcotics but Pakistan has been sending drones laden with weapons from across the border. There have been a series of encounters between terrorists and security forces across Jammu and Kashmir in the recent past in which many terrorists and their commanders have been eliminated, as Pakistan is trying to step up infiltration at the LoC and send consignments of weapons. There have been several instances of weapon dropping by drones from Pakistan near the international border in Jammu for terrorists operating in Jammu and Kashmir. The BSF has recovered several weapon caches in the recent past and foiled the designs of terrorists and their handlers across the border. While the army is alert to foiling infiltration bids at the LoC, terrorist activities are now spreading across other areas of Jammu and Kashmir, areas that were relatively free from such incidents until a few years ago like the Chenab valley, Udhampur and Kathua that were declared militancy-free. The relentless anti-terror operations in Kashmir have pushed terrorists to the mountains where they hide and wait for the right time to carry out attacks on security forces. Analysts add that a comprehensive strategy is needed to address the increasing militancy in Jammu involving enhanced intelligence gathering and better coordination among security forces. The series of terror attacks also goes on to highlight the urgency of reassessing and strengthening the security grid to ensure the safety and stability of the region. Mumbai, Dec 15 : Bollywood star Varun Dhawan, who is currently promoting his upcoming film "Baby John", got a chance to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his visit in the National Capital and said it was an "absolute pleasure." Mumbai, Dec 15 (IANS) Bollywood star Varun Dhawan, who is currently promoting his upcoming film "Baby John", got a chance to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his visit in the National Capital and said it was an "absolute pleasure." Varun took to Instagram, where he shared a picture with the renowned leader. In the photograph, the two are seen looking at the camera smiling. "Inke Saamne Toh Hum Sab 'Baby' Hai'," Varun wrote for Amit Shah, who is tagged as the Chanakya of Indian politics. Varun expressed his gratitude on meeting the leader. "It was an absolute pleasure to meet the Honorable Home Minister Amit Shah ji in Delhi," he added. Varun Dhawan had a curious encounter with Union Home Minister Amit Shah at an event in Delhi, where he posed an intriguing question: "What's the biggest difference between Ram and Ravan?" Union Minister Amit Shah emphasized that the key difference between Ram and Ravan lies in their distinct approaches to fulfilling their duties, or 'dharma'. He explained that for individuals like Ram, their personal interests are guided by their sense of duty, whereas others, like Ravan, prioritize self-interest over their responsibilities. Talking about "Baby John", the action thriller film is directed by Kalees. It serves as an adaptation of Atlee's 2016 Tamil film Theri. The film stars Varun Dhawan in the title role, alongside Keerthy Suresh , Wamiqa Gabbi, Zara Zyanna and Jackie Shroff. "Baby John" is scheduled to be released on 25 December. It tells the story of DCP Satya Verma IPS, alias Baby John, who fakes his death and goes underground to raise his daughter, Khushi, in a peaceful environment in Kerala after a personal tragedy. However, his past starts to catch up when his nemesis, Babbar Sher, a politician, figures out he is alive. Amidst his promotions in New Delhi, Varun met rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh. In an image shared by the rapper on Instagram, Honey Singh is seen all dressed up in a black overcoat, shirt and pants to beat the winter cold while Varun unfazed by the Delhi chills wore a white half sleeves T-shirt with "Baby John" written on it paired with denims. "My lil brother @varundvn doing nain mattaka in west delhi!! BABY JOHN IS COMING keep it locked #yoyohoneysingh #varundhawan #babyjohn," Honey Singh wrote as the caption. Before Delhi, Varun visited Jaipur to promote the film. He spent a day in Jaipur to promote his upcoming film "Baby John" and savoured on dal bati and vada pav. Varun took to Instagram, where he shared a string of images of himself from Jaipur. In the first picture, the actor is seen wearing the traditional Rajasthani pagdi and trying the authentic Rajasthani thali. SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- South Korean Prosecutors on Sunday sought an arrest warrant for the head of the Army Special Warfare Command over his role in President Yoon Suk-yeol's short-lived imposition of emergency martial law, Yonhap news agency reported. The arrest warrant for Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun was filed on charges of insurrection and abuse of power. The military official is accused of sending troops to the National Assembly when the martial law was imposed on the night of Dec. 3, and allegedly colluding with Yoon and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun to incite a riot with the purpose of subverting the constitution, according to the report. Kwak, already suspended from his duties, has been placed under a travel ban in connection with an investigation of Yoon's martial law declaration. Sydney, Dec 15 : A man was arrested after allegedly ramming a police vehicle in a stolen vehicle in Melbourne's suburb, police of the Australian state of Victoria said. Police were called about 11:00 p.m. on a dispute between a man and a woman in a shopping centre carpark in Berwick, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria Police said on Sunday. Investigators were told that three men attempted to intervene when it was alleged that the man threatened one of the three with a knife, Xinhua news agency reported. When police arrived, they directed the man to exit the vehicle. But the driver and sole occupant was alleged to have rammed into the police vehicle before fleeing the scene, the police said. Police tracked the stolen vehicle and successfully deployed stop sticks to stop the driver fleeing. The 49-year-old man was arrested at the scene and no one was injured as a result of the ramming or during the arrest. Previously, on November 28, 2024, four people were taken into custody after a wild police pursuit with a police car repeatedly rammed in Victoria. Police arrested the four people after a police car was rammed in Springvale. The police vehicle then followed an alleged stolen Mazda CX-9 to a dead-end road on Maple Street when it crashed into the police car numerous times before the occupants abandoned their vehicle and fled on foot. The officers who were uninjured in the crash chased the offenders and arrested two men nearby. Patrols of the area then discovered two women who were also taken into custody. On April 4, 2024, two men were on the run after Victorian police officers were attacked and their cars rammed at a petrol station. Police were called to an Ampol station on Kings Way, South Melbourne, with reports of two men slumped in a car. Both men woke up and attempted to assault the two officers before trying to flee the scene, police said. The pair then rammed their car into the two police vehicles that had been parked behind and in front. New Delhi, Dec 15 : The US accounted for 18 per cent of India's total exports in the financial year (FY) 24, as the country's exports to the world's largest economy continuously increased, a report said. Bank of Baroda's report said that India's exports to the US are growing steadily. Its value was $77.5 billion in FY24. India's exports to the US have been growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.3 per cent over the last 30 years. According to the report, the growth rate of exports to the US was higher than the growth rate of total exports till FY2000, but after the financial crisis of 2008, it slowed down till FY10. Since then, the growth rate of exports to the US has been higher than the growth rate of total exports, showing that the US is an important market for India. According to the report, the US share in India's total exports was 18 per cent in FY24 and 16.4 per cent in FY92. However, it is still below the highest level of 22.8 per cent in FY00. The report also advised that India should reduce over-dependence on one country for exports and focus on diversification of exports. The US remains an important market for many key Indian industries. The top five items exported to the US in FY24 were drugs and pharmaceuticals, pearls and precious stones, petrochemical products, telecom equipment and readymade garments, which accounted for 40 per cent of the country's total exports. Other major exports include yarn, marine products and electronic goods, with electronic goods exports facing competition from other Asian countries. From 2000 to 2022, Indiaas goods export increased from $48.5 billion to $467.5 billion while industrial exports grew from $39.6 billion to $317.4 billion. The government aims to reach $2 trillion in exports of goods and services by 2030. Raipur, Dec 15 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday reiterated the government's resolve to rid Chhattisgarh of Maoism by March 31, 2026, and hailed the state police's efforts in curbing Left-wing extremism over the past year. Speaking at an event here to mark the President's Colour Award to Chhattisgarh Police, Shah appealed to Maoists to join the mainstream and make the best use of the surrender policy of the state government. "I have been in touch with Chhattisgarh Police over the years for anti-naxal operations and I have no hesitation in saying that it is among the most courageous forces in the country, fighting naxals and making lives of citizens easy," he said. Hailing the achievements of the force over the past year, the Union Home Minister said that during this period 287 extremists have been neutralised, almost 1,000 arrested and 837 surrendered. "Due to the efforts of Chhattisgarh Police, the top 14 naxals were killed," he said, adding that for the first time in four decades, the number of fatalities among troops and citizens had fallen below 100 in one year. The Union Minister said the motto of "Viksit Chhattisgarh, Viksit Bastar" will get renewed contributions from the Chhattisgarh Police which has got the President's Colour Award even before completing 25 years of its existence, a rare achievement for an armed force. Shah highlighted the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi due to which, during the past decade, as compared to the one before that, a drop of 73 per cent was recorded in fatalities among security forces and a drop of 70 per cent was seen in deaths of citizens. When Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee created the new state in 2000, the people of the state elected a BJP government for 15 years. "Now Vishnu Deo Sai has been elected as CM and I assure you that we shall rid Chhattisgarh of naxals before March 31, 2026." He hailed the state police for getting the Award even before the completion of 25 years of service and expressed confidence that the President's flag on the uniform of policemen would further enhance their confidence. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai also congratulated the state police for the honour and highlighted the efforts made by the Modi government and the state government to offer 15,000 houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana to surrendered extremists. He also highlighted schemes like reservation in educational institutes, financial assistance and grants of land for agriculture and financial help for students from families of surrendered Maoists. CM Sai also shared details of the welfare of victims of Maoist violence and reservation in technical colleges for students from these families, apart from skilling of women and land for houses and agriculture to victims of Left-wing extremism. New Delhi, Dec 15 : The significant drop in tuberculosis (TB) cases and deaths in India is "remarkable", said Mario C. B. Raviglione, former Director of the Global Tuberculosis (TB) Programme at the World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday. Speaking exclusively to IANS, Raviglione noted that this indicates a "high level of political commitment." "There has been major progress in India in the last 25 years. The 18 per cent decline is about 2 per cent per year in the last decade. It is something remarkable for a country like India which is the number one contributor to the global TB epidemic with an estimated 2.8 million people getting TB every year," said Raviglione, a Professor of Global Health at the University of Milan, Italy. As per recent government data, the incidence rate of TB witnessed a 17.7 per cent decline from 237 per 100,000 population in 2015 to 195 per 100,000 population in 2023. Similarly, deaths due to TB have reduced by 21.4 per cent from 28 per lakh population in 2015 to 22 per lakh population in 2023. "Having achieved this incidence decline in a country as massive as India is certainly a sign that something good has been done," said Raviglione. "I think that the high level of political commitment that has been seen in India over the past few years is absolutely remarkable. It is almost unique in the world. I've not seen many heads of state going loudly like Prime Minister Narendra Modi" on tackling diseases, he added, noting that it must be "absolutely maintained" to help the country fight the deadly infectious disease. While the "decline is still remarkable, it is far too slow to achieve anything, such as ending an epidemic like that of TB," Raviglione said, about India's aim to eliminate TB by 2025, five years ahead of the global target of 2030. The Professor called on the need to boost rapid molecular testing. "It must be available at every point of care, it is essential for India to do much better than the progress achieved," he said. Expanding its use can not only diagnose TB more rapidly but also boost the diagnosis of drug-resistant TB, which has a major implication. This will help in choosing the appropriate treatment. He also suggested, "campaigns of massive screening of the population to save lives because it will help detect TB cases early." This may help the physicians decode whether the contacts of people with TB have been affected or must be given prophylaxis to safeguard them from the disease in the future. Further, to counter TB in India, he suggested the need to focus on social determinants such as undernutrition, smoking tobacco, alcoholism, poverty, air pollution, both indoor and outdoor; and a multi-sectoral approach. The former WHO Director for TB also urged the need to tackle TB patients' suffering from "catastrophic expenditure." "The cost of having tuberculosis is still very high, even if you have a country where the drugs are given free of cost like in India," Raviglione said. He said this citing the diagnostic pathway opted by people, months before they get the correct diagnosis, and the treatment is initiated. "During that period, they visit several doctors, from modern medicine to Vedic medicine. So that means that they spend their money on several tests. For a person who lives under the poverty level, it becomes impossible to hold," the Professor told IANS. Tbilisi, Dec 15 : The ruling Georgian Dream party's candidate, Mikheil Kavelashvili, has been elected Georgian president, the Central Election Commission announced. Kavelashvili received 224 votes from 300 members of an electoral college, according to the commission. To be elected, a candidate has to win at least 200 votes. The presidential election was held in Georgia on Saturday. This is the first time in Georgia's history that the president is elected not by direct vote. Earlier on Tuesday, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili proposed holding the presidential election on December 14, Xinhua news agency reported. The inauguration of the newly elected President will take place on December 29. The session took place a day after Georgia's Parliament approved the mandate of its newly elected lawmakers in its first session since last month's parliamentary election, in which the ruling Georgian Dream party won an 89-seat majority in the 150-seat Parliament after receiving 53.93 per cent of the vote. It also took place as protests continued in the capital Tbilisi since late week over the October 26 election results, which were rejected by incumbent President Salome Zourabichvili and opposition parties. Zourabichvili said she did not recognise the results, alleging that the election was marred by Russian interference, while the opposition parties called the election "stolen". It is the first time that the Georgian President will not be elected by a direct popular vote. The new President will be elected by a 300-member electoral college, including members of Parliament and delegates of the regions. Zourabichvili was elected Georgian President in 2018 and her term expires on December 16. Recently, the Georgian government has suspended negotiations over the country's accession to the European Union and rejects any budgetary grants until the end of 2028, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced. Imphal, Dec 15 : The Assam Rifles has identified a staggering 16,250 acres of illegal poppy fields in different districts of Manipur in the past five years and destroyed 6,228 acres, officials said on Sunday. The defence spokesman said that besides fighting against various unlawful activities and crackdown on the drug menaces, the combat against illegal poppy cultivation has been a consistent priority for Assam Rifles, as reflected in its sustained efforts over the years. He said that in 2020 the para-military force identified an astounding 8,057 acres of illicit poppy fields in various districts and 1,695 acres were destroyed. Continuing the forceas rigorous action, a total of 5,610 acres of unlawful poppy fields were identified and 1,976 acres were destroyed in 2021. And, the next year (2022) the force intensified 494 acres and destroyed 715 acres, including previously undiscovered patches. In 2023, a total of 1,735 acres of illegal poppy cultivation areas were identified and 1,488 acres were eradicated. This year so far, 354 acres of illicit poppy cultivation areas have been destroyed, primarily in the districts of Ukhrul, Churachandpur and Chandel. The spokesman said that by 2024 the area of identified poppy fields has declined significantly, reflecting the success of the state and Central governments' efforts and the security forcesa multi-pronged strategy against illegal poppy farming. The Assam Rifles has been identifying and destroying illegal poppy cultivation in mountainous and forest areas actively in coordination with state and central agencies, including the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Manipur Police and other Central Armed Police Forces deployed in the area. The NCB, as the nodal agency for drug enforcement under the Ministry of Home Affairs, ensured synergy among all stakeholders during operations, especially during the opium harvesting seasons. Joint operations of different forces have focused on curbing cultivation, disrupting supply chains and dismantling the networks sustaining the illicit drug trade. Beyond destruction operations, Assam Rifles has also prioritised addressing the socio-economic factors driving poppy cultivation, the spokesman said. Under its "Drug-Free Manipur" initiative, the Assam Rifles has conducted extensive awareness drives to educate communities about the perils of drug addiction and the risks associated with illegal farming. Through regular interactions with villagers and local leaders, the force has actively promoted sustainable livelihood options, encouraging a shift towards legitimate and long-term economic activities. Meanwhile, according to a government report, various law enforcement agencies, including Manipur Police, have destroyed 19,135.60 acres of illegal poppy cultivation in the stateas 12 districts between 2017 and 2024. The report, prepared by Manipur Remote Sensing Applications Centre (MARSAC), in the mountainous Kangpokpi district, the highest areas of 4,454.4 acres of illegal poppy cultivation were destroyed in the last seven years (2017-2024), followed by 3,348 acres in Ukhrul and 2,713.8 acres in Churachandpur. The MARSAC is an autonomous government institution under the Planning Department of the Manipur government. The report said that deforestation, due to mass poppy cultivation, resulted in several adverse impacts on the ecosystem, including soil erosion, a loss of biodiversity, and changes in the local climate, the report said. The Manipur government on several occasions said that the ongoing ethnic strife in Manipur (since May last year) is a creation of illegal immigrants from Myanmar adding that these migrants after illegally settling in the state started the cultivation of illicit poppies. New Delhi, Dec 15 : Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva on Sunday described the AAP's final list of 38 candidates as a "list of criminals", with many of the nominees being out on bail or involved in controversies. New Delhi, Dec 15 (IANS) Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva on Sunday described the AAP's final list of 38 candidates as a "list of criminals", with many of the nominees being out on bail or involved in controversies. "Whether it is Arvind Kejriwal, Satyendra Kumar Jain or Amanatullah Khan, this is a list of law-breakers," Sachdeva told IANS, claiming that the list showed that Kejriwal was sheltering criminals in Delhi. Asked about the perceived delay in the announcement of BJP candidates, Sachdeva said, "The BJP doesn't need Kerjriwal's approval to release names of its candidates. We know when to do it." The Delhi BJP chief welcomed the decision by Kejriwal and Chief Minister Atishi to recontest the Assembly election from their sitting seats. "This will help hold Kejriwal accountable for the work he has done over the past 10 years," said Sachdeva. Former West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma told IANS, "People from the New Delhi Assembly constituency are eager to teach a lesson to Arvind Kejriwal." He said in the past 11 years, Kejriwal has ignored his constituency, causing immense displeasure among the electorate. "He will be handed a historic defeat," said Verma. Training his guns on former Chief Minister Kejriwal, Verma said the AAP convenor was involved in the liquor policy scam, corruption in the renovation of his official residence or 'Sheesh Mahal' and adding to the pollution in the Yamuna. Questioning Kejriwal's performance on infrastructure development, he said, the AAP convenor and New Delhi legislator had failed to give any flyover, school, college, hospital or stadium in the last 11 years. "Did he give any jobs to Delhi youth? Today, he is talking about giving Rs 2,100 financial assistance to women but can he tell whether his party's government has fulfilled a similar promise in Punjab," Verma said. He suggested that women in Delhi call up their relatives and friends in Punjab to inquire if women in that state are getting the Rs 2,100 financial assistance promised by the AAP before the Assembly election. Seoul, Dec 15 : The leader of South Korea's main Opposition Democratic Party (DP), on Sunday, proposed forming a consultative body between the parliament and the government to stabilise state affairs, a day after President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment over his declaration of martial law. DP leader Lee Jae-myung made the proposal after the National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against Yoon on Saturday over his short-lived imposition of martial law on December 3, suspending his duties as President. "The normalisation of the Republic of Korea is urgent," Lee said in a press conference. "The Democratic Party will actively cooperate with all political parties for the stabilisation of state affairs and to recover international trust." The People Power Party (PPP), however, rejected Lee's proposal, noting that it remains the ruling party, Yonhap news agency reported. "As the ruling party, (we) will take a responsible role through senior and working-level meetings with the government until the end of the Yoon Suk Yeol government," PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong told reporters. Lee also said he would not take steps for the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who assumed duties as acting president immediately after Yoon's impeachment. Han has been asked by the police to appear for questioning as part of their investigation into the martial law declaration. "Too many impeachments could lead to confusion in state affairs. As for now, we have decided not to take impeachment steps (against Han)," he said. Lee also called for the Constitutional Court to take 'swift' steps for Yoon's dismissal, saying that it is the only way to "minimise the country's chaos." The court has 180 days to decide whether to approve the parliament's decision that will either remove Yoon from office or have him reinstated. On Saturday, the National Assembly voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his botched imposition of martial law, suspending him from his duties until the Constitutional Court decides whether to reinstate him or remove him from office, with citizens cheering over his impeachment. Chandigarh, Dec 15 : Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav along with Union Ministry of Home Affairs Mayank Mishra on Sunday met farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who is on fast unto death to press the Centre in support of their demands, enquired about his health and requested him to end his 20-day-long fast. This has been the first meeting between the Union government and a farm leader since talks with farmers remained inconclusive in February. The 70-year-old cancer patient Dallewal has been fasting at Khanauri, the border point between Punjab and Haryana, since November 26 in support of their long-pending demands, including a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops, loan waiver and reforms to improve conditions in the agricultural sector. After meeting the farmer leader, Yadav told the media, "We came to enquire about the health of Dallewal." Without mincing words, he said, "We have heard whatever his (Dallewal) demands are. There was no proposal of any kind (over the demands). I came here to hear him and also for implementation of the Supreme Court order." DGP Yadav said, "We have appealed to Dallewal that the government has taken note of his situation, and the Punjab government has said that they will talk to Dallewal and his associates and provide them with medical assistance." "We are trying to ensure that the demands of farmers be resolved and channels of dialogue between the government open. We appealed to Jagjit Singh Dallewal and other farmer leaders and medical facilities have been provided to Jagjit Singh Dallewal. We are trying to resolve the issue in coordination with them," he said, adding, "Dallewal urged us to put forward our demands." The meeting comes in the wake of the Supreme Court directing the Centre and Punjab government two days ago to immediately meet Dallewal. The court had further asked to provide him with medical help and persuade him to break his indefinite fast, saying his life was precious. Despite assurances by the government officials, Dallewal remained adamant on continuing with the fast unto death, farmer leaders said. Doctors have advised immediate hospitalisation of Dallewal as due to the prolonged fast he turned weak. Before reaching the protest site, Yadav held a meeting with farmer leaders, including Sukhjit Singh Hardojhande and Kaka Singh Kotda. Haryana security personnel on Saturday lobbed teargas shells to disperse protesting farmers who were attempting to cross multi-layered barricades erected as a preventive step at the Shambhu border point between Punjab and Haryana. The police, who were trying to convince a batch of 101 farmers that they should not enter Haryana as they didn't have permission to go to the national capital, and should go back, also used water cannons to disperse them. This was the third attempt by the 101 farmers to march towards the national capital as part of the ongoing protest that has now completed 10 months. Earlier, they attempted to march towards Delhi on December 6 and 8. The protesting farmers have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders, both in Punjab, since February 13, after security forces stopped their attempts to proceed to Delhi. Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher has announced to halt trains in Punjab on December 18 to lodge their protest. --IANS vg/dan ISLAMABAD, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Pakistani government launched a new nationwide anti-polio campaign on Sunday after cases rose to 63 so far in 2024, the Prime Minister's Office said. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated the final immunization campaign of 2024, which will run on Dec. 16-22, according to a statement from the office. Over 400,000 health workers will visit doorsteps in 143 districts to provide immunization to over 44 million children under five across Pakistan. The prime minister emphasized the importance of the immunization campaign while expressing an unwavering commitment to eradicate polio in the country. Sharif urged parents nationwide to support the campaign by ensuring their children receive polio drops. "Administering polio drops to millions of children will strengthen their future and help them become educated and valuable contributors to Pakistan's development," the prime minister said. New Delhi, Dec 15 : A leader is one who doesn't think of the moment, he thinks of the future, said Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday, urging corporates to invest in education. Speaking at the Jiwaji University, Gwalior, Dhankhar hailed Maharaja Shrimant Jiwajirao Scindia's vision for education and said, "The Late Maharaja, with extraordinary energy and unwavering commitment, embodied the spirit of service and nation-building. He lost no time in nurturing nationalism and allowing it to blossom." "His rule was defined by foresight, courage, and a focus on education, ensuring public welfare and progress," said Dhankhar in a video uploaded on his social media handle X. Describing investment in education as an investment for today and for the future, he said this will ensure that our growth shifts from incremental to vertical. "We must also ensure there is no commercialisation of education education is service and should be treated as such," he said. I urge that Maharaja Shrimant Jiwajirao Scindia's vision for education be continued. Industry, trade, business, and corporates must invest in education and pool CSR funds to nurture institutions, he said. The VP said he would always remember the historic moment of unveiling the statue of a great man who was among the first to integrate with Bharat soon after independence to honour the nationalism call given by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Dhankhar said the need of the hour is quality education for all. "And this is happening fast in the country," he said. "Boys and girls, we are living in times of hope and possibility. Today, you can fully realise your potential and dreams, thanks to a system free from corruption and favouritism," he said. Complementing the government for digital public infrastructure and infusion of technology, Dhankhar said: "In the past, opportunities like jobs, contracts, and even basic services required extra-legal means. Today, thanks to technology, these mega transformative changes are a reality." "Those who considered themselves above the law have been reminded about equality before the law," he said. Ranchi, Dec 15 : Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (PM-JAY), since its launch in 2018 has evolved into a game-changer scheme, playing an instrumental role in transforming the country's health landscape. Over the years, lakhs of people and their families have benefitted from the scheme, also called Ayushman Bharat. In Jharkhand's Sahebganj district, thousands of people have got their Ayushman Bharat cards issued under the PM-JAY scheme while thousand other applications are in the pipeline. Scores of people are making formal applications for getting Ayushman Health cards issued for them as well as their families. Many beneficiaries of the scheme spoke to IANS and talked about the wide array of benefits received under the scheme. Aman Kumar Pandey, the co-ordinator of Ayushman Bharat at the city's Sahibganj Sadar Hospital said that the health cards of beneficiaries are being made on the basis of their applications. "A large number of beneficiaries are coming and getting Ayushman cards made. Even 70-year-old beneficiaries are showing interest in making Ayushman cards. They are going to the centre and getting their Ayushman cards made," he said. "The treatment of patients is done free of cost. Even after discharge from the hospital, they continue to receive all kinds of medical assistance for the next 15 days for free," he further said. "Those below 70 years of age are mandated to bring ration cards - red, blue and yellow along with their Aadhar cards for getting their Ayushman cards while those above 70 years of age can bring only Aadhar cards," he informed. A couple of patients and their relatives also spoke about their eagerness for the Ayushman Bharat cards and expressed gratitude to the Modi government for launching such an initiative. "We have got an Ayushman card made under the scheme, launched by PM Modi. We are getting free treatment at hospitals. We have been told that the cards will continue our medical expenses in future as well," said a beneficiary. A retired teacher, speaking to IANS, said that he and many of his colleagues were getting Ayushman Bharat cards made because they had been assured of medical assistance up to Rs 5 lakh. Jakarta, Dec 15 : Mount Semeru, located in Indonesia's East Java province, erupted on Sunday, prompting the country's Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation to issue an aviation warning. Jakarta, Dec 15 (IANS) Mount Semeru, located in Indonesia's East Java province, erupted on Sunday, prompting the country's Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation to issue an aviation warning. A thick column of white-to-grey ash rose up to 1,000 meters into the sky, drifting northeast from the crater, according to the center's report. Authorities issued the second-highest aviation warning, designating an orange Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation, restricting flights within 5 kilometres of the volcano, Xinhua news agency reported. A 3-km danger zone has been declared, while the southeastern area of the volcano has a designated danger radius extending up to 8 km from the crater. Beyond these areas, authorities have prohibited residents from engaging in any activities within 500 meters of rivers originating from the volcano's slopes due to potential lava flows and hot clouds possibly extending up to 13 km. Mount Semeru, standing 3,676 meters high, is one of Indonesia's 127 active volcanoes On November 3, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a volcano in Indonesia erupted killing nine people and forcing thousands of locals to evacuate. The volcanic eruption resulted in the cancellation of more than 160 flights to and from Bali. To facilitate emergency relief efforts, the local government declared an emergency status from November 4 until December 31. In May, the Ibu volcano on Halmahera Island in the eastern Indonesian province of North Maluku erupted. The Ibu volcano has erupted more than 80 times since the beginning of this year. In April, Mount Ruang volcano erupted. The 725-metre-high volcano is one of Indonesia's most active. Mount Ruang last erupted in 2002, spewing out pyroclastic flows that damaged the land and local settlements. There are roughly 500 mountains that dot the Indonesian archipelago, of which 127 are active volcanoes and dozens of them have been showing signs of increased activity. Indonesia sits on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire' - an area abundant in volcanoes and seismic activity because it is directly above several tectonic plates. There are nearly 130 active volcanoes in the Southeast Asian country. New Delhi, Dec 15 : December 16 holds a significant place in South Asian history, marking not only the anniversary of the Bangladesh Liberation but also a defining moment that reshaped the region's political and social landscape. This day commemorates the struggle for independence, but it also serves as a solemn reminder of the sacrifices made in the fight for a new nation. As we celebrate Bangladesh's victory, it is crucial to reflect on the long-standing plight of its minority communities, particularly Hindus, whose survival has been marked by continuous persecution. The echoes of 1971, when political, geographical, and ethnic struggles led to widespread violence against minorities, still resonate today. The blood of these marginalised groups has flowed through the rivers of Bangladesh, both then and now, raising a pressing question: is history repeating itself in the ongoing fight for their survival and dignity? Struggle for identity and justice In 1948, Jinnah's declaration of Urdu as the state language of Pakistan disregarded the linguistic majority of Bengali-speaking East Pakistanis, who comprised the largest population group. Jinnah believed that their identity as Muslims should supersede their cultural and linguistic identity, declaring, "The essential condition for the success of Pakistan is complete internal solidarity Urdu must be the State language of Pakistan." This sidelined Bengali identity, fueling deep resentment and cultural suppression despite vague promises of regional language autonomy. The (West) Pakistanis also perceived Bengalis as racially and ethnically inferior, systematically excluding them from military and administrative services. Despite accounting for 55 per cent of Pakistan's population, Bengalis had negligible representation in civil, military, and bureaucratic services. The elite of West Pakistan considered Bengalis "lesser Muslims" due to their perceived Hindu cultural influence. The Pakistani government's response to Cyclone Bhola in 1970 exposed its apathy. The central government, dominated by West Pakistan, delayed and poorly coordinated relief efforts, further exacerbating tensions. President Yahya Khan visited the affected areas days later but took minimal action beyond declaring a day of national mourning. This indifference highlighted systemic neglect, fueling demands for autonomy. Decades later, echoes of such neglect persist. During the August 2024 floods in Bangladesh, similar concerns arose. A leading television network shed light on distressing incidents of discrimination against Hindus in relief distribution. A viral video featured a man from the Hindu community in Cheoria, Tulabaria, in Kalidah Union's Ward No. 8, Feni district, expressing anguish: "We have not received a single person for relief. Our only crime is that we are Hindus. People in Noakhali and Barisal are receiving aid, but when they see us, they turn away." The video underscores ongoing inequities, urging authorities and humanitarian groups to address such biases and ensure equitable relief measures. Temples like ISKCON have stepped in to fill the gap, offering shelter and aid to affected Hindu families. West Pakistan's refusal to accept the 1970 election resultsin which the Awami League, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won decisivelyescalated protests in East Pakistan. On March 7, 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman laid out conditions for talks, including troop withdrawal, halting reinforcements, and granting autonomy. He initiated a non-cooperation movement marked by strikes, tax refusal, and village-level liberation committees. However, these demands for equality were met with violent suppression, culminating in the declaration of independence on March 26, 1971, by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Operation Searchlight: A genocidal prelude On March 25, 1971, the Pakistani military launched "Operation Searchlight," a campaign of terror against civilians in East Pakistan. Intellectuals, students, and cultural leaders were targeted, with cities like Dhaka witnessing bloodbaths. This systematic violence is a stark reminder of how unchecked power can devastate communities. According to Taqbir Huda's article 'Remembering the Barbarities of Operation Searchlight' in The Daily Star, the campaign began with death squads killing 7,000 unarmed Bengalis in a single night. Military generals in West Pakistan, unwilling to relinquish power, decided that a genocidal campaign was necessary. President Yahya Khan infamously declared, "Kill three million of them, and the rest will eat out of our hands." The army targeted Dhaka University's teachers and students, the core of the resistance, killing hundreds. Survivors recounted horrifying atrocities: slum dwellers gunned down as they fled burning homes, children witnessing their parents' murders, and women abducted from dormitories. Journalist Anthony Mascarenhas, the first to report on the genocide internationally, quoted a Pakistani army major: "This is a war between the pure and the impure They may have Muslim names, but they are Hindu at heart." According to a research paper published in the Security & Defence Journal titled 'Genocide, Ethical Imperatives, and the Strategic Significance of Asymmetric Power: India's Diplomatic and Military Interventions in the Bangladesh Liberation War (Indo-Pakistan War of 1971)': The demand for independence in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) was not initially universal, as pockets of support for Pakistan persisted. Political groups like Jamaat-e-Islami and the Muslim League aligned with West Pakistan during the liberation war. Leaders such as Nurul Amin, Ghulam Azam, and Khwaja Khairuddin formed the Citizen Peace Committee, later called the East Pakistan Central Peace Committee (Shanti Bahini), which supported the Pakistani Army. Shanti Bahini facilitated the recruitment of Razakars, a paramilitary force notorious for war crimes, including kill lists targeting Bengali nationalists, intellectuals, and Hindus, as well as systemic rape and sexual slavery. With nearly 73,000 personnel, including Razakars, Al-Badr, and Al-Shams, these forces caused immense suffering, cementing the term "Razakar" as a symbol of betrayal in Bangladesh. While Mukti Bahini fought for Bengali independence, Shanti Bahini supported Pakistan's efforts to suppress the rebellion, creating a tragic divide among citizens. As civil war erupted, violence consumed the local population. The role of the Razakars, local collaborators with the Pakistani military, was particularly heinous. Razakars were infamous for their brutal attacks on Hindu villages, aiding in mass killings, and abducting women for exploitation. Their involvement amplified the genocide, as highlighted in 'The Blood Telegram' by Archer K. Blood, where the systematic targeting of Hindus was explicitly described. The genocide statistics are staggering: Three million Bengalis were killed; 200,000 to 400,000 women were raped by the Pakistani military and collaborators; 10 million refugees fled to India; and over 942 killing fields were discovered across Bangladesh. In 2024 the resurgence of ISI-backed Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) in Bangladesh politics threatens both progressive forces in the country and Indian interests, given its five-decade-long record of fostering radicalism and supporting terror groups Role of India: A humanitarian and strategic response The Bangladesh Liberation War, lasting 13 days, witnessed significant contributions and sacrifices by India. Over 3,000 Indian soldiers lost their lives in the conflict, underscoring India's resolute support for the liberation movement. On December 16, 1971, approximately 93,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendered to the Indian forces marking the largest military capitulation since World War II. This decisive victory not only liberated Bangladesh but also showcased India's commitment to defending human rights and supporting the oppressed. India's efforts included providing shelter to over 10 million refugees, extensive military and logistical support to the Mukti Bahini, and diplomatic manoeuvres to rally international backing for Bangladesh's independence. The day is celebrated as Vijay Diwas, honouring the bravery and sacrifice of Indian forces and the shared vision of freedom. On the present situation, India has strongly condemned the attack on Bangladeshi Hindus. During Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri's recent visit to Bangladesh, he reiterated India's commitment to fostering strong bilateral ties, emphasising support for a stable, democratic, and inclusive Bangladesh. He raised concerns about recent attacks on cultural and religious properties, highlighting the importance of cooperation to address these challenges. Plight of minorities: Then and now The Liberation was marked by atrocities, with the Hindu minority disproportionately targeted. Fifty-two years later, targeted violence against Hindus in Bangladesh continues, including attacks on temples and forced conversions. The cycle of persecution has led to an alarming decline in the Hindu population in Bangladesh from 13.50 to 07.95 per cent. Reports from The Daily Star and human rights organisations document a pattern of mob violence against Hindus, echoing the horrors of 1971. Lessons for present While we remember the courage of the Mukti Bahini and the determination of the Bangladeshi people, we must also reflect on the failure of the world to protect the Hindus of Bangladesh in 1971. The international community's inaction during that time must serve as a stark reminder that the protection of human rights remains a critical issue today. This anniversary calls for urgent action from all governments and human rights organisations to ensure the safety and dignity of minorities, and to prevent further persecution and oppression. Let this be the wake-up call for the world to not fail the Bangladeshi Hindus again. (The writer is an author and columnist. Her latest book is Blood in the Sea: The Dark History of Hindu Oppression in Goa) Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 15 : P. Sreekumar, Kerala State Coordinator of Hindus of America and a senior leader of the RSS-affiliated Hindu movement in Kerala, has presented a copy of the Rig Veda to Pope Francis at the Vatican in Rome. Sreekumar handed over the sacred text during his visit to the Vatican, where he attended the World Religious Convention. The event featured Pope Francis as a keynote speaker. Sreekumar told IANS: "If you recall, former Kerala Chief Minister and late CPI-M leader E.K. Nayanar gifted a copy of the Bhagavad Gita to Pope John Paul II during his Vatican visit in 1997. I felt the most appropriate gift this time would be the Rig Veda itself." He emphasised that the late Swami Satyananda Saraswati, a renowned Kerala Hindu leader and saint, had often highlighted the importance of the Vedas as the foundational scripture of Hinduism, advocating that every Hindu household should possess a copy. Building on this vision, Kerala Hindus of North America initiated the distribution of Rig Veda copies. At a convention in Houston in 2023, participants were gifted the sacred text, complete with Sanskrit verses and English translations. Sreekumar, who is also a writer and journalist, contributed to the preparation of these editions. He explained that the gift was approved through prior security protocols at the Vatican. Handing it over personally to the Pope, he remarked that the Rig Veda symbolises the essence of Hindu philosophy. Pope Francis accepted the gift with a thoughtful smile, asking, "Is this for me?" The World Religious Convention was organised by the Sivagiri Mutt, founded by Sree Narayana Guru. President of Sivagiri Mutt, Swami Sachithananda, also presented Pope Francis with a replica of the Ashoka Pillar and an interfaith logo. Sreekumar shared a memorable moment from the convention, recalling how Pope Francis stepped off the stage after his speech to sit among children, engaging in prayer and personal conversations. "The entire experience underscored shared values of respect, inclusivity, and the power of interfaith dialogue within a global community," he noted. An Indian delegation led by Union Minister of State George Kurien visited the Vatican to witness the elevation of George Jacob Koovakad, a 51-year-old Keralite priest, to the rank of Cardinal by Pope Francis. Koovakad is the first Indian priest directly elevated to Cardinal. Ordained in 2004, Cardinal Koovakad trained at the prestigious Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy before beginning his diplomatic career at the Apostolic Nunciature in Algeria in 2006. By 2020, he had joined the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, overseeing the organisation of the Pope's global travels. Chennai, Dec 15 : The AIADMK executive council meeting held at the Shrivaaru Venkataachalapathy Palace Hall in Vanagaram, Chennai, on Sunday passed sixteen resolutions. Among these, the party resolved to make Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu again in 2026. The session, chaired by AIADMK Presidium Chairman Tamil Magan Hussain, was attended by 2,523 general and executive committee members, along with 1,000 special invitees. During the general body meeting, condolences were expressed for the death of senior Congress leader E.V.K.S. Elangovan. Tributes were also paid to industrialist Ratan Tata, CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, former Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna, and late actor Delhi Ganesh. Another resolution also urged the Central government to abandon the construction of a tungsten mine near Melur, Madurai and condemned the Tamil Nadu government for its failure to halt the project despite public pressure. The AIADMK in another resolution condemned the state governmentas hypocritical stance on the cancellation of the NEET exam. The party also called on the Central government to amend the Constitution to return education to the state list. The Tamil Nadu government was criticised for failing to address the basic needs of people impacted by Cyclone Fengal. The party condemned the rising prices and high taxes, stating these issues are severely affecting the livelihoods of Tamil Naduas people. Another resolution criticised the DMK government for the deteriorating law and order situation and failure to fulfil election promises. The party urged the central government to declare the Thirukkural a national book and to make Tamil the language of litigation in the Chennai High Court. Additionally, it called for laws to be named in English instead of Hindi. The DMK government was criticised for wasting funds on initiatives like Formula 4 racing and pen memorials. The AIADMK also condemned the discontinuation of the Kudimaramathu Scheme. The party also condemned the lack of progress on the Godavari-Cauvery, Parambikulam-Aliyar, and Pandiyar-Punnambuzha irrigation projects. A resolution urged the DMK government to conduct a caste-wise census and criticized its inaction in releasing Muslim prisoners. The AIADMK urged the central government to ensure fair financial distribution, noting Tamil Nadu contributes significantly to the central treasury but receives less than one-fourth in return. It emphasised this disparity hinders development projects in the state. The AIADMK executive council reaffirmed its commitment to addressing the concerns of Tamil Naduas people and reiterated its goal of regaining power in the 2026 state elections. Aybak, Dec 15 : About 35 miners were trapped under the rubble of a coal mine in Afghanistan's Samangan province, local officials said on Sunday. The provincial health director Sayed Usman Hamidi counted 35 miners under the debris, saying rescue teams and health personnel have been dispatched to the area to rescue the trapped miners, Xinhua news agency reported. "Preliminary reports indicate that several miners were busy in a coal mine in Dara-i-Sufi Payin district of Samangan province yesterday, but part of the mine caved in, and resultantly several miners were trapped under rubble," a statement from the provincial police office released on Sunday said. The statement further said that police personnel, local officials, and villagers have rushed to the site to rescue trapped miners from under the debris. Rescue operations were on to rescue workers trapped under the debris, but none have been freed yet, according to local Taliban officials. The incident occurred around 6 p.m. Saturday, according to Bakhtar News Agency. Earlier this week, two workers died from gas exposure at a coal mine in Bamiyan provinceas Khwaja Ganj village. In February 2002, at least 10 miners lost their lives after being trapped underground when a coal mine collapsed in Afghanistan. In 2019, at least 30 people were killed in the collapse of a gold mine in Afghanistan, officials said. The collapse occurred in the Kohistan district of Badakhshan province. Afghanistan houses vast resources of minerals but many of the mines are old and poorly maintained. Afghanistan's mining sector has seen frequent fatal accidents, often attributed to inadequate safety measures and a lack of proper equipment. Lucknow, Dec 15 : The Winter Session of Uttar Pradesh Assembly is set to begin from Monday. The session will last for just five days but is likely to be stormy as the Opposition led by the Samajwadi Party (SP) will look to put down the government over its 'failures' on Sambhal violence, anti-encroachment drives and more. Ahead of the Winter Session, an all-party meeting was convened on Sunday. The meeting, chaired by Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana, sought to bring an end to the differences and evolve a strategy for smooth proceedings of the House. At the all-party meeting, the Chief Minister, along with the Speaker, called for the cooperation of all parties to ensure the efficient functioning of the Assembly. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath emphasised that the constructive discussions in the House contribute to both the state's development and the resolution of public issues and hence, as public representatives, "we must address their concerns and problems with priority". The Chief Minister also stated that the House serves as a platform for meaningful discussions that accelerate the state's development and resolve key issues. He urged that no disruptions should hinder the House's work and that everyone must work together to ensure its smooth operation. "The cooperation of all parties is essential to keep the House functioning effectively," he added. Those present at the meeting included Finance and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna, Leader of Opposition Mata Prasad Pandey, Cabinet Minister Sanjay Nishad, Congress MLA Anuradha Mishra Mona, Raghuraj Pratap Singh 'Raja Bhaiya' of Jansatta Dal, Anil Tripathi and more. The Winter Session of both Houses of state legislature is proposed to be held from December 16 to 20. The supplementary budget is likely to be presented on December 17, followed by discussion on the next day. The legislative work will be done on December 19 and 20. Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 15 : A temple modelled after Ayodhya's Ram Mandir will be constructed in the U.S. by the Swami Satyananda Saraswati Foundation in Pearland, Houston, for the global Hindu community. Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 15 (IANS) A temple modelled after Ayodhyaas Ram Mandir will be constructed in the U.S. by the Swami Satyananda Saraswati Foundation in Pearland, Houston, for the global Hindu community. As part of the Kerala Hindus of North America conference, the foundation aims to perform a Balalaya Pratishta ceremony at a powerful, divine location on November 23, 2025. The process of submitting the key components of the temple to local authorities has already begun. The first phase of construction is expected to be completed by November 24, 2026. This phase will include a large ashram, Hanuman Pratishta modelled after the Ayodhya Temple, and other deity installations along with family temple concepts. By November 24, 2027, the formation of a global financial institution will take place to promote Sanatan Dharma and strengthen Hindus worldwide. Additionally, the establishment of the Sanatan Hindu University will be completed, aimed at integrating Vedic knowledge with modern sciences. The coordinator of the project Ranjith Pillai said that this initiative aims to officially link the new temple with their family temples. The new temple will be located facing the famous Sri Meenakshi Temple. Spanning five acres, the temple aims to symbolise world peace. A unique opportunity has been created to bring a handful of soil from family temples or other local deitiesa temples in Kerala and integrate it into the new temple land. The official announcement of the temple construction was made during a ceremony with prayers led by the Atukal Thantri Vasudev Bhattathiri. Prominent figures such as former Union Ministers Rajeev Chandrasekhar and V. Muraleedharan, former Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan, SNDP Yogam Vice President Tushar Vellapally, Ayyappa Sevasangham President M. Sangeeth Kumar, Swami Krishnanandagiri from Mumbaias Ramagiri Ashram, and Kerala Hindus of North America President Nisha Pillai attended the event. The organisers in a statement said that devotees from Keralaas family temples and local deity temples have a rare opportunity to bring a handful of soil and integrate it with the new temple land. The coordinator of the project Ranjith Pillai said that this initiative aims to officially link the new temple with their family temples. The project acknowledges the deep spiritual connection between families and the deities they have traditionally served. The organisers said that by adhering to the ceremonial traditions of these family deities, spiritual protection is ensured. Through collecting divine soil from family temples worldwide, the project seeks to manifest the eternal bond of tradition, Ranjith Pillai said. This temple will serve as a comprehensive initiative that connects Hindu homes spiritually with Ayodhya. The new Temple, set to become a symbol of world peace, will fulfil the spiritual needs of the American Hindu community while serving as an example of cultural unity and involvement. The primary goal of the foundation is to create a world filled with prosperity and peace by combining spiritual strength, financial stability, and Vedic wisdom. The project aims to promote spiritual unity, protect cultural heritage, and empower the global Hindu community. Foundation officials also noted that many people have expressed support for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. New Delhi, Dec 15 : The Congress is in a direct fight with the BJP on 45-50 seats out of the 70 Assembly seats in Delhi, while the AAP could emerge as the main rival in 8-9 constituencies, former MP and Congress candidate from New Delhi seat Sandeep Dikshit said on Sunday. "The AAP is battling anti-incumbency and by their own assessment they are losing at least 32 seats on which they wanted to replace their MLAs," Dikshit told IANS, ahead of the Assembly elections likely to take place early next year. He said the biggest warning sign for the AAP is that this anti-incumbency is not just against the local MLAs but also against the face of the party Arvind Kejriwal. Dikshit, son of three-time Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, said the AAP is starting on the back foot on 35-40 Assembly seats even before the announcement of elections, so you can imagine to which level their tally may fall to when actual voting takes place. Talking about the possibility of facing Kejriwal in the Assembly elections, Dikshit said it will be a good contest that shall give him an opportunity to question the former Chief Minister over his lack of contribution to the constituency. "I will present my report card as a former MP who has worked in the city for 10 years and question his performance," he said, expecting a high percentage of voting in the constituency. Reflecting on the debate on the Constitution in Parliament over the past two days, Dikshit said the government used attention diverting tactics by recounting failures of other parties rather than celebrating 75 years of the statute. He slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for talking little about the Constitution and focusing more on the performance of previous Congress-led governments during the debate in Parliament. PM Modi on Saturday tore into the Gandhi family and the Congress for repeatedly amending the Constitution, alleging that once they "tasted blood" they wanted to do it again and again. He also accused Congress of murdering the spirit of the Constitution for personal interests, vote bank politics and display of arrogance, a charge denied by Dikshi. PARIS, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Francois Bayrou's nomination as French prime minister -- the fourth this year to serve in the post -- provides a silver lining in France's political impasse. As French President Emmanuel Macron's centralist ally navigates the fractured domestic political landscape, Bayrou could restore much-needed France-Germany cooperation with a second Donald Trump term on the horizon. BAYROU'S TIGHTROPE Following Bayrou's nomination, the far-right wing party National Rally (RN) announced that the party would not immediately censure Bayrou. The president of the RN, Jordan Bardella, told French news channel BFMTV that Bayrou should "understand that he has no democratic legitimacy nor the majority in the National Assembly, which requires a dialogue with all the forces represented in the parliament." The RN's former president, Marine Le Pen, who came in third in the previous presidential elections, called on Bayrou to "hear and listen to the oppositions to build a reasonable and thoughtful budget." "Any other policy that would simply be an extension of Macronism, twice rejected at the ballot box, could only lead to deadlock and failure," she said on her X account. Meanwhile, the hard-left party La France Insoumise has announced it will launch a no-confidence vote to bring down Bayrou. The party has repeatedly said that the prime minister's position should be given to someone from the alliance of left-wing parties, which won the most seats in this year's snap legislative elections. But other parties from the left-wing alliance New Popular Front are less aggressive about Bayrou's nomination and have laid out conditions for their support. In a letter addressed to Bayrou, the Socialist Party said Macron's choice to nominate a "prime minister from his camp" risked "worsening the political and democratic crisis in which he has placed the country since the dissolution (of the National Assembly)." The Socialist Party demanded that the new prime minister renounce using special constitutional powers to pass laws without a vote in the National Assembly in exchange for not voting to topple him. The party, which will not participate in the upcoming government, also asked Bayrou to distance himself from the far-right-wing party RN and the "xenophobic" program of the RN. The French Communist Party announced it wouldn't topple Bayrou "if there is no Article 49.3," the special constitutional power deployed by the last Prime Minister Michel Barnier to force passage of the 2025 social security budget without parliamentary approval. For Marine Tondelier, leader of The Ecologists party, if Bayrou refuses to take action on pensions, the environment, and tax justice, her party would see no choice but to vote to topple him. TWO BANKS OF THE RHINE Following Donald Trump's election victory, Macron spoke with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, seeking to "work for a more united, stronger, more sovereign Europe." Yet, a stronger France-Germany cooperation faces challenges as both countries struggle with domestic political gridlock. According to Politico, at the Berlin Global Dialogue held in October, Scholz and Macron diverged on key topics, including proposals for joint EU borrowing, trade talks with South American countries, and how to counter the protectionist United States. Germany, Europe's largest economy, is also mired in a political crisis. Next week, the current government will face a vote of confidence in the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag. Last month, governor of the French central bank Francois Villeroy de Galhau called on France and Germany to unite to tackle risks facing Europe. "Today, the French-German dialogue has been weakened, mainly due to domestic political instability on both sides of the Rhine," de Galhau said. "To divide us would be to condemn us, and to condemn Europe," he said. De Galhau referred to long-term challenges facing Europe like climate change, an aging population, digitalization, geopolitical crises and Trump's election victory. Europe appears to have made partial strides with the appointment of France's new prime minister. However, it remains to be seen whether Europe, guided by France and Germany, can be a balancing force during a second Trump term. HOW FRANCE GOT HERE France's political instability started in June when Macron announced the dissolution of the National Assembly after being defeated in the European parliamentary elections. In the two rounds of legislative elections held on June 30 and July 7, Macron's centrist coalition lost the absolute majority, allowing the left-wing alliance of parties, the New Popular Front, to secure a relative majority in the 577-member National Assembly. Instead of immediately nominating a prime minister from the winning camp, Macron accepted the resignation of Gabriel Attal but asked him to lead a caretaker government. The ministers from Attal's government voted in the election of the speaker of the National Assembly, during which Yael Braun-Pivet, from Macron's party, was re-elected. Two months after the legislative elections, Macron finally nominated Michel Barnier from the right-wing The Republicans party to form an "inclusive" government. With Barnier using special constitutional power 49.3 to force passage of the 2025 social security budget without parliamentary approval, the deputies of the French National Assembly voted in favor of a no-confidence vote, forcing Barnier to resign and his government to collapse. A total of 331 deputies, mainly from the New Popular Front and RN, voted in favor. In the history of French politics, it was a rare sight to behold for the left and far right to join forces. It marked a significant political crisis for France, as Barnier's government became the first to fall to a no-confidence vote since 1962. In 2024, France has seen four prime ministers: Elisabeth Borne, Attal, Barnier, and now Bayrou. Ranchi, Dec 15 : The controversy surrounding Jharkhand's Combined Graduate Level (CGL) examination has further deepened. Students demanding the cancellation of the exam results have announced plans to gherao the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) office in Ranchi on Monday. Thousands of students from across the state are expected to join the protest. In anticipation of the massive protest demonstrations, the state police have put in place tight security measures at key locations, including Raj Bhavan, the Chief Ministeras residence, the Secretariat, and the JSSC office. Several barricades have been set up in the area and a large number of police personnel have been deployed around the JSSC premises as well. The JSSC has called 2,231 shortlisted candidates to its office for certificate verification between December 16 and December 20. Meanwhile, Devendra Nath Mahato, leader of the Jharkhand Loktantrik Kranti Morcha (JLKM), has vowed to halt the document verification process at any cost. In a press statement, JLKM announced that students from all 24 districts have already reached Ranchi and will gather to gherao the JSSC office starting at 9 a.m. on Monday. Many students are reportedly staying overnight in lodges, hostels, and relatives' homes in the city. However, police have been instructed to prevent protesters from reaching the JSSC office. Reports say that vehicles carrying students from various districts have been stopped en route to Ranchi. Security deployment includes 1,500 state police personnel, three companies of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), five Deputy Superintendents of Police, and eight inspectors. The JSSC CGL examination, conducted on September 21a"22 across 823 centers in the state, aimed to fill approximately 2,000 government posts. Over 3.04 lakh candidates appeared for the examination. The controversy began shortly after the exam, with allegations of a paper leak and repeat questions from canceled exams surfacing. Protests erupted in cities including Ranchi and Hazaribagh. On December 10, protesters in Hazaribagh blocked a highway for nearly four hours before being dispersed after they were lathicharged. A committee formed by the JSSC to investigate the allegations concluded that in the examination no irregularities took place. However, two days ago, Chief Minister Hemant Soren announced a CID investigation into the claims, signaling continued scrutiny of the exam process. New Delhi, Dec 15 : Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka arrived in New Delhi on Sunday for his three-day visit to India, marking his first foreign trip since assuming office in September. Randhir Jaiswal, Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, in a post on X, said, "Warm and special welcome! President Anura Kumara Dissanayake of Sri Lanka was warmly received by MoS Dr L Murugan as he arrived in New Delhi. This is President Disanayaka's first bilateral visit to India since he assumed Presidency. An opportunity to further deepen India-Sri Lanka ties and add momentum to the people-centric partnership." During the visit, Disanayaka will meet President Droupadi Murmu and hold discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on bilateral issues of mutual interest. President Disanayaka will also participate in a business event in Delhi to promote investment and commercial linkages between India and Sri Lanka. Further, he will leave for Bodh Gaya as part of the visit. Sri Lanka is India's closest maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and holds a central place in the Prime Minister's vision of 'SAGAR' (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy. The visit of President Disanayaka to India is expected to further strengthen the multi-faceted and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries. The Sri Lankan President's visit follows an invitation extended by External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar during his visit to Colombo earlier this year, shortly after the National People's Power (NPP) party came to power. During his one-day visit to Colombo on October 4, Jaishankar called on President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and conveyed India's strong commitment to advance bilateral cooperation based on its 'Neighbourhood First' policy and SAGAR outlook. In his meeting with President Disanayaka, the EAM spoke about ongoing initiatives in the field of energy production and transmission, fuel and LNG supply, solar electrification of religious places, connectivity, digital public infrastructure, health and dairy development. He also highlighted that they would contribute to economic sustainability and provide new streams of revenue. The Sri Lankan President had mentioned that India's economic support is critical to realise his vision of a prosperous Sri Lanka and meeting the aspirations of the people. He referred to the potential of the export of renewable energy to India, which could help reduce production costs in Sri Lanka and create additional resources. New Delhi, Dec 15 : Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake arrived in New Delhi on Sunday for his three-day visit to India, marking his first foreign trip since assuming office in September. Randhir Jaiswal, Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, in a post on X, said, "Warm and special welcome! President Anura Kumara Dissanayake of Sri Lanka was warmly received by MoS Dr L Murugan as he arrived in New Delhi. This is President Disanayake's first bilateral visit to India since he assumed Presidency. An opportunity to further deepen India-Sri Lanka ties and add momentum to the people-centric partnership." During the visit, Dissanayake will meet President Droupadi Murmu and hold discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on bilateral issues of mutual interest. President Dissanayake will also participate in a business event in Delhi to promote investment and commercial linkages between India and Sri Lanka. Further, he will leave for Bodh Gaya as part of the visit. Sri Lanka is India's closest maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and holds a central place in the Prime Minister's vision of 'SAGAR' (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy. The visit of President Dissanayake to India is expected to further strengthen the multi-faceted and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries. The Sri Lankan President's visit follows an invitation extended by External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar during his visit to Colombo earlier this year, shortly after the National People's Power (NPP) party came to power. During his one-day visit to Colombo on October 4, EAM Jaishankar called on President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and conveyed India's strong commitment to advance bilateral cooperation based on its 'Neighbourhood First' policy and SAGAR outlook. In his meeting with President Dissanayake, the EAM spoke about ongoing initiatives in the field of energy production and transmission, fuel and LNG supply, solar electrification of religious places, connectivity, digital public infrastructure, health and dairy development. He also highlighted that they would contribute to economic sustainability and provide new streams of revenue. The Sri Lankan President had mentioned that India's economic support is critical to realise his vision of a prosperous Sri Lanka and meeting the aspirations of the people. He referred to the potential of the export of renewable energy to India, which could help reduce production costs in Sri Lanka and create additional resources. Ankara, Dec 15 : A total of 7,621 Syrian nationals voluntarily returned to their homeland between December 9 and December 13, following the downfall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, Turkiye's Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced Sunday. In a statement on the social media platform X, Yerlikaya provided detailed accounts concerning the daily returns of Syrians -- 1,259 on December 9, with 1,669, 1,293, 1,553, and 1,847 recorded in the following days, Xinhua news agency reported. Yerlikaya underscored that these Syrians' repatriation was conducted in a "voluntary, safe, dignified, and orderly manner." A total of 2,938,261 Syrians are now "under temporary protection" in TArkiye, according to the minister. TArkiye, hosting millions of Syrian refugees who fled civil war since 2011, has recently seen increasing returns of Syrian refugees after the fall of al-Assad and its government on December 8. Early on Monday, hundreds of refugees passed at the Cilvegozu border crossing some 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Aleppo, Syria's second city, with interior ministry figures showing 1,259 crossed that day. Another 1,669 crossed on Tuesday, 1,293 on Wednesday, 1,553 on Thursday and 1,847 on Friday. Within 48 hours of Assad's fall, Turkey had increased its daily crossing capacity from 3,000 to between 15,000 to 20,000, Yerlikaya said earlier this week. Turkey shares a 900-kilometre (560-mile) border with Syria with five operational crossings, and has said it would open a sixth in the far west to "ease the traffic". With anti-Syrian sentiment running high within Turkish society, Ankara is keen to see as many refugees as possible return to their homeland. Around 1.24 million -- some 42 per cent -- of them hail from the Aleppo region, the interior ministry has said. Kinshasa, Dec 15 : A peace summit scheduled for Sunday to address conflicts in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was "called off," the DRC presidential office said. Angolan President Joao Lourenco was set to host DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame in a bid to ease tensions gripping the eastern DRC, Xinhua news agency reported. According to Kinshasa, the Rwandan delegation refused to participate in the meeting, leading to its cancellation. Tshisekedi arrived in Luanda early Sunday for the summit and met with his Angolan counterpart. Neither Angola nor Rwanda has issued an official statement regarding the cancellation of the summit. The meeting was part of the Luanda Process, a peace initiative launched in 2022 and endorsed by the African Union, aimed at accelerating stabilization efforts in the region. The eastern DRC continues to face instability due to the M23 rebel group, which has been advancing and seizing large areas of territory. The DRC government accuses Rwanda of providing military support to the M23, an allegation Kigali denies. While denying ties to the M23, Rwanda has accused the DRC military of collaborating with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a Rwandan rebel group whose members are blamed for the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Jerusalem, Dec 15 : The Israeli government approved a plan on Sunday to expand settlements in the Golan Heights, a Syrian territory currently occupied by Israel, according to a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. The 10.81-million-U.S. dollar plan, unanimously approved by the cabinet, is being advanced "in light of the war and the new front with Syria," the statement said. According to the statement, the plan aims to double the Israeli population in the Golan Heights. It includes establishing a student village, a development program to integrate new residents, and initiatives to strengthen the education system and renewable energy infrastructure. "Strengthening the Golan is strengthening the State of Israel, and it is especially important at this time," Netanyahu said at the start of the cabinet meeting on the plan. "We will continue to hold on to it (Golan Heights), make it flourish, and settle in it," he said. Israel captured part of the Golan Heights during the 1967 war and annexed it, despite international condemnation. Following the downfall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government on December 8, Israel seized the UN-monitored buffer zone, a demilitarized area established in 1974 under a ceasefire agreement between the two countries. Israeli forces also took control of a Syrian army outpost and stationed troops on the summit of Mount Hermon on Golan. Meanwhile, Israel increasingly launched airstrikes on Syrian army assets across the country, claiming to prevent the weapons "from falling into the hands of terrorist elements." Israel's military actions have sparked condemnation from regional countries and prompted calls from the international community for respect for Syria's sovereignty. Seoul, Dec 15 : Acting President Han Duck-soo held phone talks with U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday and vowed to maintain and develop the two countries' alliance, his office said. Han held the 16-minute phone conversation with Biden after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached by the National Assembly on Saturday over his short-lived imposition of martial law on December 3, Yonhap news agency reported. "Our government will carry out our diplomatic and security policies without disruption and work to ensure that the South Korea-U.S. alliance continues to be maintained and developed without wavering," he said, according to his office. Han stressed the importance of solidifying the combined South Korea-U.S. defence posture in the face of common challenges, such as the nuclear threat posed by North Korea and the deepening cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang. He also explained that all state affairs will be run strictly in accordance with the Constitution and the law. Biden thanked Han for the explanation and voiced confidence in South Korea's democracy while also noting its resilience, according to Han's office. Biden said "the ironclad South Korea-U.S. alliance remains unchanged and that he will continue to work together with the South Korean side for the development and strengthening of the South Korea-U.S. alliance and South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation," it said. Han thanked Biden for his attention and efforts in dramatically developing the bilateral alliance and trilateral cooperation with Japan during his term. Biden vowed to continue to support the development of the alliance. The White House said Biden expressed his appreciation for the "resiliency" of democracy and the rule of law in South Korea and reaffirmed the U.S.' "ironclad" commitment to the South Korean people. "President Biden expressed his confidence that the Alliance will remain the linchpin for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region during Acting President Han's tenure," it said in a statement. Han, as prime minister, assumed office as acting president immediately after Yoon was suspended from his duties following his impeachment. Later Sunday, Han also spoke on the phone with Gen. Paul J. LaCamera, commander of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK). According to his office, Han stressed the importance of a strong South Korea-U.S. joint defence posture at this juncture, noting the possibility of North Korean military provocations in the forms of ballistic missile launches or cyberattacks. Han also told LaCamera that the two sides must strengthen their communication in order to maintain their strong alliance. LaCamera reaffirmed the USFK's commitment to the joint defence posture and told Han that his command would carry out combined exercises and drills with South Korea as scheduled. Nagpur, Dec 15 : Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said that the portfolio distribution after cabinet expansion will take place in the next two days which will be done after the hectic negotiations among the MahaYuti partners including BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP. "The cabinet portfolios will be decided in the next two days," said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, addressing a press conference in Nagpur on the eve of the winter session of the state legislature. He said that there has been an understanding between the three parties already on the issue and it will be resolved without any hassle. He was joined by two Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar. "We worked on giving an all-inclusive ministerial council. We have given representation to all communities, women and regions. As far as the BJP is concerned, we have decided to give new responsibility to those who have been dropped," Fadnavis said. Apart from portfolio distribution, the issue of allotting district Guardian ministers is also pending. Fadnavis said that it is not an urgent matter and it will be dealt with in the due course of time. Prior to the expansion of the state cabinet, leaders of Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party, already held discussions on key portfolios like Home, Urban Development Department, Revenue and Housing. Eknath Shinde led Sena was earlier keen on the Home department while NCP is seeking Housing as well as Industries. Fadnavis assured that the government will not muzzle the opposition based on number strength. "We will not muzzle the voice of opposition and will not back down from any discussion. We expect that, unlike Lok Sabha, the opposition should speak inside the house and not only in front of the media," he said. The opposition on Sunday boycotted the tea party organised on the eve of the winter session of the state legislature. In a letter it sent to the government, it raises the issues of allegations of malpractices regarding the use of EVMs, violence in Parbhani over the desecration of the statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar followed by combing operation by police and murder of a sarpanch in Beed district which has taken a casteist angle. "The opposition is trying to create a narrative regarding EVM. But I want to tell them that, EVM means Every Vote for Magnetic Maharashtra and that is our government. We will strive to fulfil that," Fadnavis said. He replied to allegations of opposition on incidents in Parbhani and Beed. "An SIT has been formed regarding the Beed incident. No accused will go scot-free. No matter who the accused is. The SIT will probe and every angle will be solved," said Fadnavis. He mentioned that a mentally unstable person desecrated the statue. "This government considers pride of constitution as supreme. We will not do a single act against the constitution and we will also keep it in the highest regard," he said, adding that the violent protests held after the incident are not permitted in the constitution and no individual involved in stone pelting, or vandalising will be spared. (Sanjay Jog can be contacted at Sanjay.j@ians.in) Imphal, Dec 15 : Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh on Sunday night strongly condemned the killing of two migrant workers from Bihar on Saturday in Kakching district and announced Rs 10 lakh as an ex-gratia for the kin of each victim. Singh, who also holds the home portfolio, said in a post on the X: "I strongly condemn the brutal killing of young brothers, Sunalal Kumar (18) and Dasharat Kumar (17), from Bihar in Kakching district, Manipur. This act of terrorism is a direct assault on our values, and my deepest condolences go out to their grieving families." He added that in this crucial juncture, "we cannot ignore the possibility that this horrific crime is part of a larger conspiracy to destabilise our state and push it further towards chaos. We must stand together against these destructive forces and ensure that they do not succeed in creating fear and insecurity." An ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh will be provided to each bereaved family, and every possible effort is underway to identify, apprehend, and prosecute those responsible, the Chief Minister said. He said: "If required, the case will be transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to ensure a fair and thorough inquiry." Unidentified armed assailants in Manipur's Kakching district on Saturday evening shot dead the two migrant workers near the panchayat office in Keirak on Kakching-Wabagai Road when the victims along with a few others were moving by their bicycles. Police are yet to confirm who attacked the migrant workers. The victims were identified as Sunalal Kumar (18) and Dasharat Kumar (17). The deceased are residents of Rajwahi village in Yadavpur police station area under Bihar's Gopalganj district. They were engaged in some construction work and stayed in a rented accommodation in Kakching. The security forces have continued their search operation to nab the assailants. Earlier on many occasions, migrant workers especially from Bihar have been attacked in Manipur. New Delhi, Dec 15 : External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar on Sunday termed the opening of the Moldovan Embassy in New Delhi "an important step forward that will open new possibilities of our partnership". Taking to X, EAM Jaishankar wrote: "Delighted to jointly inaugurate the Embassy of Republic of Moldova in New Delhi alongside DPM & FM @MihaiPopsoi. An important step forward in India-Moldova ties that will open new possibilities for our partnership. Held productive talks with DPM & FM @MihaiPopsoi today in New Delhi. "Discussed our growing bilateral and multilateral cooperation. And new opportunities in investment, education, technology and culture. Today's signing of declaration of intent on a Migration and Mobility partnership will open new avenues for our partnership." Earlier, speaking during the joint Embassy inauguration programme, EAM Jaishankar said: "It is an honour to be with you all today as we mark a significant milestone in relations between the Republic of India and the Republic of Moldovaa"the official inauguration of the Moldovan Embassy in New Delhi. This moment reflects the shared commitment of our nations, especially since establishing diplomatic ties in 1992. What stands out in our journey together is our unwavering support for each other on the global stage, in multilateral institutions, and in addressing international challenges like climate change and sustainable development." EAM Jaishankar further said that Moldova extended crucial help during Operation Ganga to evacuate stranded Indian citizens during the Ukraine crisis. "We in India will never forget it," he said. The External Affairs Minister said: "As we contemplate a deeper engagement with Europe, it is natural we focus on various bilateral relationships. We have witnessed growing engagement between our countries, spanning trade, education, technology, and cultural exchanges. "Moldovaas warm embrace of Indian yoga traditions, the Hindi language and Indian culture, is a testament to our close people-to-people ties. Moldova is a second home to over 2,000 Indian students. These young individuals embody the essence of our partnership, bridging cultures and forging lasting friendships." EAM Jaishankar noted that in recent years, India has cultivated dynamic relationships with European nations in trade, technology, tourism, education, energy, healthcare, and cultural exchanges grounded in mutual respect and shared values. "Moldova is an integral part of this; we are also development partners. Establishing a Moldovan presence in Indiaas vibrant capital is a practical step forward in strengthening our diplomatic ties and promoting collaboration in key areas of mutual interest. It is a testament to our shared vision of a world that values peace, understanding, and cooperation. We believe this new chapter will further enhance partnerships in these areas. "As we celebrate this inauguration, let us renew our commitment to a future built on mutual respect and shared goals. May this embassy become a beacon of friendship. Letas celebrate our shared aspirations and a commitment to a future of deeper collaboration. I also hope that we will open an Indian Mission in Moldova in the coming years, which will strengthen our growing partnership further," EAM Jaishankar said. The External Affairs Minister concluded his speech by saying: "On behalf of the Government and people of India, I extend my warmest congratulations to the people and government of Moldova, the Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, and the first resident Moldovan Ambassador in New Delhi." HOUSTON, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- A woman and a child were injured after gunshots rang out during a Christmas parade on Saturday night in downtown Baton Rouge, the capital city of the southern U.S. state of Louisiana. Hundreds of people were exiting the downtown area after the gunfire took place around 7:15 p.m. Saturday local time (0115 Sunday GMT), according to a report from local media outlet WAFB. The Baton Rouge Police Department said at least 20 rounds were fired. Investigators believe the shooting stemmed from an argument involving people hanging out on the levee who were not associated with the parade. A woman, an innocent bystander, was shot in the back, and a child running for safety was hit by an all-terrain vehicle, police said. Their injuries are reportedly non-life threatening. No arrests have been made at this time, according to local media. New Delhi, Dec 15 : External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar on Sunday termed the opening of the Moldovan Embassy in New Delhi "an important step forward that will open new possibilities of our (Indian-Moldovan) partnership". Taking to X, EAM Jaishankar wrote: "Delighted to jointly inaugurate the Embassy of Republic of Moldova in New Delhi alongside DPM & FM @MihaiPopsoi. An important step forward in India-Moldova ties that will open new possibilities for our partnership. Held productive talks with DPM & FM @MihaiPopsoi today in New Delhi. "Discussed our growing bilateral and multilateral cooperation. And new opportunities in investment, education, technology and culture. Today's signing of declaration of intent on a Migration and Mobility partnership will open new avenues for our partnership." Earlier, speaking during the joint Embassy inauguration programme, EAM Jaishankar said: "It is an honour to be with you all today as we mark a significant milestone in relations between the Republic of India and the Republic of Moldovaa"the official inauguration of the Moldovan Embassy in New Delhi. This moment reflects the shared commitment of our nations, especially since establishing diplomatic ties in 1992. What stands out in our journey together is our unwavering support for each other on the global stage, in multilateral institutions, and in addressing international challenges like climate change and sustainable development." EAM Jaishankar further said that Moldova extended crucial help during Operation Ganga to evacuate stranded Indian citizens during the Ukraine crisis. "We in India will never forget it," he said. The External Affairs Minister said: "As we contemplate a deeper engagement with Europe, it is natural we focus on various bilateral relationships. We have witnessed growing engagement between our countries, spanning trade, education, technology, and cultural exchanges. "Moldovaas warm embrace of Indian yoga traditions, the Hindi language and Indian culture, is a testament to our close people-to-people ties. Moldova is a second home to over 2,000 Indian students. These young individuals embody the essence of our partnership, bridging cultures and forging lasting friendships." EAM Jaishankar noted that in recent years, India has cultivated dynamic relationships with European nations in trade, technology, tourism, education, energy, healthcare, and cultural exchanges grounded in mutual respect and shared values. "Moldova is an integral part of this; we are also development partners. Establishing a Moldovan presence in Indiaas vibrant capital is a practical step forward in strengthening our diplomatic ties and promoting collaboration in key areas of mutual interest. It is a testament to our shared vision of a world that values peace, understanding, and cooperation. We believe this new chapter will further enhance partnerships in these areas. "As we celebrate this inauguration, let us renew our commitment to a future built on mutual respect and shared goals. May this embassy become a beacon of friendship. Letas celebrate our shared aspirations and a commitment to a future of deeper collaboration. I also hope that we will open an Indian Mission in Moldova in the coming years, which will strengthen our growing partnership further," EAM Jaishankar said. The External Affairs Minister concluded his speech by saying: "On behalf of the Government and people of India, I extend my warmest congratulations to the people and government of Moldova, the Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, and the first resident Moldovan Ambassador in New Delhi." Suva, Dec 15 : Seven tourists are in critical condition in a hospital in Fiji after a suspected case of alcohol poisoning. The guests at the Warwick Resort on Fiji's Coral Coast became sick after consuming a spiked cocktail at the resort's bar, Xinhua news agency reported. They were taken to the nearby Sigatoka Hospital with "nausea, vomiting and neurological symptoms," reported Fiji Broadcasting Corporation news website on Sunday. Fiji's Ministry of Health said in a statement that the affected patients' ages range from 18 to 56 years, including four Australians, one American, and two foreigners residing locally. All patients have been transferred to Lautoka Hospital due to the severity of their condition. The ministry will identify other guests who may have been affected by similar symptoms from consuming the same drink at the resort. An investigation into the incident is underway. Fiji's health ministry did not specify the cause of the illness but warned people to ensure drinks and food consumed during the holiday period were safe. In a separate incident in Laos last month, two Danish citizens, an American, a Briton and two Australians died of suspected methanol poisoning following what local media said was a night out in the town of Vang Vieng. New Delhi, Dec 15 : Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake who arrived in New Delhi on Sunday for a three-day visit to India, marking his first foreign trip after assuming office in September, said that he had "productive discussions" with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. New Delhi, Dec 15 (IANS) Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake who arrived in New Delhi on Sunday for a three-day visit to India, marking his first foreign trip after assuming office in September, said that he had "productive discussions" with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. In a post on X, President Dissanayake wrote, "During my official visit to India, I had the privilege of engaging in productive discussions with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Our conversations focused on strengthening Indo-Sri Lanka economic cooperation, enhancing investment opportunities, fostering regional security, and advancing key sectors such as tourism and energy. These engagements reaffirm the commitment to deepening the partnership between our two nations." Earlier, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X: "Warm and special welcome! President Anura Kumara Dissanayake of Sri Lanka was warmly received by MoS Dr L Murugan as he arrived in New Delhi. This is President Disanayake's first bilateral visit to India since he assumed Presidency. An opportunity to further deepen India-Sri Lanka ties and add momentum to the people-centric partnership." During the visit, Dissanayake will meet President Droupadi Murmu and hold discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on bilateral issues of mutual interest. President Dissanayake will also participate in a business event in Delhi to promote investment and commercial linkages between India and Sri Lanka. Further, he will leave for Bodh Gaya as part of the visit. Sri Lanka is India's closest maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and holds a central place in the Prime Minister's vision of 'SAGAR' (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy. The visit of President Dissanayake to India is expected to further strengthen the multi-faceted and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries. The Sri Lankan President's visit follows an invitation extended by External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar during his visit to Colombo earlier this year, shortly after the National People's Power (NPP) party came to power. During his one-day visit to Colombo on October 4, EAM Jaishankar called on President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and conveyed India's strong commitment to advance bilateral cooperation based on its 'Neighbourhood First' policy and SAGAR outlook. Bhubaneswar, Dec 16 : The Odisha Police on Sunday apprehended three persons, including the husband of a woman, allegedly murdered in Cuttack district, officials said. "Detection, in this case, is a perfect example of meticulous investigation and cooperation between Odisha Police, Gujarat Police, and different district police in Odisha. This detection is also a good example of help from the community in detecting the case," said Jagmohan Meena, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Cuttack. On December 13 morning, a woman's body was found on the banks of Kathajodi river near Kandarpur police station. The police along with a scientific team and dog squad visited the spot and collected evidence, including the weapon of offence ("Chapad"). The police did not get any clues during the examination of CCTV footage, neighbouring police stations, or villages. The police stumbled upon an important clue from the blood-stained shirt and pants found in the water body near the crime scene. The police found that both the wearing apparel had a paper receipt of "New Star Tailors" stitched. The Cuttack DCP also said that police verified 10 tailors with this name or similar name in the state and their receipt design was compared with the receipt found at the spot, but no match was found. "Due to wide publicity, one unknown person sent a message on Whatsapp that such a shop is available in Bhanjanagar area of Ganjam as per a comment on Youtube," Cuttack DCP added. Later, DCP Meena said the Ganjam police went to the particular tailor's shop. The owner of the shop who used to work in Gujarat in the past told the police that such kind of receipt designs are mostly used there. Therefore, the Odisha Police contacted their counterpart in Gujarat who tracked the tailor's shop in Surat. The Gujarat Police during the verification of around 7-8 shops in Surat found the design on the paper receipt matched with the design of the paper receipt at one shop. The police with the help of the UPI payment history of the shop owner identified that blood-stained apparel belonged to the accused Jagannath Duhuri, 27, who is a resident of the MahakalaPada area in Kendrapara. Following a request from Cuttack Police, the police in Rayagada district apprehended Duhuri who was returning to Surat by train at the Muniguda area of Odisha on December 14. Subsequently, the other accused, Balaram Duhuri, husband of the deceased woman, and brother of Jagannath, and their cousin brother Happi Duhury were arrested by the police. "The motive of the crime is a marital dispute between the deceased and her husband, Balaram, who was doubting that the deceased was having an extra-marital affair with someone, the Cuttack DCP added. The accused will be produced before the court on Monday. New Delhi, Dec 16 : External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar, on Sunday met Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who is on a three-day state visit to New Delhi, and highlighted the "island nation's prominent role in India's Neighbourhood First policy and SAGAR Outlook". He further affirmed confidence that President Dissanayake's talks with Prime Minister Modi on Monday will lead to greater cooperation between New Delhi and Colombo. This marks President Dissanayake's first official visit to India since taking office in September. "Pleased to call on President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the start of his first State Visit to India. Sri Lanka is key to both India's Neighbourhood First policy and SAGAR Outlook. Confident that the talks with PM Narendra Modi tomorrow will lead to greater trust and deeper cooperation," the EAM said in a post on X. Earlier, Sri Lankan President Dissanayake said he held "fruitful discussions on the matters of mutual interest" during his meetings with EAM Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. "Arrived in New Delhi today (December 15) at approximately 5:30 p.m., warmly welcomed by L. Murugan, Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, and other distinguished officials. Held fruitful discussions tonight with S. Jaishankar and Ajit Doval on matters of mutual interest," Dissanayake wrote on X. President Dissanayake arrived in India on a state visit on Sunday. He was received by Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan. During his visit from December 15 to 17, Dissanayake will meet President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit. "Sri Lanka is India's closest maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and holds a central place in the Prime Minister's vision of 'SAGAR' (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. Speaking about the significance of the visit, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal emphasised the shared vision of collaboration between the two nations. He described the visit as an opportunity to "deepen ties and add momentum to the people-centric partnership" that defines India-Sri Lanka relations. Apart from political engagements, the Sri Lankan President will also attend business events in the national capital, signalling a focus on strengthening economic ties and exploring new trade partnerships. Earlier in October, EAM Jaishankar called on Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Colombo. The two leaders discussed ways to deepen cooperation and strengthen bilateral ties to benefit the people of India and Sri Lanka. President Dissanayake's visit is expected to address key areas of mutual interest, including maritime security, trade, and regional stability. With both nations facing common challenges and opportunities in the region, the visit is poised to strengthen their long-standing partnership and pave the way for greater collaboration in the future. Jerusalem, Dec 16 : The Israeli government has approved a plan to expand settlements in the Golan Heights, a Syrian territory currently occupied by Israel, according to a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. The $10.81-million plan, unanimously approved by the Cabinet, is being advanced "in light of the war and the new front with Syria," the statement said on Sunday. According to the statement, the plan aims to double the Israeli population in the Golan Heights. It includes establishing a student village, a development program to integrate new residents, and initiatives to strengthen the education system and renewable energy infrastructure, Xinhua news agency reported. "Strengthening the Golan is strengthening the State of Israel, and it is especially important at this time," Netanyahu said on Sunday at the start of the Cabinet meeting on the plan. "We will continue to hold on to it (Golan Heights), make it flourish, and settle in it." Israel captured part of the Golan Heights during the 1967 war and annexed it, despite international condemnation. Following the downfall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government on December 8, Israel seized the UN-monitored buffer zone, a demilitarised area established in 1974 under a ceasefire agreement between the two countries. Israeli forces also took control of a Syrian army outpost and stationed troops on the summit of Mount Hermon on Golan. Meanwhile, Israel increasingly launched airstrikes on Syrian army assets across the country, claiming to prevent the weapons "from falling into the hands of terrorist elements". Israel's military actions have sparked condemnation from regional countries and prompted calls from the international community for respect for Syria's sovereignty. Since the rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) overthrew the over two-decadeslong Bashar al-Assad regime on December 8, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes across Syria and carried out a land incursion that stretches past the occupied Golan Heights into a previously demilitarised buffer zone, as reported by The Washington Post. The Israeli army swiftly took control of the abandoned army positions, and air attacks have decimated most of Syria's military capabilities. Syria's de-facto new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, denounced what he described as Israel's "uncalculated military adventures" on Saturday while emphasising he was more interested in state-building than opening another conflict. "Syria's war-weary condition, after years of conflict and war, does not allow for new confrontations. The priority at this stage is reconstruction and stability, not being drawn into disputes that could lead to further destruction," The Washington Post quoted him as saying in an interview on Syria TV. Meanwhile, PM Netanyahu, in a post asserted that Israel "would change" the Middle East. "I said we would change the Middle East and this is what is happening. Syria is not the same Syria. Lebanon is not the same Lebanon. Gaza is not the same Gaza. Iran is not the same Iran," Netanyahu said in a post on X. by Xinhua writer Yang Shilong NEW YORK, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- In interviews with Xinhua after Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the 2024 gala dinner of the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC), experts said the United States and China should seize opportunities to have dialogue and cooperation amid ongoing tensions. In the congratulatory letter sent on Wednesday, Xi said China and the United States should choose dialogue over confrontation, and win-win cooperation over zero-sum games. Noting that the China-U.S. relationship is one of the most important relationships in the world, Xi said it concerns not only the immediate interests of the Chinese and American peoples, but also the future of and destiny of the entire humanity. The success of one side should be an opportunity rather than a challenge for the other, and one's achievement should help rather than hinder the development of the other, he added. ARGUMENTS FOR U.S. PROTECTIONISM "DEEPLY MISPLACED" Jeffrey Sachs, a renowned U.S. economist and professor at Columbia University, described Xi's remarks as "very wise" and hoped that Washington would heed them. "President Xi's words are very wise, and I hope they are not in vain," said Sachs, criticizing the United States for adopting protectionist policies. According to Sachs, the United States has become protectionist for three reasons: First, it has worked politically to blame job loss in manufacturing in the U.S. Midwest on China. The U.S. Midwest states have been the "swing states" in presidential elections, so both parties have turned protectionist. Second, the United States aims to use protectionism as an industrial policy to create U.S.-based industries in green and digital technologies that lag behind China's. Third, the United States aims to use protectionism to hinder China's rise in a zero-sum strategy to bolster U.S. hegemony. All three arguments for U.S. protectionism are "deeply misplaced," said Sachs. "The United States has benefited enormously from trade with China. To create an artificial tariff wall against trade with China will be a losing proposition," he said. "The main source of job decline is technology, not trade." Putting tariffs on China will not create many if any U.S. jobs, and could well result in net job losses in the United States through a loss of competitiveness, said Sachs. The better way to help the lagging U.S. Midwest is through regional development policies in the United States and other social outlays, such as job retraining. "The U.S. industrial policy for green and digital technologies should not aim against China. Indeed, Chinese companies can and should be part of successful U.S.-based industries," he added. "The U.S. idea of hindering China's economic rise is profoundly misguided and dangerous, introducing a mistaken zero-sum mentality into a positive-sum relationship," said Sachs. SEEK A WAY FORWARD Despite ongoing challenges, U.S.-China relations remain the most critical bilateral relationship in the world, said Mitchell Presnick, a visiting fellow of practice at the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University and founder of Super 8 Hotels China. He emphasized that both nations recognize pragmatic reasons to keep avenues for cooperation open. "We've seen President Xi make significant efforts over the past year to engage the American business community," Presnick noted, citing key events such as the APEC Summit in San Francisco in November 2023 and the China Development Forum in Beijing in March 2024. Beneath the rhetoric of conflict and competition, "both sides are searching for a way forward that better serves each country's interests," said Presnick. "There are plenty of ways in which the United States and China could, if they choose to, improve their commercial relationship, and by so doing, improve U.S.-China relations," said Robert Kapp, former president of the USCBC. Greg Cusack, a former Iowa state legislator, echoed the sentiments, calling for immediate steps to de-escalate tensions. "How I wish we would try to seize upon such words and seek to interpret them as positively as possible to initiate that dialogue without which anything else will be difficult," said Cusack, referring to the messages delivered by Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden to the USCBC event. "RADICAL DECOUPLING" UNREALISTIC, DAMAGING Michael Swaine, a senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, dismissed the idea of "radical decoupling" as unrealistic and damaging. "It's obvious to most people who look at this problem clearly and seriously, that you cannot cut ties economically between the United States and China without harming both countries severely," said Swaine. "So this whole notion of decoupling, radical decoupling, I think, is kind of a red herring. I don't think it's likely to happen. There'll be huge amounts of resistance in the business community and even among some politicians." Swaine called for increased communication to prevent crises from escalating into conflicts, emphasizing the need for mutual understanding and trust. "We want to have more communication," he said. Enditem (Xinhua correspondents Liu Yanan in New York, Xiong Maoling and Deng Xianlai in Washington D.C. contributed to the story) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has hit out at the Opposition for initiating impeachment notices against Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and Allahabad high court's Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, saying 'whoever speaks the truth' is threatened in this way. IMAGE: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Photograph: ANI Photo Speaking at the World Hindu Economic Forum 2024 on Saturday, he also accused the Congress of practising double standards. "Whoever speaks the truth, these people will pressurise him with impeachment (motions), and still they talk about the Constitution. Look at their double standards," he said. "An Allahabad high court judge said there should be a Uniform Civil Code, and the world over feelings of the majority community are respected," the UP chief minister said. What was a person's crime if he voiced these opinions, he asked. "Shouldn't there be a Uniform Civil Code in the country? The world over, the system runs as per what the majority community says, and India is saying the discrimination between majority and minority communities should end. They (the Congress) will pressurise, because it is their old habit of strangulating the Constitution and managing the system of the country," Adityanath alleged. As to the notice to impeach Dhankhar for his alleged partisan role as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said the Vice President is doing his duty as presiding officer of the Upper House. "The Opposition is worried how a farmer's son has reached this position. If someone as a judge and a citizen of the country puts forth truth on a social and cultural platform, he is threatened with impeachment," Adityanath added. Members of several opposition parties on Friday moved a notice in the Rajya Sabha for the impeachment of Allahabad high court Judge Shekhar Kumar Yadav over his alleged controversial remarks at a Vishwa Hindu Parishad event on December 8. The Supreme Court has sought details pertaining to the controversy from the Allahabad high court. Adityanath, meanwhile, said society and the country need to expose those who want to suppress the truth. Those who spurn India's legacy should be exposed, he said, alleging that the Opposition says that Lord Ram never existed. The Sanatan religion never claimed it is great, or it never said its supremacy must be accepted, Adityanath said, adding that it neither controlled anyone with a sword nor did it stake a claim on anyone's land. "You have PM Modi showering flowers on workers who built the Ram Temple in Ayodhya for their hard work, and there will also be rulers who chopped the hands of workers who built the Taj Mahal," he said. India cannot establish itself as a strong economy by forgetting its legacy, the UP chief minister said. India's economy stood at 10th or 11th position after 70 years, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it the fifth largest economy in 10 years, and in 2027, India will be the third largest economy, the BJP leader said. Uttar Pradesh is now the country's second-largest economy and is on its way to grow to $1 trillion, Adityanath said. Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, who purportedly made controversial statements at a Vishva Hindu Parishad function, is likely to appear before the Supreme Court Collegium soon to explain his stand on the controversy. IMAGE: File image of Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav. Photograph: X The top court on December 10 took note of news reports over the statements and sought a report from the Allahabad high court on the entire issue. "The Supreme Court has taken note of newspaper reports of a speech given by Mr Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, a sitting judge of the high court of Judicature at Allahabad. The details and particulars have been called from the high court and the matter is under consideration," an official statement had said. As per the established practices, the judge, against whom a report is sought by the apex court Collegium on any controversial issue from the high court concerned, is given an opportunity to put forth his or her version before the top court Collegium headed by the Chief Justice of India. Apex court sources said the Allahabad high court judge is likely to be asked to appear and put forth his version as per established practices. At a Vishva Hindu Parishad function on December 8, Justice Yadav said the main aim of the uniform civil code was to promote social harmony, gender equality and secularism. He was addressing a provincial convention of the legal cell and high court unit of the VHP in Allahabad High Court. A day later, videos of the judge speaking on provocative issues, including the law working according to the majority, were circulated widely on social media, prompting strong reactions from several quarters, including opposition leaders who questioned his reported statements, labelling it as "hate speech". Lawyer and convenor of Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms, an NGO, Prashant Bhushan on Tuesday wrote to CJI Sanjiv Khanna seeking an "in-house enquiry" into the conduct of the Allahabad HC judge. Bhushan claimed the judge breached judicial ethics and violated the constitutional principles of impartiality and secularism. According to Bhushan, the remarks undermined the judiciary's role as a neutral arbiter and eroded public trust in its independence. "A strong institutional response is needed to restore public faith in the judiciary," the letter said, adding, "We call upon your office sir (the CJI) to restore the faith of the people in the institution of judiciary by immediately setting up an in-house committee to enquire into acts of judicial impropriety by Justice Yadav and by withdrawing all judicial work from Justice Yadav," Bhushan wrote. On December 8, CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat also wrote to the CJI calling the judge's speech a violation of his oath, saying "no place for such persons in a court of justice". Karat sought action from the apex court on the issue. Similarly, the Bar Association of India passed a resolution condemning the statements of the high court judge. "The Bar Association of India calls upon the judge to retract his statements and tender a suitable apology for his remarks and urges the Chief Justice of India and companion judges of the Supreme Court to deal with this issue in a stern and emphatic manner. It also emphasises that events conducted by organisations not concerned with the administration of justice as a matter of principle should not be permitted on any court premises," it said. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the Centre and the Chhattisgarh government were committed to eradicating the Maoist menace from the state before March 31, 2026. Photograph: / Rediff.com IMAGE: Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviews the police parade during the ceremony to present the Presidents Colour to Chhattisgarh Police, at Parade Ground in Raipur, December 15, 2024. When Chhattisgarh becomes Maoist-free, the entire country will get rid of the menace, Shah said addressing the President's Police Colour Award function at the police parade ground in Raipur. The Chhattisgarh police have made a significant achievement in the fight against Naxalism in the last one year, he said. Shah also hailed the Chhattisgarh government's rehabilitation policy for Naxalites and appealed to them to quit violence and join the mainstream. "The state leadership, the chief minister, the home minister of the state have taken a pledge and the Government of India is also committed to your pledge. Together, we will completely eradicate Naxalism from Chhattisgarh before March 31, 2026. We all are committed to free Chhattisgarh from the clutches of Naxalism before March 31, 2026," he said. When Chhattisgarh becomes Naxal free, the entire country will get rid of the menace, the Union minister said, adding it is the state police's resolve to end Naxalism. The President's Colour is not just an award, it is a symbol of service, dedication and sacrifice and it reminds of the countless challenges that police have to deal with, he said. Shah expressed confidence that the Chhattisgarh police will discharge their responsibilities and will never step back from their duty. "I am confident that from tomorrow the jawans of Chhattisgarh police will come out with the President's insignia on their uniforms and their morale will increase manifold," Shah said. "The Chhattisgarh police have secured a significant achievement in the fight against Maoists in the last one year...287 Maoists were neutralised, around 1,000 were arrested and 837 surrendered in the last one year in the state, which reflects the momentum added to the fight against Maoists. Fourteen top cadres (of Maoists) were neutralised in the last one year in the state," he said. For the first time in four decades, the death toll of civilians and security forces in Naxal violence has been brought down to less than 100, Shah said. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maoists has been curbed in the entire country in 10 years, he said. A comparative analysis of the last 10 years (versus the previous decade) shows a remarkable 73 percent decline in deaths of security personnel and 70 percent drop in deaths of civilians in Maoist violence, he said. The Chhattisgarh police along with various security forces of the country have prepared to put the "last nail in the coffin of Naxalism", Shah said. The Union minister also appealed to Naxalites to quit violence and join the mainstream. "I would like to appeal to Maoists that our state government has made a very good surrender policy and therefore they should quit violence. They should join the mainstream, move ahead on the path of development and also contribute to the development of Chhattisgarh," he said. The state government has been providing a good package to surrendered Maoists and they should take its benefit, he added. Shah said the Chhattisgarh police were also running a strong campaign against organised crime and narcotics. "From January 1 to September 30 this year, 1,100 cases of narcotics were registered, 21,000 kg of ganja and around 1.95 lakh narcotic tablets were seized and 1,400 persons arrested in this connection," he said. Shah said in 1951, the first President's Police Colour was awarded to the Navy and a minimum of 25 years of service is required to be eligible for this award. Chhattisgarh, which was formed on November 1, 2000, has received this award before the completion of its 25 years. "I would like to thank the President for honouring Chhattisgarh police's dedication, sacrifice and courage," he said. Shah said for the past five years, he has been in touch with the Chhattisgarh police on the issue of Naxalism. "Your passion, your courage, your valour and your dedication....I can say with confidence that the Chhattisgarh police force is one of the bravest among all the police forces in the country," he said. "Whether it is strengthening law and order, carrying out the fight to make India Naxal free, taking forward the campaign of drug-free India, ensuring public safety or making the life of citizens easier, Chhattisgarh police have never been in the second place, they have always been in the forefront. It is a matter of pride for all of us," he added. Shah also paid tribute to the country's first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on the occasion of his death anniversary. "It was Sardar Sahab who unified this country. When we got independence, people around the world used to imagine that more than 356 princely states would not be able to be united and would disintegrate into pieces, but Sardar Sahab's indomitable courage unified this country," he said. "(Prime Minister) Modi ji's firm determination completed Sardar Saheb's unfinished work and Kashmir was united with India by abrogating Article 370," Shah added. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, Deputy CMs Arun Sao and Vijay Sharma, state assembly speaker Raman Singh and director general of police Ashok Juneja were present on the occasion. Cadres who wish to get married are forced to undergo the procedure at the directive of the senior Communist Party of India-Maoist leaders. IMAGE: Maoists surrender at a function in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, December 15, 2024. Photograph: ANI on X A former Maoist insurgent from Telangana was instructed to undergo the procedure before he got married. Years later, after he laid down his arms and surrendered, he underwent a second surgery to reverse the procedure, eventually becoming a father to a boy. He was not the only one. Many who lay down their arms and enter the mainstream similarly choose to reverse the procedure to start a family. The practice of nasbandi is so widespread that its impact was conveyed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah during an interaction with surrendered Maoist cadres here on Sunday. "When I was a member of the CPI-Maoist, I had to go for 'nasbandi'. But after I gave up arms and joined the mainstream, I underwent another operation so that I could become a father. After the second operation, I became the father of a baby boy," the former Maoist from Telangana said while interacting with Shah. The perception among members of the proscribed outfit is that childcare will prove a distraction and their movement suffer. There is also apprehension that cadres who get married might turn their backs on the movement. As a result, vasectomy is compulsory for any cadre that gets married. Vasectomy is a surgical procedure that cuts the supply of sperm to the semen, providing permanent birth control (contraception). Markam Dula, a surrendered Maoist from Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, said, "It is mandatory for the Maoist cadres to go for 'nasbandi' if they want to get married. The leaders don't want any member being involved emotionally with his offspring. So the way forward is 'nasbandi'." Another former Maoist insurgent from Malkangiri in neighbouring Odisha shared a similar account. "Before I married my fellow cadre, he had to undergo a 'nasbandi'," said Sukanti Mari. Her husband was eventually killed in a police encounter and she subsequently surrendered before the authorities. Shah, during his interaction with the group of surrendered Maoists, said he was immensely satisfied that the country's youngsters realised the futility of violence and laid down arms. He appealed to the remaining Maoists to give up arms and join the mainstream, saying their rehabilitation was the government's responsibility. "I appeal to Naxals, please come forward. Give up arms, surrender and join the mainstream. Your rehabilitation is our responsibility," he said. The Centre has formulated a rehabilitation policy for surrendered militants and Maoists, including those injured in violence, he said. While interacting with Shah, the surrendered Maoists conveyed to him how they were benefitting from various government schemes, including jobs in the police, the private sector and bank loans for starting their own ventures. Veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, in his latest book, argues that Pranab Mukherjee should have been made Prime Minister in 2012 instead of Manmohan Singh, who was then recovering from health issues. IMAGE: Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, ex-President Pranab Mukherjee, and former PM Manmohan Singh at an event in New Delhi, November 14, 2019. Photograph: ANI Photo Aiyar believes this would have prevented the "paralysis of governance" and "doomed" any prospects the Congress might have had to form United Progressive Allice-III He says the decision to retain Manmohan Singh as the PM and shift Pranab Mukherjee to the Rashtrapati Bhawan "doomed" any prospects the Congress might have had to form UPA-III. Aiyar puts forward these ideas in his forthcoming book A Maverick in Politics published by Juggernaut. In the book, Aiyar talks about his early days in politics, navigating through the Narasimha Rao years, his time as a minister in UPA I, his Rajya Sabha term and then his "decline...fade out...fall". "In 2012, the prime minister (Manmohan Singh) underwent operations for multiple coronary bypasses. He never quite recovered physically. It slowed him down and this showed up in governance. As for the party, there was no official announcement about the Congress president's health when she took ill at about the same time as the PM," Aiyar says. It soon became clear that in both the offices -- the PM's and the party president's -- there was stasis, a distinct absence of governance, while several crises, particularly Anna Hazare's 'India Against Corruption' movement, were either not handled effectively or not handled at all, says the diplomat-turned-politician. "The choice of Rashtrapati: Manmohan Singh or Pranab Mukherjee. Personally, I was of the view that Pranab Mukherjee should have been given the reins of the government and Dr Manmohan Singh elevated to President of India when the office of Rashtrapati presented an opening in 2012," he says. "This was principally because we needed a very active PM in good health and with the energy to lead the government (Pranab Da) and a person of high distinction who had served his country exceptionally well (Dr Singh) to preside over the nation. Pranab's memoirs indicate that this was in fact contemplated," Aiyar points out. He quotes Mukherjee as saying in his memoir that while Sonia Gandhi was 'on holiday in the Kausambi hills', she had given the 'vague impression' that she was considering making Singh the 'presidential nominee'. "This led Pranab to wonder 'if she selected Singh for the presidential office, she may choose me as the prime minister'. For reasons to which neither I, nor it seems anyone else, was made privy, the decision was taken to retain Dr Manmohan Singh as PM and shift Pranab Mukherjee upstairs as Rashtrapati," says Aiyar. "That, in my view, doomed any prospects the Congress might have had to form UPA-III," he adds. While the Indian media slammed the government, Time magazine ran a very damaging cover story that described Dr Singh as a 'Do Nothing' Prime Minister, he recalls in the book. Aiyar argues that Pranab's left-wing reputation would have disturbed the business community and the Americans if he were made PM, but there was no one more experienced than him. "I hazard the view that if this obvious step had been taken, we would not have gone into a paralysis of governance and thus opened the door to the worst excesses of Hindutva in the general elections of 2014," he says. In the book, Aiyar also recounts his own most telling memory of the "meltdown of UPA II" was when he returned home one evening he found his wife, Suneet, sitting before the TV set with a shattered look on her face. "When I inquired what the matter was, she raised her stricken face and exclaimed, 'No scams today!' We, therefore, went into the 2014 general elections very much a runner-up. In the event, the election exposed the Indian National Congress as a broken reed that fell from 404 seats in 1984 to 44 seats in 2014," Aiyar says. Talking to PTI about his view expressed in the book that Mukherjee should have been made PM in 2012, Aiyar said, "Manmohan Singh had six bypasses. So, we were crippled at the head of the government and at the head of the party. But there was one man who was still full of energy, full of ideas, had a certain amount of charisma and could have run either the party or the government or even both. And that was Pranab Mukherjee." "...And if that had happened, if Dr. Manmohan Singh had become President and Pranab had become the Prime Minister, I still think we would have lost in 2014. But not by this massive humiliating defeat that we actually had, where we fell to 44 seats. I mean, a party that had been at 414 in 1984, December, had fallen in 2014 to 44 seats. And that is because there was no governance," he told PTI. In 2013, everyone was recovering from illness and so a lot of charges were made against us, which had never been established in a court of law, he said. In his book, Aiyar says the government and the party were unable to carry credibility in answering the charges to an obviously sensational-hungry media and thought the issues could be quashed by getting the ministers concerned to resign. That resolved nothing, and only aggravated the harm the unproven allegations caused to the government's reputation, he says. The Commonwealth Games scandal also contributed to blackening the government's face in the eyes of the general public, Aiyar adds. "But what, perhaps, put the lid on the UPA government's election prospects was the mishandled Anna Hazare-led agitation, 'India Against Corruption'. "The minister of home affairs, PC who initially refused Anna Hazare permission to conduct his fast in the Ram Lila grounds, eventually caved in and the Ram Lila grounds became 'ground zero' for a much-publicised agitation. I think the lowest point in UPA-II's reign was when three Union ministers went to Delhi airport to receive the private aircraft of Baba Ramdev, the highly controversial 'godman' who was supporting Anna Hazare," Aiyar says in the book. The Punjab police chief along with a senior officer in the Union ministry of home affairs on Sunday met fasting farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, and enquired about his health. IMAGE: BKU leader Rakesh Tikait with other members stage a protest concerning the health situation of Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal who is on a fast-unto-death, at Khanauri Border in Sangrur, Punjab, December 13, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo Punjab director general of police Gaurav Yadav and director in the ministry of home affairs Mayank Mishra reached the Khanauri border point where Dallewal has been sitting on fast-unto-death since November 26, and also heard his demands. The 70-year-old Dallewal, a cancer patient, has been on a fast-unto-death at the Khanauri border point between Punjab and Haryana to press the Centre to accept the agitating farmers' demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP on crops. Their visit came two days after the Supreme Court directed the Centre and Punjab government representatives to immediately meet Dallewal. The top court had further directed that the farmer leader be provided medical help and persuaded him to break his indefinite fast, saying his life was precious. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Yadav said, "We came here to enquire about the health of Dallewal." "I have with me the government of India's representative Mayank Mishra who was specially sent here," he said. Mishra said, "We have heard whatever his (Dallewal) demands are." To a question, he said, "There was no proposal of any kind. I came here to hear him and also for implementation of the SC order." DGP Yadav said, "We have appealed to Dallewal that the way he is leading a peaceful agitation, it has been appreciated everywhere. And the government has also taken cognisance of it." He said as per the orders of the Supreme Court, Dallewal be convinced and emergent medical aid be provided to him. "The chief minister has specially sent a message and our efforts are that talks should be held on their demands and this issue is resolved," the DGP said. "We have appealed to farmers that Dallewal's life is precious. Medical facilities have been provided here and we are making efforts to resolve the issue with their coordination," he said. Yadav said the SC has given them a mandate. "The SC has said that Dallewal is a senior citizen, he has some health issues and thirdly he is a prominent farmer leader," he said, adding the SC has directed that emergent requisite medical aid be provided to Dallewal. Well-equipped ambulances have been stationed here, Yadav said. "We are constantly speaking to farmer leaders and we expect that we will reach a positive outcome, he said. To another question, Yadav said the Punjab government had a clear stand and it considers farmers' demands genuine and also supported it. "We have tried that facilities be provided to him. It is an effort of the Punjab government that farmers' demands be facilitated," the DGP said. Yadav said Dallewal's vital symptoms are constantly being monitored. Farmers under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and KMM have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces. The three attempts of farmers to take out a foot march to Delhi have been foiled by the Haryana security personnel at Shambhu border. Besides a legal guarantee on the minimum support price for crops, the farmers are demanding a debt waiver, pension for farmers and farm labourers, no hike in the electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases and "justice" for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence. Reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21 are also part of their demands. At the heart of the air signs lies a fundamental connection to the element that gives them their name air. This invisible, pervasive force is the very essence of thought, communication, and socialization. Air signs, including Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius, are the thinkers, the communicators, and the connectors of the zodiac, seamlessly navigating the realms of ideas, words, and relationships. The Intellectual Prowess of Air Signs Air signs are renowned for their intellectual capacities, their ability to analyze, synthesize, and probe the depths of any given topic. They are the quintessential problem-solvers, approaching challenges with a keen, analytical eye and a thirst for knowledge. Whether it's Gemini's insatiable curiosity, Libra's diplomatic negotiation skills, or Aquarius' visionary thinking, air signs possess a unique ability to see the world from multiple perspectives, always seeking to expand their understanding. Advertisement The Social Butterfly Effect Alongside their intellectual prowess, air signs are also known for their social charisma. They thrive on interpersonal connections, effortlessly moving between social circles and engaging in stimulating conversations. Air signs possess a natural ability to read social cues, adapt to different situations, and forge meaningful relationships. They are the social glue that binds communities together, facilitating the exchange of ideas and the forging of new alliances. The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray has dropped broad hints over the past few days of going back to its core Hindutva agenda after the drubbing the party received in the November 20 Maharashtra polls. IMAGE: Maharashtra ex-CM and Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray during a press conference in Mumbai, November 23, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo The party has mounted a strident attack on the Centre for atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in the neighbouring country in August and has now come forward to "protect" an "80-year-old" Hanuman Temple outside Mumbai's Dadar station that was served a demolition notice by the railways. Signalling its intent on the issue, Shiv Sena-UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray performed maha aarti at the temple amid efforts by the party to corner the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on the Hindutva plank. Earlier, on December 6, the party raised hackles of some allies when Uddhav Thackeray's close aide and MLC Milind Narvekar posted a photo of the Babri Masjid demolition on social media site X along with the combative "I am proud of those who did it" quote of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray. The mosque in Ayodhya was brought down on December 6, 1992. The move rattled Samajwadi Party's Maharashtra chief Abu Azmi who said his outfit was walking out of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which also comprises the Congress and Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar apart from Shiv Sena-UBT. Party insiders and observers said Narvekar would not have posted the laudatory message without knowledge of the leadership. On Friday, Uddhav Thackeray had attacked the Union government over the atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh and sought to know the steps taken by India to protect the community in the neighbouring nation. Observers said these moves mark another change in the policy of Shiv Sena-UBT, which severed ties in 2019 with its long-time ally BJP and joined hands with the Congress and NCP but stuck to its Marathi manoos (sons of the soil) plank. These observers said the move comes amid the drubbing the Thackeray-led party received in the assembly polls and ahead of the civic polls, which have been due in most cities in Maharashtra, including Mumbai, since early 2022. It got just 20 seats in the 288-member Maharashtra assembly despite contesting 95 as part of the MVA. The cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation was controlled by the undivided Shiv Sena for 25 years from 1997 to 2022. In 2017, the Shiv Sena and the BJP were involved in a close fight and won 84 and 82 seats, respectively. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the party won four of the six seats in Mumbai, though a closer look revealed it did not do well in seats with its traditional voter base. In assembly segments like Worli, held by Aaditya Thackeray, it had leads of less than 7,000. The ruling BJP accused the Shiv Sena-UBT of winning with the help of minority votes. The Uddhav Thackeray-led party's ambiguous stand on Uniform Civil Code and Waqf Board Amendment Bill gave the BJP further ammunition to attack its former ally. In the assembly polls, results of which were declared on November 23, victories in just 10 of the 24 constituencies it contested in Mumbai was another sign of its waning voter base, especially among core supporters. Moreover, the victory margin in three constituencies (Jogeshwari East, Versova and Mahim) was lower than 2000 votes, while it was less than 10000 in Worli, Shivadi, Kalina and Dindoshi. Only victories in Vikhroli, Byculla and Vandre East were with margins of more than 10,000. Ambadas Danve, the Leader of Opposition in state legislative council, said Shiv Sena-UBT never abandoned Hindutva and this was made clear even by the then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. "(I challenge the Opposition) to show one instance where we have abandoned Hindutva. Our Hindutva is different. It does not mean hating minorities," Danve told PTI. A Sena-UBT leader, however, admitted the party fell short of countering the "BJP's narrative" that the Thackeray-led outfit had abandoned Hindutva, especially when the ruling party gave calls like ek hain to safe hain (we are safe when united) and batenge toh katenge (divided we perish) in the assembly poll campaign. Political analyst Abhay Deshpande said the Shiv Sena-UBT changing its political line in 2019 did prove advantageous to the party in 2024 Lok Sabha polls as it got a new voter base. However, the November assembly polls showed the party had lost a significant part of its core voter base to Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the BJP, Deshpande pointed out. Deshpande said the Sena-UBT has realised that the party's "secular" stand may not work in the BMC, so it has moved back to its core Hindutva agenda. The party's secular stand may help in wards where the Congress has a weak candidate and the minority votes will gravitate to the Shiv Sena UBT, he added. Prakash Akolkar, the author of 'Jai Maharashtra -- Ha Shiv Sena Navacha Itihas Aahe' (Jai Maharashtra -- This is the History of Shiv Sena) said the party moving back to Hindutva stems from its "frustration" from electoral setbacks. "In the first session after he took over as the chief minister in 2019, Uddhav Thackeray had said his party made a mistake of mixing religion with politics. Now the party is going back to its main Hindutva plank. This shows that the party has no real ideology," Akolkar said. As the academic year ends in Afghanistan, students are saying goodbye to their teachers and classmates. But for girls as young as 11, it's the end of their education altogether, due to the Taliban's prohibition on girls studying after the sixth grade. One top student, whose identity has been concealed for her safety, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi that she was giving up her dreams of becoming a doctor as she tearfully left school for the last time. Dozens of Syrian diaspora members in the Czech Republic -- joined by local sympathizers -- rallied in downtown Prague to welcome the removal of President Bashar al-Assad's rule. The December 14 rally continued at the Syrian Embassy. The flag used by the Syrian opposition was hoisted at the diplomatic mission. US President Donald Trump said he sees a "very good chance" for peace between Ukraine and Russia after "very good and productive discussions" between US officials and Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a March 14 post on his Truth Social site, Trump also said the United States had urged Russia to spare the lives of "thousands" of Ukrainian soldiers that Putin has said have been isolated by Russian troops in Russia's Kursk region. Ukraine disputes that claim. The post came just hours after the Kremlin said it was "cautiously optimistic" following a meeting late on March 13 between Putin and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. "We had very good and productive discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia yesterday, and there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end," Trump wrote. Trump added that "thousands of Ukrainian troops are completely surrounded by the Russian military, and in a very bad and vulnerable position." "I have strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared," he wrote. "This would be a horrible massacre, one not seen since World War II." Putin said a day earlier that a group of Ukrainian troops were "isolated" in the Kursk region, the site of a surprise incursion by Ukrainian forces last August. Responding to Trump's plea on March 14, he said the soldiers' lives would be spared if they surrendered and urged Kyiv to order them to do so. Officials in Kyiv have said that while Ukrainian forces have been slowly withdrawing in the Kursk region under heavy pressure from Russian troops, but the armed forces general staff said on March 14 that "[r]eports of the alleged 'encirclement' of Ukrainian units...in the Kursk region are false and fabricated." "There is no threat of encirclement of our units," it said in a statement on social media. Zelenskyy Challenges Putin's Motives Earlier on March 14, Putin's spokesman said there were grounds for "cautious optimism" over Trump's 30-day cease-fire proposal, which Ukraine accepted earlier this week at talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia. Ukraine, meanwhile, questioned Moscow's sincerity in ending the war, which is now in its fourth year since Russia's full-scale invasion on February 2022. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow that Putin sent Trump a message about his cease-fire proposal after his talks with Witkoff in the Russian capital. "When Mr Witkoff brings all the information to President Trump, we will determine the timing of a conversation (between Trump and Putin). There are reasons to be cautiously optimistic," Peskov said. Putin said a day earlier that he agrees in principle with the US proposal for a temporary cease-fire with Ukraine, but added that "there are nuances," such as Western weapons deliveries to Kyiv, that he wants addressed first. The Russian leader also said any agreement should lead to long-term peace that addresses the "root" reasons for the war, an apparent reference to NATO expansion and other developments Putin claims have put Russia's security in jeopardy. In a video posted late on March 13, Zelenskyy questioned Putin's motives, saying the Russian leader was preparing to reject the proposal but was afraid to tell Trump. "That's why in Moscow they are imposing upon the idea of a cease-fire these conditions -- so that nothing happens at all, or so that it cannot happen for as long as possible," Zelenskyy said. He followed up on March 14 with a post on social media accusing the Kremlin of trying to "complicate and drag out the process." "Russia is the only party that wants the war to continue and diplomacy to break down," he said on X after a call with the Secretary of State of the Holy See, cardinal Pietro Parolin. Putin's Response To Trump's Pressure Kyiv agreed to Trump's 30-day cease-fire proposal at a meeting in Jeddah on March 11, putting the onus for peace in Moscow's lap. Putin's response threw the ball back into US hands, at least to some degree. Trump called Putin's initial reaction to peace talk developments "promising" but incomplete, though he added he hoped Russia would "do the right thing" and agree to the deal. "I think the Russians are keen not to be seen as the intransigent party as that could lead to consequences from Trump, such as sanctions. So that informed Putin's comments today," John Hardie, deputy director of the Russia Program at Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank, told RFE/RL. Trump has made ending the war in Ukraine a top priority since taking office for a second term less than two months ago, and is wielding US leverage to get both Kyiv and Moscow to the table. On March 13, the US administration heightened pressure on Russia by increasing restrictions on the country's oil, gas, and banking sectors. Among the measures, the Treasury Department was allowing the expiration of a 60-day exemption put in place in January by the Biden administration that let some energy transactions involving sanctioned Russian banks continue. The move would make it more difficult for other nations, especially in Europe, to buy Russian oil. Meanwhile, the foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) -- which includes the United States, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan -- said they discussed imposing more sanctions on Russia and boosting support for Ukraine if the Kremlin does not agree to the cease-fire. Among the measures discussed during the March 13-14 meeting were caps on the price for Russian oil exports, they said in a joint statement. Western nations in late 2022 imposed a $60-a-barrel price cap on the export of Russian oil using Western ships or insurance. It is unclear if the G7 discussions touched on lowering the price cap. Russia's economy is heavily dependent on oil exports, which account for a third of federal budget revenues. In a joint statement following the meeting, the G7 said that "we reaffirmed our unwavering support for Ukraine in defending its territorial integrity and right to exist, and its freedom, sovereignty, and independence." "We welcomed ongoing efforts to achieve a ceasefire, and in particular the meeting on March 11 between the US and Ukraine in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," it added. Putin also said there were several unanswered questions in the proposal, such as what to do about Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region. "If we have a cease-fire, does that mean that everyone there would leave?" Putin said. "Should we release them [Ukrainian troops] after they committed crimes against the population? Or would they surrender?" Ukraine denies committing such crimes, saying it abides by humanitarian law and does not target civilians. Why Should Russia Agree To A Cease-Fire? Kyiv seized a swath of the Kursk region in a stealth incursion in August, a move seen as an effort to divert Russian forces from eastern Ukraine and use the territory as a bargaining chip in any peace talks. That strategy is now failing as Russian forces supported by North Korean troops push the Ukrainians out of Kursk. Russia has regained more than half the territory in Kursk initially captured by Ukraine. Zelenskyy told reporters on March 14 that the situation in Kursk was "obviously very difficult." Among the other concerns Putin voiced about the cease-fire proposal is whether Ukraine would use the 30-day period to mobilize and train forces or rearm with the help of the West. He also raised the question of how the nearly 2,000-kilometer front would be monitored. Zelenskyy told reporters that the front could be monitored by US satellites. Experts had warned that Putin would likely seek to drag out cease-fire talks because his forces have the upper hand on the battlefield. Aside from the advances in Kursk, Russia is gaining territory in eastern Ukraine -- albeit at high human and material costs -- due to its significant manpower advantage. However, Zelenskyy said Ukraine has stopped Russian forces at the gates of Pokrovsk, a key logistical hub in Donetsk region, after months of fighting on the outskirts of the city. Zelenskyy asserted that the incursion into Kursk forced Russia to pull forces from eastern Ukraine, giving his troops time to defend the city. Russia is seeking to capture at a minimum the entirety of the four regions of Ukraine it claims to have annexed in September 2022: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya, and Kherson. A cease-fire freezing the current front lines would leave them short of that goal. "One way the Russians could slow down this process without coming out directly and saying 'no', is by dragging out those technical discussions on monitoring" the cease-fire, Hardie said. "That could also give them ways to try to pin the blame back on Ukraine, by insisting on certain technical matters that Ukraine might find objectionable," he said. C3.ai (NYSE: AI) shares bounced around after the enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) software company reported its latest quarterly results. The action in the stock likely confused some investors, as the stock soared in after-hours trading immediately after its report, only to open the next morning in negative territory. The stock then solidly rebounded into positive territory. Overall, the stock has been on a strong run since mid-November and is trading up about 45% on the year as of this writing, erasing early year losses. Let's take a closer look at the tech company's recent earnings report to see why the stock has been bouncing around and whether now is a good time to buy the stock. Disappointing subscription growth and guidance For its fiscal second quarter of 2025, ended Oct. 31, C3.ai's revenue jumped to $94.4 million. The company has seen a consistent acceleration of year-over-year revenue growth over the past year and half, going from 11% in Q1 of fiscal 2024 (ended September 2023) to 21% growth last quarter, before hitting 29% revenue growth in its fiscal Q2. Metric Q1 '24 Q2 '24 Q3 '24 Q4 '24 Q1 '25 Q2 '25 Revenue growth (YOY) 11% 17% 18% 20% 21% 29% Data source: C3.ai earnings reports. YOY = Year over year. Total quarterly revenue came in comfortably above the $88.6 million to $93.6 million the company had previously forecast. Subscription revenue, meanwhile, climbed 22% year over year to $81.2 million. C3.ai said that excluding income from Baker Hughes, its revenue surged 41%. The company thinks the partnership will be extended, but it is still deciding whether or not to renew its exclusive marketing agreement within the oil and gas industry when it comes up for renewal in June 2025. It said Baker Hughes revenue has been diminishing over the years and was just 18% of its total in the quarter, down from 35% in fiscal 2023. Part of the reason the company is mulling whether to renew the deal is that it just signed a new partnership with Microsoft that will run until March 2030. Under the deal, all its solutions will now be available on Azure and Microsoft salespeople will get commissions, quota credit, and special bonuses on Azure C3 AI sales. Microsoft will also subsidize C3 AI pilots and C3 AI production deployments on Azure as part of the deal. The company said it closed 58 deals in the quarter, including 36 pilots. Pilots are short three- to six-month term contracts during which customers can try out its service, upon which it then hopes to move them into production. C3.ai is also seeing momentum in the federal sector. The company said the government has begun a push to adopt AI solutions, especially in the areas of defense and intelligence. A County Roscommon student has been recognised by Dublin City University for her academic achievements in this years Leaving Certificate. Megan Molloy, a former student at Mercy College, Roscommon was among more than 100 undergraduate students honoured at the DCU Scholars' Awards in The Helix, Glasnevin Campus. Megan was recognised for achieving more than 600 points in her Leaving Certificate exams. She is currently undertaking the Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Mathematics in DCU. Recipients of the awards hailed from 17 counties across Ireland and represent the universitys five faculties - the DCU Business School, the Institute of Education, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Faculty of Science & Health and the Faculty of Engineering and Computing. Speaking at the ceremony, DCU President, Professor Daire Keogh told the awardees: You represent the talent of our young people and the future of our country. I know that you will enjoy the academic challenges and opportunities that DCU offers, the chance to stretch yourselves. Its important to add that university is not simply about academic excellence, but about developing the whole person. At DCU, our aim is to give you a transformative student experience that develops graduates who are ready to flourish in an unscripted world. Diljit Dosanjh Calls for Better Concert Venues, Halts Future Indian Performances Dosanjh revealed that attempts were made to obstruct his concert, but they did not succeed. Diljit Dosanjh Chandigarh Concert Latest News Today: Global sensation Diljit Dosanjh set the stage ablaze during his Chandigarh concert last night but left fans with a surprising announcement. Expressing dissatisfaction with India's event infrastructure, the artist declared that he would no longer perform in the country until suitable upgrades are made. Dosanjh revealed that attempts were made to obstruct his concert, but they did not succeed. Turning his attention to the broader issue, he urged authorities to prioritize enhancing concert facilities. Instead of poking me, please develop the infrastructure, he remarked, suggesting that future shows be designed for audiences surrounding the stage in an immersive format. Advertisement The announcement has sparked mixed reactions. While fans understand his frustrations, many are disheartened by the prospect of no future concerts in India. Industry experts, too, are calling for changes to ensure artists like Dosanjh can deliver world-class performances without logistical hurdles. This move highlights the growing demand for improved infrastructure to accommodate global talent and the rising expectations of Indian audiences. (For more news apart from Diljit Dosanjh Chandigarh Concert Latest News Today, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) Jagjit Singh Dallewal Declines Medical Aid, Urges Govt to Focus on Farmers Demands . Highlighting the need for constructive dialogue, he stated that discussions are the only way to resolve the ongoing issues. Farmers Protest Latest News Today: Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who has been on a hunger strike for 20 days at the Khanauri Border, refused medical assistance during a meeting with Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav and Director of Home Affairs Mayank Yadav. The officials visited Dallewal to inquire about his deteriorating health amid ongoing protests by farmers. Dallewal reiterated that the governments attention should be directed towards addressing the farmers demands instead of focusing on his health. Highlighting the need for constructive dialogue, he stated that discussions are the only way to resolve the ongoing issues. Advertisement Farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal supported Dallewals stance, saying, "The farmers are open to a meaningful discussion with the government to reach a solution." Government Responds to Farmers' Concerns Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav assured that efforts are underway to resolve the farmers demands and maintain open communication with the protesting leaders. "We are committed to resolving the issues faced by farmers. Medical facilities have been offered to Jagjit Singh Dallewal, and we are working to coordinate with the leaders in line with the directives of the Supreme Court," the DGP said. Advertisement The hunger strike by Dallewal highlights the growing discontent among farmers over unaddressed demands, which include various policy measures and safeguards for their livelihoods. Ongoing Protest Farmers have been protesting at the Khanauri Border, demanding attention to their grievances. Despite appeals from authorities, Dallewal has remained firm in his commitment, refusing medical intervention and insisting on meaningful action from the government. Big Stir at Khanauri Border as Senior Officials, Including DGP, Visit to Persuade Dallewal This high-profile visit comes amid escalating tensions and growing support for the farmers movement. Farmers Protest at Khanauri Border: The fast unto death by farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal entered its 20th day today, drawing significant attention as Punjab Police Chief Gaurav Yadav and several senior officials, including SSPs and representatives from the central government, arrived at the Khanauri border. Their presence has sparked intense discussions, with reports indicating attempts to persuade Dallewal to end his hunger strike. Director of Central Home Affairs Mayank Mishra, DGP Punjab Gaurav Yadav, DIG Narinder Bhargava, IG Jaskaran Singh, DIG Mandeep Singh Sidhu, SSP Nanak Singh, SSP Sartaj Singh Chahal, DC Madam Preeti Ji, DSP Mangat, and SMO Samana Dr. Sanjeev Arora reached Khanauri border to meet Sardar Jagjit Singh Dallewal. Advertisement This high-profile visit comes amid escalating tensions and growing support for the farmers movement. Organizations from Punjab and Haryana, including those led by Gurnam Singh Charuni, have rallied behind Dallewal, amplifying the protests momentum. Dallewals Determination Unshaken Addressing supporters from his bed in the main pandal, Dallewal reaffirmed his resolve, stating that the Supreme Court values his life, but he believes the lives of farmers who committed suicide over the past 25 years due to flawed government policies are even more precious. I am ready to sacrifice myself for the rights of farmers. If the Supreme Court is truly concerned about my life, it should direct the central government to meet our demands, he said. Dallewal also issued a stark warning, asserting that the Prime Minister and his government would bear responsibility if any harm came to farmers during the Kisan Morcha. His remarks reflect the deep frustration and urgency within the movement. Advertisement Health Concerns Deepen As Dallewal continues his hunger strike, his health has significantly deteriorated. Doctors monitoring him reported alarming vitals, with his blood pressure dropping to 78/48 during his public appearance. They have expressed grave concerns about his ability to sustain this protest for much longer. Rising Support and Heightened Tensions The ongoing protest, which revolves around demands for the legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP) and other issues, has seen an outpouring of solidarity from various farmer groups and organizations. With the movement gaining strength and senior officials now intervening, the situation at the Khanauri border remains highly charged. Farmers and leaders alike await the outcome of todays discussions, as pressure mounts on the government to address their demands and prevent further escalation. 145 years of diplomatic relations between Romania and Italy An exhibition celebrating 145 years of diplomatic relations between Romania and Italy opened at the National Bank of Romania. 145 years of diplomatic relations between Romania and Italy Iuliana Sima Anghel and Ion Puican, 15.12.2024, 14:00 An exhibition celebrating 145 years of diplomatic relations between Romania and Italy opened at the National Bank of Romania, after being first staged at the headquarters of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament in Rome in October this year. The exhibition brings together photographs, archive documents and old Italian coins illustrating the history of the relations between the two countries. Diplomatic relations between Romania and Italy began in 1879. On December 6, 1879, Italys first envoy and minister plenipotentiary Giuseppe Tornielli presented his credentials to King Carol I of Romania. Two months later, on February 15, 1880, the first envoy and minister plenipotentiary of the young Romanian nation state, Nicolae Kretzulescu, presented his credentials to King Umberto I of Italy. Diplomatic relations between Romania and Italy were raised to embassy level in 1964. The head of the Diplomatic Archives Doru Liciu tells us more about Romanian-Italian relations in history: We are celebrating this year 145 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Romania and Italy. Our peoples, however, have a history going back more than two thousand years, given our common Latin origin. And it was precisely our shared Latin origins that led to the establishment of the first relations between what would later become Romania and Italy. This then continued into the Middle Ages, when the first Genoese colonies were established on the territory of present-day Romania at the mouths of the river Danube and the Black Sea, and then later during the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, when Italian travelers to the Romanian lands noticed, as did the Romanian chroniclers, the similarities in the languages spoken by the two peoples owing to their shared Latin origin. Later, during the 18th century, the sons of Romanian boyars and rulers studied at universities in Italy, such as the University of Padua. At the beginning of the 19th century, the first Italian consulates and vice-consulates were established in Iasi, in Bucharest and in the Danube ports of Braila, Galati and Sulina. The revolution of 1848 and the success of the Risorgimento movement aimed at the reunification of Italy represented a model for the Romanian revolutionaries, and Italy played a special role for Romania when, in January 1859, the Romanian Principalities became united, both electing Alexandru Ioan Cuza as their sole ruler. The opinion of the Piedmont Diplomatic Litigation Council was decisive, concluding that, from a legal point of view, Cuzas election was legal. It argued that the provisions of the Paris Convention of 1858 had been respected because they provided for the election of two rulers in Iasi and Bucharest, but did not establish whether this should be one and the same person. So, the favorable opinion of the Piedmont Council represented a legal argument for the recognition of the Union of the Romanian Principalities and the election of Alexandru Ioan Cuza. Relations between Romania and Italy continued to develop. In 1873, Romania opened a diplomatic agency in Rome, and its first envoy, first diplomatic agent, was Constantin Esarcu, an important figure on the Romanian political scene and a founder of the Romanian Athenaeum, to which he left all his wealth after death. Doru Liciu also told us more about the exhibition hosted by the National Bank of Romania and its highlights: We wanted to highlight the most important moments in our relations: the Union of the Romanian Principalities, the recognition of Romanias independence and the establishment of diplomatic relations, the cooperation and collaboration during the First World War, when Italy and Romania, despite officially being allied with the Central Powers, chose to join the Entente in order to achieve their national ideals of unification. The Romanian Legion was formed in Italy, made up of former prisoners of war from the Austro-Hungarian army, Romanians originating from Transylvania, Bukovina and Banat who campaigned for the union of all Romanians and contributed decisively to the Union of Bukovina and Transylvania with Romania. The exhibition also paid special attention to cultural relations, which flourished in the interwar period following the opening of the Romanian Academy in Rome in the 1920s and of the Humanistic Research Institute in Venice in the 1930s. So, we, here, at the Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, are seeking to promote history as a means of becoming familiar with the past, without being stuck in the past, and trying to understand the present and build a better future. The 145 years of diplomatic relations between Romania and Italy prove, once more, that the values that the two countries share, and which are also laid down in the two reference documents present in the exhibition, namely the Joint Declarations on the Strategic Partnership from 1997 and the Consolidated Strategic Partnership from 2008, have an even stronger significance in the current geopolitical context. December 15, 2024 A roundup of local and international news Newsflash Newsroom, 15.12.2024, 20:00 INCIDENT The Romanian Foreign Ministry conducted its own inquiry after a Romanian citizen was detained on the territory of the self-proclaimed Republic of Abkhazia, a Georgian territory current under Russian occupation, whose independence is not currently recognized by the international community. The Romanian national was arrested by security services in the pro-Russian separatist region, and was accused of having tried to film military objectives on this territory. Local authorities claim the Romanian citizen had been forced to make the recordings by Ukrainian military spies, who told him this was the only way he could leave Abkhazia. Romanian authorities are in permanent contact with the citizens family and are making efforts to provide consular assistance. GOVERNMENT President Klaus Iohannis is expected to convene the new Parliament on December 20. The New Parliament will comprise 7 political parties. The Social-Democratic Party (PSD) will have 122 seats, the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) 91, the National Liberal Party (PNL) 71, the Save Romania Union (USR) 59, the SOS Romania Party 40, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians (UDMR) 32 and the Young Peoples Party (POT) 31. The group of national minorities will be represented by 19 MPs. The youngest members of Parliament are aged 34 and are members of USR and AUR, while PSD is at the opposite pole, with the largest number of MPs aged 65 and over. The Social-Democrats and the Liberals have the largest number of women MPs. On Friday, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies will each set up special committees to validate the new mandates. LEGISLATION Current deputies and senators are expected to end their mandate by the end of next week. The Chamber of Deputies is set to adopt a new Forestry Code, a milestone in the Recovery and Resilience plan and a government priority that needs to be adopted by the end of 2024. Among other things, the law stipulates seizing all vehicles involved in illegal logging, the construction of green belts around large cities, the right to pre-emption and quality raw materials at affordable prices for furniture manufacturers, introducing video surveillance on forestry roads and a ban on root cutting in protected areas. On the other hand, the Senate is expected to vote on projects that introduce penalties for public office aggregation or a reduction in the number of maximum terms held by heads of secrete services. The current legislature ends its mandate on December 20, when the new Parliament is set to convene in its first sitting. UKRAINE Romania is a valuable partner of Ukraine, both in terms of the prospective reconstruction of the country, as well as the war effort, Kyiv informs. The opening of new border crossing points is a point in case, the head of the Ukrainian State Agency for Infrastructure Reconstruction and Development, Serhii Sukhomlyn has said. Five new border checkpoints have been opened, while another six are currently being discussed. The Ukrainian official said the new border crossings are of great help to Ukrainian exporters, and that Romania is a valuable partner not just for its assistance in rebuilding infrastructure, but also owing to the military assistance it provides to Ukraine in the conflict against the invading Russian forces. TIMISOARA The city of Timisoara (west) on Sunday celebrates 35 years since the anti-communist revolution of 1989. Under the motto 35 years of freedom, the municipality is organizing a large number of commemorative events celebrating the martyrs of the revolution, as well as the moment when Timisoara became the first city in Romania to be declared free of communism. Religious services, wreath-laying ceremonies, exhibitions, film screenings and concerts are all on the agenda. On Monday, the authorities will officially inaugurate the Freedom Portal, a light installation reproducing sounds from the revolution, followed by the traditional march titled Heroes never die. Tuesday is an official mourning day, while festivities are expected to end on December 20 with the concert Rock for revolution. (VP) By Nate Raymond and Mike Spector BOSTON (Reuters) - McKinsey & Co has agreed to pay $650 million to resolve charges over advice it provided Purdue Pharma on how to "turbocharge" sales of its addictive painkiller OxyContin, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday. The consulting firm entered into a five-year deferred prosecution agreement filed in federal court in Abingdon, Virginia, to resolve criminal charges brought as part of the latest corporate prosecution concerning the marketing of addictive painkillers that helped fuel the deadly U.S. opioid epidemic. A former senior McKinsey partner, Martin Elling, has also agreed to plead guilty to obstructing justice by destroying records concerning McKinsey's work for Purdue. He is set to plead guilty on Jan. 10 and faces up to a year in prison under his plea agreement. His lawyer declined to comment. Prosecutors said the case marked the first time a management consulting firm had been held criminally responsible for advice that it had given that resulted in a client committing a crime and should be a warning to the rest of the consulting sector. "We will cut through the slick PowerPoints and the consultant speak and hold you accountable for your conduct if you engage in criminal violations," U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy of Massachusetts said at a press conference in Boston. The case was the latest to emerge from years of litigation and investigations into the extent that major drugmakers, drug distributors, pharmacies and corporations contributed to the epidemic. Nearly 727,000 people in the U.S. have died from opioid overdoses from 1999 to 2022, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The case against McKinsey followed Purdue's own guilty plea in 2020 to charges covering widespread misconduct regarding its handling of prescription painkillers, including conspiring to defraud U.S. officials and pay illegal kickbacks to both doctors and an electronic healthcare records vendor. Purdue is currently involved in court-ordered mediation to rework a multibillion-dollar civil settlement with states, local governments and others in bankruptcy proceedings after the U.S. Supreme Court turned aside its initial deal. The company on Friday said it aims to use settlement proceeds for opioid abatement and to compensate victims. Prosecutors said Purdue in the wake of an earlier criminal case against the drugmaker over its marketing of OxyContin had obtained approval in 2010 with McKinsey's advice for a new, reformulated version of the drug with abuse-deterrent properties. China is scheduled to release a raft of data on Monday, headlining a busy day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. On tap are November numbers for industrial production, retail sales, fixed asset investment, house prices and unemployment. In October, industrial production was up 5.3 percent on year, while retail sales rose 4.8 percent, fixed asset investment added 3.4 percent, house prices sank 5.9 percent and the jobless rate was 5.0 percent. Japan will see October figures for core machine orders; in September, core machine orders were down 0.7 percent on month and 4.8 percent on year. Japan also will see preliminary December results for the services and manufacturing PMIs from Jibun Bank; in November, their scores were 50.5 and 49.0, respectively. South Korea will provide November numbers for imports, exports and trade balance; in October, imports were down 2.4 percent on year and exports rose an annual 1.4 percent for a trade surplus of $5.61 billion. Australia will see preliminary December results for the services and manufacturing PMIs from Judo Bank; in November, their scores were 50.5 and 49.4, respectively. Indonesia will release November figures for imports, exports and trade balance; in October, imports were up 17.49 percent on year and exports rose 10.25 percent for a trade surplus of $2.47 billion. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Economic News What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more. Flash Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, co-chaired the 26th China-France Strategic Dialogue with Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic adviser to French President, in Beijing on Saturday. Noting that the two heads of state have maintained close interaction over the past year, setting the direction for the development of China-France and China-Europe relations, Wang said China is willing to work together with France to ensure that the China-France relations continue to serve as a driving force for the development of China-Europe relations and the promotion of world peace and stability. Wang proposed four points to achieve that goal: first, take the consensus of the two heads of state as a guide and create more positive bilateral agendas; second, solidly promote pragmatic cooperation, make good use of the traditional advantages of both sides, and explore new prospects for cooperation in new quality productive forces; third, continue to reap the positive effects of the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism, and facilitate people-to-people exchanges; and fourth, jointly uphold multilateralism. Bonne said that France attaches great importance to the traditional friendship and mutual trust between France and China, and will adhere to the one-China policy, maintain close high-level exchanges with China and ensure the success of the mechanisms for dialogue. Bonne added that France hopes to work with China to set ambitious goals and expand strong and innovative cooperation in various fields, and opposes camp confrontation and will adhere to its independent diplomatic tradition. Both sides agreed to enhance multilateral coordination and strengthen cooperation on climate change, biodiversity, sustainable development, and poverty reduction. The two sides also discussed China-Europe economic and trade issues. Wang said it is hoped that the Europe will adopt a constructive attitude and find mutually acceptable solutions through continuous dialogue with China. Bonne said that France does not support trade wars and supports mutually beneficial cooperation between Europe and China. Both sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis, the Iranian nuclear issue, the situation in the Middle East, and other topics. Elon Musk doesn't hold back when it comes to Apple. From calling the company the "Tesla Graveyard" to criticizing its AI plans and reflecting on his unpleasant encounter with Steve Jobs, Musk's comments make it clear that the rivalry between these tech giants is personal, professional and competitive. Back in 2015, during an interview with the German newspaper Handelsblatt, Musk mocked Apple's hiring practices. Referring to its recruitment of former Tesla employees, he said: "They have hired people we've fired. We always jokingly call Apple the Tesla Graveyard.' If you don't make it at Tesla, you work at Apple. I'm not kidding." Don't Miss: This came from reports that Apple was working on its electric vehicle project, "Titan." Musk didn't stop at staffing digs; he also questioned Apple's ability to break into the auto industry, saying, "Did you ever take a look at the Apple Watch? No, It's good that Apple is moving and investing in this direction. But cars are very complex compared to phones or smartwatches. You can't just go to a supplier like Foxconn and say: Build me a car." At the time, Apple declined to comment. Musk's critiques haven't just been aimed at Apple's business strategies. In an interview with GQ that same year, he recalled meeting Steve Jobs at a party before Jobs' death in 2011. The encounter wasn't what Musk had hoped for. "[The] one time I met Steve Jobs, he was kind of a jerk," Musk said. See Also: If there was a new fund backed by Jeff Bezos offering a 7-9% target yield with monthly dividends would you invest in it? He later tried to soften his remark, explaining that his observation was based on a "personal experience." He added that Larry Page, cofounder of Google, had introduced him to Jobs several years earlier and Jobs may not have even known who he was then. Fast-forward to today and Musk's criticisms of Apple have shifted to its push into artificial intelligence. After Apple announced updates to Siri that included integration with OpenAI's ChatGPT, Musk voiced concerns about user privacy and security. Writing on his platform, X, he called the collaboration "an unacceptable security violation" and accused Apple of having "no clue what's actually going on." We are in the midst of a nuclear energy renaissance. Technology players across the board are making commitments to restart nuclear power plants or pay for electricity from upcoming facilities. Why the change in tone from the last few decades, when nuclear power was stuck in the mud? Two words: Artificial intelligence (AI). The new software tools require immense amounts of computing to train and operate, which is leading to increased electricity demand in the United States. Investors have taken this narrative and run with it, fast. One beneficiary has been NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE: SMR), a disruptor in the nuclear energy space that's building small modular reactors (SMRs, hence the stock's ticker symbol). Shares are up over 700% in 2024, making it one of the best performers of the year. Is the stock a buy, sell, or hold today? If you look at the numbers, the answer is clear. What are small modular reactors? The potential disruption of a small modular reactor (SMR) is in the name. Traditional nuclear power plants are costly and require immensely large facilities to run. While these existing solutions generate constant energy, the cost and time spent building these plants make them all but impossible for everyone except the largest entities to build. Very few companies, utilities, or governments have the capital or time horizon to get them done. SMRs may be able to solve this issue. First, these new designs are smaller and less expensive to build. Second, they are modular, meaning they can be built on a factory line to get economies of scale in building costs (traditional reactors are custom-built from scratch). The core fission technology is the same -- it's just coming to the market with an entirely different business model. NuScale Power is going after this with its SMR products and hopes to build small nuclear energy facilities around the world. Current projects are set to begin in Europe, the United States, and East Asia. A long road to commercial development The idea around SMRs is logical. Who wouldn't want smaller and cheaper nuclear energy? Big technology players investing in AI facilities are committing to spending money on nuclear power, which is likely why NuScale Power's stock has ripped higher in 2024. However, it will be many years until any of NuScale Power's facilities are operational. Its first facilities are slated to be opened around the end of this decade. Utility executives like NextEra's CEO John Ketchum believe that SMRs will not be a meaningful part of the industry until the end of the 2030s. That's a long time for NuScale Power shareholders. NuScale is also not the only player in this space, with larger players like GE Vernova competing and with a longer history of actually building innovative technology products. A 7-year-old rivalry between tech leaders Elon Musk and Sam Altman over who should run OpenAI and prevent an artificial intelligence "dictatorship" is now heading to a federal judge as Musk seeks to halt the ChatGPT maker's ongoing shift into a for-profit company. Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company earlier this year alleging it had betrayed its founding aims as a nonprofit research lab benefiting the public good rather than pursuing profits. Musk has since escalated the dispute, adding new claims and asking for a court order that would stop OpenAIs plans to convert itself into a for-profit business more fully. The world's richest man, whose companies include Tesla, SpaceX and social media platform X, last year started his own rival AI company, xAI. Musk says it faces unfair competition from OpenAI and its close business partner Microsoft, which has supplied the huge computing resources needed to build AI systems such as ChatGPT. OpenAI and Microsoft together exploiting Musks donations so they can build a for-profit monopoly, one now specifically targeting xAI, is just too much, says Musk's filing that alleges the companies are violating the terms of Musks foundational contributions to the charity. OpenAI filed a response Friday opposing Musks requested order, saying it would debilitate OpenAIs business and mission to the advantage of Musk and his own AI company and is based on far-fetched legal claims. A hearing is set for January before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California. At the heart of the dispute is a 2017 internal power struggle at the fledgling startup that led to Altman becoming OpenAI's CEO. Musk also sought to be CEO and in an email outlined a plan where he would unequivocally have initial control of the company but said that would be temporary. He grew frustrated after two other OpenAI co-founders said he would hold too much power as a major shareholder and chief executive if the startup succeeded in its goal to achieve better-than-human AI known as artificial general intelligence, or AGI. Musk has long voiced concerns about how advanced forms of AI could threaten humanity. The current structure provides you with a path where you end up with unilateral absolute control over the AGI," said a 2017 email to Musk from co-founders Ilya Sutskever and Greg Brockman. You stated that you don't want to control the final AGI, but during this negotiation, you've shown to us that absolute control is extremely important to you. With a market capitalization of more than $143 billion today, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) stock won't make anyone into a millionaire unless they're willing to commit a large amount of capital and then hold the stock for a very long period of time, reinvesting all the dividends they receive along the way. Big pharma businesses simply don't grow quickly enough to deliver investors the massive returns that are necessary to generate millions from a humble starting sum. There's no evidence that Pfizer is about to change its business model in a radical way which might challenge that dynamic. Still, it could be a great option for shoring up your portfolio with an asset that generates some solid cash flow and might appreciate a bit in value over time. Here's why. There are a few paths to building wealth with this stock One of the most obvious ways that a stock can help to boost your portfolio's value is by paying a dividend consistently over time. Pfizer could fill that role quite well, and now's an especially appealing time to invest in it for that purpose. Its forward dividend yield of 6.5% is quite juicy. But -- as its payout ratio of over 100% indicates -- in the trailing 12-month period, the company paid out $9.4 billion in dividends while only reporting net income of $4.2 billion. While its operating cash flow of $11.2 billion over that period suggests there isn't much immediate danger of the dividend getting cut, it's reasonable to expect that the payment won't increase by more than a token amount over the next couple of years or so, when its general financial situation is slated to improve. One strategy for driving that improvement will be paying down the debt it took on as part of its acquisition of Seagen, an oncology biotech. As of the third quarter, Pfizer had $56.9 billion in long-term debt, and $9.7 billion in current debt due within one year. Per management, investment in internal research and development (R&D) will also pick up once the company is a bit more deleveraged. Even before that, the pipeline could be delivering a few medicines to help to prop up the top line, including several cancer drugs that are presently in phase 3 clinical trials. There's not much reason to believe that there are any blockbuster drugs in its mid- to late-stage pipeline right now, but a steady output of more modest earners could still drive growth in its earnings and its share price. In the long term, its anti-obesity candidate, which is currently scheduled to enter phase 2 clinical trials, might be the blockbuster that investors are looking for to make Pfizer expand a bit faster. However, until the mid-stage efficacy results are determined and published, it makes sense to be skeptical about the candidate's earning potential. Tom Cronin and Bob Loevy are news columnists who write about Colorado and national politics. Loevy also served on the City Planning Commission from 1972 to 1975. European shares were lower on Friday as traders bid their time ahead of next week's US central bank policy meeting. In European news, the Bundesbank slashed its growth estimates for the euro area's biggest economy and French president Emmanuel Macron chose centrist Francois Bayrou as his new prime minister - and the country's fourth in a year. "Earlier gains have drifted away as US Treasury yields strengthen. Yields rose to their highest levels in over two weeks as markets brace for the Federal Reserve's final meeting of the year," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp. On the topic of Bayrou, Beauchamp added: "Macron may have found someone willing to take on the dubious honour of being prime minister, but few in the dealing rooms of the world think that the newly-appointed Bayrou has much chance of succeeding where Barnier failed, signalling more uncertainty ahead." The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was down 0.53% at 516.45 points. Germany's Dax meanwhile dipped 0.10% to 20.405,92, although the Italian FTSE Mib edged up 0.09% to 34,888.79. Ten-year German Bund yields, the euro and Brent crude oil futures were all higher alongside. Official data earlier showed the UK economy shrank by 0.1% in October, suggesting Finance Minister Rachel Reeves faces a bigger slowdown than anticipated. In the eurozone, industrial production stagnated in October, recording 0.0% month-on-month growth, in line with expectations. Meanwhile in Germany, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said the economy will shrink this year and will stagnate over the course of 2025, adding that a potential trade war with the US could make matters worse. In its December forecast, the central bank slashed its forecasts and projected a contraction of 0.2 % - compared with June expectations of 0.3% growth - and only a slight expansion of 0.2 % next year. In 2026 and 2027, the economy then sees somewhat stronger growth, of 0.8 % and 0.9 %, respectively. In equity news, shares in UK-listed Tullow Oil slumped 10% on news that US oil and gas company Kosmos Energy was in "very preliminary" talks for an all-share takeover of the West Africa-focused explorer and producer. Munich Re gained 6% as the German reinsurer said it was targeting 6bn in net profit for next year. Alphabet's Google said it would be appealing against a 2.61 billion lira ($75m) fine by Turkey's competition authority over for taking advantage of its dominant position in the ad server services market, the regulator said on Friday. The investigation examined allegations that Google introduced restrictions to ensure the exclusive use of its own demand and supply-side platforms which hampered the operations of third-party providers. Google must ensure within six months that competitors are not disadvantaged and provide third-party supply-side providers similar conditions that are applied to its own services, the regulator added. In case they fail to implement the obligations specified ... daily administrative fines should be imposed, it said in a statement. In response, Google said its advertising tools "help websites and apps fund their content and help businesses of all sizes effectively reach their customers". "We remain committed to supporting Turkish businesses, publishers and users in this highly competitive sector. This decision does not take into account the intense competition where ad buyers and sellers have plenty of choice and we intend to appeal," a Google spokesperson told Sharecast in a statement. Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com Editors Note: In honor of the many Staten Islanders who have shown the best of what the borough is this year, we are highlighting some of the standouts, and honoring them as Staten Islands Brightest Lights of 2024. Congratulations to them, and every borough resident who has found their own way to give back, make change, be a role model, inspire others, advocate and/or care about their community in 2024. Wyeth and Krizel Mendoza, a married couple from Livingston with three kids, are bringing their love for the Philippines and great coffee together. Theyve launched Batangas Best, a coffee brand made with 100% Liberica beans for a truly authentic, Filipino-inspired coffee experience. Pictured is Krizel Mendoza. (Courtesy Wyeth Mendoza)Courtesy Wyeth Mendoza Staten Islands Brightest Lights of 2024: Wyeth and Krizel Mendoza Their story, summed up: Wyeth and Krizel Mendoza, a married couple from Livingston with three kids, are bringing their love for the Philippines and great coffee together. Theyve launched Batangas Best, a coffee brand made with 100% Liberica beans for a truly authentic, Filipino-inspired coffee experience. Liberica beans larger than Arabica and Robusta beans, with a unique shape that resembles a teardrop possess a distinct floral and fruity aroma, often described as similar to jackfruit. This coffee is grown exclusively in the hills of Lipa City, Batangas, where this unique Liberica variety thrived after Spaniards brought it to the Philippines from western/central Africa, said Krizel Mendoza. Our coffee is harvested only once a year, making it truly special and premium. Weve never seen this variety enjoyed here in the U.S. the way we did growing up in the Philippines. We would love to help our local community there by promoting this premium variety typically blended with other species like Arabica, Robusta, or Excelsa to the coffee-drinking market in the United States. By supporting direct trade and local communities, Batangas Best not only delivers exceptional single-origin coffee but also serves to foster cultural heritage and environmental sustainability. Read the full story about Krizel and Wyeth Mendoza by Dr. Gracelyn Santos >> STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Pete Davidson has jumped into the fashion industry and it involves socks. The King of Staten Island star Davidson, 31, has been named creative director of Doublesoul, a colorful sock brand known for its collaborations, according to an interview with W Magazine. He decided to venture into the sock industry, and Doublesoul, because theyre comfy and sexy, and the name is cool. While he has been approached for many partnerships with brands, he didnt really know how to do it before, he said. He collaborated with Doublesoul because everyone needs socks, he told the magazine. Socks are an afterthought: You get a 20-pack at Foot Locker, or youre going to the gas station and buying Barbie socks, or socks with burgers on them, he told W Magazine. He added that he always has dressed differently when it comes to fashion. And he has some advice: Stay away from what others think is cool, and get what you think is cool, because thats original, he told W Magazine. Davidson, a longtime Staten Islander who has spoken publicly about issues with sobriety, borderline personality disorder (BPD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is a stand-up comedian, actor, writer and producer who was a cast member on SNL from 2014 to 2022. His credits also include Big Time Adolescence (filmed in Syracuse with American High), Bupkis, The King of Staten Island, Dumb Money, Trainwreck, Set It Up, Bodies Bodies Bodies, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and the upcoming I Slept with Joey Ramone. Vince Bzdek, executive editor of The Gazette, Denver Gazette and Colorado Politics, writes a weekly news column that appears on Sunday. Long Branch police made an arrest early Thursday after a man allegedly shot a gun toward the sky not far from Monmouth University. He was not shooting at a drone, Long Branch police director William Broughton told NJ Advance Media on Friday, referring to the recent rash of unexplained drone sightings across New Jersey being investigated by the FBI. He was just shooting into the air. Had nothing to do with drones, Broughton said. The shots were fired around 3 a.m. in the area of Cedar Avenue. No one was injured and no property was damaged, Long Branch police said. Monmouth University, the private university in West Long Branch, is a short distance away. BROOK PARK, Ohio A 19-year-old Cleveland man driving a Tesla with flashing Christmas lights wrapped around it was arrested at about 6:30 p.m. Dec. 1 after leading police on a vehicle chase. Police recognized the car, traveling westbound on Brookpark Road near Holy Cross Cemetery, as one involved in police chases throughout Greater Cleveland. Police began following the Tesla. The driver accelerated, reaching speeds of more than 100 mph. The man ran a red light on Brookpark at Smith Road. Then the man turned off all the Christmas lights on his car plus his headlights. Police lost sight of the Tesla as it turned onto Rocky River Drive. They ended the pursuit. Police checked license-plate-reading cameras posted at various intersections. The video showed the mans plate number. It belonged to a 61-year-old Cleveland man. Brook Park police met Cleveland police at the Cleveland home. The Tesla with the Christmas light was parked outside. Police knocked on the door and the 19-year-old man answered, asking police why they were there. They asked him who owned the Tesla with the Christmas lights. The man said his father owned the car. The man denied fleeing from police and said he didnt know who was driving the car. Police asked the man to be honest. He then confessed. Police placed the man in handcuffs. He said, Good job. You caught me. He was curious as to how police tracked him down. The man bragged about how his car was too fast for police. Drone sightings have been rampant throughout the east coast this week, and central Pennsylvania is not missing out on the action. But there are still many unanswered questions. Who is operating these drones? How big are they? Why are they flying over cities and military bases? What are their intentions? Can you shoot them? The first drone sightings took place in New Jersey in mid-November. Since then, many more sightings have been reported in New Jersey, and sightings are also coming from New York, Pennsylvania and other eastern states. People in central Pennsylvania joined in on the drone-hunting mania, with several posts appearing in local Facebook groups with pictures and more questions. Why are drones flying over? Whats going on? Enola Camp Hill Mechanicsburg, said one post in a Facebook group based in Hampden Township, Cumberland County. I live near Messiah College and saw it flying over, another person commented under the post. WGAL viewers in central Pennsylvania also submitted dozens of pictures of aircraft/drones flying in the area. One viewers dashcam captured what appeared to be a drone flying above a highway in Dillsburg. Elected officials in Staten Island gathered Friday to call on local law enforcement to investigate the drones, which have been reported as larger than typical consumer drones, but smaller than aircraft. The FBI earlier this week said it does not have any answers regarding the drones and a Pentagon spokesperson said there is no evidence to support the drones being operated by a foreign entity. Adam Kinzinger a veteran and Lieutenant Colonel in the Air National Guard, CNN political commentator and former Illinois state representative released a short video on X Thursday talking about the drone sightings. Heres a couple of things Ive noticed, said Kinzinger. First off they have green and red lights which is exactly whats required by the FAA for navigation and they have a strobe on them as well. At about 10 p.m. Thursday Keith Perosi ran outside his Westerleigh home when he heard a low-pitched, whining sound. I looked up and I saw the drone. The thing was huge. It was maybe the size of an SUV and it was carrying something the size of an SUV, dangling from underneath it, he said.Courtesy of Keith Perosi Two popular theories about the drones circulating the internet are aliens, of course, and a rumor the drones are being launched from an Iranian ship off the coast. However, satellite images from earlier this week show the Iranian drone ship, called Shahid Bagheri, conducting tests in the Persian Gulf, according to The Hill. Kinzinger thinks there is a more simple answer. Look, if its Iran or if its aliens, theyre actually doing a really good job complying with FAA rules and laws, Kinzinger said. So my guess is this is probably some company testing some drones. And theyre not required to tell everybody what theyre doing as long as theyre complying with the law. In many of the areas where sightings have been reported, it is not illegal to fly drones at night as long as the device is registered with the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Kinzinger also spoke about the legality of flying over military bases and other high-security facilities in the United States. Another interesting point, because people talk about them flying over military bases and sensitive sites, there actually are no rules in flying about flying over military bases. You can fly over military bases as long as youre above a certain altitude, which these drones are, he said. The FBI said Thursday it has no evidence that the objects pose any security or safety threat. In a joint statement, the FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft, operating lawfully. Many people online have been advocating to shoot any drones out of the sky, but federal law states it is illegal to shoot any aircraft, including drones. Those convicted of shooting aircraft/drones can face a fine and up to 20 years in prison. State and local laws cannot override federal laws, meaning there is no state or municipality in the United States where it is legal to shoot a drone. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- For many, a direct connection from Staten Island to Brooklyn that bypasses having to cross the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge via car or bus would be a great option for traveling between the two boroughs. According to some transit activists, one way of achieving this dream would require a minimal investment on the part of New York City, with no additional infrastructure needed. However, despite what proponents see as the relative ease of adding this new link, its still an uphill battle for the people trying to make this connection a reality. Or, as Tamer Mahmoud, transportation chair of the New Brighton Civic Committee, puts it: Why do we have to fight so hard for something that makes so much sense? Mahmoud and Tyler Taba, director of resilience for the Waterfront Alliance, are part of a growing grassroots coalition of people and organizations trying to get a direct fast ferry connection between Staten Island and Brooklyn. An NYC Ferry boat is docked in St. George after dropping off passengers. Saturday November 16, 2024 (Staten Island Advance/Mike Matteo)Mike Matteo Mahmoud and Taba said that adding a line on the NYC Ferry system between the already established stops in St. George and Bay Ridge would only need the commitment of a few boats from the fast ferry fleet and the crews to run them. We think its simple, because the infrastructure is there. We already have the St. George landing. Brooklyn has three landings Atlantic Avenue, South Brooklyn Army Terminal and the Bay Ridge landing so were not talking infrastructure costs there, Mahmoud explained. Taba added: We see this one as the easiest and quickest solutions this city could pursue to grow service. Staten Islands other ferry The boroughs lone fast ferry route only travels up the west side of Manhattan, with stops at Battery Park City and West 39th Street. Its also the only route in the NYC Ferry system completely isolated from the East River, where the lions share of stops and routes operate. To access the rest of the fast ferry system from the St. George route, a Staten Island commuter currently needs to walk almost a mile and a half from Battery Park City to the Pier 11/Wall Street dock. Signage for the St. George NYC Ferry route as seen in this file photo from 2021. (Staten Island Advance/Erik Bascome) With a direct option, Taba, Mahmoud and other supporters of the Bay Ridge-Staten Island line, said the two boroughs, both of which have growing cultural and economic ties, can be better connected. This direct line to South Brooklyn would create a stronger link between the two boroughs and also connect Staten Island to more distant destinations like Long Island City and Rockaway The most important thing of all is connectivity to the rest of the city and the rest of the fast ferry system, Mahmoud said. With this connection, itll shorten the commute time and allow Staten Island to get where they want to go. Local support Local support for this ferry expansion was almost immediate after the St. George route was established in August 2021. Justin Wood, a resident of St. George, organized a petition for a simple, low-cost extension of the fast ferry system. After that, a growing coalition of community members, civic groups and non-profit organizations the St. George and New Brighton civic associations, Transportation Alternatives, among others came together to help this grassroots movement flex its muscles. The ferry supporters have also gotten an array of local elected officials in their corner, including Borough President Vito Fossella, Councilwoman Kamillah Hanks (D-North Shore), Assemblyman Charles Fall (D-North Shore/Battery Park) and State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D-North Shore/Brooklyn), among others. The Manhattan skyline is seen as a NYC Ferry on the St. George route departs Battery Park City. Saturday November 16, 2024 (Staten Island Advance/Mike Matteo)Mike Matteo The expansion even had the support of then-Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who, in January 2020, told the Staten Island Advance/SILive.com that it would be a missed connection if the city did not look for additional ways to connect the boroughs, with a fast ferry route likely being the quickest way to do so. In his present capacity as mayor, hizzoner could direct the Economic Development Corporation (EDC), the agency that oversees the NYC Ferry program, to make the expansion a priority. Previously, the EDC had told the Advance/SILive.com that it isnt looking to expand and would focus on improving current service and making the system more financially sustainable. Despite this past support and the current backing of local officials on both sides of the Verrazzano, the supporters of this ferry connection said they are frustrated by the lack of progress. Mahmoud emphasized that while he appreciates Adams recognizing Staten Island as a transportation desert, he wants the mayor to follow his words with action. We just want Mayor Adams to stay true to his words and really push this through. As borough president, he was working with [former Borough President] Jimmy Oddo, trying to make this happen, Mahmoud said. Lets make this happen. Its common sense. You just add two or three boats and were up and running. The mayors office did not respond to a request for comment about the fast ferry. Looking ahead Even while they focus on holding the mayor to past promises, both Taba and Mahmoud have their sights set on future changes theyd like to see for the fast ferry system. Taba said he hopes that the Staten Island-Brooklyn route could inspire the addition of common-sense connections elsewhere, like a City Island stop along NYC Ferrys Soundview route. He even floated the idea of a ferry connection to LaGuardia Airport, which could be easier to implement because of the lessons learned while working on the St. George-Bay Ridge line. Two passengers on board the St. George NYC Ferry route watch another fast ferry pass by. Saturday November 16, 2024 (Staten Island Advance/Mike Matteo)Mike Matteo Should this one happen, I think its a model to scale out the ferry service, Taba said. Have local support for the fast ferry, build up that support and use it to push the city, push the EDC, push the agencies to really make it happen. Mahmoud said he has his sights set closer to home. He said he wants to see quality-of-life changes in St. George, including a canopy to cover the extended gangplank that leads from the ticket machine to the stop itself. He said he would also like to see a bigger ferry landing in the future, especially if ridership on the fast ferry increases following the expansion into Bay Ridge. While Mahmoud said he thinks other parts of Staten Island could benefit from fast ferry stops, he understands it all starts with this first expansion. Maybe this could be the inspiration for a route to the South Shore, to Midland Beach or Tottenville. But [St. George] is the start because, as we keep reiterating, the infrastructure already exists, Mahmoud stressed. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Kamora Freeland is all about breaking barriers. Earlier this year, the 17-year-old honors student from Mariners Harbor, who skipped a grade and started college early, became the youngest African-American female to earn her private pilots license. As previously reported in the Advance/SILive.com on Feb. 26, at Republic Airport in Farmingdale, Long Island, Kamora aced the biggest test of her lifeher check ride, the final step to becoming a licensed pilot. I love flying, and I have a passion for it, Kamora said at the time, explaining that the incredible views got her hooked on aviation. Plus, pilots can make up to $700,000, so that caught my attention, too. The next step is to become a commercial airline pilot. Today, the trailblazing Freeland is a sophomore at Spelman College, in Atlanta, Georgia, skipping her freshman year because she earned enough college credits in high school to fulfill her first-year requirements. She even skipped a year of high school at Kingsborough Early College Secondary School and Kingsborough Community College and is also a certified birthing doula and lifeguard, showcasing her commitment to community service and personal growth. Its no wonder she is known for her extraordinary ambition and talent beyond aviation, by everyone who knows her. Freemans achievements earned her the prestigious Presidential Scholarship at Spelman, where she was also accepted into the Ethel Waddell Githii Honors Program. Originally dreaming of becoming a commercial piloteven getting offered an internship at NASA Kamora has decided to major in finance with a minor in entrepreneurship. Starting college as a sophomore has been a whirlwind of emotionsexciting, overwhelming, and liberating all at once, Freeland told the Advance/SILive.com exclusively. Its like stepping into a whole new world where youre figuring out who you are, balancing independence, and navigating friendships, academics, and late-night study sessions. Her mother, Lakema Freeland, beams with pride at her daughters accomplishments, though the transition has been bittersweet. Watching my daughter leave for her first year of college as a sophomore was a bittersweet moment. Im so proud of her for taking that big step, but my heart aches knowing the house is a little quieter without her laughter. Its a mix of excitement for her future and the longing to hold on to the moments weve shared. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Beginning tomorrow, Dec. 15, pet stores in New York will be banned from selling cats and dogs, as a 2022 state law takes effect. The New York City Health Department will be enforcing the ban and has communicated with all permitted NYC pet stores to remind them of the upcoming deadline, said a Health Department announcement. In 2022, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation banning the sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits at retail pet stores with the goal of ending the puppy mill-to-pet store pipeline. The law will also allow pet stores to charge shelters rent to use their space for adoptions. The new law also aims to stop abusive pet breeders. Dogs, cats and rabbits across New York deserve loving homes and humane treatment, Hochul said in 2022, when she signed the legislation. The legislation aims to prevent the buying and selling of animals from large-scale, abusive breeders who lack proper veterinary care, food or socialization. Often times, these animals have health issues resulting from poor breeding, and can cost families thousands of dollars in veterinary care, said Hochuls office at the time. Make this holiday season unforgettable and consider adopting a furry friend from one of the Animal Care Centers of NYC, said Health Department Deputy Commissioner Corrine Schiff. By choosing adoption, youll gain a devoted family member and give a deserving animal a chance at happiness. We hope this new legislation will encourage New Yorkers to open their homes to cats and dogs that are already available at our shelters and local rescue partners. Every day, there are hundreds of adorable dogs, cats, and other animals available for adoption in New York City and ready to win you over, said Director of the Mayors Office of Animal Welfare Alexandra Silver. My own Lucas and Freddie Mercury came from Animal Care Centers of NYC, and I am so lucky to share my home with these two fantastic felines, she said. This law not only helps shut down that pipeline but also shines a light on humane alternatives such as adopting from shelters, said Risa Weinstock, President and CEO of Animal Care Centers of NYC. At Animal Care Centers of NYC, we see firsthand the impact of overbreeding and neglect, and we know this law will help ensure more animals find the loving homes they deserve. Currently, there are 24 pet shops permitted by the Health Department to sell cats and dogs in the city. That means each of these stores has a certificate in animal care and handling to manage a pet shop or business that sells, grooms, or houses cats, dogs, or other small animals. The Health Department will conduct inspections as needed and issue summonses subject to fines to any pet shop not in compliance and, if necessary, take additional enforcement action, it said in the announcement. The NYC Health Department oversees three animal shelters in New York City through ACC Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. The public should report any pet store selling cats or dogs after the deadline to 311. More information about adopting and fostering animals in New York City is available on the Mayors Office of Animal Welfare website. A 14-year-old was arrested Friday on charges he threatened to shoot up Bergen Community College in a TikTok video earlier this month, New Jersey authorities said. The Bergen County Sheriffs Office was notified about the TikTok post on Dec. 6. The teen threatened to shoot up the college on Dec. 16, the Bergen County Prosecutors Office said. Detectives from the offices Cyber Crimes Unit traced the threatening post and identified the 14-year-old in Bergen County as the person who posted it, investigators said. The teen was taken into custody, charged as a juvenile with second-degree false public alarm and third-degree terroristic threats and released, authorities said. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. To pay homage to the men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, the Verrazano Kiwanis Club laid wreaths at St. Marys Cemetery on Saturday. The club honored local heroes during its annual ceremony as part of National Wreaths Across America Day, which is held every December. Volunteers and supporters across the country gather to remember the fallen, honor those who serve, and teach children about the value of freedom. The Verrazano Kiwanis Club held its annual Wreath-Laying Ceremony at St. Mary's Cemetery in South Beach on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Courtesy of Verrazano Kiwanis Club)Verrazano Kiwanis Club The 2024 theme is Live With Purpose, to remember those who have gone through great adversity and turned it into a call of action to live life with purpose. The Verrazano Kiwanis Club held its annual Wreath-Laying Ceremony at St. Mary's Cemetery in South Beach on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Courtesy of Verrazano Kiwanis Club)Verrazano Kiwanis Club On Staten Island, the Verrazano Kiwanians placed fresh Christmas wreaths on the graves of veterans who rest in honored glory at the cemetery in South Beach. During the ceremony, members said the name of each and every local veteran aloud. Each grave was also adorned with an American flag. The Verrazano Kiwanis Club held its annual Wreath-Laying Ceremony at St. Mary's Cemetery in South Beach on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Courtesy of Verrazano Kiwanis Club)Verrazano Kiwanis Club More than 282 wreaths were sponsored this year for the club to place at veterans' graves. Saturdays event marked the seventh year the club has participated in the Wreath-Laying Ceremony a concept brought by club member Joe Bertone, who traveled to Washington, D.C. years ago for a similar event and brought it back to Staten Island. Bertone and member Steve Argentine have been organizing the event with the help of the Verrazano Kiwanis Club since. The Verrazano Kiwanis Club held its annual Wreath-Laying Ceremony at St. Mary's Cemetery in South Beach on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Courtesy of Verrazano Kiwanis Club)Verrazano Kiwanis Club The Verrazano Kiwanis Club held its annual Wreath-Laying Ceremony at St. Mary's Cemetery in South Beach on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Courtesy of Verrazano Kiwanis Club)Verrazano Kiwanis Club The Verrazano Kiwanis Club held its annual Wreath-Laying Ceremony at St. Mary's Cemetery in South Beach on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Courtesy of Verrazano Kiwanis Club)Verrazano Kiwanis Club The Verrazano Kiwanis Club held its annual Wreath-Laying Ceremony at St. Mary's Cemetery in South Beach on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Courtesy of Verrazano Kiwanis Club)Verrazano Kiwanis Club Harold Miskel has been working to secure Colorado Springs water rights and resources since 1966. His work will be honored by naming one of the citys incoming reservoirs after him. The Colorado Springs City Council on Tuesday voted to rename the Lower Williams Creek Reservoir in Miskel's honor. Miskel worked for Colorado Springs Utilities for 30 years and was instrumental in enacting the Arkansas River water rights exchange for the city. In 1985, he was chosen as the president of the Colorado Water Congress and he worked on the early stages of the statewide water conservation plan. Since retiring from the city in 1996, Miskel continued to serve on water boards representing the Arkansas River region. To Miskel, the work he had done was important but not something hed expected to be honored for. We utility guys really do believe in the future of our city. We want to do everything that we can to make this a quality place for people to live. My job was to make sure we didnt run out of water, so I did it. I showed innovation, I showed energy," Miskel said. Miskel came to Colorado Springs in the early 1960s to serve in the Army Reserve at Fort Carson. He served with Ed Bailey, who was hired by the city and quickly promoted to the assistant director for the water system. A few years later, in 1966, Bailey hired Miskel away from an insurance job to work for the water division. At the time, Utilities was a city department rather than its own agency. Colorado Springs' population was around 100,000 but was already was growing rapidly. Miskel described himself as a numbers guy who enjoyed the math involved in water calculations. He used the first computer in the Utilities division early in his career, calling into a mainframe computer in Minnesota to calculate the volume of new reservoirs. "I would call caretakers and get their reports. We didnt have computers in those days, so I did everything by hand. We had some of those ledger sheets that were about this big," Miskel said, gesturing at a newspaper-sized sheet of paper. His biggest achievement came in the 1980s, when he began working on the Arkansas River exchange program. The exchange hinges on how Colorados water rights treat different sources. Water that comes from upstream within Colorado Springs' basin zone can only be used once, with everything else flowing down to the next set of water right holders. There are different rules in place for trans-mountain flow, where water is brought in from another river basin. The city can issue exchange claims to reuse that outside water. The exchange usually retains the claimed volume of water at an upstream reservoir, while a reservoir farther downstream releases water to make sure that other water rights are met. Exchanges had been done on a smaller scale by farms and agricultural growers. At the time, Miskel said it was much more complicated for a major city, which had to track all of the different potential flows and reach an agreement with the downstream bodies. "This water that comes down Fountain Creek I can tell you how much leaves here. And if we can agree how much of that gets there, then I want to be able to exchange that back upstream so we can use it again," Miskel said. Abigail Ortega, planning general manager for Utilities, used the rough metaphor of a bank network to describe the exchange. Colorado Springs can deposit water at a reservoir in the city like a bank customer deposits cash into an ATM. The same amount can later be withdrawn from a branch in Pueblo. Featured Local Savings The volume of water the city can redeem adds up. Each acre-foot of water that the city reclaims through this process ends up with a half acre-foot being returned, because of natural loss as it flows downstream. However, the city can also claim exchange rights on the trans-mountain water more than once while it's in the city system. Over a couple of loops through the exchange process, 1 acre-foot of transmountain water eventually becomes 2 acre-feet of water in the utility system. "Being able to do it through exchange it saves our community a lot of water and generates a whole lot of efficiencies for our community to fully use all those supplies that we develop," Ortega said. Miskel started doing unofficial exchanges in the early 1980s. When other cities began looking into water exchanges a few years later, Miskel pushed for the city to get an official water-court decree to ensure they would have priority rights. Getting the decree took years of wrangling. Utilities fielded 40 complaints from users farther downstream, who wanted to make sure the exchange didnt end up changing the flow of Fountain Creek or reduce their water access in any way. In June 1987, the Arkansas River exchange was approved by the Division 2 Water Court in Pueblo. With 70% of Colorado Springs' water coming from outside the basin, the ability to recirculate more water dramatically raised how quickly and easily the city could access water. Ortega said the exchange was a key reason the city went decades without making new water rights acquisitions, even as the population boomed. Miskel estimated the department spent about $1 million on the legal process to enact the exchange. The decree ended up netting the city $500 million worth of water rights in 1987 dollars. "We got what we estimated at the time was an additional 50,000 acre-feet of water supply and didn't have to build a water project to do it," Miskel said. The Miskel Reservoir is proposed to be built southeast of Fountain. It is one of two reservoirs Utilities plans to build along Fountain Creek between Colorado Springs and Pueblo. The reservoir will play a role in implementing the water exchanges Miskel worked on. The reservoir will be a stop on the Southern Delivery System pipeline, which sends the claimed water from the Pueblo Reservoir upstream to Colorado Springs to be reused. "Instead of going all the way down to Pueblo Reservoir, which is sort of becoming a bottleneck for our exchange, we will be able to divert the water right to Williams Creek Reservoir," Ortega said. Utilities has a history of naming reservoirs and projects after prominent former employees. Bailey has a water treatment plant named after him. Gary Bostrum, who Miskel hired and spearheaded the construction of the Southern Delivery System, had the other Williams Creek reservoir named after him. The name drive for Miskel originated from a group of retired Utilities employees. Bailey, Charlie Conser and other former employees sent cards and letters to Utilities to ask for something to honor his role. "These individuals had a full understanding of what Harold had done and saw there had been no recognition," Bailey said. The Miskel reservoir will not be built in the near future. Ortega said the reservoir was part of Utilities' 20-year plan to improve its water system. When the reservoirs along Williams Creek actually get built will depend on the citys need for additional water storage. The 53-year-old smoked in the middle of the dining room, yelled at staff to serve him alcohol and threatened to fire those who did not bow to his demands, according to five former employees of the small restaurant, some of whom asked to remain anonymous to protect their future employment. He was a bit brash and loud when he was sober, but ultimately fine. You cant get mad at him for that, said one staff member. But the problem was when he was drunk, which was, unfortunately, very regularly. As well as issues with his behaviour, multiple staff said they were not paid on time. The situation came to a head on November 27, when the restaurant manager sent staff an email saying she had resigned, the restaurant was closing and their services were no longer required. Comedor was lauded by customers and industry experts. Credit: Jennifer Soo On December 7, Comedor formally announced it was shut until further notice, less than six months after it opened. Questioned by the Herald about staff payments, mass walkouts and his own behaviour, Shellshear denied all allegations. Im an insolvency lawyer who typically fights and doesnt manage the media the best way, he told the Herald. I dont enjoy this. But we are going to be best mates by the time this phone call is over. He blamed the staff for abandoning the restaurant. This is becoming bigger than Ben-Hur for a situation where I have been completely wronged, he said. I have just put $2.5 million into a fit-out, won a hat and now I have had people walk out. Theres more to any story than one side of a coin. Former Comedor bartender Sophie Dewar said Shellshear took credit for the restaurants success. He told [us] we would be nothing without him, she said. [But] he was a complete and utter hindrance. We all busted our asses for that hat, another former staff member said. We put everything into it and for [Shellshear] to treat us like he did, when we treated his venue so well, its disgusting. Huerta, who has not spoken to this masthead since he announced last Tuesday he had left the restaurant, said: I was happy with what we achieved, but it wasnt a great place to work. Staff messages reveal this was an understatement. One employee claimed Shellshear threatened to take a hit out on her after she raised concerns about his drinking at the restaurant. Id come in at 9.30 in the morning and see him sitting in the window of the restaurant with a tequila, said a former manager, after several mornings of struggling to get the restaurant cleaned and ready for service. He told me that he would find someone to kill me. He recited my address back to me. He told me I would never get another job in hospitality again, and if I ever said anything, he would drag me through the media. Speaking through his lawyers, Shellshear denied abusing staff, threatening to get a hit out on them, take them to court, or blast their name through the press. Mr Shellshear has not threatened any staff with legal action, visa cancellation or deportation, a letter from his lawyers said. By September, just months after Comedor opened to rave reviews, the situation was spiralling out of control. Dewar claimed Shellshear would wreak havoc in the restaurant. Serving him drinks while he was visibly intoxicated was in contravention of responsible service of alcohol laws, but she felt she had no choice. I would cut people off way before him. But again, there was just that high intimidation [factor]. I remember making him, like, six drinks and giving him about four shots, and he had some beers, and then he came back for dinner too, she said. Shellshear denied allegations of drunken carnage, labelling them scandalous. Shellshear has denied claims wages were not paid on time. Credit: Dion Georgopoulos Another former staff member said he was forced to call Liquor and Gaming, the state regulator, to figure out what the hell he was supposed to say to his boss when he demanded margaritas and tequila shots, pulled wine off the shelves and blew smoke in his face in the middle of service. He would threaten to fire us if we didnt give him alcohol, he said. It just really put a dampener on the service. Customers noticed Shellshears behaviour and asked Dewar if the man reaching over the bar to pour himself more shots was the owner. They then left a negative Google review. Fantastic food, amazing staff, 100% recommend this restaurant, said one client. However, the owner taking tequila shots while aggressively bossing around his team in front of the whole restaurant did not left [sic] the best impression. Dewar claimed Shellshear told her if we were to turn on him, he would hire people to hunt us down. If we ever crossed him, he would take legal action. He threatened to have the kitchen staff deported, Dewar said. It didnt even make sense it was a psychotic thing to say to anyone, but even more to your staff. We were just in shock. Shellshears loud behaviour became apparent to neighbours as it spilled out onto Australia Street in early November, according to three Newtown residents who asked not to be identified due to fears of retribution. The restaurateur was seen staggering onto the street, loudly swearing and kicking the wheels of his red Porsche SUV allegations that Shellshear denied. [Shellshear] was passed out upstairs on the couch in the office. Former Comedor staff member The alleged threats made staff uncomfortable, but consistently delayed wage payments tipped them over the edge. In some cases, pay was delayed up to 10 days, which was a steep financial blow to employees, many of whom worked on a casual basis, two former employees said. Everyone is close to walking, one staff member wrote in September. He is completely out of control. Loading I was enraged, said Dewar, who struggled to keep up with living expenses as she waited to be paid the hundreds of dollars she was owed. Shellshear also denied failing to pay his staff on time. Straight off the bat. I reject that comment wholeheartedly, he said. They were working 4.5 days and they threw that away. Employees have been paid during the week that Comedor has been closed, even though they have not worked, a letter from Shellshears lawyers said. Huerta and the rest of the kitchen staff pulled the pin last week. It was a heartbreaking experience not an easy decision to make, the chef said. Some of the blood Comedor staff said they had to clean up. But most of the front-of-house staff had already walked two weeks earlier, making it impossible for the restaurant to function. For restaurant staff, the morning of November 27 was the final straw. We came into the venue and it was completely trashed: open beer bottles, wine bottles everywhere, bottles of tequila. Every surface was dirty and sticky, said a former employee, who shared photos of blood smeared across the counter, and piles of cigarettes in a glass on the kitchen bench. [Shellshear] was passed out upstairs on the couch in the office. Like, to the point where people were concerned that he was dead because he was so passed out. Through his lawyers, Shellshear said he fell asleep in the office after sitting down to rest on the couch. Shellshear was due to put staff pay through to the accountant that Wednesday. Instead, staff say Shellshear ordered a margarita to the office, consumed it shirtless and then came downstairs to eat lunch. He did not order a margarita or any other alcoholic drink upon being awoken, Shellshears lawyers said. The pay was not processed, leaving waiters and kitchen staff again struggling to make ends meet. So when we all turned up for work the next day, on the Thursday, we all realised that no one had gotten paid, neither the kitchen staff nor the front-of-house team, said one employee. The restaurants manager resigned that day and told staff not to come to work for the rest of the weekend. They did not return. Its a huge shame that Sydneys lost something that had so much potential, Took said. If you adopt a grim view of Trumps America, now would be a terrible time for Australian fashion brands to launch into the US. As well as the president-elects promise to raise tariffs on imported goods, especially those made in China, there is a general sense of unease ahead of his inauguration on January 20. But Kelly Atkinson, a fashion brand consultant and strategist, is a glass half-full person. Atkinson and her business partner and husband, Richard Poulson, have partnered with Australia Post to send 12 Australian fashion brands to New York for a week-long residency on the sidelines of the citys fashion week in February. Four of the 12 designers bound for New York (from left): Mariam Seddiq, Christian Kimber, Viktoria & Woods and Acler. Credit: Getty Images But this is no ordinary pop-up: the space will feature Ti trees and red earth for an immersive Australian experience and consumers will be able to shop directly from the brands, which encompass some of Australias best emerging, established and sustainable fashion talent. The 12 brands are Viktoria & Woods, Acler, Bond-Eye, Jac & Jack, Wah-Wah Australia, Van Der Kooij, Christian Kimber, Re/lax Remade, Mariam Seddiq, R.M. Williams, Morrison and Ngali. Australian Fashion Week will go ahead in Sydney next year as the Australian Fashion Council picks up the pieces left by departing owners IMG, which withdrew from the event last month. The troubled industry showcase of emerging and established fashion brands will take place at Carriageworks from May 12-16. The AFC has enlisted the events co-founder, Simon Lock, to return to the runway. Lock sold AFW to IMG in 2005. Lock and the AFC are working to assemble a team with extensive fashion week experience to guide the events delivery, AFC chair Marianne Perkovic said in a statement. Models in Amy Lawrance at Australian Fashion Week in May. The AFC has announced that the event will continue next year. Credit: Getty Images for AFW The approach will ensure the event continues to benefit designers, buyers and the entire fashion ecosystem while driving long-term value for the industry. Four Australians are reportedly among seven people rushed to hospital in Fiji with suspected alcohol poisoning as the federal government issued a warning about drink spiking in the popular Pacific holiday spot. The Fiji Times reported on Sunday night that seven guests from the Warwick Fiji Resort on Fijis Coral Coast were taken to Sigatoka Hospital on Saturday night after drinking cocktails at an event. The Warwick Fiji resort where the guests are believed to have suffered alcohol poisoning. Credit: Facebook A statement from the Ministry of Health and Medical Services to The Fiji Times confirmed seven guests were taken to hospital and that four of those were Australian, one American and two were foreign residents in Fiji. It said health inspectors were called and a police investigation was in progress. The affected patients age ranges from 18 to 56 years, and two patients have been transferred to Lautoka Hospital due to the severity of their condition, the ministry statement read. An anti-corruption probe into one of the states busiest hospitals is examining claims that surgeons charged the Transport Accident Commission for operating on multiple patients at the same time. This masthead revealed on Sunday that the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission was investigating a handful of surgeons at the Royal Melbourne Hospital over allegations they billed the TAC for medical procedures never carried out on patients, and fraudulently claimed assistant surgeon fees. IBAC is investigating claims that surgeons fraudulently billed the TAC. Credit: iStock Four sources speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal have revealed that surgeons would simultaneously run multiple theatres, often staffed by registrars, and then claim to the TAC they had operated in all theatres at the same time. This, the sources said, enabled them to attract higher rebates from the public insurer. Registrars are not allowed to charge the TAC. The primary surgeon is jumping from one theatre to the next and not being meaningfully involved in the actual surgery but just writing operation reports, one hospital source said. They might write these reports from the tearoom. It is really disgusting. Thousands of year 12 students have now received their West Australian Certificate of Education, marking the official end of 13 years at school. The Tertiary Institutions Service Centre has revealed 9992 of those students achieved an ATAR, slightly more than in 2023. Almost . students sat the ATAR exams in WA this year. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer For 18 students, their results contained an additional surprise the highest possible ATAR of 99.95. For the first time, the 18 students to receive the top mark were all boys. The highest median ATAR was achieved by students completing mathematics specialist (96.75), mathematics methods (92.60), chemistry (90.95), literature (91.00), and physics (89.95). Australians doubt Prime Minister Anthony Albaneses world-leading plan to ban children from social media will work, and fewer than half would be willing to hand over their ID to tech companies if required under the new laws. While findings from the latest Resolve Political Monitor show most Australians support the idea of banning social media for people under 16 years of age which became a major plank of Albaneses policy agenda in the second half of this year they lack faith the government can execute it. Resolve suggests most Australians back a social media block on teenagers but are not sure if it will work. Credit: iStock, Nathan Perri The findings highlight a risk for Labor and scepticism among voters as Albanese heads to the next election pursuing a broader tech crackdown, including a fresh proposal last week to force social media companies to pay for journalism through a new bargaining incentive. The government has pitched itself as acting on reports of bullying, aggression, sexualisation and other challenges faced by young people on social media, as well as declining mental health. Parents are worried sick about this, Albanese said earlier this year. The safety and mental and physical health of our young people is paramount. On Friday, the head of the Productivity Commission, Danielle Wood, published an opinion piece in The Australian. Wood was appointed by the government, but anyone doubting her independence was chastened early in her term, when she criticised one of Labors darlings, Future Made in Australia. In the column, Wood strongly commended Labors childcare policies. Specifically, she and her colleague Martin Stokie praised higher wages for childcare workers as the fundamental first step in a series of necessary reforms. Last weeks announcement of $1 billion for more childcare centres in places where there arent enough was, they wrote, a welcome next response. Credit: Artwork: Joe Benke As for the governments most significant announcement so far, taking large steps towards removing the activity test (which means more disadvantaged kids with unemployed parents will be able to get the benefits other children already get from childcare); this would help centre the child as part of future childcare policies, and should be taken further. As you can tell from their comments, Wood and Stokie were not only pointing to the worth of the policies. Crucially, they were praising the manner of delivery. They were encouraged that the government is going about its reforms in a systematic and considered way. The order of steps taken was as important as the steps themselves. Loading In Coalition ranks, there is talk that Fletcher pulled the pin on re-contesting his Sydney seat of Bradfield because an internal party poll in the seat suggested he would lose to independent candidate Nicolette Boele, who is running for the second time. Fletcher did not directly respond to a question about the polling, instead saying he was confident the Liberal Party would choose an excellent candidate to replace him and that the party would hold Bradfield. It is clear to me from feedback on the ground that people want to see the back of this Albanese Labor government, Fletcher said. Whatever voters attitudes in Bradfield, theres a grim joke doing the rounds in the Liberal Party that aptly sums up the moderates shrinking influence: Did you know Peter Dutton is the leader of the national right [faction]? Yep, and hes also the leader of the Queensland moderates. The quip makes the point about how far parts of the party, such as Queensland, which once counted moderate MP Trevor Evans among its representatives, have shifted to the right. Dutton and the Liberal Partys national, or hard right, faction are ascendant. The 2022 election cemented a shift to the right in the party that has been under way for more than a decade. The numbers confirm the decline, too. With Morrison in the prime ministers office in 2019, a generation of seven moderates quit or lost their seats, including Pyne, one-time leadership contender Julie Bishop and former attorney-general George Brandis (now a contributor for this masthead). The winners circle: Liberal moderates were a powerhouse during the Turnbull government. Clockwise from top left: Simon Birmingham, Christopher Pyne, Paul Fletcher, Julie Bishop, George Brandis and Marise Payne. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen, Oscar Colman, Liliana Zahiaria, Getty Images And while the moderates were instrumental in blocking the former Morrison governments religious discrimination laws in 2022 and quietly petitioning the former prime minister to sign up to a net zero carbon emissions plan, despite the Nationals opposition, it wasnt enough to save them. In the 2022 election, a combination of teal, Green and Labor candidates ran a scythe through the moderate faction again. Nine more left the parliament. The exits of Birmingham, Payne and Fletcher, who had been the three most influential and senior moderates left in the federal Liberal Party, highlight the seismic shift in the factional power and influence of Dutton. As one ally of Dutton a conservative MP who asked not to be named to be able to discuss internal party dynamics puts it, the moderates all thought that Peter wouldnt resonate with the Australian people and that they would be there, ready, to offer an alternative [opposition] leader. But he has shown them. Dutton campaigned hard against an Indigenous Voice to parliament and has more recently declared he would not deliver press conferences in front of an Aboriginal flag if elected prime minister, embracing culture-war causes that sit uncomfortably with the moderates but reaping major political dividends. Peter understands where the middle ground is he wants to govern from the political centre, the conservative MP says. His success has been a hit to the moderates. Loading But the moderates have different attitudes to Duttons ascendancy. One moderate MP, who freely admits they had been dreading Dutton as leader, praises the opposition leaders consultative approach and handling of the party room. In one November example, Dutton read his MPs the riot act on abortion, telling them not to freelance about restricting the procedure before publicly declaring he personally supported a womans right to choose. And if Dutton does lead the Liberals to a surging vote share nationwide, moderates stand to benefit in several marginal seats. But moderates also lauded Morrisons consultative approach, and his leadership ended with their ranks being devastated. Now some moderate MPs admit the faction is in decline. The Liberal Party must convince voters that all interests and values are represented by the party, but at the moment, they are not ... conservative voices cannot be allowed to overpower moderate voices like this, the MP says. Loading Some of the moderates believe Birmingham and Fletchers departures will help rather than hinder that mission, despite their tenure in parliament. Fresh talent in the faction, one MP said, would help its members challenge conservative forces in the party more than departing members had. The remaining moderates carrying the free-market and social-progressive torch are a mix of former ministers such as Sussan Ley, Jane Hume, David Coleman and Richard Colbeck (not known for their factional heft) and up-and-comers such as Dave Sharma, Maria Kovacic, Jenny Ware and Keith Wolahan. Bridget Archer, perhaps the straightest-talking MP in the party, one who frequently crossed Morrison during his prime ministership, remains exiled to Siberia within the Liberals. Julian Leeser, a Sydney moderate who quit his frontbench position on principle to campaign in favour of the Voice, is rarely heard from. Senator Andrew Bragg, one of the partys most visible moderates and who was unafraid to cross the partys leadership in the past, is the partys spokesman for home ownership and has less latitude to make his views known. Loading Brandis, the former attorney-general and moderate stalwart, argues in a column for this masthead that the departures and quieting of some moderates all point to a decline in the factions influence. That bodes ill for the party, he argues. [John Howard] understood that political success is about addition, not subtraction; that the Liberal Party is most successful when it builds a broad coalition enlarging, not narrowing, the constituencies to which it appeals, Brandis writes. In his valedictory speech in late November, Birmingham argued that moderate values were still relevant. Those on the harder edges of the left and the right who seek to divide our country only make us weaker in our division, he said. I am confident that Australia is a country whose values sit towards the centre. A Sydney council has been threatened with state government intervention after accusations it has tried to silence its own elected councillors. Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig warned Georges River Council he intends to hit it with a performance improvement notice unless it complies with an order to not impede with the right of a councillors ability to communicate about political matters and scraps rules that force councillors to register interactions with the media. Georges River Councillor Ashvini Ambihaipahar was hit with a code of conduct investigation for making mild criticisms of the council. Credit: Jessica Hromas The order follows a series of instances in which Labor-aligned councillors at Georges River say they have been issued code of conduct complaints, or were rebuked by staff, after raising issues in the media, in what Hoenig described as a culture of control. Ashvini Ambihaipahar, a Labor councillor as well as the leading candidate to replace retiring federal MP Linda Burney in the Sydney seat of Barton, became the subject of a code of conduct investigation after she went on Nine News to hit out at the use of ticketless parking fines by councils. The first thing Selena Fernandez's five children did when they received their new bicycles Saturday was proudly exhibit them for their mother. Carefully, though excitedly, her children, ranging in age from 3 to 12 years old, maneuvered the handlebars of the colorful bicycles and showed them off with beaming smiles, encouraged by Fernandez's enthusiasm to see the new gifts. With other trinkets and groceries in hand, volunteers at the 42nd annual Bob Telmosse Foundation Christmas giveaway helped Fernandez's family pack their holiday goodies into their car. "We are very grateful, and the bikes are awesome. The kids are really excited," said Fernandez, who came out to Saturday's annual giveaway after learning about it online. She and her family were among more than 1,000 Colorado Springs families lined up at the Colorado Springs Event Center on Saturday to participate in the event, which began reportedly because of a "hoax" played on its namesake, entrepreneur and former Denver Warehouse owner Bob Telmosse, in 1983. With the help of 670 cheerful volunteers decked in Christmas-themed garb, Colorado Springs children and families on Saturday were allowed their choice of free clothing, toys, Christmas trees and ornaments, holiday decor, books and food, and had the chance to win a bicycle. The staple holiday giveaway is possible because of community donors who provide goods or monetary donations for the yearly event, coordinator Joey Bippus said. The items are given away to local families on a first-come, first-served basis for one day a year. Families were lined up as early as 10 a.m. Friday in anticipation of Saturday's event, she said. "It gives me tears to see this," Carol Reinert said of the community's outpouring of support for and participation in the event. She is Telmosse's widow and vice president of the Bob Telmosse Foundation Board of Directors. After Telmosse's death in 2006, the foundation considered ending the annual giveaway, but Telmosse and the community insisted it continue, Reinert said. "His dying wish was to keep this going. Bob would be doing cartwheels if he could see this," she said Saturday. "It grows every year, and we put every dime we get back into this event." No one is turned away or asked to prove their hardship. "Many people have full-time jobs but can't afford Christmas. We help them and never ask questions," Reinert said. Sign up for free: Springs AM Update Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country overnight and the stories to follow throughout the day delivered to your inbox each evening. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. The holiday cheer continued nearby at 4575 Galley Road on Saturday, where about 50 volunteer "elves" with The Christmas Tree Project provided hundreds of real and artificial Christmas trees to local families in need. Families were also allowed to take home books and a variety of holiday decor, from ornaments and tree toppers to stockings, string lights and more. What began in 2010 with one artificial tree, a Craigslist ad and $20 has now blossomed 14 years and 15 events later into a staple holiday affair in Colorado Springs that even transcends international borders. This year, The Christmas Tree Project received 33,000 tree requests from families across the U.S. and the world, said founders and organizers David and Michelle Fein. Since its inception, the organization has given more than 7,000 Christmas trees to families in Colorado Springs and across the U.S. and the globe, an event news release states. This year, 620 Colorado Springs families will receive trees, David Fein said. His organization provided 100 trees and other holiday items to the Bob Telmosse giveaway event. The Christmas Tree Project also partnered with Austin, Texas-area nonprofit Giving Christmas Spirit to provide 150 trees to families in central Texas. Giving Christmas Spirit provides free Christmas decorations to families in need, according to its website. The Christmas Tree Project also delivered trees earlier in the week to families in Mexico, South Africa, India, Kenya and Ethiopia. "We are delivering joy and the Christmas experience," David Fein told Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade, who stopped by Saturday morning to visit with volunteers and community members. Just feet away from where they conversed, families chose from dozens of trees displayed in the parking lot. All the trees and holiday extras are donated or purchased with monetary donations, David Fein said. "It's a very beautiful thing," Michelle Fein said. "It's very humbling and fulfilling to see (people's) faces when they see all the items they can choose from. I'm amazed at how this has grown. Some people who left earlier today said, 'You've made our Christmas.' It changes things for them. It makes part of their holiday come true, a part that they would have otherwise gone without." For more information about the Bob Telmosse Foundation's annual Christmas giveaway, including how to volunteer or donate items, visit santa-bob.org. For more information about The Christmas Tree Project, including how to request a tree, donate or volunteer, visit thechristmastreeproject.org. The latest incident was roundly condemned, with David Ossip, the President of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, calling the graffiti hateful and deeply offensive. Ossip said he had been in contact with the Australian National Imams Council on Sunday to directly express our condemnation of the incident. The premier has been quick to hit out at incidents of alleged religious vilification, and on Sunday said the Chester Hill action was designed to sow discord in the community at a time of heightened tensions. Vandalism like this that is aimed at particular religions is designed to incite hated and is completely abhorrent, he said. This racism and Islamophobia is disgusting and corrosive to the very fabric of the successful multicultural state that we have here in NSW. Division and conflict from around the world cannot be allowed to be imported onto the streets of Sydney. The minister responsible for the Transport Accident Commission, Danny Pearson, has said he had no idea one of Victorias largest public hospitals was investigating whether its surgeons had rorted the government-owned organisation. Pearsons admission comes after The Age revealed on Sunday that the states anti-corruption watchdog had launched a probe into a handful of surgeons at the Royal Melbourne Hospital over allegations they billed the TAC for medical procedures that were never carried out on patients. A group of surgeons are under investigation over their billing at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Credit: iStock Pearson said he was unaware of the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission investigation or the hospitals internal probe launched in 2021 until he read this mastheads report. The TAC is funded by Victorian motorists to pay for the treatment of road accident victims, reimburses hospitals, surgeons and anaesthetists for each TAC patient they treat. The basic building blocks for the stew, however, are then the same. Onions and garlic are sweated in palm oil in a ceramic pan, before tomatoes, coconut milk, a little fish stock, and then the likes of cumin and coriander are added, and then the fish, which has been marinating in lime juice. The whole lot is simmered until cooked, then served over rice. Sound familiar? This is very much like a Thai curry, only with simpler, cleaner flavours, and less searing heat. And in Brazil its an icon and an obsession. Plate up You may think you dont know moqueca, the classic Brazilian seafood dish, but wait until you hear the ingredients. This is a fish stew, though that fish will vary depending on the state in which you find yourself: ocean fish on the coastlines of Bahia and Espirito Santo; freshwater river fish in the likes of Amazonas and Para. Loading First serve Moqueca is a stew, a mix of disparate ingredients that all lend their own flavours while being allowed to blend with others which, not coincidentally, is also the story of Brazil, and the story of this dish. You will find influences in moqueca from indigenous Brazilian cooking, though also from Portugal, and from Africa. The home state of moqueca, Bahia, was central to the slave trade in Brazil, and the use of palm oil and coconut milk, not to mention rice, can be traced back to Africa. This dish also resembles the basic fish stews that were popular in Portugal at the time. And of course the key ingredient, fish, is abundant in Brazil. Order there Though moqueca is much loved throughout Brazil, its spiritual home is Bahia, so drop into Restaurante Casa de Tereza in Salvador for one of the countrys finest (terezapaim.com.br). Order here In Sydney, grab an excellent moqueca at Bronte Belo in Bronte Beach (brontebelo.com). Melburnians, meanwhile, should try Bossa Nova Cafe in Carlton (bossanova.com.au). And in Adelaide, pay Trivial Brazilian Food a visit (trivialfood.com). One more thing Though the traditional recipe for moqueca calls for the use of palm oil, this is a controversial ingredient: its production in the likes of Indonesia and Malaysia has led to vast deforestation and biodiversity loss. Consider subbing in olive or coconut oil. Were you tempted by the Black Friday and Cyber Monday airfare deals? Were they really the bargains that airlines made them out to be, or are the same deals available at other times? Traveller surveyed some of the airfare deals available during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Among the highlights, Qantas was offering flights from Melbourne to Queenstown starting from $549 economy return. Thats a deal youd find hard to replicate in the post-sale period. Typical prices flying Qantas on this route start from $650- $850. Sale seats are typically offered for airlines less popular routes. Jetstar was offering a sale price of $89 from Melbournes Tullamarine to Hervey Bay, economy one-way. At the time of writing, the cheapest one-way flight with Jetstar on that route costs $109. Singapore Airlines had a Black Friday sale on return economy flights from Sydney to Brussels starting from $1661. Post-sale prices for this route with Singapore Airlines start from $1800-$2000. In peak summer season, this ticket could cost as much as $4000. Other flights selected at random throughout produce the same conclusion. Even if you were to fly off-peak on the cheapest day in the month, you could not match the sale fares flying aboard these carriers. London: Samuel Pearse lied about his age to fight at Gallipoli. He was later honoured for his remarkable bravery with the Australian Imperial Force on the Western Front. Ten months after the Armistice, and four years after his parents waved him away from Mildura, he was killed in a little-known Anzac volunteer campaign against the Bolsheviks in 1919, where he fought under the British flag. Sergeant Samuel Pearse, who died fighting in Russia for the British in his Australian uniform. Credit: Aresna Villanueva For his efforts, taking on Russian machine gun fire to single-handedly take out a blockhouse, he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. He is one of just 102 Australians to have the honour. But more than 105 years after his death aged 22, the remains of the decorated Australian war hero are in a black plastic bag, inside a blue sealed plastic box, in a remote Russian morgue. Neither the Australian nor British governments are prepared to claim and repatriate his body. Mangione is presumed innocent, like anyone else accused of a crime in the US. If he goes to trial, prosecutors will have to convince 12 jurors beyond a reasonable doubt that he is guilty. That could be more difficult than it seems. Friedman Agnifilo could attack the evidence on multiple fronts. An insanity plea is also possible. And in a case that has churned up immense publicity and strong emotions, it may be difficult to find jurors who can set their personal feelings aside. UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson was shot dead outside a New York hotel on December 4. Credit: AP Mangiones family posted a statement following his arrest, that they were shocked and devastated by the news. A relative who posted the statement didnt respond to a request for comment on Mangiones New York lawyer and the defence case they may raise. Friedman Agnifilo cant fully inspect the evidence until Mangione is indicted in New York. At a press conference on Friday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg alluded to the potential of Mangione waiving extradition, which would quicken his return to New York. No extradition hearing had been scheduled by Friday, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania courts said. Insanity defence Before the shooting, Mangione was on a glide path to success. He was his class valedictorian at a prestigious prep school, held two degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and worked as a data engineer at retail website TrueCar. UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson. Credit: AP This year, however, he reportedly withdrew from contact with family and friends, which has fuelled speculation about his mental health. Under New York law, Friedman Agnifilo could argue her client had a mental disease or defect, which means the defence team would seek to prove Mangione didnt understand the nature and consequences of his actions. Loading Indeed, Friedman Agnifilo suggested such a defence before she was hired to represent him. It looks to me like there might be a not guilty by reason of insanity defence that theyre going to be thinking about because the evidence is going to be so overwhelming that he did what he did, Friedman Agnifilo told CNN before she was hired. Friedman Agnifilo declined an interview request for this story. Such a defence, if a judge allows it, would require an evaluation of Mangione by an independent psychiatrist to determine if hes fit to stand trial. Yet Gary Galperin, who spent more than 40 years as a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorneys office, said that defence was unlikely to succeed. Clearly, he knew what he was doing, Galperin said. He knew a gun could discharge a bullet that could kill, and he knew it was wrong because he fled the jurisdiction and he tried to conceal his identity. Once Mangione reaches New York, Friedman Agnifilo could argue that some or all of the evidence was improperly collected, violates his rights or is irrelevant. None of the evidence that police have touted so far has had to withstand court scrutiny, said attorney Susan Walsh. What is tantalising sometimes to the public is not necessarily the truth, she said. Picking a jury Loading Each side would also seek to shape a jury to its benefit. Friedman Agnifilo is likely to look for jurors who are sceptical of the police and prosecutors, are sympathetic to a promising young defendant or indicate that they are open to or share his grievances about the healthcare industry. Culture, politics, outside influences and attitudes always influence the jury, no matter what, Walsh said. In a sign of the cases resonance with the public, last week a Florida woman was charged with threatening her health insurance provider during a phone conversation after police say she uttered the same words found on the bullet casings used in the Thompsons shooting death in New York. Police in Lakeland, Florida say Briana Boston, 42, told a representative of Blue Cross Blue Shield, Delay, deny, depose. You people are next, as they ended a phone call on Tuesday in which Boston unsuccessfully challenged the companys denial of her insurance claim. As for Mangiones trial, Taub, the former prosecutor, said the case is going to be won on jury selection. He said posts on social media expressing disdain for the deceased executives perceived role in the US healthcare system suggest the defence could find jurors who are disinclined to convict. A booking photo of Briana Boston released by the Lakeland Police Department. Credit: ABC/Lakeland PD Prosecutors are likely to push back on any effort to paint Mangione as a righteous vigilante. Under New York law, a defendant is not permitted to put forth a defence that attempts to appeal to bias or aversion to the health insurance industry, Galperin said. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, the states former attorney general, warned against celebrating Mangione. Hear me on this, Shapiro said. He is no hero. Potential plea Friedman Agnifilo will assess the strength of the prosecutions case and weigh his appetite for a trial, before exploring a possible guilty plea. One factor that could motivate Mangione to agree to a deal is the prospect of spending less time in prison. Mangione has been charged with second-degree murder, which carries a maximum jail term of 25 years to life. Turkey ready to provide military support to new Syria govt: defence minister Istanbul, Dec 15 (AFP) Dec 15, 2024 Turkey is ready to provide military support to Syria's new Islamist-led government set up by rebels who overthrew Bashar al-Assad if it requests it, Defence Minister Yasar Guler said on Sunday. He said the new leadership should be given "a chance" and that Turkey was "ready to provide the necessary support" if needed, in remarks reported by state news agency Anadolu and other Turkish media outlets. "It is necessary to see what the new administration will do. We think it is necessary to give them a chance," Guler said of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebel alliance, which is rooted in Al-Qaeda's Syria branch and designated a "terrorist" organisation by many Western governments. HTS has sought to moderate its rhetoric and its transitional government has insisted the rights of all Syrians would be protected along with the rule of law. "We have military training and cooperation agreements with many countries. We are ready to provide the necessary support if the new administration requests it," the Turkish defence minister said, without specifying what might be provided. The new administration, Guler said, had pledged to "respect all government institutions, the UN and other international organisations" and promised to report any evidence of chemical weapons to the OPCW watchdog. - Kurdish question - Turkey's top priority in Syria was to rid the country of Kurdish separatist fighters -- a goal which was supported by the new government, Guler said. "In this new period, the PKK/YPG terrorist organisation will be eliminated in Syria, sooner or later. Both we and the new administration in Syria want this," he said. "We have no problems with our Kurdish brothers living in Iraq and Syria. Our problem is only and exclusively with terrorists." The YPG (Syrian Kurdish People's Defence Units) makes up the bulk of the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces), a key US ally that defeated the Islamic State group's self-declared caliphate in Syria in 2019. Ankara views the YPG as an extension of its domestic foe, the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party), which has led a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state. By extension, it sees the SDF as a terror outfit, setting it sharply at odds with Washington, which has called the group "crucial" for preventing a resurgence of IS group jihadists in Syria. "Our priority (in Syria) is the liquidation of the PKK/YPG terrorist organisation," Guler said. "We have expressed this to our American friends. We expect them to re-evaluate their positions." His remarks echoed comments on Friday by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who said Turkey would give the new Syrian government time to tackle the problem. "The elimination of the YPG is our strategic goal. We will wait for our brothers in Syria to eliminate the threat in their own land," he told the private NTV channel, saying the Kurdish group's leadership "must leave the country". Greek parliament is set to adopt an almost double defence budget Athens, Dec 15 (AFP) Dec 15, 2024 Greece will almost double its defence spending with parliamentary debate on the 2025 state budget expected to culminate Sunday with a roll-call vote, traditionally regarded as a vote of confidence in the government. As announced, spending for the defence ministry will rise to 6.1 billion euros ($6.5 billion) from 3.6 billion euros, due to the increase in equipment deliveries in 2025. "Compared to 2019, by 2025, spending on health will have increased by 74 percent and spending on defence by 73 percent, underlining the government's priorities", Minister of Economy and Finance Kostis Hatzidakis said late November when he submitted the state budget for 2025 to parliament. The major opposition parties, PASOK and SYRIZA as well as the Hellenic Solution party, have said they will vote in favour of the increased defense spending. Nikos Dendias, the defence minister, told parliament Saturday that the spending is essential because of the challenges the country faces, especially from its historic rival Turkey. "Is this spending too much? Whoever is positioning themselves on this needs to explain on what criteria they are considering. Is the country threatened? And where is the main threat to the country coming from?" he said, noting that Turkey spends 26.8 billion euros on armaments. Greece spends around three percent of its annual economic output on defence, higher than most EU states, mainly because of long-running tension with Turkey. Greek armed forces had a 20-billion-euro shortfall during the country's decade-long debt crisis, Dendias said in November, when he announced a shake up of the defence forces to sideline older weapons in favour of drones after lessons drawn from Ukraine's war against Russia. Among the main changes in the radical overhaul is the creation of an anti-air and anti-drone defence dome covering the whole of Greece. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced Sunday morning in a social media post that he will present measures concerning the banking sector in a speech Sunday evening. Syria since Assad's overthrow: latest developments Damascus, Dec 15 (AFP) Dec 15, 2024 It has been a week since Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other rebels toppled longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad. Here are some key latest developments in Syria: - UN envoy in Damascus - United Nations special envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen called for "justice and accountability" in Syria, rather than acts of "revenge". Arriving in Damascus, he also called for "increased, immediate" aid to the war-ravaged country. - French diplomatic team due - A French diplomatic mission will travel to Damascus on Tuesday to reestablish contact after the fall of Assad, acting Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said. He told France Inter radio the four-strong team would "retake possession of our real estate" as well as "establishing initial contact" with the new authorities. A Qatari delegation was due in Syria on Sunday to meet transitional government officials for talks on aid and reopening its embassy. Unlike other Arab states, Qatar never restored diplomatic ties with Assad after a rupture in 2011. - Turkey would provide military support - Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler said Ankara was ready to provide military support to Syria's new Islamist-led government if it is requested. He said the new leadership should be given "a chance" and that Turkey was "ready to provide the necessary support" if needed, in remarks reported by state news agency Anadolu and other Turkish media outlets. Turkey reopened its embassy in Damascus on Saturday, 12 years after it closed early in Syria's civil war. Ankara has been a major player in Syria's conflict, financing armed groups in the northwest and maintaining a working relationship with HTS. - US in contact with HTS - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed Saturday that Washington had made contact with Syria's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels, despite previously designating the group as "terrorists". "We've been in contact with HTS and with other parties," Blinken told reporters after talks on Syria in Aqaba in Jordan. He did not elaborate on how the contact took place but when asked if the United States reached out directly, he said: "Direct contact -- yes." Blinken said that the easing of US sanctions on Syria imposed during Assad's rule would depend on "sustained action" by the rebel-installed interim government to meet the expectations of the international community. - Main players agree common approach - In Aqaba, participants in the talks with Blinken issued a joint statement calling for a Syrian-led transition to "produce an inclusive, non-sectarian and representative government formed through a transparent process". It stressed "respect for human rights", the importance of combating "terrorism and extremism" and demanded that "all parties" cease hostilities in Syria. - HTS says Syria too exhausted for war - HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani criticised Israel for its incursion into southern Syria this week but said his country was too exhausted for fresh conflict. "The Israelis have clearly crossed the disengagement line in Syria, which threatens a new unjustified escalation in the region," he said Israeli troops entered the UN-patrolled buffer zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights last weekend in a move the UN said violated the 1974 armistice agreement. Golani said that despite the violation, "the general exhaustion in Syria after years of war and conflict does not allow us to enter new conflicts." - Schools, universities reopen - Some children went back to school to school in Damascus on Sunday, attending class for the first time since Assad's overthrow. One school employee said that "no more than 30 percent" of pupils were back in class, but "these numbers will rise gradually". Universities also reopened, but staff say it may take time to return to normal. burs-srm/ami Once a leading force, Assad's Baath party wiped off Mideast politics: analysts Cairo, Dec 15 (AFP) Dec 15, 2024 The Baath party, once a powerful symbol of Arab nationalism, has become a fading relic of authoritarian rule in the Middle East after the fall of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, analysts told AFP on Sunday. The party has suspended its activities in Syria after Islamist-led rebel forces toppled Assad's government last week, 20 years after its rival twin branch in Iraq was banned, marking the final collapse of a movement that once held sweeping power in both countries. With Assad gone, "the Baath in Syria... is bound to fully decline," said Nikolaos van Dam, an expert on the party and author of a book about its history, "The Struggle for Power in Syria". Van Dam said he does not believe "they will ever have an opportunity for a comeback". The Arab Socialist Baath Party, officially, was founded in Damascus on April 7, 1947, seeking to merge socialist ideals and Arab nationalism. In its early years, the party recognised the important cultural role of religion for Muslims, who make up the majority in most Middle Eastern countries, while advocating a secular state that could unify the fragmented Arab world across sectarian divides. But in both Syria and Iraq, whose populations are multi-ethnic and multi-sectarian, the Baath party had become a vehicle for minority rule. In Iraq, Sunni Muslims ruled over a Shiite majority, while Alawites -- the Assad family -- ruled over Syria's Sunni majority. Sami Moubayed, a Damascus-based historian and writer, said that both the Iraqi and Syrian branches failed to live up to their slogan of "Unity, Freedom and Socialism". "There was never unity, let alone freedom," he said. "Their socialism amounted to disastrous nationalisations," added Moubayed, author of "The Makers of Modern Syria: The Rise and Fall of Syrian Democracy 1918-1958". - Diminishing 'appeal' - The Baath had evolved into authoritarianism under Saddam Hussein in Iraq and Hafez al-Assad, and later his son Bashar, in Syria. "Arab nationalism, particularly secular Arab nationalism, has lost much of its appeal... and thereby also the role of the Baath Party as an Arab nationalist party," said van Dam. "State nationalism has gradually become more important than pan-Arab nationalism". In Syria, a military junta dominated by Alawite, Druze and Christian officers seized power in 1963, adopting Marxist-inspired policies. The party's founders, Michel Aflaq, a Christian, and Saleh Bitar, a Sunni, were sidelined and then fled to Iraq. Hafez al-Assad, an air force commander, emerged as the dominant figure in 1970, consolidating control over the party and leading Syria in a reign marked brutal repression. In 2000, his son Bashar took power. In neighbouring Iraq, the Baath party solidified its grip in 1968 through a military coup led by General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr. In 1970, Saddam Hussein assumed control, ruling with an iron fist until his overthrow by a US-led coalition in 2003. "Both parties only led their countries to failure," said Moubayed. "What victory can they claim?" - 'Fully subservient' - Under the Baath rule, Syria's military lost territory to Israel in a 1967 war and suffered painful blows in another conflict six years later. The Iraqi Baath party failed against Iran in the 1980-1988 war, initiated an invasion of Kuwait in 1990, and collapsed under the US-led coalition intervention in 2003. Despite their shared Baathist roots, the Syrian and Iraqi branches were bitter rivals. Syria supported Iran during its war with Iraq in the 1980s, reflecting a persistent sectarian divide as Hafez al-Assad aligned with Tehran's Shiite leadership, sidelining Sunni Saddam. Yet both Baath regimes relied on similar methods of coercion against their domestic opponents. And both shared another striking similarity. "The Baathist rulers of both Iraq and Syria became the party," said van Dam. The parties had their own institutions, "in Iraq better organised than in Syria, but they were fully subservient to their respective presidents," he said. Moubayed said that although the Baath's decline was inevitable, that may not be the case for the ideals the party had claimed to champion. "There may one day be a revival of Arab nationalism," he said. "But it is certain that it will not come from the Baath." Greece adopts budget almost doubling defence spend Athens, Dec 15 (AFP) Dec 15, 2024 Greece will almost double its defence spending after parliament approved the 2025 state budget Sunday with a roll-call vote, traditionally regarded as a vote of confidence in the government. With 159 out of a total of 299 votes cast, the State budget for the fiscal year 2025 was ratified while the defence expenditure was approved by a larger majority. Spending for the defence ministry will rise to 6.1 billion euros ($6.5 billion) from 3.6 billion euros, due to the increase in equipment deliveries in 2025. "Compared to 2019, by 2025, spending on health will have increased by 74 percent and spending on defence by 73 percent, underlining the government's priorities", Minister of Economy and Finance Kostis Hatzidakis had said late November on submitting the budget to parliament. Major opposition parties, PASOK and SYRIZA as well as the Hellenic Solution party, had said before the vote that they would approve the increased defence spending. Nikos Dendias, the defence minister, told parliament Saturday that the spending is essential because of the challenges the country faces, especially from historic rival Turkey. "Is this spending too much? Whoever is positioning themselves on this needs to explain on what criteria they are considering. Is the country threatened? And where is the main threat to the country coming from?" he said, noting that Turkey spends 26.8 billion euros on armaments. Greece spends around three percent of its annual economic output on defence, higher than most EU states, mainly because of long-running tension with Turkey. Greek armed forces had a 20-billion-euro shortfall during the country's decade-long debt crisis, Dendias said in November, when he announced a shake up of defence forces to sideline older weapons in favour of drones after lessons drawn from Ukraine's war against Russia. - Defence dome - Among the main changes in the radical overhaul is the creation of an anti-air and anti-drone defence dome covering the whole of Greece. "Greece today is charting its own roadmap in terms of stability and growth in an international environment of instability," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Sunday, hailing the backing of opposition groups. Mitsotakis drew a parallel with the difficulties the governments of "big countries" such as France and Germany in particular and also Italy were now facing in seeking majority support for their own budgets amid political or economic turmoil. The Greek prime minister also announced five measures to rectify the operation of banks for the benefit of citizens. Among them are the end of charges for many banking transactions, including bill payments, as well as the contribution of EUR100 million to a programme for the construction of new schools by the four largest Greek banks. Hatzidakis said during his closing speech on Sunday that what the government is seeking is "to have a healthy banking system on the one hand and on the other hand a banking system that actually works for the economy and society -- without making citizens feel excluded from it, or more importantly, victims of it." Greece's financial crisis saw an EU bailout conditional on severe austerity measures and structural reforms and policies, with Hatzidakis saying Greek citizens paid for the survival of the banks out their pockets. You are here: World Flash A delegation of the Communist Party of China (CPC), led by Ma Hui, deputy head of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, visited Malaysia from Thursday to Saturday. During the visit, the delegation attended the Fifth Belt and Road China-Malaysia Business Dialogue and held discussions with Malaysia's political and business sectors. Ma emphasized that China is willing to work with Malaysia to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, and further develop a high-level strategic partnership. He noted that the two sides should deepen comprehensive, mutually beneficial cooperation and make greater contributions to regional stability and prosperity. The Malaysian side expressed its readiness to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in various fields through inter-party relations and to jointly build the China-Malaysia community with a shared future. I'm sorry, but ADHD has become a scam that is wildly overdiagnosed and an excuse for poor behaviour I'm sorry, but ADHD has become a scam that is wildly overdiagnosed Who and where: Patrick and Mary Hughes of St. Louis and Ste. Genevieve County, at the marker indicating the crossing from the state of Castilla in Northern Spain, into the state of Galicia, which was about half way to their destination in Santiago de Compostela. The trip: In September 2023, they traveled to Spain to walk the Camino de Santiago. They spent time before the trip in Madrid, and after in Porto, Portugal. They walked from Astorga, Castilla, about 18 kilometers per day, staying in a different interesting city every night for 15 days. Travel tip: Travel agents for this excursion were crucial. Many people made daily arrangements for the next towns lodging, but that adds a level of stress that takes away from enjoying the journey. Also, trying to speak the local languages is difficult, but appreciated by both the Spaniards and Portuguese. Crouched behind a dumpster in a St. Louis alley, Officer Steven Pinkerton heard gunshots. It was after midnight on Aug. 10, 2013, in the Dutchtown neighborhood and an argument that had been building for hours among a group of young men had escalated into a shootout. Pinkerton said he saw two men rush by the mouth of the alley, shooting as they ran. He couldnt see what happened next if anyone had been shot. After a few minutes, one man, holding a gun, ran down the alley where Pinkerton was staked out. The longtime St. Louis police officer raised his upper torso above the dumpster, hed later say in a deposition, and ordered the man to stop. It was one of the shooters, trying to flee, Pinkerton thought possibly one hed seen run by earlier but he couldnt really tell at that point, he later said. When the man kept running, and appeared to raise his gun, Pinkerton fired five shots. He thought he hit him the man was kind of staggering, Pinkerton later said but he escaped. Pinkerton, who is white, said he only saw the mans face for a few seconds and couldnt determine his age or note any distinguishing characteristics. He was Black, 6 feet, 2 inches tall, weighed about 180 pounds and bald, according to Pinkerton. He wore blue jeans and a black shirt. Around 15 minutes after Pinkerton fired his gun, other officers arrested Kurtis Watkins, a 23-year-old Black man, two blocks away. Pinkerton identified him as the man he had seen run through the alley. Based solely on Pinkertons account, Watkins has been incarcerated for the last 11 years, convicted of shooting and critically injuring a man. Watkins says he had nothing to do with it. In his account, he wasnt at the scene of the shooting or in the alley that night: He was walking from a friends house to a convenience store when he got arrested. He says he didnt know the victim or anyone involved. He had no discernible motive for the shooting. There was no physical evidence. None of the witnesses to the shooting said they knew who he was. Another man who was apprehended and convicted in the shooting testified hed never met Watkins before. Everyone agrees that the sole evidence against Watkins was Pinkertons account of what he saw from behind the dumpster. The only issue in this case is identification of the defendant by Officer Steven Pinkerton, the prosecutor said at Watkins trial. As part of a monthslong investigation, The Independent uncovered two pieces of information about Pinkerton that could have cast doubt on his credibility. But the jury never heard them. First, less than a year before he arrested Watkins, Pinkerton arrested a man he encountered in a gas station parking lot named Kerwin Harris who he mistakenly believed was the suspect in an earlier robbery. Pinkerton chased the 39-year-old Black man, tackled him to the ground and held him face down in a chokehold as another officer shocked him with a Taser. Harris died at the scene, and the robbery case remains open. Second, Pinkerton had a history of social media posts denigrating Black people that raised concern from at least one of his colleagues at the time. Black people are pathetic, one of Pinkertons Facebook posts read. You dont want to be treated equally, you want favored treatment. And you wonder why there is so much animus toward you? Watkins, who has been appealing his case for years without success, didnt know about Pinkertons past until he was informed by a reporter from The Independent during a March interview at the Jefferson City Correctional Center, where he is now incarcerated. All along, hes racist, Watkins said from the visitors room of supermax Jefferson City Correctional Center when told about Pinkertons history. They let him put me in prison? The law, under the U.S. Supreme Courts decision in the 1963 Brady v. Maryland case, requires prosecutors to notify defense attorneys of credibility issues with witnesses when they could materially affect the outcome of a case. The information about Pinkerton should have been turned over at trial, said Vida Johnson, a law professor at Georgetown University. Hes already misidentified another suspect. And we also know that he tends to paint Black people with a broad brush, Johnson said, pointing to the Facebook posts. Peter Joy, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis, agreed that the information should have been turned over to the defense because it could have prompted jurors to discount Pinkertons testimony. When you have a one-witness ID case and the entire case hinges on that one witness, he said, then that witnesss credibility is the entire case. Pinkerton did not respond to calls, emails and certified letters seeking comment for this story. He appeared to block an Independent reporter on Facebook after several messages went unanswered. Watkins arrest The night of his arrest began like any other, Watkins remembers, until he walked into a hostile environment. He had spent the evening at his friends house, chatting and playing video games both lived in the neighborhood. He decided to walk to the Conoco gas station to buy liquor for them sometime after midnight, he says. As he walked on the sidewalk to the gas station, police officers pulled up in a patrol car. They stopped him, pushed him to the ground and struck him several times on his head and ribs, according to the police report. The officers claimed he was sweaty and out of breath; Watkins said that he was perspiring because it was humid out and that he had been walking, not running. One of the officers used his knee to pin Watkins face-down to the ground. Watkins says he tried to push back to lessen the pain; the report says he was resisting. The officers handcuffed him so tightly, he testified later, that his hands went numb. Police then drove him a few blocks to Pinkerton, who was waiting in the alley. Watkins was in the back of the van, surrounded by police officers. One of them shone a flashlight on him and Pinkerton peered in. It took Pinkerton around two seconds to reach a conclusion. He said at trial he was 100% positive it was the same person he had encountered in the alley. Watkins, like the man Pinkerton described, was around 6-foot-2, Black, bald and wearing a black shirt. His jeans were black, not blue, but Pinkerton later said he had meant blue jeans as slang for jeans in general. And although Pinkerton had called for emergency medical services after the man staggered away because he thought hed shot him, Watkins hadnt been shot. Pinkertons gun fired five times, but only four bullets were recovered from the scene. The crime scene investigators didnt find blood in the alleyway. They found a gun on the ground, possibly the one belonging to the man who ran through the alley, but there were no recoverable fingerprints. Pinkerton also added a new detail after seeing Watkins in the van. He said he remembered seeing large white letters on the mans shirt. It just reminded me of it, he said at trial. Watkins shirt had the brand Levi written across it in white, Watkins said at trial. Watkins was booked and charged with three counts of first-degree assault, three counts of armed criminal action, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful use of a weapon and resisting arrest. At the time he had five kids, another on the way and two jobs, driving a Frostys Treats ice cream truck and working at Popeyes. He felt like he was getting on the right path, he said, after spending time behind bars for a drug charge and a gun charge. So did his mother, Judy Watkins, who said that at the time I was thinking that he was going to be OK working and caring for his kids. She has long had health problems and expected her son would be the one to provide for her. Watkins said he declined plea deals because he wanted to prove his innocence. The man who was shot outside the apartment complex, Darrell Macon, was hospitalized for weeks. Macon and his family members who witnessed the crime said that shots had been fired by a man they knew named Stephant Hibler. Macon remembered seeing Hiblers face close to his as Hibler pulled the trigger. Asked by detectives and then attorneys in depositions, they said they didnt know who Watkins was. There is no record that the police showed witnesses a lineup of photos that included Watkins, which several experts said could have been a sign of tunnel vision in their investigation not seeking out evidence that could cast doubt on their suspect. The Macons were, however, shown a lineup of photos and selected Hibler, according to the police report. Witnesses said they didnt recognize any of the shooters other than Hibler. At the hospital, according to the police report, Macon himself named another man, an acquaintance who had been present at the fight leading up to the crime, and said he had been a shooter. No records indicate that the officer followed up on the lead. Macon subsequently denied having made the statement. At his first trial, Watkins was co-defendant with Hibler, though both swore they had never met before the trial. The jury at Watkins trial in late 2015 deadlocked on him but convicted Hibler, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the shooting and released on probation in September of last year. Watkins was retried in early 2016 by a jury that had only one Black member. The jury deliberated for three hours before telling the judge they couldnt reach a consensus, with four of the 12 jurors holding out against conviction. The judge told them to keep deliberating. Around a half hour later they returned the verdict: Watkins was found guilty on all nine counts. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Pinkertons identification What did this have to do with me? Watkins said during a March interview in the correctional center visitors room. For hours leading up to the fight, Watkins had been at his friends house. He and his friend said Watkins didnt have a gun when he left. Watkins said he didnt even have a cellphone at the time because he couldnt afford it, so hes not sure how he could have been summoned to the fight. Watkins was the only defense witness at both his 2015 and 2016 trials. The prosecution focused on attacking his credibility because of his prior convictions. This is a man who is dangerous and this is a man who needs to be held accountable, Matt Martin, a prosecutor at the time in the St. Louis Circuit Attorneys Office, told the jury during the 2016 trial. So because I have a background, do I deserve to be in prison for somebody elses crime? Watkins asked in an interview. At trial, Watkins public defender, Brian Horneyer, called Pinkertons description of the man who ran through the alley a bald Black man of roughly 180 pounds and 6-foot-2 about as vague and ambiguous as you could get, asking: How many young men in the City of St. Louis fit that description? Horneyer raised doubts about the identification. Pinkerton is white and Watkins is Black, and cross-racial identifications are known to be less reliable than identifications within ones own race. The circumstances it was the middle of the night, with the added stress of gunfire could further reduce accuracy. Experts say a show-up identification, where the witness is shown only one person, is far less reliable than a lineup, where the witness must choose from several people. Of course he is going to pick up Kurtis, Horneyer told the jury. He is the only one there. Studies have found that eyewitnesses often misremember details. Under a Missouri Supreme Court decision from 2020, defense attorneys can have experts testify about these studies in order to cast doubt on eyewitness accounts. But when Watkins was tried in 2015 and 2016, there was some uncertainty in Missouri about the admissibility of such expert testimony. Experts interviewed by The Independent said that with the risks of misidentification in this case, jurors might have found such testimony persuasive. At Watkins trial, the prosecutor emphasized Pinkertons expertise again and again. We are talking about a trained police officer who has been on the force for 20 years, Martin, the prosecutor, told the jury. Watkins lawyer speculated in court that Pinkerton had been eager to arrest someone quickly, to make up for the fact that the police on the scene had done little to intervene or stop the shooting. He also wondered aloud if Pinkerton had been distraught in the aftermath, coloring his identification, out of concern hed be disciplined for shooting his gun five times. That prompted Martin to say: Its incredible that at this point the defense wants to put Officer Steven Pinkerton on trial. A prior mistaken arrest and death What the defense didnt know was that Pinkerton had mistakenly arrested a different Black man months prior. On the morning of Dec. 22, 2012, a Dennys diner in St. Louis was robbed of $109. That night, Pinkerton was starting an overnight shift, he wrote in a later police report. He had stopped at a Quiktrip gas station to buy a drink and go to the restroom when he saw a gold Buick Century in the parking lot the same model that had been used in the Dennys robbery. Kerwin Harris was sitting in the car. Harris, like the robber, was Black and wearing glasses and a hat. Pinkerton ran Harris license plate which revealed no theft on the primary screen, according to the police report. But as he was waiting for more information to appear and preparing to notify the dispatcher of a possible robbery suspect, Harris started his car. Pinkerton put on his emergency lights and blocked Harris from backing up. Harris got out and began to run away, according to Pinkertons arrest report. I believed I was pursuing a robbery suspect, Pinkerton later wrote. Pinkerton eventually tackled Harris to the ground, on his stomach. Harris wouldnt release his arms from under him, Pinkerton said in the reports, and he was worried Harris might be armed because the robber earlier in the day was alleged to have been. So he sat on Harris back and struck his head several times. Harris was unarmed. Then Pinkerton placed him in a neck restraint because of what he later called Harris strenuous resistance a detail that was disputed by several witnesses later interviewed by the police. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department had banned the neck restraint five years earlier. Other officers soon arrived, and one tased Harris six times against his bare skin. A witness interviewed by police and quoted in the arrest report said officers struck Harris head against a landscape paving rock several times. Another witness said she heard an officer call Harris a racial slur during the arrest. The department didnt begin using body cameras until 2020, and there is no dashboard-camera footage from the arrest. When Harris was finally handcuffed, his body went limp, the officers wrote. The officers checked for a heartbeat and found none. He was taken to Barnes-Jewish Hospital and pronounced dead. He was 39, and had a 5-month-old daughter. Harris was at least 80 pounds heavier than the robber, according to his autopsy alongside witness descriptions. He was also at least 2 inches taller. The robber wore a green cap, but Harris wore a black one. Neither witness from that robbery selected Harris photo from a lineup. The Dennys robbery case remains open. Any internal investigations related to Harris death are closed and unavailable under Missouris Sunshine Law. Harris family never knew the details of his death until notified by a reporter for The Independent 11 years later. One of Pinkertons colleagues, the homicide detective assigned to the case as scene supervisor, Heather Taylor, testified before a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on civil rights and civil liberties in a hearing on white supremacy in local police departments in September 2020. Even though she didnt identify Pinkerton or Harris by name in her testimony, the facts of the description fit Harris death. Taylor told the committee the death haunts me to this day, and that she personally delivered a copy of the police report to St. Louis circuit attorney in 2013, hoping the office might investigate charges against the officer. A request under Missouris Sunshine Law filed with the circuit attorneys office this year by The Independent for copies of documents related to Harris returned no responsive records. I just couldnt believe that there were no charges, there was nothing, Taylor, who has since retired from SLMPD, told the committee. Taylor declined to comment for this story. Pinkertons social media Leading up to the trial that convicted Watkins in 2016, Pinkerton was posting negatively about Black people on Facebook, according to posts collected by the Ethical Society of Police dating back to at least 2015. And following the trial, he continued posting. You black people are pathetic, he wrote in one post. Having negative feelings about someone or a sub-group of certain people, is different than treating them differently because of it, which I do not, he wrote in another, referring later in the comment to the violence and complete disregard for civility in much of the black sub-culture. If the case were remanded for a new trial with the credibility evidence allowed, Johnson, the Georgetown professor and former public defender, said Watkins lawyer would be able to cross-examine Pinkerton on all of the pejorative things that Officer Pinkerton has expressed about Black people in the community where hes supposed to be protecting people. Taylor told the 2020 congressional committee: For nearly seven years, I have repeatedly reported an officer for his racism, based in part on the officers posts. According to a report from ESOP, which advocates for officers of color in St. Louis, an officer was under internal investigation in 2020 for racially denigrating Facebook posts. Pinkerton is not named, but the reports description of the officer, including his involvement in the December 2012 death in custody, matches exactly. And The St. Louis American, writing about the report when it was released, named Pinkerton as the officer in question. (That reporter now works for The Independent.) The Facebook posts, according to the ESOP report, centered around George Floyd, the Black man whose murder by white officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis that year set off widespread racial justice protests. That report also discussed the 2012 death of Harris. It was later determined that this subject was not involved in the robbery, the report noted, of Harris. Pinkertons employment with SLMPD ended in September 2021, according to a spokesperson for the department, after he spent 24 years there. A Facebook account under his name offers a possible explanation for his departure, in the form of at least four posts referring to having been forced out of the department for his assessment of the murder of George Floyd. I was told, my words could have started a riot, he added in a comment last year. For all you mother f at the St. Louis Police Department, one post began last year, especially the Internal Affairs Division, you can all kiss my a for condemning me and pushing me out of my decorated career and losing my ability to retire with the benefits I wanted, all because I exposed the corruption behind the prosecution of Derek Chauvin. SLMPD declined to provide any information on an internal investigation or the circumstances under which his employment ended, and law enforcement officers personnel records are closed under Sunshine Law in Missouri. But Pinkerton still works as a police officer, with an active license: He has been an officer with the police department in Moscow Mills, a community of 3,300 about 50 miles northwest of St. Louis, since August 2022. The chief of police in Moscow Mills, Terry Foster, declined to answer a list of questions but confirmed Pinkerton is an active employee. I stood up for truth and lost my 25-year career and I would do it all over again, Pinkerton wrote on Facebook in May. And he has continued to post denigrating comments about Black people, among other groups including immigrants and women. Some black folks just disgust me, one June post read, in the way they act in simple interactions. A reexamination? Watkins lawyer, Kansas City-based Jonathan Sternberg, plans to file a federal habeas corpus petition next month, which will include arguments about the new credibility evidence. He hopes that St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore will take up the case for review in his conviction integrity unit. I believe hes innocent, Sternberg said. I dont believe the prosecution proved anything beyond a reasonable doubt, but at every stage, for some reason, a court has disagreed with us. Adolphus Pruitt, president of the St. Louis city branch of the NAACP, said he doesnt think any reasonable jury would have believed Pinkerton if all the information had been disclosed. Were talking about someones life whos been taken away from them by being incarcerated, their freedom taken away from them, for years and years to come, Pruitt said, And so if there are any questions related to that, I think it warrants a reexamination. Past appeals have argued Watkins trial lawyer was constitutionally deficient in failing to call witnesses, including the friend he was with that night and witnesses to the shooting who would have testified that he was not present. Late last year, the Missouri Court of Appeals ruled against Watkins in part because of a bureaucratic disagreement about whether his attorney had submitted a document correctly, as St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Tony Messenger wrote at the time. Watkins public defender for the original trials, Brian Horneyer, declined to comment for this story, except for confirming he had no knowledge of Pinkertons credibility issues and that he was unaware of Pinkertons past. From within the maximum-security prison off of Militia Avenue in Jefferson City, on No More Victims Road, Watkins hope has waned. His wife, Kelsey Watkins, took on an extra job as a nurse to help cover their attorney fees, but theyre still behind on payments. Watkins spends upward of 20 hours a day in his concrete cell in the max-security prison, allowed to go outside for three hours per week. He has nearly 14 years left in his sentence. Kelsey started a dog kennel a few years ago because they thought he was about to get out on appeal, and theyd run it together. They spend hours on the phone most days talking about the business, racking up around $30 per day in phone fees. Watkins has six kids, one of whom was born a few months after he was arrested, when he was in jail. I missed life. I missed my kids life, he said, And Im still missing it. Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. HONOLULU Bob Fernandez, a 100-year-old survivor of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, died shortly after deteriorating health prompted him to skip a trip to Hawaii to attend last week's remembrance ceremony marking the 83rd anniversary of the attack. Fernandez died peacefully at the Lodi, Calif., home of his nephew, Joe Guthrie, on Wednesday. Guthrie's daughter, Halie Torrrell, was holding his hand when he took his last breath. Fernandez suffered a stroke about a month ago that caused him to slow down but Guthrie said doctors attributed his condition to age. "It was his time," Guthrie said. Fernandez was a 17-year-old sailor on board the USS Curtiss during the Dec. 7, 1941, attack that propelled the U.S. into World War II. A mess cook, he was waiting tables and bringing sailors morning coffee and food when they heard an alarm sound. Through a porthole, Fernandez saw a plane fly by with the red ball insignia known to be painted on Japanese aircraft. He rushed down three decks to a magazine room where he and other sailors waited for someone to unlock a door storing shells so they could pass them to the ship's guns. He told interviewers over the years that some of his fellow sailors prayed and cried as they heard gunfire above. "I felt kind of scared because I didn't know what the hell was going on," Fernandez told The Associated Press in an interview weeks before his death. Fernandez's ship, the Curtiss, lost 21 men and nearly 60 of its sailors were injured. The bombing killed more than 2,300 U.S. service members. Nearly half, or 1,177, were sailors and Marines on board the USS Arizona, which sank during the battle. "We lost a lot of good people, you know. They didn't do nothing," Fernandez said. "But we never know what's going to happen in a war." Fernandez planned to return to Pearl Harbor last week to attend an annual commemoration hosted by the Navy and the National Park Service but became too weak to make the trip, Guthrie said. He was "so proud" of his six years in the Navy, all of it aboard the USS Curtiss, Guthrie said. Most of his casual clothes, like hats and shirts, were related to his service. "It was just completely ingrained in him," his nephew said. Fernandez worked as a forklift driver at a cannery in San Leandro, Calif., after the war. His wife of 65 years, Mary Fernandez, died in 2014. He enjoyed music and dancing, and until recently attended weekly music performances at a local park and a restaurant. He helped neighbors in his trailer park take care of their yards until he moved in with Guthrie last year. "I'd do yard work and split firewood and he'd swing the axe a little bit," Guthrie said. "We'd call it his physical therapy." Fernandez's advice for living a long life included stopping eating once you're full and marching up stairs. He said it was OK to take a nap, but do something like laundry or wash dishes before going to bed. He recommended being kind to everyone. Guthrie said he thinks Fernandez would want to be remembered for bringing people joy. "He would rake people's yards if they couldn't do it. He would paint a fence. He would help somebody," Guthrie said. "He would give people money if they needed something. He was so generous and such a kind person. He made friends everywhere." Fernandez is survived by his oldest son, Robert J. Fernandez, a granddaughter and several great-grandchildren. There are 16 known survivors of Pearl Harbor still alive, according to a list maintained by Kathleen Farley, the California state chair of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors. All of them are at least 100 years old. 50 historical photos of the attack on Pearl Harbor In his book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, author Stephen King wrote: Writing is a lonely job. Having someone who believes in you makes a lot of difference. They dont have to make speeches. Just believing is usually enough. Although that advice might have been intended for fiction writers like King, having a cheerleader along the way is a blessing for opinion writers, too. And learning to find humor in the tiniest of things, particularly at our own expense, can be the best remedy for the loneliness King describes a feeling most of us experience from time to time, whether were writers or not. Upon returning from a destination wedding in Texas last month, I was saddened to see an obituary for Ann Mandelstamm. She was a frequent contributor of letters to the editor at the Post-Dispatch. In 2010, the newspaper featured her artichoke rice salad recipe and her philosophy about organizing dinner parties: You can only have six people ... More than six people and you have more than one conversation. And I dont want to miss anything. More importantly to me, Ann was a person who had described herself as my biggest fan. I never met Ann or talked to her in person, but our frequent email exchanges after many of my columns endeared her to me. She became the cheerleader Id missed since the death of my mother in 2009 and the loss of another good friend in 2022. Luckily, I saved most of Anns correspondence for future inspiration. Many of us were blessed with a parent or parents who supported even the most unrealistic of our dreams. And often there were teachers who encouraged us to try artistic things, or who recognized our talents in other subjects like math or science. But as time goes on, sometimes these supporters are no longer there. This is when a cheerleader can be a lifesaver. You dont need (nor should you listen to) an entire fan club. And as writers, especially opinion writers, youll undoubtedly get haters and trolls. But a cheerleader, especially one who shares their knowledge and experience, is invaluable. This is what Ann did for me. She was critical when she needed to be, but supportive too. One thing we agreed upon was the need to laugh at ourselves. Even in the most trying of times, finding laughter allows you to ignore the criticism that inevitably occurs when you express yourself in print. Hence my reason, above, for mentioning a destination wedding. Before November, I had not been on an airplane in more than 20 years, mainly because life got in the way. It was difficult to leave home while being the sole caregiver for three extreme seniors. Now that they have passed, however, the possibility of attending a wedding where the two flower girls (ages 90 and 92) were the grandmothers of the couple promised to be an adventure, one too funny to miss. As expected, there were several incidents of hilarity. Silence has never been my friend, which was unnerving because the bedrooms of our Airbnb had no television. So as I started to pack for the next days trip home, I placed my cell phone on the floor to charge and fired up an episode of 9-1-1 on the phones Hulu app. Later, I had most of my clothes packed when suddenly I couldnt find my phone. I panicked, knowing my boarding pass was on the phone a technology that I hadnt experienced when last I flew. My thoughts raced. Had I left it in the restroom or the reception hall at the venue, a place more than 30 minutes away along dark windy roads? Had I left it in the rental car? Had I dropped it somewhere in between? I removed everything I had packed. I dumped everything out of my purse and out of the jacket pockets. I was about to search the rental car. In the midst of this panic, as if on cue, I suddenly heard what sounded to me like the ominous music from the film Jaws the scenes where the shark was approaching. Turns out it was coming from my phone, which was still on the floor, where Id left it. The 9-1-1 episode was still playing on the phone. A character on the show was trying to land a plane ... to a backdrop of suspenseful music. I went next door to my friends room to share my senior moment. We had a big laugh. I believe Ann would have enjoyed that laugh, too. Although I will miss her lively, informative and encouraging reviews, I was happy to read that Ann appeared to have had a long and fulfilling life. Shed been a high school teacher for 35 years in the Ladue schools, was the mother of three, grandmother of four, a volunteer for numerous causes and apparently had a great artichoke rice salad recipe. My biggest fan or not, I was very fortunate to have had her as a cheerleader. Bill White, who helped spearhead the Buckhead City movement, has been chosen as President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be the U.S. ambassador to Belgium. (Hyosub Shin, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS) ATLANTA (Tribune News Service) President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate Bill White to be the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, boosting a prodigious fundraiser who helped raise millions for his campaigns while ruffling feathers within the Georgia Republican establishment. White quickly emerged as a political force after moving to Georgia from New York, stamping himself as an influential local MAGA booster and the leader of a yearslong effort to split Atlanta into two municipalities. In a statement released Saturday, Trump called White a highly respected businessman, philanthropist, author and advocate for military and veterans, singling out his work championing the floating military museum aboard the World War II-era aircraft carrier the USS Intrepid. White told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he and his husband Bryan Eure spoke with Trump late Friday and learned how important this post is to him. We look forward to working tirelessly and giving our all in support of President Trump as he implements his critically important America First policies, he said. White, who must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, is the latest Trump ally to be rewarded with a post in his incoming administration. Trump also tapped former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins and former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler to Cabinet-level posts. And the president-elect said hell nominate former U.S. Sen. David Perdue as his ambassador to China. An elite fundraiser in New York, White moved to Georgia in 2018 to be closer to Eures family and soon began mingling in GOP political and donor circles. After the 2020 election, White helped raise funds to underwrite Trumps legal team as it questioned vote counts in several states. White called for recounts and court challenges seeking to overturn the election. He also grew more active in his neighborhood organization in Buckhead, soon became the most prominent advocate of a cityhood movement that backed splitting Atlanta in two. He picked fights with Gov. Brian Kemp and other top Republicans who opposed the Buckhead cityhood initiative, accusing the second-term governor in 2023 of acting in a shady, sleazy, backdoor kind of way to squelch the breakaway push. Days earlier, the Georgia Senate resoundingly put down the cityhood secession movement after Lt. Gov. Burt Jones allowed the vote to go forward. White threw in the towel, decamping for the North Georgia mountains and, later, a waterside villa in Florida. He recently sold that West Palm Beach property to casino mogul Steve Wynn, who reportedly paid for $12.9 million for the three-bedroom place that sits a short hop from Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate. White, meanwhile, stayed involved in state and national politics from afar. He helped organize high-dollar fundraisers for Trumps comeback bid in Atlanta and beyond and was a constant presence at his rallies in Georgia. He seconded Trump in August when the former president unleashed a 10-minute tirade accusing Kemp and other Georgia Republicans of not working forcefully enough to back his campaign. And he quickly donated to a pro-Kemp PAC after the two reached a truce. 2024 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The damage from an Israeli airstrike that targeted shipments of weapons that belonged to Syrian government forces in Qamishli, in mainly Kurdish northeastern Syria, on Dec. 10, 2024. (Delil Souleiman, AFP via Getty Images/TNS) (Tribune News Service) Turkey said Syrias new rebel government agrees with Ankara on the need to dismantle Kurdish military forces a critical U.S. ally in the northern region of Syria as countries rush to shape the future of the region after the downfall of the Assad regime. Turkey and the U.S. have long been at loggerheads over Washingtons military and logistical support to Kurdish forces in Syria. The issue remains a priority for Ankara amid talks on what Syrias future will look like under Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, which now controls Syria, with Turkish officials saying Kurdish presence at the border is a major security concern. In the new period, the PKK/YPG terror organization will be dissolved sooner or later, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler told reporters on Saturday. Both the new administration in Syria and we want this. No formal agreement has been announced and Guler did not provide further details. It wasnt immediately possible to verify the information with officials in the transitional government in Syria. While HTS, a former affiliate of al-Qaeda thats designated a terrorist organization by the US, hasnt explicitly commented on any discussions with the Turks over the Kurds, the group has repeatedly said religious minorities wont be harmed under their rule. Turkey, the U.S. and the EU list the Kurdish militant group PKK, which has waged a decades-long armed campaign in Turkeys southeast, as a terror group. But unlike the U.S., Turkey also sees the YPG, one of the main factions that make up the Washington-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, as an extension of the PKK. The Kurdish issue topped the agenda during Secretary of State Antony Blinkens visit to Ankara earlier this week, when he met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. Turkish officials have urged the U.S. to review its support of the Kurdish militia. The U.S. however, has relied on the SDF to prevent potential resurgence of Islamic State, especially in the post-Assad landscape. Turkey wants the YPG to lay down their arms as well as the departure of its foreign members from Syria, Guler said, in order to pave the way for their integration into a future Syrian security force. Any heavy weapons in their hands should also be taken back, he said. It is out of the question for the Syrian people, or the new administration, or us to allow the PKK/YPG terrorist organization to act alone and create space for itself, the minister said. Our priority is the PKK/YPG terrorist organizations eradication. We expressed this clearly to our U.S. friends. We expect them to re-evaluate their positions. According to Guler, Washington has yet to respond to a Turkish proposal to allocate three commando brigades to assume the responsibility of fighting IS and holding detainees in Syria as he downplayed the threat level posed by the group, also known as Daesh. Has anyone heard of Daesh terrorists attacking in Syria in the last three years? Guler said. We do not hear or see anything about Daesh right now. Blinken said Saturday that U.S. officials had spoken directly with HTS, as well as other groups, on a set of principles the U.S. and Arab partners want to guide Syrias political transition. Turkey and the U.S. were among the nations issuing a joint statement calling for an end to hostilities in Syria during a summit in Jordan over the weekend. We think it is necessary to see what the new administration will do and give them a chance, said Guler, adding that the rebel government has assured its transparent cooperation with international institutions if they detect chemical weapons. In response to a question on whether Turkey, which has NATOs second largest army after the U.S., would agree to a potential military training and cooperation deal, he said: We are ready to provide the necessary support if requested by the new management. 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Wreaths Across America at Arlington National Cemetery, Dec. 14, 2024. (Joe Gromelski) ARLINGTON, Va. Wreaths Across America continued its tradition of honoring fallen members of the military Saturday in cool, sunny weather at Arlington National Cemetery. This year, just under 3.1 million wreaths were placed at 4,990 participating locations around the country and overseas. But the spotlight was on Arlington, the destination of the convoy that excited bystanders all the way down the east coast as it carried 262,000 of the fragrant, red-ribboned wreaths down from Maine. Volunteers of all ages collected them from 68 tractor-trailers Saturday and carried them to graves across the cemetery, some people returning to the trucks several times. And the families of many of those who are buried at Arlington appreciated the effort. Among those on hand was Patti Elliott, national president of the American Gold Star Mothers, whose son Spec. Daniel Lucas Elliott was killed in Iraq in 2011. Ive been here on wreath day before, Elliot said, but I had the opportunity to ride down in the convoy from Maine this week. To see the excitement, the palpable excitement in the crowds in all these towns weve come through even when we came through the big cities, the overpasses on the interstate, fire trucks were lined up and there were people standing up there waving flags and saluting. Its just been an amazing experience. Its heartwarming to see how the American public gets behind an effort like this, and they truly have not forgotten our heroes. Morrill Worcester of Harrington, Maine, who started the whole thing in 1992 when he decided to donate some of his excess Worcester Wreath Company inventory to adorn Arlington graves, said the response has been even better than usual this year on his 33rd trip south. I think there was an air of optimism or something for the country (during this years convoy), he said. We had more people on the sides of the roads than ever. Just more enthusiasm. Every one of the stops we made, the people did a great job. They gave a lot of thought to their program. Id say they certainly ratcheted it up a little a lot, actually. Worcester recalled that back in the very beginning, there were only 12 volunteers. Then, as the numbers grew, it just grew faster and faster. It just really took off. Retired Portland, Maine police officer Kevin Haley, who has been making the trip since 2003 and now sits on the board of directors of Wreaths Across America, led the usual large contingent of Maine law enforcement officers and directed the tributes at the graves of the Kennedy brothers and President William Howard Taft. Haley has a special interest in being part of the annual event: His brother, Air Force Senior Master Sgt. William Patrick Haley, is buried at Arlington. We lost him April 6, 1996 to suicide, PTSD issues that we know of. His wishes were always to be buried here at Arlington National Cemetery. Haley knows firsthand how the Wreaths organization can help grieving families. I am a much better man, human being, dad, husband and a patriot due to (Morrill Worcester and his wife Karen) teaching us. The core mission is to honor, remember and teach. They have taught me so much, and the biggest lesson they have taught me is how to deal with my brothers passing away. Years ago I used to concentrate on how he died, and theyre teaching me to concentrate on how he lived. It was a very moving moment for me, and for every Gold Star family member or mother to concentrate on how they served. Haley also made note of the key role the State of Maine plays in the annual event. When Mainers get the call, everybody jumps. But its not only Mainers ... theres a lot of patriotism around the country because of Morrill and Karen Worcester. Mark Salmon (31) will appear before the court this week An alleged director of a criminal gang will be tried at the Special Criminal Court on 17 charges including that he threatened to kill or cause serious injury to a number of people and made demands with menaces for more than 250,000. Mr Justice Kerida Naidoo ordered that Mark Salmon (31) of Kilbarron Avenue, Kilmore, West Dublin should be tried before the three-judge, non-jury court following an application by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Mr Salmon is charged that on dates unknown between January 1, 2020 and May 18, 2024, within the State, he directed the activities of a criminal organisation. He faces further charges of acquiring or possessing the proceeds of crime, including a property worth approximately 37,815, cash to the tune of 3,734 along with jewellery and other luxury goods. He is accused of three counts of threatening to damage a property in Baldoyle in Dublin 13 and four charges of threatening to kill or cause serious injury to various people on three dates in April, 2024 and another date between January and May 2024. It is further alleged that Mr Salmon did without lawful excuse make demands with menaces for 80,000, 40,000 and 157,000 from three different people on dates in 2024. Mr Salmon will appear before the court this week. "Teachers are afraid of stating their true beliefs and are whispering their objections" Jailed teacher Enoch Burke has claimed in the Court of Appeal (CoA) that teachers around the country are being "told to bow down" to instructions to only use "they" rather than "he/she" when referring to transgender students. "Teachers are afraid of stating their true beliefs and are whispering their objections", he told his appeal against the rejection last December by the High Court of his challenge to the composition of a disciplinary appeals panel (DAP) set up to consider his dismissal from his teaching post in Wilson's Hospital School, Westmeath. He was replying to submissions made in the CoA by Padraic Lyons SC, for the DAP, opposing Mr Burke's application for an order excluding Kieran Christie, general secretary of the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) from the appeals panel. The day-long CoA hearing passed off without incident and Mr Burke, who is well into his second year in prison over his refusal to obey orders to stay away from Wilson's Hospital, once again represented himself with members of his family present. The CoA reserved its decision. Mr Burke claims he is in jail because of his opposition to the "ideology of transgenderism" and because he is standing up for his Christian beliefs and constitutional right to freedom of expression. The High Court last December dismissed Mr Burke's claims that there were grounds for saying a reasonable observer would have a reasonable apprehension of objective bias by Mr Christie when dealing with the disciplinary matter because of comments and actions made by the ASTI in relation to transgenderism. The court found there was "not even a starting point" to Mr Burke's claim that Mr Christie has been a "promoter of transgenderism" since 2016. It further rejected his claim of bias because of comments by ASTI deputy general secretary, Diarmuid De Paor, in a newspaper interview that students should be generally referred to by their preferred pronoun. These were comments representing no more than the general position of the ASTI, the court found. Mr Burke appealed the decision and the DAP opposed the appeal. Enoch Burke (Brian Lawless/PA) In his arguments to the CoA on Thursday, Mr Burke said it was his case that it was not appropriate for Mr Christie to sit on the DAP because of the ASTI's support for transgenderism. This support included Mr De Paor's newspaper interview which was a deliberate intervention in the public debate on transgenderism a week and a half after he was suspended from his teaching job, he said. It also came from ASTI's active association with the Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) group, he said. It further came from the ASTI's membership of the "radical" Children's Rights Alliance which Mr Burke said in 2018 made a "very disturbing recommendation" that legislation should be introduced allowing children over 16 to change their gender without their parents' consent. The Alliance also recommended that under-16s should be allowed to apply for recognition of their preferred gender, he said. He argued the High Court came to an erroneous conclusion in saying the perception of bias could not be reasonably linked to the statements of ASTI. Mr Burke also told the court that as a result of instructions on how to address transgender students, teachers are "afraid to exercise their right to expression" and are in fear of doing so. The DAP strongly denied his claims of bias. Mr Lyons, for the DAP, said the ASTI has not taken a position on what demand is to be made of a particular teacher or where there is conscientious objection. The short statement of Mr De Paor in the newspaper was simply a statement of general advice and there could be no connection between that and any decision of the DAP, he said. Counsel said Mr Burke claimed instruction from the Wilsons Hospital principal to teachers on how to address a transgender pupil was invalid having regard to religious and constitutional protections. These, counsel said, were nuanced and complex points which he is entitled to make before the DAP. The DAP then is required to carefully balance his rights and those of others in any decision. Mr Burke's claims of bias based on one newspaper article and the ASTI's membership of a non-governmental organisation (Children's Rights Alliance) fell very short of the requirements to prove bias. His appeal should be rejected, he said. Asked by Ms Justice Nuala Butler if he would object to another member of ASTI on the DAP instead of Mr Christie, Mr Burke said he had made his submissions as they stand in relation to Mr Christie and there I rest my case. Precious Moyo pleaded guilty to stealing 5,000 from her 96-year-old victim A carer jailed for eight years just over two weeks ago for preying on six vulnerable pensioners during which she stole 34,000 in a spate of violent burglaries wont spend an extra day behind bars despite subsequently being convicted of robbing a 96-year-old woman of her pension. Thirty-eight-year-old Precious Moyo, of Accommodation Centre, Ballymahon Road, Athlone, pleaded guilty at a sitting of Athlone District Court to stealing 5,000 from her victim after calling to her Athlone based home during her day off from work on May 19 last year. The Zimbabwe national was brought before Judge Bernadette Owens flanked by prison officers barely two weeks after she was handed down an eight year jail term for her role in a string of burglary and aggravated burglary offences in and around Athlone between June and September last year. Precious Moyo (38) was convicted and sentenced for stealing 5,000 from a 96-year-old pensioner she had cared for after she called to her home on her day off from work. Moyo pleaded guilty at a sitting of the same court in July ahead of her sentencing before Judge Keenan Johnson at the end of last month for her role in targeting her six victims, all of whom were aged between 73 and 89. The victims Moyo, together with her Syrian co-accused Yamen Alhamada (20) of Warren Grove, Boyle, Co. Roscommon, targeted were aged between 73 to 89 when they were singled out by the pair. The court heard the victims were left traumatised and three of them were attacked in their homes with the former carer menacingly warning one, "We'll be back". One of their victims pleaded with the court to lock them up for a long time because they are evil", adding how he had been left constantly afraid as a result of his ordeal. Those words led Judge Keenan Johnson to lambast the pair for the constant fear they had left their victims in, coinciding in Moyo receiving a nine year jail sentence and Alhamada given seven years, with the duo having the final 12 months of their respective sentences suspended on condition they did not offend for five years post release and remain on supervised probation for 18 months. Precious Moyo Scarcely two weeks later Moyo was back inside a near empty courtroom in Athlone to hear details of how she had stolen a four figure sum after her 96-year-old victim had gone to the bathroom. The money, Judge Owens, said had been proceeds the elderly woman had been putting aside from her weekly pension. In defence, Padraig Quinn conceded it was quite possible the only redeeming feature of mitigation that could be offered up on behalf of Moyo was her guilty plea. Mr Quinn said unlike the more serious offences for which Moyo was now serving jail time for, this incident preceded those and carried no extenuating aggravating factors. He said Moyo had initially arrived into Ireland from Zimbabwe as an asylum seeker in 2019 after fleeing an abusive relationship. Mr Quinn said despite managing to hold down two jobs in order to support her family, Moyo then fell on hard times when she lost one of those posts resulting in a downward spiral of self medication and substance abuse. Judge Owens was told it was at that juncture the accused abused the bond of trust and responsibility she had as a carer for the elderly and most vulnerable of people. She accepts that it was wrong, it was a breach of trust and she is ashamed by what happened, said Mr Quinn, pausing to reveal how Moyo had instructed him prior to court to apologise profusely to the elderly woman. Precious Moyo is currently serving an eight year prison sentence for her part in a series of violent burglaries perpetrated on elderly pensioners in housing estates in and around Athlone between June and September last year. Mr Quinn said that stance of contrition and background as to Moyos personal hardships at the time of the offence was not a means of tendering any form of excuse, but was rather an attempt to contextualise his clients overall background. There is absolutely no justification and she makes no justification for what she did, he said, adding how Moyo was doing well in custody and was someone who already enjoyed enhanced prisoner status and who would, subject to remission be due for release in June 2030. It was completely wrong, she has followed up on that with a guilty plea and she is now serving a significant sentence. Mr Quinn, in bringing his submission of mitigation to a close, appealed to the court to refrain from extending Moyos time in custody any further by imposing whatever sentence it deemed appropriate to run concurrently to her eight year sentence. In delivering her verdict, Judge Owens agreed with Mr Quinns assertion over the merit of a guilty plea and the lack of any aggravating elements to Moyos offending behaviour on the day in question. She did, nonetheless, state the court had to be mindful of the injured partys age and the position of trust Moyo enjoyed at the time of the incident. Judge Owens consequently handed down a nine month prison sentence to run concurrently to her existing eight year prison term. Hacked Encrochat messages show how associate slammed Kavanaghs harebrained plan to escape a long prison term Bombers son Jack Kavanagh was sentenced to three years this week One of the weapons found by The UK National Crime Agency Former Kinahan Cartel lieutenant Peadar Keating has formally cut ties with Thomas Bomber Kavanaghs crime gang after being convicted of a weapons plot in the UK. Keating took the unprecedented step of formally dissociating himself from crime boss Kavanagh both in court and in a statement issued by his lawyers after his conviction this week. For many years, Keating had been Bombers most loyal and trusted sidekick and had helped run the Irish wing of his drugs mob. But speaking outside the court, Keatings solicitor, Ciaran Shiels from Madden & Finucane, said his client had for a long time, entirely severed his own links with the Organised Crime Gang concerned. He also claimed Keating demonstrated a marked lack of reluctance to initially become involved. The UK National Crime Agency found weapons He said Keating responded to a general message that there was going to be a cracking of heads if weapons were not quickly acquired to dispose of...[and] that the conspiracy was to ultimately reduce the length of Thomas Kavanaghs sentence rather than kill anyone. Keating had also blasted Bomber Kavanaghs plot to smuggle guns to get a lower prison sentence as a f**king joke. The Old Bailey heard this week that Keating is very clear any connections he had with his co-defendants have now been properly severed. Keatings counsel made the point during his UK sentence hearing after his plea of guilty to conspiracy to possessing weapons and ammunition and perverting the course of justice. It is a remarkable turn-around for one of the cartels most trusted men who was close to both Kavanagh and Liam Byrne and lived near them in the up-market Birmingham suburb of Tamworth. Thomas Bomber Kavanagh (left), with Liam Byrne and Shaun Kent Keating is serving an 11-year sentence in Ireland for his part in a plot to kill Hutch gang rival James Mago Gately. Even as Bomber Kavanagh cajoled and bullied gang members and his son Jack to source a cache of guns in April 2020, Keating described the situation as a f**king joke. Kavanagh, who was serving a prison sentence for possessing a stun gun, but also facing charges over a 36 million drugs plot, wanted to set up the guns cache to get a lower prison sentence. A series of messages between Keating and his co-conspirators Liam Byrne, Jack Kavanagh and Liverpool criminal Shaun Kent showed he wasnt happy. The secret texts had been intercepted from the encrypted Encrochat system from April to June 2020 but the plot continued until the following year. In one message in April 2020, Keating expresses doubt that Jack Kavanagh will be able to deliver on his fathers plan. One of the weapons found by The UK National Crime Agency He said Kavanagh Jr is not a criminal, hes only 19, a trainee accountant, hes only passing messages to us from his father. Keating added that he felt sorry for Jack who he described as a soft kid wrapped in cotton wool. Now hes pushing them to be criminals, f**king joke, Keating added. The Encrochat messages confirmed Kavanagh had his son knocking on doors to get tools brought over as soon as possible. Jack Kavanagh had been sent to visit Keating in person to persuade him to speak to his dad on a prison phone. Peadar Keating will serve his time in Ireland Keating messaged Liam Byrne saying he should talk to Big Head because he has junior knocking on my door then trying to put me on iPhones registered to junior to talk to him who is ringing off a prison cell landline to talk about tools etc. Despite being in Dovegate prison at the time, Bomber Kavanagh issued orders through another prisoner to Shaun Kent who in turn informed Keating and Kavanagh Jr. Jack Kavanagh was described in court this week as a cheerleader for his father and was used to reinforce his messages. The three-month snapshot of messages show an increasing desperation on Bomber Kavanaghs part as he sought some kind of leverage with the National Crime Agency. Thomas Bomber Kavanagh arrest It reached a peak as a date approached in June 2020 for a pre-trial hearing for Kavanagh Snr on the drugs charges. Jack Kavanagh told Keating in one message: I know pressure in there is at another level, 23 hours a day and cant even get on the basher, then waiting on this court date and waiting on these other yokes, madness. Jacks Encrochat handle was Thilive. He passed that on to Liam Byrne and switched to a the new handle of Basil Badger. Bombers son Jack Kavanagh was sentenced to three years this week The pressure on Bomber Kavanagh, who was referred to as Mick, Big Head and Pops, wasnt helped by his failure to get the NCA interested in what he had to tell them. When eventually they did interview him at his request they withdrew again to evaluate the Encrochat information and eventually charged him with conspiracy in August 2023. Kavanaghs desperate roll of the dice also brought down his son, who had no criminal convictions, as well as gang members Kent, Keating and Byrne. The court heard the vessel was fishing for Monkfish and white fish A fisherman who was caught illegally fishing off the coast of Donegal has been fined 14,000. Angel Ares Esteban (55) with an address in Valencia, Spain was charged with exceeding the soak time while fishing off Killybegs in Co Donegal. The court heard that the soak time relates to the length of time fishing nets are allowed to remain in the water. Easteban was not present at Letterkenny Circuit Court this week when the case was heard before Judge John Aylmer. The charge relates to an inspection onboard the German registered vessel, the Pesorsa Dos, by Irish Naval Service officers attached to the L.E. William Butler Yeats on July 16, 2020 after the vessel had deployed static fishing nets or tangle nets. The court heard the vessel was fishing for Monkfish and white fish. The court heard the nets can measure up to 10 kilometres in length and the nets are permitted to be in the sea for up to 72 hours. The nets were placed into the sea from the vessel and had a combined length of 100 kilometres. On July 16, 2020, naval officers carried out a routine inspection, inspecting the fishing data and the vessels electronic chart. During the inspection, certain details were determined and it was confirmed that the fisherman had exceeded the soak time with five of the nets on board the vessel. In one net, the time was exceeded by 50 hours and 48 minutes while a second net was in the water for 114 hours and 16 minutes, exceeding the soak time by 42 hours and 16 minutes. A third net exceeded the soak time by 104 hours and nine minutes, while another was in the water for 97 hours and 31 minutes , exceeding the time by 25 hours and 31 minutes. The final net was left in the water for 89 hours and 46 minutes, a total of 17 hours and 46 minutes over the time. The vessel was escorted to Killybegs and detained. Letterkenny Circuit Court. Photo: North West News Pix The value of the catch and the gear was assessed as 44,518 euro in catch and 15,000 in gear/equipment. A guilty plea to the charge was submitted in March 2022. The fishing officer told the court that exceeding the soak time in the area which the vessel was fishing in was an aggravating factor due to low stock numbers in Monkfish and the impact on the habitat. He said if the stipulations are not adhered too, they might as well forget about the species, referring to Monkfish. The court heard the boat was 27 metres in length and a medium sized vessel. Esteban has a previous conviction under the fisheries act, dating back to 2007 at Cork Circuit Criminal Court, for failing to record the number of fleets deployed. He pleaded guilty and was fined 5,000 with forfeiture of 29,000 worth of fish and 15,000 of equipment/gear. Solicitor Mr Dermot Conway said Esteban had cooperated fully with the investigation and one of the reasons why he did not recall the nets was due to bad weather. Mr Conway said Estebans vessel was constantly hauling and shooting the nets and he did not log the information in the log book and did not advise of the disruption caused by the poor weather. Mr Conway said there is no defence open to him as a result of failing to report the difficulties but added the defendant had indicated a guilty plea from an early stage. A 100,000 cash bond was lodged to the Circuit Court at the time of the detection. There was an agreed value of 35,000 for forfeiture purposes for gear and catch involved in the investigation. Mr Conway said the chance of Esteban reoffending was zero as he was no longer fishing and had retired. Mr Conway asked Judge John Aylmer to be as lenient as possible when dealing with Esteban who had been a fisherman for over 35 years. Judge John Aylmer said Estebans previous conviction was an aggravating feature in the case but acknowledged it was a much less serious matter. He said this offence was serious having regard to the influence of fishing on the fishing habitat which was a reserve being fished on with tangle nets. Judge Aylmer said these actions could have a very destructive effect, hence the limitations to 72 hours for such fishing. Judge Aylmer added normally, Irish boats fish outside the reserve to avoid a negative impact on the habitat. Judge Aylmer said he noted the excuse of bad weather offered by the defendant but said given the maximum period of time permitted to carry out fishing of 72 hours, forecasting tends to be very accurate and added the excuse does not appear to hold much weight. Due to the agreed forfeiture of the catch and the equipment, Judge Aylmer placed the offending at the upper end of mid-range offending meriting a fine of 20,000. However, in mitigation, Judge Aylmer said the accused had been cooperative throughout the investigation and had entered a plea of guilty. Due to the mitigating factors, Judge Aylmer reduced the fine to one of 14,000. The fine was to be taken from the bond lodged with the court and the balance returned to defendants solicitor. The Sunday World has learned that the suspect is considered a violent criminal who is originally from north Dublin and has previous convictions for drug offences and assault Gardai have appealed for witnesses to the assault. A violent criminal arrested on suspicion of attacking two off-duty gardai in Dublin city centre has previously been jailed for a similar serious attack in the Temple Bar area. One garda remains in a critical condition in hospital after him and his colleague were set upon in an unprovoked attack in the early hours of Saturday morning. The assault happened on the junction of Dame Street and Eustace Street in the Temple Bar area at around 1.30am and involved one perpetrator. An incident room has been established at Pearse Street Garda Station and yesterday evening detectives arrested a man aged in his mid-30s on suspicion of assault. The Sunday World has learned that the suspect is considered a violent criminal who is originally from north Dublin and has previous convictions for drug offences and assault. He was also previously prosecuted over a violent attack in 2020 during which a man was targeted in a robbery and savagely beaten. That incident happened close to Saturday mornings incident in the Temple Bar area. The criminal was jailed over that attack and is understood to have been released from prison in the past year after completing his sentence. Gardai are continuing to appeal for any witnesses to the weekends assault to come forward. At this stage investigators believe the two off-duty members were set upon in an unprovoked attack and are probing if robbery was the motive for the incident. One of the gardai, aged in his 40s, suffered serious head injuries as a result of a single-punch assault. He was transferred to Beaumont Hospital where he remains in a critical condition. His colleague, aged in his 30s, was also injured and transported to St James Hospital but was discharged yesterday. Both injured gardai are attached to the Armed Support Unit (ASU) in Dublin and are understood to have been on a Christmas social night out prior to the attack. GRA President Mark OMeara yesterday told the Irish Independent; Our thoughts and prayers are with our injured colleagues and their loved ones at this difficult time. Senior Government ministers including the Taoiseach and Justice Minister have also condemned the violent attack. Taoiseach Simon Harris yesterday said: My thoughts are with the off-duty gardai who were victims of an alarming and egregious attack in Temple Bar last night, one of who remains in hospital. "The perpetrators of this attack will face the full rigours of the law. Anyone with information, please contact An Garda Siochana." Writing on X, his Fine Gael colleague, Justice Minister Helen McEntee, said: The attack on off duty members of An Garda Siochana in Temple Bar last night was appalling. My thoughts are with the garda who remains in hospital and I wish him a speedy recovery. I urge anyone with information to contact gardai. Those responsible must face justice. The Tanaiste Micheal Martin also appealed for anyone with information to come forward and said he was "appalled by the unprovoked and brutal attack", adding that his thoughts were with both gardai and their families. A garda spokesperson yesterday said: Gardai are appealing for witnesses to an alleged assault which occurred at the junction of Dame Street and Euston Street, Dublin 2, in the early hours of this morning, Saturday 14th December 2024. The incident occurred at approximately 01:30am. Two males were injured during the course of this incident. One of the men, aged in his 40s, has been taken to Beaumont Hospital Dublin where he is currently in critical condition. A second man was taken to St Jamess Hospital Dublin for medical treatment and has been subsequently discharged. An incident room led by a senior investigating officer has been established at Pearse Street Garda Station. Gardai are appealing for any witnesses to this incident to come forward. Any persons who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) from the Dame Street / Temple Bar area, between 1:00am and 1:45am, are asked to make this footage available to investigating gardai. Gardai are particularly looking to speak with any taxi drivers who were driving in the Dame Street area at the time and may have footage. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Pearse Street Garda Station on 01 666 9000, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station. The man, who is in his 20s, was set upon and received lacerations to his head, face and back. A man has been hospitalised after he was attacked at a takeaway in Co Donegal. The sustained assault happened at the takeaway in Ballybofey in the early hours of Saturday morning. The man, who is in his 20s, was set upon and received lacerations to his head, face and back. The victim was rushed to Letterkenny University Hospital where he is still receiving treatment for his injuries. Gardai have confirmed they are aware of the incident and have launched a full investigation. CCTV from surrounding premises is being harvested as part of the investigation. No arrests have yet been made as a result of the attack. A garda spokesperson said "Gardai attended the scene following reports of an incident of alleged assault, at a fast food outlet in Ballybofey, Co. Donegal, in the early hours of Saturday, December 14, 2024. "A male (aged in his 20s) sustained injuries believed to be non-life-threatening at this time. Enquiries are ongoing." Suspected Kinahan paymaster and mortgage scammer bounces back with Costa Blanca business A suspected Kinahan Cartel money launderer who was jailed here for an elaborate mortgage scam has relocated to Spain where he has opened a kids trampoline park. Dean Masterson, who moonlighted as an ordinary milkman while gardai believed he looked after the Kinahans payroll system here, was spotted recently in Alicante with his new bride Victoria. The couple are understood to have relocated to Spain and have based themselves at Torrevieja, which John Gilligan and his pal Fat Tony Armstrong have used as their base for decades. Dean Masterson and Victoria on there wedding day Masterson is a close friend of Christy Kinahan Jr and previously worked as a driver for the mob on the Costa Del Sol, but his move to the Costa Blanca indicates that they are trying to stay away from their old stomping grounds of Peurto Banus and Marbella. Torrevieja is the same town where John Gilligan invested in properties and a bar, The Judges Chambers. It is where the Westies, Stephen Sugg and Shane Coates, disappeared and later showed up buried in a concrete grave. Gilligan associate Fat Tony Armstrong was later arrested and quizzed in relation to the mystery double murder but was never charged. In recent years, Gilligan was arrested there after officers raided his home and found a postal drugs operation being run by the pensioner. He appeared in court and was fined for his role. The Kinahans have had a strong presence in the Costa Del Sol since 2000 and are understood to have laundered their drug money through pubs, a vast property portfolio and other businesses. Dean Masterson However, they have never before been linked to the Costa Blanca a five-hour drive down the coast and a hangout for crooks from the UK and Ireland, including Gilligans outfit. Masterson has been on the radar of the Criminal Assets Bureau and the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau for years. He had returned to Dublin after the mob began a war with the Hutch Organised Crime Group. A close friend of Christopher Kinahan Jr, who operates the money-laundering side of the mob, Masterson lived in Spain for years and was often seen driving Kinahan and his associates around the Costa. When he returned to Dublin he began to drive a taxi and was working as a cabbie when he attempted to raise the mortgage on the house for which he was later jailed. Masterson and his wife Victoria have moved to Spain The Sunday World also previously snapped him working as a milkman, where he used an old Caddy van on his rounds in Co. Meath, while he was on the radar of officers investigating Kinahan mafia money. We reported how detectives were trying to get to the bottom of their finances in Ireland and how they were paying their drug mules here. It was believed they used a structured wage system like an ordinary business. In 2021, Masterson was sentenced to four years in prison with three suspended after a court heard he submitted false salary slips, a P60 and fake bank statements when he tried to buy a house at Stonebridge in Ratoath in Co. Meath in 2016. Staff at the KBC Bank in Dublin became suspicious, an investigation was launched and he failed to get the loan. At this time, Masterson was already under investigation due to his alleged links to the Kinahan organisation. Dean Mastersons trampoline park on Spains Costa Blanca . . Following the attempted bank fraud, he spent lengthy periods in Dubai in the company of Cartel associates, according to sources. In 2019, the house in Ratoath was raided by CAB and it was discovered he still lived there despite never getting a mortgage. During Mastersons trial it was heard how he submitted the false documents in an attempt to get a loan of 220,000 so he could purchase somewhere to live for himself and his family. He pleaded guilty to deception and five counts of using a false instrument at KBC Bank, Sandwith Street, Dublin, on October 20, 2016. Passing sentence, Judge Pauline Codd said the premeditation and deliberation in which the documents were obtained substantially aggravated the offence. When sentencing him, Judge Codd said she took into account his motivation for the offences of wanting to obtain a property for himself and his family of three children. She said that this was his focus but said clearly this is not the way to go about providing a home. Masterson has serious previous convictions from between 2004 and 2012, including robbery, attempted robbery and theft. While he now has his sunny Spanish base, Christmas last year was a very different affair for Masterson as he was back in Ireland celebrating his wedding to long-term sweetheart Victoria. The couple tied the knot in a lavish ceremony at Ballymagarvey Village in Co. Meath in the days before Christmas. Several thousand euro was left behind the bar for guests to enjoy drinks as photos showed the happy couple enjoying their big day. After celebrating Christmas as a newly-married couple, its understood Masterson and his bride jetted off on a no-expenses-spared honeymoon to Mexico. The young girl, who was left traumatised by the attack, only felt safe to leave her family home again when Nicola Moore was sentenced The mum of a 12-year-old girl assaulted in her bed says her daughter is devastated her attacker has been released pending appeal. Nicola Moore was sentenced to five months in prison last month for the incident in April when she assaulted the child in a random 4am attack. The young girl, who was left traumatised by the attack, only felt safe to leave her family home again when Moore was sentenced. But the family were thrown into turmoil when they learned the 48-year-old, of Whitehouse Court in Newtownabbey, was free pending appeal. The victims mum says no one contacted her to inform her of the appeal and shes had to fight to get any information. She was also distraught at the thought her daughter might have to give evidence again. My wee girl only started going out again to her youth club when she thought Nicola Moore was in prison, says the worried mum. When she heard she wasnt in jail she started having nightmares again and its really set her back. Ive had to speak to my GP about getting help for her and Im worried it will affect her at school. During the disturbing incident in the early hours of April 14, Moore burst into the childs Monkstown home screaming that she was looking for the schoolgirls mother. The mum was staying at a friends house and the girl was home with her older sister, then 19. Moore barged into the room where the 12-year-old was sleeping. Moore pulled off the duvet and grabbed the girl by the throat. When the child tried to get up, she pinned her down on the bed and the older girl reported hearing her slap her little sister. Jealousy, coercive control, abusive texts, withholding money: Claire Lott tells of the behaviour that might set alarm bells ringing Family and friends of Nadine Lott outside court in August 2021 after Daniel Murtagh was found guilty of Nadines murder. Photo: Collins Courts These were the chilling words spoken by Nadine Lott, the young mother murdered by ex-partner Daniel Murtagh in front of her six-year-old daughter Kya, shortly before Christmas 2019. The 30-year-old and her mother had been chatting one night about the possibility that a verbally abusive Murtagh might one day turn physically aggressive. Model Nadine was a sharer and an open book, says her heartbroken mother Claire Lott, and would never have allowed physical abuse. I can 100pc say with certainty that if there had been any violence, Nadine wouldnt have tolerated it. She would never have let him be around her daughter. Which brings us to the most chilling part of Nadines story. In the years before Murtagh subjected her to a savage and sustained attack, leaving her unrecognisable, he had never shown her or her family any signs of violence. Speaking ahead of the fifth anniversary of her daughters murder, this Tuesday, Claire wants to warn others of the signs she now realises were red flags of emotionally abusive behaviour. We had no idea these behaviours could have been what is now classed as coercive control, she says. If somebody had written an article like this before Nadines death and if Nadine or I had read it I might still have her. Nadine came home first, and had been upset on a number of occasions because when she called he was partying Its Thursday afternoon in The Arklow Bay Hotel in Co Wicklow, and the pain is etched on Claires face as she recalls the emotional and verbal abuse her daughter was subjected to. In the months before Nadines death, Murtagh, who was jailed for life in 2021 after being convicted of murder, gradually became more controlling, jealous and verbally aggressive. But in the early days, he was seen by the family as nothing more than an annoyance. The pair met in Australia and Nadine had become pregnant. Claire says: The plan was that he was going to stay on [in Australia] and make money to support their new baby. Nadine came home first, and in that time she had been upset on a number of occasions because when she called he was partying. She could hear girls in the background, and as somebody whos sitting at home, pregnant, you want your other half to feel as excited as you are. But they were the only times I would have seen her upset." When Murtagh returned to Ireland and the baby was born, he was still only viewed as a nuisance by Nadines family. He was lazy and would not get a job to support Nadine and Kya. He was also self-centred, and Claire says she was slightly concerned by the fact that everything he did was on his terms. If there was a plan made, he would inevitably break it. But nothing happened to make the family concerned for Nadines safety. At that time, they had begun living apart, and over time he began to become more and more controlling withholding money and insisting he would meet Nadine in person to hand over child support. They had made an agreement over money. It was a negligible amount. But he had to hand that over to Nadine in person, Claire says. He refused to set up a bank account with an automatic transfer. In hindsight, I see that as controlling as it was a way to see her but at the time we just thought, Hes just trying to stir the pot and make sure it was done on his terms. He also began to show signs of jealousy. By that stage, the relationship had broken down and Nadine was a single girl. She was entitled to go on a date if she wanted to. But he would know that she had been on a date, and he seemed to know all about her movements. How didnt we pick up on that? But at the time, I didnt even know what coercive behaviour was Alarm bells gradually began to sound when Murtagh started sending Nadine very abusive texts. He was calling her names, things like that, Claire says. And I suppose, when Im saying it, it sounds like, How didnt we pick up on that? But at the time, we thought it was his personality. At that stage, I didnt even know what coercive behaviour was. Claire does not want to reveal the texts her daughter received, but she says Murtagh began calling her violent names. They were very derogatory towards Nadine and he began making false accusations about her reputation because she was going out on a date. It was then that Claire asked Nadine if she was worried for her safety. During the quieter times, her daughter had briefly considered the idea that she would give Murtagh another chance so they could be a family, and Claire went through possible worst-case scenarios. I said, Nadine, Id worry a little bit about you, you know the texts and things that hes been sending. If you were to get back together and things werent going his way, Id have concerns about you. And she said, No, Mam, hed never hurt me. He would never, ever hurt me. Young mother and model Nadine Lott When Nadine received a text from Murtagh, she would share it with us, and she was just very composed about it. And in court, when the WhatsApp messages were read to jurors [during Murtaghs trial for murder], I was very proud of her when her responses were read out, Claire says. At no stage did she curse back or engage in the fight he was looking for. She set out the actuality of it that there was no relationship. There never would be a relationship. It was just Kya he was coming to see. Claire spent her last few hours with her daughter on December 13, 2019. We were out for a meal. We were all sitting around and talking and she was in great form. Nadine had an infectious laugh, so she had everybody laughing. And when I was leaving, I just said goodbye to her, gave her a hug and said Id see her in the morning because we were going to go into town the following day. By the time Claire got home, it was raining. So I texted her. Its raining, honey, if you need me to collect you, Ill drop you home. I never got a response, and now I never will. I didnt go into hero mode. I went into mother mode. She was my baby and she needed me In the early hours of December 14, 2019, Claire was in bed when her daughter Phoebe burst into the room. She said, Dans done something to Nadine. And I mean, I honestly thought I would find her sitting on the sofa, upset. I literally expected to be going in to console Nadine. Nothing prepared me for what came next. Nothing. I remember walking in. I knew I needed to take control. I was going past a lot of blood. I mean, Nadines apartment was the scene of a horror movie. Nadine was at the back of her apartment, in the kitchen on the floor, and I lay down on the floor with her and I just kept talking to her until the paramedics got there. I was telling her she was going to be OK and that Kya was OK and not to worry. Responding to the suggestion that her actions were heroic, Claire says: I didnt go into hero mode. I went into mother mode. She was my baby and she needed me. She needed me to let her know that her daughter was OK and that I would do what I could to save her. I just kept telling her, Youre going to be OK. Im here now. Everything is going to be OK. Im here now. Family and friends of Nadine Lott outside court in August 2021 after Daniel Murtagh was found guilty of Nadines murder. Photo: Collins Courts Over the next four days, Nadine lay in intensive care, unrecognisable after the attack. She died on December 17. Myself or any of our family never got to say goodbye. Not with her recognition, not with looking in her eyes. We never got that, Claire says. Asked how she came through such unspeakable horror and tragedy, she adds simply: You dont. Her thoughts turn to Kya, whom she says has many more mental scars from witnessing the appalling attack. Even though our baggage is heavy, hers is a lot heavier, Claire says. And thats why Im making sure that I fulfil all of Nadines wishes for her. She has family around her that absolutely adore her, and if theres nothing else Kya knows in this world, she knows shes adored. Claire Lott lost her daughter Nadine, inset, five years ago. Photo: Frank McGrath ARCHIVE: Supt Declan McCarthy speaking after Nadine Lott case The trauma comes in waves, and Claire has learnt that Kya wants to talk about the tragedy when Kya wants to talk. And Kya talks at the most unexpected times. When were sitting in a McDonalds, shell have questions, you know, and I give her the responses she needs at the level that she needs as a child, she says. She needs to feel that shes safe. She will go as far as she needs to go. I know its a relief to her when she has said what she needs to, and then we will move on until she has questions again. Claire Lott, the mother of Nadine and grandmother of Kya. Photo: Frank McGrath Claire wants classes in school to teach the signs of coercive control before young people enter the dating world. Had I known what we now know are red flags, we probably wouldnt be sitting here talking today, she says. Before Nadine was murdered, I wouldnt have seen those behaviours as anything to worry about. But actually, they are. I think there needs to be more education around it to understand, from both a girls and a boys perspective, whats acceptable and what behaviours should raise an alarm. If youre forewarned, youre forearmed. And if it saves one person, one life.... Ministers are also due to have meetings on Monday with ferry companies where they will ask them to add more journeys to ensure people can get home in time for Christmas Truck drivers will be allowed drive more and rest less for the next two weeks as the Government prepares to ease rules for hauliers over fears package deliveries might not make their destinations in time for Christmas. Transport Minister Eamon Ryan and Minister of State James Lawless drafted a derogation from the strict rules applied to haulage drivers after trucks carrying Christmas deliveries had to be rerouted following the closure of Holyhead Port. The ministers are also due to have meetings on Monday with ferry companies where they will ask them to add more journeys to ensure people can get home in time for Christmas, and so packages are delivered. They also have meetings planned with their counterparts in Wales and England as they seek to find solutions to the backlog caused by the Welsh port closure due to damaged caused by Storm Darragh. It comes after An Post was forced to reroute drivers holding around 500,000 packages in Holyhead which were bound for Ireland. The majority of the packages have now made their way to Ireland and will be delivered to homes in the coming days. An Post said 99pc of packages ordered before Storm Darragh, which was seven days ago, will be delivered in time for Christmas. Drivers are currently finding alternative routes to bring the backlogged parcels to Ireland. The easing of driving restrictions for drivers will see the maximum daily driving time extended to 11 hours in a day but not more than twice a week. This is in addition to the extension to 10 hours normally allowed. This exception is limited however by a weekly driving time limit of 60 hours (normally 56) and a fortnightly limit of 102 hours (normally 90 hours) This effectively means that drivers could work one longer week but then would need to compensate the following week. A driver could drive 60 hours one week followed by a 42 hour week or could split the times across a fortnight. The derogation will also see the required weekly rest period reduced from 45 hours to 24 hours. Irish Road Haulage Association President Ger Hyland said the Welsh port closure has been having a devastating effect all week with trucks laying up on both sides of the Irish Sea with nothing to do. Our trailers are all tied up, some are sitting in Holyhead, some are sitting on customers premises and were getting very limited bookings on other ports to come back to Ireland, theyre all at full capacity, Mr Hyland said. Yesterday, An Post said it has the "facilities, technology and staff" to ensure the rerouted packages will be delivered in the coming days to homes and businesses. In a statement, it said UK retailers are working with ferry companies to find alternative routes for trucks carrying parcels. "Larger capacity ferries are now accessing Ireland from Wales, Scotland and Liverpool via Rosslare Europort, Larne and Dublin Port, and will continue to do so right up to Christmas and into New Year 2025," it said. The postal service said it had secured routes for vehicles carrying around 350,000 packages and expects to receive the remaining 150,000 parcels in the coming days. "Ireland's antisemitic actions and rhetoric against Israel are rooted in delegitimisation and demonisation of the Jewish state Israel has announced it is going to close its embassy in Dublin as they claim that the Irish government has extreme anti-Israel policies and crossed all red lines towards Israel. The Government in recent days announced Ireland would join South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, which accuses Israel of genocide. "Ireland's antisemitic actions and rhetoric against Israel are rooted in delegitimisation and demonisation of the Jewish state and reflect clear double standards, said Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, Israeli media reported today. "Ireland has crossed all red lines in its treatment of Israel. We will redirect our resources toward advancing bilateral relations with countries based on priorities that reflect how different nations relate to Israel." The minister said Irelands actions reflect a clear double standard. He said there are countries which instead want to build on their links with Israel, such as Moldova and resources will instead be deployed there. "There are countries interested in strengthening their ties with Israel where we don't yet have diplomatic missions," he said. "We will adjust our diplomatic network while considering, among other factors, different countries' approaches and actions toward Israel in the international arena." Israels ambassador to Ireland, Dana Erlich, was recalled back to Israel in May when Ireland recognised the state of Palestine. The embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It is not clear on what date the embassy will close. The popular venue, which has been open since 2001, revealed the closure on its social media Wright's Cafe Bar in Swords has announced its closure after 23 years Wrights Cafe Bar in Swords, Co Dublin, has announced it will be closing its doors for the last time on New Years Day after more than two decades in business. The popular venue, which has been open since 2001, revealed the closure on its social media, saying it had some big news. The Cafe Bar will be closing its doors for the very last time, they said. After 23 years of phenomenal success and multiple awards, its time for something different. Thank you to all our amazing customers, friends and staff who have made the Cafe Bar legendary over the years. We have loved making memories and celebrating the good times with you. Its the end of the Cafe Bar era, but... watch this space. Join us for the last dance this NYE before we close on January 1, they added. Customers expressed their sadness upon hearing the news of the venues closure. One person said: Some great memories of great nights and Ive made lots of friends here over the years. Another added that the venue was their youth, while one woman mentioned it was where she met her partner for the first time. Wrights Cafe Bar was previously recognised as a premier late-night bar and live music venue and was well known for its gastro-bar food, specifically its famous fish and chips. However, the venue will have one last dance on New Years Eve, with a DJ on the night to say goodbye in style. They are inviting everyone to come along, and if you book a table and arrive before 10pm, customers will receive a bottle of bubbly on the house. While the cafe bar doors are closing, it seems there may be something in the works for a new adventure at the same location. It is the most wonderful time of the year. And the busiest, as The Weekend Sun caught up with Taurangas Big Smoke BBQ pitmaster Mike Jefferies. He sat down with the newspaper to offer his take on the classic Kiwi Christmas dinner. Do a one or two-day brine beforehand to get a juicy turkey, said Jefferies. I have seen too many people ruin a turkey, he said. Pitmaster Jefferies is taking his big truck and big smoker around the North Island this holiday season. Instead of turkey, Jefferies and his family will enjoy a leg of lamb with summer sides, including a potato salad and self-made tzatziki sauce. One of his favourite summertime sauces is Jefferies blueberry sauce, crammed with more than 60 grams of blueberries. It is good on desserts and savoury items, said the award-winning barbecue king. Jefferies spoke to The Weekend Sun after returning from the Pensacola EggFest in Florida, where he cooked for 600 people. I ran the kitchen and sent over a few recipes before I got there. Big Smoke BBQ owner Mike Jefferies. The event hosted barbecue teams and backyard cooks from all over the United States, and Jefferies was the only Kiwi there. He cooked alongside pitmasters Slade Douglas and Big Moe Cason, which is where the Tauranga pitmaster learnt to hone his barbecue powers. But Jefferies does things his own way, departing from the traditional American pitmasters seen on YouTube, and cooks on aluminium barbecue trays. I like to do things differently, he said. In 2025, he plans to host a dinner featuring top American barbecue chefs for a meet-and-greet. The location has yet to be revealed. A big stack of wood at Mike Jefferies' home base. Ironically, Jefferies will take a break from cooking on December 21 and ramp up again in the New Year when he will host one of his barbecue classes on January 19. I like teaching people to be barbecue gods in their home. For those who might be smoking meat in a wood burner or pellet grill this festive season, Jefferies said the secret is to always cook in Fahrenheit for more precision. Good barbecue maintenance is also crucial. Jefferies pet peeve is when he goes to someones house and the grill is filthy. You dont want to give someone a foodborne illness, said Jefferies, who kindly shared his brine recipe with The Weekend Sun readers. Brine recipe: Ingredients: 200 grams of coarse salt two bay leaves 10 peppercorns 1 orange 2 Tbsp coriander seeds 100 grams light brown sugar 1 orange zest, cut into strips Thyme Method: Fill a large container or stock pot with 1.5 litres of cold water and set aside. Ensure the pot is big enough to hold your turkey and 3 litres of water. Weigh the turkey and place it in the container, ensuring it is fully submerged in the brine. Brine for one hour per 500 grams for succulent and flavourful meat. Add the salt, sugar, bay leaves, thyme, peppercorns, orange zest and coriander seeds, whisking until dissolved. Remove from heat, pour into the container, and let it cool completely. With Kiwis generating an estimated 30% more waste during the festive season in New Zealand, Tauranga City Council is urging its residents to think smart before buying festive wrapping paper. Statistics say Kiwis will go through 1.6 million kilograms of wrapping paper alone equivalent to 10,000 trees but there are other options for wrapping those gifts up. Old maps, newspaper, recycled textiles, magazines, childrens drawings or recycled brown paper bags are great options to use for wrapping gifts instead of conventional giftwrap especially glossy and metallicised types, which mostly cant be recycled. Children will love colouring-in a brown paper bag to wrap up goodies for their grandparents, friends and family. Reusable gift bags are another a smart option. Sew up some of your own or find New Zealand-made gift bags online. They come in packs of different sizes and shapes to suit most gifts and can be used year after year. Another trick is making your own Christmas crackers, gifts and cards to prevent purchasing plastic or unrecyclable alternatives. For how to make Christmas crackers, and more smart tips and tricks to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, see: https://newsbeat.tauranga.govt.nz Probus New Zealand is turning 50, and the four clubs in Tauranga have marked the milestone with special morning tea gatherings. Theyre also on the hunt for new members with president of the Cherrywood branch, Ian Young, encouraging older residents who feel isolated to join. Loneliness in elderly people is a major challenge in our society, said Young. Unfortunately, when someone becomes lonely, they tend to withdraw even more so we try to make our club as inviting as possible and cater for as many interests as we can. Probus is a social network of clubs with more than 10,000 members across New Zealand participating in meetings, activities and trips. It originated in the UK in 1965 and opened its first New Zealand chapter on Kapiti Coast in 1974. Young said Probus is all about fun and friendship in retirement, and theres local branches in Omokoroa, Papamoa, Bethlehem and Cherrywood who continually welcome new members. My wife, Pat, and I had moved to Tauranga a few years earlier and were looking to meet new circles of friends, said Young, who joined Cherrywood branch in 2019. We went along to three meetings and liked the guest speakers they had and found the people friendly. With a lack of members willing to step into leadership roles, Young found himself on the committee just four months later. Hes been president four of the last five years and is backed by a hard-working committee that organises coffee meet-ups, games groups, outings and interesting guest speakers. Our last guest speaker gave a fascinating talk about the flight of godwits between Omokoroa and Alaska, said Young. To commemorate 50 years of Probus in New Zealand, club members around the country are holding special morning and afternoon teas, lunches, themed parties, and combined club events. In Wellington, Dr Richard Davies, the viceregal consort of New Zealand as the husband of Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro, hosted a High Tea at Government House. We offer a way to stay in contact with other people, said Young. Anyone whos just retired or maybe looking for more in life is welcome to come along and see if they like us. For further information about the Probus Clubs of Tauranga, contact Ian Young on 0274 851305. Ester Requena Malaga Sunday, 15 December 2024, 15:33 | Updated 15:40h. Compartir A new Levante storm has arrived in the Andalucia region, where Spain's state weather agency (Aemet) has activated amber and yellow weather warnings on Monday. Specifically, the yellow alert will be activated in Malaga and Granada province while in Cadiz province the alert will be raised to amber. Specifically in the Malaga province areas of Antequera and Ronda, the yellow warning will be in force from 00.01am on 16 December until 11.59pm, as gusts of up to 70 kilometres per hour are expected. Zoom Weather alerts in Spain's Andalucia region on Monday, 16 December. Aemet In the rest of the province, in Malaga city, along the Costa del Sol, in the Guadalhorce valley and Axarquia areas, the yellow warning will be activated at 8am and will be in force until 5.59 pm, with winds from the east with intervals of 50 to 60 km/h (force 7) and along the coast waves of 2 to 3 metres. Pompey, N.Y. Pompey Town Supervisor Mark Nardella resigned this week less than a year after taking office. When the Pompey town board met Tuesday evening, one of their first agenda items was to accept the resignation of Mark Nardella as Town Supervisor. The board had received Nardellas resignation letter via email that morning, a board member said in a recording of the meeting. Nardella was stepping away from the elected position due personal reasons, they said. Contacted by Syracuse.com on Saturday, Nardella declined to comment on his resignation. The resignation was accepted unanimously. Nardella won the supervisor seat over Richard Margino in November 2023. Nardella took office in January. As the board moved onto other agenda items, they voted to skip appointing an interim town supervisor. They said they were surprised by Nardellas decision and needed time to figure out what to do. Deputy Town Supervisor Tom Henry will take on the role of signing off on things so town business can continue, but he doesnt have voting power, a board member said. Staff writer Timia Cobb covers breaking news. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at tcobb@syracuse.com. Pius Kamau, M.D., a retired general surgeon, is president of the Aurora-based Africa America Higher Education Partnerships; co-founder of the Africa Enterprise Group and an activist for minority students STEM education. He is a National Public Radio commentator, a Huffington Post blogger, a past columnist for Denver dailies and is featured on the podcast, Never Again. Jon Caldara is president of the Independence Institute in Denver and hosts The Devils Advocate with Jon Caldara on Colorado Public Television Channel 12. His column appears Sundays in Colorado Politics. The Von Braun Complex at Redstone Arsenal is a 225,000 square foot administrative space and campus for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency in Huntsville, Ala. Buildings damaged, destroyed as cyclone Chido crosses Mozambique Maputo, Dec 15 (AFP) Dec 15, 2024 Cyclone Chido brought strong winds and heavy rain that destroyed buildings in northern Mozambique Sunday but appeared to lose power as it pushed inland, officials said, after the storm left a trail of death and destruction in France's Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte. The cyclone slammed into Mozambique's northern coastal provinces of Nampula and Cabo Delgado early Saturday, damaging buildings and knocking out power to some areas, officials said. Mozambique's weather office said the storm was expected to bring thunderstorms and strong winds with gusts of up to 260 kilometres (160 miles) per hour to some parts of the provinces. More than 250 millimetres (10 inches) of precipitation were expected in 24 hours, it said. "In Cabo Delgado, damage has already been recorded, such as the collapse of walls and roofs," ActionAid Mozambique said in a statement. The impact in Nampula's Memba district, around where the cyclone made landfall, was expected to be significant but it was out of contact, the non-government group said. "Several neighbourhoods in Nampula province are without electricity, which can make it difficult to collect information," it said. UNICEF said "many homes, schools and health facilities have been partially or completely destroyed". It was assessing the impact and would be delivering medicines, water purification supplies and other essentials, it said in a statement. By the afternoon Chido was travelling over the inland province of Niassa and had weakened, said the president of the National Institute for Risk and Disaster Management, Luisa Meque. The institute had not been able to reach all regions to assess the situation, she said. Officials have warned that Chido has a similar intensity to Cyclone Gombe that killed more than 60 people in Mozambique in 2022 and Cyclone Freddy that claimed 86 lives in the country in 2023. Freddy also claimed 326 lives in Malawi, according to UN figures. Chido is expected to reach Malawi by Monday, bringing significant rainfall to the country which has been suffering from drought. Zimbabwe has also issued an alert for heavy rains associated with the cyclone. The cyclone killed at least 14 people in Mayotte, authorities said Sunday, warning it would take days to know the full toll. At least 14 killed as Cyclone Chido devastates Mayotte Saint-Denis de la Reunion, Dec 15 (AFP) Dec 15, 2024 At least 14 people were killed in Mayotte when a fierce cyclone battered the French Indian Ocean territory, authorities said Sunday, with officials warning it will take days to know the full toll. Rescue workers and supplies are being rushed in by air and sea, but their efforts are likely to be hindered by damage to airports and electricity distribution in a territory where even clean drinking water was already subject to chronic shortages. The toll of 14 was counted in a provisional list compiled by authorities, a security source told AFP. Nine people were gravely wounded and fighting for their lives in hospital, said Ambdilwahedou Soumaila, mayor of Mayotte's capital Mamoudzou, while 246 more were seriously injured. "The hospital is hit, the schools are hit. Houses are totally devastated," he said, adding that the hurricane "spared nothing". Mayotte's 320,000 residents had been ordered into lockdown Saturday as cyclone Chido bore down on the islands around 500 kilometres (310 miles) east of Mozambique with gusts of at least 226 kilometres per hour. Electricity poles were hurled to the ground, trees uprooted and sheet-metal roofs and walls torn off improvised structures inhabited by at least one-third of the population. "It will take several days" to establish the full death toll, but "we fear that it is heavy", Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said late Saturday after a government crisis meeting in Paris. Information from the locked-down population, in shock and largely cut off from water and electricity supplies, is slow to filter out, a source familiar with the recovery effort told AFP. One local resident, Ibrahim, told AFP of "apocalyptic scenes" as he made his way through the main island, having to clear blocked roads for himself. - Scramble for supplies - Retailleau will travel to Mayotte on Monday, his office said, alongside 160 soldiers and firefighters to reinforce the 110 already deployed to the islands. Medical personnel and equipment were being delivered from Sunday by air and sea, said the prefecture in La Reunion, another French Indian Ocean territory some 1,400 kilometres away on the other side of Madagascar. A first aid plane landed in Mayotte at around 3:30 pm local time (1230 GMT) with three tonnes of medial supplies, blood for transfusions and 17 medical staff, authorities in La Reunion said, with two military aircraft expected to follow. A navy patrol ship was to depart La Reunion with personnel and equipment including for electricity supplier EDF. Pope Francis, visiting French Mediterranean island Corsica on Sunday, urged people to pray for Mayotte residents. - Storm hits Mozambique - Just northwest of Mayotte, the Comoros islands, some of which had been on red alert since Friday, were also hit, but suffered only minor damage. Cyclone Chido later slammed into Mozambique early Sunday, bringing gale-force winds and heavy rain when it made landfall around 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of the northern city of Pemba, weather services said. Buildings were damaged and power knocked out in some areas of Mozambique's northern coastal provinces of Nampula and Cabo Delgado early Saturday, authorities said. But by the afternoon Chido was travelling over the inland province of Niassa and had weakened, said the president of the National Institute for Risk and Disaster Management, Luisa Meque. UNICEF said it was on the ground to help the people impacted by the storm, which had already caused some damage. "Many homes, schools and health facilities have been partially or completely destroyed and we are working closely with government to ensure continuity of essential basic services," it said in a statement. Cyclone Chido is the latest in a string of storms worldwide to be fuelled by climate change, according to experts. The "exceptional" cyclone was super-charged by particularly warm Indian Ocean waters, meteorologist Francois Gourand of France's Meteo France weather service told AFP. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Friday it was similar in strength to cyclones Gombe in 2022 and Freddy in 2023, which killed more than 60 people and at least 86 in Mozambique respectively. It warned that some 1.7 million people were in danger, and said the remnants of the cyclone could also dump "significant rainfall" on neighbouring Malawi through Monday, potentially triggering flash floods. Zimbabwe and Zambia were also expected to see heavy rains, it added. burs-tgb/sbk Ugandan landslide fears force relocation of 5,000 households Kampala, Dec 15 (AFP) Dec 15, 2024 Uganda will relocate more than 5,000 households in landslide-hit east Uganda as a massive fissure threatens to trigger another deadly disaster, the government said on Sunday. Collapsed mountainsides after heavy rains in late November killed at least 36 people in the Bulambuli district, officials say, with scores still missing feared dead and five villages ravaged by the mud. Since then the government has sounded the alarm over the prospect of another catastrophe after the appearance of "a huge crack on land in the mountains covering about 70 kilometres (44 miles)," the state minister for relief and disaster preparedness, Lillian Aber told AFP Sunday. "This is enough of a trigger for the population to evacuate immediately and not wait for a forceful evacuation," Aber said. "We can't wait for a disaster to happen," the minister added. The Ugandan government has set out a two-week timeframe for residents to evacuate before the authorities will step in to force them to leave, she said. All evacuees would be given "a resettlement package of cash and land," the minister said. Aber said that the evacuation order affected the mountainous districts of Bulambuli, Mbale, Sironko, Kapchorwa, Kween, Bukwo and Bududa. Recent rainy seasons in East Africa have been more violent than normal, with the El Nino weather phenomenon intensifying the downpours. At least two people died in Uganda in the previous rainy season, between March and May. In neighbouring Kenya, the wet weather left at least 228 people dead, 72 missing and more than 200,000 displaced in the same period, according to official figures. In February 2010, eastern Uganda suffered one of the most devastating landslides in the country's history, killing more than 350 people in the Bududa district at the foot of Mount Elgon. At least three killed as Cyclone Chido crosses Mozambique Maputo, Dec 15 (AFP) Dec 15, 2024 Cyclone Chido claimed at least three lives in northern Mozambique on Sunday, bringing strong winds and heavy rain that destroyed several buildings, according to a provisional toll, after inflicting major death and destruction in France's Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte. The cyclone slammed into Mozambique's northern coastal provinces of Nampula and Cabo Delgado early Sunday, damaging buildings and knocking out power to some areas, officials said. Two people were killed in the Cabo Delgado city of Pemba and a three-year-old child was reported to have been dragged away by the storm in Nampula, the National Institute of Meteorology (INAM) said, releasing a provisional death toll. More than 2,800 people were given shelter in Pemba, it said. Mozambique's weather office said the storm was expected to bring thunderstorms and strong winds with gusts of up to 260 kilometres (160 miles) per hour to some parts of the provinces. More than 250 millimetres (10 inches) of precipitation were expected in 24 hours, it said. "In Cabo Delgado, damage has already been recorded, such as the collapse of walls and roofs," ActionAid Mozambique said in a statement a few hours after the storm arrived on the continent. The impact in Nampula's Memba district, around where the cyclone made landfall, was expected to be significant but it was out of contact, the non-government group said. "Several neighbourhoods in Nampula province are without electricity, which can make it difficult to collect information," it said. UNICEF said "many homes, schools and health facilities have been partially or completely destroyed". It was assessing the impact and would be delivering medicines, water purification supplies and other essentials, it said in a statement. By the afternoon Chido had weakened over the inland province of Niassa, said the president of the National Institute for Risk and Disaster Management, Luisa Meque. The institute had not been able to reach all regions to assess the situation, she said. Officials have warned that Chido has a similar intensity to Cyclone Gombe that killed more than 60 people in Mozambique in 2022 and Cyclone Freddy that claimed 86 lives in the country in 2023. Freddy also claimed 326 lives in Malawi, according to UN figures. More than 1.7 million people were living in Chido's projected path in Mozambique and 440,000 in Malawi, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. The cyclone hit a part of northern Mozambique that is regularly battered by cyclones and is already vulnerable because of conflict and underdevelopment. Chido is expected to reach Malawi by Monday, bringing significant rainfall to the country which has been suffering from drought, and dissipate near Zimbabwe on Tuesday. The Malawi government announced it had suspended school in 15 of the country's 28 districts Monday due to the cyclone. Chido tore over Mayotte on Saturday causing major damage that authorities said Sunday may have left several hundred people dead. Greg Fulton is the president of the Colorado Motor Carriers Association, which represents over 600 companies directly involved in, and affiliated with trucking in Colorado. Louisiana Inspired Signing church services for the Deaf is a work of love and a willingness to learn the Bible Criminals masquerading as HSBC workers infiltrated genuine text message chains from HSBC or made it appear like they were calling from the banks real phone number to convince victims that their accounts had been compromised. Loading Even as customers passwords were changed and large amounts of money were moved by people overseas or those using private internet servers, the bank failed to stop the suspicious transactions. In documents filed with the Federal Court, ASIC claims that HSBCs decision to introduce a new payments platform in May 2023, that allowed near-real-time payments to third parties, increased the risk of unauthorised or scam payments. We allege that from at least January 2023, HSBC Australia was aware of the risks of unauthorised transactions occurring and that there were gaps in their fraud controls, Court said. This resulted in some customers getting scammed out of $90,000 or more. After customers were scammed, ASIC alleges HSBC Australia compounded the problem by taking an average of 145 days, or almost five months, to investigate customers scam reports. ASIC alleges HSBC failed to have adequate controls in place to prevent and detect unauthorised payments, and failed to investigate customer reports in a timely manner. Credit: Peter Braig The problem has persisted, ASIC claims, as the bank met its required investigative time-frames only 14 per cent of the time over the first eight months of 2024. The financial services regulator has also alleged there were widespread, systemic and significant failures by HSBC Australia to reinstate customers full access to their bank accounts after they were scammed. It took an average 95 days for customers banking access to be restored. One customer did not have full access restored for 542 days, ASIC has alleged. Sunni Wan, an HSBC customer who had $50,000 stolen after receiving a message that appeared to come from the bank, said she had to borrow money from a friend following the scam as the bank froze her account, blocking her access to her money. She said staff at her local branch said there was nothing that they could do to help. Sydney woman Sunni Wan spent months fighting HSBC for compensation for her and other scam victims. Credit: Nikki Short The guy in the branch with me he was just so heartless. He was just giving me tissues and he was trying to get rid of me quickly, she said. He said theres nothing we can do at the branch level because the branch level cant do anything, we need to wait for the fraud team and that would take six to eight weeks. Wan said HSBC should compensate victims for the emotional stress caused by the scam and the time it took them to advocate for compensation. Loading On Monday, an HSBC spokesperson said we are considering the matters raised and will continue to co-operate and work constructively with ASIC. Protecting our customers from scammers remains a top priority. We continue to make significant investments in our fraud and scam prevention, detection and response. Melbourne engineer Aaron, who did not wish to use his last name for privacy reasons, had $45,000 taken from his familys HSBC home loan account in late February. The father of two was sitting in his car during a lunch break when he received a call from someone who introduced themselves as a member of HSBCs fraud team. Because the scammer called him using the banks real number (a technique known as spoofing) and already knew several of Aarons personal details, they convinced Aaron to provide several one-time passwords, which they then used to take over his account. The criminals were then able to raise the daily transfer limit on Aarons account from $5000 to $50,000. This same technique was also used with other victims, but it took HSBC almost a year to stop allowing adjustments to daily limits to be made using online banking. In May, HSBC offered Aaron a $1000 goodwill payment. Aaron rejected the offer and complained to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. HSBC later said it would reimburse Aaron the entire amount stolen plus a $2000 goodwill payment, and acknowledged we could have responded in a timelier manner. Aaron said he was saddled with shame and fear over the saga and had to mend damaged personal relationships. Loading Getting me the money back was a relief, but Im probably always going to be mentally scarred, he said. A lot of people [believe] the bank is there to protect your money. Theyre not there to protect your money, from my point of view right now theyre there to protect their own interests. HSBC has previously said it had improved its fraud and scam prevention systems, including increasing SMS warnings for customers making payments of more than $500, limiting payments to some cryptocurrency platforms and adding 70 people to the banks fraud and scams team. Court, the ASIC deputy chair, said scammers were constantly looking for new ways to exploit people. She warned ASIC would not hesitate to take further action in court if the regulator believed other banks had failed to comply with their obligations to protect customers. Just over 20 years ago, the states Education Department was confronting an exodus of students from public high schools on the lower end of the northern beaches peninsula. To claw back student numbers amid a drift of enrolments to private schools, the NSW government resolved to create the multi-campus Northern Beaches Secondary College. The five-school model which includes Balgowlah Boys, Mackellar Girls, Manly Selective, Cromer High and Freshwater Senior Campus was hailed a success within a few years, and was widely credited for drawing students back to the areas state high schools. Students at Freshwater Senior Campus have slammed a decision by the NSW government to make the campus a year 7 to 12 school. Credit: Dion Georgopoulos By 2007, Freshwater Senior Campus, a comprehensive public school catering for years 11 and 12, was attracting 40 per cent of its students from the independent sector. Nuclear power stations have huge running costs. Rooftop solar panels have zero running costs for a life span of at least 25 years. We can now run not only our homes but our cars for zilch. Will Chris Bowen stop telling the public the costs of nuclear power are twice as expensive than solar? For domestic purposes nuclear power is at least 10 times more expensive. Tony Lewis, Mount Victoria I have an array of solar panels on my roof, rated at 13,000 watts. The total cost of such panels, including all wiring and electronics, is $10,000 in todays prices. That is $800 per kilowatt. The CSIRO estimates the capital costs of a 2200Mwe nuclear power station, in the range of one of Peter Duttons nuclear power stations, is $7675 to $12,500 per kilowatt. That is a minimum of a 10-fold increase in costs over what Australians will now pay for their rooftop solar panels. I pay no electricity bills and the 13,000 watts of panels also charges my EV for free. Wind, solar, and hydro energy are cheap and proven and they are being adopted on a worldwide scale. Cost reductions continue to happen. These investments should last, with maintenance, for four billion years. A good battery changes everything. Put your money on the vast amount of research achieving a battery breakthrough. Ian Walker, Leonay I worked in the nuclear energy business in England in the 1960s and I have monitored disappointment after disappointment for the past 50 years ( Coalition nuclear plan a risk to growth , December 14). The Fast Breeder reactors havent worked. The Tokamak Donut fission reactor was abandoned by Harwell (in Britain) in the 60s only to be invented by the Russians in the 70s. Its still failing to make progress. There have been many proposals to improve reactor efficiency, none of which have won universal acceptance. Small modular nuclear power plants are still in development, by fewer participants. They might work one day; lets hope its before Earths supply of uranium runs out in 80 years time. Australia is one of the driest places on earth, with erratic or inadequate rainfall and devastating droughts. Nuclear power plants require enormous amounts of water to function. The examples that are being talked about at the moment are all located in the northern hemisphere in countries like Canada and Britain, where lack of water is not an issue. Where is the water going to come from? Which farmers are going to lose their water allocation? Which towns are going to have their water supply reduced? None of these issues are being addressed. Margaret McDonald, Deakin (ACT) Dutton predicts Australia will need less electricity in 2050 than the government is planning for. If the nuclear plan goes ahead, Australians will be using candles because they will not be able to afford to turn the lights on. The exorbitant cost will probably mean higher taxes and bigger power bills. Robyn Lewis, Raglan We know the installation of solar-generated electricity is accelerating as we head towards 2030. What will be the financial impact of the Coalitions nuclear energy plan on the 4 million (or so) domestic homeowners with existing solar generation systems? A nuclear power generation plant has to be operational about 90 per cent of the time. Which I presume means that 90 per cent of the operational time, each nuclear plant must be able to sell all of its electricity to paying consumers. Does the Coalition propose to block our solar-generated electricity exports to the grid during the day and take away the rebates we currently get from our exports to the grid? It appears quite clear the Coalition is proposing that all solar from households will be switched off by the grid operators in each state during the peak solar generation hours during the day. That will affect our solar investments. Paul Fletcher, Berowra While debates about the cost of nuclear versus renewables may well be valid, developing a nuclear power industry would bring significant spillover economic benefits. Uranium exports could eventually replace coal as global demand for our major export commodity declines. This gradual transition would support coal-dependent communities by giving them time to adapt. Australias remote and stable geology makes it ideal for nuclear waste storage. It has been estimated that the cost of storing nuclear waste is about $US1 million ($1.57 million) to $US2 million per tonne, so Australia could generate billions in revenue by hosting waste from other nations. A total of 32 countries use nuclear power. France generates more than 70 per cent of its electricity from nuclear energy and it keeps the costs low. Australia should join these nations to remain competitive in technological innovation and to secure its energy future, benefiting both the economy and the environment. John Kempler, Rose Bay Australia effectively ruled out nuclear as an option in 1974 when we did not see the need for nuclear given the abundant coal reserves; the Australian Atomic Energy Commission was consequently transitioned to the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation. If we want to be the clever country, we could start looking at alternative smart energy sources such as thorium-based nuclear power generation, which does not have the waste issues of uranium-based conventional reactors. It would make sense to start a project to add new nuclear to the grid to complement renewables for a sustainable and reliable electricity supply. Dale Bailey, St Leonards Five months after former Nomads bikie gang member Adrian Buxton was fatally shot in Sydneys north-west, a coded telephone call took place between two men. It was October 4, 2016, and police had made a formal demand for Olevar Merza to hand over details regarding an Audi they suspected was involved in Buxtons murder that year. Gunned down outside his home: Adrian Buxton. Credit: NSW Police Merza told a friend police had come looking for the suspected getaway car and told him to hide it good. According to court documents, Merza told police he was unable to assist them, while repeatedly telling his associate to hide the Audi. Now, he has been jailed for a maximum of two years and three months for hindering the murder investigation. The curious and the incurious 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 Parnell Palme McGuiness believes ABC flagship programs cover only a narrow range of ideas and perspectives from a limited range of experts (The ABC has lost its curiosity. Joe Rogan can help Kim Williams recover it, December 8). I assume then that, in the interests of encouraging greater diversity in that regard, she will decline her next invitation to appear on Q&A in favour of a less-predictable opinion maker. Ross Duncan, Potts Point Kim Williams (right) might do well to find journalists who are curious enough to tune into Joe Rogan. Credit: Digitally altered image. Artwork: Marija Ercegovac. Parnell Palme McGuinness is wrong about the ABC losing its curiosity. The ABC offers a wealth of open-minded, curious, thought-provoking programs interspersed between the repeats. Commercial broadcasters are pushing passionately delivered views and pre-masticated sound bites at many incurious and uncritical people because its cheap content. Commercial media mostly distracts by stirring emotions with sentimentality, cloying patriotism, outrage, anger and fear. The battles for eyeballs, ears, minds and advertiser dollars by an overabundance of commercial media lead to increasing sensationalism and shallower reportage. It diminishes our society and democracy. Tim Coen, Ashfield Parnell Palme McGuinness has written a quite critical article about the ABC. As a long-time member of Friends of the ABC, I agree. More of the same really wont do it, and the loss of audience confirms that. The area that could be fruitfully tackled is the political education of the Australian public, especially the young. While Australians are clearly moving away from the two-party system, they need and want to know more about alternatives. Very little is presented about that by the ABC. Most of the commentary is concerned with issues within the existing systems rather than the examination of governance system alternatives that exist outside. The ABC is in a highly favourable position to address this problem. Klaas Woldring, Pearl Beach If the ABC is boring, commercial media outlets provide trite and juvenile offerings that insult the audiences intelligence. The search for a missing swimmer off Sydneys northern beaches has ended in tragedy after emergency services discovered the body of a man believed to have been in his 50s. Emergency services were called to Newport Beach just before 10am on Sunday after receiving a call from a person concerned for the welfare of a man swimming in waters nearby. Newport Beach, where a swimmer went missing on Sunday. Credit: Nick Moir Police attached to the Northern Beaches Area Command rushed to the scene and quickly began a search alongside crews from the water police, Surf Life Saving NSW, PolAir, Marine Rescue and a Westpac rescue helicopter. Crews located the mans body about 1.30am close to where he had been seen in trouble. Architects behind Melbournes new-look public housing towers have fended off criticism of their design, outlining their ambition to present a new standard in apartment design in Melbourne. The state government last month released designs of the new apartment buildings that will replace two vacant 17-storey red-brick towers built on the corner of Elgin and Nicholson streets in Carlton in the 1960s the first two public housing towers to be demolished and rebuilt under Labors sweeping plan to raze and redevelop 44 towers across the city. Liz Seuseu is associate principal at Architectus. Credit: Chris Hopkins Architectus, the firm appointed to design the new towers, pushed back on the criticism from a Melbourne University academic in The Age last week that the replacements were disappointing because he believed they looked largely the same but would be made with inferior materials. Were delivering public housing and more public housing, but were not delivering poor quality, said associate principal Liz Seuseu, who is leading the project. Flash South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the country's acting president, talked to U.S. President Joe Biden in a phone call on Sunday, vowing to maintain and develop the alliance between the two countries, Yonhap news agency reported, citing Han's office. The South Korean government "will carry out our diplomatic and security policies without disruption and work to ensure that the South Korea-U.S. alliance continues to be maintained and developed without wavering," Han was quoted by Yonhap as saying during the phone conversation. He explained to the U.S. president that all state affairs of South Korea will be run strictly in accordance with the constitution and laws. Biden said the U.S. side will continue to work together with the South Korean side for the development and strengthening of the U.S.-South Korea alliance and U.S.-Japan-South Korea cooperation, according to Yonhap. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly said in the southern Jordanian city of Aqaba on Saturday that the U.S. government is ready to work with Han's government. Han assumed office as acting president after President Yoon Suk-yeol was suspended from his duties following his impeachment on Saturday. The acting president said in a national address Saturday night that he would do his best to stabilize state affairs in accordance with the constitution and laws. This experience leads me to assert that the true imperialists in the Middle East are Russia and Iran. It is they who have repressed the people of Syria and Lebanon and enabled unbridled aggression, terrorism and death throughout the region. In Syria, about 500,000 civilians have been killed in the course of the fighting over many years, including, since 2013, by the use of chemical weapons and barrel bombs containing sarin and chlorine gas provided by Russia, and by the deployment of sarin and chlorine gas, causing agonising deaths. Russia vetoed action to eliminate these weapons in the United Nations Security Council. In the course of a long career in the army, including deployments in Somalia, Bosnia, Timor-Leste and a year in Iraq, and while managing the Middle East, United Nations and NATO desk in strategy group as a colonel, I acquired a deep level of experience in geopolitical dynamics and Middle East realities, in particular. I also became very familiar with the practical application of the laws of armed conflict, which led me to complete a related PhD. This was built on by my subsequent 13 years in politics, including as Labor minister for defence materiel, on the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security, and as national security adviser to Bill Shorten when he was opposition leader. Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong s recent criticism of Israel put me in mind of the wise words of legendary Soviet Union human rights dissident Natan Sharansky, who referred to the concept of 3D antisemitism consisting of demonisation, delegitimisation and double standards. These elements are in play with the repeated dark aspersions by the Australian government in equating Israel with Russia and China when it comes to the question of abiding by international law. Israel is fighting an existential war of self-defence against a phalanx of evil actors who have assailed it every single day since October 7 last year. The Australian government must acknowledge that we would not have been able to conduct this war any differently, as evidenced by the fact that the Labor shadow national security team, including the current foreign affairs and defence ministers, signed off on the war against Islamic State and the siege of Mosul, in particular. From October 2016 to July 2017 in Mosul, the Australian Defence Force, as part of a coalition effort, employed the same military tactics and generated the same level of casualties and damage that we have seen in Gaza. Loading The current war, initiated by Iran and its proxies, has without doubt produced great suffering, destruction and loss of life in Gaza, Lebanon and Israel. In evaluating this horror in terms of the laws of armed conflict, Israels methods have to be viewed in the context of its fight for survival. This is the military necessity and direct military advantage underpinning its operations. Israel is half the size of my former electorate of Eden Monaro. It has no strategic depth or margin for error and faces threats emanating from multiple sources and directions. To put this in perspective, in 1994, the International Court of Justice refused to rule as unlawful the use of nuclear weapons in an existential situation for a state. I suggest we try this thought exercise in a proportional analogy for Australia, translating relative per head and geographic impact. What if we had endured 18 years of a barrage of tens of thousands of rockets, missiles and drones unleashed by enemies whose avowed aim is the total destruction of our country and the death of all our people? What if we were then invaded by a large formation of heavily armed terrorists who raped, sexually mutilated and murdered more than 3000 of our men, women and children, including the elderly and disabled (more than 1200 died in the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel), and took hostage more than 750 of our people? What if we were forced to evacuate Queensland and Victoria and force all those people to huddle between Sydney and Wollongong while we endured daily indiscriminate and constant bombardment for a year? What do we imagine would be the public and media response to this? How do we imagine we would have been forced to respond to such a threat? The five remaining members of the Bali Nine have arrived back in Australia as free men after the federal government secured a deal for their release with Indonesia. Australians Matthew Norman, Michael Czugaj, Scott Rush, Martin Stephens and Si-Yi Chen were accompanied back to Australia by government officials on a Jetstar flight on Sunday after serving 19 years in Indonesian jails. Martin Stephens, Michael Czugaj, Scott Rush, Matthew Norman and Si Yi Chen look on as Australia and Indonesia sign an agreement for their return home. A statement issued on behalf of the five men and their families said they were relieved and happy to be back in Australia after they touched down on Sunday afternoon. They will serve no further jail time and live in short-term accommodation facilitated by the government while they settle back into life in the community, with access to medical help and support services. The surprise announcement last week by Paul Fletcher, the shadow minister for communications, that he would not contest the next election, coming hard on the heels of the equally surprising similar announcement just two weeks earlier by shadow foreign affairs minister Simon Birmingham, deprives the Coalition front bench of two of its most senior liberal voices. Last year, another senior frontbencher, Julian Leeser, resigned as shadow attorney-general because he could not support the oppositions position on the Voice. When he reshuffled his front bench in March, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton chose not to reinclude Leeser, although his front bench performance had been impeccable, the reasons for his resignation principled, and his conduct uncriticisably loyal. John Howard (centre) understood the need for a Liberal broad church. Departing, departed and sidelined liberals of the party: Simon Birmingham and Paul Fletcher (left); Julie Bishop, Christopher Pyne and Julian Leeser. Credit: Graphic: Aresna Villaneuva Fletcher, Birmingham and Leeser have a lot in common. All three are, in political terms, relatively young. All were on the upward trajectory of parliamentary careers that had already marked them as people of distinction. Although both Fletcher and Birmingham had held ministerial rank in the Turnbull and Morrison governments, in future Coalition governments they would have held higher office still. Leesers career is still (hopefully) in its relatively early days; it is hard to overlook someone of such exceptional talent. All three are from the moderate wing of the Liberal Party; their absence weakens yet further that strand of opinion within the party. Grok Academy, the coding academy formerly led by disgraced chief executive James Curran, has avoided being shut down and will undergo a cultural overhaul after being acquired by a social impact charity. More than 200,000 students nationally went through Grok Academys coding classes last year, and more than 1 million students have used its learning platform to date. James Curran, Grok Academy boss and National Computer Science School director. Credit: Matt Davidson The non-profit was plunged into turmoil this year, however, when its boss James Curran resigned after multiple allegations of harassment were substantiated by an independent investigator. This masthead spoke to nine women who allege Curran sent them inappropriate messages, in many instances while they were high school students, in allegations that span 10 years. London: Buckingham Palace is investigating visits made by an alleged Chinese spy to royal residences at the invitation of Prince Andrew, the London Telegraph reports. The Chinese businessman, identified as H6, was allegedly invited to events at the palace, St Jamess Palace and Windsor Castle by the Duke of York. Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomes Prince Andrew in Beijing in 2018. Credit: AP Details of the visits emerged after a court heard that the alleged spy, described as the dukes close confidant, had been banned from the UK on national security grounds. Buckingham Palace is understood to be investigating the various occasions when H6 entered royal residences, to ascertain with whom he may have had contact. 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 Damascus, Syria: People came by the thousands the day after the rebels arrived in Damascus, racing down the once-desolate stretch of road, up a jagged footpath cut into the limestone hillside and through the towering metal gates of Syrias most notorious prison. They flooded the halls lined with cells, searching for loved ones who had disappeared into the black hole of torture prisons under Bashar Assads government. Some tore through the offices of the prison, Sednaya, looking for maps of the building and prisoner logs. One woman shoved a photograph of her missing son toward others walking by, hoping someone had found him. Do you recognise him? she pleaded. Please, please, did you see him? In the entrance hall of one section, dozens of men with sledgehammers and pickaxes tore up the floors, convinced there were secret cells with more prisoners deep underground. Crowds swelled around them as people clambered to see what they found, pausing only when Israeli airstrikes landed close enough to shake the prisons walls. A view of Syrians coming and going at Sednaya, a notorious prison, now empty of prisoners. Credit: Daniel Berehulak /The New York Times Move back, move back! one man, Ahmad Hajani, 23, yelled. Let them work! Since a rebel coalition overthrew the Assad government last week, unchaining a country ruled by the iron fist of the Assad family for more than 60 years, thousands of Syrians in Damascus, the capital, have taken to the streets to revel in the citys newfound freedom. But amid celebrations, the country has also found itself in the opening chapter of a nationwide reckoning over the horrors that Syrians endured under Assads government as they come face to face with the network of prisons, police stations and torture chambers at the centre of his familys brutal rule. Advertisement In that time, hundreds of thousands of Syrians were swallowed up by the Assad security forces vast apparatus. Over the past 13 years, after the failed rebel uprising and subsequent civil war, Assad wielded the long arms of that system as never before to stamp out every last inkling of dissent. Protesters, activists, journalists, doctors, aid workers and students were snatched from their shops, plucked from university classrooms and yanked from their cars at checkpoints by the secret police never to be heard from again. Syrians crowd Sednaya in a desperate search for friends and family. Credit: Daniel Berehulak /The New York Times Many ended up in Sednaya, the notorious prison on the outskirts of Damascus that was often the last place detainees were dumped after months of interrogation in other detention centres. The sprawling prison with three wings became a haunting symbol of Assads ruthlessness and the centre of some of the worst atrocities committed during his rule. Tens of thousands of people were crammed into the overcrowded cells, tortured, beaten and deprived of food and water. More than 30,000 detainees were killed, many executed in mass hangings, according to rights groups. Amnesty International called Sednaya a human slaughterhouse. Their relatives lived in an agonising limbo for years, unsure if their loved ones were alive. They went to local security officials every few months to beg for information and paid thousands of dollars in bribes to government officials to track down their relatives whereabouts. If security officers told them their disappeared relative was dead, many refused to believe them. They were liars, one woman, Aziza Mohammed Deek, said of those in Assads government. They were all liars. Advertisement Relatives clung to hope that their children, siblings or spouses had survived. And so, after rebels swept into Damascus last week, throngs of people rushed to prisons and detention facilities across the country. A few had the tearful reunions they long dreamed of. Many more are still searching, walking across the faeces-smeared floors of prison cells, where recently released detainees say they begged for death. Syrians are reckoning with the horrors endured by fellow citizens. Credit: Daniel Berehulak /The New York Times As the week dragged on, thousands were forced to confront a prospect they had long pushed out of mind: Their loved ones may never return home at least not alive. Im missing 40 people from my family, said Bassam Bitaf, 38, standing outside Sednaya. I have to know where they are where have they disappeared to? What happened to them? Why cant we find them? The prison Sednaya was by most accounts the most fearsome torture prison of the Assad regime. So frightening were the reports of detainees being beaten, starved, bloodied and broken that few in Damascus even dared utter its name during Assads rule. Advertisement The building sits atop a hill on the outskirts of the city, surrounded by rows upon rows of iron fences and concrete walls topped with razor wire. On Monday morning, the brush outside the prison was smouldering the rebels had set fire to the fields a day earlier, hoping the heat would detonate the land mines scattered across the hillside. Later that afternoon, the earsplitting clap of a land mine exploding drew a throng of people to the top of an escarpment looking for what had happened. Hours later, crowds rushed to the escarpment again to catch a glimpse of the clouds of smoke from Israeli airstrikes pummelling a hilltop in the distance which Israel says is part of its effort to destroy weapons and military facilities to keep them out of the hands of Islamic extremists. A man prays in a cell at Sednaya . Credit: Daniel Berehulak /The New York Times Most prisoners in Sednaya were freed early last Sunday as rebels swept into the capital and the officers at the prison fled. But rumours persisted of a secret underground section, known as the Red Wing, where yet more prisoners might still be alive. They say its three storeys underground, said Ghassan al-Debs, 63, walking alongside the crowd. What if they run out of air? How would they survive? This was his second pilgrimage to the prison in two days in search of his son, Maher al-Debs, who was arrested at age 16 in 2014 after visiting an uncle in a town on the southern edge of Damascus. Police had stopped Maher at a checkpoint as he returned to the city and accused him of visiting opposition forces farther south in Daraa, a town near the Syria-Jordan border, his father said. A police officer then called his father and demanded $1000 in exchange for his sons release. Debs did not have the money, and he has not heard from his son since. Advertisement I never lost hope, he explained, pausing briefly to catch his breath and leaning his hand against a parked car to steady himself. I always had hope, because my son is innocent. The charges against him are not real. Syrians explore Sednaya after the fall of the Assad regime. Credit: Daniel Berehulak /The New York Times Like thousands around him, Debs had abandoned his car three kilometres from the prisons entrance and arrived on foot. He wove around the cars stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic passing a man praying in the back of his truck, the road too crowded to lay down his prayer mat, and around a group of women sobbing into their palms and crying out for God. Rebels in mismatched uniforms were scattered throughout the crowd. Some were trying to direct the traffic. Others were making their way to the prison, too, looking for lost loved ones of their own. At the prison, people wandered around the labyrinth of passageways and hammered randomly at the ground, hoping to hear an echo that might signal a hidden room. There are people here, one woman, Layal Rayess, shouted, pointing at a concrete wall of what appeared to be an electricity room. I can hear them. Rayess son had been snatched off a bus in Damascus 13 years ago, when he was 18. A month later, she learned from an intelligence officer that he was being questioned in a detention facility in the city. She never heard any other news of him. Advertisement New York: US broadcaster ABC News has agreed to pay $US15 million ($23 million) toward Donald Trumps presidential library to settle a defamation lawsuit over anchor George Stephanopoulos inaccurate on-air assertion that the president-elect had been found civilly liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll. As part of the settlement made public Saturday, ABC News posted an editors note to its website expressing regret over Stephanopoulos statements during a March 10 segment on his This Week program. The network will also pay $US1 million ($1.57 million) in legal fees to the law firm of Trumps attorney, Alejandro Brito. President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance at a football game in Maryland on Saturday. Credit: AP The settlement agreement describes ABCs presidential library payment as a charitable contribution, with the money earmarked for a non-profit organisation that is being established in connection with the yet-to-be built library. We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing, ABC News spokeswoman Jeannie Kedas said. Hongqi News On The Auto Channel Hongqi News On The Auto Channel CHANGCHUN, China Dec. 13, 2024 ; At the 22nd Auto Guangzhou 2024, HONGQI, the "World's New Luxury" automotive brand, proudly unveiled its latest creationthe Guoya. Featuring a design that blends tradition and modernity, meticulous craftsmanship, and powerful performance, the Guoya sparked lively discussions among attendees at the event. The HONGQI Guoya spans 5.32 meters in length and has a wheelbase of 3.26 meters, offering a commanding road presence and spacious interior. The front fascia features a vertical grille flanked by slim LED headlights, creating a modern yet recognizable look. The streamlined side profile emphasizes aerodynamics, contributing to better efficiency and stability at higher speeds. At the rear, the horizontal tail lights with LED strips provide a cohesive and contemporary design. This combination of thoughtful proportions and functional details ensures the Guoya is both visually striking and purposefully crafted. Inside, the Guoya prioritizes passenger comfort and practicality. High-quality materials, including soft-touch surfaces and premium leather, are combined with a thoughtful layout to create a welcoming and functional space. Adjustable seating and a customizable ambient lighting system add a sense of personalization, while the spacious cabin ensures comfort for all passengers on long journeys. The Guoya integrates state-of-the-art intelligent driving technologies, delivering a harmonious blend of safety, performance, and driving pleasure. Its advanced all-wheel-drive system ensures optimal traction and handling across diverse conditions. Meanwhile, the AR-HUD (Augmented Reality Heads-Up Display) projects real-time driving data onto the windshield, enhancing both safety and intuitive navigation. These innovations, combined with other cutting-edge features, elevate the Guoya's driving experience to unparalleled levels of sophistication and convenience. Under the hood, the Guoya is powered by the most powerful in-class V6TD/V8TD + HEV powertrain and an intelligent four-wheel drive system, delivering exhilarating performance and effortless driving control. Its 8-speed automatic transmission enhances driving dynamics, while advanced safety features, including nine airbags and intelligent driving assistance, prioritize the safety of all occupants. The Guoya, which made its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and the Paris Motor Show 2024, has already attracted widespread global media attention. As a masterpiece of craftsmanship, it highlights HONGQI's strength in luxury vehicle design and production. Looking ahead, the HONGQI brand is poised to present its flagship models at more international auto shows, accelerating the expansion of its presence in overseas markets and allowing global audiences to experience the cutting-edge luxury of Chinese automotive innovation. When the time came for the final override vote on Gov. Roy Coopers veto of House Bill 382 on Wednesday, two Democratic representatives were absent. One of them, Rep. Joe John of Wake County, issued a statement after the vote explaining he had recently been diagnosed with throat cancer. The other missing Democrat, Rep. Cecil Brockman of High Point, had yet to make any posts on social media or other announcements regarding his absence during the vote. Brockmans absence on this and other votes has generated criticism from other members of his party, including two other Democratic members of Guilford Countys N.C. House delegation who are expressing frustration at Brockmans missed vote and his behavior in recent years. For Democrats, the vote on the veto override for Senate Bill 382 was particularly critical. Billed in part as a disaster relief bill, the legislation received criticism from Democrats because the bill transferred $227 million into the Hurricane Helene Disaster Recovery Fund but did not directly appropriate the funds to recovery projects. Democratic officials also objected to provisions which removed powers from offices won by Democrats in the last general election. Among other changes, Senate Bill 382 transfers the authority to appoint members to the N.C. State Board of Elections to the state auditor and prohibits the attorney general from taking actions which conflict with the wishes of the leaders in the N.C. General Assembly. Cooper vetoed the bill, calling it a sham. Going into Wednesdays veto vote, there was some question of whether the Republican-led House would be able to push the bill through over the governors objections. Three Republicans had opposed the bill initially. If any one of them had voted with Democrats to uphold the governor's veto, the bill would have failed. However, the three original dissenters ultimately sided with their party, clearing the way for the bill to become law. Given the unity on the Republicans side, the absences of the Democrats did not make a difference to the outcome of the vote. But Brockmans latest missed vote is not sitting well with at least two of his fellow Guilford County Democrats in the House. Rep. Tracy Clark, who was appointed to the N.C. House in August and won a term in her own right in November, said multiple officials had tried to contact Brockman about making the vote with no success. It was all hands on deck to try and figure out, and he just went completely unresponsive, she said. Rep. Pricey Harrison, who has spent nearly 20 years in the legislature, echoed Clark. I know that there were a lot of people who were trying to find him the night before the vote," Harrison said, "because as I understood it he was committed to being here for the veto override vote earlier in the week to vote to sustain, and then 24 hours later no one could find him, and thats frustrating." She added: I cant presume to know why he missed the vote but I do feel like his constituents are owed an explanation for his continued absences, and there have been a lot of them, on key votes and on nonessential votes, and its been frustrating for us in this caucus. Clark said she was infuriated by Brockmans absence. Its extremely frustrating because hes not a Democrat, Clark said. He was voted in to represent Democratic values. He doesnt attend Democratic caucus. He doesnt vote with the party. We cannot trust or hold him accountable for being with us on important votes like the one we had yesterday. Brockman has faced criticism in the last two years for being absent and for siding with Republicans on key issues. He has missed nearly a third of his votes during the current legislative term which began in January 2023, according to data posted by the N.C. General Assembly. Brockman was one of only five Democrats to vote for the Republican-crafted budget in 2023. Brockman did not respond to two phones calls and a text message requesting comment on Thursday morning and in the early afternoon. In a Facebook post in February, he said his absences the previous year were the result of a very serious medical issue and defended his record in the legislature, saying he had secured $29.5 million in funding for his district. James Adams, the former High Point NAACP president who challenged Brockman in the Democratic primary this year, made campaign issues of both Brockmans absences and his GOP-friendly votes. Brockman ultimately defeated Adams in a close race, winning 50.7 percent to 49.3 percent. He went on to defeat his Republican opponent in the general election by nearly 27 points. Reps. Harrison and Clark both said Brockman has been unresponsive when they have tried to reach out to him. Harrison described Brockman as a colleague and friend and said she appreciated his votes on issues such as abortion rights and voting rights but said working with him recently has been challenging. I want to extend the courtesies of him being part of our delegation and being welcoming but its just, its been hard these past two years, especially hard, she said. As House Democrats prepare to enter a new term with just enough votes to uphold soon-to-be Gov. Josh Steins vetoes, both Clark and Harrison stressed a need for the caucus to be on the same page. Clark said even as she worked for that goal that she would continue to call out Brockman when she feels it is warranted. We absolutely need to work on unification but Im also going to, as Im doing with you, publicly hold him accountable for when things like this happen, she said. Harrison said she hopes members can come together on crucial issues even in light of disagreements among members. I think its really important that were a big-tent party, Harrison said. We have differences of opinion. Its really important that we hang together on votes that are really critical. Allu Arjun walks out of jail HYDERABAD : ACTOR Allu Arjun was released on Saturday morning from the jail where he spent the night after being arrested in connection with the death of a woman in a stampede here during the premiere of his latest film. Arjun had to spend Friday night in prison despite the Telangana High Court granting him bail, as the authorities had not received a copy of the bail order until late Friday night. He has been released, Ashok Reddy, his counsel, told reporters at the Chanchalguda prison. After reaching home, Arjun thanked his followers and others across the country for their love and support and said, he is a law-abiding citizen and respects the law. Ill cooperate with them and Ill do the needful. And very importantly, I would like to give my condolences once again to the family. It (death of a woman) is very very unfortunate, he said. On his arrest, the 42-year-old actor said he believed in the law and respected it. When the law is taking its course, I should not deal with the case, so I should not talk about it. From a legal standpoint, I would not like to talk about it, he said. Arjun said it was a challenging time for his family. A 35-year-old woman died and her eight-year-old son was hospitalised on December 4 during a stampede-like situation at the Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad when thousands of fans jostled to have a glimpse of the actor at the premiere of the blockbuster Pushpa 2: The Rule,. Following the incident, the city police registered a case against Allu Arjun, his security team, and the theatre management under different sections (BNS) at the Chikkadpally police station. based on the complaint lodged by the deceased womans family. Reiterating that he would support the family of the deceased, the actor said he has been going to theatres to watch films for the past 20 years. From the prison, the star directly drove to his family production house, Geetha Arts and spent some time there. After reaching home, he was hugged by his son, wife and other family members. Arjun was driven out through the Prison Academy gate at around 6.45 am, sources said. Ashok Reddy claimed that the prison authorities did not release the actor despite having got the High Court order copy. You should question the Government and the department why they have not released the accused. The High Court order is very specific. Forthwith, the moment you (prison authorities) receive the order, (they should) release him. Despite the clear order, they have not released, they have to answer. This is an illegal detention. We will take legal steps, Reddy said. According to the counsel, Allu Arjun was kept in the jail as a special category prisoner. The Pushpa actor was arrested from his residence on Friday morning unfolding a day-long dramatic turn of events. GRP constable ends life by hanging from tree at Wadegaon (Kale) Deceased Roshan Girhepunje Staff Reporter : A constable attached with Government Railway Police (GRP) Headquarters in Nagpur committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree at Wadegaon (Kale) village under the jurisdiction of Kuhi Police Station. The deceased was identified as Roshan Manohar Girhepunje (37), a resident of Juna Babulkheda, Ajni. According to police, Girhepunje left the house for the office on December 7 and did not return home. He was living with wife Vaishnavi (27) and a five year-old daughter Mrunmai. As he did not return home, the family members launched a search for him and also lodged a complaint with the Ajni Police. On Saturday morning, a farmer noticed Girhepunjes body hanging from a tree and his Pulsar motorcycle (MH-36/AC-4652) parked near it. The spot is around three km from Nagpur-Umred highway. The farmer alerted the Kuhi Police. The police staff rushed to the spot and noticed that Girhepunje committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree with a nylon wire. The body was sent for post-mortem. However, the reason behind Girhepunjes extreme step could not be ascertained, so far. A case of accidental death was registered by Kuhi police. Location traced at Bhedaghat Gihhepunje was working with the Reader Branch of the GRP Headquarters. He was known to be a calm and quiet person. After leaving the office on December 7, he went missing. During the investigation, his location was traced near the Bhedaghat waterfall, but he later switched off his mobile phone. IMPEACHED South Korean President Yeol SEOUL : National Assembly passed the motion by 204-85 votes over his bid to declare martial law Prime Minister Han Duck-soo took over presidential powers SOUTH Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been impeached by the National Assembly over his attempt to impose martial law in the country. The members of the unicameral National Assembly on Saturday voted 204 to 85 to impeach South Koreas President, the second such vote in eight days. Three members of the National Assembly abstained from voting while eight votes were declared invalid. The voting was conducted through secret ballot, with two-thirds of the vote needed for impeachment. Audible gasps were heard from the chamber after the result of voting was announced. Thousands of protesters, gathered outside the assembly, welcomed the announcement with applause and loud cheers. The political impasse in South Korea has not ended yet as Yoon has vowed to fight his case before the court, Al Jazeera reported. After his impeachment, Yoon was suspended from office while South Koreas Constitutional Court deliberates his fate. South Koreas Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is took over as the Interim President. In a statement, Han vowed that he will devote all my strength and efforts to ensure stable governance. The Constitutional Court will have 180 days to take decision on Yoon Suk Yeols future. If the court supports Yoons removal, he would become the second President in South Korean history to be successfully impeached. In 2016, then-South Korean President Park Geun-hye was impeached and was removed from office in March 2017. Yoons People Power Party (PPP) had boycotted the first impeachment vote which took place last week. Since then, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon had urged party leaders to cast vote, even though official stance of PPP rejects impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol. Before the voting started, at least seven PPP members said they would vote to impeach Yoon, implying that only one more vote was needed to reach the 200 necessary for impeachment of South Koreas President. Hours before the impeachment vote, an estimated 2,00,000 people took to the streets in Seoul, in rival rallies for and against Yoon. At the opening of the National Assembly meeting, Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik said that the weight of history was in the hands of the Assembly members. The floor leader of the main Opposition Democratic Party of Korea, Park Chan-dae, said, Yoon is the ringleader of the insurrection. He called impeachment vote the only way to safeguard the constitution of South Korea. Yoon has remained unapologetic and defiant for his decision on imposing martial law and a probe into his inner circle widened. According to a Gallup Korea poll released on Friday, Yoons approval rating has reduced to 11 per cent. An earlier survey conducted in November showed him having an approval rating of 19 per cent. The survey was conducted just before the imposition of martial law. According to the same poll, 75 per cent of the people now back his impeachment. Nagpur ready to welcome Devabhau Staff Reporter : Nagpur is all set to welcome its beloved Devabhau who will be on his maiden visit to the city after taking over the reins of Maharashtra Government as Chief Minister earlier this month. Devendra Fadnavis, the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra, will arrive at Nagpurs Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport at 12 noon on Sunday. People of the city and Nagpur unit of Bharatiya Janata Party are fully prepared to welcome the Chief Minister. People of Nagpur city and BJP workers are ensuring that Fadnavis gets a rousing welcome. Amidst rising curiosity and eagerness to have a glimpse of Fadnavis, preparations to greet him are underway in city, specially the route he will be taking on Sunday. Posters with messages greeting Fadnavis are put up by the roadside from Nagpur airport to Laxmibhuvan square and near Trikoni Park. On Saturday, police conducted full cavalcade rehearsal on the route Devendra Fadnavis will be taking today. (Right) Archit Chandak, DCP (Traffic) inspecting security measures. (Pics by Anil Futane) Already, banners and hoardings have occupied all prominent spots making it difficult for the late commers who are running from pillar to post to put up a hoarding with their message for Fadnavis, who hasbecome the Chief Minister for the third time. Devendra Fadnavis will arrive at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport. He will pay homage by offering a wreath at the statue of Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in the airport area. Later, he will pay homage at the Dr Hedgewar Memorial site near the Airport square. A grand welcome rally will be taken out from Wardha road up to the residence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis near Trikoni Park in Dharampeth. The rally will start from Dr Hedgewar Memorial site. It will pass by Somalwada, Rajiv Nagar, Radisson Blue Hotel, Chhatrapati square, Khamla square, Tatya Tope Nagar, Aath Rasta Chowk, Laxmi Nagar Chowk, Bajaj Nagar Chowk, Shankar Nagar Chowk and Laxmi Bhuvan Chowk. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will address the people at Laxmi Bhuvan Chowk. The rally will then reach at his residence at Dharampeth. During the movement of rally, various folk dances will be performed, rangolis have been drawn on his route. Fadnavis will be welcomed by various groups along the route of the rally. Bharatiya Janata Party East Nagpur unit will welcome him at Radisson Blue Hotel Chowk, South Nagpur section will greet him at Chhatrapati Chowk, women will shower flowers on him near Snehnagar Petrol Pump, partys Central Nagpur unit will greet him at Laxmi Nagar Chowk, North Nagpur wing of BJP will receive Fadnavis at Bajaj Nagar Chowk, and West Nagpur Mandal at Shankar Nagar Chowk. The Bharatiya Janata Party Nagpur City has appealed to all citizens to be present in large numbers at the airport area as well as on the rally route. Trikoni Park, the ground in front of the residence of Devendra Fadnavis too is participating in this mega event. It wore a special decoration. As a symbol of this victory, all the houses around Trikoni Park decorated by traditional lighting. Hardly 24 hours after the court granted bail to Prof (Dr) Sandip Ghosh and Abhijit Mondal, two accused in the heinous incident of rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at R G Kar Hospital on 9 August, CPM, Congress and the SUCI, along with doctors bodies hit the streets in the city on Saturday afternoon to protest against the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for its failure to submit charge sheet (CS) to the court within 90 days. The CPM-led Left Front and the Congress today staged protests at various points in the city, alleging that the CBI has failed to deliver justice in the case. Advertisement They also alleged that the ruling Trinamul Congress (TMC) in West Bengal and the BJP-led Centre have a tacit understanding. Advertisement The Congress took out a procession from Rabindra Sadan area to CBIs office at Nizam Palace along the AJC Bose Road in the southern part of the city and criticised the central agency for its inability to frame charges against the two accused in the case. During the procession, Congress activists were seen holding the party flags aloft and chanting slogans like We demand justice and Bichar chai Tilottoma (Tilottoma wants justice). The Congress members were involved in a scuffle with the police when the latter prevented the protestors from entering Nizam Palace. Student wing of CPM, SFI also staged protests at College Street against the CBI. The state government has been trying to tamper evidence in connection with the R G Kar Hospital incident to delay the judicial process. CBI will have to give us answers for its failure to submit the charge sheet within 90 days. The criminals are being granted bail because the investigating agency is failing to act properly and do justice to the cases, alleged SFI leader Debanjan De. West Bengal Junior Doctors Front (WBJDF) marched from Karunamoyee to the CBI office at CGO Complex in Salt Lake. Parents of the victim PGT doctor also took part in the protest rally and said, We dont know what the CBI is doing but at the same time we have to go ahead with legal battle seeking justice for our daughter. Dont give up hope. In a separate protest programme, doctors of Abhoya Moncha, a platform formed after the incident, also staged agitation at Rani Rashmoni Avenue this afternoon demanding justice for the victim. The Sealdah court had on Friday granted bail to Prof Ghosh and Mr Mondal in the rape and murder case. They were granted bail after the CBI failed to file a charge sheet against them within the mandatory 90-day period. Reacting to the current situation in Bangladesh and the anti-India sentiments expressed by some sections of its population, former BJP state president and former MP Dilip Ghosh reacted sharply today. He likened such sentiments to the actions of street dogs and mosquitoes. Speaking to reporters, Mr Ghosh said, How many people know about Bangladesh in the world stage? But everyone knows about Bharat, a nation capable of taking on China and Pakistan. Indias diplomatic stance is on the right track. The Indian foreign secretary has visited Dhaka and directly urged the authorities to put an end to the unrest. We are closely monitoring the situation and its developments. Advertisement Referring to Bangladeshs dependence on India, Mr Ghosh commented, What they are saying is no different from the barking of dogs. Bangladesh heavily relies on India for water, food grains, medical assistance, and various other resources. Without Indias support, how will they survive? Advertisement As part of the BJPs ongoing membership campaign, Dilip Ghosh has been touring north Bengal. After visiting Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri, he reached Siliguri today, focusing on Siliguri Regulated Market for the drive. Highlighting the partys goal, Mr Ghosh stated: We are confident of reaching our target of 50 lakh members. However, the new online registration system, which requires individuals to provide detailed profiles, is taking more time than the previous missed-call method. Mr Ghosh revealed his plans to attend a significant event tomorrow in Siliguri, the Laksho Konthe Geeta Path (Chanting of the Gita by a Hundred Thousand Voices), organised at Kawakhali. Addressing recent developments in the R G Kar corruption case, including bail for former education minister Partha Chatterjee, Mr Ghosh said, The CBI is under tremendous pressure due to the volume of investigations in West Bengal, as people no longer trust the state police. The lack of adequate staff in the CBI is delaying charge sheet submissions. However, the judiciary is functioning correctly, and investigations are moving forward. The Special Task Force (STF) of West Bengal Police arrested Mohammed Arif, a resident of Jharia in Jharkhand from Chandmari in Railpar area under Asansol North police station today along with illegal arms and ammunition. Sources said that acting on a specific tip-off, the officers of STF zeroed in on the house of the alleged illegal arms dealer and nabbed Mohammed Arif (40). Advertisement STF officers have seized three semi-automatic 7 mm pistols and six empty magazines from his house after search operations. He has been handed over to Asansol North police station after his arrest. Advertisement Asansol North police station has sent him to court yesterday and took him into 10 days police custody for further investigations. On 23 November 2024, the Special Task Force arrested an illegal arms dealer in the Kulti area and had also seized a huge quantity of arms and ammunition from his possession. At that time, one-shot pipeguns, 50 numbers of 8mm cartridges, and four 9 mm cartridges were seized by STF. After the recent attack on a councillor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation by hired killers of neighbouring states, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had expressed her annoyance on the entry of illegal arms, ammunitions and supri killers so easily to this state and had directed DGP Rajeev Kumar to take strict actions, after which state police special task force started raids and arrests in the bordering areas of Bihar and Jharkhand with Bengal. The Trinamul Congress has described the repeated expressions of dissatisfaction by the BJPs central leadership over the partys membership drive as a source of comic relief. The BJPs target was to enrol one crore members, but so far, they have only managed to approach the 25-lakh mark. Despite repeated instructions, the desired progress has not been achieved, raising doubts about whether the membership target can be met. Amidst this scenario, Sunil Bansal, the BJPs central observer for West Bengal and national general secretary, held a meeting with BJP MPs from Bengal. According to sources, Bansal convened a meeting in Delhi on Monday, where several MPs, including Shantanu Thakur, Jayanta Roy, and Saumitra Khan, faced sharp criticism. It was reported that they failed to recruit more than 50,000 members each, prompting Bansals displeasure. Advertisement Meanwhile, Trinamul Congress (TMC) state general secretary and spokesperson mocked the situation, calling it laughable. He said, The BJP, which claims to be the principal opposition party in Bengal, is struggling to find members. Their leaders and workers are going to weddings and other occasions to ask people to join. Is this how you increase membership? Its a ridiculous attempt. And the BJPs central leadership is scolding the state leadership. A party without any grassroots support cannot grow its membership. Advertisement Currently, the BJP has 12 Lok Sabha MPs from Bengal and two Rajya Sabha MPs, Samik Bhattacharya and Ananta Maharaj, bringing the total to 14 MPs. Sources suggested Bansal urged the MPs in the meeting to intensify their efforts. Additionally, the BJP has been directed to submit plans for five major projects from various regions of the state, such as AIIMS hospitals, railway projects, or industrial units, to counteract the momentum of the Trinamul Congress. On the other hand, the Trinamul Congress has already started preparations for the 2026 Assembly elections. The results of the recent six Assembly constituencies reflect their efforts. Furthermore, chief minister Mamata Banerjees government has announced that the first installment of the housing scheme funds will be distributed to beneficiaries by 31 December. This proactive governance has created challenges for the BJP in Bengal. Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, on Sunday, paid a visit to the Mehrauli Archaeological Park (MAP) to review the ongoing restoration and rejuvenation efforts undertaken by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). The park has been undergoing restoration to revive its heritage and make it accessible to the public. Advertisement During his visit, the LG commended the efforts of the DDA and expressed his satisfaction at the parks transformation. In a post on X he posted, It was heartening to see residents of Delhi thronging MAP, recently restored by DDA. People playing different board games, using the reading room & Cafe in a corner, have become the sentinels of this treasured asset and its monuments against vandalism, encroachment and disrepair. Advertisement The best way to preserve, conserve, and restore heritage is to make ordinary people stakeholders and owners of our collective legacy. They keep us on our toes, lest we slip in our duties to protect their heritage, the post added. The park, which houses several significant historical structures including Balbans tomb, Jamali Kamali Mosque, and the Metcalfe Folly, has witnessed a revival in recent years through collaborative restoration projects. Bollywood stars Govinda and Sushmita Sen reunited on Saturday evening to celebrate filmmaker Anees Bazmees remarkable 45-year journey in the Indian film industry. The event, a glittering affair attended by Bollywoods elite, was a tribute to Bazmees immense contribution to Indian cinema, particularly in the comedy genre. Advertisement Govinda and Sushmita Sen, who starred together in the popular 2001 comedy Kyonki Main Jhooth Nahi Bolta, shared a warm moment as they posed together, bringing back memories of their on-screen chemistry. Advertisement The film, directed by Bazmee, was a Hindi adaptation of the Hollywood film Liar Liar. It featured Govinda as a lawyer who, after being cursed to tell the truth, finds his life turned upside down. Also Read: Varun Dhawan meets Amit Shah, promotes Baby John in Delhi Sushmita played his supportive wife, and their performances, paired with Bazmees signature humor, made the film a fan favorite. The event, which saw an impressive turnout of industry stalwarts, celebrated not only Bazmees career but also the camaraderie of Bollywoods biggest names. Govinda, known for his impeccable comic timing, and Sushmita, admired for her elegance, added extra charm to the evening. The guest list read like a whos who of Bollywood, with luminaries such as Anil Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Madhuri Dixit, Kartik Aaryan, Jackie Shroff, Bobby Deol, Ektaa Kapoor, and many others in attendance. The night was full of nostalgia, laughter, and heartfelt tributes, highlighting the lasting impact of Bazmees work on Indian cinema. Bazmee, who has directed a number of iconic films over the years, was lauded for his ability to blend humor with emotion, creating memorable characters and unforgettable moments on screen. Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan is making waves as he promotes his upcoming film Baby John, and his recent trip to Delhi has added a new chapter to his promotional journey. During his visit to the National Capital, Varun Dhawan had the opportunity to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah, a moment he described as an absolute pleasure. Varun shared a picture with the prominent political figure on Instagram, where both can be seen smiling at the camera. Advertisement The actor humorously captioned the image, writing, Inke Saamne Toh Hum Sab Baby Hai, referring to Amit Shahs stature in Indian politics. Advertisement View this post on Instagram A post shared by VarunDhawan (@varundvn) In addition to the photo, Varun Dhawan expressed his gratitude for the chance to meet the Honorable Home Minister Amit Shah. It was an absolute pleasure to meet the Honorable Home Minister Amit Shah ji in Delhi, he said. The encounter also led to an intriguing conversation between Varun and Amit Shah. The actor asked the minister an interesting question: Whats the biggest difference between Ram and Ravan? Amit Shah responded thoughtfully, highlighting that the core difference between the two figures lies in their approach to dharma, or duty. According to Shah, Rams actions were always guided by a sense of responsibility, while Ravan, in contrast, was driven by self-interest. While in Delhi, Varun also had a lighthearted moment with rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh. In an Instagram post, Honey Singh shared a picture of himself dressed warmly in a black overcoat, while Varun, unfazed by the chilly weather, sported a white half-sleeve T-shirt with Baby John written on it. The rapper captioned the post, My lil brother @varundvn doing nain mattaka in west delhi!! BABY JOHN IS COMING keep it locked #yoyohoneysingh #varundhawan #babyjohn. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Yo Yo Honey Singh (@yoyohoneysingh) Baby John, an action-packed thriller, on direction of Kalees and is a Hindi adaptation of the 2016 Tamil film Theri by Atlee. Varun Dhawan plays the title role of DCP Satya Verma, also known as Baby John, a police officer who fakes his death to start a new life with his daughter in Kerala after a personal tragedy. However, his peaceful existence disrupts when his past resurfaces, and his arch-nemesis, a politician named Babbar Sher, discovers that he is still alive. The film also stars Keerthy Suresh, Wamiqa Gabbi, Zara Zyanna, and Jackie Shroff, and is ready for release on December 25. Before his Delhi trip, Varun visited Jaipur to promote Baby John, where he immersed himself in the local culture. He shared a series of photos on Instagram, including one where he wore a traditional Rajasthani pagdi and savored the authentic Rajasthani thali. Varun also indulged in local street food, including dal bati and vada pav, which he shared with his followers. Renowned tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, a towering figure in Indian classical music, passed away on December 15, 2024, at the age of 73. His death has left the global music community in mourning, with tributes pouring in from fans, artists, and political leaders alike, including former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. Hussain, who had been battling serious health issues, was admitted to the ICU in San Francisco due to heart complications. His passing marks the end of an era for Indian classical music, a genre he brought to the world stage with unmatched virtuosity and innovation. Advertisement Born in 1951, Hussain was the eldest son of the legendary tabla player Alla Rakha. By the age of 12, he had already made his professional debut, showcasing his extraordinary talent that would soon earn him worldwide recognition. Advertisement Over the decades, Hussain became a global ambassador for Indian classical music, performing in prestigious venues across the globe. His collaborations with international artists such as Ravi Shankar, Mickey Hart, and John McLaughlin helped bridge the gap between Eastern and Western musical traditions, introducing millions to the rhythmic beauty of the tabla. His ability to blend Indian classical music with jazz, fusion, and world music made him a revered figure in the music industry. Political leaders, including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, expressed their deep condolences following the news of his death. According to reports, Tabla maestro #ZakirHussain passed away at the age of 73 in the US on Sunday, December 15. The musician was hospitalised in the US due to serious health concerns, with an update shared on social media.#RIP #LatestNews #TheStatesman pic.twitter.com/rHnSFWqTC1 The Statesman (@TheStatesmanLtd) December 15, 2024 Banerjee, in a tweet, called Hussains passing an enormous loss to the country and to his millions of fans around the world. She also conveyed her heartfelt sympathy to his family, colleagues, and followers. Reddy, too, took to Twitter to mourn the loss of the tabla legend, praising his indelible impact on Indian classical music. Hussains legacy extends beyond his performances. He was a prolific composer, producer, and educator, mentoring countless musicians across the world. His contributions received recognition with numerous accolades, including the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri, and multiple Grammy Awards. Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has called upon the youth to translate their ideas into socially useful and commercially viable applications and ensure that fruits of new inventions reach all sections. Highlighting the transformation in innovation landscape of the country in the past 10 years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the lieutenant governor said India has emerged as one of the global leaders in new inventions, which are seen as critical to the future well-being of society and to drive the nations economic growth. Advertisement He emphasised that inclusive development and economic growth should be the main aim behind every innovation. Our focus should also be on innovations that would benefit society at large like water and energy conservation, waste management, precision agriculture, and e-governance, Sinha said while addressing young innovators at Grand Finale Smart India Hackathon 2024 at Galgotias University. Advertisement The LG commended the pioneering initiative by the government of India, celebrating the spirit of innovation and collaboration, and providing a dynamic platform for brightest minds of the country to develop and showcase their creative solutions to real-world problems. I see Smart India Hackathon as a powerful instrument to bridge the gap between educational institutions and industries, he said. Sinha also asked the young innovators to explore diverse areas in the agriculture sector pertaining to soil health, pest infestation, climate change, real-time data, etc. The lieutenant governor underscored the need to strengthen the partnership between academia, industry, and policymakers to provide solutions to the challenges of society and the nation. On the occasion, Chancellor Suneel Galgotia and CEO Dr. Dhruv Galgotia announced a 50 per cent scholarship to Jammu and Kashmir students at the request of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. Addressing the participants, Suneel Galgotia said the Smart India Hackathon provides a unique platform for unlocking the creativity and innovation inherent in young minds while CEO Dr. Dhruv Galgotia emphasised the universitys dedication to contributing to the vision of a developed India. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Sunday paid tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, describing him as the architect of modern India whose wisdom and efforts laid the foundation for a unified and strong nation. At a tribute meeting on the Iron Mans death anniversary, the Chief Minister highlighted Patels unwavering dedication to the country. As a key member of the Constituent Assembly and the first Home Minister of independent India, Sardar Patel spearheaded the integration of over 563 princely states into the Republic, laying the foundation for a unified and strong nation. The India we see today, is a testament to Sardar Patels vision, efforts, and tireless commitment to the ideals of One India, Great India, Safe India, he remarked. Advertisement The CM said Sardar Patel stood at the forefront and worked alongside the leadership to give a new direction to the countrys freedom movement. He was born in a simple farmer family in a small village near Anand in Gujarat. His primary education was also completed at home under the care of his mother. Advertisement He later pursued a law degree in England and returned to India to play a pivotal role in shaping the nation. Sardar Patel, who passed away on December 15, 1950, is remembered for his extraordinary leadership, which helped India achieve new heights. The ongoing campaign to realize his vision will also realise Prime Minister Narendra Modis dream of One India, Best India, the CM said. CM Aditaynath highlighted Patels active participation in major movements for Indias independence, including the Champaran Movement, Salt Satyagraha, and Quit India Movement, during which he also endured imprisonment. He also launched numerous public awareness campaigns aimed at the prosperity and uplift of farmers. The Chief Minister noted that Sardar Patels vision laid the foundation for Gujarats strong cooperative movement, which played a key role in empowering farmers and elevating them to new heights of prosperity. The CM further stated that Sardar Patel, a great son of Mother India, not only led the campaign for the unification of the nation but also ensured the restoration of the countrys dignity, which had been tarnished during the colonial period. He highlighted that the revival of the Somnath Temple, a symbol of cultural resurgence, was part of this mission. Further, the CM added that the new India, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was fully committed to honouring and expressing gratitude towards Sardar Patels legacy. He remarked that had Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel been present, Article 370 would never have been imposed on Jammu and Kashmir. He credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for removing this constitutional provision on August 5, 2019, dismantling the foundation of terrorism and paving the way for a unified and strong India. He also highlighted that the Ram Temple in Ayodhya is a significant part of the new cultural India, drawing a parallel to the revival of the Somnath Temple initiated by Sardar Patel in 1948. The event was attended by Social Welfare Minister Asim Arun, Mayor Sushma Kharkwal, MLAs Shashank Verma, Amresh Kumar, Ashish Singh Ashu, Legislative Council Member Lalji Prasad Nirmal, and others, including DM Katiyar and organising committee president Rajeshwari Devi Verma. Demanding financial devolution from the central pool without any discrimination, the opposition AIADMK on Sunday pressed for reverting Education back to the State List in the Constitution. A resolution to this effect was passed at the AIADMK General Council meeting. While training its guns on the failures and ineptitude of the DMK government of MK Stalin, the meeting didnt spare the BJP- led Union government either. On financial devolution, the party is on the same page with the ruling DMK. Advertisement Putting the blame for many issues plaguing education like the NEET exam, and the states being made subordinate to the Centre, the party said it was necessary to bring it back to the State List through a Constitutional amendment. Another resolution condemned the naming spree in Hindi for legislations passed by Parliament since it was a naked attempt of Hindi imposition.It called for christening legislations only in English. Advertisement The General Council reiterated the demand for declaring Thirukkural, the Sangam era classic and highly acclaimed ethical treatise, as the National Book. It has been a longstanding demand of political parties and Tamil activists in the state. Pressing the Union government to cancel the Tungsten mining lease given to a corporate house, a resolution blamed the DMK government for waking late in the day only after public outrage. Directing its ire at the DMK government, the meeting blamed the administration for its failure in carrying out timely relief and restoration in the aftermath of the devastation caused by cyclone Fengal. It has exposed the ineptitude of the Stalin government, it was alleged. Besides failing to fulfill poll promises, the state government was charged with deterioration in the law and order situation. The General Council resolved to make party general Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) the Chief Minister again in the 2026 Assembly election. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has accused the Congress-led Opposition of hypocrisy for filing a motion against the vice president, who is the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, and an Allahabad High Court Judge. He said the Opposition is trying to silence those who speak the truth by threatening impeachment yet claiming to uphold the Constitution. Referring to a statement by an Allahabad High Court judge advocating a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), CM Yogi highlighted how most countries respect the sentiments of the majority. However, in India, discussing the interests of the majority or speaking the truth is treated as a crime, he lamented. He pointed out that the Opposition filed an impeachment notice against the judge for simply expressing this view. Advertisement They call themselves democratic, carry the constitution with them yet strangle the Constitution, they have no shame. He censured the Opposition for allegedly trying to intimidate those speaking the truth, including justices who highlight societal realities through cultural and social organisations. Such truth-suppressing people must be exposed before society, he emphasised. Advertisement CM Yogi Adityanath was speaking at a function in Mumbai on Saturday late evening. He stressed the need for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in India, stating that the country must move beyond the division between majority and minority communities. Yogi remarked that in most nations, societal systems align with the sentiments of the majority population. Similarly, in India, the majority is advocating the removal of such distinctions, but some groups are opposing this idea by using coercion and silencing voices of truth. He criticised these groups for undermining the Constitution and attempting to dictate the countrys system by force. He added that the nation is observing these actions, and there is a need to expose such behavior. He accused them of trying to suppress the truth through intimidation. Targeting Congress, the CM accused some of its leaders of denying Indias identity and attempting to undermine the countrys rich culture, traditions, language, and the role of women in society. Such individuals, he said are constantly working to diminish Indias pride and heritage. Referring to ancient epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata, CM Yogi said Maharishi Ved Vyas, the revered author of the Mahabharata, was not affiliated with the RSS or the BJP. Taking a jibe at Rahul Gandhi, he sarcastically added that highly intellectual figures like him might even claim that Ved Vyas attended RSS meetings. He said, As long as such people remain active, these attempts to discredit Indias legacy will continue. He lauded the vice president for upholding constitutional dignity while effectively managing the upper house, stating that his rise through merit and capability has upset the opposition. They cannot accept how a farmers son has achieved such a position, as it once belonged to a particular family, Yogi said. Inviting everyone to Mahakumbh 2025, the UP chief minister said, The event will showcase a unique blend of faith and modernity. With 40 crore devotees expected to attend, the Mahakumbh will also serve as a platform to share Uttar Pradeshs remarkable growth story. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday criticized the Central government for allegedly denying financial relief for the rehabilitation of Wayanad landslide survivors. Speaking at an event in Kasargod, he accused the Centre of adopting a vindictive stance against the state. Advertisement This is something that should not happen to any state. Kerala is also a part of this country. Justice should not be denied, the Chief Minister stated, calling for strong protests across Kerala to counter the Centres perceived discriminatory attitude. Advertisement Pinarayi Vijayan also outlined the state governments commitment to eradicating extreme poverty by November 1, 2025, through targeted programs. However, he alleged that the Centre is financially strangling Kerala, undermining its efforts. Meanwhile, former Union Minister and BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar defended the Central governments demand for reimbursement of helicopter services used during the Wayanad disaster. Taking to social media platform X, Chandrasekhar clarified that requesting payment for disaster-related services is standard practice for all states. Reimbursement of costs to @IAF_MCC for relief operations is routinely done by ALL state governments. But for @pinarayivijayans government that has a budget of 2 lakh crores/year, it becomes a row. Why? he posted. The controversy follows a renewed demand from the Indian Air Force (IAF) for the Kerala government to pay an outstanding 132.62 crore bill for rescue operations conducted since 2019. Kerala Revenue Minister K Rajan also expressed strong objections to the Centres communique, which directed the state to use its State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) to settle the IAFs bill. Speaking to media in Thrissur, he labeled the move as discriminatory and unjust, emphasizing that the funds should not be used to reimburse costs incurred during humanitarian crises such as the Wayanad landslide and the 2019 floods. The issue has sparked a heated debate between the Kerala government and the Centre, highlighting the challenges of state-Centre financial relations during natural disasters. In a significant shift, CPI(M) leader and Kozhikode district secretary P Mohanan clarified on Sunday that neither he nor his party had made any statements against the Multi-Exercise Combination (MEC 7), a fitness initiative based in Keralas Malabar region. Speaking to the media in Kozhikode, Mohanan emphasized that MEC 7 was launched as a preventive measure against lifestyle diseases and should not be opposed. However, he urged vigilance against the misuse of such platforms. Advertisement There have been instances where organizations like Jamaat-e-Islami, SDPI, Sangh Parivar, and other communal forces infiltrate and use such gatherings for their agendas. The public must remain cautious, he said. All we said was that vigilance is necessary. There is no need to interpret this beyond that, he added. Advertisement This clarification comes after Mohanan previously alleged that religious fundamentalist groups were using MEC 7 as a front for extremist activities. Speaking at a CPI(M) area conference in Taliparamba last month, he claimed that Jamaat-e-Islami, with support from Popular Front of India (PFI) workers, was organizing physical exercises under the guise of MEC 7 to promote extremist agendas. Concerns over MEC 7 have also been raised by Sunni leaders, with Muhammadali Kinalur, district secretary of the Sunni Yuvajana Sangham (SYS), expressing apprehensions about its objectives. He compared MEC 7 to earlier initiatives by the National Development Front (NDF), which, he alleged, had used martial arts and fitness programs to attract youth under a guise of communal intentions. Meanwhile, Congress leader and Palakkad MP VK Sreekandan defended MEC 7, describing it as a beneficial fitness program. Speaking at the MEC 7 regional event in Pattambi, he stated, This is a good initiative that promotes fitness without any caste, religious, or political bias. Such programs should be implemented nationwide. In light of these conflicting views, Central Intelligence agencies have reportedly begun investigating MEC 7 following allegations that groups like SDPI, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) are involved in its operations. The controversy surrounding MEC 7 underscores the growing politicization of community initiatives in Kerala, raising questions about the balance between public health programs and potential misuse for ulterior motives. A multi-location medical care task to elevate the lives of eight patients through crucial organ transplant surgeries undertaken in Jhalawar, Kota, Jaipur, and Jodhpur on Sunday. The operation began early on Sunday morning as a team of specialist doctors flew to Jhalawar in a special helicopter arranged by the Rajasthan government to retrieve organs donated by the family of Vishnu (33), is a brain-dead patient. The family decided to donate Vishnus heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and eyes (corneas). Advertisement The heart, lungs, and a kidney were needed for two patients at SMS Hospital, Jaipur, while a kidney and a liver were provided to AIIMS, Jodhpur, for transplant in two patients there. A team of doctors from AIIMS, Jodhpur, had also arrived in Jhalawar to receive the organs for their patients. The eyes (Cornea) were sent separately to Kota for transplant in needy ones there Advertisement The two teams of doctors from Jaipur and Jodhpur flew from Jhalawar to Jaipur aboard the same helicopter and landed at the temporarily constructed helipad at the SMS Medical College ground here. The team of doctors from SMS Medical College deboarded here around 1200 hrs with the harvested heart, lungs, and kidney, while the AIIMS team continued onward to Jodhpur with a kidney and a liver. A green corridor was created with the help of traffic police and the district administration to ensure unhindered, safe, and swift transportation of the organs from the temporary helipad to SMS Hospital for urgent surgeries. All standard medical procedural protocols were followed during the movement of the organs. SMS Medical College Principal and Controller of attached hospitals Dr Deepak Maheshwari said, The organs received are being implanted in two patients in Jaipur. Dr Maheshwari said, This is the first time that a multi-organ transplant involving the heart and lungs is being performed on one patient at this hospital. Dr Manish Agrawal, the Nodal Officer for Organ Donation and Transplant, said, The surgeries, involving 25 doctors, may last 6 to 8 hours or more. This was the first time a helicopter was used as an Air Ambulance for the speedy smooth and timely transportation of harvested organs, in Rajasthan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday, paid tributes to Indias first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 74th death anniversary, saying Patels personality and work will continue to be an inspiration for the citizens for the unity, integrity of the nation and the achievement of the resolution of a developed India. Patel died on December 15, 1950 after a heart attack at Birla House in Mumbai. He was conferred the Bharat Ratna Award posthumously in 1991. In a post on X in Hindi, PM Modi said, Hundreds of salutes to the Iron Man of the country, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his death anniversary. His personality and work will continue to be an inspiration for the countrymen for the unity, integrity of the nation and the achievement of the resolution of a developed India. Advertisement Union Home Minister Amit Shah also paid homage to the first home minister of Independent India. I remember and pay my tribute to the symbol of Indias unity, Iron Man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his death anniversary. Sardar Patel laid the foundation stone for the creation of modern India by integrating more than 550 princely states. His dedication towards national unity and integrity laid a strong foundation for Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat. Sardar Sahebs great personality and resolve to build the nation will forever remain a guide like the Pole Star for those who give priority to the national interest, Shah wrote in a post on X. Advertisement Defence Minister Rajnath Singh wrote that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patels contribution would never be forgotten. My heartfelt tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his Punyatithi. India will never forget his vision and contribution, he posted on X. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was born on October 31, 1875 in Gujarats Nadiad. He played a crucial role in the freedom struggle of India and was instrumental in the integration of over 500 princely states into the Indian Union. He was also the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of independent India. In Sardar Vallabhbhai Patels remembrance, National Unity Day was introduced by the Union government in 2014. He is credited with uniting all 562 princely states of the pre-independent country to build the Republic of India. Since 2014, October 31 has been observed as National Unity Day or Rashtriya Ekta Diwas and on this occasion Run for Unity is organised across the country, which is participated by people from all walks of life. Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma on Sunday launched several welfare schemes, including the Mukhya Mantri Vishwakarma Yojana, CM Aayushman Bak Sambal Yojana, and Mukhya Mantri Svanidhi Yojana. Celebrating the first anniversary of his government, which coincides with his birthday, the CM made announcements on various welfare initiatives at the Antyodaya Seva Camp here on Sunday afternoon. He also disbursed grants through direct bank transfer (DBT) into the accounts of beneficiaries of different state and central government-funded programmes. Advertisement Sharma said, Elders of the traditional Vishwakarma community will be provided a pension of Rs 3,000 per month under the CM Vishwakarma Pension Scheme. Advertisement He added that children and adolescents suffering from rare diseases will be provided Rs 5,000 as assistance up to the age of 18 years. These children will also receive free treatment for 50 diseases at designated hospitals. Initially, this scheme is being launched at AIIMS, Jodhpur, and Jaykaylon Mother and Child Care Institute here. However, it will later be extended to other hospitals, Sharma said. The Chief Minister also launched the Mukhya Mantri Svanidhi Yojana for poor street vendors on the lines of the PM Svanidhi Yojana. The opening of the Mukhya Mantri Sadbhavna Kendra was also announced. At the function, Sharma also disbursed Rs 247 crore to 2.15 lakh labourers and 11,000 street vendors under the PM Svanidhi Yojana, in addition to subsidies on interest for loans to 30,000 artisans. Chief Minister Sharma also participated in a programme dedicated to safety and security, Suraksha & Jeevan Raksha, and launched 750 Patrolling Motorcycles, 150 Kalika Patrolling units, 22 police Interceptors, 101 Life Support Ambulances, and 25 Patrolling Police Vehicles. He also inaugurated the Development Exhibition at the Jawahar Kala Kendra here. Aayoshman Aarogya Camps and Blood Donation Camps were also organised. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday presented the prestigious Presidents Colour to Chhattisgarh Police in a grand ceremony at the Police Parade Ground in Raipur. This marks a historic milestone for Chhattisgarh, recognizing the extraordinary bravery, dedication, and service of its police force over the last 24 years. Addressing the gathering, Shah lauded the Chhattisgarh Police, calling it one of the most valiant forces in the country. Advertisement The Presidents Colour is not just an honour. It is a symbol of service and duty. Chhattisgarh Police has shown exceptional courage and commitment in combating Maoist insurgency, organized crime, and drug trafficking, he said. Advertisement Shah also reaffirmed the governments commitment to eradicating left-wing extremism by March 31, 2026, and praised the police for maintaining law and order while winning public trust. Shah further acknowledged the polices efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic and their relentless fight against Maoist violence. He urged Maoist insurgents to surrender and join the mainstream, emphasizing the governments rehabilitation policies for those willing to renounce violence. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai congratulated the police force, highlighting the significance of achieving this honour in just 24 years since the states formation. This recognition will boost the morale of our police and inspire them to continue their outstanding work, Sai said. The Chief Minister also commended the success of anti Maoist operations, noting that a large number of insurgents have surrendered and rejoined the mainstream. He outlined the governments rehabilitation policies, including skill development programs, monthly stipends, and land allotments for surrendered Maoists. Sai emphasized the state polices sensitivity toward womens safety, citing initiatives like the Mahila Thana (womens police stations), women help desks, and the Abhivyakti app, which aim to provide a secure environment for women. Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Vijay Sharma described the Presidents Colours as a powerful symbol of the security forces courage and dedication. He praised the police for serving as a source of fear for wrongdoers and respect for the law-abiding. Director General of Police Ashok Juneja reflected on the Chhattisgarh police forces journey since the states inception in 2000. He highlighted their contributions in anti-Maoist operations, drug enforcement, and ensuring public safety. The ceremony featured a parade, including a march past by platoons, and culminated with the presentation of the Presidents Colours amidst chants by spiritual leaders, a display of tricolour balloons, and a spectacular fireworks show. Amit Shah also unveiled a coffee table book chronicling 24 years of Chhattisgarh Polices achievements. The event was attended by Assembly Speaker Dr Raman Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Arun Sao, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Intelligence Bureau Director Tapan Kumar Deka, police officials, and family members of martyred personnel. A blood-stained trouser bearing a tailors tag, a money receipt, and an e-wallet transaction record led the Odisha police to solve a chilling murder case in Cuttack district. The mutilated and blood-soaked body of a woman was discovered near the Kathajodi riverbed on the outskirts of Cuttack city on December 13. Advertisement With no missing person complaint filed, the case presented significant challenges. The only clues to the womans identity were the tattoos on her body. Advertisement The breakthrough came when investigators retrieved a trouser from the crime scene. The trouser carried a tag and receipt linked to a tailor in Surat, Gujarat. Collaborating with Gujarat police, the authorities traced the tailor shop, identifying the buyer as Balaram Dehuri through a UPI transaction for the stitching charges. Balaram, a native of Kendrapara district, had conspired with his brothers, Jagannath and Happy Dehuri, to murder his wife, Padmavati Samal, suspecting her of infidelity. The trio killed her and disposed of the dismembered body on the riverbed, confirmed Cuttack Deputy Commissioner of Police Jagmohan Meena. Accusing the BJP government of ruining the law and order situation in the state, Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav said on Sunday that UP has achieved the dubious distinction as a state of kidnappings. Elaborating on his contention, he said, Criminals are roaming freely as UP has become a state of kidnappings under the BJP government. The spirit of the kidnappers is high. Crimes like murder, robbery, and kidnapping are constantly on the rise. Cybercrime is also booming with fear and panic writ large on the people, he alleged. Mr. Yadav said criminals are carrying out their business of kidnapping for ransom in UP with impunity. Advertisement Instead of improving the law and order situation, the government is protecting the criminals and promoting riots. The police are being misused for filing false cases against political opponents, he said. He cited the examples of comedian Sunil Pal and actor Mushtaq Ahmed, who were kidnapped recently to prove his point. It has come to light that the kidnappers extorted Rs 8 lakh from Sunil Pal and Rs 2 lakh from Mustaq Khan. When the BJP government is formed by the kidnapping of peoples votes, no wonder the kidnapping industry will flourish under its jurisdiction, he castigated. Advertisement The SP chief recounted how a homeopath was kidnapped from the BBD area of Lucknow and was extorted a ransom of Rs 1 lakh from him. The doctor was held hostage for several days. Besdides there is the network of cyber thugs fast spreading in the entire state, he noted. Yadav said every day people are falling prey to cyber fraud as the BJP government has failed on the law and order front. It has proved incapable of dealing with the rising incidence of crime. Criminals are devising novel ways to fleece the people of their hard-earned money while the government remains a mute spectator. He said through fraudulent methods like Digital Arrest, criminals impersonating policemen are extorting money online. They are even creating a fake police station which they show in videos to their prey. Can the BJP government still talk about developing this Digital India, he asked. Mr. Yadav said the BJP government has failed on every front but is indifferent to the woes of the common man. Everything is unsafe under the BJP government. Instead of solving the problems of the people, the ruling party is engaged in destroying the communal harmony in society by spreading hatred, he said. He asserted that the public would heave a sigh of relief only after ousting this ineffective government from power in the elections of 2027. Nostradamus, the renowned French astrologer and seer, has made intriguing predictions about global affairs and Indias future for the year 2025. The 16th-century seer has been credited with predicting significant events that have shaped our world, from the Covid-19 pandemic to the moon landing. Nostradamus predicted that the ongoing RussiaUkraine war may end in 2025. Both nations would experience severe floods and volcanic eruptions due to climate change. According to the New York Post, Turkey and France may significantly facilitate the peace process between Ukraine and Russia. He also foretold an ancient plague in England in 2025, which could be a reference to a resurgence of a historical disease. Nostradamus had also predicted that 2025 might witness a giant asteroid hitting the Earth or coming threateningly close to it. According to a report by the New York Post, Nostradamus wrote, From the cosmos, a fireball will rise, A harbinger of fate. If this prediction were to come true, it could have significant implications. As we look at the crystal ball for Indias future, the year begins with the 2025 Republic Day parade. The theme is Swarnim Bharat: Virasat aur Vikas. The chief guest is yet to be finalised. In 2025, India is set to experience rapid economic growth, persistent social challenges, and technological innovation. Advertisement The governments significant strides in technology education and renewable energy, coupled with the potential for economic development, offer a hopeful outlook for Indias future prosperity. Indias role on the global stage is poised to strengthen with increased collaboration in trade, defence, and climate initiatives, particularly with other major economies. This potential for global influence is a reason for optimism and hope for Indias future. On the religious side, the next Maha Kumbh Mela will be held in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, from 13 January to 26 February 2025. The Kumbh Mela is a grand spiritual gathering every 12 years. Millions of pilgrims rush to the venue to take the holy bath, On the political front, a critical issue facing the Opposition coalition, INDIA, is its cohesion. Already, some tensions have emerged. Advertisement The Trinamool Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have distanced themselves from the alliance. The AAP plans to contest the Delhi Assembly elections independently. The cracks within were visible in the recent Haryana, Maharashtra, and Jharkhand Assembly polls. The partners in the coalition are unhappy about the Congress performance. They are watching how Congress performs in the upcoming Delhi and Bihar polls scheduled for 2025. Delhi will hold Assembly elections in February, with the BJP looking to unseat Aam Admi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal. The AAP has faced many challenges, including corruption allegations against several leaders in the recent past. It has appointed Atishi as a temporary chief minister. The AAP and Congress were partners in the Lok Sabha elections but did not engage with voters. Bihar will also have elections this year. It is politically a critical state. The ruling NDA, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, may face intense competition from the Mahagathbandhan, headed by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejaswi Yadav. The BJP and the JD(U) are working to retain the state. To fulfil the partys unfinished agenda, the Modi government is keen to implement various reforms, including one nation, one poll, population regulation, and economic initiatives. It has already revoked Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and completed the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. However, the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code is still pending. Two organisations the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) will celebrate significant anniversaries in the coming months. The RSS will complete 100 years in September, while the CPI will begin its centenary celebrations in December. In its 100th year, the RSS influence is widespread, making it challenging for future governments to diminish its grip over Indian politics and society. The impact of the communist parties has been reduced to a minimum as the right-wing parties are gaining momentum. On global affairs, the Quad Summit, originally scheduled to be held in New Delhi this September, was relocated to New York due to a scheduling conflict among the attending leaders. Now, India will host the Quad summit in 2025, a testament to its growing influence on the global stage. President Trump will likely visit New Delhi for the summit, further solidifying Indias position in international affairs. As a balance, Russian President Putin will also pay a visit, and the Kremlin has set a date early next year. It will be his first visit since the Ukraine conflict began. In summary, 2025 will be a mixed year for India. The economy is progressing well, and foreign relations are stable, but the political situation remains unclear. The suicide of a Bangalore-based tech professional has reignited concerns over the misuse of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, which addresses cruelty by husbands or their families toward women. While this law serves as a crucial safeguard against domestic abuse, cases like this highlight its potential exploitation, leading to devastating consequences for men and their families. Section 498A was introduced to protect women from physical and mental abuse, a deeply entrenched social issue in India. However, over time, its broad provisions ~ such as immediate arrest without preliminary investigation ~ have been criticised for creating opportunities for misuse. Reports of false allegations, extortionate financial demands, and protracted legal battles suggest a need for reforms that balance protecting women with preventing undue harassment of men and their families. In this case, the tech professional reportedly faced a slew of legal accusations, coupled with demands for exorbitant settlement amounts. Denied access to his child and allegedly ridiculed in court, he felt cornered by a system he believed was biased against him. His despair culminated in a tragic decision to end his life, leaving behind detailed suicide notes and a video that recount a harrowing tale of alleged abuse, extortion, and systemic failure. Data underscores the complexity of this issue. According to recent statistics, thousands of cases are registered under Section 498A each year, alongside a significant number of dowry-related deaths. While many cases are genuine and highlight the grim reality of violence against women, false accusations can have equally severe consequences, ranging from reputational damage to financial and emotional ruin. The judiciary has recognised these challenges, with the Supreme Court issuing guidelines to prevent arbitrary arrests and mandating mediation in family disputes. However, these measures seem inadequate in addressing the deeper systemic flaws that often leave men vulnerable to exploitation under the guise of justice. Reform is urgently needed. Advertisement Family courts should prioritise expedited hearings to prevent prolonged mental and financial strain on either party. Mediation should be strengthened as a prerequisite to litigation, ensuring that disputes are resolved amicably whenever possible. Furthermore, mechanisms to penalise false accusations must be enforced to deter misuse of the law. Timely resolution of such cases not only prevents personal tragedies but also upholds the integrity of the legal system, ensuring justice is delivered fairly and promptly. At the same time, it is crucial not to undermine the original intent of Section 498A, which remains a vital tool for addressing domestic violence. Gender-sensitive laws must strike a delicate balance ~ safeguarding the vulnerable without becoming instruments of harassment. The tragedy of this tech professionals death is a stark reminder of the human cost of systemic imbalance. It is imperative for policymakers, legal experts, and society to engage in a nuanced dialogue about gender-sensitive laws, ensuring that they uphold justice for all while protecting against their misuse. Without such introspection, the risk of more lives being destroyed by systemic gaps remains unacceptably high. Advertisement The concept of One Nation, One Election represents a bold attempt to overhaul Indias electoral system, addressing issues of cost, governance, and electoral fatigue. While the idea appears promising on paper, its implementation is fraught with challenges, both constitutional and political, that could reshape the nations democratic fabric in unforeseen ways. At its core, this initiative aims to synchronise elections for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, and Union territories, eventually extending to local bodies like municipalities and panchayats. Proponents argue that such synchronisation would reduce the financial burden of frequent elections and ensure smoother governance by minimising disruptions caused by the model code of conduct. However, these perceived advantages come with significant complexities that merit close scrutiny. The implementation of simultaneous elections requires extensive constitutional amendments. For example, altering Articles 83 and 172 to align the durations of Parliament and state legislatures demands a two-thirds majority in both Houses of Parliament. Given the current parliamentary arithmetic, achieving this is an uphill battle. Subsequent phases of the plan, such as synchronising elections for local bodies, will also require ratification by at least half the state legislatures, highlighting the enormous legislative challenges. Moreover, any such amendments must be assessed for their impact on the federal structure. Advertisement In a country as diverse as India, the autonomy of states is a cornerstone of governance. Aligning elections could inadvertently shift the balance of power toward the Centre, raising concerns about the erosion of federal principles. Political and logistical hurdles further complicate this vision. Smaller regional parties, which rely on state specific issues to build their voter base, view synchronised elections as a threat to their relevance. Many fear that simultaneous polls would amplify the influence of national parties, leaving little room for regional voices. Securing the support of these stakeholders will require careful negotiation and assurances that their concerns are addressed. Logistically, the scale of conducting nationwide electi ons at once is daunting. It demands an extraordinary deployment of manpower, security, and resources. Advertisement Local body elections, in particular, add another layer of complexity, as they require unique preparations like the coordination of electoral rolls between the Election Commission of India and state Election Commissions. These challenges could strain institutional capacities and potentially affect the quality of elections. While the initiative reflects a long-term vision for electoral reform, its timing raises questions. Introducing such a proposal just months before the Delhi elections suggests a political motive, with the move possibly serving as a tool to project the ruling partys commitment to efficiency and reform. However, failing to build consensus could reveal the inherent limitations of this ambitious agenda. The vision of One Nation, One Election offers an opportunity to streamline Indias electoral process, but its realisation demands careful consideration of constitutional integrity, political consensus, and logistical readiness. Above all, any reform must strengthen Indias democratic fabric without undermining the diversity and autonomy that define it. Chinas ruling Communist Party claims the self governing democracy of Taiwan as its own territory despite never having controlled it, and has not ruled out taking the island by force. It views unofficial interactions between Washington and Taipei as a violation of its sovereignty. Taiwans leadership rejects Chinas territorial claims over it. China seems to be determined to integrate the democratic island of Taiwan with the mainland. China has upped the ante in recent times by increased military activities in Taiwanese waters to intimidate and with the intention to bring Taiwan into submission. That would not be as simple a proposition as Beijing might imagine. Despite that Beijing has used economic doles with Taiwans limited diplomatic allies. The intention is to diplomatically isolate Taiwan by coercing those allies to switch allegiance; Beijing would be too credulous to think that Taiwan has no friends. But Beijing is not deterred. In the latest move, China fielded its largest maritime deployment around the Taiwan Strait and Western Pacific in decades. Advertisement This surge of Chinese military activities put Taiwan on high alert. The Chinese provocation came as Taiwan braced for expected military drills after President Lai Ching-te sparked Beijings ire by making unofficial stops in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam during a weeklong South Pacific tour, which wrapped up on 6 December. The visit was Lais first to the United States since becoming president in May. Advertisement The leader, who has long faced Beijings wrath for championing Taiwans sovereignty, used his travel to tout solidarity with like minded democracies. Chinese authorities voiced firm opposition to Lais trip, referring to him as a separatist. His travel came after the US approved new arms sales to Taiwan, which prompted China to vow strong countermeasures. China has used military drills to voice dissatisfaction over visits by US or Taiwanese officials to each others soil. In May, days after Lais inauguration, China launched two days of large-scale military drills surrounding Taiwan in what it called punishment for so-called separatist acts. It called those drills Joint Sword-2024A. Chi na then conducted Joint-Sword-2024B drills in October, after Lai said during a National Day address that the island was not subordinate to China. The latest military movement by China appears to differ from those two drills, including in its geographic breadth. China refuses to react to questions, saying the Taiwan issue is Chinas internal affair, and China will firmly defend its national sovereignty. On 9 December, Taiwan claimed that multiple formations of Chinese naval and coast guard vessels were moving in regional waters and around the Taiwan Strait. Lt. Gen. Hsieh Jih-Sheng, deputy chief of the General Staff for Intelligence claimed an astonishing number of Chinese vessels were deployed at a scale that could block external forces. Around 90 Chinese navy and coast guard ships were in the waters near Taiwan. Beijing issued no comments on why so many vessels were deployed. Beijing often announces such military drills in advance. China neither acknowledged nor refuted Taiwans claim of its large-scale deployment. Hsieh also claimed that the PLA naval deployment was not only targeting Taiwan but the geographic spread stretched into waters past the first island chain, which encompasses Japan, Taiwan, parts of the Philippines and Indonesia. The larger Chinese objective seems to be to challenge the US as the dominant power in the Pacific. Taiwan is the first to feel the Chinese heat as the PLAs activities exerted military pressure, specifically when Chinese forces have significantly raised their posture around the Western Pacific. Taiwans discomfort is understandable. If China blocks outside forces from entering the first island chain, it could pose a survival threat to Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, potentially cutting off naval access by outside forces seeking to aid the island. The maritime deployment was the largest since China began holding large-scale war games around Taiwan in the mid1990s. Taiwan authorities also reported a significant increase in PLA aircraft operating around the island. It detected 47 such jets within 24 hours on 9 December. It transpired that the PLA had designated seven zones of reserved airspace to the east of its coastal Zhejiang and Fujian province. Taiwan is alarmed by the unprecedented scale of Beijings naval deployment of its largest naval fleet in nearly three decades to the waters around the island. Thus, this is a more significant threat than previous iterations. This marked the largest Chinese naval manoeuvre since the 1996 military drills surrounding Taiwans presidential elections. There were indications that the aircraft were simulating attacks on foreign naval vessels and practicing how to repel civilian and military planes as part of a blockade exercise. The Chinese ships were deployed from its northern, eastern and southern theatre commands. The vessels conducted grey zone harassment, which Taiwans coast guard described as deliberate provocation short of conflict that included regular military incursion by air and sea. Taiwan appealed to Beijing as a civilised neighbour to cease its troublemaking. While the Taiwanese defence ministry activated combat readiness exercises and warned that unilateral provocations could destabilise peace in the region, it reminded Beijing that its actions would not be appreciated by the international community. While Beijing has not described the nature of its military activities closer and within Taiwanese waters, Taiwan has described these as Chinas training exercises. This shows that Taiwan is exercising extreme restraint despite provocations in order not to escalate matters. However, training can develop into drills, and drills can become war. The US State Department has urged China to exercise restraint. It reminded Beijing that a routine transit by President Lai should not be used as a pretext for military pressure. There is overwhelming opinion across the world that the scale of Chinese deployment targeting the entire island chain stretching from Japan to Borneo is a clear demonstration of Chinas intention to intimidate Taiwan militarily by exerting control over critical waterways. No wonder, Beijings military posture around Taiwan in recent years has raised fears of conflict in the region. It is expected that China will uphold the true meaning of freedom of navigation, uphold the international rules-based order and avoid any escalation. (The writer is former Senior Fellow at the PMML (Ministry of Culture), MP-IDSA (Ministry of Defence), and ICCR Chair Professor (Ministry of External Affairs) at Reitaku University, Japan. He can be reached at rajaram.panda@gmail.com) Ahead of the assembly elections in the national capital, Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav alleged the AAP and the BJP ignored the residents of JJ Clusters for a decade and are now shedding crocodiles tears and making false promises. He claimed that during the Delhi Nyay Yatra, they promised to support Congress in the assembly elections as it was the only party that had always protected their interest and welfare. Yadav said, Kejriwal, who promised free power and water to the poor, fleeced them by charging high power and water charges. Despite this, he is continuously giving them false assurances. Advertisement He claimed that it was the Congress government that implemented a policy to settle for slum dwellers by giving them plots, and later implemented an in-situ flat construction policy to relocate them with better living standards. Hitting out at the saffron party, the Congress leader alleged that the BJP-led Centre had demolished many JJ clusters which left lakhs of people homeless and even schools where their children went to study were also razed down during the demolition drives. Advertisement Kejriwal kept quiet when the JJ clusters near the Yamuna River were flooded during the monsoon as the drains were not desilted by the AAP government for many years, and the uprooted slum dwellers were neither given any compensation nor helped them rebuild their shacks, he said. The Maldives will implement a nationwide ban on the use and sale of vaping devices starting at midnight on Saturday, according to the nations state-run Public Service Media (PSM). The ban follows recent amendments to the Tobacco Control Act, signed into law by President Mohamed Muizzu on November 13. Advertisement The amendments stipulate that the sale, free distribution, and use of e-cigarettes and vaping devices will be illegal beginning December 15. Advertisement The PSM reported that importing vaping devices into the Maldives after this date will result in a fine of MVR 50,000 (about 3,250 US dollars), Xinhua news agency reported. Several countries are making moves to tackle youth vaping via banning the manufacture and sale of disposable vaping products. In October, Muizzu had announced a ban on the importation of vape products in the Maldives following a recommendation from the Maldives NCD Alliance, an alliance of seven Maldivians organisations and health experts. I have directed authorities to take all necessary measures to prohibit the importation of vaping devices and their components from November 15, 2024 and to prohibit the use, possession, manufacture, sale, advertising and free distribution of vaping devices in the country from December 15, 2024, the President had said in a social media post. The Maldives NCD Alliance said that tobacco and tobacco products contribute significantly to the increase in non-communicable diseases in the Maldives. At the same time, the Maldivian government has also stepped up efforts to combat drug trafficking. Earlier this week, Muizzu also revealed that six times more drugs have been seized so far in 2024 compared to 2023. Addressing a meeting, the president said the drugs seized so far this year are estimated to have a street value of around 84 million US dollars. Muizzu added that over 150 expatriates linked to drug trafficking have been deported so far this year, which is twice of 2023. The president said police have raided over 13,435 establishments this year amid the nationwide crackdown on trafficking, adding that around 8,500 raids were conducted last year. The government, on Sunday, termed the visit of Chief of Nepal Army, Gen Ashok Raj Sigdel, to India from December 11-14 as a significant milestone in strengthening the long-standing ties between the Nepali Army and the Indian Army. The visit, which saw key engagements between senior leaders and officials from both sides, has further strengthened the foundation for enhanced bilateral military cooperation, exchange, and collaboration in areas of strategic and defence interests, the Ministry of Defence said. During his visit, Gen Sigdel engaged in a series of productive discussions with his Indian counterpart, Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Indian Army. Advertisement The talks focused on ways to expand and deepen the cooperation between the two armies, with several key outcomes from the visit that will further strengthen the bond between both nations. The Nepal Army chief had important discussions with key Indian leaders, focused on enhancing bilateral defence cooperation and strategic alignment between India and Nepal. During his visit, Gen Sigdel met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. Advertisement The chief of the Nepali Army was conferred with the Honorary Generalship of the Indian Army, symbolising the deep and enduring friendship between the two military forces. Gen Sigdel served as the Reviewing Officer at the Passing Out Parade at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. The event included the commissioning of two Nepali cadets, Officer Cadet Binod Bhatta and Officer Cadet Prabin Pandey. The visit resulted in agreements aimed at strengthening the operational and technological capabilities of the Nepali Army, including enhancing the scope of joint exercises. As part of the defence cooperation, General Upendra Dwivedi, COAS announced the handing over of a target practice drone and medical equipment related to Field Hospital to the Nepali Army. He also visited key Indian defence industries, including Tata Aerospace & Defence Ltd (TASL) and Bharat Forge in Pune. The MoD said the scope of the bilateral joint military exercise Surya Kiran, which has been the flagship event between the two armies, would be considered for enhancement after further mutual deliberations. This will further enhance the preparedness of both armies to undertake peacekeeping operations, as both countries are among the largest contributors to UN peacekeeping operations. The United States is in direct contact with the Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which has gained control of Damascus after overthrowing the over two-decade regime of Bashar al-Assad, US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken confirmed on Saturday (local time). Blinken also affirmed that the US is committed to finding home Austin Tice, an American journalist who has been missing in Syria since 2012. Weve been in contact with HTS and with other parties. We have impressed upon everyone weve been in contact with the importance of helping find Austin Tice and bringing him home, he told reporters in Jordan. Advertisement Weve also shared the principles that I just laid out for our ongoing support principles, again, that have now been adopted by countries throughout the region and well beyond. And weve communicated those, Blinken added. Regarding, reports of Russian military withdrawal from Syria, Blinken acknowledged reports of Russian withdrawals, though he refrained from offering specific details beyond media reports. I cant comment on anything beyond what Ive seen in reported in the media, Blinken remarked, directing further inquiries to other administration officials for clarification. Advertisement Notably, Blinken, who was on an unannounced tour to the Middle East, met Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in Baghdad on Friday to discuss the future of neighbouring Syria. Blinken arrived in Baghdad after stopping in Turkiye, where he also emphasised the importance of working against a resurgence of ISIL. During his meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, he spoke stressed the importance of a Syria-led and Syrian-owned transition. Blinkens visit to Baghdad was the final stop on his Middle East tour, following the toppling of President Bashar al-Assads government in Syria. According to Al Jazeera, Blinken and al-Sudani discussed the need for Syrias transition from dictatorship to democracy to be inclusive and protective of all minorities. They discussed the conviction of so many countries in the region and beyond that as Syria transitions from the Assad dictatorship to hopefully a democracy, it does so in a way that, of course, protects all of the minorities in Syria, that produces an inclusive, nonsectarian government, Blinken said, adding that Syria should not become a platform for terrorism. I think this is a moment as well for Iraq to reinforce its own sovereignty as well as its stability, security and success going forward, Blinken said. After the Syria rebel forces led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Shamb entered Damascus, forcing President Bashar al-Assad to flee from the country, ending his over two-decade rule in the country. Recently, the opposition declared Mohammed al-Bashir as the interim Prime Minister. al-Bashir prioritised the repatriation of Syrian refugees living abroad as one of his main objectives. He said that one of his first goals is to bring back the millions of Syrian refugees who are abroad. He also emphasised the need for stability and calm in Syria and stated that he is collaborating with officials from Bashar al-Assads former regime to restore public services and institutions. The United States appreciates the resiliency of democracy and the rule of law in South Korea and its alliance with the Asian country remains ironclad, a White House official said Saturday after the National Assembly voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his botched martial law attempt. South Koreas legislature impeached Yoon, suspending him from his duties until the Constitutional Court decides whether to reinstate him or remove him from office. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has taken over as the acting president. Advertisement We appreciate the resiliency of democracy and the rule of law in the ROK. Our Alliance remains ironclad, and the United States is committed to the peace and security of the Korean peninsula, a National Security Council spokesperson said in a statement. ROK stands for South Koreas official name, the Republic of Korea. Advertisement The American people will continue standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the people of the Republic of Korea, the official added, Yonhap news agency reported. Earlier in the day, South Koreas National Assembly voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his botched imposition of martial law, suspending him from his duties until the Constitutional Court decides whether to reinstate him or remove him from office, with citizens cheering over his impeachment. The impeachment motion against Yoon passed 204-85, with three abstentions and eight invalid ballots, after all 300 members of the Assembly cast their votes. The motions passage came 11 days after Yoon declared martial law in an announcement that caught the nation by surprise and drew outrage, as troops encircled the National Assembly compound in an apparent attempt to stop lawmakers from repealing the decree. The martial law order, which was lifted within six hours after the Assembly voted it down, has prompted investigations by the police, the prosecution and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials into whether Yoon staged an insurrection. He is currently banned from leaving the country. Golda Meir, who led Israel during the 1973 war, once lamented about Moses: He took us 40 years through the desert in order to bring us to the one spot in the Middle East that has no oil. Now her successor Benjamin Netanyahu seems to have found the spot that Moses had missed, and claimed it for Israel. Within hours of the rebels storming into Damascus and Bashar al-Assad fleeing, Netanyahu ordered his forces to go and grab the little stretch of Golan Heights that hadnt been under Israels control. Bravo! But what has that got to do with Meirs lament about Moses and oil? The story has to start with Exodus. After he led Gods chosen people out of Egyptian captivity across a cinematically (watch The Ten Commandments) parted Red Sea, Moses had to herd them through the desert for 40 years till he spotted the promised land. Sadly, the messiah missed walking in there with his people; that honour went to his disciple Joshua, much like in the case of Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastian Elcano who sailed around the globe for the first time. Illustration: Job P.K. The Hebrews lived and prospered in the land of milk and honey, fighting the Philistines, resisting the Romans, and crucifying the Christians. But after their second temple was burnt down, and after many more misfortunes brought about by Roman invasions, they dispersed across Eurasia and North Africa in a diaspora. Two millennia later, there appeared David Balfour, Britains secretary of state, invoking the power of his empire and promising the Jews their promised land again. Balfour could make good his promisean army of Hindu, Muslim and Sikh troops from India, marching under a Christian commander, had just secured the land from seven centuries of Muslim rule. Jews from all over the world started pouring in by the 1930s, and in a decade and half they formed a republic on the sands where they invested their blood, toil and tears to draw out milk, honey and more, but no oil. Strangely, all around them were the Arabs, hostile and ruled mostly by amirs, sheikhs, kings, generals and a few life-long presidents, wallowing in oil and making petro-dollars in billions. This quirky ethnic geology prompted Meirs lament. Since Meirs days and even earlier, Israel has been digging for oil, and fighting the Arabs. The wars they won, capturing a lot of their neighbours lands and giving back very little of it on the truce table. One such stretch has been the Golan Heights, won from Syria in 1967, since used as a good gun position for firing at the Hezbollah camps in Syria. Yet, for all their toil, they found no oil. None of the oil streams of neighbouring Arabia would leak into the dry little land. Then came an abracadabra moment. Like in an Arabian Nights tale, there appeared a genie in 2015 showing them oil under the Golan Heights. No joke. Genie Energy, a US company, drilled in Golan and declared that the plateau was swimming on an ocean of oil. Even as the world protested, the UN condemned, the Arabs cursed, and the Syrians seethed, Israel started digging there. In 2019, Donald Trump-led America declared Golan as sovereign property of Israel, but none followed suit. Now what has Netanyahu done? Hardly had Assad fallen and Syria collapsed into chaos, when he asked his troops to walk into the buffer between Golan and the Syrian line, and claim it as a "temporary defensive position. Israel now commands the whole of Golan and all its soil and oil. No one knows when Syria would get back its strength to even raise a claim. prasannan@theweek.in Sobhita Dhulipala won countless heartsand broke a fewwhen she married actor Naga Chaitanya at a hyper traditional Telugu Brahmin ceremony, where every ritual was scrupulously followed. Sobhita bagged the title of Bride of the Year with ease, as fans were treated to a series of truly stunning images, featuring exquisite Kanjeevaram saris and eye-popping temple jewellery. Staying faithful to her roots in south India, the bride exuded grace and good taste with every oufit change. Fashion eagles applauded her decision to ditch Bollywood-style, over-embellished, ostentatious, sparkly lehengas for one-of-a-kind, handwoven masterpieces that complemented the timeless handcrafted, legacy jewellery. Sobhita arrived in Mumbai from Visakhapatnam at age 16 to pursue her education in corporate law. She won a couple of beauty pageant titles, competed in the Philippines, and came back to sign her debut film opposite Vicky Kaushal. What did it for Sobhita was her role as Tara in the hit OTT series, Made in Heaven, in which she played a wedding planner dealing with her own marital issues. For a self-described uncool geek, the sultry Sobhita was noticed by the fashion community and soon became the muse for top designers like Sabyasachi Mukherjee. Naga Chaitanya and Sobhita Dhulipala | Instagram@sobhitad Despite her growing celebrity status, Sobhita chose to keep away from the daily Bollywood circus, and one hardly saw her flaunting airport looks or appearing on the red carpet at society weddings. This was a refreshing break for someone who didnt have a godfather in the film industry and was not a part of any clique. The first time we met was at Mukherjees exuberant flagship store opening in Mumbai. She was dressed in deep red and looked stunning, as she quietly interacted with invitees, without trying to attract any attention to herself. Level-headed, I concluded! We found ourselves near the elevator and I complimented her lavishlynot just about her beauty, but her varied performances, which ranged from the mysterious mistress of a ruthless underworld don in The Night Manager to her brief appearance as a bejewelled princess in the Tamil epic Ponniyin Selvan. She was restrained and reserved in her response, which was such a relief. I wished her well and left. Now that she has married into the Nagarjuna family, what sort of a professional and personal future can fans expect? Todays showbiz environment encourages married female actors to go ahead full steam with their careers, have babies, travel on their own, pursue their interests. There is no lid placed on ambition because of a wedding band. At 32, Sobhita has a long, productive life ahead of her. The closest Bollywood counterpart I can think of is Rani Mukerji, who married Aditya Chopra, chairperson of the Yash Raj Films. Sobhitas father-in-law is Nagarjuna Akkineni, co-owner of the production company Annapurna Studios. Rani took her time to settle into her new responsibilities, especially after she had her baby. Today, she picks her film projects with care, making sure to maintain the all-important work-life balance as she smoothly juggles her commitments. Sobhita is likely to do the same. Her own parents have provided the groundworkher mother was a primary school teacher and her father, a merchant navy engineer. Sobhitas sister Samanta is a doctor who specialises in foetal medicine and radiology, and is married to a neurologist. Sobhita and Naga have set the bar high for showbiz power couples by demonstrating how one can get it so right when stars align. Heres wishing the made in heaven jodi a gorgeous life of togethernessand more films, please! X@DeShobhaa Instagram@shobhaade The circle of influence is not an isolated one. It is etched by myriads of experiences, relationships and learnings that we amass, helping us address tectonic shifts in life. Last week, three Indian womensocial activist Aruna Roy, funeral rites performer Pooja Sharma and wrestler-turned politician Vinesh Phogatfeatured in the BBCs list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world. I was filled with a sense of pride and ruminated about my circle of influence. After spending five years in Egypt, Nestle decided to move me to the Philippines, one of its biggest operations in Asia. I was quite happy about the movea peaceful country with steady operations. It had been four months in the Philippines, and my wife and I finalised a house. On a Friday night, in 2015, I was at a friends home for dinner in Manila when Wan Ling Martello, Nestles executive vice-president for Asia, Oceania and Africa, tried calling. But I didnt hear the phone ring, so she messaged me, Call me back. Illustration: Job P.K. Wan Ling was my first woman boss, and was based in Switzerland. She was tremendously inspiring, with remarkable fortitude and strong sense of perspective, someone who valued people deeply. Conversations with her would begin with questions about my family and only then progress to work; with my other bosses, it was the other way around. That evening, when we finally spoke, Wan Ling came straight to the point, Let me cut it short. I need you back in India for the Maggi issue that had just unfolded. And the board had decided that I was the right man to address it. My maternal grandmother studied only till middle school but was fiercely independent and championed various causes. After returning from the Philippines, I visited Bengaluru to seek her blessings before embarking on my third, but important stint in India. She told me to take care of my people and things will take care of themselves. Her advice to focus on people was the soundest advice I got, wiser than that of any professor in a business school. My mother was a silver medallist at the University of Mysore. However, her academic journey was cut short; she was married relatively soon after her exams. Of my grandmothers, one had studied till high school, while the other only till class three. I would get amused when my paternal grandmother signed her name E Rukmini on chequesit looked different each time. She was virtually unlettered but was amazingly enlightened, sagacious and progressive. I often reminisce my grandmothers words, though spoken decades ago. Her advice to me, when my daughter was heading for university, was simple yet profound: Educate her well and do not get her married too early. Women continue to face barriers to education and are bereft of opportunities even though they are bright, accomplished and strive hard. I was lucky that I could give my daughter solid education. So, meeting Meenakshi, a young girl from Rohira village, was a poignant reminder of the transformative power of education. In the heart of rural India lies a small village named Rohiraone of 14 villages in Nuh district of Haryana adopted by Nestle and S M Sehgal foundation under Project Vriddhi. Nuh district, incidentally, is at the bottom of the list of aspirational districts in India as classified by NITI Aayog. Meenakshis eyes sparkled with excitement as she described her newly refurbished school, with drinking water, clean toilets for boys and girls, laptops for digital classes, wholesome midday lunch and so much space to play. Her ambition is to be a doctor! This transported me back to Gloria Steinems superpower statement that we are linked not ranked; implying that humans are all literally connected with each other in a circle and not through hierarchy. Narayanan is chairman & managing director, Nestle India Outside the country, Nissan might be cutting 9,000 jobs and reducing production by 20 per cent in line with its announcement last month. But in India, the Japanese automaker plans to go ahead in full steam, adding 600 more in headcount to accommodate a third shift in its Chennai plant. According to Nissan India Operations President Frank Torres, the company is on track to turn its fortunes around in the country. Nissan is betting big on India, said Torres, The plans [for India] remain intact despite this global turbulence. Torres also said that in the current fiscal 2024-2025, Nissan India expects a 45 per cent jump in total sales growth, hitting 1.05 lakh units with hopes pinned on the latest update to the compact SUV, Magnite. The senior official assured that despite global perception due to the November cost-cutting measures across other territories, Nissan in India is looking to grow its production. We just included almost 600 new employments in our manufacturing plant in Chennai, Torres added. The latest upgrade in headcount to the Chennai plants was to expand production with two new models, said the Nissan official. We dont forecast that the impact will be in India because our plans remain untouched. In July this year, Nissans India unit said they plan to launch at least five new models in the coming 30 months to compete in a crowded and highly competitive car market, setting a target of 1 lakh units each for its domestic and export volumes by the end of fiscal 2026tripling its 2023 volumes. According to Torres, the third shift at the Chennai plant began a few weeks ago. It means that we have grown one full new shift. And then also moving forward towards 2026, where we will need to put our manufacturing plant at full capacity with both lines at three shifts. As of today, we are modifying one of them for the new models, he added. If Nissan India achieves its volume target in new models by 2026-end, the Chennai plants utilisation will jump to more than 80 per cent. This would then require more jobs in the plant than the current headcount, said Torres. Increasing headcount is part of our commitment, he added, We have committed to the Tamil Nadu government to grow our headcount next year based on the new investments, stating the support from the state government. The unit said that the global Renault-Nissan entity is looking to create more than 2,000 jobs across manufacturing and R&D, which is in line with their USD 600 million investment plan announced a year ago. Our plans remain intact, and our plans for the new models remain untouched, Torres assured. For the fiscal FY 2024-2025, Nissan India looks to export more than 74,200 units and domestic sales to grow by 4 per cent to 31,155 units. Actor Allu Arjun was released on bail on Saturday following his arrest in connection with the stampede, which resulted in the death of a woman and left her nine-year-old son critically injured, at Hyderabads Sandhya theatre during the premiere of his film, Pushpa 2: The Rule. Following this, celebrities from across the film industry have shared their thoughts on social media. Heres a look at who said what. Rashmika Mandanna Rashmika Mandanna, co-star of Allu Arjun in the Pushpa franchise, expressed her disappointment on social media, saying, I cant believe what I am seeing right now.. I cant believe what I am seeing right now.. The incident that happened was an unfortunate and deeply saddening incident. However, it is disheartening to see everything being blamed on a single individual. This situation is both unbelievable and heartbreaking. Rashmika Mandanna (@iamRashmika) December 13, 2024 In her post, Rashmika described the stampede that led to the womans death as an unfortunate and deeply saddening incident. However, she also said it was unbelievable and heartbreaking to see Allu Arjun being blamed for it. Sreeleela Sreeleela, who was in Visakhapatnam for the launch of a shopping mall on Saturday, December 14, 2024, said Allu Arjun's arrest was very unfortunate and expressed relief that he was released. Im glad that at least now hes back outside. Everyone was so worried for him yesterdayabout whats happening, she said. The Pushpa 2: The Rule co-star, who appeared alongside Arjun in the song, Kissik, added, Hes the kind of person who always does the right thing. Its because he respects the law that he followed all the rules and did everything he should as a citizen. Samantha Ruth Prabhu A video that went viral on social media on Saturday morning shows Allu Arjun returning to his Jubilee Hills residence after being granted bail. In the footage, his brother, Allu Sirish, rushes to embrace him, followed by his son Ayaan. A deeply emotional moment unfolds when his wife, Allu Sneha Reddy, holds him close and kisses him, visibly breaking down. Samantha Ruth Prabhu shared the video on her Instagram stories, writing, I am not crying, okay! along with teary-eyed emojis, and tagged Allu Arjun and Sneha Reddy with heart and sparkle emojis. Vignesh Shivan Following his release, Vignesh Shivan shared a video on his Instagram stories with the caption, Waited to only see this! With heartfelt condolences to the family. Very very unfortunate to go through this @alluarjunonline sir, but the way he handled this was very mature and dignified. He posted heart, folded hands, and trophy emojis while tagging Allu Arjun in the story. Nani Nani shared his thoughts, criticising the government and media for their enthusiasm when it comes to issues involving celebrities. He wrote, I wish the kind of enthusiasm government authorities and media show in anything related to people from cinema was also there for the regular citizens. We would live in a better society. I wish the kind of enthusiasm government authorities and media show in anything related to people from cinema was also there for the regular citizens. We would have lived in a better society. That was an unfortunate incident and it was heart breaking. We should all learn from the Nani (@NameisNani) December 13, 2024 He then emphasised that the death should serve as a learning lesson for everyone, stating, That was an unfortunate incident and it was heartbreaking.. We should all learn from the disaster, be more careful going forward, and introduce measures to ensure this doesnt happen again. We are all at fault here. One person is not responsible for this. Vivek Oberoi Vivek Oberoi shared a detailed note, voicing his support for Allu Arjun, recalling his long-standing association with the actors family. He wrote, While any loss of life is painful and should be avoided, is it fair to arrest Allu Arjun for this mishap? We all love our fans dearly. Ive known Allu and his wonderful family for decades. They are law-abiding citizens who have always been patriotic and socially responsible. I personally know what a wonderful human being Allu is, and Im sure he was deeply saddened by the tragic news. He also questioned whether political leaders would face similar consequences if such an incident occurred during a campaign rally. Vivek advocated for finding a permanent solution to avoid such pain and concluded his note with, Bunny, we know and love you for the gentleman you are off-screen, my brother. Praying for you and for the life lost. Varun Dhawan Varun Dhawan addressed Allu Arjuns arrest during a promotional event for his upcoming movie Baby John. Responding to reporters, he remarked, Safety protocols are not something that an actor can handle on their own. We can only tell the people around us. Citing the example of Cinepolis, Dhawan appreciated the theatre chain for ensuring proper arrangements for the event. We are grateful to them for that. The incident that occurred is very painful. I feel deeply sorry and extend my condolences. But at the same time, you cant place blame on one person for this, he added. Nithiin Its heartbreaking to witness such tragedies. I believe we must reflect on how to prevent them in the future. This isnt about finding fault but about learning, growing, and taking collective responsibility to ensure a safer and better tomorrow.. nithiin (@actor_nithiin) December 13, 2024 Actor Nithiin described the incident as heartbreaking and urged reflection on how to prevent such tragedies in the future. He emphasised that the focus should not be on finding fault but on taking collective responsibility to ensure a safer and better environment moving forward. Khushbu Sundar Egos, insecurities, power games are played to hide their own short comings and failures. Our dearest Bunny, @alluarjun is above and beyond all of this. More power to you dear. Nothing can hold you back! KhushbuSundar (@khushsundar) December 14, 2024 Khushbu Sundar voiced her support for Allu Arjun, taking to X (formerly Twitter) to criticise those she accused of playing egos, insecurities, and power games to conceal their own shortcomings. Referring to Allu Arjun as dearest Bunny, she expressed confidence in his resilience, stating, Nothing can hold you back. Several others also reacted to the arrest, extending their support to Allu Arjun, including celebrities like Sonu Sood, Ravi Kishan, Ram Gopal Varma, Sharwanand, Sundeep Kishan, Adivi Sesh, Anil Ravipudi, Ajay Bhupathi, Gopichand Malineni, Rahul Ramakrishna, and more, conveying their support through statements and social media. While most of them expressed their reactions through social media or to the press, a few chose to extend their support to Allu Arjun in person. His uncle Chiranjeevi and his brother Naga Babu were among the first to meet Allu. Director Sukumar, who helms the Pushpa franchise, also made a personal visit to check on the actor. Actors like Vijay Deverakonda, rumoured to play the antagonist in Pushpa 3: The Rampage, and his brother Anand Deverakonda were seen at Allu Arjuns home following his release. Rana Daggubati, Naga Chaitanya, Chiranjeevis wife Surekha, and several others were also spotted at Arjuns residence. Jr NTR, who is currently shooting in Mumbai for War 2, reportedly called Allu Arjun to convey his support, as he was unable to visit in person due to his commitments. Similarly, Nandamuri Balakrishna reportedly called Allu Arjun following the incident and had a lengthy conversation with the actor. Following a stampede that claimed the life of a woman and injured her nine-year-old son at Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad during the premiere of his film Pushpa 2: The Rule, actor Allu Arjun has been struggling with legal woes. This is not the first time a popular actor has been involved in controversy, and the incident has renewed attention to South Indian actors who have been involved in legal issues. Here are other South players who have seen their own share of legal embroilments, from judicial disputes to public outcry. Darshan Thoogudeepa On June 9, 2024, the body of Renukaswamy, a young man from Chitradurga, was found near a stormwater drain in Sumanahalli. The post-mortem report revealed that he had died of shock and haemorrhage caused by multiple blunt injuries. Following the finding, the Bengaluru police launched an investigation that led to the arrest of Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa on June 11. Darshan was taken into custody after his name came up during the questioning of nine others arrested in connection with the case. The police suspected Darshans involvement in the murder of Renukaswamy, who was reportedly a fan of the actor. According to reports, Renukaswamy was lured to a shed in RR Nagar under the pretext of Darshan wanting to meet him. There he was allegedly tortured and killed. It is said that he was murdered for sending crude and obscene texts to actor and co-accused Pavithra Gowda, who is allegedly in a relationship with Darshan. Back in 2011, Darshan was arrested after his wife filed a complaint accusing him of domestic abuse. He spent 14 days in judicial custody before the matter was settled out of court. Dileep On February 17, 2017, a popular Malayalam actress was abducted and sexually assaulted in a car by four men in Kochi. Months later, on July 10, 2017, Malayalam actor Dileep was arrested on charges of conspiracy in connection with the case. Dileep was accused of hiring men to abduct, assault, and record videos of the assault over alleged personal enmity. He spent six months behind the bars before being released on bail. Shine Tom Chacko On January 30, 2015, Malayalam actor Shine Tom Chacko was arrested along with four women, reportedly models, from a flat in Kadavanthra, Kochi. During the raid, police seized more than 10 grams of cocaine worth approximately Rs 10 lakh. Shine and the others spent two months in jail before being released on bail. Following his release, the actor claimed he had no knowledge of the happenings and insisted that he was trapped. Mohanlal Mohanlal, one of Malayalam cinemas biggest stars, has been caught up in a legal case since 2011 after elephant tusks and ivory artifacts were discovered at his Kochi residence during a raid conducted by the Income Tax Department. The forest department charged the actor under the Wildlife Protection Act (1972) for allegedly possessing the tusks without proper authorisation. But Mohanlal has consistently maintained that the tusks were legally acquired. In 2015, he was granted a certificate of ownership by the Kerala government, based on directions from the Centre. Five years later, in 2020, the state government issued a no-objection certificate to withdraw the case. In June 2022, a court nevertheless refused to allow the case to be withdrawn. The court noted that the certificate of ownership lacked legal validity, as there was no gazette notification to back it. Mohanlal subsequently challenged the decision in the high court. In February 2023, the high court rejected the actors petition but, to a limited extent, agreed to the states request to withdraw the case. It also directed the magistrate court to reconsider the matter, keeping the withdrawal plea under review. Nandamuri Balakrishna In 2004, Telugu actor Balakrishna was at the centre of a controversy when he reportedly shot filmmaker Bellamkonda Suresh and his associate, Satyanarayana Chowdhary, using a revolver registered under his wife Vasundhara Devis name. According to Balakrishna, the incident occurred in self-defence after he was allegedly attacked with a paper-cutting knife during a heated argument. Meanwhile, Bellamkonda initially said that Balakrishna had shot at him with an intent to kill, but a day later he changed his statement, saying he could not recall who shot at him. Bellamkonda acknowledged that an argument had taken place, which led to the shootout that left him and Satyanarayana injured. However, he later denied attacking Balakrishna. The case ultimately did not progress due to insufficient evidence. Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain passed away at a San Francisco hospital on Sunday evening. He was 73. The legendary musician was undergoing treatment for heart-related issues, his manager Nirmala Bachani said earlier in the day. "He has been admitted to a hospital in San Francisco for a heart-related problem for the last two weeks," she said, adding that Hussain was also suffering from blood pressure issues. Also read | 'A saint gave me the name Zakir Hussain' Hussain, son of the legendary tabla maestro Ustad Alla Rakha Khan, was a renowned figure in both Indian and global music. At the age of seven, he began his tabla journey and was already performing across India by 12. Hussain has made remarkable contributions to both Indian classical and world music throughout his career. Also read | India at Grammy: Zakir Hussain wins 3 awards; Shankar Mahadevan shares laurels for band 'Shakti' About four decades ago, he relocated to San Francisco with his family. In the passing away of Tabla exponent, Ustad Zakir Hussain, India and the world has lost a musical genius, and a cultural ambassador who bridged borders and generations with his mesmerising rhythms. The Padma Vibhushan Tabla maestro and percussionist, gloriously took forward the pic.twitter.com/x9RM6l68fQ Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) December 15, 2024 The of Zakir Hussain Jis tabla spoke a universal language, transcending borders, cultures and generations. This clip defines how we will remember him, and celebrate his legacy. The sound & vibrations of his rhythm will echo in our hearts forever. , ! My pic.twitter.com/duGIHgnTYY Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) December 15, 2024 I am deeply saddened by the passing away of Tabla Maestro Zakir Hussain. A legendary musician, he left an indelible mark on Indian classical music. My heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones. May his soul rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/f5AL7FhCvb YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (@ysjagan) December 15, 2024 The Government of India awarded him with prestigious civilian honours, including the Padma Shri in 1988, Padma Bhushan in 2002 and Padma Vibhushan in 2023. In 1990, he was also honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, India's highest recognition in music. Political leaders and industrialists expressed condolences over Hussain's demise. "The world has lost a rhythm it can never replace. Ustad Zakir Hussain, our maestro whose tabla beats will forever echo in the soul of India, leaves behind his inimitable form of timeless art. His legacy is an eternal taal, resonating through generations to come," wrote Gautam Adani on X. "Really sad to hear the passing away of Ustad Zakir Hussain, a true legend who gave rhythm to our hearts and soul. His tabla spoke a universal language. Heartfelt condolences to his family and well-wishers across the globe," Virender Sehwag said. "The passing away of Ustad Zakir Hussain Sahab leaves our world of culture poorer. Making his fingers dance on the dayan and bayan, he took Indian Tabla to the global stage and will always be synonymous with its intricate rhythms. A doyen of music, a stalwart of creativity whose works endeared him to people across generations. His passing leaves a void that will be hard to fill," said Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma. Mental health issues have become a growing concern worldwide, affecting individuals of all ages, backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses. One in four people will experience a mental health disorder each year, with anxiety and depression being the most common conditions. Amid the growing concerns over mental well-being, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is taking several steps to increase its awareness and tackle the issues. Under the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP), 25 Centres of Excellence have been sanctioned to increase the intake of students in PG departments in mental health specialities as well as to provide tertiary-level treatment facilities. The government has also supported 19 government medical colleges/institutions to strengthen 47 PG Departments in mental health specialities. District and state-level programmes are also sanctioned by the health ministry. The District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) component of the NMHP has been sanctioned for implementation in 767 districts for which support is provided to states/UTs through the National Health Mission. Providing training to specialist and non-specialist cadres such as medical officers, psychologists, social workers, and nurses is also included under the DMHP. The government is also taking steps to strengthen mental healthcare services at the primary healthcare level. Over 1.73 lakh Sub Health Centres (SHCs) and Primary Health Centres (PHCs) have been upgraded to Ayushman Arogya Mandirs. Mental health services have been added to the services under the package. The government is also providing online training courses to various categories of general healthcare medical and para-medical professionals through the Digital Academies, established in 2018, at the three Central Mental Health Institutes namely National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bengaluru, Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi Regional Institute of Mental Health, Tezpur, Assam, and Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi. The total number of professionals trained under Digital Academies is 42,488. Also, a National Tele Mental Health Programme was launched on 10th October 2022, to further improve access to quality mental health counselling and care services in the country. Presently, 36 states/ UTs have set up 53 Tele MANAS cells and have started Tele mental health services. More than 15,95,000 calls have been handled on the helpline number. The Tele MANAS mobile application was launched on World Mental Health Day on October 10 this year. It is a comprehensive mobile platform that has been developed to provide support for mental health issues ranging from well-being to mental disorders. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government is likely to delay tabling bills related to its ambitious One Nation, One Election in Lok Sabha. The Centre is reportedly prioritising financial businesses and the bills could be introduced later this week. According to reports, bills related to One Nation, One Election will be taken after the completion of financial business. Though two billsThe Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Billwere listed for introduction in the Lok Sabha on Monday, they have been removed from the revised list. However, the Centre can introduce bills through 'Supplementary List of Business' with the permission of the Lok Sabha speaker. The Union cabinet approved the bills in a meeting held at Parliament premises on Thursday. The drafts of the bills were circulated among members on Friday. The Winter session of Parliament is scheduled to conclude on December 20 and the discussion on the bills could be the next flashpoint between the Centre and the opposition in Parliament. House proceedings were disrupted both in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha since the beginning of winter session after the opposition protested demanding discussion on several issues including the Adani bribery case, Manipur violence and Sambhal clashes. The opposition also opposed leaders of the BJP levelling accusations against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi over her alleged links with American George Soros and accused her of joining hands with forces trying to destabilise the Indian government. Like the abrogation of Article 370 and the construction of Ayodhya Ram Mandir, One Nation, One Election is another key promise of the BJP. The new amendment bills were drafted as per recommendations of an expert panel headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind. The Punjab police chief and a senior official of the Union home ministry met with farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal at the Khanauri border on Sunday and enquired about his health. The authorities heard Dallewals demands and urged him to give up his indefinite fast seeking Minimum Support Price for crops and various other demands. Gaurav Yadav, Punjab Director General of Police and Mayank Mishra, a Director in the Ministry of Home Affairs met with Dallewal following the Supreme Courts directions to ensure medical help for the farmer leader. The apex court had directed authorities to persuade the protesting farmers to give up the protest and resolve issues through talks. #Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav met farmer leader Jagjeet Singh Dallewal pic.twitter.com/hHfbSF0W4b Akashdeep Thind (@thind_akashdeep) December 15, 2024 Addressing presspersons, Mishra said, We have heard whatever Dallewals demands are. Mishra mentioned he did not present any proposals during the meeting and was there as per directions of the Supreme Court. The 70-year-old Dallewal, a cancer patient, has been on an indefinite fast at the Khanauri border demanding the Centre to accept the agitating farmers' demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP on crops. Punjab police chief Yadav said, "We have appealed to Dallewal that the way he is leading a peaceful agitation, it has been appreciated everywhere. And the government has also taken cognisance of it." Yadav said the Punjab government considers the farmers' demands are genuine and has also supported them. The DGP said, The chief minister has specially sent a message and our efforts are that talks should be held on their demands and this issue is resolved." He added Dallewals vitals are being monitored continuously and a well-equipped ambulance has been stationed in the area to provide medical treatment to Dallewal. He added they are constantly in talks with farmers and expressed hope that they would arrive at a positive outcome. Farmers under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have been protesting from Shambhu and Khanauri border points since February after security forces stopped their march to Delhi on various demands. Security forces also stopped three attempts by farmers this month to march to Delhi. Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKAS) on Sunday sought the intervention of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah regarding the alleged harassment of Kashmiri students at Mewar University in Rajasthan. In a statement, the convenor of JKSA, Nasir Khuehami, alleged that over 50 students pursuing B.Sc Nursing programs have been facing academic and physical challenges due to the university's failure to obtain mandatory approvals for the course. He said that the programme lacks recognition from the Rajasthan Nursing Council (RNC) and the Indian Nursing Council (INC), jeopardising the students academic futures. "The absence of these essential approvals has left students uncertain about their studies, he said. Instead of resolving their legitimate concerns, the university has resorted to unjust actions, infringing on their fundamental right to seek justice." He said that despite repeated assurances from the university administration, including a written promise by the registrar three months ago, no tangible progress has been made. The students were recently informed that they would have to wait another month for a resolution, forcing them to extend their protests. "The university has been operating the programme without the necessary approvals, misleading students with empty promises, he said. Khuehami said even the chairmans assurances have proven futile. After dedicating three years to this course, students cannot endure further delays," he said. The Association alleged that the university is pressuring students to abandon their protests, threatening suspensions and fee reimbursements under the Jammu and Kashmir Student Scholarship Scheme (JKSSS). Khuehami said sending these students back after years of hard work is unacceptable. They are being treated unfairly and deserve justice," he said. He further accused the university of involving the Rajasthan police to intimidate students. "The police have been threatening students with dire consequences for continuing their protests, he said. Khuehami said the students waited patiently until December 4, as the university claimed the issue was being heard in the Rajasthan High Court. However, despite their patience, no action has been taken. "It is now December 15, and their future remains uncertain. These students are caught in a cycle of neglect and empty promises," he said. He said the situation escalated on Saturday evening when over 40 Kashmiri students were reportedly assaulted by Rajasthan police while peacefully protesting. The students were allegedly expelled from the university premises, forcing them to spend freezing nights outside the gates. "For months, they have been peacefully demanding recognition and certification for their programme. Instead, they have faced violence, intimidation, and neglect," he said. The Association has urged J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to personally intervene and resolve the issue. The Kolkata police have arrested a construction worker from the outskirts of the city for allegedly murdering his sister-in-law by chopping her body into pieces for refusing her advances. Police said they have cracked the case within 24 hours. According to police, the severed head of the woman was found at a garbage dump in Tollygunge in South Kolkata. The accused, Atiur Rahman Laskar, hails from Basuldanga village, in Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district. Deputy Commissioner of Police (South Suburban) Bidisha Kalita said the torso and the lower portion of the body were found beside a pond in the Regent Park area on Saturday. Kolkata police said Laskar has confessed to the crime and said he killed her for snubbing his advances. The victim reportedly separated from her husband two years ago and she used to work as a domestic help in the Regent Park area. The victim used to travel to work along with Laskar every day. Police deployed sniffer dogs after the womans severed head was recovered from the garbage dump. Police nabbed Laskar based on evidence and CCTV footage collected from the site. Laskar wanted a relationship with her, and as she spurned his advances, he got furious, Kalita said. She added, She started avoiding him a week back and it added to his rage. She also blocked his phone number. On Thursday evening, after she was done with work, he forced her to accompany him to an under-construction building. He strangulated her there and then beheaded her. He cut the body in three parts and dumped those," PTI reported quoting the police officer. Police are also probing whether more persons are involved in the crime. A newly elected MLA from Eknath Shindes Shiv Sena resigned from his party post on Sunday after he was denied a cabinet berth in the Maharashtra government. Narendra Bhondekar, an MLA from Bhandara-Pavani Assembly Constituency and Shiv Sena coordinator for Vidarbha, quit his party post soon after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expanded his cabinet, inducting 39 new ministers. Bhondekar, however, has not resigned from the assembly. According to reports, the three-time MLA had been promised a minister post in the Fadnavis government. Among the 39 ministers who took oath today, 19 are from BJP while the Shiv Sena and the NCP got 11 and 9 berths, respectively. From the Shiv Sena, Gulabrao Patil, Dada Bhuse, Sanjay Rathod, Uday Samant, Shambhuraj Desai, Sanjay Shirsat, Pratap Sarnaik, Bharat Gogawale, Prakash Abitkar, Ashish Jaiswal and Yogesh Kadam were sworn in as ministers. With the swearing-in of 39 new ministers, Maharashtra cabinet is now a mix of new an old faces as well as heavy weights and debutantes. The much-awaited cabinet expansion came 10 days after Fadnavis took oath as the chief minister and Shinde and Ajit Pawar were sworn in as his deputies on December 5. The suspense over the portfolio allocation still remains with reports claiming that Shinde has demanded some key portfolios including home. The ruling Mahayuti pulled off a thumping victory in the recent assembly elections, winning 230 of the 288 seats, with BJP alone pocketing 132 seats. The Shiv Sena and the NCP bagged 58 and 41 seats, respectively. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath slammed the opposition for moving impeachment motions against Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar and Allahabad High Court judge Shekhar Kumar Yadav and said those speaking truth are threatened this way. Speaking at the World Hindu Economic Forum 2024, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister said those speaking truth are pressurised with impeachment motions. "Whoever speaks the truth, these people will pressurise him with impeachment (motions), and still they talk about the Constitution. Look at their double standards, he said. Adityanath said, An Allahabad High Court judge said there should be a Uniform Civil Code, and world over, the feelings of the majority community are respected," PTI reported. The chief minister said is it a crime if a person voices their opinions. "Shouldn't there be a Uniform Civil Code in the country? World over, the system runs as per what the majority community says, and India is saying the discrimination between majority and minority communities should end. They (the Congress) will pressurize, because it is their old habit of strangulating the Constitution and managing the system of the country," he charged. Adityanath charged the opposition is worried that a farmers son has become vice president hence they have moved an impeachment motion against Dhankar. The Uttar Pradesh CM said the vice president is only doing his job as Rajya Sabha chairman. "The opposition is worried as to how a farmer's son has reached this position. If someone as a judge as well as a citizen of the country puts forth truth on a social and cultural platform, he is threatened with impeachment, he said. Opposition members have moved impeachment motions against Vice President Dhankar, accusing him of conducting the house in a biased manner. An impeachment motion has also been moved against Allahabad High Court Judge Shekhar Kumar Yadav for his controversial remarks during an event organised by the legal cell of right-wing Vishwa Hindu Parishad earlier this month. Though reports began to circulate that the Mahayuti cabinet would be expanded on Sunday evening, an air of suspense lingered in the BJP camp till Monday morning. The prospective ministers were left to cool their feet as the call from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inviting them to take oath didn't come until 9 am. The swearing-in ceremony of the cabinet will take place on Sunday at the Legislative Assembly in Nagpur. The delay in announcing the names has triggered confusion and anger within the BJP camp though nobody wanted to publicly acknowledge it. Some believe the decision to not announce the names, under the pretext of getting the consent of the high command, was a ploy to make last-minute drops and inclusions. Though the names of the prospective ministers have not been announced by any of the three parties yet, certain names are doing rounds. BJP's Wardha MLA Pankaj Bhoyar is likely to get a Cabinet berth while Nitesh Rane from Kankavili and Madhuri Misal from Parvati have also been inducted into the Mahayuti cabinet. Other names include Jayakumar Gore (Maan), Meghna Bordikar (Jintur), Akash Fundkar (Khamgaon), Ashok Uike (Ralegaon) and Sanjay Savkare (Bhusawal). Shivajinagar MLA Pankaja Munde too got a call to take oath. #WATCH | Nagpur, Maharashtra: Ahead of state cabinet expansion, BJP national secretary Pankaja Munde says, "I am delighted that I am getting the opportunity to work in the team of CM Devendra Fadnavis once again. I express gratitude to PM Modi, Amit Shah, JP Nadda and pic.twitter.com/6o0VopmtXp ANI (@ANI) December 15, 2024 Though the name of Shivendraraje Bhosale (Satara) is doing rounds, he told ANI that he had not got a call from the party leadership yet, but stated that he would abide by the decision of Fadnavis. "I have not received any phone call yet. Let's see what happens...Workers in the constituency do have expectations but everyone will abide by the decision of Devendra Fadnavis, whatever he decides," Bhosale said. BJP MLA Girish Mahajan said he got a call from the state BJP chief announcing his selection as minister. "State BJP Chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule called me and told me that I have to take oath (as Maharashtra Minister) at 4 pm. I will take oath as the minister for the third time. I express gratitude to the party," Mahajan told ANI. However, former ministers in the Shinde cabinet, Ravindra Chavan and Sudhir Mungantiwar, are not on the list of the new cabinet. The Cabinet will have a total of 19 new faces. Speculations are that BJP will get 20 ministerial posts but only 12 will go to Shiv Sena. Shiv Sena MLA Bharatshet Gogawale said 12 MLAs from his party, including himself, will take oath as ministers of which seven are new faces. "Oath ceremony will take place at 4 pm today. So, we have all come to Nagpur. Seven people are new (who will take oath as ministers) and five are being repeated," Gogawale told ANI. Though NDA allies, the TDP has made its disagreement on population-based delimitation with the BJP-led Central government vocal in Lok Sabha. The Andhra Pradesh party led by Chandra Babu Naidu had earlier also demanded the Centre rework the delimitation policy to address the concerns of Southern states, mainly Andhra Pradesh. On Saturday, TDP MP Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, during a debate in Lok Sabha, raised the issue of using population as a criterion for delimitation. The Centre plans to implement the long-delayed population census in 2025, with a target for completion by 2026. The MP said that under the next delimitation, the southern states stand to lose while the north will gain politically. He added that the calculation is that the seats of four states - UP, Bihar, MP and Rajasthan - will increase from the present 169 to 324, while the seats of Andhra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka will increase from the present 129 to just 164. Devarayalu said this wouldn't be in the interest of federalism, and the states with lesser populations deserve the benefits of delimitation. He also called for the time limit for governors to give assent to bills passed by state assemblies. The MP had earlier too rallied against the Centre's decision, arguing that Andhra Pradesh shouldn't be penalised for successfully managing its population and that the delimitation policy should be reworked only after consultations with stakeholders. Chandrababu Naidu suggesting South Indians to produce more children to balance population Instead of pushing high fertility rate regions to make strong Family planning policy, he want South to go wrong way In that case who will take care of : > Unemployment > Cost of Living pic.twitter.com/MGrwZSFhY1 Veena Jain (@DrJain21) October 20, 2024 Chandrababu Naidu himself had raised the issue several times, including recently when he called on people to have more children after the state's Total Fertility Rate (TRF) fell below the national level of 2.0. He added that his government was contemplating moves to incentivise families to have more children. He also expressed concern about the move, including its effect on the development of the state. The current size of electoral constituencies is based on the 1971 census despite the country's population growing manifold. This has resulted in over-representation and under-representation of some states. For instance, while one member represents 3.1 million citizens in Bihar, Kerala has one MP standing for 1.75 million people. The Constitution stipulates proportional representation as the basis for the allocation of seats in the Lok Sabha. Article 82 states reallocation of seats after every decennial census based on updated population figures. Following the arrest of estranged wife of Atul Subhash who died by suicide, the Bengaluru techie's father sought the whereabouts of the couple's four-year-old son. Pawan Kumar Modi, Atul's father, said he does not know where his grandson is and that he had never seen the child. "Has be been killed or is he alive? We don't know anything about him," Modi added, saying he wants his grandson to be with his family. #WATCH | Samastipur, Bihar: Atul Subhash suicide case | On the arrest of accused Nikita Singhania, Nisha Singhania and Anurag Singhania, Pawan Kumar Modi, father of deceased Atul Subhash says, "We don't know where she has kept our grandson. Has he been killed or is he alive? We pic.twitter.com/8TBQcWtQfM ANI (@ANI) December 15, 2024 The child was born in 2020, a year before Atul separated from his wife, Nikita Singhania. Bengaluru police arrested her along with his mother Nisha and brother Anurag from Prayagraj for allegedly abetting Atul's suicide. The trio has been remanded to judicial custody. ALSO READ: Why did Atul Subhash kill himself? Chilling 24-page suicide note by Bengaluru techie blames estranged wife Atul's father Modi said his son's ashes would not be immersed until they get justice. "We are religious but we will not immerse his ashes till we get justice." Atul Subhash suicide case | Accused Nikita Singhania has been arrested from Gurugram, Haryana. Accused Nisha Singhania and Anurag Singhania arrested from Prayagraj and produced before the court and given to judicial custody: Shivakumar, DCP White Field Division, Bengaluru pic.twitter.com/8XxZUcwkfQ ANI (@ANI) December 15, 2024 Modi thanked the police department, saying "at least they have been arrested." He went on to allege that the Jaunpur family court judge hearing Atul's case was corrupt. "She (the judge) asked him (Atul) for money. He was not someone who would pay bribes. He was ready to pay a penalty but never bribe," Modi said. This part of our legal system needs a complete overhaul. So many innocent men and their families are being tortured. Imagine what #AtulSubhash must be going through during his last moments.#JusticeForAtulSubhash pic.twitter.com/y0WTsQMOfB Pranav Mahajan (@pranavmahajan) December 10, 2024 In his 24-page suicide not, Atul said his wife and her family harassed him. His wife had earlier filed a domestic violence case against him in Uttar Pradesh. Atul alleged that his wife was using their four-year-old son to extort money from him. Atul sent his death note via email and a WhatsApp group of an NGO. He hung a placard at his home, which read, "Justic is due". Sydney-based AI decision intelligence platform provider, SourseAI, has been appointed as the AI partner for Lebara Nigeria, an upcoming MVNO operated by Nigerian tech firm VAS2Nets, which will operate under the Lebara brand. Lebara is a global telecommunications company providing mobile services in a number countries across Europe, the UK, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and soon Nigeria, using the MVNO business model. SourseAI has joined Lebaras Brand Licence Partner Program portfolio of partners, enabling it to support other new and future MVNOs operating under the Lebara brand. Lebara Nigeria is the latest addition to Lebara's global brand licensing program, designed to support partners in launching MVNOs by providing access to a trusted brand, infrastructure, and telecommunications expertise. As part of the ecosystem, SourseAI will offer its expertise in AI-driven decision intelligence, data readiness, and customer insights to new MVNOs. SourseAIs engagement with Lebara Nigeria includes implementing its Atlas Starter platform, tailored for new MVNOs with limited datasets. The platform combines data science, AI technology, and industry expertise to deliver business intelligence, customer insights, performance forecasting, and data-readiness capabilities. By integrating AI solutions, Lebara Nigeria aims to deliver customer-focused services and scale effectively once launched. "Our Brand Licence Partner Program is built to ensure that MVNO partners like VAS2Nets have the tools and support they need to succeed," said Daniel Upson, Director of Partnerships at Lebara Group. "By welcoming SourseAI into our partner ecosystem, were providing our partners with access to cutting-edge AI expertise that can help them optimize customer insights and make data-driven decisions. "Were excited to see SourseAI supporting Lebara Nigeria and potential future partners in our program." Teniola Stuffman, Managing Director at Lebara Nigeria said the MVNO's goal is to deliver a world-class customer experience. "SourseAIs expertise will be instrumental in helping us understand our customers and deliver innovative mobile services tailored to their needs," Stuffman said. "This partnership sets the stage for a strong and successful launch." Tanya Hyams-Young, CEO at SourseAI, said the collaboration with Lebara Nigeria underscores its ability to deliver AI solutions that support new and emerging MVNOs globally. "New telcos dont need to wait years for historical customer data to get the most out of AI," Hyams-Young said. "By putting data and AI at their core from the very start, MVNOs will see genuine value, almost immediately. "Were looking forward to working with Lebara Nigeria and other future partners to showcase the transformative power of AI in the telco industry." As Israel continues strikes targeting military sites in Damascus, including underground rocket depots, Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Julani has a message for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader, in an interview with the Syrian news channel, said Israel had "no more excuses" to carry out airstrikes in Syria. He added that the IDF attacks had crossed the red line and were threatening an unjustified escalation in the region. "Israel's excuses for entering Syria no longer exist. After the Iranians' departure, there are no more excuses for any foreign intervention in Syria. The exhausted Syrian situation after years of war and conflicts does not allow for entering into any new conflicts," Julani was quoted by The Jerusalem Post. His reaction comes as IDF, post Bashar al-Assad's toppling, began targetting chemical weapons sites, missiles, air defences, air force and navy targets, to prevent them from falling into the hands of the rebel groups. However, Julani immediately clarified that he had no intention to drag Syria into conflicts that would cause further destruction. His priority was reconstruction and stability. Julani then targeted Iran for turning his country into an attack platform, but said there would be no future enmity. "We were able to end the Iranian presence in Syria, but we do not hold enmity towards the Iranian people. Our problem was with the policies that harmed our country," the HTS leader added. On his equations with Russia, Julani trod a cautious line, refusing to address any provocative questions. Though he blamed the Russian air force for "targeting Syrian civilians during the civil war", he said the revolution was an "opportunity to re-evaluate the [Russian] relationship with Syria in a way that serves common interests." He also claimed to be working to meet the basic needs of Syrians and slammed Assad for "plundering the country," stating that Assad let his people starve despite abundant food. He accused the Assad dynasty of building a "tax farm" designed to extract wealth from its subjects instead of supporting them. "There was a systematic destruction of the agricultural, industrial, and banking sectors. The regime did not build a state, but rather a farm, and the extent of the thefts was large. Documents will be presented to prove this." Russian troops are advancing into the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk at a break-neck speed that Kremlin's men are reportedly just 1.5 kilometres away from the city, according to Ukrainian sources. Pro-Russian war blogger Yuri Podolyaka, who has a close connection with the Kremlin, claimed on Saturday that the members of Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups, small special forces units which penetrate the front ahead of the advance, were already in the city. The situation is such that the heavily outgunned and outnumbered Ukraine has replaced its commander of Ukraines eastern Donetsk group for failing to stop Russian advances. General Oleksandr Tarnavskiy would take over as head of the operational and tactical group, replacing General Oleksandr Lutsenko, reported CNN. The city, which witnessed the fiercest battles, lies between Ukraines Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Losing Pokrovks would be a blow to Ukraine as the city is a key logistics hub for Kyiv. General Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, who replaced General Oleksandr Lutsenko as the Command chief, acknowledged the situation. Tarnavskiy called the fighting "extremely fierce" adding that the Russian invaders were throwing all available forces forward. Even the command leaders seem to have resigned to the fact that the Russians are coming. Stanislav Buniatov, a platoon commander of the 24th Separate Assault Battalion Aidar, wrote on his Telegram that "everyone has already accepted that Russian troops will enter Pokrovsk." He added that this will open the floodgates for further advance. "Dnipropetrovsk Oblast is not built up with villages like Donetsk Oblast, so that progress will be faster there," Buniatov said. "Once Russia enters the next oblast of Ukraine, it will again dictate the conditions for the full ceding of these territories under Russian control." Gustav Gressel, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations Berlin office, told Kyiv Independent that Russia planned to cut off the main logistical routes connecting the Ukrainian-controlled territories to the front line. He added that Pokrovsk may face the same fate as Avdiivka, captured by Russian forces in February 2024. Gressel added that Russia has changed its military tactic and is now raining bombs on Ukrainian cities with guided aerial bombs and drones. The drones help them learn better about the Ukrainian terrain and give control of important logistics routes, cutting off essential supplies. "Unfortunately, the Russians learned and adapted quite a lot in this field," he added. Russian drones have evolved a lot, in terms of resistance to interference and an increase in flight range, which is significantly helping them. Two Russian tankers, carrying over 4,000 tonnes of oil products sunk in the Black Sea amid stormy weather conditions. BREAKING Russian oil tankers Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 are sinking in the Black Sea near the Kerch Bridge. pic.twitter.com/DPjeaGtzpE Open Source Intel (@Osint613) December 15, 2024 The cargo ship Volgoneft-212 snapped split in half on Sunday after being hit by a large wave. The video of the incident showed that its bow end sticking vertically out of the water. According to the Russian media, the incident occurred off the east coast of occupied Crimea, 5 miles from the Kerch Strait. Around 4,300 tonnes of low-grade heavy fuel oil, mazut, was in the tanker. Russia's emergency service launched a rescue operation involving tugboats and a Mil Mi-8 helicopter. Thirteen crew members were onboard. Later, another vessel, Volgoneft-239, was caught in similar difficulty and reportedly sank. It was carrying 4 tonnes of fuel oil. Meanwhile, Dmytro Pletenchuk, Ukraine's navy spokesperson accused Russia of carelessness. These are quite old Russian tankers. You cant go to sea in such a storm. The Russians violated the operating rules. The result is an accident," he said. Experts feared huge ecological damage to the marine environment if tonnes of oil got spilt into the Black Sea. Registered in St Petersburg, the Volgoneft-212 was 55 years old and recently refitted. The centre was cut out and the stern and bow were welded together, forming a huge seam in the middle. The Black Sea has been a zone of intense military conflict since the start of Vladimir Putins 2022 full-scale invasion of the country. Ukraine has used sea drones and other missiles to sink some of Russias Black Sea fleet. Since the Russia-Ukraine war, scientists have pointed out a rise in deaths among dolphins and porpoises. About 1,000 cetaceans were killed in 2022. Donald Trump's close aide Charlie Kirk warned Americans of a bizarre government plot amid drone sighting across the nation. Taking to X, Kirk said American is f****d, alleging that the drones were part of Project Blue Beam. "We are f****d. The drones are Project Blue Beam." Why does everyone thinks it's project blue beam and all you will need to know about the project blue beam... pic.twitter.com/dIFa91Aive Abung Gideon Abung (@pillsabung) December 13, 2024 Urging followers to look for videos of drone transforming from balls of light to planes, he said the government is not investigating it. "Whatever you see in the coming days is not good," he added. What is Project Blue Beam? Dating back to 1990s, Project Blue Beam is a conspiracy theory that has resurfaced amid recent drone sightings. It claims that the government is using advanced hollographic technology to stage celestial events or alien invasions. Proponents of the theory say the government wants to manipulate the world population and set up an authoritarian one-world government. The Joe Biden administration was yet to issue any explanation for the mysterious drone sightings, sparking conspiracy theories. Following this US president-elect Trump demanded action urgently. Taking to Truth Social, Trump asked whether the mystery drone sightings are happening without the government's knowledge. "Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!" he added. His remarks were echoed by other Republican House Reps including New Jersey Rep Chris Smith, Georgia Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene, Tennessee Rep Tim Burchett and Florida Rep Anna Paulina Luna. Luna said if the objects cannot be identified, then there should be no reason not to shoot them down. "What happened with the Chinese spy balloon should never happen again. I trust President Trump will take decisive action to prevent this!" she added. Most of the drone sightings were reported in New Jersey while New York, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania also recorded similar incidents. Besides there have been reports of mystery aircraft being spotted in California and Washington, DC. Reports suggested that an Iranian ship was seen off the coast of New Jersey some days before the first drone was spotted on November 18. GOP Congressman Jeff Van Drew suggested that it could be China or Iran that is behind the drones. Though the Pentagon dismissed any threat to national security and involvement of any foreign country, it has not provided any explanation for the sightings. Pentago also reiterated that the unmanned aerial systems do not belong to the US military. Around 5,000 drone sightings were reported to federal authorities, including the FBI. An FBI officials said less than 100 of these reported sightings were worth investigating. US president-elect Donald Trump has picked Devin Nunes as President's Intelligence Advisory Board chairman. Taking to Truth Social, Trump wrote, "I am pleased to announce that I will appoint Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes as Chairman of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board, which consists of distinguished citizens from outside of the Federal Government." Who is Devin Nunes? Donald Trump named ally Devin Nunes, a former lawmaker who now runs Trump's Truth Social platform, to serve as chairman of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board https://t.co/a7nkSy3pjF pic.twitter.com/LbrX6rArlv Reuters (@Reuters) December 15, 2024 Devin Nunes, who is the CEO of Truth Social, is also a former House Representative from California between 2003 and 2022. He is also the CEO of Trump Media & Technology Group. Nunes was the former Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee from 2015 to 2019. Trump hopes this experience will help Nunes lead the President's Intelligence Advisory Board. Nunes resigned from the House panel on January 1, 2022, to lead Truth Social. Earlier, Nunes hit the headlines when he accused the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of spying on Trump allies. Pointing out his role in "exposing the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax," Trump said Nunes will "provide me with independent assessments of the effectiveness and propriety of the U.S. Intelligence Communitys activities." Trump also nominated Constellations Group CEO Bill White as the US ambassador to Belgium and IBM executive Troy Edgar as deputy secretary of the Homeland Security department. Edgar was formerly DHS chief financial officer. Former US ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell was appointed as a Presidential Envoy for Special Missions and is expected to work in "some of the hottest spots around the World, including Venezuela and North Korea. MULTIPLE THRUSTER MALFUNCTIONS. Helium leaks. In the context of a space mission, all that sounds rather alarming. But, not for experienced astronauts. American astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Butch Wilmore arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) in June after managing such issues. The two former Navy officers recently completed six months in space on a mission originally intended to be for a week, after their capsule was deemed unsafe to return them to earth. The duos return is now scheduled for February 2025. Eight months of extended stay in space (NASA does not like stranded or stuck), even with enough supplies, may seem like an unwelcome prospect for the uninitiated, but astronauts, evidently, are built different. Fluid planning: Astronauts training in Moscow | Shutterstock Living in space is super fun, Williams told students from the Sunita L Williams Elementary School in Needham, Massachusettsher hometownon December 4. Her mission partner sees it as just being on a different path. As NASA administrator Bill Nelson put it in the wake of the duos extended stay: Space flight is risky, even at its safest and even at its most routine, and a test flight by nature is neither safe nor routine. That is precisely why the making of an astronaut is so crucial. Hands-on leadership: Prime Minister Narendra Modi examines a simulator as ISRO Chairman S. Somanath looks on | PIB February 27, 2024, was a momentous day for India. On that day, the four gaganauts training for the Indian Space Research Organisations Rs20,000-crore Gaganyaan programme were introduced to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Group Captains Prasanth Nair, Ajit Krishnan, Angad Pratap and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla (now group captain)test pilots of the Indian Air Forcewere given astronaut wings by the prime minister. They have finished preparatory training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Russia, the facility where Indias first space traveller, Rakesh Sharma, prepared for his 1984 voyage. The centre, located in Star City, approximately 30km north of Moscow, is named after Yuri Gagarin, the first person to journey to space, and has state-of-the-art technology, including comprehensive simulators. It provides extensive survival training for a variety of potential landing scenarios, such as mountains, forests, marshes, deserts, arctic and maritime. The gaganauts have completed 13 months of intensive training at the centre and multiple stages of theoretical and physical preparations in India, which included over 200 lectures on engineering topics related to space flight. They have also completed 39 weeks of intensive crew training activity and have participated in test missions. ISRO is now pursuing a joint mission to the ISS with NASA and US private firm Axiom Space, with at least one of the four gaganauts-in-training expected to be part of the voyage (Shukla has been designated prime astronaut for the mission). Nicole Stott Countries that pioneered space exploration select both military personnel and civilians for space missions. India has picked IAF test pilots to be gaganauts, and it is easy to see why. They are well-suited to the demands of the training, being both physiologically and psychologically attuned to functioning under extreme scenarios. They have experience flying different types of aircraft and acquaint themselves with new systems quickly. The health tests which were part of the selection process included thorough cardiovascular assessments, vision tests requiring 20/20 results (correctable with glasses), hearing tests and neurological evaluations. The ability to cope with prolonged isolation and stress was gauged through psychological assessments. The entire process included multiple stages of screening and several rounds of interviews with expert panels. The initial training of astronauts focuses on understanding space systems, spacecraft operations, orbital mechanics and mission planning. This foundational knowledge is crucial for the successful execution of space missions. Training in robotics includes the use of robotic arms and other automated systems on the spacecraft, which are essential for various tasks such as docking and repairs. Medical training is provided to ensure astronauts can handle emergencies, perform CPR, tend to wounds, and utilise on-board medical equipment. The training of NASA Astronaut Nicole Stott(in pic) included flying in T-38 jets, simulation and learning to spacewalk, the operation of robotic arms, and living undersea. Advanced training involves extravehicular activity (EVA) training, where astronauts learn to spacewalk, use EVA suits and tools, and perform repairs and maintenance outside the spacecraft. They also receive training to conduct and manage scientific research in microgravity, covering a wide range of experiments in biology, physics, and materials science. Survival training, apart from diverse landing environments, involves physical endurance, navigation skills and tactics. A critical part of the training is simulation, which uses microgravity simulators like parabolic flights and neutral buoyancy pools, and high-fidelity simulators that replicate conditions for practising launch, docking, re-entry and emergency procedures. As India continues its preparations for Gaganyaan, which has been expanded to include eight missionsfour by 2026 and the remaining by 2028THE WEEK spoke to a NASA astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut for an in-depth understanding of the training of space travellers and their experiences on missions. THE FOOD WAS QUITE NICE Nicole Stott has two space flights and 104 days in space under her belt, as a crew member on both the ISS and NASAs retired Space Shuttle programme. She was the tenth woman to spacewalk, the first to operate the ISS robotic arm to capture a free-flying cargo vehicle and the first to paint with watercolours in space. Cosmonaut Sergei Nikolayevich Revin Before her selection in 2000, Stott was an engineer in the Space Shuttle programme for more than a decade. One of 17 astronaut candidates chosen out of 9,000 applicants, Stott remembers the process clearly, including her final interview. The aim [of the interview] is to know you as a person and why you want to go to space for an extended period, she told THE WEEK. If things go wrong, how are you going to react, how will you be as a crew mate to the rest of the crew. Her training included flying in T-38 jets, simulation and learning to spacewalk, the operation of robotic arms, getting used to space food and living in Aquarius, an undersea research station (off the coast of Florida) for 18 days. She said Aquarius was the experience closest to living and working in space. I am a recreational scuba diver and was used to such an experience, she said. The Aquarius experience was aimed to take a trainee out of the comfort zone and to understand how to work better to solve problems. It is about the size of a big school bus and sits on the sea floor [at a depth of about] 65 feet. She said that while the lab had normal oxygen flow, those inside cannot go out without donning special suits. It is an extreme environment and one cannot swim to the surface to escape it, because, once you are down there for an hour, your body is saturated by nitrogen and you might kill yourself if you attempt to swim. We had preliminary tasting of dishes.We had a 10-point scale and indicated our preferences and this was taken into account when preparing the menu for the flight period. Cosmonaut Sergei Nikolayevich Revin All through her training, Stott knew she may not get to fly at allthere are times when a trained astronaut may not go on an actual mission. She had to wait nine years before her maiden space flight in 2009. Stott recalls her feelings at the time of that thrilling first flight. I was not afraid, but I thought about my family, she said. My son was seven when I flew for the first time. I knew that everything will be fine. I got to talk to them as soon as I got to space. But, it is still difficult [not to think of family] as you strap into a rocket. Once you are strapped in, you go from zero to 17,500 miles an hour, and, very quickly... it takes about eight and a half minutes to get to space. She says the simulation does a good job of replicating the experience in space. Stott is all praise for space food. At the space station, the food was quite nice and we had variety, she said. It is like camping food; most of it has the water sucked out of it, or like military rations and ready to eat. There are no big refrigerators, but, at the space station, it is easy to resupply from the ground. At the fully solar-powered ISS, there is a daily work schedule, which, Stott says, is similar to how things are on earth. There is a two-hour exercise schedule to maintain bone and heart health and planned meals throughout the day. There is also an eight-hour sleep schedule. I used to sleep comfortably in my individual crew compartmentit is the size of an old phone booth. It is cool, dark and has nice air flow. The schedule for each astronaut is decided by the ground station. The tasks include conducting experiments as directed by scientists on earth and maintenance work, which sometimes necessitates spacewalks. Stotts incredible experience of spacewalking left her wanting more. I wish I could have done another one, she said. You get a whole different view of the earth and the sun. One needs to ensure that one is hooked to the space station and not going to float away. We are trained to do that and there is a jet pack and we are trained to fly back in case we lose control. She said the ISS had all the required medical equipment to take care of any medical emergency on board. We also check the health of our fellow crew mates, she said. The astronauts always have the option of talking to doctors on the ground. Interestingly, the supplies from earth rarely includes fresh water, which is generated on board, from recycled urine, sweat and condensation. Stott said the most complicated aspect of crewed space missions is re-entry. Kalpana Chawla and her fellow astronauts had died in 2003 when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated as it re-entered the atmosphere. She was one of the humblest human beings I had ever been blessed to meet and I am very grateful to have known her; very sad that she is not among us any more, said Stott. Elaborating on re-entry, she said that the process is respectful, deliberate and diligent. Falling from space back to the earths atmosphere is a pretty extreme thing, she said. The heat, the dynamics of it, the precision is just amazing. I WAS OVERWHELMED WITH JOY Cosmonaut Sergei Nikolayevich Revin served as a crew member on board the ISS in 2012. The Russian spent 124 days, 23 hours and 52 minutes at the ISS. Revin is not fluent in English, so his interaction with THE WEEK and translation was coordinated by Natalina Litvinova, president, the Global Union of Genesis, Russia. Like Stott, Revin, too, was an engineer before he was selected to be a cosmonaut. He said his training programme was fascinating and that he took multiple tests, both in Russia and in other countries, and also studied different training modules and systems. We had many workouts and regular flights, during which aerobatics were done, he told THE WEEK. We also lived in harsh environments, such as the desert and the tundra. It was difficult, but very exciting and interesting. Revin highlighted the importance of nutrition and detailed the steps that went into ensuring that the cosmonauts were comfortable with the food they would have to eat in space. We had preliminary tasting of dishes, he said. We had a 10-point scale and indicated our preferences and this was taken into account when preparing the menu for the flight period. Usually, these are various freeze-dried products and canned food. We also consumed lots of milk, cottage cheese, and cheeses. He praised the simulation and training protocols at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre and at the various foreign training centres. The conditions are as close as possible to real conditions, he said. The main aspect is to work with on-board systems and also work in zero gravity. By the time space travellers get to the ISS, they have undergone so much training that life on board the ISS is almost routine, to use Revins wordswake up at 7am, exercise, eat, work and lights out at 11pm (the ISS observes Greenwich Mean Time). But, the flight to space, he said, is an experience to cherish for a lifetime. Literally in nine minutes, I was in space, he said. The work at the ISS was interesting and we had an important responsibility, but it was during the flight that I was overwhelmed with joy. The earth is beautiful. New Delhi, Dec 14 (PTI) A batch of Indian nationals, who returned to their homeland on Saturday after being evacuated from crisis-hit Syria, recalled the panic situation they faced in that country but praised the Indian Embassy there for being in "constant touch" with them. Some of the returnees, soon after landing at the Delhi airport late evening, shared with media their experiences of the last week. Sunil Dutt, a native of Chandigarh, and a mechanical engineer, alleged that there were some "anti-social elements" too in the streets who were also "looting stuff". It was a very bad situation and sights of fire and sounds of bombarding made it worse, he said. However, the Indian Embassy was in "constant touch with us" and its personnel" asked us to be calm, not open doors" to ensure safety, Dutt told reporters at Delhi airport. India has evacuated from Syria all its nationals who wished to return home after rebel forces overthrew President Bashar Assad's authoritarian government in the Arab nation. The Syrian government collapsed on Sunday as the rebels seized control of capital Damascus after capturing several other prominent cities and towns. "We have evacuated all Indian nationals in Syria who wished to return home following recent developments in that country. So far, 77 Indian nationals from Syria have been evacuated," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday during his weekly briefing. The Indian Embassy personnel in Damascus accompanied them to the border, after which our mission in Lebanon received them and facilitated their immigration, he said. Sachit Kapoor, a resident of Greater Noida, was also among the Indians who arrived in Delhi on Saturday. "We were in Syria for nearly seven months. The situation worsened on December 7. We were shifted to Damascus city and then we saw fire and bombarding all around. It was a panic situation. We were a team of 11 at a luxury hotel. Situation got worsened. People were running amok in the streets, some looting also," he said. Because of the Indian Embassy in Syria, "we were shifted to Lebanon very smoothly and we faced no issues", Kapoor recalled. The electrical engineer said in Lebanon too, "our lodging and food facility was very good". He thanked the Ministry of External Affairs for the assistance rendered to the affected Indians, who wish to return to home country. Ratan Lal, another Indian national who arrived at the Delhi airport on Saturday, said: "I have been in Syria for the last five years." When the situation got worsened, "we were called to Damascus and there lodged at a hotel. And, then visa was given, and then we went to the airport for the onward journey," he recalled. Lal said the situation was very bad and added that his family members told him to return somehow. Chetan Lal, another returnee who hails from Gurgaon district of Haryana, said that he was working in Syria for the last 10 years in a glass bottle-making company. "For three days, we were lodged at Damascus. The Lebanese and Syrian Embassy also cooperated with us a lot in aiding us in the return journey," he said. The Indian Embassy in Syria continues to function, Jaiswal said on Friday. Earlier on Monday, India called for a peaceful and inclusive Syrian-led political process to bring stability in that country. New Delhi, Dec 14 (PTI) Delhi government has forwarded all 14 pending reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General to the LG for his approval to table them in the assembly after more than one and half years of delay, Raj Niwas said on Saturday. The Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta has already asked the AAP government to call a special session of the assembly, which will be completing its five years tenure in February next year, for the tabling of the CAG reports. Gupta in a petition filed in the high court earlier, sought directions to the government to lay 14 long-pending CAG Reports in the assembly. No immediate reaction was available from the ruling Aam Aadmi Party on the issue. "It took the fear of an adverse order by the Delhi High Court for the AAP government to hurriedly submit the long-pending CAG Reports to the LG to seek his permission, for making it possible for the reports to be made public, by placing them in the Assembly," the office of the Lieutenant Governor said in a note. Out of the 14 pending CAG reports, 11 pertain to the time when Arvind Kejriwal was chief minister of Delhi. These reports include those on DTC, public health and mohalla clinics, state undertakings. "The government in a move to save face hurriedly sent 12 reports on December 11 at 3:30 PM just a day before the hearing and later two remaining reports on at 7.50 PM on December 12 to the LG Secretariat, after the hearing had concluded," the LG office said in the note. The reports were lying for nearly 500 days with Finance Minister Atishi, it claimed. The Delhi government is yet to declare any dates for the assembly session for the tabling of the CAG reports. A bird strike involving an American Airlines jetliner disabled one of the planes two engines shortly after takeoff from New Yorks LaGuardia Airport, forcing the flight to turn around and land at John F. Kennedy International Airport, authorities said Friday. No one was injured in the incident involving Flight 1722, which took off from LaGuardia at 7:43 p.m. Thursday with a destination of Charlotte, North Carolina, airline officials said. The Federal Aviation Administration says bird strikes are increasing, with 19,400 strikes at 713 airports across the U.S. last year alone. Rarely do they cause so much damage that commercial jetliners are forced to make emergency landings. The pilot of the Airbus A321 declared an emergency at 7:52 p.m. and diverted to Kennedy, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates both the New York areas major airports, said in a statement. The plane landed safely at 8:03 p.m. and taxied to the terminal under its own power, the Port Authority said. American Airlines said in a statement that Flight 1722 diverted to Kennedy due to a reported bird strike. The aircraft landed safely at JFK where it will be inspected by our maintenance team, the airline said. We are grateful to our crew for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience this may have caused. There were 190 customers and six crew members on the flight, which was rescheduled for departure Friday morning, airline officials said. The Federal Aviation Administration said its investigating. This bird strike disabling a commercial jet recalled the so-called Miracle on the Hudson, which like Thursdays American Airlines flight involved a plane leaving LaGuardia for Charlotte. That US Airways jet hit a flock of birds on Jan. 15, 2009 and lost power in both engines shortly after takeoff. Pilot Chesley Sully Sullenberger was hailed as a hero after he landed the powerless plane in the Hudson River and all 155 people on board were rescued. (AP) Americans may have recently elected Donald Trump to a second term, but that doesnt mean they have high confidence in his ability to choose well-qualified people for his Cabinet or effectively manage government spending, the military and the White House, according to a new poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. As Trump names his appointees for key posts in his administration some of whom could face difficult confirmation fights in the Senate even with Republicans in control about half of U.S. adults are not at all confident in Trumps ability to appoint well-qualified people for his Cabinet and other high-level government positions. The appointment process and its breakneck speed have represented a manifestation of Trumps pledge to voters to be a disruptive force in the country and a return to the chaotic era of governance that defined his first four years in the Oval Office. But only around 3 in 10 Americans are extremely or very confident that Trump will pick qualified people to serve in his administration. A majority of Republicans say they do have high confidence. Trump has promised to shake up Washington with an aggressive approach that includes the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, a nongovernmental task force assigned to find ways to fire federal workers, cut programs and slash federal regulations, to be helmed by billionaire Elon Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Beyond his appointments, though, the survey finds a similar level of confidence in Trumps ability to manage government spending and perform other key presidential tasks, including overseeing the military and the White House which, in Trumps first term, experienced significant high-level staff turnover, particularly in its early days. Thats not quite the same challenge faced four years ago by President Joe Biden, who came into office with higher levels of confidence in some areas than others. Democrats and independents are most likely to doubt Trumps leadership That low confidence is generally driven by Democrats and independents. A large share of Democrats are suspicious of Trumps abilities on all of these fronts about three-quarters say they are not at all confident that he will be able to effectively manage the White House, government spending or the military, or choose well-qualified people for his Cabinet. About 4 in 10 independents, meanwhile, say they are slightly or not at all confident in Trumps capacity to execute each of these responsibilities, while about 2 in 10 are extremely or very confident. Republican confidence is higher, but it isnt overwhelming Confidence among Republicans is higher, but not as overwhelming as Democrats doubts. About 6 in 10 Republicans are extremely or very confident in Trumps ability to choose well-qualified people to serve in his Cabinet and manage the White House, the military and government spending. About 2 in 10 Republicans are moderately confident, and another 2 in 10 are slightly or not at all confident in each case. Biden had similar hurdles at the start of his term When Biden took office in 2021, people also harbored some doubts about how hed carry out some major responsibilities but unlike with Trump, where concern is fairly even across different tasks, they were more confident in Bidens ability to do some things than others. When he entered the White House, Biden had served eight years as President Barack Obamas vice president, as well as decades in the U.S. Senate, and he ran the 2020 campaign largely on those years of experience. A separate AP-NORC poll conducted shortly after Biden took office which asked the question slightly differently found a higher level of confidence in Bidens ability to appoint well-qualified people for his Cabinet and manage the White House than his ability to manage the military and government spending. (AP) GUEST OPINION: Urban hubs are swiftly adopting innovative SEO strategies to bolster their digital presence. Implementing advanced methods has also become essential as everyone struggles for attention online. Smart tactics not only boost visibility but also help local businesses garner direct and targeted traffic. This transformation further signifies a crucial change in how regions position themselves within an increasingly connected world. Harnessing Geo-Specific Keywords Urban centers are adopting localized terms to customize their online content for regional audiences. This strategy not only boosts search engine performance but also ensures the content resonates with the demographic. By using terms that reflect local language and landmarks, businesses can also significantly increase their relevance. This simply means higher organic traffic and improved user engagement. Optimizing for Mobile Users It is essential to tailor websites for the smartphone audience, particularly in densely populated areas. A platform designed for digital devices quickly caters to the fast-paced lifestyle of city residents. It provides them with swift and convenient access to information. This enhancement not only elevates CX, but also SERP rankings. This is because popular search engines like Google give priority to accessibility. Leveraging Local Listings For city-specific businesses, appearing on local directories and review sites is crucial. These listings boost visibility in regional search results and provide valuable backlinks that enhance credibility with search engines. More importantly, they offer potential customers direct access to business ratings. This can quickly impact purchasing decisions and overall engagement. Utilizing Social Media Geo-Tagging Digital networks provide an effective means to reach urban audiences by utilizing location-marking features. By marking the address, businesses can draw neighbourhood patrons more inclined to visit nearby stores or services. This approach not only bolsters reach but also creates a sense of community. It actively encourages customers to feel more connected to their municipality. Building Local Backlinks This is an effective way to enhance regional search visibility. Partnering with local influencers, businesses, and media outlets can facilitate the acquisition of valuable links. The best part is that this strategy can also reinforce a website's authority in a specific area to search engines. A well-rounded approach means boosted SERP rankings and double traffic. Analyzing Performance To maintain a competitive edge, urban centers must conduct regular assessments of their digital performance. This means that a business in Rittenhouse Square should ideally hire a Philadelphia SEO company to monitor effective strategies and identify areas for improvement. This continuous refinement guarantees visibility to the right audience at the right time. It quickly maximizes the effectiveness of any online marketing plan, boosting profitability. Future Trends in Urban Search Optimization: What's Next? Regional SEO is set to become increasingly advanced through AI and machine learning developments. These technologies will enhance how search engines interpret and rank localized content. Staying ahead is not just vital for businesses but necessary to crush competition. Quickly adapting to modern innovations further attracts customers who are always on the lookout for something new. Endnote As cities advance, embracing smart search optimization strategies is crucial. Utilizing local methods can bolster relevancy and attract targeted traffic. To keep pace, it is also critical to continuously learn and adapt innovative techniques. These not only guarantee success in the urban market, but help maintain strong connections with local communities. Chinas military kept silent on its large deployment of naval and coast guard ships off Taiwan last week, with its top spokesperson quoting an ancient strategist instead. Taiwanese officials have said that China was simulating a blockade with one string of ships off the island and a second one farther out at sea, in waters between Japans Okinawa islands and the northern Philippines. The Chinese Defense Ministrys first public comment on the activity was essentially a no comment. Wu Qian, the ministrys top spokesperson, included a famous quote from The Art of War, an ancient Chinese text on warfare strategy, in his remarks. The quote says military tactics adapt to changing conditions, just as flowing water does. He then said that the military will decide whether to hold an exercise based on its needs and the situation, and that, either way, the countrys Peoples Liberation Army remains committed to opposing Taiwans independence and to promoting its reunification with China. Taiwan is a self-governing island of 23 million people off Chinas east coast. The Chinese government claims Taiwan as its territory and says it must come under its control. The United States is embroiled in the dispute because it supports Taiwans democratic government and is the main supplier of weapons for its defense. Chinas silence on its military activity this week contrasted with previous drills around Taiwan, which were reported by state media with dramatic graphics and images and seen as a public show of force directed at the islands government. Taiwanese officials described this weeks activity as training, since there was no confirmation from China that it was holding drills. They said they were monitoring the training and viewed it as threatening. Taiwans government was expecting China to conduct drills in response to a recent visit by Taiwans president to Hawaii and Guam, an American territory in the Pacific. (AP) The White House on Thursday announced what it called the first-ever national strategy to counter Islamophobia, detailing more than 100 steps federal officials are taking to curb hate, violence, bias and discrimination against Muslims and Arab Americans. The proposal follows a similar national plan to battle antisemitism that President Joe Biden unveiled in May 2023, as fears about increasing hatred and discrimination were rising among U.S. Jews. Officials worked on the anti-Islamophobia plan for months, and its release came five weeks before Biden leaves office. The White House said the bulk of its actions had been implemented, with the goal to roll out the rest before Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, when President-elect Donald Trump takes office. In a statement announcing the strategy, the Biden administration wrote, Over the past year, this initiative has become even more important as threats against American Muslim and Arab communities have spiked. It said that included the October 2023 slaying of 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi, an American Muslim boy of Palestinian descent, who was stabbed to death in Illinois. The plan details actions the Executive Branch is taking, along with more than 100 other calls to action across all sectors of society. The strategy has four basic priorities: increasing awareness of hatred against Muslims and Arabs while more widely recognizing these communities heritages; broadly improving their safety and security; appropriately accommodating Muslim and Arab religious practices by working to curb discrimination against them; and encouraging cross-community solidarity to further counter hate. Many of those state goals are similar to the ones the Biden administration laid out in its plan to reduce antisemitism especially the emphasis on improving safety and security and building cross-community solidarity. While individuals have sometimes been targeted because they are thought to be Muslim, it is also crucial to recognize that Arabs are routinely targeted simply for being who they are, the announcement of the strategy states, noting that Muslims and Arab Americans have helped build out the nation since its founding. It says that new data collection and education efforts are increasing awareness of these forms of hate as well of the proud heritages of Muslim and Arab Americans. The plan calls for more widely disseminating successful practices of engaging Muslim and Arab Americans in the reporting of hate crimes, and that federal agencies are now more clearly spelling out that discrimination against Muslim and Arab Americans in federally funded activities is illegal. The White Houses plan also urges state, local, and international counterparts, as well as the nongovernmental sector, to pursue similar initiatives that seek to build greater unity by recognizing our common humanity, affirming our shared values and history, and embracing equal justice, liberty, and security for all. Pro-Palestinian groups decrying his administrations full-throated support for Israel in its war with Hamas in Gaza frequently disrupted Biden campaign events, as well as those of Vice President Kamala Harris after Biden abandoned his reelection bid in July. Trump, who implemented a travel ban on people from several Muslim-majority countries during his first term, won the largest majority-Muslim U.S. city in last months elections. Yet some Arab Americans who backed Trump have begun expressing concerns about his some of his choices to fill out his Cabinet and other picks for his incoming administration. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., panned what it called the White Houses long-delayed document as too little, too late. The White House strategy lays out some positive recommendations related to anti-Muslim bigotry, but it has been released too late to make an impact, fails to promise any changes to federal programs that perpetuate anti-Muslim discrimination on a massive scale, the council said in a statement further noting that the plan doesnt address what it called a federal watchlist targeting some Arab-Americans as potential terrorists. It added that the plan fails to promise an end the most significant driver of anti-Muslim bigotry today: the U.S.-backed genocide in Gaza. (AP) The company that owns the salvage rights to the Titanic said Thursday that it hasnt settled on plans to retrieve more artifacts from the shipwreck, potentially cooling down a legal battle with the U.S. government. The Georgia-based company, RMS Titanic Inc., wrote in a court filing that it wont visit the wreck in 2025 and is still considering the legal and financial implications of future salvage operations. The court-recognized steward of Titanic artifacts since 1994, RMST has recovered thousands of items from silverware to a piece of the ships hull, which millions of people have seen through exhibits. The U.S. has been warning RMST for years that entering the Titanics severed hull or disturbing the wreck would violate a 2017 federal law and a corresponding agreement with Great Britain. Both regard the site as a memorial to the more than 1,500 people who died when the ocean liner struck a North Atlantic iceberg in 1912. The firms last salvage expedition was in 2010, before the law and agreement took effect. But in recent years, RMST has submitted plans before a federal admiralty court in Virginia to recover more artifacts, drawing the ire of the U.S. government. RMST has previously challenged the constitutionality of U.S. efforts to infringe on its salvage rights to a shipwreck in international waters. And it has argued that only the admiralty court has jurisdiction over the matter. The recent legal disputes between RMST and the U.S. government have played out as the worlds most famous shipwreck rapidly deteriorates on the ocean floor and as tragedy unfolded. Last years implosion of the Titan submersible claimed five lives, including RMSTs director of underwater research, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, RMSTs stated its position regarding future expeditions on Thursday at the admiralty courts direction. A federal judge has been considering a legal challenge by the U.S. to restrict RMSTs activities at the site. The U.S. filed its challenge last year when RMST initially planned to take images inside the sunken ships hull and pluck items from the surrounding debris field. RMST also said it would possibly recover freestanding objects from the room where the Titanic broadcast its distress calls. The company ultimately scaled back its dive plans, stating that it would only take external images. That was because of Nargeolets death in the Titan implosion. The experimental craft was operated by a separate company, OceanGate, to which Nargeolet was lending his expertise. Nargeolet was supposed to lead the RMST expedition. After RMST revised its dive plans, the U.S. stopped trying to block that particular expedition, which occurred over the summer. But the U.S. told the court it wanted to leave the door open to challenging subsequent expeditions. Specifically, the government said it may still pursue its motion to intervene as a party in RMSTs salvage case. The U.S. asked the court to delay ruling on the motion until the company announced future salvage plans. The firm said Thursday that it needs more time to make a decision on any upcoming operations. RMST also said it opposes the U.S.s motion to intervene. U. S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith presides over Titanic salvage matters at the federal court in Norfolk, Virginia. She said during a March hearing that the U.S.s case against RMST would raise serious legal questions. Congress is allowed to modify maritime law, Smith said in reference to regulating entry into the Titanic. But the judge questioned whether Congress can strip courts of their own admiralty jurisdiction over a shipwreck, something that has centuries of legal precedent. In 2020, Smithgave RMST permission to retrieve and exhibit the radio that had broadcast the Titanics distress calls. The U.S. government challenged the expedition in court. The legal battle never played out. RMST indefinitely delayed those plans because of the coronavirus pandemic. (AP) DoorDash will require its drivers to verify their identities more often as part of a larger effort to crack down on unauthorized account sharing. DoorDash has been under pressure to ensure its drivers are operating legally. Over the summer, for example, it pledged to do a better job identifying and removing dangerous drivers after a flood of complaints of dangerous driving from cities. Officials in Boston, New York and other cities have said that in many cases, people with multiple traffic violations continue to make deliveries using accounts registered to others. The San Francisco delivery company said Thursday it was requiring some drivers to complete real-time identity checks immediately after they complete a delivery. Previously, drivers were occasionally asked to re-verify their identities before or after a shift. DoorDash has introduced the new system in Los Angeles, Denver, Seattle and other cities, and said it planned a wider rollout next year. DoorDash said it also has developed an advanced machine learning system that can flag potential unauthorized account access, including login anomalies and suspicious activity. If the company detects a problem, it will require drivers to re-verify their identity before they can make more deliveries. U.S. drivers must verify their identities with a drivers license or other government-issued identification, and upload a selfie that matches their identification photo before they can do work for DoorDash. They also must submit to background checks, which require a Social Security number. The company said it found that some drivers were getting around the requirements by sharing accounts with authorized users. In some cases, drivers who were not authorized to drive for DoorDash paid authorized users for access to their accounts. Some federal lawmakers have demanded that DoorDash and other delivery apps do a better job of keeping people who are in the U.S. illegally off the platforms. Republican U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Mike Braun of Indiana and Ted Budd of North Carolina sent letters to delivery companies in April asking them to crack down on account sharing. These illegal immigrants are delivering food directly to consumers doors without ever having undergone a background check and often without even using their real names, the letter said. It added that working illegally can also be dangerous for migrants, creating the potential for exploitation and abuse. The Associated Press left messages seeking comment Thursday with Gig Workers Rising and Justice for App Workers, which both represent delivery drivers. DoorDash wont estimate how many drivers are using shared accounts, but said its safeguards are effective. Last year, it began asking drivers to re-verify their identities monthly by submitting a selfie. The company said it is now asking more than 150,000 drivers to complete selfie checks each week, and its removing them from the platform if they dont comply. (AP) NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to wipe Ukraine off the map and could come after other parts of Europe next, as he urged Europeans to press their governments to ramp up defense spending. It is time to shift to a wartime mindset, Rutte told security experts and analysts at the Carnegie Europe think-tank in Brussels. He said people should gird themselves for the prospect that Russia might try to use swarms of drones in Europe as it has to deadly effect in Ukraine. Putin is trying to crush our freedom and way of life, Rutte said. The former Dutch prime minister listed Russias attacks on Georgia in 2008, the annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula in 2014, and the all-out invasion launched almost three years ago. How many more wake-up calls do we need? We should be profoundly concerned. I know I am, he said. Russia is preparing for long-term confrontation. With Ukraine, and with us. Ruttes inaugural speech came just over two months after he took office as NATOs top civilian official. He has since toured the capitals of the 32 allies, including a visit to NATOs most important member, the United States to meet with President-elect Donald Trump. NATO has been a staunch backer of Ukraine and has helped most of its members funnel weapons, ammunition and other support into the country. But Trumps return, and pledge to end the war quickly, has fueled concern that an unfavorable truce might be forced on Ukraine. Asked by the Associated Press how damaging a quick and shoddy peace agreement might be, Rutte said that a bad deal means Putin coming out on top, and that will have worldwide ramifications, not only on Europe and Ukraine. He insisted that Ukraine must be involved in any peace talks. Trump routinely complains that U.S. allies in NATO are not spending enough on defense. Rutte said Russias military spending is likely to amount to 7 to 8% of its GDP next year - far more than any NATO ally - while its defense industry churns out tanks, armored vehicles and ammunition. Putin also has the support of allies like China, Iran and North Korea. Rutte noted that defense spending has risen sharply in Europe, with 23 allies expected to reach NATOs target of putting 2% of GDP into their military budgets. But he added: I can tell you, we are going to need a lot more than 2%. Rutte listed a series of recent hostile actions by Russia against NATO allies, including cyber-attacks, assassinations, an explosion at a Czech ammunition depot, the jamming of radars in the Baltic region to disrupt air traffic, and the weaponization of migrants to destabilize Europe. These attacks are not just isolated incidents. They are the result of a coordinated campaign to destabilize our societies and discourage us from supporting Ukraine, he said. They circumvent our deterrence and bring the front line to our front doors. Beyond increased defense spending in Europe, Rutte noted that NATO now has tens of thousands of troops on high readiness should they be needed to defend allied territory. With all this, our deterrence is good - for now. But its tomorrow Im worried about, he said, and warned that we are not ready for what is coming our way in four to five years. Danger is moving towards us at full speed. What is happening in Ukraine could happen here too, and regardless of the outcome of this war, we will not be safe in the future unless we are prepared to deal with danger, Rutte added. Rutte appealed to governments to provide the defense industry with the big orders and long-term contracts they need to rapidly produce more and better capabilities. He urged the industry to boost production for defenses against drones and other new war tactics. He added that freedom does not come for free to the estimated 1 billion people living in the Euro-Atlantic area. If we dont spend more together now to prevent war, we will pay a much, much, much higher price later to fight it. Not billions, but trillions of euros. Thats if we come out on top, and thats if we win, he said. (AP) American officials have been in direct contact with the terrorist-designated rebel group that led the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday. Blinken, speaking at a news conference in Jordan, was the first U.S. official to publicly confirm contacts between the Biden administration and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which led a coalition of armed opposition groups that drove Assad from power and into asylum in Russia last weekend. Along with counterparts from eight Arab nations and Turkey and senior officials from the European Union and United Nations, Blinken signed off on a set of principles meant to guide Syrias transition to a peaceful, nonsectarian and inclusive country. Blinken would not discuss details of the contacts but said it was important for the U.S. to convey messages to the group about its conduct and how it intends to govern in a transition period. Yes, we have been in contact with HTS and with other parties, Blinken said in the port city of Aqaba. He added that our message to the Syrian people is this: We want them to succeed and were prepared to help them do so. Blinken also stressed that the success that weve had in ending the territorial caliphate of the Islamic State group remains a critical mission. And citing the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurdish fighters who in recent years drove IS out of large areas of Syria, he said it was very important at this moment that they continue that role because this is a moment of instability in which IS will seek to regroup and take advantage of. HTS, which was once an affiliate of al-Qaida, has been designed as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department since 2018. That designation carries with it severe sanctions, including a ban on the provision of any material support to the group or its members. The sanctions do not, however, legally bar U.S. officials from communicating with designated groups. In an interview Saturday on Syrian television, the groups leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, did not address any direct contact with the United States, but said the new authorities in Damascus are in touch with Western embassies. He also said that we dont intend to enter any conflict because there is general exhaustion in Syria. HTS has worked to establish security and start a political transition after seizing Damascus and has tried to reassure a public both stunned by Assads fall and concerned about extremist jihadis among the rebels. Insurgent leaders say the group has broken with its extremist past. A joint statement after the meeting of foreign ministers urged all parties to cease hostilities in Syria and expressed support for a locally led transitional political process. It called for preventing the reemergence of extremist groups and ensuring the security and safe destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles. We dont want Syria to fall into chaos, Jordans foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, told journalists. A separate statement by Arab foreign ministers called for U.N.-supervised elections based on a new constitution approved by Syrians. Their statement condemned Israels incursion into the buffer zone with Syria and adjacent sites over the past week as a heinous occupation and demanded the withdrawal of Israeli forces. U.S. officials say al-Sharaa has been making welcomed comments about protecting minority and womens rights but they remain skeptical that he will follow through on them in the long run. On Friday, the rebels and Syrias unarmed opposition worked to safely turn over to U.S. officials an American man who had been imprisoned by Assad. U.S. officials are continuing their search for Austin Tice, an American journalist who disappeared 12 years ago near Damascus. We have impressed upon everyone weve been in contact with the importance of helping find Austin Tice and bringing him home, Blinken said. In other developments: Turkey reopened its embassy in Damascus, becoming the first country to do so since the end of Assads rule. The embassy suspended operations 12 years ago due to insecurity during Syrias civil war. Al-Sharaa said in the TV interview that the pretexts that Israel uses have ended for its airstrikes that have destroyed much of the Syrian armys assets in recent days. He said the Israelis have crossed the rules of engagement but that the insurgent group is not about to enter a conflict with Israel. The leader of Lebanons Hezbollah militants said the group has lost its military supply line through Syria but that the new authority there might reinstate the route. A Syrian war monitor and a citizen journalist said gunmen attacked members of a Syrian insurgent group, Failaq al-Sham, in the countrys coastal region, killing or wounding 15 of them on Saturday. That region is home to many members of Assads minority Alawite sect. (AP) The man charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was not a client of the medical insurer and may have targeted it because of its size and influence, a senior police official said Thursday. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told NBC New York in an interview Thursday that investigators have uncovered evidence that Luigi Mangione had prior knowledge UnitedHealthcare was holding its annual investor conference in New York City. Mangione also mentioned the company in a note found in his possession when he was detained by police in Pennsylvania. We have no indication that he was ever a client of United Healthcare, but he does make mention that it is the fifth largest corporation in America, which would make it the largest healthcare organization in America. So thats possibly why he targeted that company, said Kenny. UnitedHealthcare is in the top 20 largest U.S. companies by market capitalization but is not the fifth largest. It is the largest U.S. health insurer. Mangione remains jailed without bail in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested Monday after being spotted at a McDonalds in the city of Altoona, about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of New York City. His lawyer there, Thomas Dickey, has said Mangione intends to plead not guilty. Dickey also said he has yet to see evidence decisively linking his client to the crime. Mangiones arrest came five days after the caught-on-camera killing of Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel. Police say the shooter waited outside the hotel, where the health insurer was holding its investor conference, early on the morning of Dec. 4. He approached Thompson from behind and shot him before fleeing on a bicycle through Central Park. Mangione is fighting attempts to extradite him back to New York so that he can face a murder charge in Thompsons killing. A hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 30. The 26-year-old, who police say was found with a ghost gun matching shell casings found at the site of the shooting, is charged in Pennsylvania with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police. Mangione is an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family. In posts on social media, Mangione wrote about experiencing severe chronic back pain before undergoing a spinal fusion surgery in 2023. Afterward, he posted that the operation had been a success and that his pain had improved and mobility returned. He urged others to consider the same type of surgery. On Wednesday, police said investigators are looking at his writings about his health problems and his criticism of corporate America and the U.S. health care system. Kenny said in the NBC interview that Mangiones family reported him missing to San Francisco authorities in November. (AP) Ukrainian drone strikes on southern Russia killed a 9-year-old boy and set fire to a major oil terminal, officials said Saturday, the day after Moscow launched a massive aerial attack on its neighbor that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said was one of the heaviest bombardments of the countrys energy sector in the nearly three-year war. The boy died when a drone struck his familys home outside Belgorod, a Russian city near the border with Ukraine, local Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov reported on Saturday morning on the Telegram messaging app. His mother and 7-month-old sister were hospitalized with injuries, Gladkov said. He posted photos of what he said was the aftermath of the attack, showing a low-rise house with gaping holes in its roof and front wall flanked by mounds of rubble. Elsewhere in southern Russia, Ukrainian drones overnight hit a major oil terminal in the Oryol region, sparking a blaze, Ukraines General Staff reported. Photos published by the General Staff and on Russian Telegram news channels showed huge plumes of smoke engulfing the facility, backlit by an orange glow. Oryol Gov. Andrey Klychkov confirmed that a Ukrainian drone strike set fire to a fuel depot. He said later the blaze had been contained and that there were no casualties. Russias Defense Ministry on Saturday claimed its forces shot down 37 Ukrainian drones over the countrys south and west the previous night. Russia pummels Ukrainian energy targets The Ukrainian strikes came a day after Russia fired 93 cruise and ballistic missiles and almost 200 drones at its neighbor, further battering Ukraines energy infrastructure, around half of which has been destroyed during the war. Rolling electricity blackouts are common and widespread, and Zelenskyy charged Friday that Moscow is terrorizing millions of people with such assaults. According to Ukraines air force, Russia kept up its drone attacks on Saturday, launching 132 across Ukrainian territory. Fifty-eight drones were shot down and a further 72 veered off course, likely due to electronic jamming, it said. The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces used long-range precision missiles and drones on critically important fuel and energy facilities in Ukraine that ensure the functioning of the military industrial complex. The strike was in retaliation for Wednesdays Ukrainian attack using U.S.-supplied the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMs, on a Russian air base, it said. Kyivs Western allies have provided Ukraine with air defense systems to help it protect critical infrastructure, but Russia has sought to overwhelm the air defenses with combined strikes involving large numbers of missiles and drones called swarms. Russia has held the initiative this year as its military has steadily rammed through Ukrainian defenses in the east in a series of slow but steady offensives. But uncertainty surrounds how the war might unfold next year. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office next month, has vowed to end the war and has thrown into doubt whether vital U.S. military support for Kyiv will continue. North Koreans reportedly in combat in Kursk Zelenskyy said Saturday that a significant number of North Korean troops were being deployed by Moscow in assaults in Russias southern Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops have held on following a stunning cross-border incursion this summer. In a televised address, Zelenskyy said that North Korean soldiers have so far not entered the fight on Ukrainian soil, but claimed they are already taking noticeable losses. Elsewhere, Ukrainian officials reported that Russian shelling on Friday and overnight killed at least two civilians and wounded 14 others in front-line areas Ukraines south and northeast. (AP) The U.S. military has transported out of Syria an American who had disappeared seven months ago into former President Bashar Assads notorious prison system and was among the thousands released this week by rebels, U.S. officials said Friday. Travis Timmerman, 29, was flown to Jordan on a U.S. military helicopter, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing operation. Its unclear where Timmerman may go next. He thanked his rescuers for freeing him but has told American officials that he would like to stay in the region, according to another person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly. Timmerman was detained after he crossed into Syria while on a Christian pilgrimage from a mountain along the eastern Lebanese town of Zahle in June. He told The Associated Press in an interview earlier Friday that he was not ill-treated while in Palestine Branch, a notorious detention facility operated by Syrian intelligence. In his prison cell, Timmerman said, he had a mattress, a plastic drinking container and two others for waste. He said the Friday calls to prayers helped keep track of days. Timmerman said he was released Monday morning alongside a young Syrian man and 70 female prisoners, some of whom had their children with them, after rebels seized control of Damascus and forced Assad from power in a dramatic upheaval. He said he was freed by the liberators who came into the prison and knocked the door down (of his cell) with a hammer. He had been held separately from Syrian and other Arab prisoners and said he didnt know of any other Americans held in the facility. Timmerman is from Urbana, Missouri, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Springfield in the southwestern part of the state. He earned a finance degree from Missouri State University in 2017. His mother, Stacey Gardiner, said she was told that he was being taken to a military base in Jordan. The family still had not spoken to him. Mouaz Moustafa, a U.S.-based Syrian opposition activist who worked with rebels to arrange Timmermans transfer back to safety, tweeted a photo of the freed American standing next to a man in U.S. military uniform in the flat desert of the region. Safe and sound and back in American hands, Moustafa wrote. U.S. officials, meanwhile, are continuing their search for Austin Tice, an American journalist who disappeared 12 years ago near Damascus. Nizar Zakka, president of the U.S.-based Hostage Aid Worldwide that was commissioned by Tices family to search for him, said he called Tices mother and sister after receiving a tip Thursday from a Syrian near where Timmerman was found. The caller thought the foreigner was Tice. We asked them for videos, we ask them for voice (recordings) to make sure, Zakka said. We had the feeling from the minute, especially from the age, that its not correct. But we sent it to the mom. It was 3 a.m. (in the U.S.), and we woke the sister, and she said to me one thing. She said that definitely its not Austin. In the search for Tice, Zakka said he had visited detention centers and the houses of prominent figures in Assads circle, but the search had so far not produced results. The three possible scenarios, Zakka said, are that we will find him somewhere in Damascus, in the jail that he was left in or in the house, in the safe house where he is; that a high-ranking member of Assads circle took Tice along while escaping the country as a security for his life; or that Tices captors killed him and other prisoners to erase evidence of their crimes. He criticized the U.S. for announcing a $10 million reward for information leading to Tice, saying that it had led to a flood of false tips and caused confusion. (AP) Despite two weeks of U.N.-sponsored talks in Saudi Arabias Riyadh, the participating 197 nations failed to agree early Saturday on a plan to deal with global droughts, made longer and more severe by a warming climate. The biennial talks, known as COP 16 and organized by a UN body that deals with combating desertification and droughts, attempted to create strong global mandates to legally bind and require nations to fund early warning systems and build resilient infrastructure in poorer countries, particularly Africa, which is worst affected by the changes. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification released a report earlier this week warning that if global warming trends continue, nearly five billion people including in most of Europe, parts of the western U.S., Brazil, eastern Asia and central Africa will be affected by the drying of Earths lands by the end of the century, up from a quarter of the worlds population today. The report also said farming was particularly at risk, which can lead to food insecurity for communities worldwide. This is the fourth time UN talks aimed at getting countries to agree to make more headway on tackling biodiversity loss, climate change and plastic pollution have either failed to reach a consensus or delivered disappointing results this year, worrying many nations, particularly the most vulnerable. Nations participating in the Riyadh discussions decided to push the can down the road to the 2026 talks, hosted by Mongolia. Parties need more time to agree on whats the best way forward to address the critical issue of drought, said Ibrahim Thiaw, the UNCCD chief, speaking at the end of the Riyadh talks. Thiaw said the conference was like no other in the talks 30-year history. We have elevated the land and drought agenda beyond sector-specific discussions, establishing it as a cornerstone of global efforts to address inter-connected challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, food insecurity, migration and global security. Longer-lasting solutions to drought such as the curbing of climate change were not a talking point. Host Saudi Arabia has been criticized in the past for stalling progress on curbing emissions from fossil fuels at other negotiations. The Gulf nation is one of the worlds largest oil producers and exporters with the second-largest global oil reserves. Earlier in the conference, hosts Saudi Arabia, a few other countries and international banks pledged $2.15 billion for drought resilience. And the Arab Coordination Group, made up of 10 development banks based in the Middle East, committed $10 billion by 2030 to address degrading land, desertification and drought. The funds are expected to support 80 of the most vulnerable countries prepare for worsening drought conditions. But the U.N. estimates that between 2007 and 2017, droughts will have cost $125 billion worldwide. Erika Gomez, lead negotiator from Panama said while a decision on dealing with drought was not reached, significant progress was made in other key issues. We have achieved several key milestones, particularly in the growing traction of civil society engagement and the gender decision, Gomez said. Until the very end, parties could not agree on whether or not the new instrument to respond to drought should be legally binding or not, said Jes Weigelt of European climate think-tank TMG Research who has been tracking the talks. I fear, the UNCCD COP 16 has suffered the same fate as the biodiversity and climate COPs this year. It failed to deliver, he said. (AP) Donald Trump hosted Apple CEO Tim Cook for a Friday evening dinner at the president-elects Mar-a-Lago resort, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly. Cook is the latest in a string of big tech leaders including OpenAIs Sam Altman, Metas Mark Zuckerberg and Amazons Jeff Bezos who have sought to improve their standing with the incoming president after choppy relations with Trump during his first term. Trump has said he has spoken with Cook about the companys long-running tax battles with the European Union. The meeting comes less than two months after Trump said he spoke to Cook by phone, and soon after Apple lost its last appeal in a dispute with the EU over 13 billion euros ($14.34 billion) in back taxes to Ireland. He said the European Union has just fined us $15 billion, Trump recalled of his conversation with Cook, in an October interview with podcaster Patrick Bet-David. Then on top of that they got fined by the European Union another $2 billion. The decision by the EU top court was the finale to a dispute that centered on sweetheart deals that Dublin was offering to attract multinational businesses with minimal taxes across the 27-nation bloc. The European Commission in 2016 ruled that Ireland granted Apple unlawful aid that Ireland was required to recover. Trumps transition team and Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment about his dinner with Cook. OpenAI CEO Altman is planning to make a $1 million personal donation to Trumps inauguration fund, the company confirmed Friday. Amazon and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, confirmed this week they had each donated $1 million to Trumps inaugural fund. During his first term, Trump criticized Amazon and railed against the political coverage at The Washington Post, which Bezos owns. Meanwhile, Bezos had criticized some of Trumps past rhetoric. In 2019, Amazon also argued in a court case that Trumps bias against the company harmed its chances of winning a $10 billion Pentagon contract. More recently, Bezos has struck a more conciliatory tone. Last week, he said at The New York Times DealBook Summit in New York that he was optimistic about Trumps second term while also endorsing president-elects plans to cut regulations. The donation from Meta came just weeks after Meta CEO Zuckerberg met with Trump privately at Mar-a-Lago. During the 2024 campaign, Zuckerberg did not endorse a candidate for president, but voiced a more positive stance toward Trump. Earlier this year, he praised Trumps response to his first assassination attempt. (AP) A federal appeals court on Friday left in place a mid-January deadline in a federal law requiring TikTok to be sold or face a ban in the United States, rejecting a request made by the company to halt enforcement until the Supreme Court reviews its challenge of the statute. Attorneys for TikTok and its China-based parent company, ByteDance, are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court. Its unclear if the nations highest court will take up the case, though some legal experts have said they expect the justices to weigh in due to the types of novel questions it raises about social media, national security and the First Amendment. TikTok is also looking for a potential lifeline from President-elect Donald Trump, who promised to save the short-form video platform during the presidential campaign. Attorneys for TikTok and ByteDance had requested the injunction after a panel of three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sided with the U.S. government and rejected their challenge to the law. The court rejected that request on Friday, calling it unwarranted. The petitioners have not identified any case in which a court, after rejecting a constitutional challenge to an Act of Congress, has enjoined the Act from going into effect while review is sought in the Supreme Court, said the courts order, which was unsigned. The statute, which was signed by President Joe Biden earlier this year, requires ByteDance to sell TikTok to an approved buyer due to national security concerns or face a ban in the U.S. The U.S. has said it sees TikTok as a national security risk because ByteDance could be coerced by Chinese authorities to hand over U.S. user data or manipulate content on the platform for Beijings interests. TikTok has denied those claims and has argued that the governments case rests on hypothetical future risks instead of proven facts. In the request filed this week, attorneys for TikTok and ByteDance had asked for a modest delay in enforcement of the law so that the Supreme Court could review the case and the incoming Trump administration could determine its position on the matter. If the law is not overturned, the two companies have said that the popular app will shut down by Jan. 19, just a day before Trump takes office again. More than 170 million American users would be affected, the companies have said. The Justice Department had opposed TikToks request for a pause, saying in a court filing this week that the parties had already proposed a schedule that was designed for the precise purpose of allowing Supreme Court review of the law before it took effect. The appeals court issued its Dec. 6 ruling on the matter in line with that schedule, the Justice Department filing said. (AP) Residents of six Druze villages in southern Syria held an emergency council meeting over the weekend in the wake of the fall of the Assad regime. In a video of the meeting that circulated on social media, the head sheikh says that it is far better for them to be annexed to the Israeli Ramat Hagolan than to live under the rebels, and the audience yells their agreement. Senior Druze officials are adamantly opposed to allowing the Islamist rebels, many of whom have extremist views against non-Muslims, to enter their villages. (YWNs Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis haShabbos in Israel) Supreme Court Justice Ruth Ronen made an unannounced visit to Ofer Prison to examine the conditions of detention for Gazan terrorists, Kan News reported on Motzei Shabbos. She requested to visit the wing where illegal combatants from Gaza who were captured after the October 7 assault are incarcerated. Ronen has recently held several hearings regarding petitions submitted by terrorists regarding their detention conditions. During the visit, she checked whether the terrorists were provided with adequate winter clothing, examined the toilet paper supply to their cells, and checked whether the guards provided them with paper and pens to file legal appeals. UTJ chairman Yitzchak Goldknopf responded to the report by stating: As long as our brothers and sisters are suffering from cold and poor conditions in Hamas captivity and are not receiving visits from the Red Cross, the State of Israel should not allow visits to check the conditions of the Hamas monsters imprisoned in Israel. (YWNs Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis haShabbos in Israel) The Rosh Yeshivah of Mosdos Pnei Menachem, HaGaon HaRav Shaul Alter, has received a personal invitation from President-elect Donald Trump to visit the White House. The visit is scheduled for after the inauguration. About a week ago, HaRav Altar received the invitation personally from the presidents envoy, Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, a Chabad businessman residing in Miami, who is part of Trumps close circle of advisors. The connection between HaRav Altar and Trump began when the Rosh Yeshivah was sitting shiva for his mother, during which Trump sent him a letter of condolence through Kaploun. The Satmar Rebbe of Kiryas Yoel also received an invitation to visit Trump at the White House from Kaploun. Before the elections, the Rebbe met with Eric Trump, the presidents son, regarding efforts to legislate a law against the liberals who seek to undermine Chareidi education in New York. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) In the wake of intelligence warnings about a cell of armed terrorists in the Jerusalem area, Border Police officers set up checkpoints along Highway 1 early Sunday afternoon and the Shin Bets Tequila force was deployed to the area. Forces of the Tequila unit are deployed as a last resort to stop terrorists who are already on the way to the attack. Shortly later, the police stopped one suspicious vehicle near the Latrun interchange. The driver was arrested and transferred to the Shin Bet for interrogation. His vehicle was examined by bomb sappers. Israel Police issued a statement later on Sunday saying that an initial investigation found that the driver was not involved in terror activities and no suspicious objects were found in his car. However, the driver had transported 13 Palestinians in his car who had entered Israel illegally. The police arrested the infiltrators and transferred them for questioning. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) Israel said Sunday it will close its embassy in Ireland as relations deteriorated over the war in Gaza. The decision to close the embassy came in response to what Israels foreign minister has described as Irelands extreme anti-Israel policies. In May, Israel recalled its ambassador to Dublin after Ireland announced, along with Norway, Spain and Slovenia, it would recognize a Palestinian state. The Irish cabinet last week decided to formally intervene in South Africas case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, which accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. We are concerned that a very narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide leads to a culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimized, Irelands deputy premier and foreign affairs minister, Micheal Martin, said in a statement. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saars statement on the embassy closure said that Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with Israel. Ahead of Israels announcement, Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris had called the decision to close the embassy deeply regrettable. He added on X: I utterly reject the assertion that Ireland is anti-Israel. Ireland is pro-peace, pro-human rights and pro-international law. HERE IS GIDEON SAARS FULL STATEMENT: Today, I have instructed the closure of Israels Embassy in Ireland. The actions, double standards, and antisemitic rhetoric of the Irish government against Israel are rooted in efforts to delegitimize and demonize the Jewish state. The Irish government recognized a Palestinian state during attacks on Israel (a move praised by Hamas), attempted to redefine genocide in international law to support baseless claims against Israel at the ICJ, backed politically motivated cases at the ICC, promoted anti-Israel measures within the EU, and fostered hostility toward Israel. Notably, Ireland is one of the few European countries that has not adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism, and its government has failed to take effective measures to combat the surge of antisemitism within Ireland. Israel will focus its resources on strengthening bilateral relations with countries worldwide, according to priorities that also take into account the attitudes and actions of these states toward Israel. (AP) Anticipation is growing for this years Nafshi Event, set to take place on Thursday night, December 19th, at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, NY. With an all-star lineup of performers and inspirational speakers, thousands are expected to attend, and tickets are nearly sold out. Limited seats remain available at Nafshi.net. The event, held on Yud Tes Kislev, marks the historic liberation of the Baal HaTanya, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, and celebrates his contributions to Torah and Avodas Hashem. Last years inaugural event drew thousands of attendees and was widely praised for its inspiring atmosphere and meaningful programming. This year, organizers have expanded the event, promising an even more uplifting experience. The evening will feature performances by Alex Clare, Benny Friedman, Eitan Katz, Eli Marcus, and Zusha, offering a unique blend of soulful and joyous music. Additionally, the program will include divrei chizuk from Rabbi Shais Taub and Rabbi Daniel Kalish, whose messages will provide depth and reflection on the significance of the day. The event is organized by Colel Chabad, the oldest continuously operating tzedakah organization, established by the Baal HaTanya over 230 years ago. Colel Chabad continues to provide critical support to thousands of families in Israel and beyond through food programs, medical assistance, and social services. Its only fitting that Colel Chabad is behind this event, said Rabbi Zalman Duchman of Colel Chabad. The Baal HaTanya attributed his release from prison to the zechus of supporting this tzedakah. With the majority of tickets already sold and strong demand continuing, those wishing to attend are encouraged to secure their seats now. Visit Nafshi.net to reserve your spot for an evening of inspiration, unity, and celebration of the Baal HaTanyas legacy. Miami (December 11, 2024) At a time of escalating violence in Israel, actor Liev Schreiber gave a moving presentation honoring Israels medics at the American Friends of Magen David Adom (AFMDA) Gala at JW Marriot Miami Turnberry Resort on Wednesday. In the dramatic style befitting the actor heralded as the finest American theater actor of his generation by the New York Times, Schreiber shared the story of Adham Safadi, an EMT from a Druze community in Israel whose daughter was killed in a Hezbollah rocket attack. Sick with grief at discovering her body, Safadi went on to provide lifesaving treatment to other injured children. Schreiber then gave a heart wrenching account of the experiences of Magen David Adom (MDA) EMT Zvi Reder, who saved many lives on October 7th, even as his son was murdered by terrorists at a nearby kibbutz. When I was in Ukraine building Blue Check, Schreiber said, referring to the organization he founded. Magen David Adom was right there beside me, delivering bulletproof ambulances and world-class medical care. Theyre constantly wrestling with how better to serve their communities, how to improve response time and serve more remote areas, build a better blood bank, break through cultural and political barriers to get to the human heart of the matter, the safety and preservation of human life, he said. The evening, hosted by Israeli actress Moran Atias, raised a total of $4 million to support Magen David Adom, Israels emergency services system. Chef Olivia Ostrow of the popular Ostrow Brasserie recreated the French brasserie experience with signature artwork, design elements, and the ambiance that makes dining at the restaurant unforgettable. A gospel choir, led by composer Tomer Adaddi, offered stirring musical interludes to punctuate the program. As they connected with one another, attendees including business leaders, philanthropists, and influencers were excited to greet Ambassador Gilad Erdan, MDAs global president, who they know well from his years of staunch Israel advocacy at the UN. Also present was Shelley Shemtov, the mother of Omer Shemtov, who is still being held hostage in Hamas terror tunnels. Community leaders Jassi and Joey Antebi were awarded the Dor vDor Humanitarian of the Year Award for their contributions to MDAs work in Miami. A high point of the evening saw Patricia Heaton, beloved comedic actress and pro-Israel advocate, honored with the Champion of Israel Award for her work as founder of O7C, an organization calling on Christians and all people who believe in Western civilization and democracy to stand against the rise of antisemitism. While Israel is at the front lines fighting the war of terror on behalf of the world, sacrificing their sons and daughters for the sake of freedom, the good organization of MDA is tending to the wounds of its nation both inside and outside of Israel, said Heaton It was a joy to receive the Champion of Israel award as every single Israeli is a champion for the world and if I can do my small part to bring attention to the protection of Israel, it is my true honor. Miami locals gave generously during the live auction, hosted by professional auctioneer Dave Keystone. Setting a record for the most money raised in one evening at an AFMDA event in Miami, numerous ambulances were funded, culminating in almost $1.8 million in donations raised during the event, along with a million-dollar matching grant by one donor. Money raised will go to augmenting the fleet of rescue vehicles, training and equipping Israels paramedics and EMTs, and protecting the nations blood supply through the Marcus Blood Center. Immediately after the main program, an ambulance dedication and spirited afterparty kicked off. Shortly after October 7th, entrepreneur and influencer Shir Ibgui spearheaded a campaign to raise money for MDA. Local Miami contributors to the cause joined Ibgui to dedicate the vehicle and celebrate life as DJ Omri Sassi, the founder of the Nova Music Festival, kept the beats fresh. The whole night was dedicated to our community coming together to express pride in being Jewish and Zionist and celebrating that we are a resilient people, said Adi Ben-Ezra, AFMDA development executive. Were especially proud to have friends who are challenging the dominant narrative and standing with us in support of MDAs lifesaving work. The generous spirit of MDAs 32,000 volunteers was mirrored in the warmth shown by the 900 people who gathered to support saving lives in Israel, said Jessica Nessim, AFMDA director of major gifts. Our deep gratitude goes to the community leaders, gala chairs, and host committee, without whom this amazing night could not have happened. Brits face water bills soaring by at least a fifth - and far more in some areas - as Labour claims firms need cash to fix sewers An eye-watering round of increases is set to be announced by regulator Ofwat later this week, despite fury at the performance of operators. Environment Secretary Steve Reed admitted today that consumers will be 'angry' at the looming hikes, expected to add a minimum of 100 to average annual costs over the next five years. Thames Water's chief executive last week defended bosses sharing 770,000 in bonuses despite the firm battling a huge debt mountain and pumping out even more sewage. It has been pushing for bills to go up more than 50 per cent by the end of the decade. In an article for the Telegraph, Mr Reed argued that water rationing could be needed by the 2040s without drastic increases in investment. Mr Reed pledged the additional money would go towards fixing leaky pipes and building reservoirs instead of paying executives their bonuses. Ofwat has been engaged in intense negotiations with water companies over the scale of the rises. The watchdog originally knocked back demands for hikes of more than 21 per cent over five years. But extraordinarily companies responded by asking for even more. They wanted the average consumer bill in England and Wales rise by 40 per cent between now and 2030 - costing 615 per year. Those proposals would have seen Southern Water customers hammered with an 84 per cent increase over the period. Campaigners and politicians slammed the companies for 'greed', saying they were 'sucking the dregs' out of customers. Steve Reed (pictured) admitted that British citizens will be 'angry' at the rise, which is expected to add an average of 100 to water bills over the next five years Your browser does not support iframes. Ofwat is due to announce the final figures on Thursday. Earlier this year, companies asked Ofwat for bills averaging 585 by 2030, up about one-third from the current average of 439. The regulator's draft price review in July pared back those requests to an average of 535. However, 10 of the 11 water companies then hit back with even higher requests than before. Mr Reed wrote: 'If you see cracks in the wall of your house and do nothing about it for years, the problem gets worse and you end up paying more,' he said. 'That's what's happened with our crumbling water and sewage system. Customers have been left to pay the price of Conservative failure.' But shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins said: 'Labour spent years making promises to the public about improving waterways yet, six months after the election, all they do is talk about the Conservatives. Labour's lack of energy and action will not wash when bills rise on their watch. 'The Conservatives began the crucial reform to ensure that in the long-term Britain's water system is clean and sustainable that requires billions of pounds of private of investment if bill-payers are to be protected. 'The Government must work out what it's doing and who will pay for this investment, or our water bills will keep rising under Labour.' Labour is preparing to sweeten the increases with reforms ringfencing extra money so it must be spent on new infrastructure. Mr Reed said he would also be pushing through new legislation that mandates reporting on sewage leaks. The new law would meant that water bosses who refuse to cooperate with investigations into spillage face prison time. 'This is a once in a generation chance to reset our water sector and deliver the change we all want to see,' Mr Reed added. 'After years of pollution and decline it's time to invest in new opportunities and restore our clean rivers, lakes and seas.' Earlier this year, brazen water bosses put in a request to increase bills by up to 84 per cent. All 11 water and wastewater firms originally requested bill rises from the regulator in July, but these figures have now been revised by the companies. Taken together, the companies want bills to rise 40 per cent on average and cost 615 a year by 2030, compared to the current average bill of 439 a year. This is despite the fact that water bosses have been given eyewatering bonuses. Thames Water's chief executive defended bosses sharing 770,000 in bonuses despite the firm battling a huge debt mountain and pumping out even more sewage. The water firms provide supplies to England and Wales Sewage is seen floating in the Thames near Windsor, Berkshire - environment secretary Steve Reed wrote: 'Our rivers, lakes and seas are choked by pollution'. Chris Weston insisted 'competitive packages' were needed to attract 'talent' to work at his crisis-stricken company even though regulators said the payouts were unjustified. Mr Weston took on the job in January and was awarded a 195,000 bonus for his first three months at the firm. Ofwat revealed last month that Thames Water was planning to use customer cash to pay bosses' bonuses, but ruled that it was not 'justified'. The firm is in about 16billion of debt and is trying to secure another 3billion to keep it running beyond mid-next year. This headline from earlier in the week deserves consideration given that it will determine how JoCo progressives move forward . . . KANSAS GUV KELLY IS NOW UNDER NATIONAL SCRUTINY WITH REPUBLICANS ACROSS THE NATION LOOKING TO MAKE CERTAIN TOPEKA BELONGS TO THE GOP NEXT TIME AROUND!!! More context . . . Yes, we know she's not running again but part of securing the office is to make the last part of her tenure a nightmare for supporters . . . Kinda like the same thing the Dems did to Guv Brownback. Here's a preview . . . Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has two years remaining in office, after being elected in 2018 and reelected in 2022. Kelly is the chair of the Democratic Governors Association, taking over in August to fill the remaining term of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. "Kansas presents a prime opportunity for Republicans to be on offense and to put the Kansas governorship back in Republican hands," Courtney Alexander, an RGA spokesperson, said in a statement to The Capital-Journal. "Kansans have shown time and time again they support commonsense, conservative leadership and it's time to return that to Topeka." Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . Why national Republicans are setting sights on Kansas in 2026 gubernatorial race Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, the new chair of the Republican Governors Association, sees Kansas as "a prime opportunity for Republicans to be on offense." 12/18/2024 By Ed Brennen Sitting in the back of a class early this fall, Jetrin Orenberg found himself confused by a concept that his professor was covering. A sophomore double-majoring in computer science and electrical engineering, Orenberg looked around at a few of his classmates and sensed that they were confused, too. I wish the professor had a way of knowing how the class feels, Orenberg thought to himself. Then Orenberg remembered DifferenceMaker, UMass Lowells campus-wide program that helps students solve problems and pursue their ideas. Fast-forward three months, and Orenberg was standing on stage at the Rist DifferenceMaker Institutes Francis College of Engineering Prototyping competition, accepting a $2,500 first-place prize for his Comprehension Clicker, a wireless, handheld device that high school and college students can use to provide real-time learning feedback in the classroom. I want to make education better by empowering students to nip a problem in the bud if they dont understand something, said Orenberg, a Franklin, Massachusetts, native who advanced directly into the preliminary round of next springs DifferenceMaker $50K Idea Challenge. Image by Ed Brennen While existing classroom clickers are designed for students to respond to questions and take part in polls, Orenbergs device features a scale of buttons that students can use to express their level of understanding. More than a dozen teams presented projects in the preliminary round of the Engineering Prototyping competition, held in the University Crossing lobby. Of those, five advanced to the finals upstairs at Moloney Hall, where they each had five minutes to pitch their ideas to a panel of four engineering alumni judges: Steve Geyster 83, Chad LaFrance 88, Rajia Abdelaziz 16 and Ray Hamilton 17. First-year biomedical engineering majors Eleni Tekelis, John Khoury, Linda Neneh Jallow and Neytan Milioli took second place (and $1,500) for Pop-it Prosthetics, a customized, below-the-knee artificial limb for children that can be adjusted as they grow. Originally a group project in their Introduction to Biomedical Engineering course with Asst. Prof. Yanfen Li, the students created a prototype in the Lawrence Lin MakerSpace and earned extra credit for entering the DifferenceMaker competition. Image by Ed Brennen Were grateful to have this opportunity as freshmen, said Tekelis, a Worcester, Massachusetts, native who was inspired to devise an adjustable prosthetic after seeing a young family friend have to buy an expensive new one almost every year. Neneh Jallow, who is from Lynn, Massachusetts, added that working in a group and networking with others through the DifferenceMaker program is so beneficial to us as students. Brothers Callum and Haydn Hammill of Townsend, Massachusetts, earned the $1,000 third-place prize for Tree Frog, a wearable device that detects exposure to low-pressure blast waves, which can lead to traumatic brain injury. Their patent-pending device, which could help protect soldiers, construction workers, miners and others, features a synthetic membrane that ruptures when exposed to air pressure greater than 4 PSI. Image by Ed Brennen If we could change at least one persons life with this device, that would be a success, said Haydn, a senior graphic design major who was part of the winning ZipperBuddy team at last years competition Everybodys here with the same goal in mind, which is helping people, added Callum, a senior mechanical engineering major. The $500 Peoples Choice Award went to Adam Warden, a senior computer science major from Lynn, for RightsWatch, an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can help human rights watchdog organizations and journalists identify human rights violations in real time in places around the world such as Myanmar, Syria, Israel and Palestine. This is really important to me because I have family and friends who have been killed overseas in the past year, said Warden, an Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps cadet. Even on social media, you scroll and scroll and see all these gross violations of human rights. I hate seeing it on my screen and feeling helpless, so I tried to make something with technology for good. Image by Ed Brennen Working with Hadi Amiri , an assistant professor in the Miner School of Computer & Information Sciences , and Nasir Almasri, a postdoctoral scholar at Boston University, Warden is developing an integrated, AI-driven framework that combines object detection and natural language processing. One part is an electronic device that attaches to a drone to detect and geotag physical signs of destruction; the other is a natural language model that scrapes the internet for content related to crimes. Abdelaziz and Hamilton, co-founders of invisaWear Technologies, said the judges faced a tough deliberation in determining a winner. I was really impressed with all the teams, said Hamilton, who noted that Orenberg stood out by giving the judges prototypes of the Comprehension Clicker to use during his interactive presentation. Image by Ed Brennen I was one of those shy people in class, afraid to raise my hand and ask questions, Abdelaziz added. So I definitely see a need for a solution to this problem. James Sherwood, dean of the Francis College of Engineering, congratulated all the teams and thanked the judges, who included a preliminary-round panel of engineering alumni Carol Devellian 85, Ken Horton 79, Dennis Gagne 95, Leigh Sharrock 03, Dan McCormick 83 and Joe Hennessey 85. Over the years, DifferenceMaker has become a beacon of entrepreneurship, empowering students not only to think outside the box, but to break the box, Sherwood said. I cannot wait to see what the next generation of DifferenceMakers will accomplish. Henna inscribed on UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list 'Henna' has been inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage 2024 Sunday December 15, 2024 11:59 PM , ummid.com with inputs from Agencies Geneva: 'Henna' has been inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage 2024. UNESCO added 'Henna' to the 2024 Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage recognizing it as an ancient, celebrated, and enduring cultural heritage in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The inclusion of Henna: rituals, aesthetic and social practices was approved during the 19th session of UNESCOs Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, held in the city of Asuncion, Paraguay. While including Henna in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage 2024, the UNESCO wrote: Henna is a deciduous tree that grows in hot regions. Perceived as sacred by communities in Northern Africa and the Middle East, its leaves are harvested twice a year, left to dry, then ground and processed to create a paste. The specific ingredients and techniques used to prepare the paste vary according to the intended use and country. Henna paste is commonly used by women for adornment, such as to dye hair and fingertips or to decorate hands and feet. A symbol of joy, it is used in everyday life and on festive occasions such as births and weddings. Henna branches, leaves and paste are also used in crafts and for medicinal purposes, including the treatment of certain skin diseases. Its use is frequently accompanied by oral expressions such as chants, songs, proverbs and poems, and is linked to centuries-old societal rules and traditions. This includes knowledge related to the cultivation and care of the henna tree and the preparation and application of the paste. Families and communities transmit the traditions through observation and hands-on practice. Today, organizations, beauty centres, universities and the media also contribute to their transmission. A key component of traditional events, henna rituals enhance social bonds and promote communication. Expressing proud over the inclusion of Henna in the UN body's list, Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi, said: Henna is a deeply rooted element of our heritage, and its inclusion on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity is a testament to our commitment to preserving this tradition for future generations. Henna vs Mehndi Interestingly, use of Henna is not limited to UAE or MENA region alone. In South Asia and other parts of the world, Muslim families apply Henna on the hands of girls and women especially during festival time, marriages and special occasions. In India and Pakistan, Henna is also called as Mehndi. Mehndi is also celebrated as a tradition in the two countries at the time of weddings. Mehndi is also widely used by elderly men and women to dye grey hair. Mehandi Art has also become a profession. Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates. Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic. Welcome Guest! You are here: Home Syrian children return to schools a week after HTS-led Opp takeover Syrian children in capital Damascus and other cities of the country Sunday December 15, 2024 returned to schools exactly a week after Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led opposition toppled the 54-year brutal regime of al-Assad family Sunday December 15, 2024 11:05 PM , ummid.com with inputs from Agencies Damascus: Syrian children in capital Damascus and other cities of the country Sunday December 15, 2024 returned to schools exactly a week after Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led opposition toppled the 54-year brutal regime of al-Assad family. Citing Syrian officials, news agency Reuters reported that most schools opened around the country Sunday, the first day of the working week. Images and videos shared online showed students carrying the new flag of the country, some sporting it on their cheeks. Reuters reported that students waited cheerfully in the courtyard of a boys' high school in Damascus on Sunday morning and applauded as the school secretary, Raed Nasser, hung the flag adopted by the new authorities. In one classroom, a student pasted the new flag on a wall. "I am optimistic and very happy. I used to walk in the street scared that I would get drafted to military service. I used to be afraid when I reach a checkpoint", said student Salah al-Din Diab. "People are turning up for work. Children are going to school. Were now outside Damascus University, where were surrounded by many students who came there on the first day Sunday being the first workday of the week across the Arab world", Osama Bin Javaid said reporting for Al Jazeera from Damascus, Syria. Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led opposition last Sunday overthrew the al-Assad regime in Syria in a swift operation. Christians attend Sunday Mass Meanwhile, Christians also attended first Sunday Mass after the fall of Bashar al-Assad fovernment last Sunday. Streets in the heavily Christian Damascus neighbourhood of Bab Touma filled with worshippers returning from church on Sunday morning but some struck a note of caution, Reuters reported. Syria is home to multiple ethnic and religious minorities including Christians, Armenians, Kurds and Shi'ite Muslims. After taking the control of Syria, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Commander-in-Chief Abu Muhammad al-Golani, born Ahmad al-Sharaa , had reassured the Syria's minority groups that their way of life would not be at risk. Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates. Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic. On any given night over the past year, an average of 56 people in Lincoln were on the streets with no shelter, sleeping on benches or under bridges or in makeshift tents. For the first times in years, Robert Hinson was not among them. The Florida native who moved to Nebraska with his first wife in 1991 struggled with drug and alcohol addiction for more than two decades and spent much of the last eight years homeless in Lincoln and Omaha, sleeping on park benches or in abandoned garages, even finding shelter in porta potties on really cold nights. On a particularly frigid night last December, he got frostbite and something clicked. I was out on the streets in the middle of winter, nowhere to go, no one to call. No one. And I froze. It took like a day to dethaw. And I just told myself Id never let it get to this situation where I could do this to myself again. So he checked himself into rehab not the first time hed done so but the first time he really wanted to stop using, he said. He completed treatment and landed in a house operated by Matt Talbot Kitchen and Outreach Center. Hes been there since, he said, recovering from surgery and saving money to get his own apartment. Its not his first stay at a home run by Matt Talbot. Hed been kicked out of two of their transitional houses. This time, theyve given him and others at the house second chances, let them stay on even when theyve made mistakes, violated rules. Hes saving money to get his own apartment, and believes recovery is for real this time. For Matt Talbot Executive Director Alynn Sampson, Hinson is an example of the need in Lincoln for a low-barrier shelter one without the rules and restrictions in Lincolns current shelter system. Robert is a reason we have shifted to being more flexible, she said. Hes really shown us what being more flexible can do for people. (Giving him more chances) gave him time to figure it out himself. I think thats the difference. Sampson is not alone. Homeless advocates have been arguing for years for the need for such a shelter, an alternative to the Peoples City Mission for people who cant be admitted or choose not to go. Theres numerous reasons people cant or wont go to existing shelters, according to a recent report: sobriety issues or disabilities or criminal background checks that can exclude some, others dont want to participate in programming or chores. Others have pets. Some have been banned. Matt Martinosky works and befriends people living on the streets as assistant director of community response and outreach at CenterPointe. He offers them staples to get them by, listens to their stories, worries when the temperatures dip dangerously low. A lot of mental health issues come into play where those individuals might not get along with large groups, or might not feel comfortable with large groups, Martinosky said. This is just a different chunk of the community that needs shelter. *** The chronic homeless population is one of two primary shelter needs identified in the recent report, prepared by the University of Nebraska-Lincolns Center on Children Family and the Law for Lincolns Continuum of Care a U.S. Housing and Urban Development program to help communities coordinate a homeless response and provide funding. The other need: for families, primarily those fleeing domestic violence situations. The report recommended Lincoln increase its emergency shelter capacity by at least 26 and up to 77 low-barrier shelter beds and 12 to 35 family shelter beds. And it illustrates why Lincoln needs a variety of shelter options, said Jeff Chambers, a senior project director at the UNL Center. Not everybody experiencing homelessness has the same needs, he said. Thats why its important we have this wide variety. While Lincoln has some shelters that serve various populations organizations like Friendship Home and Cedars the biggest emergency shelter is the Peoples City Mission. Nearly 80% of people who experience homelessness in Lincoln pass through the missions doors and it plays a critically important role in Lincolns homeless services, Chambers said. But it cant meet everyones needs. To that end, city and county officials are planning to move forward in January on the low-barrier shelter, after years of discussion. Lincoln-Lancaster County Human Services Director Sara Hoyle said the city and county plan to release a request for information in January to find out what providers have an interest and what they think it should look like. The Lancaster County Board has committed 25% of its casino revenue to the shelter, she said, and the citys urban development department has some grant money through the Nebraska Homeless Assistance Program it is willing to put toward the project. Private funding would most likely be needed as well to operate the shelter, she said. Officials are looking at the former drivers testing station on West O, which is owned by the county, as a possible location, she said, but nothing has been decided. Just how to address the second need shelter for domestic violence victims is an ongoing discussion and a matter of some debate. The Peoples City Mission is planning to build an addition for women in crisis, while domestic violence advocates caution that the biggest need is trauma-informed care with wraparound services. *** When Randi Ezeafulukwe decided to leave her partner, she stayed with family for a few days, then landed in a shelter with Friendship Home. Pregnant with two young children, she had little money, debt because her partner left unpaid utility bills in her name, little-to-no rental history, or recent work history as a stay-at-home mom. Shed become very isolated during the relationship; he got rid of all her things. After a short stay with family, she spent the next eight weeks at a Friendship Home shelter, working through the maze of assistance, looking for her own place to live. Without their help, and the connections and social supports they offered, she said she's not sure how she would have made it. They gave her the time and support to make her way. I wouldnt have been reminded and empowered in the person I was, or the skills I had to plan my whole life, to aim higher, not lower, said Ezeafulukwe, who now works for Friendship Home and another nonprofit. Domestic violence advocates say such trauma-informed support, offering the security and confidentiality many victims need, is vital. A survivors needs assessment conducted by a professor at Nebraska Wesleyan University concluded both emergency shelter and permanent housing was one of the biggest gaps in services for victims. Like the UNL report, the assessment concluded victims need safe, confidential and trauma-informed shelter that meets state and federal standards, and not all providers including the Peoples City Mission provide that. Mission CEO Tom Barber said their expansion wouldnt be a domestic violence shelter but would address a crisis homelessness problem in Lincoln with an addition that would more than double the shelters capacity from about 300 to 700. Many of those residents could be fleeing violence. The new addition, he said, will be a "women's crisis center" with 100 large rooms for families with a gymnasium, classroom space for kids and a dining room separate from the mens shelter. It will have better lighting, be partially gated and fenced. The addition will also allow the mission to increase the mens shelter space and possibly add some private rooms. That's a population many people don't see, he said, because they arent sleeping on the streets. Lee Heflebower, a domestic violence and economic justice specialist with the Nebraska Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence, agrees with that. People dont understand what it looks like in Lincoln because its so hidden. Many who are experiencing homelessness have jobs, aspirations, she said. We want to create systems in the community where if they fall into homelessness it will be for a really, really short time, well stabilize them, create a safety net so they dont fall into homelessness again. General shelters aren't the best way to do that, said Heflebower and other domestic violence advocates, because those victims often have security issues related to their abuser, may not have ID and need trauma-informed wraparound services. To have that level of specificity is pretty key, she said. Its not like we just need to put some cots in a room. Friendship Home, faced with some funding reductions, is talking with local funders to make sure additional shelter space is trauma-informed, said Leah Droge, executive director of Friendship Home. Hoyle said she thinks it's important for domestic violence experts to be a part of the conversation with the mission's shelter addition. Barber said he's willing to work with them, and said he already connects many residents to other services. Chambers sees another potential issue with the mission's addition: Lincoln doesn't need that much additional shelter space, he said, and it could draw more homeless people to Lincoln from other communities. Once theyre here, he said, Lincolns human service agencies are responsible for helping them find permanent housing an already difficult task because of the lack of affordable housing. Were not trying to exclude people coming to Lincoln because theyre homeless but we dont have the resources to get them out of homelessness now, he said. Barber disagrees, saying the addition hes building is to fill a need in Lincoln for families experiencing crisis homelessness, not the chronically homeless living on Lincolns streets. He said he's willing to support a low-barrier shelter, but that he's not interested in being a part of it. Hoyle said the mission's plans could actually complement a low-barrier shelter. And theres still a need for general shelter space, because those living on the streets will more than fill the mission on very cold nights, Barber said, when they open their doors to anyone needing shelter. Omaha, he said, has significantly more shelter space than Lincoln. When the weather gets cold, anyone can come in ... at night, he said. When it gets really cold, they can stay 24-7. Weve always put people on the floor. *** Even on the coldest nights, Hinson wouldnt go to the mission. He didnt feel safe, he said, and didnt feel like being around others when he was using. Those 56 people on average living on Lincolns streets on any given night are part of the 454 homeless people documented in the UNL reports point in time count. Sampson, with Matt Talbot Kitchen, said its unrealistic, when working with the chronically homeless, to expect all of them to change long-time behaviors for the sake of shelter. People need to feel they have some control. Thats where we forget these are actual human beings here, she said. If it were as easy as just stop drinking or whatever the behavior is, we wouldnt be here. For some, general shelters or transitional homes with more stringent rules work, she said. It takes others time to get there, and low-barrier shelters can give them a place to be safe and warm while they figure it out. Thats the gap, she said. I know low-barrier shelters are risky, they seem scary or seem really hard but there are cities that run them really effectively and I just want us to try that, to take a chance, she said. Hinson said he was never going to change until he decided it was time. While he thinks shelters need rules so people don't take advantage of them, he also says Matt Talbot who stuck with him through all the times he wasnt ready to quit and went back onto the streets gave him the space he needed to finally change. If it hadnt been for this, their ... understanding, I wouldnt have changed my life around the way I have, he said. I mean, because they finally showed me that I should care about myself more than somebody else does. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Dec, 2024) The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative, remains the cornerstone of economic cooperation between the two all-weather friends and brotherly countries. "Contrary to rumors suggesting a slowdown, recent developments signal a renewed vigor and strategic focus on advancing the next phase of CPEC, dubbed CPEC Phase 2.0," the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives said in a news release here on Sunday. It said this pivotal phase aims to redefine the framework of bilateral relations through deeper collaboration, advanced technological transfer, and transformative socio-economic projects. Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal, is spearheading Pakistans engagement in a series of high-profile events in China, including the High-Level Seminar on CPEC 2.0 in Beijing and the 3rd Forum on China-Indian Ocean Region Development Cooperation in Kunming. His participation underscores Pakistans seriousness in revitalizing CPEC, addressing unresolved issues, and charting a robust roadmap for Phase 2.0, which envisions long-term prosperity for both nations. At the heart of these engagements lies Chinas unwavering commitment to transforming CPEC into a strategic partnership that fosters growth, development, and connectivity. Far from being sidelined, CPEC is evolving into a multi-dimensional framework with five key thematic corridorsGrowth Corridor, Livelihood-Enhancing Corridor, Innovation Corridor, Green Corridor, and Opening-Up/Regional Connectivity Corridor. These initiatives, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, align seamlessly with Pakistans 5Es framework of Economy, Exports, Environment, Energy, and Equity, conceptualized under Ahsan Iqbals visionary leadership. Chinas eagerness to propel CPEC into Phase 2.0 is evident from its invitation to a 27-member high-level Pakistani delegation to Beijing. This delegation comprises seasoned professionals and experts from diverse fields who will receive specialized training to build their capacity for collaborative projects with Chinese counterparts. This initiative reflects Chinas commitment to transferring cutting-edge technologies, modernizing Pakistans infrastructure, and fostering a knowledge-based economy. During the preparatory orientation session in Islamabad, chaired by Ahsan Iqbal, the minister stressed the importance of the delegations mission, describing it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from Chinas transformative journey. He highlighted how China has lifted over 800 million people out of poverty, achieving unparalleled economic progress. This remarkable transformation serves as an inspiring blueprint for Pakistan, which aims to replicate Chinas success through sustainable development and poverty alleviation initiatives under CPEC Phase 2. 0. The delegations agenda includes key focus areas such establishing an economic growth corridor with clear priorities; advancing tech-driven industries and fostering innovation; addressing poverty alleviation, education, and healthcare through targeted socio-economic projects; accelerating energy transitions and promoting sustainable economic models; expanding exports and building global supply chain linkages. This multifaceted approach aims to position Pakistan as a regional manufacturing and trade hub, serving as an economic engine for South Asia. Ahsan Iqbals visit to China and participation in these critical engagements are expected to rebuild mutual trust and reassure Chinese leadership of Pakistans commitment to CPEC. The minister has a proven track record in successfully implementing Phase 1 projects, particularly in infrastructure, energy, and Gwadar development. He has also been instrumental in advocating for the establishment of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), paving the way for industrial relocation from China to Pakistan. Chinese authorities have often acknowledged and praised Ahsan Iqbals significant role in steering CPEC projects. His presence in Beijing will send a strong message about Pakistans resolve to resolve outstanding issues from Phase 1, particularly regarding project security and operational challenges. A key highlight will be his assurance to Chinese counterparts about prioritizing the security of Chinese nationals working in Pakistan, a critical concern for the Chinese government. A seminar in Beijing, co-organized by Pakistans Ministry of Planning and Chinas National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), will mark the official launch of CPEC Phase 2.0. This high-level event symbolizes the deep-rooted partnership between the two countries and their shared vision for a prosperous future. With the emphasis on capacity building, this exercise aims to equip Pakistani experts with the skills and strategic vision needed to collaborate effectively with their Chinese counterparts. The delegations findings and recommendations will form the cornerstone of a comprehensive blueprint for CPEC Phase 2.0, ensuring its alignment with global sustainable development goals. CPEC Phase 2.0 represents a paradigm shift in Pakistan-China relations. With a focus on innovation, technology transfer, and sustainable development, this new phase promises to unlock Pakistans economic potential and position it as a regional leader. The visit of Ahsan Iqbal and the active participation of Pakistani experts in these high-level engagements reflect Pakistans unwavering commitment to the success of CPEC. As the two nations strengthen their partnership through initiatives like these, the world will witness CPEC Phase 2.0 emerge as a model of international cooperation and economic integration, benefiting not only China and Pakistan but the entire region. LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Dec, 2024) The Punjab government has introduced an innovative program, the Ed-Tech school Initiative, which aims to provide quality education to underprivileged children in urban and rural areas of Punjab. More than 300 Ed-Tech schools will be established under this revolutionary model. The program is designed to create opportunities for students and improve the overall education system. This step is part of the Punjab governments effort to ensure that every child has access to education and modern teaching methods, fostering a brighter future for the next generation. Educational institutions interested in participating in this program are eligible to apply. Schools that meet the following criteria are encouraged to submit their applications. Sources in the Punjab Education Department told APP that the Ed-Tech program by the Punjab government is a groundbreaking project aimed at improving education standards by introducing digital learning tools to over 300 schools. Educational institutions with relevant experience can apply online by 30th December 2024, while the selected institutions will be notified by 7th January 2025. This initiative will ensure that children from underserved communities have access to quality education. LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Dec, 2024) International Tea Day was marked here and across the globe on Sunday. International Tea Day emphasizes the vital role of tea production and consumption in combating poverty while honoring the rich tapestry of art, culture, and lifestyles intricately woven around the beloved beverage. The theme this year is "women and their role in the tea sector". The day provides an opportunity to celebrate the cultural heritage, health benefits and economic importance of tea. Noted journalist Tariq Kamran told APP in connection with this day that around the globe, the custom of tea and Qehwa houses is incredibly hoary. Located in downtown and cultural areas or every market, these tea houses entertain the common people of different races, castes, colors, and creeds. LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Dec, 2024) Provincial Minister Ramesh Singh Arora inaugurated the 108th edition of (PLFE) Pakistan Lifestyle Furniture Expo at the Rosa Blanca Country Club, Raiwind Road. He inspected several exhibition stalls, praising the creativity and craftsmanship of local manufacturers, encouraged stakeholders to continue working towards enhancing the quality and diversity of Pakistani furniture to compete effectively in international markets. Minister Arora appreciated the diversity and quality of products displayed and stated: "the furniture industry in Pakistan holds immense potential for growth. By supporting and investing in this sector, we can not only boost our economy but also create significant employment opportunities. It is important that the government recognizes the importance of this industry and provides the necessary resources to help it thrive. He hoped that initiatives like the Pakistan Lifestyle Furniture Expo will help bring our industry to the global forefront." CEO PLFE Mian Faisal briefed to the minister that the expo featured over 100 top furniture brands, showcasing an impressive range of products. Major exhibitors included Diamond Supreme Foam Pvt Ltd (the official sponsor of the event), Dolce Vita, Yousuf Furniture, Home Furnishers, B&T Furniture, Quetta Carpet, Furniture Point, Habitt, Gaba Home, JC Buckman, Nevi Home, Soho Interior by Faiza, Wood Star, Ambiante, Riwaj Furniture, Furniture Emporium, Dareechay Home, Adil Furniture, Innovation Zone, Unique Home Decor, SHF Collection, Kahloon Furniture Gallery, Makeup Factory, Arbab Frames, Araish Khana, Murad Interior, Saad Interior, Wajid Handicrafts, Reflect Furniture, Ayesha Collection, Wood Curve, HK Bistra, Aamir Furniture, Glory Home, Abu Teck Zhomes, Unique Collection, Mian Furniture, Home Furniture, Furniture Republic, and many more. He further briefed that visitors had the opportunity to purchase top-quality furniture at special discounts of up to 50% on various items displayed at the event while the expo also served as a platform for young designers and architects to observe current market trends and showcase their innovative designs alongside established professionals. He hoped that this prestigious event will be attended by government bodies, leading businesspersons, members of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce, Members of Provincial Assembly Punjab, Honorary Consul Generals of different countries, and key stakeholders from the furniture industry. (@FahadShabbir) KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Dec, 2024) The Superior Consulting Global organized a seminar on immigration the other day to raise awareness about immigration laws. The seminar focused on empowering Pakistani aspirants to achieve their dreams of a better future abroad, said a communique issued here Sunday. The event brought together skilled professionals, entrepreneurs and families eager to explore immigration possibilities for destinations like Canada, Australia, the UK, and the USA. The insightful sessions were led by Adil Ismail, a senior immigration, along with his team. (@FahadShabbir) Vatican City, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Dec, 2024) Pope Francis will visit Corsica, a stronghold of the Catholic faith, on Sunday, with locals hotly anticipating the first-ever trip by a pontiff to the French Mediterranean island. Tens of thousands of people are expected to welcome Francis in Ajaccio, capital of what is popularly known as the "Ile de Beaute" (Island of Beauty). The city was already decked out Saturday in decorations in the papal colours, yellow and white, while cars had been banished from central streets with parking bans. Around 2,000 police reinforcements were sent to Ajaccio to beef up security. Francis, 87, is expected to arrive around 9:00 am (0800 GMT) and leave just after 6:00 pm, the Vatican said. His short trip, based around a congress on faith in the Mediterranean region, comes just a week after he snubbed the re-opening of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris five years after a devastating fire. The relaunch was attended by a long list of bigwigs, royalty and world leaders, including US President-elect Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky. Francis declined the French government's invitation to attend. But he agreed to the Corsica trip hosted by the island's popular, media-savvy cardinal, 56-year-old Francois-Xavier Bustillo. "Corsica has been preparing to host (Francis) for a long time," Bustillo told AFP this week. Although "it's a poor diocese... we'll manage a welcome worthy of the pope" thanks to donations from businesses and individual churchgoers, he added. Corsica's prefect Jerome Filippini said that the visit would also cost the French state "several million Euros" over its few hours. Dortmund, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Dec, 2024) Ex-Borussia Dortmund forward Jacob Bruun Larsen netted a last-gasp equaliser for Hoffenheim in a 1-1 draw at the home of his former club on Sunday. In his first league start since October 2023, American forward Gio Reyna put Dortmund in front in the first minute of the second half, chesting down a deflected ball before blasting home. In the first minute of stoppage time, however, Bruun Larsen was in the right place to score after Dortmund failed to defend a throw-in. The draw means Dortmund, who have not won in the league since November, sit eighth, 11 points off league leaders Bayern Munich, who lost on Saturday. Hoffenheim now have five points from four league fixtures since Christian Ilzer took over in November. Injury-hit Dortmund, missing several first teamers, received a dose of pre-match good news with centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck, who was stretchered off against Barcelona on Wednesday, fit enough to be named in the starting XI. Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy went down in the box and a penalty was signalled midway through the first half, but the decision was overturned on VAR review. Reyna got Dortmund off to an excellent start after the break with a great goal from the edge of the box -- his first since May 2023. Dortmund seemed to be lacking energy and fluency as the second half wore on and Hoffenheim pressed in search of an equaliser. The visitors were rewarded in the first minute of stoppage time, substitute Bruun Larsen tapping in from close range to level the scores. Stuttgart won 3-1 away at Heidenheim on Sunday to climb up to sixth in the Bundesliga. Germany defender Maximilian Mittelstaedt put Stuttgart in front with a smart finish after bursting into the area on 20 minutes. Heidenheim starlet Paul Wanner, on loan from Bayern Munich, equalised with an excellent long-range effort on 41 minutes. Stuttgart however hit back just before half-time, Enzo Millot heading in a Josha Vagnoman cross. The visitors were pinned back by Heidenheim as the second half continued but Stuttgart eventually sealed the result from the penalty spot when Nick Woltemade converted a spot-kick in the 85th minute. The 1.98-metre tall Woltemade now has four goals and an assist in his past three games for Stuttgart. "It was a tough fight," Mittelstaedt told DAZN. "Heidenheim had the knife between their teeth. We threw everything into it." Surprise runners-up last season, Stuttgart have struggled to adjust to the demands of a return to the Champions League. Sebastian Hoeness' side have come into form recently however, with Sunday's win their fourth in a row. Heidenheim, who qualified for the Europa Conference League with an eighth-placed finish last season in their debut top-flight campaign, have also found the going tough this term. Heidenheim are third last, in the relegation playoff spot, with 10 points from 14 games. Later on Sunday, third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt play away at RB Leipzig, who sit fourth. dwi/mw/nf BORUSSIA DORTMUND Lille, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Dec, 2024) A man who turned himself in saying he was responsible for five murders in northern France had no criminal record, authorities said Sunday. The 22-year-old suspect was taken into custody on Saturday after surrendering at a police station in Ghyvelde just outside the Channel port city of Dunkirk around 5:20 pm (1620 GMT) on Saturday afternoon -- two hours after the first killing. He is "unknown to the police service and judicial authorities," Dunkirk's chief prosecutor Charlotte Huet said in a statement. A charge of murder combined with other crimes and possession of restricted firearms -- several of which were found in the suspect's car -- carries a maximum sentence of life in jail. "Many inquiries are underway," prosecutor Huet said, especially "to clarify the reasons that led the suspect to commit these crimes". A source familiar with the case said police are investigating whether the man had a professional falling-out with the companies where the first three victims worked. All five murders were committed within less than two hours in the Dunkirk area. In the first incident, a 29-year-old man was killed with several gunshots outside his house in Wormhout, a village just south of the city, prosecutors said. The local town hall hailed the man as a local business owner and young father who ran a trucking company employing around 30 people. "People in town are stunned," Wormhout mayor David Calcoen told AFP, adding that he hoped "the justice system will soon have information to decipher these unthinkable events". Then at around 4:00 pm, two security guards aged 33 and 37 were killed as they patrolled an industrial zone adjacent to the port in Loon-Plage, just west of Dunkirk. Tributes were posted on Facebook to the two men, one known locally for working as bouncers at carnival events and the other as a volunteer at the local motorbike club. Minutes later, still on the outskirts of Loon-Plage, two final victims believed to be Iranians aged 19 and 30 were shot dead. Local police and the prefecture said the men were living in a local camp for migrants. Many migrants hoping to reach Britain make their way to northern France before attempting perilous Channel crossings in small inflatable boats. "We don't understand at all why two exiled people were targeted," said Salome Bahri of the Utopia 56 aid group. She added that authorities have "planned nothing" to aid other camp residents with psychological support or shelter -- even though "many of them saw what happened". Voters were busy across the globe in 2024 and more than a dozen countries in Africa staged presidential, parliamentary or local elections. While some of Africas longtime dominant ruling parties retained power, in others, incumbents went down in surprising and crushing defeats. Southern Africa The small archipelago of Comoros off Africas east coast was the first to host presidential elections in 2024. Incumbent President Azali Assoumani, a former military officer who first came to power in a coup in 1999, won a fourth term. Election results were immediately rejected by the opposition, triggering violent protests that killed one and injured 25. In Mozambique, the Frelimo party won general elections again, extending its nearly 50 years in power. The official results were immediately rejected by opposition leader and runner-up Venancio Mondlane, triggering violent protests in the southern African country. Many analysts, including Maputos Center for Democracy and Human Rights Director Adriano Nuvunga, predicted a Frelimo win despite heavy youth support for Mondlane. "The terrain is already prepared, regardless of what we see the enthusiasm, dynamism of the young people that are rallying behind this opposition candidate, Nuvunga told VOA. American Universitys Kwaku Nuamah hopes President Daniel Chapo of Frelimo can extend an olive branch to the opposition to avoid a prolonged conflict in Mozambique. When you win, you have the responsibility to unite the country. Hopefully, hes able to do that... We dont need another African country going down in flames, Nuamah told VOA. Similarly, Namibias ruling party SWAPO retained power after many decades of governance but made history by electing its first female president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. Her main challenger, however, called the elections flawed, after multiple examples of election day technical difficulties and ballot paper shortages were documented. Unlike Mozambique, Comoros, and Namibia, Botswana ushered in a new era by electing a leader from the opposition for the first time in nearly 60 years, following decades of rule by one party. Lets carry those who came before us, those we have today and those who will come after us, to greater heights, Duma Gideon Boko addressing supporters at his swearing-in ceremony. Elections were peaceful in neighboring South Africa, but the outcome predicted by some surprised many. The African National Congress, in power since 1994 when Nelson Mandela was elected president following the end of apartheid failed to win the elections with an outright majority, forcing it for the first time to form a coalition government. Simphiwe Malambo, an architect in South Africa. welcomed the change telling VOA The ANC is finally going to be in a position where they have to reconsider how theyve been approaching running the country. While ANC leaders asserted the country made progress under its stewardship, many voters expressed dissatisfaction with the government's failure to deliver reliable electricity and other services. Allegations of corruption and disunity within the party played a role in the ANCs ability to win a majority. [Former President] Jacob Zumas party Mkhonto We Sizwe or MK has been completely unexpected. It arrived on the scene quite late in the run up to the elections and completely scrambled everything, Daryl Glaser, University of Witwatersrand in South Africa told VOA a few days before the vote took place. East Africa In Rwandas elections, President Paul Kagame, in power for 30 years, won almost 100% of the vote. Some analysts credit Kagame for bringing peace, unity, and economic development to Rwanda after the countrys 1994 genocide. Voters want a leader who provides solutions for them The achievement is tangible. You can see it, analyst Teddy Kaberuka tells VOA. But others like Strathmore University professor Edgar Githua question his popularity within the country. "If you have a vote where 98% of a population vote for one candidate, that is a red flag. Nobody is that popular in this world, he said. A 2022 Human Rights Watch report said the space for political opposition and free media remained closed in the east African country. West Africa In West Africa, where a wave of coups recently dominated the political landscape, two countries seen as beacons of democracy didnt disappoint. In Ghana, after serving only one term about a decade ago, President John Mahama made a stunning comeback in 2024 and beat the countrys ruling party candidate and Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia. University of Ghanas senior lecturer Kwame Asah-Asante told VOA that many voters in the country were thinking about the economy and their financial situations when they cast ballots because its a bread-and-butter issue. Weve seen time and again that anytime you have a very difficult economy, campaigning becomes difficult for the government of the day, he said. Ghana is the second largest cocoa producer in the world, but the country defaulted on most of its $30 billion external debt in 2022 after the effects of years of borrowing were made worse by the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mahama vows to cultivate a 24-hour business environment enabling businesses and public institutions to operate 24/7, in three shifts of eight hours each to bolster job creation and improve the economy. In Senegal, little-known opposition leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye, 44, became Africas youngest president. Faye promised to fight corruption, rebuild institutions, and unite the country. His election victory just a few weeks after getting out of prison followed a failed attempt by outgoing President Macky Sall to postpone the election process, plunging the country into a brief political crisis. It was very interesting, very educational scenario for those who are learning about democracy, analyst Kaberuka told VOA about the Senegal vote. Sahel region While elections went on as planned in most African nations, theyve been postponed in others including the ones plagued by coups in the Sahel, signaling military juntas intention to stay in power, analysts warn. Elections were officially postponed in Mali and Burkina Faso and Nigers junta spoke of a three-year transition. According to the 2024 rankings on media freedom by Reporters Without Borders, already-high restrictions on access to information increased in the Sahel, where several countries suspended local retransmissions of foreign broadcast media. The five remaining members of the Australian "Bali Nine" drug ring flew home Sunday after 19 years in jail in Indonesia, ending a saga that had frayed relations between the two countries. Indonesian police arrested the nine Australians in 2005, convicting them of attempting to smuggle more than 8 kilograms of heroin off the holiday island of Bali. In a case that drew global attention to Indonesia's unforgiving drug laws, two of the gang would eventually be executed by firing squad, while others served hefty prison sentences. "The Australian Government can confirm that Australian citizens, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen, and Michael Czugaj have returned to Australia," Canberra said in a statement. "The men will have the opportunity to continue their personal rehabilitation and reintegration in Australia." Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the men returned in the afternoon, and he had thanked Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto for his "compassion." "Australia shares Indonesia's concern about the serious problem illicit drugs represents," Albanese said. "The government will continue to cooperate with Indonesia to counter narcotics trafficking and transnational crime," he told reporters. "These Australians spent more than 19 years in prison in Indonesia. It was time for them to come home." The Australian government did not give further details on the agreement with Jakarta. Firing squad An Indonesian minister told AFP the five men had left the country as prisoners but "all the responsibilities for them" had now passed to Australia. The men were accompanied on their flight home by three officials from the Australian Embassy, another Indonesian official said. The Australian government said it had consistently advocated for the men and provided consular support to them and their families during their incarceration. It asked the media to respect their privacy. Australia's national broadcaster, ABC, said the men were now free, and would not have to serve further prison time at home. The men had been given temporary accommodation and had made voluntary undertakings to continue their rehabilitation, it said. It is not uncommon for foreigners to be arrested for drug offences in Bali, which attracts millions of visitors to its palm-fringed beaches every year. Muslim-majority Indonesia has some of the world's toughest drug laws, including the death penalty for traffickers. Accused "Bali Nine" ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed by firing squad in 2015 despite repeated pleas from the Australian government, which recalled its ambassador at the time. Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen died of cancer in 2018, months before Renae Lawrence was released after her sentence was commuted. Heroin-lined suitcase Australian police came under criticism after the Bali Nine's arrests for alerting Indonesian authorities to the drug-smuggling ring despite the death penalty risk. The release of the Australians followed weeks of speculation that a deal for their return was in the works. In November, a senior Indonesian minister said Jakarta aimed to return prisoners from Australia, France and the Philippines by the end of this year. France last month requested the return of its citizen, Serge Atlaoui, a welder arrested in 2005 in a drugs factory outside Jakarta, according to a senior Indonesian minister. Earlier this month, Indonesia signed an agreement with the Philippines for the return of mother of two Mary Jane Veloso, who was arrested in 2010 after the suitcase she was carrying was found to be lined with 2.6 kilograms of heroin. Campaigning for Sunday's judicial election may be strictly forbidden, but look closer on the streets of Bolivias capital, La Paz, and youll find that some candidates have sneakily plastered their faces on packs of corn puffs and others have slipped subtle slogans into official voting manuals. After all, its a popular vote, and even a bit of PR can work wonders when voters know nothing about the dozens of names on their sprawling ballot papers. Bolivia is the only country in the world that holds elections for top judicial posts. Soon Mexico will, too, after former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador pushed through a highly contentious overhaul of the justice system in the face of mass protests. As Bolivia's ex-President Evo Morales did when remaking the judiciary in 2009, Lopez Obrador has championed the overhaul to purge the corrupt elite and boost democracy. But apathetic Bolivian voters say the elections have had the opposite effect, turning their courts from neutral arbiters into political prizes. Ill flip a coin, said 25-year-old architecture student Marisol Nogales when asked how she would vote Sunday. Its never easy to find supporters of Bolivias system of electing judges, which, over a decade ago, replaced a nomination system rooted in qualifications and training. Across the world, academics, investors and judges have warned that judicial elections can cement the dominance of the ruling party and reduce checks and balances. And across Latin America, from El Salvador to Honduras, experts have characterized politicized judiciaries as profound threats to democracy. In Bolivia, even senior judicial officials struggle to sound positive when asked to defend the election. It should be a calm, easy and simple process, but it has become very litigious, very controversial, Francisco Vargas, the vice president of Bolivias electoral tribunal, told The Associated Press from the court in central La Paz. This year in Bolivia, experts find it even harder than usual to praise the system. With the posts up for grabs every six years, Sundays vote was supposed to take place in late 2023. But as the deadline approached last year, the Constitutional Court packed with allies of President Luis Arce suddenly intervened to push the vote back a year, escalating his power struggle with his former mentor and current rival, Morales, over who will lead their long-dominant leftist party into Bolivias 2025 presidential election. Both understand that whoever wins over the Constitutional Court ensures their own political survival. Arce cited the paralysis of their divided party in justifying the vote's delay. Morales' loyalists, who hold a majority in Congress and would have determined the shortlist of judicial candidates, accused Arce of illegally extending the mandates of friendly judges for fear of losing influence over the courts. What happened was disorder, the kind that can lead us to a greater conflict, said Ivan Lima, the former Minister of Justice. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights criticized the postponement of elections, raising alarm about its potential to undermine the effective functioning of the Bolivian justice system. Now, after many attempts to derail and further delay the vote, it is finally moving ahead Sunday. But theres a wrinkle: It's a partial election. Only four out of nine seats on the powerful Constitutional Court are up for grabs. The other five the majority of sitting judges, as it happens will stay in their posts. The judges have turned the Constitutional Court into a sort of superpower, said Bolivian political analyst Paul Coca. Sunday marks the third time that Bolivia has held judicial elections. If the past two rounds under then-President Morales, in 2011 and 2017, are any indication, turnout will be low. Both times, most Bolivians, outraged or simply baffled by the notion of endorsing unknown judges pre-selected by Morales allies with little transparency, voted null or blank. Critics questioned the legitimacy of the elected judges. But they nonetheless shaped the evolution of Bolivian democracy. In 2016, Morales asked Bolivians in a legally binding referendum to decide whether to let him run for a fourth term, in defiance of a two-term limit established in the 2009 Constitution he had backed. When he didnt get the answer he wanted a slim majority voted no his party found a workaround through the pliant Constitutional Court, where judges ruled that to deny Morales another term as president would be to violate his human rights. This was his major mistake, said Eduardo Rodriguez Veltze, a former chief justice of the Supreme Court. It was Morales decision to run again in 2019 that brought a precipitous end to his remarkable 14-year tenure and ushered in a surreal parade of crises. As allegations of electoral fraud sent angry crowds into the streets, Morales resigned under pressure from the military and went into exile. Mexicos new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, bracing for fallout from the overhaul she inherited, is keen to see how Bolivias vote plays out. The National Electoral Institute, the Mexican voting authority, sent a delegation to observe the process in La Paz this weekend, Vargas said. Britain officially became the 12th member of a trans-Pacific trade pact that includes Japan, Australia and Canada on Sunday as it seeks to deepen ties in the region and build its global trade links after leaving the European Union. Britain announced last year it would join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in its biggest trade deal since Brexit. The accession means Britain will be able to apply CPTPP trade rules and lower tariffs with eight of the 11 existing members from Sunday Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. The agreement enters into force with Australia on December 24, and will apply with the final two members Canada and Mexico 60 days after they ratify it. The pact represents Britain's first free trade deals with Malaysia and Brunei, but while it had agreements with the other countries, CPTPP provisions go further, especially in giving companies choices on how to use "rules of origin" provisions. The CPTPP does not have a single market for goods or services, and so regulatory harmonization is not required, unlike the EU, whose trading orbit Britain left at the end of 2020. Britain estimates the pact may be worth $2.5 billion a year in the long run less than 0.1% of GDP. But in a sign of the strategic, rather than purely economic, implications of the pact, Britain can now influence whether applicants China and Taiwan may join the group. The free trade agreement has its roots in the U.S.-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership, developed in part to counter China's growing economic dominance. The U.S. pulled out in 2017 under then-President Donald Trump and the pact was reborn as the CPTPP. Costa Rica is the next applicant country to go through the process of joining, while Indonesia also aims to do so. Talks due Sunday between the leaders of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to end conflict in the eastern DRC were called off after negotiations deadlocked, officials said. Since 2021 a Rwanda-backed rebel militia has seized swathes of the eastern DRC, displacing thousands and triggering a humanitarian crisis. There had been high hopes that the summit hosted by Angola's President Joao Lourenco the African Union mediator to end the conflict would end with a deal to end the conflict. But around midday Sunday the head of the Angolan presidency's media office said it would not go ahead. "Contrary to what we expected, the summit will no longer be held today," media officer Mario Jorge told journalists. Lourenco was meeting with DRC leader Felix Tshisekedi and without Rwandan President Paul Kagame, he said. The Congolese presidency said that negotiations had hit deadlock over a Rwandan demand that the DRC hold direct dialogue with the Kigali-backed and largely ethnic Tutsi M23 rebels who have since 2021 seized swathes of the eastern DRC. "There is a stalemate because the Rwandans have set as a precondition for the signing of an agreement that the DRC hold a direct dialogue with the M23," Giscard Kusema, the Congolese presidency spokesman present in Luanda, told AFP. Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said Friday that his country wanted "a firm commitment from the DRC to resume direct talks with the M23 within a well-defined framework and timeframe." The Congolese government says, however, that the M23 only exists because of Rwandan military support. "If Kigali is in good faith in the negotiations and on its promise to withdraw ... its troops from Congolese soil, the conflict will end with the M23, and at the same time it will stop with Rwanda," a Congolese government source said. Fragile truce Kagame and Tshisekedi last saw each other in October in Paris but did not speak, though they have maintained dialogue through the mediation of Luanda. In early August, Angola mediated a fragile truce that stabilized the situation at the front line, but both sides continued to exchange fire and clashes have intensified since late October. Home to a string of rival armed groups, the mineral-rich eastern DRC has been plagued by internal and cross-border violence for the past three decades. "Our country continues to face persistent rebellions, including the aggression by the Rwandan army and the M23 terrorists," Tshisekedi said in parliament Wednesday, calling the militants and Rwanda "enemies of the Republic." The capital of DRC's North Kivu province, Goma, home to about 1 million people and another million displaced by war, is now nearly surrounded by M23 rebels and the Rwandan army. Early in November, the two central African neighbours launched a committee to monitor ceasefire violations, led by Angola and including representatives from both the DRC and Rwanda. Kinshasa and Kigali a few weeks later approved a document setting out the terms by which Rwandan troops will disengage from Congolese territory. A previous draft dated in August listed the dismantling of the FDLR militia, created by ethnic Hutus involved in the Rwandan genocide in 1994, as a precondition for Rwanda's withdrawal. Often portrayed by Kigali as a threat to its security, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) is one of various disparate militias fighting alongside the Congolese army against the M23. The August draft was rejected by the DRC, which demanded that the withdrawal occur at the same time as the FDLR's dismantling. The final strategic document, seen by AFP, planned for a period of 90 days to "conclude the neutralization of the FDLR and the lifting of Rwanda's defensive measures." Finally home in Turkey, Mehmet Erturk cannot eat the bread his wife has made him. After 20 years jailed in Syria, half his teeth are missing and the other half are threatening to fall out. "It was torture after torture," he told AFP, miming the truncheon blows to the mouth the guards would give him at a notorious Damascus prison known as the Palestine Branch, where he spent part of his time incarcerated. Arrested in 2004 for smuggling, Erturk finally made it back to his home to Magaracik on Monday evening, a village perched at the top of a winding road dotted with olive trees some 10 minutes from the Syrian border. "My family thought I was dead," said the 53-year-old, whose face and manner of walking make him look 20 years older. On the night of his release, he heard gunshots and began to pray. "We didn't know what was happening outside. I thought I was finished," he said. Then he heard loud hammer blows and within minutes the prison gates were flung open by the rebels who ousted Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad. 'Like being in a coffin' "We hadn't seen him for 11 years. We had no hope," admitted his wife, Hatice, sitting cross-legged outside their home preparing bread with their youngest daughter, who was barely 6 months old when her father was arrested. After he was sentenced to 15 years, the prison authorities left this father of four to languish in an underground dungeon, at the mercy of brutal guards. "Our bones would pop out of the socket when they hit our wrists with hammers," he said. "They also poured boiling water down the neck of one prisoner. The flesh from his neck just slid all the way down" to his hips, he said. Pulling up his right trouser leg, he shows his right ankle, the skin darkened by the chain he wore. "During the day, it was strictly forbidden to talk... there were cockroaches in the food. It was damp, it stank like a toilet," he said, recalling days "without clothes or water or food." "It was like being in a coffin." And there was huge overcrowding. 'Threw the dead into skips' "They put 115, 120 people in a cell for 20 people. Many people died of starvation," he said. And the guards just "threw the dead into rubbish skips." Erturk said he paid the price for the hatred Syria's authorities bore for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who early in the war urged Assad to leave. "We Turks suffered a lot of torture for that," he told AFP, saying he was refused medication on grounds of his nationality. He sank so low he even hoped they would hang him. "They were taking us to a new prison block and I saw a rope hanging from the ceiling and I said, 'Thank God, I'm saved,'" he said. As he recounted the horrors, he often broke off to thank "our dear president Erdogan" for him being back, alive with his family and not one of the countless victims of Syria's brutal prison system. Those could number more than 105,000 people since the war began in 2011, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH). One of his sisters passes him a handful of old photos. In one, he is pictured with a lifelong friend called Faruk Karga, who ended up in the same prison with him shortly after the picture was taken. But Karga never came home. "He died of starvation in prison in around 2018," said Erturk. "He weighed about 40 kilos." Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Ethiopia and Somalia early next year after brokering a deal to end tensions between the two Horn of Africa neighbors, he said on X Sunday. "I will visit Ethiopia and Somalia in the first two months of the New Year," he wrote in a message that referred to the deal between Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in Ankara on December 11. The pair agreed to end their nearly yearlong bitter dispute after hours of talks brokered by Erdogan, who hailed the breakthrough as "historic." The dispute began in January when landlocked Ethiopia struck a deal in with Somalia's breakaway region Somaliland to lease a stretch of coastline for a port and military base. In return, Somaliland which declared independence from Somalia in 1991 in a move not recognized by Mogadishu said Ethiopia would give it formal recognition, although this was never confirmed by Addis Ababa. Somalia branded the deal a violation of its sovereignty, setting international alarm bells ringing over the risk of renewed conflict in the volatile Horn of Africa region. Turkey stepped in to mediate in July, holding three previous rounds of talks two in Ankara and one in New York before last week's breakthrough, which won praise from the African Union, Washington and Brussels. Fresh from his latest diplomatic success, Erdogan on Friday telephoned Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and he offered "to step in to resolve the disputes between Sudan and the United Arab Emirates," his office said. Since April 2023, Sudan has been mired in a brutal conflict between army chief Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo who leads the RSF. Sudan's army-backed government has repeatedly accused the UAE of supporting the RSF a claim which the UAE has consistently denied. The war has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced over 11 million more. Estonia has sanctioned more than a dozen top Georgian officials including its prime minister over Tbilisi's "criminal" crackdown on pro-European protesters, Tallinn's foreign minister said on Sunday. Georgia's authorities have drawn widespread criticism for their handling of demonstrators, who accuse the ruling party of eroding democracy and seeking to bring the ex-Soviet country back into the embrace of former master Russia. Police have deployed water cannons and tear gas to break up demonstrations while security agents have raided the offices of opposition parties and beaten dissenting lawmakers and journalists. "The violence perpetrated by the authorities against protesters, journalists and opposition leaders is criminal and against human rights," said Estonia's top diplomat Margus Tsahkna. "I call on all EU countries to react and to take actions," he added on X. The fresh sanctions announcement comes a day after the ruling Georgian Dream party installed a hard-right loyalist former Manchester City striker as president. That election process was boycotted by the pro-European opposition amid a growing constitutional crisis. Along with its fellow Baltic states, Estonia had already banned several Georgian officials from setting foot on their territory. Those included Georgia's Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri as well as Georgia's richest man, Bidzina Ivanishvili, widely considered the puppet master pulling the strings of Georgian politics. Since Georgian Dream claimed victory in October's elections which the opposition has criticized as rigged tens of thousands have taken to the streets. Those protests have become nightly after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze's shock decision in late November to shelve the Black Sea nation's talks to join the European Union. Joining the bloc is an ambition mandated in Georgia's constitution which polls indicate has the support of some 80% of the country. The co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on Sunday said Germany should reconsider its membership of NATO if the U.S.-led military alliance did not consider the interests of all European countries, including Russia. "Europe has been forced to implement America's interests. We reject that," the AfD's Tino Chrupalla told German daily Welt. "NATO is currently not a defense alliance. A defense community must accept and respect the interests of all European countries including Russia's interests," Chrupalla said. "If NATO cannot ensure that, Germany must consider to what extent this alliance is still useful for us," he added. The far-right AfD is polling at around 18-19% ahead of snap elections on February 23, following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition government last month. The score puts the party ahead of Scholz's Social Democrats at 16-17% and behind only the conservative CDU-CSU bloc, which is polling around 31-32%. The AfD has little chance of forming a government because other parties have ruled out cooperation with the far-right group. But it could continue a streak of strong electoral showings, after a landmark win in Thuringia, one of the regions in Germany's formerly communist east. The far-right party has been a vocal critic of Germany's military support for Ukraine and has argued for a swift end to the war prompted by Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. "The German government must finally get to the point of wanting to end the war," said Chrupalla, whose colleague, Alice Weidel, will lead the AfD into the election as the party's candidate for chancellor. "Russia has won this war. Reality has caught up with those who claim to want to enable Ukraine to win the war," he said. The conflict in Ukraine is set to be one of the major themes of the campaign, which will culminate on the eve of the third anniversary of the invasion. Scholz has pledged sustained support for Ukraine but has counseled prudence, as he hopes to tap into pacifist currents among voters, which are particularly strong in the east. The chancellor has resisted calls to send long-range missiles that Kyiv could use to strike Russian territory for fear of being drawn into the conflict, and recently reinitiated direct contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Hundreds of thousands of Rhode Island residents' personal and bank information, including Social Security numbers, were likely hacked by an international cybercriminal group asking for a ransom, state officials said on Saturday. In what Rhode Island officials described as extortion, the hackers threatened to release the stolen information unless they were paid an undisclosed amount of money. The breached data affects people who use the state's government assistance programs and includes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and healthcare purchased through the state's HealthSource RI, Governor Dan McKee announced on Friday. Hackers gained access to RIBridges, the state's online portal for obtaining social services earlier this month, the governor's office said in a statement, but the breach was not confirmed by its vendor, Deloitte, until Friday. "Deloitte confirmed that there is a high probability that a cybercriminal has obtained files with personally identifiable information from RIBridges," the governor's office said in a statement on Saturday. A representative from McKee's office was not immediately available to Reuters for comment. Anyone who has applied for or received benefits through those programs since 2016 could be affected. The state directed Deloitte to shut down RIBridges to remediate the threat, and for the time being, anyone applying for new benefits will have to do so on paper applications until the system is back up. Households believed to have been affected will receive a letter from the state notifying them of the problem and explaining steps to be taken to help protect their data and bank accounts. Fighting between the Congolese army and the M23 rebel group intensified in eastern Congo in recent days ahead of much anticipated peace talks on Sunday, the army said. In a statement on Friday, Congo's army accused the M23 of killing 12 civilians this week in villages of the Lubero territory in the eastern province of North-Kivu . An M23 spokesperson told The Associated Press it denied the accusation, discrediting it as "propaganda" from Congo's government. Conflict displaces millions M23 is one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo near the border with Rwanda, in a conflict that has created one of the world's largest humanitarian crises. More than 7 million people have been displaced. Congo and the United Nations accuse Rwanda of backing M23. Rwanda denies the claim, but in February admitted that it has troops and missile systems in eastern Congo to safeguard its security, pointing to a buildup of Congolese forces near the border. U.N. experts estimate there are up to 4,000 Rwandan forces in Congo. Last month, Congo and Rwanda's foreign ministers agreed on the terms and conditions of the disengagement of Rwandan forces in eastern Congo. In July, Congo signed a ceasefire with M23 that came into effect in August, but fighting has resumed since. Earlier this month, the United States said it was "gravely concerned" by ceasefire violations by M23 rebels. 'Tired of the war' The intensification of fighting comes as Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda's President Paul Kagame are set to meet Sunday in Angola, which has been mediating the conflict. It will be their first official meeting since last year. Aline Kasereka, a mother of six living in Lubero, a town 50 kilometers (30 miles) away from the villages where the fighting took place earlier this week, said the peace talks are urgently needed. "We are tired of the war, every day we move, we do not know in which country we are anymore," Kasereka told the AP. "Our authorities have to sit on the negotiation table and find a solution because we want to return to our normal life." Henry Pacifique, analyst for the Kivu Security Barometer research project, said he remains pessimistic about the outcome of the summit. "It seems like Angola is trying to force Congo and Rwanda to participate, while both parties continue to make the other the scapegoat to justify future violations of the agreement," he said. U.S. President-elect Donald Trumps incoming national security adviser says its time to figure out where dozens of unexplained drones flying over eastern U.S. states are coming from and whether any ill intent is involved. Republican Representative Michael Waltz, from Florida and set to join Trumps White House team when the president-elect takes office January 20, told CBSs Face the Nation on Sunday, We need to get to the bottom of it. For weeks now, residents in the state of New Jersey, which borders New York City, and other states to the north and south along the Atlantic Ocean coastline have reported seeing more than 5,000 supposed drones, a figure U.S. officials have concluded is wildly inflated. All manner of conspiracy theories has been offered for the unexplained sightings, including U.S. government spying and the deployment of Iran-launched drones from a mothership off U.S. eastern coastal waters. Waltz called them long-loitering, could-be dangerous drones. He credited the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden for trying to allay fears and resolve any mystery about the drones but offered no explanation himself. We need more transparency, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, told the CBS show. This cant be the future. On Saturday, officials from the White House, the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation stressed that most of the recent purported drone sightings in New Jersey the state with the most reports and elsewhere have been manned aircraft and posed no national security threat. An FBI official told reporters that the agency was working with 50 local, state and federal partners and had determined that fewer than 100 of the more than 5,000 reported sightings had turned out to merit further investigation. "The combination of efforts so far ... to include technical equipment, tip line information and noted consults has ... not found any evidence to support large-scale [unmanned aerial system] activities," the official said, adding that many of the sightings occurred along regular flight paths. The official said more investigations are under way to look at the remaining cases, including analysis of radar and intelligence. "We can't ignore the sightings that have been there," the official said. "We're doing our best to find the origin of those drone activities, but I think there has been a slight over-reaction" in the number of claimed drone sightings. U.S. officials say they have confirmed drone sightings over military bases in New Jersey, including Picatinny Arsenal, but found no evidence that a foreign government had launched the drones. National security officials, however, have not been able to figure out who has been operating the unexplained drones. State and local officials in eastern seaboard states have expressed concern. Larry Hogan, a former Maryland governor, posted on social media Friday that he had seen what appeared to be dozens of large drones in the sky above his residence in the state. The public is growing increasingly concerned and frustrated with the complete lack of transparency and the dismissive attitude of the federal government. President-elect Trump suggested Saturday that the Biden administration was withholding information about the drone sightings and that the devices should be shot down. Republican Representative Christopher Smith of New Jersey said Friday in a statement that the White Houses attitude toward the sightings had been dismissive. U.S. officials said Saturday the administration had sent New Jersey officials radar technology with an electro-optical infrared camera system to track the devices. Last week, White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby said an investigation of the drone sightings had not turned up any illegal activity. To the contrary, upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully, Kirby said. India's Supreme Court has said it would review the controversial speech by a top court judge in which he said that the country would function according to the demands or wishes of the Hindu majority community. Many are demanding the impeachment of the judge, Shekhar Kumar Yadav, who practices at the High Court of Allahabad, the topmost court in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The chief justice of India (CJI), Sanjiv Khanna, said that the Supreme Court would review what Yadav said at a program organized by the right-wing Hindu organization Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and held on December 8. The Supreme Court had seen newspaper reports on Judge Yadav's speech and sought its "details and particulars" from the Allahabad High Court, a statement by the highest court in India said Tuesday. Supreme Court Bar Association President Kapil Sibal and others have called for the judge's impeachment. Yadav's bias is "written largely in his expression of views" and his speech was "unworthy of any judge," said former Indian supreme court justice Madan Lokur. "Given his proclivity of making highly controversial statements, this is really the last straw and the proposal to impeach him is justified," Lokur told VOA in an email. Justice Yadav, who was frequently seen supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had courted controversies and polarized public opinion with his judicial orders and past public statements. In 2021, while denying bail to a man accused of cow slaughter, he called for the cow to be declared India's national animal and claimed that "scientists believe cows are the only animals that inhale and exhale oxygen." In his order, Yadav noted that ghee or clarified butter made from cow's milk, which is used in yajnas, the Hindu ritual of fire sacrifice, "provides special energy to sun rays which ultimately causes rain." A mixture of cow milk, curd, ghee, urine and cow dung "helps in the treatment of many incurable diseases," he said in his order. On Sunday, while speaking on the Uniform Civil Code at the VHP program, Yadav said that he had "no hesitation" in saying that India would function "according to the wishes of the majority community (Hindus) living in the country." "This is the law the law, in fact, works according to the majority ... Only what benefits the welfare and happiness of the majority (Hindus) will be accepted (by the law)," he said. Yadav targeted Muslims, calling the religious minority a "kathmulle," a derogatory term used to stereotype Muslim men as illiterate and stubborn. "In your (Islamic) culture, from a young age, children are exposed to the slaughtering of animals. How can you expect them to be tolerant and compassionate?" he asked. "Kathmulles are harmful to this country and hinder our progress. We should stay cautious about such people," Yadav added. The Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR) an NGO working to ensure a judicial system with increased accountability in India requested Tuesday in a letter that Chief Justice Khanna set up a committee and conduct an in-house inquiry into the case. "Such communally charged statements at a public event, by a sitting judge of the High Court, not only hurt religious sentiments but completely erode faith of the general public in the integrity and impartiality of the judicial institution," the letter from the CJAR said. "Justice Yadav also used unpardonable and unconscionable slurs against the Muslim community, bringing shame and disrepute to the high office of a judge of the Allahabad High Court and the judiciary as a whole, besides undermining the rule of law." Supreme Court lawyer Balraj Singh Malik told VOA that Yadav's statement was "anti-national and anti-constitutional" in a text response on WhatsApp. "Mr. Yadav's words go against the spirit of the oath he took at the time of his appointment. He should be kept away from hearing any cases. Many such types of judges, having tutored mentality of RSS [a Hindu right-wing paramilitary group], are in the judiciary now," Malik told VOA. "There is no place for such judges in India, who have a mindset heavily influenced by the RSS. This has been an issue since the BJP came into power in 2014," he said. The Hindu nationalist BJP or Bharatiya Janata Party is India's federal ruling party headed by Narendra Modi. Activist Apoorvanand, who goes by one name, said that while it is a "known fact" that the Indian judiciary is populated by judges who follow the RSS and the BJP's ideology of Hindu majoritarianism, Yadav expressed a sentiment that "even the top BJP leaders shy away from." "He justified the demolition of the Babri Mosque, an act which the Supreme Court has deemed criminal," Apoorvanand, a Delhi University professor, told VOA. "Yadav's speech proves that he does not believe in the constitution of India which is secular and is a partisan judge from whom no Muslim or non-Hindu can expect justice from. He is therefore a dangerous person as a judge and should not be allowed to continue in his post," Apoorvanand added. Rights activist Harsh Mander said that Yadav's comment "brazenly violates" the Indian constitution, upholding which is the judge's highest duty. "The constitution, after all, guarantees equal citizenship rights in every way for religious minorities as compared to the Hindu majority," he told VOA in a text via the Signal Messenger app. "But even if this assurance was not the soul of the Indian constitution, it lies at the core of any justice process anyway," he said, adding that Yadav violated not just the Indian constitution but also the core idea of justice. Former chairman of the Delhi Minorities Commission Zafarul-Islam Khan said that with his speech, Justice Yadav has exposed his leanings toward Hindutva. Hindutva is a right-wing Hindu nationalist political ideology that seeks to establish Hinduism and Hindu culture as dominant in India and aims to turn India into an overtly Hindu nation-state. Hindutva forces have been rising in India since the BJP came to power in 2014. "The judge not only exposed his beliefs, he also let out a well-known secret about the Indian judiciary that over the past decades believers in hard-core Hindutva have sneaked into the system," Khan told VOA. "It is a serious matter for a secular country that its judiciary is now partially at least controlled by judges who do not believe in secularism for them Hindutva and Hindu interests are supreme." The day Shalom Mirembe was sent home from school last month over unpaid tuition, her father lay dying in a hospital. Even as her mother sat by his bedside, school officials were calling and demanding payment. For Mirembe's mother, a shoe vendor who looks after four children, it was a heartbreaking moment in the daily struggle to pay often unpredictable and unregulated school fees. Constant threats demanding payment can leave her feeling helpless. Some officials are more tolerant, but eventually they all grow tired of her pleas. "You have to care for this one, you have to care for the other one," Justine Nangero said, describing a delicate balancing act to keep Mirembe and the others enrolled. "I try to fight to see that I pay to all these schools." It is a crushing issue for many across sub-Saharan Africa, where the lack of a few hundred dollars can determine a child's future. The region has long had the world's highest dropout rates. Reasons vary, but financial pain is the biggest. Last year, the World Bank said 54% of adults in sub-Saharan Africa rank the issue of paying school fees higher than medical bills and other expenses. It said school fees were the biggest source of financial worry for 40% of people in Uganda, where top government-funded schools now charge nearly $700 in tuition per three-month term. That's a significant amount in this East African country where annual GDP per capita was $864 in 2023. More than anything, it's the unpredictable tuition hikes for sometimes questionable reasons that haunt parents across the country of more than 45 million people. Some critics, including Uganda's parliament speaker, have called for regulation to protect parents from exploitation. The Equal Opportunities Commission, a government agency that tracks inequality and discrimination, released a report in September calling for punitive measures against government-supported schools that appear to set excessive fees. It warned that arbitrarily raising fees can force children to drop out. Attendance falls from 68% in grade school to 22% in secondary school, with financial difficulty the main reason for failure to continue studies, according to new figures from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics. Uganda does have a program for universal secondary education, introduced in 2007 and similar to one for primary education, but such schools are often rundown and undesirable for many families. They are generally tuition-free, but parents must pay sometimes burdensome fees for uniforms, textbooks and other items. When it comes to more popular, and more expensive, private schools, the government is not interested in price intervention, said Dennis Mugimba, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Education. Setting fees for private schools is "purely administrative and it is adjusted according to the business environment," he said. But certain charges such as those including "capital development" should not be the responsibility of parents, he said. Such private schools have mushroomed across Uganda and now make up the majority of the country's schools, addressing growing demand but also emphasizing the profitability of education as a business. That worries some experts. "We can't let education be treated like a market stall," said Fagil Mandy, a former inspector of schools. Education authorities should standardize regulations to make school fees universally predictable, he said. Routine school expenses, for both private and some top government-funded schools, can include everything from a contribution towards the purchase of a bus to the procurement of laboratory equipment. But when the list of fees includes a ream of photocopying paper or a bag of cement from each student, questions emerge about where they end up. The school that Mirembe attends outside the capital, Kampala, charges the equivalent of $300 per term. Its officials expect 70% of fees to be paid at the beginning of a term, but many parents fail to meet that threshold. Some, like Nangero, send their children to school having paid nothing, counting on the mercy of officials. But measures to track payments include gate passes that show how much is owed and when, and a student may be denied entry, said Joanita Seguya, a deputy head teacher at the school, Wampewo Ntakke Secondary. In the school of more than 2,100 students, roughly 400 are from working-class families that routinely struggle to pay fees, according to Seguya, who said the system can seem harsh. To accommodate some parents, the school accepts in-kind payments such as vegetables and fruit, she said. But Nangero, whose family shares a single room, has nothing of the sort to offer. Her shoe business, long drained of cash by school fees, has collapsed. The death of her husband, whose carpentry once supplemented the family income, has increased the pain. She said anxiety over school fees is more damaging for her children, who spend days at home whenever school officials lose patience. She's grateful that two of her sons in secondary school are now supported by an evangelical cleric rare support made possible via contact through their religious fellowship. The 20-year-old Mirembe, who is taking her final exams this year, was able to start the school term in September because of a bursar's sympathy, she said, but other officials were not so lenient weeks later as her father was near death. "At least maybe I will come and pay something tomorrow," her mother recalled pleading with one official. "And she told me, 'No, we are not going to allow your daughter to be here.'" Mirembe arrived home hours before her father died. Vincent Odoi, a teacher at her school, recalled the incident as unfortunate, saying administrators didn't know of the family's challenges. Mirembe was allowed to return days after her father's burial, which some of her teachers attended. Other families are not so fortunate. One is a nearby family of seven children who dropped out of school in recent years for lack of tuition. Their jobless father, Moses Serikomawa, described the scramble in vain for school fees as "like a cancer. It cannot be treated." Raising a total of over $200 in school fees each term is too much trouble when the family sometimes lacks food, he said. His oldest child, who would be in high school now, dropped out after completing secondary school last year. Now the boy is idle. "The children still want to go back to school," Serikomawa said. "When I look at my children, there is no joy, no joy at all." Pope Francis on the first papal visit ever to the French island of Corsica on Sunday called for a dynamic form of laicism, promoting the kind of popular piety that distinguishes the Mediterranean island from secular France as a bridge between religious and civic society. Francis appeared relaxed and energized during the one-day visit, just two days before his 88th birthday, still displaying a faded bruise from a fall a week ago. He frequently deviated from his prepared homily during Mass at the outdoor La Place dAusterlitz, remarking at one point that he had never seen so many children as in Corsica except, he added, in East Timor on his recent Asian tour. Make children, he implored. They will be your joy and your consolation in the future. Earlier, at the close of a Mediterranean conference on popular piety, Papa Francescu, as he is called in Corsican, described a concept of secularity that is not static and fixed, but evolving and dynamic, that can adapt to unforeseen situations and promote cooperation between civil and ecclesial authorities. The pontiff said that expressions of popular piety, including processions and communal prayer of the Holy Rosary can nurture constructive citizenship" on the part of Christians. At the same time, he warned against such manifestations being seen only in terms of folklore, or even superstition. The visit to Corsicas capital Ajaccio, the birthplace of Napoleon, is one of the briefest of his papacy beyond Italys borders, just about nine hours on the ground, including a 40-minute visit with French President Emmanuel Macron. Francis was joined on the dais by the bishop of Ajaccio, Cardinal Francois-Xavier Bustillo, who organized the conference that brought together some 400 participants from Spain, Sicily, Sardinia and southern France. The two-day meeting examined expressions of faith that often occur outside formal liturgies, such as processions and pilgrimages. Often specific to the places where they are practiced, popular piety in Corsica includes the cult of the Virgin Mary, known locally as the "Madunnuccia," which protected the island from the plague in 1656 when it was still under Genoa control. Corsica stands out from the rest of secularized France as a particularly devout region, with 92 confraternities, or lay associations dedicated to works of charity or piety, with over 4,000 members. It means that there is a beautiful, mature, adult and responsible collaboration between civil authorities, mayors, deputies, senators, officials and religious authorities, Bustillo told The Associated Press ahead of the visit. There is no hostility between the two. And that is a very positive aspect because in Corsica there is no ideological hostility. The visit was awash in signs of popular piety. The pope was greeted by children in traditional garb and was continually serenaded by bands, choruses and singing troupes that are central to Corsican culture from the airport to the motorcade route, convention center and cathedral. Thousands stood along the roadside to greet the pontiff and more waved from windows. Rene Colombani traveled with 2,000 others by ship from northern Corsica to Ajaccio, on the western coast, to see the pope. It is an event that we will not see again in several years. It may be the only time that the pope will come to Corsica. And since we wanted to be a part of it, we have come a long way, Colombani said. The island, which Genoa ceded to France in 1768, is located closer to the Italian mainland than France. From the conference, the pope traveled to the 17th-century cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta to meet with clergy, stopping along the way at the statue of the Madunnuccia where he lit a devotional candle. The pope celebrated Mass beneath a looming statue of Napoleon Bonaparte, the French emperor whose armies in 1808 annexed the papal states and imprisoned two of Francis predecessors Popes Pius VI and VII before being excommunicated and eventually defeated on the battlefield. Thousands packed the esplanade where Napoleon is said to have played as a child. Francis will meet privately with Macron at the airport before departing for the 50-minute flight back to Rome. They are expected to talk about the worlds crises, including wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, and environment and climate-related issues, Macron's office said. The pontiff pointedly did not make the trip to Paris earlier this month for the pomp surrounding the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral following the devastating 2019 fire. The visit to Corsica seems far more suited to Francis priorities than a grand cathedral reopening, emphasizing the church of the peripheries. It is Francis third trip to France, each time avoiding Paris and the protocols that a state visit entails. He visited the port of Marseille in 2023, on an overnight visit to participate in an annual summit of Mediterranean bishops and went to Strasbourg in 2014 to address the European Parliament and Council of Europe. A Russian oil tanker carrying thousands of tons of oil products split apart during a heavy storm Sunday, spilling oil into the Kerch Strait, while another tanker was also in distress after sustaining damage, Russian officials said. An emergency rescue operation is now underway, Russian officials told state news outlets Sunday. The Volgoneft-212 tanker, which was carrying a crew of 13 and a cargo of fuel oil, ran aground and had its bow torn away, said Russian state news agency TASS, citing the countrys Emergency Situations Ministry. The damage was caused by severe weather conditions, officials said. A second tanker, the Volgoneft-239, was also damaged in the storm and left drifting in the same area with 14 crewmembers on board, the Emergency Situations Ministry said. The 132-meter, Russian-flagged ship was built in 1973. Russian investigators opened two criminal cases to investigate possible safety violations after at least one person was killed when the 136-meter Volgoneft-212 tanker, split in half with its bow sinking, footage published by state media showed, with waves washing over its deck. The Russian-flagged vessel was built in 1969. "There was a spill of petroleum products," said Russia's water transport agency, Rosmorrechflot. Both tankers have a loading capacity of about 4,200 tons of oil products. Official statements did not provide details on the extent of the spill or why one of the tankers sustained such serious damage. President Vladimir Putin ordered the government to set up a working group to deal with the rescue operation and mitigate the impact of the fuel spill, news agencies cited Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying, after Putin met with the ministers for emergencies and environment. Russia said more than 50 people and equipment, including Mi-8 helicopters and rescue tugboats, had been deployed to the area. Svetlana Radionova, head of Russia's natural resources watchdog Rosprirodnadzor, said specialists were assessing the damage at the site of the incident. Russia's Kommersant newspaper reported that the Volgoneft-212 tanker was carrying about 4,300 tons of fuel oil. Unverified video posted on Telegram showed some blackened water on stormy seas and a half-submerged tanker. The vessels were in the Kerch Strait between mainland Russia and Crimea when they issued distress signals. The Kerch Strait separates the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula from Russia and is an important global shipping route, providing passage from the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea. It has also been a key point of conflict between Russia and Ukraine after Moscow annexed the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. In 2016, Ukraine took Moscow to the Permanent Court of Arbitration, where it accused Russia of trying to illegally seize control of the area. In 2021, Russia closed the strait for several months. Ukrainian drone strikes on southern Russia killed a 9-year-old boy and set fire to a major oil terminal, officials said Saturday, the day after Moscow launched a massive aerial attack on its neighbor that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said was one of the heaviest bombardments of the countrys energy sector in the nearly three-year war. The boy died when a drone struck his familys home outside Belgorod, a Russian city near the border with Ukraine, local Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov reported on Saturday morning on the Telegram messaging app. His mother and 7-month-old sister were hospitalized with injuries, Gladkov said. He posted photos of what he said was the aftermath of the attack, showing a low-rise house with gaping holes in its roof and front wall flanked by mounds of rubble. Elsewhere in southern Russia, Ukrainian drones overnight hit a major oil terminal in the Oryol region, sparking a blaze, Ukraines General Staff reported. Photos published by the General Staff and on Russian Telegram news channels showed huge plumes of smoke engulfing the facility, backlit by an orange glow. Oryol Gov. Andrey Klychkov confirmed that a Ukrainian drone strike set fire to a fuel depot. He said later the blaze had been contained and that there were no casualties. Russias Defense Ministry on Saturday claimed its forces shot down 37 Ukrainian drones over the countrys south and west the previous night. Russia pummels Ukrainian energy targets The Ukrainian strikes came a day after Russia fired 93 cruise and ballistic missiles and almost 200 drones at its neighbor, further battering Ukraines energy infrastructure, around half of which has been destroyed during the war. Rolling electricity blackouts are common and widespread, and Zelenskyy charged Friday that Moscow is terrorizing millions of people with such assaults. According to Ukraines air force, Russia kept up its drone attacks on Saturday, launching 132 across Ukrainian territory. Fifty-eight drones were shot down and a further 72 veered off course, likely due to electronic jamming, it said. The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces used long-range precision missiles and drones on critically important fuel and energy facilities in Ukraine that ensure the functioning of the military industrial complex. The strike was in retaliation for Wednesdays Ukrainian attack using U.S.-supplied the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMs, on a Russian air base, it said. Kyivs Western allies have provided Ukraine with air defense systems to help it protect critical infrastructure, but Russia has sought to overwhelm the air defenses with combined strikes involving large numbers of missiles and drones called swarms. Russia has held the initiative this year as its military has steadily rammed through Ukrainian defenses in the east in a series of slow but steady offensives. But uncertainty surrounds how the war might unfold next year. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office next month, has vowed to end the war and has thrown into doubt whether vital U.S. military support for Kyiv will continue. North Koreans reportedly in combat in Kursk Zelenskyy said Saturday that a significant number of North Korean troops were being deployed by Moscow in assaults in Russias southern Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops have held on following a stunning cross-border incursion this summer. In a televised address, Zelenskyy said that North Korean soldiers have so far not entered the fight on Ukrainian soil, but claimed they are already taking noticeable losses. Elsewhere, Ukrainian officials reported that Russian shelling on Friday and overnight killed at least two civilians and wounded 14 others in front-line areas Ukraines south and northeast. Ho-ho-holy crap, its already Christmas, huh? Even though theres still one more Saturday Night Live on the way before the big day, this weeks episode came bursting with holiday cheer. Fortunately, its a miracle of yuletide lunacy. Watching along feels like getting Gatorade-dumped with spiked eggnog. While a lot of sketches in Christmas episodes tend to seem like theyre auditioning to be the next seasonal classic resurfacing in annual Christmas specials throughout perpetuity this batch feels different. Many of these gems use an element of the holidays as a mere jumping-off point before plunging down some other rabbit hole. For every sketch like Your Office Christmas Party, which seems destined to appear in future specials, theres one like Sexual Harassment Charlie, which takes place the day after an office Christmas party but could have followed any arbitrary work function. What binds them all together is a freewheeling looseness, leading to a welcome surplus of unpredictable moments. Leading the charge is host Chris Rock. With the 50th season of it all, a lot of former cast members have already dropped by for cameos this year, but Rock is the first one to actually host. (As a former writer, John Mulaney doesnt count as a cast member, though by now, it sort of feels like he should.) Although hes been exponentially more successful in his stand-up career than as a sketch comedian, Rocks acting performances throughout this episode are every bit as sparkling as the stand-up in his topical monologue in a way that eclipses his previous trio of hosting stints. Its the platonic ideal of both a Rock episode and a Christmas episode, even though the actual Christmas episode is still technically not until next weekend. (Lets hope that one goes just as hard.) Here are the highlights: Crime Stories with Nancy Grace Cold Open The ongoing saga of an assassinated UnitedHealthcare CEO has by now taken up so much oxygen in office Slacks, all forms of media, and also your holiday party, its presence in this Saturday Night Live cold open was practically inevitable. Still, the format it comes in is rather inspired. Combustible pundit Nancy Grace has long languished in YouTube irrelevancy, but her hyper-sensational show makes a fitting vehicle for this white-hot topic. Sarah Sherman is a wise choice to inherit the role created by Ana Gasteyer and perfected by Amy Poehler. Her accent is appropriately all over the map, with mispronunciations galore, but where Sherman really cooks is in the sudden explosive outbursts. (The one about being haunted by Jon-Benet Ramseys ghost is a highlight.) Although the sketch over-indexes on our obsession with alleged shooter Luigi Mangiones looks (Dave Francos face with Eugene Levys eyebrows) rather than the meaning of his actions, perhaps the writers just correctly expect that were all burned out on that discourse at this point. Well, either that or they correctly figured that Chris Rock would cover it in his monologue. Mall Santas The idea of a Black Santa has long confounded right-wing influencers like Megyn Kelly. What this sketch brilliantly suggests is that, when confronted with the idea in non-hypothetical terms, its also a problem for your average white couple. Rock plays the master of ceremonies at Santas Village like Rod Serling introducing a morality-play episode of The Twilight Zone. He luxuriates in the discomfort of parents having to choose between a regular Santa (James Austin Johnson) and the one who might create a photo that Grandma puts out in the garage instead of on her fridge (Devon Walker.) Rocks delivery is delicious, savoring every pause that helps emphasize the choice each parent must make. The MVP here, however, is Chloe Fineman, the self-identifying woke liberal who is a little too pleased with herself for choosing the Blanta. Simpsons Christmas Gift All great episodes of The Simpsons start one way before taking a wild swerve. (Think: the candy convention that leads into the sexual harassment episode, Homer Bad Man.) This Simpsons-themed sketch does the same. Beginning with the familiar sketch premise of a Secret Santa gift swap, things promptly go off the rails when Rocks character receives a Simpsified portrait of himself. There are hints early on of the madness to come for instance, Heidi Gardner playing a wheelchair-bound woman whose last name is Wheels. Still, the demented descent into the cast collectively narrating Rocks Simpsons fan-fiction is epically nonsensical. Weekend Update: A Bald Man on a U.K. Court Harassment Ruling Andrew Dismukes is often confined to supporting roles, so its always nice when he gets a big solo spotlight and goes all the way off. In the desk piece on Update, he plays a bald man weighing in on the recent U.K. judicial decision to cast ridiculing a bald man as discrimination. Though well-coifed in real life, a bald-capped Dismukes hilariously channels the hairless communitys deep wellspring of grievance and makes the most of it. Gallbladder Surgery Talk about a surprise entrance. Adam Sandlers cameo comes not only late into this episode but late into the sketch itself even though hes technically been in it for the entire time. As soon as he appears from under a hospital sheet, a sketch that had previously focused on Sarah Shermans basket case hospital intern takes a turn for the bloody and the meta. Both literally and figuratively, its kind of a mess. But in the best way. Cut for Time Kirby the racist, misogynist automobile at the center of the Grandpas Magic Car sketch splits the difference between Disneys Herbie and Stephen Kings Christine throughout, giving the King-like ending more punch. This episode wasnt the first appearance of Sexual Harassment Charlie, who is essentially just the Hello, human resources?! meme in sketch form, but with the power dynamic as its target instead of handsomeness. Kenan Thompson previously played the character in a James Franco episode in 2017 and a Scarlett Johansson episode in 2019. This edition of Weekend Update articulated perfectly that the Netflix movie, Emilia Perez, does indeed seem like it originated with Colin Jost asking ChatGPT to make my grandpas head explode. Jane Wicklines new song for Weekend Update explores the unique conundrum of Sabrina Carpenter, who cannot seem to incur the same queerbaiting allegations as her peers, despite all efforts. An incisively observed bop! On Rocks last outing as host, Bowen Yang brought his Chinese trade official character Chen Bao to the Update desk to comment on a possible TikTok ban. Now, TikTok is again on the verge of being banned, once more begging the question: are we caught in a time loop? Of course, Sarah Sherman has a prominent role in the sketch with the Sandler cameo; hes a fan of hers, having cast her in last years You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah. A surprisingly sprawling cohort of non-cast members populates the Office Christmas Party sketch an incredible venue for Monster Truck Rally Ad voice and they all acquit themselves admirably. The nights final sketch, about a blind date, was arguably the weakest of the episode, and even that one ended with the fun and unexpected appearance of a pedicab on set. Il Tempo del Futurismo at GNAM until 27 April. Italy's Galleria Nazionale dArte Moderna in Rome stages a major exhibition dedicated to Futurism to mark the 80th anniversary of the death of Filippo Tommaso Marinetti who founded the Italian art movement in 1909. The exhibition focuses on the relationship between art and science/technology, illustrating the Futurism manifesto which celebrates the impact of the great discoveries of science" on the human psyche. The show highlights the concepts of speed, machinery and industry evident in the masterpieces of Futurism within the context of an era revolutionised by scientific and technological innovations. On display are about 350 works including paintings, sculptures, projects, drawings, furniture, films, books and posters, with a focus on the literary roots of the movement, along with a seaplane, cars, motorcycles and vintage scientific instruments. The exhibited works come from Italian and international museums, including loans from MoMA, the Metropolitan Museum of New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Estorick Collection in London and the Kunstmuseum Den Haag in The Hague. For full details including visiting information see the GNAM website. Photo Emanuele Antonio Minerva - Agnese Sbaffi, courtesy Ministero della Cultura. The trial laid bare two colliding views of globalisation, as well as the measures that a powerful company like LVMH would take to shield its reputation. If Ruffin was obsessed with holding Arnault to account, the billionaire was just as eager to push back on the filmmakers portrayal of him as a symbol of capitalist evil. LVMH under the microscope Ruffins movie, Merci Patron! or Thanks, Boss!, became a sleeper hit in France in 2016 and won a Cesar award, the French equivalent of an Oscar. Made on a shoestring budget, it skewered LVMH as an avatar of heartless corporations. As filming began in 2013, Fakir staff members distributed leaflets urging people to buy shares in LVMH to attend an upcoming shareholder meeting and protest job cuts. Their goal was to badger the LVMH boss into visiting Poix-du-Nord, an economic wasteland after the factory closures, and sit down with his ex-workers over a friendly meal of moules frites mussels and fries. One of the leaflets made its way into Arnaults hands. Soon after, Arnaults secretary, Karine Billet, called Squarcini, who was head of Frances domestic intelligence service under President Nicolas Sarkozy. An anti-terrorism specialist known as the Shark, he had started a private agency, Kyrnos, after leaving the government. But in 2013, French investigators began wiretapping his phones on suspicions that he was improperly using his government connections to help clients, including LVMH. He now faces 11 charges, ranging from misusing public funds to compromising defence secrets. Francois Ruffin arrives at the trial. Credit: Bloomberg Billet told Squarcini that Fakir intended to make a mess, according to transcripts of the wiretaps made public during the trial. Leave it all to me, Squarcini replied. Pierre Gode, Arnaults right-hand man for decades until his death in 2018, asked on another wiretapped call whether Squarcini could infiltrate Fakir. Loading A spy game gone wrong Squarcini outsourced the job, an assignment that eventually made its way to a French ex-intelligence agent who happened to have already gotten inside. That man was Marc Foll. Foll, whose real name is Albert Farhat, had earlier obtained a subscription to Fakir, gaining him a welcome in the groups offices in northern France. During the trial, Farhat, a fidgety man who wore a hunting coat and large gold rings, testified that he was an independent journalist reporting on extremist groups. He concluded that Fakir was mainly a tool for Ruffins political ambitions. But Squarcini had a different view: Fakir promoted violence, and needed to be watched. Fakir members grew suspicious of the mole. The guy was so weird that we finally said to ourselves that we had been infiltrated, Ruffin said during the trial. They began sending him on wild goose chases to toy with him. Arnault has turned LVMH into the worlds premier luxury group, with 75 brands. Credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images The day of the LVMH shareholders meeting, held in the Louvre Museum, Squarcini phoned Arnaults secretary as the LVMH chief listened in, the wiretaps show, to say security would thwart Ruffin and a small band of ex-workers from confronting Arnault. Ruffin and the others were shepherded into a side room away from the grand hall where Arnault addressed Champagne-sipping attendees. When Ruffin began protesting, the group was ejected. Is Arnault happy? Squarcini later asked the secretary. Ah yes, he is very, very happy, she exclaimed. In an interview, Ruffin said that LVMHs security response was disproportionate to his actions, but gelled with what he called a pattern of seeking to squelch critical media coverage. We wanted to expose the hidden face of LVMH that of a company that threw aside its workers, he said. They broke people. For Arnault, such actions reflect an adversarial view of business peculiar to France. In an interview with The New York Times last year, he pushed back against activists who depicted LVMH as an exploitative juggernaut. They need to find a type of enemy, he said. France is not a country which is motivated by business success, unlike the United States. Spared from ejection at the Louvre was Farhat, who shouted, Im the mole! when Arnaults security chief approached. Farhat was later kicked out of Fakir. That did not stop the surveillance, which included spying on Ruffin near his home. Farhat roped in Marlene Mauboussin, a photographer who was homeless at the time, to infiltrate Fakir. But the pictures she secretly snapped came out fuzzy. Her effort to make clandestine recordings of Merci Patron! flopped. She became sympathetic to the group and joined them. Of the 2 million euros ($3.3 million) that LVMH ultimately paid Squarcini, 15,000 euros trickled down to Farhat; he paid 1,000 euros to Mauboussin. A long crusade against Arnault Ruffin was elected to Parliament in 2017, a year after Merci Patron! was released. He had long suspected that he had been spied on, but it was not until 2019, when reports emerged of the judicial investigation into Squarcini, that he realised the magnitude. The probe revealed that LVMH had asked Squarcini to look into several dossiers, but the lengthiest operation was surveillance on Ruffin and Fakir from 2013 to 2016. Stunned, Ruffin and Fakir joined the judicial investigation as a civil party and eagerly waited to confront Arnault in court. Loading But in 2021, Paris prosecutors offered LVMH a rare settlement allowing it to avoid criminal prosecution in exchange for a fine of 10 million euros. The company admitted no wrongdoing, and Arnault would not have to testify in public, allowing him to avoid an unwanted media circus. That was mooted when the judge in the Squarcini case ordered Arnault to testify. After being whisked past a horde of TV cameras, Arnault stood for three hours under a barrage of questioning. When I took over, we had 10,000 employees, now we have 200,000, Arnault said. We have a sense of pride in what we bring to this country he said, adding that he had been dismayed by the constant criticism from Ruffin. He said he had watched Merci, Patron! and found it quite funny. But he accused Ruffin, seated on the benches behind him, of seeking to profit from Arnaults court presence by grabbing publicity for a new film he was working on about the lives of struggling workers. Details of the surveillance were exposed during an influence-peddling trial last month concerning Frances former intelligence chief, Bernard Squarcini (centre), whom LVMH had hired for security work after he left the post in 2012. Credit: Bloomberg There is a quote from Trotskyist ideologies, Arnault said. When you want to emerge politically, find a well-known enemy and cling to him to progress. He added that he was absolutely unaware of any surveillance, saying that orders given by Gode were taken without his knowledge. What would we get from infiltrating a band of clowns? he asked. Loading But as Ruffins lawyer needled the billionaire with questions about ignoring workers and seeking to censor unflattering coverage, Arnault erupted in anger. I will not answer these stupid questions! he declared, crossing his arms and staring straight ahead. In that case, the lawyer persisted, would Arnault agree, at long last, to visit Poix-du-Nord and speak with laid-off employees over moules frites? Lets start with a meeting in Paris with Mr. Ruffin, Arnault replied. And then well see. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. 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 Lin-Manuel Miranda is the guy who wrote the Broadway show Hamilton, and the soundtracks for the animated films Moana, Vivo and Encanto, and the coming live-action Lion King prequel, Mufasa: The Lion King. Robert Lopez co-created The Book of Mormon and Avenue Q, and, with his wife, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, the songs for the Disney films Frozen, Frozen II and Coco. That bit, you likely know. The bit you may not know is that when both Miranda and Richard Lopez were kids enrolled at Hunter College Elementary School in Manhattans Upper East Side they had the same sixth-grade music teacher, Barbara Ames. So the question isnt how did these guys become the most influential composers of 21st-century stage and cinema, but just what was Miss Ames putting in the cordial in that classroom? Lin-Manuel Miranda, the composer of Hamiton, Encanto and, now, Mufasa: The Lion King. Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision When I sit down with Miranda to discuss his musical career and work on Mufasa: The Lion King, Miss Ames seems like an unexpected, almost off-piste place to start. And yet, I say to him, she really feels like the beginning of the story. Mirandas eyes are glowing in response, his enthusiasm for his former music teacher is as all-consuming now as it was, no doubt, back in grade six. Barbara Ames was one of the biggest sources of love in elementary school, Miranda says. You would go to music class, you knew you were going to sing for 30 minutes. She had a poster of Into the Woods on the side of her upright piano, she taught at her piano and she would have us all sing. Mufasa (voiced by Aaron Pierre) and Taka (voiced by Kelvin Harrison Jr.) in Disneys live-action Mufasa: The Lion King. Credit: Significantly, Miranda adds, Miss Ames and the pairs teacher, Mr Sherman, would collaborate on a sixth-grade play every year. And if she had more kids than parts, she would write parts, and she would write songs for those parts, Miranda says, laughing. Advertisement She wildly flouted the rules of licensing for these musicals, Miranda adds. The notion of access to creating these moments was there because Miss Ames would just make up songs for the other characters so that everyone would have a part. She did a production of Chorus Line where there were 32 kids on the line, and they all had their moment. When Miranda came to do the sixth-grade play, they had run out of age-appropriate musicals, so we did these 20-minute versions of the previous six years, and it was a lethal dosage of musical theatre. I got to be in Fiddler on the Roof, West Side Story, Bye Bye Birdie, a mash-up of The Wizard of Oz and The Wiz, Oklahoma and Peter Pan. The rush of doing that for most of sixth grade is the high Im still chasing as a 44-year-old man. Lin-Manuel Miranda was nominated for an Oscar for his work on the 2016 film Moana. Credit: We move on. To William Shakespeare, and his observation, in the comedy masterpiece Much Ado About Nothing, that: Is it not strange that sheeps guts could hail souls out of mens bodies? The question he was asking about the intangible but stunning power of music itself weighs on the minds of many composers, Miranda says. Thats the heart of the whole thing, right? Miranda says, quoting his good friend, 97-year-old American composer John Kander, who wrote Cabaret and Chicago, who once told him: Ive made a living making music, and Ive never been able to hold it, or touch it, or taste it, or feel it. And yet, my hands go to the piano, and if I know what were writing, my hands know what to do. Says Miranda: I find that extraordinary. My hands arent as skilled as John Kanders, very few are. But I think theres something about the fact that both hemispheres of your brain light up when you listen to music. That it sticks in the short term and in the long term that Alzheimers patients can still sing songs from when they were children. Advertisement Theres something about it that goes deeper than anything else in our lives, about that collection of organised sound, whether it comes from a bossa nova or sheeps guts, Miranda adds. Its extraordinary. Its extraordinary to get to make it up for a living. Im very grateful to get to put my hands on a piano for a living. The peculiarity of film music is that, like pop music, it is composed of an infinite collection of emotional triggers. There are notes in Giorgio Moroders soundtrack for Scarface that intentionally unsettle the emotions. The Picnic at Hanging Rock score is intentionally undercut with the slowed-down sound of an earthquake, designed to subconsciously trigger the viewers fight or flight response. The way we were how the stars of The Lion King looked in the original 1994 film. Credit: Disney Among Angelo Badalamentis compositions for Twin Peaks, Lauras Theme is designed to make you feel sad, and then to slowly restore your emotions through a twist and turn of flat notes to sharps, then to intentionally build to a crescendo, and finally to rip your heart out as the sequence of notes peaks. Loading That sense of weaponisation in music the idea that it is deployed in films as a deliberate force upon the viewer is conscious and not conscious, Miranda says. You are your own first audience, and you have to make yourself feel something before you can expect anyone else to feel anything. And it not only has to feel true, it has to feel true to that character at that moment, and it needs to be the right words on the right music at that moment. In Mufasa, the track featured in the film and trailer I Always Wanted a Brother was this four-chord groove [with] a melody that felt like it came from another plane. Advertisement So, sometimes its in surprising yourself that you find it. What I am conscious of, as Im writing it, [is that] I can bring that back around later, to devastating effect. Im not going to worry about it now, but I know it can turn. Before he wrote a note of Moana, Miranda says, he immersed himself in music from the Pacific Islands and those traditions, same as with Colombia with Encanto, which shared its DNA with the Puerto Rican music I grew up with. Lin-Manuel Miranda (centre) struck global gold with his historical musical, Hamilton. Credit: With his smash-hit musical Hamilton, in contrast, and leaning into the Sondheim quote content dictates form, Miranda says his inspiration was the idea that every time American founding father Alexander Hamilton puts pen to paper his life changes. Every time he opens his mouth, hes going to change his circumstances and his destiny, and thats a terrific engine for a musical, Miranda says. Mufasa: The Lion King was something different again. It was already a successful animated musical and Broadway show with music written by Elton John and Tim Rice, and a score composed by Hans Zimmer when Miranda was asked by director Barry Jenkins to write the soundtrack to the prequel. In that sense, Miranda says, [For Mufasa] Im in service of Barry Jenkins, and this musical language that has already been really wonderfully established. The Lion King made a hugely successful switch to the stage. Credit: As for The Lion King itself, its an unusually complex story when you consider Disney packaged it as a kids movie: after the power-hungry lion Scar murders his brother Mufasa, Mufasas son Simba escapes but later returns to become king of the Pride Lands. Theres literally a 12-minute stretch where a child essentially witnesses their uncle murder their father, and then walks up to their fathers prone body, Jenkins says. Advertisement Its like we have very selective memories. We have very convenient memories of what is light [in touch] and what is not light. What I love about that, though, is somehow Disney was able to perform this magic trick where parents would take their kids to see this film. That scene is intense. You know its intense. And yet somehow everyone embraces that intensity because its real. The cast of Mufasa: The Lion King (from left): Kelvin Harrison jnr, Tiffany Boone, Aaron Pierre, Anika Noni Rose, Billy Eichner, Seth Rogan, and director Barry Jenkins at a photo call in London. Credit: AP At the same time, Jenkins says, the films story was never over-sensationalised. And you sometimes go, [the kids] are not going to watch that again, are they? And there they are, day after day, you put in the VHS, and theyre watching it, and theyre learning to process this emotion, he says. Loading Its one of the really wonderful things that Disney, especially in that era, was able to sort of pull off, which is, bring us your children, and were going to entertain them, and theyre going to have a very fun time, Jenkins says. But were also going to speak to some very important things about human nature and human life. Mufasa: The Lion King picks up the story of the 2019 remake of The Lion King, which was directed by Jon Favreau and used photorealistic animation to bring the world of the Pride Lands to life. In the new film, Rafiki the mandrill tells the origin story of the two lions Mufasa, an orphan, and Taka, the princeling who would become known as Scar. The film stars Aaron Pierre as the voice of Mufasa. It is a formidable role for an actor to take on, because of its central role in the Disney cinematic filmography and the intimidating fact it was originated by actor James Earl Jones in the original 1994 film and the 2019 remake. Jones, who also voiced Darth Vader in Star Wars, died earlier this year. Advertisement She is emotional recalling that time, and having to explain what was happening the (abandoned) clinical trials, and gruelling surgeries to remove sections of her lung, kidney, and, when more spots were found a year later, lung again to her two children, who were both in primary school. They were just terrified, and I was very terrified myself, she says. The biggest pain that I had was I couldnt comfort them. I was hooked up to everything. I couldnt hug them. I couldnt tuck them into bed, and I couldnt tell them everything would be OK because we just didnt know at that stage. Jen Benfield with her daughter Chloe, 16. Credit: James Brickwood While she has been clear for 20 months, Benfield must have PET, CT and MRIs every three months for the rest of her life. She will never be in remission. Her daughter, Chloe, is 16, and Benfield is worried by the attitudes towards tanning held by the next generation. A friend of mine reached out to me the other day and said her daughter was heading to the beach because the UV was at 12, and that was perfect tanning weather, she says. Its still the same as when we were teens. Benfield is not alone. Skin cancer experts have raised the alarm about social media glorification of tan lines eroding decades of warning about melanoma risk to a generation too young to remember the Slip, Slop, Slap campaign. Joint medical director of Melanoma Institute Australia and 2024 Australian of the Year Professor Georgina Long whose 2022 National Press Club address on the subject led TikTok to place warnings on tanning content remains concerned about the promotion of tanning on social media. The glamorisation of tanning is rife even fake tan glamorises tanning so young people lie out in the sun and subject themselves to incredible radiation, she says. The tan is an SOS, its not beauty. Loading This summer, many skin cancer experts are remembering the work of the late Dr Saxon Smith, a Sydney dermatologist and former NSW president of the Australian Medical Association (AMA), whose groundbreaking 2015 publication on sunscreen education led to important changes in how medical students, doctors and the public were taught about primary prevention of skin cancer. Saxon wanted to put himself out of business, Long says. Smith died from sarcoma in February, aged 47, leaving behind his wife, Camille, and 13-year-old son, Elliot. His research focused on attitudes towards sunscreen and sun safety, showing that Australians lagged several European countries in sunscreen use and many people had no idea sunscreen had an expiry date, needed to be stored under 25 degrees to remain effective or that about two tablespoons were required to cover the whole body. Camille says her late husband always said, with its harsh climate, we were never designed to live in Australia. But he definitely practised what he preached rain, hail or shine, she says of his diligent sunscreen use. Late Sydney dermatologist Dr Saxon Smith with his wife, Camille, and son, Elliot. Credit: This summer, the AMA is launching a Sun Checks for Saxon campaign, encouraging the public to use sunscreen properly this summer. The federal budget has taken a $1.8 billion hit as a huge backlog of claims for assistance from the nations defence veterans is finally cleared, and money flows to tens of thousands of people with multiple physical and mental health problems. This weeks mid-year budget update from Treasurer Jim Chalmers will show one of the biggest cost blowouts is due to faster processing of veterans claims that were left by the Morrison government in 2022. Faster-than-expected payments to the nations veterans will add $3.5 billion to the budget bottom-line. Credit: AAP The extra $1.8 billion over the next four years is on top of $6.5 billion that Chalmers revealed in the May budget as public servants dealt with a backlog of claims that at one point reached more than 66,000 people. Despite recording a $15.8 billion surplus in 2023-24, Chalmers forecast a deficit of $28.3 billion for the current financial year. He is expected to confirm a major deterioration in the budget bottom-line due to a drop in company tax collections and a lift in government costs. By Jonathan McCambridge, PA Israel will close its embassy in Dublin in light of the extreme anti-Israel policies of the Irish government, foreign minister Gideon Saar has said, accusing Ireland of crossing every red line. His statement said Israels ambassador to Dublin has been recalled in the past following what it called Irelands unilateral decision to recognise a Palestinian state. They said the decision followed Irelands announcement of its support for South Africas legal action against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing the country of genocide. Mr Saar said: The actions and antisemitic rhetoric used by Ireland against Israel are rooted in the de-legitimisation and demonisation of the Jewish state, along with double standards. Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with Israel. Israel will invest its resources in advancing bilateral relations with countries worldwide according to priorities that also take into account the attitudes and actions of these states toward Israel. Taoiseach Simon Harris has said the decision by Israel to close its Irish embassy is deeply regrettable. In a statement released on Sunday, Mr Harris said: "Irelands foreign policy is founded on our deep commitment to dialogue and to the peaceful resolution of disputes. Resident embassies play a very important role in that regard. "Keeping channels open has never been more important so that we can better understand each others positions, even when we disagree." He said he "rejects the assertion Ireland is anti-Israel. Ireland is pro-peace, pro-human rights and pro-international law. "Ireland wants a two-state solution and for Israel and Palestine to live in peace and security. Ireland will always speak up for human rights and international law. Nothing will distract from that," he said This is a deeply regrettable decision from the Netanyahu government. I utterly reject the assertion that Ireland is anti-Israel. Ireland is pro-peace, pro-human rights and pro-International law. https://t.co/rDga5GpT3u Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) December 15, 2024 Meanwhile, Tanaiste Micheal Martin said there are no plans to close its embassy in Israel. Mr Martin said he had been informed by the government of Israel of its decision to close its embassy in Dublin. He said: I believe firmly in the importance of maintaining diplomatic channels of communication and regret that this decision has been taken. Irelands position on the conflict in the Middle East has always been guided by the principles of international law and the obligation on all states to adhere to international humanitarian law. This has been the case with regard to our response to the terrorist attack by Hamas in Israel on October 7th, 2023, and to the conduct by Israel of its military operations since then. The continuation of the war in Gaza and the loss of innocent lives is simply unacceptable and contravenes international law. It represents the collective punishment of the Palestinian people in Gaza. We need an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Mr Martin said Ireland and Israel will continue to maintain diplomatic relations, adding: Inherent in that is the right to agree and disagree on fundamental points. There are no plans to close Irelands embassy in Israel, which is carrying out important work. Ballina has given the world many legendary figures, some of whom are memorialised in the town. Next one up to be commemorated is Edward Whelan who was born 200 years ago (1824). He emigrated with his mother in 1831 and ended up in Canada where he got a good education and became a member of prominent Irish societies. Bright and exciting, he quickly made his name. By the age of 18, Edward had become the editor of the Register, an Irish Roman Catholic and Liberal newspaper strongly committed to repeal of the union between Ireland and England. Still in his teens, he also became known as a speaker at the Mechanics Institute and at the Young Mens Catholic Institute, an organisation established by Irish-born Fr Richard OBrien, in Prince Edward Island, Halifax. Later he established his own newspaper, The Palladium, writing in it: Ireland will be a nation again. And where is the obstacle to prevent the accomplishment of her Nationality? English hatred and English jealousy. He advocated free government, universal suffrage, free education, free lands, the abolition of landlordism, and other measures for the relief and betterment of people on the island. Though Prince Edward Island was the smallest and the poorest of the North American colonies, Whelan observed: Regarding our poverty in a commercial sense, we are entitled to boast, that we have taken the lead and set an example to all the others in the important matter of education." He was elected to represent Kings County in the House of Assembly at the age of 21 and campaigned for free land, free schools and responsible government. He became a Father of the Canadian Confederation in 1864. He died aged only 43 in 1867, and was laid to rest in Charlottetown, capital of Prince Edward Island, Canada. Whelan was twice married: in 1845 to Mrs Mary Weymouth - two children were born of this union, both of whom died young. After the death of his first wife, in 1851, he married Mary M. Hughes, daughter of George A. Hughes of the Halifax Dockyard. Of the three children born of this second union, two daughters died at an early age; the third child, a son, perished at the age of nineteen years, while sailing in Charlottetown Harbour, on July 1, 1875. Well memorialised in Charlottetown, he is now to be remembered in his native Ballina with the unveiling of a wall plaque on lower Pearse Street at 12 noon on Tuesday, December 17, the month in which he died. His story is told in Terry Reillys Ballina & Area People, and now Terry and fellow historian Bernie Finan are ensuring this legendary figure is remembered in the town of his birth. All invited, including anyone with a Canadian background. Today the City of Charlottetown - a flourishing community of over 34,562 people - is located on the south shore of Prince Edward Island. Charlottetown is the capital city of Prince Edward Island, and is called the 'Birthplace of Confederation' after the historic 1864 Charlottetown Conference which led to Confederation. At last week's meeting of Ballina Municipal District, councillors agreed to a notice of motion to erect the plaque in Edward Whelan's memory. Cllr John OHara said it would be appropriate to honour Edward Whelan, adding that local businessman Eddie Melvin of Melvin Financials has given wall space on his premises on Pearse Street for the plaque. Cllr O'Hara's motion was unanimously agreed. First things first. The Irish flag is not a rag to be wrapped around the shoulders of individuals of the far right (mainly) or indeed protestors of whatever colour or clique who wish to challenge the current order, not to mention the law of the land. All of us, and I especially include myself, can find reason to feel ignored and forgotten by the people who supposedly run the country, the public representatives, the politicians and the government, but just because we feel neglected does not mean that we are being neglected or that we have the right to go out and break the law and plunder the law-abiding or proceed to riotous behaviour. Over the past months and years, we have seen individuals flaunting the flag as they challenged the lawful authorities of the country. We took exception to what was seen as a demeaning of the national flag by its use in breaches of the law and protests against the housing of immigrants. Thankfully, the number of protests has been reduced in more recent times and the debate around the migrant issue has become a little more civilised. At least for now. There has been, however, a misuse of the flag quite often in the past while and no more so than at count centres around the country. Sinn Feins winners were hoisted shoulder high (nothing wrong with that) but there was an indecent rush by supporters to provide the national flag to decorate the newly-elected TDs. It is a recent practice and one used, as far as I could see, only by Sinn Fein. The national flag is not the preserve of any one political party. The waving or wearing of the flag does not bestow a greater Irishness on political winners, or losers, than those who respect the flag and see it used in the proper place which, in count centres, should be on a flag pole. It probably is not a major issue for Mary Lou McDonald at this time but when things settle down over the next few months she might do well to advise her supporters that the Irish flag is for all Irish people not just the Shinners. It's a small matter but not inconsequential. In the current climate, with the FFers/FG looking likely to dominate the political landscape for the foreseeable future - not a pleasant prospect it should be stated - it is necessary for Sinn Fein to grow up, become aware that the Irish electorate is too sophisticated to be taken in by the doctrine of 'Superior Irishness' spouted by adherents of Sinn Fein. The current Sinn Fein may well be the true descendants of Pearse and Connolly and 1916 but that does not wash with todays voters. The young voters who were supposed to be the wellspring of a Sinn Fein resurgence could not be bothered to come out and vote at least not for Sinn Fein. It is time for a rebuild in Opposition and that rebuild has to involve what for many in the party will be difficult choices. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael and any combination of 20 Independents (mostly spoiled Fianna Failures and Fine Gaelers!) now command the centre ground of Irish politics. Whinging that it is time for change is all very fine but where is the alternative? As of now, the electorate has clearly shown there is no alternative and we are confronted with the ridiculous spectacle of four (Labour, Social Democrats, People Before Profit/Solidarity, Greens) left-of-centre parties, with a combined total of 26 seats out of a total of 174, squabbling over whether they will talk to one another, not to mention coalescing to form a genuine socialist choice to present to the electorate. The observant reader who has managed to come this far will have noted that I have not included Sinn Fein as part of the 'Left' alternative. It would not be very often that I would agree with Richard Boyd Barrett but he has a point when he questions the socialist credentials of Sinn Fein. While I accept unhesitatingly that Mary Lou and numerous other Sinn Fein deputies are genuinely concerned about the plight of the homeless and those stuck in the uniquely Irish poverty trap (uniquely Irish because the country has the wealth to address poverty but declines to do so), the simple reality is that they do not come across as genuine socialists. Many Shinners, in terms of political policies, would feel comfortable in Fianna Fail and indeed some would be at home in Fine Gael. The one major policy plank that distinguishes Sinn Fein from the other political parties is - and has been - the pursuit of Irish unity. It is a laudable ambition but it is not something that a goodly majority of Irish people are exercised about. We have become a very materialistic society and nowadays it is all about the economy. Stupid? Perhaps! But thats what the electorate has demonstrated in the general election. So what is to be expected from this FF/FG/Ind government? Well, it looks like more of the same. Im not taken in by the election promises made by the winning parties. There will be some pressure on Fianna Fail, as the biggest party, to deliver on their promises but all of the promises of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael will blend into the programme for government which will become the new Gospel according to Taoiseach Micheal. Will we see more concern for the less well-off in society or will the demands of the wealthy and the squeezed middle take priority? Dont be surprised if the latter is the case. And so to the Monk. I have mixed feelings about this man who has amassed a fortune out of the proceedings of crime. The national medias crime correspondents were aghast at the thought that Gerard Hutch might become a TD. I would imagine that the Monk stood for election as a handy opportunity to secure his release, on bail, from a Spanish jail where he faces charges of money laundering. But he also did so to cock his nose at those in the Dail and Irish society who would wear pegs in their noses in his company. There are people in the Dail and even more in the upper echelons of Irish society who have amassed fortunes on what some people might see as nefarious practices. There are TDs who dont see anything wrong in breaking laws that they dont see as applying to them. In Dublin Central on his first outing as a candidate in an election, Hutch got a very respectable 3,098 first preferences and ended up with 5,321 on transfers. That is not the vote of a man who goes about his constituency being detested by the electorate. He must have done some good in his area. Perhaps he spread the proceeds of crime a bit. Perhaps the Robin Hood analogy is not entirely misplaced. No doubt Marie Sherlock (Labour) who got the final seat at Hutchs expense will, in time, prove to be the better choice, but it would have been interesting if Hutch had won through. He would bring a unique perspective to debates on law and order. He could probably open the eyes of many people as to what the issues are in socially deprived areas, why people might choose a life of criminality, why so many people in deprived communities are hooked on drugs. He might also have something to say, under Dail privilege, which might disturb the settled middle and upper classes. An opportunity missed? Thought for the Day Life isnt about waiting for the storm to pass. Life is about learning to dance in the rain. - Anonymous Art OLeary, the chief executive of the Electoral Commission, has just publicly admitted that the Irish electoral register could be inflated by as much as 500,000 names through duplication or through not removing people who have died. He warned that the disappointing official turnout of 59.7% in the recent national election was "a very blunt measure by which to judge the performance... or the engagement of people generally with democracy". More worryingly, Mr OLeary did not mention those who had emigrated out of the state (such as yours truly) but are still on the register. He also noted that no-one should expect it to be fixed any time soon, adding helpfully: "I don't know if that figure is correct or not, but it sounds to me as if it's about right." When challenged that voter fraud was now more likely as a result, Mr OLearys conclusion was hardly a resounding reassurance: "If it happens then it is probably immaterial, I suspect. But like I said, we have no evidence of that." In short, Art doesnt know and is guessing, but it really doesnt matter too much, so dont hold him to any of it, please. So according to Art, the official Irish electorate of 3,689,896 should be closer to 3.2 million, meaning the turnout of 2,218,295 could have been closer to 70 per cent, throwing the post-election discussion by a conveyor-belt of media pundits about the apathy of the Irish electorate into the air. While a 15% of overstated registered voter numbers may seem shocking, in fairness the Electoral Commission itself was only established in February 2023 and tasked with the responsibility for the oversight of all elections in Ireland, including electoral operations, constituency reviews and electoral integrity. In a country where the state has overseen projects with world-record overruns in budgets and timescales, we may expect the Irish electoral register to be within tolerable accuracy by Irish unification - so long as the present bureaucrats are in charge of that timetable also. Some 4,165,000 people in Ireland are aged 18 and over and potentially eligible to register to vote - subject to citizenship and residency requirements and based on my back-of-the-envelope calculations as I was waiting for the final Mayo count from Castlebar count centre last Sunday. Thus, our actual voting-eligible population turnout rate may be only around 53%. While a rough estimate, this compares very poorly with almost all the states in the recent US presidential election, tied second-to-last with Arkansas and Oklahoma where Republican dominance of all branches of government renders voting incentives almost irrelevant. It also may explain why so few voted for the opposition to the present Fine Gael-Fianna Fail government (the Green Party collapse aside) during a calamitous housing crisis, high cost-of-living and slew of scandals of state-sponsored project overruns. Thus, while the head of the Electoral Commission suggests that Irish democracy is in much better health than voting statistics suggest, the truth may indicate a greater apathy among people towards any of the candidates standing, who simply did not bother to register in the first place. The voter rolls in various US states are in similar flux and attempts by the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) to allow for the inter-state sharing of voter registration information have been undermined by right-wing conspiracy attacks and nefarious Republican grandstanding. Established in 2012 by seven states, ERIC is a non-profit, bipartisan consortium that allows its members to identify duplicate and incorrect voter registrations that ought to be removed from voter lists, including those who have moved out of state. Not long ago, ERIC claimed 32 states as members, including Republican-led states like Florida, Ohio and Missouri. However, Republicans have recently found it politically advantageous to use the idea of inaccurate voter rolls as a proxy for insinuating fraud by Democrats, rather than undertake genuine reform and thus many red states subsequently withdrew. Take, for instance, Ohio Secretary of State, Frank LaRose, who called ERIC "one of the best fraud-fighting tools that we have", before doing a 180-degree turn and pushing his state to withdraw a month later. Thus, the periodic removal of thousands of voters from the register in such Republican states as Texas and Florida and the passing of ever more restrictive voter laws there is more about suppressing the Democrat-supporting electorate than ensuring the dead or illegal cant vote. Post-election pundits and media personalities have tried to make much of the final election results with many Democrats now seeing some small victory in Donald Trump failing to get over 50% of the popular vote and only beating his opponent Kamala Harris by 49.76 to 48.21%. But the fact is that there is little individual incentive for people to cast votes in deeply partisan states such as California and Texas, knowing their state outcome is not going to affect who becomes president (in fact Texas only had a 56.57% turnout of the voting-eligible population). Thus, we cannot know how much support either candidate would receive in a normal popular presidential election as held in almost all other democracies. In short, both Ireland and the USA have serious issues with ensuring full participation of their respective voting-eligible populations in the most foundational democratic right and responsibility of choosing their representative government. In the US, one party is now wedded to the pretence of fighting election fraud to dampen the franchise in their favour, while neither Democrats nor Republicans will get rid of the farce of the electoral college and the fact that only seven swing states effectively decide the election. In Ireland, the laid-back, nonchalant official (non)regard towards ensuring accuracy in the voter registers suits the omnipresent Fine Gael and Fianna Fail incumbents. Why bother do anything properly when the system already works out so well in your favour? No point in fixing something thats broken, especially when a healthy, dynamic Irish democracy based on grass-roots participation and decentralised decision-making could return a very different government. For different reasons, both countries ignore the growing apathy to voting at their peril. Allentown, PA (18103) Today A mild and dry evening, then becoming cloudy overnight with some patchy fog and drizzle possible late at night. . Tonight A mild and dry evening, then becoming cloudy overnight with some patchy fog and drizzle possible late at night. Xac minh 'than y' chua ung thu bang phuong phap 'truyen nang luong' "Than y" Nguyen Van Kien (trai) lam viec voi co quan chuc nang - Anh: Cong an cung cap Ngay 28-2, ong Nguyen Tuong Duy - chu tich UBND xa Hai Yang (huyen ak oa, Gia Lai) - cho hay ang phoi hop cac co quan chuc nang xac minh truong hop nguoi xung... An Giang lien tiep xuat hien mua trai mua Mua bat chot giua cao iem ma kh khien nguoi dn bat ngo. Theo ng Luu Van Ninh, Gim oc i Kh tuong Thuy van tinh An Giang, nguyn nhn cua hien tuong ny l do nhieu ong nhiet oi trn cao trong ieu kien La Nina ket hop cua ra pha Nam khoi khng kh lanh... Weather Alert ...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 AM CDT /5 AM EDT/ SATURDAY... * WHAT...South winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 50 mph. * WHERE...Portions of southern Illinois, southwest Indiana, western Kentucky, and southeast Missouri. * WHEN...Until 4 AM CDT /5 AM EDT/ Saturday. * IMPACTS...Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Use extra caution. && The average house in England is affordable for only the richest 10 percent of households according to the Office for National Statistics, using the traditional affordability measure of five times a households annual disposable income. It would take the average household eight-and-a-half years of total disposable income (35,000 a year) to afford the average-priced home of 298,000. This is double the ratio of 1999. North London suburban housing, London Borough of Enfield [Photo by Alan Hughes / CC BY-SA 2.0 The ratios are better in Waleswhere the average house is considered affordable for the top 30 percent of householdsand Scotlandthe top 40 percentbut only in Northern Ireland is the average house considered affordable to the average household. London, as always, is yet further removed from reality: essentially a fortress, inaccessible to almost anyone without significant family wealth. It is not even enough to be in the richest 10 percent of local households (average annual disposable income: 89,901) for the average house price in the city of 530,000 to be considered affordable. This is over 14 times the average household disposable income. To emphasise, these are the ratios for an entire households entire disposable income (income after tax and benefits payments) in a year. The real meaning of these figures is that getting a mortgage on a house is an impossibility for swathes of the working class. Home ownership rates are falling, from 71 percent to 65 percent. Sky-high house prices are matched by rents. The average yearly cost to rent in the UK is now 15,240an increase of 27 percent since 2021. This is expected to rise by another 4 percent next year. According to the latest English Housing Survey, covering 2022-3, private renters already spend roughly a third of their income on housing costsrising to 59 percent for the poorest fifth of the population. In London, the average annual rent is 25,452, with the average renting household in the capital handing over 40 percent of their earnings to their landlord. This is being paid for the oldest housing stock in Europe, with 38 percent of UK properties built before 1946. Over 3.5 million properties (15 percent of all homes) are classed as non-decent, falling below minimum standards of repair, warmth and modern facilities. More than 2 million have at least one Category One hazard and one million severe damp. For renters, average floor space has shrunk by 16 percent in the last two decades. The social implications are terrible. Young people are locked out of whole regions of the country or from starting their own families. In 1995, 57 percent of 2534-year-olds were homeowners, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies; the figure in 2022 was 39 percent, meaning a growing proportion are living at home with their parents. Parents are also relied upon to fund their childrens first steps towards buying a house, embedding inequalities in property ownership. Aside from any other financial assistance, inheritance is predicted to account for 16 percent of the average millennials lifetime earningup from 9 percent for Gen X. But while the top fifth will see their incomes lifted by 29 percent, the bottom fifth will gain just 5 percent. Wealthier areas with the best jobs, schools and transport links are off limits for the bulk of the working class. Living within 500 metres of a station in London will cost an extra 10 percent (53,000 using the average house price), or 4.3 percent (22,790) to live within a kilometre. Anything from an extra 3 percent extra can be paid for a good school catchment area, up to 26 percent for those considered the best. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, parental earnings now much more strongly correlate with the incomes of children born after 1970 than they did for previous generations, with inheritance a major driver. For those at the bottom, worries about meeting the rent or the mortgage hang over every day of their lives. Britain has by far the highest rate of homelessness in the developed worlda shocking one in every 200 householdswith the number of people living in temporary accommodation more than doubling to 112,000 between 2010 and 2023. This is not a natural calamity, but the result of exploitation on a gigantic scaleas Karl Marx described it, One section of society here demands a tribute from the other for the very right to live on the earth. Nick Bano explains well in his book Against Landlords that the twin engines of this process are a legal system designed to virtually guarantee rising rents for landlords, and the investments of the ultra-wealthy in the endlessly lucrative housing market created. Margaret Thatchers Right to Buy scheme took two million houses out of council ownership and put them on the market40 percent are now being rented out privately. Rates of actually affordable social housing building have been falling ever since. The UK has 1.8 million fewer households in social housing than in 1980. The introduction of the Assured Shorthold Tenancy in 1988, and its being made the default contract in 1996lowering the length of tenancies and allowing for easy and rapid evictionsgave landlords enormous power to ratchet rents. In Banos words, The state has now adopted the practices of the twentieth centurys most notorious landlords. The final piece of the puzzle is housing benefit in its various incarnations, which has acted as an enormous state subsidy to landlords charging more than their tenants can afford, setting a steadily rising floor of minimum private rents. In effect, the working class pays taxes to subsidise the landlords and the process which ensures workers rents keep rising. The government funded roughly a third of the nations rent bill in this way in 2022. Quoting Bano: When rents rise that reliably, they are translated into every-growing prices of residential land. By this mechanisma direct consequence of the Thatcherite system of government-backed price increases in the private rented sectorhousing since the late 1980s has become an incomparably secure and fruitful form of investment. As a result, house prices have increased more than fourteenfold since 1979, while wages have climbed just eightfoldboth in nominal termstaking the average household spend on housing costs from 9 percent in 1957 to todays astronomical figures. The process went uninterrupted during the Labour governments of Blair and Brown, with an average real-terms increase in property prices of 173 percent between 1997 and 2007, and 253 percent in London. Meanwhile, real wages for 2534-year-olds increased by just 19 percent. Crippling costs for the working class are a feeding frenzy for landlords, banks and corporations. Tenants in the UK paid a record 85.6 billion in rent in 2023, after the biggest jump on record (8 billion) over the previous twelve months. The total is more than double the 40.3 billion paid in 2010. Mortgage owners are paying interest on outstanding residential mortgage loans worth 1.6 trillion. Research from Sheffield Hallam University shows the eight largest housebuilding companies in the UK paid shareholders 16 billion in dividends over the last 18 years supplying this lucrative racket. Profit on the average new build house rose 75,000 between 2000 and 2019, according to Brunel University. All of these interests have huge lobbying and revolving door operations with Parliamentand local councils are now a byword for property developer corruptionbut in some cases the connections are even more direct. More than one in 10 (13 percent) Members of Parliament are landlords themselves. The 85 MPs own 184 rental properties between them, each of them receiving more than the 10,000 a year threshold required to declare these earnings publiclyon top of their 91,346 annual salary. Fully one quarter of Tory MPs are landlords, however most landlords in this Parliament (44 of them) are in the Labour Party. Three of them claim the titles of the first, third and fifth largest property portfolios in the House of Commons: Jas Athwal, who own 15 residential and three commercial properties; Gurinder Josan, who owns eight rental properties; and Bayo Alaba, who owns seven. Madison LeCroy shared a message of gratitude after revealing her husband Brett Randles cancer diagnosis. I just want to take a moment to thank everyone for checking on Brett, the Southern Charm-er wrote in a December 13 Instagram Story. Your messages and kindness mean so much to us and have not gone unnoticed. The Story included a photo of Madison and Brett on their romantic getaway to the Maldives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its been a challenging year for our family, but were taking it one day at a time and doing our best to navigate through it, Madison continued. Brett is getting stronger every day, and were so grateful for all the love and support. We love yall and thank you from the bottom of our hearts. More from Bravo: Madison LeCroy Tearfully Opens Up About Her Husband Brett Randles Cancer Diagnosis See Inside Madison LeCroys Stunning New Charleston House: Its Just Bliss Who Is Madison LeCroy's Husband Brett Randle on Southern Charm? Madison LeCroy opens up about Brett Randle's cancer battle Southern Charm Madison LeCroy Shares Brett Randle Update The Southern Charm cast member addressed her husbands health issues in Season 10, Episode 2, saying Brett was diagnosed with thyroid cancer around the time of their first wedding anniversary in 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I thought, like, How? Like, Im finally happy, she said in an emotional episode interview. And its just scary. Madison said she was grateful doctors were able to remove a 3-centimeter nodule, which got rid of the cancer; however, her husband was still experiencing complications. I feel like we cant catch a f---king break, Madison said. Brett Randle's Post-Surgery Complications Viewers learned more about Bretts complications during an Episode 2 scene shot inside the couples Charleston home. How are you feeling, Brett? Hows your swallowing? Madison asked as she and her son, Hudson, made breakfast. Related: Madison Lecroy Celebrates Big Milestone with Brett Randle: Best Decision I Ever Made Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brett told Madison he was feeling pretty good" but had discomfort in his throat. I have to go see a specialist for it. Its like two stages," he said. "I dont know, so I got to go see an ENT for it and then probably have to do some type of therapy. The chief firefighter told Madison it felt like a marble was stuck in his throat whenever he swallowed, but he was getting used to" the sensation. Well get you fixed, Madison told her husband. Ill kiss it and make it better. Madison LeCroy confirms she put her pregnancy plans on pause Madison LeCroy and Brett Randle smiling next to each other. Related: Madison LeCroy Makes a Big Clarification About Her Husband Brett: "Not Gonna..." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The mother of one went on to say she had mentioned Bretts health issues to her 12-year-old son, Hudson, but didnt go into detail about what cancer can do to someone." I try not to let Hudson see me emotional because like, I have to be strong for my family, she said before explaining how Brett's diagnosis affected their pregnancy plans. Some days I just want to, like, scream. It can be anything that triggers me, whether that be someone saying, When are you having a child? I mean, we were just kind of starting to plan. But thats on pause for now. Saturday Night Live jumped right into the top story this week: the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the internets obsession with his killer. The NBC sketch comedy show kicked off its cold open spoofing Nancy Graces show Crime Stories, where she dives deep into shocking crimes. And the crime that has been dominating the news this week was the murder of the insurance company CEO. Thompson was shot and killed in midtown Manhattan on Dec. 4, and after a multiday manhunt, his killer, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, was arrested on Dec. 9 in Pennsylvania. He has been charged with murder and is currently fighting extradition to New York City. More from The Hollywood Reporter Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The masked CEO shooter has been unmasked and guess what? Its game over, Luigi, Sarah Shermans Nancy Grace says. And of course, everyone online celebrated the hard work of law enforcement in apprehending this dangerous criminal. Just kidding, yall suckas made him a sex symbol. Thats right, the healthcare assassin Luigi Mangione has got women and gay guys alike hot and bothered. Since Mangiones photo was revealed to the public, social media has been in a frenzy over his appearance, with some already fan-casting the suspect for a potential movie. Shermans Nancy continued, I mean, seriously? This guy looks like Dave Franco with Eugene Levys eyebrows. I mean, what is going on in this country? Yall, this man is not a sex icon, OK? This man is, and I cannot say this any clearer, a MURDER! She later brought out a man, Kenan Thompsons Darnell Davis, who was at the Pennsylvania McDonalds where Mangione was ultimately arrested. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, Darnell, you were face to face with this criminal. Can you believe people are attracted to this sexy slayer? Shermans Nancy asks. I mean, you could look at him and tell he had hoes. Women love bad boys, Thompson quips. You know, back in the day you could impress your old lady with a little poem. Now you gotta write a manifesto. Shermans Nancy lastly interviews someone who has been affected closely by the story: a guy who looks similar to Mangione. This whole things been a roller coaster for me, Emil Wakim says. On one hand, I keep getting tackled by bounty hunters, but on the other hand, Ive gotten some of the horniest DMs of my life. I mean, I havent paid for a meal in Brooklyn in days. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The SNL cold open also mocked the jarring experience of watching a YouTube video and ad breaks hit mid-sentence. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace: Luigi Mangione pic.twitter.com/XvbGSUE2QP Saturday Night Live SNL (@nbcsnl) December 15, 2024 Chris Rock also returned to host the sketch comedy show for the fourth time. He was previously a castmember from 1990 to 1993, and also hosted in 1996, 2014 and 2020. The actor-comedian kicked off his opening monologue also talking about the UnitedHealthcare CEOs murder. Theres a lot going on in the news. My God, its so crazy out there, Rock says. It was so hard just getting in the building tonight. So much security. My God, I had to walk by a bunch of baby oil-sniffing dogs. It was insane! Everybodys worried. I mean, we got Luigi and thats good. I really feel sorry for the family. Everybodys fixated on how good-looking this guy looks. If he looked like Jonah Hill, no one would care. But he actually killed a man. A man with a family, a man with kids, he adds. I have condolences for the healthcare CEO, this is a real person. But you also gotta go sometimes drug dealers get shot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rock was joined by Gracie Abrams, who made her SNL debut as musical guest. Adam Sandler also made a surprise appearance during the show. Chris Rock's monologue! pic.twitter.com/MedUMLCBqz Saturday Night Live SNL (@nbcsnl) December 15, 2024 Best of The Hollywood Reporter Sign up for THR's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Tell someone youre headed to an island like Maui by yourself, and prepare for the looks of confusion. Hanging out alone isnt usually the marketing material youll see for island travel. Chances are youll see newlyweds on their honeymoon or a bridal party getting ready for the big day. But for a woman solo traveler who enjoys her own company and loves nature, island adventures are just as enjoyable on your own. But why travel solo on an island, especially for those old enough to have watched Gilligans Island? In real life, there are solo travel planning companies so you dont have to worry about getting lost. While every island may not be the friendliest, some may feel like home away from home. If you want to travel solo but be in a group, you have that option too. But if you do, is that really considered solo travel anymore? Either way, here are seven islands that make perfect solo trips for women. This is your excuse to have a blast without worrying about someone keeping you company the entire time. Maui Me Time Jashith G For a city native who has never seen a mountain up close, seeing the 5,788-foot West Maui Mountains is jaw-dropping. From the beach to perusing the campus of University of Hawaii Maui College, those mountains are always in your line of view. The West Maui Mountains hiking route takes approximately two hours and 52 minutes and, because of its popularity and 365-day-open status, youll more than likely see other tourists (or locals) while you enjoy the exercise. If you brought your dog along, this could be a memorable trip for the two of you. (Unless you have a very active dog in Mauis semi-hot temperature, this 4.2-mile walk is better completed on your own. Or, keep water handy and cut it short when you see your dog trailing behind. The dog must be leashed the entire walk.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are plenty of places to go swimming and run along the beach, too. Take a rest stop along the rocks and youre sure to see a fisherman enjoying the view too. If you want to join in, you dont need a license for saltwater fishing. However, check the Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources for freshwater fishing. Thomas Tunsch Not interested in lengthy exercising? Theres plenty else to do in Maui. Stroll around in a dozen malls and marketplaces, get a pedicure and manicure at Maui Mall. Stop by the central area to see if theres a weekly hula dance performance on the live stage. (In the past, it has usually been midday on Mondays. That may have changed.) If youre a vegan or vegetarian who doesnt think you could enjoy a luau, which usually includes a pig wrapped in banana leaves and pulled up from an underground oven to eat, this is your best bet to enjoy the dancing without the pork. (Kahului, Hawaii has a Whole Foods Market with a wide assortment of plant-based options if you want to grab your dinner there and refrigerate it at your hotel or inn.) If you want to learn how to hula instead of just watching the pros, head to Whalers Village for a complimentary hula class. Hawaii Hula Company not only offers hula lessons but also an opportunity to make a lei. Oahu Me Time Daniel Ramirez For anyone who has been to Honolulu already, theres a reason that the capital of Hawaii keeps making its way to the top 10 list for solo travelers for women. Parts of Honolulu, such as the International Market Place, may as well be the Magnificent Mile in Chicago (another city that made it to the top 10 list) because its full of shopping centers, restaurants, and places to mingle among singles and locals. With all the same shopping and cultural class perks as Maui, outdoorsy types can also enjoy parasailing and paddleboard yoga. Depending on where you stay, dont expect to go to sleep any time soon with nightclubs blasting music loud enough to make you get out of your hotel bed and see whats going on nearby. Although the island has more of a movers and shakers vibe than its smaller, quieter neighbor (Maui), solo travelers can also try meditation, yoga, breathwork and sound bath healing too. Jamaica Me Time Meg von Haartman Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The catcalling and safety warnings may make traveling to Jamaica alone a mixed bag. For this Jamaican woman who lived in London, there were highs and lows. Interestingly, the part that bothered her most was not having the freedom to wander off to walk for hours as opposed to having a personal driver and main guide. She did get to walk barefoot by the waterfalls, but she was mostly getting driven from place to place. For solo travelers who prefer a safety buddy, this will probably be fun. For more independent solo travelers who prefer to move around and go where they want to go without anyone else tagging along, this can be a challenge for women especially. But after a trip to the Old Crafts Markets, she was introduced to an entire community of locals who have Jamaican-owned businesses, restaurants and rentals that tourists never experience. From ackee and oxtails to Ital food, theres a little something for every travel foodie too. Curacao Me Time Skitterphoto For artsy solo travelers, one of the first activities in Curacao that stands out is the Art Now City Tours with artist Avantia Damberg, who gives personal tours of art in Punda, Scharloo and Otrobanda (all in downtown Willemstad). A casual scroll through her social media channel shows a world of colorful authors, building art and tangible items that creatives will enjoy. In addition to beach life in the Caribbean, solo travelers can visit the Fortchurch, the oldest church on the island (1769); mingle in the Kura Hulanda Village, a small village with a hotel, bars, restaurants, a residential area and shopping centers; and get a Peace of Art by learning about art journaling, mixed media, hand lettering and travel journaling. Consistently considered safe for solo (and women) travelers, as is the case with any vacation, there are exceptions. While one TikTok traveler didnt have the best experience there, she still confirmed she would absolutely return. Zanzibar Me Time Manuel Once upon a time, both Zanzibar and Pemba were believed to have been part of Africa. The separation of Pemba happened during the Miocene Epoch about 23 to 5.3 million years ago while Zanzibars separation from the Pliocene Epoch was about 5.3 to 2.6 million years ago. For political enthusiasts, Hussein Ali Mwinyi (from the long-term ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party) has been Zanzibars president since winning the October 2020 elections. The former defense minister campaigned on an anti-corruption ticket and almost 300 corruption cases have been prosecuted by the Zanzibar Anti-corruption and Economic Crimes Authority (ZAECA). While solo travel has consistently been welcomed, there are differing opinions about the dress code, including one site that says to cover the shoulders and knees when walking through town, primarily because 98% of Zanzibars population is Muslim. Other travelers declare that there is no real dress code. Either way, its more of a silent respect than someone shaming tourists for skipping an unspoken dress code. Plan a trip on a safari, enjoy the beaches, kite surf and island hop, as you see fit. Aruba Me Time iSAW Company Solo island travelers may run into any of the 90-plus nationalities from more than 130 countries living in harmony here in Aruba. The ancient Arawak people were the first to call Aruba home. Over the years, people from Africa and Europe came to live on the island. Wrap your body in Aruban aloe at one of their world-class spas, watch the sunset at the sea during a twilight yoga session or enjoy a hike through Arikok National Park. For more excitement, the International Palomarga Raceway Park in Aruba is a top-racing facility in the Caribbean where drivers compete for a distance of 1/4 or 1/8 mile. The drag race draws in about 30,000 spectators and 4,500 participants each season to enjoy the monthly races in San Nicolas. If you like the idea of speed on water instead, check out kite surfing on Malmok Beach, snorkelers, water skiers, and swimmers enjoying the water and waves. Barbados Me Time Tom Jur Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You may never hear a new album from Rihanna, but you can at least enjoy her original stomping grounds. If you like a little rum, what better place to hang out in than the birthplace of rum? Discover the story at the Mount Gay distillery, founded in 1703 and believed to produce the oldest rum found anywhere in the world. From Barbados calypso music, jumping bars and a piano bar, this is the perfect place for solo travelers who enjoy the nightlife. When the sun goes down, Barbados wakes up. Get ready to dance and party. For a slow day after partying, swim or relax in more than 80 pristine white-sand beaches. Did any of these seven inspire you to grab your plane ticket? Hopefully so. Even if you decide that solo travel the whole time isnt your style, you can always have one me time day to enjoy your own company and invite the family out to meet you the day after. This way, you can do what you want, when you want to and where you want to, and have the memories to daydream about years later. The post Ladies, Love Your Own Company At These 7 Islands That Make for Perfect Solo Trips appeared first on Travel Noire. 1791 marks an important year for Vermont as the year when it officially became a state. But did you know that Vermont's first library was founded in the same year? Located in Brookfield, the Brookfield Free Public Library started in 1791 with just a few books. Over its 200-plus years of continuous service, the library has grown into an intellectual hub with various books, resources and services for the town's use. Want to visit the first library in Vermont? Here's everything to know about Brookfield Free Public Library before you go. History of Brookfield Free Public Library Young woman searching books in the library According to the Brookfield Historical Society, Brookfield Free Public Library was first established in 1791 when a group of 12 settlers voted to establish a library for the promotion of knowledge. The library's first books were bought with the revenue from a one-time membership fee and kept in homes, moving to a tavern, a church and town hall before finding their permanent library building in Pond Village. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After many debates at town meetings in the early 1900s, Brookfield decided to make their library public in 1915 giving people more equitable access. While a relatively small library, Brookfield has grown from just a few books to over 4,000 volumes for the public to browse and borrow. Library news: Vermont Department of Libraries awards ARPA treasury funding to 14 public libraries How to visit Brookfield Free Public Library Brookfield's public library is open at 40 Ralph Road on Tuesday and Wednesday from 2 to 5:30 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. until noon. This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Where is the oldest library in Vermont? It might surprise you. UTAH COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) A driver was killed and passenger critically injured in a rollover crash in Utah County Saturday night, according to the Utah County Sheriffs Office. At around 11:20 p.m. on Dec. 14, Utah County deputies responded to a single-vehicle rollover on Eagle Mountain Blvd. near SR-73. The driver was pronounced dead on scene, according to the sheriffs office, while the passenger was determined to be in critical condition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Josh Frost, Utah-born cowboy, becomes world champion bull rider The passenger was taken to the hospital by helicopter. Their condition is unknown at this time. Details are currently limited. The investigation into this incident 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. A man was found injured in downtown Columbia near the University of South Carolinas School of Law, the Columbia Police Department announced. Just before 7 p.m. Friday, officers were called to the 1700 black of Gervais Street for a shooting, police said. An injured man was found outside and taken to a hospital by EMS. Investigators are trying to figure out what happened. If you have any information about the incident, call the Columbia Police Department at 803-545-3500. AUGUSTA, Ga. (WSAV) U.S. Army installation Fort Eisenhower was locked down for approximately two hours Saturday after a person was shot and killed in what base authorities described as an isolated incident. According to authorities, the victim, who has not been publicly identified, was shot in on-post housing and later died. The suspect is currently in custody. The installation stated, Fort Eisenhower is actively supporting the victims family and assistance will be available to anyone impacted by this tragedy. The safety of our residents and personnel remains our primary concern. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, in cooperation with state and federal partners, is leading the investigation. HPD ask for help identifying individuals in recent crimes Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Dec. 14Let's start this day by putting down the coffee cup, rising from your comfy seat and then clapping loudly while cheering wildly. No need to feel silly. We know the Goldilocks Principle doesn't quite fit Northern New Mexico neighborhoods. Your neighbors are too close. Or too far away. There rarely is Just Right. If you're in a too-close condo complex or subdivision, tell the neighbors to hoot and holler, too. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And if you're in a remote locale, text your neighbors the distant noise was you and not coyotes yipping away. Why the need to do a standing ovation with no one looking? It feels just right to celebrate goodness from Northern New Mexicans who aren't seeking the attention. Today, we give a standing ovation to the Santa Fe New Mexican's 10 Who Made A Difference a 40-year, community-nominated initiative to honor those who contribute to our quality of life. New Mexican reporters recently wrote about each honoree. (For subscribers, find our special section on the 10 Who Made A Difference in the e-edition.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I encourage you to go beyond my short summaries to read more about these amazing volunteers: Amy Adler is a sexual assault nurse examiner at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center and board member of Solace Sexual Assault Services who brings a determined resolve to her work and community service. Christine "Teeney" Bustos, a volunteer in countless roles in the Espanola Valley, lives by her mantra: "You can sit around and complain, or you can do something about it." Nate Downey is an aquaponics evangelist who volunteers at the Santa Fe Community College program and has delivered 9,000 heads of lettuce to individuals and families in need. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Allyson Faehl (pronounced "fail," although she doesn't) has beaten cancer three times and is credited with organizing Christ Lutheran Church's Pallet shelter village for the homeless, which is the first in Santa Fe. Flora Leyba, at 94 years young, remains a lifelong volunteer who has assisted shelters, senior centers and churches. Her deep faith combines well with her energy and bold approach. Meghan Montelibano Gorman, founder of Santa Fam, has created a community for families, who appreciate her stream of useful information along with events such as Coffee & Crying meetups. Maria Naranjo ministers to nursing home residents and is known as a longtime advocate for preserving the history of Northern New Mexico with an emphasis on her family's origins in Chimayo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Louis Tilmont described himself as a directionless teen, but his career in software development set the stage for his plethora of activities in Santa Fe, including volunteer tutor, mentor, foster child advocate and foster pet parent. Trash Pandas, a community group that organizes cleanups, reflects the power of togetherness to solve problems small and big. Consider this energetic team of volunteers in neon safety vests organized 50 cleanups that collected 13 tons of trash in 18 months. Whoa. Ryan Williams, founder of the nonprofit Unhoused Art, has used his love of art and helping others to build an inclusive community that has found a home in the arts incubator Vital Spaces at 1600 St. Michael's Drive Annex in Santa Fe. I've met all 10, and they are the real deals actually more than 10 since the Trash Pandas can fill a room (and clean it, too). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The New Mexican started honoring outstanding volunteers in 1985. The in-person ceremony took a pause after 2019 because of the pandemic. That may explain some of the built-up buzz as honorees and supporters gathered again Tuesday in the wonderful Santa Fe Room at La Fonda on the Plaza. Everything about 10 Who felt special. The hospitality. The company. The significance. The New Mexican's Matt Dahlseid put together individual video profiles of each recipient, with Inez Russell Gomez providing her distinctive narration. It's worth watching again and again. It takes no effort to complain. So, it's worth channeling your inner Teeney Bustos: "You can sit around and complain, or you can do something about it." So, stand and don't feel silly about it and applaud everyone who makes a difference in your life and our community. You won't be alone. Next month, an 11-year-old girl from Worcester is headed to Detroit for the National Sphinx Classical Music Competition. Sofia Hernandez-Williams plays the cello with Project Step, a Boston organization that teaches classical music to underrepresented groups. Its kind of different from some things Ive experienced too, said Sofia. Its an audience and theyre actually watching you playing the competition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sofia has been playing the cello for about six years. The Sphinx Competition is only for string instruments and the first place prize is $10,000. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Members of the House authored a letter urging President Joe Biden to take action to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, protecting rights for all regardless of sex, before he leaves office early next year. As we approach the conclusion of your historic administration, we urge you to take immediate action to recognize the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) as the 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, they wrote in the letter dated Sunday. We must continue our efforts to fully affirm and recognize the equality of rights for all people, regardless of sex, as part of our Constitution, a vital effort that has never been more urgent. The House members letter follows a similar one sent to Biden in November, signed by 46 Democratic senators. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ERA, first drafted in 1923, states that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. It also grants Congress power to enforce the amendment. With the approaching Donald Trump administration and his impending assault on various rights, the members of Congress wrote that ratifying the ERA is essential as we prepare to transition to an administration that has been openly hostile to reproductive freedom, access to health care, and LGBTQIA+ rights. The representatives, led by Rep. Cori Bush and Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who co-chair the Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment, argued that the ERA has already met the constitutional requirements for ratification. We were hoping to be able to be progressing forward as it comes to gender equality and womens rights, but we are going backwards, and at this point we [have] an avalanche of destruction coming our way, Bush told The Washington Post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Equal Rights Amendment was introduced to ensure constitutional gender equality as the law of the land, Pressley told the paper in a statement. Yet over a century later, were still fighting to codify the ERA. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is also in favor of enshrining protections based on sex by ratifying the ERA and has been trying to convince Biden to take action. Ive been working really hard just on the audience of one, trying to make the case to [Biden] personally, to say, I want this to be part of your legacy as a president I respect and admire; you should make this part of your legacy, she told The New York Times. Im trying to give them all the legal reasons and political reasons. Even Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been pushing behind the scenes to move the ERA forward by speaking to the archivist about the amendment at Gillibrands request. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Constitutional amendments require three-quarters of the states (38 states) to ratify them in order to take effect. Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the ERA in 2020. Congress approved the ERA in 1972, and a year later, 30 states had ratified it, but a STOP ERA campaign led by conservative activist Phillys Schlafly halted its progress. Because a 1982 ratification deadline set by Congress lapsed, and five states Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, Tennessee, and South Dakota have since rescinded their prior approval of the ERA (although precedent exists for dismissing such retractions), its path forward is still in question. Members of Congress are now pressing Biden to issue a proclamation recognizing the ERA as the 28th Amendment and direct the Archivist to certify and publish it. The ERA is popular with Americans, with 78 percent stating in a survey conducted earlier this month that they believe the ERA should be part of the Constitution. By directing the Archivist to publish the ERA, you will leave an indelible mark on the history of this nation, demonstrating once again that your legacy is one of expanding rights, protecting freedoms, and securing a more inclusive future for all Americans, the representatives wrote. More from Rolling Stone Best of Rolling Stone Sign up for RollingStone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. A teen suspect is in custody for the alleged quadruple homicide of his family at their residence in Belen, New Mexico, according to police. The Valencia County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call at around 3:30 a.m. on Saturday from Diego Leyva, 16, who told the dispatcher he had killed his family. Officials said Sunday that when deputies arrived, Leyva walked out of the residence with his hands in the air and was extremely intoxicated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was taken into custody without incident, according to their statement. PHOTO: Southwest USA scenics (Robert Alexander/Getty Images) MORE: Early season snowstorm pounding New Mexico, Colorado When deputies entered the residence, they discovered four victims who appeared to have died from gunshot wounds. The individuals were later identified as Leonardo Leyva, 42; Adriana Bencomo, 35; Adrian Leyva, 16; and Alexander Leyva, 14 -- all family members of the teen suspect. MORE: 2 dead, hundreds rescued in 'dangerous' New Mexico flash flooding Leyva was taken to an area hospital to detox, according to officials. After he was medically cleared on Sunday, Leyva was booked into the Juvenile Justice Center in Albuquerque. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 16-year-old has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder. An investigation into the motive of the quadruple homicide is ongoing, according to the sheriff's office. 16-year-old in custody after suspected quadruple homicide of his family in New Mexico originally appeared on abcnews.go.com MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN) Investigators are searching for the suspect accused of shooting two people outside of a hotel in Murfreesboro, leaving them critically injured. According to the Murfreesboro Police Department (MPD), a man and a woman were shot around 11:10 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14 while inside a vehicle behind the Clarion Inn on Old Fort Parkway. The gunman reportedly fired multiple rounds into the rear of the car. The vehicle struck a retaining wall while trying to get away and came to a stop in the front parking lot. Have breaking news come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts The shooter reportedly fled the scene in a car with multiple other people inside. Officials said it is believed the gunman and other members of the group followed the victims into the hotel parking lot before the shooting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When authorities arrived, they found the victims in front of the hotel, close to the KFC, and administered first aid until personnel from the Murfreesboro Fire Rescue Department and Rutherford County Emergency Medical Services arrived. Both victims were taken to a nearby hospital with critical injuries. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com In a press release on Monday, Dec. 16, authorities stated they are searching for all of the individuals who were present during the shooting. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Detective Matthew Coe at 629-201-5641. Download the News 2 app to stay updated on the go. Sign up for WKRN email alerts to have breaking news sent to your inbox. Find todays top stories on WKRN.com for Nashville, TN and all of Middle Tennessee. This is a developing story. WKRN News 2 will continue to update this article as new information becomes available. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. Two people were injured and an infrastructure facility was damaged in the city of Mykolaiv amid Russias overnight drone and missile attack, Governor Vitalii Kim reported on Dec. 15. According to the governor, in the early hours of Dec. 15, Ukraines air defense forces shot down four drones over Mykolaiv oblast. Despite these efforts, one drone struck the city at 6:57 a.m., damaging an infrastructure facility and injuring two civilian workers. These attacks are part of Russias ongoing aerial campaign against Ukraine, which included the launch of 108 drones and an anti-aircraft missile during an overnight attack on Dec. 15 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The attack targeted multiple oblasts, including Chernihiv, Sumy, Kyiv, Poltava, Cherkasy, Khmelnytskyi, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Dnipropetrovsk. Russia launched a total of 108 drones at Ukraine from the Russian regions of Kursk, Orel, Bryansk and Millerovo, with the military successfully downing 56, the Air Force said in a Telegram post. Forty-nine unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) went off the radar, and their exact trajectories remain unknown. Three of the drones malfunctioned and returned to Russian territory. Debris from downed drones caused damage to residential buildings and private properties during the overnight assault, according to local authorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The attack highlights a continuing escalation in Russia's use of kamikaze drones, marking the third month in a row of intensified drone strikes across Ukraine. Data from Ukraines Air Force reveals a steady rise in drone activity, with 2,576 drones deployed by Russian forces in November, up from 2,023 in October, signaling a clear uptick in aerial assaults. In response, Ukraine is enhancing its drone capabilities to counteract these threats. Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced on Dec. 5 that over 30,000 DeepStrike attack drones will be added to Ukraines arsenal by 2025. Designed for autonomous long-range missions and precision strikes, these next-generation drones are expected to significantly strengthen Ukraines defensive and offensive capacities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: Russian drone strikes against Ukraine are surging to record levels how bad can it get? Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Two Russian tankers believed to be carrying thousands of tons of oil were damaged off the coast of Crimea in the early hours of Sunday amid stormy weather, Russian emergency services and media reported. The Volgoneft 212 and Volgoneft 239 vessels were both damaged while transiting the Kerch Strait waterway separating the occupied Crimean Peninsula from Russia's western Krasnodar Krai region, the country's Emergencies Ministry reported on Telegram. The ministry cited "bad weather in the Kerch Strait" for the damage, the extent of which is not yet clear. The state-owned Tass news agency cited an unnamed ministry source in its report that the ship's bow was torn off. The vessel was around 5 miles from shore when it was damaged, the agency said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An Emergency Ministry Mi-8 helicopter and a rescue boat were dispatched to the Volgoneft 212 vessel, which had 13 people aboard, the ministry wrote. "The crew requested assistance," it said. The ministry later said that one sailor died and the remaining 12 evacuated alive. PHOTO: This photo taken from a video released by the Russian Southern Transport Prosecutor's Office, shows the Volgoneft 212 tanker wrecked by a storm in the Kerch Strait on Dec. 15, 2024. (AP) "It is known that there are oil products on the ship," the ministry added. "Information about the spill is being clarified." The Interfax news agency reported that the Volgoneft 212 was carrying 4,300 tons of oil. The Emergency Ministry later said the Volgoneft 212 "was damaged and ran aground." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Volgoneft 239 had 14 people on board and was also carrying oil, the Emergency Ministry said. The ministry reported that the vessel was drifting after sustaining damage. 2 Russian oil tankers damaged off Crimea, emergency authorities say originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Two oil tankers carrying nearly 9,000 metric tons of mazut fuel were damaged by a storm, broke in half, sunk and caused oil spills in Kerch Strait, which separates Crimea and Russia, a spokesman for Russia's emergency services said Sunday. Mazut is used in power plants and other applications in countries of the former Soviet Union and Iran. Volgoneft 212, ran aground with 13 crew members were evacuated and one member dying, Russia's federal sea and inland water transport agency, Rosmorrechflot, wrote in a statement obtained by Russian state-run TASS. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Volgoneft 239 also was damaged, adrift for several hours and ran aground with 14 crew members aboard. Two criminal probes have been launched. Sputnik posted video from the Russian Southern Transport Prosecutor's Office that shows the troubled tankers. The Russian Southern Transport Prosecutor's Office will check the implementation of legislation in the field of maritime safety after the shipwrecks in the Kerch Strait. https://t.co/tgT5i8X2N6 pic.twitter.com/nypz64R2uw Sputnik (@SputnikInt) December 15, 2024 A tugboat, Merkuriy, was dispatched from Kerch to aid the crew, and a Mi-8 helicopter from the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations took off with rescuers. Michelle Bockmann, an analyst at the shipping industry journal Lloyd's List, told the BBC the two vessels are owned by the company Volgatanker. Russian President Vladimir Putin was briefed about the accident and ordered to organize rescue efforts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin set up a working group to coordinate cleanup operations. Mash reported they were built around 50 years ago and were converted in the 1990s from full-fledged tankers to "river-sea" class vessels. The Kerch Strait, which connects the Black Sea on the north and Sea of Azoz on the south, separates Russia from Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014. Ukraine has struck Russia's vessels since the beginning of the invasion in February 2022. Around 30% of Russia's Black Sea Fleet is lost or disabled, according to the Ukrainian military. A day after a South Carolina teen went missing, her body was found in a burned car. Now, two people have been arrested. After 18-year-old MyAngel Walker did not show up to work on Thursday, Dec. 12, her loved ones knew something was off, according to FOX Carolina. Walkers family reported her missing to the Laurens Police Department and, as she was last seen in Clinton, South Carolina, the Clinton Police Department also joined the investigation, the outlet reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It became apparent during the night that we were looking for something a little more than just somebody missing, Laurens Police Chief Heath Copeland told FOX Carolina. MyAngel Walker/Facebook MyAngel Walker MyAngel Walker The next day, Walkers body was discovered in a burned vehicle near McKenzie Road in Greenwood County, according to TV station WOIO. Footage shared by South Carolina outlet WYFF shows the charred car being towed out of a wooded area near a road. Walker had suffered a gunshot wound, FOX Carolina reported. No other details about the location of the wound or her cause of death have been publicized. The person who wounded Walker, according to Clinton Police, is 19-year-old Malachi Pressley, whom Walkers mother, Sade Woodruff, identified as her daughters on-and-off boyfriend. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police say Pressley shot Walker on Gary Street in Clinton between 10 and 11 p.m. local time on Dec. 11, according to FOX Carolina. He has since been arrested and charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Also arrested in connection with Walkers death was 19-year-old Taylor Kinard, who police say helped dispose of Walkers body, per FOX Carolina. Charged with accessory after the fact, Kinard had knowledge of it and she helped, Clinton Police Chief Michael Addison said. Both Pressley and Kinard were denied bail during a hearing on Saturday, Dec. 14, the outlet reported. The Clinton Police Department and Laurens Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLEs request for comment on Sunday, Dec. 15. 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. Walker, a recent high school graduate, planned to become a nurse, her family told FOX Carolina. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Everything Ive heard of MyAngel has been, she was a very bright young lady with a very good heart, Chief Copeland said, per the outlet. This is a tragedy that should not happen, he added. But were glad that we were able to get justice for that family really quickly here. MyAngel Walker/Facebook MyAngel Walker MyAngel Walker For Walkers mom, however, the arrests dont offer her any solace. We lost a big part of our family, Woodruff told WYFF. We lost a great person. We lost an amazing person, a leader. She also offered a message for those who hear her daughters story: Be aware of who you're dealing with, the people you're surrounded by, the people you hang out with. If there's anything wrong, any type of domestics going on, Woodruff added, then we ask that you seek help. Read the original article on People Here are a few 48 snow totals as of 7AM on Saturday while it is still dumping in many areas. Mt. Shasta: 32 inches Sugar Bowl: 28 inches Kirkwood: 23 inches Palisades: 26 inches Mammoth: 15 inches Alta: 13 inches Mt Baker: 20 inches Crystal: 11 inches Revelstoke: 6 inches Whistler: 6-10 inches Mt. Washington, BC: 11 inches Whitewater, BC: 6 inches Additional snowfall expected from Saturday-Sunday Northern Sierra: (Lake Tahoe): 9-14 inches Cascades of Washington/Western BC: 8-12 inches Tetons: 9-15 inches Northern Wasatch: 5-11 inches (North of I-80 may see the higher totals). Oregon Cascades: 10-17 inches (Sunday/Monday). Central Idaho (McCall, Sun Valley): 9-14 inches Whistler: 7-11 inches Winds are extreme over both the Sierra, Cascades and coastal BC on Saturday morning. Gusts are in excess of 100MPH over the Sierra Crest in Tahoe and even a few spots in the Cascades. 9100 foot winds at Kirkwood were gusting above 112 MPH on Saturday morning. Palisades Tahoe gusts per telemetry gusting to 138 MPH late Saturday morning at 8700 feet. Crystal mountain even had a gust exceeding 100 MPH early Saturday morning. This is just below the summit. You can see 11 inches of snow thus far at Crystal Saturday morning. Most lifts are spinning as of Saturday afternoon. Storm totals on the Sierra Crest will likely reach 3-4 feet in the Tahoe Basin by Monday night. As of Saturday morning, Palisades, as well as most ski areas were digging out and spinning a limited amount of low elevation lifts due to winds. WOO- Chair 6 at Crystal (Webcam) for those patient folks that are riding the double chair (Crystal has managed to open most of their lifts on Saturday). Hats off to their Ski Patrol! 11 inches of new snow with more to come. Photo: Crystal Mountain Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Additional snow will be fall over many ranges of the west. Our highest totals from Saturday PM to Sunday AM will likely land in the northern Sierra extending north into areas of the PNW, Central Idaho, Tetons and Northern Utah. Additional snowfall for the Sierra Saturday PM to early Sunday is favoring the northern Sierra surrounding Lake Tahoe with less noted south near Mammoth. The eastern side of the lake near Mt Rose and Northstar seem to be in the flow as well. By Sunday morning, 2-3 day storm totals will exceed 30 inches. a weaker system is due Monday night/Tuesday. Heavy snowfall will continue Saturday afternoon in western BC (Whistler) and the northern Cascades of Washington. Moderate snow tapers in Idaho late Saturday night as the bulk of heavier moisture is aimed at the Teton Range and perhaps northern Utah. Widespread 9-11 inches of additional snow is likely from the northern Sierra, Pacific Northwest, Central Idaho (South of I-90), Tetons and far northern Utah from 2PM Saturday to 8AM Sunday. Most models show the highest amounts in Utah might occur north of Interstate 80 (Keep an eye on Beaver Mountain near Logan). The Teton range, especially near the Montana border will grab higher totals (11-16). A 3rd and final wave hits the west from Monday to Tuesday. This wave takes direct aim at Oregon and southern Washington and extends south to the northern Sierra. Oregon will take the brunt of significant snow before leftovers drag east over the northern Rockies (Idaho and Wyoming seem favored). This is a similar path to the last system. Temps will be warming by midweek. 24 hour snowfall totals from Monday (December 16) to Wednesday (December 18) with the final wave. High pressure takes firm grip on the west in the extended period as a strong ridge forces any moisture north or west of most ski areas. It is possible that some moisture breaks the ridge in the PNW near December 22nd (Low confidence this far out). Temps will warm significantly in the west by mid next week. Strong ridge takes ahold of the west. Map: December 17-December 22nd. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Follow Powderchasers on Social Media @powderchasers for updated information. Related: La Nina Has Yet To Emerge and Odds Are Decreasing Photography has always been one of the nations most popular hobbies, but now just about everyone carries a camera in the palm of their hand in the form of a smart phone. So, in an era where we document everything on our phones, I thought it would be good to pull back the curtain and explain how we select our photographs that we feel best represent this past year and best reflect the work we are most proud of. First, a call goes out to our staff in late November to start thinking about their favorite pictures. As they work through our electronic library, the photographers mark their favorites that then are collected in a queue for the photo editors to look at. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Generally speaking, were looking for photographs that have a number of qualities, such as beautiful light and gorgeous composition. Maybe its a unique angle, like Deseret News photojournalist Jeffrey D. Allreds leadoff photo from high above of a teenager doing backflip into a swimming pool or Allreds photo using a GoPro camera to capture a pair of pilots as they fligh high above the Salt Lake Valley in a biplane. Sometimes it just the historical nature of the news event, like the 100th birthday celebration for President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressing a crowd in Salt Lake. But often, its the images themselves that make us say wow. The kind of photos that make you, as a photographer, wish you had taken. And the emotional moments we capture as photojournalists for the Deseret News in and around our community are what really set our talented team of photographers apart. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From a woman safe with her dog following a house fire in Syracuse, to a giddy Donny Osmond fan meeting her celebrity for the first time at a VIP event in Las Vegas, down to a young girl simply enjoying watermelon with the joy all over her face at Green Rivers Melon Days, those moments evoke real life emotions that can lift us all up. Sometimes our assignments take us into situations or places that our readers dont get to experience in person. Photojournalist Laura Seitz spent months documenting the community on the west side of Salt Lake City and for many, thats not a part of town many go to unless they live there. Seitz gained the trust of that community to bring into focus the challenges they face. While working on a Colorado River project for several months, photojournalist Kristin Murphy took a rafting trip down the mighty river and the ferocious Cataract Canyon, bringing the rivers rage and beauty front and center to our readers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While telling the story about Payson High Schools efforts to bring Footloose actor Kevin Bacon to their prom, photojournalist Scott Winterton captured a tender moment of a couple walking the promenade. Winterton found the right place to capture that romantic moment in the spotlight. And finally, our newest photojournalist Isaac Hale along with our intern, Brice Tucker, both answered the call to action on a summer evening when a fast moving wildfire on Ensign Peak threatened the hillside houses below in Salt Lake City. Hales experience and knowledge of where to be and what long lens to use paid off with his dramatic shot of the firefighting air tanker flying low over the neighborhood. So with all of that, enjoy the favorite images of 2024. The Angel Moroni statue stands atop the Salt Lake Temple as Christmas light displays shine in the foreground at Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News A rider walks with their horse before the 36th annual Bison Roundup, held at Antelope Island State Park, southwest of Syracuse, on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News Mary Signorelli and Gaby Castenetto, both of Las Vegas, speak with Donny Osmond at the VIP meet and greet prior to his show at Harrah's Las Vegas on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dedicated the Church's 200th temple, the Deseret Peak Utah Temple in Tooele on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elle Lyne-Schiffer, from Sugarhouse, on the left, holds a Israeli flag while listening to a prayer with others at a memorial by the United Jewish Federation of Utah, alongside the Jewish and non-Jewish communities, to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News Joan Poston rides in a restored open-cockpit WWII-era biplane in West Jordan on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. The flights were made for local veterans and others from The Ridge Senior Living through Dream Flights. Poston is a licensed pilot and was married to a three-star lieutenant general before his passing. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News A car drives along Utah state Route 92 as the trees show their fall colors in American Fork Canyon northeast of American Fork on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News Sand bars near the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake, near Magna on Sept. 24, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A group of river experts, scientists, water rights lawyers, tribal representatives, nonprofit representatives, philanthropists and river guides raft down Cataract Canyon on the Colorado River with the Returning Rapids Project on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News Aurora Tucker, 5, from Grand Junction, Colorado, laughs with a watermelon stained face while eating watermelon during the 118th annual Melon Days Festival in Green River on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. Tucker has been attending the Melon Days festival to enjoy watermelon for her entire life so far. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News The waning gibbous moon rises over the mountains in Highland on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Meg Flynn, Returning Rapids researcher, and Cheyenne Klemme, Returning Rapids guide, react to successfully navigating Big Drop 3 in Cataract Canyon on the Colorado River on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his wife Sister Wendy Nelson play with balloons during his 100th birthday celebration at the Little Theatre of the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Tiffany Naccarato, right, a community impact manager at USARA, hugs Executive Director of USARA Mary Jo McMillen during a vigil hosted by USARA and Utah Naloxone on the steps of the state capitol building remembering those lost to drug overdoses in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News Elio Wilcox, Lukas Verostick, Guransh Kataria and Lavinia Leal work to figure out how to guid their car on a colored road during there full-day kindergarten at Beehive Science and Technology Academy in Sandy on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Javier Matos hugs his wife, Shannon Matos, while items from their apartment lie before them after flood damage occurred the night before at Stonebrook Condominiums in Orem on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A crew spreads Lake Guard Oxy Algeacide/Cyanobacteriocide in Mantua reservoir to treat an algal bloom in Mantua on Tuesday, July 30, 2024. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News Jiselle Toledo and her friend Clara Ebert strike a pose as they they have their own mini photo shoot while watching the sunset in the haze from Potato Hill in Draper on Sunday, July 28, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Attendees cheer after the International Olympic Committee awarded the 2034 Winter Olympic Games to the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee during a live watch party held at the Salt Lake City and County Building in Washington Square Park on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, in downtown Salt Lake City. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Firefighters walk through the Sandhurst Fire near Ensign Peak in Salt Lake City on Sunday, July 21, 2024. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A plane drops fire retardant as the Sandhurst Fire burns above Ensign Peak north of Salt Lake City on Saturday, July 20, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News Caleb Mau, carries a processional cross as St. Annas Greek Orthodox Church celebrates its opening in Sandy on Saturday, July 13, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gestures to the crowd as hes introduced during the National Governors Associations 2024 Summer Meeting held at The Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City on Friday, July 12, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News Jack Shirley flips water from his head as he and several of his cousins enjoy to time in the cool water of Parleys Creek, near Sugar House Park in the Salt Lake Valley on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vilma Puente wipes her face as she relaxes in the shade of a home at the Cedarwood Mobile Home Park in Layton on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News Tennessee repairs his bicycle in a homeless camp in Salt Lake City on Friday, June 28, 2024. Tennessee, who was in the United States Army from 1985-1997 and fought in Iraq, Somalia and Kosovo, says his constitutional right to pursue life, liberty and happiness is being violated when police officers remove him from his camping spots. Tennessee had a Traumatic Brain Injury from getting shot in the head while enrolled in the Army. He has been homeless, by choice, since 2022. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld anti-camping laws to stop homeless people from sleeping in public parks and public streets. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News In preparation for the Warriors Over the Wasatch Air Show, F-16 Fighting Falcons fly over Hill Air Force Base on Thursday, June 27, 2024. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News John Curtis hugs his wife, Sue, during a watch party for Curtis campaign held at Riverview Park in Provo on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News Story Perry, of Provo, votes as her daughter, Kaylene, 6, looks on during primary election voting held at the Utah County Health and Justice Building in Provo on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News Asmaa Abdalla, Egypt, puts her hand over her heart during the pledge of allegiance during a naturalization ceremony at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Thursday, June 20, 2024. The ceremony kicked off World Refugee Day celebrations in Utah and Abdalla was one of 148 immigrants and refugees to get their citizenship. | Megan Nielsen, Deseret News Sienna Brewer of Dallas, Texas, runs over the bridge at the McPolin Farm in Park City on Thursday, June 13, 2024. In 1922 the McPolins erected the barn of recycled timber salvaged from an old tailings mill. The "White Barn" is approximately 100 by 35 feet. The American flag is usually put on display from Memorial Day to Sept. 12. The flag has been displayed on the east side of the barn since 2001. After 9/11 the Park City Municipal parks department hung the flag to honor first responders and those who died in the attacks. The land around the barn has been permanently protected as open space by the citizens of Park City. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News Shayle Terry holds her hand over her heart as she stands behind her fathers casket at Santaquin City Cemetery in Santaquin on Monday, May 13, 2024. Santaquin Police Sgt. Bill Hooser was hit and killed by a semitruck driver on May 5 while assisting a Utah Highway Patrol trooper with a traffic stop. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News Members of the Orem Fire Department watch arrivals for Santaquin Police Sgt. Bill Hoosers funeral at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Monday, May 13, 2024. | Marielle Scott, Deseret News Police take a demonstrator into custody as officers move in and make arrests on demonstrators gathered to show support for Palestine at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 29, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Weber State University faculty honor actor Rainn Wilson with an honorary doctoral degree at Weber State Universitys commencement program at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Friday, April 26, 2024. | Megan Nielsen, Deseret News Senior students take part in the promenade during Payson High Schools prom on Saturday, April 20, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Third grader Burke Neese participates in The Great Utah ShakeOut earthquake drill at Canyon View Elementary School in Cottonwood Heights on Thursday, April 18, 2024. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News Staff Sgt. Arleyna Cowell hugs her daughter Harper after the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings returned from deployment to Japan at Hill Airfare Base on Sunday, April 14, 2024. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Little league players fool around before their games at the Rose Park Baseball opening ceremonies at Riverside Park in Salt Lake City on Saturday, April 13, 2024. Rose Park Baseball kicked off its season with a breakfast cooked by the Lions Club and a community celebration. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, bends down to kiss Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, on the head as they exit after the Saturday morning session at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, April 6, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Brighton Furness, 4, of Lehi, climbs into a dinosaurs mouth at Jurassic Quest at the Mountain America Exposition Center in Sandy on Friday, March 29, 2024. The photorealistic dinosaurs will be at the expo center for one weekend only, March 29-31. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News From left, Natalie Hawkes hugs her sister Debbie White and their dog while waiting outside while the fire department continues to work after putting out a fire at the home White lives at with her parents in Syracuse on Saturday, March 23, 2024. | Megan Nielsen, Deseret News Jody Tippetts kisses Marley Bramble on the forehead as they attend a ceremony where DonorConnect kicked off National Donate Life Month with a flag raising ceremony at the Celebration of Life Donor Monument in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 1, 2024. Jodys daughter, Jaydra Tippetts, was an organ donor. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Dave Daniels smokes while discussing the frustrations of being homeless after getting kicked out of his camp on the Jordan River in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 22, 2024. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News Salt Lake City police officers detain a man on North Temple in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 22, 2024. Last month, police and other law enforcement agencies conducted a drug interdiction operation on the Jordan River Trail, resulting in 22 arrests and the seizure of more than 400 suspected fentanyl pills, drug paraphernalia and weapons. In April, officers seized 231 fentanyl pills, more than $2,000 in cash, nearly two grams of marijuana and nearly three grams of cocaine on the trail just off North Temple. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News Emergency responders work at the scene of an explosion at a duplex in American Fork on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. One woman was found dead. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News Finn Harrison, Quinn Page, Claire Johnson and Brooks Holt decipher soil samples during a visit by the FBI at Canyon Creek Elementary School in Farmington where second graders were taught how to use detective skills on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. | Marielle Scott, Deseret News Yeonmi Park, a North Korean defector and bestselling author, poses for a portrait at the Triad Center in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News A total of 292 combat clashes were recorded along the extensive eastern front line on Dec. 14, according to a new operational summary from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Russian forces continue their assaults employing diverse weaponry and tactics to strike Ukrainian positions, with a concentrated focus on Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts. According to the report, Russian forces conducted one missile strike, utilizing two missiles aimed at Ukrainian unit positions and settlements. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They also carried out 61 aviation strikes, involving 99 Controlled Aerial Bombs (KABs), over 5,000 artillery shelling incidents, including 158 rocket salvo system attacks, and deployed more than 3,000 kamikaze drones across various regions. In response, the Defense Forces conducted 35 targeted strikes against Russian troop concentrations, armaments, and military equipment. These efforts resulted in the destruction of one unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) control point, three artillery systems, and two air defense systems. Ukrainian forces successfully defended their positions and repelled numerous enemy attacks across multiple regions, including Kupiansk, Lyman, and Pokrovsk. In these areas, Ukrainian defenders thwarted 52 attacks. Other key locations, such as Toretsk, Kurakhiv, Kramatorsk, and Siversk, also saw significant resistance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite these official updates, Stanislav Buniatov, a platoon commander of the 24th Separate Assault Battalion Aidar, expressed concerns about the situation in Kurakhiv on his Telegram channel, stating, "The advantage in manpower and firepower is multiple; in such conditions, it is very difficult, one might say unrealistic, to hold defense in dense construction." These concerns were echoed by DeepState, which reported on its Telegram channel that, as of Dec. 15, Russian forces had captured the city council in Kurakhiv and raised their flag over it. In the northern areas of Volynsk and Polisk, the operational situation remains stable, with no signs of offensive group formations by Russian forces. The situation on Dec. 15 showed a slight intensification in combat compared to the previous day, according to data shared by the General Staff. The number of combat clashes increased from 205 to 292, and Russian airstrikes rose from 38 on Dec. 13 to 61 on Dec. 14. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These updates follow reports of a dire situation near Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, as Russian forces continue to gain ground, putting additional pressure on Ukrainian defenses. Recent reports indicate that Russian troops have successfully advanced to key locations, and Ukrainian forces are struggling to hold the line against a well-equipped and larger Russian military, despite efforts to recapture lost positions. Read also: Outnumbered and outgunned, Ukraine struggles to halt Russian advance near Pokrovsk Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. SAN DIEGO Three dogs attacked their owner at a San Diego park Friday, killing the man and injuring a person who had tried to help, according to authorities and the Humane Society. The dogs were euthanized Saturday, San Diego Humane Society spokesperson Nina Thompson said. The attack was reported about noon Friday at Mesa Viking Park in the Mira Mesa neighborhood, San Diego police told NBC San Diego. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Humane Society, along with police, confirmed the owners death, Thompson said. Our hearts and deepest sympathies go out to the victims loved ones, she said. Chuck Westerheide, spokesperson for the San Diego County Department of Medical Examiner, said Sunday the deceased has been identified as Pedro Luis Ortega, 26. The manner and cause of death were still pending, he said by email. The Humane Society, which contracts with the city for animal control and welfare services, said a second victim was recovering after having been hospitalized. Thompson said in statement emailed Sunday that the surviving victim had tried to assist the owner during the attack and sustained "serious bite injuries." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said officers have security video of the owner walking the dogs toward the park before the attack. In the update, she described the dogs' breed as an American bully variant known as an XL bully. The nonprofit said it had no record regarding past possible complaints or alleged attacks by the three dogs. Resident Paul Ngo told NBC San Diego he saw the man with his dogs before the attack. "I saw a person running around with three dogs," he said. "I noticed that he was constantly repeating like, 'Hey, be gentle, be nice.'" Police and Humane Society officers tracked down two of the dogs and put them in bite quarantine. The third was found locked in a vehicle and was also put in quarantine, Thompson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Their remains will be tested for rabies, she said. "We are fully committed to conducting a thorough and careful review of this incident in collaboration with our law enforcement partners," Thompson said. Mira Mesa is a postwar bedroom community that was developed in part to serve personnel based at adjacent military facilities now known as Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com NEVADA, Mo. An area not-for-profit joins forces with a Vernon County youth organization to play Santa for some of our national heroes who might otherwise be forgotten during the holidays. Were delivering presents to the veterans, said Chase Luther, Backroads 4H. Chase Luther and other members of Vernon Countys Backroads 4-H Club spent their Saturday delivering presents to veterans in nursing homes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elks Lodge funds snacks for young students in Sheldon It really depends on, like, what they were asking for. Some of them were asking for chocolate snacks, and some of them were asking for clothes and shoes, said Luther. This delivery was to Joe Caviness. Caviness, a Navy veteran, says knowing that his service means so much to the next generation makes this Christmas a little more special. I mean, it wouldnt even have to be Christmas, just acknowledgement is a lot, said Joe Caviness. The kids were able to do this through a partnership with the Nevada Elks who provided $2,000 to help fund the shopping spree. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is the perfect opportunity for us to work with the kids, and they are always very helpful and excited about taking part in recognizing our veterans, said Jason Meisenheimer, Nevada Elks Lodge. But Meisenheimer says the Elks want every day to be Christmas for those whove served our nation, and tie that with the Elks mission to serve the youth. He says since 2020, the Nevada Elks have spent more than 51,000 hours and donated more than 1.9 million dollars to their community working with kids, veterans, and other projects. Joshua Westerhold says its a small way to say thank you to those whove done so much for our nation, and to those who will carry on that legacy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its important that they are recognized, you know, and that we hold them near and dear to us, said Joshua Westerhold, Nevada Elks Lodge. Westerhold says many of the roughly 800 members of the Nevada Elks are veterans who know firsthand the difference a thank you can make. When somebody thanks you for being a veteran, it feels great, and it feels great for me to thank the ones that are there now, and the ones that have been there, said Stephen Brooks, Army/National Guard veteran. And while they are looking forward to Christmas morning hes says playing Santa himself may be the best part of this Christmas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yeah, except for the waking up early part, said Luther. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. December is one of the best months to purchase a truck at a discount especially if youre a retiree on a budget. Dealerships are motivated to meet their year-end sales goals, avoid an inventory tax on unsold inventory and make room for new models, so theyre more willing to offer deals. According to Kelley Blue Book, dealers are discounting new cars as year-end sales begin. Plus, lenders have made it easier and less expensive to finance vehicles. Discounts have increased by 60% in just a year, but not all car brands are offering deals so your best bet is to do your research and be flexible when shopping for a new truck. To get the best deals, you should buy the last years model, not the newest one, explained Chris Pyle, auto expert and mechanic with JustAnswer. Manufacturers release vehicles around October for the new year model. Those have the least rebates to lower the cost. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pyle also recommended purchasing a truck that matches your needs. If you plan to use the truck for work or leisure, make sure the truck can handle your needs with some extra wiggle room on the specs, he explained. Read More: 5 Cars To Buy in 2025 That Will Last Through Retirement Try This: 9 Things You Must Do To Grow Your Wealth in 2025 Below is a list of four trucks retirees should consider buying ahead of Christmas, according to experts. Also see five luxury cars retirees should consider buying before Christmas. Earning passive income doesn't need to be difficult. You can start this week. Ford F-150 Want something rugged yet still comfortable? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Countless Ford F-150 drivers and truck drivers in general vouch for this truck as having one of the most comfortable rides, said Alan Gelfand, owner of German Car Depot, an independent automotive service center. Ford is also known for making cars that are high-quality and durable, making this truck perfect for retirees on a budget who dont want to be saddled with costly repairs. According to Gelfand, the truck also has a user-friendly cabin and advanced driver-assist features that help make driving much safer for retirees. Plus, retirees could find a good deal on an F-150. Buying this truck before the holidays means you can take advantage of year-end sales that can net you significant discounts, he said. A new 2024 F-150 starts at $39,060. Check Out: The Best Car for Every Age Group, According to an Expert Ford F-150 Lightning Pyle recommended the Ford F-150 Lighting if you want something lighter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The F-150 Lightning electric model is also doing well. The interior is basically the same as the gas model, Pyle said. Basically all trucks are going to struggle with hauling and towing in the distance area. If you are needing a light-duty truck for local driving, this electric model will be a good one. A new 2024 F-150 Lightning starts at $57,090. Ford Maverick The Ford Maverick is compact and Fords smallest truck. Its an affordable option for retirees who dont need to do much heavy hauling. The Ford Maverick does dip into that area of I like a truck and need to haul trash but not haul and tow a lot,' Pyle said. They are small, cheap and are doing very well in the reliability reports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A new 2024 Maverick starts at $25,515. Toyota Tacoma Gelfand also recommended the Toyota Tacoma for retirees. Retirees who want a reliable truck choose Tacomas, he explained. These trucks are known to not break down often. It also has a comfortable interior, and Gelfand pointed out that it works well for retirees who want to run daily errands, drive family around or even go on long road trips. Most Toyota dealerships offer holiday promotions, and purchasing ahead of the holiday would mean that you wont have to face issues with availability, he explained. A new 2024 Tacoma starts at $32,995. Editors note: All vehicle prices were sourced from Car and Driver. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 4 Trucks Retirees Should Consider Buying Before Christmas Republican senators are gearing up for the possibility of primary challenges ahead of the 2026 midterms as they seek to navigate the new political environment of a second Trump administration. Taking out a sitting senator in a primary would be no easy task, but some in the right flank of the party have flirted with challenging incumbents who voted to convict President-elect Trump in his impeachment trial in 2021 or have more recently expressed reservations about his Cabinet picks. Here are five Republican senators who could face primary challenges ahead of 2026. Joni Ernst Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) addresses reporters after the weekly policy luncheon on Tuesday, September 24, 2024. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) is facing criticism from a number of Trump allies for raising doubts about Pete Hegseth, Trumps pick to lead the Pentagon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The senator is seen as a key swing vote on Hegseth. She is the first female combat veteran to serve in the Senate and has been a vocal advocate for addressing sexual misconduct in the military. Hegseth, on the other hand, has faced sexual misconduct allegations, which he denies, and has said in the past he would like to block women from serving in combat roles in the military. Iowa conservative media personality Steve Deace suggested this week on the social platform X that he would be willing to run against Ernst in 2026. Meanwhile, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird criticized D.C. politicians in a Breitbart op-ed earlier this week in which she called on the Senate to confirm Trumps Cabinet nominees. Birds spokesperson said the article, which was widely seen as a warning shot, was about the entire Senate. The comments followed Ernsts initial cool public feedback to Hegseth. She has since seemed to change tune, offering support to the Pentagon nominee. On Friday, Hegseth told Fox News that Republican senators should not be primaried if they vote against him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other Republican senators have also come out in support of Ernst during the process. The approach is going to be, Everybody toe the line. Everybody line up. We got you here, and if you want to survive, you better be good. Dont get on Santas naughty list here, because we will primary you, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) said during a recent discussion hosted by the centrist group No Labels. My friend Joni Ernst, who is probably one of the more conservative, principled Republican leaders in the Senate right now, is being hung out to dry for not being good enough. Ernst also has received praise from her GOP allies for her work as the founder and chair of the Senate DOGE Caucus, which is a nod to Trumps Department of Government Efficiency. Thom Tillis Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) questions Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell during a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing for the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress on Thursday, March 7, 2024. (Greg Nash) Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) kicked off his reelection campaign this week, and hes on track to be one of the most vulnerable Senate incumbents this cycle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hes seen as another one of the potential Republican obstacles to Trumps Cabinet nominees after expressing skepticism about former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Trumps now-withdrawn attorney general pick, and Pete Hegseth, his choice for Defense. And although Tillis has said hes not worried about a primary challenge if he votes down one or more of Trumps top-level picks, he acknowledged theres a sort of pressure campaign over the nominees. North Carolina is set to be one of the most competitive states in the fight for the Senate in 2026 and upset from the right could make Tillis even more vulnerable. Its more important to get behind closed doors, address concerns and have Republicans come together as one, than to create controversy. I just think its a short-term win, but a long-term loss, if youre not careful with that, Tillis told reporters, per footage from MSNBC. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A poll released this month from the Florida-based firm Victory Insights found that Lara Trump the president-elects daughter-in-law and a North Carolina native who just stepped down from her role as co-chair of the Republican National Committee would likely crush Tillis in a hypothetical GOP primary. Lara Trump, though, hasnt expressed public interest in running for the role, and its speculated she could be chosen to fill a possible U.S. Senate vacancy in Florida if Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Trumps pick for secretary of State, gets confirmed. But the poll is a potential signal that the right primary challenger could pose a big problem for Tillis as he looks to win his third term in the upper chamber. Tillis defeated his 2020 Democratic rival by just 2 points, and Democrats have long been searching for inroads in the key battleground, which theyve lost by narrow margins across the past four cycles. Susan Collins Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) arrives for a meeting with Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau and other senators at the Capitol on July 9, 2024. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) has said she plans to run for her sixth term as the rare Republican senator of a largely blue state, a move that would make her the longest-serving senator in Maine history and could scramble Democrats chances of winning back the upper chamber. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democrats have long looked at Collinss seat as a flip opportunity, but the centrist has scored decisive reelection wins against rivals across the aisle. Shes been willing to buck her party in the past like when she joined six other Republicans in voting to convict Trump on impeachment charges related to Jan. 6. Thats helped her appeal to independent and Democratic voters in her state, but its upset others in the GOP. Collins voiced reservations about Trumps nomination of Gaetz to lead the Justice Department, and said she found some of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s past statements alarming as he looks to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). So although Collins running for reelection would give the GOP a boost in their efforts to keep up their Senate numbers, theres the question of whether shes irked her side enough to face a serious primary challenge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And a GOP challenger could spell trouble for Collins. Since winning her seat, shes never faced a primary challenger and despite her 2014 reelection victory of nearly 40 points, she notched another term by a comparatively narrow 9 points in 2020 against former state House Speaker Sara Gideon (D), as Democrats were energized by Collinss vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. But shes shrugged off the pressure around Trumps nominees. For me its an everyday occurrence, I mean that, Collins recently told the Washington Post. I get hit by the far left, in particular, and occasionally by the far right, all the time. So Im used to that, that pressure. Bill Cassidy Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) speaks with reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Sept. 25, 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) is one of just three Republicans left in the upper chamber next year who voted to convict Trump on the impeachment charge of inciting insurrection, and that move could haunt him in 2026. Its already drawn him a primary challenger. Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming jumped in the race earlier this month, taking issue with Cassidys 2021 vote to convict as well as his support for Bidens bipartisan gun safety bill and the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Fleming argued Cassidy has failed the people of Louisiana and that the state needs a true conservative voice in the seat. Cassidy has yet to officially announce, but hes signaled hes preparing for 2026. And Flemings early announcement is a sign Republicans are ready and willing to challenge the two-term incumbent. However, Cassidy is a formidable incumbent. The senators reelection campaign announced it raised $1.5 million in the third quarter of the year, closing out the quarter with $5.8 million in the bank. Additionally, Cassidy gave more than $2.2 million to Republican Senate candidates this past cycle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And despite his conviction vote against Trump four years ago, Cassidy supported the now president-elect during his campaign this year. Cassidy said in a post on X in October he and Trump will work together for the benefit of our state and our nation. Cassidy, a doctor and incoming chair of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, has rejected claims attempting to like vaccines and autism, which HHS pick Kennedy has shared in the past but has said hes looking forward to learning more about Kennedys other policy positions. John Cornyn Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) speaks to reporters as he heads to the meeting in the Capitol Visitors Center on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) plans to try for his fifth term in the Senate, but he could face a formidable primary challenge from other Texas Republicans while Democrats grow more ambitious about flipping a Senate seat in the red state. Speculation has swirled since the beginning of this year that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) could mount a bid for Cornyns seat, which could make for a contentious primary battle between the states MAGA wing and old guard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During his unsuccessful bid to become the next Senate majority leader, Cornyn promised to get Trumps nominees through the chamber quickly but, though fear of a primary challenge could still give him pause about criticizing Trumps picks, his leadership loss could give him more latitude to push back. Paxton, meanwhile, has been embroiled in legal controversies, having been indicted on state securities fraud charges in 2015. Paxton won reelection by nearly 10 points in 2022, but he was also impeached and suspended from his post in 2023 by the GOP-controlled state House. The Texas Senate later voted to acquit him. Meanwhile, Democrats are likely to be eyeing the seat after seeing inroads in red Texas in recent cycles. Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) built notable momentum in his bid to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) this November, though he ultimately fell short by roughly 8 points. But Cornyn has a history of fending off Republican primary and Democratic challengers. In 2014, the senator defeated then-Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas) by 40 points. Additionally, Cornyn defeated his Democratic challenger MJ Hegar in 2020 by nearly 10 points. Cornyn had Trumps endorsement. Of possible primary threats, Cornyn told Semafor last month that if youre afraid of elections, youre in the wrong line of business. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Young Wall Street bankers working 90 hours a week are snorting lines of Adderall at their desks in a new office drug culture. While cocaine was once the drug of choice, bankers are now reportedly turning to the ADHD medication for work days that can last as long as 22 hours, along with nicotine patches and energy drinks. Jonah Frey, a former investment banker for Wells Fargo in San Francisco, said one colleague would snort lines of crushed Adderall pills at his desk and that nobody blinked an eye. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Frey told the Wall Street Journal he began taking the drug in 2020 because his colleagues told him it would help with the long hours, frequently pushing through from 4am until calls with the East Coast office at 2am the next day. When he took a new job and his workload increased, he started taking Adderall every day and lost almost two stone before leaving his job and dropping his drug habit in 2022. I felt that I had to have an edge to make it, said Mr Frey, who had earned a seven-figure salary before resigning. Regularly a 20 to 22-hour day Trevor Lunsford, a banker for Ascend Capital in Washington DC, told the newspaper that he had regularly taken Adderall for seven years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For a couple of days of the week, it was very regularly a 20 to 22-hour day, he said. Thats something that I would not have been able to be on for, be focused and be quick with decisions if I wasnt able to take Adderall. First-time Adderall prescriptions increased 27 per cent for people aged 30 to 44 in 2024 from 2021, according to Truveta, a medical insights firm. The US government classes Adderall as a Schedule II substance, meaning it has a high potential for abuse, which can cause heart problems. Mark Moran began taking the drug as an intern working 90-hour weeks with Credit Suisse in New York. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His colleagues advised him to visit a Wall Street health clinic to tell them he had trouble focusing, where he filled in a five-minute questionnaire and spoke to a physician who gave him an Adderall prescription. They gave me a script and within months, I was hooked, Mr Moran, now 33, said. Developed a tolerance He eventually switched to Vyvanse, another ADHD drug, and gradually increased his dose to 70 milligrams the maximum daily amount of the drug as he developed a tolerance. A doctor allegedly offered to combine it with another 20 milligrams of Adderall, which he declined. While working at Centerview Partners investment bank in New York, he began having heart palpitations when he stayed in the office until 5am, headed home to change his clothes and then returned at 9am. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He felt like he had sprinted an 800-metre race, except I was on Microsoft Excel instead of the track, and decided to stop taking the drug. Although the banking industry has previously pledged to crack down on overwork after previous scandals, the use of stimulants is reportedly openly visible in offices. Adderall can also be bought as a street drug but the counterfeit pills can be contaminated with fentanyl, a deadly opioid which is 100 times stronger than heroin. Michael Bloom, who worked at the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) in New York, died in 2023 from the combined effects of fentanyl and ethanol. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A person close to Mr Bloom said a superior had previously voiced concern that he was using Adderall to cope with his workload but that the 29-year-old insisted it was not an issue. A coroner could not establish how the fentanyl entered his system. A spokeswoman for RBC told the WSJ: We remain extremely saddened by the loss of our colleague and friend. Our thoughts continue to be with his family. 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. ABCs $15 million settlement with Donald Trump following the president-elects defamation lawsuit has alarmed legal analysts and drawn criticism that the network and its Disney parent company gave up without a fight. Knee bent. Ring kissed, prominent Democratic elections lawyer Marc Elias wrote. Another legacy news outlet chooses obedience. Former Washington Post media reporter Paul Farhi called the settlement an awful precedent and a huge sellout. Donald Trump sued ABC and anchor George Stephanopoulos for on-air remarks stating that the president-elect was found liable for rape (AFP via Getty Images) Im old enough to remember and to have worked on cases where newspapers vigorously defended themselves against defamation cases instead of folding before the defendant was even deposed, wrote former federal prosecutor and MSNBC legal analyst Joyce Vance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Saturday, it was announced that ABC and host George Stephanopoulos agreed to settle the claims at the center of Trumps lawsuit against the network and one of its star anchors, who was sued for stating that Trump was found liable for rape by a jury. The $15 million settlement goes towards Trumps presidential library. Stephanopoulos mischaracterized the jurys precise findings in a long-running legal battle involving allegations that Trump sexually assaulted a woman in a department store in New York in the 1990s, and then defamed her by saying she was lying about it. His comments appeared to summarize what a federal judge overseeing those cases explained to the former president last year, but the judge handling Trumps lawsuit disagreed that Stephanopouloss statements were substantially true teeing up what would become a protracted legal battle if it went to trial. What the judge said in E Jean Carrolls case E Jean Carroll has contended that Trump assaulted her in a dressing room where, among other things, he forcibly penetrated her vagina with his fingers, Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote last year in the New York case Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under New York criminal law, rape involves vaginal penetration by a penis. Trump was ultimately found liable for penetrating Carroll with his hand. Kaplan said the distinction in this case is largely a semantic one. A jurys unanimous verdict was almost entirely in her favor, but of the only point on which Ms. Carroll did not prevail was whether she had proved that Mr. Trump had raped her within the narrow, technical meaning of a particular section of the New York Penal Law, Kaplan added. E Jean Carroll won a defamation case against Donald Trump, who was found liable by a jury for sexual abuse (Getty Images) That section of law defines rape as used in criminal prosecutions only to vaginal penetration by a penis, while the forcible, unconsented-to penetration of the vagina or of other bodily orifices by fingers, other body parts, or other articles or materials is instead labelled sexual abuse, the judge noted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The finding that Ms.Carroll failed to prove that she was raped within the meaning of the New York Penal Law does not mean that she failed to prove that Mr. Trump raped her as many people commonly understand the word rape, he wrote. Indeed, as the evidence at trial makes clear, the jury found that Mr. Trump in fact did exactly that. The jury implicitly found that Trump deliberately and forcibly penetrated Ms. Carrolls vagina with his fingers, causing immediate pain and long lasting emotional and psychological harm, according to Kaplan. Judge overseeing Trumps lawsuit rejected ABCs key argument Earlier this year, the federal judge overseeing Trumps lawsuit against the network rejected ABCs arguments that the statements were substantially true and thus protected under Floridas so-called fair report privilege. She said she was not persuaded that such broad latitude exists in Florida, where the suit was filed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Florida law absolves media outlets from being technically precise in their descriptions of legal issues, but the privilege does not protect media where the omission of important context renders a report misleading, the judge wrote. Donald Trump has mounted an aggressive legal campaign against news outlets for critical coverage, including a $10 billion suit against CBS News (REUTERS) She argued that a reasonable viewer who watched the ABC News segment could have been misled by Stephanopouloss statements, which did not include the jurys original findings and only fleetingly referenced the interpretation Judge Kaplan later offered. Judge Kaplans findings do not have preclusive effect here, she added. To win the lawsuit, Trump would have had to prove that ABC was reckless when it came to the truth or falsity of the statements Stephanopoulos made, Vance explained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That would be a tough bar for Trump to reach in this case because of the kinds of statements that were made and the outcome of the E. Jean Carroll defamation case against Trump, she said. Judge Kaplans lengthy filing could have been powerful evidence to combat Trumps defamation claims, according to Vance. Settlement avoids potentially damaging evidence process Media analysts have suggested that a payout pre-empted potentially embarassing emails and messages that would have been leaked out during the pre-trial evidence process That information could have made ABC look bad or would be advantageous to Trumps lawyers in other ways, according to CNNs Brian Stelter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He referenced the pre-trial discovery process in Dominion Voting Systemss lawsuit against Fox News, which revealed damning messages among top Fox personalities and leadership as the network amplified bogus conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 presidential election. Fox eventually settled, resulting in the largest-ever settlement of its kind, to the tune of $787 million. Settling seals the case and lets ABC (and parent company Disney) move on, Stelter said. The $15 million settlement struck between ABC News, George Stephanopoulos, and Donald Trump drew strong reactions Saturday. The decision feels like one more mainstream news organization bending the knee, NPR TV critic Eric Deggans said on X, formerly Twitter. Wow. Feels like one more mainstream news organization bending the knee. https://t.co/VqQo8WGyo0 Eric Deggans at NPR (@Deggans) December 14, 2024 News of the settlement came a day after Trump was ordered to sit for a four-hour deposition in the case. Stephanopoulos and the news network will pay a $15 million donation to a future presidential library or similar foundation, will publicly apologize to Trump, and will pay $1 million of Trumps legal fees. Journalist Paul Farhi called the settlement An awful precedent and a huge sellout. That sentiment was echoed by Keith Olbermann, who wrote on X, What a great look @abc News. This is both confusing and disheartening. #Disney and #ABC caving to Trump: ABC News to Apologize in Trump Defamation Settlement https://t.co/vzCNCIiFrP Sharon Waxman (follow me on Threads @sharonwaxman (@sharonwaxman) December 14, 2024 This is both confusing and disheartening. #Disney and #ABC caving to Trump, added Sharon Waxman, editor in chief of TheWrap. The big Q about the Trump-ABC settlement: Why did ABC agree to pay and apologize? The network won't say. It could have kept fighting in court, but decided to pay $$ to end the dispute and make the case go away. (A common move, but with an unusual plaintiff, the president-elect.) pic.twitter.com/nwKKpQy51c Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) December 14, 2024 CNNs media analyst Brian Stelter brought up one glaring question: Why did ABC agree to pay and apologize? The network wont say. It could have kept fighting in court, but decided to pay $$ to end the dispute and make the case go away. In parenthesis, he added, A common move, but with an unusual plaintiff, the president-elect. Knee bent. Ring kissed. Another legacy news outlet chooses obedience. A reminder, Democracy Docket is fiercely independent and unapologetically pro-democracy. It will not back down. It will not obey. Sign-up to support. https://t.co/0PSBfyQbMf https://t.co/6vOCefpS3y Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) December 14, 2024 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stelter also shared a post from lawyer Marc E. Elias, who commented, Knee bent. Ring kissed. Another legacy news outlet chooses obedience. Defending Democracy Togethers Bill Kristol warned, ABCs settlement with Trump feels like it could be an inflection point in the Orbanization of our politics. I hope it isnt. The reference is to Hungary strongman Viktor Orban, who consolidated that countrys reins of power upon election. The statement from ABC News read: ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABCs This Week on March 10, 2024, Stephanopoulos and ABC News said in a statement after the settlement was announced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump filed his lawsuit against ABC News and Stephanopoulos in March. The federal suit followed a heated discussion with Congresswoman Nancy Mace in which Stephanopoulos questioned Mace, an outspoken survivor of rape, about her endorsement of Trump. Youve endorsed Donald Trump for president, Stephanopoulos told Mace. Donald Trump has been found liable for rape by a jury. Donald Trump has been found liable for defaming the victim of that rape by a jury. Its been affirmed by a judge he continued before Mace interjected, It was not a criminal court case, number one. Number two, I live with shame. And youre asking me a question about my political choices, trying to shame me as a rape victim I find it disgusting, and quite frankly, E. Jean Carrolls comments when she did get the judgment joking about what she was going to buy, it doesnt it makes it harder for women to come forward when they make a mockery out of rape, Mace also said. Mace continued in that vein and concluded, I had to tell my story, because no other woman was coming towards me, no rape victims were represented, and youre trying to shame me this morning. Im just I find it offensive and this is why women wont come forward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The pairs back and forth was about author E. Jean Carrolls own lawsuit against Trump. Carroll accused Trump of rape, and a Manhattan jury found Trump liable for sexual battery and defamation. Judge Lewis Kaplan later clarified the ruling came down to New Yorks limited legal definition of rape and said that it did not mean Carroll failed to prove that Mr. Trump raped her as many people commonly understand the word rape. The post ABC News Trump Settlement An Awful Precedent in Bending the Knee, Media Pundits Say appeared first on TheWrap. ABC will pay $15 million (11.8m) to Donald Trump to settle a defamation lawsuit after a star anchor claimed that he had been found liable for rape. George Stephanopoulos, the host of This Week and a former Democratic operative, claimed on-air earlier this year that Mr Trump had also defamed the victim of that rape, magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll. However, Mr Trump had been found liable of sexual assault and launched defamation proceedings against the broadcaster just days after the broadcast. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ABC has now agreed to pay $15 million to the Trump presidential foundation and a museum which Mr Trump intends to establish, and has published an apology on its website. In a live broadcast in March, Mr Stephanopoulos, Bill Clintons former director of communications, inaccurately claimed that the president-elect had been found liable for rape and had defamed the victim of that rape. After playing a clip of Nancy Mace, a South Carolina congresswoman, discussing being raped as a teenager, he asked her: How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw? However, neither verdict involved a finding of rape as defined under New York law. E. Jean Carroll enters a car as she leaves the Manhattan Federal Court in January this year - Reuters In the first of two lawsuits brought by Ms Carroll in New York, Mr Trump was found liable last year of sexually assaulting the columnist in 1996, and later defaming her. He was ordered to pay her $5 million (3.9m). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although the Republican was not found liable for rape, the judge overseeing the proceedings clarified that Ms Carroll had not failed to prove that Mr Trump raped her as many people commonly understand the word rape, citing New Yorks narrow legal definition of the offence. He was subsequently found liable on additional defamation claims in January and was ordered to pay Ms Carroll $83.3 million (66m). Mr Trump is appealing both verdicts. An article on ABC News website about the interview now has an editors note that reads: ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by Goerge Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABCs This Week on March 10, 2024. It comes a day after both men were ordered to appear in depositions for the case next week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing, ABC News spokeswoman Jeannie Kedas said. A Trump spokesman declined to comment when approached by the Associated Press. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. The pollster who predicted Iowa would be won by presidential candidate Kamala Harris a day before the November election has revealed how she has been surprised by backlash. Speaking on an edition of PBS Iowa Press, J. Ann Selzer defended her polling methods and hit back at critics who said she should be investigated. I am mystified about what motivation anybody thinks I had and would act on in such a public poll, she said Friday. I dont understand it. And the allegations I take very seriously. Theyre saying that this was election interference, which is a crime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The idea that I intentionally set up to deliver this response, when Ive never done that before Ive had plenty of opportunities to do it. Its not my ethic. The poll that shocked online communities and people across America showed the Democrats winning Iowa by three points. Among those who accused Selzer of electoral fraud was president-elect Donald Trump. A totally Fake poll that caused great distrust and uncertainty at a very critical time, he said after he had won. She knew exactly what she was doing. 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! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though not mentioning him by name, the renowned Des Moines Register pollster was visibly emotional about the accusations she had suffered. To suggest without a single shred of evidence that I was in cahoots with somebody, I was being paid by somebody, its all just kind ofits hard to pay too much attention to it except that they are accusing me of a crime, she said. She also explained how she had previously warned her poll could have impacted voters in Iowa. In response to a critique that I manipulated the data, or had been paid by some anonymous source, presumably on the Democratic side, or that I was exercising psyops or some sort of voter suppression 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. Maybe thats what happened. Dec. 14ANDERSON As the Indiana General Assembly gears up for its 2025 session, advocates say there are a number of environmental issues on the table. Several groups will be following legislation to address land conservation funding, water availability and clean energy. Funding for land conservation reached record levels the past two years, according to David Van Guilder, senior policy and legal director for the Indiana Environmental Council. It's a trend he said needs to be sustained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "What we're trying to do is embed a consistent and dependable source of money that can be used for conservation purposes," he said. The environmental council has heard of a bill that will do just that. Van Guilder and his colleagues will be closely following a bill likely to be modeled after legislation introduced in 2019 that would have tapped into state sales tax revenue from the sale of fishing equipment and sporting goods to generate funding for land conservation projects. Such funding could help replenish the President Benjamin Harrison Conservation Trust, which is used to purchase land for conservation purposes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That's what the Red-tail Land Conservancy did in 2009 when it purchased Fall Creek Woods, which is used as a nature preserve, according to executive director Julie Borgmann. She said nature preserves allow wildlife to flourish and mitigate the impact of climate change by drawing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, filtering rainwater as it passes through the soil and goes into aquifers. The Benjamin Harrison Trust is funded in part from the sale of environmental license plates. The trust has received about $10 million recently, which Van Guilder said is quickly being exhausted. He said the funding bill, if passed, could generate about $62 million in revenue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Conserving land is especially important to both the Hoosier Environmental Council and Red-tail. Borgmann noted that the Legislature has recently rolled back crucial wetland protections. The state protects wetlands by class. Class I has very few protections, while Class III offers the most protections. The Legislature recently reclassified some Class II wetlands to Class I, making them more readily available to developers. "Once those land resources are gone, they're gone," Borgmann said. Water availability is another concern. Van Guilder and the Hoosier Environmental Council's executive director, Sam Carpenter, hope lawmakers increase funding for the Indiana Finance Authority to conduct more regional water studies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those studies, advocates say, would provide information about water availability that could be factored into a statewide comprehensive water plan. The plan would provide officials with a bird's-eye view of the state's water resources. It would include long-range climate forecasts, projections for floods and drought, and other planning material. Water availability has become a prominent topic in light of the proposed LEAP District, which would require water to be piped into Boone County from Tippecanoe County. "I'm hopeful we'll see some legislation that would put a significant effort toward (water planning)," said Jill Hoffmann, executive director of the White River Alliance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "That would look like convening some sort of multi-stakeholder work group to spend more than just three or four meetings not the usual task force effort but spend some real time looking into it." Hoffman also hopes the Legislature will find a balance between economic development opportunities and the potential environmental impact of those projects. Electric companies statewide are starting to move away from coal-driven power, though there have been obstacles, Carpenter acknowledged. "We're having trouble getting new, utility-scale products cited and approved," Carpenter said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The regulation and ordinances around those vary widely," he added. "It's hard for planners to figure out the regulations they're working under." Wind and solar have experienced opposition, mainly by those who believe the infrastructure for those projects can pose more of an environmental threat than coal. Carpenter said those worries are unfounded. "There's a lot of misinformation about solar," he said. "There's a lot of concern about glare, leeching chemicals into the soil. That's not really proven or based on science. We try to base our decision making on science and what's been studied." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wind and solar, he said, are the most affordable means of providing reliability to meet growing demand. Follow Caleb Amick on Twitter @AmickCaleb. Contact him at caleb.amick@heraldbulletin.com or 765-648-4254. For Saad Mohseni, CEO of Afghanistans largest media company, Moby Group, business (and life) is a constant balancing act since the Talibans takeover in 2021. While describing the regime as a police state in an interview on The Daily Beast Podcast this week, Mohseni argued of the Talibans rule that, There are some successes... I think most Afghans would agree with me that theyre less corrupt than the previous government. The Taliban arrived saying, Hey, we are here to serve you. So the courts functioned better. The government, of course, is more attentive to peoples needs. The private sector seems to be in a better place, he continued, noting also that the opium trade has been curtailed. So there are some positives, but of course the negatives are really obvious, like a ban on girls' education beyond sixth grade, trying to curtail what women can do in the workplace. Mohseni noted that enforcement of these restrictions is often inconsistent. While the countrys capital Kabul sees relative leniency, rural regions endure stricter control. (If youre caught listening to music in some areas, hell whip you, he explained.) For example, women are still working for us. Women are still working for NGOs. Women are still working for the government in most of the country. Of Kabul specifically, Mohseni continued, Women walk around faces uncovered. They go to the shops. Women can drive. I mean, I dont want to give the impression that everythings okay, but it could be worse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By nature, you push back; you always push the envelope, Mohseni told co-hosts Joanna Coles and Samantha Bee. In this vein, Mohsenis Moby Group has turned to technology. We are now tutoring a group of girls using WhatsApp, Mohseni said, as a way to address the ban on formal schooling. Through this initiative, developed in partnership with UNICEF, students ask questions and follow a curriculum-compliant program. The girls who participate often outperform boys attending school, and they pass on what they learn to their brothers, he noted. Despite these successes, Mohseni acknowledged the programs limitations. This is no substitute for a school, he emphasized. Kids go to school to interact, play, and build social skills. These girls must be going through hell, stuck inside their homes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For now, the tutoring program operates without interference, but he cautioned, Everything I say ends with for now. New episodes of The Daily Beast Podcast 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. DENVER (KDVR) Airbnb is cracking down this holiday season. The vacation rental company is stepping up efforts to prevent disruptive parties ahead of New Years Eve celebrations. Caitlin ONeill, Public Policy Lead with Airbnb, said the company started testing the party bans in 2020 and that New Years Eve parties dropped about 50% in that time. Recently, as part of this global ban on parties, Airbnb has been rolling out a few defensive measures. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you rent an Airbnb in Colorado, heres where some of your renter fees go ONeill said the company is using machine learning to identify signs of bookings that could be a higher risk for a party. There are hundreds of indicators that we look at, she said. Some examples might be a guest thats looking to book a room for a really short stay maybe one night only or they are booking it at the very last minute, or maybe booking it near where they actually live, which tells us this is not for the purposes of travel. ONeill said these things would be flagged and would prevent those guests from booking. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On New Years Eve 2023, about 630 people across Colorado were blocked from bookings. In Denver specifically, 150 people were deterred from bookings with the vacation rental company because of the red flags caught by the technology. Peace of mind for our hosts and our local neighborhoods are incredibly important to us, she said. Thats why disruptive parties are banned on Airbnb, and while these incidents are rare, we want to try to reduce the risks of them even more. We know thats what our hosts want as well its their home after all. Alongside other rental restrictions, Airbnb is also offering its hosts noise sensors that can help monitor noise levels in the house. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The company also offers hosts tips on how to prevent parties on their properties, like asking prospective guests a few follow-up questions after getting a request or booking and making sure guests know house rules before staying. Neighbors who want to report a party at a listing in their neighborhood can call Airbnbs 24/7 neighborhood support line through the help center on their 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. Regulators must urgently lift restrictions on liquids in aircraft hand luggage, the airline industrys safety chief said. Nick Careen, head of safety at the trade body International Air Transport Association (Iata), said efforts to bring back special scanners should speed up so that a 100ml limit on aerosols, gels and creams can be axed. Mr Careen said: Im confident that its under way, though where it sits in the priority list is debatable. Its something the customers want, its something the security service providers want and there has been a significant amount of investment in it too, so the airports want it as well. Its just a question of where they put it on their list. Authorities in Europe and the US are understood to have begun the certification process required to resume a rollout of CT scanners, which are able to reliably detect suspect substances and allow higher volumes of liquid to be carried into the cabin. The technology was taken out of action and caps reimposed at six UK airports in June after the Department for Transport said that improvements were required. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The European Union reimposed limits in September, saying the equipment did not meet the standard for which it had been approved. It is understood that the scanners produced a higher-than-expected rejection rate, resulting in larger numbers of physical searches even when the liquids brought on board were safe. While then transport secretary Mark Harper said the UK suspension was temporary and pledged to set out when it would be reversed in due course, no update was provided. Larger airports including London Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester had not planned on introducing the changes until 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The technology aims to allow people to carry 1-litre bottles onto the plane. It would also mean passengers no longer have to put liquids inside a clear plastic bag for scanning a rule already scrapped by some airports, such as Luton, Bristol and Birmingham. The rules were put in place in 2006 after the Metropolitan Police foiled a plot to bring down at least seven transatlantic flights using liquid explosives concealed in 500ml drinks bottles. Mr Careen said the relaxation of liquid regulations should be the first step in a wider overhaul of airport security regimes. He said: The bigger benefit for customers would be a global implementation of a trusted traveller programme. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You follow the process and pass the checks, and maybe you dont have to take your belt off and you can leave your laptop in your bag and go to a special line thats less obtrusive. Trusted traveller rules are already in operation at 200 US airports after being introduced in 2013 by the Transportation Security Administration, an agency created following the Sep 11 attacks. It was extended in 2023 to allow children to accompany parents who had undergone prechecks. Mr Careen said a similar scheme could be introduced in Britain. He identified security checks at Heathrow as being particularly dysfunctional but said that the political will to implement changes is currently lacking. He said: Heathrow is probably the best example of how not to do it. I dont know why, it could be just the physical layout. But until you start to see a lineup of people out the door on a regular basis I dont see things changing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Careen said a clampdown on the size and quantity of baggage people can take onto their flight as hand luggage may also become necessary. He said: Theres a lot of people going through security with more than what they should. That falls back on the industry in a way, because people want to avoid some of the challenges we have with checked baggage and the costs associated with it. 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. SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) The Utah Avalanche Center issued a Special Avalanche Bulletin on Saturday, Dec. 14, to warn of considerable avalanche danger in some northern Utah mountains. Heres what that means. The special bulletin went into effect at 6 a.m. on Dec. 14 and is expected to continue through 6 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 16. The affected mountains include the Wasatch Range, Western Uinta Mountains, and the Bear River Range, the avalanche center said. Heres how remotely operated explosives help Utah handle avalanche mitigation Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We want to tell people to avoid being on or beneath steep slopes on the north side of the compass, Drew Hardesty, an avalanche forecaster with the Utah Avalanche Center, told ABC4.com. Because of heavy snowfall and strong winds, upper-elevation slopes facing northwest, north, northeast, and east are expected to see considerable avalanche danger above 9,500 feet, and moderate danger from 8,000 to 9,500 feet. The avalanche center said some mountains have received up to 12 inches of snow over the past 36 hours. An approaching storm is expected to bring snow to the mountains throughout Saturday and Sunday. Remember that sometimes were gonna be able to trigger these avalanches remotely that means, [people] might be able to trigger them from a distance or even below, Hardesty said. Very tricky conditions out there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hardesty said avalanches rarely happen without warning: The snowpack talks to you. He said recreators may see avalanches or shooting cracks, or they may hear audible, thunderous collapses within the snowpack. He also said backcountry skiers and snowboarders should be prepared to do their own rescues. To stay in the know about current avalanche conditions, Hardesty recommended checking the avalanche centers website every morning. Park City Ski Patrol authorizes strike against Vail Resorts Background Here are some things to know about this weekends avalanche conditions. What does considerable danger mean? Avalanche danger ratings have five different levels: Low, moderate, considerable, high, and extreme. This weekends danger levels are at moderate and considerable levels. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Considerable danger means dangerous avalanche conditions with natural avalanches possible, and human-triggered avalanches likely. Moderate danger means heightened avalanche conditions on specific terrain features, with natural avalanches being unlikely while human-caused avalanches are possible, according to the avalanche center. Most avalanche fatalities occur at Considerable danger because the maximum interaction between people and avalanches occurs there, the avalanche center explains. Special Avalanche Bulletin vs. Avalanche Watch The Utah Avalanche Center issues three levels of public notices: A Special Avalanche Bulletin, an Avalanche Watch, and an Avalanche Warning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Special Avalanche Bulletin (which is what was issued on Dec. 14) is used when dangerous avalanche conditions are expected in combination with a lot of people in the mountains, the avalanche center said. If dangerous avalanche conditions are expected in the next 24-48 hours, an Avalanche Watch is issued. Avalanche Watches are usually followed by Avalanche Warnings, the center said. Warnings are issued when there are currently very dangerous avalanche conditions, and travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended, or should be avoided entirely. Special Announcements are used to inform the public about avalanche closures from UDOT, ski areas, and other pertinent events that people might find interesting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Matthew Drachman 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 ABC4 Utah. https://d2h6a3ly6ooodw.cloudfront.net/reasontv_audio_8299722.mp3 1x 1.1x 1.25x 1.5x 2x 3x :15 :15 Download Amanda Knox's story is one of the most infamous and controversial criminal cases in recent memory. In 2007, while studying abroad in Italy, she was accused of murdering her roommate, Meredith Kercher, in what the lead prosecutor claimed was a bizarre sex game gone wrong. Despite mishandled DNA, a coerced confession, and a lack of credible evidence, Knox was convicted and spent nearly four years in an Italian prison before being exonerated in 2015. Her wrongful conviction was a media spectacle that sensationalized every aspect of her life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In March 2024, Hulu announced an eight-episode limited series about Knox's story, with Knox joining Monica Lewinsky as an executive producer. Notably, this is one of the rare times Knox has been offered a say in the way her story is told by others. In October, Knox spoke with Reason's Billy Binion about her role in one of the first modern true crime stories, the psychological impact of being imprisoned for a crime she didn't commit, and what she calls "the single victim fallacy." She hosts a podcast called Labyrinths with her partner, Christopher Robinson. Her book Free is set to be released in March 2025. Reason: You were arrested and imprisoned in November 2007. Two years later, you were found guilty of a murder that you would ultimately be exonerated for. We know wrongful convictions happen across the world. There is someone, somewhere, right now in a similar situation. What would you say to that person if they were sitting in front of you? Knox: I never want people to think that you can rely on the truth ultimately coming out. That is not something that we can count on necessarily. I can't promise that justice will ultimately result in any of these cases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There's no telling how it's going to work out. There's a lot of factors that go into that. There's luck. There's the right people showing up at the right time. There's the evidence coming through. There's technology that becomes available. All of that plays into whether or not an innocent person is going to get out of prison and then successfully reintegrate into society. The thing that they always need to know, though, is it is entirely up to them to figure out how to be their best selves in these circumstances. That is their power, and no one can take that away from them. But prison is pretty horrible, is it not? It's 100 percent a horrible place. When I was in that space, I woke up sad, I spent the whole day sad, and I went to bed sad. That was just my emotional default setting, which was very new to me. I was a very happy person up until this circumstance happened. That didn't change the fact, though, that there was always something that I could do in any given day that would make it worth living. And it might be something really simple like writing a letter to my mom. It might be reading a book and educating myself. It might be doing as many sit-ups as I possibly could. There were always things that I could find that were meaningful to me, even in their humble ways that made at least life in that moment worth living. Do you find that that's transferable to people experiencing tragedies that have nothing to do with wrongful convictions? Yes, I think it's applicable to anyone going through a horrendous circumstance. I really thought that this experience I was going through was very unique and it made me feel very ostracized from the rest of humanity. That was part of the sadnessfeeling like I didn't belong to the rest of humanity anymore. I slowly, over the course of years, have realized that we are all carrying our own private tragedies and we all can feel like we don't have agency. And my message to people is, regardless of where you are and where you belong, there is something that you can do that matters to you. Find that and do it. You've written about some of the more dramatic indignities that you experiencedconstantly being solicited for sex and harassed by people in positions of authority, a cellmate attacking you and not being able to defend yourself because it would've hurt your chances in court. Because you were ultimately exonerated, many people would be horrified on your behalf. But they should be horrified even if someone is guilty, right? Absolutely. The indignities that so many people face in prisonguilty or innocent alikeare not doing any of us any good. A lot of the people that I met in prison were sitting there feeling victimized and feeling like they could not wait to get back out and make the same mistakes over and over again. It's a little bit "fuck off." There was this feeling of "I'm not sitting here becoming a better person. I'm sitting here being victimized all over again." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So many of the women that I was imprisoned with had been victims of crime long before they had ever committed crimes themselves. They were swimming in a world where crime was a part of the rhythm of life and so was prison. Their sense of who they were and how they belonged to the rest of humanity was corrupted by a sense of victimization. I think that some people might argue that vengeance is the point. It's just the point of justice to make people suffer who made other people suffer. That's the goal. And if that's the goal, if that's what you really think our society needs, then sure, we're doing it right. But if what you want is a society that is safer, that is attempting to address the causes of crime in the first place and is attempting to mitigate circumstances that might lead to crimes, then you have to take a step back from that righteous indignation you feel toward a person who committed a crime and instead say, "What is it that works?" And what we're doing right now is not working. The "evidence" in your case was extremely spuriousmishandled DNA evidence, law enforcement lying under oath, and most importantly, a coerced confession where you implicated your boss at the time, Patrick Lumumba, after several days when you were screamed at for hours in a language you did not speak fluently. You were slapped several times. You got your period during the interrogation and weren't allowed to use the restroom. What do people not understand about what effect that has on the mind? It's the biggest obstacle I feel to justice in so many of these wrongful convictions cases. Coercive interrogations and what happens behind closed doors with authority figures who are hell-bent on getting what they want out of witnesses or suspects: That side of the criminal justice system is very dark and very scary. A lot of people like to think that, if they were in my shoes, nothing short of being beaten with a rubber hose or dangled out a window would get them to implicate themselves or others in a crime that they knew they were innocent of. Obviously, the research speaks otherwise. But speaking from personal experience, I can tell you that I have never been put in a position of doubting my own sanity like I was in the hands of those police officers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I was made to believe that I had repressed all memories of having witnessed a traumatic event but that now I was being forced to unearth repressed memories or else I would never see my family again. I was put in an impossible position where they reshaped my understanding of reality through lies and manipulation so that I felt like there was no possible answer besides the one that they eventually coerced me into signing ontowhich was that I had witnessed my boss commit a horrific crime and I was so traumatized by it that I could not even remember it. That was the story that they wanted me to tell. And once they had it, they latched onto it. I think they were under a lot of pressure to come up with answers. Because there is this resistance to appreciating psychological coercion and torture, there was a resistance once the evidence was at hand. They saw, "Oh, this guy [named Rudy Guede] who has a long history of breaking and entering, his DNA is all over the crime scene. Maybe that's the guy who did it." They held onto, "Well, Amanda confessed, so she must have witnessed something. Maybe she got them confused, or maybe she's a mastermind and she's cunningly subbing in one person for another." There was complete resistance to the idea that they had just gaslit a 20-year-old into not even knowing what was the truth or not anymore. I still remain wrongly convicted of a lesser charge, which is slander. After I signed those statements, and it turned out that my boss obviously was completely innocent and had nothing to do with this crime, even after I retracted those statements, I was accused of having maliciously and intentionally slandered him in order to divert the course of justice. I was found guilty of that crime, and I was sentenced to three years in prison for that crime. And technically, in Italy, they say that I served rightfully three years in prison for the outcome of that interrogation. I'm still fighting that to this day. The press uncritically recycled information that the police and prosecutors would feed them. What do you make of that when the job of the press is supposedly to hold the government to account? Do you still think that's a problem today? Yes. I think that's actually the thing that the Netflix documentary filmmakers were really good at pinpointing. I was shocked until I realized that the people who are writing those headlines and publishing those headlines are being rewarded for that behavior. They are being paid by us when we click on those headlines. And they are giving us exactly what we seem to want, which is not well-researched, thoughtful, balanced, something that takes time and consideration and expertise. It's being first. It's being loudest. And it is tapping into that deep part of ourselves that loves schadenfreude and that enjoys the sort of lewdness and shamefulness of other people's stories and gets gratification out of that. How has that affected your media consumption and how you see the world? I am very skeptical when I see even things that are not just obviously scandalous headlines, but just little two-second blips of "This person said this." And I'm like, "Hmm, that context is probably being stripped away for that sound bite." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That said, I do think there is a certain amount of media literacy entering into the broader public because we all are now content creators. In a weird way, now that we've seen a little bit how the sausage gets made, we're more aware of how the bigger sausages get made. I think that's a really interesting turn. It's not that we demand higher standardswe demand higher transparency. You came to this crazy outlandish conclusion, well, fine, but tell me how you got there. I'm here for the ride. Just show your work. I read something in The New York Times written after your memoir was released. The article concluded like this: "The injustice very likely done to [Amanda Knox] pales beside the brutal truth of Kercher's death, and no plea for sympathy will ever bridge the difference." What do you make of that? It is a common response, and it's so common that I actually came up with a term for it: the single victim fallacy. This idea that in any given morality narrative, there's only room for one victim. So either you care about Meredith's tragedy or you care about my tragedy; you're incapable of caring about both. And this is a logical fallacy. You absolutely can care about the fact that young women get murdered when they are in their own homes studying abroad. The real tragedy of what happened to Meredith is that this was a common thing that happens to women all over the world. We are targeted and brutalized by men, treated as objects, and then thrown away. And that is a horrific reality that I almost faced, and that a person that I lived with experienced. (Photo: Amanda Knox speaks during a press conference in March 2015; Stephen Brashear/Getty) In learning about your case, I came to the conclusion that Italy's criminal justice system is a hot mess. You weren't read your rights during your interrogation. You were denied a lawyer despite asking for one. You were held without charge. The prosecution withheld a lot of evidence from the defense. And your jurors weren't screened for bias. What perspective did that give you on the U.S. criminal justice system? Well, I didn't really know anything about criminal justice systems when I left for Italy. And so when I came home to the U.S., I didn't really have much insight into how similar or different it was to what I had experienced in Italy. It was only when I met other wrongly convicted people who had spent time in prison here in the U.S. that I got an education about what problems we have. And in some ways, it made me appreciative of certain things that they did in Italy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For instance, appeals are guaranteed in Italy in ways that they are not really guaranteed here in the U.S. And it was shocking to me that the average number of years that a wrongfully convicted person here in the U.S. spends in prison is like 14and I spent four in Italy. I think a lot of people find themselves in situations where they don't even know what their rights are, and they don't know that they should have legal counsel there to educate them about their rights. And that's how a lot of people end up getting into trouble, because our criminal justice system partly relies upon our own ignorance and the fact that we don't know what our rights are. What do you think the criminal justice reform movement in the U.S. is doing well? And what do you think it's doing not so well? I think something that it is doing well is also the thing that it's not doing well, depending on what criminal justice person you're talking to. I do not think that it helps to make more enemies than you already have. The things that I have seen that have worked the best, that have really benefited the most people, have been when criminal justice advocates and defense attorneys have found some kind of common ground and common purpose with the law enforcement community and the prosecutors. Trying to find the places where we agree is actually a really important fundamental step. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I'm a practical person. I want to have an effective impact on the world that's actually going to accomplish my goals to live in a world where we can trust each other and feel safer and be able to trust our authority figures. I feel like there are lots of different ways to approach this. One thing that I really care about, that I advocate for, is banning police use [of] deception when they are interacting with witnesses or suspects. Right now, police can just lie to you. They can lie to you, and there's no consequences. And I think that is incredibly damaging to their relationship with the rest of us. I also think it leads the police officers to have false self-confidence in what is true or not. They have this false sense of being able to tell if someone's lying or not lying because they have been trained to lie. The research shows that they don't, and that's dangerous. I think if we work together, we can help more people faster. And so when I see criminal justice advocates quietly or loudly attempting to find common ground with "the enemy," that makes me feel really reassured. True crime has had a place for centuries, but with the perfect storm of new social media, extremely salacious allegations, and all these things that were tailor-made to grab people's eyes, Amanda Knox essentially kicked off the true crime craze of the modern era. What are your thoughts on the popularity of the genre, and is there a way to tell those stories in a respectful and decent way? I get into a lot of that on a miniseries that I did for [my podcast] Labyrinths, called "Blood Money." I was curious about the history of it. I was not a true crime person before I became the subject of a true crime phenomenon. So a part of me didn't quite get it. The more I looked at the history, the further I saw it go back. True crime has been of immense interest as far back as even before the printing press. People were writing about crimes, about salacious crimes. Crimes that were abnormal, that rose above just the tragedy. And this endless fascination with justice. What does justice look like? Does it look like a person burning at the stake? Does it look like the victims finally getting to have a say in the courtroom? What is justice? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What troubles me is that the worst experiences of people's lives are not talked about for the sake of journalistic integrity. It's infotainment. And so often, the people who have the most at stake in whether and how those stories are told have absolutely no say about it. And there's no qualms about it even by content creators. I have rebelled against this idea that someone like me has nothing valuable to say or to offer when it comes to how my own story is told. A lot of people come to me and want me to help them tell their story, and that comes with an incredible amount of psychological weight for me because I've had my story told by other people over and over and over again, and I have felt utterly exploited in so many different ways. A 2021 movie called Stillwater was inspired by your story. Did they consult you at all? No, I found out about it the exact same time that everybody else found out about it. They started having headlines like "movie inspired by Amanda Knox's life." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You're like, "Oh, OK, I guess, once again, the worst experience of my life is being used by others for their own profit making." And it's not that I begrudge them that impulse because we all are inspired by real life, what came before us, and what is within our eyeline. And unfortunately, my story made headlines around the world for a very long time, so people were aware of it, and they knew that they could sell it because it had sold a million fricking newspapers already. What made me sad about Stillwater was they said that they had done their due diligence and gone out of their way to speak to the people in rural Vermontor wherever it was that they were saying Matt Damon was fromso that he could really get into the character. But they were advertising the movie based on me, and no one had ever bothered to reach out to me to ask me about my experience. One reason why I actually agreed to do the [2016] Netflix documentary was because the filmmakers said, "Hey, we're not going to do this documentary without you." I said, "OK, well, I don't want to do it." And they said, "OK, we're not going to do it." I was like, "Wow, you are the one and only filmmakers I have ever heard who walked away from all this footage and all this vision because they were like, it's not right to do the story without you." Are you involved in the Hulu series coming up? I am. The one time that Hollywood actually invited someone like me to be an [executive producer]. It's a really cool flipping of the script, and I think I have to thank Monica Lewinsky in a huge way for that. As someone who has had her worst experiences out there and exploited, she wanted to uplift people who are in my position to actually have a say in telling their own stories. And so I am finding myself in the extremely privileged and rare position of being a subject who has a say. I am taking that very, very seriously. I am really proud of the work we're doing. There are still people out there, after all of these years, after all of the evidence being aired, despite all of it, who still think you're lying. What do you say to them? I don't. If somebody thinks I'm lying, I've learned that it has very little to do with me and a lot to do with whatever is going on with them, which I don't have control over. So I don't really worry about that unless it's in a courtroomand then I'm fighting it. I have given myself the grace to not feel the burden of having to explain myself to every single person out there. That's in large part due to having met other wrongly convicted people. Before I did, I felt this horrendous obstacle of, "If I'm going to belong to humanity again, I have to explain myself to every single person," and I have given up on that horrific, impossible task. I do not feel compelled to do that. This interview has been condensed and edited for style and clarity. The post Amanda Knox Tells Her Own Story appeared first on Reason.com. An American Airlines flight from LaGuardia Airport in New York to Charlotte Douglas International Airport diverted Thursday night after a reported bird strike, the airline confirmed Saturday. Flight 1722 landed safely at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, the airline said in an email to The Charlotte Observer. No injuries were reported among the 190 passengers and six crew on the Airbus A321, according to the airline. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are grateful to our crew for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience this may have caused, the airline said. Passengers were given hotel accommodations, and the flight re-departed on Friday morning, airline officials said. Passenger video reviewed by the Observer appeared to show one engine being struck. American Airlines didnt provide further details, saying only that its maintenance crew is inspecting the plane. Miracle on the Hudson bird strike flight A 2009 bird strike during a flight from LaGuardia to Charlotte captures public attention to this day. On Jan. 15, 2009, US Airways airline pilot Capt. C.B. Sully Sullenberger and his crew, landed Flight 1549 safely in New Yorks Hudson River after a flock of geese struck both engines. The passengers and crew all survived the landing. In June, Charlotte celebrated its new, $34 million state-of-the art aviation museum, named for Sullenberger to honor his safe piloting of the Miracle on the Hudson plane. A Haitian mother holds her baby inside a tent in the large migrant camp near an international bridge at the U.S.-Mexico border on September 21, 2021 in Del Rio, Texas. (John Moore/Getty Images) In a cabin in the Kaw Valley, a few miles northwest of what is now Lawrence, the first baby boy of white parents was born in Kansas. His name was Napoleon Boone (yes, of the famous Boone family and yes, named after that Napoleon) and he arrived Friday, Aug. 22, 1828. Napoleons entry into the world is notable mostly because, well, it was noted. Its one of the first recorded births to white parents in the confines of the present state that historians can date. We know because it was written down, that he was the 12th child of Daniel M. and Sarah Boone, was a grandson of the Daniel Boone. One of Napoleons brothers remembered in a letter decades later that the cabin was on the north bank of the Kansas River, where the government had by treaty directed their father to instruct members of the Kaw nation in the art and science of agriculture. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the time of Napoleons birth, 197 years ago, Kansas wasnt yet a state or even a territory, but part of the vast swath of land from the Mississippi River to the Rockies acquired through the Louisiana Purchase. This land, purchased from France in 1803, about doubled the size of the United States. Through no effort of his own, Napoleon was born an American. Other white children were in the same happy lot. There was Susan Dillon, born in 1830 at the Shawnee Indian Mission in present-day Fairway, and Maria Meeker, born in 1834 to Baptist missionaries in Johnson County. Like Napoleon, they were among the first seven or so white children born in Kansas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a difficult number to pin down, retired historian John Mark Lambertson told me. Although widely reputed to be the first white child born in Kansas, Napoleon Boone may actually have been the second. The first, Lambertson said, was likely Lucia Francis Pixley, born in 1826 or 1827 to Christian missionaries in what is now Neosho County in southeast Kansas. But any way you count it, these children were all Americans. Yet they were aliens in a land that had not yet opened to Anglo settlement. Lambertson, who served 19 years as the director of the National Frontier Trails Museum at Independence, Mo., said all these first white children were born to fathers who were connected to an Indian agency, a religious mission, or perhaps the army at Fort Leavenworth. White settlement would not officially open until 1854, when Kansas became a territory. Lucia and Napoleon and the other children and their families lived in areas populated mostly by indigenous people who were barred by the Constitution from being citizens of the United States. Citizenship for Native Americans would not come until 1924, with the Snyder Act. Voting rights would come even later, granted with glacial advance on a state-by-state basis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ive been thinking about Napoleon and the other first white children of Kansas because President-elect Donald Windrip Trump promised in an interview last weekend to end birthright citizenship for newborns as part of his mass deportation plan for immigrants. Trump said he would seek to repeal birthright citizenship by executive order. He is also considering removing immediate family members of the deported, even though some may be U.S. citizens, to keep families together. Believe him, because hes packing his administration with the Macgoblins lined up to do it. Hes announced Stephen Miller you remember, hes the guy who looks like hes sweating to beat Indiana Jones to the Ark of the Covenant as chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser. Miller said a few days ago mass deportations would be the top priority from the first day of Trumps new administration. While legal scholars doubt Trump can actually end birthright citizenship because of the pesky 14thAmendment to the Constitution, Im not so sure. Trumps loyalists seem to care little for the rule of law, and some of those loyalists are on the Supreme Court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bias, if not outright racism, has always played a part in our national memory. We know about Napoleon Boone and the others because a century and more ago, predominately white historical societies and the readers of white-owned newspapers were obsessed with these sorts of firsts. The Kansas first white children are regional versions of the American fascination with Virginia Dare, born in 1587 at the lost colony of Roanoke, the first child of English parents in the New World. The village of a hundred or so colonists on the Outer Banks of North Carolina disappeared by 1590, leaving little trace except for the enigmatic word Croatoan carved on a tree. The Virginia Dare mystery has become part of American myth and folklore, inspiring novels and plays and sadly white nationalists, including the anti-immigrant VDARE Foundation. If youre interested in the real history behind the Roanoke colony, dont let racists with fringe theories dissuade you from studying up on it. If youre intrigued by the story of Napoleon Boone or Maria Meeker, by all means pursue your interests. The story of Jotham Meeker, the father of Maria, is particularly interesting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He likely brought the first printing press to Kansas, and at the Shawnee Baptist Mission produced a 24-page primer in the Delaware language. He would go on to print newspapers in 10 different Native American tongues, using a phonetic system. In 1837, he would found his own mission among the Ottawas in present-day Franklin County, Kansas. He died there in 1855. Maria Meeker died in Nebraska, aged 87. Susan Dillon died in Kansas City, aged 83. Napoleon Boone went to California, where he died in 1850. He was 21. We dont easily know the fates of the many hundreds of Native American and Black children who were contemporaries of Maria and Susan and Napoleon, but we do know they were born without citizenship. Some were also born into chattel slavery, and the records we have of them have come down to us because they were recorded as property in census records and probate cases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president-elects desire to end birthright citizenship is just the latest in a long tradition of wicked plots to demonize, disenfranchise and own other human beings. The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, granted formerly enslaved people the constitutional rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights, including birthright citizenship. But in the regressive backlash to Reconstruction, there was a catch. For many years, the Supreme Court ruled that the amendment did not extend the Bill of Rights to the states, notes the National Archives. A legacy of Reconstruction was the determined struggle of Black and White citizens to make the promise of the 14th Amendment a reality. While these citizens did not succeed in empowering the 14th Amendment during Reconstruction, they effectively articulated arguments and offered dissenting opinions that would be the basis for change in the 20th Century. But the citizenship that most of us have taken for granted since our births no matter what our color is now in jeopardy. Lets assume, for a moment, that Windrip invokes the Insurrection Act, mobilizes the U.S. military, and succeeds in bullying or conning his way into revoking birthright citizenship. Imagine the scenes that would play out across the country, in which armed troops conduct raids and set up checkpoints in which they ask for documentation to prove youre a citizen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In other words, theyd be asking for your papers. Will a drivers license suffice? Well no, because you dont have to be a U.S. citizen in most states to get a drivers license. What about a Social Security card? Mine says its not to be used for identification purposes. Then I guess that leaves a birth certificate issued before Jan. 20, 2025, a green card, a valid U.S. passport, or some other kind of special documentation yet to be devised. I doubt that Ill be asked to show any papers, because Im a white guy of a certain age. But the question for me as it should be for you is what happens when were at a checkpoint and see an entire family dragged out of their vehicles and put on the side of the road, hands behind their heads awaiting the deportation bus? What if some of those family members are clutching have citizenship papers? How about when the neighbors next door with the newborn are rousted in the middle of the night? What do we do when a young mother is in her nightclothes, shivering with cold and fight? What then? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The choice will be simply to watch and do nothing or put ourselves bodily between the authorities and the oppressed and go to jail ourselves. This is just a thought exercise now, but one that could become real soon enough. Never mind all the talk about the murderers and the drug dealers being deported. Undocumented immigrants have a much lower rate of committing violent crimes or dealing drugs than U.S.-born citizens. They are also hard-working and do the kinds of jobs, such as meat packing and housekeeping, that many Americans refuse. Care about children? Deportation of a family member can have serious mental and physical effects on children. Imagine the upheaval of deporting newborns and their parents. Many undocumented families from Central and South America endure dangerous jungle passages teaming with violent criminals to reach a chance at a better life. From the beginning, the greatness of America has been woven from the human threads that came from elsewhere. The tired and poor and huddled masses should not be sorted by color. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Right now, an expectant mother who is an undocumented citizen is waiting somewhere in the United States and watching the plan for mass deportation unfold. She may have been here for years, or she could have been recently arrived from Venezuela or Guatemala, having risked her life to swim across the Rio Grande. She could be worried that she might not have the child by the January inauguration. If she delivers after that date, her child might not be granted birthright citizenship. That child could become human contraband, subject to the whims of immigration quislings and federal troops. A child does not choose the circumstances of their birth. A newborn is perhaps the only completely innocent human being, thrust into the current of human events, full of promise but also uniquely vulnerable. What kind of society sees a newborn as a threat? Not the American society we know. A hundred years from now, it is my fervent hope that some Kansas historians will be studying documents from our time the birth certificates, letters, and family photos and noting the Marias and Soledads and Nestors who were born to undocumented mothers Jan. 20, 2025. And I hope all of them became citizens by birth despite the sickness now dominating American politics. Max McCoy is an award-winning author and journalist. Through its opinion section, the 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. The News Suspected drone sightings over Northeast US states have set off feverish speculation on and offline as to their origins. The sightings, which began in mid-November and have even shut down at least one airport, are under police investigation, although some top US officials said many of the reported drones are actually manned aircraft. A combination of vague official statements, and sightings near sensitive sites, have only fed the theorizing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a famous and popular pastime of Americans to panic and make political hay out of things they dont understand, a security researcher told Wired. Indeed, mass panics over unidentified flying objects in the sky have been happening since the time of the Ancient Greeks, another expert told 404 Media. Angela Rayner has been given the use of the Admiralty House flat where John Prescott conducted an affair with his diary secretary. The Deputy Prime Minister is to move into an apartment in a grace-and-favour flat in the Grade I listed building in Whitehall, which was also once used by Winston Churchill. Prescott, who died last month aged 86, was based out of Admiralty House during his own time as deputy prime minister from 1997 to 2007. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He began a two-year affair with Tracey Temple in 2002 and he admitted to it in 2006 when she went public with details of their liaison. Ms Temples account included stories of trysts at both the grace-and-favour Admiralty House flat and the official residence of Dorneywood. John Prescott conducted an affair in the building with Tracey Temple, between 2002 and 2004 - IAN FORSYTH Prescotts wife Pauline was devastated by the affair and later she would never forgive him for it, although the couple stayed together until his death. A source close to Ms Rayner, who is also the Housing Secretary, told the Mail on Sunday she will give up her rental London flat when she moves into Admiralty House. Shell miss that flat and shes been renting it for years for her work in Westminster because her home is in Greater Manchester, they said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But [it has] become increasingly unsustainable not to have a government base in London now shes the Deputy Prime Minister. Churchill lived in Admiralty House from 1911 to 1915 when he was an MP for Dundee. He then returned to the residence from 1939 to 1940 as First Lord of the Admiralty. Angela Rayner says there were deliberate smears over her sale of a property in 2015 - DANNY LAWSON The four-storey building opened in 1788 and it was built at the command of Viscount Howe, an Admiral of the Fleet who had asked for a few small rooms of my own. The building also plays host to a number of small meeting rooms, as well as a drawing room and a dining room. Earlier this year, Ms Rayner faced questions about whether she paid the right amount of capital gains tax when a property that she owned was sold in 2015. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A police investigation followed but Greater Manchester Police confirmed in May it would take no further action, while HM Revenue and Customs found she owed no tax for the sale. Ms Rayner said during the general election campaign that the row over the property had been the result of a deliberate smear. I think misogyny and classism have been very much a theme. You only have to see the way in which Im described, and you see some of the trolls. Im used to that. She went on to claim it was an attempt by the Conservatives to clip my wings and said the media spotlight that followed an unauthorised biography by Tory peer Lord Ashcroft was difficult on a personal level. 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. Democrats are pessimistic that Congress will enact new rules around the health insurance industry, even as they try to appear responsive to growing calls for reform following the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Luigi Mangione faces murder charges for the killing of Thompson on December 4. His death unleashed a torrent of anger on social media against the U.S. health system, and insurance companies specifically. It also opened an uncomfortable national discourse about whether the health executive deserves sympathy, given the profits his company made while denying a relatively high percentage of claims. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We cant be indifferent in this moment when theres so much anger at the private insurance companies, where were hearing story after story of people with cancer, with heart disease or diabetes or having their claims denied, said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). While politicians have roundly comdemned the violence, the apparent assassination has exposed the deep cynicism with which much of the public, on the right and the left, sees the insurance industry. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) said the incident was a flash point, but he wasnt sure how much impact it would have in spurring any changes. I think if were listening to the people in our states, well be focused on this, Warnock said, but I dont know if the incident will spark conversations on reform. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Criticism of the insurance industry stretches back to before the Affordable Care Act put major changes into place. As a result of the 2010 law, young people can stay on their parents insurance up to the age of 26. Health insurers now need to cover a defined list of essential health benefits including hospitalizations, maternal and newborn care and prescription drugs. They also cant charge people more or deny coverage if they have pre-existing conditions. But while the law dramatically expanded health coverage, it wasnt a remake of the entire health system. It didnt entirely address the underlying reasons why care is so expensive, which include prescription drug prices and provider reimbursements, said Cynthia Cox, a vice president at health policy research nonprofit KFF. Health spending has continued to rise, and individual consumers are often stuck with large out-of-pocket costs on top of what they may pay monthly for their insurance premiums. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The entire U.S. health system is to blame, certainly not just insurance companies, Cox said. When you look at health spending its because we spend so much more on inpatient and outpatient care, more so than drugs or overhead or insurance. Yet a consensus on what to do about it remains elusive in Congress. You can get bipartisan consensus if youre willing to do the work, said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), pointing to efforts to reform the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) industry. We got a really nice bipartisan consensus in the HELP Committee on PBM reform and then nobody ever did the work to get them queued up on the floor. Progressives say the answer is single payer, effectively consolidating the insurance market in a government agency. Some centrists want more government regulation, while some on the right question whether health coverage is necessary at all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im open to seeing if theres a Republican who would support at least bipartisan legislation of not having your claims denied if a doctor prescribes something that Medicare would cover, said Khanna, a progressive supporter of Medicare for All. While insurance companies may only be one side of the cost equation, public resentment against them has never been higher. And people arent just mad about prices. Were in a moment where the discontent has really boiled over and is being laid bare for all to see, said Sachin H. Jain, the CEO of SCAN Group, a nonprofit Medicare Advantage insurer. I think that theres a degree of heightened awareness of what many of us have kind of observed a long time about American health care, which is that weve normalized a lot of practices that are, frankly abnormal. Critics point to policies like prior authorization, where insurers require doctors and patients to get permission before undergoing a procedure, or step therapy, which requires patients to try a lower cost drug or treatment before stepping up to a more expensive one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Health plans argue they are saving consumers money and cutting down on unnecessary procedures. But critics charge that insurance companies are just denying care to boost their own profits. A Gallup poll released last week showed Americans positive view of the quality of health care in the U.S. is now at its lowest point since 2001. Police are still piecing together a motive for Thompsons alleged shooter, though a short, handwritten document found on Mangione at the time of his arrest made it clear that he was furious at the health care industry. While lawmakers decried violence as a solution to any problem, they said the public anger and desire for change is understandable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ive long said violence, murder, are always unacceptable, always. But I think that there is a context, you know, here that is hugely important, said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. People who have coverage, who have a good employer package feel like theyre kind of one serious illness from being in very difficult kind of circumstances, Wyden added. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told CBS News that Americans see a denied insurance claim as an act of violence. This is not to say that an act of violence is justified but I think for anyone who is confused or shocked or appalled, they need to understand that people interpret and feel and experience denied claims as an act of violence against them, Ocasio-Cortez said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, Mangione did not have an insurance policy through UnitedHealthcare, the company said, and its not clear if he was ever denied an insurance claim. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. LAHAINA, Hawaii (KHON2) Another Lahaina family is getting ready to step into their newly rebuilt home just in time for Christmas. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You This is the third family to move back home after losing it in the fire last year. One Lahaina family moved back home three weeks ago and a Kula man moved back into his home a week later. Now, the Milne family is waiting for the county to check the final boxes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Next week we have three final inspections scheduled; plumbing, electrical, and the final inspection, but were ready for that and its just a matter of going through the process to check the boxes off, said Gene Milne, who has been working on rebuilding his ohana unit since the summer. Were excited to be back in a real house, Gene added. Maui Invitational returns to a Lahaina still grappling with raw emotions left by deadly wildfire KHON2 first met the Milnes back in June when their unit was just a frame with no walls and by November the unit was almost complete with a goal of being able to move back in by Christmas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im just so proud he did what he said he was going to do, said Joann Milne about her husband. Its great to be back, its really great to be back where we left off, but its also bittersweet because its hard to talk about how not everyone is able to do what were doing, and my heart goes out to them. As of mid-December, their unit now has water, electricity, internet and a Christmas tree. Recognizing Lahaina for its historical, cultural & ecological value They have a canvas print of beautiful Front Street. There are also memories from the household items that survived the fire like childhood ornaments and a nativity set Joanns mother gave her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gene found some pieces when he came to go through the ash, Joann explained. He sent me pictures and I was like no way! Mother Mary and Baby Jesus Christ made it? Its paper mache. How did that make it? Its crazy. She said she found the exact set on eBay and mixes the new pieces with the ones that survived the fire. I dont like daily reminders of what we went through, but those reminders are sweet and were not going to ever forget what happened, Joann said. On Sunday, they will have a party and celebrate with all the people who helped them get to where they are today, back in their simple one bedroom, one bathroom ohana unit on Malanai Street. Gene said he hopes to finish the main house by Christmas 2025, but they said the biggest gift is seeing all the other homes starting to rebuild nearby and knowing neighbors will be back home soon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The City of Apopka will appoint a new fire chief to lead the department out of controversy. City leaders are expected to promote the Interim Fire Chief, Wilfredo Rivera-Sanchez. Sean Wylam, the former Apopka Fire Chief, retired in July after battling city leaders in the aftermath of the death of firefighter Austin Duran. Read: Apopka Fire Chief Sean Wylam announces intent to retire Duran died in July 2022 after a trailer full of sand crushed him while he was on shift. He spent 15 days in the hospital fighting for his life before he succumbed to his injuries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Durans death led to demands for change and calls for the chiefs resignation, but despite two votes of no confidence, the chief stayed in his position. Read: Volunteers needed to register, honor veterans at Apopka cemetery Rivera-Sanchez previously served as the departments EMS division chief. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. Argentinas President Javier Milei has been granted Italian citizenship while on a state visit to Italy, a spokesperson for Italys Foreign Ministry told CNN. Milei, who has three Italian grandparents who emigrated to Argentina in 1926, before he was born, was accorded it on the grounds of ius sanguinis, or his bloodline, the spokesperson said. Mileis sister and political adviser Karina Milei was also granted Italian citizenship during the visit to Rome, during which the pair attended the political convention of Prime Minister Giorgia Melonis far-right Brothers of Italy party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Milei started the process which can last years for most people earlier this year, according to Meloni, speaking to Italian media Sunday afternoon on the sidelines of the annual convention, called Atreju for a character in the 1984 fantasy film The NeverEnding Story. While the Milei siblings qualify to become Italian, the timing puts them within weeks of the introduction of new rules for the process, which will raise the cost of applications and make it even more difficult for children born in Italy to foreign parents to become citizens. The new rules stipulate that an Italian citizen who was born in Italy but gave up their Italian citizenship after leaving the country may not automatically transfer citizenship to their descendants. It is not clear if Mileis grandparents retained their Italian citizenship or if they gave it up to become Argentine nationals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Riccardo Magi, an opposition parliamentarian who has campaigned for birthright citizenship, criticized the granting of citizenship to the Milei siblings on X, calling it a slap in the face to girls and boys who were born here or reside permanently and have been waiting for citizenship for years and years, sometimes without any result. Have you lived in Italy since you were born? Do you go to schools in the country? Do you speak Italian but are your parents of foreign origin? Citizenship, then, you can dream of, he wrote. You have practically never set foot in Italy but your name is Javier Milei, you are a friend of Giorgia Meloni and you discover that you have a distant relative from Calabria called don Ciccio? Dont worry, the government will give it to you. The foreign ministry spokesperson did not respond to CNNs question about criticism of the decision to grant the Milei siblings citizenship. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meloni, on a recent visit to Argentina, expressed solidarity with the conservative leader, with whom she has been working to strengthen ties. Milei, who likes to brandish a chainsaw to symbolize budget cuts, gave her an action figure of himself holding the power tool. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com A little girl from Gaza is in Atlanta for medical care after surviving a bombing that killed most of her family. Her caretakers asked us not to share Habibas last name, but shes 12 years old. She arrived at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport Saturday to a sea of smiling faces. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Through an interpreter, Habiba told Channel 2s Courtney Francisco, Im very happy to be here. Ive been waiting for this moment for a long time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement War forced Habiba to leave her father behind and escape her home with her mother and sister. They were displaced to safe areas, that were supposed to be safe areas, said her interpreter, Ghada Elnajjar. They lived in tents. In January, an air strike over the safe zone killed Habibas mom, her sister, her uncle and four of her cousins. Search crews found Habiba alive the next day with burns on her body and severe abdomen and head injuries. Her aunt, Heyam, made it her mission to find Habiba help and discovered a humanitarian organization called Heal Palestine. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We had a team on the ground in Egypt who was made aware of her injuries, said Tamara Quadri. We just started scurrying and working to find a hospital that was willing to give her treatment pro bono. They were able to find that free help in Atlanta. Doctors here will perform surgery on her skull. Her first appointment is next week. It was a miracle, and it felt like a difficult dream that came true, said Heyam. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Families from across the Atlanta area showed up to greet her at the airport Saturday afternoon. The crowd erupted into cheers when police escorted her out of customs in a wheelchair. Her aunt was by her side. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I am so happy, said Heyam. Habiba said she was a little overwhelmed, but she was anxious to play with the kids she noticed in the crowd and believes she is ready for treatment. I hope that I will recover well and that I will heal after. I look forward to it, said Habiba. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) The public address voice of the Atlanta Braves will be behind Protective Stadiums microphone during the Birmingham Bowl. According to the bowl, Kevin Kraus will be the public address announcer for the matchup between Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech. Kraus, a University of Georgia alumnus, started his role at Truist Park in 2023. Mark Sears scores 27 points in No. 7 Alabamas win over Creighton Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kraus has handled public address responsibilities for the Gwinnett Stripers, Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United, Atlanta Gladiators and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. The 18th Birmingham Bowl will kick off at 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 27. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (This Dec. 15 story has been corrected to say that Tice was taken captive in Daraya, not Aleppo, in paragraph 10) By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The mother of American journalist Austin Tice, who was taken captive during a reporting trip to Syria in August 2012, voiced hope on Sunday that upheaval in Syria will lead to freedom for her son. Debra Tice said news that Missouri resident Travis Timmerman had been freed from a Syrian prison by rebels felt "like a rehearsal." Her children woke her up when images of Timmerman began circulating on social media misidentifying him as Tice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Asked if Timmerman's misidentification was a moment of false hope, Debra Tice instead characterized it as a moment of joy to be shared. Timmerman has said he had traveled into Syria for a spiritual mission earlier this year and was arrested for entering the country illegally. "It was almost like having a rehearsal ... an inkling of what it's really going to feel like when it is Austin walking free," she told NBC television's "Meet the Press". Tice is the focus of a massive search following the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last week after 13 years of civil war. Rebels, led by the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, have released thousands of people from prisons in Damascus where Assad held political opponents, ordinary civilians and foreigners. A week after Assad's ouster, some U.S. officials fear that Tice could have been killed during a recent round of Israeli airstrikes. Officials are also concerned that if Tice was being held underground in a cell, he may have run out of breathable air as Assad's forces shut off the electricity in many of the prisons in Damascus before the president fled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Asked whether the U.S. government should be looking for Tice on the ground in Syria, Debra Tice was cautious, expressing gratitude for efforts by journalists and other civilians on the ground searching for him, including from the organization Hostage Aid Worldwide. "The U.S. government has made the decision that they're not going into Damascus. So, my feeling is, if they don't want to be there, they shouldn't be there. And the people that are there are the people that are determined," she said. Tice, who worked as a freelance reporter for the Washington Post and McClatchy, was one of the first U.S. journalists to make it into Syria after the outbreak of the civil war. In August 2012, while traveling through the Damascus suburb of Daraya, he was taken captive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weeks later, a YouTube video was published showing Tice blindfolded, hands tied behind his back. He was led up a hill by armed men in what appeared to be Afghan garb and shouting "God is great" in an apparent bid to blame Islamist rebels for his capture, although the video only gained attention when it was posted on a Facebook page associated with Assad supporters. On Friday, Reuters was first to report that in 2013 Tice, a former Marine, managed to slip out of his cell and was seen moving between houses in the streets of Damascus' upscale Mazzeh neighborhood. (Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) SYDNEY (Reuters) -The remaining five members of the "Bali Nine" Australian drug ring have returned from Indonesia after diplomatic efforts between the countries this month to strike a repatriation deal, the two governments said on Sunday. "The Australian Government can confirm that Australian citizens Matthew Norman, Scott Rush, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen, and Michael Czugaj have returned to Australia," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement. The men were among nine people arrested in 2005 trying to smuggle more than 8 kg (18 pounds) of heroin out of the Indonesian resort island of Bali. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "These Australians served more than 19 years in prison in Indonesia. It was time for them to come home," Albanese said. Indonesia said the five were transferred from Bali with the status of prisoner on Sunday morning and landed in the Australian city of Darwin. Jakarta said it had granted no pardons. Two ringleaders, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were executed in 2015, prompting Australia to recall its ambassador in protest. The only woman in the group was released from prison in 2018, and a male member died of cancer the same year. "We would like to convey our deep appreciation to the Government of Indonesia for its cooperation to facilitate the men's return to Australia on humanitarian grounds," Albanese said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The return reflected "the strong bilateral relationship and mutual respect between Indonesia and Australia", he said. "The men will have the opportunity to continue their personal rehabilitation and reintegration in Australia." Indonesia's senior minister for legal affairs, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, said the transfer was "reciprocal in nature. If one day our government requests the transfer of Indonesian prisoners in Australia, the Australian Government is also obliged to consider it". The five are banned for life from entering Indonesia, Yusril said in a statement. Indonesia has said it would respect any decision by Australia when the prisoners returned home, including whether to grant pardons. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yusril met Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke in Jakarta this month and handed over a draft proposal for the return of the five. Jakarta said at that time that repatriation would not involve an exchange of prisoners. (Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Additional reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman in Jakarta; Editing by Jamie Freed and William Mallard) Dec. 14Gov.-elect Kelly Ayotte told the 7th annual Housing We Need Roundtable Forum Friday that if the state makes it easier to build affordable housing, she can make the case for local zoning and planning officials to improve their own policies. "If the state models good behavior, it's a lot easier for us to say to local planning and zoning boards that we are doing this, now it's your turn," Ayotte said at this New Hampshire Institute of Politics event sponsored by the Center for Ethics in Society at Saint Anselm College. Ayotte said she's looking forward to providing some support for the Affordable Housing Fund and signing legislation to expand the use of accessory dwelling units. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She repeated her pledge to create a 60-day deadline for housing developers to get an answer on all permit requests from state agencies that range from the Department of Transportation and Environmental Services to Fish and Game. "There is not one solution to this but how do we make it easier to build those kinds of partnerships," Ayotte said. "What you are doing is on the front lines of whether we continue to grow and thrive as a state." Studies have shown the state faces a shortage of housing units that will reach 60,000 by 2040. A 5% vacancy rate defines a heathy housing market, but less than 1% of units in New Hampshire are not occupied. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I don't have all the answers but look forward to partnering with you on it," Ayotte summed up. Speakers at the summit detailed polls done for the city of Manchester and Business and Industry Association (BIA) that found more than 70% of residents view the housing crisis as a top issue and support lawmakers acting on reforms. "We are in a much different place than we were even five years ago," said BIA President and CEO Mike Skelton. "There's broad recognition now that some big things have to be done and I'm pretty optimistic the Legislature will respond." Last week, House Speaker Sherman Packard, R-Londonderry, announced he would make permanent a special committee on housing he had created a year ago to do ad hoc work on the issue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement N.H. Housing Action announced the chairman of that House panel, Rep. Joe Alexander, R-Goffstown, was its co-legislator of the year along with Senate Democratic Leader Rebecca Perkins Kwoka of Portsmouth who led on the issue in the upper chamber. Max Lantona, executive director of the Office of Partnerships at Saint Anselm College, organized the four-and-a-half-hour conference. He revealed that N.H. Housing Action Executive Director Elissa Margolin was leaving that post to become the college's first director of housing programs. Replacing Margolin is Nick Taylor, who most recently managed the campaign of U.S. Rep.-Elect Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., who also addressed the group. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "There is no more important and pressing issue that we all need to work together on," Goodlander said. "Developers across the state are facing roadblocks and challenges along the way." Taylor told the group their legislative goals include to double the $5 million that comes from the state's real estate tax to support affordable housing and expand a community development tax credit. "We are very excited, but we are going to need all your help," Taylor said. Griseliz Glenn with the American Friends Services Committee told her poignant story as a Manchester mother who has been homeless since being locked out of her apartment on March 15, 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Glenn said she was first denied welfare assistance, and then evicted from a homeless shelter because she had received a $4,500 tax refund. "I am a native of New Hampshire, went to school here, done prison time here, contributing good and bad to the community. All of this is really unacceptable," she said. Glenn said before creating new programs, housing advocates need to make those already in place work better for the most vulnerable. "Kicking me out on the street and forcing me to live in a hotel is not affordable housing," Glenn said. klandrigan@unionleader.com On Thursday, the crew aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB 20) returned home after completing a 73-day Arctic deployment that began on Oct. 1. Healy (WAGB 20) is a 420-foot polar icebreaker capable of providing over 4,200 square feet of scientific laboratory space for up to 50 scientists and is capable of breaking 4.5 feet of ice. This is the Coast Guards only icebreaker specifically designed to support Arctic research. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Healys Arctic West Fall deployment demonstrates the agility and dedication of the crew, said Healys Commanding Officer Capt. Michele Schallip. In addition to contributing to navigation safety and support of scientific research, our deployment exercised the broad array of Coast Guard missions we conduct in the Arctic. During the first phase of the deployment, the crews worked with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. National Science Foundation and the University of New Hampshire in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas north of Alaska. The crew completed bouy placements and surveyed uncharted waters along a portion of the Alaskan Arctic Coast Port Access Route Study (AACPARS) corridor. During this phase of the deployment, the USCG said they discovered a volcano-like underwater feature approximately 1,600 meters below the surface at its shallowest depth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the second phase, the crew hosted 10 postdoctoral researchers with their junior faculty members from various institutions with sea-floor mapping, water and sediment collections. This phase gave early career polar scientists hands-on experience at sea. In the final phase, the Healy and its crew completed many missions and training exercises which included search-and-rescue drills as part of readiness improvement. The crew also navigated the Bering Strait and into Russian territorial seas to safeguard free and open navigation in the Arctic region. During the deployment, the Healy assisted with search-and-rescue efforts of the fishing boat Wind Walker in Alaska. The Healy and its crew were welcomed by families holding Welcome Home signs and big smiles all around just in time for Christmas. (Bloomberg) -- Frances new Prime Minister Francois Bayrou is meeting with far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Monday, kicking off an effort to form a government that can push a budget through a divided Parliament. Most Read from Bloomberg Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, the head of her National Rally party, will meet at 9 a.m. with Bayrou, a party spokesman said. Theyre the first of the political groupings in Parliament to be consulted by Bayrou, named Friday by President Emmanuel Macron after the previous government of Michel Barnier fell in a no-confidence vote backed by Le Pen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bayrous choice to meet with Le Pen reflects her growing clout in the wake of snap elections in July that left Parliament divided into three groups, none of which have a majority. The effort to form a government and craft a budget took on added urgency, after Moodys Ratings over the weekend cut Frances credit rating, citing its weak finances and political gridlock. The yield premium on French 10-year government bonds over German equivalents, a closely watched gauge of risk, widened 2 basis points to 80 basis points Monday. That spread approached 90 basis points in late November, which was the widest since 2012. Its the least he can do, Laurent Jacobelli, a spokesman for the National Rally and member of Parliament, said Sunday on France Info television. There has to be an end to this making the National Rally invisible and showing contempt for our 11 million voters. Mr. Barnier practically acted as if we didnt exist. Bayrou also has meetings scheduled today with Gabriel Attal, the head of Macrons party in the National Assembly, as well as leaders of the Socialists and the center-right Republicans, according to the prime ministers office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Le Pens party voted in favor of a no-confidence motion from the left-wing New Popular Front coalition to oust Barnier after he pushed through a 2025 budget bill using a constitutional provision that allowed him to do so without a vote in Parliament. The far-right leader sought a slower pace of deficit reduction, while the left pushed for higher taxes and a reversal of Macrons pension reforms, which raised the retirement age. Le Pen has said she is willing to work with the next government so long as it takes a less aggressive approach to cutting the deficit. France can overcome a government collapse to deliver a budget in a matter of weeks so long as the next prime minister is prepared to narrow the deficit more slowly, she said in an interview with Bloomberg this month. Bayrou, who is supported by Macrons centrist coalition, will be hoping to placate Le Pen while also winning backing from the center-left Socialist Party, which has shown signs of breaking from the further-left France Unbowed. The lefts disagreements with Barnier went beyond the budget. The Socialists and the Green Party are both pushing the new prime minister to back off from the hard line on immigration taken by Barniers interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, while the center-right Republicans are pushing Bayrou to keep him in a new government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bayrou and Retailleau jointly held a press conference Saturday night in a crisis meeting over a deadly cyclone that hit the French island of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean. This will indeed be a real bone of contention with Francois Bayrou, if he too were to slip further and further to the right, Olivier Faure, the head of the Socialist party, said Sunday on France 3 television. --With assistance from Julien Ponthus. (Updates with bond move in the fourth paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. In addition to brutally cold temps, sometimes those blasts of arctic weather bring unexpected gifts like the ones that covered an entire Minneapolis lake this past week. "Frost flowers," or ice crystals that form on water in certain conditions, were spotted in abundance on Lake Harriet a rare occurrence that's typically only seen on sea ice. The "blooms" were initially spotted Thursday by the Water Quality staff of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, the agency said in a Facebook post: The Parks board says these delicate clusters form on top of newly frozen ice "only when it's very cold and the air is very still." and typically do not last long as they are easily damaged by wind. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's been has been years since weve had anything close to the right conditions for frost flowers like the ones that formed yesterday," the post says. "The ice must be very fresh so it is still close to the water temperature and the air must be at least 20 degrees below freezing and the calm for crystals to form." As tempting as it may be to talk a stroll among these flowers, the Parks board warns residents that "there is no such thing as 100 percent safe ice": "You can't judge the strength of ice just by its appearance, age, thickness, temperature, or whether or not the ice is covered with snow. Strength is based on all these factors -- plus the depth of water under the ice, size of the water body, water chemistry and currents, the distribution of the load on the ice, and local climatic conditions." The DNR also has this handy visual guide for determining ice thickness before you venture out onto any frozen lake this winter: The News Beijing is urging Chinese schools to integrate artificial intelligence into curriculums for kids as young as six in a bid to build-up domestic talent in the countrys intensifying tech rivalry with the US. In a new directive, the Ministry of Education said the move would meet Chinas future demand for innovative talent by making AI classes the norm by 2030. Experts believe China is lagging behind the US in generative AI by at least a year, and is in danger of falling further behind, despite Beijing launching a push to boost AI in universities and schools in 2018. A year later, the country rolled out courses in the tech for public high schools, a move education commentators said would cost a few million yuan per school in a highly-developed urban center like Shenzhen to enact, while rural schools often lack basic infrastructure like internet access and adequate classrooms. 36,706 people played the daily Crossword recently. Can you solve it faster than others? 36,706 people played the daily Crossword recently. Can you solve it faster than others? Its important to highlight the significant progress being made to improve outcomes for men facing health challenges. Efforts to transform mens health focus on advancing awareness and reshaping how conditions such as prostate cancer are understood and treated. Globally, prostate cancer remains one of the most significant health challenges faced by men. Fortunately, advancements in data science are offering promising solutions to improve outcomes. While traditional methods of tracking prostate cancer progression through structured data in electronic health records (EHRs) have provided valuable insights, they often miss critical details needed for personalized treatment. Much of the vital information, such as disease-specific characteristics and nuanced patient responses, remains buried in unstructured clinical notes, which can create gaps in our ability to effectively stratify patients by risk, tumor stage and grade, and optimize care. Artificial intelligence (AI) and real-world data (RWD) are key to closing these gaps and revolutionizing prostate cancer treatment. By unlocking the potential of unstructured data, AI is enabling life sciences companies to identify patients more efficiently while accelerating the development of therapies tailored to specific patient profiles. The data problem in prostate cancer Despite advancements in health care, traditional methods of capturing prostate cancer progression through structured data in EHRs have significant limitations. While structured data (e.g., age, race, and comorbidities) can provide useful information, it often lacks the nuanced detail required to accurately stratify patients by risk and tumor stage and grade to tailor treatments. Important details about disease characteristics and how patients respond to treatments are often written in free-text or unstructured clinical notes instead of in specific data boxes. AI and RWD help fill the gaps by leveraging advanced techniques (e.g., machine learning and natural language processing) to analyze unstructured clinical notes. AI-powered large language models can identify keywords and phrases indicative of metastatic status in patients with prostate cancer, leading to improved accuracy in stratifying patients for downstream analyses or clinical trial identification. For example, when Verana Health examined urologists EHR clinical notes for signs of cancer spreading, the team discovered five times more cases by expanding the search beyond the term M1, a standardized term that refers to a stage of cancer where it has metastasized, to include other keywords for prostate cancer. This capability can improve how treatments are developed and tested, potentially leading to more effective care. Other key variables involved in the diagnosis and staging of prostate cancer are Gleason scores, which are based on biopsy samples and describe how aggressive cancer cells are, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, determined by a lab test used to track disease progression. These measures are not captured in standard medical claims databases, and since they are not in EHR-structured fields, they are not recorded the same way by every clinician. Attempts to extract these meaningful insights from unstructured datasets have historically required labor-intensive, manual searches that are neither efficient nor scalable. AI-driven models are required to help capture Gleason scores. By analyzing patterns of diagnosis and patient PSA levels over time, its possible to identify patients with localized cancer and evaluate treatment patterns and outcomes. How AI improves trial design and treatment development AI and RWD are revolutionizing the design of genitourinary oncology clinical trials and treatment development, especially in prostate cancer. One of the primary challenges with traditional clinical trial methods is the difficulty in identifying and recruiting the right participants. Its estimated that 85 percent of clinical trials fail to recruit enough patients and 80 percent of trials are delayed due to recruitment problems. Patients often have diverse disease profiles and treatment histories, which can make it hard to find suitable candidates to meet the requirements of many trials. This not only delays the study timeline but can also skew results, as the data may not accurately reflect the broader patient population. Verana Health leverages AI and RWD to help life sciences companies pinpoint urology practices that treat patients with specific prostate cancer profiles. This targeted approach ensures that clinical trials are better aligned with the needs of various patient subgroups. The end result is more efficient study enrollment, as potential participants can be identified and approached more effectively. Leveraging AI and RWD can also enhance the development of more personalized therapies. By tailoring treatments to specific patient profilessuch as genetic markers, disease stage, or treatment historylife sciences companies can improve the effectiveness of their drugs. This targeted approach accelerates the development process and increases the likelihood that the resulting therapies will benefit the intended patient population. Tracking the patient journey for better outcomes The ability to track the patient journey provides a comprehensive view of disease progression over time. Understanding the natural history of the disease, treatment patterns, and outcomes helps life sciences companies identify critical health care turning points, allowing for improved therapies at varying stages. AI and RWD also enhance the understanding of treatment effectiveness, ensuring therapies are tailored to the clinical realities of patients as they navigate their treatment paths. By capturing the timing and sequence of events in prostate cancer progression, AI and RWD provide deeper insights into patient health trajectories. Utilizing AI and RWD to track the clinical characteristics and demographics of patients who are receiving different treatments can help life sciences companies allocate marketing and distribution resources more effectively. This approach ensures that new therapies reach appropriate patient populations faster, optimizing resources to quickly bring treatments to market. Transforming prostate cancer care The integration of AI and RWD is reshaping how we understand, treat, and manage prostate cancer. Integrating both into the clinical trial design process can help address the limitations of traditional methods by facilitating a more precise, efficient, and patient-centered approach to drug development. This evolution is critical for advancing treatments in genitourinary oncology and ensuring that patients receive therapies that truly meet their needs. Lets leverage these advancements to create a brighter future for mens health. Sujay Jadhav is a health care executive. DOTHAN, Ala. (WDHN) Law enforcement and biker clubs gathered on Saturday in Dothan to raise money for patrol officer Melissa Phillips, whos battling breast cancer. The ride hosted by the Crazyhorse Chapter of the Unpunished Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club raised money for Phillips started at Harley Davidson in Dothan and ended at Area 51 Products LLC in Dothan. Phillips was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2024 and due to complications with the diagnosis, she will have to undergo a double mastectomy in January 2025 and a follow-up procedure in June 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Phillips started her journey in law enforcement in 2012 as a sheriffs deputy in Virginia. She served in this role until moving to Alabama in 2019. Phillips recently joined the DPD from the Alabama State Troopers, where she instructed at the trooper training academy. She tells us that when she found out the diagnosis, she broke down in tears, but says it has been her family, fellow officers, and people from around the countrys support that has kept her going. I appreciate more than I can put into words what people have done for me and my family, Phillips said. Its been an emotional ride for sure, but to have backing from my law enforcement brothers and sisters from across the state and country its very heartfelt. I just want to say thank you. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DPD will host a hamburger fundraiser on December 20, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Dothan Police Department Southside Parking Lot to raise money for Phillips. Plates will be $10 and include a hamburger, chips, and a drink. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDHN - wdhn.com. President Joe Bidens decision to pardon his son isnt sitting well with two top Democratic allies. Over the weekend, Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) both wondered if the president was ignoring Americas best interest when he issued an eleventh-hour pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, earlier this month. During a Sunday appearance on NBCs Meet the Press, Sanders worried that President Biden may have set a dangerous precedent by overriding his sons criminal convictions and offering sweeping protection against future prosecutions with his decree. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think two things: When you have his opponents going after his family, as a father, as a parent, I think we can all understand Biden trying to protect his son and his family, Sanders told host Kristen Welker. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 17, 2024. In a Sunday interview, he questioned the precedent set by President Biden pardoning his son earlier this month. Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images On the other hand, I think the precedent being set is kind of a dangerous one, he continued. It was a very wide-open pardon which could, under different circumstances, lead to problems in terms of future presidents. Sanders told Welker he did not think the controversial pardon would be enough to tarnish Bidens strong legacy, however. Klobuchar had broader concerns about Bidens loose last-minute use of his executive power while stopping by Face the Nation on Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Minnesota senator told host Margaret Brennan that she disagreed with both Bidens decision to pardon his son and his Friday move to issue a record number of commutations for 1,500 other Americans. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), here in April 2023, said she disagreed with Biden's decision to pardon his son while appearing on "Face the Nation" on Sunday. Alex Wong via Getty Images Advocating for more oversight, Klobuchar said she thinks pardons and commutations should have to go past a board of outside advisers instead of people in the White House just doing it in the middle of the night. This makes no sense to me, she added. Sanders and Klobuchar are now among the most prominent members of the Democratic coalition to criticize the Hunter Biden pardon. Though a number of critics have focused on the precedent set by the presidents decision, defenders have brought up how Donald Trump issued several controversial pardons right before leaving office in 2021. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the tail end of his first term, Trump offered legal reprieve for high-profile allies like Roger Stone and Steve Bannon, as well as Charles Kushner, the father of the incoming presidents son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Related... Bernie Sanders agrees with Joe Bidens decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, to a certain extent. On Sunday (Dec. 15), the Vermont senator sat with NBC News Kristen Welker for Meet the Press, where he discussed the 46th presidents decision and how it could possibly influence future officeholders going forward. Trending Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When you have his opponents going after his family, as a father [and] as a parent, I think we can all understand Biden trying to protect his son, Sanders said, referring to Republicans attacking Joes choice to have all charges, including tax evasion and federal gun offenses, dropped against Hunter. However, the independent politician warned, I think the precedent being set is kind of a dangerous order. Its a very wide-open pardon, which could, under different circumstances, lead to problems in terms of future presidents. As REVOLT previously reported, Joe subsequently commuted the sentences of 1,500 inmates who were released to home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic and then pardoned another 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent offenses. On whether the pardons will tarnish the current POTUS reputation, Sanders emphasized that his legacy is a strong legacy. He explained, I think President Biden, on domestic policies, has perhaps been the most progressive president in American history since FDR. Sanders also touched on the highly publicized murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was shot in the back by suspected killer Luigi Mangione. What youve seen over the past few months is... peoples anger at a health insurance industry [that] denies people the healthcare which they desperately need while they [healthcare companies] make billions and billions of dollars in profit, the senator noted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also opened up about being a little bit nervous about FBI Director Christopher Wray stepping down before Biden leaves office: When Trump talks about sending [people] to jail who were on that Jan. 6 committee, that sounds like a tinpot dictator, so I would hope that we have an FBI and a justice depart that protects the civil liberties of the American people. You Might Also Like Sen. Bernie Sanders is ringing the alarm that the United States is rapidly becoming an oligarchy run by billionaires out to enrich themselves. We are moving rapidly into an oligarchic form of society. Never before in American history have so few billionaires, so few people, have so much wealth and so much power, the senator said. https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1868350229034009022 Never before has there been so much concentration of ownership, sector after sector, power of Wall Street, he continued. And never before in American history and we better talk about this have the people on top had so much political power. We cant go around the world saying, Oh, well, you know, in Russia Putin has an oligarchy. Well, we got our oligarchy here too. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sanders decried the influence of billionaires in the past election, saying that billionaires spent huge amounts of money to elect their candidates. In a video released Friday, Sanders said, In 2024, just 150 billionaire families spent nearly $2 billion to purchase candidates. Now Donald Trump is rewarding some of those billionaires who gave to his campaign with top roles in the federal government. The billionaires chosen by Trump to serve in his administration have a combined wealth of at least $383 billion a number higher than the GDP of 172 nations. Trumps vice president-elect, J.D. Vance, acknowledged the power of oligarchs in a 2021 speech where he complained that the right has very few oligarchs on our side. He added, I dont mean just rich people. I mean people who are smart about deploying their resources in a way that advances the cause. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sanders Democratic colleague Sen. Chris Murphy explained the concept of oligarchy and how the U.S. is moving toward it in an interview last week on MSNBC. I think we talk a lot about the coming dictatorship, but I think whats really coming is what you would call an oligarchy, Murphy said. What it means is that a handful of really rich people run the government, and they steal from ordinary people using their access to government in order to make themselves and their families even richer, the Connecticut senator continued. That is likely what we are heading for in the United States of America. I dont think its a coincidence that Trumps cabinet is filled with billionaires. Trump undoubtedly used his first term to enrich himself and his family. He reportedly gained millions from China while in office, and his former hotel in D.C. was awash in cash from foreign governments, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar. He also forced the Secret Service to spend federal funds at his hotels and properties in the U.S. and around the world, charging as much as $650 per room per night. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps idea to create a new Department of Government Efficiency led by billionaire Elon Musk, who benefits from federal funds to his companies like SpaceX, and billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy could also bring tons of money to Trump and his allies by using federal power to benefit themselves and their businesses, a page straight from the oligarchy playbook. More from Rolling Stone Best of Rolling Stone Sign up for RollingStone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. From the Dispatch Weekly on The Dispatch Hello and happy Saturday. The week kicked off with two pretty big stories andfor the first time in a considerable whileneither of them pertained to the 2024 election or U.S. politics. Syrian rebels captured the capital of Damascus last Sunday, prompting dictator Bashar al-Assad to flee to Russia and bringing a sudden and unexpected end to a civil war that began in 2011. The Morning Dispatch had a great summary, Charlotte Lawson wrote (in a piece Ive summarized below) that the rapid rebel takeover comes with its own set of challenges for Israel, and well have more coverage next week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the most talked about story of the week was the arrest of 26-year-old Luigi Mangione in the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione was caught at a McDonalds in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after a five-day manhunt. A day after Thompson was murdered outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel on his way to an investor meeting, law enforcement officials said that shell casings with the words deny, defend, and depose were recovered from the crime scene, terms used by critics of the health insurance industry. I cant think of a better way to describe the national conversation that has ensued than the way Kevin D. Williamson did Monday in Wanderland, where he wrote that reactions have ranged from the insipid to the illiterate to the despicable. He argues that insurance companies bear the brunt of peoples anger about the high cost of health care because they dont understand how things work in other countries that have allegedly superior health care systems. He goes into the many reasons that the U.S. system is a mess, as he writes, and then he goes into professor mode: Properly understood, health insurance isrepeat it one more time!a financial product, not a medical product. It is not a club, nor is it some sort of pre-paid medical-fee scheme. Insurance is a hedge. Which is to say, it is a way of transferring a specific (very specific! Read the paperwork!) kind of financial risk from yourself to another party, which charges you a fee for assuming the risk. Having health insurance is no more an invitation to consume medical services than having mortgage insurance is an invitation for someone to default on a mortgage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the Wednesday G-File, Jonah Goldberg takes issue with the anti-capitalist leanings of those who defend Mangione, the alleged shooter. He criticizes Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who said, Violence is never the answer, but people can be pushed only so far. And he gets a little professorial himself, reminding people that single-payer health care has its own set of problems. In the U.K., which has precisely the kind of enlightened system the murder is wrong but contexualizers admire, rationing is openly considered a feature of the National Health Service, not a bug. Reducing human lives to dollars and cents (or pounds and pence) is supposedly not just the cardinal sin of American insurance companies, but the justification for the outpouring of glee over a murder and the mockery of the victim. But across the pond, its something to be celebrated if government bureaucrats do it. Even though Warren, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and other prominent liberals tried to contextualize Thompsons murder, the reactions didnt fall neatly along the left-right divide. In Boiling Frogs, Nick Catoggio highlighted the fact that two Pennsylvania Democrats, Gov. Josh Shapiro and Sen. John Fetterman, were both quick to condemn the murder and the man accused of committing it. He uses their statements to kick off a discussion of the differences between economic populism and cultural populism. He puts Warren and AOC in the economic populism camp and Shapiro and Fetterman in the latter camp. But, in the wake of an election where the Democrats lost ground with the working class and Donald Trump managed somehow to embody both law-and-order cultural populism and empathy-for-the-little-guy economic populism, how should Democrats try to regain support from blue-collar Americans? Thats a key question. Nick writes: Can any leftist successfully blend the two populisms, as Trump has? How do you advance a working-class economic agenda without leaving the center suspicious that youre a burn-it-all-down radical? How do you advance a working-class cultural agenda without leaving the left suspicious that youre a status-quo simp at heart? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thank you for reading and have a good weekend. Now, check out some good stuff you might have missed. Upgrade to Premium today. Among the arguments Donald Trump and J.D. Vance made for tariffs and a draconian immigration policy was the claim that too many American men are missing from the labor force7 million to be exact. In Capitolism, Scott Lincicome digs into the numbers and finds a few flaws in Vances use of that total. For starters, different men have different reasons for not working: They might be in school or raising a family, they might be disabled or retired. While Bureau of Labor statistics do show that 6.7 million men ages 25 to 54 are not in the workforce, Census Bureau data show that only 10 percent say they cant find work. Citing an inflated number of missing men to defend deportations is not only deceptive, it could be devastating for the economy. Scott writes: Without a vast reserve of available American workers, U.S. companies will struggle to replace newly deported immigrants or expand into newly protected industries, and that willbarring a robot/AI revolution!act as a hard limit on future economic expansion, especially as policy diverts already employed workers from more productive enterprises to less-productive ones. The fall of the Assad regime is, in many ways, good for Israel. It demonstrated that Israels actions against Hezbollah and Iran itself had diminished the Islamic Republic, for example. But, as Charlotte Lawson reports, whatever happens next in Syria is likely to present its own challenges. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the rebel group behind the offensive, is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization led by Sunni Islamists. And the chaotic situation could provide an opening for groups like ISIS. On the other hand, Charlotte writes, At least for now, as different rebel factions vie for influence in post-Assad Syria, [HTS] may be reluctant to pick a fight with the Middle Easts predominant military power. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Upgrade to Premium today. And heres the best of the rest: Joseph Roche provides the latest in his series of dispatches from Ukraine. In this installment, he talked to members of a volunteer unit known as the Witches of Bucha. The unit is made up almost entirely of women who work to bolster Ukraines air defenses by targeting Russian drones. The proposed purchase of U.S. Steel by Japan-based Nippon Steel presents a conundrum for President-elect Donald Trump. Trump courted unions during his campaign, and the steelworkers union largely supports the deal. But supporting such a deal goes against Trumps populist instincts. David M. Drucker reports that supporters of the deal are hopeful that Trump can be swayed. In Techne , Will Rinehart writes about Trumps appointment of David Sacks to serve as his AI and crypto czar. Sacks is a tech investor who has backed companies such as Uber and other Silicon Valley startups, and Will argues that his elevation represents the ascension of the Silicon Valley mafia. But Will doesnt mean that in a bad way. The political group No Labels failed in its bid to put forth a bipartisan presidential ticket in the 2024 election, but it is already looking ahead to the 2026 midterms. Charles Hilu reported from the groups national meeting, which featured some prominent House members from swing districts in attendance. And the pods: On Advisory Opinions, Sarah Isgur and David French spoke with Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti about the recent Supreme Court case that challenged his states law banning gender-transition treatment for minors. On The Dispatch Podcast, Sarah leads a discussion with Jonah Goldberg, Steve Hayes, and Megan McArdle about the Thompson murder, the alleged killers privileged background, and whether the shooting says anything profound about Americans. And for a little break from the news, check out Jonahs Remnant interview with Razib Khan, the unofficial geneticist of the podcast. Read more at The Dispatch The Dispatch is a new digital media company providing engaged citizens with fact-based reporting and commentary, informed by conservative principles. Sign up for free. Whew... what a year. From rap beefs to a historic presidential election, 2024 has kept us on our toes, and The Root can speak for everybody when we say its time for 2025 to roll on in! With all the drama and consistent misinformation out there, its time we check the facts and remember the truth. As we wrap up this crazy year, lets recap some of the most outrageous lies of 2024 and dispel them all. Haitians in Ohio Are Eating Peoples Pets Starting off strong, the world was shocked when President-elect Donald J. Trump took to the debate stage claiming Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating the pets of the people who live there. Obviously, this was a racist lie spread to cause fear and anti-immigration rhetoric throughout the country. Drake Gets Fake Information About Kendrick Lamars Fiancee Things hit a little too close to home during this years no. 1 rap beef when Drake mentioned Kendrick Lamars partner. On the song Family Matters, Drake rapped about Lamar cheating on his fiancee, allegedly assaulting Whitney, and claiming that Dave Free is the actual father of Lamars kids. Turns out, Drake paid rapper Coolee Bravo $150,000 for information. The rapper eventually admitted in an interview to taking Drakes money and giving him fake tea. I Will Not Pardon Hunter Biden Photo: MANDEL NGAN (Getty Images) When the presidents son was found guilty on federal tax and gun convictions charges, Biden famously said he wouldnt interfere with the justice system. Im not going to do anything. I said Id abide by the jury decision, and I will do that, Biden said. And I will not pardon him. Less than six months later, Biden pardoned his son of his crimes. A$AP Rocky Album Dropping This Year Photo: Direct Group Saudi Arabia (Getty Images) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maybe the New York rapper is taking a page out of Rihannas book with this one. Hes been teasing his highly anticipated album, Dont Be Dumb, for the entire year. Now, the rapper says its coming in 2025. Beyonce Will Perform at the 2024 DNC Photo: Kevin Dietsch (Getty Images) Yeah, remember when everybody thought the Queen was going to make a special appearance at the Democratic National Convention for Vice President Kamala Harris? Well, that didnt happen. Beyonce did, however, make her way alongside Kelly Rowland to Harris Houston rally. Joe Biden Wont Drop Out the Presidential Race We all recall exactly where we were when Biden announced he was backing out of the race against Trump and endorsing VP Harris instead. Well, that day in July came after many people in his camp, including Biden and Harris themselves, said the president had no plans to drop out. Kim Porters Memoir Photo: Johnny Nunez (Getty Images) Right after Sean Diddy Combs was arrested and indicted on federal charges, a memoir from the late Kim Porter quickly became an Amazon best-selling book. Heres the thing.... some believe it was all fake. Erica Wolf, an attorney for Diddy, issued a statement calling the project a fake and condemned co-author Chris Todds disrespect of Porter. Even Porters kids came out calling the memoir a lie. JD Vance Said 2020 Election Was Stolen Photo: ALEX EDELMAN (Getty Images) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We know Trumps favorite thing to say is his 2020 election loss was rigged. But more than ever, his VP, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, took on the duty of spreading Trumps lie that lawmakers should have fought the results. If I had been vice president, I would have told the states, like Pennsylvania, Georgia and so many others, that we needed to have multiple slates of electors, and I think the U.S. Congress should have fought over it from there, Vance said to ABC News this year. Young Thug and Gunna Are not Friends Anymore Photo: Prince Williams (Getty Images) Before Young Thug took a plea deal in the biggest criminal case in Georgia history, many online had been speculating since last year that Thug and his YSL label mate, Gunna, were on bad terms. All the rumors were put to rest when as part of his deal, Thug insisted on still being able to make music with Gunna. Trump Beat Harris by a Landslide in the Election Photo: Spencer Platt (Getty Images) After Trump won the 2024 election, his campaign has the victory a landslide and even marketed merchandise like the Official Trump Victory Glass. However, that was far from the truth. In fact, a report by the New York Times, said Trump defeated Harris with one of the smallest victory margins in the popular vote since the 19th century. Love is Blind Star Tyler and His Sperm Babies The seventh season of Netflixs Love is Blind had everyone on edge. Viewers fell in love with the group of singles from Washington D.C. who were looking to marry without seeing the person until the engagement. We were all rooting for Tyler Francis and Ashley Adionser until Francis conveniently forgot to mention he had not one.... but THREE children!! The couple were eventually able to sort out their differences and continue to live life happily married, but we never forgot... Sexyy Red is a Trump Supporter I just voted!!! Dont tell us what to do with our coochies!! #Kamala4President pic.twitter.com/5rvpa6HzJ8 Sexyy Red (@SexyyRed314_) November 1, 2024 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This one still has many people on the fence... Last year, Sexyy Red caused quite a bit of controversy when she endorsed Trump for president. Come to find out, Redd voted for Harris instead. On X, she wrote I just voted!!! Dont tell us what to do with our coochies!! #Kamala4President just days before Nov. 5. Megan The Stallion Lied to Gayle King Photo: Robin L Marshall (Getty Images) Back in April 2022, the two sat down for an interview on CBS Mornings, and during the conversation, Megan lied to King and said she never slept with Tory Lanez. In her recent documentary, the rapper revealed that she actually had during one or two drunk occasions with Lanez. The Economy Was the Best Under Trump We were waiting for someone to say it! During a speech at Vice President Harris rally in Pennsylvania, Obama made it clear that Trumps great economy that he continues to take credit for was really just the economy he inherited from Obama. Trumps Rallies Were Bigger Than the March on Washington Photo: Chip Somodevilla (Getty Images) Nobodys spoken to crowds bigger than me, Trump said during his press conference at Mar-a-Lago. If you look at Martin Luther King, when he did his speech, his great speech, and you look at ours, same real estate, same everything, same number of people. If not, we had more, he insisted. According to Business Insider, MLKs 1963 I Have A Dream speech drew an estimated 250,000 people to Washington, D.C. Trumps Stop the Steal speech, according to USA Today, garnered about 53,000 in the crowd. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The Florida Legislature occasionally adopts resolutions expressing its interest in various events congratulating a Little League champion, mourning the death of a famous dead person, urging Washington to do this or stop that which usually takes just a few minutes. But once, a little more than 50 years ago, our elected legislators spent several hours over many days, wrangling over the wording of one resolution. It urged President Richard Nixon to pardon the late Army Lt. William L. Calley, a Miamian then being court-martialed for the 1968 My Lai massacre in Vietnam. Pardons, at the federal or state level, can evoke strong feelings, depending more on personal popularity than on the law or justice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After many days of intermittent argument in the House and Senate, lawmakers in 1971 wound up urging justice and fairness for Calley as if Nixon might act otherwise, without advice from the Florida Legislature. US President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden hug on stage at the conclusion of the first day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 19, 2024. The same kind of intense partisan reaction has been stirred by President Bidens horribly misguided though understandable decision to pardon his son, after repeatedly assuring the nation he would do no such thing. He was quite right that the charges against Hunter Biden were politically motivated, that Republicans are using Hunter to get at Joe, and that the Department of Justice in the Trump administration will endlessly harass his son if it can find a way. But with a stroke of his pardon pen, Biden besmirched his place in history by excusing his son for anything he might have done even things we might not know about now over the past 11 years. All that stuff Biden said about respecting the judicial system and no one being above the law, well, that must be tempered by a well-grounded awareness that some very vengeful people are coming to town. For whatever compassion and fairness a pardon brings, it also says some people are special. Lt. Calley got famous and tapped into American emotions about the Vietnam War. Hunter Biden is a very troubled man who appears to be getting his life on track in the glare of round-the-clock publicity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But both men committed serious crimes, and a pardon says thats OK. Worse, this pardon says it will be OK if Trump pardons the rioters of Jan. 6, 2021, who beat up cops, vandalized the U.S. Capitol and attacked the government itself. And unless youre a devout Democratic devotee, its impossible to think that Biden just changed his mind on Dec. 1 after all his denials of any pardon plans. Giving his son a blanket pardon before the Nov. 5 election would have annihilated the slim chance Vice President Harris had at the polls. Doing so after all is lost for Democrats should qualify Biden for a red suit, bushy white beard and eight tiny reindeer. By comparison, Trumps pardons of Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Roger Stone and some of his other cronies were just as sleazy. But at least he hadnt promised, and promised and promised, he wouldnt grant them. Shrewdly calculated forgiveness, in the guise of executive compassion, has a long and checkered history dating back to the sale of Papal indulgences more than 600 years ago. Nobody thinks they can buy their relatives out of purgatory anymore, but you can still get off the hook in this world with cash and/or connections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon to spare the country at least two or three years of Watergate trials. It may not have cost Ford the White House, but it helped make a big leaguer out of an obscure Georgia ex-governor who went around promising, I will never lie to you. Bill Clinton had a midnight sale on pardons. The most prominent pass went to fugitive financier Marc Rich, who was hiding in Switzerland from 51 counts of tax fraud totaling some $48 million. Richs ex-wife made major contributions to the Clinton presidential library and Hillary Clintons 2000 campaign for the U.S. Senate. As if to set an all-in-the-family precedent for Biden, Clinton also erased the conviction of his half-brother Roger, for a drug rap. So, theres nothing so new about what Biden did for his son. Maybe the Republican Congress will want to look at constitutional amendments that limit the full, free and absolute pardon authority of the chief executive. Its unlikely, though, that either party would want to rein in the favor-granting powers of future presidents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maybe we should just put an asterisk on that inscription on the Supreme Court arch so itll read Equal Justice Under Law *unless your case is famous enough or you have friends in very high places. Bill Cotterell is a retired state Capitol reporter for United Press International and the Tallahassee Democrat. He can be reached at wrcott43@aol.com. JOIN THE CONVERSATION Send letters to the editor (up to 200 words) or Your Turn columns (about 500 words) to letters@tallahassee.com. Please include your address for verification purposes only, and if you send a Your Turn, also include a photo and 1-2 line bio of yourself. You can also submit anonymous Zing!s at Tallahassee.com/Zing. Submissions are published on a space-available basis. All submissions may be edited for content, clarity and length, and may also be published by any part of the USA TODAY NETWORK. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Bill Cotterell: Bidens pardon of son reeks of politics Dec. 14The raucous calls of the 'Alala will be heard this month on Maui, which is its ancestral home. The Hawaiian Crow went extinct in the wild in 2002. The last release of 2016-2020 at Puu Makaala National Forest Reserve where its numbers declined and reintroduction efforts were paused, managed to return for care. Two young females and three males with United States Fish and Wildlife Services, Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, and San Diego Zoo were involved in this release on or about Dec. 5. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A ceremony was given on this joyous occasion by native Hawaiians in ceremonial dress. 'Alala were each armed with two transmitters, radio and satellite, when they were released to the field team for translocation. The hope is for multiple groups of individuals to be established. The future young will be guided by the original five to make their journey as easy as possible at Kipahulu Forest Reserve, the first outside of Hawaii Island. No Hawaiian Hawk will endanger them on Maui. The birds were settled on the edge of wet forest, with even wetter forest nearby, with more native fruit and plants that 'Alala are known to forage on. As important seed dispersers they are playing an ecological role suitable for ecological forests and be able to locate their favorite foods and engage in normal behavior without predator threats. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Field Supervisors of Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project advised that part of the strategy on releasing juvenile cohorts is to use group adhesion to their advantage to associate and pair bond. They have time to work as a team and eventually learn territoriality. Avian Recovery Specialists of San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance believes they will emulate the lead bird and learn together. The birds are in good health, have proper conditions for building flight muscles as they move through the trees easily instead of in an aviary setting. While in the field aviary, health and wellbeing were constantly monitored, especially looking for stress signals. They were viewed for alertness, responsiveness, bright attitude, sudden personality changes, as well as a physical from bill to vent. Just prior to field team release for translocation, one of the two females showed distress signs, requiring examination. Her keel was assessed, fat level checked, joints palpated, and transmitter pressure points on backpack were also observed. She was fine other than weight loss, which they are known for and the behavior changes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 'Alala are cultural and biological resources, playing a tremendous role in Hawaiian culture. Just like in the forest, everything functions in tandem. The big goal will be challenges to overcome, and the 'AlalaTeam is working to get the birds back on track with this translocation, which will be a cause for celebration. The new habitat is the home that they deserve, as they were so near extinction. It was an emotional moment for the Team, as they cared for these five chosen crows daily for months, giving them the best chance for success. Deb Hirt is a wild bird rehabilitation and professional photographer living in Stillwater. Church priorities If Bishop Michael Olson and the Vatican devoted as much vim and vigor to searching for active pedophile priests as they have to dealing with the Carmelite nuns in Arlington, maybe the church wouldnt have had to pay $3 billion in settlements. (Dec. 4, 1A, Vatican no longer recognizes Arlington monastery) Wed also have a lot fewer damaged adults and children who were preyed upon by protected pedophiles. - Tom Fenimore, Hurst No need to know I fail to see how the fact that Jay Chapa has Hispanic ancestors is relevant to his hiring as Fort Worth city manager. (Dec. 10, star-telegram.com, Jay Chapa becomes Fort Worths next city manager despite complaints about hiring process) It is far more important to address his education and ability to perform his duties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The pervasive practice of media members to point out race and ethnicity leads only to more division. Intellect and ability have no boundaries based on race, and we need to stop constantly pointing it out. - Wanda Conlin, Fort Worth Moving people Thank you for pointing out the root causes of airport congestion. (Dec. 8, 4C, How to avoid another DFW airport holiday car crunch) Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is the third-busiest in the world by passenger traffic. But our infrastructure isnt sufficient to handle the fast-growing population, and building or expanding highways isnt a solution like it may have been years ago. We desperately need better public transportation options that are safe, reliable and efficient. Asking people today to choose this over driving in many American cities is like going to an ice cream parlor asking for a flavor that doesnt exist. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It doesnt have to be this way. Being pro-public transportation is pro-car, as it improves the experience for all. We dont have to accept a reality of miserable traffic, overpriced ride-hailing services and taxi fares. - Jay Deshpande, Allen Musks blind spot Elon Musk, whos proposing to cut the F-35 program, has no military aviation expertise. (Dec. 11, 1A, Elon Musk wants to stop F-35 program) The F-35 is the only state-of-the-art fighter we have in production. From what Ive read and seen, we are 10 to 15 years away from having a robot fighter that could engage in fighting manned fighters. If it were that simple, all the freight haulers and airliners would be drones already. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement - Griffin T. Murphey, Fort Worth What a waste Im not a Joe Biden fan. But his son would probably not be in court if he were an ordinary citizen. His prosecution was political, like similar efforts against Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani and the rest. American voters are so sick of the money spent on this. It is a spectacle. We all would have done what Biden did for his son. But voters are sick of politicians. Vote the rascals out. Get down to business. Rein in government. Prioritize small businesses and workers. Drain the bureaucracy. - Frank M. Wagnon, Southlake Talking points In todays political environment, we are left with few, if any, rational believable opinions. This opinionated Keisha Toni Russell, author of the Dec. 7 commentary about Bible-based school curricula, is wrong about Texas schools. (star-telegram.com, Critics of new Texas Bible education arent telling you the whole story) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The states educational system has served us well without infusing religious points of view. If the State Board of Education and legislators were serious about improving our educational system, they would focus on reading, writing and arithmetic, plus true literature. Stop playing politics with taxpayer money. Maybe politically inspired opinionated talking points serve some purpose. But in this case, the points of view are weak and not supported by facts. - Roger Perez, Arlington CLEARVIEW Dark-skinned Oklahoma children were denied an equitable public education for the better part of the 20th century. Its a sad fact, and certainly no secret. But the heroism of the men and women who taught those students led to the creation of a hall of fame thats like no other in the state. Donnie and Shirley Nero are the founders of the Oklahoma African American Educators Hall of Fame. Its housed in a museum attached to Clearview City Hall, but that space has never been large enough to host the gala induction ceremonies. As a native of Spencer who graduated in 1967 from the much-revered Dunjee High School, Donnie Nero knows plenty about the privations suffered by students and teachers at all-Black schools. But he thrived under the tutelage of such luminaries as Clara Luper, Donald Edwards and Nancy Randolph Davis and forged a teaching career of his own. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nero rose through the ranks to become dean and provost at Tulsa Junior College. At Connors State College, he became the first African American president of a non-historically Black institution in the state of Oklahoma. In 2010, aggravated by the small number of Black educators receiving accolades for their achievements, the Neros began work on a hall of fame for African Americans in the profession. Nominations were open to candidates from across the decades, but the nonprofit was especially interested in a particular group. We wanted to get the stories about those people who were in education during the time of segregation, those older educators who have long been forgotten, said Shirley Nero, also a retired career educator. The hardest thing is getting enough info about what it was really like to be an educator in Oklahoma in the 1920s through the 1960s. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Teachers during those years drove the school buses, started fires to heat the buildings, cooked lunch and stayed after school until every child had been collected. Some quietly provided shoes and clothing for students who might have stayed home out of embarrassment. They gave their all to make certain their students got an education. County superintendents saw to it that the white schools got more money, said Shirley Nero, who attended the segregated school in Clearview. We had a room that was a library, but the shelves didnt have books on them, she said. With help from the Oklahoma Historical Society and the Oklahoma Educators Hall of Fame, a nonprofit was created, and the first induction ceremony was held in 2011 at the Oklahoma History Center. Military veterans are memorialized in a park in downtown Clearview. It was the greatest moment, Shirley Nero said. We came up with the idea in January, and I said by November we would have this thing already done. And we did. We sold out the Chesapeake Room. The next year we had to move into the big hall. We sold out there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This year, the September induction was moved to the ballroom of the Grand Casino Hotel & Resort in Shawnee. One of the inductees was Mildred Burkhalter, the mayor of Rentiesville who was a special education teacher for nearly 30 years in nearby Checotah. Inductees since 2011 include Luper and others who taught Donnie Nero, as well as his own contemporaries. Historians across the nation benefit from the research generated by the hall of fame application process. Shirley Nero, an Oklahoma Historical Society board member, said all the information they gather is shared with the Oklahoma History Center for their archives. Clearview is the Neros' home. Someday, maybe Clearview will have an event center that could accommodate the Oklahoma African American Educators Hall of Fame induction gala. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Clearview nonprofit celebrates contributions of Black educators NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) Community members, mental health professionals and local organizations came together in New Haven Saturday morning to address a growing mental health crisis among African American men. The sixth ManCave Conference was organized by St. Matthews Unison Free Will Baptist (UFWB) Church on Dixwell Avenue in New Haven. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for Black Americans between the ages of 10 and 24, with adolescents between 10 and 17 having the fastest growing suicide rate compare to other racial groups. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ManCave New Haven Conference-Embracing Mens Mental Health Rates of suicide for African American men is four times as high as those among African American women. Pastor Kevin Hardy says that the mission behind this years ManCave is to create a stigma-free space where men are given the tools to address their mental and emotional health. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Photo: Brandon Bell (Getty Images) Black folks: President-elect Donald Trump has made his agenda for America clear for his upcoming term with Project 2025. While things were bad for us his first presidency, things are only going to get much worseand we should all be on edge. - Candace McDuffie Read More Photo: Paul Morigi (Getty Images) In the last weeks of his presidency, President Joe Biden has fulfilled his campaign promise to make the federal judiciary more diverse. The president has made history by appointing 40 Black women judges, according to data courtesy of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. - Candace McDuffie Read More Photo: SAUL LOEB (Getty Images) Controversy struck President Joe Biden when he pardoned his son, Hunter, this month. Less than two weeks later, Biden made history commuting 1,500 peoples sentences and pardoning 39 non-violent convicts in a single day. Now, all eyes are on the Biden Administration to see what hell do next before his time runs out in the Oval Office, and this Black leader is urging him to do the unthinkable for the sake of the country. - Phenix S Halley Read More Photo: Michael M. Santiago (Getty Images) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here we go again... President-elect Donald J. Trump has been named TIME Magazines Person of the Year for the second time. He joins former presidents like Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton for the double honor. Unsurprisingly, Black Twitter isnt really feeling it. - Phenix S Halley Read More For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday that the U.S. has made direct contact with Syrias Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) rebels as they transition from a militant insurgency toward a more legitimate governing authority. Weve been in contact with HTS and with other parties, Blinken said after talks in Aqaba, Jordan, with diplomats and representatives from several Arab nations. The U.S. designates HTS a terrorist organization, making it legally impossible to work with the group, but contact underscores ongoing efforts to change that designation as the U.S. and its allies look to support Syria's transition from Bashar al-Assad's rule. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a joint statement after the meeting, the governments of the U.S. and Turkey, the E.U., and Arab countries called for a more hopeful, secure and peaceful future in Syria, stressing respect for women and minorities and preventing the reemergence of all terrorist groups. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jordan on Saturday. The statement stressed that "the transitional political process must be Syrian-led and Syrian-owned [and] produce an inclusive, non-sectarian and representative government." No representatives from Syria were at the meeting. The talks reflect cautious optimism over HTS evolving role in governing Syria, with early signs of efforts to establish stability after 13 years of civil war, and within the nation's many factions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Front of mind for Washington is the return of American journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared in Syria over a decade ago. Blinken said in Jordan that he had emphasized the importance of finding Tice in talks with Syria's new parties. Tice is thought to have been taken captive near Damascus in August 2012 while he was covering the countrys civil war. But while thousands of prisoners were released when HTS took control of Damascus, Tices whereabouts remain unknown. Obaida Al-Arnaot, an official spokesperson, said Syrias interim government had tried to find Tice, who is 43, to reunite him with his family but had so far had no luck. President Joe Biden told reporters last week that efforts to pinpoint his location in Syria were ongoing. In another sign of the shifting dynamics, Turkey announced Sunday that it has reopened its embassy in Damascus after 12 years, while schools and universities have also resumed operations in areas formerly controlled by Assad. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler has said his country is ready to offer military training to Syria "if the new administration requests it. In comments authorized for publication Sunday and translated by Reuters, Guler said Turkey saw no signs of a complete Russian withdrawal after satellite images appeared to show Russian forces packing up and dismantling military equipment at one of their key bases in Syria. I dont think the Russians are going to leave," he said. "Theyll do everything they can to stay. As the transition continues, there is concern for Syrias minority groups. Kurdish communities, in particular, have expressed wariness about HTS, given the groups past association with Al Qaeda and the uncertain future of ethnic and religious minorities under its control. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a message to the Kurds, HTS leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa, formerly known by the nom de guerre, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, sought to ease fears with a statement Saturday, stating that Kurds are part of the homeland and that there will be no injustice against them. The coming Syria will have the Kurds as its foundations, and we will live together in it, and everyone will take their rights, he said. Women pose for a photograph with rebel fighters in Damascus last week. The message is part of HTS ongoing efforts to project a more moderate image and distance itself from its Al Qaeda past, even as the U.S. continues to view the group as a terrorist organization. In 2018, the U.S. placed a $10 million bounty on Al-Sharaa's head. Israel remains deeply concerned about extremists' gaining power in neighboring Syria, and it carried out multiple airstrikes on Syrian weapons depots and air defenses overnight into Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The attack appears to be the latest in a series of airstrikes that Israel says are aimed at preventing Assads arsenal from falling into the hands of militants. But U.S. engagement with HTS may signal a potential shift in Washington's approach, sparking hopes that it may eventually remove the strict sanctions, which it has imposed on the country for decades and intensified at the start of the civil war in 2011. We can hopefully see a quick end to the sanctions so that we can see, really, a rallying around building of Syria, United Nations envoy Geir Pedersen told reporters during a visit to Damascus to meet the new interim government. Biden has already outlined continued U.S. involvement in Syria, without commenting on whether Washington would remove or reconsider the designation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We will engage with all Syrian groups, including within the process led by the United Nations, to establish a transition away from the Assad regime, toward independent, sovereign and independent, he said last week. Syria with a new constitution, new government that serves all Syrians. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com School districts across Pennsylvania have received their latest state assessment results, and Schuylkill Countys dozen districts are now poring over that data to help determine instructional strategies going forward. The Pennsylvania Department of Education in late November released results from the 2023-24 PSSA tests for third through eighth graders, and Keystone tests for 11th graders. The exams assess students in math, English and science, and an analysis of the results shows which districts from the county fared best in scoring. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Blue Mountain scores Blue Mountain rated best in the county in several subjects and at different grade levels when it came to students receiving scores of advanced or proficient in those subjects. The details within that data, though, always show room for improvement, which Blue Mountain is constantly working on, said Dr. David Helsel, superintendent. Helsel said that the district puts a lot of stock in the assessment results, which specify how each grade level fares in each subject. It also breaks down scores by gender and demographics, and for economically disadvantaged students. Comparing those results to district assessments helps show Blue Mountain which student skills and competencies it should be devoting more time and focus to, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We look at all of it, and then we look at how were teaching, he said. Pottsvilles scores Pottsvilles D.H.H. Lengel Middle School received the highest building level score in the county in terms of its state School Performance Profile, which reflects the proficiency and growth of the middle schoolers, said Dr. Sarah Yoder, superintendent. Were extremely pleased with our level of growth, she said. D.H.H. Lengel Middle School STEM teacher Jon Hughes judges a Knex building project among his sixth-grade students, including Alexis Shipton, left, Isabella Paredes, center, and Hannah Fletcher, right. The school fared well in recent state assessment tests. (MIKE URBAN/STAFF PHOTO) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That improvement is partly a result of the districts focus on professional development, through which staff members take continuing education courses or attend conferences to learn best practices that they apply in their classrooms, she said. It allows our staff to design more engaging and relevant work, Yoder said. The results also show areas of need, such as the extra math support the district is now providing in the elementary and middle schools, she said. The assessment data is just a one-year snapshot, Yoder pointed out, meaning the district has to strive to keep up those gains. Pine Grove scores Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pine Grove administrators saw successes within the data, and the district ranked well in most subjects in terms of the percentage of students scoring proficient or above. There are still areas where the district needs to do better, though, and the assessment results will help guide it towards that improvement, said Dr. Stephanie Ziegmont, director of curriculum and instruction. Pine Grove recently added PSSA math classes for seventh- and eighth-graders, seeing in the data a need for improvement in that subject and grade level, she said. The tests are also important because they are based on the states standards for education, which districts should aim to meet and which are proven to correlate to student success, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the district does make instructional decisions based on state standards and assessments, though, the tests only measure a specific set of skills, and only in three subjects, Ziegmont said. It may not fully capture a students overall knowledge, critical thinking abilities, problem solving, soft skills, or creativity, which also lead to student success, she said. Therefore, looking only at PSSA and Keystone results does not give a full picture of how a district is performing, Ziegmont said. Other factors for success Yoder and Helsel agreed, saying grades, graduation rates, attendance, college acceptances, scholarships, extracurricular involvement, discipline and feedback from students, families and the community are also important ways to measure the success of a district. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the PSSA tests, Blue Mountain finished first in the county in English language arts and math amongst third- through eighth-grade students scoring at the proficient level or above, and first in science, in which fourth- and eighth-graders are tested. In math, Pine Grove finished second, Saint Clair third, Tamaqua fourth and Schuylkill Haven fifth. In English language arts, Minersville finished second, Tri-Valley third, Pottsville fourth and Schuylkill Haven fifth. In science, Tri-Valley finished second, Pottsville third, Tamaqua fourth and Pine Grove fifth. In the Keystone tests for 11th graders, Blue Mountain finished first in literature, with Tamaqua second, Pottsville third, Schuylkill Haven fourth and North Schuylkill fifth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In algebra, Tamaqua finished first, Pine Grove second, Pottsville third, Schuylkill Haven fourth and Blue Mountain fifth. In biology, Blue Mountain finished first, Schuylkill Haven second, Pine Grove third, Williams Valley fourth and Pottsville fifth. In literature, three Schuylkill districts finished at or above the state average for proficient scores or above, while in algebra it was five districts, and in biology it was three. Shenandoahs struggles In Shenandoah, which finished with a lower percentage than most Schuylkill districts in students scoring proficient or above, the socioeconomic challenges faced by many families, coupled with the high percentage of English as a second language learners, significantly impacts test results, said Brian Waite, superintendent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Students learning English must navigate the dual challenge of acquiring language proficiency while mastering grade-level content in subjects such as math, science and social studies, he said. This process requires time, support, and tailored interventions. Those challenges are compounded by significant underfunding from the state, he said, which was proved through a lawsuit that Shenandoah joined. That suit determined that Pennsylvanias current funding model does not meet the constitutional requirement to provide a thorough and efficient education for all students, Waite said. Our district is underfunded by about $10,000 per student, he said. This funding gap limits our ability to provide essential resources, such as additional literacy and numeracy interventions, tutoring, and extended learning opportunities that many of our at-risk learners require to thrive academically. Despite these obstacles, our teachers and staff remain committed to supporting student success through innovative teaching practices, targeted interventions, and a strong focus on building relationships with students and families, Waite said. We are proud of the progress our students make each year and continue to advocate for the equitable funding necessary to fully support their educational journey. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement D.H.H. Lengel Middle School STEM teacher Jon Hughes judges a Knex building project among his sixth-graders, including Jimonte Murphy, far right. The school fared well in recent state assessment tests. (MIKE URBAN/STAFF PHOTO) Across Pennsylvania, this years results show that overall achievement continues to improve, and both student attendance and four-year graduation rates were up as well, according to department of education officials. I am so excited that, once again, this years assessment results showed increased levels of participation and improvement across the commonwealth, said Dr. Khalid N. Mumin, who on Dec. 7 stepped down as Pennsylvania secretary of education. Pennsylvanias schools are using new, innovative approaches to help their students learn, increasing assessment flexibility for both educators and learners alike. I am confident that with each passing year, participation and achievement will continue to improve and give students new ways to chart their own course and succeed. All state assessment proficiency rates increased from or remained near 2022-2023 results, officials said. Math proficiency increased from 38.3 percent in 22-23 to 40.2 percent in 23-24, science proficiency increased from 58.9 percent to 59.2 percent, while English language arts proficiency decreased from 54.5 percent 53.9 percent. LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) Campaigning in Bolivia for Sunday's judicial election may be strictly forbidden, but look closer on the streets of the capital La Paz and youll find that some candidates have sneakily plastered their faces on packs of corn puffs and others have slipped subtle slogans into official voting manuals. After all, its a popular vote, and even a bit of PR can work wonders when voters know nothing about the dozens of names on their sprawling ballot papers. Bolivia is the only country in the world that holds elections for top judicial posts. Soon Mexico will, too, after former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador pushed through a highly contentious overhaul of the justice system in the face of mass protests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As Bolivia's ex-President Evo Morales did when remaking the judiciary in 2009, Lopez Obrador has championed the overhaul as a way to purge the corrupt elite and boost democracy. Bolivia's current President Luis Arce on Sunday hailed the elections as a milestone in democracy as he cast his ballot in La Paz. But apathetic Bolivian voters say the elections have so far had the opposite effect, turning their courts from neutral arbiters into political prizes. Ill flip a coin, said 25-year-old architecture student Marisol Nogales when asked how she would vote. Voting is mandatory in Bolivia, and long lines snaking from polling stations across the country exacerbated public frustration over the election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most of us who came to vote dont know the candidates, said Franz Condori, queuing under the bright sun in the western highland town of Jesus de Machaca. This has to change." Its never easy to find supporters of Bolivias system of electing judges, which, over a decade ago, replaced a nomination system rooted in qualifications and training. Across the world, academics, investors and judges have warned that judicial elections can cement the dominance of the ruling party and gut checks and balances. Across Latin America, from El Salvador to Honduras, experts have characterized politicized judiciaries as profound threats to democracy. In Bolivia, even senior judicial officials struggle to defend the election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Citizens don't like this system of electing judges, but it's what we have, said Oscar Hssenteufel, president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, as he kicked off Sunday's vote. Francisco Vargas, the tribunal's vice president, strained to sound positive. It should be a calm, easy and simple process," he told The Associated Press. It has become very litigious, very controversial. Sundays vote was supposed to take place in late 2023, but as that deadline approached the Constitutional Court packed with allies of Arce suddenly intervened to push it back a year, escalating his power struggle with his former mentor and current rival, Morales, over who will lead their long-dominant leftist party into Bolivias 2025 presidential election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both understand that whoever wins over the Constitutional Court ensures their own political survival. Arce cited the paralysis of their divided party in justifying the vote's delay. Morales' loyalists, who hold a majority in Congress and could have determined the shortlist of judicial candidates, accused Arce of illegally extending the mandates of friendly judges for fear of losing influence over the courts. What happened was disorder, the kind that can lead us to a greater conflict, said Ivan Lima, a former minister of justice. With voting underway, results are expected within a week. But theres a wrinkle: it's a partial election. Only four out of nine seats on the powerful Constitutional Court are up for grabs. The other five the majority of sitting judges, as it happens will stay in their posts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The judges have turned the Constitutional Court into a sort of super power, said Bolivian political analyst Paul Coca. Sunday marks the third time that Bolivia has held judicial elections. If the past two rounds under then-President Morales, in 2011 and 2017, are any indication, turnout will be low. Both times, the majority of Bolivians, outraged or simply baffled by the notion of endorsing unknown judges pre-selected by Morales allies with little transparency, voted null. Critics questioned the legitimacy of the elected judges. But they nonetheless shaped the course of Bolivian democracy. In 2016, Morales asked Bolivians in a legally binding referendum to decide whether to let him run for a fourth term, in defiance of a two-term limit established in the 2009 Constitution he had backed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When he didnt get the answer he wanted a majority voted no his party found a workaround through the Constitutional Court, where pliant judges ruled that denying Morales another term as president would violate his human rights. This was his major mistake, said Eduardo Rodriguez Veltze, a former chief justice of the Supreme Court. It was Morales decision to run again in 2019 that brought a precipitous end to his remarkable 14-year tenure and ushered in a surreal parade of crises. As allegations of electoral fraud sent angry crowds into the streets, Morales resigned under pressure from the military and went into exile. Five years after coming under fire for allegedly manipulating the courts, Morales now finds himself on the receiving end of the judiciary he overhauled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement First Evos party used the court to challenge the referendums results to promote another candidacy. Then Arces administration colluded with the same Constitutional Court to delay and reduce judicial elections to favor the self-prorogated judges running politics through judicial review, Veltze said. The court endorsed a controversial ruling last year that Arce insists blocks Morales from running for president in 2025. Prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Morales in October 2023 after reviving a 2016 statutory rape case against him. And earlier this week, the countrys top criminal court swiftly extradited Morales former anti-drug chief to stand trial in the United States on charges of cocaine trafficking, despite criticism from legal experts unsatisfied by the court's review of evidence. They've been trying to destroy me morally, legally and politically, Morales told the AP. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vargas is quick to insist that Bolivia is not some kind of strange outlier for electing judges. The U.S., Switzerland and Japan also hold judicial elections. But, he conceded, not in such a sweeping way as Bolivia does, or as Mexico will. Mexicos new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, bracing for fallout from the overhaul she inherited, is keen to see how Bolivias vote plays out. The National Electoral Institute, the Mexican voting authority, sent a delegation to observe the process in La Paz this weekend, Vargas said. When asked whether he would recommend that Mexico follow Bolivias example, Vargas let out a sharp laugh. If you want me to tell you my personal opinion, he said, it might cause me some problems." ___ Associated Press writer Carlos Valdez in La Paz, Bolivia, contributed to this report. Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: Cyberattacks rise in Mexico as cross-border trade grows; California begins construction of second Otay Mesa border port of entry; Yamato Transport launches cross-border trucking service; and Buchanan Capital Partners acquires Texas logistics warehouse. Cyberattacks rise in Mexico as cross-border trade grows Mexico has seen a surge in cybercrime, including ransomware, phishing, spoofing and extortion, according to the 2024 report from the LatAm Cyber Summit, and the countrys trade industry is a popular target. Mexico averages about 298 malware attack attempts per minute, second only to Brazil (1,554 attack attempts per minute) in Latin America, the report said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The third annual LatAm Cyber Summit took place Nov. 26-27, in Sao Paulo. It examined how organizations can protect themselves against cyberthreats using advanced tools, employee training and national strategies. The trade industry in Latin America is the third most targeted sector for cyberattacks, accounting for 11% of incidents. Government websites were the most targeted, at 31%, followed by manufacturing, at 12%. Brazil and Mexico are particularly appealing for hackers due to the regions combination of increasing digitization and generalized cybersecurity immaturity, the LatAm Cyber Summit report said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hackers and cybercriminals from China, Russia and North Korea accounted for more than 77% of phishing activity in Mexico since 2020, according to a Google report released in September. (Source: Google) Phishing schemes are scams designed to trick users into giving information to criminals that they shouldnt have access to. Extortion operations, including ransomware, multifaceted ransomware, and extortion, continue to affect organizations across regions and industries, including Mexico, leading to significant financial losses and business disruption, the Google report stated. The rise in cyberthreats arrives as Mexico continues to be the top trading partner of the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For the month of October, Mexicos trade with the U.S. totaled $74.6 billion, a 2.8% increase from the same month in 2023. It was the 10th consecutive month and 20th of the past 21 months that Mexico has been No. 1 in trade with the U.S. Canada ranked No. 2 for trade with the U.S. at $64.3 billion in October, while China was third at $55 billion. Mexicos trade with the United States totaled $706.9 billion from January through October, followed by Canada at $637.1 billion, while U.S. trade with China totaled $269.2 billion. The Port of Los Angeles was the No. 1 U.S. trade gateway in October among the nations 450 airports, seaports and border crossings, according to Census Bureau data analyzed by WorldCity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Port of Los Angeles totaled $31 billion in commerce in October, followed by Laredo, Texas, at $30.5 billion in trade and Chicago OHare International Airport at $29.9 billion. As of Dec. 13, outbound truck volumes out of Laredo were up about 20% since the end of November but down about 3% week over week, according to the SONAR Outbound Tender Volume Index (OTVI.LRD). SONARs Outbound Tender Volume Index for Laredo, Texas, (OTVI.LRD) shows trucking volumes falling at the end of November, then rising since Dec. 5 . To learn more about SONAR, click here California begins construction of second Otay Mesa border port of entry California has launched construction on the Otay Mesa East-Otay II border crossing, which will be just south of San Diego. Otay Mesa East-Otay II will develop a new U.S.-Mexico border port of entry 3 miles east of the original Otay Mesa port of entry. It will include 10 lanes: five for passenger vehicles and five for cargo transport. More than $1 billion has already been earmarked for construction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This new port-of-entry will strengthen Californias world-leading economy, create jobs, and support regional communities through trade, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a news release. California is proving that we can build strong international partnerships with Mexico our top trading partner to grow our economy and create jobs while prioritizing the safety and well-being of our communities. Mexico is Californias top export market, purchasing $33.3 billion worth of California products annually. Mexico is also Californias second-largest source of imports totaling $61.5 billion worth of goods annually. The Otay Mesa East-Otay II project is scheduled to be completed in 2027. Yamato Transport launches cross-border trucking service Yamato Transport has created a cross-border trucking service utilizing bonded transfer between airports in the U.S. and Mexico. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The service aims to eliminate the need for customs clearance procedures at the U.S.-Mexico border, the company said in a news release. Customs clearance will be handled at the destination airport. By reducing the turnaround time for customs procedures, this service enables fast and highly punctual cross-border transportation, supporting customers to establish optimal supply chains tailored to diverse needs, Yamato Transport said. The bonded trucking service was launched Thursday and links airports in Dallas, Chicago and Atlanta with Mexican airports in Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico City. The service operates three to five times per week on each route and is able to accommodate charter transportation by container or consolidated transportation by pallet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tokyo-based Yamato Transport is a global shipping, freight forwarding and logistics company operating in 23 countries. Buchanan Capital Partners acquires Texas logistics warehouse Austin, Texas-based Buchanan Capital Partners (BCP) has acquired a 72,868-square-foot industrial warehouse in Laredo, Texas. The acquisition enhances BCPs presence in a key growth market driven by strong industrial demand, company officials said. With infill industrial submarkets experiencing historically high occupancy rates driven by strong leasing demand, we believe this acquisition is an ideal profile fit for our investors as consistent occupancy mitigates downside risk, Keith Buchanan, founder of BCP, said in a news release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The warehouse is in the San Isidro Industrial Park, near Laredos World Trade Bridge. Buchanan Capital Partners is a commercial real estate investment firm. The post Borderlands Mexico: Cyberattacks rise in Mexico as cross-border trade grows appeared first on FreightWaves. A 3-year-old boy was hit by a stray bullet during an armed robbery attempt Saturday afternoon in the Little Italy neighborhood on the Near West Side, according to Chicago police. A 20-year-old man was in a parking lot in the 1000 block of West 14th Street around 4:50 p.m. when an unknown gunman pulled out a firearm and demanded his property, police said. The gunman fired shots into the air, striking the boy, who was inside a nearby apartment. The boy was taken to Stroger Hospital in fair condition with a gunshot wound to his ear, police said. The 20-year-old man wasnt injured. Police said no suspects are in custody and that they were investigating. By Fabio Teixeira RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Doctors discharged Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from a Sao Paulo hospital on Sunday, after a pair of emergency surgeries last week to treat and prevent bleeding in his head. The 79-year-old leftist leader also spoke publicly for the first time at a hospital press conference, appearing upbeat wearing a hat and gesturing frequently with his hands as he talked. He stressed that he was eager to get back to work as soon as possible, which his medical team said they approved, along with advice to avoid long-haul international flights until further notice and exercise for up to a month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I'm here, whole," Lula said after spending most of last week at Sao Paulo's Sirio-Libanes Hospital, where he had been receiving care. "I'm healed. I just need to take care of myself." The president also commented on the Saturday arrest of Walter Braga Netto, the former defense minister and vice presidential running mate to far-right ex-President Jair Bolsonaro. Braga Netto, a retired general, is accused by federal police of plotting a coup to overturn Lula's narrow election win over Bolsonaro, and assassinate him shortly after the 2022 vote. "It's unacceptable that in a generous country like Brazil we have people of high military rank plotting the death of a president," said Lula. Lula's latest health scare has provoked doubts among political analysts, with some arguing that succession plans within Lula's Workers Party would be cast into disarray if he cannot run again in 2026. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Doctors said Lula will continue his recovery at home in Sao Paulo before going back to the capital Brasilia. He is unlikely to make the trip before next Thursday, when he is set to undergo a CT scan, a medical procedure used to obtain detailed internal images of the body. (Reporting by Fabio Teixeira; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, David Alire Garcia and Bill Berkrot) BRECKENRIDGE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) The City of Breckenridge has been officially recognized as a Film Friendly Texas Certified Community by the Texas Film Commission. After completing certification and the multi-step training process, Governor Greg Abbott announced that Breckenridge has been designated as a Film Friendly Texas Certified Community. Congratulations to Breckenridge on earning the Film Friendly Texas designation and joining more than 175 other Texas communities that have received this recognition, said Governor Abbott. Texas is brimming with promise, and I look forward to continuing to work alongside all of our communities to ensure they have the knowledge and tools needed to succeed. Through the Film Friendly Texas training and certification process, Texas communities are prepared to help match local businesses with production-related needs, creating jobs for Texas-based crew members and local residents, as well as spurring on-site spending at local businesses. I thank the Texas Film Commission for helping communities like Breckenridge market their unique appeal and support local job creation through media production. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sweetwater works to become music & film friendly city Senator Phil King shared his congratulations and said he looks forward to the growth of the film industry in Stephens County. Congratulations to the City of Breckenridge for earning the Film Friendly Texas Community designation, said Senator Phil King. This designation is a testament to the dedicated local leadership, the compelling history, and the natural beauty of Breckenridge. Thank you to the Texas Film Commission for this designation, which will create exciting economic opportunities for this community. I look forward to the continued growth of the film industry in Stephens County and across Senate District 10. Breckenridge City Manager Cynthia Northrop is eager to showcase what the Big Country has to offer in the film industry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are excited to receive the Film Friendly Texas Community certification, said Breckenridge City Manager Cynthia Northrop. The City of Breckenridge is rich in unique history, boomtown legacy, and the rugged beauty of West Texas that features two lakes, prairie land, and breathtaking landscapes. The Mayor and Commissioners continue to promote tourism in alignment with our strategic plan, and this partnership with the Texas Film Commission will serve to welcome the film industry to discover our diverse and beautiful community. Breckenridge unveils plans for new fire station to address safety & facility concerns Breckenridge is now one of more than 175 Film Friendly Texas Certified Communities, but it is not the only town in the Big Country with this honor. The Big Country is home to five Film Friendly cities, including: Roscoe, Nolan County Baird, Callahan County Albany, Shackelford County Eastland, Eastland County Breckenridge, Stephens County Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Breckenridge currently has six listed locations on the Texas Film Commission website: Lake Daniel, Breckenridge Texas YMCA, Breckenridge Foundation Park, Breckenridge City Park, Tipton Ranch, and the city of Breckenridge itself. Click here to see photos of these locations. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BRISTOL, N.Y. (WROC) A fire damaged what appeared to be a vacant home in Ontario County Friday night. Crews were called to the home in the area of County Road 2 and State Route 20A in Bristol around 10 p.m. (WROC/Melanie Sosa) According to fire officials on scene, multiple agencies responded to the 2-alarm fire. No one was home at the time, though officials said its unclear if anyone lived in the home, which sustained heavy damage due to the fire. No injuries were reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials said it took them roughly 15-20 minutes to get the blaze under control. Firefighters had some issues along the way because they said the area is considered a rural water location, so they needed to haul their own water from about a mile away. Additional resources were also necessitated because of the cold weather. Boy, 17, shot in Rochester The cold effects our fire operations, we had to call the town highway department to bring some salt to take care of the roads and the slippery surfaces, Eric Dey, chief of the Bristol Fire Department The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst. LONDON (Reuters) - Britain officially became the 12th member of a trans-Pacific trade pact which includes Japan, Australia and Canada on Sunday as it seeks to deepen ties in the region and build its global trade links after leaving the European Union. Britain announced last year it would join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in its biggest trade deal since Brexit. The accession means Britain will be able to apply CPTPP trade rules and lower tariffs with eight of the 11 existing members from Sunday - Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The agreement enters into force with Australia on Dec. 24, and will apply with the final two members - Canada and Mexico - 60 days after they ratify it. The pact represents Britain's first free trade deals with Malaysia and Brunei, but while it had agreements with the other countries, CPTPP provisions go further, especially in giving companies choices on how to use "rules of origin" provisions. The CPTPP does not have a single market for goods or services, and so regulatory harmonisation is not required, unlike the EU, whose trading orbit Britain left at the end of 2020. Britain estimates the pact may be worth 2 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) a year in the long run - less than 0.1% of GDP. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But in a sign of the strategic, rather than purely economic, implications of the pact, Britain can now influence whether applicants China and Taiwan may join the group. The free trade agreement has its roots in the U.S.-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership, developed in part to counter China's growing economic dominance. The U.S. pulled out in 2017 under then-President Donald Trump and the pact was reborn as the CPTPP. Costa Rica is the next applicant country to go through the process of joining, while Indonesia also aims to do so. ($1 = 0.7931 pounds) (Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Alexander Smith) A man was fatally shot by Broward Sheriffs deputies Saturday afternoon after authorities pursued him, the sheriffs office said. Around 1:50 p.m., the Broward Sheriffs Office was alerted to a domestic disturbance that may have involved a firearm, the sheriffs office said. When deputies arrived, the armed subject in the disturbance escaped the area. A pursuit ensued, and deputies were forced to fire at the man in the area of Southwest First Street and Southwest 21st Terrace in Fort Lauderdale, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During a news conference, BSO Spokesperson Carey Codd did not specify how many deputies fired their weapons, but they were placed on administrative leave pending an Internal Affairs investigation, Miami Herald News Partner CBS 4 reported. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is also investigating the shooting. The sheriffs office has not released details on the identity of the deceased or what caused the shooting. SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) Bulgarian customs officials on Sunday found about 190 kilograms (420 pounds) of cocaine hidden on a ship at the Black Sea port of Burgas. The cargo vessel from Peru had a crew of 11 and was carrying copper concentrate for processing in a plant, the state-run news agency BTA reported. According to police, the cocaine seizure was valued at $7 million. The drugs were scattered in various places along the vessel's pipelines, police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An investigation was launched into the intended recipients of the cocaine, who could face up to 20 years in jail if convicted on drug trafficking charges. Bulgaria, which has recently intensified a crackdown on drug trafficking, is considered a transit point for cocaine from Latin America to Western Europe. Bundys name synonymous with violence Once again, Ammon Bundy a name synonymous with violence, lawlessness and dangerous behavior is in the news for his inflammatory statements, this time with threats against a local health system executive. And, once again, Bundy has latched onto a news story in an attempt to further his victimhood narrative. Bundy would have us think that he is the little guy in his warped version of events. But lest we forget, it is Bundy who has victimized Idahoans with his actions and his threats. It is Bundy who doxxed local health care providers, police officers and judges. It is Bundy, whose calls for violence caused a shutdown at St. Lukes hospital, forcing families to forgo visits to loved ones and care providers to worry for their families. Bundy fled Idaho because St. Lukes and our justice system held him accountable for his actions. Hes not a victim hes a coward and a grifter. At Idaho Leaders United, we are proud to have recently honored the St. Lukes board and staff for their courageous stand against his bullying tactics. Join us and commit to resisting political violence and extremism in our great state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Idaho Leaders United Board of Directors: Gary Raney, Jacqueline Walton, Bill Shawver, Tommy Ahlquist, Odette Bolano, Cortney Liddiard, Roger Quarles and Doug Gross Idaho Legislature failing our kids In 2024, Idaho was one of only 11 states that chose not to participate in Summer EBT, a new nutrition program from the USDA that provides benefits to purchase groceries during the summer months for eligible low-income students. Summer EBT is a critical nutrition support during the summer months when many children lose access to the school meals they rely on; additionally, Summer EBT acts as an economic driver. By not participating, in 2024 Idaho left money on the table that could have resulted in at least a $19,260,000 to $23,112,000 of local economic impact a great return on investing in our children Again, Idaho is poised to pass on this important program again unless they opt in by January 1, 2025 for the summer of 2026. It is important that our policymakers know how important this program would be for families across the state. Lets support our communities and ensure that summer is no longer the hungriest time of the year by participating in Summer EBT in 2026. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dawn Pierce, Boise Time to act on the dams Now that the Republicans have complete control, we should see the party of fiscal responsibility and government efficiency make some real strides. One of their own, our own Rep. Mike Simpson, has identified a dandy piece of low-hanging fruit and has even provided a cost-effective plan for it: removal of the four lower Snake River dams. These dams produce about 4% of the regions power, mostly at a time when it is not needed now even more so due to climate change. These dams have reached their life expectancy resulting in ever-increasing maintenance, repair and operating costs. The cost/benefit ratio displayed by these four dams is, well, damning; they never have penciled out. Furthermore, the Port, of Lewiston, made possible by these dams, has been kept afloat by taxpayer/ratepayer subsidies. Current estimates reveal that each barge leaving Lew-town carries with it a $40,000 subsidy. None of this is fiscally responsible or efficient. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Not to mention that we the people have been bilked out of $26 billion spent on faux salmon recovery actions all resulting from the construction and operation of these loser dams. Something easy for the first 100 days, no? David Cannamela, Boise States would sell off public land Attorney General Labrador submitted an amicus brief in support of Utahs effort to dispose of federal public lands to state ownership. Your office has been contacted to find out your position on this matter. The response has been a catalog of actions youve taken over the years regarding funding and management of public lands in Idaho, but not answering the fundamental question at hand if you support the disposal of public lands. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Response to a constituent letter - constantly encouraging these agencies to work with state and local officials and private individuals when making land management decisions in Idaho. I strongly believe that Idahoans should have a say in how the land on which they work and live is managed, and I will continue to advocate for a strong partnership between federal, state, and local land management agencies. History shows that state land too easily becomes private land, further eliminating the publics ability to participate in land management decisions. Simply put, entities like the Wilkes Brothers dont give a damn what the public thinks about the lands they acquire. Congressman Simpson - Do you support disposal of federal public lands to the states? Yes or no? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bert Bowler, Boise Cut pink sales tax Lets finally cut the Pink sales tax that punish women solely because of their gender. Those are menstrual products, bras, and nursing products. Menstrual products like sanitary napkins, tampons, cups, discs, period underwear. This is not providing free products in schools or public bathrooms. Just removing the sales tax at the register. Bras, not panties or lingerie, and without stupid rules on where you buy them. Nursing products like nursing bras, nursing pads, and breast milk pumps. A couple dozen states already do this, so its not a radical communist idea. Also lets exempt baby diapers from sales tax, which directly supports Idahos anti-abortion and pro-family sentiments. A couple dozen states already do this so its not a radical communist idea. Tell your Idaho reps you want this with a simple social media message or email. This is a bases-loaded home run on tax breaks for constituents. Itll be very popular and will be reported nationally. The people will carry legislators around on their shoulders, cheering. (Ok maybe not that far but its still a great idea.) Kirk Hingsberger, Idaho Falls Dec. 15About eight months after the broke that Illinois' first Parlor Doughnuts was coming to Champaign, the restaurant celebrated a grand opening on Dec. 7 and is now open for business. "It's a long journey for us, you know," said co-owner Sean Kennedy. "This has taken us over a year to get this operational, but ... part of Parlor's mottos is to bring people in and connect them. So we hope that the community can come in and connect with each other and enjoy each other." The franchise at Old Farm Shops is owned by Pat Snack; Sean and Stacy Kennedy; and Don Wiese. Its address is 1757 W. Kirby Ave. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When asked how it feels to finally be open, Snack replied, "We're ecstatic. And we think it's such a beautiful space, and we hope people in Champaign will visit our parlor. It's a great gathering place." Snack said on Facebook that the restaurant hopes to open its drive-thru in "mid to late January 2025." The first Parlor Doughnuts shop opened in Evansville, Ind., in 2019. The brand describes itself as "a craft doughnut and coffee shop offering an array of unique bakery items, including our original layered doughnuts; vegan/gluten friendly, and keto friendly products; artisanal breakfasts; and specialty coffee." The chain's signature layered doughnuts are made out of layers of "buttery dough fried to be crisp on the outside and light/fluffy on the inside." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the Parlor Doughnuts website, locations are also planned for the Chicago area. Plant Mode, currently at 113 N. Walnut St. in Champaign, is moving to 520 N. Neil St., owner Matthis Helmick told The News-Gazette. He added that he will not be moving until after Christmas and expects to be fully open at the new location by about Jan. 7. "I will be operating out of the Walnut location until December 31st," Helmick shared on the business's social media. "I might be closed for week or two in January while we move." Yummy Future, a local coffee shop and tech startup, opened its second shop at 401 E. Green St. in Champaign on Dec. 6, co-founder Garrett Yan told The News-Gazette. Its hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yan had previously estimated that the new shop might open in August. "It obviously took longer than expected," he acknowledged. The business's original location can be found at 609 E. Green St. Yummy Future's service model is based around using robots to prepare coffee, though the shops also employ human workers as well. Tuscola Breakfast Place, a new restaurant located at 1003 E. Southline Road, had its first day of business on Monday. The restaurant is open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Sunday, with breakfast available all day long. The new eatery is located in a building that was once home to Proud Mary's bar, followed by the Ta'Carbon steakhouse and bar. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Human Kinetics has announced the acquisition of Lotus Publishing, a small business based in West Sussex, England focused on "highly illustrated titles in anatomy, sport and health." Human Kinetics CEO Skip Maier told The News-Gazette that he had been looking into opportunities for acquisitions and came across Lotus, which had actually published a couple of books that competed with their own titles. He reached out to the business about 18 months ago and began a conversation that, at first, started with distribution agreements for some of Lotus' titles, which focus on subjects such as physical therapy, massage and manual therapy. "Our books that we've done in the past for massage and physical therapy have tended to be more academic, for students who are studying in those areas," Maier said. "But these are more (for) a consumer or a professional who's already practicing in these areas. So it's kind of new for us in that sense." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A purchase agreement was reached in August, and the paperwork was finalized in late November. Human Kinetics officials said that Lotus Publishing's list of approximately 50 titles will be added to Human Kinetics' portfolio as a new imprint known as Lotus Books, and Lotus Founder Jon Hutchings will continue to work with authors and develop new titles for the line in 2025 to ensure a seamless transition. Maier told The News-Gazette that the staff at Lotus is solely comprised of Hutchings, who will consult with them for about nine months and then retire. "There were no other direct staff in the UK; he used a lot of contractors and those sorts of things for his work," he said. "So a lot of the work will just be incorporated with HK's current staff." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lotus already has a presence in North America through co-publishing agreements with United States-based North Atlantic Books and Inner Traditions, in addition to Human Kinetics. These agreements will remain in place for "many of the legacy books in the list," while newly acquired titles will be distributed solely by Human Kinetics as part of the Lotus Books imprint, company officials said. Paul and Christine Breen, previously the owners of Green Street Studios Techline, have announced their retirement. The Breens purchased the business, located at 307 S. Locust St. in Champaign, from their former employers in 2000. "As Paul and Christine step into retirement, they are pleased to announce that Ben and Ashley Frick of A & B Office Solutions will be taking over the Techline business, ensuring that the same quality service and craftsmanship that Techline is known for will continue," the business announced. "A & B Office Solutions is committed to providing the custom casework and installation that Champaign-Urbana has come to love and trust." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The business can be reached at 217-352-5570 or The combination Oberweis Ice Cream and Dairy Store and That Burger Joint location at 1905 S. Neil St. had its final day of business on Dec. 8. "We are deeply grateful for (your) support throughout the years," a sign on the store's doors stated. Oberweis Dairy, which previously filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, announced in June that it had been purchased by The Hoffmann Family of Companies. "In the coming weeks and months, we plan to announce new locations in Chicagoland and other key markets," Oberweis President Adam Kraber said at the time. "Rest assured, there are no plans to close existing locations or make substantial cuts to the business." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Champaign shop, which opened in 2018, was Oberweis' first downstate location. The Champaign franchise of Home Instead, located at 410 E. University Ave., is being transferred to a new owner following an incident that occurred on Dec. 5, the senior care business announced. Police officers were dispatched to the 400 block of East University Ave just before 4 p.m. that day for "a report of disorderly conduct," according to a statement from the Champaign Police Department. "On-scene, officers learned that a woman had been terminated at her place of work and was not allowed to leave without turning in company property," police said. "The woman expressed concerns about immediate medical needs due to the stress of the incident, so officers immediately requested medical assistance for her." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police later returned to Home Instead and issued a notice to appear to manager Jennifer Hanna, 52, for unlawful restraint. Home Instead Inc. said in a Dec. 7 statement that the company had investigated the incident. "Our priority is ensuring that clients and employees of this franchise have as much stability as possible through this challenging period," company officials wrote. "We hold our franchisees to the highest standards and do not condone behavior that is inconsistent with our values, including the behavior that we saw on the video (of the incident) posted to social media." COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSAV) Former Congressman John Spratt, who represented South Carolinas 5th Congressional District for almost 30 years, died on Saturday at age 82. South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain released the following statement on the passing of former Congressman Spratt: Today, the South Carolina Democratic Party joins countless South Carolinians and Americans in mourning the loss of a true statesman, former Congressman John Spratt. His passing leaves a profound void in the hearts of those who knew him, worked alongside him, and benefited from his tireless advocacy for our state and nation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Congressman Spratt represented South Carolinas 5th Congressional District with unmatched dedication and grace for nearly three decades. His legacy as Chairman of the House Budget Committee, where he championed fiscal responsibility and bipartisanship, is a testament to his intellect, vision, and commitment to solutions that benefit everyone. He earned respect on both sides of the aisle, and he will be remembered for his courageous work to enhance and improve healthcare, support for our military, and his strengthening of rural communities leaves a lasting impact that will be felt for generations. A proud South Carolinian, Congressman Spratt embodied the values of our statehard work, humility, and an unwavering dedication to service. He was not only a legislative giant but also a compassionate and accessible leader who always put the needs of his constituents first. Whether he was securing resources for our schools, fighting for economic opportunities in rural areas, or standing up for those without a voice, Congressman Spratt lived a life of purpose and principle. As Chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, I am proud to honor Congressman Spratts extraordinary contributions to our party and our nation. He believed deeply in the power of government to uplift and improve lives, and his legacy serves as an enduring reminder of the good that can be achieved through public service. On behalf of South Carolina Democrats, we extend our deepest condolences to Congressman Spratts family and friends. As we grieve, we also celebrate his remarkable life and the example he set for all of us. Congressman Spratts memory will continue to inspire our work to build a brighter, more just, and compassionate future for all South Carolinians. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. LOS ANGELES (AP) The California Department of Motor Vehicles has apologized for an unacceptable and disturbing personalized truck license plate that the agency said displayed hate speech related to the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. But a relative of the vehicle's owner said the whole controversy was an unfortunate misunderstanding. A photo posted on X by the watchdog group StopAntisemitism showed a license plate on a Tesla Cybertruck near Los Angeles that read LOLOCT7. LOL is an abbreviation for laugh out loud. The group said the plate seemed to reference Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing hundreds of people and prompting an Israeli retaliation against Palestinians in Gaza. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the son of the truck's owner told ABC 7 in Los Angeles that the personalized plate was not a reference to the Oct. 7 attack at all. He said it referred to the owner, who is a Filipino grandfather. LOLO means grandfather in Tagalog, CT refers to the Cybertruck, while 7 represents the owners seven children, according to the news station. The DMV issued a statement Thursday, saying the department is taking swift action to recall these shocking plates, and we will immediately strengthen our internal review process to ensure such an egregious oversight never happens again. A spokesperson for the DMV told the Los Angeles Times the license plate should not have passed the review process and, after it was flagged on social media, many people who alerted the department found it offensive. The use of hateful language is not only a clear violation of our policies but also a violation of our core values to proudly serve the public and ensure safe and welcoming roadways, the DMV statement said. The DMV said the license plate owner will be notified about the recall of their license plate because of the language. The owner of the vehicle has the right to appeal the departments decision. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) One car collided with another after hitting a light pole overnight. A crash was reported around 3 a.m. in the area of Gettysburg Avenue and Stony Hollow Road Sunday morning. Police say the crash began as with a vehicle crashing into a light pole, before things escalated. Investigation reveals the initial vehicle was traveling south on Gettysburg Avenue when the driver lost control near Stony Hollow Road. The car went left of center and struck a light pole, disabling the vehicle in the northbound lanes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shortly after, another vehicle traveling north on Gettysburg collided with the disabled vehicle. Both cars sustained damage. Medics were called to the scene, but officials on scene concluded there were no injuries in need of medical attention. The crash remains 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 WDTN.com. MOYOCK, N.C. (WAVY) A Norfolk man who allegedly sped away from deputies during a traffic stop was eventually caught in Virginia Friday and faces multiple felony and misdemeanor charges, the Currituck County Sheriffs Office said. Charles Turner Charles Turner, 35, of Norfolk is being held without bond until extradition, with charges including felony fleeing to elude, a felony assault on a government official, reckless driving to endanger, speeding, having an open container of alcohol, possession of marijuana paraphernalia, failure to yield and driving left of center. Around 6:20 p.m. Friday, a Currituck County Sheriffs deputy had stopped a passenger Kia vehicle, and during the stop, Turner sped away from deputies, the sheriffs office said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Deputies used stop sticks and pursued the vehicle through Moyock before Turner was later caught in Virginia. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Breaking News Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com. Not even President-elect Donald Trumps aides have an answer for executives who have reached out with concerns about his plans to launch a multi-pronged trade war that could make life more expensive for Americans, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper reported that Trumps recent, late-night social media posts advocating for tariffsincluding a 100 percent levy on goods from Brics countries, notably Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africawere the result of the president-elect acting mostly on his own. The move has left business executives, fearing the worst, scrambling to find ways to shift his thinking, the Journal reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But, citing people familiar with the matter, the Journal said Trumps team has communicated to corporate consultants that their boss is dead-set on his plans to use tariffs as a policy tool and they shouldnt plan on dissuading him. Even some of Trumps closest allies have been given little heads up about his proclamations. In one case, the Journal said Sen. Marco Rubio (RFla.), Trumps pick for secretary of state pick and someone he discusses his tariff policy with regularly, was given little warning Trump would go public with plans to slap a 25 percent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico. Rubio had previously been kept in the loop about plans for tariffs on Bric countries, the newspaper said. Rubios office told the Journal he shares Trumps vision of restoring Americas place on the world stage and working to bring about greater trade fairness for American families and businesses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Scott Bessent, Trumps pick for treasury secretary, has also been privy to discussions about tariffs, but one of his allies communicated frustration to the Journal about Trumps surprise disclosure of plans. Now comes the hard part. Rough, they wrote to the newspaper in a text message after Trump announced his plans for tariffs on Canada and Mexico on Truth Social. A Bessent spokesperson told the Journal he and Trump are in daily communication on economic and geopolitical matters affecting the U.S., and said Trump creates the strategies, and Mr. Bessent implements them in the most effective manner. An anonymous lobbyist who was a staffer in the first Trump administration told Journal he warns his clients that there is virtually nothing they can do to get the president to change his mind about his hardline trade policies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the campaign, Trump claimed imposing tariffs on imported goods wouldnt hurt the economy or significantly impact consumerssomething economists have widely disputedthough he has become more vague since being elected. I cant guarantee anything. I cant guarantee tomorrow, Trump told Meet the Press last week, when asked whether consumer prices would rise. The non-partisan Peterson Institute for International Economics estimates Trumps proposed tariffs could lower the income of the poorest fifth of Americans by 4 percentand wipe off 2 percent of the income for the wealthiest fifth of the country. A household on the middle range of US income would lose roughly $1,700 per year. The Trump transition team did not immediately reply to a request for comment from the Daily Beast. CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) Several Champaign County businesses are collecting donations to create a Christmas gift for a single mother that shell never forget. Perkins in Urbana and TKs Wings in Rantoul have partnered up to help Romona England and her 8-year-old son, Kenny, who has cancer. Organizer of the fundraiser Anna Shaw came up with the idea to raise money for Romona and her family. Holiday Bike Event gives away almost 50 bikes to C-U kids Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was just supposed to be a pay it forward, Shaw said. And I asked a couple of my friends if they had a recipient yet, they hadnt. I told them Romonas story, and they said, shes our person.' Shaw is also Romonas manager at Perkins in Urbana. Shaw said Romona will work two times a week and spend the rest of her days traveling back and forth to the OSF Childrens Hospital of Illinois St. Jude Midwest affiliate for her son. She has an 8-year-old little boy whos had, I dont know how many brain surgeries, has a clear cell sarcoma, Shaw said. She has other kids. He just had another brain surgery Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Once everyone was on board, word got out about Romonas story and people in nearby communities reached out to pour into the funds, including TKs Wings manager Tim Foley. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So, we jumped in because my wife is personal friends with Romona and has been since junior high school, Foley said. He said hes known Romona for some years now. Foley said whatever gets donated to TKs for Romona, theyll do a 50% match. Thats what were going to do from TKs is just to try to help out so she can have a great Christmas, so they can have a great Christmas, Foley said. Now that woman, she struggles and I know she struggles, and anything we can do to help, were going to do it. Shaw is doing everything she can to spread awareness about Romonas story. I want people to care that there is a single mother out there thats going through this, and these children are going through it with her, Shaw said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres also a furniture warehouse in Urbana that plans to donate a couch to the family. Shaw said shell be surprising Romona with the money on Sunday at Perkins in Urbana. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com. WARTBURG, Tenn. (WATE) For families who have loved ones that are incarcerated, the holidays can be a very difficult time. For one woman who experienced that, she says that prison saved her life. Rochelle Grover came from a broken home where she was moved around frequently, leaving her with abandonment issues, she explained. Growing up, she got straight As in school but had behavioral problems and became a mother to two children as a teenager. After high school, Glover joined the military seeing it as a way for [her] to make better choices. Unfortunately, during her service, she met an older man and soon found herself in a toxic and abusive marriage, that she was too ashamed to leave, she said. After leaving the military, the couple moved to Crossville, TN. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He started doing shady business deals, Glover said. Because my name was on the bank account the things he did was fraudulent I got caught in the midst of what he had done wrong. Man charged with arson after Sweetwater Dollar General fire On December 4, 1999, Glover, who had never been in trouble with the law before, was incarcerated at a prison in Nashville. I always say, prison saved my life in a sense, Glover said, because I dont know if I ever would have had the strength to leave out of that bad relationship. But it wasnt just prison itself that helped her. It was a ministry called Prison Fellowship with which she became involved. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They would do Bible studies, Glover said. They invited me to some of the Prison Fellowship Bible studies, and when I did, it just kind of transformed my life. One weekday, they invited her to participate in something called Angel Tree. This program helped her pick Christmas presents for her children. She would write them a letter and then a local church would deliver it. It was a way to keep connected and to care for them while she was incarcerated. Glover participated for three years, and the impact was enormous. Officer, suspect identified in fatal officer-involved shooting The same way that God came and gave us Jesus as a gift to reconcile us back to the Father, Angel Tree became the gift that helped me reconcile my relationship with my children during my incarceration, so I was able to mother my children even though I was incarcerated, Glover said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her son still has the Tonka Truck that he received through the Angel Tree program to this day. After she left prison in 2004, Glover volunteered with Prison Fellowship. Today, she is the Justice Ambassador Specialist at Prison Fellowship for Tennessee. She has worked in prisons across the state. Prison Fellowship ministers in Tennessee prisons including the Morgan County Correctional Complex in Wartburg as well as one in Mountain City and several in Nashville. Glover has gotten to watch her children succeed in their careers and buy their first homes with their families, and she says she owes it all to Prison Fellowship and the ministers who loved me back to life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Man charged with arson after Sweetwater Dollar General fire Here is the full list of Tennessee prisons that engaged with the Prison Fellowship Angel Tree in 2024: Bledsoe County Correctional Complex Debra K Johnson Rehabilitation Center Hardeman County Correctional Center Humphreys County Jail Lois M DeBerry Special Needs Facility Mark H Luttrell Transition Center Memphis FCI Morgan County Correctional Facility Northeast Correctional Complex Northwest Correctional Complex Site One Northwest Correctional Complex Site Two Obion County Jail Riverbend Maximum Security Institution Shelby County Jail / Work camp Silverdale Detention Center South Central Correctional Facility Trousdale Turner Correctional Center Turney Center Industrial Complex Wayne County Annex West Tennessee State Penitentiary Site Three (MSC Annex) West Tennessee State Penitentiary Site Two West Tennessee State Penitentiary- Site One Whiteville Correctional Facility Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WATE 6 On Your Side. (The Hill) Radio host Charlamagne tha God was puzzled why some people are celebrating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompsons death. He questioned what Luigi Mangiones killing of Thompson in Manhattan earlier this month accomplished, arguing that insurance companies still deny claims. I dont understand why people are celebrating him being killed because at the end of the day, like I said yesterday, hes dead. His kids dont got no father. That 26-year-old Luigi or whatever his name is, he gonna be in jail for the rest of his life, Charlamagne tha God said during Fridays edition of The Breakfast Club. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And the healthcare system is still the same today. The health companies still denying claims and everything today. So what did that accomplish, and why are you happy about him being gunned down like that? Its just weird where we are as a people, the host added. Following Mangiones killing of the executive on Dec. 4, a country-wide debate about the current state of the health care system was reignited. Some people, particularly on social media, gloated about Thompsons killing, presenting it as a way to show their animosity to the industry. In turn, the sympathy for Mangione, who was arrested Monday in Pennsylvania after a tip from McDonalds employee, has sparked backlash. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) weighed in on the debate himself, condemning the deeply disturbing reaction to Thomsons killing this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some attention in this case, especially online, has been deeply disturbing, as some have looked to celebrate instead of condemning this killer, Shapiro said earlier this week. In some dark corners, this killer is being hailed as a hero. Hear me on this: He is no hero. Since Shapiros remarks, prosecutors have filed murder charges against Mangione, an Ivy League graduate, after discovering a gun and writings seemingly connecting him to the New York City shooting. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has said that Russian forces attacked the city of Kharkiv with a missile in retaliation for drone strikes on Grozny, which were reported on the morning of 15 December. Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration (OMA) has reported that the missile hit the ground. [The Chechen Republic, also known as Chechnya, is a federal subject of the Russian Federation; the Ukrainian parliament has recognised it as the temporarily Russian-occupied territory of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria ed.] Source: Kadyrov on Telegram; Kharkiv OMA Details: On the morning of 15 December, Ukrainian forces detected a high-speed target heading towards Kharkiv Oblast. Kharkiv OMA initially reported a strike in the Kyivskyi district of Kharkiv but later clarified that the missile had hit the ground, shattering windows in a nearby residential building. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A woman, 48, was injured in the strike. Meanwhile, Kadyrov claimed that three drones had targeted Grozny. According to him, two were shot down, while the third "fell on the territory" of a base housing the Special Purpose Mobile Unit (OMON) riot police. He claimed that no injuries were reported. The Chechen leader added that he had information about areas of Ukrainian troop concentration but claimed he would only order strikes in response to further drone attacks. Quote from Kadyrov: "We'll resort to more precise and harsh retaliatory strikes against any attempt to attack our targets. Today, I passed on the intelligence gathered by our officers regarding the location of a large number of Ukrainian fascists. At 12:00, the Russian Aerospace Forces launched two Iskander missile strikes on a facility in Kharkiv where the 82nd Air Assault Brigade of Ukraine's Armed Forces was stationed. About 200 Ukrainian fascists were killed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I'd like to remind the representatives of the Ukrainian Reich: the next time you consider launching drones on the Chechen Republic, remember that we will conduct targeted strikes on clusters of Ukrainian military personnel. The consequences of these strikes will be far worse, and we have ample data to act on." Support UP or become our patron! Guest. Opinion. For many decades, the United States attempted to destroy the proud culture of Native American nations. One of the darkest aspects of this campaign played out at Native American boarding schools throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Thousands of Native children suffered abuse, neglect and cultural erasure in these institutions nationwide. Many never returned home, and some remain missing to this day. Our ancestors persevered through these attempts to break up families and destroy Cherokee values. Today, we honor their sacrifices by proudly restoring our legacy. The Cherokee Nation recently achieved a landmark victory by reclaiming the deeds to five historic Boarding School Era day school sites after four decades of negotiations with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. This moment of restoration represents a profound step toward justice and healing for Cherokee communities, especially our precious elders who lived through this troubling era. The day schools Ballou, Mulberry Hollow (Rabbit Trap), Oak Hill-Piney, Oaks Mission and Redbird Smith span 84 acres across five counties. Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. These sites, seized by the federal government more than a century ago, are deeply rooted in Cherokee history, yet they carry a painful legacy tied to the U.S. governments efforts to forcibly assimilate Cherokee children. The return of these lands within our reservation represents a significant opportunity to reclaim and redefine their purpose. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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. Siz6EVL">Housing, Jobs and Sustainable Communities Act, we will work with the Oak Hill-Piney Community Organization to build a new community building on the property. That type of investment can both memorialize the history of the day school sites and help ensure a bright future. These communities deserve what all communities should have: a safe place for children to learn, families to gather, and elders to be cared for. The deed transfers were finalized in a signing ceremony with BIA officials, and we are grateful for the federal agency staff who understand the cultural significance of this partnership. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The effort is also part of the Cherokee Nation Repatriation Project, an initiative dedicated to reclaiming cultural patrimony and historical properties for the tribe. Other recent successes include the return of the Cherokee Advocate printing press and hair samples of Native children from Harvard Universitys Peabody Museum. Make no mistake, Cherokee Nation is committed to honoring our past and reclaiming what was lost. In the end, Cherokee control of these former school sites is about more than addressing historical injustices; its about empowering communities and honoring the resilience of those who endured the Boarding School Era. These five sites now stand as iconic symbols of long-delayed justice and the enduring spirit of the Cherokee people. The return of this land to our Nation represents the restoration of identity, dignity and hope for generations of Cherokees to come. Chuck Hoskin, Jr. is the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. The timing of the Chicago Police Departments two gun turn-ins Saturday was intentional. During the late days of December around Christmas and New Years Eve, when schools are shut down and offices sit mostly empty, many people spend more time at home. Lots of folks also visit the homes of relatives this time of year. Thus during the holidays, many have more chances to stumble upon guns kept at home guns their owners may have even forgotten about, said Glen Brooks, director of community policing for the department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres more people home. More people have an opportunity to find those forgotten weapons, Brooks said Saturday morning at a church in Englewood where one of the turn-ins took place. We want to give people an opportunity to make their homes and their communities as safe as possible. The other turn-in, held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. like the one in Englewood, was at the House of Hope in Pullman. Brooks said the departments next turn-ins will be in May, right before the summer. City residents and people from the suburbs trickled into the community room of the Englewood church, Chosen Bethel Family Ministries, with handguns, rifles, shotguns and realistic replicas. There was an incentive of $100 to turn in a real gun, and replicas could be exchanged for $10 gift cards. One person brought in seven real guns, an assortment of pistols and long guns. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Well take anything without questions asked, Brooks said. Those who turned in guns did not have to provide personal information. After community members handed their guns to the police and the guns were rendered safe, officers started processing the weapons, treating them like they treat all abandoned weapons. Eventually, all of the guns will be destroyed, Brooks said. Joe Wodynski, 73, came from his home in Lemont to turn in two rifles and a shotgun at the Englewood church. My wife was listening to WGN and she heard about this gun buyback, Wodynski said. Ive been diagnosed with a type of leukemia, and my kids dont want them. People years ago said, Hey, hold this Joe. And then they pass on. So I got all these guns Im trying to get rid of. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Walter Gillespie, who has been a pastor of Chosen Bethel Family Ministries for 25 years, said that because he was raised in a church that did not minister to its community very much, hes prioritized connecting with the Englewood community since becoming a pastor. The church feeds the hungry through a pantry and provides support to those addicted to drugs. We have peace pop-ups throughout the community, where we go on corners where the police department has told us, Its a hot spot,' Gillespie said. And so we make our presence known and the love of God known to people who are hanging out at these hot spots. Gillespie, 68, said he offered to host the turn-in during a meeting with other pastors and representatives from the Englewood police district. I have heard about gun buybacks over the years. I have participated in gun buybacks over the years, Gillespie said. This is about ministry and making a difference. So I jumped on that opportunity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Community participation in gun turn-ins fluctuates, Brooks said. When the department first started doing them, they would get about 3,000 guns in one day, he said. Earlier this year, he said, about 500 guns were received in a turn-in. When you clean out your refrigerator with all the bad food, you just throw it in the garbage. When you have a car that no longer works, you call the auto pound or the junk man, right? What do you do with a gun? Brooks said. Its still functional. Its still functional after 10 years, 50 years, even 100 years. It can still kill you. So this is a way for people to make their homes and their communities safer. Lets remember, all guns arent used in crimes, Brooks said. Theyre also used, tragically, in suicides, in accidents. CHICAGO Chicago police are warning the public about a series of thefts that happened at restaurants in the citys Armour Square neighborhood. Police said the incidents happened at the following times and locations: 2200 Block of South Wentworth Ave on December 5, 2024 at 2:30PM 2100 Block of South Archer Ave on December 7, 2024 at 7:10PM 2100 Block of South China Pl on December 7, 2024 at 8:14PM According to investigators, the victims were dining at a restaurant when the suspect approached them and put a brochure or menu over the victims belongings while engaging them in conversation. The suspect then removed the brochure or menu with the victims belongings and left the restaurant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Man dies after being shot 12 times in Bronzeville Police described the suspect as a man between the ages of 17 and 25, about 506 to 508 in height and weighing about 140-155 pounds. He was last seen wearing a gray wool hat, brown jacket, dark jeans and black/white Nike shoes. Anyone with information is asked to call Area One Detectives at 312-747-8384 or submit an anonymous tip at CPDTIP.com and use reference #P24-1-195CA. Additional tips from CPD: Always be aware of your surroundings Keep personal belongings on your person Immediately report suspicious activity If you are confronted by an assailant remain calm Remember any unique physical characteristics (scars, limp, acne, teeth, etc.) Never pursue a fleeing assailant, provide the information to the police If video surveillance is available, save and make a copy of the incident for investigating detectives If approached by a witness to the incident, request their contact information Immediately dial 9-1-1 and remain on the scene when possible Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. China's top diplomat has warned that a trade war between China and the European Union would result in a "lose-lose" situation and urged Beijing and Brussels to continue talks and strengthen their cooperation. Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the comments on Saturday while meeting Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron, at the 26th China-France Strategic Dialogue in Beijing, according to the Chinese foreign ministry. "A trade war will only lead to a 'lose-lose' situation," Wang said. "China is the staunchest defender of the free trade system and opposes the politicisation of economic and trade issues." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. China and the EU remain locked in a feud over trade. Earlier this year, the 27-member bloc slapped tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, which Brussels says have unfairly benefited from state subsidies. In return, Beijing has launched investigations into European pork and dairy imports. Wang urged Brussels to adopt a constructive attitude and find mutually acceptable solutions through dialogues. He said exchanges between the people of France and China had grown closer and the two countries had voiced their opinions on global challenges, including artificial intelligence, ocean governance and the Middle East. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wang said he hoped China and France could pursue a positive agenda next year, promote cooperation and explore opportunities in fields such as nuclear energy and aerospace, artificial intelligence, new materials, high-end equipment, environmental protection and healthcare technology. He expressed hope for more exchanges related to youth, culture, scientific research and education. Wang also called on China and France to work together to uphold multilateralism. "China and France should firmly support an international system centred on the United Nations, build an equal and orderly multipolar world, promote international unity and cooperation, oppose division and confrontation, and especially abandon the Cold War mentality and zero-sum games," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both sides said they would strengthen cooperation on climate change, biodiversity, sustainable development and poverty reduction. They also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis, the Iranian nuclear issue, and the situation in the Middle East. French President Emmanuel Macron shares a drink with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Pyrenees. Photo: AP alt=French President Emmanuel Macron shares a drink with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Pyrenees. Photo: AP> Bonne's China visit is expected to lay the groundwork for a potential China trip by Macron in the new year. The Chinese statement quoted Bonne as saying that France did not support trade wars and supported "mutually beneficial cooperation between Europe and China". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The French envoy said his country valued friendship and trust in its ties with China. He added that France would adhere to the one-China policy and maintain close high-level exchanges with China. He said France hoped to work with China to expand cooperation in trade, investment, artificial intelligence, nuclear energy, aerospace, agricultural food products and green development. China and France held their first strategic dialogue in 2001. High-level talks between senior diplomats are typically held at least once a year under the strategic dialogue mechanism. This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. (Bloomberg) -- Chinas slowdown, weaker domestic growth and the need for additional spending in some areas are delivering headwinds for Australias economy, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said ahead of a budget update. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chalmers will on Wednesday set out the countrys Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, aiming to persuade voters that the center-left Labor government can spur expansion ahead of a national election that must be held by May 17. Challenges in the Chinese economy will have flow on effects for our own budget and that will be clear in Treasurys forecasts, Chalmers said Sunday in a statement. The global economy is uncertain, the global outlook is unsettling and thats weighing heavily on our economy. Subscribe to The Bloomberg Australia Podcast on Apple, Spotify, on YouTube, or wherever you listen. Policymakers in the worlds second-largest economy announced a raft of stimulus measures in September aimed at keeping China on track to hit its 2024 growth target of around 5%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Still, weaker Chinese demand for commodities like iron ore means Australias Treasury will need to downgrade export earnings in the mid-year update by A$100 billion ($64 billion) over the four years to 2027-2028, according to a department spokesperson. Company tax receipts will also be revised down by A$8.5 billion over the same period. Australias gross domestic product rose 0.8% last quarter from a year earlier, the weakest reading excluding the pandemic since December 1991, when the nations economy was in recession, according to official data released earlier this month. Earnings from iron ore are forecast to decline on waning prices that have dropped about a quarter this year amid higher production and weaker demand because of the slump in Chinas property sector. The value of shipments of coal and liquefied natural gas are also expected to fall, according to government projections. There will be substantial pressures on the budget, Chalmers said Sunday in an interview with Sky News. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Australias government is handling the impact of higher spending on payments to military veterans and in areas including natural disasters, early childhood education and health, Chalmers said in the interview. The mid-year update will include details of an additional A$1.8 billion in entitlements to veterans, he said. (Updates to add comments on China from first paragraph) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, has slammed Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for playing down the threat of drones buzzing around the stateand warned that drone vigilantes may soon start taking matters into their own hands. Appearing on ABCs This Week on Sunday after the show interviewed Mayorkas, Christie said he had seen several drones himself. In response to a reference made by ABC host George Stephanopoulos to Mayrokas statement that the drones did not present any unusual activity or immediate threat, Christie said: To say this is not unusual activity, its just wrong! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have lived in New Jersey my whole life. This is the first time that Ive noticed drones over my house. And I was in a restaurant in Monmouth County on Friday night, had people at the bar coming up to me and saying, Governor Murphy wont tell me anything. The president wont tell me anything. Do you know? Like, well, I dont know, he also said. Mayorkas explained that he wanted his authority to be expanded in order to deal with the drones mystifying local residents and other onlookers in New Jersey. Ive lived in New Jersey my whole life. This is the first time that Ive noticed drones over my house. Former NJ Gov. Chris Christie warns that conspiracy theories will grow if the federal government does not address reported aerial sightings. https://t.co/MkRObTfDiQ pic.twitter.com/e206NSI4Se This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 15, 2024 In an earlier interview with Stephanopoulos, Mayorkas said he was not able to order the drones to be taken down by US state agencies. Christie, once a candidate to be the Republicans presidential nominee, blamed the Biden administration for failing to be truthful with the American population. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you dont fill that vacuum, all the conspiracy theories get filled in there, he said. Youve got people like Congressman Jeff Van drew saying theres an Iranian mothership off the coast of New Jersey. Absolutely not true, and provably now not true, and hes had to back off that. You cant have conspiracy theorists filling the space, but the Biden administration and state authorities have to be more vocal and let people know exactly what theyre doing, he added. He also explained how sightings of drones were likely to affect locals who may have heard about drones being used in more dangerous contexts. Its a newish technology to most people, and theyre worried about it and concerned. And to the extent theyre following things around the world, they hear about drones being deployed in Ukraine all the time as weapons, and us deploying drones as weapons at times. So you can see why people are concerned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Christie called on the government to end the matter once and for all by attacking the drones. Id want our state police to be able to have the authority to bring those drones down and find out why theyre doing what theyre doing What were going to find, George, is youre going to have individuals acting as drone vigilantes, and theyre going to start taking them down. Thats not what we want, because theyre now an important part of commerce, and law enforcement uses them frequently for surveillance and other things we need to be able to operate a safe way, and were not doing that. His appearance on ABC came just a day after president-elect Donald Trump trolled Christie with an AI-generated meme of drones appearing to deliver McDonalds to Christie. The pair once enjoyed a friendly relationship but it soured after Trump claimed to win the 2020 election. GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, the Eastern Carolina Village and Farm Museum hosted its Christmas Village Market. This serves as a way for people to buy Christmas gifts and decorations locally but also to raise funds to help maintain and preserve the museum. More than 40 vendors were on hand with music, food, raffles and an appearance from Santa Claus. We have a large campus here which gives them an opportunity to set up and sell their items, President of Eastern Carolina Village and Farm Museum Holly Hoag said. Many of these are very unique. Theyre made either from local materials or the artist has a vision and so, you can get something here you arent going to find at the mall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Is it worth it? We cant save everything but there are some things worth saving, Board member of the Eastern Carolina Village and Farm Museum Rodger Kammerer said. And I think the village is a wonderful, wonderful thing for Eastern North Carolina. Later Saturday night, the Christmas Candlelight Tour took place with the theme being Christmas Through the Decades. It gives people a way to see how Christmas was celebrated from the years 1840 and 1940. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WNCT. A Christmas market in the German city of Cologne was evacuated for a second consecutive day on Sunday due to an unattended suitcase that was later found to contain sand. One day after a Christmas market on the city's western Rudolfplatz was evacuated after the discovery of an unattended suitcase, police were called into action again on Sunday at the market on Heumarkt in the city centre. Police cordoned off the area and called on people to avoid the square as they waited for a bomb disposal team to take a look at the suspicious piece of luggage. The suitcase was discovered to have contained sand, police said on X, just as in the incident on Saturday. Police later said they were lifting traffic restrictions in the city. Police forces are deployed at the Christmas market in Cologne's city center, after it has been evacuated due to an unattended suitcase. Sascha Thelen/dpa A civilian has been injured in a Russian Shahed drone attack on Chupakhivka hromada in Sumy Oblast. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories ed.] Source: Sumy Oblast Military Administration Details: A house is reported to have been damaged. In total, Russian forces launched three attacks on the border areas and settlements of Sumy Oblast on the night of 14 December and on the morning of 15 December. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Eight explosions were recorded. Russian attacks targeted Krasnopillia, Chupakhivka and Seredyna-Buda hromadas. The Russians mounted an attack involving a First-Person View (FPV) drone on Seredyna-Buda hromada, damaging a house. Background: Ukrainian defenders shot down 56 out of 108 UAVs launched by Russia on the night of 14-15 December. Support UP or become our patron! When Merriam-Webster chose polarization as the word of the year for 2024, the timing was dramatic for many of us who make our living through words. Defining the word as division into two sharply distinct opposites; especially, a state in which the opinions, beliefs, or interests of a group or society no longer range along a continuum but become concentrated at opposing extremes, the dictionary company nailed it with its keen grasp of the obvious painfully obvious about the state of our nations politics. That observation was confirmed further by President-elect Donald Trumps choice of long-standing political loyalist Kash Patel to head the FBI. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With that announcement, my memory raced back unhappily to the bad old days of J. Edgar Hoover except in dramatic ways, Patel looks worse. As the agencys longest-serving director, Hoover authorized covert harassment campaigns against perceived enemies including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., among others in the civil rights movement. Hoovers bureau sowed disinformation among Black progressive groups, tapped Kings phone and attempted to extort him with allegations of adultery. I was a young reporter in Chicago when the FBI identified the Black Panther Party as a radical threat and tried to subvert its activities through the illegal COINTELPRO counterintelligence program. That operation culminated in a predawn police raid on Chicago Panther leader Fred Hamptons West Side apartment that left him and fellow Panther Mark Clark dead in a hail of more than 100 gunshots. A civil lawsuit filed on behalf of the survivors and their relatives was resolved in 1982 by a settlement of $1.85 million. That tragic episode led to congressional investigations and a variety of reforms intended to assure the public that such an atrocity wouldnt happen again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Patels approach is not much more subtle. In interviews and his 2023 book, Government Gangsters, Patel boldly seeks to weaponize the bureau as a partisan force to root out Trumps perceived enemies. Unlike Hoover, who scrupulously sought to reassure public faith in the institution, despite claims to the contrary from his many critics, Patel calls the FBI a branch of the deep state in which he shows little faith. Of course, the fear is not that Patel will defang an institution he finds so nefarious but rather that he will turn it on new targets. His agenda calls for firing the top ranks of the bureau, prosecuting leakers and journalists, exposing filth and corruption and hiring people who wont undermine the presidents agenda. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Small wonder that Trump reportedly was prevented from installing Patel as deputy FBI director by then-Attorney General William Barr, who deemed Patel as unqualified and supposedly told White House chief of staff Mark Meadows that he would become deputy FBI director over my dead body. But this time, after Trump flooded the zone with controversial Cabinet nominees, Senate Republicans apparently got used to Patel enough or grew weary of testing Trumps patience enough for him to win over more support, and his prospects remarkably improved. Perhaps some senators are so intimidated by his radically polarizing views about gutting the agency and checking names off his enemies list that Patel may yet slide on through. Or some senators may be too exhausted by fights over Trumps other controversial picks, such as Pete Hegseth for defense secretary, who has been struggling against allegations of sexual misconduct and reports of excessive drinking. Alas, old-school controversies about booze and women sound downright quaint after the chain of scandals in this years confirmation battles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beneath it all, I cannot help but long for the good old days when we could rely on more good faith efforts to choose nominees for good character and competence. Unfortunately, the process still is plagued with such ugly arm-twisting as the pressure campaign ignited against Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, for instance. Her expressed opposition to Hegseth made her a target of MAGA accusations that she wanted to get the defense secretary job for herself. Maybe the senators could skip the formalities and call the agency the Federal Bureau of Intimidation. That appears to be where were headed. Perhaps Patel will be pleased. Email Clarence Page at cpage47@gmail.com. Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com. University of Utah student Rebeca Damico said her professors at first took a hard line against AI when ChatGPT was introduced in 2022, but she and other students say schools have softened their stands as the usefulness and career potential of the technology has become clearer. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for States Newsroom) For 21-year-old Rebeca Damico, ChatGPTs public release in 2022 during her sophomore year of college at the University of Utah felt like navigating a minefield. The public relations student, now readying to graduate in the spring, said her professors immediately added policies to their syllabuses banning use of the chatbot, calling the generative artificial intelligence tool a form of plagiarism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For me, as someone who follows the rules, I was very scared, Damico said. I was like, oh, I cant, you know, even think about using it, because theyll know. Salt Lake City-based Damico studied journalism before switching her major to public relations, and saw ChatGPT and tools like it as a real threat to the writing industry. She also felt very aware of the temptation she and her classmates now had suddenly a term paper that might take you all night to write could be done in a few minutes with the help of AI. I know people that started using it and would use it to write their entire essays. I know people that got caught. I know people that didnt, Damico said. Especially in these last couple weeks of the semester, its so easy to be like, Oh, put it into ChatGPT, but then were like, if we do it once, its kind of like, this slippery slope. But students say theyre getting mixed messages the stern warning from professors against use of AI and the growing pressure from the job market to learn how to master it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The technological developments of generative AI over the last few years have cracked open a new industry, and a wealth of job opportunities. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced the first statewide partnership with a tech firm to bring AI curriculum, resources and opportunities to the states public colleges. And even for those students not going into an IT role, its likely they will be asked to use AI in some way in their industries. Recent research from the World Economic Forums 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report found that 75% of people in the workforce are using AI at work, and that some hiring managers are equally prioritizing AI skills with real-world job experience. Higher eds view of AI Over the last few years, the University of Utah, like most academic institutions, has had to take a position on AI. As Damico experienced, the university added AI guidelines to its student handbook that take a fairly hard stance against the tools. It urges professors to add additional AI detection tools in addition to education platform Canvas Turnitin feature, which scans assignments for plagiarism. The guidelines also now define the use of AI tools without citation, documentation or authorization as forms of cheating. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though Damico said some professors continue to hold a hard line against AI, some have started to embrace it. The case-by-case basis Damico describes from her professors is in line with how many academic institutions are handling the technology. Some universities spell out college-wide rules, while others leave it up to professors themselves to set AI standards in their classrooms. Others, like Stanford Universitys policy, acknowledge that students are likely to interact with it. Stanford bans AI from being used to substantially complete an assignment or exam, and says students must disclose its use, but says absent a clear statement from a course instructor, use of or consultation with generative AI shall be treated analogously to assistance from another person. Virginia Byrne is an associate professor of higher education and student affairs at Morgan State University in Baltimore, and she studies technology in the lives of learners and educators, with a focus on how it impacts college students. She said the university allows professors to figure out what works best for them when it comes to AI. She herself often assigns projects that prompt students to investigate the strengths and weaknesses of popular AI tools. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shes also a researcher with the TRAILS Institute, an multi-institution organization aiming to understand what trust in AI looks like, and how to create ethical, sustainable AI solutions. Along with Morgan State, researchers from University of Maryland, George Washington University and Cornell University conduct a variety of research, such as how ChatGPT can be used in health decision making, how to create watermark technology for AI or how other countries are shaping AI policy. Its cool to be in a space with people doing research thats related, but so different, Byrne said. Because it expands your thinking, and it allows us to bring graduate students and undergraduate students into this community where everyone is focused on trustworthiness and AI, but from so many different lenses. Byrne hopes that her students can see the potential that AI has to make their lives and work more easy, but she worries that it creates an artificial expectation for how young people need to perform online. It might lead some folks, younger folks, who are just starting their careers, to feel like they need to use (social media tool) Canva to look totally perfect on LinkedIn, and use all these tools to optimize their time and their calendars, Byrne said. And I just worry that its creating a false expectation of speed and efficiency that the tools currently cant accomplish. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theresa Fesinstine is the founder of peoplepower.ai, which trains HR professionals on ways AI can be used efficiently within their organization. This semester, she instructed her first college course at the City University of New York on AI and business, and taught students of all years and backgrounds. Fesinstine said she was surprised how many of her students knew little to nothing about AI, but heard that many other instructors warned theyd fail students who were found to have used it in assignments. She thinks this mixed messaging often comes from not understanding the technology, and its abilities to help with an outline, or to find research resources. Its a little scary, and I think thats where, right now, most of the trepidation is centered around, she said. Its that most people, in my opinion, havent been trained or understand how to use AI most effectively, meaning they use it in the same way that you would use Google. Real-world applications Shriya Boppana, a 25-year-old MBA student at Duke University, not only uses AI in her day-to-day life for schoolwork, but shes also pursuing a career in generative AI development and acquisitions. She wasnt initially interested in AI, she said, but she worked on a project with Google and realized how the technology was set to influence everyday life, and how malleable it still is. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Once you kind of realize how much that the tech actually isnt as fleshed out as you think it is, I was a little more interested in trying to understand what the path is to get it where it needs to go, Boppana said. She said she uses some form of AI tool every day, from planning her own schedule, to having a chatbot help decide how students in a group project should divide and complete work, based on their availability. Because she works with it regularly, she understands the strengths and limitations of AI, saying it helps her get mundane tasks done, process data or outline an assignment. But she said the personalized tone she aims to have in her writing just isnt there yet with the publicly available AI tools, so she doesnt completely rely on it for papers or correspondence. Parris Haynes, a 22-year-old junior studying philosophy at Morgan State, said the structure and high demand of some students coursework almost encourages or incentivizes them to use AI to help get it all done. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He sees himself either going into law, or academia and said hes a little nervous about how AI is changing those industries. Though he leans on AI to help organize thoughts or assignments for classes like chemistry, Haynes said he wouldnt go near it when it comes to his work or career-related objectives for his philosophy classes. I dont really see much of a space for AI to relieve me of the burden of any academic assignments or potential career tasks in regards to philosophy, Haynes said. Even if it could write a convincing human-seeming paper, a philosophical paper, its robbing me of the joy of doing it. Gen Zs outlook on their future with AI Like Haynes, Fesinstine knows that some of her students are interested, but a little scared about the power AI may have over their futures. Although theres a lot of research about how older generations jobs are impacted by AI, those just about to break into the workforce may be the most affected, because theyve grown up with these technologies. I would say the attitude is I use this term a lot, cautiously curious, Fesinstine said. You know, theres definitely a vibe around ethics and protection that I dont know that I would see in other generations, perhaps But theres also an acknowledgement that this is something that a lot of companies are going to need and are going to want to use. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, two years since ChatGPTs release, Damico has started to realize the ways generative AI is useful in the workplace. She began working with PR firm Kronus Communications earlier this year, and was encouraged to explore some time-saving or brainstorming functions of generative AI. Shes become a fan of having ChatGPT explain new business concepts to her, or to get it to suggest Instagram captions. She also likes to use it for more refined answers than Google might provide, such as if shes searching for publications to pitch a client to. Though shes still cautious, and wont use generative AI to write actual assignments for her, Damico said she realizes she needs the knowledge and experience after graduation it gives you kind of this edge. Boppana, who sees her career growing in the AI space, feels incredibly optimistic about the role AI will play in her future. She knows shes more knowledgeable and prepared to go into an AI-centered workforce than most, but she feels like the opportunities for growth in healthcare, telecommunications, computing and more are worth wading into uncertain waters. I think its like a beautiful opportunity for people to learn how machines just interact with the human world, and how we can, I dont know, make, like, prosthetic limbs, like test artificial hearts find hearing aids, Boppana said. Theres so much beauty in the way that AI helps human beings. I think you just have to find your space within it. Kamala Harris could make history as the first woman and person of color to be elected California governor . But shed need to really want the job. She couldnt see it as merely a consolation prize after losing the presidential election to Donald Trump. Nor could she view it as a stepping stone back to the White House. California voters would sense those feelings and perhaps not elect her. Anyway, shed probably be miserable in her work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rather, Harris would need to view the job as a probable career-capper, taking pride in solving complex problems that are eating away at her native state. Shed have to be eager to deal with homelessness, the housing shortage, street crime, overregulation, a perpetual water shortage and the annual hassle of balancing a volatile state budget fed by an outdated tax system that should have been modernized years ago. These black eyes on California are critical dilemmas. But absent a dedicated desire to solve them, they could be viewed as tediously boring compared to leading the nation on sweeping national issues and global diplomacy. Thered be no playing of Hail to the Chief, no presidents own U.S. Marine band performing at state dinners, no private cabin aboard Air Force One - in fact, no gubernatorial plane at all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Column: Lots to blame for Harris' dismal finish, including blunders by Obama and Biden And unlike residing in the majestic White House with all expenses paid, thered be no housing benefit whatsoever unless she moved into the creaky old Victorian governors mansion that Gov. Gavin Newsom soon fled after being elected, buying his own large estate in the Sacramento suburbs . Win or lose, if Harris ran to succeed the termed-out Newsom in 2026 - as is widely speculated her window to become president would likely be closed. Wrong, some argue. They point to Richard Nixon, another California native. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nixon was vice president and lost the top job to John F. Kennedy in 1960. Then he ran for California governor two years later as Harris could and was beaten by Democratic incumbent Pat Brown. Just think how much youre going to be missing, the bitter loser famously told reporters the morning after his embarrassing defeat. You dont have Nixon to kick around anymore. Because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference. Not quite. Six years later, Nixon ran for president again and narrowly won. Some cite this comeback story as historic proof that a Harris race for governor could be a step back to the White House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heres the fallacy in that scenario: Nixon had six years to regroup and plan a campaign. Harris would have no grace period. If Harris became governor in January 2027, shed almost immediately need to begin running for president in the 2028 election. How opportunistic would that look? Shed be seen by voters everywhere as two-faced. Harris could wait until her second gubernatorial term and run for president in 2032. But by then the political landscape will have changed. Unlike 2028, an incumbent president undoubtedly will be seeking reelection in 2032 possibly a Democrat. Read more: Column: Harris' defeat opens a bumpy path to the White House for Newsom Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 1968, Republican Nixon benefited greatly from a Democratic Party fractured by the Vietnam War. And if Democrat Robert F. Kennedy hadnt been assassinated on election night after his California primary victory, Im convinced he would have beaten Nixon in November. Age also is a factor. Harris will be 68 in 2032. Nixon was only 55 when he won the presidency . Harris could skip a gubernatorial bid and run again for president in 2028 when Trump is termed out. But I cant see Democrats turning to her a second time after she lost to such a flawed human being as Trump. Sure, the loss wasnt all her fault. President Biden stubbornly refused to drop out of the race until it was too late for the vice president to build a strong national support base. But still she lost. And the Nixon fluke aside, parties dont normally double down on losers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So if she wants to stay in the fight, as she says, becoming governor seems her best option. But she should expect a race, not a trot. Shed need to raise at least $50 million maybe $100 million-plus. And she could do that with her access to hefty donors. But it would require energy, time and an earnest sales pitch. Read more: California Gov. Kamala Harris? New poll finds she'd have a clear advantage Harris would need a strong message something a lot more appealing than the were not going back yawner she used against Trump. Because, face it, she didnt run as well in California this year as Biden did in 2020. Harris trounced Trump by 20 percentage points, but Biden walloped him by 29. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And, despite being a U.S. senator, former California attorney general and ex-San Francisco district attorney, she was running far back in the polls in her home state before dropping out of the 2020 presidential primaries. But because of her familiarity to voters, long elective resume and fundraising ability, Harris would be the undisputed front-runner for governor. Shed practically clear the field immediately prompting many current Democratic candidates to drop out and several others contemplating the run to forget it. Most couldnt raise enough bucks to compete against her. Thats unfortunately the curse of contemporary politics. But some strong competitor would probably emerge. Maybe a moderate Democrat with barrels of money. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Harris shouldnt linger long in deciding. If she runs, itd be best to start erecting the campaign machinery and selling herself around the state by spring. Should she run? Definitely if deep down shed love to be the powerful governor of her native state, the worlds fifth-largest economy. If she truly wants to stay in the fight. 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. Democrats have a growing problem with union members and working-class voters, a building block that's been foundational to their political success. Lorena Gonzalez, head of the California Labor Federation, thinks she has at least a partial solution. Weve got to listen to them, she said, and not talk about things that do not play in their life, or that they dont identify with. That may seem as straightforward as a palm-slap to the forehead. (Well, duh!) But its not necessarily something union leaders have done in the past. Often, Gonzalez said, the top-down instruction to labors political troops has been, This is our message. Go sell it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vote Harris. Elect a Democratic Congress. Stop Trump. But none of that, she said, resonated with the large number of Republican and conservative-leaning California voters who also happen to be union members in proud standing. So the Labor Federation tried something different this election, avoiding words such as Democrat and Republican, Biden, Harris and Trump in its political pitch. The usual go-to, the top-of-the-ticket discussion with our union members, wasnt going to get us anywhere, Gonzalez said last week in a lengthy conversation at the Labor Federations downtown Sacramento headquarters. And it would just shut them down for everything else. Read more: Column: California produced a female House speaker and vice president. So why are women losing ground? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement California was an oasis this November in a largely barren Democratic landscape. Even as they lost the White House and Senate, the party flipped three House seats in the state, helping Democrats to an overall gain of a single seat and holding Republicans to the barest majority in decades. Several of those California races were very close, so the Democratic success can be attributed to any number of factors. But at least some credit goes to the Labor Federation and its speak-no-partisanship strategy, which helped yield a significant number of crossover votes in a several closely fought congressional contests. As Democrats spend the next few years soul-searching and wilderness-wandering, its an approach to winning union members and working-class voters that, Gonzalez suggested, is worth studying across the country. As recently as 2012, Democratic presidential candidates could count on the support of about 6 in 10 voters from union households. (Thats how exit pollsters typically measure the sentiment of union members; they ask whether a voter or someone they are living with belongs to a union.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That percentage has fallen in every election Donald Trump has been on the ballot, to just about 5 in 10 voters. The decline may not seem like a lot, but even a small shift matters in close elections especially in battleground states with large union memberships, such as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The California strategy grew out of a series of focus groups undertaken soon after Gonzalez, a former state lawmaker, became head of the Labor Federation in July 2022. "What did I want to do?" she asked, as the clang of a trolley car rang from the K Street Mall below. "Not talk to our members, but listen to them." Read more: Column: Lorena Gonzalez is a foul-mouthed Latina troublemaker. That's good for California workers Discussions were held throughout the state, in the Central Valley, the Inland Empire, Orange County and the L.A. region home to the half-dozen most competitive congressional races in California. The groups were split among men and women, Democrats and Republicans; the separation was intended, Gonzalez said, to avoid turning conversations into political arguments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The survey found that in virtually every district there were more self-identified Republican union members than Democrats which didn't necessarily match up with members' voter registration. "Take back the House," the national Democratic rallying cry, was obviously "not gonna fly," Gonzalez said, nor would a message built around keeping a Democrat in the White House even if both were seen as being to the greater advantage of union members. Instead, strategists drew on something that emerged from those focus groups: a fundamental belief in the value of diligent labor. "We would ask questions like, 'What do you like about your union?' " Gonzalez recollected. The oft-heard response: "My union fights for me because I work hard." That, in turn, led to a campaign focused on the failings of the 118th Congress, historically one of the least productive in history. The message was simple. If you performed as poorly on the job as your representative in Washington, you'd be fired. Variations on that theme were repeated to tens of thousands of union members in each of the six competitive districts. In mailers. In discussions on front porches. On refrigerator magnets sent to their homes. "If I got as little done at my job," the magnets read, "this refrigerator would be empty." A refrigerator magnet mailed to union members by the California Federation of Labor suggested they would be fired if they performed as poorly as their congressional representative. This one targeted Rep. Ken Calvert (California Federation of Labor Unions) Care was taken to include documentation from the likes of CNN and Fox News, lest attacks on the do-nothing Congress came across as a one-sided attack. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement (It was a somewhat tougher sell in the open-seat contest to replace Democrat Katie Porter, but union strategists counted on Republican Scott Baugh being tainted by association with the Republican-led House. Democrat Dave Min narrowly won the Orange County contest.) Rather than telling union members who they should vote for the usual approach "we left them to come to their own conclusion," Gonzalez said. Not by making a partisan argument, but appealing to their work ethic. It seemed to work. Not perfectly. Democrats knocked off Reps. Mike Garcia in northern L.A. County, Michelle Steel in Orange County and John Duarte in the Central Valley. (The latter two by not much). They failed to oust Republicans David Valadao in the Valley and Ken Calvert in the Inland Empire. But the strategy was successful enough that Gonzalez plans to sit down with national labor leaders for a debriefing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Column: She's won twice in Trump country. What can this Democrat teach her party? It was admittedly difficult for the self-described "bleeding-heart liberal" not to press the hair-on-fire argument about the dangers of Trump and the need for a Democratic check on his authoritarian impulses. Typically, Gonzalez said, "That's how we talk." The approach to California union members more a nudge than a shove also had to be sold to skeptics. There has long been a sense within the labor movement that if "we just ... 'educate' them enough," she said, "they'll be good Democrats." But that bespeaks an arrogance the party will have to overcome if it's going to stanch the bleeding among union and working-class voters. Only then will Democrats end their exile in Washington. Get the latest from Mark Z. Barabak Focusing on politics out West, from the Golden Gate to the U.S. Capitol. Sign me up. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. When I first heard the phrase rape culture years ago, it sounded so dystopian that I wanted to believe it was an exaggeration. But then came shocking revelations from all corners: the Catholic Church sex scandal, the Boy Scout sex scandal, the Fox News sex scandals, the Bill Cosby sex scandal and the numerous revelations of the #MeToo movement. Any doubt about the existence of rape culture simply crumples under the weight of reality. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont always use that term because it is too vague, said Wayne State University social psychologist Antonia Abbey, whose research focuses on male sexual violence and aggression against women. I will use patriarchy or misogyny, the idea that throughout history, men have had power over women and children. Read more: Abcarian: Nancy Mace's shameless exploitation of America's first transgender congresswoman Because of #MeToo, and all the firings, resignations, civil lawsuits and criminal charges the movement produced, it really did seem possible for a moment that we were on the verge of a true cultural shift. Maybe men of power and privilege would finally understand that women are not objects to be used for their subjugation and pleasure and would, you know, keep their hands off. If a recent series of bombshell criminal charges against rich, powerful, famous men prove true, this view was far too optimistic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Abcarian: This is why Donald Trump just doubled down on mass deportation of millions of immigrants Last week, a federal indictment charged three brothers associated with the high-flying world of luxury Manhattan and Miami real estate with drugging and raping dozens of women. If even half of what's in the indictment is accurate, it would make it painfully clear that a subset of privileged, narcissistic men still believe women exist for their domination and gratification. And perhaps nothing will ever change that. The Alexander brothers twins Alon and Oren and their brother, Tal are accused of a veritable crime wave. For more than a decade, according to Manhattan U.S. Atty. Damian Williams, the brothers alone and together repeatedly and violently sexually assaulted and raped women after drugging them with cocaine, mushrooms, GHB and other substances. Lawyers for the brothers have said they are innocent of the charges. Alon Alexander, top, and his twin brother, Oren, bottom, in court in Miami. (Matias J. Ocner / Associated Press) Our investigation is far from over, Williams said in a statement announcing the sex trafficking indictment. He urged any other victims to come forward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The recent accusations against music entrepreneur Sean "Diddy" Combs are also mind-boggling. Williams announced in September that a federal grand jury had returned a three-count indictment of Combs alleging crimes so heinous that a judge has refused three requests to free him on bail. He remains in a jail cell at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn awaiting trial. The indictment accuses Combs of running a criminal enterprise for the last 15 years in which many women, and some men, were systematically drugged, sexually assaulted, punched, kicked and threatened. A lawsuit filed last week accused another music titan, Jay-Z, of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl at a 2000 MTV Video Music Awards after-party in Combs' presence. Jay-Z has vigorously denied the charges, and a lawyer for Combs has said he has "never sexually assaulted anyone." Sean Combs at a gala before the 2020 Grammy Awards in Beverly Hills. (Mark Von Holden / Invision / Associated Press) From 2008 through this year, the grand jury alleged, Combs and his staff organized a number of what they called freak-offs in which sex workers were hired to have sex with victims who were often drugged to make them compliant. Combs videotaped the encounters and used the tapes as collateral to ensure the continued obedience and silence of the victims, according to the indictment. American celebrities aren't the only recent subjects of such charges. There's also the grotesque case of Dominique Pelicot, the Frenchman who admitted drugging his wife, Gisele, and allowing dozens of men to rape her in their home. President-elect Donald Trump has been found liable for sexual assault, and several members of his inner circle have also been implicated in allegations of sexual misconduct, some of which have been vehemently disputed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rape culture, Abbey said, doesnt disappear in a generation or two, just like racist beliefs dont disappear. It wasnt even very long ago, she noted, that the last states to eliminate a marital exception for rape did so. (Oklahoma and North Carolina finally outlawed marital rape in 1993, though loopholes still exist.) One of Abbey's recent studies, published in the journal Psychology of Violence, found that up to 30% of men admit using coercive techniques against women who clearly did not want to have sex. Thats part of this idea of rape culture, she told me, just the fact that the line between seduction and coercion is blurry, and people think, If I can get away with it, its OK. If we didnt have a society that condoned it, it would be rarer. Its easy to see how a victim could be ensnared by a more powerful perpetrator under such circumstances. Someone famous and powerful pays attention to you what a boost for your ego, said Abbey, while emphasizing that she does not blame sexual assault victims. A record deal! Come live at my place! For many, it seems like a dream come true, a ticket to the top." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What exactly is it going to take to end rape culture? At this dark moment, I am at a loss. Bluesky: @rabcarian.bsky.social. Threads: @rabcarian If its in the news right now, the L.A. Times Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) On Sunday, the community is coming together to remember Ashley Dominguez, the 18-year-old who was killed in a shooting along Murfreesboro Pike two weeks ago. Dominguezs family members are hosting a candlelight vigil on Sunday, Dec. 15 at 3 p.m. on the steps of the Historic Metro Courthouse (1 Public Square Park). They are asking for the public to join them to reflect on the loss of their loved one as well as support the 728 other families of gun violence victims in Nashville over the last decade. They will place white roses on the courthouse lawn one for each life lost. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement PREVIOUS: 1 dead, 2 injured after shooting on Murfreesboro Pike, police say One of the things that Ashleys mom wanted was that she wanted to get Ashleys story out so people know that Ashleys a real person, that they are real people, that this tragedy not only cut her daughters life short and took a daughter from her but has sent ripples throughout her family and her community, said Melissa Alvarez-Zabriskie, founder of the Tennessee Hispanic Action Network. She doesnt want this to happen to other kids. Today it could be her daughter, but tomorrow, it can very easily be someone elses. On Dec. 1, Dominguez was fatally shot at an after-hours club in South Nashville, the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) said. A witness reported hearing a heated argument before shots were fired into a vehicle with five people inside. Dominguez and two 19-year-old women were injured. They were transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where Dominguez died. Detectives said they have interviewed multiple people, but the suspect remains at large. This is an ongoing investigation. If you have any information, youre asked to call Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So many families are destroyed by somebody elses decision to pull a trigger, Alvarez-Zabriskie. Its also important to keep them in our thoughts and our considerations that the holiday season isnt always happy for everybody, especially families that have been that have been destroyed by gun violence. RELATED: South Nashville residents share concerns after shooting outside club leaves 1 teen dead, 2 others injured Dominguez was one of seven siblings. Her hobbies included singing, dancing and spending time with her loved ones. She graduated high school in May and planned to travel the world, according to an obituary on the Simple Cremation and Funeral Services website. (Courtesy: Melissa Alvarez-Zabriskie) (Courtesy: Melissa Alvarez-Zabriskie) (Courtesy: Melissa Alvarez-Zabriskie) (Courtesy: Melissa Alvarez-Zabriskie) Ashley will forever stand in our hearts as one of the most strong and loving human beings to ever walk Gods earth, the obituary said. Her perseverance, strength, love and selflessness to her family and friends is something that could never be replicated. The love that she left us with will forever have a permanent home inside our hearts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If youd like to help the Dominguez family financially, you can donate on their GoFundMe page. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) Residents and officials in North County are trying to raise the water level of Lake Hodges, but theyre facing their biggest challenge the state mandate of levels. California government requires lakes to be no deeper than 280 feet; however, concerned people are asking that the reservoir be raised to 293 feet. As of Friday, the lake had dropped to 273 feet, which is the lowest its been in the last 40 years. Will San Diego have a white Christmas? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The reason to increase the depth is due to the high risk of wildfires in the area. All the dried brush near the lake is considered as fuel for a fire. Crews typically use the water in the lake to put out fires. One of those times was during the Witch Creek fire in 2007, which remains one of the biggest wildfires in San Diego County history. In fact, the area is still scarred by the blaze. A group of citizens and advocates are now calling for changes to the Lake Hodges dam as the popular reservoir continues to shrink in size. The dam in the Rancho Bernardo area was built in 1918, with plans underway for years to replace the aging infrastructure. Due to its current status, the City of San Diego is under a state order to keep the lake water level at about 30% capacity. That led to massive water releases after last winters storms and now a drying-out lake after a lack of rain this year, in turn, leading to concerns about possible wildfires. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is a huge difference in the likelihood of a fire here. It comes down from up above Ramona and can come right down this canyon just like it did before, only theres a lot more fuel, local resident John Anshus commented on the matter. The group, named Calls For Change to Lake Hodges, hopes to convince the state to allow the city to increase the water levels of the lake. Meanwhile, the city received a $240 million loan earlier this year to take the first steps toward replacing the dam. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. KINSHASA (Reuters) -A meeting between the presidents of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo will not take place as planned on Sunday, both countries said, dashing hopes of a deal to curb Congo's M23 rebel conflict that has displaced more than 1.9 million people. The event was meant to see a rare face-to-face meeting between the central African leaders in Angola, where long-running negotiations have sought to ease tensions between the neighbours linked to the almost three-year M23 insurgency. Expectations that a deal would be signed had raised hopes of an end to a standoff that has further destabilised eastern Congo and fanned fears of a broader conflict in Africa's Great Lakes region akin to two devastating wars between 1996 and 2003 that cost millions of lives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The cancellation of this tripartite is caused by the refusal of the Rwandan delegation to take part," Congo's presidency said in a statement. It said on Saturday Rwanda had made the signing of a peace agreement conditional on Congo holding direct talks with M23 rebels, which Congo rejected. Rwandas foreign ministry said this lack of consensus meant it would not have been possible for it to sign Sunday's agreement. Postponing the meeting would allow Congo time to engage directly with M23, it said in a statement. The peace plan that was set to be signed envisaged Rwanda dismantling what it has called its defensive measures in the conflict in exchange for Congo eliminating a Hutu rebel group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which had attacked Tutsis in both countries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Congo, the United Nations, and others accuse Rwanda of fuelling the rebellion in North Kivu province by deploying its own troops and weapons to support M23, a group formed to defend the interests of Congolese Tutsis, the ethnic group to which Rwandan President Paul Kagame belongs. Rwanda denies this, acknowledging only that it has taken defensive measures, and accuses Congo of recruiting FDLR militants to fight on its side. There were 3,000-4,000 Rwandan troops in Congo with "de facto control" over M23 operations, U.N. experts said this year. The international community needs to do more to push Rwanda to back down, said Congo expert Jason Stearns at Canada's Simon Fraser University. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "There's very little pressure, especially as the country putting the most pressure on Rwanda so far is the United States, which is going through a transition of its own," he said. (Reporting by Ange Kasongo, Yassin Kombi, Philbert Girinema, George Obulutsa, Sonia RolleyWriting by Alessandra Prentice;Editing by Louise Heavens) Joe Biden will leave the White House in January as only the second Catholic to occupy it. But a number of Catholics are expected to soon fill the ranks of Donald Trump's administration. Trump, who was raised as a Presbyterian but now considers himself non-denominational, has nominated at least a dozen Catholics to top positions in his administration, including his own vice president JD Vance, a Catholic convert, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his pick for Health and Human Services Secretary. Their faith could play a direct role in shaping public policy, from pro-union policies and new tariffs to expanding the child tax credit and more tightly regulating the food and drug industries and also help carve a new path forward for the Republican Party. In interviews, several conservative practicing Catholic leaders said they see a close alignment between many of Trumps second-term policy priorities and a conservative read of Catholic social teaching, which goes far beyond abortion. Its also focused on promoting marriage and having children, giving parents wide discretion on everything from school content to health care and empowering non-governmental institutions like churches and nonprofit organizations for social support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No ones walking into the administration ready to mount a crusade or anything, said Rachel Bovard, vice president of programs at the Conservative Partnership Institute, a Trump-aligned think tank. But theres a very specific sort of Catholic paradigm that you may begin to see. It comes after decades of influence of a more individualistic evangelical Protestantism on the Republican Party that, among other things, strongly embraced individual liberty and free market capitalism. The market is not an end unto itself. The market has a purpose and that is to create a free and flourishing society. If the family is not doing well, society is not doing well. We need to make sure our public policy is helping family to function, Bovard added. A spokesperson for the Trump transition did not respond to a request for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his nearly decade of political prominence, Trump has already dramatically reshaped the GOP, and its clear that the Republican Party's future likely wont be found in Ronald Reagans three-legged stool of conservatism, which was fiscally conservative, socially conservative and hawkish. Where Republicans have long been skeptical of government intervention, some in the party increasingly see the government as a tool to reshape social policy. Republicans who long embraced pro-life policies, like restricting abortion access and supporting crisis pregnancy centers, are now leaning into a broader set of what they call pro-family policies that range from tax policies encouraging people to get married and have children to restrictions on kids accessing online porn. They are also now starting to turn a skeptical eye toward big businesses, including Big Pharma, Big Ag and Big Tech. I think President Trump has put together a very pro-family platform that wants to return the family to the center of public policy again. Obviously, I think thats very Catholic. I dont think hes trying to be very Catholic, said Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project. It just so happens to coincide with Catholic principles and Catholic teaching. This is, of course, not the progressive-leaning Catholicism of Biden, Nancy Pelosi and other prominent Democrats, which has honed in on social justice, climate change and health care access among its top causes. Their definition of Catholicism would bristle at the idea of turning away migrants or curtailing Medicaid access. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Catholics are the largest group of Christians worldwide, and Catholics from both parties have long held prominent positions not only in the White House but across Washington. Six of them sit on the nine-member U.S. Supreme Court; they make up a quarter of Congress, where they are overrepresented compared to the American population; and Biden appointed a similarly sizable number of Catholics to his Cabinet. But conservative Catholic leaders see in the GOPs embrace of populism a turn toward what they call a common-good conservatism that is less focused on individual rights and more focused on families and the community. It trades a pro-business focus for a pro-family one. And its one they see non-Catholics leaning into. Trump, in a recent interview with TIME Magazine, declared that the GOP has become the party of common sense. What does Catholic social teaching say about these things? Well, it says the aim of politics is the common good, said Brian Burch, president of the conservative Catholic Vote. And right now we have a huge swath of our population, especially families, that are not flourishing. Trump's performance with Catholics is only getting better likely due in part to his dramatic improvement among Latino voters. This year, he won 59 percent of the Catholic vote, a group he carried with 50 percent support in 2016 and that Biden won with 52 percent in 2020, according to CNN exit polling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some conservative Catholics are particularly intrigued by Kennedy, whose uncle, John F. Kennedy, was the nations first Catholic president. While Kennedy comes from a storied Democratic family, and himself was a registered Democrat until 2023, some of them see his concerns that food and drug companies are profiting off of sick people aligning with Catholic social teachings concerns around human dignity and respect, even as some of them have concerns about his shifting views on abortion. Bobby has talked about the commoditization of the human person, whether its their sickness and their health its just another vaccine away from managing. Or Big Food and Big Government and Big Pharma have colluded in a way to manage people as commodities, and theyre kind of cogs in a globalist machine that we just need to manage with medicine, technology and science, said Burch, who is close to Kennedy. And for Catholics, we say, well, wait, no theres something much richer and deeper and more profound about what it means to be human that we need to recapture. Other Catholics that Trump has nominated to his Cabinet include Marco Rubio as secretary of State, Lori Chavez-DeRemer as Labor secretary, Sean Duffy as Transportation secretary, Linda McMahon as Education secretary, Elise Stefanik as United Nations ambassador, Kelly Loeffler as SBA administrator and John Ratcliffe as CIA director. The partys lean toward these parts of Catholicism comes as the country grapples with high rates of income inequality, and two generations confront the reality that middle-class goals like buying a house and having kids feel increasingly out of reach. It also comes amid a growing societal discussion over gender roles, stagnating birth rates and the ubiquity of technology, social media and artificial intelligence in people, and particularly kids, everyday lives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Leading the charge is Vance, whose conversion as an adult to a postliberal strain of Catholicism underpins his approach to policy making. While the George W. Bush era saw an attempt to marry conservatism to certain kinds of Catholic social teaching government intervention to meet the needs of the poor, and support for human rights abroad it fell by the wayside as the Tea Party wave took over the Party. Now, in Vance, you have a figure who is trying to apply Catholic social teaching in a deeper, different way than we've seen before, said Ramesh Ponnuru, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Its just a general kind of attempt to reorient Republican economics toward families and a little bit less toward business. This conservative view of Catholic social teaching lines up in many ways with the partys shifting views on a number of issues, like labor unions and trade policy. Vance, who joined a United Auto Workers picket line last year, has voiced familiarity with Pope Leo XIIIs 1901 encyclical on Christian democracy, in which he wrote that it is only by the labor of working men that States grow rich. Rubio has previously referenced the text in his own argument in support of labor unions, as has Robert Lighthizer, who was Trumps trade chief during the first administration, in his arguments against the orthodoxies of free trade religion. (Lighthizer is unlikely to return to a Trump administration, but his close aide was chosen to be the U.S. trade representative.) It also speaks to an increasing interest within the GOP in using the government to incentivize family creation, as countries in Europe, like Italy, Greece, Hungary and Russia, have tried to do, though so far with little success. Trump has said he wants a significant expansion of the child tax credit Vance has suggested increasing it to $5,000 per child and also promised to make in vitro fertilization available to Americans free of charge. (That policy does, however, conflict with the official Catholic Churchs position against IVF, which opposes it.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a push that comes also as there is growing movement within the anti-abortion movement to focus on these and other pro-family policies instead of new abortion restrictions, as much of the country remains broadly supportive of some level of abortion access. Were going to be talking about [IVF], Trump recently told NBC News Kristen Welker. Well be submitting in either the first or second package to Congress the extension of the tax cuts. So that might very well be in there, or itll come sometime after that. Still, progressive Catholics are skeptical about the extent to which the GOP will actually prioritize these policies, when Trump has promised in his first 100 days to focus on extending tax cuts, taking action on the border, and addressing crime in cities. And it's unlikely big business, long allied with the Republican Party, will roll over easily. When you look at what the Republicans are talking about, theyre talking a whole lot more about cutting social provision than they are expanding it, said E.J. Dionne, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who has focused on Catholic engagement in the political arena. The dominant strain in the party is still far more pro-business, anti-government, libertarian." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And progressive and some conservative Catholics agree that the administrations hardline approach to immigration is likely to rankle U.S. bishops, who are already wary of Trumps mass deportation proposal. When youre looking at their first priority, Dionne added, its not family policy. Mike Johnsons speakership appeared to be on life support seven months ago. Now, even his biggest antagonists are preparing to back him as the party enters the second Trump era. It didnt happen by accident Johnsons been working diligently behind the scenes to solidify support. According to interviews with roughly a dozen lawmakers, his improved fortunes are attributable to three main factors, all things hes played an active role in: Bringing his defectors into the fold and hearing them out, punting a huge funding fight into early next year and securing President-elect Donald Trumps endorsement. That last one was particularly key, and Johnson, knowing that was the case, had aligned himself closely with Trump for months. Once the president-elect endorsed the speaker in November, most of Johnsons opposition gradually melted away. Hard-liners considering a long-shot bid against him have now opted against it, wary of crossing the president-elect. At this point, Johnson says he and Trump talk constantly and their continued alignment will have huge impacts not only on the speakers future, but also on the GOPs ambitious legislative agenda. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I would vote for him today, said Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), who mounted symbolic challenges to Kevin McCarthy for the speakership and voted to advance an ouster effort against Johnson earlier this year. I just dont think we need a distraction right now at this point. Hes been more accessible for me to talk to and bellyache and moan to. Two of the three Republicans who tried to force a vote to boot Johnson in May, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), now say theyll support Johnson in January. Gosar told POLITICO that he would vote for Johnson but added, I just think hes got to take some stuff further. The third lawmaker in that group, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), said he is still making up his mind. Im still talking to Mike Johnson about that, Massie said in a recent interview. Johnson isnt totally in the clear yet, given hell have almost no room for error in January. No Democrats are going to help him, which means he can have only one Republican vote against him and still become speaker. And beyond Massie, theres still a few who either arent tipping their hand or are undecided on backing Johnson, like Reps. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) and Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Still, despite some of their colleagues keeping their options open, four conservatives told POLITICO that they dont expect any Republican to oppose Johnson on the floor. I dont think theres going to be a speakers race. Right now, he has overwhelming support and hes supported Trump, said Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), adding that something fairly egregious would have to happen for Johnson to lose. And he thinks thats unlikely. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), who opened the door to opposing Johnson earlier this year, added that House Republicans are ready to move forward. I dont think theres an appetite to have a speaker fight. People like Mike. He also acknowledged what has been a yearslong problem for leadership rebels: Who are you going to get? Who wants it? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While conservatives had weighed putting up a symbolic challenger to the speaker in an internal conference vote last month, they ultimately backtracked after they secured a deal on the conferences internal rules. After that, Johnson received unanimous backing from his party to be the GOP speaker nominee a once-unthinkable feat. Trump, who showed up before the meeting, backed him just ahead of the vote. After that vote, momentum kept moving in Johnsons favor. Greene kept the door open to backing Johnson for the full floor vote, before publicly saying earlier this month that she intends to support him. The speaker had met privately with Greene to discuss her role in the conference, with the Louisiana Republican saying he wanted her to be more involved. She was later given a prominent post leading a subpanel that will work with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, though Johnson and the House Oversight chair deny the GOP leader was involved in that decision. Johnson, during an interview on "The Bret Baier Podcast," said that he wasnt worried about the Jan. 3 speaker race, adding: Look, we have a unified conference. Ive talked with every single individual at great length. I think well have a smooth transition, a smooth election as speaker. There are still some traps remaining that Johnson will need to avoid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Conservatives are still watching closely to see how Johnson handles a Dec. 20 government funding deadline, including the details of any disaster aid money. If Johnson had agreed to a mammoth end-of-year spending bill, known as an omnibus, it could have sparked conservative ire at the worst time for the speaker. Though some members of the right flank voted against a huge defense policy bill last week, Johnson included enough conservative wins that he kept blowback to a minimum. Others dismiss the idea that Johnson is in danger. Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), the former Interior secretary during Trumps first administration, said the speaker and president-elect are working in lockstep on legislative goals, including Johnsons spending plan. And others are still declining to say how they plan to vote on Jan. 3 as they negotiate their own positions next year. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) publicly threw his hat into the ring for Rules Committee chair last week, a position Johnson selects unilaterally. The Texas conservative declined to discuss how he would vote next month, noting that were still working through how were organized but added they were having active discussions in a positive way. I expect that were all going to be united come Jan. 3, Roy added. Mike has been good about working with all of us. PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) A toll-free hotline is now accepting calls to give people general information about the RIBridges data breach and advise them on steps they can take to protect their data. The center can be reached at (833) 918-6603 and will be open from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. Monday through Friday. Rhode Islanders who call may be asked to give the reference number for the RIBridges incident: B137035. BACKGROUND: RI state government hit by major cyberattack; Social Security, bank numbers believed stolen Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gov. Dan McKees office announced that the states outside vendor, Deloitte, has contracted Experian to run the multilingual call center following a cyberattack that may expose peoples personal data. Rhode Island officials urged residents to take immediate steps to protect themselves on Saturday, warning that the hackers could release personal data as early as this week. They are believed to have stolen Social Security and bank account numbers, among other items. Call center staff will be unable to confirm whether individual callers are affected by the breach, the governors office said. RELATED: McKee urges RI residents to act immediately after major cyberattack Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McKees office said anyone who has received or applied for most health or benefits programs over the last eight years could be impacted by the breach. The governor urged people to save the URL for the website where the state will post continued updates about the situation: cyberalert.ri.gov. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Roundup Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com. When you think of kings, it's hard not to visualize them sitting on a throne, covered in sumptuous furs and jewelry, being hand fed all sorts of delicacies and expensive treats. Foie gras, the fattened liver of a duck or goose, is certainly one of those royal snacks. Foie gras has a surprisingly long history that goes back to ancient Egyptian times, where evidence of gavage (the force-feeding process) was carved into walls. Later, Greeks and Romans adopted the practice of feeding geese figs and other rich foods to fatten up their liver. By the time the Renaissance rolled around, foie gras was fully ensconced into European haute cuisine. Today, France reigns supreme as both producer and protector of the controversial luxury good, even encoding it into their laws as a protected cultural and gastronomic heritage. King Charles III, on the other hand, has been an advocate for sustainable farming and animal welfare for years, since long before it became mainstream. In 1985, he actually converted one of his estates to organic farming, banning all synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and emphasizing crop rotation and health. Despite being publicly ridiculed in the media at the time, His Royal Highness even founded an organic food brand in 1990 called Duchy's Originals, whose profits he uses to this day to fund his charitable works. He is also known to drive an Aston Martin that runs on biofuel. So, it's perhaps no surprise that Charles, even though he's Head of the Commonwealth, would turn his nose up at the fattened goose liver. Read more: Ina Garten's Favorite Kitchen Tools (Including The One She's Kept For Nearly 60 Years) Why King Charles Banned Foie Gras foie gras on toast with fig - SYED IBAD RM/Shutterstock Foie gras is one of the most controversial animal products out there, primarily because its production involves force-feeding geese or ducks, often in tight quarters, ballooning their liver to 10 times its original size, before the bird is slaughtered at around 100 days of age. In 2004, California passed a law banning the production and sale of foie gras. In 2019, New York City passed their own ban, but it has since been overturned -- much to the delight of nearby duck farmers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Back when King Charles was still a prince, he had already banned the fatty liver in his own royal residences, as a part of his overall push for higher welfare standards for animal husbandry. Once he was upgraded to king in 2022 (foregoing the traditional lamprey pie at his coronation for environmental reasons), he further reaffirmed his position with a letter to PETA announcing no foie gras would be bought or sold across the Royal Household, including its many residences throughout the U.K. Today, there's a ban on the production of foie gras in the U.K., but not its import or sale. Though King Charles may not be everyone's cup of tea, his decades-long dedication to regenerative agriculture and animal welfare is certainly admirable. As a global figure, he continues to use his platform today to advocate for systemic changes to global agriculture, and is currently the royal patron for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and the Dogs Trust. For more food and drink goodness, join The Takeout's newsletter. Get taste tests, food & drink news, deals from your favorite chains, recipes, cooking tips, and more! Read the original article on The Takeout. Once a felon, always a felon. That is how some convicted felons say society looks at them, no matter the crime. Around 19 million Americans have a felony conviction, and at least 79 million have a criminal record, which can mean an arrest, charges or a conviction. But having a felony conviction, whether it involves incarceration or not, can impact your life long after you have served your time and paid your debt to society, felons say. There is a stigma that sticks to convicted felons even years after the crime, says Bruce Western, professor of Sociology and Social Justice and director of the Justice Lab at Columbia University. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think the core content of criminal stigma is that it arouses fears that someone could behave violently or dishonestly, he said. Thats kind of what a criminal record is signaling to people. Many felons say their criminal records make it harder for them to find jobs. About 30% of people with criminal records are unemployed. But that stigma did not appear to harm former president Donald Trump in the 2024 election. Less than six months after a New York jury convicted him of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment to a porn star, Americans voted to return Trump to the presidency. The president-elect, he contested the legitimacy of court action against him from the beginning, Western said. And I think his supporters, a lot of them found that pretty credible. In a poll after the trial, 83% of Republicans said they felt Trumps conviction was politically motivated, with just 17% saying it was not, according to an AP-NORC survey. Trumps crimes are considered white collar, which are usually nonviolent and often include fraud and corruption, according to the FBI. White collar crime isnt thought of as threatening in the same way as street crime, and high-status white offenders are not as burdened by criminal stigma, Western said. It doesnt hurt that he (Trump) is an older White man who is extremely wealthy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Restrictions on convicted felons vary from state to state. In some states felons are ineligible to vote, unless specific requirements (as in Trumps case) are met. Felons also can face restrictions on their ability to freely travel, serve as a juror, get a loan or qualify for public housing. In some states, felons can no longer hold public office. Western said his research shows that stable employment is crucial in helping felons avoid returning to crime. But while convicted felons can eventually find jobs, its really at the bottom of the labor market, he said. Its minimum-wage work, and theres no wage growth in that kind of work. CNN spoke to six convicted felons and asked them about their struggles, their hopes and how they feel about President-elect Donald Trump. Some expressed frustration at a perceived double standard that led many voters to apparently overlook Trumps criminal behavior, while others are hopeful that Trumps political resurrection may ease the stigma that they and other felons face. Jeremiah Marable, 35 | North Carolina Jeremiah Marable - Courtesy Jeremiah Marable Jeremiah was 25 years old when he was convicted of drug possession and selling drugs. He accepted a plea deal that meant no jail time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nearly 10 years after that felony conviction, Jeremiah is still dealing with the effects of being labeled a felon. My conviction was in 2015 and here I am still trying to apply to these jobs, and they still hold that against me, he says. He says he is an entrepreneur working in the trucking industry, but his criminal record keeps him from getting high-paying contracts that would allow him to work while staying close to his two young daughters. Jeremiah says he must take whatever job he can usually long-distance driving. A better contract would provide him with more opportunities closer to home and his family. After last months presidential election, he wonders if his situation is so different from that of President-elect Trumps. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If people can trust in him to run the country, you should trust in somebody that did their time and want to reinstate themselves, Jeremiah says. Especially if your leader has got 30-something felonies and I just have one. Danielle Forrest, 34 | Mississippi Danielle Forrest - Courtesy Danielle Forrest Danielle was released in March 2021 after serving about 8 months for being convicted of accessory to armed robbery after the fact. Danielle says her job hunt has been difficult and that working as an independent contractor in administration and customer support is the only way she can be employed right now. Her conviction put a halt on my life, on my career, on my mental stability, she says. Its very disheartening. Danielle says she is qualified for many jobs and has been offered some, but once the company does a background check all of that goes out the window. It makes me feel worthless. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A lot of these jobs that I have been hired for are work-from-home, and I dont even come into contact with people face-to-face, she says. So Im just really confused why (my conviction) plays a part. Danielle says the hardest thing about having a felony record is feeling like a productive member of society. She believes that its altered peoples perception of her forever. Youre never looked at as a normal person ever again. Danielle hopes Trump will take actionable steps to destigmatize and even relabel how felons are seen to improve the barriers they face when searching for jobs. If he can be our president, then why cant there be some type of change for employment for just normal people? Michael Powell, 54 | North Carolina Michael Powell - Courtesy Michael Powell Michael says he was convicted twice of breaking and entering in the late 1990s, serving less than a year for each charge. Hes also had convictions for theft and forgery. In 2003 he came out of prison for what he says was the last time after being convicted of driving under the influence (a misdemeanor), among other offenses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since 2009 hes been working at a local community college after getting his associate degree in electrical technology. Despite his academic achievements hes also earned both a bachelors degree and a masters in substance abuse counseling Michael says hes found it difficult to advance in his career. Based on his 15 years of experience, he applied for a higher-paying job as an electrical engineer at another company. During the job interview, when he was asked if there was anything else he wanted them to know, Michael was forthcoming about his felony convictions. I saw the shoulders slump and the heads went down, he says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He did not get the job. Now 22 years sober, Michael recently wrote a book, Living in a Two-faced Jungle, about his struggles with drug addiction. He hopes one day society will start to look differently at people trying to rebuild their lives after being convicted of crimes. Years ago, a felon was looked at as a second-class citizen, he says. Now hes (about to be) the President of the United States. Alysha Eppard, 28 | Indiana Alysha Eppard - Courtesy Alysha Eppard Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alysha says she served seven-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to two drug charges. Following her September release, she was placed under house arrest in Indiana. She was employed at a car lot but says she was let go because business was slow. Under the terms of her house arrest, whenever Alysha leaves home she must have people around her sign documents verifying her whereabouts at the given time. Alysha must also present these documents to hiring managers when she interviews for jobs. Theres definitely still a big stigma, she says. You can see it pass on their face when I ask them, Hey can you sign my paper stating that I was here? Their whole view of you just changes. They go from an excited, We-just-had-this-great-conversation look, to their face just falls a little bit. They dont want you to realize it, but you can see it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alysha says that when she enters the final phase of her house arrest in a few months shell no longer need to share those documents when interviewing for a job. Still, she says shes frustrated by the lack of job opportunities for people like her, especially since Trumps recent election. I dont wanna hear anything about my criminal history, because here we are. Im a felon, (Trumps) a felon, she says. Its crazy because a lot of the people that voted for (Trump) are probably a lot of the same people that at the end of my interview, if I pulled out this paper, I would see their face fall when they looked at me, she says. Because I dont have a position of power, and I dont have money in my pocket. Alysha hopes Trumps own convictions will lead him to pursue policies that help remove barriers for people who have been incarcerated. If hes able to get himself into this position of power with a background like that, he should do everything in his power to try and make sure that these restrictions that are being put on us, are at least lessened, she says. I understand we messed up, and we put ourselves in prison, but one mistake shouldnt cost somebody the rest of their life. Thats how it ends up in this cycle. Jerail Smith, 40 | Georgia Jerail Smith - Courtesy Jerail Smith Since 2006, Jerail has been in and out of prison. He says it started with a felony conviction for drug possession and intent to distribute. Other felonies followed, including burglary and possession of a firearm, along with probation violations. His most recent release from prison was in 2023 following a probation violation for a gun-related felony charge. He is now on a non-violent probation, which Georgia allows for felons the state believes are not a threat to society. Part of his probation requires he check in with the state twice a month, he says. After many months of trying, Jerail says he recently got a job as a janitorial technician with a private company. He is frustrated and sometimes angry at the difference in how he is treated compared with President-elect Trump. At the end of the day, nobody is perfect because look at our president, he says. How can we have a president as a convicted felon and he can do what he wants to do, and he got way more felonies than me, he adds. I cant even leave the state of Georgia without permission. I just look at that as a slap in the face. Andre Clark, 49 | Kansas Andre Clark - Courtesy Andre Clark After serving time for illegally possessing a firearm as a felon, Andre says he was released from prison in April and placed in transitional housing. Between all his convictions for possession of firearms and drugs, he says hes served more than 20 years behind bars. Although he is currently employed at a distribution center, Andre says hes had consistent trouble finding jobs after getting out of prison. Every time I get out, I have a challenge of trying to get a job, Andre said. They dont want to give you a second chance. When you cant find a job, it automatically turns you back into the criminal mindset. Job applications shouldnt ask about criminal history if society is trying to help felons get back on their feet, he says. Andre says he voted for Trump in the 2024 election and thinks Trumps criminal history gives him a perspective that not many politicians have. Hes been through a lot of struggles that a lot of politicians have never seen, he says. A lot of lawmakers aint never been on the wrong side of the law. So, they dont understand the laws theyre making, and how they affect people. CNNs Justin Gamble contributed to this reporting. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. (FOX 56) A Corbin man was arrested on Thursday after an alleged domestic assault. Man allegedly used tablet to record children in Williamsburg bathroom The Laurel County Sheriffs Office wrote on Facebook that around 9:48 p.m. on Thursday, deputies were dispatched 9 miles south of London to an area near Hanes Baker Road in response to a call from the Laurel County 911 Communication Center about complaints of an alleged domestic violence assault in the area. When deputies arrived, an initial investigation showed that Clarence Cox, 48, allegedly assaulted a woman and had a loaded gun. Authorities also reportedly learned that he was a convicted felon. On Thursday, Clarence Cox, 48, was lodged in the Laurel County Correctional Center. (Laurel County Sheriffs Office) LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cox was charged with fourth-degree assault and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon. He was lodged in the Laurel County Correctional Center. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 56 News. SALISBURY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) More than a dozen vendors lost everything in a fire that burned at a Salisbury flea market early Sunday morning. Around 3 a.m. on Sunday, crews responded to the fire at the Webb Road Flea Market. The market was closed Sunday, but the owners are hopeful theyll be up and running again next weekend. We are thankful for the quick response from firefighters as they were able to contain the fire to the originating building and stop it from spreading, Chris Stephens, Webb Road Flea Markets general manager said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wow, it really was as bad as it looked, said Phoenix Riesing, a vendor. Its burned to the ground. Theres nothing, nothing left. Credit: Bostian Heights Fire Department The structure was leveled and everything inside it was either reduced to ashes or covered in soot. Sunday afternoon the smell of smoke lingered in the air. Looking through, theres no salvaging anything, said Riesing. All of those vendors lost everything and thats heartbreaking being right before Christmas, too. Riesing was there early Sunday morning watching as crews battled the flames. There was so much water, she said. They were switching the trucks out it needed so much water. And it was just nonstop smoke, but I mean, you could see a glow. The whole area was lit up. It was huge. It was insane. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The flea markets owners told Queen City News about 20 vendors had spaces in the building. They plan to rebuild but dont know when or how theyll start. Chimney Rock reopens for one day event to support western NC businesses Its very hard to ensure our businesses, so when you lose everything, its gone, said Riesing. Its going to be hard to recover and were going to see some vendors not able to rebuild. Fortunately, it was the only building damaged in the fire. But losing a weekend of sales right before Christmas is hitting many of the vendors hard. I really kind of relied on this weekend to meet some bills and everything, said Riesing. Definitely put everyone in a tight place right before Christmas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Next weekend, the owners plan to set up areas for vendors who lost their spaces to sell any merchandise they have left. Investigators believe the first was an accident, but a full report is expected by the end of the week. We are heartbroken that 20 of our vendors lost everything stored onsite, Stephens said. It is especially difficult during this prime shopping season and we are working to accommodate those displaced in an alternate location so that they can take advantage of last-minute holiday shopping. The market is scheduled to be open on Saturday at 8 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 Queen City News. Security footage courtesy of Crime Stoppers of El Paso EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) Crime Stoppers of El Paso and the El Paso Police Department are asking for your help in identifying two men who attempted to rob a convenience store last week in Northeast El Paso. This is this weeks featured Crime of the Week, as publicized by Crime Stoppers. At roughly 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 8 two men dressed in all black ran into a DK convenience store at 5830 Dyer St. According to Crime Stoppers, the men ran towards the clerk and demanded money. One of the men made a threat of having a weapon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The clerk managed to flee from the robbers to a locked area. One of the men jumped over the counter and began to try to open a locked deposit box, Crime Stoppers said. The men were unable to open the box and fled from the convenience store towards a side alley, Crime Stoppers said. According to Crime Stoppers, the man who jumped over the counter is described as a Black male, roughly 6 feet tall and has a thin build. Anyone with any information on these robbers should call Crime Stoppers of El Paso immediately at (915) 566-8477 (TIPS) or visit online at www.cselpaso.org. You will remain anonymous, and if your tip leads to an arrest, you may qualify for a cash reward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (COLORADO SPRINGS) The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) responded to reports of a home invasion south of downtown on Sunday, Dec. 15. According to CSPD, the suspect broke into a home and attacked the homeowner with a crowbar. CSPD said that officers arrived at the 700 block of Sahwatch Street around 2 a.m. on Sunday where they discovered that a suspect had broken into the front window of the home armed with a crowbar. A person living in the home confronted the suspect and got into a physical fight. According to CSPD, the suspect assaulted the victim with the crowbar and then ran away from the home. After emergency personnel arrived, the victim was taken to the hospital with injuries that were believed not to be life-threatening. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CSPD said that officers learned that the suspect and victim did not know each other, and at this time, the burglarys motivation is unknown, and the suspect has not been found. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A Hartford man died Saturday as a result of injuries from sustained from a gunshot wound on Thursday, according to the Hartford Police Department. Officers were dispatched to the area of 776 New Britain Avenue around 9:10 p.m. following a ShotSpotter notification on Thursday night, police said. Arriving officers located an unresponsive man, later identified as 30-year-old Alexis Colon, suffering from a gunshot wound. Officers provided life-saving measures until EMS arrived, according to police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Colon was transported to an area hospital where he was initially listed in critical condition before succumbing to his injuries on Saturday, police said. The Hartford Police Departments Major Crimes and Crime Scene Divisions are conducting the ongoing investigation. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the Hartford Police Department Tip Line at 860-722-TIPS (8477). (COLORADO SPRINGS) The school board for Colorado Springs District 11 said on Thursday, Dec. 12, that a teacher allegedly made threats against several members and their children. This happened ahead of the boards vote this week to dissolve the master agreement between the district and the Colorado Springs Education Association Union. Board member Jason Jorgenson told FOX21 that the person who made the threat said they would find out what schools the board members children attended. They say the teacher later apologized for his choice of words. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The board did not say if they filed any charges with Colorado Springs police. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) The perfect holiday or birthday present can sometimes be hard to come by. However, Gretchen Van Winkle has this years gift for her father all in plan and said its one that will be a lasting memory for their whole family. Gretchen grew up in a house filled with music. We were always dancing around to all kinds of tunes, she said. Dad sent us. We lived in Montreal, grew up in Montreal, and [our parents] sent us to a creative arts school. So, growing up was all music, all arts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And its no surprise, as her father is Grammy winning musician Dixon Van Winkle. His specialty: the tuba. I got three Grammys doing Paul Winters records, which was really great, and a bunch of gold records and silver records and those things too. So, I had a good time. Man, it was great, Dixon said. Those accolades built on a Rochester basis. I auditioned for Eastman with the same tuba and got into Eastman too. And was there four years playing gigs, and I played string bass too. And so, I played bass and gigging all over Rochester for four years, Dixon said. But no matter where he was playing throughout the year, Dixon always made it back home for the annual Tuba Christmas concert at Eastman Theatre. Seeing her dad play every year, sparked an idea in Gretchen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I saw dad play up on stage Tuba Christmas, and I just thought that would be an amazing thing to do with him, Gretchen said. (Photo provided by Van Winkle family) For the past year, Gretchen has been practicing songs on the tuba, handed down from her father. On Sunday, the two will play together at Tuba Christmas. Perinton Ambulance collects donations to benefit Perinton Food Shelf, Pirate Toy Fund Its just a thrill to be in there. And I played lots of concerts in there, and now they have Gretchen play a concert, Thats aghast. Its really, its really going to be fun, Dixon said. Im really excited about it, and Ive been practicing really hard on this massive instrument thats very different, Gretchen said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And of course, the entire Van Winkle was in the audience cheering on the duo. Gretchen said Sundays concert is extra special as it is very close to her dads 80th birthday. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst. Dec. 15 (UPI) -- On this date in history: In 1791, the Bill of Rights, comprising the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, took effect. In 1890, Sioux Indian leader Sitting Bull was killed in a skirmish with U.S. soldiers along the Grand River in South Dakota. In 1939, the film version of Gone with the Wind premiered in Atlanta. In 1945, U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur ordered an end to state Shintoism in Japan, a key belief of which was that the emperor was a divine being. Because the U.S. government supported freedom of religion, though, it did not place an outright ban on the religion. Honor guards in historical costumes pass by the Leaning Tower of Pisa on December 15, 2001, after the tower's re-opening to the public. File Photo by Franco Silvi/EPA/ANSA In 1961, Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi SS officer regarded as the architect of the World War II Holocaust, was condemned to death by an Israeli war crimes tribunal. File Photo courtesy of the National Photo Collection of Israel A Shinto priest performs the "Oharai" ritual for office workers during a ceremony at Kanda Myojin shrine in Tokyo on January 4, 2017. On December 15, 1945, U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur ordered an end to state Shintoism in Japan, a key belief of which was that the emperor was a divine being. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI In 1973, John Paul Getty III is found alive at a gas station outside of Naples, Italy, more than four months after he was kidnapped. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association reversed its longstanding position and declared that being gay isn't a mental illness. Khizr Khan, whose son, Capt. Humayun Khan, was killed in Iraq, hold us a copy of the U.S. Constitution during the Democratic National Convention at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on July 28, 2016. On December 15, 1791, the Bill of Rights, comprising the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, took effect. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 1990, in a landmark right-to-die case, a Missouri judge cleared the way for the parents of Nancy Cruzan to remove their daughter from life-support systems. In 1992, Salvadorans celebrated the formal end to their country's 12-year civil war. On December 15, 1890, Sioux Indian leader Sitting Bull was killed in a skirmish with U.S. soldiers along the Grand River in South Dakota. File Photo by Library of Congress/UPI In 1993, British Prime Minister John Major and Irish Prime Minister Albert Reynolds issued a "framework for lasting peace" in Northern Ireland. In 1997, 85 people were killed in the crash of a Tajik Airlines charter jetliner in the United Arab Emirates. Stamps are for sale at the dedication of a 39-cent commemorative stamp honoring actress Hattie McDaniel, the first African American to win an Academy Award for her role role in the film "Gone With the Wind," which was released December 15, 1939. File Photo by Phil McCarten/UPI In 2001, the leaning Tower of Pisa reopened after a decadelong restoration effort. In 2011, the United States formally ended its long military mission in Iraq in a solemn ceremony at Baghdad's international airport. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta declared the war was over. It had begun in 2003. File Photo by Dale Greer/U.S. Air Force In 2014, Man Haron Monis took 18 people hostage inside a Lindt Cafe in Sydney, Australia. The standoff, which lasted 16 hours, finally ended when police raided the cafe the next morning. Monis and two hostages died in the ordeal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2017, 16-year-old Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi was recorded slapping and kicking an Israeli soldier in the West Bank after forces shot her younger cousin the head for throwing rocks. She was arrested days later and sentenced to eight months in prison. In 2023, jurors in a federal civil defamation trial ordered Rudy Giuliani to pay nearly $150 million in damages to two election workers. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI Advertisement Advertisement Dec. 14WILKES-BARRE Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn this week visited Williamsport to celebrate a $649,900 grant to Lycoming County that supports Phase 1 of the development of the Susquehanna River Walk Extension and spotlight the Shapiro Administration's significant investment in trails across Pennsylvania. "When we invest in trails, we are really investing in communities in the health of the people who live nearby, in their connections to neighboring towns, and in the businesses who provide services to the people who use and visit them," Secretary Dunn said. "This 1.46-mile Susquehanna River Walk Extension will provide both residents and visitors with a new recreational opportunity and will continue to position the area as a key destination in the Pennsylvania Wilds and Lumber Heritage Region. This project aims to boost the outdoor recreation and tourism economy, improve accessibility, implement stormwater management measures, and enhance the overall quality of life for those living in and visiting the region." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 5.3-mile Lycoming Creek Bikeway and the 4.2-mile Susquehanna River Walk are two trails located within the Susquehanna Greenway a 500-mile greenway of parks, trails, river access points, and revitalized towns along the Susquehanna River. Currently, US Highway 15, Interstate 180, and Lycoming Creek present barriers to connecting these two trails to Susquehanna State Park, making it a Top Ten Trail Gap in Pennsylvania. This paved, multi-purpose trail extension will link the Maynard Street entrance of the Susquehanna River Walk to Elm Park and the Lycoming Creek Bikeway, marking the first step in closing the trail gap. Through future phases of the River Walk Extension project, a long-term goal is to connect Williamsport to Jersey Shore and ultimately to the Pine Creek Rail Trail. Statewide, the investments total more than $10 million to support 36 trail projects. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pennsylvania has more than 6,400 local parks and 124 state parks, more than 12,000 miles of trails, and more than 83,000 miles of waterways. DCNR: Survey results shape a bold vision for PA's 2025-2029 Outdoor Recreation Plan Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn this week shared the results of public surveys that will inform and guide the creation of the agency's upcoming 2025-2029 Pennsylvania Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP). One of the key findings out of more than 8,000 responses revealed Pennsylvanians' strong connection between outdoor recreation and mental well-being. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The insights from these surveys are vital for shaping our next statewide plan and addressing the evolving needs of our communities," said Secretary Dunn. "We deeply appreciate the thousands of Pennsylvanians who contributed their perspectives, helping us design more people-focused initiatives for the future." The findings are the result of surveys aimed at collecting comprehensive, objective feedback for the agency, including a Penn State Lion Poll from a web-panel survey of more than 1,000 adult Pennsylvanians, a public survey, and a recreation providers survey. Key survey highlights include: Mental health benefits: 82% of Pennsylvanians agree that outdoor recreation supports mental health, with 74% advocating its use in mental health care. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Top activities: Walking, running, scenic driving, picnicking, hiking, and visiting historic sites are the most popular outdoor pursuits. Bipartisan support for funding: Respondents overwhelmingly agree that increasing permanent funding for parks and recreation should be a priority. Modernization needs: Nearly half (46%) believe local recreation areas need upgrades. Economic impact: 33% plan trips around outdoor recreation, with over half supporting local businesses during outings. Barriers: Health limitations are a primary obstacle for older adults and households earning under $75,000 annually. Equity concerns: While most respondents feel welcomed in outdoor spaces, communities of color reported feeling less welcome at higher rates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Recreation provider challenges: 55% of providers identified funding as the top hurdle in hiring, while 66% suggested reducing grant match requirements would help secure state funding. Shaping the future of outdoor recreation Every five years, states must develop a comprehensive outdoor recreation plan to guide policies, programs, and investments while remaining eligible for federal funding. "This feedback reflects the voices of Pennsylvanians and helps us ensure that outdoor spaces are accessible, welcoming, and sustainable," said DCNR Deputy Secretary Claire Jantz. "We encourage public participation in reviewing and refining the plan before it is finalized." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Major milestones marked for the Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service joined elected officials, funding partners and grantees this week to mark seven years of vital conservation projects made possible through the Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund (DWCF). The Delaware River Basin Conservation Act, passed by Congress in 2016, paved the way for the USFWS and NFWF to launch the DWCF grant program in 2018. The DWCF directly supports the goals of the Act by enabling federal, state, regional, and local partners to collaborate on habitat restoration and conservation efforts throughout the Delaware River watershed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since 2018, the Fund has awarded $72.1 million to 239 projects, which generated $100 million in match, for a total conservation impact of $172.1 million. These projects will collectively restore over 26 miles of riparian habitat and nearly 77 miles of stream habitat, conserve and enhance 1,176 acres of wetland habitat, restore 121 acres of floodplain, improve 32,522 acres of forest habitat and open 6,141 acres for public access. In 2024 the DWCF funded a record 45 projects totaling $17.3M in funding and nearly $20.7M in matching funds. The death toll from an accident involving a boat carrying migrants south of the Greek island of Crete has risen to at least five, according to the coastguard. Officials said that 39 people had been rescued, but survivors had reported many more people aboard the boat. Rescue operations are continuing. Two other boats carrying migrants issued emergency calls in the region at around the same time early on Saturday, while another call came in from south of the Peloponnese peninsula. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A total of some 200 passengers were rescued, with coastguard patrol boats, naval helicopters and international freighters taking people on board. A video published by the Greek navy shows the nighttime operation. According to the UN refugee agency, nearly 58,000 migrants have arrived in Greece this year, compared to 49,000 in 2022. Clean energy not exactly clear-cut It seems to me there is no such thing as clean energy. Hydroelectric dams give cheap energy that was thought to be environmentally clean until the dams harmed fish populations. Nuclear power is often considered clean, yet it produces possibly the most permanent form of waste. There is no guarantee that breaching dams would be better for the environment as a whole. I understand why there is concern over fish being harmed by the dams, but the dams do produce a large amount of affordable and renewable energy. Replacing dams with wind or solar power would not only be expensive but also could cause unforeseen harm. Replacing dams with fossil fuel power would increase carbon emissions. Either way, there would most likely be other environmental harm as a side effect of dam removal. Fish are still valuable to the environment, however. They should be saved if possible. I know that fish ladders have had limited success at protecting fish. However, I still think we should look for alternative fish-saving methods before resorting to replacing dams with alternative power sources. While dams arent perfect, they seem better than the alternatives. Micah Holm, Kennewick Climate change extinctions coming By causing global warming, forest fires, sea level rise, ocean acidification, drought, floods and extreme storms, fossil fuels are killing people and wildlife. The folks who are against small nuclear reactors, a gigantic solar farm in Benton County, or hundreds of wind turbines on the Horse Heaven Hills are shortsighted. Our Navy has safe nuclear reactors in our submarines and other ships. Solar panels can be high enough for vegetation and wildlife beneath them. Cattle graze and wheat grows under wind turbines, providing revenue to the landowners. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Published in Science (one of the worlds most reputable journals) on Dec. 5, the research (funded by NASA and the National Science Foundation) determined: We can expect, with increased certainty, that rising temperatures will lead to an increasing number of extinctions, with the highest emission scenario leading to extinction of nearly a third of the Earth species. Many more people are killed from the burning of fossil fuels than have ever died from nuclear accidents or wastes. Many more birds are killed by cats than by wind turbines. If you are concerned about global climate change, put solar panels on your roof and buy a hybrid or electric vehicle. Bob Carson, Walla Walla Free college for all makes sense I love the poorly educated , Donald Trump once said. In return, they re-elected him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Surveys and polls all agree: the more college education, the less likely one is to have voted for Trump. Is this because colleges teach their students to vote for Democrats? Or is it because lack of exposure to higher education creates a vacuum that is more easily filled with disinformation, simplistic solutions and fear? Lies thrive in ignorance. Presidential results are an eye-opening indictment of our nations public education system. After decades of neglecting our children, teachers and schools, the chickens are coming home to roost. This years military budget is $842 billion, needed partly to maintain our navys fleet of 11 aircraft carriers. Our last carrier cost $12.7 billion. As demonstrated in Ukraine, aircraft carriers are becoming obsolete. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The New York Times has estimated that free college education for everyone who wants one, would cost our nation $79 billion. Seven fewer aircraft carriers, (leaving four) and everyone wanting to pursue a college education could for free. Americas college enrollment has been declining. Biden champions free community college and debt relief. Project 2025 eliminates the Department of Education. New Mexico, one our poorest states, is about to make its colleges free. All states should. Michael Harrington, Pasco DAYVILLE, Conn. (WTNH) A deer was successfully rescued after falling into a pond Saturday morning in Killinglys Dayville village. Photo provided by the Dayville Fire Company. Photo provided by the Dayville Fire Company. Photo provided by the Dayville Fire Company. Photo provided by the Dayville Fire Company. Just after 10:00 a.m., the Dayville Fire Company arrived at 808 Hartford Pike on reports of a deer falling through an icy pond. The East Killingly Fire Department provided an ice sled that was used in the rescue operation, and the Nutmeg Acres Wildlife Rescue aided in guiding the deer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We would like to thank our mutual aid partners and Nutmeg Acres for their quick and effective response, said Dayville Fire Chief Michael Shabenas. After being removed, the deer ran off into the woods. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com. During his first term as US president, Donald Trump was widely seen as a friend to Taiwan, having bolstered support for the island through increased arm sales and upgraded diplomatic visits. But that goodwill was nowhere to be found on the campaign trail, with Trump repeatedly claiming that the self-ruled democracy should pay the US more for protection and that it had stolen Americas chip business. Thats why Taiwan is buckling up for what could be a far more volatile relationship with Washington, its most important security guarantor, now that Trump has clenched a historic political comeback. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think most people are anxious, Professor Chen Ming-chi, a former senior advisor to Taiwans National Security Council, told CNN. Because of Trumps unpredictability, we dont know if Taiwan will be safer or more dangerous under his second term. What is certain, observers say, is that Taiwan will have to pay more for its own defense and step up engagement with the Trump administration to shore up American support. Two Taiwanese Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter jets prepare to take off at an air force base in Hsinchu on December 10, 2024. - I-Hwa Cheng/AFP/Getty Images Chinas ruling Communist Party views Taiwan as part of its territory, despite never having controlled it, and has vowed to take the island by force if necessary. Under the Taiwan Relations Act, Washington is legally required to provide the island with the means to defend itself, and it supplies Taipei with defensive weaponry. The Taiwanese government has expressed confidence in bilateral ties, citing longstanding bipartisan support for the island. Three senior Taiwanese security officials told CNN there are clear communication channels through which both sides discuss substantive issues, irrespective of past leadership changes, and military communication channels in particular have flourished. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement issued after the November election, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te stressed the importance of Taiwans friendship with the US and said Taipei is willing to be the most reliable partner. Experts say Taiwan will be closely watching Trumps foreign policy and defense appointments, his response to Russias war in Ukraine and his demands on allies for clues on the future of the relationship. The stakes of that relationship are higher than ever as Beijing ramps up military intimidation of Taiwan, sending fighter jets and warships near the island almost on a daily basis and launching large-scale drills to punish what it calls separatist acts. This week, Taiwans Defense Ministry said China fielded its largest regional maritime deployment in decades, as it braced for expected military exercises after Lai sparked Beijings ire by making unofficial stops in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beijing has not announced any military drills or acknowledged the large-scale deployment cited by Taipei. US officials have said Chinas regional naval deployments are elevated but consistent with other large exercises in the past. Under pressure But one things for sure: Trump is a less vocal supporter of Taiwan than Joe Biden. The outgoing president has repeatedly said the US would be willing to intervene militarily should the Chinese attack the island, before the White House would walk back his comments. The US has long been governed by a policy of strategic ambiguity over exactly how it would respond to an invasion of Taiwan. Trump, though, has taken that ambiguity to another level. Asked by the Wall Street Journal if he would use military force against a blockade on Taiwan by China, Trump said it would not come to that because Xi respected him and knows hes crazy. Instead, he said he would slap 150% to 200% tariffs on Beijing. A man stands before Taiwanese Navy ships anchored at the harbor in Keelung, Taiwan, on December 11, 2024. - I-Hwa Cheng/AFP/Getty Images In an October episode of the The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Trump hit out at Americas longtime friend, saying Taiwan doesnt pay us money for the protection, you know? The mob makes you pay money, right? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Taiwans mutual defense treaty with Washington ended in 1979 along with official diplomatic ties. Unlike South Korea and Japan, it doesnt pay for American military forces to be based in its territory. Still, the US is the islands biggest arms dealer. Ivan Kanapathy, a former White House National Security Council deputy senior director for Asia who served in the Trump and Biden administrations, told CNN that Trumps remarks are an indication Taipei should dramatically increase spending on US weapons and training, just as it did during the first Trump administration. US and Taiwanese national security interests overlap significantly, said Kanapathy. But the United States cant want to help Taiwan more than Taiwan wants to help itself. Thats the bottom line. Taiwan has long procured weaponry and military equipment from the US. There is currently a backlog of more than $20 billion in military gear that Taiwan has ordered and is still awaiting delivery. It has also been increasing its defense budget over the years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This year, the Taiwanese government proposed a record high military budget that accounts for approximately 2.5% of the islands total economic output, far less than the 10% target Trump said Taiwan should commit to. A significant increase in defense spending, however, could be politically difficult for Taiwans President Lai, as his party does not have a majority in the legislature. And 10% would make Taiwan among the highest military spenders in the world, three times more than what the US spends on its military as a percentage of its economy. Trump won re-election earlier this month and has announced a proposed cabinet stacked with multiple China hawks. Chip giant Trump has also repeatedly accused Taiwan of stealing Americas chip business and has suggested imposing tariffs on Taiwans critical chip exports, which are used to power an array of modern technologies, from smartphones to artificial intelligence applications. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While experts have dismissed Trumps comments, saying Taiwan grew its own semiconductor industry organically through a combination of foresight, hard work and investment, the remarks have prompted jitters that Taiwan would need to move more of its critical chip supply chain to the US at a faster pace. A move like that could affect the islands economic security and dismantle the very silicon shield that some say helps protect Taiwan from the threat of an invasion by Beijing. Kristy Hsu, director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-hua Institution for Economic Research, told CNN that while tariffs on Taiwans chip exports wouldnt have a huge impact possible policy shifts could hit the industry hard. If Trump is going to do something against the chips supply chain, including more rigid export controls, that may have a lot of impact on Taiwan, she said, referring to restrictions on which countries or companies Taiwanese chip suppliers may sell to. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this month, Reuters reported the US had ordered Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers. TSMC manufactures 90% of the worlds most advanced chips. The move came after TSMC-made chips were reportedly found in devices made by Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications giant sanctioned by the US in 2019. TSMC said it had not supplied chips to Huawei since September 2020, but it continues to supply other Chinese clients, prompting concerns that Huawei may still have access to these chips through other Chinese firms. A logo of Taiwanese chip giant TSMC is seen at southern Taiwan science park in Tainan, Taiwan on December 29, 2022. - Ann Wang/Reuters/File In a statement, TSMC said it does not comment on market rumor, adding that it is committed to complying with all applicable rules and regulations, including applicable export controls. The Commerce Department declined to comment to CNN on the issue. Analysts say increasing outreach and education efforts would be key for Taiwanese chip businesses to mitigate risks as Trump begins his second term. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For Taiwans semiconductor industry, they have their work cut out for them, a former senior Commerce Department official who served under the first Trump administration told CNN. They really have to look in the mirror and say we need to do a better job of explaining to Americans about why we are a trusted partner, why our technology is superior to China, and why you can count on us. CNNs Will Ripley, John Mees, Eric Cheung and Matt Egan contributed reporting. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Sunday blasted President Joe Biden for pardoning his son and issuing other dubious commutations. In an interview with CBS host Margaret Brennan, the Democrat said she was uncomfortable with Bidens recent pardons, which included a judge involved in a financial scheme involving children and a man who committed tax fraud worth more than a billion dollars. Theres also a man in Duluth that was running a major drug house, basically, and had all this money under his bathroom tiles [who] was also commuted, the senator from Minnesota said on Face the Nation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I also didnt agree with the pardon of the presidents son. I also have not agreed with a number of pardons that President Trump gave. She called for a radical overhaul of the system that sees presidents interfere with legal cases, with the case of Hunter Biden , who became the first child of a US president in office to receive a criminal conviction, proving to be especially problematic. While the pardon ability is part of our Constitution, were not going to change that. It goes way back to President Lincoln, who made hard decisions himself about deserters from the army, things like that. Thats been going on a long time, but we should have some kind of an outside board that governors have. Governors have the ability to give mercy to people after years have gone by, but a lot of them have boards that make recommendations and other things, instead of people just doing it in the middle of the night and people in the White House. This makes no sense to me. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) says she's not comfortable with some of President Biden's decisions when he commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 people last week, and also "didn't agree" with Biden's pardon of his son, Hunter. She says there should be "some kind of an outside pic.twitter.com/KQELzzydm7 Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) December 15, 2024 She said that while there may be righteous pardons in the batches presented by Joe Biden, the process needed to be overhauled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think that this whole process cries out for reform, because otherwise you undermine the justice system. And again, I emphasize this also happened in a big way under President Trump, and you undermine the work of these line FBI agents, these line prosecutors who have taken on these cases, followed the sentencing guidelines and made a decision. Might you want mercy 10 years later? Yes, you might. But lets at least look at these on a factual basis and a risk basis, instead of just in the middle of the night a month before a president leaves. The White House has defended the presidents pardons and commutations, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre telling reporters that Hunter was pardoned because opponents would continue to go after his son. Alongside a conviction for lying about drug use on a form when buying a gun in Delaware, Hunter Biden also pleaded guilty to federal tax charges. The president said that in the case of commutations that many had shown that they deserve a second chance. Democrats are not planning an all-hands resistance to President-elect Trump. At least not in 2016 style, when lawmakers, activists, volunteers and millions of angry voters mounted a party-wide effort to curb his newfound influence in Washington. Where so much was once unprecedented, Trump is now familiar. Ahead of January 2025, the lack of a unified Democratic rebuttal to his second term is the latest sign that the partys just beginning to soul search, trying to figure out what went wrong before banding together to bash the GOP. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The one thing we seem to know is the strategy of being an anti-Trump party didnt work any better than when we became a primarily anti-Bush party, said Max Burns, a Democratic commentator. In that transformation, we seem to have become unclear about what our actual pro-Democrat message is. Its more like Republicans post-1960 than anything, he said, where the loss led to a real round of questioning about what our values are and what our strategy is. On the one hand, the month-and-a-half postelection period can seem like decades, as D.C.s political class awaits the unpredictable transition of power. On the other, its just a blip in what many expect to be a long undertaking to redefine the Democratic Party beyond Trumps shadow. As voters who found sympathies with Trump inch closer toward a home with the GOP, liberals and moderates are in the messy process of figuring out their ideals, how to unite around them and how to message everything to the rest of the country. Results showed its not motivating enough to be against the MAGA president-elect, challenging a doctrine party loyalists have clung to over the past eight years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While some still insist Trumps reelection remains an existential threat, those voices have become more muted. Democrats save our democracy rhetoric, a fear-based approach effective in past cycles, tanked this time, and many want a new way of operating after losing significant power. The 2017 pomp and circumstance of rage solidarity has also died down. Back then, Americas raw political divisions and fear of the unknown prompted thousands to pour into the streets, protesting what they saw as Trumps misogyny with a Womens March and similar advocacy uprisings. It is clear that fighting back against Trump and MAGA will definitely look different this time than it did in 2017 because the circumstances are different, said Rahna Epting, executive director of MoveOn PAC. But there is energy to organize and push back that we know is there. The key will be understanding that we have to be strategic with how we deploy that energy, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Indeed, Democrats are slowly unpacking their recent losses with constituencies whom they saw move even further away from their party, questioning if being fully against Trump is the right approach. Were clearly not persuading labor, or Hispanics, or young people the way we used to, because our message is so vague now that its hard to grab onto and rally behind, said Burns. Voters are angry, and they want populism, and theyll take a bad version over none at all, so Trump gets to sell his sham populism largely unchallenged. Progressives have started to try a new tactic. Some in the Senate and House have expressed a willingness to consider or, even in some cases, enthusiastically embrace Trumps goals and administration picks. Its different from the tone ahead of his first term, when the sheer shock value of many of his choices burned through any goodwill Democrats may have been willing to offer. Some on the left are challenging Democrats default to reject Republicans just for the sake of party loyalty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think the hypocrisy of opposing an idea you agree with because somebody on the other side also agrees is what is seen as one of the biggest problems with the two-party system right now, said a former campaign adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Seriously, when you talk to actual voters, most dont apply an ideological definition to their beliefs, the former adviser said. Others on Capitol Hill are already targeting potential areas for partnership, hoping to steer the party toward a common ground, at least in the earliest days of the partisan changeover. The most notable example is the budding debate around defense money, an early focus of Trump and progressives alike, where high spending from the Pentagon has been criticized by some prominent members of both parties. One Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), is emerging as a leader presenting an alternative way to work with Trump-aligned members of Congress. He told The Hill that he would welcome efforts to engage with Republicans where their priorities meet, including on the military budget. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think its very important to not categorize everyone into left vs. right, said Hassan Martini, a Democratic strategist and executive director of the group No Dem Left Behind. Instead, he said, his party should really look into each persons comments and actions on an individual basis. Still, some top Democrats have reignited their adversarial style against Trump and his current allies, aiming for consistency in showing that they dont endorse the right-wing agenda. Trump and congressional Republicans are already signaling that they are going to overplay their hand, and we will be ready to hold them accountable when they do that, said Epting. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who was one of the most outspoken figures in the so-called resistance effort to Trumps first term, hasnt changed her posture for his return to Pennsylvania Avenue. Shes been critical of several of Trumps proposed Cabinet leaders, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the possible head of the Health and Human Services Department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Warrens role on the Senate Finance Committee means that she will be a key figure in Kennedys confirmation fight, where she has already indicated staunch opposition to his views on vaccinations and other conspiracy theories. Say goodbye to your smile and say hello to polio, the Massachusetts senator said in a recent video clip. You know, I would laugh if it werent so scary. Democrats postelection slump has also caused many to turn their attention toward an election more within their wheelhouse: the race to select the next Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair. Lawmakers, strategists and activists believe they can now craft the direction of the DNC differently than what they had last cycle, where the pro-democracy messaging and large focus on abortion did not work in their favor. Progressives fear that moderates will angle for more of the same type of centrism that caused Democrats defeats, while middle-ground stalwarts see too much liberalism as the reason they lost to Trump all over again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A leading grassroots group formed out of Sanderss 2016 bid, Our Revolution, circulated a memo this week pushed by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and signed by hundreds of activists and donors calling for left-wing policies at the DNC. The Democratic Party needs a massive overhaul, the petition reads. It lists four target areas for reform, including to ban dark money in primaries and hold consultants accountable over the DNCs budget moving forward, as well as investing more resources into state parties. It also asks that officials commit to a progressive platform and small donor democracy. The Democratic Party must return to its roots as the party of the working class and reject the corporate influence and corruption that has led to a loss of voters and loss of elections to Trump (twice!). Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. In a Time magazine interview published this week, Donald Trump continues to stand by his plan to deport millions of undocumented immigrants in the United States to their home countries beginning the day he takes office. Vice President-elect J.D. Vance says that they will start at a minimum target of 1 million immigrants a year. Critics say the effort will cost $1 trillion and a CNN analysis of research on the subject says even deporting 1 million a year is unrealistic. Thats bunk. The deportation deniers offer four reasons we cant do it: It will cost too much; we dont know who to deport and well have to grossly violate civil liberties to get it done. Moreover, they argue, foreign countries wont take them back. None of those are true or they dont have to be. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I am not making a judgment on whether Trump should make a record-setting mass deportation effort. I am saying that too many analysts have confused what they want to be true with what actually is true. Myth 1: It costs too much To begin with, in 2009 and 2010, Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported 250,000 people a year from the interior of the U.S. each year. Those are the hardest cases, not like people we turn away just over the border or those we apprehend, process and then return home, which are sometimes reported as deportations. The budget for these 500,000 deportations was $7.5 billion over two years or $3.74 billion annually in 2024 dollars, in what is called ICEs Detention and Removal Budget. It was bipartisan, happening under the leadership of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. In the years since then, that budget has gone up by 20% to $4.5 billion but were deporting a fraction of the number of immigrants we did before. All we have to do is get back to the same efficiency we had in 2009 and 2010 to deport 300,000 (20% more than 250,000). Say the next 300,000 cost twice as much to deport $9 billion and the next 300,000 cost twice as much again, or $18 billion. Thats 900,000 deportations a year for $31.5 billion annually. That doesnt seem too crazy. And over a decade, thats a third the cost critics complain of. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moreover, even the lowball estimates of researchers who say Trumps goals are impossible accept that such a national effort would cause more than a 100,000 immigrants a year to leave on their own to avoid getting entangled with ICE. Thats your million a year. Myth 2: We dont know who to deport We know enough right now to handle the first five or six years. The federal government knows of 1 to 2 million undocumented immigrants in the country who are wanted or convicted criminals, depending on your definition. There are already 1.5 million undocumented immigrants who are not criminals, but who have been through the immigration court system and been denied legal status. At the same time, there are nearly 4 million cases lumbering their way through our immigration court system whats often called the backlog. We dont have to identify a single new individual as an undocumented immigrant for six years of deporting 1 million a year. Thats half the undocumented migrants in the country. Myth 3: Well violate civil rights Critics of the Trump plan argue that there simply arent enough resources to give everyone who gets caught up in the ICE net due process. Not enough lawyers, judges and ICE agents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To begin with, theres no serious argument that the Bush and Obama administrations were violating civil rights willy-nilly when they deported 250,000 undocumented immigrants a year 15 years ago. Trumps plan can do the same due diligence as it ramps up to a million a year by spending up to four times as much per immigrant thats a lot of extra resources. Trump told Time that he wants to follow the law to get this done. It wasnt that long ago that ICE quadrupled removals without systematically violating civil rights. The Biden administration did it between 2020 and 2024. For the first six years, the people who would be targeted for deportation have already gotten their due process or are in the process of getting it already from the system in place under President Joe Biden. Myth 4: Countries wont take back citizens According to Pew researchers, two-thirds of what they believe are 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States come from Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America. All those countries get billions a year in remittances from immigrants who work in the U.S. and send home part of their earnings. In many cases, a countrys economy is dependent on this $200 billion in leverage. Trump can deliver a simple message: If you dont take back your undocumented immigrants, our financial system will cut off the remittances. This tool would work just as well with much of Asia, the Middle East and Africa where, among others, Pakistan, Vietnam and Nigeria each get billions of dollars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration has powerful winds at its back that might allow it to launch roundups and deportations at an even faster pace. Computer technology and surveillance have both advanced markedly since 2009. There are more police than there were 15 years ago and crime is much lower allowing more boots on the ground to enforce immigration laws if local police cooperate as they do in much of the country, and which Trump says he will encourage. The economy is much more digitized, making it harder to live a life where your identity is off the grid. And there are powerful tools to make the United States much less welcoming to undocumented immigrants that the U.S. has never wielded. For instance, undocumented migrants paid federal, state and local governments nearly $100 billion in taxes in 2024, billions of which is returned to them in refunds fueled by tax breaks targeted at low-income earners. The U.S. could require proof of legal presence to pay refunds and hold the money until the immigrants agree to return to their home countries. Companies could be required to provide proof of legal presence for each employee whose salary they claim as an expense on their taxes. Such a move would hit farmers and hotels where undocumented workers frequently work, as each is dependent on undocumented migrants for workers, and the salaries of which are deducted on their taxes. Donald Trumps plans for dealing with undocumented immigration are big, and they could be undone by the competence problems that were rife in his last administration. But they are not as unrealistic as his critics proclaim. Deputies arrested three career criminals suspected of committing multiple burglaries in San Bernardino County. They are believed to be linked to additional crimes, officials announced Saturday. The San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department said deputies arrested the suspects on Friday after they attempted to burglarize a home in Chino Hills and then led officers on a chase. Officials identified the suspects as 28-year-old Jerone Pennington, 27-year-old Kwan Smith and 37-year-old Kenny Warren, all residents of Los Angeles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to SBSD, the suspects arrived at a home in the 6000 block of Amora Drive around 11:30 a.m. Friday, wearing ski masks and clothing to conceal their identities. As they attempted to burglarize a residence, the homeowner purportedly confronted them, and the three suspects fled. SBSD said deputies investigated and developed actionable leads, and learned the suspects were also responsible for burglaries in the county earlier that same day. Detectives asked for Los Angeles Police Department officers to search for the suspect vehicle in their jurisdiction. When LAPD found the vehicle, the suspects reportedly took off, engaging the officers in a car chase. The pursuit then turned into a foot chase and eventually ended in their arrests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Detectives served a search warrant on the suspect vehicle and found a firearm that SBSD said was stolen during a residential burglary. Officers took the three suspects to the Chino Hills Station for interviews and found that all three were parolees and career criminals, according to a SBSD release. Pennington, Smith and Warren were all booked at West Valley Detention Center for multiple felonies, officials said. The investigation is continuing to identify other burglaries committed by these suspects, added SBSD. The department urges anyone with information regarding this incident to contact the Chino Hills Police Department at 909-364-2000. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To remain anonymous, callers may contact the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78CRIME (27463), or they can leave information on the We-Tip website at www.wetip.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. What began as a domestic dispute call involving a gun turned into a deadly shooting of a man near a Tri-Rail station, Broward Sheriffs Office said Sunday. Investigators identified the man as Robert Drangel, a 64-year-old Margate resident. As is standard, the Saturday afternoon shooting will be investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Deputies answering the 1:49 p.m. domestic incident call, BSO says, found Drangel after he pointed a gun at his estranged wife and another woman. He fled the home in a vehicle that belonged to one of the victims. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Deputies chased Drangel and four deputies, according to BSO, were forced to fire near Southwest First Street and Southwest 21st Terrace in Fort Lauderdale. Drangel died about a block from the Tri-Rail station, 200 SW 21st St. According to BSO, Drangel had been arrested in September for aggravated stalking after a judge granted a domestic violence injunction. On scene, deputies recovered a firearm, according to BSO. The four deputies who fired their weapons were placed on administrative assignment pending further investigation. As for what forced deputies to fire, BSO spokesperson Carey Codd told assembled media, That is something the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is looking into at this time. ZEELAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) Two teenage girls were taken to the hospital Saturday after a crash in Zeeland Township, deputies say. It happened around 1:40 p.m. in the area of 96th Avenue and Riley Street, according to the Ottawa County Sheriffs Office. Deputies say a Subaru, driven by a 16-year-old girl, was trying to exit the Family Fare parking lot to go south on 96th Avenue. She said that she thought traffic was clear, and she had time to make her turn, investigators wrote in a release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But instead, the Subaru crashed into a Toyota that was heading north on 96th Avenue, according to the sheriffs office. Deputies say the driver of the Subaru and the passenger, a 15-year-old girl, were taken to the hospital with injuries that are not considered life-threatening. The driver was cited for failure to yield, according to the release. The driver of the Toyota, identified by authorities as a 43-year-old man, was not hurt. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. By Mark Thiessen and Mari Yamaguchi Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) Helena Paganos great-grandfather was the last Alaska Native chief of a remote island in the Bering Sea, closer to Russia than North America. He died starving as a prisoner of war after Japanese troops invaded during World War II, wresting the few dozen residents from their village, never to return. Pagano has long believed Japan should pay more restitution for what its soldiers did to her great-grandfather and the other residents of Attu Island. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But her demand was sparked anew this summer by her first visit to the island. She went alongside Japanese officials who, as part of a redoubled effort to recover the remains of World War II soldiers killed abroad, unearthed the bones of two people from the tundra. The Attuans lost their homeland, they lost their family members, Pagano said. This story was never told, and the Japanese have never really helped us in that regard. Attu Island is the most westerly of Alaskas Aleutian chain. It was one of the few U.S. territories, including Guam, the Philippines and the nearby island of Kiska, to be captured during the war. Japanese landed on Attu on June 7, 1942, killing the radio operator. The residents were kept in their homes for three months, then taken to Japan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. forces waged a bloody campaign amid hurricane-force winds, rain and dense fog in 1943 to retake Attu Island in what became known as the wars forgotten battle. More than 2,500 Japanese soldiers died in combat or by suicide, and American forces lost about 550 soldiers. Of the 41 residents interned on Japans Hokkaido Island, 22 died from malnutrition, starvation, tuberculosis or other ailments over the next two-plus years, including Paganos great-grandfather, Mike Hodikoff, the last chief. Hodikoff and his son both died in 1945, suffering from food poisoning after being reduced to scrounging through rotting garbage for sustenance. After the war, surviving Attuans were not allowed to return to the island because the U.S. military said it would be too expensive to rebuild. Most were sent to Atka Island, about 200 miles (322 kilometers) away. The last surviving Attu residents that were held in captivity died last year. In 1951, six years after the end of the war, Japan did offer the Attuans who survived about $4,000 a year more than the average U.S. annual salary at the time for three years, Pagano said. Nearly all accepted, but her grandmother refused, suggesting the treatment the POWs endured was too awful to be compensated with money. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Japanese never compensated the families for the deaths of prisoners or for the loss of land and damage to Attuan culture and language, said Pagano, who runs Atux Forever, a nonprofit devoted to Attuan culture. The historical trauma still weighs on the 300 or so Attuan descendants remaining in the U.S., she said. Besides restitution, shed like to see the Japanese government invest in a cultural center for Attuans somewhere in mainland Alaska and to work with the U.S. government on an environmental cleanup of Attu Island, including the removal of old anti-aircraft guns and steel planking that was used for temporary air strips, along with a peace memorial she said Japan erected there without the input of Attuans or U.S. veterans who served in the battle. Officials at Japans Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry and the Foreign Ministry said they have not received requests for additional restitution from Attuans. There have been compensation demands for brutality against POWs, wartime Korean forced laborers and comfort women from across Asia who were forced into prostitution for Japanese soldiers. But the Japanese government has insisted that all compensation issues were settled under a 1951 treaty in San Francisco, whose signatory members had waived their rights, or other treaties, said Yoshitaka Sato, an official at the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry. Japan had set up funds for the women in 1995 and 2015 as exceptions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pagano says the 1951 treaty would not bar additional restitution. The island is part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. In August, Pagano made her first trip to Attu, on a ship operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the refuge. She said she didnt know ahead of time that the Japanese officials would be exhuming any remains, and she considered it disrespectful, saying the bones could have been those of Attu residents or U.S. soldiers. Jeff Williams, deputy manager of the refuge, said the exhumation plans werent approved until just before the trip. The former Attu village site, where the bones were unearthed, is owned by the Aleut Corp. one of several regional, for-profit corporations set up to benefit Alaska Natives. In an email, spokesperson Kate Gilling said the Aleut Corp. recognizes the significant historical trauma endured by the Attuan people during and after World War II and that it was aware of Atux Forevers call for reparations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We believe greater partnership between all entities in the Aleutian and Pribilof Island region will help advance solutions that are comprehensive and inclusive, she said. As war veterans and their relatives age, the Japanese government has faced growing calls to speed the recovery of remains and has done so, including more use of DNA testing. Of about 2.4 million Japanese troops who died in the war outside Japan, the remains of a little more than half have been recovered. Japan conducted its first reclamation of remains on Attu in 1953 and recovered those of about 320 Japanese soldiers, which were taken to Japan and stored at the Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery. The remains of the others on Attu are unaccounted for. Sato, the Japanese government official, said the U.S. government controls what areas Japan can survey for remains and requires Japan to take necessary environmental protection measures. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Japanese efforts to recover remains on Attu had long been on hold, largely due to U.S. environmental concerns, Sato said. In 2009, the U.S government required environmental assessment that led to further delay of more than a decade. Prior to the August visit to Attu, the U.S. proposed a survey without digging, but later allowed shoveling inside of a small piece of land, Sato said. Under the supervision of U.S. officials, the remains of two suspected Japanese soldiers were unearthed. The remains were sent to Anchorage for temporary storage pending a preliminary evaluation by Japanese experts to be dispatched by the end of March. If their analysis determines the remains are very likely Japanese, samples will be sent to Japan for DNA testing, Sato said. During the August visit, Pagano spent two days on the island, collecting water samples from a creek to check for lingering environmental contamination. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While others returned to the ship to sleep at night, she camped out likely the first Attuan to spend a night on the island since the residents were forcibly removed 82 years ago. I did feel really calm and peaceful and complete as a human being, Pagano said. A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives. On Dec. 15, 1944, a single-engine plane carrying bandleader Glenn Miller, a major in the U.S. Army Air Forces, disappeared over the English Channel while en route to Paris. Miller was an American big band conductor/trombone player/recording artist before and during World War II, and became an officer in the U.S. Army Air Forces. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His civilian band, Glenn Miller and his Orchestra, was one of the most popular and successful bands of the 20th century and the big band era. But Miller and two others died at sea when their plane crashed into the English Channel on the flight headed from England to France. After an official investigation, the three missing Army Air Forces casualties received the Finding of Death of Dec. 15, 1944. Captain Glenn Miller, jazz band leader who has joined the Armed Forces, is shown as he packs for his assignment to the U.S. Air Corp at Maxwell Field, Ala., after completing basic training at Camp Mead, Baltimore, Md., in this undated photo. | Associated Press Per reports, a German newspaper later disputed the cause of his death. But the U.S. Air Force has remained consistent it its finding. Whats remarkable to many, though, as one story chronicled, Glenn Miller disappeared, but he never went away. Fifty years after his World War II flight over the English Channel was lost, the most popular band leader of his day still calls tunes around the world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Glenn Miller Orchestra still tours the nation, and has been cranking out tunes since 1956. The current band is led by saxophonist and vocalist Erik Stabnaub. In fact, the group is performing tonight in California, with concert dates later this month in Colorado and Wyoming. Here are some stories from Deseret News archives about Miller and his career, his military story and how the band played on: Plane crashes have killed many entertainers Glenn Millers sounds live on 50 years after his death `Lost broadcasts bring back Glenn Millers WWII group CDs capture mood and virtuosity of Glenn Miller Glenn Miller memorabilia attracting fans Band leader who took over Glenn Millers post dies Release insists Miller did die in plane crash Serenade film still staple at Sun Valley Its unusual for a developer to brew their own beer, but conversations about a Puyallup Pale Ale and a beer to honor Ezra Meeker are part of the discussion for a new mixed-use development in downtown Puyallup. Palindrome Communities presented its vision to the City Council on Tuesday to redevelop 1.5 acres of city-owned property into a brewery; a five-story apartment building that would have 115 apartments to rent; nine townhomes for sale; and a food hall. There also would be a plaza. The city bought the property at 115 Second St. SE more than 20 years ago. It used to be home to car dealerships, and today is largely public parking. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Puyallup will sell the land to Palindrome if the council approves a development agreement and purchase-and-sale agreement early next year. It is unclear what Palindrome would actually pay the city for the land. That is being negotiated. There will be a public hearing early next year, after which the council would vote on those agreements. Palindrome president Robert Gibson told The News Tribune on Dec. 6 via email that the proposed Palindrome project is expected to break ground in early 2026 with completion expected in mid-2027. Early conceptual renderings give a rough idea of what the Palindrome Communities mixed-use project in downtown Puyallup could look like. He told the council in his presentation Tuesday that something that sets Palindrome apart from other companies is that it wouldnt just build the project, it would own and operate it. The company would be the property managers for the apartments, run the brewery and manage the food hall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Palindrome produces German-style beers as Zoiglhaus Brewing, he told the council, which has won awards. Were really proud of the quality of the beer that we brew, he said. He also said the company encourages its breweries to be family-friendly. A new era for Puyallup Council member Lauren Adler said at the meeting that this will be a new era for Puyallup and that those born and raised in the city have wanted to see something like this for a long time. This project, I think, is a long time coming, she said. ... I look forward to seeing this come to life. She also asked about the possibility of having an Ezra Meeker-themed beer to honor the hop-farming legacy of Puyallups first mayor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were already brainstorming ideas, beyond Puyallup Pale Ale, Gibson said. Well have an Ezra Meeker something. Council member Dean Johnson said he was intrigued by the family-friendly aspect of the project, and Council member Renne Gilliam said she appreciated the focus on community connection. Mayor Jim Kastama said at the meeting that the development is a keystone project for the community and that the council has focused on making downtown the citys commons. It sounds like were ready to partner with your company, he said. The council heard as part of the presentation that those who live in the new apartments and townhomes would spend an estimated $1.3 million a year at Puyallup businesses. Kerry Yanasak, head of the Puyallup Main Street Association, told the council that this project would address a huge eyesore downtown and that the group is very excited that this is going to get developed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said the project would mean more people living and shopping downtown, and that the city will look very different a couple years from now. You have Main Streets support of this 100 percent, he told the council. Early conceptual renderings give a rough idea of what the Palindrome Communities mixed-use project in downtown Puyallup could look like. As far as businesses downtown, the food hall, Gibson explained, would give those looking to get into the restaurant game a chance to do so without risking a large capital investment. Palindrome would provide the refrigeration, grease traps, hoods and other equipment and would offer flexible leases. The developers want the food hall to open about the same time that the adjacent festival street the city is planning opens in a couple years. Former Mayor John Hopkins told the council during public comment that he thinks that festival street will be a spectacular gateway to the city and that he hopes the end result of the plaza portion of Palindromes development is something like Tollefson Plaza in Tacoma, with places to sit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im hoping theres no tall buildings, he said. The only other five-story building in downtown Puyallup is City Hall. How big will the apartments be, and what will they cost? Gibson said the apartments would range from studios to three-bedroom units and that they would have enhanced insulation and triple-pane windows in places to dampen noise from the train tracks nearby. Its too early to talk specific rents, but he told the council a market-rate rent for a new one-bedroom unit in the area is about $1,900. Affordable housing units rent for about $1,600 for a one-bedroom. The company plans to apply for one of the citys multi-family tax exemptions, which means the site would be exempt from property taxes for 12 years if about 25 percent of the units are affordable and the council approves the exemption. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to some of the apartments, Palindrome plans to make two of the nine townhomes affordable. Affordable units are for those who make 80 percent of the area median income, which means a single person could qualify if they make less than $64,900 a year. A family of two could qualify if they make less than about $74,150. Developers have only used Puyallups multi-family tax exemption program a few times in its nearly 20-year existence. Early conceptual renderings give a rough idea of what the Palindrome Communities mixed-use project in downtown Puyallup could look like. A $40 million investment in downtown Puyallup Meredith Neal, the citys development and permitting services director, told The News Tribune that the company expects to invest $40 million in construction costs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Puyallup reached out to other jurisdictions that have worked with the developer, she said, and heard good things. Everything was glowing for Palindrome, she said. She said city officials asked a lot of questions in particular about the developers financial ability to do the project and whether theyd be able to secure the funds. They learned Palindrome has good relationships with banks, she said, who consider the company a low risk. They have a history of working on spaces that might have been overlooked by other developers, she said. City staff were surprised, she said, to learn that Palindrome would keep part of the aging building on the site and incorporate it into the project. Early conceptual renderings give a rough idea of what the Palindrome Communities mixed-use project in downtown Puyallup could look like. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The city calls the site the Cornforth-Campbell property, after the automotive businesses that used to be there, dating back to the 1940s. Neal said insurance from the former property owner paid for environmental clean-up at the site, as part of the sale agreement with the city. That includes addressing soil contamination and groundwater contamination related to petrochemical products from the car dealerships and dry-cleaner chemicals from a business that was across the street. The bulk of that work is done. Workers excavated tons of soil from the site starting in 2019, Neal said. The planned festival street helped attract Palindrome to the project, she said, in addition to the walkability of the area The city got three responses from developers when it sought proposals for a mixed-use project on the site last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Asked about the other two proposals the city received, Neal said one maximized the amount of housing, and that although it was a good proposal, the council seemed to worry that the larger building it called for could feel overwhelming there and affect views downtown. The last proposal, she said, was from a developer whose financials caused some concern about whether it would have been able to finish the work. Something like Palindromes project has been in the works for the property for many years. It was purchased with the intent of being a catalyst development site at some point, she said. That took a lot longer than expected, she said, as the economy dipped and construction stopped, but getting more housing downtown was always part of the plan. This is something that has been part of the community vision for a very long time, she said. News Tribune archives contributed to this report. The Walt Disney Co. has reached a California record $233 million settlement with Disneyland workers over a 2019 class-action wage theft lawsuit. The settlement will provide back pay to workers at the Anaheim theme park, with interest dating back to the start of 2019, and comes as Anaheim is set to raise the minimum wage to $20.50 per hour at the start of 2025. Disney approved the preliminary settlement on Friday and it will be reviewed by a Superior Court judge on Jan. 17 before workers are notified. The lawsuit alleged that in 2019, Disney did not adjust wages in accordance with the passage of Measure L, an Anaheim ballot proposition that required companies that received tax rebates from the city namely Disney to pay at least $15/hour. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Disneys attorneys argued that it did not have tax rebate agreements with Anaheim and wasnt subject to the terms of the law. A judge initially sided with Disney, but an appellate court reversed the decision after it was determined that such agreements were made with the city as part of a 1996 expansion deal that helped pave the way for the creation of Disneylands neighbor park, Disneys California Adventure. The California Supreme Court later turned down Disneys request to hear the case, ending the legal battle. The settlement is the latest victory for Disneyland workers after a multiyear labor campaign in which employees outlined the financial struggles they face despite being employed by the beloved Happiest Place on Earth. The parks employees staged protests outside the entrance to the Disneyland Resort and shared stories of their struggles to reporters and on social media. Their struggle even reached the attention of Walt Disneys grandniece, Abigail E. Disney, who interviewed Disneyland employees for her 2022 documentary, The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales. Some employees told her that they had to live out of their cars on the streets of Anaheim and struggled to even provide food for their families. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Along with the lawsuit, Disney workers pushed for stronger wages through their union reps at the Master Services Council, a coalition of four unions that represent over 14,000 Disneyland employees. After voting to authorize a strike, MSC members and negotiators reached a deal that raised base pay to $24/hour. The post Disneyland Reaches California Record $233 Million Wage Theft Settlement With Workers appeared first on TheWrap. When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: xavierarnau / Getty Images Perhaps the most important event in America this year outside of the presidential election, said Rich Lowry in National Review, has been the "intellectual collapse" of the DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) fad. The US has been spending some $8 billion a year telling Americans in training sessions, workshops and classrooms that they are, depending on their race or gender, either "victims or oppressors and that the country is shot through with white supremacy". This has always seemed unhelpful, and evidence to that effect is piling up. A compelling new study released by Rutgers University found that DEI training often sows division and resentment. In one experiment, participants examined a scenario involving a college applicant getting rejected. Those who had been prepped by reading DEI materials were more likely to deem the admissions officer "discriminatory", even though nobody's race was mentioned. Fortunately, companies have begun to roll back DEI initiatives, with Walmart, America's largest private employer, just the latest to abandon ship, joining firms such as Ford and Boeing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So much for the "awakening" that was meant to follow George Floyd's 2020 murder, said David Plazas in The Tennessean (Nashville). It was admirable of corporations and schools to try to make themselves more welcoming places for minorities. The sad fact is that America has a long history of discriminatory practices that prevented many people from being able to participate equally in society because of their race, gender and other factors. It has only been 60 years since the Civil Rights Act passed. If some of the DEI programmes that companies and colleges introduced were flawed, why not reform them? Instead, CEOs and deans are letting right-wing activists bully them into junking the whole project. "Fear", not fairness, "is at the heart of these decisions". It represents a "big step back" for America. Corporate diversity efforts are still broadly supported by the public, said Jessica Guynn in USA Today, but views of DEI have steadily become more negative. Consumer boycotts have forced brands such as Bud Light and Target to retreat from marketing campaigns to the LGBTQ+ community. Donald Trump is keen to exploit this shift in public sentiment. The long-time Trump aide Stephen Miller has been "filing dozens of legal actions against 'woke' corporations", while the activist Christopher Rufo was recently invited to Mar-a-Lago to discuss his plan to punish universities that have DEI programmes. Trump is also likely to revive his first-term ban on government contractors conducting "un-American" diversity training. Make no mistake: the "war on 'woke' America" is only just beginning. Dec. 14DIXON Far exceeding expectations, Dixon's Shining Star Children's Advocacy Center received more than 800 donations to its holiday pajama drive. "We just really want to thank the community because we have had so much support with this," Executive Director Jessica Cash said in an interview with Shaw Local. The advocacy center, which serves those in Lee and Ogle counties, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works with area law enforcement, prosecutors and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to investigate allegations of child abuse and, particularly, child sex abuse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of many services the center provides is conducting forensic interviews with a child whom they suspect has been abused. Instead of going to a police station or a hospital, they are brought to Shining Star, a child-friendly and trauma-informed environment, Cash said. The interview is designed so the child only has to tell their story once to a forensic interviewer who knows the right questions to ask in a way that does not retraumatize the child while law enforcement professionals who need to see the interview can watch on a monitor in a separate room, Cash said. It was during those interviews that the center realized there was a need for pajamas. "Sometimes we have to ask the child what they were wearing when things happened, or whatever the situation might be for them," Cash said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A lot of children were sleeping in regular clothes they might wear to school because their families or caregivers didn't have the resources to buy them pajamas. In November, the center started advertising the pajama drive on social media and handing out flyers in the community. "Initially, when we had this idea, we thought each kid would get one pair of pajamas," Cash said. "Everybody is helping," she said from individuals and business to schools and churches, "it's just coming out of the woodwork." On Thursday, the number of donated pajamas reached 814, Cash said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It just kind of hits you how awesome it is, and how great our community is, and that they do care about kids," Cash said. The center already has distributed the pajamas to a lot of kids along with a holiday gift bag. "I wish everybody that donated could see the smiles on the kids' faces," Cash said. "Sometimes you think [it's] something as little as a pair of pajamas, but the kids have really been excited about it." Any that are left over will be added to the "comfort bag" children receive after they come out of an interview. The bag typically contains a blanket, a stuffed animal, a journal and more. It's intended to help children emotionally regulate after their interview. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aside from pajamas, the drive also brought awareness to the agency. A lot of people who came in to donate said that they didn't know the center existed, Cash said. "It's kind of a service that, unless you experienced something, you don't necessarily know about it," she said. Still, in 2024, there's been an uptick in children coming to the center. Since July 1, 110 new kids were brought to the center, Cash said. On average, the agency provides services to about 300 children in Lee and Ogle counties each year. Within that 300, about 150 to 250 of them are new to the center, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's a pretty significant amount of kids" compared with the number of residents within each county, Cash said. About 51,162 people live in Ogle County and about 33,654 live in Lee County, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. "It's been great to get our information out there as a community resource so people that might get into a situation [know] they have a resource to call," Cash said. The agency, like other children's advocacy centers, also provides referrals to mental health services, medical exams, courtroom preparation, victim advocacy and more. At Shining Star, the agency has a full-time counselor who will provide individual counseling as well as two support groups for teenagers and the child's parents or caregivers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cash noted that all of the center's services are completely free to the children and their caregivers. It's entirely funded through federal and state grants, as well as donations and fundraisers. On Shining Star's website, there's an ongoing wish list of in-need items, including things such as juice boxes, individual snacks, fleece blankets and more. Specific items and other fundraising events also are posted on its Facebook page. Child abuse can be reported to the DCFS Hotline at 1-800-25-ABUSE. Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trumps pick to be secretary of defense, has an unconventional resume for the position, which in recent years has been held by retired four-star generals such as Jim Mattis and Lloyd Austin and by major Washington players like Leon Panetta and Robert Gates, both of whom had served as CIA directors. While Hegseth served honorably in the US military, he retired as a major, and his most recent gig was as a Fox News anchor. Given Hegseths relative lack of relevant experience to manage the Pentagon, one of the globes biggest organizations and the most powerful military in the world, an important question to try to address is: Does Hesgeths understanding of the state of the American military correspond with reality? A good place to delve into Hegseths core beliefs about this is his most recent book, The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free, published in June. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hegseths book is an odd mix of slogans and unsupported assertions about the purportedly Marxist and woke US military. It is 228 pages long and has no footnotes and few facts to back up its claims, some of which are dubious at best. Hegseth spends a chapter of his book dumping on the trans troops in the US military, whom he portrays as a key plank of the Pentagons purportedly woke agenda. This is a sizable red herring. A 2016 study by RAND estimated there were between 1,320 and 6,630 transgender people on active duty and between 830 and 4,160 in the reserves. Lets take the high-end estimates, and thats 10,790 people. Around 2 million people serve on active duty and in the reserves, so even using the high-end estimate, roughly 0.5% service members are trans. So, for much of the US military, it is unlikely they will serve with someone who is trans. Yet, Hegseth says that because of the woke and Marxist agenda underlined by the presence of trans soldiers in the US military, its been hard to attract recruits to serve in uniform. In fact, the real recruiting problem is not down to a small number of trans soldiers. It is impacted more by prosaic factors such as the declining number of qualified Americans of military age and the fact that amid low unemployment, the military is just one of many jobs young Americans can take. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A record number of Americans of military age 77% dont qualify for the US military as they are obese, have taken drugs, have a criminal background or have medical problems, according to a 2020 study by the Pentagon. There are also fewer recruits because there are fewer people in the appropriate age cohort to serve in the US military, the result of falling American birth rates, which is why the United States is also seeing declining numbers of students applying to colleges. All these factors have nothing to do with Hegseths claims that the US military is wokeness central and has embraced, in his words, trans lunacy. Additionally, Hegseth says, Lots of people need to be fired at the Pentagon. A particular object of Hesgeths anger is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Charles CQ Brown, who is Black. Hegseth portrays Brown as a general officer obsessed with diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. Because of the purportedly woke Marxist military, Hegseth cites an anonymous US Army officer who told him that overall readiness is in serious crisis, referring to the ability of US military units to deploy quickly for combat. In fact, the readiness rates are higher now than in years. Currently, 60% of our active force is at the highest states of readiness and could deploy to combat in less than 30 days, the then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Mark Milley, testified before a congressional committee last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CNN asked the Trump transition for comment on the claims made in Hegseths book. In his book, Hegseth is very exercised about the role of women in combat because he says women are less effective fighters. It is certainly the case that few women have passed the Q course to become US Special Forces soldiers. Yet, women play many key roles in the US military just as they do in the Israeli army something Hegseth seemed to publicly acknowledge Wednesday when he told reporters, We support all women serving in our military today who do a fantastic job across the globe, in our Pentagon, and deliver critical aspects, all aspects, combat included, and they have for quite some time. Like other Republicans, Hegseth wants answers to who is responsible for the shambolic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021. Hegseth blames the US military when it was simply following orders issued by the Biden administration to withdraw all troops, and when it was, instead, the State Department that had no plan for an orderly evacuation until it was too late. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hegseth also claims that coastal elites hold military service against those who serve. This is an odd claim when 18% of the 118th Congress are veterans, while the Census Bureau estimates 6% of the overall US population are veterans. It seems that military service is something that voters around the country appreciate. Hegseth writes eloquently about his time serving in the Iraq War, which was a marked contrast to his previous job at Bear Stearns in New York City, crunching numbers on an Excel spreadsheet for boring meetings with really rich bankers. Hesgeths account of fighting in Iraq, when the war was at its height and where he earned the first of his two Bronze Stars, is the least polemical and the most interesting part of his book. But a decade and a half later, his military career was over. Hegseth claims he was deemed to be a possible Christian nationalist extremist because of his tattoo of a Jerusalem cross and was prevented from serving in his National Guard unit in Washington, DC, protecting the January 2021 inauguration of President Joe Biden (which came only two weeks after the riot by Trumps supporters at the US Capitol). Though, according to the Associated Press, it was a different tattoo, one reading Deus Vult (Latin for God wills it and an expression associated with the Crusades) that led military leaders to tell him to stay home. Hegseth seems quite bitter about this experience, which resulted in him putting on his uniform for the last time a couple of months later. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hegseths book is a diatribe against supposed wokeness in the US military and the spinelessness of military leaders like Gen. Brown who are purportedly implementing the woke agenda. Should Hegseth become secretary of defense, this may set up a fight between him and top American generals, particularly over the issue of transgender troops. There could also be a battle over the question of Who lost Afghanistan? which Hegseth squarely blames the generals for. In his book, Hegseth is silent on the big issues that a future secretary of defense might have to face, such as the Chinese possibly invading Taiwan. The CIAs chief assesses that Chinese leader Xi Jinping has told his military to be ready to take the island by 2027. For Hegseths views on those kinds of issues, we will likely have to wait for his confirmation hearing, which, for the moment, appears to be on track given Trumps strong continued backing. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com CHIMNEY ROCK, N.C. (WSPA) Its been nearly three months since Hurricane Helene wrecked parts of Western North Carolina. With Christmas fast approaching many are still trying to rebuild. While the holidays may look a bit different in Western North Carolina this year, many in Chimney Rock are still in the holiday spirit. Dont stop believing has been one of the mottos for those who live and work in Chimney Rock. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Saturday, businesses set up tables outside of the Lake Lure Inn and many came out to support them. Its been amazing to be here, Santa Claus said. I wouldnt miss it. Santa Claus, along with those who visited, also had a chance to ride on buses to the village and see the destruction. Since Hurricane Helene hit the area in September, a massive rebuild has been underway. Some said they lost everything Everything Im wearing was donated, said Shari Cummings, owner of the Hickory Nut. We lost 100%. Even shirts from other owners. This is from Aprils boutique. She actually gave me a shirt to wear because I have no clothes. My socks, was all donated from church groups and everything else. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Every business in the village is still shut down. Business owner Sandra Oates said she sees a glimmer of hope with a community so supportive. It makes us feel like they will be back, Oates said. Some business owners believe it could be years before their business hit the ground running again, but those who came to support say theyre cheering them on every step of the way. People are having a very hard time right now so I would like to support everybody and everything, visitor Lacie Overman said. Even award-winning NASCAR drivers Cole Custer and Stefan Parsons made the trip from Charlotte to offer a smile and some Christmas cheer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just trying to put some smiles on some faces really that the biggest thing, Custer said. Bring the show car up here. I know our team is trying to give back to the community just anyway we can help is huge. Being a proud North Carolinian and seeing a lot of other proud North Carolinians that are not far from me in Charlotte banding together and doing this it has been really special, Parsons said. One young visitor said she sees the progress being made to a town she and her family frequently visit. Its so much better, visitor Mackenzie Mayhew said. I took a video. It is just so much better. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those visiting said they cant wait to see chimney rock back and better. Merry Christmas to everybody, two visitors said. Those who live here say theyre happy to see progress being made but they say the road ahead is long. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. San Luis Obispos largest movie theater is planning a host of major improvements after signing a new lease at its downtown location. According to a sign posted on the Marsh Street theaters ticket window, The Movie Experience: Downtown Centre Cinemas has renewed its lease for the next 20 years. The theater also announced some major improvements coming to the business, including new recliners in 2025 and upgraded sound equipment and screens coming soon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Multiple requests for comment from theater management on the lease and anticipated changes were not returned. The Movie Experience: Downtown Centre Cinemas has renewed its lease for the next 20 years, according to a sign on the ticket window on Nov. 21, 2024. We are so excited to see the Downtown Centre Cinemas renew its lease, San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce President Jim Dantona told The Tribune in a statement. As the movie industry continues to rebound from the pandemic hit, its good to know that people will be able to have the dinner and a movie experience in downtown SLO. Those kind of experiential businesses provide increased synergies with other downtown businesses that sustain our economy. The news comes several months after a representative of the theater spoke before the City Council, warning that the longstanding business would not stay open into next year unless parking concerns were addressed. SLO to drop downtown parking rates after public outcry. Were sorry Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The owner was frank, Rusty Barker, speaking on behalf of the movie theaters owner, said during the May meeting. If things dont change, and parking doesnt come down and you dont act, Downtown Cinemas wont be there in 2025. The City Council ultimately voted to significantly reduce its parking rates. Dozens of luxury beachfront condos and hotels in Surfside, Bal Harbour, Miami Beach and Sunny Isles are sinking into the ground at rates that were unexpected, with nearly 70 percent of the buildings in northern and central Sunny Isles affected, research by the University of Miami found. The study, published Friday night, identified a total of 35 buildings that have sunk by as much as three inches between 2016 and 2023, including the iconic Surf Club Towers and Faena Hotel, the Porsche Design Tower, The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Trump Tower III and Trump International Beach Resorts. Together, the high rises accommodate tens of thousands of residents and tourists. Some have more than 300 units, including penthouses that cost millions of dollars. Almost all the buildings at the coast itself, theyre subsiding, Falk Amelung, a geophysicist at the University of Miamis Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science and the studys senior author, told the Miami Herald. Its a lot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Preliminary data also shows signs that some buildings along the coasts of Broward and Palm Beach are sinking, too. Experts called the study a game changer that raises a host of questions about development on vulnerable barrier islands. For starters, experts said, this could be a sign that rising sea levels, caused by the continued emission of greenhouse gases, is accelerating the erosion of the limestone on which South Florida is built. Its probably a much larger problem than we know, Paul Chinowsky, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, told the Herald. Initially, researchers looked at satellite images that can measure fractions of an inch of subsidence to determine whether the phenomenon had occurred leading up to the collapse of Champlain Towers in Surfside, the 2021 catastrophe that killed 98 people and led to laws calling for structural reviews of older condos across the state. The researchers did not see any signs of settlement before the collapse indicating that settlement was not the cause of collapse, according to a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Instead, they saw subsidence at nearby beachside buildings both north and south of it. Surprising findings What was surprising is that it was there at all. So we didnt believe it at the beginning, Amelung said, explaining that his team checked several sources that confirmed the initial data. And then we thought, we have to investigate it, he said. In total, they found subsidence ranging between roughly 0.8 and just over 3 inches, mostly in Sunny Isles Beach, Surfside, and at two buildings in Miami Beach the Faena Hotel and Latelier condo and one in Bal Harbour. Its unclear what the implications are or whether the slow sinking could lead to long-term damage, but several experts told the Herald that the study raises questions that require further research as well as a thorough on-site inspection. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These findings raise additional question which require further investigation, Gregor Eberli, a geoscience professor and co-author of the study, which was published Friday in the journal Earth and Space Science, said in a statement. Lead author Farzaneh Aziz Zanjani pointed to the need for ongoing monitoring and a deeper understanding of the long-term implications for these structures. Though the vast majority of affected buildings were constructed years or decades before the satellite images were taken, it is common for buildings to subside a handful of inches during and shortly after construction a natural effect as the weight of the building compresses the soil underneath. And sinking doesnt necessarily create structural issues. As long as its even, everythings fine, Chinowsky said, placing his hands next to each other, the problems start when you start doing this, he said, then moving one hand down faster than the other. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But such uneven sinking, known as differential subsidence, can cause significant damage to buildings, he said. Thats where you can get structural damage, he said. More research is needed to determine whether the buildings are sinking evenly or not. An uncertain impact Sometimes it can be dangerous, sometimes not it will have to be evaluated, said Shimon Wdowinski, a geophysicist at Florida International University, told the Herald. Wdowinski worked on a different 2020 study that showed that the land surrounding the Champlain Towers not the buildings themselves had been subsiding back in the nineties, though that alone couldnt have led to the collapse. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has yet to release a final report on the cause but a Herald investigation pointed to design and construction flaws as well as decades of maintenance issues. High-rise building dominate the skyline of the coast of Miami-Dade County, from Sunny Isles Beach down to Miami Beach. A new study by University of Miami researchers shows at least 35 buildings in the stretch have sunk by as much as three inches between 2016 and 2023. For the 35 buildings shown to be sinking in the University of Miamis study, he said, the next step is to check the integrity and design plans. If there is differential subsidence, it could cause structural damage, and it would need immediate attention, he said. Cracks in walls, utilities that are breaking, or doors and windows that dont shut as easily as they used to are all signs of differential subsidence, said Hota GangaRao, a professor of civil engineering and the director of the constructed facilities center at West Virginia University. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In some extreme scenarios, the buildings at some point sink much more dramatically with time, he said. If that subsidence is differential, then it is very, very serious, GangaRao said. Cities react to study Larisa Svechin, the mayor of Sunny Isles Beach, where more than 20 buildings are affected, said that my priority is the safety of our residents. Contacted by the Herald Saturday afternoon, she said she was not aware of any structural issues but called an immediate meeting with the city manager. Following that meeting, she said that all required building inspections are up to date and that the law also requires inspection records to be posted online and shared with residents. Charles Burkett, the mayor of Surfside, told the Miami Herald that he had not heard of the study nor was he aware of any subsidence of buildings. Id like to know if its unsafe, he said on Saturday, adding that he will review [the study] in due time. Other officials could not be reached immediately, and several of the affected buildings contacted by the Herald said that management would not be available for comment before Monday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some settlement appears to have started right around the time when the construction of new buildings nearby began, and when vibration might have caused layers of sand to compress further just like shaking ground coffee in a tin will make room for more. The pumping of groundwater that seeps into construction sites could also cause sand layers to shift and rearrange. Though there appears to be a strong link to nearby construction for some buildings, it is unlikely to be the only explanation for the 35 sinking buildings, as some settlement had started before any construction began nearby, and it persisted after construction ended, the researchers found. Theres no sign that its stopping, Amelung said of the settlement. The possible climate connection Experts also pointed to the impact the emission of fossil fuels and the resulting warming of the climate is having on the overall stability of Miami-Dades barrier islands. For one, rising sea levels are now encroaching on sand and limestone underneath our feet. That could lead to the corrosion of the pillars on which high-rises stand a serious issue, GangaRao said, though if thats the case there may be a way to salvage these buildings, by fixing the foundation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stronger waves, fresh water dumped by heavier rainfalls and more sunny-day flooding could also add to the erosion of the limestone that all of South Florida is built on, Chinowsky said. Already a soft rock that is riddled with holes and air pockets, further erosion could destabilize the base of most constructions, Chinowsky said, comparing it to standing on sand, and someone came with a spoon and started taking the sand out. I would expect that they would see this all throughout the barrier islands and on into the main coastline wherever there is limestone, basically, he said. Thats what makes the whole South Florida area so unique, because of that porous rock, the limestone, all that action is happening where you cant see it, and thats why its never accounted for to this level, he said. Here is the full list of buildings identified as experiencing between roughly 0.8 and just over 3 inches of subsidence between 2016 - 2023: Regalia, Ocean II, Residences by Armani Casa, Ocean III, Marenas Beach Resort, Millennium Condominiums, Porsche Design Tower, Bentley Residence Development site, Trump International Beach Resort, Aqualina Resort and Residences on the Beach, The Mansions at Aqualina, Pinnacle, Chateau Beach Residences, Double Tree Resort and Spa, Sole Mia A Noble House Resort. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Also: Florida Ocean Club, Ocean Four Condominium, Muse residences, Jade Ocean Condos, Jade Beach Condos, Jade Signature Condominium, Kings Point Imperial Condo, Trump Tower III, The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Oceana Bal Harbour, Fendi Chateau, Marbella Condominium, Waverly, Carlisle on the Ocean, Residence Inn by Mariott, Luxury Condo Cabarete, The Surf Club North Tower, The Surf Club Hotel Tower, The Surf Club South Tower, Arte Residence, 87 Park Tower, Latelier Condominium, Faena House Clarification: After Saturdays publication of this story, the University of Miami corrected its press release to remove references that the research also found signs of subsidence in downtown Miami and Brickell. The university also removed a reference about the extent of the subsidence from its press release. This story has been updated accordingly. An earlier version of this story referred to a University of West Virginia professor as GangaRao Hota. It is Hota GangaRao. This climate report is funded by Florida International University, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the David and Christina Martin Family Foundation in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald retains editorial control of all content. If you have questions for the climate team, please email climate@miamiherald.com A motorist was killed in a crash in Inver Grove Heights on Saturday and slick road conditions may have been a factor. According to the Minnesota State Patrol, the driver of a 2002 Chevrolet pickup was entering the northbound lanes of Hwy. 52 from Concord Blvd. at around 1:30 p.m. when they lost control and crashed into a Mazda CX-90. The Mazda came to a stop in the left lane, while the pickup came to a stop on the left shoulder. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The driver of the pickup, identified as 74-year-old Willard Henry Pohl, of Inver Grove Heights, was killed in the crash. He was not wearing a seatbelt at the time, the State Patrol said. The driver of the Mazda, identified as a 39-year-old Spring Valley man, was uninjured. The five passengers of the SUV, ranging in ages from 6 to 40, were also uninjured. Amid Saturdays icy conditions caused by freezing rain, the State Patrol reported 239 property damage crashes and 23 injury crashes, in addition to 79 vehicles going off the road, six spinouts and seven jackknifed semis. GOSHEN An Elkhart man who pleaded guilty in a drunk-driving crash that injured the other driver received a five-year sentence but no prison time after a judge reluctantly accepted his plea. Juan Camacho Gallardo, 31, pleaded guilty last month to causing serious injury when operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, a Level 5 felony. He originally faced three counts of the same charge, which carries a punishment of up to six years, following the Sept. 24, 2022, crash that left the other driver hospitalized with leg injuries. He admitted that he drank alcohol before he was involved in the accident that left Benjamin Battle with leg and foot fractures. Camacho Gallardo on Thursday was placed in a Michiana Community Corrections program for five years as an alternative to incarceration with the Indiana Department of Corrections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Camacho Gallardo expressed disappointment in himself for his decision to drink and drive and the effect it had on others. He said it wasnt how he was raised and that he wants to show he can be a better person. I committed a mistake, I hurt other people and I own up to my mistake. I messed up really, really bad, he told the court. I dont know if I could make up for my mistake but I want the chance to show that its not me. Elkhart County Circuit Court Judge Michael Christofeno told Camacho Gallardo he didnt like the plea agreement because it doesnt call for any period of incarceration. But the judge said he would accept it after hearing it would be in the best interest of the public and the State of Indiana in the opinion of Elkhart County Deputy Prosecutor Kathleen Claeys. Christofeno also observed that Camacho Gallardo took the initiative to go through an addictions treatment program while awaiting trial after his June 2023 arrest. But the judge warned him against slipping up while on community corrections, for fear of being placed in prison for the length of his sentence. The only reason I am accepting this is because you took this seriously, you got yourself into treatment and its going well, he said. The sprawling Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio is the latest military installation to report mysterious drones flying over its airspace, The War Zone has learned. I can confirm small aerial systems were spotted over Wright-Patterson between Friday night and Saturday morning, base spokesman Bob Purtiman told The War Zone on Sunday in response to our questions about the sightings. Today leaders have determined that they did not impact base residents, facilities, or assets. The Air Force is taking all appropriate measures to safeguard our installations and residents. The drones ranged in sizes and configurations, Purtiman said. Our units are working with local authorities to ensure the safety of base personnel, facilities, and assets. The sprawling Wright-Patterson AFB complex. (Google Earth) After the drones were seen over Wright-Patterson, a Notice To Airman (NOTAM) was issued closing the airspace between Friday night and Saturday morning. The airspace has since been reopened, Purtiman said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Q) ZID/QFALC/IV/NBO/A/000/999/3949N08402W005 A) KFFO B) 2412140400 C) 2412140800 E) WRIGHT PATTERSON CLASS D AIRSPACE CLOSED DUE TO SECURITY THREAT M1133/24 NOTAMN Q) ZID/QXXXX/IV/NBO/A/000/999/3949N08402W005 A) KFFO B) 2412140403 C) 2412140800 E) CAUTION: USE EXTREME CAUTION; HEAVY UAS ACTIVITY IN KFFO SURFACE AREA The following radio call between Wright-Patterson AFB tower and a medical transport aircraft that occurred during the drone incident was provided by a radio enthusiast reader: Wright-Patterson is a critical installation for the USAF. Its home to the Air Force Research Lab, Air Force Materiel Command, the 655th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing, the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, the 445th Airlift Wing and the host 88th Air Base Wing, among other base tenants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The confirmation of drones over Wright-Patterson came a day after the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration, and Defense Department (DoD) held a joint press conference to address the growing concern about sightings over the U.S., mostly in the airspace above New Jersey. The War Zone was the first to report the confirmation of drones being spotted over Picatinny Arsenal in that state. Since then, there has been a flood of mostly unconfirmed and erroneous reported sightings throughout New Jersey. Of more than 5,000 tips called into a national hotline set up to deal with these sightings, fewer than 100 generated leads deemed worthy of further investigation, an FBI spokesman told reporters, including from The War Zone, on Saturday. The overwhelming majority of these sightings, as we have previously reported, are crewed aircraft, the official reiterated on Saturday. Most of the reports of UAS have originated from the ground, with very, very few reports of UAS activities from pilots of manned aircraft, said the FBI official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Overlaying the visual sightings reported to the FBI with approach patterns for Newark-Liberty, JFK, and LaGuardia airports the density of reported sightings matches the approach patterns of these very busy airports, flights coming in throughout the night. This modeling is indicative of manned aviation being quite often mistaken with unmanned aviation or UAS. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Still, as we have reported in the past, there are several confirmed drone sightings in New Jersey reported by trained observers at Picatinny and Naval Weapons Station Earle in New Jersey. A Coast Guard vessel off New Jersey also had a recent encounter with what it called multiple low-altitude aircraft. U.S. officials are still trying to discover the origin of drones that appeared over four U.S. Air Force bases in the U.K., a story we first broke. Theyve been spotted over RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall, and RAF Feltwell, all within close proximity, and RAF Fairford, about 130 miles to the west. A stock picture of a No Drone Zone sign and other warnings along the perimeter of RAF Lakenheath. Mark Kerrison/In Pictures via Getty Images Though the origin of these drones remains a mystery, DoD officials continue to claim that they are neither dangerous nor actions by foreign adversaries. We have no intelligence or observations that would indicate that they were aligned with a foreign actor or that they had malicious intent, but just kind of simply tell you we dont know. We have not been able to locate or identify the operators who are the points of origin, the DoD official told reporters on Saturday. The main point is to deter the activity using some of our electronic means that can respond to most of these small commercial systems and deny them access to the airspace over our bases. We dont know what the activity is. We dont know if it is criminal. But I will tell you that it is irresponsible. Here on the military side, we are just as frustrated with the irresponsible nature of this activity. Such ambiguity is wearing thin on the public as people are increasingly demanding clarity from the federal government on the issue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wright-Patterson is just the latest in a long string of drone sightings over sensitive facilities and military capabilities. A few days ago, Ramstein Air Base in Germany joined the growing list of places registering unknown drone overflights. The U.S. Air Force has confirmed that there were drones seen over Ramstein Air Base in Germany. (Boris Roessler/picture alliance via Getty Images) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement TWZ has been on the leading edge of covering this topic for years and has broken multiple stories now about drone incursions over key U.S. bases and training ranges, as well as uncrewed aerial systems, harassing American forces off the coasts of the United States and making worrisome overflights of important non-military sites. A spate of drone incursions over Langley Air Force Base in Virginia in December 2023, which TWZ was the first report on, has now become a particular focal point of concern about these instances. Most of the New Jersey drone sightings were misidentified, so it is notable that the ones spotted over Wright-Patterson, as with the other U.S. military installations, were seen by trained observers that are equipped with high-end gear to maintain security and to discriminate between friend and foe. We will continue to provide additional details on the Wright-Patterson AFB incident and the larger drone incursions story as we get them. Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com Drones attacked the city of Grozny in Chechnya on the morning of 15 December, hitting a building. [The Chechen Republic, also known as Chechnya, is a federal subject of the Russian Federation; the Ukrainian parliament has recognised it as the temporarily Russian-occupied territory of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria ed.] Source: Meduza, a Latvia-based Russian media outlet; Russian Telegram channels Astra and Baza Details: Telegram channels, citing local residents, reported that the drones had targeted a base housing the Special Purpose Mobile Unit (OMON) riot police and the 2nd Regiment of Special Forces Police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Social media reports also suggest that, in addition to targeting the OMON and 2nd Regiment bases, a drone struck a military facility commonly used to send personnel to Ukraine. Support UP or become our patron! (NewsNation) Amid growing concern over mysterious drone sightings across New Jersey, a leading drone expert suggests the aircraft may be part of routine military surveillance operations rather than a foreign threat. Mike Fraietta, an FAA drone pilot and founder of Gargoyle Systems, told NewsNation that most reported sightings are likely manned aircraft or authorized military tests. Is this a friend or foe drone? My gut says these are friendly drones, Fraietta said Saturday on NewsNation Prime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The expert pointed to confidential flight notices near McGuire Air Force Base and potential military reconnaissance missions as probable explanations for the widespread drone activity. He believes a failure of communication between government agencies is fueling public panic. While dozens of witnesses have reported drone sightings since November, spanning locations from the Raritan River to coastal areas and near military installations, federal officials maintain the drones do not represent a public safety threat. Drones over New Jersey: Crisis in our skies The FBI is investigating the reports, with an official acknowledging public concern while suggesting there might be a slight overreaction. The Pentagon has repeatedly stated the drones are not of foreign origin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has written to President Joe Biden seeking answers, and local law enforcement continues to monitor the situation. Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., has personally participated in drone monitoring efforts. Some unusual reports have circulated, including claims of drones draining battery power when approached and sightings of multiple aircraft simultaneously. However, Fraietta said that many reported sightings are likely misidentified conventional aircraft. It very much well could be our military testing and looking at things over on on the ocean, he 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 NewsNation. By Phil Stewart, Kanishka Singh and Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A raft of drone sightings in New Jersey and other U.S. states has underscored gaps in U.S. airspace security that need to be closed, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said on Sunday. President Joe Biden's outgoing administration has played down concerns about a growing number of reported drone sightings, saying most of them involve manned aircraft and stressing that there is no evidence of any national security threat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But U.S. lawmakers, including some of Biden's fellow Democrats, have expressed frustration the government is not being more transparent and more aggressive in addressing public concerns. Waltz said Americans were growing frustrated with the failure of Biden's administration to clarify what information they have on the drone reports. "What the drone issue points out are kind of gaps in our agencies, gaps in our authorities between the Department of Homeland Security, local law enforcement, the Defense Department," Waltz told CBS News' Face the Nation. "President Trump has talked about an Iron Dome for America," Waltz said, referring to Israel's missile defense system. "That needs to include drones as well, not just adversarial actions like hypersonic missiles." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Developed with U.S. backing, Israel's Iron Dome is a mobile air defense system designed to intercept short-range rockets and artillery shells that endanger populated areas. The spate of reported drone sightings began in New Jersey in mid-November but has spread in recent days to include Maryland, Massachusetts and other U.S. states. The sightings have garnered media attention and prompted creation of a Facebook page called "New Jersey Mystery Drones - let's solve it" with nearly 70,000 online members. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas defended the U.S. response, saying his agency had deployed personnel and technology. "If there is any reason for concern, if we identify any foreign involvement or criminal activity, we will communicate with the American public accordingly. Right now we are not aware of any," Mayorkas told ABC News. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, played down concerns that America's enemies would send drones over U.S. cities when they can use satellites to safely and easily surveil the U.S. He said the Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates civilian airspace, should do more to allay public concerns. "When people are anxious, when they're nervous ...people will fill a vacuum with their fears and anxieties," Himes said. Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar urged the Biden administration to hold a briefing for senators to explain "what's going on here." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We need more transparency," Klobuchar said. She also called for a look at regulation. "Because this just can't be: 'No one knows why this huge drone is right over their house.'" (Reporting by Phil Stewart; Additional reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Ross Colvin and Bill Berkrot) I recently drove the Honda Pilot and Hyundai Palisade midsize, three-row family SUVs. The Palisade delivers a refined experience with top-notch tech content worthy of a luxury brand. The Pilot's smartly designed cabin, easy-to-use tech, and superb quality are great for families. American consumers purchase more than 2 million midsize family SUVs every year. It's a broad segment in which brands can take vastly different approaches. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I recently had the chance to drive two popular three-row midsize SUVs, the Honda Pilot and Hyundai Palisade, that found success by appealing to the needs of different families. The Honda Pilot is a thoroughly practical family hauler with a smooth V6 engine, easy-to-use tech, and a thoughtfully designed cabin that provides loads of space for people and cargo. The Hyundai Palisade, on the other hand, delivers effective daily transportation with a luxurious flair rarely found in a mass-market family SUV. Here's a closer look at how the two stack up against one another. Which is a better deal? The 2024 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy and a 2025 Honda Pilot Elite SUV. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider The base front-wheel-drive Pilot Sport starts at $39,900, while the entry-level, front-wheel-drive Palisade SE starts at $36,650. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My well-equipped, Alabama-built Pilot Elite AWD test car started at $52,780 with an as-tested price of $54,630, while my loaded Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy AWD starts at $52,100. With fees, the Ulsan, South Korea-built SUV's as-tested price is $53,650. Which one looks better? The 2024 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy and 2025 Honda Pilot Elite. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider The Pilot's blunted, truck-like front end looks great, but the Palisade's parametric jewel-style front grille takes the cake for me. It's a front facia that's both futuristic and elegant. Which one is larger? The 2025 Honda Pilot Elite, top, and 2024 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider The Honda Pilot is one of the largest SUVs in its class. At 200 inches, my test car is about 3 inches longer than the Hyundai Palisade. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It's also taller and wider than the Palisade. The battle of the V6s The Hyundai Palisade's V6 and the Honda Pilot's V6. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While many of their contemporaries have turned to small, turbocharged four-cylinder engines for motivation, the Pilot and Palisade are both powered by smooth, naturally aspirated V6s. The Palisade's 3.8-liter V6 produces 291 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. It's paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission. The Pilot is powered by a 3.5-liter, 285-horsepower V6 with 262 pound-feet of torque paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission. To help save fuel, both engines are equipped with the universally loathed automatic stop-start system, while the Honda engine can also shut down three of its six cylinders when high power output isn't needed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The EPA rates both vehicles for 19 mpg city and 21 mpg combined driving. The Pilot, however, gets 25 mpg of fuel economy on the highway, one more than the Palisade. Which has a better all-wheel-drive system? Hyundai's HTRAC AWD. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider The Pilot and Palisade are both naturally front-wheel-drive crossover SUVs with all-wheel-drive available as an optional extra. Honda's i-VTM4 and Hyundai's HTRAC systems both operate in front-wheel drive when cruising, sending power to the back only when it detects traction loss. What sets Honda's system apart is that it can target how much power each of the rear wheels receives, such as distributing more power to the outside rear wheel in a corner to reduce understeer and improve controllability. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Which is better to drive? The Pilot's front cabin. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider Neither vehicle is particularly sporty to drive. The Pilot and Palisade lack the instant low-end torque of a turbocharged powerplant or an electric motor. The duo is also saddled with transmissions tuned for efficiency over outright performance. Even though both models returned identical 0 to 60 mph runs of 6.9 seconds in Motor Trend's testing, the Palisade inched ahead of the Pilot in this department as it provided a more refined and pleasant driving experience. The Palisade's drivetrain delivered power effortlessly, while it felt like the Pilot's engine and transmission combo had to strain a bit to get the vehicle going. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Which has a nicer cabin? The 2024 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy front dash, top, and the 2025 Honda Pilot Elite front dash. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider While both the Pilot and Palisade feature spacious, smartly designed cabins with high-quality materials and excellent ergonomics, they were executed in very different ways. The Palisade's cabin is stylish and refined. It stands out for its quiet, isolating ride, design features such as the airplane-seat-style wing-out headrests, and creature comforts such as the massaging ergo-motion driver seat. The Pilot shines for its practicality and thoughtful touches, which help it excel at hauling people and their stuff. One such touch is the ingenious removable middle seat module, which can quickly transform the second-row captain's chairs into bench seats to accommodate extra passengers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Which has more passenger space? The second- and third-row seats in a 2024 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy and a 2025 Honda Pilot Elite. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Pilot and Palisade have two of the roomiest passenger cabins in the segment. The Palisade offers about an inch and a half more second-row legroom compared with the Pilot, but it trails the Pilot by an inch in third-row legroom. Which has the best tech? The infotainment screens in the 2024 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy, top, and a 2025 Honda Pilot Elite SUV. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider The Pilot's standard 7-inch and optional 9-inch displays are verging on unacceptably small for a vehicle in this segment. Especially when compared to the Palisade's standard 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen. Both systems are well-sorted, easy to use, and backed up by physical switches to help make use on the go a bit easier, but I found the Hyundai system to be a bit more intuitive to use. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility come standard on both vehicles. Both vehicles also come with an intercom system that allows the driver and rear cabin passengers to communicate through the SUVs' speakers. How much cargo can they haul? The 2025 Honda Pilot Elite and 2024 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy cargo compartments. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider The Honda Pilot is ahead of the Palisade in overall cargo space, with up to 112.1 cubic feet of cargo space behind the first row versus 86.4 cubic feet for the Palisade. My Verdict: It's a tie. The Hyundai wins if you're looking for luxury, but the Honda is tops when practicality is the name of the game. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider The Honda Pilot and Hyundai Palisade represent excellence in the genre but through very different means. The Palisade's level of luxury and refinement is truly noteworthy. I wouldn't feel cheated if Hyundai slapped and Genesis badge on it and jacked up the price by $10,000. On the other hand, the Pilot's quality and thoughtful execution are the mark of a brand with a quarter century of experience building minivans that can withstand years of grueling school runs and the destructiveness of a bored, curious child. Given their vastly different personalities, the vehicle I'd choose depends purely on my family's changing needs. With younger children, I'd choose the Pilot's roomy, easy-to-use, and durable cabin. But as they and I grow older, count me in on the Palisade's refined, isolating ride and heated massaging seats. Read the original article on Business Insider Drunk driving victims honored at MADD event in Overland Park OVERLAND PARK, Kan. Mothers Against Drunk Driving of Kansas held a candlelight ceremony in Overland Park on Saturday, honoring victims of drunk driving. Families had the opportunity to share the stories of their loved ones who lost their lives due to drunk driving. Alleged serial drink and dasher arrested again in Kansas City area Its just not worth it. The guy who killed our son made one bad choice after another after another, and he changed our familys life forever, and he ruined his own and ruined his familys life all because of a series of bad decisions, said Mike Kleczka. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mike and Debbie Kleczkas 19-year-old son, Benny, was killed by a drunk driver in June of 2023 in Merriam, Ks. A drunk driver who was fleeing police, going over 100 mph, ran into the back of Benny (and his fiance) and Benny never regained consciousness. The car hit the drivers side, so he took most of the impact. His fiance left with concussions. Both cars were destroyed, and the drunk driver walked out of his almost scratch-free, Kleczka explained. The Kleczkas are thankful for the resources and support offered by Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Im just thankful that we are able to be a part of it and maybe have Bennys death not go in vain and that other lives might be saved just because of the awareness that its brought up, Kleczka said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MADD staffers say its important to offer support to families impacted by drunk driving around the holidays. At Saturdays event, families had the opportunity to connect with other people who are also grieving the loss of a loved one. Therapy dogs from MO-KAN Pet Partners were on hand to offer additional support. Christina Bransons daughter was killed in a drunk-driving crash in 2022. Branson said MADD has been an essential resource. Insurance company denies covering cost of life-saving medicine for metro woman It is very important. They were one of the first ones that reached out, and I didnt realize that there were resources available, Branson explained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Branson pushed for a recently passed proclamation in Kansas, making Dec. 16 Mothers Against Drunk Driving Day. On Dec. 16, to remember all of the victims and survivors because once court is done and everything is done, they are forgotten, their stories stop, Branson explained. Their names are forgotten, and I want to make sure that they are not forgotten because we never forget, and the world needs to remember, too. Family members who attended Saturdays event all echoed the same message. Designate a driver. Its so easy to do. Phone a friend or call an Uber and have a plan in action before you go out and drink, Debbie Kleczka said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) Families arent only giving out presents this holiday season, as some in Urbana are giving their time as well by helping pack food for those in need. On Saturday, the Eastern Illinois Foodbank hosted their fifth annual Family Repack event. The even emphasizes the ability to involve kids in the work. For most events, only adults or teenagers can participate. Organizers said theyre excited to give families a chance to teach their children good values. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Because a lot of folks want to find those opportunities where they can bring their little kids in and to show them the importance of giving back, said Vice President of Development Amanda Borden. On Dec. 14, families from the Champaign-Urbana area took a different approach to their weekend. While most people slept in, these families woke up early, got to Eastern Illinois Foodbank at 9 a.m. and packed up food for an hour and a half. Kraft Heinz gifts $30,000 donation to Eastern IL Foodbank We like to have this volunteer event just so those families can have that, Borden said. Its their chance to come out together and do good work for the community together. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Volunteers packed up apples and various canned goods to be put on the E.I.F. foodmobile. The food will be delivered to 18 different counties in Eastern Illinois. One of the main groups attending was Girl Scout Troop 2,124 from Mahomet. Its our first year as a troop and were really excited to do this for our community, said Volunteer Darby Pfoff. It goes really well with the values were trying to instill in them. Volunteering increases by about 50% nationwide during the month of December. The kids have recognized that now is a good time to serve. And I like to help, especially during the Christmas season, said Girl Scout Shea OConnell. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement OSF bringing cheer to patients on Christmas Eve in Urbana And the need is there, now more than ever. Especially because so many of our neighbors are facing food insecurity, Borden said. And in fact, were seeing historic levels of need currently in our community. The foodbank receives food through donations, and they also go out and buy food themselves. These apples are nice, nutritious food, Borden said. You know, thats fresh produce that our neighbors could have. The foodbank takes donations all year. To find out how to donate or volunteer, visit their 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 WCIA.com. ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) A woman is recovering after someone shot her in the face before dawn Sunday morning. Deputies in Escambia County, Florida say they responded to a call for a shooting on Yoakum Court at about 4:30 Sunday morning. The victim told deputies that she was standing in her residence and noticed thorough her open front, two males wearing dark clothing arguing in her driveway. The victim said she heard a gunshot and immediately felt pain in her face, wrote an ECSO spokesperson. The victim was taken to a hospital with what are described as non-life-threatening injuries. A K9 unit was called in to aid in the search but, so far, no arrests have been made. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The phrase forked tongue was first used in Psalms in the Bible to describe someone who is being deceitful or hypocritical by saying one thing and meaning another. In Native American tribes, someone who spoke with a forked tongue could no longer be considered worthy of trust. Imagine someone says to you that food security is vital and that they are on the side of farmers to ensure we have a broader range of food and reduce our dependency on imports. Almost all politicians say this. Have you ever thought about the area of land contained within the M25, effectively Greater London? It is some 700 sq miles, our biggest conurbation, which takes a long time to drive around. Now think about productive English farmland of a similar area, producing high quality food. The Prime Minister and other Labour ministers have been at pains to extol how important farming is, that security of food production is key. But then, in the next breath, they announce they will carpet an area of farmland the size of Greater London with solar panels within a decade, thus preventing the growth of a huge amount of British food. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This extraordinary plan, just announced by the most dangerous man to the British economy, Ed Miliband, is all in the religious pursuit of net zero, which is Labour and Tory doctrine, their new Bible. The numbers are mind boggling. It is the jarring transformation of the glorious patchwork quilt of the English countryside into a mirror of glass. As you splutter over your tea and cornflakes, you will presume that this can all be stopped. Local planners and councillors will reject this monstrous carbuncle. Think again. The Energy Secretary is designating these vast acreages of solar panels as nationally significant infrastructure projects which means he can bypass all normal planning rules. The same approach will apply to onshore wind farms, so a forest of spinning blades is coming to a field near you soon. All this will be blended with a spiders web of mega pylons carrying the electricity across the country. Solar panels will mainly be made in China using cheap electricity from coal-fired power stations, so most of the jobs will be overseas as we send them our money. All of this will be part of Labours Planning and Infrastructure Bill next year. It lurks like a hissing snake next to Angela Rayners changes to the housing planning rules also announced this week. Essentially Labour are acting like a drunk in charge of a lumbering tank, quashing dissent as far and as fast as possible. None of this comes for free. It requires investment of more than 40bn every year for a decade, apparently from the private sector who will want a juicy profit from us consumers. So it will drive up bills, not reduce them. If there was no net zero, then none of this desecration would happen, none of the extra cost would be incurred. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We would be better off, all of us would enjoy lower bills, higher growth and a higher quality of life. It is basic maths that renewables plus back-up, must cost more than just back-up. Do not be surprised that a Trump economy will grow much faster than the UK and EU nations, because he will ditch the religious cult of net zero and boost activity. This net zero virtue signalling is a vast act of arrogant green colonialism, as huge open cast mines in developing nations tear up rare earth metals. Mines where children are used as cheap labour in appalling conditions. Apart from ruining our environment and countryside, net zero is the greatest act of financial self harm ever imposed on a nation by incompetent politicians from the two main parties. Our economy is in distress, manufacturing jobs are being slain. Our politicians have misled us all for many years. Saying one thing whilst meaning another. Labours net zero drive is just the latest example. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. A major vendor has asked city Comptroller Brad Lander to investigate whether the Department of Educations purchase of the controversial Illustrative Math curriculum unfairly sidestepped the bidding rules. It appears that DOE did not follow any procurement process before selecting Illustrative Mathematics for its $34 million NYC Solves initiative, writes Sean Mulcahy, senior vice-president of New Jersey-based Savvas Learning Company in a Nov. 26 letter obtained by The Post. Ex-Chancellor David Banks and Mayor Adams, center, announced the $34 million NYC Solves initiative in June. James Keivom While multiple curricula companies would normally have had the opportunity to submit proposals, it appears the DOE selected Illustrative Mathematics with no competing bids or procurement process, says the competitors letter, first reported by Politico. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lander declined to comment, but officials told The Post his office has no record of any current or prospective contracts for Illustrative Math, which is published by Imagine Learning. Mayor Adams and then-Chancellor David Banks announced the launch of NYC Solves in June to address lagging math scores, with half of students in grades 3-8 not proficient in 2023. The initiative began with 265 high schools piloting Illustrative Math for algebra, but many teachers hated the tightly scripted lesson plans, rigid schedule, and requirement that students work in groups to discover and solve math problems with little teacher input. City Comptroller Brad Lander is being asked to investigate whether the DOE broke rules to award a contract for Illustrative Math without competitive bidding. J.C. Rice The DOE selected Illustrative Mathematics with no competing bids or procurement process, wrote Sean Mulcahy, above, senior vice-president of Savvas Learning Company, a competing vendor. linkedin/sean-mulcahy Former schools chancellor David Banks, center, launched the NYC Solves initiative to address low math scores in NYC public schools. James Keivom Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite a citywide decline on the Algebra 1 Regents exams this year, the DOE mandated the use of Illustrative Math in all but six of 420 high schools. In a statement Saturday, the DOE said it has complied with all procurement policies and procedures, and that it evaluated Savvas among companies that responded to a public Request for Information on math curricula. Mulcahys letter also quotes emails from an agent of vendor Curriculum Associates, which claim the DOE had reviewed and accepted its math programs for use in grades K to 8. The emails are dated in May, a month before NYC Solves was introduced to the public. The claims raise significant questions about potential collusion, unfairness, favoritism, impropriety, or improper influence within the DOE procurement process, Mulcahy wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the very least, they create the appearance of a conflict of interest and suggest that some bidders knew the DOEs plans before any public announcement. A Curriculum Associates rep could not immediately be reached. Eight people have been injured in an explosion in a residential building in the southern Czech town of Znojmo, two of them seriously, national public news agency CTK reported, citing an emergency services spokesman. A sniffer dog and a helicopter were used in the search and rescue operation, but no further victims were found under the rubble. Residents reported that the blast could be heard kilometres away. Initial reports suggested that the explosion could have been caused by a build-up of natural gas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A photo published by police showed a collapsed facade of the first floor in an old building. The roof also showed signs of damage. Frantisek Koudela, mayor of the town, which lies in South Moravia some 180 kilometres south-east of Prague, said it would have to be torn down. The authorities were prepared to offer assistance to those affected, he said. Pondering Musk and murdered health CEO Three things just happened on the national level: Elon Musk complained about workers rights, a giant medical insurance CEO was killed and Blue Cross was forced to walk back a cold-blooded change to its anesthesia coverage. Not connected, but connected? First, Musk proclaimed that his stock value and that of his shareholders come before that of his employees. Somehow, his shareholders need to thrive is more important than that of the people who actually build his toys. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then, a CEO is murdered (perhaps by someone upset with his companys policies). This is a CEO who has overseen record profits for himself and his shareholders while leading the top 10 insurance companies in coverage denials by a whopping 9% over the next company. He, also, engaged in questionable stock trades involving his company and made a lot of money. Opinion Then, theres Anthem Blue Cross. It tried to limit the amount of time a person could remain under insured anesthesia during surgery. Until word got out. Now, its walking that back. Anthem is, also, second in coverage denials. A paranoid person might say that the killing and the cruel words/actions of oligarchs arent unrelated. Dont make us eat cake. Joel S. Dyer, Fresno Jesus did not shame anybody I have seen too many stories of newborns left to die because the mother is afraid and ashamed that her Christian community will judge her for being unwed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I ask all Christians: Teach your youngsters that they can come to you for help, love, and support no matter the sin, even if it is the most embarrassing sin: a sexual one. Tell young women that everybody will still love you. Teach everybody that there should be no embarrassment or shame for being publicly exposed as a sinner. What of suicide? One doesnt even have to look it up to know that Christians have harmed themselves because of shame among their Christian peers. Please do a better job of teaching from Sunday school and up that shame is no reason that you should be afraid to turn to your Christian community. They will still love you. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is my hope that the Christian community consider guiding its youth away from thinking that they live in a shame-based society. Jesus never shamed anybody. Ryan Richards, Fresno Monument status needed for Sierra forest Marek Warszawskis argument against the Range of Light National Monument (Oct. 30) boils down to two points: 1) the only change would be new signage, and 2) it would make some folks unhappy. Honestly, no one pretends RLMN would magically transform 1.4 million used and abused acres of Sierra National Forest into a magical wonderland. But replacing missing or damaged trail signs might be a darn good place to start. More importantly, signs are also about values and expectations. Warszawski knows this. Remember his piece about renaming of Squaw Valley to Yokuts Valley (Sept. 28, 2022)? Same issues there: new signs vs. public opinion, except there he favored the signs. Why? Maybe because signs can affirm critical values. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Changing the designation to national monument would certainly achieve one thing: sending a strong signal that we expect something better for the preservation and management of our public lands. And what would be a better way to start the movement to secure the financial and institutional resources that Warszawski rightly points out are key to achieving the proponents goals of securing this treasure for the benefit of and enjoyment by our grandchildren? John McDanoiel, Fresno Trump and his den of thieves As the president-elect selects individuals to fill his cabinet, you would hope he would choose individuals who are not only qualified, but also of integrity and character. Unfortunately, many of his selections lack both. It is also disturbing to know that his choices include those having criminal records, have made racist remarks, been abusive to women or are out-of-touch billionaires. Soon they will be in positions of power and the abuse of this power is almost certain. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president-elect and cabinet will live by one rule the end does justify the means. One religious leader, over 2,000 years ago, called such a group, a den of thieves. Val Rios, Fresno Support Energy Permitting Reform Act Congress might pass important bipartisan legislation before adjourning. The Energy Permitting Reform Act (S 4753) streamlines review of projects such as power lines and LNG terminals. Many Republicans like the all of the above approach. The act covers both fossil fuel infrastructure and renewable energy. It makes America more energy independent and builds our economy. Many Democrats see permitting reform as critical in speeding up renewable energy. What good are wind or solar power plants, if power lines take a decade for permit approval? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some respected environmental groups oppose EPRA because it streamlines review of certain oil and gas drilling leases and LNG terminals. But Citizens Climate Lobby found that, on balance, the act would reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, so America can meet our net zero goal by 2050. It also encourages other countries to follow our lead. The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is amending the bill, with a majority in favor. The bill awaits introduction in the House. Fresno Rep. Jim Costa signed an endorsement from the Blue Dog Coalition of moderate Democrats. The Climate Solutions Caucus, with 30 Democrats and 30 Republicans, including Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, also supports the bill. Ask your members of Congress to vote yes. Devin Carroll, Fresno UPDATE 12/18/2024 An endangered SILVER advisory for a Dallas County man has been cancelled. According to a press release from the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP), the Dallas County Sheriffs Office has reported that 60-year-old Phillip Berry has been located and is safe. Original story: DALLAS COUNTY, Mo. The Dallas County Sheriffs Office (DCSO) has issued an endangered silver advisory for 60-year-old Phillip Berry, who went missing from his home in Long Lane, Missouri on Saturday, Dec. 14. Phillip Berry Berry was last seen at his residence at 86 Route V at 1:00 p.m. DCSO says Berry told his wife that he had a severe migraine headache and that he had suicidal thoughts in the past. Berrys cell phone was last pinged in Hardy, Arkansas at 5:24 p.m. Saturday, but was then turned off. The missing person also has family in Kentucky and Georgia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Berry is described as a 6-foot, 190-pound white male with white hair and brown eyes. He is wearing a T-shirt, a jean jacket and blue jeans. He also has a red 2010 Ford Escape with Missouri license plate NJ5C9U last seen at his residence. Anyone who sees the missing person or has any information regarding him should immediately call 911 or the DCSO at 417-345-2441 extension 2. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOLR - OzarksFirst.com. UPDATE: El Paso County Sheriffs Office said that 45-year-old Alfredo Garcia was the individual who was shot during an officer-involved shooting on Saturday, Dec. 16 in Horizon City. He was taken to a local hospital where he died, the Sheriffs Office said. In the custodial death report about the incident submitted to the Texas Attorney Generals Office, the El Paso County Sheriffs Office was listed as the agency involved in the shooting. EPCSO came out to assist Horizon Police, which was the initial responder. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) A person was taken to a local hospital with unknown injuries after an officer-involved shooting on Saturday morning, Dec. 14 in Horizon City, the El Paso County Sheriffs Office said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At 9:02 a.m. on Dec. 14, Horizon City Police Department officers were dispatched to the 14300 block of Desert Point Dr. about a criminal trespass and violation of a protective order in progress. EPCSO said Horizon Police officers arrived and encountered a person brandishing a firearm. EPCSOs Crisis Negotiators and Crisis Intervention Team arrived on the scene and tried to de-escalate the situation. During the extensive negotiations, the person approached officers in what they called a threatening manner with a firearm, and an officer-involved shooting occurred, EPCSO said. The person was transported to a local hospital for further medical evaluation. However, EPCSO did not specify the severity of the persons injuries or which law enforcement agency fired their weapon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement EPCSOs Major Crimes Unit, the Internal Affairs Shooting Review Team, and Texas Rangers are on the scene conducting an investigation. The Internal Affairs Shooting Review Team and the Texas Rangers are also conducting an administrative investigation, EPCSO said. EPCSO said there is no current threat to the public, and no other injuries have been reported. In addition, the area will be closed until further notice for investigative purposes. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) East Tennessee State University celebrated its winter commencement and the first graduates from the BlueSky Tennessee Institute on Saturday. 1,369 students walked the stage, with 27 College of Business and Technology students making history by graduating from the BlueSky Tennessee Institute, a workforce partnership between BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and ETSU. The 27 graduates completed 27 months in the program and accepted job offers for a competitive position with BlueCross BlueShield, according to a release from ETSU. Photo (WJHL) Joseph Whitmire, who graduated from the BlueSky program with his bachelors in computing, said the coursework for the program was accelerated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Local middle schools compete in first TMSAA Girls Wrestling State Championship Its definitely a harder program since you are kind of pushing everything into smaller chunks and having your summer semesters, Whitmire said. You also have those as well. Having that on top of the workforce and the internship program that we do definitely does become a lot. Despite the strenuous work, Whitmire appreciates the BlueSky program for leading him to the beginning of his career. I just want to say thank you so much to BlueSky, he said. Thank you so much to BlueCross and ETSU. This has certainly changed the way that Ive looked at education, and Im so, so happy to be here. So Godspeed, Go Bucs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A family man from Wisconsin. A spirited artist from Hawaii. An Ivy League graduate from Maryland. At face value, Ryan Borgwardt, Hannah Kobayashi and Luigi Mangione lead distinct lives and come from disparate backgrounds. Yet, they all took unexpected paths, disappearing from their jobs, routines, friends and family. Hundreds of thousands of adults are reported missing each year in the United States, according to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Some run away intentionally, according to former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. As an adult, you can just decide to leave your life and go start somewhere else, or go seek something, whatever that might be, McCabe told CNN. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are many reasons why a person would run, such as pressures at work, financial troubles, health issues, romantic relationships and social media, McCabe adds. These variables can lead to increased anxiety and stress, according to experts who note some people who dont have the emotional tools to cope with these issues may find it is easier to opt out of their current life and start a new one. Oftentimes, law enforcement designates these individuals as voluntary missing persons, McCabe said. This month, Kobayashi was declared a voluntary missing person after Los Angeles police say she traveled to the US-Mexico border and crossed into Mexico alone. The 30-year-old has since been found safe her family announced this week but has not returned to the US. A family statement did not indicate where Kobayashi was or how the family determined she was safe. CNN has reached out to Kobayashi for comment. Kobayashis family is still reeling from the death of her father, who killed himself a few days before Thanksgiving after he traveled to Los Angeles to search for her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As cases of missing Americans continue to captivate the publics attention, this culmination of events is not necessarily a coincidence, according to Lauren Cook, a clinical psychologist who specializes in anxiety and is based in Los Angeles. It is not uncommon for adults with full lives to have passive thoughts about walking away from everything they know, Cook said. Before leaving Hawaii, Kobayashi had expressed a desire to disconnect from modern technology, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. While extreme, these recent stories speak to the great level of overwhelm people are feeling, Cook, who is not involved with any of the cases, told CNN. They dont always know easy solutions to their problems, and so then they do find themselves wanting to run away and escape it all. Flyers of formerly missing Maui woman Hannah Kobayashi are on display outside Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles in late November. - Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images Why would an adult run away? Running away from home is a common threat young children make when they are angry or feel misunderstood, experts say. As we age, we usually learn how to regulate our emotions. But not every adult does, and without that skill, life changes and anxiety can become too much for one person to handle. When people dont know how to self-regulate, they can unfortunately make some really dire choices, Cook said. Many people, through no fault of their own, are not taught how to self-regulate as they develop into adults, she added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2023, more than 563,000 missing person reports were recorded by the National Crime Information Center, a database run by the FBI and comprised of criminal data, including missing persons cases involving minors and adults. For about half of those cases, optional criteria were used to help classify a persons disappearance as an abduction or voluntary, according to an NCIC report. Of those cases, approximately 95% were labeled as runaways, data shows. Some runaways may be responding to too much stimuli, Cook adds. When someone is so taxed neurologically day after day after day, eventually theyre not going to have the same cognitive capacities to make decisions as somebody who is well rested and feels capable of managing whats going on in their life, Cook said. Someone with an overloaded brain can begin to dissociate from their lives and ultimately become removed from their ability to empathize with others, Cook said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Voluntary missing people and those in extreme escapism situations are more likely to make reckless decisions that not only harm themselves, but their loved ones as well, Cook added. Going missing is not a crime. Sometimes Local law enforcement agencies across the country are responsible for investigating missing persons cases, according to McCabe. When it comes to missing people under 21, authorities are required by law to report every missing persons case to the National Crime Information Center, even if they left of their own accord. However, if an adult voluntarily leaves, there is not much local law enforcement or the FBI can do, McCabe said. Unless theres some reason to believe that there might have been a crime involved (authorities) cant afford to take the time and effort to basically unwind all of that persons history and movements, McCabe said. Missing persons investigations often involve forensic analysis, gathering cell phone data and requesting search warrants, he said. That is expensive, McCabe said. Missing persons investigations require a lot of manpower, according to McCabe, taking precious time away from public resources like police officers, forensic analysts and judges. If a person is missing because they want to be, those resources are not being used fairly, he said Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That is a hard truth to grapple with for both investigators and the families of missing adults. Theres nothing criminal about going missing voluntarily unless you commit a crime in the process, McCabe noted. Last week, Borgwardt was charged with one count of obstructing an officer after Wisconsin officials say the 45-year-old staged a kayaking accident and faked his own death before traveling to Eastern Europe, leaving his wife and three children. Ryan Borgwardt's booking photo - Green Lake County Sheriff For seven weeks, the Green Lake County Sheriffs Office searched for Borgwardts body but didnt find it. Eventually, officials uncovered evidence Borgwardt fled to Europe by way of Canada. Wisconsin investigators say Borgwardt faked his own death for a number of reasons, and have remained tight-lipped on exactly where he was as authorities spent weeks searching for him. Borgwardt has not released a statement regarding his actions, and neither has his family. Borgwardt, who does not appear to have an attorney, did not respond to CNNs request for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In another high-profile case, Mangione, the man facing a second-degree murder charge in the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was reported missing last month by his mother. One of his attorneys has denied his clients involvement in the killing in New York and anticipates he will plead not guilty there to the murder charge, among other counts. Mangiones mother hadnt spoken to her son since July, she told police in San Francisco, where she knew he had been living. His phone consistently went to voicemail, which was also full, she told police. It also appears Mangione disappeared from social media this year. In July, a user tweeted at Mangione, I havent heard from you in months. The 26-year-old appeared to be driven by anger against the health insurance industry and viewed the targeted killing as a direct challenge to corporate greed, according to an NYPD intelligence report. For every voluntary missing person who is found, there is another who is never located. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Families who feel like no one is searching for their loved one are encouraged to persistently follow up with the investigating agency involved, McCabe said. Its entirely possible that law enforcement might come across them in the course of their duties, he said. The age of overwhelm In recent years, the percentage of American adults reporting anxiety and depression symptoms significantly increased, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During 2022, about one in five adults aged 18 and older experienced any symptoms of anxiety (18.2%) or symptoms of depression (21.4%) during a two-week period. Anxiety and stress can have major health implications and can motivate people to do things they normally wouldnt do, said Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a developmental psychologist and senior research scholar in psychology at Clark University. Depression is different, Arnett said. Depression usually comes with a certain lassitude. You dont feel like doing anything. But anxiety and stress are the opposite, and they make you want to do something to relieve that condition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anxiety and stress can be managed through communication, therapy or medication, experts note. Current anxiety levels are particularly elevated for people aged 18 to 29, Arnett said, noting the Covid-19 pandemics impacts on mental health. Cook agrees, noting the financial disparity between Millennials and Baby Boomers plays a role. Young adults today, theyre not able to afford housing, theyre barely living paycheck to paycheck, Cook said. Theyre feeling so overwhelmed by all of these different things that they saw their parents do seemingly more easily, and that gets really defeating over time. Along with poor health care, increased cost of living and rampant gun violence in the US, the current political climate is prompting some Americans to consider leaving the country, Cook said. Using anxiety to your advantage When a person is so stressed they feel like a tea kettle ready to boil, Cook and Arnett say they should prioritize communication. Sometimes that looks like calling a friend. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the distress gets to the point where you feel like its interfering with your daily functioning and with your relationships, and that you really are on the verge of doing something extreme, then its time to get help, Arnett said. Its time to talk to other people about it, especially the people youre closest to. Withdrawing from family, friends and social media can be a signal something is wrong. Anyone looking to make a drastic life change should try to include their loved ones in that decision, Cook said, so they dont worry unnecessarily. Our human brains go to the worst places, she said. It becomes problematic when people arent communicating their plans to walk away. Cook also recommends seeing a therapist to help relieve tension. Breath work, exercise and journaling are some of the many practices someone can implement or consistent relief, according to the CDC. Ultimately, Arnett argues stress and anxiety can be harnessed and used to someones advantage if they can identify the stressors. Anxiety is a motivator, and so its possible to use it constructively, Arnett said. What are those things for you? And how can you relieve that sense of being oppressed by them and threatened by them? Editors Note: This story contains discussion of suicide. Help is available if you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters. In the US: Call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Globally: The International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide have contact information for crisis centers around the world. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com On New Year's Day 2021, investigators responded to a home invasion call from a residence in Canton, Georgia. At the scene, Morgan Metzer was found with her wrists zip tied, and bruising on her face. Morgan Metzer following the attack at her home. / Credit: Cherokee County Sheriff's Office Morgan Metzer said the intruder had a mask on to hide his identity. Her ex-husband, Rod Metzer, told investigators he found her on the back porch and called 911. A revealing search warrant The zip ties that were used by the assailant to bind Morgan Metzer's wrists. / Credit: Cherokee County District Attorney's Office When questioned, Morgan Metzer told investigators she suspected the intruder was, in fact, her ex-husband. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigators executed a search warrant of Rod Metzer's apartment and found a bag of zip ties along with a portion of a zip tie. A perfect match In the crime lab, a portion of a zip tie essentially a tail found in Rod Metzer's apartment, lined up with one of the extra heads on Morgan Metzer's restraints. / Credit: Cherokee County District Attorney's Office Investigators hoped to find out if the portion of the zip tie found in Rod Metzer's apartment lined up with the zip ties on Morgan Metzer's wrists. At the crime lab, they were able to confirm a match. "7 Ways To Be Her Hero" The book Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Rod Metzer's apartment, investigators also found the book "7 Ways To Be Her Hero." Investigators believe this spoke to Rod Metzer's motive. Morgan Metzer had told investigators he had been trying to win her back. Rod Metzer's incriminating browsing history A screenshot from Rod Metzer's internet search history. / Credit: Cherokee County Sheriff's Office Rod Metzer's internet searches stood out to investigators, among them: "How to change the sound of your voice" and "How to get sympathy from your ex." A fake diagnosis In his internet history was another alarming search: "Cancer letter from hospital." Rod Metzer, right, being questioned by Cherokee County investigators. / Credit: Cherokee County Sheriff's Office Rod Metzer had told Morgan Metzer the week before the attack that he had pancreatic cancer. Investigators found that Rod Metzer created a fake email account to create the cancer diagnosis letter he showed Morgan. Det. Dakota Lyvers confronted Rod Metzer about this. Rod Metzer did not answer Lyvers, instead he responded, "I don't know if I should talk to you guys anymore. I'm starting to get a really bad feeling ..." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A revealing barcode A bag of zip ties found during a search of Rod Metzer's apartment. / Credit: Cherokee County District Attorney's Office Rod Metzer denied having zip ties in his home. Using a Lowe's app on his phone, Sgt. Robert Haugh scanned the UPC code located on the zip tie bag and discovered they were carried by Lowe's. After searching local transactions, investigators discovered Rod Metzer purchased the type of zip ties used to restrain Morgan Metzer with his debit card. Lowe's surveillance footage Rod Metzer, right, is seen in an image from security video purchasing zip ties at a Lowe's store on Dec. 30, 2020. / Credit: Cherokee County Sheriff's Office Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigators obtained surveillance footage from Lowe's which showed Rod Metzer purchasing the zip ties on Dec. 30 about 36 hours before the attack. "Overwhelming" evidence against Rod Metzer Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Rachel Ashe said her team had more than enough evidence to prove Rod Metzer's guilt. In her interview with "48 Hours," she said, "This is a prosecutor's dream" because the evidence was "overwhelming." On Aug. 4, 2021, Rod Metzer pleaded guilty to a total of 14 counts related to the attack on his ex-wife and the photos found on his phone. / Credit: Cherokee County Sheriff's Office Rod Metzer pleaded guilty to 14 counts related to Morgan Metzer's attack and photos found on his phone that were considered an invasion of privacy. He was given a 70-year sentence 25 years in prison followed by 45 years of probation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A survivor's story Morgan Metzer shares her story with Morgan Metzer says she is dedicated to helping women who find themselves in situations similar to her own. She is also focused on raising her children. Trump reportedly considering military action against Iran Why experts are telling people not to trade in their cars right now Growing number of drone sightings along East Coast causes confusion, alarm SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) The affordable grocery store, Fair Market, will be closing their Kiwanis location and moving into the old Family Dollar on Minnesota Avenue this week. Fair Market started in 2022 to help make groceries more affordable for families. At the 10th St. and Kiwanis locations, they sells reclaimed goods from grocery stores at 50 percent off big box prices. New sensory safe kids gym coming to Sioux Falls Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Kiwanis location is closing on Monday before the new location on Minnesota and 33rd opens Thursday. Moving to one location that is larger allows us to better serve the community by strengthening our produce offerings and have consistent product available, the store posted on their Facebook. Our customers are coming from all over the city and over the last two years of piloting two locations we learned that there is not a specific geographical area that is served. Fair Market credits the opening of the Eat Well Mobile Market to continue serving the local needs of northwest Sioux Falls. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. Afghanistans Taliban government accepted a $10 billion investment in the countrys mines last year. The funds came from a Chinese company, part of a years-long effort by the worlds second-largest economy to get its hands on Afghanistans metals and minerals. Beijing wants lithium, a key input for the new economy of smartphones and EVs. Some experts estimate that Afghanistans lithium, as well as other metals, could be worth as much as $1 trillion, a lifeline for a country that for years has labored at the lowest end of the UNs measures of human development. It wouldnt be the first time that natural resources have revived Afghanistans prospects. Not that long ago, Afghanistan was a booming trade hub. Its prosperity was primarily based on a single strategic commodity: the horse. But when the world no longer needed horses, Afghanistans fortunes rapidly sankand that should be a warning for economies that rely on todays strategic commodity, oil. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For almost two millennia, Afghanistan was an exporter of quality horses to empires in India and China. Known as arghamaks, these steeds, raised on the excellent pastures in Afghanistans northern plains, often stood two to three hands (20 to 30 centimeters) taller than ordinary horses. China and India depended on Central Asia for horses, then a key commodity for their armies and economies. Their warm and wet climates couldnt produce the brawny horses needed for their cavalries. Indeed, upon learning that a new shipment of Afghan steeds had arrived, a Han emperor in the first century AD wrote ecstatically that the heavenly horses have comeI will ride them up to heaven. Thus, Afghan horse breeders enjoyed a comparative advantage over their imperial neighbors, exporting as many as 100,000 horses a year. Afghanistan was, in effect, the Saudi Arabia of horses. Then, like the oil trade today, the horse trade was hugely profitable. A horse might cost as little as 100 rupees (then worth about 11 grams of silver) in Afghanistan, but could go for as much as 500 rupees in export markets. And much like the Gulf ports of today, opulent communities of global traders set up shop in Kabul, giving the city a cosmopolitan touch. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Afghan kings knew the importance of the horse trade. King Ahmad Shah Durrani (1722-1772) sent his finest horses via a trade mission to China. The Chinese emperor received them at his hunting grounds, excusing the Afghans from the onerous protocols of Beijings Forbidden City. If the Chinese officials found the Afghans rude and uncouth, they kept those thoughts to themselves. The emperor had the giant arghamaks, 19 hands high, immortalized by his court painters. These paintings can be seen today at Taipeis Palace Museum. Fast forward to 1919, well into the Age of Oil, and Afghan horse power was dramatically ended with a failed invasion of British India. The airplanepowered by oilended the horses military advantage. The age of the horse was truly over, and Afghanistan became the impoverished backwater it is today. The new horse Oil has made countries like Saudi Arabia, and cities like Abu Dhabi and Houston fabulously wealthy. Its given governments significant leverage on the world stage, beyond what normal metrics of power might suggest. Oil reserves allow some countries to defy the international community. The world has spent just over a century trading and fighting over oil. But the history of the horse tells us that when technological change happens, it happens fastand can upend who has wealth and power. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The energy transition is already underway. The International Energy Agency expects unabated fossil fuels to supply less than 40% of our energy needs by 2030. Even accepting recent backpedaling by some economies and companies on their green energy targets, MIT predicts the scale of stranded assets from fossil fuel production to be as high as $30 trillionfar higher than whatever was left behind by the end of the horse. A world economy that relies just a little bit less on oillet alone one that removes its importance entirelywill radically erode the power and influence of todays petrostates, much in the same way the end of the horse ended the power of the Afghan kings. Fortunes wheel turns quickly. And for impoverished Afghanistan, its perhaps fitting that as one technological change took away the countrys prosperity, anotherthe rise of the electric carmight bring it back. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com Dec. 14ANDERSON Through the efforts of government entities and individuals, several tenants have been moved out of the beleaguered Bingham Square apartments. Greg Graham, chairman of the Anderson Homeless Task Force, said Friday that four families have been moved into new housing. "I met with the residents of Bingham Square," he said. "We put together a list and went to work on the problem." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Graham said the Anderson Housing Authority helped relocate the four families. "There were unbelievable conditions," he said of the apartments. "There was roach infestation and black mold. They were heating with propane heaters." Graham said a family with three young children was moved into a three-bedroom apartment and received donated furniture and food. "The city paid for people to stay at a local hotel" as they waited for new living quarters, Graham said. He added there are squatters living at Bingham Square. Kim Townsend, executive director of the Anderson Housing Authority, said it's important to recognize the steps taken by the administration of Anderson Mayor Thomas Broderick Jr. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said the city paid first month's rent, as well as security and utility deposits. "This is the fourth mass movement of people," Townsend said. "Everyone did what they could." The owners of the Bingham Square apartments have pending lawsuits filed by the Indiana Attorney General's office and the Anderson Redevelopment Commission. Townsend said the city needs to put together an emergency response plan for when people need assistance in finding a place to live. The Homeless Task Force members discussed development of a reactive plan that will tell people what services are available. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The members discussed creating a resource guide to assist people in need of shelter, food and medical care. OTHER BUSINESS Task Force members were told that Anderson is in need of overnight warming stations during cold weather. The available shelters normally close at night. There is an overnight warming station at the Mercy St. Vincent Hospital and Harmony House for men in Elwood. Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863. Friends and family members gather in Midtown to honor the life of a South Carolina mother who was found dead in Charlotte. The body of 22-year-old Tahaley Payton was discovered almost three weeks after she went missing. We need to find her. We need help. We need to come together and we did that. And we found my best friend, and shes in heaven, said family friend Kelanie Davis. Davis, one of Tahaleys best friends, said she was crushed when Tahaley wasnt found alive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Davis was a part of the search party that traveled from South Carolina to Charlotte to search for Tahaley during the weeks that she was missing. A balloon release to honor Tahaley took place and was then followed by a prayer from a representative of the Cherry community. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Police find body of SC woman reported missing in Charlotte Thank you for the life you gave her to them for 22 years, Lord thats a blessing, the representative said. Last month, Tahaley came to Charlotte from Greenville, South Carolina with her boyfriend to celebrate her birthday. Friends told Channel 9 that the couple had a disagreement and separated. Tahaley was then seen by several witnesses going into different businesses and asking to use their phones. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tahaleys sister, Karlotta Payton, said she believed the community failed her. When she called for help, the shoulder was turned to her. She was not helped, she was not protected, and she was not rescued, Karlotta explained. One of the questions the family continues to have is how did Tahaley die. And while the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is investigating her death, the family said they have yet to share any answers. VIDEO: Police find body of SC woman reported missing in Charlotte A Utah family is hoping their insurance company will reconsider a recent decision that denied their daughter a life-changing new prosthetic. Remi Bateman, 9, was born without a hand below the elbow, and she has used basic prosthetics her entire life, according to CBS affiliate KUTV. Remis mother, Jami Batemen, told the outlet that their family applied for a bionic arm called a Hero Arm that would allow Remi to do things like lift a fork and knife and significantly enhance her quality of life overall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, the family said that their insurance provider, Select Health, has denied the their request twice, claiming that the arm is not medically necessary despite the family providing documentation from medical providers stating the opposite. Related: Texas High Schoolers Design and Build Prosthetic Arm for Student So She Can Play the Cello Jami has since set up a GoFundMe for her daughter, explaining that without insurance the bionic arm would cost $24,000 out-of-pocket. Jami also noted that Remi has been dealing with some bullying due to her arm and that her daughter believes the new prosthetic would help her feel more confident since she has outgrown her old ones. 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. Jami's parents say they hope that their situation will help raise awareness for other families facing similar difficulties. The familys GoFundMe for Remi has raised $29,000 as of Dec. 13. Read the original article on People ATMORE, Ala. (WKRG) A family in Atmore is still reeling after a young father was shot and killed more than a week ago. Atmore Police say Rakeem Phillips was shot following an argument. A teddy bear sits on the corner of a couch in the Phillips home. Push a button and you can hear the recording of Rakeem Phillips heartbeat. His heart is one of five organs he donated after dying, saving five other lives. It made me feel so good, the victims mother, Berlinda Phillips said. It was a blessing knowing that I feel like my son is still here with me through somebody else. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a bright spot in a difficult time for the Phillips family. Rakeem Phillips was better known as Rock to the people close to him. Police say he was shot at Point Escambia Apartments after an argument on the night of Dec. 6. He was flown to University Hospital and died from his injuries. The victims grandmother says she was on the phone with him when he was hit. I heard the gunshot and thats all I heard, I started screaming and calling his name, he didnt say anything else, the victims grandmother, Geraldine Phillips said. Family members say despite this tragedy and loss, theyre still finding ways to celebrate the life of Rakeem Phillips. He dont want us feeling sorry for him. He dont want the crying. He just want everybody to enjoy themselves, said Berlinda Phillips. He was a loving person. Hes going to be well missed by many. He just wouldnt harm a flea. His mother says Rock leaves behind a young son, did a lot to help his family, and frequently sang gospel in the church. I cant tell anybody how feel because I dont know how I feel. Im just Im numb to it. Yeah. You know, Ive been trying to just stay strong, said Berlinda Phillips. The family set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for funeral expenses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Atmore Police arrested 31-year-old Gelonte Giles and charged him with murder. Jail records indicate he is still being held in the Escambia County, Alabama Jail. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 good sailor knows that tides are more important than waves. Waves demand attention and can be noisy. At their worst, they destroy cliffs and buildings. But waves come and go, one moment frothy, the next millpond quiet. Tides are inevitable, often imperceptible. As we approach the end of 2024, there are plenty of waves (immigration, culture wars, whether Love Actually is the best or worst Christmas film ever). But there are only three tides. Nigel Farages Reform Party has momentum. Labours tide is in danger of going out but could turn. The Tories are becalmed, but not for the reasons most people think. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Three weeks ago Reform hit 100,000 members and set a target of winning hundreds of council seats at the local elections next May. In the summer, talk of Farage having any chance of an assault on Number 10 would have seemed fanciful. Such an outcome remains unlikely, but it is no longer impossible. The defection of Tim Montgomerie, the former Boris Johnson adviser and once spoken of as the most important Conservative not in the Cabinet, is significant. Montgomerie is a thinker in a party that lacks them. The announcement that Nick Candy, the property multi-millionaire, is to become the partys treasurer signals that more money will flow to Reforms coffers. He has already pledged more than 1 million and is in negotiations with Elon Musk. For Labour, it has one shot at success the economy. If growth does not return in 2025, the multiplier effects on debt (rising) and tax receipts (falling) will be toxic. The Government will limp to the end of a single term and then be turfed out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Keir Starmer knows that the governments present position is unsustainable, last weeks stagnant growth figures only adding to the gloom. He is labouring to change course, attacking the Civil Service for lying in a tepid bath of managed decline, promising 1.5 million new homes and the resurrection of a Blairite favourite: anti-social behaviour orders. Reform of public services, more housing and fighting crime is Labours version of a populist playbook. Wes Streeting, attacking Ed Miliband over Syria on Question Time, will be the poster boy of the new narrative, joking at The Spectators Parliamentarian of the Year awards that he was the most Conservative person in the room. Even Farage laughed. Along with Streeting, Rachel Reeves, Morgan McSweeney, No 10 chief of staff, and Pat McFadden, the Cabinets Blairite enforcer, make up the top table. Angela Rayner, supposedly in charge of planning reform, was conspicuous by her absence last week, confined to walking behind the Prime Minister as he toured a Cambridgeshire housing estate. Labour, the Conservatives and Reform are now locked in a three-way battle for public support. Reform is ahead of Labour in some polls and has a leader that demands attention whenever he opens his mouth. Starmer has the levers of state and multi-million pound communication departments which constantly churn out news of achievements real or imagined of his Labour Government. Incumbency has its advantages. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So between the rock of Farages laser style and rebel alliance emotions and the hard place of state-sponsored communications machinery, Kemi Badenoch is facing a squeeze. Some argue, one month after she was elected leader, that she is already flirting with failure and needs to somehow make more noise, jumping on issues with aggressive sound bites. Creating waves, though, is not the route to government for the official Opposition. Yes, it tickles your core vote, excites social media and may grab a headline (lunch is for wimps). But Badenoch is not the insurgent. That territory belongs to Farage and why back a tribute band when you can have the real thing? Badenoch will need three attributes to be successful patience, deep policy work and an ability to speak across political divides, not create them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kemi should employ the same approach as Margaret Thatcher, one of her allies tells me. That took four years in Opposition, and actually Kemi is further ahead than Margaret was at the same stage. Thatcher had no Reform Party snapping at her heels from the right. But she had a much more entrenched political and economic consensus, which leaned hard to the Left, and a party far more ideologically split between Wets and Dries. Each era brings its own unique challenges. Overcoming them is the stuff of strategy (tides) not tactics (waves). Badenochs strategy is becoming clearer and has much to commend it. Her speech to The International Democracy Union Forum in Washington outlined a coherent set of approaches anchored in free markets, a smaller state and the rule of law. Badenoch argued that the politics of the Left had been embedded in society, not through traditional socialist methods of control of the means of production, but by stealth state over-reach, tax and borrowing and net zero orthodoxy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I know what freedom looks like, she told her audience, which included Stephen Harper, the former Conservative prime minister of Canada, who led the revival of the Right after its almost complete wipeout in the 1990s. I know the values that can make citizens wealthier and happier and how without them, they become engines of misery and despair. Classic liberal values, not Left-wing liberalism but classic liberalism of free markets, free speech, free enterprise, freedom of religion, the presumption of innocence, trusted institutions within the rule of law, and equality under the law, no matter who you are or where you come from. Vitally, we also received a glimpse of the intellectual under-pinnings of Badenochs approach an essential element for anyone who wants to make a pitch of substance to the public and where both Starmer and Farage are weak. Thatcher had Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, her own think tank, the Centre for Policy Studies, and an out-rider, Sir Keith Joseph. All were essential to the success of her time both in opposition and in government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tony Blair had Anthony Giddens (architect of the Third Way), Philip Gould (who wrote the foundational pitch to the aspirational working and middle classes), Jonathan Powell (who made government work) and Sir Michael Barber (head of the fabled Number 10 Delivery Unit). Powell and Barber are back in No 10. Badenoch spoke of Thomas Sowell, the leading US free market economist who counts Friedman among his mentors. Her allies say that the Tory leader can quote great screeds of Sowell from memory. Badenoch must hold her nerve and choose her battles wisely. There is such a thing as Tory Britain and it is still likely to be in the majority. It will need a sophisticated approach to ensure that it actually votes for the Conservative Party and her. 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. (NEXSTAR) In the wake of a massive cyberattack linked to the Chinese government, FBI officials are renewing warnings that your private text messages arent secure. The concern comes after a hacking operation, dubbed Salt Typhoon, gained access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans. The hacking group is reportedly associated with the Chinese Government. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called it the worst telecom hack in our nations history, the Washington Post reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this month, the FBI and other government cybersecurity officials recommended Americans switch from regular text messages to encrypted messaging apps if they wanted to protect themselves from Chinese hackers, NBC News reports. Our suggestion, what we have told folks internally, is not new here: Encryption is your friend, whether its on text messaging or if you have the capacity to use encrypted voice communication. Even if the adversary is able to intercept the data, if it is encrypted, it will make it impossible, said Jeff Greene, executive assistant director for cybersecurity at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. MAP: Flu season is here, especially in these states Salt Typhoon is mostly targeting strategically important officials and researchers, said Vahid Behzadan, assistant professor and researcher at the University of New Haven. Federal authorities said hackers linked to China targeted the phones of Donald Trump, JD Vance, and people associated with Kamala Harris. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But there is a risk to ordinary individuals, too, as hackers collected large amounts of metadata. This information, even without access to content, can reveal communication patterns, social networks, and potential vulnerabilities, making it a valuable tool for adversaries to identify and exploit targets, Behzadan said. While you may not be a primary target of a hacking campaign like this, ordinary individuals are not immune, he added. Your communications and connections could reveal something that helps adversaries with misinformation campaigns or gets them closer to valued targets. People concerned about the security of their text messages, regardless of the type of phone your use or your telecom provider, can instead use messaging apps, like WhatsApp or Signal. Encrypted messages cant be read when theyre in transit between the phone that sends it and the one that receives it. Google Messages and the Messages app on Apple devices are also encrypted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Why there wont be a Supplemental Security Income check to start December While encryption isnt a foolproof solution to hacking, it offers better protection, Behzadan said. Evaluating the risks versus rewards of different communication methods and exercising caution when sharing sensitive information are key to minimizing threats. The federal government has also released technical guidance to telecom companies to increase security. There is a risk of ongoing compromises to communications until U.S. companies address the cybersecurity gaps the Chinese are likely to maintain their access, Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberge said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. Lawmakers from across the political spectrum on Sunday criticized the federal governments response to mysterious drone sightings in the Northeast, as officials emphasize there is no evidence of a security threat. The criticism comes a day after the federal agencies leading the response held a news briefing that left reporters and the public with more questions than answers, as they downplayed but simultaneously legitimized concerns about the reported drones. Officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI offered attempts to dismiss or explain the source of the reported sightings, while also acknowledging their unusual nature. An FBI official pointed to similarities between flight patterns and the drone sightings, saying its indicative of manned aviation being quite often mistaken for unmanned aviation or UAS, referring to unmanned aircraft systems. That said, the official added, There without a doubt without a doubt have been UAS flying over the state of New Jersey. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We dont know if its malicious, if it is criminal. But I will tell you that it is irresponsible, a Defense Department official said while discussing the reports of drones over two military sites in New Jersey. Republican Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida, President-elect Donald Trumps incoming national security adviser, took particular issue with drones reported over military sites and restricted air spaces, including near Trumps home in Bedminster, New Jersey. I think what the drone issue points out are kind of gaps in our agencies, gaps in our authorities, between the Department of Homeland Security, local law enforcement, the Defense Department, he told CBS News Face the Nation on Sunday. Its pointing to gaps in our capabilities and in our ability to clamp down on whats going on here. We need to get to the bottom of it, and I think the Biden administration is working to do that. Democratic Rep. Jim Himes, a ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, also expressed frustration with the administrations response to the public. The government has a real responsibility to put more information out there so people better understand what the real dangers are, he said on Fox News Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar also called for transparency from the federal government and for potential federal legislation on the issue. One, we need a briefing for the members of the Senate to figure out whats going on here. Two, we need more transparency, the Minnesota Democrat said Sunday on Face the Nation. She added there is also a need for new regulatory rules, suggesting she could bring up the issue during the next Congress. Meanwhile Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas sought to reassure the public amid the sightings. Theres no question that people are seeing drones. And I want to assure the American public that we, in the federal government, have deployed additional resources, personnel, technology to assist the New Jersey State Police in addressing the drone sightings, he said on ABC News This Week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mayorkas reiterated that officials are not aware of direct national security concerns tied to the drone sightings. We know of no foreign involvement with respect to the sightings in the Northeast, and we are vigilant in investigating this matter, he said, adding that officials will notify the public if this changes. Mayorkas spoke with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul twice Saturday about the drone activity, according to a source familiar with the conversations. Hochul, a Democrat, announced Sunday that federal authorities are deploying a state-of-the-art drone detection system in her state. As concern over the sightings has grown in the past week, politicians from both parties are urging officials to take more action. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday that he sent a letter to Mayorkas urging Homeland Security to deploy special drone-detection technology, such as a 360-degree radar called the Robin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you see a drone in your air over your home, you should not have to shake an eight ball to see what it is, the New York Democrat said in a news conference. There ought to be better technology. And there is. We need that technology here in New York ASAP. Schumer also announced that he will co-sponsor legislation that would give local authorities more tools for drone detection. Local officials are trying to find answers to this serious problem with their hands tied behind their backs, he said. If the federal government has the technology to address the epidemic of nonstop drone sightings, we should do everything we can to help. Trump said Friday that the government needs to convey more information and shoot down the drones. Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country. Can this really be happening without our governments knowledge. I dont think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!! the president-elect posted on Truth Social. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who sits on the Senates Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, similarly said Thursday the aircraft should be shot down, if necessary, because theyre flying over sensitive areas. Asked Sunday about the president-elects post calling on the government to shoot down the drones, Mayorkas said, We are limited in our authorities. We have certain agencies within the Department of Homeland Security that can do that, and outside our department, but we need those authorities expanded as well, he added, after he called on Congress to expand the federal governments authorities specifically to empower local agencies to counter drone activity with federal supervision. Himes said Sunday that he has confidence the mysterious drones capturing headlines are not a foreign threat from Iran or China, which wouldnt put a bunch of drones that we could easily recover over the continental United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said insufficient communication from government agencies, such as the Federal Aviation Administration, has led to the spread of misinformation. Theres a lot of us who are pretty frustrated right now, the Connecticut Democrat said. The answer We dont know is not a good enough answer. When people are anxious, when people are nervous people will fill a vacuum with their fears and anxieties. This story has been updated with additional information. CNNs Sarah Davis, Sam Fossum, Samantha Waldenberg, Aaron Pellish, Gloria Pazmino, Betsy Klein, Zoe Sottile, Josh Campbell, Artemis Moshtaghian and Michelle Watson contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com A New York financial consultant and son of a Florida judge allegedly barged into the office of an Upper East Side optometrist and knocked him out cold, then fled to New Jersey where he sucker-punched two other health-care workers breaking ones jaw and nose. Dr. Ron Goldstein, 63, not only suffered a bloody head injury requiring eight stitches, but is dismayed that detectives classified the attack as only a misdemeanor a decision critics call an attempt to keep NYCs crime numbers down. The NYPD never arrested the disturbed suspect, who was identified thanks to swift actions by Goldsteins staff and daughter. I would like this guy to be charged with the appropriate crime that he committed against me, Goldstein told The Post. If someones going to attack me, they should certainly have to face the consequences. Dr. Ron Goldstein wants the NYPD to arrest the attacker who left a huge bump and gash on his head and face. Helayne Seidman The shocking assault against Goldstein occurred on Oct. 17, when a man swept past the receptionist at his office on E. 77th Street, burst into a room where the eye doctor was examining a female senior citizen, and punched him to the floor, knocking him unconscious for several minutes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He suffered a huge bump on his head, and a gash where his eyeglasses smashed onto his face. The assailant then casually left. I never actually saw him, Goldstein said. I was staring at a retinal image and had a patient in front of me. He came right behind me and hit me in the back of the head. The reason I know that is because I saw it on videotape afterwards. The office manager and a technician dashed outside and snapped photos of the assailant as he inserted ear pods, picked up his cell phone and walked calmly down the block, they said. Security video captured the intruder punching Dr. Goldstein, knocking him unconscious. Courtesy of Dr. Ron Goldstein Goldsteins 25-year-old daughter, Tai, posted the photos in a TikTok video asking anyone who recognized the suspect to call her or police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We cannot let this disgusting human being roam the streets of New York freely, she pleaded. In less than a day, she received an overwhelming response from people who had worked with, befriended, dated or otherwise knew the alleged attacker, Goldstein said. Tipsters identified him as Eric Moneyham, whose LinkedIn profile identifies him as a former consultant at accounting firms KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers. His parents live in Florida, where his father is a workers compensation judge. Dr.Goldsteins staff snapped photos of a man they say barged into his office and punched the optometrist in the head. The alleged assailant, later identified as Eric Moneyham, 28, calmly walked away after the attack. Courtesy of Dr. Ron Goldstein Moneyham has an apartment near Goldsteins office, and once came for an eye exam, the staff found. After the 1:30 pm attack on Goldstein, Moneyham made a beeline to Bergen County, where he broke into a house in Wyckoff township at about 4 pm, police said. He also posted a message on Linkedin threatening a resident, Id hit you in the head so hard youd hit the concrete and be leaking blood, according to a criminal complaint charging him with burglary and harassment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moneyham landed in Bergen County Jail. On Oct. 20, while undergoing an exam at the lockups medical center in Paramus, he sucker punched a staffer, knocking him to the ground and pounded him more than 40 times, breaking his jaw and nose, says a criminal complaint charging him with aggravated assault. He also railed against all child molesters and other people he believes molested him in the past, records show. Five days later, he allegedly punched a female doctor in the face, and was charged with another count of aggravated assault. Meanwhile, the NYPD has not put a detainer on Moneyham calling him a a person of interest to bring him back to NYC for arrest in the Goldstein assault, which cops originally classified as a felony, but downgraded to a misdemeanor. Eric Moneyhams father John P. Moneyham is a workers compensation judge in Florida. Linkedin Florida Office of Judges of Compensation Claims Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Retired NYPD Lt. John Macari, who co-hosts a podcast on law-enforcement, blasted the switch. There was an intent to cause serious physical injury, and it caused a serious physical injury. Its a felony assault as clear as day, and there should be an investigation as to why its not, Macari told The Post. It appears to be a downgrade by someone in the upper echelon looking to keep the crime numbers down, Macari said, referring to Mayor Adams mantra that NYC is the safest big city in America. Its perception management. Eric Moneyhams alleged crimes were originally classified as a felony, but downgraded to a misdemeanor. linkiedin Eric Moneyham Moneyham, who remains in jail pending a detention hearing, will undergo a psychiatric evaluation, said his defense lawyer Frank Carbonetti. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite a supportive family and a successful career, he hit some sort of mental speed bump which caused a derailment, Carbonetti said, adding that Moneyham has no prior criminal record. The lawyer cited a similarity with Luigi Mangione, charged in the murder of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson: Youre looking at two individuals youd never think would do anything remotely violent, he said. On Saturday, Dec. 14 at approximately 6:31 p.m., the Davenport Fire Department responded to a reported structure fire in the 4800 Block of W. Kimberly Rd. The Davenport Fire Department responded with five apparatus and one command vehicle for a total response of 16 personnel. Scott Emergency Communications Center received a 911 call from the home owner stating they has visible smoke and fire in their home. The home owner told dispatchers everyone except the dog was out of the house. The first arriving fire crew reported a working fire in a small single wide mobile home with heavy fire and smoke conditions. Fire crews pulled a hose line to extinguish part of the flames from the exterior and continued inside the home to fully extinguish the fire. Crews searched the interior to verify that no other occupants were still inside. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fire crews found the family pet who was deceased, all other occupants were able to get out. Crews had the fire under control in about 10 minutes but remained on scene for about 90 minutes to check for hidden fires and perform an investigation. There was heavy fire, smoke and water damage to the home making it uninhabitable for the occupants. Red Cross was called to assist two occupants of the home. No injuries were reported by civilians or firefighters. Mid-American and Medic EMS assisted with the incident. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com. Restrained elegance, impeccable cut, calm color palette - all this is about the winter looks of the British actress, model and philanthropist Audrey Hepburn. At one time, her every appearance aroused admiration among the public! This is thanks to her refined taste in clothes, as well as close collaboration with the famous French fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy. It was he who helped the movie star to choose the right silhouettes and accents. ADVERTISIMENT Audrey passed away in January 1993. However, the aesthetics of her images are still "alive". Which of them can be easily adapted to modern trends? Read the article in OBOZ.UA. 1. Cigarette pants and V-neck blouse At the end of February 1959, Audrey Hepburn appeared in public in Beverly Hills (California) with her husband Mel Ferrer. The actress wore high-waisted graphite cigarette pants and a milky blouse with slightly voluminous sleeves and a V-neck. Both elements of the look are representatives of immortal classics. They have no decorations or colorful prints, but attract attention due to their interesting cut. Audrey completed the look with black laconic shoes. Nothing too much! ADVERTISIMENT 2. Milk fur coat with faux fur In December 1964, the British actress and her husband attended the premiere of My Fair Lady, in which Audrey played the lead role (Eliza Doolittle). For this special event, the celebrity wore a milky suede fur coat decorated with faux fur and white gloves. She put her hair in a tight bun. She styled her outfit with an elegant milk-colored handbag and pearl earrings. Unfortunately, the photographers did not capture her shoes. So, if you decide to repeat this ensemble, wear white or brown chelsea boots, imitation snakeskin boots, or, for example, horsewoman-style boots. 3. Sheepskin coat and straight jeans ADVERTISIMENT In her off-screen life, the star of Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) and Funny Face (1957), unlike her heroines who wore pompous outfits, preferred the style of "quiet luxury". It is not characterized by the demonstration of wealth: golden Gucci buckles, bags with the Louis Vuitton logo, etc. Instead, these are clothes whose quality is revealed by the details: expensive accessories (such as silk buttons), a calm color palette, and natural fabrics. Audrey Hepburn wore one of these looks in New York. She wore straight jeans, black laconic shoes and an elongated sheepskin coat with fur inserts. Her bob haircut fitted in perfectly. ADVERTISIMENT 4. Straight-cut sheepskin coat and bonnet Hepburn demonstrated another spectacular look with a sheepskin coat in 1958 while vacationing with her lover in Switzerland. Her outerwear had an oversized cut, which is still in trend today. The head was adorned with a black bonnet, which warms not only the ears and crown, but also the neck. The actress completed the look with black leggings, gloves and square-toed boots. 5. Insulated coat and fur hat In winter, you can wear not only fur coats, sheepskin coats, and down jackets. Another interesting option (not for severe frosts, of course) is an insulated coat. It was the one that the Old Hollywood star loved to wear. For example, in 1961, Audrey arrived at the premiere of Breakfast at Tiffany's dressed in an elegant black coat, a black midi dress, a two-tone fur hat, and long white gloves. She styled her outfit with pearl earrings and a bag with imitation crocodile skin. ADVERTISIMENT 6. Suit with double-breasted jacket In the cold season, Audrey Hepburn often replaced light dresses with feminine suits made of thick fabric and original cut. Let's recall her look, which she created together with Hubert de Givenchy for the movie Sabrina (1953). This is a straight skirt and a fitted double-breasted jacket with black semi-matte buttons. In addition, the actress wore massive round earrings, black suede gloves and an elegant milk-colored hat that perfectly complemented her pixie cut. ADVERTISIMENT 7. Breton hat and checkered suit In 1963, the British actress came to Warner Brothers to sign a contract to star in the movie My Fair Lady. She wore a Breton felt hat made by French designer Pierre Cardin and a milky checkered suit (trapeze skirt and semi-fitted jacket). You can also replicate this luxurious look! And to make sure you don't get cold, make sure your hat and clothes are insulated with a lining. Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote about celebrities who got married in short dresses. Perhaps one of them will suit your taste: if not for a wedding, then for a cocktail party. Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! The five remaining members of the Australian Bali Nine drug ring flew home on Sunday after 19 years in jail in Indonesia, ending a saga that had frayed relations between the two countries. Indonesian police arrested the nine Australians in 2005, convicting them of attempting to smuggle more than eight kilograms of heroin off the holiday island of Bali. The case drew global attention to Indonesias unforgiving drug laws, with two of the gang executed by firing squad, while the others served hefty prison sentences. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Australian Government can confirm that Australian citizens, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen, and Michael Czugaj have returned to Australia, Canberra said in a statement. The men will have the opportunity to continue their personal rehabilitation and reintegration in Australia. Anthony Albanese, the Australian prime minister, said the men returned in the afternoon and he had thanked Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto for his compassion. Australia shares Indonesias concern about the serious problem illicit drugs represents, Mr Albanese said. The funeral for Andrew Chang, who was executed by firing squad in 2015 - LISA MAREE WILLIAMS/GETTY The government will continue to co-operate with Indonesia to counter narcotics trafficking and transnational crime, he told reporters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These Australians spent more than 19 years in prison in Indonesia. It was time for them to come home. The Australian government did not give further details on the agreement with Jakarta. An Indonesian minister said the five men had left the country as prisoners but all the responsibilities for them had now passed to Australia. The men were accompanied on their flight home by three officials from the Australian embassy, another Indonesian official said. They were flown from Bali to the northern Australian city of Darwin, landing around 2.42 pm, according to Indonesias coordinating law, human rights, immigration and corrections ministry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Negotiations over the repatriation of the men reportedly picked up after Mr Prabowo met Mr Albanese on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru last month. The Australian government said it had consistently advocated for them and provided consular support to them and their families during their incarceration. It asked the media to respect their privacy. Renae Lawrence was the first member of the Bali Nine to be released in 2018 - BROOK MITCHELL/GETTY Australias national broadcaster ABC said the men were now free, and would not have to serve further prison time at home. The men had been given temporary accommodation and had made voluntary undertakings to continue their rehabilitation, it said. It is not uncommon for foreigners to be arrested for drug offences in Bali, which attracts millions of visitors to its palm-fringed beaches every year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Muslim-majority Indonesia has some of the worlds toughest drug laws, including the death penalty for traffickers. Accused Bali Nine ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed by firing squad in 2015 despite repeated pleas from the Australian government, which recalled its ambassador at the time. Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen died of cancer in 2018, months before Renae Lawrence was released after her sentence was commuted. Australian police came under criticism after the Bali Nines arrests for alerting Indonesian authorities to the drug-smuggling ring despite the death penalty risk. In November, a senior Indonesian minister said Jakarta aimed to return prisoners from Australia, France and the Philippines by the end of this year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement France last month requested the return of citizen Serge Atlaoui, a welder arrested in 2005 in a drugs factory outside Jakarta, according to a senior Indonesian minister. Earlier this month, Indonesia signed an agreement with the Philippines for the return of mother of two Mary Jane Veloso, who was arrested in 2010 after the suitcase she was carrying was found to be lined with 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) of heroin. 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. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. For a decade, children brought into the country illegally by their undocumented parents could enroll in a state college or university for the same fee as in-state residents, if they attended a Florida high school for three years. But now, state Sen. Randy Fine, a Republican who plans to resign mid-session to run for Congress, wants to repeal that law and end the educational benefit designed to help young immigrants known as dreamers. Fine wants to end sweetheart deals for college degrees to those who should not even be here, he said in an email put out by his senate aide. President Trump has made clear it is time to close the border and stop giving illegal immigrants rewards for breaking the law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His bill revives an effort to squelch the dreamers benefit that Gov. Ron DeSantis and some other Republicans tried and failed to make part of an immigration reform package in 2023. Fine claimed the state spent $45 million to provide out-of-state tuition waivers to undocumented college and university students in 2021, but his staff did not respond to questions about the source of that figure. Fine, a combative conservative who calls himself the Hebrew Hammer, filed a bill Monday that would repeal the waiver, which was signed into law in 2014 two years before he was elected to the Legislature. The law was sponsored by Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez when she was a state senator. It was approved with bipartisan support and signed into law by then-Gov. Rick Scott, now the junior GOP senator from Florida. Under the law, undocumented students who attended a Florida high school for three years and enrolled in a state college or university within 24 months of graduation would pay in-state tuition rates. But they are not eligible for state financial aid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Without that waiver, they would pay out-of-state rates that are three to four times more. At the University of Central Florida, for example, the in-state rate is about $6,300 while out-of-state tuition is more than $22,000. This is just an attempt to score political points with conservative voters, especially Trump supporters, said Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Fla. President-elect Donald Trump, who has endorsed Fine for Congress, is calling for a massive deportation of undocumented immigrants, including their children who were born in the United States. Anti-immigrant fever is on the rise and hes clearly doing this because he is running for Congress, Eskamani said. Randy Fine is continually aiming for attention and appealing to his base and demonstrating his conservative street cred. Attacking immigrants is a way to do that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Florida is one of at least 18 states that provide in-state tuition for young adults brought as children into the U.S. by their undocumented parents. Texas was the first state to offer in-state tuition to undocumented students as well as state financial aid. More than 43,000 undocumented students are currently enrolled in Floridas public colleges or universities, according to the American Immigration Council and the Presidents Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. They make up just a sliver of the more than 1 million enrolled. The state university system said it issued 2,005 nonresident tuition waivers last year but does not track how many of them went to undocumented students. The state also doesnt track of the number of undocumented students enrolled in its universities. Florida has already invested millions of dollars into the K-12 education of these students, and the 2014 law was seen as an incentive to get them to stay in Florida and complete their postsecondary education, said Renata Bozzetto, deputy director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The result is a higher educated population and individuals who can pursue a career while working on their immigration status, Bozzetto said. Floridas undocumented workers contribute $1 billion in spending power and $113 million in state and local taxes, according to the American Immigration Council. Fine was a state representative from 2016 until November, when he was elected to the state Senate. Barely three weeks after winning that race, Fine resigned to run for the congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., whos been tapped by Trump as his national security adviser. DeSantis and some lawmakers, including Fine, called for repealing the tuition waiver in 2023, but the Legislature passed sweeping anti-immigration reforms that ultimately left it in place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dozens of Dream Defenders, a civil rights group, blocked the entrance to the Governors Office at the state capitol to speak out against that effort to eliminate the tuition waiver, leading to the arrest of 14 protesters. Its a publicity stunt, Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, a Democrat, said of Fines new bill. Id be surprised if my Republican colleagues in the Senate even give it a hearing. Its a mean-spirited and petty attack on immigrants that really defines the MAGA base. All in-state residents pay a tuition rate lower than the cost of their education, so state taxpayers are subsidizing all of them, and there is not a limit on the number of students who can receive in-state tuition, he said. They are paying tuition like every other student , Smith said. They are not taking something away from other Floridians. Following a massive Chinese-backed hack of eight U.S. telecommunications providers, Rep. Michael Waltz said Sunday there needs to be higher costs and consequences for those who steal Americans data. We have been over the years trying to play better and better defense when it comes to cyber, Waltz (R-Fla.), who will serve as President-elect Donald Trumps national security adviser, said on CBS Face the Nation. We need to start going on offense and start imposing, I think, higher costs and consequences to private actors and nation state actors that continue to steal our data, that continue to spy on us I think we need to take a much stronger stance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The recent hacks by a Chinese-backed group known as Salt Typhoon have targeted Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance, POLITICO reported in October. Salt Typhoon has accessed sensitive cellular logs on a vast number of Americans after hacking a number of U.S. telecommunications providers earlier this year. Waltz would not say whether the incoming administration will impose sanctions because of cyberattacks, but he did say that taking a different approach to cyber in order to to get them to knock this off will be a priority. President Joe Biden has been briefed several times on the hack, and theres a special group at the White House dedicated to addressing the attack. Trumps pick for secretary of State, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, called the hacks the most disturbing and widespread incursion into our telecommunications systems in the history of the world. But as of earlier this month, none of the eight U.S. companies had removed the hackers from their network, and there is a risk of ongoing compromises to communications, Anne Neuberger, the White Houses deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, told reporters in a call on Dec. 4. The Chinese access was broad in terms of potential access to communications of everyday Americans, she said. MEMPHIS, Tenn. A former Mississippi babysitter has been sentenced to life in prison plus 40 years for the capital murder of a two-year-old. Makallie Elizabeth Durham of Corinth pled guilty to capital murder and four counts of felonious child abuse on Friday. Makallie Durham. (First Circuit District Attorneys Office) The charges stemmed from the September 2022 murder of a two-year-old toddler. The toddlers 11-month-old sibling also sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The injuries to both children were determined to be non-accidental. Child killed after accidentally shooting herself: MPD Circuit Judge Michael P. Mills Jr. sentenced Durham, 25, to the maximum punishment of life imprisonment in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections for the capital murder charge and an additional 40 years for the child abuse charge. Durham will not be eligible for parole or any other form of release from incarceration. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi underwent a successful hip replacement surgery in Germany after sustaining an injury during a congressional trip to Luxembourg, a spokesperson said on Saturday. Ian Krager, the spokesperson, described Pelosi as well on the mend. Speaker Pelosi is grateful to U.S. military staff at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and medical staff at Hospital Kirchberg for their excellent care and kindness. Speaker Pelosi is enjoying the overwhelming outpouring of prayers and well wishes and is ever determined to ensure access to quality health care for all Americans, Krager added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The former speaker was taken by MEDEVAC to Landstuhl, Germany, a defense official told NBC News, after Pelosi was injured Friday in Luxembourg. In a statement Friday, Krager told reporters that Pelosi, 84, sustained an injury during an official engagement and was admitted to the hospital for evaluation. Krager added, Speaker Emerita Pelosi is currently receiving excellent treatment from doctors and medical professionals. She continues to work and regrets that she is unable to attend the remainder of the CODEL engagements to honor the courage of our servicemembers during one of the greatest acts of American heroism in our nations history. Fridays statement did not include any details about Pelosis injury or how she sustained it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pelosi was first hospitalized in Luxembourg while on a trip with over a dozen other members of Congress to honor the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. One of the oldest members of the House, Pelosi stepped down from her speakership position in 2022, ushering in a wave of generational change among the partys leadership. First elected in 1987, Pelosi made history in 2007 when she became the first female speaker of the House. She was just re-elected to another term in November, which would allow her to serve through 2026. Pelosi has not announced whether she plans to seek another term in two years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement News of her injury came just days after outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., fell during a lunch with Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill. McConnell, 82, sprained his wrist and sustained a minor cut to the face in that incident, according to his office. This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com. This article was originally published on TODAY.com The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcares CEO has added a prominent defense lawyer to his legal team as Manhattan prosecutors work to return him from Pennsylvania to face a murder charge. Luigi Mangione will be represented by Karen Friedman Agnifilo, who was a high-ranking deputy in the Manhattan district attorneys office for years before entering private practice. Friedman Agnifilos law firm, Agnifilo Intrater LLP, confirmed in a statement late Friday that she had been retained to represent Mangione. The firm said she will not be commenting on the case at this time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mangione was arrested Monday after a customer at a McDonalds in Altoona, Pennsylvania, saw him eating breakfast and noticed a resemblance to the person being sought by police in the Dec. 4 killing of Brian Thompson in Manhattan. Police say Mangione was found with a gun, mask and writings linking him to the ambush outside the New York Hilton Midtown, where Thompson was arriving for his companys annual investor conference. Mangione, 26, remained jailed without bail Saturday in Pennsylvania, where he was initially charged with gun and forgery offenses. Altoona is about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of New York City. Mangiones lawyer there, Thomas Dickey, has cautioned against prejudging the case and said that his client would contest his extradition to New York. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Friday that there were indications Mangione may now give up on that fight. We going to continue to press forward on parallel paths, and well be ready whether he is going to waive extradition or whether he is going to contest extradition, Bragg said at an unrelated press conference in Times Square. Hours after Mangiones arrest on Monday, Braggs office filed paperwork charging him with five counts, including intentional murder, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a forged instrument. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has said shes prepared to ask her Pennsylvania counterpart, Gov. Josh Shapiro, to intervene and issue a governors warrant requiring Mangiones extradition if he does not agree to be moved voluntarily. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mangiones new lawyer, Friedman Agnifilo, was the Chief Assistant District Attorney from 2014 to 2021 and was previously chief of the offices trial division. She has made frequent TV appearances, including as a CNN legal analyst, co-hosts a weekly podcast and is the legal adviser for Law & Order. Her husband and law partner Mark Agnifilo is representing Sean Diddy Combs in the hip-hop moguls Manhattan federal sex trafficking case. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW VIRGINIA (DC News Now) Virginia is not a sanctuary state and sanctuary cities will not be allowed in the commonwealth, thats the recent message from Governor Glenn Youngkin. A former Virginia delegate called Youngkins announcement a political move. Congratulations to Governor Youngkin. This was the start of the 2025 election season. Every year we have an election season. The entire state house is going to be up for election. The Senate is up for election. The gubernatorial seat is up for election in 2025. And this was the beginning of the election season, said David Ramadan, Professor of Practice at Schar School of Policy and Government who also served in the Virginia House of Delegates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Youngkin threatened localities will lose state funding if they claim to be sanctuary cities or put in practices preventing cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Woman, toddler stabbed in Pentagon City, suspect arrested, Arlington County police say The governor said he would make this budget proposal to Virginias General Assembly. Everybody is against crime whether by illegal aliens or by Americans. If an illegal immigrant commits a crime, they should be deported. I dont think that is a political issue or a partisan issue. However, it is an issue that makes for good campaigning, said Ramadan Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ramadan said crime by undocumented immigrants isnt a prevalent issue. Crime by aliens is not a major issue in Virginia as it is in the rest of the country. Research institute shows consistently that crime by aliens is actually at a lower rate than crime by natives, said Ramadan. Will the governors proposal stand a chance with Virginias General Assembly? Its the legislature that has the power of appropriations. What the governor is going to do is here try to do an amendment to the budget when the general assemble gets back in town in a few weeks which will fail because a majority of the assembly is held by the democrats, said Ramadan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PARIS (Reuters) - France will send a team of diplomats to Syria on Tuesday to assess the political and security situation, the foreign ministry said, without specifying whom they would meet. Most EU governments welcomed Bashar al-Assad's fall but are considering whether they can work with the rebels who ousted him, including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist group that is designated a terrorist organisation by the EU. "A team of French diplomats will travel to Syria this Tuesday to mark France's willingness to support the Syrian people," the ministry said, adding that they would report back to the foreign minister after a series of contacts there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since cutting ties with Assad in 2012, France has not sought to normalise ties with Syria's government and has backed a broadly secular exiled opposition and Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria. French officials have met representatives of such groups and Paris has said a political transition in Syria must be credible and inclusive, in line with a framework set out by the United Nations. Some diplomats say France's relations with Syria's new rulers could benefit from the fact it never sought to normalise ties with Assad. (Reporting by Michel Rose; editing by Giles Elgood) FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) A woman has died following a crash that happened on Saturday in Franklin County. ALEA said that a 2008 GMC Sierra was driving along Alabama 19 two miles north of Vina when the vehicle left the roadway, overturned, and then struck a tree around 4:45 a.m. ALEA identified the woman as Chasity J. Gresham, 24, of Vina. According to authorities, Gresham was not using a seatbelt at the time of the crash and was ejected from the vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gresham was pronounced dead at the scene. ALEA told News 19 that a passenger in the vehicle was injured and transported to North Alabama Medical Center in Florence for treatment. The crash remains under investigation by ALEAs Highway Patrol Division. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ELKHART Both the fire and police departments took friendly jabs at one another Friday during the annual Guns and Hoses bell-ringing event that raises money for the Salvation Army. Some firefighters wanted to remind people they have won the last few years. Jessica McBrier, public information officer for the police department, confirmed that the firefighters have won the competition the last three years. Some police officers believe the fire department has an advantage since the firefighters are located near the busier doors at Walmart on U.S. 6 where the competition is held. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a wonderful yearly tradition between two public safety places for a good common goal for the [Salvation] Army, said Lt. Matt Kulis of the fire department. We enjoy doing it every year and seeing everybody. Last year, the police and fire departments raised $1,300 for the Salvation Army. McBrier said there are no hard feelings for who wins or loses because these officers and firefighters are all brothers and sisters in public safety. All the officers come out in shifts, McBrier said. I enjoy watching all the people interact because people love to give back. MORRISANIA, The Bronx, (PIX11) Nearly a year after a Bronx teen was fatally stabbed while on his way home from college, his friends and family gathered at a local community center to celebrate his life. Loved ones came together Saturday to fellowship and pray remembering 18-year-old Denzel Bimpey, who they said was loving and made everyone around him smile. More Local News Family members said Bimpey had a promising future as a student at SUNY Morrisville. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was on his way home for winter break last year when he boarded a bus on Dec. 15. When the bus arrived in the Flatiron District in Manhattan, an argument escalated between two groups, according to the NYPD. Bimpey was allegedly trying to de-escalate the situation when he was stabbed multiple times. Police have identified 18-year-old Thierno Bah wanted in connection to Bimpeys death. As friends and family continue to grapple with immeasurable loss, they are praying for justice and for the suspect to be found. Karma is a thing, you know, said Bimpeys cousin, Moko Soumano. Even though he may be doing what hes doing now, were still looking for him. No ones ever forgotten his face. No one forgets his name. So, were just always keeping our eyes out and just make sure that justice is served. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Loved ones are also holding a church service at Divine Power Ministry Sunday, as they continue to mourn Bimpeys death. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. The crescendo of outrage at the health care system lately has some arguably valid complaints. Take insulin for example. Affordable insulin is so hard to come by in the U.S. that people turn to underground networks of shared medicines, ration their own supply to cut costs, or sometimes cross the border to Mexico or Canada to get the medication they need. Pharmaceutical companies recently introduced price caps on insulin after coming under scrutiny for charging hundreds of dollars per vial, which could be purchased in Canada for roughly one-tenth the price. About 8 million people in the U.S. with diabetes rely on insulin, and its high prices have become emblematic of what many see as a broken health care system. Among diabetics, there is quite a lot of desperation, and theres quite a lot of people facing really serious health consequences and often even death because of the fairly arbitrary and often deeply flawed ways that the system that provides us with the medicine we need to survive fails, said Anthony Di Franco, a Type 1 diabetic and computer scientist. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Insulin is one of many inaccessible medications in this system, with Americans paying three-fold the price for drugs as comparable countries in 2022. Desperate for relief, people with conditions like long COVID also turn to online drug markets because clinical trials testing therapies to treat it have been slow. People with rare diseases often dont have access to therapies that could help because there is little financial incentive for pharmaceutical companies to invest in trials to test them. And some patients with fatal conditions who do have treatments approved still cant access them through insurance because of complications in the current regulatory structure. Fed up with the U.S. health care system, many so-called biohackers are trying to increase access to therapies by providing people with DIY instructions to make them from the comfort of their own home. Biohacking covers a range of activities, from performing gene-editing in garages to synthesizing the ingredients of certain medicines or technologies and publishing DIY instructions on how to make them at home to reverse engineering vaccines. The emergence of biohacking in itself shows that there are unmet needs within the current system, said Ishaan Kumar, medical student at University of Chicago, who has written about the movement. This is, fundamentally, a response to a system that is perceived to be not working and arguably doesnt work in a lot of cases, like with super rare genetic diseases that affect something like two to three new patients a year, Kumar told Salon in a phone interview. Thats not enough to run trials, let alone return a profit, so the regulatory and economic incentives that we have in our pharmaceutical system just do not account for those patients. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One through-line in many of these initiatives is that they are counter-institutional in nature. In a 2010 conference, computer scientist Meredith Patterson delivered a Biopunk Manifesto and described her stance on biohacking: We reject the popular perception that science is only done in million-dollar university, government or corporate labs; we assert that the right of freedom of inquiry, to do research and pursue understanding under ones own direction, is as fundamental a right as that of free speech or freedom of religion. Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter Lab Notes. In 2015, Di Franco founded The Open Insulin Project, a community based organization run by volunteers, with the intention to biohack publicly available research on how insulin is made and provide those directions in an open-source format. Under the projects model, the cost of insulin could be as low as $7. The project is still in the development stages but Di Franco says one day it might partner with local medical institutions to scale a production model. (If that is the case, it will have to meet the regulatory requirements of the Food and Drug Administration.) There are reasons to be skeptical that everyone is going to have insulin factories on their countertop, Di Franco told Salon in a video call. But there are also reasons to be skeptical about the currently dominant way of doing things, which has its own very serious issues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Critics are concerned that DIY initiatives forgo some of the rigor of testing the safety and effectiveness of treatments regulated in the current regulatory system. Without the checks and balances, and resources, of a larger system, many are concerned that the DIY approach could lead to someone getting hurt. Making insulin is something that should be doable, said Hank Greely, who directs the Center for Law and Biosciences at Stanford University. But whether its doable in a safe, effective, reliable and non-contaminated manner is a different question. Making medicines can be complex and often requires specific equipment as well. While some things may be feasible to make at home, other medications require machines like a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, said Derek Lowe, a long-time drug discovery researcher, who has criticized some biohacking initiatives. "Organic synthesis is widely varied," Lowe told Salon in a phone interview. "There are so many compounds, so many reactions, and so many ways to run every reaction, that keeping up with all the things that can go wrong is literally a full-time job." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Others see biohacking as a way to restore autonomy to patients and provide an option that cuts costs for them. Nevertheless, the concern is that some individuals could appropriate the biohacking space with bad intentions, said Lisa Rasmussen, a philosophy professor at University of North Carolina, Charlotte who is writing a book about DIY science. When people write about citizen science or DIY bio, it's often an enthusiast about it who says, Look at all the amazing things we'll be able to do! But then you can imagine someone else coming along and saying, Oh, well, this is a good way to avoid all the expensive FDA regulations, I'm just going to do this, Rasmussen told Salon in a phone interview. We are trying to think about the ethics in the sense not of preventing helpful innovation, but rather preventing potentially harmful misuse. In 1980, the Bayh-Dole Act was passed to allow institutions to benefit financially from government-funded research. Today, regulatory institutions are often influenced by financial investors, said Jean Peccoud, a professor at Colorado State University who has studied DIY insulin. You could have something that is slightly, you know, not quite as bulletproof, but would be infinitely cheaper and affordable, Peccoud told Salon in a phone interview. But that conversation is not taking place because the only people who are invited are the people who are making the patents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The current system is certainly not bulletproof. In addition to the people who cannot afford or access medications, there are plenty of historical examples in the traditional scientific framework to point to, like when researchers withheld treatment to Black patients in the Tuskegee syphilis study or used genetic material from the Havasupai tribe without consent. Mixael Laufer founded the Four Thieves Vinegar Collective self-described as an anarchist collective to provide free instructions on how to make drugs like the EpiPen, the abortion medication misoprostol, and the opioid-overdose reversal medication naloxone, among others. Everyone in the collective is a volunteer, which is also not-for-profit. The price of a full course of Sovaldi, a treatment for hepatitis C, using the collectives instructions costs around $300, Laufer said, whereas its market price can run up to $84,000. We are not trying to present ourselves as a better alternative to the existing medical infrastructure, we just want there to be an alternative, Laufer told Salon in a phone interview. The goal is that people make up their own mind. The collective has not been contacted by the FDA directly for providing these services, Laufer said. However, the FDA did issue a statement warning against a $30 DIY alternative to an EpiPen shortly after Four Thieves released instructions for making their device. A few months afterward, the FDA revisited the EpiPen conversation to accuse Pfizer of failing to properly investigate malfunctioning EpiPens, leading to patient deaths. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kumar, at the University of Chicago, said an important question to consider is who would be responsible for something like this if it happened with a DIY EpiPen. Patricia J. Zettler, a former FDA attorney, has argued that what the collective is doing is legal because they are only providing information and not actual pharmaceuticals. From an ethical and moral perspective that is a very difficult question in terms of responsibility but it feels wrong to me, at least in an intuitive sense, to say it would be the parents fault because they couldnt afford an EpiPen, Kumar said. Again, we come back to the question of: Where is the failing? And I think the failing, arguably, is the system. FAIRMONT, W.Va. (WBOY) Fairmont State University (FSU) held its fall commencement ceremony on Saturday morning, with more than 200 students receiving their degrees. It was a busy day in Fairmont on Saturday, with the annual Feast of the Seven Fishes event taking place downtown coupled with the FSU graduation ceremony which took place only a few minutes away in the Feaster Center. Before the ceremony, 12 News spoke with FSU President Mike Davis who was asked what the universitys plans for the future are in the wake of various program cuts at WVU and the closure of Alderson Broaddus in 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Essentially, Davis said FSU is forming a committee to evaluate the gaps left by these two universities and how they tie into the professional needs of local business partners. One of the things were doing is were really trying to work with our industry partners to hear what they need, Davis said. Weve been hearing a lot from engineering firms, weve been hearing from the hospitality industry about where those needs are, thats what were trying to do. Were trying to make sure that any new programs that we institute are calibrated with statewide needs. Live nativity and guided tours come to Westover Something that Davis pointed out was the difference in size of Fairmont State and a larger university like WVU. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were looking at programs needs they were filling that we might be able to fill to scale. And I think its especially true for some of the programs cut at WVU, where they have to build them for four or five hundred students. We can build them for 30 or 40 students with a lower faculty load and really build them to scale, Davis said. Besides looking to the future, Davis said he was just glad to be a part of his third commencement ceremony as university president, and that days like Saturday where faculty and parents get to celebrate students success is what its all about. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBOY.com. The royal family is unusual in many respects, and punishing people by not allowing them to go to church is one of their oddities. Such a sorry fate potentially awaits Prince Andrew, with speculation rife that King Charles may distance himself from his brother on Christmas Day amid controversy that Andrew allegedly befriended a Chinese spy. A report in the London Times said the king could ban the duke from joining the royals on their annual walk to church in Sandringham. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Andrew was previously banned from attending the Christmas Day service (and photocall) after his disastrous BBC interview in which he failed to express any regret for his association with Jeffrey Epstein. He was readmitted to royal churchgoing society in 2022, but it now looks like the rehabilitation is over. Supporting the thesis of the Times story, The Daily Beast was told by a friend of the king, His Majestys patience is wearing thin. He has stood by Andrew for many years, but everyone has their limits. I cant see the king wanting to walk to church with someone who was friends with a Chinese spy. Buckingham Palace declined to comment but another friend of the king said: Andrew is finished. You would have thought it would be hard to find a way to make things worse but somehow he has managed it. This week it was revealed that Andrew had befriended the alleged Chinese spy, a businessman known only as H6, who is thought to have been clandestinely operating in the U.K. on behalf of Beijing. Incredibly, Andrew snuck him into his house and other royal palaces. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Andrew reportedly invited the alleged spy to Buckingham Palace twice, to Windsor Castle and St Jamess Palace, and to his 60th birthday party. The alleged spy was stopped at an airport under counterterrorism powers in November 2021. Officers seized his phone, which contained detailed information about their relationship. In one message, Dominic Hampshire, an adviser to the duke, told H6 that he sat at the very top of a tree of Andrews confidants. Andrews friends say he is just the fall guy Andrews friends, meanwhile, are fighting back. Essentially their argument seems to be that he can hardly be blamed for the common courtesy of extending the hand of friendship to a chap whom he met on official business. Surely it is only a matter of time until we hear he was simply too honorable not to invite his new Chinese acquaintance to his birthday party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One friend of Andrew told The Daily Beast that a report in the London Times revealing H6 also managed to meet two former British prime ministers bolstered Andrews case. The London Times reports that the alleged spys elite capture program saw him meet the two former prime ministers separately. H6 displayed photographs of the meetings on his desk. The Daily Beasts source said: This guy clearly operated with impunity in the U.K. for years, meeting PMs. Thats not Andrews fault, its the security services. However, David Cameron and Theresa Mays offices characterized these meetings as standard meet-and-greets, whereas Andrew appears, according to the Times, to have built a personal and business relationship with H6 over at least eight years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Telegraph also cited a source in Andrews camp as saying that Andrew should not be blamed for the affair. The Telegraphs source said: If it is true that the duke was targeted by this man and that this man in turn was on maneuvers in some way, I dont see how that can be a criticism of the Duke rather than a criticism of Chinese operatives. Its a bit mystifying. Monique Worrell triumphed in the November election, but one potential obstacle remains as she prepares to reclaim her job next month: Gov. Ron DeSantis and his battle against progressive prosecutors. DeSantis hasnt ruled out suspending the Democratic state attorney again, and a leaked email titled the future is uncertain has sparked speculation that her political path forward might not be clear. In the email, Orange-Osceola State Attorney Andrew Bain, a DeSantis appointee, told his staff on Monday that he didnt think he could legally help Worrell take over his seat. He wrote that the governors 2023 suspension order could block Worrell from taking office on Jan. 7, calling the situation an unprecedented legal event without clear answers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bain backtracked after the email became public, issuing a statement that he is ready and willing to ensure a smooth transition. His office has not answered questions on what prompted the email or its reversal several hours later. In his email, Bain cited a 2019 case that he said bolsters his view that a governors suspension of an elected official could extend into a new term. But some legal experts question that idea, saying they think Worrells victory means the suspension is lifted, though DeSantis could conceivably suspend her again. DeSantis critics wonder if the governor is preparing to take that course. I dont think these are the type of people who know how to accept defeat, said Thomas Feiter, an Orlando lawyer who ran for state attorney as a Republican but has been critical of DeSantis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In September, DeSantis dodged a reporters question about what hed do if voters reelected Worrell and Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren, who also was suspended by DeSantis. Warren later lost his reelection bid. Though DeSantis didnt reveal his plans, he made clear his dissatisfaction with the two Democratic state attorneys. You need prosecutors that are going be guided by the law, that are going to enforce the law without fear or favor, he said. They are not going be bringing in a political agenda. The governors office did not respond to an email this week asking if DeSantis will re-suspend Worrell or try to block her from taking office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DeSantis suspended Worrell in August 2023 and then appointed Bain to the post. He accused her of neglecting her duties and failing to aggressively prosecute crime, allegations that Worrell vigorously denies. As he campaigned for president, DeSantis touted the suspensions to conservative voters as an example of how he was taking on liberal prosecutors. Orange and Osceola voters saw Worrells performance differently. Worrell defeated Bain with about 57% of the vote. In his email to staff, Bain reasoned that the suspension could only be lifted by DeSantis or by a vote from the Florida Senate, which is charged with upholding or overturning suspensions. Two legal experts disagreed with Bains legal analysis. Though Florida law is somewhat vague on the issue, a reasonable interpretation would be a suspension is temporary and could not extend into a new term, said Lou Virelli, a professor at Stetson Law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The best reading of the Florida Constitution is to say the election wipes the slate clean, he said. Bob Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University, pointed to an 1893 legal opinion in which justices wrote that a Duval County tax collector who had been suspended could reclaim his office. While DeSantis has the authority to re-suspend Worrell, he would likely need new grounds for doing so, Jarvis said. In his email, Bain referenced a 2019 concurring opinion from former Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara Lagoa, who was appointed to the court by DeSantis. That case stemmed from a legal challenge brought by former Okaloosa County Superintendent of Schools Mary Beth Jackson, who DeSantis suspended following scathing grand jury reports criticizing her handling of child abuse allegations in the district. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the opinion siding with DeSantis, Lagoa wrote the governor has broad authority to suspend officials, concluding that nothing in the constitutional text limits the executive suspension power to acts occurring within the suspended officers current term. But that language addresses only the possible basis for a suspension, not whether the suspension itself can endure into a future term, Jarvis said. DeSantis left the suspension period open-ended in his August 2023 order ousting Worrell, writing that it would be from the effective date hereof, until a further executive order is issued, or as otherwise provided by law. As legal questions swirl, Worrell is focused on the job ahead, her spokeswoman Keisha Mulfort said in an email. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This moment marks a powerful reclamation of justice and accountability, and State Attorney Worrell remains steadfast in her mission to serve the people with integrity and resolve, she said. Though DeSantis has not indicated what, if anything, he might do with Worrell, he told reporters in 2019 he wouldnt re-suspend ex-Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel if he won reelection. DeSantis suspended Israel over his agencys handling of the 2018 Parkland school shooting. Israel ran to get his job back but ultimately lost. No, no, no. The people can make that decision going forward, DeSantis said then. Ahead of the 2025 legislative session of the Georgia General Assembly, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, considered to be a potential candidate for governor in 2026, laid out what his priorities and goals were as it related to childcare and taxes in the coming year. Jones op-ed in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution said the state needed to work to grow the number of teachers working in the public school system as well as increase the number of childcare workers, calling it a critical issue impacting the state and its workforce. Child care is critical, not only for childhood development, but also for Georgias economy. Families across Georgia face the important choice of whether to have one spouse cut back on working hours or leave the workforce altogether due to the high cost of child care, he wrote in the op-ed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Lt. Governors op-ed follows a recently published report by the Georgia Senate Study Committee on Access to Affordable Child Care. The seven-member committee found, according to their report, child care challenges have a major impact on Georgias workforce and economy, due to both short and long-term disruptions to employment due to childcare challenges and needs. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The report said this could be anything from arriving or leaving work late or early or missing days of work or school, with other end results including leaving education, turning down advancement or having to move from full-time to part-time work as a result of childcare needs. Termination is also a result of those challenges, according to the report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The problem these challenges create is widespread, with examinations of multiple metropolitan areas in these state of Georgia all showing similar strain from challenges related to childcare and employment. According to the Senate report, cost is an additional issue impacting Georgia families and how they ensure childcare is available. To that end, Jones is proposing increase to the child tax credit and dependent care expenses to 40% of taxable income, an increase from the current 30%. He also wants to create a $250 per child under age 7 Georgia Child Tax Credit and wants to expand who is eligible for employer-sponsored childcare tax credits while also increasing the amount, allowing sponsors to claim 90% of operational costs as a credit, rather than the current 75%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The proposal would also allow credits to use 75% of the sponsors income tax liability, rather than the current 50%. TRENDING STORIES: The findings of the report showed: 47% of programs raised tuitions and fees in the last year 42% of decreased enrollments were due to financial challenges 68% of center providers said they could care for more children if they did not have staffing shortages 50% of providers had a waitlist of 20 or more children 65% of programs anticipate having to increase tuition when federal relief funds run out 26% report federal relief fundings end will impact teacher wages Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After a years worth of study and meetings, the committee made the following broad recommendations. Improve workforce recruitment, development and retention by: Providing additional options for childcare workers to receive funding to provide services Implement refundable tax credit for early childhood educators Evaluate goals and state funding guidelines for infant and toddler classroom teacher pay in current Pre-K and K-12 levels Consider new laws regarding discrimination against and accommodations for new and expectant parents in the workplace Expand access to serve more families by: Increasing tax credits for child and dependent care expenses Create a Georgia Child Tax Credit to help families with young children offset expenses Increase funding for Child and Parent Services to provide access to more families Consider allowing 3-year-olds into Pre-K programs funded by Georgia Lottery Consider Grants to USG and TCSG schools to cover childcare for studnet-parents enrolled in High Demand Career List programs Encourage businesses to support employees through cost sharing and other initiatives for accessing childcare Evaluate current CAPS program and consider new funding models Study how other states created trust funds, and consider adoption of Georgia Child Care Trust Fund Study if a tri-share program like North Carolina or Michigans would be feasible in Georgia for increasing employer incentives for childcare access to employees Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Increase funding opportunities for childcare providers by: Expanding eligibility for Georgia tax credits for employer-sponsored childcare Create and fund a Building Opportunities in Out-of-School Time grant program Evaluate regional differences in CAPS reimbursement under current program [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] The Galesburg City Council is set to approve a resolution at the Dec. 16 City Council meeting, which would name the Galesburg Regional Airport in honor of Harrel W. Timmons. Timmons founded Jet Air Inc., the fixed base operator (FBO), for the Galesburg airport in 1969 and served as the President of the FBO until his retirement in 2023. Throughout that time, the airport has benefited the community with significant use by recreational pilots, as well as corporations and businesses. The airport was recently upgraded from a local municipal airport to a regional airport by the Federal Airport Administration (FAA), opening up opportunities for increased services and additional funding from the FAA. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Timmons has been instrumental in the airports success, and holds commercial, flight, and ground instructor ratings, as well as an airline transport pilot certificate with 20,000 hours flying time. Timmons is also an FAA designated pilot examiner and certified aircraft mechanic with inspection authorization. Through this expertise, he has helped many employees advance to the airlines or become corporate pilots and mechanics. His success in the aviation field was recognized in 2011 when Timmons was inducted into the Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame. The Galesburg Regional Airport is home to the National Stearman Fly-in, and Timmons has been a member of the National Stearman Board of Directors since its inception in 1971, as well as a member of the Stearman Foundation Board of Directors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to his substantial contributions at the airport, Timmons is active in the community and has been a member of the Galesburg Rotary Club for more than 40 years. He and his wife have been involved in the Rotary Youth Exchange, bringing students to our community from all over the world. This is a wonderful opportunity to honor and thank Harrel for his noteworthy contributions to the Galesburg airport, said Eric Hanson, Galesburg City Manager. The City is grateful for the leadership Harrel has provided at the airport and pleased to have this opportunity to thank him for his outstanding service to our community. The City of Galesburg will honor Harrel Timmons for his exceptional contributions to the Galesburg Regional Airport and the community by officially naming and referring to the airport as the Harrel W. Timmons Galesburg Regional Airport. A resolution will be presented in honor of Timmons at the December 16, 2024, Galesburg City Council meeting, which is open to the public and begins at 6:00 p.m. at Galesburg City Hall. An official naming ceremony and event will be held in the spring. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com. GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) The Georgetown County Sheriffs Office held its 26th annual Shop with a Deputy on Saturday to help spread the Christmas spirit to students in the community. At 7:30 a.m., over 30 students filled the sheriffs office, ready to meet their Deputy for the day and head to the store to start Christmas shopping. Its a great day. Were taking 36 deserving children from our elementary schools here in Georgetown County. Were going to Walmart, and Im letting them do some Christmas shopping, said Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Students loaded up on a Georgetown County school bus and headed to the store. Everyone was given a $150 spending limit to buy anything from technology, games, crafts, and much more, excluding crime games and weapons. Some students decided to spend their funds gifting loved ones with meaningful gifts while others were living in the moment, grabbing items that make them happy. Sheriff Weaver told News 2 that the event is about helping struggling families and ensuring each child has a brighter and merrier Christmas. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCBD News 2. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk watch the Nov. 19 launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship. Musk, a Trump confidante, has been tapped to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency. Brandon Bell/Getty Images Elon Musk says the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating his brain implant company Neuralink Corp. and wants him to pay a penalty or face charges over what he disclosed or failed to disclose about his purchases of Twitter stock before he bought the social media platform in 2022. The Texas tech titan posted a letter to the site, now known as X, suggesting the market regulator levied a fine and set a deadline to either pay up or face charges on numerous counts. The post features a screenshot of a letter addressed to SEC Chair Gary Gensler from Musk attorney Alex Spiro, who writes that the commissions demand for a monetary payment is a misguided scheme that wont intimidate Musk. He also said the commission reopened an investigation this week into Neuralink. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Oh Gary, how could you do this to me? Musk wrote. In a post earlier Thursday, he said, The SEC is just another weaponized institution doing political dirty work. In his letter, Spiro wrote that he was responding to demands from SEC staff members about a multi-year investigation of certain purchases, sales and disclosures of Twitter shares. The SEC has not released the letter. Nor would it comment on it or confirm whether it has issued a demand to Musk. Sources told Reuters and Bloomberg the commissions deadline for payment is Monday. The investigation stretches back to 2022, when Musk allegedly failed to disclose the stake he was building in Twitter before acquiring the company that October for $44 billion. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Regulations require an investor who builds an ownership stake larger than 5% in a publicly traded company and seeks to influence or control it to issue a so-called 13D filing within 10 days of crossing that threshold. Musk, who later disclosed he had built a 9% stake in the company, said this July the late disclosure was a mistake and that he had misunderstood the requirements. In April 2022, a lawsuit filed by a Twitter investor said Musks violation of the disclosure rule hurt ordinary investors who sold shares in the company in the nearly two weeks before Musk acknowledged he held a major stake. The delayed disclosure caused the value of its shares to soar 27% from its April 1 close to nearly $50 by the end of trading April 4. That improper delay, according to the lawsuit, deprived investors who had sold shares before Musks stake was known of the opportunity to realize significant gains. Musk has been engaged in a running battle with the SEC since 2018 over multiple issues. That was when he and Tesla Inc., his Austin-based electric car company, each agreed to pay $20 million in fines over tweets Musk had made about having amassed the necessary funding to take Tesla private. Such a transition never happened; Tesla remains a public company. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Musk sought to overturn part of the settlement that required him to have his postings about Tesla reviewed by a Tesla attorney. That provision, he contended, violated his free speech rights. The dispute made its way to the Supreme Court, which rejected Musks appeal without comment. The Neuralink probe stretches back to the fall of 2023, when animal advocacy group the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and four lawmakers asked the SEC to investigate Musk and Neuralink for fraud over what the group said were misleading claims about the companys work. The California-based company is also under investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Transportation. Gensler, who was nominated to lead the SEC by President Joe Biden, announced last month he would step down from his post on Jan. 20, when Donald Trump will be inaugurated as president. Trump has announced that he intends to nominate cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins to the post. Georgia's opposition leaders have urged the EU to reject the pro-Russian presidential candidate and take broader steps to support European values in the country, Sova news outlet reports. In their joint letter, addressed to the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, and the foreign ministers of EU member states, the opposition leaders express their concerns. The letter was signed by Nika Melia of the Coalition for Change, Tina Bokuchava of Unity National Movement, Mamuka Khazaradze of Strong Georgia, and Zaza Tavadze of Gakharia for Georgia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The leaders argue that the only solution to the current crisis is "to hold new elections under an improved electoral system, with a politically balanced electoral administration and neutral state institutions." The letter also criticizes Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of Georgian Dream, for his plan to elect Mikhail Kavelashvili as the sixth president of Georgia, calling it a move that exacerbates the already tense situation. The authors remind the EU that Kavelashvili was one of the initiators of the controversial foreign agents law and is frequently involved in anti-Western propaganda. They urge the EU to take urgent measures to support the Georgian people and protect European values. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These measures include the release of all detained politicians, activists, and peaceful demonstrators; the introduction of targeted sanctions against those responsible for "undermining democracy;" the suspension of visa-free travel and visa restrictions for Georgian Dream officials; and the declaration of the "self-proclaimed regime" of Ivanishvili as illegitimate. Similar actions have already been taken by the U.S., which on Dec. 12 announced visa bans on approximately 20 Georgian individuals accused of "undermining democracy." The opposition leaders emphasize that the Georgian people are "courageously resisting Russian-backed authoritarianism and fighting for their democratic European future." They stress that EU support is vital to their success, stating, "Your clear voice, together with decisive action, will play a crucial role in de-escalating the alarming situation in Georgia and restoring constitutional order." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Protests have erupted in Georgia against the ruling Georgian Dream party, fueled by accusations of democratic backsliding and alignment with Russian interests. The party's suspension of Georgia's EU accession process until at least 2028 and allegations of election violations, including restrictions on overseas voting, have intensified public outrage. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, a pro-EU leader, has criticized these actions and vowed to remain in office until a legitimate parliament is elected. President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Zourabichvili on Dec. 7 and to expressed solidarity with the Georgian people, condemning the Ivanishvili-led government for undermining Georgia's democratic aspirations. He also emphasized the importance of international backing for Georgias fight for democracy. Read also: Georgias fight for democracy is at a breaking point Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. A chorus of business and union leaders argued over the weekend for keeping Syrian workers in Germany, following a suggestion from a conservative politician to send them back now that the Syrian regime has been overthrown. "We cannot do without them in many areas," said Ingo Wortmann, the president of the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV), in response to a query from dpa. Some 2,000 Syrians work in the public transport sector nationwide alone, he said. Without them to drive the buses and trains, the shortage that already exists would be exacerbated. Already in most major German cities there are numerous street signs advertising the advantages of working in public transport and asking people to apply. Private sector companies want Syrian workers Business representatives don't want their Syrian workers sent back either and criticized calls for a halt on admitting Syrians, a suggestion made by Bavarian conservative CSU politician Andrea Lindholz. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We rely on well-integrated and qualified labour," the president of the Family-Run Companies Association told the Sunday newspaper the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. Many companies have invested in the refugee training and education to compensate for the shortage of skilled and unskilled workers, said Marie-Christine Ostermann. "They should not then be deported." Marc Tenbieg, of the executive board of the German Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, told the Frankfurt paper that small and medium-sized enterprises would "painfully miss their Syrian employees. Medium-sized companies cannot afford to do without willing workers. Therefore, we reject a rush decision on possible repatriations to Syria." Unions: Syrian labour force needed "Be it in care, in hospitals, in post and parcel services, in mail order or many other professions. In many places, people who fled from Syria help keep this country running," Verdi union chief Frank Werneke said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The IG Metall union chairwoman Christiane Benner also told the newspaper: "We need skilled and labour forces from abroad." Overall, according to the Interior Ministry, around 975,000 Syrians are currently residing in Germany. On Monday, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) decided to halt decisions on asylum applications for people from Syria, due to the changing situation in the country - at least for the time being. Also on Monday, Jens Spahn, a former health minister, said Germany should now charter aircraft to send Syrians who had fled from Bashar al-Assad's regime, back to their home country, and offer cash incentives to encourage people to leave. "As a first step, I would say that we are making an offer. How about the German government saying: anyone who wants to go back to Syria, we'll charter planes for them and give them a starting payment of 1,000," ($1,060), Spahn told the broadcaster RTL/ntv. Don't rush to hand out return flight tickets Dennis Radtke, head of the workers' wing in the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, criticized Spahn's suggestion to send Syrians back to their country of origin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "For both humanitarian reasons and from an economic perspective, we should not be hastily handing out flight tickets." One class of Syrians not wanted in Germany But there is at least one class of Syrians that need not apply to get into the country: war criminals. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on Sunday warned all supporters of the deposed Syrian ruling family al-Assad against going into hiding in Germany. "Anyone among Assad's torturers thinking of fleeing to Germany, I can only say clearly: We will hold all the regime's henchmen accountable with the full force of the law for their terrible crimes," the Green party politician told the Sunday tabloid Bild am Sonntag. She stressed that international security agencies and intelligence services now need to work in close cooperation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the overthrow of the much-hated Assad regime, a rebel alliance led by Islamists has taken power, while al-Assad fled to Russia with his family. Under his rule, tens of thousands were unlawfully detained, oppressed, tortured and killed. Faeser noted there are security checks at all borders. "We are extremely vigilant. If henchmen of Assad's terror regime try to flee to Germany, they must know that hardly any country pursues their crimes as harshly as Germany. That should deter them from making the attempt," she told the newspaper. By Friederike Heine and Andreas Rinke BERLIN (Reuters) -The German parliament accepted Chancellor Olaf Scholz's invitation to withdraw its confidence in him and his government on Monday, clearing the way for an early election on Feb. 23 necessitated by the collapse of his government. Scholz's three-party coalition fell apart last month after the pro-market Free Democrats quit in a row over debt, leaving his Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens without a parliamentary majority just as Germany faces a deepening economic crisis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under rules designed to prevent the instability that facilitated the rise of fascism in the 1930s, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier can only dissolve parliament and call an election if the chancellor calls, and loses, a confidence vote. The debate preceding the vote also opened serious campaigning for the election, with party leaders trading ill-tempered barbs. The chancellor and his conservative challenger Friedrich Merz, who surveys suggest is likely to replace him, charged each other with incompetence and lack of vision. Scholz, who will head a caretaker government until a new one can be formed, defended his record as a crisis leader who had dealt with the economic and security emergency triggered by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If given a second term, he said, he would invest heavily in Germany's creaking infrastructure rather than making the spending cuts he said the conservatives wanted. "Shortsightedness might save money in the short term, but the mortgage on our future is unaffordable," said Scholz, who served four years as finance minister under a previous coalition with the conservatives before becoming chancellor in 2021. Merz told Scholz his spending plans would burden future generations and accused him of failing to deliver on promises of rearmament after the start of the Ukraine war. "Taking on debt at the cost of the young generation, spending money - and you didn't say the word 'competitiveness' once," said Merz. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Neither mentioned the constitutional spending cap, a measure designed to ensure fiscal responsibility that many economists blame for the fraying state of Germany's infrastructure. CONSERVATIVES IN CLEAR LEAD IN OPINION POLLS The conservatives have a comfortable, albeit narrowing lead of more than 10 points over the SPD in most polls. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is slightly ahead of Scholz's party, while the Greens are in fourth place. The mainstream parties have refused to govern with the AfD, but its presence complicates the parliamentary arithmetic, making unwieldy coalitions more likely. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Scholz has outlined a list of measures that could pass with opposition support before the election, including 11 billion euros ($11 billion) in tax cuts and an increase in child benefits already agreed on by former coalition partners. The conservatives have also hinted they could back measures to better protect the Constitutional Court from the machinations of a future populist or anti-democratic government and to extend a popular subsidised transport ticket. Measures to ease unintended burdens on taxpayers could also pass if regional governments agree, but Merz rejected a Green proposal to cut energy prices, saying he wanted a totally new energy policy. Robert Habeck, the Greens' chancellor candidate, said that was a worrying sign for German democracy, given the growing likelihood in a fractured political landscape that very different parties would again have to govern together. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's very unlikely the next government will have it easier," Habeck said. AfD leader Alice Weidel called for all Syrian refugees in Germany to be sent back following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime. ($1 = 0.9522 euros) (Writing by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Gareth Jones, Rachel More, Kevin Liffey and Hugh Lawson) German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser are warning all supporters of the deposed Syrian ruling family al-Assad against going into hiding in Germany. "Anyone among Assad's torturers thinking of fleeing to Germany, I can only say clearly: We will hold all the regime's henchmen accountable with the full force of the law for their terrible crimes," the Green party politician told the Sunday tabloid Bild am Sonntag. She stressed that international security agencies and intelligence services now need to work in close cooperation. After the overthrow of the much-hated Assad regime, a rebel alliance led by Islamists has taken power, while al-Assad fled to Russia with his family. Under his rule, tens of thousands were unlawfully detained, oppressed, tortured and killed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Faeser noted there are security checks at all borders. "We are extremely vigilant. If henchmen of Assad's terror regime try to flee to Germany, they must know that hardly any country pursues their crimes as harshly as Germany. That should deter them from making the attempt," she told the newspaper. Unions: Syrian labour force needed Meanwhile in the ongoing debate about whether the roughly 1 million Syrians who sought refuge in Germany should go home, Verdi union chief Frank Werneke has argued against sending needed workers back. "Be it in care, in hospitals, in post and parcel services, in mail order or many other professions. In many places, people who fled from Syria help keep this country running." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The IG Metall union chairwoman Christiane Benner also told the newspaper: "We need skilled and labour forces from abroad." German business wants to keep Syrian workers too Business representatives criticized calls for a halt on admitting Syrians, a suggestion made by Bavarian conservative CSU politician Andrea Lindholz. "We rely on well-integrated and qualified labour," the president of the Family-Run Companies Association told the Sunday newspaper the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. Many companies have invested in the training and further education of refugees to compensate for the shortage of skilled and unskilled workers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "They should not then be deported." Marc Tenbieg, of the executive board of the German Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, told the Frankfurt paper that small and medium-sized enterprises would "painfully miss their Syrian employees. Medium-sized companies cannot afford to do without willing workers. Therefore, we reject a rush decision on possible repatriations to Syria." Don't rush to hand out return flight tickets Overall, according to the Interior Ministry, around 975,000 Syrians are currently residing in Germany. On Monday, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) decided to halt decisions on asylum applications for people from Syria, due to the changing situation in the country - at least for the time being. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dennis Radtke, head of the workers' wing in the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, criticized the suggestion by former CDU health minister Jens Spahn to offer a 1,000 ($1,050) premium for Syrians to go back home. "For both humanitarian reasons and from an economic perspective, we should not be hastily handing out flight tickets." German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser are warning all supporters of the deposed Syrian ruling family al-Assad against going into hiding in Germany. "Anyone among Assad's torturers thinking of fleeing to Germany, I can only say clearly: We will hold all the regime's henchmen accountable with the full force of the law for their terrible crimes," the Green party politician told the Sunday tabloid Bild am Sonntag. She stressed that international security agencies and intelligence services now need to work in close cooperation. After the overthrow of the much-hated Assad regime, a rebel alliance led by Islamists has taken power, while al-Assad fled to Russia with his family. Under his rule, tens of thousands were unlawfully detained, oppressed, tortured and killed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Faeser noted there are security checks at all borders. "We are extremely vigilant. If henchmen of Assad's terror regime try to flee to Germany, they must know that hardly any country pursues their crimes as harshly as Germany. That should deter them from making the attempt," she told the newspaper. Unions: Syrian labour force needed Meanwhile in the ongoing debate about whether the roughly 1 million Syrians who sought refuge in Germany should go home, Verdi union chief Frank Werneke has argued against sending needed workers back. "Be it in care, in hospitals, in post and parcel services, in mail order or many other professions. In many places, people who fled from Syria help keep this country running." The IG Metall union chairwoman Christiane Benner also told the newspaper: "We need skilled and labour forces from abroad." BERLIN (AP) Germanys foreign minister is warning anyone involved in atrocities for the ousted Syrian government against seeking refuge in her country, saying they would face the full force of the law. Germany has been a major destination for Syrian refugees over the past decade, and several hundred thousand Syrian nationals live there. In rulings since 2021, former Syrian secret police officers already have been convicted in Germany for overseeing or facilitating the abuse of detainees. To any of (former President Bashar) Assads torturers who might be considering fleeing to Germany now, I can only say clearly: We will bring all the regimes henchmen to account for their terrible crimes with the full force of the law, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told Sundays edition of the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Baerbock called for international security authorities and intelligence services to work closely together. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said Germany is extremely vigilant and pointed to border checks that the country already has put in place on its frontiers as it tries to reduce irregular migration. She told Bild am Sonntag that no one who participated in atrocities is safe from prosecution here. She said the convictions already handed down show that Germany pursues such crimes rigorously and should act as a deterrent against people involved in them going there. More broadly, German officials have stressed that many well-integrated arrivals of recent years will be welcome to stay after the removal of Assad. That was followed by some talk of Syrians going home, which Chancellor Olaf Scholz acknowledged in a video released Friday deeply unsettled them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone who is working here, who is well integrated, is and remains welcome in Germany, he said. That goes without saying. Some of the refugees hope they can soon return to their homeland. We will support that as soon as the situation allows," he added. But only the coming days, weeks and months will show what direction Syria takes after Assad. Friedrich Merz, the favourite to become Germany's next chancellor, has denied his conservative bloc's manifesto contains unfunded pledges amid criticism from left-wing rivals. Merz told public broadcaster ARD on Sunday that economic growth and reforms to unemployment benefit would provide extra revenue for the next German government. "We point out that 1% growth alone - and that is the lower limit of what we need to achieve - means 10 billion ($10.5 billion) more in government revenue," explained Merz. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Merz's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), along with their sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) from Bavaria, are well ahead in the polls, two months before early elections likely to be held in February. However, after details of the CDU/CSU's draft manifesto were revealed by dpa on Friday, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens accused Merz's party of making around 100 billion in unfunded pledges. The manifesto includes promises to cut taxes and energy costs for businesses. Merz on Sunday said another source of revenue would be reforming unemployment benefit - also known as citizen's income - which he said has risen to almost 50 billion after reforms by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We will turn this citizen's income system on its head and save tens of billions of euros," Merz promised. The 69-year-old said the CDU/CSU are planning to present a plan with concrete proposals to revive Germany's ailing economy in January. During the recent presidential election, I was disappointed that gun violence was not presented as a prominent issue. Data from The Wall Street Journal states that Republican victor Donald Trump overperformed among Gen Z. The New York Times finds that Gen Z men are attending church at higher numbers, correlated with this shift in voter ideology. As a Christian, I am happy others have found comfort in religion, yet these trends make me worried about the dwindling salience of gun violence in this country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Have we become blind to the daily mass shootings because we can just pray about them and move on? So many prayed for safety and the victims after The Covenant School shooting On my TikTok page following school shootings, post comments are flooded with passive prayer promises while lives are forever changed. Participants gather on 21st Ave. S during the Linking Arms for Change human chain in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, March 27, 2024. The event was held to honor the one year anniversary Covenant School shooting. Marques Coleman, a student at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia., told reporters what he felt in the aftermath of his schools attack in September. I just thank God that I wasnt the one that got hit. In the midst of all of it happening, I was just thanking God because, you know, he had his hands around me. I too would praise God if I survived such a traumatic attack. I recall March 27, 2023, my 20th birthday, and The Covenant School shooting in Nashville. Vanderbilt University is 3.9 miles from Covenant. I prayed that day, thanking God that my classmates and I were not targeted. I prayed for the victims too, but I knew this was not enough. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I found it unsettling that faith was often the first statement across media outlets following mass shootings, as faith alone has not stopped these tragedies. The recent rise in conservatism among young voters worries me, as my formerly left-leaning generation has been the most vocal about the gun violence epidemic. Who remains to take action if we are all waiting on God to enact justice? Our nation is increasingly placing more faith in a spiritual force than our human politicians - and even ourselves - to address mass gun violence. Opinion: I'm a pro-life pastor and that's why I'm for common-sense gun law reforms in Tennessee My religious upbringing at a Boston Catholic school emphasized civic engagement and public service. I believe in God, but thoughts and prayers will not bring these victims back to their loved ones, or prevent further violence. I wish God were a Senator so that He could implement stricter gun laws, but intense political gridlock would swallow his good intentions. We must act, drawing on the power of our faith, for that to happen. Let your faith guide decisions to tackle gun violence Faith is more than merely expressing guilt or empathy for these alarmingly common occurrences. God cannot prevent mass gun violence, but faith can strengthen our political endeavors to inspire change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is human nature to hope that a force stronger than us, whether that be God or our politicians, will make the problem disappear, but this is an excuse for inaction. We are less powerless than we think. We must demand that the Senate takes action to minimize gun violence, transforming our prayers into petition signings and peaceful protests. The countrys dismissal of mass shootings following futile thoughts and prayers risks innocent lives. There is danger in relying on a savior alone to take action. As I have become more acclimated with my bible, a call to advocacy struck me. Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you, (Deuteronomy 16:20). Tenley Noonan I implore religious legislators and citizens alike to closely examine the document that guides their lives, as it is possible to redefine faith in a way that inspires meaningful change to tackle the gun violence epidemic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tenley Noonan is a current senior at Vanderbilt University studying creative writing and American politics. This guest opinion column was adapted from an essay originally published in the Students United News Network (SUNN). This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Gun violence in America: Redefine faith for better solutions | Opinion The death of a child is an unspeakable tragedy. Such a heartbreaking event causes us all to question how such a thing could happen. Whenever a child dies from anything other than natural causes, the question is frequently asked whether the child had previous involvement with the child welfare system. That inquiry will often be answered in the affirmative, because a huge percentage of our child population is subjected to investigation. According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 37% of children can expect to experience a child welfare investigation between their birth and 18th birthday. When a child from among that number dies, the temptation is to surmise that the child welfare system is somehow to blame, and that such things would be avoided if only all of those children would have been removed from their families and placed in foster care. As understandable as that thinking may be, it is completely wrong. Those who believe that safety must be obtained by knee-jerk removals cannot refute the data to the contrary. By strictly applying the law that Louisiana must make reasonable efforts to avoid child removal, Judge Ernestine Gray almost completely eliminated the use of foster care in New Orleans and during that time, the rate of child deaths there actually went down. Other states Missouris size safely hold a fraction of the children in care. Maryland has almost exactly the same population as Missouri and has roughly one-third the number of foster children. This is accomplished through a proactive and preventative approach that does not compromise safety. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Critics who favor high numbers of home removals can cite anecdotes of situations where professionals disagree regarding safety decisions, but they have no data that supports their criticism of a prevention-based approach. One can find an equal number of stories alleging that Missouris Childrens Division overreacted and that children were unnecessarily engaged by the system. The key to addressing both complaints is early intervention and prevention. Most states have recognized this, and are moving toward a more proactive and preventative model. Missouri would be foolish to respond to tragedy by reverting to harmful practices that are not supported by any current scholarship. The proper road is to continue to move toward prevention and right-sizing the system. Then what about the tragic case of Destinii Hope? I had moved on from my work at the Childrens Division before this happened, so I am not privy to anything about the investigation. From the information in the news story, it appears that there is concern in this case that someone exercised bad judgment. We cant know because we dont have the details, but an error in judgment is completely possible. People in the field have to make difficult calls every single day. The action of a worker may be justified or subject to criticism in any case. How do we help our teams make good decisions? It is certainly not to instruct our front-line staff simply to ignore the evidence and best practices, and remove all of the children they can. However, there are systemic changes that can be made to better equip our force to make the best decisions possible. First, we must retain good investigators, which can only be accomplished by increasing pay and ensuring that there are enough of them to do the job. We need experienced people in those positions, so there should be a pay ladder to encourage them to stay. This is the hardest job in state government, and no one should be expected to do that work and stay while making less than $50,000 a year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Second, Missouri needs to increase the number of workers in more than an incremental way. When you compare Missouri Childrens Division staffing levels to child welfare agencies in other states, it is tiny. We must have enough people to do the job and to give workers the ability to breathe and have work-life balance. Third, we need to increase the number of prevention workers in the force. Prevention should occupy one-third of the work, and we have only 100 people dedicated to it throughout the state. That is roughly 5% of our team, and fewer than one person per county. We need to invest in preventing child abuse and neglect from happening in the first place. Finally, Missouri has to do something about the dearth of services available to families facing substance abuse and mental health problems. Without these services, we will continue to face tragedies and pile up kids in foster care, no matter what else we do. Who is responsible for Destiniis death? Is it the Childrens Division, or Destiniis mother, or father, or the police officer who fired the bullet? This is the wrong question. We all share responsibility to better care for our children and families. I hope that effort will begin today. Darrell Missey recently retired as director of Missouris Childrens Division. AKRON, Ohio (AP) Before the November presidential election, Ohio's secretary of state and attorney general announced investigations into potential voter fraud that included people suspected of casting ballots even though they were not U.S. citizens. It coincided with a national Republican messaging strategy warning that potentially thousands of ineligible voters would be voting. The right to vote is sacred, Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, said in a statement at the time. If youre not a U.S. citizen, its illegal to vote - whether you thought you were allowed to or not. You will be held accountable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the end, their efforts led to just a handful of cases. Of the 621 criminal referrals for voter fraud that Secretary of State Frank LaRose sent to the attorney general, prosecutors have secured indictments against nine people for voting as noncitizens over the span of 10 years and one was later found to have died. That total is a tiny fraction of Ohio's 8 million registered voters and the tens of millions of ballots cast during that period. The outcome and the stories of some of those now facing charges illustrate the gap both in Ohio and across the United States between the rhetoric about noncitizen voting and the reality: It's rare, is caught and prosecuted when it does happen and does not occur as part of a coordinated scheme to throw elections. The Associated Press attended in-person and virtual court hearings for three of the Ohio defendants over the past two weeks. Each of the cases involved people with long ties to their community who acted alone, often under a mistaken impression they were eligible to vote. They now find themselves facing felony charges and possible deportation. Among them is Nicholas Fontaine, a 32-year-old precision sheet metal worker from Akron. He was indicted in October on one count of illegal voting, a fourth-degree felony. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fontaine is a Canadian-born permanent resident who moved to the U.S. with his mother and sister when he was 2 years old. He is facing a possible jail term and deportation on allegations that he voted in the 2016 and 2018 elections. He recalls being a college student when he was approached on the street about registering to vote. I think in my young teenage brain, I thought, Well, I have to sign up for the draft, I should be able to vote, Fontaine said in an interview. Permanent residents such as Fontaine are just one of several categories of immigrants who must register for a potential military draft through the Selective Service but who cannot legally vote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fontaine said he received a postcard from the local board of elections in 2016 informing him of his polling place. He voted without issue. He even showed his ID before receiving his ballot. No problems. Went in, voted, turned my voter stuff in, that was it, he said. There was no, like, Hey, theres an issue here, or, Theres a thing here. Just, heres your paper (ballot). Fontaine said a Department of Homeland Security official visited him at his home in either 2018 or 2019, alerted him to the fact that his votes in 2016 and 2018 had been illegal and warned him not to vote again. Since then, he never has. That's one reason why his indictment this fall came as a shock. He said he never received notice that he was indicted and missed his court hearing in early December, being informed of the charges only when an AP reporter knocked on his door after the scheduled hearing and told him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fontaine said he was raised in a household where his American stepfather taught him the value of voting. He said he would never have cast an illegal vote intentionally. I dont know any person, even like Americans Ive talked to about voting, who would consider illegally voting for any reason, he said. Like, why would you do that? It doesnt make sense. Theyre going to find out clearly, theyre going to find out. And its turning one vote into two. Even doing that, can you get a hundred? Theres how many millions of voters in America? Faith Lyon, the Portage County election director, said local officials in the county where Fontaine is charged would not have had any way to independently verify his immigration status. Each voter registration form includes a checkbox asking whether a person is a U.S. citizen or not and explaining that people cannot vote unless they are, she said. In two other illegal voting cases moving through the Ohio courts, the defendants left that box unchecked, according to their lawyers, believing the omission would result in the election board not registering them if they were indeed ineligible. Yet they were registered anyway, and now face criminal prosecution for voting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A day before Fontaines scheduled hearing, one of those defendants, 40-year-old Fiona Allen, wept outside a Cleveland courtroom when a public defender explained the charges she faced. She had moved to the U.S. from Jamaica nine years ago. After turning in the voter registration form and receiving her registration, Allen voted in 2020, 2022 and 2023, prosecutors say. The mother of two, including a son in the U.S. Navy, and her husband of 13 years, a naturalized citizen who also is a serviceman, declined to comment at the courthouse. Allen has pleaded not guilty. Another, 78-year-old Lorinda Miller, appeared before a judge over Zoom last week. She appeared shell-shocked about facing charges. Her attorney said Miller, who arrived in the U.S. from Canada as a child, is affiliated with an Indigenous tribe that issued her paperwork identifying her as a citizen of North America. She was told that was sufficient to allow her to register and vote. Shes even been called for jury duty, said lawyer Reid Yoder. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He plans to take the case to trial after Miller pleaded not guilty to the charges. I think the integrity of the vote should be protected, wholeheartedly, Yoder said. I think the intent of the law is to punish people who defrauded the system. That is not my client. To really defraud the system, you have to know youre doing it. My clients nothing like that. She believes in the sanctity of the vote, which is why she participated. She didnt know she was doing anything wrong. The Ohio cases are just one example of what is true nationally that the narrative of widespread numbers of immigrants without the necessary legal documents registering to vote and then voting is simply not backed up by the facts, said Jay Young, senior director of the Voting and Democracy Program for Common Cause. State voter rolls are cleaned regularly, he said, and the penalties for casting an illegal ballot as a noncitizen are severe: fines, the potential for a prison sentence and deportation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said the role of such immigrants and their potential to sway the election was the most enduring false narrative that we saw throughout this election." But he also said it served a purpose, to keep the country divided and sow distrust in the election system. If your guy doesnt win or you're a candidate that doesnt win, you have an excuse that you can tell yourself to justify it, he said. ___ Associated Press writer Gary Fields in Washington contributed to this report. ___ The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about APs democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. In an effort to reduce energy consumption and stop an economic crisis, a Russian government task force made a bold decision. As explained by Bloomberg last month, the commission on the power industry approved a blanket ban on cryptocurrency mining in more than a dozen regions. The ban, which went into effect on Dec. 1 and runs through 2031, affects six regions in the Caucasus plus some of the territories occupied by the Kremlin's forces in Ukraine. There are also plans for a six-year ban in three southeastern Siberian areas near Lake Baikal during peak winter periods that lead to spikes in power consumption. Per Bloomberg, Russia's Ministry of Energy determined that crypto miners consume a whopping 16 billion kilowatt-hours per year or nearly 1.5% of the nation's total electricity use. Some of the country's biggest crypto miners reside in the areas facing the restrictions, as they previously took advantage of cheaper electricity and easier access to the grid. Crypto mining has grown in popularity in Russia over the past few years due in large part to a major bump in the price of bitcoin and China's blanket ban on the practice in 2021. Do you think our power grid needs to be upgraded? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind Unfortunately, crypto mining's rise in popularity in Russia has also caused a 1.4% increase in the nation's power consumption over the last year, and the Russian Power System Operator determined that figure is expected to grow by an average of 2.4% annually between 2025 and 2027. These numbers are particularly unsettling after a series of heat waves in Russia's southern and Caucasus areas this past summer led to blackouts that affected 2.5 million people, exposing the fragility of the nation's power grid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Amid the grim outlook, Bloomberg reported that multiple Russian officials have voiced concerns over "uncontrolled growth" in electricity demand from crypto mining hubs, including President Vladimir Putin himself. Cryptocurrency mining involves generating transaction codes to validate and approve transactions, which are largely produced by computer banks running continuously in massive, highly air-conditioned or liquid-cooled facilities that significantly impact the environment. A United Nations study found that during a previous mining period, bitcoin alone used 173.42 terawatt-hours of electricity, a similar amount of electricity consumption in some major countries. Despite Russia's new ban, some are wondering if the consequences of cryptocurrency mining are unavoidable. "Russia is facing power shortages over the next five to 10 years," Ani Aslanyan, an analyst who runs a Telegram channel about cryptocurrencies, told Bloomberg. "The question is, does it makes sense to build new electricity capacity specifically for crypto miners?" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aslanyan added that the Russian government has further to go in order to make a real impact in cutting back on energy usage, noting: "They aren't banning crypto mining outright, but rather creating conditions under which it becomes less attractive." 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 front of a Rhode Island electronic bank transfer card. (Data Source National Museum of American History CC0) Time is of the essence for hundreds of thousands of Rhode Islanders to take steps to shield their digital identities after state officials Friday acknowledged a major cyberattack on the states system for enrolling on Medicaid and other social service programs or signing up for commercial-based health care plans. RIBridges data breach call center opens Deloitte, the RIBridges vendor, contracted the credit bureau Experian to open a multilingual call center on Sunday to provide callers with general information about the data breach of the RIBridges system as well as steps customers can take now to protect their data. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The call center can be reached via a toll-free hotline at 833-918-6603. It was scheduled to be open Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. After Sunday, the hotline will be open Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Call center staff will not be able to confirm whether a particular individuals data is or is not included in the breach at this time. Gov. Dan McKee called the deadline given by hackers who installed malicious malware on the RIBridges system and demanded a ransom a moving target at a press conference late Saturday afternoon. Based on our latest information we have, the data could be exposed in the near future as early as this coming week, McKee said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State officials declined to comment on the ransom amount. RIBridges, formerly known as the Unified Health Infrastructure Project (UHIP), serves approximately one third of the states population. That includes more than 46,000 individuals enrolled in health plans through the states health insurance marketplace, HealthSource RI, as well as over 8,000 more through the small group options offered to employers in the state. But the data breach could impact people who have applied for but are not receiving benefits. And its unclear how many years of data could have been exposed. Rhode Island has nearly 1.1 million residents, according to the 2020 Census. No representative from Deloitte, the vendor that manages the RIBridges system, was present at the news conference. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McKee relinquished the podium to a federal cybersecurity expert who strongly encouraged residents to enable multi-factor authentication on their bank or credit card accounts, sign up online for free credit monitoring services through major credit bureaus and use passwords that are 10 to 12 characters long. In talking with the governor, it is possible that were going to have some additional credit monitoring provided by Deloitte as part of the partnership and work that theyre doing together, said Michael Tetreault, cybersecurity advisor at CISA U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The RIBridges system is used to serve vulnerable residents who rely on assistance for health care, food, child care, adult day care and emergency housing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The system was taken offline Friday afternoon after Deloitte confirmed a major security threat had occurred and that there was a high probability that a cybercriminal has obtained files with personally identifiable information from RIBridges. Networks are typically taken offline to prevent further intrusion on systems. Effective Monday, the Department of Human Services will revert back to paper application processing, said Director Kimberly Merolla-Brito. We formerly used to do this and are confident that well be able to help individuals in need of human service benefits and services, Merolla-Brito said. Merolla-Brito said Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cardholders can place a freeze on their cards to prevent the card or benefits associated with the account from being used via the ebtEDGE online portal. Cardholders who lost or misplaced their cards or fear they may have been compromised can also call the EBT customer service line at 1 (888) 979-9939. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State officials learned of the possibility that the system was the target of a potential cyberattack on Dec. 5 from its vendor Deloitte. At that time, the FBI and the Rhode Island State Police were notified. On Tuesday, Dec. 10, Deloitte confirmed there had been a breach of RIBridges based on a screenshot of file folders sent by the hacker to Deloitte. On Friday, Dec. 13, Deloitte confirmed there was malicious code present in the system, prompting the shutdown of the system. The state will provide updates at https://admin.ri.gov/ribridges-alert. What programs and benefits are impacted State officials said anyone who has received or applied for health coverage and/or health and human services programs or benefits could be impacted by this leak. These programs and benefits include: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Medicaid Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) Health coverage purchased through HealthSource RI Rhode Island Works (RIW) Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) General Public Assistance (GPA) Program At HOME Cost Share Update: This story has been clarified to reflect that the data of applicants and not just current beneficiaries could have been exposed. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece will scrap bank fees and charges for some retail transactions as part of measures to help households cope with a cost-of-living crisis, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Sunday. His centre-right government also plans from 2026 to double the property tax for about 25,000 real estate properties that banks have on their books and are not in use, as it tries to boost the supply of housing and reduce rents. Addressing Greek parliament, before it approved the 2025 state budget which puts growth at 2.3% next year, Mitsotakis said that Greece will also legislate a 0.5 euro ceiling on money transfers up to 5,000 euros. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Greece, he said, plans to scrap charges on transactions with the state and utility companies. He said the time was ripe for interventions and the measures were realistic and in line with fiscal stability. Lenders' revenues from fees and charges on retail transactions total about 200 million euros annually. The reduction of charges could cost banks dozens of million euros annually, according to analysts. Greece's four major banks have cut their non-performing loan ratio to below 6%, from 45% in 2017. They registered profits of 3.8 billion euros ($4.00 billion) in 2023 and plan to distribute dividends from 2024 profits for the first time in 16 years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mitsotakis, whose party has recently seen a drop in opinion poll ratings, said that an additional 100 million euros from the banking system would fund the renovation and construction of schools. (Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas and Renee Maltezou; Editing by Ros Russell) The Green Party's chancellor candidate Robert Habeck has expressed support for a billionaire tax, saying it could raise several billion in revenues that could help fund public education. "If you were to tax a small portion of their wealth, you would have around 5 [billion or $5.25 billion] to 6 billion," Habeck, who is also Germany's economy minister, told the Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag. He advocated using the revenue to refurbish schools and invest in school facilities and staff. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are 249 billionaires in Germany, according to research from Manager Magazin. But under German law, taxes cannot be earmarked for specific purposes and in any case, education policy is the responsibility of the federal states, with school construction the job of municipalities - not the federal government. Habeck also said the federal government should subsidize driver training courses for apprentices "with, let's say, 1,000, if the training company adds another 500." Such support was recently demanded by the trade sector and the demand has already been made by various parties. The Green Party politician repeated his plan for the state to pre-finance the expansion of the power grid rather having it be funded by consumers through their electricity bills. He also proposed increasing the amount workers can deduct from their taxes to compensate them for job-related costs like commuting or further training. He suggested raising it to 1,500 from the current 1,230. German voters are expected to elect a new parliament or Bundestag on February 23. Habeck does not see himself as likely to become chancellor, saying his ideas were "indeed formulated somewhat from the underdog position." Greenpeace Ukraine has warned that Russia's militarisation of the Black and Azov Seas threatens to unleash a new environmental catastrophe. Source: Greenpeace Ukraine Details: The organisation reported that 4,300 tonnes of fuel oil and possibly other petroleum products are spilling into the waters of the Kerch Strait, which connects the Black and Azov Seas, as a result of an accident involving two Russian tankers caught in a storm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both tankers were carrying fuel for the Russian navy, and their location tracking systems had been switched off for 12 days. Greenpeace noted that tracking data from 1 October shows the delivery route starting in the Russian city of Volgograd and ending in the Kerch Strait. Paul Johnston, head of Greenpeace Research Laboratories at the University of Exeter in the UK, emphasised that the potential consequences of any oil spill in the area could be severe. Quote from Johnston: "Any oil or petrochemical spill in these waters has the potential to be serious. It is likely to be driven by prevailing wind and currents (moving now to the North-East) and in the current weather conditions is likely to be extremely difficult to contain. If it is driven ashore, then it will cause fouling of the shoreline which will be extremely difficult to clean up. Any environmental impact will depend on the type of oil spilled. Heavy residual fuel oils will tend to cause more visible damage than refined fractions and marine gas oil which will tend to disperse and break up quite rapidly. Given the potential for significant environmental impacts the focus should, after rescuing crew, be to try and minimize any further spillage if possible. If the ships sink, then there is the potential for releases of oil and petrochemicals over a longer time span." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More details: Greenpeace recalled that this region has already suffered from severe weather events, such as a 2007 spill near Tuzla Island when 1,200 tonnes of fuel oil leaked from a Russian tanker, causing serious damage that persisted for over a year. Quote from Greenpeace: "While Russian officials are unlikely to take action to mitigate the environmental impact, we will continue monitoring the situation." The Telegram channel Baza has reported that 13 sailors were rescued from the Volgoneft 212 tanker. The captain of the Volgoneft 212 survived and is in intensive care along with another crew member. Baza reports that rescuers managed to save the entire crew of the vessel (13 people), with 11 of them hospitalised in the city of Anapa with frostbite. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, the rescue operation for the crew of the Volgoneft 239 tanker was halted due to poor weather conditions and nighttime darkness. The vessel itself is firmly grounded on a sandbank and the crew is not in any danger. All 14 crew members are alive and well. The tanker has a functioning diesel generator, along with water and lighting on board. Background: On the morning of 15 December, it was reported that two tankers, the Volgoneft 212 and the Volgoneft 239, were sinking in the Kerch Strait after being broken in half, causing fuel oil to spill into the water. Support UP or become our patron! Georgia wildlife agents have cited multiple people for hunting violations. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Twiggs County Game Warden Wes Freeman was patrolling the area on Saturday when he encountered a group of duck hunters on a private pond. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources said, upon inspection, Freeman found that the group had taken 28 ducks over the legal bag limit Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials said citations were issued and the ducks were donated to a local veterans support group. TRENDING STORIES: According to Georgia DNR, permission must always be granted before hunting on someones property. Georgias total bag limit is six birds per day. The DNR said duck species daily bag limits include: One Black or Mottled Duck Two Canvasback One Fulvous Whistling Duck Two Mallards (only one may be a hen) One Pintail Two Redheads One Scaup Three Wood Ducks For more information on hunting regulations, click here. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] AUSTIN (KXAN) Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing a New York doctor who he claims unlawfully provided abortion-inducing drugs to a Texas resident. Texas AG sues Austin over funds for out-of-state abortion care In a lawsuit filed Dec. 12, Paxton said the pills were sent to a Collin County woman, outside the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The drugs caused the woman to be hospitalized for severe bleeding. It is unclear from the lawsuit if the pregnancy was terminated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ken Paxton is prioritizing his anti-abortion agenda over the health and well-being of women by attempting to shut down telemedicine abortion nationwide. By threatening access to safe and effective reproductive health care, he is putting women directly in harms way, said the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine in a statement to KXAN. Texas law prohibits a physician or medical provider to provide abortion-inducing drugs by mail. It also prohibits out-of-state doctors from prescribing medications or practicing telemedicine on Texans without a state license. Texas businesses say abortion ban costs state nearly $15 billion a year Theres reasons we have laws in place to protect women and babies in our state and this doctor violated those laws, said Texas Alliance for Life spokeswoman Amy ODonnell. This shows we will enforce our laws and I hope that its a deterrent for people who dont care about the harm these drugs can cause women when they illegally move them into our state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Paxton said he wants the doctor to pay $100,000 for every violation of the states near-total abortion ban. New York has a shield law that protects providers from out-of-state investigations. Texas, however, has said it will pursue those cases regardless of another states laws. However, because of that shield law, New York doesnt require the doctor to follow Texas orders. Its unclear how the situation could potentially play out in court. New York Attorney General Letitia James said Friday that she intends to defend reproductive freedom. As other states move to attack those who provide or obtain abortion care, New York is proud to be a safe haven for abortion access, she said. We will always protect our providers from unjust attempts to punish them for doing their job and we will never cower in the face of intimidation or threats. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CAIRO (AP) Clashes broke out Sunday between armed groups in a western Libyan city, trapping residents in their homes and causing fires in the countrys second largest oil refinery, officials said. The fighting in the coastal city of Zawiya, about 47 kilometers (about 30 miles) west of capital Tripoli, pitted gunmen loyal to the Shurafaa tribe against warlord Mohamed Kushlaf, according to local media. Kushalf was sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council in 2018 for his alleged involvement in human trafficking. It wasnt immediately clear what triggered the clashes but they are not uncommon in western Libya, which is controlled by an array of lawless militias and armed groups allied with Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibahs government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Oil-rich Libya has been divided for years between rival administrations in the east and west. It plunged into chaos following the 2011 uprising-turned-civil war, which toppled and later killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Amid the chaos, militias grew in wealth and power, particularly in Tripoli and the western part of the country. The fighting Sunday closed a major coastal road linking Zawiya to other cities in western Libya and classes were suspended. Many families are trapped in their homes. Bullets are being fired indiscriminately, hitting houses and buildings, resident Ahmed Abu Hussein said by phone. He said the the fighting occurred in multiple areas across the city, including densely populated quarters, causing panic and terror among civilians. The clashes also caused severe damage to storage tanks in the Zawiya oil refinery, the Libyan National Oil Corp. said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bullets hit oil tanks, leading to dangerous fires, it said, adding that firefighters managed to control the fires and gas leakage as clashes raged around the refinery. The company, which runs Libyas oil industry, declared emergency and force majeure, a legal maneuver that releases it of its contractual obligations because of extraordinary circumstances. In August, clashes between two heavily armed militias in Tripoli killed at least nine people and wounded 16 others. Libya is currently governed by Dbeibahs government in Tripoli and by the administration of Prime Minister Ossama Hammad in the east, which is allied with forces of powerful military commander Khalifa Hifter. Nearly a year after her release from prison, 33-year-old Gypsy Rose Blanchard, released her memoir, My Time to Stand. The book delves into the alleged abuse she claims to have endured growing up under the control of her late mother, Clauddine Dee Dee Blanchard. The Life After Lockup star previously said that writing the memoir gave her an opportunity to examine her life, actions, and relationships in great breadth and depth, as she reflected on her past and put her memories to paper. Gypsy Rose Blanchard also acknowledged taking various measures of self-protection leading up to her mothers death in 2015. Gypsy Rose Blanchard Gets Candid In Her New Memoir MEGA Gypsy reportedly tried to run away multiple times during her childhood and teenage years. However, Dee Dee maintained tight control over her, using lies, manipulation, and medical abuse to keep Gypsy dependent on her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I was 23 and had tried to run away twice, Gypsy revealed in her memoir. Id shot her with a BB gun. I was getting older and much harder to control. She explained that her motherwhom she has accused of subjecting her to Munchausen syndrome by proxycontinued to tighten her control over her life. Shed chained me to the bed, Gypsy continued to explain in her book. The older I got, the more physical and harsher her punishments became. She stopped letting me use my custom-made Jazzy HD power wheelchair because she couldnt control it. I sensed she was becoming more erratic, more desperate. Gypsy Rose Claims Her Mom Muzzled Her Mouth Shut Instagram | Gypsy Rose Blanchard She went on to detail how her mother forced unnecessary medical treatments on her, including treating her for illnesses she didnt have and even seeking a consultation for an exploratory surgery of her larynx. She muzzled my mouth shut at nighttime, with a CPAP machine for my fake sleep apnea, Gypsy detailed. It was so unpleasant to sleep that way; it felt like someone was taking a bicycle tire pump and forcing a ceaseless stream of air up my nose. She numbed my mouth with Orajel, so Id drool and slur; she was responsible for my teeth falling out due to side effects of superfluous medications. Gypsy Rose Blanchard Planned The Murder Of Her Mother MEGA In 2015, Gypsy, along with her then-boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn, planned and carried out the murder of her mother. "I went to the bathroom, sat on the floor and covered my ears. Except I heard. I heard everything," she wrote in her book. "Nick entered the room soundlessly because there was no bedroom door, so when she finally woke up it must have been because he was standing over her, not because of any noise. She was startled." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I just heard the screaming," she added. "And then I lay in the fetal position with my hands pressed hard over my ears. But I could still hear things." Arrest records indicate that Dee Dee was stabbed 17 times in the back while she slept. The records also reveal that following the attack in Gypsy's room, Gypsy and Godejohn stole more than $4,400 from the house. The couple then checked into a motel outside Springfield, Missouri, where the murder occurred, to determine their next steps. Gypsy Rose Blanchard Shares Disturbing Post On Facebook Instagram | Gypsy Rose Blanchard Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The police ultimately caught Gypsy after a shocking post appeared on Dee Dee's Facebook page that read, "That B-tch is dead!" Initially, many of Dee Dee's friends and followers assumed her account had been hacked. "What is going on?" one comment read as another wrote, "WHAT?!!! Did your FB get hacked? I have never heard you talk like that." After being notified, officers conducted a welfare check and found Dee Dee's body inside the home. Evidence suggested Dee Dee had been dead for several days. Investigators quickly traced the Facebook post to an IP address in Big Bend, Wisconsin. They also uncovered evidence that Gypsy and Godejohn had been communicating online for years and had recently planned the murder through text messages. Police tracked Gypsy and Godejohn to Godejohn's home in Wisconsin, where both were taken into custody. Investigators were initially stunned to discover that Gypsy was in good health, as Dee Dee had falsely presented her as severely ill and physically disabled. Godejohn was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Gypsy Rose Blanchard Goes To Trial Instagram | Gypsy Rose Blanchard During her trial, she testified that she saw murder as her only way to escape, as her prior attempts to run away or seek help had been unsuccessful. She detailed how she and Godejohn coordinated the plan through text messages, which investigators later recovered as evidence. She ultimately pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in connection with the crime, while her then-boyfriend, Godejohn, was charged with first-degree murder and is currently serving a life sentence. DMCI Homes marked its 25th anniversary by returning to its roots with a landscaping project at the University of the Philippines (UP) Chapel. The landscaping work, which includes the planting of trees and beautifying the chapel grounds, was part of the companys broader anniversary celebration, themed Interdependence. - Advertisement - We felt this was an appropriate way to celebrate our milestone while giving back to the community that has supported us through the years, said DMCI Homes president, Alfredo D. Austria. The UP Chapel is not just an iconic location for the university, but a place of reflection and renewal for all. The landscaping project is a joint effort between DMCI Homes and its sister company, Semirara Mining and Power Corp. This initiative aims to enrich the UP Chapels architectural beauty while creating a more serene and inviting space for visitors and the university community. Work began in May 2024, with full completion expected by the second quarter of 2025. The landscaping project aligns with DMCI Homes ongoing commitment to environmental responsibility and creating spaces that promote wellness and community interaction. As part of the year-long anniversary celebrations, the company has also been involved in various community-based events, including the DMCI Homes Carnival, Wellness Day, and Kaakbay Fun Run. In addition to this, DMCI Homes has continued to expand its footprint in the real estate market. In 2024, the company launched four major projects, including The Valeron Tower in Pasig City, a joint venture with Marubeni Corporation; Moncello Crest in Benguet; One Delta Terraces in Quezon City; and Kalea Heights in Cebu. The company also delivered 11 new buildings across Metro Manila, continuing to uphold its reputation as a leading developer in the Philippines. The landscaping project at UP Chapel serves as a symbol of the companys enduring commitment to sustainability, community engagement, and growth. As Austria put it, This landscaping initiative is a small but meaningful way to honor our 25-year journey and the people who have been with us every step of the way. Designed by National Artist for Architecture Leandro Locsin, the UP Chapel holds the distinction of being the Philippines first circular chapel. At least 40 people have been killed in an Israeli attack in the northern Gaza Strip, the Hamas-run civil defence organization in the territory said on Sunday. A spokesman said Israeli troops targeted a former school in the town of Beit Hanoun that was serving as accommodation for displaced residents. Many of the victims reportedly burned to death, although the information could not be independently verified. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that Israeli troops surrounded the building and opened fire, with at least 15 dead. The Israeli military said on Telegram that it had targeted a gathering of fighters from the Palestinian militant group Hamas, killing dozens of what it called terrorists. The war was triggered by the massacre of 1,200 people and the abduction of around 250 hostages on October 7, 2023, in Israel by Palestinian terrorists from the coastal strip. Since then, Israeli attacks have killed almost 45,000 people in Gaza, according to Palestinian sources. The figures do not distinguish between fighters and civilians. Drugs, cash and a digital scale were among the items found by law enforcement when they executed a search warrant at a Palo Alto business Thursday. State police at Reading and the Schuylkill County District Attorneys office found the drugs, cash and other items at Amos Auto Repair, 45, East Bacon St, according to charging documents. Police identified Dale Santos,44, of Hamburg as the subject of the investigation. Santos was charged with felony manufacture, delivery or intent to deliver and misdemeanor charges of possessing a controlled substance when not authorized to do so and use or possession of drug paraphernalia, according to police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Upon arrival at the car repair shop, Santos told officers there were drugs in his car and inside the garage, according to documents. Cocaine, psilocybin mushrooms, MDNA, marijuana and hydrocodone were found, along with $2,480 in cash, police said. Drug paraphernalia including a spoon, plastic baggies and a digital scale were also found, according to police. Santos told law enforcement he sells cocaine, according to the charging document. Tests were done to confirm the cocaine, marijuana and MDNA were authentic, according to police. Magisterial District Judge David Plachko arraigned Santos on Thursday on $75,000 straight cash bail. Unable to post bail, he was remanded to the Schuylkill County Prison but has since been released after bail was posted Friday on his behalf. A preliminary hearing is set for 10 a.m. Tuesday in Plachkos office. Top aides and people close to Kamala Harris have divided over whether she should head home to run for California governor in 2026 and it all comes down to whether they believe she could win the Democratic nomination for president in an expected competitive primary in 2028. Some believe a repeat run, after quickly improving her reputation and raising more than $1 billion over her surprise 100-day race, should be hers for the taking. Others worry that in a longer campaign, against some of the other major Democratic contenders who already sat out 2024 in deference first to Joe Biden and then to her, Harris might fizzle out and follow her loss to Donald Trump with the humiliation of being rejected by her own party. The governors race, meanwhile, looks like a lay-up: Harris was elected statewide three times and served 10 years combined as state attorney general and US senator, and when asked by CNN, several major candidates made clear either directly or through aides that they would likely step aside if she got in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In CNNs conversation with over a dozen current and former Harris advisers and other top California Democratic players, the only consensus around the vice president is that she likely cant do both, since that would essentially require launching a presidential campaign soon after being sworn in as governor. Getting into the governors race, top Harris advisers believe, would require making her intentions clear at the latest by the summer of 2025. That means Harris will need to decide very soon after Trumps inauguration if she will quickly give up on her dream of being president which she feels got short shrift from the circumstances of this year and instead go for a job that, while one of the most powerful in American politics, would clearly be a fallback. Harris would have to think of running for governor as more of a capstone than a stepping stone, said one person who has advised her in the past. If youre thinking of running for president in 2028, the worst thing you can do is run for governor in 2026. Another person close to Harris told CNN that the gamble of skipping the governors race is worth the potential payoff. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Running for governor would be a step down, and it would interfere with her ability to run for president again, the person said. I dont know if shes going to run for president again, but a shot at running for president again is worth giving up running for governor. Not going quietly into the night Several people who have spoken with the vice president directly told CNN that she remains undecided herself, unsure how to channel feelings she has, for now, worked into stock lines like you havent seen the last of me, and Im not going quietly into the night repeated to supporters who ask her whats next. More than one person has noticed she has not shut down the conversation when the topic of running for governor has come up. In the meantime, Harris has kept a noticeably low profile, appearing at just a handful of public events since her concession speech, while her thank-you phone calls with donors and other supporters have often gone long, with tears on both ends, according to people familiar with the calls. She did host many staff from her office and from her campaign for a holiday party at the Naval Observatory this past Wednesday, and a smaller group of close friends and supporters for a black tie dinner there on Friday night. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Tuesday, Harris will deliver a speech in the Washington, DC, suburbs to high school and college students, as well as recent graduates and apprentices. A White House official in the announcement said it will be a continuation of her broader, future-focused leadership, but those remarks will be a more generalized message about their engagement than any tip to her own plans, according to several people whove seen drafts. Harris and those who are most committed to her do not want Trump to have written her end for her and for her last major official act ever to be presiding over the certification of his Electoral College win on the four-year anniversary of his supporters rioting at the US Capitol trying to stop Bidens and her own certification. Some people note that theres also option C: being done with politics, inking a book deal and running some kind of organization that lets her stay involved without ever hitting the trail again. But when questions swirled in the weeks after the election about Harris presidential campaign possibly being left with debt, one break-glass option those closest to her definitively ruled out was selling the list of emails and contacts compiled by the campaign currently by far the most valuable list in Democratic politics. She would need that if and when she decides what campaign is next, they said. And its part of why those same people are frustrated that the campaign continues to send out fundraising emails, worrying that this is leading donors and supporters whom she will eventually need to unsubscribe or sour on her. Historical parallels and defying history The only person to win the White House on a second try as the party nominee was Richard Nixon, another California senator turned vice president who first tried retrenching with a gubernatorial run (and lost) a historical parallel that has been on the minds of people at the top levels of California politics. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then again, Trump is the only other president to return to office after a loss since Grover Cleveland over 100 years ago. For another presidential run, Harris would have to be hoping for the kind of Trump buyers remorse that right now only exists in Democratic fantasies and, should it come, that it doesnt curdle into resentment toward her for losing the campaign that made his comeback possible. And she would have to convince a wide array of party leaders who temporarily shelved their skepticism about her after Biden dropped out, but are now privately cold to the idea of another run. Being governor of California, of course, is a job with a lot of its own power and prominence, running the worlds fifth largest economy and Americas longstanding laboratory for progressive capitalist politics. It was enough to lure Arnold Schwarzenegger out of the movies and to turn Ronald Reagan and Jerry Brown into presidential candidates. Several advisers noted that being governor could give Harris time to build up more of a record of her own in the hopes of running not in 2028, but in 2032 or 2036 with who knows what could happen in the country or politics in between. They also acknowledge that it would be a decadelong step back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres also the Gavin Newsom factor. The two have long circled each other in California politics, and in 2016, she preempted Newsom, then the states lieutenant governor, in jumping into an open Senate race, making the decision for which of the rising stars would go for which first big statewide opening that theyd both been waiting for. Newsom, in turn, ran for governor in 2018, and has since defeated a recall effort and won reelection. To run for governor now would be to go for a job Newsom is done with and likely while watching him make an expected run for president of his own. No expected deference in 2028 That afternoon and evening in July after Biden dropped out, while Harris was making calls from the Naval Observatory to line up support, several other potential candidates were checking in with each other: Were they really all going to fall in line? Was there any room for launching a campaign, if only for the sake of a fight for the nomination, if not for the longshot hope of edging her out? They waited out their endorsements for a few hours, some until the next morning, as they decided they couldnt credibly challenge Harris, according to people familiar with some of the conversations. They would not have the same deference if Harris runs again in 2028, people working with several of the prospective candidates note. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Several Harris advisers worry that eager competition might not be her only problem. Even when putting much of the blame for her losing on Biden and economic factors out of her control, they look at her poorer-than-expected showing among younger and Black voters and see cause for major concern. Others say that her empowering the small group of senior aides who have been criticized internally and externally for how they guided her through the fall demonstrates poor decision making that would create even more problems over a presidential campaign that lasts a couple of years rather than a couple of months. But several advisers argued that all the gripes and insider infighting only matter so much when compared to the support and connections Harris quickly built up around the country. Usually Democrats banish their defeated candidates, but she actually would have a strong shot at a second act because of how well she ran compared to how her skeptics rated her prior to July, said a former senior adviser. She finished the race much more popular than she started it. A possible field clearing effect in California Harris would definitely get more deference in a gubernatorial campaign, though some involved with the race are already privately pointing to how she only barely won her first attorney general race in 2010 and more recent bad in-state polls for her as signs that she might be weaker than assumed. Some connected to other gubernatorial candidates are already seeding the words consolation prize in trying to talk down her possible entry, arguing thats how California voters would see it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People close to Harris who want her to run for governor say that if she gets there, that is exactly why she would need to articulate a clear rationale for getting into the race that is both connected to the proposals of her presidential campaign and not just being anti-Trump. Outgoing Rep. Katie Porter, who lost a run for Senate this year and has been sending around a poll showing her at the front of the gubernatorial field, predicted at a panel at University of California, Irvine at the beginning of December that Harris entry would have a near field-clearing effect, and California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, who has already launched her campaign for governor, intimated as much in an interview with CNN. Im a longtime friend and supporter of the vice president. If she decided to run for governor, Im sure we would have a conversation first, Kounalakis said. California political insiders have already started speculating about a ripple effect from a Harris entry, wondering which candidate might shift to which other statewide race to make way for her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A person close to Antonio Villaraigosa pointed to the former Los Angeles mayors strength in early polls and fundraising, and said that while he has tremendous respect for Harris and her record, his focus is on the race and not about potential future candidates. The campaign for former California assembly speaker Toni Atkins did not return a request for comment. Then theres Rick Caruso the billionaire developer who became a Democrat to make a losing run for Los Angeles mayor in 2022, and could take advantage of Californias top two system, rather than party primaries, to self-fund a yearlong run against Harris from the center. But there also is a readiness among some California Democrats for a homecoming. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kamala Harris has deep respect and affection in California and substantive statewide experience to fix the problems in California with high rents and housing costs, homelessness, and crime, said California Rep. Ro Khanna, a sometimes Harris skeptic who is looking at running for president himself in 2028. She would be formidable, if she chooses to run. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Police are investigating after a Sherwin Williams employee found a hateful symbol at the job site of the companys new headquarters in downtown Cleveland. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The employee is one of roughly 1,000 contractors working on the new Sherwin Williams headquarters, CBS affiliate Cleveland-19 reported. He was horrified when he discovered that someone had etched a large swastika on the door of the new skyscrapers 4th-floor elevator. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I was shocked that somebody would do that, said a Sherman Williams construction worker who wanted to remain anonymous. Im old enough to know that theres people like that out there, but for somebody to be that angry to want to do that to destroy property, to carve it into private or public property because its the way that you think, or feel is ridiculous. Cleveland police were called to the building on Tuesday. While no arrests have been made, the person responsible could be charged with ethnic intimidation and vandalism. They sent out a mass text to all the superintendents, everybody put their tools away and shut the whole job down for further investigation and called the police in, the man explained. The detectives came, took photos and the following day they had a safety stand to kind of inform everybody what was going on, reiterate their zero-tolerance policy of some this hate graffiti. The employee who found the hate symbol believes that it had to be done by another worker. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres constantly Sherwin-Williams, corporate people, and Gilbane, safety coordinators walking around so it was pretty brazen and shocking, he said. Repairing the elevator door will cost the company more than $5,000, Cleveland-19 reported. I think this is a good addition to the city, to the skyline and to Cleveland, and its a shame that something like that could cast a shadow of something good thats happening in the city, the employee told 19 News. The contractor for the project is Gilbane Construction. The employee told Cleveland-19 he was impressed with the way Gilbane and Sherwin Williams handled the situation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think it was good the way Gilbane and Sherwin-William, how serious they took it and how swift they acted and in notifying everyone that that type of display of hate is not tolerated, the man said. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] BOSTON Two people were arrested Saturday night in Boston for what police describe as a "hazardous drone operation." Robert Duffy, 42, of Charlestown, and 32-year-old Jeremy Folcik of Bridgewater were arrested on Long Island in Boston Harbor. Both men are charged with trespassing. Additional fines or charges could be added, Boston police said. Boston drone arrests According to Boston police, an officer spotted an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) flying close to Logan Airport. The officer was able to find the drone's location, altitude, flight history and track the operator to Long Island. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Because the drones were close to the Logan Airport airspace, Boston police worked with Homeland Security, Massachusetts State Police, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and Logan Airport Air Traffic Control as part of its investigation. Three people were found inside the Long Island Health Campus, which is no longer in operation. When police arrived, they say one of the suspects ran. Duffy and Folcik were taken into custody. Officers said they found a drone inside Duffy's backpack. The third suspect is believed to have fled the area on a small boat. Duffy and Folcik are scheduled to be arraigned in Dorchester District Court Monday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Drones in Massachusetts Boston police reminded the public that recreational drone operators must follow FAA guidelines. Drones cannot be flown over people or vehicles, and operators must follow airspace restrictions. "Even a small drone being impacted by a jet plane going 200 miles an hour will exert thousands of pounds of force," said airline pilot Patrick Smith. "That said, it's unlikely that a small hobby drone can crash an airplane, a big plane, but it is possible. And you certainly have the possibility of millions of dollars of damage." Drone sightings were reported for about 30 minutes Thursday night on Cape Cod. People reported seeing drones with flashing red, green and blue lights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Harwich Police Chief Kevin Considine spoke to WBZ-TV about how difficult it is for local departments to monitor drone sightings. "They are tough to manage, and that's why the first thing we did today was just submit our report to our local partners from the federal government and the state police just so they can start looking into it," Considine said. Dozens of other drone reports have come in from across Massachusetts, most recently from Marshfield, Natick and Tewksbury. "We're monitoring the situation closely and state police are working together with local and federal partners, and they're prepared to support federal authorities with jurisdiction over airspace," Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I don't want to say that it's just a matter of time before there's a collision between a commercial plane and a drone but the likelihood of that is increasing," said Smith. New Jersey drones Mysterious drone sightings have been reported in the skies of New Jersey in recent weeks. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy sent a letter to President Joe Biden, asking for more help from the federal government. Murphy told Biden the ongoing sightings are raising more questions than answers, adding that people "deserve more concrete information." 2024 holiday gift ideas from Techno Claus Jim Gaffigan on the gifts no one should give for the holidays Singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers Two people will face charges after allegedly flying a drone too close to Bostons Logan Airport Saturday, according to police. Are we safe?: Strange sightings in the sky over Massachusetts raise drone concerns Robert Duffy, 42, of Charlestown and Jeremy Folcik, 32, of Bridgewater, are facing trespassing charges after Boston police say they were caught flying drones on Boston Harbors Long Island. We were able to detect where they were coming from the address of that drone, said Boston 25 security analyst Dan Linskey. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials first detected a drone flying in proximity to Logans airspace around 4:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon. The Boston Police Department coordinated with Homeland Security, the Massachusetts State Police, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and Logan Airport Air Traffic Control and responded to Long Island where three people were found inside the decommissioned Long Island Health Campus. All three suspects ran away but Duffy and Folcik were caught, police say. A drone was found in Duffys backpack. Boston police say the third suspect likely got off the island in a small boat. Linskey, former Boston police chief, said they ran into similar situations during his tenure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He added, If there were drones that were of concern to federal government, state government, they would be intercepted and they would be dealt with. He spoke in light of multiple, unconfirmed reports of drones in the skies across the east coast. He continued, What I suspect is that theres an operation going on in the east coast right now that will take 2 to 3 weeks, and may be over soon. We may never hear about it because thats the nature of the operations. Massachusetts residents tell us they have their eyes on the sky. Very peculiar, mysterious, said one Massachusetts resident Sunday. Another added, I feel like we should have control of our airspace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Duffy and Folcik will be arraigned in Dorchester District Court on trespassing charges. Police say more charges may be filed. The Boston Police Department reminds recreational drone operators of the importance of adhering to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety guidelines, Boston police said. Operators are prohibited from flying drones over people or vehicles and must be aware of airspace restrictions. Even small drones pose significant risks, including the potential for catastrophic damage to airplanes and helicopters. Near-collisions can cause pilots to veer off course, putting lives and property at risk. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW The Free Press asked readers what they think should happen to Detroit's Renaissance Center after GM and Bedrock proposed a costly reconfiguration of the complex. Here's what they had to say. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters and we may publish it online and in print. Hear me out: Great Wolf Lodge Detroit I believe the RenCen could be turned into a resort with a huge waterpark and indoor go-karts and arcade-type resort like a Great Wolf Lodge. It could also have one of the casinos move into it or create another casino hotel right on the riverfront. Add apartments and condos, too, with a marketplace for the residents and the theme park. Outdoors could have Ferris wheels and carnival games with food trucks and souvenir and fudge shops. Almost a amusement part of the old days. Rent fishing poles and sailboards too. Steve Calandrino Fair Haven, Michigan West Branch residents Tom Forton and his daughter Emily, 9, slide down the waterslides at Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City in a 2003 file photo. Detroiters shouldn't pay for what we don't benefit from I think the state should tell General Motors and Bedrock they aren't getting the money. There's little sense in giving tax breaks or other financial subsidies to maintain a building that GM seems to be suggesting quite clearly has no clear economic value, and at that even still demolishing part of the complex with these incentives. If GM truly doesn't think there's any sense in keeping the building standing, let them demolish it. My suspicion is that they don't want to do this but also aren't keen on footing the bill to retrofit it in anyway to make it useful. But if they're being earnest, and the building truly doesn't make economic sense, it should go. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sure, some people might see it as a symbol of Detroit, but, honestly, I don't feel much affinity for it. Maybe it's because I rarely went downtown while I was young, but even then, nobody seemed keen on going out of their way to see it, or get pictures with it. Its single feature of note is that it's the tallest building in the state, but it's largely empty now and poorly utilized, fairly disconnected from the rest of downtown and adjacent to a sea of parking that we can credit GM for as they've stewarded the area for nearly 30 years and did next to nothing to make it an area of note. More: Its time to let go of the past, Detroit. Let the Boblo Boat sink. | Opinion If the towers are demolished, sure, it might be a bit sad to see things go, but it would be because it has outlived its usefulness. Cities are not museums, they are living places that change with the people in them. We have fewer people commuting into offices now, it would make plenty of sense for office towers to disappear, and perhaps something more utilizable to take its place in that area such as a new, updated hotel over the old Marriott, or perhaps apartments or condominiums. Or, we could get new office buildings that are not geared towards single large tenants and instead have a variety of offerings for small businesses that still do need to commute to work and meet in person due to whatever nature of their work requires it. Perhaps these towers being demolished will encourage policymakers and developers to create a more dynamic environment that relies on a variety of land uses rather than concentrating a single one over large swaths of our city center. John Kruse Detroit Sweet 16 at the RenCen Summit In 1976, the Renaissance Center opened, which redefined the Detroit city skyline. The Renaissance Center's placement on the Detroit Riverfront was in many ways the beginning of a new era for the city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a child of parents who grew up in Detroit, I had the opportunity to visit the city many times during my youth. I was always amazed at the beauty of the downtown skyscrapers. When the RenCen was being built, I couldn't imagine how much these round glass towers would change the look of Detroit. My first visit to the building in 1977 was to go to a friend's 16th birthday party at "The Summit." The experience is one I will never forget. From navigating the concrete maze of the inner building to riding the glass elevator all the way to the top, to enjoying the 360-degree view of the city, a bit of awe and respect for the building was developed on my first encounter. Over my lifetime, I have had many opportunities to visit the RenCen for personal and business events. During my visits, I am always amazed at the building's unique beauty. The inside of the building has gone through a variety of architectural changes, but one thing has never changed, the building's impact on the Detroit skyline. General Motors changes the logo of the Renaissance Center to honor the Detroit Lions with a lion's tail animation in Detroit on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. Maybe the building needs to be reborn into a new use; the city can always us more housing. But one thing is certain, the RenCen's outline is the image of a city that has risen from the ashes throughout its history. The RenCen found its home along the Detroit Riverfront in 1976, forever changing this beautiful city, I hope it remains to remind us of the amazing Renaissance of Detroit. Michele Cannaert Fenton RenCen could be new DDOT location? A unique opportunity for the City of Detroit is offered by the confluence of two apparently disparate events: the future the RenCen and the incoming Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the oft-stated goals of President-elect Donald Trump is to not only downsize federal government, but to decentralize it, making it more responsive to its citizens than to a centralized bureaucratic elite. The idea has been floated to move huge federal departments to areas of the country more directly affected by their policies. Perhaps, for example, Department of Energy to Texas, Agriculture to Kansas, Interior to Utah. And the Department of Transportation to Detroit. Mayor Mike Duggan could burnish his credentials for his impending gubernatorial run by offering the RenCen to the Trump administration and incoming Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy as the new home for the Department of Transportation. With Detroit-Windsor being the busiest international border crossing in North America, not to mention Detroit being the motor capital of the world, what better place to house the United States offices for transportation? And the empty offices and strategic location of the RenCen offer an ideal, and cost-effective option, for the new federal headquarters. The addition of thousands of good paying jobs and an influx of new city residents would be a boon to the city, the state, and contribute to solidifying Detroit as the hub of an international megalopolis from Chicago to Toronto. Robert Wilson Northville Don't demolish, renew Quick: In your mind's eye, picture downtown Houston. Nothing coming to mind? How about downtown Columbus? You can't? I wonder why? How about New York City? Easy the Empire State Building. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Like the Empire State Building in New York, or the Prudential Tower in San Francisco, the RenCen, striking and distinctive, is instantly recognizable the world over as 'Detroit.' No other building in the city comes close to commanding that level of global brand recognition. That's a priceless asset that shouldn't be thoughtlessly cast aside. (And no, the new undefined at the Hudson's site is no substitute too generic.) It would be a terrible mistake to tear down RenCen. The buildings have big issues and problems, but they can be addressed. The question shouldn't be whether to tear down. It should be how best to enhance and exploit Detroit's great calling card. Great cities keep their architectural treasures. Don't demolish, renew! John Abdenour New Haven, Connecticut No more tax breaks for billion dollar companies General Motors and Dan Gilbert should NOT be asking for any public funding to demolish or remodel the Renaissance Center. Detroit taxpayers have given far more than their share of public subsides via tax breaks to multimillionaires and billionaires over the past few decades. Please stop asking for a handout and help Detroiters get a hand up! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you choose to tear down the most iconic building on Detroit's skyline, then so be it. It's your building, not ours, but I think you are making a grave mistake. Find a way to repurpose the office space (apartments and condos) and tear down maybe two of the office towers. The business community claims to be short of hotel space and you look to demolish 1300 rooms from the stock? This hotel is a good hotel! Why do this? But again, it is YOUR property, do as you please, but please stop insulting taxpayers with these arrogant proposals that truly come across in an extorting type way. David Greenwood Farmington Hills RenCen is an icon worth saving Every great city has a visual icon representing itself to the rest of the world. For Detroit, for the past five decades, it's been the RenCen. As the city emerged from the rocky sixties, these strong circular towers, unquestionably, became associated with its own renaissance. While the phrase "Image is Everything" is a bit simplistic and clearly does not encompass everything including economics, it does have weight, and the Rencen, for better or worse, has served that purpose. Before a regrettable vacuum is created, the powers that be should consider the big picture. George Erdstein Huntington Woods Motor City Messiah Gilbert's vision is not up to snuff Here's my take: While Gilbert has proven himself as the "Motor City Messiah" of rehab, his vision for the Rencen is not up to snuff. The building itself and the encompassing towers are iconic. They're our twin towers. They make and define our beautiful skyline and riverfront. Now apart from aesthetics, looking at Gilbert's actual plan, it pans out as lackluster. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How much more mixed-use, unaffordable apartment/hotel/dining blah blah does our city need? We need substance. Please, no more parks or trying to connect with downtown as Gilbert's vision entails. I was taken aback by the lack of insight into any plans for the mothballed movie theater that sits dormant within the Renaissance Center. It's a prime opportunity to provide something of substance that's affordable and accessible for people of all backgrounds. The $250 million tax subsidy is a joke. How much longer are we, the working-class taxpayer, going to get the short end of the stick in mega-deals that fund extravagant construction for billionaires? Ryan Morgan Detroit Tear it down In my humble opinion, tear it down. It is not, nor has it ever been a great building. It has always looked cheap, it has no character, It's unimaginative, ugly silos of glass. Tear it down and give architects an opportunity to design something that is truly worthy of Detroit's skyline. And oh, by the way make GM pay for it. No subsidizing the demo. DD LaMo Bloomfield Hills RenCen Demolishing two of the iconic Renaissance Center towers is incredibly short-sighted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There's limited office demand today, but that doesn't mean it'll be like that in the future. I think the best thing would be for GM to totally divest of any interest in the Ren Cen. Then the space can be marketed and adapted for use by other companies, including foreign (even Chinese) auto manufacturers. Ever since the great recession 16 years ago, GM has been divesting from downtown Detroit. This is only the latest divesture by GM. Our City is experiencing an accelerating resurgence that is being recognized worldwide. The latest Travel + Leisure listing is an example of that. Demolishing the towers would likely receive international attention - as evidence of a dying Detroit, the opposite of what it is. Our Riverfront is booming with activity from Bridge to Bridge. However, there's a dead zone of surface parking (GM's) to the immediate east of the Ren Cen. Developing this area should be the priority, rather than demolishing distinctive and historic towers. Thomas E. Page Detroit Use it to combat housing crisis Tearing down any part of the Renaissance Center would be a tremendously wasteful move at a time when Michigan faces an acute housing crisis. Joel Batterman Detroit Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters and we may publish it online and in print. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Hear me out: Make the Renaissance Center a waterpark | Letters GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) The Grand Rapids community laid thousands of wreaths to honor veterans Saturday, joining communities across the country and beyond on National Wreaths Across America Day. Michigan Veteran Homes at Grand Rapids held the ceremony at the Veterans Memorial Cemetery. Its really humbling to be part of this community here in West Michigan and the way that they show up and show out to honor those men and women who have worn the uniform, said Ryan Engle, director of development and strategic engagement for MVH. The Grand Rapids community gathers to lay wreaths on the graves of those who served. (Dec. 14, 2024) Despite the chilly weather, hundreds of people took part, placing more than 3,200 wreaths. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a veteran, I think its heartwarming to see so many people out on a cold weekend day like it is, honoring our veterans by laying wreaths for the holiday season, U.S. Air Force veteran Robert Allen said. To sponsor a wreath for delivery next year, you can 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 WOODTV.com. Editor's note: This story was originally published in 2019. Bitter-cold temperatures can make your home do strange things in the winter months. Here's what you need to know to protect the place you call home. Why is my house popping? From broken furnaces to busted pipes, extreme winter weather can wreak havoc on your home. But perhaps the most noticeable concern isn't a winter woe at all. That loud popping noise you've noticed your house or deck making isn't a poltergeist or structural issue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Instead, it's the friction between your home's building materials as they contract and expand at different levels, says Mark Demerly, owner and president of Demerly Architects in Broad Ripple. Extreme cold air reduces the moisture content in the building materials, causing them to shrink, he says. In addition to that, temperature differences between the cold outside and a home's inside warmth heat causes materials to expand also contribute to the contracting. Demerly says those building materials, nailed together, move at different rates and have a tendency to create friction, which causes the popping sounds you hear. Everything including houses moves, but most of the time you don't notice, he says. Extreme cold makes the movement more noticeable. Cracked windows Even windows can break during cold weather, says Scott Brown, owner of Franklin Window and Door in Carmel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Extreme cold causes stress cracks in windows to spread. Brown says he's not sure homeowners can do much to keep the cracks from elongating, but he does have some suggestions. Among them: If possible, keep vents blowing on glass Avoid covering windows with heavy shades and blinds that restrict air movement Additionally, Brown says he frequently hears concerns about condensation building up on windows during cold-weather events. Condensation occurs when there's excess humidity inside a home, he says, adding that homeowners experiencing this problem should turn down or off humidifiers and remove heavy window coverings. Cold weather questions: Your neighbor left their dog tied up outside and it's freezing. Who do you call? How to protect your furnace in extreme cold To counter the frigid temperatures outside, you might feel inclined to set your home's thermostat to the most comfortable temperature for you. But Brian Schutt, owner of Homesense Heating and Cooling in Indianapolis, says most heating systems are not designed for subzero weather. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So how do you keep your furnace running during extreme cold weather? Schutt says the first thing you should do is make sure your air filter is clean and new, and that your registers are not blocked. A lack of airflow can quickly cause a furnace to fail in this weather, he says. One of the quickest ways to also cause your furnace to fail is to run it beyond its capacity, Schutt says, adding there's a misnomer that the air inside your home will be warmer if the thermostat is at a higher set point. Thats not the case. His primary concern is keeping the furnace alive. As such, he recommends: Lowering your thermostat. Wearing warm weather clothes indoors. Keeping blinds closed as windows have the least insulation. Adjusting your expectations for a comfortable temperature inside your home until it warms up outside. Limiting the opening and closing of doors. This can drop the interior temperature. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Easiest way to keep your pipes from freezingYou've likely heard this advice before: Turn on your faucets during cold weather events to keep pipes from freezing, bursting and unleashing a flood of water into your home that will damage your possessions. Jack Hope, owner of Indianapolis-based Hope Plumbing, says following this advice is the easiest way to prevent your house from freezing. He recommends running a steady stream of both hot and cold water through your faucets. You can always bottle the water and save it to drink later, he adds. Typically, homeowners are advised to ensure that faucets on outside walls don't freeze and burst. But with temperatures in Indiana as low as they are, Hope recommends streaming water from every faucet as a precaution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also suggests: Closing vents to crawl spaces so cold air cannot flow through. Disconnecting water hoses from outside faucets. Opening cabinet doors so that pipes on outside walls are exposed to warm air. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Here's why your house is popping in the cold and how windows can crack After six years of discussions between students and the board of trustees, a private high school in California has decided to divest its endowment from dirty energy sources and invest in clean energy sources. According to the Guardian, the Nueva School, located just outside San Francisco, has pledged to invest a portion of its $55 million endowment in renewable power. While the Nueva School did not directly invest in coal, oil, or gas, a meaningful total, albeit less than 4%, of its endowment was indirectly invested in dirty energy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Former Nueva School student Ines Pajot, 18, said, "We had a lot of conversation with the board and our knowledge very much evolved." The conversations started with the students "calling for divestment," which turned into "divestment and reinvestment." It ended up being a call for investment in renewable energy. Pajot said, "We realized that, to our core, we wanted to use money to facilitate the energy transition." 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 trial of Ali Mohammad Ali Abdelrahman, widely known as Ali Kushayb, has entered its concluding phase at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. Kushayb stands accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the 2003-2004 civil war in Sudans Darfur region, a conflict that claimed an estimated 300,000 lives and displaced 2.5 million people, according to UN reports. On December 11, 2024, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan delivered his closing arguments, urging the judges to convict Kushayb. The prosecutor emphasized the defendants central role in the atrocities, stating: In this case, he was a prominent member of the Janjaweed, a leader, and was actively involved in the commission of the offenses, voluntarily and with enthusiasm. This trial marks a significant milestone as the first ICC proceeding against a Sudanese official for crimes committed in Darfur. Kushayb, a former leader of the Janjaweed militia, voluntarily surrendered to the ICC in 2020. Wearing a light gray suit with a red and black tie, Kushayb listened intently to the prosecutors submissions. He is expected to address the court on Friday, December 13, as the hearings conclude. Kushaybs trial is part of broader efforts to address crimes committed under Sudans former regime, led by Omar al-Bashir from 1989 to 2019. Al-Bashir and two other senior officials have also been indicted by the ICC for their roles in the Darfur conflict. However, they remain fugitives, with their cases yet to proceed. The ICCs verdict in Kushaybs case is highly anticipated as a critical step toward justice for the victims of Darfur and accountability for war crimes in Sudan. Dec. 14Leaders of the state's public colleges and universities joined Higher Education Cabinet Secretary Stephanie Rodriguez last week in proposing a $1.4 billion budget for the agency in fiscal year 2026, with a focus on expanding college access and readiness, and to bolster career pathways in high demand. The proposal, presented to the Legislative Finance Committee on Wednesday, includes a $186.5 million increase almost 6% from the current fiscal year. Much of the increase includes appropriations for basic need and academic supports for students, employee pay hikes and efforts to build the workforce in high-demand sectors like health care, education, construction and social work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials touted enrollment growth at New Mexico schools in a time when higher education institutions nationwide are seeing shrinking numbers. "Since 2021, our institutions have grown by 9.7%," said Joseph Shepard, president of Western New Mexico University and chair of the Council of University Presidents. "To put that into perspective: The rest of the nation is seeing declines in enrollment while New Mexico is seeing increases." Shepard cited the success of the New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship and Lottery Scholarship in expanding access to college. College enrollment had been on a trend to bounce back from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic nationwide with 2023's freshman enrollment numbers up 2.1% from the previous year but that changed this fall when freshman enrollment was reported as down 5% nationally, according to studies from National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Mexico's higher education budget proposal calls for maintaining the Opportunity Scholarship's funding levels at the current $146 million and credits the scholarship for increasing retention and graduation rates for recipients by 8%. A Legislative Finance Committee evaluation in 2023 found that while the scholarship programs had increased students' access to college, readiness remained low and schools were underperforming, given their increased funding a 59% rise since 2014, despite a 17% drop in enrollment in the same time. New Mexico's college retention and graduation rates continue to lag behind national averages by about 10%, according to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. The Legislative Finance Committee report cites New Mexico's rank as 49th in the nation for the rate of students who graduate within six years despite the state's rank as second in the nation for per-student spending on higher education in fiscal year 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This raised questions from Sen. George Munoz, D-Gallup, who chairs the committee. "When we fund you at the second highest level of the U.S. per student, and we're 49th," Munoz said, "that's on you guys. That's on you presidents in not succeeding in what needs to happen. And I don't know how we're going to rebalance that." Rodriguez countered the senator's numbers. "I'm really proud to say because of you all and your support through the Opportunity Scholarship, the Trust Fund and then the leaders in this room, we've actually moved from 47th and higher in higher education to 21st in the nation in higher education," she said, citing a U.S. News and World Report ranking. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "So in public ed," she added, "we see these negative numbers, but as far as higher education, we are really moving mountains to move our students forward." Her agency's budget request includes several one-time appropriations targeting pathways toward professions in which workers are in demand. Along them: * $25 million for a health professional loan repayment program. * $25 million for a student endowment at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine to provide scholarships and stipends for in-state students. * $10 million for a teacher loan repayment program. Rodriguez said a nursing expansion funding initiative in 2022, which invested $10 million in the state's nursing programs, increased enrollment by 437 students. "In the health profession workforce alone," she said, "we still need 2,300 nurses. In educator prep, we need 800 teachers. And as far as social work, we're looking at the thousands." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other one-time appropriations would include campus investments like deferred maintenance and cybersecurity. A $2.25 million increase in recurring funding is proposed for Tribal Education Technical Assistance Centers, established through legislation in 2023, to support tribal education and career pathways, and a $3 million annual increase is proposed for the state's continuing education programs, with an additional $2 million for adult literacy programs. The budget also requests $8 million for a minimum 4% salary increase across the board due to an increase in the cost of living and insurance premiums. "We've seen a sharp increase in basic needs over the last couple of years," said Becky Rowley, president of Santa Fe Community College and chair of the New Mexico Independent Community Colleges. She said rising costs for basic needs have have forced institutions to start initiatives like food pantries for their faculty. Shepard said the salary increase also would help mitigate the poaching of faculty from research institutions by private and out-of-state schools. The Quad Cities Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance) Committee announced two contests for students in grades 6 to 12. The first, the Ida Kramer Children and the Holocaust Essay Contest, is a written essay contest. The essay contest bears the name of Ida Kramer, former Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities and a longtime Holocaust educator. The second, the Meyer and Frances Shnurman Holocaust Visual Arts Contest, is a visual art contest. The visual arts contest bears the name of Meyer and Frances Shnurman who were both survivors of Nazi extermination camps. This contest is co-sponsored by Quad City Arts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The prizes for both contests are $500 for first prize with a $100 gift card for the teacher who provided guidance, $200 for second prize with a $50 gift card for the teacher who provided guidance, and $100 for third prize with a $50 gift card for the teacher who provided guidance. Essay entries (essay and entry form) should be submitted electronically as an email attachment to aross@jfqc.org with Yom Hashoah Essay in the subject line. Visual Art entries (Artwork, Artist Statement, and Entry Form) should be delivered to the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities at the Beit Shalom Jewish Community building (2215 East Kimberly Road, Davenport, Iowa 52807) by March 1, 2025. Our phone number is (309) 793-1300. The Artists Statement and Entry Form must be typed so it is easily readable. The Visual Art entries may be displayed in schools, libraries, etc. during March, April and/or May 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Details and applications for both contests are available online at www.hecqc.org. For more information, contact the office of the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cites at (309) 793-1300 or aross@jfqc.org. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com. HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) The 9th Annual Holyoke Community Dinner returned Saturday evening to Kelly Elementary School. United Way of Pioneer Valley hosts Stuff the Truck event in Holyoke This free community event helps residents get to know their neighbors over a holiday meal in Whoville. The dinner is hosted by One Holyoke CDC, a local non-profit that provides quality, affordable housing to residents. With the help of organizations, sponsors, and a committee within the Kelly school, Christmas was able to come a bit early to students and families. Children are the main focus of the event, ensuring they have a special night with a silent disco, bouncy house, arts and crafts, and face painting. I picked this one because I like the Santa hat a lot, shared a child at the event. This annual tradition in Holyoke reminds the community that coming together is the true gift of holidays. 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. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Yvette Cooper has insisted Britain needs to co-operate with China despite warnings over national security in the wake of a spying row. The Home Secretary emphasised the importance of continued economic ties with Beijing amid concerns the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has penetrated the highest levels of British public life. Last week, it emerged that Prince Andrew formed a close business relationship with an alleged Chinese spy who is being investigated by MI5. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The businessman in question is currently the subject of a court anonymity order and is referred to only as H6. He has been banned from re-entering the UK on national security grounds. When asked for her message to the Chinese state, Ms Cooper told the BBCs Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: We will continue to take a very strong approach to our national security. That includes, too, any challenge to our national security, including to our economic security, from China, from other countries around the world. That will always be the approach that we will take. Of course, with China, we also need to make sure we have that economic interaction, economic co-operation in place as well. So its a complex arrangement. Sir Keir Starmer and Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Brazil last month - Stefan Rousseau/via REUTERS Labour has sought to improve relations with Beijing since taking office and Sir Keir Starmer met Xi Jinping, the Chinese premier, at the G20 summit last month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Prime Minister insisted a strong relationship between the UK and China was important for both our countries, and proposed a full meeting with his counterpart in the future. Both leaders discussed the importance of climate change, with the Government insisting that an improved relationship with China was necessary in order to meet net-zero targets. Kowtowing to China However, critics have warned of the dangers of closer co-operation, which Downing Street also hopes will extend to trade and investment, education and healthcare. Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader who has been sanctioned by China, said Ms Cooper was ignoring concerns around national security while reciting a stupid mantra. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He told The Telegraph: The security services have, for a long time, been worried about what is going on and politicians have ignored it, using the stupid mantra of working together with them. What do we get in return? Absolutely nothing. They swamp us with everything they want to sell to us, weve got illegal Chinese police stations set up here in the UK, they threaten Taiwan on a daily basis, theyre trying to build the worlds largest navy. Its astonishing what is going on and we say we have to co-operate. What does that mean? Basically, that means kowtowing to China and letting them get away with anything. Meanwhile, they laugh and think Britain is the soft underbelly of the Five Eyes. Prince Andrew has come under scrutiny over his close business relationship with an alleged Chinese spy - JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP Since winning the general election, Labour has also rowed back on several policy positions it previously held on China. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, dropped plans to classify Chinas treatment of the Uyghurs as genocide just before his first official trip to the country. The Foreign Office has also declined to describe China as a threat despite Rishi Sunak, Sir Keirs predecessor, having planned to declare it a security risk on a par with Russia and Iran. Beijing was blamed for hacking the Ministry of Defence in May after attackers gained access to payroll information including bank details, names and addresses. Cyber criminals backed by the Chinese state have also targeted the Electoral Commission, accessing the voting records of 40 million people from August 2021. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this year, Chris Cash, a parliamentary researcher, was charged under the Official Secrets Act with carrying out espionage work for the Chinese regime. A second man, Christopher Berry, has also been charged with the same offences. 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. NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56) Hundreds of volunteers laid a wreath on a large number of the more than 17,000 headstones at Camp Nelson National Cemetery in Nicholasville to help fulfill Wreaths Across Americas mission on Saturday: to remember the fallen, honor those who serve, and teach the next generation the value of freedom. Its very important to bring the kids, to see the traditions here, to respect all the people that have served the generations for our freedoms, said Carrie Gilbert, one of the volunteers. Early childhood center in Anderson County spreading holiday cheer through literacy Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Judson Cochran, another younger volunteer, said, When I grow up, Id like to serve in the military, and I just want to help respect my elders. Bonded by their pride for the red, white, and blue, these volunteers came together for a cause bigger than themselves. But for some of them, its a bit more personal. I am the daughter of Commander Michael George Hoff, who was shot down over Laos on January 7th, 1970, during the Vietnam War. And hes still missing in action, said Suzanne Hoff Ogawa. She was one of the volunteers but also laid a wreath for the POW/MIA during a ceremony before the volunteers headed out into the cemetery to put wreaths on the graves. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Out of this tragedy, though, came something that has become a powerful symbol for people like Hoff Ogawa who are left without answers. Her mother, Mary Hoff, is the creator behind the POW/MIA flag. We have a national flag to represent not only those that have been/are prisoner of war, missing in action, but also to remember that were never going to let them do that again, you know and leave our soldiers behind, said Hoff Ogawa. The flag was nationally adopted in 1972 and now often flies alongside the American flag and those representing each branch of the military. Read more of the latest Kentucky news Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hoff Ogawa said, We live in the best country in the world, and it is beautiful to see patriotism. The wreaths serve as a reminder that the sacrifice of veterans is never forgotten. Evergreen branches from an ever-grateful nation. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. By Umit Bektas and Tuvan Gumrukcu LATAKIA, Syria (Reuters) - In Syria's northwestern port town of Latakia, Christian worshippers attending Mass on Sunday at St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral were hopeful that the country's new largely Sunni Muslim leadership would respect their religion. Like other Christians around the country, they were attending the first Mass since rebels overthrew President Bashar al-Assad a week ago Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last Sunday, Church authorities warned people to stay away from worship amid the upheaval as rebels - led by Islamist former al Qeada offshoot Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - swept into Damascus and ended 50 years of brutal rule by the Assad family. Athanasios Fahed, the Metropolitan of Latakia and its dependencies for the Greek Orthodox Church, led Sunday's service in Latakia and the cathedral filled with people in brisk morning weather. "Last Sunday, we were surprised just like all Syrian people, of the change that happened. Of course, we had many fears, especially for those who are called minorities," Fahed told Reuters, although he added he did not consider Christians minorities since they were "part of this country". "But of course, a lot of questions rose because obviously there was chaos in the street due to the fall of the state and its security, military, official and civil institutions," Fahed said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fahed said that while many Christians were displaced to other regions under Assad's rule, the coastal regions such as areas around Latakia were unaffected. Latakia was a stronghold of Assad's rule. Syria's population includes historic ethnic and religious minority communities including Christians, Armenians, Kurds and Shi'ite Muslims, who like many other Syrian Muslims had feared during the 13-year civil war that any future Islamist rule would imperil their way of life. Lina Akhras, a parish council secretary at the church, said Christians had been "comfortable" under Assad in terms of their freedom of belief. "It happened all of a sudden, we didn't know what to expect. So in order to protect everybody, we stopped (worship) until we saw how it will develop," she told Reuters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Thank God, we received a lot of assurances and we saw that members of the (HTS) committee reached out to our priest... God willing we will return to our previous lives and live in our beautiful Syria," she told Reuters. "Your religion is yours, but our country is for all of us." (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu, Bulent Usta and Umit Bektas; Editing by Frances Kerry) The House Foreign Affairs Committee has long been seen as one of the few corners of relative bipartisanship in Congress. Democrats on the panel are warning incoming Chair Brian Mast is about to blow that up. Three Democratic staffers said Mast is expected to focus on divisive culture war issues and that his previous incendiary statements on the Middle East and Ukraine will make it difficult to get any across-the-aisle work done. The days of bipartisanship and collegiality on the committee could be over, said one staffer, a sentiment echoed by the two others, who were granted anonymity to speak freely about internal conversations. There are moments when Mast is a level-headed guy, but those are rare. It doesnt happen very often. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The House Foreign Affairs Committee holds considerable sway over U.S. foreign policy. Its top Democrat and Republican can block or slow-walk weapons transfers to foreign countries. The committees mandate also allows it to scrutinize initiatives by the State Department and other agencies, chart major foreign policy priorities, design sanctions and shape the countrys national security strategy. Those are the type of issues and crises that Democrats and Republicans have traditionally tried to put aside some of their partisan rancor to solve. Outgoing Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul of Texas took pains to work with Democrats on legislation to support Israel and Ukraine, address the rise of China and publicly show that the committees members were working across party lines to advance U.S. national security interests around the world. Masts imminent selection came as a very unwelcome shock to committee Democrats. The assumption had been that either committee Vice Chair Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) or Helsinki Commission Chair Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), both more moderate Republicans, would prevail. Mast has alienated some staunch Democratic supporters of Israel with incendiary comments about Palestinians. And his hardline views on Ukraine could upend the bipartisan consensus under McCaul that U.S. support for Ukraine should continue and that restrictions on Kyivs use of donated weapons should be lifted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an interview, Mast reiterated his commitment to giving the State Department a colonoscopy to examine how money is spent and to pursuing an America first foreign policy on the committee. America First should be the most bipartisan thing we can do, Mast said. How do we do that in foreign policy? has to be the question. Because it is limited resources, and you want the programs that you're doing to make America the partner of choice, not the pariah that you're forced to work with. In November 2023, Mast compared Palestinian civilians to German civilians during the second World War. I dont think we would so lightly throw around the term innocent Nazi civilians during World War II, he said, adding: It is not a far stretch to say there are very few innocent Palestinian civilians. He has at times gotten into verbal scuffles with prominent Democrats over the war in Gaza. Last year, Mast got into a heated exchange with ranking member Gregory Meeks of New York, his soon-to-be counterpart. When Mast argued that few Palestinians in Gaza were opposed to the Oct. 7 attacks, Meeks replied Are you Ku Klux Klan? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meeks office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Decisions surrounding Ukraine look to be just as contentious. While Wilson and Wagner are seen as stalwart backers of Kyiv in Congress, Mast is a critic of current U.S. support for Kyiv and it is unclear how exactly hell approach future aid packages. In April, Mast wrote an opinion piece in Newsweek defending his decision to vote against the supplemental aid bill to Ukraine, saying that because Europe has all the money it needs to ensure Kyiv's survival if only it would open up its wallet to the extent it expects America to do. Mast was also one of 46 Republicans who voted in favor of a bill sponsored by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to end U.S. support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. When asked about the Democrats specific complaints, Mast said in a statement: I look forward to working with anyone who is proud to put America first!" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Masts Ukraine views mirror those of the incoming Trump administration, as President-elect Donald Trump pledges to play hardball with European allies over their contributions to Ukraines war effort before offering up additional support to Kyiv. But Mast separates him from some more moderate critics of the Biden administrations Ukraine policy, including Trumps pick to be secretary of State, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. Rubio opposed supplemental funding as well, but the Florida Republican argued that his vote was in protest over a lack of funding for tighter security measures at the U.S. southern border. That said, Mast did previously back Ukraine receiving NATO membership and a no-fly zone in Ukraine, a stance that puts him in line with the staunchest allies of Kyiv in both parties. And the committee could still accomplish bipartisan work on China. Mast, like McCaul and many committee Democrats, supports a tougher line on Beijing. He could also find some common ground with Democrats on policy towards Israel and the Middle East, including the need to provide Israel with defensive weaponry and counter Iranian aggression. Democrats are expressing hope that the pressures of leadership will change the way he approaches committee work and his relationships with Democrats. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think maybe he will find that when you're the chair of a committee, you need to present yourself in a slightly different way, said Rep. Kathy Manning (D-N.C.), the vice ranking member on the committee. I'm hoping that once he's in the chair's position, he will understand that if they're going to get important work done, they're going to need to work on a bipartisan basis. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) acknowledged that Masts current image is a little less bipartisan than McCauls, though he cautioned that theres no real reason to speculate about how Mast will lead the committee. I am very concerned about his views on foreign assistance and the role of the U.S. and the State Department, said Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), who led a push to censure Mast over his comments about Palestinian civilians. But I know he served our country well in uniform, and I hope that he will rise to the occasion and serve the committee. Republicans acknowledge that Mast is stylistically different from McCaul, but point to his sponsorship of bipartisan foreign policy bills and his past statements in support of Ukraine as evidence that Democratic fears are overblown. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And Republicans on the committee have praised Mast publicly. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.), who chairs the Western Hemisphere subcommittee, wrote on X that Mast is a tireless champion of American values abroad, and I look forward to working with him to keep our enemies out of the Western Hemisphere! Joe Gould contributed to this report. HUMBOLDT, S.D. (KELO) The Humboldt community in eastern South Dakota is rallying around Sarah Fine, who had to take in her two young grandsons after the tragic loss of her daughter, their mother. Saturday, they held a fundraiser for Sarah at Main Street Humboldt Bar. Sarahs daughter, Destiny Fine, died in a car crash in October while driving Sarahs car. Since then, Sarah has taken care of Destinys two young sons, Carter and Jasper. She has so many expenses between trying to find a new car, trying to cover funeral expenses, shes missed time from work, things like that. Everybody thought it would be a good idea to do a fundraiser for her, event organizer Kelly OGorman said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both Destiny and Sarah have worked at the bar where they held the fundraiser. Both of them just very good, hard-working ladies that cared about their families and are good friends to everybody they worked with, OGorman said. McCrossan celebrates new additions to schools At the benefit, people could enjoy some live music, pork sandwiches, a silent auction and a raffle. Im just grateful for the support of the community and this great bunch of ladies that has put this fundraiser together, OGorman said. Humboldt is a small town with a big heart. We do a lot of events. We come together when we need to, and we really step up. Usually, a lot of us are going through our own things too, and maybe we are strapped financially, but we always find a way to lift our friends up in a time of need, organizer Jennifer Reynolds said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sarah was unable to attend the fundraiser today, but she is grateful that Humboldt has her back. She said, The people in Humboldt, they have hearts of gold and souls of fire. Thats what she said to me about the people in this community, and she said she cant thank everybody enough from the bottom of her heart, OGorman said. A Dart tournament and karaoke were also scheduled for Saturday night. There is also a GoFundMe set up for Sarah and her grandsons. Click here to if you would like to donate. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. Hundreds of people are presumed dead on the French territory of Mayotte after Cyclone Chido hit the Indian Ocean archipelago. Prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville told the Mayotte la 1ere radio station that no official death toll is available, one day after the storm struck the islands. However, he said: "I think there are certainly several hundred," and added that it was possible that the death toll could reach the thousands. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More than 250 were injured in the storm, which also hit Madagascar and Mozambique. Acting Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said on Saturday evening that the situation in the territory was catastrophic. He is expected to visit the devastated archipelago on Monday. Poorly built houses had been destroyed, he said. The archipelago has a population of around 310,000. President Emmanuel Macron highlighted the plight of Mayotte's residents during a meeting with Pope Francis on the Mediterranean island of Corsica on Sunday. "I would like to think of our fellow citizens on Mayotte who have experienced the worst in the past few hours and some of whom have lost everything, lost their lives," Macron said. Severe damage reported Ambdilwahedou Soumaila, mayor of the capital Mamoudzou, told BFMTV that many people had been injured and that the damage was severe. Roads were blocked, some areas were cut off and many residents were without power, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There was also damage to the main island's airport, according to the report. The Meteo France weather service said winds of more than 220 kilometres per hour had struck the territory. The authorities on the archipelago had urged residents to seek shelter in robust buildings and to stay indoors before the cyclone struck. In Mozambique, where the storm reached speeds of up to 240 kilometres per hour, Chido destroyed and damaged numerous homes, schools and health facilities in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). According to the Mozambican Centre for Disaster Management, the power grid has collapsed in Cabo Delgado and the neighbouring province of Nampula, making rescue work more difficult. Polisario fighters have been captured by the Syrian opposition forces in Aleppo, several news outlets have reported recently, quoting former Iraqi MP Omar Abdul Sattar. Security sources confirmed to Moroccan news websites that around thirty polisario militiamen have been arrested in Aleppo by the Syrian opposition attempting to advance on Damascus to oust Bashar Al-Assads regime. The polisario fighters, after completing special training under the supervision of Iranian military advisors in the Tindouf camps, entered Syria a few months ago using Algerian passports, the same sources said, adding that their mission was to confront a possible offensive by opposition forces against Bashar Al-Assads regime. As soon as the news surfaced, Algeria tried to hush up the scandal and exerted diplomatic efforts to secure their release. Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf reportedly contacted his Syrian counterpart, and Algerias Ambassador to Syria, to downplay the presence of the militants, claiming they were part of the 500 Algerians settled in Aleppo. Algeria also reportedly sought Turkeys mediation for the militants release due to its influence over Syrian opposition groups. Head of Syrias National Salvation Front, Fahad Almasri, revealed more details about Irans involvement in the presence of the Polisario fighters in Syria, disclosing that Irans Revolutionary Guard had sent around 200 Polisario militants to southern Syria, with support from both Algeria and Iran, reported the Morocco World News website. These forces were stationed at key locations such as the Thaala military airport and the air defense battalion in Sweida. Almasri also stated that Iran had been training Polisario militants at Syrian army bases in rural Daraa for the past three years. Morocco severed diplomatic ties with Iran in 2018 over Tehrans support for the Polisario, including providing arms and training through Hezbollah. Algeria has been a key facilitator in this alliance, supporting operational links between the Polisario, Hezbollah, and Iran. Analysts suggest that by supporting the Polisario militarily, Tehran aims to create a new zone of instability that could threaten regional security, particularly Moroccos territorial integrity. These developments have renewed calls for the Polisario Front, which has long been involved in regional conflicts, including fighting alongside Gaddafis forces in Libya in 2011, to be officially designated as a terrorist organization, especially given its documented ties to Iran and its militant activities. Viktor Orban, the strongman Hungarian prime minister, ended his country's helm at the six-month rotating EU presidency much as he started it: with a flurry of "peace mission" visits that earned him a stern rebuke from Ukraine. On Monday, Orban was in Mar-a-Lago, US president-elect Donald Trump's Florida residence, meeting Trump, business tycoon Elon Musk and other political figures. On Wednesday, he had a one-hour phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, for which he was scolded by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. "No one should boost personal image at the expense of unity; everyone should focus on shared success," Zelensky wrote on social media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. By Thursday, Orban was in the air again, off to Turkey to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to again promote his idea of a "Christmas ceasefire" for the war in Ukraine - a proposal that was roundly rejected by Kyiv. The whirlwind week captured Orban's self-styled policy of "economic neutrality": he wants to remain in the good graces of superpowers to Hungary's east and west, continuing a high-wire act he has performed for years. "He's an outlier as an EU and Nato member state that is in favour of Trump and a bit of a disruptive force Trump feels he can connect to. Through this, Hungary seems to be an important country beyond its significance in size and its economic might," said Peter Kreko, director of Political Capital, a Hungarian policy research firm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, though, Orban is facing his biggest balancing act to date. Officials around Europe are wondering how long he will remain the European Union's most pro-Trump and pro-China leader, particularly as the next US president threatens to get tougher on Beijing and could ask European governments to sever ties with China. "Eventually he will have to make a choice," a senior EU official said. "It's Trump or China. We don't know which one he would choose." A senior diplomat said that "certain member states are very happy with Trump's win, but they also seem to love Putin and Xi". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "So how are they going to square that circle?" the diplomat said. Observers see Orban's relationship with Trump and China through different lenses: one is political, the other economic. But they do not necessarily agree on which has a higher value for the Hungarian leader. "There are two dimensions at play. Politically, Orban is very happy with Trump, he elevates his station and he can think he plays at the big table, that is the most important thing for Orban," said Tamas Matura, an expert in Hungary's relations with China at the Corvinus University of Budapest. On the economic front, Hungary is struggling. Its economy dipped into recession for the second time in two years in October, making it the only euro-zone member to be in contraction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That is why China is so important to Orban. Analysis from Rhodium Group, a research firm, and the Mercator Institute for China Studies, a think tank, found that 44 per cent of all Chinese foreign direct investment and more than two-thirds of its electric vehicle sector investment in Europe went to Hungary last year. Big Chinese companies like CATL, the global leader in batteries, and BYD, the world's biggest EV maker, have invested heavily in the central European country. CATL's 7.3 billion (US$7.8 billion) plant in the eastern city of Debrecen is expected to start production next year, when BYD's facility there is also set to start producing EVs. "For Orban, business with China is more beneficial than close ties with the US," Kreko said, pointing to the Hungarian leader's repeated assertions that China has overtaken the US as the world's top economic power. "The reason Orban likes Trump is not just the ideology, he pulls out more US [military] tentacles from Europe. He doesn't like the patronage of the US or the soft power of the US. He doesn't think you have to be on good terms with the president to bring in American investment, because it's done on business terms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "On the other hand, to have Chinese investment, you have to be on good terms with the Chinese president." It is a dilemma Orban negotiated deftly during Trump's first term in office. Knowing Trump's dislike of EU institutions, Orban said he would not need to do business with China if Brussels had not frozen funds for Budapest because of slippages in the country's rule of law. He may also hope that Musk's strong business connections in China will open the door to some deal-making with Beijing, and perhaps Budapest too. As a trading economy, Hungary stands to lose out from major disruptions to commerce even if it is not directly hit. "My hunch is that they are working on some kind of deal with Trump. They may also hope that Hungary is very small and so may fly under the radar of Trump's anti-China policies," Matura said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "If we look at the details of Chinese economic activity in Hungary, it may not be something the Americans are concerned about. It's not breaching American national security interests. It's not about chips, or military - it's the EV sector." This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. FILLMORE COUNTY, Minn. A 35-year-old southeastern Minnesota woman faces over a dozen charges for allegedly trying to take the blame for her twin sister in a fatal Amish buggy crash. Sarah Peterson was charged Wednesday with 16 felonies, including criminal vehicular homicide, criminal vehicular operation and aiding an offender, according to court documents. All 16 charges indicate that Sarah Peterson tried to conceal or take responsibility for her identical twin sister's criminal acts. Earlier this week, Sarah Peterson's sister, Samantha Peterson, was charged with 21 felonies, including criminal vehicular homicide, criminal vehicular operation, driving under the influence, failure to provide proof of insurance, careless driving and speeding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Samantha Peterson was allegedly high on meth when she crashed into an Amish buggy last September. There were four children in the buggy. Two of the children, ages 7 and 11, were killed, a 9 -year-old and 13-year-old were hospitalized with serious injuries. Sheriff says the sisters being identical twins "added a lot of complexity" to investigation Fillmore County Sheriff John DeGeorge DeGeorge said the fact the sisters are identical twins "added a lot of complexity" to the lengthy investigation at a press conference Thursday afternoon. "As the days continued beyond that first day where the crash was reported, inconsistencies started to appear in both sisters' stories and in the evidence that the deputies uncovered," DeGeorge said. "Later, it was determined through a series of search warrants, interviews, analysis of different data that in fact Samantha Peterson, Sarah's twin sister, was driving that vehicle." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DeGeorge says the inconsistencies included a review of an interview recording, which uncovered a conversation between the two sisters that indicated that "something might be up." He said another big piece of the investigation was being able to get a search warrant for the sisters' phones. A search of Samantha Peterson's cellphone revealed a text she sent on Sept. 25 writing, in part, "I hit that Amish buggy and killed two ppl [sic]." She continued, "Made Sarah come there and take the fall for it so I wouldn't go to prison." MORE NEWS: Minnesota State Patrol Trooper Ryan Londregan briefly booked into jail Wednesday "Sarah was on scene a short time before our first deputy arrived," DeGeorge said. "That allowed them to come up with this story where Sarah would take responsibility for the crash and start to mislead the investigation from that point." Law enforcement investigates a fatal Amish buggy crash in rural Minnesota. / Credit: WCCO DeGeorge says a lot the evidence, including analysis of cell phone data and an advanced crash reconstruction report, took a "very long time" to get processed. He said it was because of this that it took so long for charges to be filed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both sisters have criminal histories. Samantha Peterson's convictions include fourth- and third-degree DWI. Sarah Peterson was convicted of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance in 2022 and is currently on parole for that offense. Samantha Peterson's criminal vehicular homicide charges are more serious than her sister's and each have a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Sarah Peterson's criminal vehicular homicide charges included a maximum sentence of five years. The sisters have yet to be taken into custody. DeGeorge says the charges did not meet the threshold for an arrest warrant to be ordered by the court. They are charged by summons. Update (Dec. 15, 2024): A judge dropped two counts of criminal vehicular homicide and two counts of criminal vehicular operation against Samantha Peterson due to a lack of probable cause. She is still facing 17 felony charges in the case. 2024 holiday gift ideas from Techno Claus Jim Gaffigan on the gifts no one should give for the holidays Singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers An 82-year-old woman died in a house fire Saturday afternoon in southeast Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Fire Department responded to a 911 call at 4:41 p.m. from a neighbor who was trying to hose down the fire at 5240 Chisolm Trail, a single-story home on the city's far southeast side, according to a press release. Members of the Indianapolis Fire Department respond to a residential fire on the city's far southeast side Saturday afternoon. The blaze at 5240 Chisolm Trail killed an 82-year-old woman who lived alone at the home. Firefighters were at the house six minutes later, and by 4:52 p.m. they had found the elderly woman who had lived there for more than 30 years, according to IFD. Law enforcement has yet to release her name, but family members told IFD that the woman lived alone and was checked on daily. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Firefighters brought the blaze under control within 15 minutes of the 911 call, according to IFD. The fire's cause is under investigation. The home's smoke alarms were found to be effective. Members of the Indianapolis Fire Department respond to a residential fire on the city's far southeast side Saturday afternoon. The blaze at 5240 Chisolm Trail killed an 82-year-old woman who lived alone at the home. How many die in residential fires in Indiana? In 2023, 84 people died in residential fires in Indiana, according to the state fire marshal's office. Reports of fires at residences tend to increase during the winter months as people heat their homes more frequently to ward off winter weather. Tips for safely heating your home Officials advise against using alternative heating devices such as space heaters and fireplaces, but offer these tips for using one at home: Keep clothing, curtains, furniture and other items outside of a three-foot perimeter around space heaters. Plug electrical space heaters directly into wall outlets instead of multi-socket power strips. Keep only one heater plugged into an outlet at a time. Never go to sleep with a space heater on, and never leave one turned on in an unoccupied room. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Email IndyStar Housing, Growth and Development Reporter Jordan Smith at JTsmith@gannett.com. Follow him on X: @jordantsmith09 This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Elderly Indianapolis resident dies in house fire The remaining five Australians from the infamous Bali Nine drug gang are relieved and happy to be home after Canberra struck a deal with Jakarta to end their two decades of imprisonment. The five, who were serving life sentences, belong to a wider group of nine who were caught attempting to smuggle more than 8 kilograms (17.6 pounds) of heroin out of Balis international airport and into Australia in 2005. They were freed and sent home on Sunday. I am pleased to confirm that Australian citizens, Si Yi Chen, Michael Czugaj, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush and Martin Stephens have returned to Australia this afternoon, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wrote on X on Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement, the five men and their families said they were immensely grateful to the Indonesian president and his government for their release. They also thanked their friends and lawyers, as well as the Australian authorities. The five men are relieved and happy to be back in Australia. They look forward, in time, to reintegrating back into and contributing to society, it said. The botched plot has long been a point of tension between the two countries with the Australian government advocating for their return for decades. Indonesia executed the groups two Australian ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran in 2015, prompting then Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to call it a dark moment in the relationship. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last month, Albanese raised the mens case to Indonesias newly sworn in President Prabowo Subianto on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Peru, Reuters reported. Indonesias Law Minister had confirmed at the time that it had agreed to return the remaining men, the agency said. I thank President Prabowo Subianto for his compassion, Albanese wrote on X on Sunday. The five members are now set to be free, Nine News reported. In a separate joint statement with Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke on Sunday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said, The men will have the opportunity to continue their personal rehabilitation and reintegration in Australia. Matthew Norman, left, talks with Indonesian representative council at Kerobokan prison in Bali, Indonesia, on December 6, 2024. - Firdia Lisnawati/AP/File The Bali Nine were arrested in 2005 by Indonesian police following a tip from Australian authorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Four of them were arrested at Denpasar International Airport with over 8 kilograms of heroin strapped to their bodies, while another four were found at a hotel on the island of Kuta. Chan, one of the ringleaders, was captured after boarding a plane to Sydney. Chan and Sukumaran were sentenced to death while the other seven were eventually handed a life sentence after an appeal. The only female member of the group, Renae Lawrence, was freed in 2018 after serving 13 years of her 20-year sentence. Lawrence had initially been sentenced to life in prison, but later her punishment was commuted to 20 years and she was released early on good behavior. Another member, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, died of kidney cancer in 2018 while in custody, Nine News reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The case of the Bali Nine highlighted the strict laws on drug trafficking in Indonesia, where several foreigners are currently detained on similar charges. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Dec. 14A rezoning request for a Knightdale business heads the agenda for Monday's meeting of the Lee County Board of Commissioners. The board will also get an update on the county's financial status and hear a mid-year report from Trillium Health Resources looking at Medicaid recipients in the county. Wake Stone Property Co. in Knightdale is asking to have tracts of land on Deep River Road rezoned from residential agricultural use to light industrial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lots are along on the south side of Deep River Road, across the road from the Wake Stone's Moncure Quarry, to develop an 80,000 square-foot flexible industrial building, according to the application. Also on the agenda is a request from Brick Capital Community Development Corp. for the extension of $200,000 loan from the Revolving Loan Fund for three years; a mid-year update from Trilluim Health Resources; and a presentation from Finance Director Candace Iceman on county finances for the fiscal year which ends June 30. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the Dennis Wicker Civic Center. NEW YORK Ingrid Lewis-Martin, who engineered Eric Adams rise from police captain to mayor of the nations largest city, is abruptly resigning from City Hall. Her departure, which takes effect immediately, comes at a precarious time for the mayor: He is heading to trial for a five-count federal indictment to which he pleaded not guilty, and is up for reelection next year. Lewis-Martin herself is being eyed by local law enforcement in a separate matter. Prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs office have presented evidence about her to a grand jury, and could bring an indictment as soon as this week, The New York Times reported Sunday, after this story was initially published. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her lawyer Arthur Aidala, and City Hall spokesperson Fabien Levy, declined to comment on the grand jury. Few, if any, have been as close and loyal to the enigmatic mayor as the Brooklyn-based chaplain, whose husband was his friend in the NYPD. Ingrid has not been just a friend, a confidant, and trusted adviser, but also a sister, Adams said in a statement to POLITICO. Weve always talked about when this day would come, and while weve long planned for it, it is still hard to know that Ingrid wont be right next door every day. Lewis-Martin, who is 63, said she will retire and spend time with family. She is not expected to work on Adams' reelection campaign. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LewisMartin has served as chief adviser to the mayor since Adams became mayor in 2022. Though she only oversees appointments and human resources, her title and closeness to Adams has afforded her substantial power to work on issues throughout the administration. And while she rankled some with her tough style and feuded with a cadre of newer aides who soared through the ranks, she also served as a closer on several critical matters, including striking a deal with the building service workers union over trash set-out times. She also helped finalize major rezonings. Lewis-Martin's departure is sudden. Sunday is her last day, and she will not be returning to work Monday, Deputy Mayor for Communications Fabien Levy said. But her resignation is not unexpected she has been talking about leaving since before the administrations legal troubles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On a radio show in September, she even said that she had been planning to retire the second week in January, but that Adams indictment and all the investigations into his inner circle might keep her around longer because Im going to be with my brother. Lewis-Martin will now join top administration officials who have left City Hall in the last three months after being subject to criminal investigation. None have been charged. Officials from Braggs office seized Lewis-Martins phones and raided her home in September, just as she stepped off a flight home from a vacation to Japan with a lobbyist and other city officials. Federal investigators from the Southern District of New York were also on hand to serve her a subpoena. LewisMartins lawyer, Arthur Aidala, declined to comment on the state of the dual investigations. She has not been charged with wrongdoing, and the scope has not been made public. Jesse Hamilton, who manages the citys real estate portfolio and is a friend of Lewis-Martin, also had his phone seized at the airport at the same time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was the subject of scrutiny after POLITICO reported he altered an RFP to steer it to a mayoral donor. Lewis-Martin has been friends with the mayor since the 1980s, when her husband met Adams in the police academy. She was involved in Brooklyn politics, and when Adams planned a 2006 run for state Senate, he turned to Lewis-Martin for help. She has been his top political adviser since, spanning his roles in the Legislature, as Brooklyn borough president and as mayor. In a statement, Lewis-Martin thanked Adams for seeing in me things that I did not see in myself. I extend humble gratitude to you for encouraging me to be my authentic self and for having my back during some trying times, she added. As you would say, this has been a good ride; I will use authors license and say that this has been an amazing ride. Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Mayor Adams top advisor and confidante, has resigned from City Hall. Her last day is Sunday, Fabien Levy, Deputy Mayor for Communications, said. Ingrid has not been just a friend, a confidant, and trusted advisor, but also a sister, Mayor Adams said in a statement. Weve always talked about when this day would come, and while weve long planned for it, it is still hard to know that Ingrid wont be right next door every day. I, and every New Yorker, owe her a debt of gratitude for her decades of service to our city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sudden resignation comes after investigators from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs office and the Southern District of New York seized Lewis-Martins phones and raided her home in September, right after she got off a flight back to New York from a trip to Japan she went on with city officials and a lobbyist. The actions against Lewis-Martin were reportedly part of a corruption investigation looking into the city governments property leasing operations. The resignation also comes as Adams is headed into a battle for reelection and prepares for an April trial on his five-count federal indictment. In a statement, Lewis-Martin thanked Adams and said she is retiring to focus on her family. I thank you for seeing in me things that I did not see in myself, she wrote. I extend humble gratitude to you for encouraging me to be my authentic self and for having my back during some trying times. As you would say, this has been a good ride; I will use authors license and say that this has been an amazing ride. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lewis-Martins departure, which was first reported by Politico, comes after two sources familiar with the matter said tensions emerged between her and the mayor when she went on her attorneys radio show in the wake of the raid at her home. In the appearance on Arthur Aidalas show, Lewis-Martin said she believes the public will see we have not done anything illegal to the magnitude or scale that requires the federal government and the DAs office to investigate us, a comment that angered the mayor as it intimated there might have been some criminal activity, according to the sources. One of the sources said the mayor and Lewis-Martin hadnt spoken in weeks prior to Sundays announcement. Nannie Doss may have seemed like a loving grandmother with a charming smile, as one local Oklahoma newspaper described her. But investigators began to suspect there was something sinister behind that smile after every member of her family mysteriously died, one by one, over the years. In the end, the Giggling Granny admitted to murdering 11 of her family members. The sensational case made headlines across the country at the time, and it has recently sparked newfound attention on social media. PEOPLE is looking back at Doss crimes and how authorities in Oklahoma finally came to realize she was responsible for her family members deaths. AP Photo Nannie Doss with two of her grandchildren Nannie Doss with two of her grandchildren Doss Childhood Traumas Doss childhood was heavily impacted by her abusive and demanding father, Jim Hazle, according to the Encyclopedia of Alabama. Born in 1905 in Calhoun County, Ala., Doss was said to have had an unhappy and difficult childhood, as her father largely kept her out of school to work on the familys farm. He forbade his daughters from wearing makeup or dress clothes growing up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dosss father kept her and her three sisters from attending social events, as well, according to The Muskogee Phoenix. According to the newspaper, this strict shielding and a head injury Doss sustained when, aboard a train, her head was slammed into a metal bar contributed to her struggles growing up. The injury led to severe headaches, according to the newspaper. Yahoo! wrote that the head injury had also impacted her view of life as a whole. Getty Nannie Doss (right) Nannie Doss (right) A Life of Murder Doss had five husbands throughout her life, first marrying at the encouragement of her father when she was 16 years old, according to the Phoenix. She and her first husband, Charley Braggs, had four daughters between 1923 to 27 while living with his mother, according to the newspaper, leading to Doss becoming increasingly stressed. Two of her daughters suddenly died in 1927 from suspected food poisoning, prompting Braggs to become suspicious and leave his wife, taking his oldest daughter Melvina with him, according to the Phoenix. 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. Braggs mother then suddenly died, and he returned to his childhood home soon after he and Doss divorced. According to the Phoenix, he is the one surviving husband throughout Doss life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The newspaper reported that Doss went on to marry four more men Frank Harrelson, an alcoholic who died after ingesting rat poison 16 years into their marriage; Artie Lanning, an alcoholic womanizer who also died after ingesting rat poison soon before Doss allegedly burnt down their house with his mother inside; Richard Morton, who died three months into their marriage after drinking coffee spiked with arsenic, and Samuel Doss, a Nazarene minister who disapproved of [Doss'] romance novels and died a little more than a year into their marriage from a similar arsenic poison found in his coffee. Doss final husbands death raised suspicion, according to the Phoenix, leading to a local doctor performing an autopsy that revealed the massive amount of arsenic in his system. Getty Nannie Doss Nannie Doss Doss Confesses to the Killings Samuel Doss 1954 murder, which led to Doss arrest, was the last in what is suspected to be a 27-year killing spree that took at least 11 members of her familys lives. In addition to her husbands, Doss is believed to be responsible for the deaths of two of her children, her own mother, Lannings mother who was her mother-in-law one of her own sisters and two of her grandsons. She confessed to the crimes while being questioned for Samuels murder, according to the Encyclopedia of Alabama, leading to an initial death sentence after she was found guilty for murder, according to the Alabama Encyclopedia. A judge later declared her insane, however, which removed her death sentence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Doss died in custody at the McAlester state prison in Tulsa, Okla., after she was diagnosed with leukemia, according to the Phoenix. She was 59 years old, and according to the newspaper, died exactly 10 years after she was first taken into custody. Read the original article on People DES MOINES, Iowa In just several weeks the 45th president of the United States will be sworn in as the nations 47th commander in chief. Last week in an interview on NBCs Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, President-elect Donald Trump said that he would start working on pardons for the hundreds of defendants charged from January 6, 2020. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird commented on the potential pardons after she announced her top priorities for Iowas 91st General Assembly gaveling in in just under a month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Des Moines man sentenced to 60 years in prison for fatal Drake neighborhood shooting Well that is up to President Trump to decide once he is in office, said Attorney General Bird (R). As someone who has worked on pardons at the state level, with for example Governor Branstad, I think those decisions are best made on an individualized basis. Attorney General Bird also commented on the federal lawsuit the state joined that is seeking to gain access to the federal SAVE list. The list identifies legal noncitizens, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate told WHO 13 News he was drafting a bill that looks to give the state the ability to use the list to check against voter registration records. Bird said that there was not a thought about waiting to join the lawsuit when the Trump administration took over, as she believes states should have access to the list no matter who is in the White House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. DES MOINES, Iowa The Iowa Department of Transportation has been hard at work since Friday and is prepared to continue through the rest of the weekend. Beginning Friday afternoon, the Iowa DOT sent out crews to lay down salt mix. On Saturday afternoon around 214 crews were still salting roads, with plans to continue into Sunday. Saturdays road conditions were slick and icy with several accidents reported around the metro. The temperature is expected to drop leading to a refreeze overnight that will prolong the conditions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Roads might change very quickly, said Andrea Henry, the Director of Outreach for Iowa DOT. So, you might go from normal driving conditions to a patch of ice. So, in general, just slow down so that you can be ready for the unexpected. The DOT reminds drivers that partially covered and seasonal conditions roads are still dangerous, and drivers should take extra precaution behind the wheel. Just because the road conditions might say they are partially covered or even back to seasonal conditions, that doesnt mean that its completely dry, said Henry. When we have weather like this, theres still a lot of precipitation in the air or rain that has come down earlier that could refreeze very quickly. As the temperature continues to fluctuate the road conditions will constantly be changing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the things that you want to do is make sure that youre looking for places where ice can form. So, things like bridges or underpass passes or when the sun shines again, areas that might be shaded by trees or buildings tend to ice up quick, said Henry. If you must traverse the roads this weekend the DOT recommends increasing following distance, dont use cruise control, check your headlights, and leave plenty of time for travel. The Iowa DOT recommends people check their website for up to date with road conditions and plow movement. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. The 2024 presidential election is now behind us. In many ways, it was magnificent. Over 150 million Americans voted in myriad elections on over 15,000 candidates. Thousands of election officials and election workers quietly stepped up to yet again orchestrate this complicated and hectic day with no significant issues. But while the elections scale was inspiring, its competitiveness was anything but. Despite some nail biters here in Iowa, few races for the House or Senate were truly competitive in the rest of the country. Then there was the presidential race: Yet again, only seven so-called swing states determined the outcome. Those states attracted the press, the candidates, and a jaw-dropping amount of money. The other 43 noncompetitive states did not. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most states get no attention in our presidential elections because, unlike other democracies, we do not follow the principle of one person, one vote. Between our antiquated Electoral College and winner-take-all systems, any votes beyond the 50% mark in a state simply dont matter. So if a state is reliably going to vote at least 51% for one candidate, why campaign there? A party wins just as well with 51% of the votes as with 95%. And 49% is just as much a loss as 5%. Thats why no one competed for the 100,000-plus Iowans who swung us from 50% to 56% for Donald Trump. The same applies in most states, from Californias 3 million extra Democratic voters to Wyomings 60,000 extra Republican ones. The Electoral College makes many of our votes irrelevant, but it makes others too important. Consider this: in 2016, Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, even though Clinton had 3 million more total votes. Four years later, Joe Biden crushed Trump in the popular vote, winning by 7 million votes. But almost none of those extra votes mattered. Biden won because of a handful of voters in Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. If just 63,000 voters in those states had voted for Trump instead, Biden would have lost the election despite winning the popular vote. 2024 followed the same pattern; if just 116,000 voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin had voted differently this year, wed be getting ready to usher in the Kamala Harris administration, regardless of President-elect Trumps 2 million-vote popular vote win. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is not healthy for our elections to disregard most states and obsess over the few that happen to have a balance of Republican and Democratic voters. This system leaves the majority of the voters and their concerns outside of the national media spotlight and the attentions of future presidents. It keeps candidates from spending time or money in states they wont win, and when it allows candidates to win without a popular mandate, it erodes the democratic foundation of the presidency. Unsurprisingly, the Electoral College has long been unpopular. A majority of Americans have long supported replacing it and electing the president with a simple and intuitive system: one person, one vote. Everyones vote matters and none are undervalued or overvalued because of an accident of geography. Almost two-thirds of Americans support this change, according to Pew. The best path to a popular vote is to amend the Constitution. We should do that. But while that slow process happens, Iowa should enact the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. If states with the majority of electoral votes join it, the signatories will all cast their electoral votes for the candidate who wins the popular vote. Our neighbors, Illinois and Minnesota, have joined the compact, and it only needs states representing 61 more electoral votes to go into effect. So lets seize these opportunities to strengthen our democracy and force candidates in 2028 to campaign for all Americans votes, not just battleground state votes. Contact Gov. Kim Reynolds and your state legislators and urge them to join the National Popular Vote Compact so that presidential candidates will give Iowans the attention they deserve. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kelcey Patrick-Ferree and Shannon Patrick live in Iowa City and write at www.ourlibertiesweprize.com. And biannual time changes must be abolished. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Abolish the Electoral College and make Iowa relevant again | Opinion Jim and Deba Leach, on the eve of the first Okoboji Writers Retreat in 2021. (Photo by Julie Gammack) Iowa Writers 'Collaborative. Linking Iowa readers and writers. Iowa and the nation lost a rare public servant last week. And Deba Leach lost her husband, Jim. Former Congressman Jim Leach was a moderate-to-liberal Republican representing Iowas eastern congressional district from 1977 until 2007. He served the area that included his boyhood home of Davenport and Iowa City, where he and Deba chose to spend their retirement years after his 30-year career in elected office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before I knew Jim personally, I admired him for many reasons. He was a candidate who refused PAC money, often self-funding his campaigns. He was a staunch supporter of campaign finance reform, including the McCain-Feingold Act (Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002), a position that put him at odds with many in his party. Jim was an early advocate for environmental protection and combating climate change. He was also one of the few Republicans who voted against the authorization for the Iraq War in 2002, arguing that the evidence of weapons of mass destruction was insufficient to justify military action. In 2008, Jim made headlines when he spoke at the National Democratic Party Convention to endorse Barack Obama for president publicly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In June 2013, Jim honored longtime Sen. Tom Harkins aide Richard Bender at the Senate staffers retirement party. That evening, all three men Bender, Harkin, and Leach spoke about their shared sorrow over the loss of bipartisan cooperation in Congress and the importance of working across the aisle to serve constituents. Leach and my husband, Richard Gilbert, were known as Bob Ray Republicans a GOP culture on the brink of extinction. Shortly after Richard and I bought a home in Annapolis, Maryland, we realized we knew many people who had moved to the Washington, D.C. area with Iowa ties, so we decided to hold an Iowa Day party and mix them. Richard addressed the assembled partygoers at one of these gatherings, saying, If we all love Iowa so much, why dont we live there? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Eventually, the Leaches did move back to Iowa and so did we. I appreciated Jims unpretentious nature during that first Iowa Day party. Glancing out at the lawn, I saw the former congressman, once a collegiate wrestling champ, on the ground, pinning Romen Borsellino, the son of Rekha Basu and the late Rob Borsellino, who had been a student wrestler. Im not sure who initiated the wrestling moves. It could have been either one of them. Jim and Deba never missed Iowa Day. When we announced our move from Annapolis, they graciously took the mantle and hosted the next Iowa Day party at their Bethesda home, and we flew back to attend. It was a lovely tradition, bringing together people who might not otherwise know one another but who shared one thing in common: we spent time in the Hawkeye state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Iowa and the nation lost a public servant an elected official who refused to be beholden to special interests and dedicated himself to the people he served. Those lucky enough to call him a friend essentially everyone he met will mourn his passing. This column was originally published by Julie Gammacks Iowa Potluck and is republished here through the Iowa Writers Collaborative. Editors note: Please consider subscribing to the Iowa Writers Collaborative and member blogs to support the authors work. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has made use of his veto to block a strict headdress law passed by parliament and called in the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) for a ruling. Presidential advisor Ali Rabiei told Sunday's Hamshahri daily that the step was justified on the grounds of the law's effects on society. The SNSC is the top body in the Islamic Republic for deciding on security issues, and Pezeshkian is hoping that it will moderate the new law, at least to some extent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The law passed by hardliners in parliament provides for large fines and the denial of state services to women failing to heed the obligation to cover their heads. Prominent people are to be punished particularly severely, with bans on exercising their professions and on travelling abroad, along with the confiscation of up to 5% of their assets. Sharp criticism of the law, from within the government as well, led to a delay in its enforcement. Pezeshkian is reported to be against it for fear of resistance in Iranian society and renewed popular unrest. Observers see the law as part of a power struggle between hardliners and moderate forces, and thus a challenge to Pezeshkian. If he is unable to succeed against the hardliners, the moderate course he pledged during his campaign is believed to be in jeopardy. Many Iranian women in the larger towns and cities are now refusing to heed the strict dress code imposed by the Islamic authorities. The trend emerged from the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement that arose during the autumn 2022 protests. BAGHDAD She was just 11 when she was sold into wedlock with a man 36 years her senior. In the nine years since, she said, she has been raped, beaten, divorced and returned to her family, who hid her away out of shame and forced her into servitude. Today she is a sex worker in the Iraqi city of Erbil, having moved there recently from the capital, Baghdad. Batta said her husband raped her on their wedding night and regularly beat her before he sent her back to her family three years after they were married. Instead of offering sympathy, they treated her as a pariah, she said. NBC News does not normally identify alleged victims of sexual assault, and it agreed not to use her real name and to use only the first names of her parents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now she fears other young girls will be subjected to similar ordeals if lawmakers pass proposed amendments to Iraqs Personal Status Law that could allow marriage for girls as young as 9, as well as give religious authorities the power to decide on family affairs including marriage, divorce and the care of children. Changing the law will give parents the right to sell their young daughters, Batta said in a telephone interview last month. I dont want to call it marriage, because when a girl gets married at the age of 9 or 10, it means her family has sold her. It also allows men to exploit the poverty that many Iraqi families are experiencing. Shes still a little girl Batta said that a few months after her father, Hussein, told her they were pulling her out of the fourth grade because they could not afford to send her to school, she overheard an argument between her parents. She said her mother, Hanaa, 55, was shouting at him, saying: She is still a little girl. Dont you fear God? She is still playing with children; how can she bear the responsibility of being a wife? She doesnt even know how to cook any food; she doesnt even know how to fry an egg. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her father replied that the man who was going to marry her was a respectable man. Yes, he is older than her, but he will treat her well and wont make her cook. The man just wants to get married, Batta said she heard him say, before he added, She will marry whether you accept or not. Protesters express support for the proposed amendment to the Iraqi Personal Status Law at a rally in Tahrir Square in central Baghdad. Batta said she had just turned 11 when my father asked me to take a shower and wear nice clothes. Afterward, she said, he took her to a gathering of a group of men, including a cleric. I later learned that one of them was the man who would be my husband, while the other two were witnesses to the marriage, she said. Later, she said, she learned that her father had received 15 million Iraqi dinars, or around $11,300, from the man, part of which he used to buy a new taxi. I also learned that my husband was 47 years old, she added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the first night, the night I lost my virginity, I didnt know what this man was doing. I felt immense pain, and I cried as he knelt over me without being able to move my hands or feet, she said. I want to forget this day, even though I will never forget it. Nonetheless, Batta said, her husband treated me well for the first year of their marriage, but after a year his behavior towards me changed. He started hitting me for anything I did, even if I was just watching television; he would hit me and say that I had no right to watch TV, she said, adding that even servants were treated better than I was. When her father died of cirrhosis two years after their wedding, she said, her husband would not allow her to attend the funeral. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Batta said that in July 2016, when she was just 14, he took her to the cleric who married them. Afterward, she said, he took her back to her family home and told her mother, This is your daughter, and this is her divorce paper. My mother never let me leave the house because she felt ashamed of what the neighbors would think, she said. Even my siblings didnt treat me well. I became like a servant in the house, having to serve everyone. At 16, she said, she decided to run away from home and go to Baghdad. There, she said, she met a woman on social media who offered her a place to stay only to find out that she ran a brothel. I work for her now, she said. I go with the other girls to one of the nightclubs, dancing in front of everyone and seducing men to get as much money as I can from them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the end of each month, she said, the woman distributes a quarter of the total amount we managed to obtain over the entire month, while the rest is considered rent and food money. Blatant violation of childrens rights Batta is by far not the only child in Iraq to have been married at a young age. UNICEF reported in April 2023 that 28% of girls are married before the legal age of 18, although under Iraqi law, girls as young as 15 can be married with the consent of judges and their parents. The potential consequences of child marriage were laid bare in a 2016 report by the United Nations Population Fund on the effects of child marriage in Iraqs northern Kurdistan region, which said it usually comes with unhealthy and ill-informed sexual relations that may include unwanted and forced sex, domestic rape, vulnerability to domestic violence and genderbased violence and adultery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That ultimately affects the physical and mental well-being of child spouses, the report said. But lawmakers, predominantly from the Shia Muslim bloc, including the political parties Hikma, State of Law and Hukok, are nonetheless championing amendments to the Personal Status Law, also known as Law 188, suggesting they are in line with both Iraqs Constitution and Islamic law. Iraq is predominantly Shia; around 40% of the population is Sunni Muslim. Adopted in 1959, the current law unifies all segments of society under a single code while enshrining the rights of women and children. As well as setting the age of marriage, it addressed child custody, inheritances and alimony payments focused on the welfare of both children and women. The law was one of the most progressive in the Middle East, according to Renad Mansour, a senior research fellow at the London-based Chatham House think tank. It had survived regime changes, wars, civil wars and conflicts throughout many, many decades, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The newly proposed amendments would take a large amount of decision-making power away from both families and the courts and place it into the hands of clerics, some of whom set the age of puberty at 9. As a result, some lawmakers and rights groups are concerned that that would pave the way for legalizing and expanding child marriage in the country. The parties proposing the changes came in promising democracy and a better future for Iraqis, Mansour said. But they failed to keep these promises, leading to increasing disillusionment across the public and widespread protests calling for better services, increased job opportunities and an end to corruption, he said. The ways in which they tried to gain legitimacy have waned, he said. And so this is an attempt by some of them to reassert that they are indeed religious parties and their legitimacy is based around religion. A girl holds a placard as activists demonstrate against female child marriage in Baghdad's Tahrir Square this year. Three lawmakers who supported the proposed changes declined to be interviewed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some of those pushing for the changes have suggested that they could help lower divorce rates and boost family values. Speaking to Iraqi broadcaster Al-Forat News in September, lawmaker Dunya Al-Shammari said they would protect women and families from disintegration, and resorting to Islamic law is the best guarantor to preserve these rights. She added that it would help to achieve justice between men and women regarding child custody. Others, like fellow Shia lawmaker Alya Nassif, called for the proposals to be voted down, as similar amendments were in 2014 and 2017. Calling the proposals dangerous, Nassif said the law threatens society and families. She said members of parliament had been presented with a collection of ideas written on two sheets of paper, rather than legal articles that are needed to be discussed for voting. Calling the proposed amendments a blatant violation of childrens rights, Kurdo Omar, an MP who represents the Kurdistan Alliance, said she thought it would harm Iraqs reputation both domestically and internationally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both joined a lawmaker boycott of a second reading of the draft bill in early September, which prevented it from taking place, and both hope to scupper the amendments entirely. Batta hopes they succeed. Changing the law will lead many underage girls to face circumstances similar to what I went through, she said. I am sure that those who are trying to change the law do not allow their daughters to marry at a young age because they do not need the money. The issue is solely about money and nothing else. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com The Israeli government on Sunday approved a plan to invest more than $10 million in the occupied Golan Heights. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan aims to double the population in the region, his office announced. Currently, more than 50,000 people live on the rocky plateau, just over half of them Jewish Israelis and the rest from the Druze and Alawite religious minorities. The plan is a response to the "new front" with Syria, the statement said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel has deployed troops into a buffer zone on the Syrian side of the border following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime. The zone is under UN supervision in accordance with a 1974 ceasefire agreement between the two countries. "Strengthening the Golan means strengthening Israel, and it is particularly important at this time," Netanyahu said. The area would be "held on to, made to flourish and colonized," he added. The Golan Heights were conquered by Israel in 1967 and annexed in 1981. According to international law, the areas are considered to be Syrian territory occupied by Israel. US President-elect Donald Trump formally recognized the Golan Heights as Israeli territory during his first term in 2019, marking a U-turn in US foreign policy. The Israeli government on Sunday approved a plan to invest more than $10 million in the occupied Golan Heights. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan aims to double the population in the region, his office announced. Currently, more than 50,000 people live on the rocky plateau, just over half of them Jewish Israelis and the rest from the Druze and Alawite religious minorities. The plan is a response to the "new front" with Syria, the statement said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel has deployed troops into a buffer zone on the Syrian side of the border following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime. The zone is under UN supervision in accordance with a 1974 ceasefire agreement between the two countries. "Strengthening the Golan means strengthening Israel, and it is particularly important at this time," Netanyahu said. The area would be "held on to, made to flourish and colonized," he added. The Golan Heights were conquered by Israel in 1967 and annexed in 1981. According to international law, the areas are considered to be Syrian territory occupied by Israel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Saudi Arabia condemned Israel's plans as "sabotage of Syrias chances of restoring security and stability," the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The kingdom urged the international community to condemn these Israeli violations, stressing on the importance of respecting Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity and that the Golan is occupied Syrian land, the statement added. Qatar also said it strongly condemns the plan "to expand Israeli settlements in the occupied Golan Heights, considering it a new episode in a series of Israeli aggressions on Syrian territories and a blatant violation of international law." US President-elect Donald Trump formally recognized the Golan Heights as Israeli territory during his first term in 2019, marking a U-turn in US foreign policy. TEL AVIV Israel has appealed the arrest warrants the International Criminal Court issued for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant as the official death toll in Gaza nears 45,000, according to Palestinian health authorities. The enclave was pushed closer to the grim milestone by Israeli airstrikes that killed at least 26 people Sunday, including 16 at a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in northern Gaza. Oren Marmorstein, a spokesperson for Israels Foreign Affairs Ministry, confirmed to NBC News on Sunday that Israel had filed the appeal against the ICC warrants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The warrants were related to crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October, 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, including the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts. A woman touches the cheek of a child killed by an Israeli airstrike Saturday. Marmorstein said Israel, which is not a member of the ICC, categorically rejects the baseless accusations and is determined to defend the justice of its positions and to strongly oppose the miscarriage of justice. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also said he ordered the closure of Irelands embassy in the country because of the extreme anti-Israel policies of the Irish government. The Irish government said last week it would ask the International Court of Justice to broaden its definition of genocide, claiming Israel has engaged in the collective punishment of people in Gaza. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the closure is another step in Israels growing isolation from the international community, Netanyahus spokesperson, Omer Dostri, has confirmed that Netanyahu spoke with President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday about regional developments in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza and the threat posed by Iran. Netanyahu's office said Sunday his government has approved plans to expand settlements in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, allocating over $11 million to a plan aimed at "doubling" its population, currently around 20,000. In 2019, Trump signed an order recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the area, which was seized from Syria in 1967. Meanwhile in Gaza, Israel bombed clusters of houses and set some ablaze in three towns, also attacking Khalil Aweida, a school-turned-shelter, before it stormed it and ordered displaced families to head toward Gaza City, according to Reuters, citing medics and residents. Mohammed Abu Afash, director of Palestinian Medical Relief, a nongovernment organization, warned Sunday of an "environmental disaster" in the north due to the accumulation of bodies in the streets and their devouring by stray dogs and cats, adding that the World Health Organization had delivered limited fuel and medical supplies amid the siege. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Palestinian man carries a child killed by an Israeli airstrike through a cemetery in Deir el-Balah on Sunday. Israel attacked the school-turned-shelter after it launched a wave of airstrikes Saturday, which killed at least 49 people, seven of them during an attack on another school sheltering displaced Palestinians, health officials said. They said women and children were among the dead, including a girl who was only 2 days old. The Israeli military has been operating in northern Gaza for over two months, though the siege of the Gaza Strip has lasted for 15 months, a response to the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack in which roughly 1,200 people were killed in Israel and around 250 people were taken hostage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since then, nearly 45,000 people have been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, while over 105,000 people have been injured, and many victims remain buried under rubble. Meanwhile, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, tensions have escalated after at least one person was killed following violent clashes between Palestinian Authority forces and Palestinian militants in the city of Jenin. Western-backed PA forces have set up checkpoints in the city and claimed their forces were undertaking security operations to restore law and order in the refugee camp suburb, a stronghold of militants alienated from Palestinian leadership. Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, said Saturday that it had suspended services in Jenin Camp for another day following the violence, with children unable to attend school and residents cut off from health care and other essential services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All sides of these internal confrontations need to uphold the basic principles of international law that guarantee the safety of civilians & their access to basic services in all situations, Lazzarini said on X. Freddie Clayton reported from London and Omer Bekin from Tel Aviv. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) Israel said Sunday it will close its embassy in Ireland as relations deteriorated over the war in Gaza, where Palestinian medical officials said new Israeli airstrikes killed over 46 people including several children. The decision to close the embassy came in response to what Israels foreign minister has described as Irelands extreme anti-Israel policies. In May, Israel recalled its ambassador to Dublin after Ireland announced, along with Norway, Spain and Slovenia, it would recognize a Palestinian state. The Irish Cabinet last week decided to formally intervene in South Africas case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, which accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. Israel denies it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are concerned that a very narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide leads to a culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimized, said Irelands foreign affairs minister, Micheal Martin. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar's statement on the embassy closure said Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with Israel. Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris called the decision to close the embassy deeply regrettable. He added on X: I utterly reject the assertion that Ireland is anti-Israel. Ireland is pro-peace, pro-human rights and pro-international law. Israeli strikes in Gaza kill a journalist and children Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israeli forces continued Sunday to pound Gaza, including the largely isolated north, as the Palestinian death toll in the war approached 45,000. A large explosion lit up the southern Gaza skyline on Sunday night. An Israeli airstrike hit a school and killed at least 16 people in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital, where the bodies were taken. There was no immediate Israeli military statement. In the north, an airstrike hit the Khalil Aweida school in the town of Beit Hanoun and killed at least 15 people, according to nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital where casualties were taken. The dead included two parents and their daughter and a father and his son, the hospital said. And in Gaza City, at least 17 people including six women and five children were killed in three airstrikes that hit houses sheltering displaced people, according to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We woke up to the strike. I woke up with the rubble on top of me, said a bandaged Yahia al-Yazji, who grieved for his wife and daughter. "I found my wife with her head and skull visible, and my daughters intestines were gone. My wife was three months pregnant. His hand rested on a body wrapped in a blanket on the floor. Israel's military in a statement said it struck a terrorist cell in Gaza City and a terrorist meeting point in the Beit Hanoun area. Another Israeli airstrike killed a Palestinian journalist working for Al Jazeera, Ahmed al-Lawh, in central Gaza, a hospital and the Qatari-based TV station said. The strike hit a point for Gazas civil defense agency in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp, Al-Awda Hospital said. Also killed were three civil defense workers including the local head of the agency, according to al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital. The civil defense is Gaza's main rescue agency and operates under the Hamas-run government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the bodies was covered with an orange work jacket marked ambulance in English. We, the civil defense, are carrying out humanitarian work like in any country in the world. Why are we being targeted? said colleague Kerem Al Dalou. Israels military said it struck a militant command center embedded in the civil defense offices. The war in Gaza began after Hamas and other militants from Gaza stormed southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking well over 200 hostage. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed almost 45,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministrys count does not distinguish between combatants and civilians, but it says over half of the dead have been women and children. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most of Gaza's population of over 2 million has been displaced, often multiple times. The hospitals that are still functioning say they lack medicines, fuel and other basic supplies, while aid groups warn of widespread hunger. The head of the World Food Program, Cindy McCain, told CBS on Sunday that the U.N. agency was able to get just two trucks of supplies into Gaza in November, citing insecurity there. We need a ceasefire, and we need it now, she said. We can no longer sit by and just allow these people to starve to death. ___ Melzer reported from Nahariya, Israel. Associated Press writer Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report. ___ Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has ordered the closure of the Israeli embassy in Ireland "in light of the extreme anti-Israel policies of the Irish government," the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem said on Sunday. Ireland is among the fiercest critics of Israel's conflict in the Gaza Strip, which Palestinian sources say have killed almost 45,000 people. Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin recently spoke of "collective punishment of the Palestinian people through the intent and impact of military actions of Israel in Gaza." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this year, Ireland, alongside Spain, Slovenia, and Norway, recognized Palestine as an independent state. Additionally, Ireland is set to intervene in South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, urging the court to further expand the definition of the term genocide. "The actions and anti-Semitic rhetoric used by Ireland against Israel are rooted in the delegitimization and demonization of the Jewish state, along with double standards," Saar said, according to the ministry. "Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with Israel." Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris rejected the allegations. He described Israel's decision to close the embassy as "deeply regrettable." "I utterly reject the assertion that Ireland is anti-Israel," Harris wrote on the platform X. "Ireland is pro-peace, pro-human rights and pro-International law." Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he will double the Israeli population of the Golan Heights following the fall of Syria's Bashar Al-Assad. The Israeli government approved the plan on Sunday. Netanyahu approved a plan to expand the number of settlements in the occupied Golan Heights, he said in a statement. "Strengthening the Golan is strengthening the State of Israel, and it is especially important at this time. We will continue to hold onto it, cause it to blossom, and settle in it," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Netanyahu said the shift is necessary because a "new front" had emerged on Israel's border with Syria after the fall of the Assad regime to an Islamist-led rebel alliance, the BBC reported. Soldiers from the Israeli Defense Forces forces occupied a buffer zone separating the Golan Heights from Syria just after Assad's departure, and said the change of control in Damascus meant cease-fire arrangements had "collapsed." An Israeli Druze man brings cup of coffee as watches IDF activity act a border gate with Syria after in the northern Israeli-controlled Golan Heights on Tuesday. Israel is extending is presence on the ground inside Syria following the Syrian rebel takeover of most of the country in the past days. Photo by Jim Hollander/UPI There are currently more than 30 Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights, home to about 20,000 people. International law considers them illegal, which Israel disputes. Those settlers share the land with mostly Druze Aran Syrians who stayed when Israel gained control. An Israeli soldier performs his morning prayers atop an armored personnel carrier along the border with Syria inside northern Israel in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights on Tuesday. Israel is extending is presence inside Syria following the fall of the Assad regime in the past days. Photo by Jim Hollander/UPI Netanyahu said Israel would continue to occupy the territory to "make it flourish and settle it." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Netanyahu's announcement comes a day after Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa criticized Israel for its ongoing strikes on military facilities. The Syrian leader called Israel's strikes "uncalculated military adventures." An Israeli soldier performs morning prayers atop an along the border with Syria inside northern Israel in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights on Tuesday. Israel is extending is presence on the ground inside Syria following the Syrian rebel takeover of most of the country in the past days. Photo by Jim Hollander/UPI Netanyahu talked with Trump on Saturday night and called the Israeli president "my friend," in a conversation that was "very friendly, warm, and important," Netanyahu said in a statement. They discussed the need to "complete Israel's victory" and efforts to release hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. By Howard Goller JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel agreed on Sunday to double its population on the occupied Golan Heights while saying threats from Syria remained despite the moderate tone of rebel leaders who ousted President Bashar al-Assad a week ago. "Strengthening the Golan is strengthening the State of Israel, and it is especially important at this time. We will continue to hold onto it, cause it to blossom, and settle in it," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel captured most of the strategic plateau from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War, annexing it in 1981. In 2019 then-President Donald Trump declared U.S. support for Israeli sovereignty over the Golan, but the annexation has not been recognised by most countries. Syria demands Israel withdraw but Israel refuses, citing security concerns. Various peace efforts have failed. Netanyahu said he spoke with Trump on Saturday about security developments in Syria. "We have no interest in a conflict with Syria," Netanyahu said in a statement. Israeli actions in Syria were intended to "thwart the potential threats from Syria and to prevent the takeover of terrorist elements near our border," he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that the latest developments in Syria increased the threat to Israel, "despite the moderate image that the rebel leaders claim to present". Netanyahu's office said the government unanimously approved a more than 40-million-shekel ($11 million) plan to encourage demographic growth in the Golan. It said Netanyahu submitted the plan to the government "in light of the war and the new front facing Syria, and out of a desire to double the population of the Golan". Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates condemned Israel's decision, with the UAE - which normalised relations with Israel in 2020 - describing it as a "deliberate effort to expand the occupation". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some 31,000 Israelis have settled there, said analyst Avraham Levine of the Alma Research and Education Center specialising in Israel's security challenges on its northern border. Many work in farming, including vineyards, and tourism. The Golan is home to 24,000 Druze, an Arab minority who practice an offshoot of Islam, Levine said. Most identify as Syrian. AVOIDING 'NEW CONFRONTATIONS' Syria's de facto leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, said on Saturday that Israel was using false pretexts to justify its attacks on Syria, but he was not interested in engaging in new conflicts as his country focuses on rebuilding. Sharaa - better known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani - leads the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that swept Assad from power last Sunday, ending the family's five-decade iron-fisted rule. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since then Israel has moved into a demilitarised zone inside Syria that was created after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, including the Syrian side of the strategic Mount Hermon that overlooks Damascus, where its forces took over an abandoned Syrian military post. Israel, which has said that it does not intend to stay there and calls the incursion into Syrian territory a limited and temporary measure to ensure border security, has also carried out hundreds of strikes on Syria's strategic weapons stockpiles. It has said it is destroying weapons and military infrastructure to prevent them from being used by rebel groups that drove Assad from power, some of which grew from movements linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State. Several Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, have condemned what they called Israel's seizure of a buffer zone in the Golan Heights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Syria's war-weary condition, after years of conflict and war, does not allow for new confrontations. The priority at this stage is reconstruction and stability, not being drawn into disputes that could lead to further destruction," Sharaa said in an interview published on the website of Syria TV, a channel that sides with the rebels. He also said diplomatic solutions were the only way to ensure security and stability and that "uncalculated military adventures" were not wanted. (Reporting by Howard GollerEditing by Frances Kerry, Gareth Jones and Giles Elgood) By Nidal al-Mughrabi CAIRO (Reuters) -Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 53 Palestinians, including a journalist and rescue workers, medics said, and the Israeli military said its air and ground forces in the north of the enclave killed dozens of militants and captured others. An airstrike hit the civil emergency centre in the Nuseirat market area in the central Gaza Strip, killing Ahmed Al-Louh, a video journalist for Al Jazeera TV, and five other people, medics and fellow journalists said. Another strike on a house in Nuseirat camp killed five people, including children, according to medics. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The TV network said Al-Louh was working when he was killed and condemned Israel. The Israeli military said the strike had targeted Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants operating from Gaza's Civil Defence's Nuseirat office. It named Al-Louh as a member of the militant group Islamic Jihad, without providing evidence. Al Jazeera did not immediately comment on the Israeli allegation but has condemned previous claims by Israel naming some of the Qatari-owned network's journalists killed in the Gaza war as members of militant groups. Hamas media said the head of the civil emergency service in Nuseirat, Nedal Abu Hjayyer, was also killed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The civil emergency headquarters in Nuseirat camp was hit during the crews' presence, they work around the clock to serve the people," said Zaki Emadeldeen from the civil emergency service to reporters at the hospital. Another airstrike hit a group of Hamas-linked men tasked with protecting aid trucks west of Gaza City, and medics said several were hurt but exact figures were unavailable. At least 11 people were killed in three Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City houses, nine were killed in the towns of Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and Jabalia camp when clusters of houses were bombed or set ablaze, and two were killed in Rafah, medics and residents said. The Israeli military said the three Gaza City houses belonged to militants planning imminent attacks. It said steps were taken to reduce risk to civilians, including the use of precise munitions and aerial surveillance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The military issued a photo showing the weapons it seized in Beit Lahiya that included explosives and dozens of grenades. In southern Gaza's Khan Younis, medics said that at least 20 people, including women and children, were killed when an airstrike hit a shelter housing displaced families. In Beit Hanoun, residents said Israeli forces besieged families sheltering in Khalil Aweida school before storming it and ordering them to head towards Gaza City. Medics said several people were killed and wounded during the raid while the army detained many men. The military said it struck dozens of militants from the air and on the ground and captured others in Beit Hanoun. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reuters was unable to confirm whether any of the people killed were fighters. Hamas does not disclose its casualties, and the Palestinian health ministry does not distinguish in its death toll between combatants and non-combatants. Israel says Gaza's militants regularly embed among civilians, using them as human shields. Hamas denies this. HOSTAGES Separately, Israel said aircraft struck a command and control centre in a compound in the Abu Shabak clinic in northern Gaza used by Hamas to store weapons and plan attacks. The Gaza health ministry said the medical center was destroyed. Palestinians accuse Israel of carrying out ethnic cleansing to depopulate Gaza's northern edge to create a buffer zone. Israel denies this and says the campaign targets Hamas militants. The military says it has instructed civilians to evacuate battle zones for their own safety. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The war began when the Palestinian militant group Hamas stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking more than 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli authorities. Israel then launched an air and land offensive that has killed almost 45,000 people, mostly civilians, according to authorities in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. The campaign has displaced nearly the entire population and left much of the enclave in ruins. A bid by Egypt, Qatar and the United States to reach a truce, which would also include a hostage deal, has gained momentum in recent weeks, yet there has been no news of a breakthrough. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had spoken with U.S. President-elect Trump, who returns to the White House on Jan. 20, about efforts to secure a hostage release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We discussed the need to complete Israel's victory and we spoke at length about the efforts we are making to free our hostages," Netanyahu said in a statement on Sunday. (Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Editing by Howard Goller and Diane Craft) TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) Saturday afternoon Indiana State University gave out 409 bachelors degrees to students that represented three countries, including the United States, Saudi Arabia, and India. All of these students were enrolled in either the Bailey College of Engineering and Technology, College of Arts & Sciences, College of Health & Human Services, Scott College of Business, and Bayh College of Education. Student commencement speaker Hannah Buescher said she couldnt recommend Indiana State enough. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I would just encourage anyone of you are looking into it to just dive right in, said Buescher. Talk to people who go here already, talk to the deans and teachers because everyone is so willing, and everyone here just wants your success because that is their number one goal. Maple Ave. United Methodist Church is set to perform its annual Christmas Cantata The alumni speaker for this ceremony was CEO and founder of the Garrett Companies, Eric Garrett. Garrett credits Indiana State as the foundation of his success and wants to share his knowledge to the graduates following in his footsteps. You have to be prepared to take those opportunities and to do that you have to learn everything you can about your chosen profession, said Garrett. That goes beyond what you are taught by your HR department and is about learning outside of that, researching on your own, networking with people in the industry, networking with the executives at your company, and growing those relationships. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Indiana State University President Mike Godard said that this is the universitys favorite thing to do. This is the best part of what we get to do as we get to celebrate our students who have earned a degree from Indiana State University, said Godard. Seeing the smiles as they walk across the stage with that degree in hand and to be able to celebrate with them. Godard said that the support you receive while at the university does not stop after graduation. We are going to continue to support all of our graduates to make sure that they have those continuous opportunities, said Godard. That engagement just continues now as alumnus of Indiana State. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyWabashValley.com. Experts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) have analysed data on the participation of North Korean troops in assaults against Ukrainian forces in Kursk Oblast. They added that North Korea's ability to take into account the lessons learned during the fighting with Russia will deteriorate significantly if North Korean soldiers are exhausted at the same level as the Russian military. Source: ISW Details: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on 14 December that the Russian military had deployed North Korean soldiers in infantry assaults in Kursk Oblast. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zelenskyy reported that the Russian military is integrating "a significant number" of North Korean troops into Russian units operating in Kursk Oblast, adding that these soldiers have already suffered "noticeable" losses. He highlighted that Russian forces have so far used North Korean troops exclusively in offensive operations in Kursk Oblast but may deploy them to other unspecified frontline areas in the future. This marks the first instance of a Ukrainian official reporting North Korean forces conducting assault operations since Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov mentioned in an interview with South Koreas national broadcaster KBS on 5 November that Ukrainian forces had engaged in "small-scale" clashes with North Korean troops in Kursk Oblast. Russian milbloggers have also recently acknowledged North Korean involvement in assaults in the region, claiming on 12 and 13 December that North Korean soldiers participated in the capture of Plekhovo (south of Sudzha) on 6 December. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ISW couldnt independently verify these claims. However, ISW previously noted that North Koreas ability to learn and integrate lessons from fighting alongside Russia is likely to be significantly hindered if the Russian military command continues to deploy North Korean troops in the same highly attritional, infantry-led assaults used for most Russian personnel. To quote the ISWs Key Takeaways on 14 December: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on 14 December that the Russian military has deployed North Korean soldiers in infantry assaults in Kursk Oblast. The prospects for Russia's continued military presence in Syria remain unclear as reports that Russia is evacuating its military assets from Syria continue. The complex nature of the interim Syrian government is likely to result in conflicting reports about whether Russia is engaged in talks with Syrian opposition groups. Ukrainian forces struck an oil depot in Oryol Oblast on the night of 13-14 December. The new Georgian Dream-dominated parliament and other government bodies elected Georgian Dream's candidate, Mikheil Kavelashvili, as Georgian President on 14 December. Russian forces recently advanced in Kursk Oblast and near Torestk, Pokrovsk, Kurakhove, and Robotyne. Ukrainian forces regained lost positions near Vovchansk within the past several weeks. Russian leader Vladimir Putin continues to exalt the "Time of Heroes" veteran programme and use it to militarise the Russian government and society. Support UP or become our patron! Italy has kicked off a new project to start developing small nuclear fission reactors. The project aims to power settlements on the moon using these reactors. Called the Selene project, the initiative by Italys national space agency, ASI, focuses on developing the Moon Energy Hub (MEnH), which would provide a stable energy source for future lunar settlements using small nuclear fission reactors called Surface Nuclear Reactors (SNRs). The Selene project was among the winners of the ASI funding call in 2023 for developing alternative energy solutions for the moon. Feasibility study regarding a Surface Nuclear Reactor The project is led by the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy, and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA). ENEA and the Italian Space Agency will conduct an initial feasibility study on the use of a Surface Nuclear Reactor (SNR) as a power source for a lunar outpost. The study has established ENEAs role in the field as the glue between the Italian nuclear and space industrial and scientific communities. The key objective of the ASI's project is the study of innovative technological solutions for the creation and management of an energy infrastructure Moon Energy Hub (MEnH), which gravitates around the use of SNRs, a solution that promises to overcome the limits of traditional energy technologies, such as radio-isotope systems and solar panels. The latter, although used until now, have shown inefficiencies, poor scalability, short operational life, and weakness (as per cosmic radiation). MEnH aims to provide a stable energy base The MEnH aims to provide a stable energy base to support a wide range of lunar activities, both human and robotic. The Hub will be designed to be an integrated, modular system capable of expanding and adapting to the evolving needs of lunar missions. For this, the MEnH includes energy storage systems as well as a steerable power transmission system, to support activities at a distance from the generation center, and a mobile reception system for less energy-intensive activities, according to the project. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mariano Tarantino, head of the ENEA Nuclear Systems Division, stated that by combining technological innovation, strategic vision, operability, reliability, and compactness in an extremely demanding environment such as the lunar one, the MEnH aims to become a cornerstone for future space explorations and a point of reference for defining a scenario clear operating and a roadmap to reach it. The coordination of SELENE allows us to confirm the role of ENEA in the nuclear sector for space at national and international level, becoming the glue between the industrial fabric and the world of research engaged in the space sector, a path already started with the ASI-ENEA agreement for the realisation of a first feasibility study for a nuclear reactor to power the moon bases, added Tarantino. In addition to advancing the development of the reactors, the three-year project will focus on key technologies such as sensors, automation, and wireless power transmission. Researchers will also develop decommissioning plans, enhance the supply chain, and create a roadmap for industrializing the system, reported European Spaceflight. A few years ago, it would have been unimaginable that Italy would be home to one of the most stable governments in Europe. Italian coalition administrations tended to last just over a year before collapsing, making Italy predictably unpredictable. But a series of factors, including government crises in relatively stable countries like France and Germany, and the roaring popularity of Italys current coalition led by far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, in power since 2022, have made Rome the key player in Europes relationship with the US under Donald Trumps second presidency. During his last term Trump called Europe a foe of the US. This time, Meloni has the potential to turn that around thanks in part to their mutual friend Elon Musk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk, Trump and Meloni dined together at French President Emmanuel Macrons 60-person dinner after the official reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris last weekend, an experience Trump later told The New York Post was positive. We got along great, he said, adding that he and Meloni had spent a lot of time together. Describing the diminutive figure (Meloni herself has often joked about her 5 2 height) as a live wire, he predicted that they could straighten out the world a little bit. The two leaders, while politically similar, dont necessarily align on all the worlds most pressing conflicts. Meloni has been one of Ukraines strongest backers, having met with President Volodymyr Zelensky a dozen times since Russias invasion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whether she can in any way affect what Trump might do, however, is hard to know, but she will have first dibs to try in Europe. Before there is a new government in Germany and with the current situation in France, when Trump comes into the White House, Italy will have a kind of monopoly, as the only country with a stable government, Giovanni Orsina, director of the department of Political Science at Luiss University in Rome, told CNN. Meloni and Musk have a very good ongoing relationship, and Musk can be a kind of best friend to both, as long as the Trump-Musk honeymoon lasts at least. Musk and Meloni forged their very strong friendship in the summer of 2023, and the Tesla founder headlined Melonis Brothers of Italy political convention, Atreju, in December last year. Elon Musk attends the political festival Atreju organised by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, in Rome on December 16, 2023. - Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters He is rumored to be making a surprise appearance at the same convention this weekend in Rome, which is being headlined by Argentinian President Javier Milei, another of Trumps populist bedfellows. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So close is their relationship that Meloni and Musk had to take to social media earlier this year to dispel rumors of a romance, after he gushed about her beauty when he presented her with a Global Citizens Award on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. A photo of them locked in a gaze went viral, to which Musk tweeted that he was there with his mother and that there is no romantic relationship whatsoever with PM Meloni. Orsina believes that Musk can make it easier for the Italian prime minister to get in touch with Trump whenever she feels the need. There is an opportunity for Meloni to take the initiative and be a bridge between the Trump administration and Europe, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meloni claims to have already started that bridging process in Paris, posting a thumbs-up shot of herself with Trump on X with the headline, There is already an alliance. The USA-EU axis passes through Italy. Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon (L) arrives with Giorgia Meloni (R) to attend a congress of the party in Rome on September 22, 2018. - Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images This is not the first time Meloni has been in the good graces of the MAGA elite. Steve Bannon was her American supporter before Musk, headlining her Atreju political convention back in 2018, telling CNN at the time that he believed she would be one of the most important politicians in Europe. Once she was elected in 2022 and became more moderate, Bannon, no longer wielding the power he once did as Trumps chief strategist, grew cold, telling Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera last week that she has been a disappointment. Meloni has almost turned into a Nikki Haley, he told the Italian daily, referring to Trumps opponent in the Republican primaries. Citing her support for Ukraine, and what he describes as Italys lack of work on trade, he predicts that it wont be Meloni who influences Trump, but the other way around. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think her attitude will change with the arrival of President Trump, who will convince her, Bannon said. And that NATO countries will get on board quite quickly. Otherwise, if she really believes what she has said in recent years, she should be ready with others in Europe to put money into it, to write checks as big as the speeches. We in the MAGA movement are adamant, we want to cut funding for Ukraine in the Chamber by 100%. For the moment, Meloni appears to be on Musks, and as a result, Trumps right sides. She is a day after politician, much more than a day before politician, Orsina says, referring to the likelihood she will be reactive rather than proactive when it comes to Trumps approach to Europe. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Editor's Note: This article is the first in The Sentinel's "Homes for the Holidays" series by reporter Cassidey Kavathas. For the past two months, Kavathas and photographer Adam Vander Kooy have spoken to residents affected by homelessness, toured local organizations and spoken to housing experts. In her series, Kavathas will explore the challenges posed by a lack of affordable housing, the nonprofits working to combat it, and the solutions that might bring our neighbors back home. HOLLAND Kayne West is echoing off the bricks of Holland's First United Methodist Church. A handful of people, swaddled in winter coats, huddle around a speaker and a bike, trying to escape the howling wind on a chilly November morning. They're waiting for something. Maybe that's odd for some churches, but not here. Here, the group is a familiar sight on Fridays, a collection of men and women affected by homelessness waiting to freshen up, meet others and take a breath. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The First United Methodist Church at 57 W. 10th St. hosts Refresh, a partnership between the sanctuary and Community Action House. The program provides access to showers, clothes and a light meal, as well as mail services for those who need an address to receive checks and essential correspondence. Margarita Hurley and Jesse Elizalde kiss before leaving Refresh on Friday, Nov. 8, at First United Methodist Church. Inside, sitting at a table illuminated by fluorescents and sunlight through stained glass, Javier Ramirez waits for his turn to shower, chats and enjoys a light breakfast. It's mainly a space to keep warm," Ramirez said. "You get a shower and clothes. You get fed. It brings me joy just to know that Im loved and supported. More: HPD confirms homeless camps cleared by Meijer Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ramirez, 27, has been intermittently affected by homelessness for about three years. He doesnt have a driver's license or a car, but feels fortunate to have a tent for shelter. As he walks under the Pride Flag posted outside the doors of the church, Ramirez said, he can turn off his survival safety mode." Javier Ramirez poses for a photo at Refresh on Friday, Nov. 8, at First United Methodist Church. A poster next to the breakfast pick-up window reads: You are smart. You are brave. You are capable. You are welcome. You are important. You are accepted. You are enough. You are strong. You are loved. You are worthy. It's that dignity piece that's so, so needed, said LuAnne Stanley Hook, director of community involvement at First United. Ive been shocked by the number of people who've come in here and said, You treat me like Im a normal person like no one else does. Thats terrible. Refresh has a few simple rules keep the space safe, respect others, no illegal contraband or substances or weapons, and visit between scheduled hours. There are no moral rules, though. Residents can come as they are. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: 'What is wrong with this state?' Holland resident might leave Michigan after housing nightmare "Even if you're using substances, they dont judge you for that," Ramirez said. "They want you to get the help you need and support and guidance. They put a lot of effort into us." 'I've seen people die' As the chill settles around Lake Michigan, spaces like Refresh aren't just important they're life-saving. According to officials in Ottawa County, there are roughly 2,000 people experiencing homelessness here; living in cars, tents and storage units, or facing the elements head-on. Winter is harsh weather, especially if you're trying to recover from something, Ramirez said. I've seen a lot of people in past winters die because it's so cold and they weren't having a good day, maybe they were drinking or using drugs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ramirez suffers from depression himself, a problem somewhat triggered by his income. He relies on Social Security and Medicaid, but fears the day he loses access. It scares me to a point where I dont know what to do, he said. It sucks, but then, at the same time, you have to think positive when you're out there. His main goal? To find reliable housing but he's struggled with starting over. He hopes to see local funding funneled toward housing opportunities for homeless or low-income populations, instead of luxury developments. A volunteer serves hot meals for Refresh at First United Methodist Church. It's not a problem that's getting better. Were seeing more and more neighbors who need services, said Katy Russner-Travis, director of communications at Community Action House. Weve walked with people through all the steps you can take, and there simply isnt housing to find. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to county data, the population in Ottawa County grew by about 11,295 before 2018 and 2022. But the number of housing units between 2018 and 2023 only increased by about 8,000, according to the American Community Survey. The rental vacancy rate dropped from 6.6% to 3.3% in the same time period. The fact of the matter is, housing growth in Ottawa County isn't keeping up with the population. The issue has moved beyond just a lack of affordable housing," said Brenna Zawacki, director of programs at Good Samaritan, a local housing assessment and resource agency. "Theres not a lot of vacant housing in general. People are really trying to stay where they are." Sandy, a volunteer for Refresh in Holland, loads a washing machine with recently donated clothes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a consequence, there are few, if any, units available for those who manage to secure an MSHDA Housing Voucher. Thanks to budget shortfalls, waiting lists for vouchers aren't even open. The units that are suitable and open for use by a voucher-holder are always in short supply," said Holland Community Development Coordinator Mark Kornelis. "But theyre in even shorter supply than they were 10 or 15 years ago." More: Ottawa County moves ahead $1.5M in funding for affordable homes Refresh, which launched in 2019, has seen the shift firsthand. When we started Refresh, if you had a voucher, you were housed, Stanley Hook said. That's not the case now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even worse, there's no clear solution. You're gonna find that homelessness somehow is getting worse and worse and worse but at the same time, there has to be a way to fix it, Ramirez said, before accepting services and heading back into the cold. Cassidey Kavathas is the politics and court reporter at The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at ckavathas@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @cassideykava This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Holland's housing crisis has real faces, and real consequences Update 10:01 a.m.: Thar has been found safely. The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office is searching for 51-year-old Kyaw Thar in the Spring Park area. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< According to police, he was reported missing around 10:50 p.m. on Saturday. Thar was last seen leaving his home around 7 p.m.. His home is in the 2700 block of Spring Park Road. Police said Thar has severe memory loss and a medical condition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was last seen wearing a red shirt and dark-colored pants. Thar is also missing four fingers on his right hand. Anyone having seen Mr. Thar or who has information that could assist in this search is asked to call the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office at 904-630-0500. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. Former California Governor Jerry Brown sat down with Inside California Politics co-host Nikki Laurenzo in mid-December ahead of a presentation with the Public Policy Institute of California in downtown Sacramento. In a wide-ranging conversation, Brown shared his thoughts on the state of Californias economy and the law-making process, the outcome of the presidential election, and current Governor Gavin Newsoms call for a special legislative session to Trump-proof California ahead of his inauguration. During the interview, Brown said that President-elect Donald Trumps invitation to Chinese President Xi Jinping to his inauguration is a good gesture and that there should be far more talk between world leaders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was a similar answer that he gave to Inside California Politics during an interview in March 2023 at his Colusa County ranch, where he has lived since leaving public office. Watch the full December 2024 interview with former Governor Brown in the video player above. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40. Before Mayor Brandon Johnsons latest bid to secure passage of his 2025 budget plan fell apart last week, his team raced to make up for the past year and a halfs damage to his relationships with aldermen in just a few days. The progressive mayor and self-dubbed collaborator-in-chief resorted (with mixed results) to the kind of old-school horse-trading for budget support that was a hallmark of Democratic machine predecessors, but fell short of a council majority and canceled the up-or-down budget vote Friday morning rather than suffer a historically embarrassing defeat. Now, with an end-of-year deadline bearing down on him to pass the $17.3 billion spending plan, and holdout aldermen further empowered to demand even greater concessions or sweeteners in exchange for their backing, Johnson has to figure out what to do to persuade a handful more of them to change their minds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tick tock. The latest bevy of backroom negotiations this week did boast a few successful examples of wheeling and dealing reminiscent of Mayors Richard M. Daley and Rahm Emanuel, but apparently not enough to guarantee a Friday victory. So Johnson told the council to come back to try again Monday afternoon. The freshman mayor who promised bold progressive investments and no property tax increases only to propose a 2025 budget that satisfies neither has until Dec. 31 to win a majority of Chicagos 50 aldermen or risk a historic government shutdown. What happens next is anyones guess, but City Hall observers say they already expect the recent chaos thats dominated Johnsons second budget process to usher in long-lasting ramifications for Chicagos political ecosystem. Even aldermen planning to vote for the mayors budget say this latest parade of mishaps could serve to permanently give away the power of the mayors office as well as make his next two negotiation cycles that much harder. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ald. Daniel La Spata, 1st, told the Tribune last week hes likely a yes but also wants the Johnson administration to see this moment as a wake-up call. It can always get worse. Sorry to be so blunt, said La Spata, one of the most left-leaning council members. The mayors ability to get that budget passed is dependent on relationships and trust, and I think that is what has been damaged severely. Whether it has been irreparably damaged I guess remains to be seen. Progressive Caucus co-chair Ald. Andre Vasquez, 40th, had a harsher assessment: Everything the Johnson administration has done, in my estimation, has been the wrong move and has further caused the council to be frustrated, to be more independent. Its really a landmark moment for city government here. The mayor on Friday addressed reporters questions about the perception of his diminishing power by arguing hes in fact heralding a seismic moment for transforming local government after the monolithic sort of approach that has governed the city of Chicago for decades. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats a good thing for government. Thats nothing to be intimidated of, Johnson said at a news conference after he canceled the budget vote. Its really why I believe that my parents intentionally made sure that I was born a middle child. Im best positioned and suited for that type of collaboration. Horse-trading But while Johnson touted his departure from the citys longtime top-down governing style with the mayor calling the shots, he resorted to some budget quid pro quos with aldermen reminiscent of Chicago bosses. A most straightforward case was a promise the Johnson administration gave to Ald. David Moore, 17th, to secure about $30 million for a new Ogden Park field house in exchange for his endorsement of the mayors budget plan. Over the years, Moore has crusaded on behalf of renovating the dilapidated park facility in Englewood. The new funds will not be part of the upcoming budget, but Moore told the Tribune last week that he had faith theyll get it done. I always said, in order for me to vote, I dont care if it was a $1 budget or a $16 billion budget, I have to be able to bring something back to my community, said Moore, who usually votes with the moderates and against the mayor. Thats not trading. Thats making sure that your community is taken care of. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other attempts went less smoothly. Johnsons team met with Vasquez earlier this month when he began preparing a management ordinance amendment that would require midyear fiscal reports, earlier budget hearings and other structural guardrails on the mayor. But an updated version from the citys Law Department contained a provision that would nullify the changes should the City Council fail to pass Johnsons 2025 spending plan by the end of last Friday. A senior assistant corporation counsel for the city, Rey A. Phillips Santos, testified during Tuesdays Budget Committee hearing that the change was a policy decision but would not reveal who advocated for it. Vasquez declined to elaborate on his conversations with Johnsons team over the last-minute addendum, though his colleagues banded together to strike the deadline provision from the budget after mayoral critic Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th, caught the new text. The new requirement for reports, hearings and guardrails remain. Progressive Caucus co-chair Ald. Maria Hadden, 49th, addressed Johnson officials at that meeting about the attempt to include the language: I think its wholly unnecessary and frankly a little bit, I dont know, not in good faith for the administration to request that this be added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement La Spata, meanwhile, drew his own red line this month when he posted on X, I wont vote for a budget that leaves out a pilot program for free sidewalk snowplowing services, a priority for disability advocates. But he ultimately voted yes for Johnsons budget package during the Tuesday committee votes even though the updated ordinances do not seem to set aside funds for Plow the Sidewalks. Its possible the alderman, who declined to share details on what transpired, made a handshake deal with the Johnson administration, similar to Moores field house agreement. Representatives with the citys Office of Budget and Management have ignored multiple inquiries on whether the pilot is in fact included or not. Asked by reporters Friday whether Plow the Sidewalks is in his 2025 spending plan or whether he made a deal with La Spata, Johnson said, Nothing has been finalized or determined in this budget. These ideas continue to come in, and were going to explore. Perhaps that is because conservative Ald. Nick Sposato, 38th, has refused to vote for any budget that contains such services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I was like, Thats it. If you do the snow shoveling, Im out, Sposato said last week. Im sure theres ways to hide things or sneak things, but you know what? Once it happens, everybodys gonna know about it. Another interesting show of horse-trading with a progressive, this time Southwest Side Ald. Michael Rodriguez, 22nd, was sparked after the administration picked up an idea from La Spata to expand surcharges on Uber and Lyft rides downtown to help plug the budget hole. Rodriguez said he was concerned this would upend ongoing, yearslong negotiations with the ride-share driver lobby, which is opposed to raising taxes on their services. But he got the mayors office to agree to designate $250,000 of the new revenue to fund a workers center for ride-share drivers to seek help on deactivations, pay issues or safety concerns. It was an absolutely crucial investment for his support, he told the Tribune, though not the only part. An attempt by the administration to increase council committee budget funding for two members of Johnsons City Council leadership team a time-honored way to secure budget votes met a swift death Tuesday after colleagues cried foul. Housing Committee chair Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, was due to receive another $50,000 for his committee, and Police and Fire Committee chair Ald. Chris Taliaferro, 29th, an additional $30,000 for his. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Opponents said it signaled the mayors team was in dire straits to have to sweeten the pot for such close allies. Even Johnson supporters were turned off by the last-minute line item getting sneaked into the ordinance. After the allocation was removed, Sigcho-Lopez scoffed at the insinuation that the modest allowance would have influenced his final vote, as hes focused on getting up to 1,100 sworn police vacancies slashed. Unfortunately, people are focusing on a $50,000 allocation, Sigcho-Lopez said. But again, our colleagues have to be serious. They talk about efficiencies. The majority of the efficiencies are in the Chicago Police Department, and $170 million (in cuts) are not being considered because of the lack of the political will. Political capital Meanwhile Ald. Walter Burnett, 27th, Johnsons Zoning Committee chair, touched on the transactional nature of the budget process as he suggested some of the existential questions about the precariousness of the relationship between the mayors office and the City Council are premature. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In this business, your enemies become your friends, Burnett, who endorsed Johnsons 2023 runoff opponent Paul Vallas, said on Thursday. Sometimes your friends become your enemies. Nothing is permanent with this, so things can change based on peoples interests and how their interests can be addressed. Still, aldermen looking ahead to reelection in 2027 are reluctant to align themselves with an unpopular mayor even now. City Council members arent stupid, said Jason McGrath, a Chicago-based pollster who advised former Mayor Lori Lightfoot. They see a flailing administration finding new ways to embarrass themselves every week. Why would they tether themselves to a lead balloon? Im not sure what the hell a collaborator-in-chief does, and its clear the City Council isnt either. Freshmen progressives who have yet to prove their mettle with constituents have been especially worried, several aldermen said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ald. Nicole Lee, 11th, faced a similar quandary when running for reelection last year after being appointed to the council by Lightfoot, who was also a struggling incumbent mayor. The margin of victory during the Lightfoot years got as low as 29-21, a far cry from the consistent lack of opposition to her predecessors budgets. The short answer to this is yes, Lee said when asked if the last few months have permanently altered how the City Council will approach budget negotiations. Nobody wants to be in this position again. Ever again. I dont think its a bad outcome that everybody is showing to the people of the city of Chicago, this is not any sort of rubber-stamp council. Were in unprecedented times. A battery of issues damaged Johnsons relationship with aldermen even before the rancorous budget fight, fostering mistrust of his judgment or commitment to issues they care about. Those incidents range from the loss of the Bring Chicago Home referendum; turf wars with aldermen over shelter placements during the migrant crisis; burning through further political capital by failing to push through Sigcho-Lopez as his Zoning chair; and the at-times confusing manner in which he canceled the citys ShotSpotter contract. Others viewed his strong support of subsidies for the Chicago Bears as a misplaced priority compared with more important asks from state lawmakers and blasted his shake-up of the Chicago Board of Education this fall. More problems proliferated during budget season: The late start, a lack of proactive engagement, cuts to consent decree positions at the Police Department and the guaranteed basic income program and most acutely, the drastic reversal of his campaign promise not to hike property taxes. All have been exacerbated by personnel problems including an exodus of staff members dedicated to lobbying aldermen, a harassment scandal surrounding his former communications director and ethics concerns over his top adviser, Jason Lee, voting in Texas. I really feel like the continuing moral and ethical conflicts that the administration makes for themselves destroys any goodwill that that kind of demonstrated collaboration builds up, La Spata said. Ticking bombs This years negotiations have rarely focused on the citys long-term structural sustainability, likely setting the stage for similarly fraught discussions next year. Thats because many of the gap-closing measures already baked into the budget are one-time in nature, while a brand-new revenue source falling into Johnsons lap appears unlikely. This budgets temporary fixes include $74 million in remaining federal pandemic American Rescue Plan Act funds that the city could have spread out until the end of 2026. Theres also the record-breaking $570 million surplus from the citys tax increment financing districts, or TIFs, which will net the city $132 million and help Chicago Public Schools cover its required $175 million pension payment. About $140 million in leftover surplus, known as prior year fund balance. And $13 million in savings counted up front from a bond refinancing. This summer, before he introduced his budget, Johnsons budget team initially forecast a gap of $1.12 billion for 2026. That number assumed nothing changed. It did not account for new fines and fees, labor contracts or the vacancy eliminations included in the 2025 budget. Those revenue estimates for the new taxes and fees in the budget are also just that: estimates, which could rise or dip depending on the economy or other factors. Unlike property taxes, which are more or less a sure thing, drivers must break the rules to bring in more funds from new speed cameras, shoppers have to pony up for bag taxes, and streamers have to continue paying for Hulu, Netflix or Max. Budget Director Annette Guzman suggested during the news conference after Fridays council meeting that the 2026 deficit would be lower than that billion-dollar estimate but could not provide a range. Compared with Johnsons initial introduction, however, the pending budget had fewer structural solutions. The budget thats before City Council is 73% structural down from the 80 that was presented by the mayor. Ratings agency S&P warned that if the next budget is balanced with too many one-time revenues, it would be grounds for a downgrade. Asked about how real that threat is, Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski told reporters on Friday, We will found out when the budget passes. We certainly hope not. TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) Over 100 traffic stops were made and 17 people were arrested within the span of just 24 hours in Hillsborough County. The arrests were the result of a joint operation between the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office, Tampa Police Department and Florida Department of Corrections. DUI driver slams into Clearwater police cruiser on Courtney Campbell Causeway: police Deputies said the operation, which took place on Friday, Dec. 13, led to significant results in combating recent crime trends in the county. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In total, authorities said 146 vehicles were stopped, 17 people were arrested, and over $1,400 in U.S. currency was seized, along with two firearms. One of those firearms belonged to 19-year-old Brandon Landaverde, who was pulled over near North 15th Street and East Fowler Avenue in Tampa, the sheriffs office said. The gun was reportedly loaded. Deputies said they learned that Landaverde is a three-time convicted felon and was in violation of his probation, leading to multiple charges. The charges against him include the following: Carrying a concealed firearm Felon in possession of a firearm x2 Violation of probation: Fraud-credit-card Violation of probation: Unlawful carrying concealed firearm Violation of probation: Fraud use of personal ID Violation of probation: Carrying concealed firearm Violation of probation: Obstruct crime investigation Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These results highlight the importance of proactive partnerships between agencies to keep our community safe, said Sheriff Chad Chronister. By working together, were making it clear that illegal activity has no place in Hillsborough County. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Dec. 14The Anderson City Council has two important decisions next week concerning the redistricting lawsuit and American Rescue funds. The council on Tuesday is expected to hire an outside consultant to create maps for the six district council seats. Last week, the Chicago-based attorneys withdrew from representing the council in the redistricting lawsuit filed by Common Cause, the League of Women Voters and the local branch of the NAACP. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The city has already paid the Chicago law firm $150,000, and it remains unknown if any of that money will be refunded. The cost of hiring an outside consultant is unknown at this time. Both the city council and Common Cause submitted proposed maps for the six council districts following the 2020 census. Neither side in the federal lawsuit was willing to accept the other's maps. The city faces a July 1 deadline imposed by the Indiana General Assembly to redraw the district maps through legislation sponsored by State Sen. Mike Gaskill. How long it will take a consulting firm to create maps to present to a federal judge has not been announced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Obviously, the council members will be required to vote to approve any of the new maps. The federal judge will also have to approve them. Unless there is an unanticipated delay, the new maps should be presented to the federal court by the July deadline. The council will also be asked to approve legislation to appropriate any remaining American Rescue Plan funds to upgrade the city's water system. The exact amount remaining of the $23 million the city was awarded has not been disclosed by the administration of Mayor Thomas Broderick Jr. The council has already approved using $9 million of the funds to pay for the first phase of the $130 million upgrade to the water utility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What is known is that $900,000 approved by the city council to address the city's homeless population and $700,000 set aside for administrative costs has gone mostly unspent. There could be additional funds that were appropriated but not spent in the designated areas of small businesses, non-profits and homeowner assistance. It's anticipated that a group of local residents will attend the council's meeting Thursday to ask the council members not to approve the appropriation for the water project. The remaining funds must be appropriated by Dec. 24 or they could be returned to the federal government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The discussion should be lively, but approval is expected by the council. Senior Reporter Ken de la Bastide's column publishes Saturdays. Contact him at ken.delabastide@heraldbulletin.com or 765-640-4863. King Charles is reportedly furious over the Chinese spy scandal involving his brother Prince Andrew, according to multiple reports. A friend of the palace told The Daily Beast that the royal's patience is wearing thin" tied to allegations that the Duke of York, 64, had close business dealings with a Chinese national, who is alleged to be a spy. He has stood by Andrew for many years, but everyone has their limits. I cant see the King wanting to walk to church with someone who was friends with a Chinese spy," the insider told the outlet, referring to Christmas Day plans for the royal family in Sandringham. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another inside source stressed the nuances of the complex family situation, telling The Mail on Sunday, The palace has behaved the best it possibly can with a difficult relation. Every sanction that can be imposed has been, but you cant divorce or sack your brother from being your brother. There will always be a bond of blood, and all families often have difficult relatives to deal with. "Of course, it is understood that it looks bad for the entire family, but that is because of one individual," the source continued. 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! Peter Nicholls - WPA Pool /Getty Prince Andrew and King Charles then Prince Charles - in 2015 Prince Andrew and King Charles then Prince Charles - in 2015 According to the U.K. newspaper The Times, the 50-year-old businessman alleged to be a spy who has not been named had been appointed as a "business adviser" by Andrew and was promised access to the highest levels of the royal family "in an apparently serious breach of national security." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A letter found on one of the man's electronic devices from an adviser to the Duke told the alleged spy that he was one of the Dukes closest confidants and that he sat at the very top of a tree that many, many people would like to be on, per the BBC. Additionally, it was discovered that the man was in possession of a briefing document that appeared to describe Andrew being in a desperate situation and will grab onto anything, according to the outlet. CHRIS JACKSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson in 2024 Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson in 2024 Andrews alleged dealings with a spy create further complications for the palace in light of his recent public financial challenges. King Charles, 76, reportedly cut off Andrew's allowance this summer and told him he needed to vacate the Royal Lodge, a massive property on the Windsor estate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Andrew, however, was reported to have found the funds to stay in the residence, which he shares with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York. The source of the funds remains unknown. Andrew and Fergie, 65, along with their two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, and their families, are expected at the annual royal family Christmas gathering in Norfolk later this month. Prince Andrew stepped back from public duties in 2019 after his bombshell interview with the BBC about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. During the interview, Andrew also said he had no recollection of ever meeting Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who alleges she was forced to have sex with the royal three times between 1999 and 2002, including on a private Caribbean island owned by Epstein, when she was 17 years old. The royal has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and announced his step back from royal duties a few days after the interview aired. Andrew said he continued to "unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein" in the official statement announcing his decision. Read the original article on People Actor and musician Will Smith has dismissed rumours linking him to Sean "Diddy" Combs' alleged controversial gatherings. The 'King Richard' star addressed the issue during a concert in San Diego on Friday, where he recently returned to performing music, as per The Hollywood Reporter. In a video obtained by TMZ, Smith clarified his stance amid circulating memes and speculation. "The world we're in right now, it's really hard for y'all to like discern what's real and what's true, you know? And I've been seeing y'all memes and stuff," Smith said. "Some of that stuff is funny. Some of it's funny, but I haven't addressed any of this publicly, but I just want to say this very clearly: I don't have shit to do with Puffy. So y'all can stop all those memes," the actor said according to the video obtained by TMZ. The actor explained that he typically ignores baseless rumors but decided to address these specific claims because "y'all memes was doing too much." He added, "Listen, I do enough of my own shit. Don't be putting me in other people's bullshit. I ain't been nowhere near that man, ain't did none of that stupid shit. So, whenever y'all hear it, if somebody say that, it's a damn lie. I don't even like baby oil." Smith's comments follow after rapper Jay-Z, whose real name is Sean Carter, was accused of allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000 alongside Sean "Diddy" Combs, according to Billboard. The allegations surfaced in a civil lawsuit filed earlier this month in New York federal court by attorney Tony Buzbee on behalf of an accuser Jane Doe. Jay-Z strongly denied the claims, labeling them a "blackmail attempt." The lawsuit alleges that Combs and Carter drugged and assaulted the victim during an afterparty following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. The plaintiff claims she was forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement and given a drink that made her feel "woozy" and "lightheaded" before the assault occurred. The lawsuit is an updated version of an earlier case that initially named only Sean Combs. It comes amid a series of accusations against Combs, including a federal indictment in September alleging he ran a criminal operation to fulfill his "sexual gratification." (ANI) Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes on Sunday shared his frustration over the lack of information on recent drone sightings in New Jersey, but he also emphasized that he doesnt believe there is reason to worry. "There's a lot of us that are pretty frustrated right now. The answer 'We don't know' is not a good enough answer, Himes (D-Conn.) told Fox News Sunday guest host Jacqui Heinrich. At a White House press briefing on Thursday, national security communications adviser John Kirby said there is no evidence that the drones come from foreign adversaries or pose a national security threat, but did not have a conclusive answer to their origins. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Himes specifically called out the Federal Aviation Administration for not taking responsibility to assuage concerns. The FAA in particular, which is the agency of jurisdiction through the domestic skies, ought to be out Saturday morning saying, Let's show you a picture at the number of aircraft, commercial and private and military, that go over New Jersey in any 24-hour period, he said, adding that just putting information out there to fill that vacuum would be helpful. Some lawmakers have taken matters into their own hands; for instance, New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim drove around the state with local police to watch the drones himself, posting updates on his social media. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), on CBS Face the Nation on Sunday, called for more transparency and said we need a briefing for the members of the Senate to figure out what's going on here. Others, like Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.), accused the Pentagon of lying and claimed that the drones came from an Iranian mothership. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Himes dispelled Van Drews mothership claim as a conspiracy theory used to fill the vacuum in the absence of information, stating with confidence that its not the Iranians or the Chinese. I've spent all of my time as the ranking member of the Intelligence Committee watching what the Iranians and the Chinese do, Himes said. And you know what they don't do is but a bunch of drones that we could easily recover over the continental United States. The Chinese learned that lesson with their spy balloon. He added: "The military is amazing at what they do. An aircraft carrier has 6,000 amazing people on it who will defeat the Iranians. What they're not very good at is identifying if there's 12 teenage boys in Montclair, New Jersey, flying Walmart drones. The military is not very good at dealing with that." The lack of certainty has led President-elect Donald Trump to take to social media, calling for the government to shoot the drones down if they dont know what they are. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Himes accepted that security is essential: It's absolutely the federal government's job to make sure that nobody is flying a drone over Edwards Air Force base and the CIA headquarters in Virginia to take to new surveillance or worse. But he emphasized that drones are easy for anyone, American or adversary, to purchase at a local Walmart and that sorts of recreational usage is probably not going to be a Department of Homeland Security problem to solve. When asked if he has any concern that the drones might be a state actor preparing for a future attack, Himes said he felt there was no threat. "Frankly, Jacqui," he said, "our adversaries that would wish us harm have billion-dollar satellites over our heads right now that are capable of doing what we do to them, which is observing. You know what they're not going to do? They're not going to put technology over Newark, New Jersey, that can fall out of the sky and we would capture it." Labour has given the green light for activist councils to rename streets with links to slavery and the Empire. Angela Rayners department has quietly shelved plans to hand residents a veto over whether the name of their road can be changed. The proposals were brought forward by the last Tory government to stop local authorities caving into campaigns by pressure groups. Councils faced a slew of calls to rename streets linked to slave owners and the Empire following the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Online campaigns led local authorities across the country to announce that they were reviewing all such road names in their area. Councils have faced a slew of calls to rename streets linked to slave owners and the Empire following Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 - Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Europe Michael Gove, the then local communities secretary, responded with plans that would have made councils hold a referendum to change a street name. Under the proposals, published in 2022, they would have needed to secure support from two thirds of residents on a road to go ahead with renaming. The revelation that Ms Rayner has dropped the plans was contained in a report by the Policy Exchange think tank. Lara Brown, its author, said: The Labour Government has quietly dropped legislation which would have prevented activist councils from renaming streets over the heads of local residents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They claim they wish to end the culture wars, and yet they are pursuing the politics of division, prioritising a minority of campaigners over the views of the public. Policy Exchanges History Matters Compendium shows that action continues to be taken widely and quickly to reframe how the past is presented. Angela Rayners department quietly shelves plans to hand residents a veto over whether the name of their road can be changed - Pool/Getty Images Europe The decision will provide councils with fresh licence to rename streets that are seen as controversial because of their links to the Empire. It will also mean that no fixed definition is established for what constitutes the necessary support councils must demonstrate to change road names. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2020, Ealing council in west London changed part of Havelock Road into Guru Nanak Road after consulting with residents and businesses. The street had been named after Sir Henry Havelock, a British general who led the suppression of the revolt of 1857 in north India. Last year, Labour-run Haringey in north London renamed Black Boy Lane as La Rose Lane after John La Rose, the poet and racial equality campaigner. Labour-run Haringey in north London renames Black Boy Lane as La Rose Lane after John La Rose, the poet and racial equality campaigner - Matthew Chattle/Future Publishing Plymouth city council, meanwhile, has been locked in a long-running battle since 2020 over its plans to rename Sir John Hawkins Square. The heavily Labour-dominated council wants to rename the square because of the 16th-century naval commanders involvement in the slave trade. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2022, Watford borough council came forward with plans to let residents vote on changing street names, including Imperial Way and Rhodes Way. A Government spokesman said: Street names can only be changed if local authorities feel there is sufficient demand and have engaged with residents. No final decisions have been made regarding further legislation in this area, and we are clear that any change must have the support of local communities. It comes after the City of London Corporation this week announced it is beginning an investigation into its own links to the historic slave trade. The Square Miles governing body approved almost 35,000 in spending on the project, which will include looking at donations it has received. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an announcement it said the inquiry will cover Lord Mayors, sheriffs, aldermen, and common councillors who served between 1640 and 1807. Chris Hayward, the local authoritys policy chairman, said: In line with our commitment to equity, equality, diversity and inclusion, this project will help us to better understand the City Corporations past, ensuring that we are transparent about our role in this shameful period of the UKs history. 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. SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) Sunday was the final day for the Springfield Boys and Girls Clubs Festival of Trees. The Festival of Trees is described as a heartwarming tradition that brings the community together through the joy and magic of the holiday season. Free ice skating with Springfield Police this month One event-goer told 22News, This really kicks off the holiday season for all of western Mass. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Christmas Spirit was on full display at the MassMutual Center for the 24th year in the form of Christmas trees, all decorated by local businesses and families. After 17 festive days, the event has come to a close. Back in 2000, there were 10-12 trees, and this year there were 130 trees designed and decorated by local businesses, organizations, or families. Each tree is raffled off and Sunday, December 15th was the final day to enter the raffle. After Sunday, winners will be selected and notified. Every one of those special trees had a theme, anything from game night to learning to the Grinch. Many also had money or tickets added on. While the festival of trees may have wrapped up for this year, the Christmas spirit is definitely not ending anytime soon. With the tree raffle and the 50/50 raffle, they are estimating the proceeds will total over $300,000 with 100% going to the Boys and Girls Club of Springfield for programs to benefit the area youth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rally around the kids, show them that they are special and that you can support them, and give them a positive place to go, expressed Vincent Borello, the Executive Director of the Springfield Boys & Girls Club. Right in the middle of the season of giving back and doing good things for others. It feels great to give back to kids that arent as fortunate, said Mackenzie Keane of Longmeadow. It is not only a tradition for Mackenzie and her family to come to the Festival of Trees every year, but this year she got to help design and decorate one of the trees. We all made Gingerbread men, we cut out stuff and then I think it was family move night theme, so there is hot chocolate with it and other stuff. Santa Claus was also in attendance from noon to 4 pm. Doors closed at 5, and winners will be chosen by 7 p.m. and they have from noon to 7 p.m. on Monday to pick up everything from the tree skirt to the topper, and everything in between. 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. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HONOLULU (KHON2) The proposed location for Oahus next landfill is drawing concern from local residents on Oahus North Shore. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You A virtual community meeting where residents aired their grievances and proposed alternate solutions to the 150-acre site northwest of Wahiawa was held on Saturday, Dec. 14. City officials proposed Oahus next landfill to be along Kamehameha Highway since the State Land Use Commission decided Waimanalo Gulch needs to be closed by March 2028. The City is calling it the Wahiawa site, but the area councilmember said the community was never consulted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im not critiquing in that sense, but I think that it is clear that a lot of voices werent included in the conversation, right? It came as a surprise to everybody, including the landowner, including Board of Water Supply, said Honolulu City Councilmember District 2 councilmember Matt Weyer. Oahus next landfill announced, sparks controversy Rep. Sean Quinlan added that the site sits on a road that is already congested and over an aquifer. I can honestly say in my eight years as the state rep of the North Shore, I have never been this angry, Rep. Quinlan said. Wherever we put the new landfill, and I know that we need a new one, it has to be above cap rock. It cannot be above an aquifer. Thats insane. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The senator-elect in Nanakuli said she is relieved the Waianae Coast was not selected again. It has to go. We are just here to ensure that it does, in fact, leave the coastline, Sen. Samantha DeCorte said. To be able to settle the residents and the community in that other district will be up to the city. Im believing that theyre going to do a great job, but there will always be controversy when it comes to landfills. Other North Shore community members said pursuing waste management alternatives should be a higher priority than finding another place to fill the land with it. City Councilmember pushes back against proposed Honolulu landfill Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I know they put out a request for information on shipping stuff off island. Temporarily at least. Maybe thats a stopgap measure until we come up with a better way to manage it, North Shore Neighborhood Board chair Kathleen Pahinui said. Im not the kind of person who just tends to say, Oh no, not in our backyard. We want to be positive, proactive and solution-oriented. Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said on Tuesday, Dec. 10 that he was confident a landfill can be safely operated over an aquifer. Environmental groups pointed out that the Citys decision on the potential location is just a first step before getting approval from both the Planning and Land Use commissions. And even if they do approve that theres land acquisition issues, environmental impact assessments, there will have to be a special permit application, just like the city has gone through with Waimanalo Gulch. So theres going to be a number of processes that still have to occur, said Sierra Club of Hawaii director Wayne Tanaka. Check out more news from around Hawaii Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Councilmember Matt Weyers office organized the community meeting and said questions and concerns will be forwarded to the Department of Environmental Services. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), Tino Chrupalla, has questioned Germany's membership of NATO. "A defence alliance must accept and respect the interests of all European countries - including the interests of Russia," Chrupalla told the newspaper Die Welt in comments published on Sunday. "If NATO cannot ensure this, Germany must consider to what extent this alliance is still beneficial for us," he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chrupalla described a proposal from within his party for Germany to leave the European Union as a maximum demand and referred to the idea of replacing the bloc with an "economic and [shared] interest community." "Before an exit [from the EU], a new foundation would have to be clearly agreed upon. By the way, this also applies to NATO," said Chrupalla. With regard to Russia's war against Ukraine, the AfD politician stated that the German government must finally reach a stage of wanting to end the war. "Russia has won this war. Reality has caught up with those who claim to want to enable Ukraine to win the war," said Chrupalla. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The AfD is currently second in national polls ahead of elections expected in February. However, the country's established parties have ruled out co-operating with the AfD, which is under investigation by intelligence services as a suspected right-wing extremist group. By Lanre Ola ABUJA (Reuters) - At least 10 people died when a boat capsized on the Benue River in central Nigeria, Benue State police spokesperson Catherine Anene said on Sunday. Boat accidents have claimed more than 220 lives in Nigeria so far this year. Overcrowding and poor maintenance are responsible for most boat accidents, while life jackets are not provided, which significantly increases the risk of fatalities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anene said 10 bodies were recovered from the accident, which occurred on Saturday, and that a search and rescue operation is ongoing. She said the boat was carrying mostly traders to the market when it capsized on River Benue near Ocholonya in Agatu local government area. Agatu local government chairman, Melvin Ejeh, told Reuters, that around 70 mostly women traders were onboard the boat, which had no manifest. "50 people have been rescued alive so far. Search and rescue operation still ongoing," Ejeh added. (Reporting by Lanre Ola in Maiduguri; Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Giles Elgood) At least 11 people have died and more than 250 have been injured after Cyclone Chido struck the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, French public broadcaster France Info reported on Sunday. BFMTV, citing security sources, reported that the death toll from the storm, which hit the island on Saturday, could be as high as 14. Acting Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said on Saturday evening that there had been a number of deaths but was unable to say how many. The situation on the island, which lies between Madagascar and the northern Mozambican coast, was catastrophic, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All the poorly built houses on the island had been destroyed, he said. The island has a population of around 310,000. Ambdilwahedou Soumaila, mayor of the island's capital, Mamoudzou, told BFMTV that many people had been injured and that the damage was severe. Roads were blocked, some areas were cut off and many residents were without power, he said. There was also damage to the island's airport, according to the report. France's Meteo France weather service said winds of more than 220 kilometres per hour had struck the island. The authorities on the island had urged residents to seek shelter in robust buildings and to stay indoors before the cyclone struck. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Mozambique, where the storm reached speeds of up to 240 kilometres per hour, Chido destroyed and damaged numerous homes, schools and health facilities in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, according to the United Nations Children's Fund, Unicef. According to the Mozambican Centre for Disaster Management, the power grid has collapsed in Cabo Delgado and the neighbouring province of Nampula, making rescue work more difficult. Lauding the 'respect' for the labour force under the Bharatiya Janata Party government, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath compared how Prime Minister Narendra Modi honoured the construction workers who worked at the Ram Mandir in Agra, and how the hands of workers behind Taj Mahal were "chopped off." The UP Chief Minister was addressing the annual conference of the World Hindu Economic Forum (WHEF) here in Mumbai. "You would have seen how on 22nd January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was giving respect to the workers who constructed the Ram Mandir. That is one side where the PM was raining flowers on them, but on the other hand, the situation before was such that the workers who constructed the Taj Mahal had their hands chopped off," CM Yogi said in his address on Saturday. He also mentioned that workers in the fine cloth industry in history also had their hands chopped off, destroying a whole tradition and legacy. "Today, India respects its labour force, gives them all kinds of protections. On the other hand, there were rulers, who chopped off the hands of labourers and destroyed the legacy of fine cloth, destroyed the tradition completely," the UP CM said. Talking about India's historical contribution to the world's economy between the first and fifteenth century, CM Yogi said, "From the first century to the 15th century, even scholars associated with Europe accept that at that time India's share in the world economy was more than 40 per cent, and that was the situation continuously till 15th century." The 'World Hindu Economic Forum' kickstarted on December 13 and will go on till today (December 15) at the Jio World Convention Center at BKC in Mumbai. Speaking further, the UP CM lauded Prime Minister Modi for bringing India out of the 'identity crisis'. He "Today, those who are encouraging and nurturing terrorism today...These people claim our heritage when they were nowhere to be seen, even their seeds had not sprouted, even then our heritage was there," he said. He added, "Before 2014, India was facing an identity crisis... We are grateful to the respected Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who in the last 10 years has rescued India from the demonic rigidities and has shown us the vision of a 'New India'." (ANI) ST. LOUIS Drones are becoming an increasingly common sight around the United States, including here in the St. Louis region. For some, drones are seen as fascinating and innovative tools. For others, they may raise concerns about privacy and safety. In New Jersey, a surge in mysterious drone activity has recently captured widespread attention. While these drones havent posed any immediate threats to public safety, theyve sparked enough unease for at least one state official to controversially suggest shooting them down. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The situation in New Jersey has fueled a broader question: Is it even legal to shoot down a drone? For Missouri and Illinois, the two states of the St. Louis metropolitan area, here are some considerations to keep in mind. Federal law First and foremost, the FAA considers recreational unmanned aircraft systems like drones to fall within regulatory definitions of an aircraft. According to the Aircraft Sabotage Act, damaging or destroying an aircraft is a federal offense, which would seemingly entail the act of shooting down a drone. Missouri Missouri Statute 571.030 outlines specific provisions for which discharging a firearm constitutes unlawful use of a weapon. Such scenarios include, but arent limited to: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Discharging a firearm near sensitive areas (like schools, courthouses, or churches) Discharging across highways Discharging at aircraft Discharging at structures used for assembling people The provision about the aircraft could especially land one in hot water due to FAAs legal classification, so shooting at a drone in Missouri could lead to legal consequences under both state and federal law. Missouris statute generally prohibits discharging firearms in many densely populated or public areas as well, which means shooting a drone in many locations could constitute an offense. A Missouri Supreme Court case from 2014, Chavez. v. Cedar Fair, may further set precedent. It upheld the notion that individuals must exercise the highest degree of care when using firearms, ensuring that every shot is deliberate and safe. Given that drones are often small, fast-moving, and possibly even difficult for skilled shooters to hit, attempting to shoot one down would likely fall short of this standard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beyond legal considerations, the risks associated with shooting at drones cannot be ignored. If a shot misses the target, the bullet could end up damaging property or injuring someone, outcomes that could also lead to criminal charges in Missouri. Illinois Illinois Statute 720 ILCS 5/24 outlines specific provisions for which discharging a firearm may constitute a felony offense. One general provision is that an individual cannot discharge a firearm in a reckless manner [that] endangers the bodily safety of an individual. Essentially, shooting at a drone could qualify as reckless discharge if missing or hitting the target results in another person suffering a physical injury. Another relevant part of Illinois Statute 720 ILCS 5/24 covers criteria for aggravated discharge of a firearm. Scenarios of this nature may include, but arent limited to: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Discharging a firearm at occupied buildings Discharging on school property or within 1,000 feet of school grounds Discharging toward occupied vehicles Discharging toward public safety personnel Even if the intent is to shoot down a drone, missing the target or causing the bullet to strike within one of these contexts could escalate the offense to aggravated discharge of a firearm. Additionally, according to Illinois Statute 620 ILCS 5/42, the regulation of unmanned aircraft systems (including drones) is the responsibility of the state, provided it aligns with federal law. This reinforces the idea that any actions involving drones, including shooting at them, generally fall under the states tightly controlled regulated framework. Shooting at a drone would not only disrupt the states lawful operation, but could interfere with efforts to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the unmanned aircraft as described in the statute. As a result, shooting at a drone in Illinois could lead to legal consequences under both state and federal law. Furthermore Even if a particular instance of shooting at a drone were to align with state and federal laws, local ordinances may impose additional regulations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For example, just this year, the City of St. Louis approved legislation to establish community-based standards in operating a drone. However, violating these regulations may not justify shooting down a drone, as such action could result in significant legal consequences. Context is also important. While rare, one might attempt to argue in self-defense in shooting at a drone if its actions could be interpreted as posing an immediate or credible threat to personal safety. However, such cases could face heavy scrutiny under law. If youre concerned with drone activity or feel compelled to shoot down a drone, the safest course of action is to resist the temptation, report concerns to local law enforcement or the FAA, and follow any further guidance on navigating the situation. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. To the editor: I am the author of the book "Los Angeles Jew: A Memoir." Although I now reside in Orange County, I know my native-born L.A. Jewish community well. ("Once strongly liberal, Pico-Robertson surged for Trump in 2024. Why?" Dec. 10) Yes, the Pico-Robertson area is heavily Jewish, but over the years the population has become increasingly Orthodox, and Orthodox Jews typically vote more Republican. Your article cites "a strong Republican canvassing effort" as a reason for Pico-Robertson backing President-elect Donald Trump. While I was not the target of these Republican efforts, it appears that tying in Trump with a tough-on-crime district attorney candidate really helped in an area concerned with safety. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Orthodox Jews are heavily interested in Israel, and Republicans pointed out that when he was president, Trump moved the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Not mentioned is that Trump did this not because his heart ached for Israel, but because it was a gimme for the late Jewish billionaire Sheldon Adelson's support. Finally, Orthodox Jews are male-oriented. If it's extremely rare for a woman to be a rabbi, how can a woman be president of the United States? I am certain that the pro-Trump "information" did not mention that the MAGA base stands for a white, Christian America, one where Jews return to the shadows. Martin A. Brower, Corona del Mar If its in the news right now, the L.A. Times Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. To the editor: Jonah Goldberg bases his argument that Israel is not guilty of genocide on the dubious claim that, no matter the extent of the destruction of the Gaza Strip's social, educational and healthcare infrastructure and the mass slaughter of innocent Palestinians, unless the conveniently elusive concept of "intent" is demonstrated, then the Israeli campaign falls short of genocide. What Goldberg misses is that actions often reflect intent. Given the total devastation of Gaza and the statements of the Israeli leadership advocating for the elimination of a Palestinian presence in the disputed territories, it can be argued that genocidal intent has been established. How else to account for the unyielding bombardment? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is unreasonable to discount a genocidal scheme on the basis of a manufactured claim that there is no proof of intent, when the intent has been fully revealed in the devastation of Gaza. What additional evidence is required to identify a genocidal siege? To any reasonable observer, we are far beyond the flawed rationalization of this extended military campaign as an act of self-defense. In an absurd attempt to refute the charge of genocide, Goldberg cites the "explosive" growth of the population. Meanwhile, the Israeli military does its best to contain that growth and reduce the civilian population. Andrew Spathis, Los Angeles Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement .. To the editor: Goldberg rightfully condemns Amnesty International for cynically inciting inflammatory headlines accusing Israel of genocide, even as its report actually concedes Israel is innocent of the crime as defined in international law. However, Goldberg fails to hold equally accountable the journalists who misreported this story. As Goldberg notes, Amnesty International's report begins with a shockingly biased framing of the war: "On 7 October 2023, Israel embarked on a military offensive on the occupied Gaza Strip." Its shameless erasing of Hamas' rapes, kidnappings and massacres of Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023 to which Israel responded in self-defense should be the real focus of any news article about the report. But the Associated Press story published by The Times on Dec. 5 ignored it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The AP reporter also failed to note that Hamas' actions do fit the international definition of genocide. Hamas avowed goals, enshrined in its charter, are to "obliterate" Israel and kill Jews. Hamas' Oct. 7 atrocities included the deliberate, indiscriminate slaughter of Jewish communities overrun by Hamas terrorists. Stephen A. Silver, San Francisco .. To the editor: Amnesty International's report outlining the case against Israel for its genocide in Gaza is an exhaustive, detailed, fact-based analysis that lays out their conclusions quite logically. Goldberg manages to misinterpret this report by lifting one sentence (out of 296 pages) completely out of context, alleging the report "exonerates" Israel on the question of intent. Reading just the sentence before it reveals a more nuanced interpretation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Citing the International Court of Justice, the report says, "However, its ruling on inferring intent can be read extremely narrowly, in a manner that would potentially preclude a state from having genocidal intent alongside one or more additional motives or goals in relation to the conduct of its military operations." This shows the absurdity of that line of reasoning and points not to "prevailing interpretations of international law," but an extreme viewpoint promulgated by the perpetrator of said genocide, Israel, and its chief backer, our current administration. To most of the world, the "prevailing interpretation" of the crisis in Gaza is that Israel is indeed committing genocide, as shown by numerous United Nations votes. Michael Rotcher, Mission Viejo This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Liam Paynes close friend, a man whos been charged in connection with his death, says the One Direction alum seemed fine and even playful the hour before his fatal fall an account disputed by authorities and witnesses. The 31-year-old pop star plunged to his death on Oct. 16 from the third-floor balcony of his room at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Authorities have attributed his death to the effects of the drugs hed taken earlier that day. A toxicology report later found benzodiazepine, crack, cocaine and a drug cocktail known as pink cocaine often consisting of methamphetamine, ketamine and MDMA all in Paynes system at the time of his death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an upcoming episode of TMZ Investigates, Argentine businessman Rogelio Roger Nores shares his account of what happened in the hours leading up to his death. Nores, whos been charged with abandoning Payne, tells the outlet his friend seemed fine, albeit tipsy, and that was nothing was out of the ordinary. He was in good spirits. He was perfectly balanced, talking to everybody and having fun. He seemed playful and happy, Nores says in a preview of the episode, confirming he left Payne roughly an hour before his fatal fall. But eyewitness Bret Watson, an American who was staying at the CasaSur ahead of his wedding, tells TMZ that Payne appeared to get increasingly intoxicated throughout that fateful day. The afternoon allegedly culminated in a tantrum in which Payne threw his computer to the ground and was ultimately escorted to his room by employees, as seen in hotel surveillance video. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The account from authorities is more in line with that of Watson, as they say Payne had been drinking and doing drugs all day, and acting anything but balanced. They say he was also requesting more cocaine from Nores that day, sending at one text that read, Can you get 6 grams? Nores, who was charged last month, denies he abandoned Payne. An accused drug dealer was also charged as was a hotel employee accused of delivering the drugs to Payne. Earlier this month, an Argentinian judge ruled that national prosecutors can charge Nores with abandonment if they so choose. TMZ Investigates: Liam Payne: Whos to Blame airs Monday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) made clear years ago he wanted Donald Trump to pick an FBI director who was beyond reproach. Now, in light of Trumps choice of Kash Patel, his words have come to haunt him. The senator was faced with his past remarks on Sundays Meet the Press when moderator Kristen Welker played back his 2017 comments (conveniently, also on Meet the Press) while discussing Patel, a Trump pick that has made his name out of promises to weaponize the government to prosecute anti-Trump figures across various sectors. He has a duty and obligation to pick somebody beyond reproach, outside the political lane, Graham said at the time. I think hell do that. I hope hell do that. I would encourage the president to pick somebody we can all rally around, including those who work in the FBI. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senator, Welker asked after she rolled the clip, is Kash Patel beyond reproach, and someone that everyone can rally around? Graham seemed to verbally squirm, dismissing his remarks as what Trump should do the last time after firing then-director James Comey. He claimed conservatives viewed the FBI as a very biased organization, referencing various MAGA flashpoints such as Hunter Bidens laptop and ex-British spy Christopher Steeles dossier that claimed Trump colluded with the Russian government. So the FBI we talked about then has changed, Graham said on Sunday. So what do I want in an FBI director now? Somebody that can clean it up, get back to the job of fighting crime. Dont have your thumb on the political scale. Make sure its not used as a political weapon against people that you have a beef with. The sentiment appeared to be shared by other GOP senators, who praised Patel last week as a person who could restore integrity to the bureauif just to avoid Trumps ire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If youre going to clean out the F.B.I. and actually get them focused on mission, rather than politics, Kash is the perfect person for that, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) told The New York Times. Graham echoed the lack of trust in the FBI on Sunday when pressed about Patels chances for bipartisan supporteven as Patel has railed against the bureau he may lead and has compiled an enemies list. None of us trust these people anymore, Graham said. Lithuania and Estonia have imposed sanctions against Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and several government officials, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budris announced on X on Dec. 15. Lithuania expanded its sanctions list to include 17 individuals, while Estonia sanctioned 14 officials earlier that day. The Baltic states had previously imposed sanctions on Bidzina Ivanishvili, founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, and members of the Interior Ministry for human rights violations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Similar actions have already been taken by the U.S., which on Dec. 12 announced visa bans on approximately 20 Georgian individuals accused of "undermining democracy." Lithuania supports the people of Georgia and their European dream, Budris said. "It is time for joint action at the EU level! Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsakhkna also posted about the sanctions on X. "The violence perpetrated by the Georgian authorities against protesters, journalists & opposition leaders is criminal and against human rights. I call on all EU countries to react & to take actions," he wrote. The measures follow ongoing protests in Georgia, sparked by Kobakhidzes decision to suspend EU accession negotiations until 2028. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over 220 people have been arrested during the ensuing crackdown, with dozens reported injured as the Georgian police deployed tear gas and water cannons. Read also: Georgias opposition parties appeal to EU following election of pro-Russian president, Sova reports Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. The Lithuanian Armed Forces will continue to train Ukrainian instructors and military personnel and provide advisory support to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) on reform matters. Source: Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT, citing General Raimundas Vaiksnoras, Commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, as reported by European Pravda Details: Lithuania's Armed Forces noted that Vaiksnoras made a statement during a visit to Ukraine after a meeting with Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the AFU. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The Lithuanian Armed Forces will continue to train Ukrainian servicemen in Lithuania and in the international formats of Interflex and EUMAM. We will continue to support the treatment and rehabilitation of wounded servicemen in military medical facilities," he said. Vaiksnoras (left) and Syrskyi (right). Photo: Lithuanian Armed Forces Vaiksnoras stressed that Lithuania will cooperate with Ukraine in the supply and coordination of military support, such as unmanned and anti-drone systems, artillery shells, integrated air defence systems, etc. LRT reported that Vaiksnoras had met with the AFU leadership, visited a training centre for unmanned systems, and toured a company-sized stronghold near Kyiv, which was a key element in the capital's successful defence during the early stages of the large-scale war. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the main objectives of the visit was to establish connections regarding lessons learned, particularly in fortification construction, and to gather best practices from Ukrainian soldiers. Background: Recent reports indicated that 30 Ukrainian instructors from recruit training centres are set to receive additional training in Lithuania the following year. A convoy of 19 vehicles has departed from Latvia to be delivered for the needs of the Ukrainian armed forces. Support UP or become our patron! CHARLOTTE, N.C. (FOX 44) The Dallas Cowboys took care of business on the road as an underdog to the Carolina Panthers, winning 30-14. It was a slow start for both offenses but Cooper Rush started to heat up, completing his first touchdown pass to CeeDee Lamb and then following that up tossing two more touchdowns. The Cowboys defense was dominant the entire way. Bryce Young was under pressure all night and he was sacked six times. Mike Zimmers defense also forced four turnovers including two crucial interceptions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For now, Dallas still has an outside shot at making the playoffs but it will have to win out and then hope things fall their way. The Cowboys will get set to take on Tampa Bay on Sunday Night Football next 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 KWKT - FOX 44. Ivan Fedorov, Head of Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration, stated that rumours of a possible offensive in the oblast have been circulating since March, and are in fact Russian-backed psychological operations. Source: Fedorov during a briefing, as quoted by Ukrinform Quote from Fedorov: "We see what is happening with the military situation. We have been scared since September, and if I'm not mistaken, now there will be an attack on Zaporizhzhia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There was an offensive on Zaporizhzhia in October. They left in November, and we in Zaporizhzhia were packing our bags in December. This is all a psychological operation, but society is falling for it." Details: Fedorov noted that this is the reason why the construction of an underground school in Komyshuvakha, a settlement 20 km from the line of contact, has not yet begun. Quote from Fedorov: "This construction may be misjudged. Why? Because it will go viral on social media, and in order not to make the construction of schools appear toxic, we have put the construction on pause and will decide together with Kushuhum hromada if maybe we should bus children from there. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories ed.]" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Details: Fedorov added that this is the only school for which there are funds, but construction has been delayed on purpose. The authorities plan to decide what to do with this construction in January 2025. Background: In November, the DeepState analytical project reported that Russian troops had not yet been active, which could indicate preparations for a major offensive against Zaporizhzhia. Most of the Russians actions are carried out within Donetsk Oblast. Seven underground schools were being built in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and the construction of an eighth was planned to begin. Support UP or become our patron! ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) New York Governor Kathy Hochul is among several other state officials calling on the FBI and other federal agencies to give answers to an increase in drone sightings mostly in the downstate region and New Jersey. Mystery drones: Where they have been spotted? Some folks in the Rochester region have claimed to have seen these drones. It remains unclear if any of these sightings are related. News 8 reached out to the Monroe County Sheriffs Office to see if deputies are investigating any credible reports of sightings. News 8 has yet to hear back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, concern for unauthorized mystery drones in the sky is on the rise as a result of these possible sightings. One local tech expert said the community shouldnt necessarily be in a panic about drones flying through their neighborhoods. But he also said its important to keep an eye out for anything suspicious and know what exactly drones are and what to do should folks spot one. The cybersecurity threat of drones this isnt anything new, said Paul Robinson, founder of Tempus Network. These drones I mean were talking some of them 6 to 8 feet in diameter I mean these are not the ones you get at the corner store. These are pretty massively large devices that are flying in the air. New York State Police and FBIs Department of Homeland Security both issued statements regarding the increased sightings. One NewsNation journalist in New Jersey even reported about 50 of them flying from the ocean. In Rochester though? Robinson said it doesnt appear to be of major concern, for now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All drones arent necessarily bad, its like with anything, we can get the good out of certain things, and then there are certain ways that we can use things that arent so good, Robinson said. We dont want to necessarily go into mass hysteria and paranoia. But at the same time we live in a real world we live in a real world where people can take these devices and weaponize them, so we just have to be pragmatic and careful The drones that do pose risk, according to Robinson, are often used for WiFi interception, which Robinson said could be a good reason to consider using a virtual private network, or VPN. Can a VPN be cracked? Sure, yeah. I could put a lock on my door, and someone could still break into my house. But still, its a protection that I have on my house. A VPN is a protection that you can have on your devices that kind of encrypt the traffic that you have going through your computer or laptop or tablet or things of that nature, Robinson said. Robinson said anything suspicious in nature should be reported to 911. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst. Former Uvalde School District Police Chief Pedro "Pete" Arredondo, center, and his lawyer, Paul Looney, right, leave court after a pre-trial hearing in September. Arredondo is charged with child abandonment or endangerment in connection with the May 24, 2022, massacre at Robb Elementary School. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer Former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales is charged with child abandonment or endangerment in connection with the May 24, 2022, massacre at Robb Elementary School. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer After a teenage gunman slaughtered 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, the victims relatives, elected officials and others demanded accountability. The reason was obvious: Responding officers from two dozen law enforcement agencies waited 77 minutes before storming the classroom and killing the shooter. In June, a Uvalde County grand jury indicted Pedro Pete Arredondo, the school district police chief at the time of the massacre, and a former school police officer. The charge: endangering or abandoning children. They are the only people to face criminal charges in the tragedy. Now, the case is progressing toward a possible trial. The next hearing is scheduled for Thursday in Uvalde. But lawyers who have studied the indictments say the case is fatally flawed. They say the child abandonment and endangerment law doesnt apply to a mass shooting and that the indictment ignores U.S. Supreme Court rulings that broadly protect police from liability for decisions made in the heat of the moment. Advertisement Article continues below this ad To criminalize behavior thats based on a judgment call however unpopular it is its going to be hard to obtain convictions, said Jorge Aristotelidis, a longtime criminal defense attorney in San Antonio who is now a public defender in Houston. People want heads on a platter. This is what the DAs doing, in my view. They reaching. They're really, really reaching, said Mario Del Prado, who has practiced law for 36 years as a defense attorney and prosecutor in San Antonio. I mean, the elephant in the room is you had (hundreds of) cops out there. And were only going after the two school cops? That stinks to high heaven. Defense attorney Raymond Fuchs, a practitioner for 47 years, including nine as a prosecutor in Bexar and Harris counties, called the charges a real stretch. If you dont go in and do something in the military, you can be court-martialed for desertion, Fuchs said. These peace officers are not in the military. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Fuchs, Del Prado and Aristotelidis were among five defense attorneys who discussed the case with the Express-News after reviewing the indictments and related legal documents at the papers request. Three of the five have served as prosecutors. None is involved in the Uvalde case. Most of them said that even if a jury found the defendants guilty, the verdicts would very likely be overturned on appeal. I do not know why the case will be prosecuted, said Ben Sifuentes Jr., a San Antonio attorney who has defended police officers and other public employees in criminal cases. Christina Mitchell, seen at a political event, is the district attorney for Uvalde and Real counties. In January, she convened a grand jury to investigate whether crimes were committed in relation to the Robb Elementary School shooting. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Christina Mitchell, district attorney for Uvalde and Real counties, bristled at the criticism and said political pressure or public rancor stemming from the shooting played no role in her decision to pursue indictments. I do not make prosecutorial decisions based on anything other than the facts of any given situation and the laws as they exist in the state of Texas and how the laws apply to those particular set of facts, Mitchell said in an email. Shes a Boerne native who has practiced law for almost 30 years. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Unfortunately, many individuals have used the mass shooting in the Uvalde community for their own personal gain and to make a name for themselves. I, personally, would never comment on a pending criminal case on which I did not have an intimate knowledge of all the facts, Mitchell said. She declined to comment on the substance of the indictments. 'Egregiously poor decision making' The Robb Elementary shooting was the deadliest in Texas history. It happened on the morning of May 24, 2022, three days before the start of summer break. The shooter was armed with an AR-15-style rifle he had purchased legally on the internet a week earlier, on his 18th birthday. At 11:33 a.m. that morning, he walked into the school through an unlocked rear door, entered two interconnected classrooms filled with fourth graders and fired more than 100 rounds in 2 minutes. Nearly all of the victims are believed to have been killed or mortally wounded in that initial fusillade. A team of Uvalde Police Department officers was at the scene within three minutes, and they approached the classrooms with guns drawn. The attacker fired at them through a steel door, and the officers retreated. Two were lightly injured by shrapnel. They began calling for reinforcements and for rifle-rated ballistic shields so they could enter the classrooms and confront the gunman without being killed first. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Arredondo was the de facto incident commander. Although police doctrine calls for officers to confront an active shooter immediately, even at risk to their own lives, he held off on ordering officers into the classrooms. He wanted to evacuate the rest of the building first, which proved to be a lengthy process. He later told investigators his aim was to avoid further injuries or loss of life from an exchange of gunfire with the attacker. As officers from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Border Patrol and other agencies rushed to the school, the police response descended into chaos. Communications were fragmented, and the assembled officers at least 380 from 22 agencies were unsure who was in charge or what they were supposed to do, official reviews found. At least 380 officers from two dozen local, state and federal agencies responded to the Robb Elementary School shooting. Seventy-seven minutes elapsed before a column of Border Patrol agents and sheriff's deputies stormed a classroom and killed the shooter. Associated Press Finally, at 12:48 p.m., four Border Patrol agents and two local sheriffs deputies formed a stack and breached the classrooms. One of them shot the gunman dead at 12:50 p.m., 77 minutes after he began his rampage. Investigations by the Texas House and the Department of Justice depicted the police response as a fiasco. The Texas House report criticized Arredondo and others for what it called egregiously poor decision making. The Uvalde school district fired Arredondo 3 months after the tragedy. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Mitchell convened a grand jury in January of this year, and it handed down indictments against Arredondo and former school police officer Adrian Gonzales six months later. The indictment against Arredondo, 52, says he intentionally, knowingly, recklessly and with criminal negligence placed in danger 10 named survivors who were held at gunpoint by the shooter. Arredondo faces 10 counts of child abandonment or endangerment, one for each of those children. Gonzales, 51, was one of the first officers at the scene, and he helped to evacuate children from other parts of the building. Little else is publicly known about his actions that day. He is charged with 29 counts of abandoning or endangering a child one for each of the 19 children killed and one for each of 10 survivors. Mitchell has not explained why he faces more counts than Arredondo. Then-school police officer Adrian Gonzales, right foreground, helps evacuate children from Robb Elementary School during the May 24, 2022, mass shooting. Pete Luna /Uvalde Leader-News Child abandonment or endangerment is a state jail felony, the lowest level felony in the Texas Penal Code. If convicted, Arredondo and Gonzales could be sentenced to up to two years in jail each. The lawyers who reviewed the indictments for the Express-News questioned why, of the many law enforcement officers at the scene, Mitchell pursued charges against only two. Mitchell has offered no public explanation for that decision. If you do it to one (police officer), youve got to do it to all of them, said Charles Bunk, who has been practicing law in San Antonio for more than 30 years, including 15 as a prosecutor. I cant imagine these are the only two guys that made a bad choice that day. 'Split-second decision' A fundamental problem with the indictments, the defense lawyers said, is that courts have held police officers dont have a legal duty to protect people not in their custody from harm caused by a third party. Theres a big difference between a legal obligation and a moral or ethical obligation, Fuchs said. He said there was no question that officers from various agencies who responded to Robb Elementary failed in their moral and ethical obligation. But the famous motto thats on police cars Protect and Serve it doesnt say, Defend you to my death. In a 2005 case called Castle Rock v. Gonzales, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a grieving Colorado mother who claimed that police violated her right to due process when they failed to enforce a restraining order against her estranged husband after he abducted the couples three daughters, ages 7, 9 and 10. Police told her to wait and see if he brought the girls back. He shot and killed all three of them. In a 7-2 ruling, the court held that police have broad discretion in enforcing restraining orders, and that the mother was not entitled under Colorado law to mandatory action by the police. In a 1989 case, the court rejected an appeal from a boy who claimed child welfare officials in Wisconsin had violated his constitutional rights by failing to protect him from his abusive father. While the state may have been aware of the dangers that (the child) faced in the free world, it played no part in their creation, nor did it do anything to render him any more vulnerable to them, the court held in a 6-3 vote in DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services. Under these circumstances, the state had no constitutional duty to protect ... Remember once again that the harm was inflicted not by the state of Wisconsin, but by (the boys) father. Arredondos lawyers have made the same argument in asking a judge to toss the indictment against their client: The Uvalde shooter is solely to blame for the loss of life, they wrote. Mitchells office has opposed the motion. Senior State District Judge Sid Harle, who is presiding over the case, will rule on the matter. One defense lawyer said he expects Arredondos and Gonzales attorneys to invoke the 1989 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Graham v. Connor. In that case, the court held that police officers decisions on use of force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene. The ruling noted that police officers are often forced to make split-second decisions about the amount of force necessary in a particular situation. The Robb Elementary massacre was the deadliest school shooting in Texas history. Nineteen fourth graders and two teachers were killed. Kin Man Hui/Staff photographer 'Imminent danger' The Uvalde indictments are believed to be the first in Texas to use the states child abandonment or endangerment law to prosecute police for line-of-duty conduct. But it has happened in Florida, and the result was the opposite of what Mitchell must be hoping for. Scot Peterson, then a Broward County sheriffs deputy, was on duty at Marjory Douglas Stoneman High School in Parkland, Fla., when a gunman killed 17 people in February 2018. During the shooter's six-minute rampage, Peterson took cover at a nearby building for 40 minutes even as other law enforcement officers rushed into the school. He was charged with felony child neglect and misdemeanor culpable negligence. A jury acquitted him of all charges. Students filed a civil lawsuit against Peterson and other defendants. In that case, a federal judge ruled that Peterson and law enforcement officials had no constitutional duty to protect the students from the shooter. A federal appeals court upheld the ruling. Texas child endangerment law makes it a crime to knowingly and intentionally place a child in imminent danger of death, bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment. The law also forbids abandoning a child under circumstances that expose the child to an unreasonable risk of harm. The law typically is used to prosecute parents and caregivers who leave a child alone and unsupervised at home or in a car, or when drugs they used are detected in a childs system. Defense lawyers said they strained to understand how the law could apply to the Robb Elementary massacre. It certainly was never intended as the basis to prosecute police officers responding to a mass shooting, Del Prado said. Arredondo and Gonzales did not cause the children to be at Robb Elementary that day or to remain there, Sifuentes said. One must wonder how far back in the speculative chain of causation can the state go to hold a person responsible, he said. For example, could teachers and school administrators be criminally responsible for failing to prevent the shooter from coming on campus? Defense lawyers said they expect attorneys for Arredondo and Gonzales will try to have the trial moved out of Uvalde. It would be next to impossible for the two to receive a fair trial in the same community where the massacre occurred, the lawyers said. Bharatiya Janata Party's Delhi president, Virendra Sachdeva wrote to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, questioning him about whether his government has fulfilled the promises made during the assembly elections. In the letter, the BJP leader asked the Punjab CM whether the Punjab government is giving Rs 1000 to women as part of their 'five guarantees' as promised in the 2022 polls. "I am writing this letter to you to remind you that during the campaign for the Punjab Assembly elections in February 2022, you, as the leader of your political party Aam Aadmi Party announced 5 guarantees for the people of Punjab. One of those guarantees was that your party, upon coming to power will give a monthly allowance of Rs 1000 per month to women above the age of 18," the letter by Sachdeva read. He also said that he is "confident" that he has fulfilled the promises made to the women, and asked him three questions about the scheme. "1. Is the Punjab Government giving a monthly allowance of Rs 1000 as part of its 5 guarantees announced by AAP during the campaign in February 2022? 2. What is the name of the women's scheme in Punjab under which women are being given monthly allowance? 3. When did the Punjab government last distribute monthly allowance to the women of Punjab?" read the letter. Earlier on December 12, BJP's Sachdeva hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party and its national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, accusing them of making "false promises" about providing financial support to women in Punjab and Delhi. Sachdeva said that the BJP is providing financial support to women in several states, whether it is Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Odisha, or Maharashtra. "Before the Punjab elections, the AAP announced that it would provide some funds to women in the state. But to date, has anyone received even a rupee? They cry over the low amount of government money. In the Lok Sabha elections, Arvind Kejriwal had promised to give Rs 1000 to women, Kejriwal made them fill out the form," Sachdeva said. Attacking AAP further, Sachdeva said that if they wanted to give a financial aid, they would have given just after the Lok Sabha elections. He said, "Arvind Kejriwal if you wanted to give, you could have given them after Lok Sabha elections when you made them fill out the forms. It's been two years since the AAP government has been in power in Punjab, but they have never given them a single penny. So, the public of Delhi better knows about your fake promises and now they only believe in the 'Modi Ki Guarantee'." (ANI) VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) Several community leaders, including police, the Chesapeake fire marshal and anti-violence activists, gathered at the Eastern Virginia Association of United Church of Christ in Virginia Beach Saturday for a conversation on effective programs to help reduce gun violence in our neighborhoods. This symposium stemmed from the violent weekend that Hampton Roads experienced during Thanksgiving due to gun violence. Activist reacts to violent weekend after Thanksgiving Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People passed the microphone around, sharing personal stories. Chesapeake Fire Marshal William Brown spoke about the police chase involving his nephew. Im seeing this person reaching, trying to reach under their seat. Im announcing, Let me see your hands,' Brown said. Im walking up and putting this gun right next to their temple. I said, Let me see your hands. And they took their hands out, and then when I put the light in their face, it was my nephew. Brown said that, after that moment, it made him think about how to help children that are getting involved in bad situations. He said one idea is to create a place where the youth and law enforcement can have conversations about the hardships of gun violence and the importance of making good choices. Were going to do our job, Brown said. We need every tool. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anti-violence activist Bilal Muhammad also shared his story about losing his son to gun violence. He added that collaboration between religious and community leaders to address organized crime and gun violence can help combat a lot of issues. Previously: Community activists son shot and killed during phone call with his father There is no giving up. This is our life. We must continue to work, Muhammad said. Plus, they want to continue to work through cold cases and use new technology to bring closure to families. We have been doing our own research, and we have been communicating with the police department, Muhammad said. We are collecting together. We got to support one another. Yeah, you dont have to be officially a police officer to provide information. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many of the speakers talked about the importance of community involvement and education. According to the Stop the Violence team, it has a March Against Violence scheduled for March 8. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com. LONGMEADOW, Mass. (WWLP) The Longmeadow Fire Department postponed its 4th annual Santa Run. Longmeadow home destroyed in third-alarm house fire Sunday afternoon the department posted to Facebook, Ho! Ho! Oh no! Santa and all of his elves have been up all night with a house fire and are still busy helping the homeowners. Unfortunately, that means we will have to postpone todays scheduled Santa Run. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We hope to be able to reschedule it before Christmas, but this is a busy week for the big guy and Santa may not be able to leave the North Pole again. We apologize and will keep everyone posted as the week moves forward as to Santas availability. Thank you for your understanding. You can see Santa and his Fire Department friends run through the streets of Longmeadow on Sunday, beginning at 3 p.m. The run was scheduled to go through the streets of Longmeadow, beginning and ending at the fire station, located on Williams St. 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. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) Amy Hoyt joined the WMBB team in 1994 after a successful broadcasting career working for the local NBC station and as a news director for a radio station in Clarksville, Tennessee while her husband Robert served in the US Army. When WMBB decided to start a 5 pm newscast, Amy Hoyt was hired to take the lead on what is still known as Live at 5:00, a show she has anchored more times than anyone else. In 1995, she was promoted, joining Tom Lewis on the 6:00 pm and 10:00 pm newscasts. She would have other co-anchors such as Chris Cato and Jerry Brown before Tom rejoined her on the desk in 2021. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For 30 years, when the Panhandle turned on News 13 to watch the evening news, Amy was the reassuring voice through tragedy and triumph. Amy was there when Hurricane Opal decimated the Panhandle, part of the only news team to stay on-air during that disaster. She was there, again, when hurricanes Ivan and Dennis sent deadly tornados ripping through the viewing area. Amy Hoyt announces retirement Hers was the last voice heard as we evacuated the studio as we were being knocked off the air during Hurricane Michael. Still, her love and passion for this community had her on Facebook, reporting live when the building itself had lost power. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She reported live from the 1996 campaign visit by President Bill Clinton, the first time a sitting president ever visited Bay County. There was more presidential coverage of former President George Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush in 1998, President George W. Bush in 2001 and 2004, and Donald Trump, both as a candidate in 2016 and as president in 2020. One of the many highlights of Amys career was the trip she took to the holy land in the late 1990s. Her reporting on that trip won a Coveted Telly award. Another highlight was when she got the opportunity to take to the sky in an Air Force F-15. Over the years, Amy has been connected to many high-profile station events, such as the Jefferson Awards, which honored local citizens for public service, and emceeing the Childrens Miracle Network telethon almost every single year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a journalist, she organized the Wheel, a partnership with CrimeStoppers that led to the arrests of dozens of wanted fugitives in our area. For years, her sit-down interviews Amy Hoyts one-on-one were where you could find lawmakers such as Rick Scott, Jimmy Patronis, and many more sitting down to answer tough questions. Shes been the face of our monthly Buddy Check, a campaign to encourage women to do self-exams to detect breast cancer early. Shes used her platform to elevate the stories of breast cancer stories. Then there are her daily events that touch the community, like reading to local school students, moderating political debates, participating in fundraisers, or walking in parades. Amy has always sacrificed personal time to represent WMBB in hundreds of community and station events. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Amy Hoyt has been the trusted voice for the Panhandle. Her tenacity has inspired generations of reporters to hold the powerful accountable, seek the truth, and serve our community. Shes been the comforting voice of calm, providing peace of mind in breaking news situations. But for those who know her best, shes been our friend and treasured colleague. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com. The mother of Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old man accused of killing UnitedHealth Care CEO Brian Thompson in New York City on Dec. 4, told the FBI that her son could be the person in surveillance photos circulated by police a day before he was arrested, according to reports. Mangiones family reported him missing to the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) in mid-November, roughly two weeks before he is alleged to have ambushed Thompson, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday. The FBI confirmed that SFPD reached out to them about the possible identity of the suspect four days before Mangiones Dec. 9 arrestan officer working on the missing-persons case recognized him in the surveillance images circulated by investigators in New York. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to law enforcement officials who spoke to NBC News and the New York Post, Mangiones mother, Kathleen, told investigators on Dec. 8 he could be the suspect, but that she was not completely confident that it was him. Mangione was arrested the next morning at a McDonalds Altoona, Pennsylvania, before members of the FBIs Joint Violent Crimes Task Force could contact the New York Police Department about the conversation, the New York Post reported. Mangiones mother originally reached out to SFPD because, the Chronicle reported, she told them he had previously been working for car listing website TrueCar, which has an office in San Francisco. She told police she had last heard from him on July 1. A TrueCar spokesperson told the newspaper he last worked for them in 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mangione, 26, has been charged with murder in New York in Thompsons killing, which police say was targeted and may have been motivated because of Thompsons position with the health insurance company. The SFPDs identification of Mangione from the missing-persons case is the first known instance where he was brought to the attention of authorities prior to his arrest. Before he was taken into custody, Mangione was the subject of a widespread manhunt that included drones and trained dogs trying to retrace his steps as he fled Manhattan. Authorities offered a $60,000 reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch said last week that the 3d-printed gun in Mangiones possession when he was arrested last week matches the shell casings found at the crime scene in New York. She also said fingerprints found near the scene match his. The shell casings had the words, deny, delay and depose written on them, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny. Mangiones Pennsylvania attorney, Thomas Dickey, told ABC News he has seen no evidence linking his client to the crime, adding a lot of guns look the same. Denied care UnitedHealthcare CEO Shooting: Luigi Mangiones Family Shocked After Brian Thompson Death, (sacbee.com, Nov. 10) We all deeply agree it is wrong to kill. The young man who pulled the trigger in New York will face justice. But what is the penalty of depriving thousands of people of essential medical care, generating massive suffering and passively imposing death on many of those thousands? UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was getting $10.1 million annually as his incentive to deny critical care. What should his penalty have been for the passive murder of Americans? Why not call the cops on these corporate killers as well? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement William Bronston, MD Carmichael Opinion Investigation needed Sacramento attorney alleges charter violation by manager, (sacbee.com, Dec. 7) A performance audit of Sacramento City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood is needed. Last December, the city manager and city attorney proposed raises had been set for a special meeting. The Bee not Alcala Wood pointed out that under state law, raises cant be handed out during a special session. Where was the city attorney during executive managements review of the draft special meeting agenda? Where was the city attorney when the city council began the special meeting? Leslie R Lopez Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sacramento Focus on collaboration Kevin McCarty is relentless and vindictive. Can he play nice as Sacramento mayor? | Opinion, (sacbee.com, Dec. 10) Find me an elected official who isnt relentless in their pursuit of making their community better by their definition. If McCarty is guilty of that, its exactly why I voted for him. Im glad hes my mayor, and I look forward to holding him accountable while working alongside him to achieve great things for Sacramento. Isaac Gonzalez Sacramento Concerned parent Fired teacher set to win Placer CA school board seat, (sacbee.com, Nov. 11) I am a Placer graduate and the parent of a current Placer High School student. I dont want Jeremy Jefferys near my kid or any kids. Tricia Caspers Auburn I remember when Ted Bundy made national headlines after finally being captured in 1978. And what I remember about that is people were talking about how good-looking he was and well educated and not the stereotypical murderer. When his picture was in the Pittsburgh Press, I remember looking at it with some interest, perhaps with lust in my heart, as President Jimmy Carter once said. And thats why I stared at Bundys photograph. You have to remember at that time, you only really had three TV stations and an evening or morning newspaper. The images that filled the pages and screens were primarily middle-aged, dour white men, like Carter, Walter Cronkite, and three popes . Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, thats no excuse to absolve Bundy. He was a gruesome, cold-blooded, horrific killer. He might have been handsome, charming, and educated, but he was vicious. No one should get a pass because of their looks and smarts. I see the same thing happening with Luigi Mangione, the man who authorities say gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. First, in a case of I should know better, when the shirtless picture of him was posted, I clicked on it, zoomed in on it, and I even went as far as Googling him a few times to see whether he was gay or straight. Then I read some comments under his picture and posts about him. So many saw him as a vigilante trying to right the wrongs of the health care system. Yes, we get screwed by it. When I attempted suicide, my carrier informed me that the next time I required a visit to the hospital, I needed to alert the insurer. Seriously? But my frustration and that of millions of others cant and shouldnt be a balm to the wounds inflicted on us by a health care system thats only out for profit. Thompson had family, friends, and loved ones. You dont extinguish a business problem by extinguishing the life of the person who runs the business. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When news of Thompsons fatal shooting broke, I posted a story internally, and I said this might be a harbinger of things to come. Theres so much anger in our society, so many who look at corporate CEOs as the coldhearted enemy. We have a convicted felon heading to the Oval Office who has preached hate and violence. When people see that our next president succeeds despite being a criminal and hatemonger, they feel emboldened. And when would-be assassins see how people are fawning over suspected gunman Mangione, they are emboldened too. Why wouldnt they be? People have celebrated Mangione's alleged actions as standing up for the little guy who is helpless when it comes to fighting corporate bureaucracy. It doesnt take much to tip the scales of someone who is angry and out for revenge. Copycat killings are littered throughout history. Look what happened after Columbine in 1999. Now we shrug with outrage, offer thoughts and prayers, and wait for the next school shooting. Same thing with massacres in department stores. Even Jeffrey Dahmer spurred copycat crimes. Even Bundy had copycatters. Remember when the convicted felon Jeffrey Meeks had his mug shot spread far and wide? He served time in prison for firearm possession and grand theft people not only overlooked that aspect but ignored it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im no psychologist, but I talked to mine today, and he agreed that violent people, particularly those who have mental health issues, do pay attention to how criminals who commit crimes they fantasize about are treated. I cant imagine what those who wish do to harm think about the way Mangione is being treated. The media is partly or almost fully to blame. This case has all the bells and whistles of a made-for-TV movie. You have a handsome, well-educated accused assailant with Ivy League creds and a very wealthy family. And you have the CEO of a major company shot on the streets of New York City. Because of this, its become a 24/7 obsession with all things Mangione and less and less about the death of Thompson. Thompsons shooting has spurred conversations among corporations about how they protect their CEOs. Other health insurance companies are taking steps to protect their CEOs, including deleting their online presence like bios and photos, and canceling in-person events according to USA Today . They are paying close attention to whats being said and the sentiment behind it. They know that Mangione being praised for allegedly inflicting damage on a hated health insurer will only drive others to do the same. ,But making CEOs of bad companies a target will do more harm than good, and it wont prompt companies to make changes to better serve or be more human toward their customers. A would-be assassin, however, doesnt see it that way, and they most certainly do see it that way when Mangione is being fawned over and lauded over what he's been accused of doing. Voices is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the LGBTQ+ and Allied community. Visit advocate.com/submit to learn more about submission guidelines. We welcome your thoughts and feedback on any of our stories. Email us at voices@equalpride.com. Views expressed in Voices stories are those of the guest writers, columnists and editors, and do not directly represent the views of The Advocate or our parent company, equalpride. HAZLETON, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) Families in need are getting some help less than two weeks before Christmas. Hazleton City Police and the grocery store chain Giant teamed up today for a food drive called Pack The Cruiser. The first-time event aimed to fill a police SUV with non-perishable food, snacks, juices, and other items. In only two hours, the police cruiser was nearly filled. The food will go to what police call Blue Santa Families, families with children from infants to teens who are victims of fire, crime, or just need a helping hand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its kind of cool. Its something that you get to see the community come together. I mean some of these people are just showing up to get one or two items from giant and they see the list and they come out with a cart-full. Theyre coming together as a community and supporting one another which is amazing, said Officer Jessica Surkin of the Hazleton City Police Department. Cash donations were also accepted. Police say todays goal was to help 55 families in Hazleton. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. First Lady Jill Biden is going viral after a group of children wished her a Happy Christmas after she told them Happy Holidays during a White House toy drive on Friday. In a clip circulating on social media, Biden can be seen waving and greeting children at the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots event while standing next to Lt. Gen. Leonard Anderson IV. Hi, Happy Holidays, Biden said in the video. Happy Christmas, a child can be heard shouting back in the background. Happy Christmas, yes, Biden said in response as other children chime in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The moment has gained traction on X, where a number of Trump supporters have used it to allege that the children were shutting down the First Ladys politically correct holiday greeting. HOLY SH*T Jill Biden says Happy Holidays and a child immediately corrects her and says: Merry Christmas LETS FREAKING GO pic.twitter.com/3i1aVx3anS MAGA Voice (@MAGAVoice) December 13, 2024 The kids know the truth. Lol, one user wrote in response to the video. Even the children know that America is back! added another. Being able to say Merry Christmas has become a talking point on the right in recent years, with President-elect Donald Trump frequently giving his two cents on the matter. And we will proudly say Merry Christmas again, Trump said back in October during a campaign speech in North Carolina. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Holiday remarks aside, during the toy event, First Lady Jill took time to speak directly to the children of service members in attendance. While Democratic Party strategists seem stuck in a loop of chasing down the last remaining Never Trump Republicans, some of the GOP's biggest names are willing to admit that the old conservatism is a thing of the past. Sen. Mitt Romney, a choice straight out of central casting for the sort of blue-blood establishment Republican that once defined the party, admitted that his time was done in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper. MAGA is the Republican Party," the staunch critic of the president-elect shared on Sunday. Donald Trump is the Republican Party today. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Romney has maintained a public dislike of Trump throughout the MAGA figurehead's decade-plus on the political scene. He voted against the president-elect in both of his impeachments and has never cast a ballot for him in a presidential election. "Im, as you know, not a supporter of President Trumps. I didnt support him in this election. I didnt the last time he ran either, largely for matters of character, the one-time Republican presidential nominee shared. Still, he recognizes that his mannered Yankee conservatism has fully given way to the conspiratorial hooting of Sun Belt extremists. Trump, himself a coastal elite, played to his base when he permanently decamped his life-long home in New York for the resort communities of Florida. And while Romney may not like the man, he told Tapper that he's willing to play along if it means advancing Republican political goals. I think most people disagree with me. Im willing to live with that. I just put emphasis on different things than I think the public at large does right now, he said of his feelings on Trump before adding that he deserves a shot to do right in his second term. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I agree with him on a lot of policy fronts. I disagree with him on some things, Romney said. But its like, OK, give him a chance to do what he said hes gonna do and see how it works out. Watch Romney's entire interview below: Dec. 14At least 31 suspected illegal marijuana grow houses have been relisted for sale since law enforcement first raided the operations in January this year, an analysis of Maine real estate listings shows. Nearly a dozen appear to have sold. Illegal marijuana "grow houses" have become a pervasive issue in rural Maine, where Chinese transnational criminal organizations have purchased anywhere from 100 to 700 single-family homes, hollowed them out and converted them into industrial-scale black market marijuana farms. The homes are often filled with carcinogenic fertilizers, black market fumigants and extensive black mold infestations. Conditions inside the homes have been described as "uninhabitable" and "abhorrent" by authorities present at the raids. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, many suspected sites are being seemingly refurbished and relisted on the market. They are all rural single-family properties outfitted with several heat pumps and high-voltage electrical wiring that have been purchased in the last four years by out-of-state residents of Chinese descent with no previous presence in Maine mirroring properties where alleged illegal grow houses have been raided by police. Real estate listings and deed transactions show an influx of such residences being listed for sale as law enforcement escalates their investigation into the sites. The value of most of the properties has risen along with most Maine real estate since the grow houses began taking root in the state about four years ago, leaving growers one final opportunity to profit tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars after the operations have stopped cultivating marijuana. Maine law requires real estate agents disclose "prior removal of hazardous materials or elements," but does not specifically require a home's history be shared with the buyer before it is sold, even if the home was involved in criminal activity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A home at 24 Guptill Road in Belgrade was one of the first Maine grow houses raided by law enforcement in January and was among the first to be listed for sale about eight months later. Several other illegal grows raided by law enforcement have reappeared on the market along with dozens of other suspected grow houses so far untouched by the authorities. At least 10 grow houses across Maine appear to have been sold for between $150,000 and $600,000. It is unclear if the buyers were aware of the homes' history. Federal authorities have moved to seize six Maine properties they say housed illegal cannabis growing operations with "potential resale value based on their condition," according to Andrew Lizotte, the assistant U.S. attorney who is leading the federal investigation into Maine's illegal cannabis grow houses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lizotte and the U.S. Marshals Service, which oversees federal property seizures, said the government seizes houses on a case-by-case basis. Prosecutors consider each grow house's financing and "how the property was used in furtherance of the illegal marijuana operation," Lizotte said, though the primary concern is often the remediation and renovations needed to address hazards inside the homes. Federal prosecutors have declined to seize several houses raided with assistance from federal investigators, including some that are now on the market. Lizotte declined to comment on why those specific properties were not seized. 571 THURSTON HILL ROAD, MADISON Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Federal and local authorities found nearly 600 illegal marijuana plants when they raided 571 Thurston Hill Road in March. The home was put back on the market about five months later before selling for $200,000 in early December. The two-bed, one-bath home was purchased in April 2022 by Jiamin Liao of Flushing, New York, "for consideration paid," according to the deed transaction, generally an indication of a cash sale. Industrial-grade heating, lighting and ventilation systems were installed inside the home shortly after Liao purchased it to accommodate the growth of several hundred cannabis plants at a time, according to investigators. Liao is a Chinese national with residences listed under her ownership in Maine, California and New York, law enforcement says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Liao was arrested after Somerset sheriff's deputies raided a Norridgewock property she owned that police say was used to process marijuana grown at the Thurston Hill home. She was released later that evening after posting $10,000 bail. Federal authorities are in the process of seizing Liao's Norridgewock property. The Thurston Hill house was listed for sale by South China-based Realtor Xiaofang Clark, with Liao still listed as its owner, according to the Somerset County Registry of Deeds. Reflective sheets that once insulated grow rooms have been replaced with drywall and new paint. Photos from online listings show new floors throughout the home and marble countertops in the kitchen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Much of the cultivation was happening in the basement and garage, which had been insulated to accommodate the high temperatures and humidity needed to efficiently grow cannabis, according to DEA special agent Kristopher Sullivan. "Inside the residence there were several rooms that were currently being utilized to grow marijuana," Sullivan wrote in a May court filing. "The basement had several rooms where walls had been built and reflective material was hung to aid in the marijuana cultivation process, with one of the rooms currently being used to grow marijuana. The entire garage area was divided into three rooms, each being utilized to grow marijuana." Clark's listings make note of the home's "insulated two-car garage and insulated basement" but do not mention its previous use across about a half-dozen real estate websites. She said she was not aware of any modifications made to the property, either to grow marijuana or to cover up the growing of marijuana. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I don't see any sign of this growing facility or anything like that. It's just a very ordinary two-bedroom house," Clark said. "When I entered the address on the internet, it came out that this house was involved in some activity like that so I did talk to the seller. The seller fully disclosed what was going on." The home's sale was finalized Dec. 3 for about $200,000, according to the Somerset County Registry of Deeds. The buyer is aware of the home's history, Clark said, which she disclosed before the sale. Clark's listings do not mention hazardous materials or elements removed from the property. Affidavits written after the raid largely only refer to the criminal activity at the home and do not specifically mention the conditions or hazards inside. Clark says there was no black mold, chemical fertilizers or other hazardous materials at the home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Growing marijuana in your house, in the property disclosure, there's no section specifically to say if you grow it or not, but this is being disclosed fully because as a Realtor we need to disclose everything we know about the property," Clark said. 140 POINT ROAD, BELGRADE An alleged illegal grow house was busted at 140 Point Road in January, one of the first such raids in Maine. The property was also one of the first relisted for sale when it hit the market in August. A Massachusetts man was arrested and about 1,000 cannabis plants, fertilizers, potting soil and "complex growing systems" were found inside the home during the raid, Assistant Attorney General Darcy Mitchell said at a court hearing in January. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The growing of marijuana at this residence had been going on for quite some time," Mitchell said. "The facts put together suggest that this was a long-term, large-scale grow operation." The home was put back on the market about eight months after the raid by Lewiston-based real estate agent Yuli "Lily" Huang. The Point Road home is owned by Siu Yin Huang of Uncasville, Connecticut, who purchased the property "for consideration paid" in 2021. An affidavit written after the home was raided notes that "this is common for these illegal marijuana growing residences to be owned by someone who does not live on-site." The affidavit noted several heat pumps and industrial-grade electrical equipment at the home, common modifications inside illicit grow houses. Like most other relisted grow houses, you likely wouldn't be able to tell the home's history from the listing photos, which show repainted walls, polished wooden floors and new carpets throughout the home though reflective insulative paneling remains in the home's garage. Belgrade does not require building permits for renovation or electrical work nor does it mandate air or water quality testing at new real estate listings, according to the town's code enforcement officer, Hans Rasmussen. "I can't speak to what was done or the quality of the work that has been done, electrical or otherwise," he said in September of another relisted grow house. "It's outside the scope of my responsibilities." Huang was also listed as the real estate agent for 24 Guptill Road in Belgrade, where an alleged illegal marijuana grow was raided in January before being relisted for nearly $400,000 nine months later. That home has been taken off the market since a Morning Sentinel story in September on its listing but has not been sold, according to public property records. Huang's real estate profile notes that she is fluent in English, Mandarin, Cantonese and Taiwanese. She has previously said she often works with out-of-state buyers who speak little English and are unfamiliar with Maine's real estate market. Ten other suspected grow houses appear on Huang's real estate profile, as well as an East Millinocket warehouse "currently set up as a cannabis grow facility," according to an online listing. Growing equipment still in the warehouse is included in the sale. "Because I speak Chinese, they get a hold of me and say they want me to sell," Huang said in September. "I didn't know they were involved with the illegal growing of marijuana ... I know that it's very common in Maine, a lot of people grow the marijuana at home." Huang declined a request to speak about 140 Point Road and the other properties she has listed for sale. 667 WATERVILLE ROAD, SKOWHEGAN While several confirmed grow houses have hit the market, they are outnumbered by suspected growing operations that have not been raided by law enforcement. The three-story home, detached garage and large workspace at 667 Waterville Road in Skowhegan is on the market at nearly $300,000 with Yuli Huang also listed as its agent. The property is owned by Yan Qiang Mei, of Missouri City, Texas, who purchased the property in 2022, also "for considerations paid," according to the Somerset County Registry of Deeds. It is a rural single-family home purchased by an out-of-state investor of Chinese descent in the last five years, with high-voltage power lines strung to all three buildings on the property. Large exhaust vents and several heat pumps are visible at each of the outbuildings, while their windows have been covered and boarded up. Mei was granted an easement in 2022 by Central Maine Power Co., the home's electric supplier, to modify and upgrade the power equipment at the home, public property records show. Huang's listing does not disclose the property's previous use or condition. She declined to answer questions about the home's history or previous tenants. Mei, the homeowner, could not be reached for comment. Cheehaut Kang, Mei's brother-in-law and business partner at the home, insisted in an interview that no marijuana was grown at the property. Kang said the property had been modified to accommodate a "multimillion-dollar manufacturing business," he started in the last four years with Mei, but that he could not share what he manufactured due to a nondisclosure agreement. "We have actually spent more than $10,000 to have our electrical (consumption) increased for that particular operation, which we unfortunately fell through and we are not able to complete. A business partner is getting back out, so we are settled with this," Kang said. "My brother is very sour on this investment, so therefore we are trying to sell it out." Kang said there was no illegal activity on the property, but that he plans to sell it to a "client" who will use the workshops to grow marijuana, as the property has all the necessary equipment already installed to accommodate a large-scale cannabis grow. "Our client introduced some people who say they would like to cultivate, rent our property part of it to do a legal marijuana medical cultivation," Kang said. "We are in the process of applying the license for them since we have ample electrical current needs." More than 120 suspected illegal grow houses have transitioned to the legal market in the last year by applying for a medical marijuana license with Maine's Office of Cannabis Policy, a Morning Sentinel investigation uncovered. The OCP has issued an increasing number of new cannabis farms registered to rural Maine applicants of Chinese descent with addresses listed in Boston, New York City and their respective suburbs, mirroring many of those arrested at illegal growing operations so far. Several licensed grow houses have been confirmed to be selling cannabis with potentially fatal levels of toxic pesticides to legal medical dispensaries. Investigators in Somerset County have found that the owners of raided grow houses will file the paperwork to establish a medical marijuana grow at the site after the raid, according to Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster, whose office has raided more than 20 grow houses so far. "What we're seeing is that on a few of the homes that we have executed our search warrants on, that they then go to the Office of Cannabis (Policy) to try to obtain a license," said Lancaster. Unlike most other legal states, licensed individual caregivers in Maine can create businesses and sell cannabis to anyone with a medical card. About 80 suspected illicit growers have established such businesses statewide, according to OCP records. Kang said his clients intended to establish such a business at 667 Waterville Road. "We are a law-abiding citizen," Kang said. "We are trying to help people do the right thing and that is what we are endeavoring to do." "WE WOULD NEVER KNOW" While Maine law requires a number of disclosures around the presence of methamphetamine and other "hazardous materials or elements," it does not require the disclosure of a cannabis farm, chemical fertilizers or mold. Many of the small, rural towns the grow houses take root in do not have the resources or staffing to require stringent property inspections. This leaves the possibility that illegal growers are applying surface-level fixes to serious hazards with no ability to detect them a possibility acknowledged by Paul McKee, the outgoing president of the Maine Association of Realtors, of which both Huang and Clark are members. While MAR asks its Realtors to voluntarily acknowledge mold remediation or other hazards, it doesn't appear Huang or Clark made such disclosures on the Thurston Hill or Point Road grow houses. McKee says it's not out of the realm of possibility that an unscrupulous seller could put a dangerous property on the market, especially if visible aspects of an illegal cannabis grow like grow lights, electrical wires and watering systems have been removed from the house. "We're not law enforcement. We basically fill in blanks: Yes, no, unknown," McKee said. "To your point, if (mold) was painted over, we would never know." Maine property records indicate about a dozen suspected former illicit grows have been purchased since hitting the market in the last year. McKee says there is little recourse for buyers who only learn of the homes' past tenants after the sale. Identifying the safety and history of a home, as well as any modifications made to it, is the job of the prospective buyer, McKee says, not the association or the Realtor. "Any buyer should be doing their own investigations with their own people that they hire independently, and they make a decision if they want to move forward or not on a property," McKee said. "We're not making judgement on legal or illegal, we just deal with the property and the boundaries of the land." Copy the Story Link Coming out heavily against the Opposition, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, said the "soul of the Constitution" might be 'crying' with the leaders carrying it on every other occasion. Prasad was speaking on the second day of discussion on the '75 years of the Constitution' in the Lok Sabha on Saturday. "The leaders of the opposition always carry the Constitution with them. Have it whenever they take an oath. During their demonstration in Ghazipur, they also held the constitution. The soul of the constitution might be crying, asking, Where is it being taken to?" the BJP MP from Patna Sahib said. Prasad pointed to the 'original' copy of the Constitution and highlighted the images of Lord Ram, Lord Krishna, Guru Govind Singh, Rani Laxmi Bai, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and Mughal Emperor Akbar. Attacking the Opposition, he said that if the Constitution were made today, there would have been a major backlash from the opposition if these images were to be used. He further criticised the Opposition for their criticism of Veer Savarkar, noting that the opposition had a "lot of problems against Savarkar" and urged them to visit the Cellular Jail in Andaman, where Savarkar was imprisoned for 11 years, to better understand his sacrifices. "They (Opposition) have a lot of problems against Savarkar...I request them to be taken to the cellular jail in Andaman where Savarkar was held for 11 years," the BJP MP said. Prasad questioned why the names of leaders like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad were not mentioned by the Opposition and taking a jibe, said the 'tutor' needs to be changed. "The tutor needs to be changed. It is important to note where they are going for turion...Why were the names of Sardar Patel and Maulana Azad not taken by the opposition?" he added. The Lok Sabha, on December 13, initiated a two-day debate on the Constitution to commemorate the beginning of the 75th year of its adoption. The first session of the winter Parliament commenced on November 25, with both Houses getting adjourned fairly early due to disruptions. The winter session will go on till December 20. (ANI) Leer en espanol For the first time in its 23-year history, a pair of relatives who competed against one another in the annual Food City Tamale-Making Contest were crowned winners. Diana Chacon won first place in the tamale contest while her son Luis Felix received third place in the Saturday event. Dimas Toledo received second place in the tamale contest. This year's winners were Chacon's pork salsa verde tamale, Felix's pork red chile tamale and Toledo's Chiapas-style tamale, which was a banana leaf-wrapped tamale with beef laid out on a masa mixed with chirpily. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Eight finalists from this year's 10-day tamale-making contest gathered outside a South Phoenix Food City and prepared tamales for a panel of judges, which included officials from Food City and the Arizona Cardinals along with journalists and TV personalities from various news organizations including Axios, NBC News and Telemundo. The first-place winner received $1,000 in furniture from Del Sol Furniture and a $500 Food City gift card as well as two free tickets to see the Arizona Cardinals. Husks full of pride and joy Before the judges gathered to determine the winners of this year's tamale contest, the hosts asked them if they felt nervous. Most of the judges silently nodded their heads yes. Right before the winners were announced, Susy Ferra, the PR Manager for Bashas,' Food City, AJ's Fine Foods and one of today's hosts, said this year's competition was extremely close. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ferra said the scorecards indicated that each person won by just one point. Not only was this the first year where relatives competed against one another but this was also Chacon and Felix's first year taking home the golden-colored plaques that certified them as winners of the Valley contest. A Sinaloa-style banda played their brass and drums in celebratory fashion for all to hear when Chacon was named the winner of this year's tamale contest outside the South Phoenix Food City. Originally from Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, Chacon was overwhelmed with tears of joy when asked how she felt. Both Felix and Chacon told the Arizona Republic they were extremely proud of one another for winning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chacon said she did not go into the contest with the mindset of winning. "I just wanted to participate," she said. 'For culture, traditions and family' When the hosts of the event asked Dimas Toledo and his family how they felt after winning second place, they all responded with one word: "feliz," meaning happy in Spanish. Both Chacon and Felix said that the event didn't feel like a tense competition but a beautiful scene where everyone they competed against was very friendly. After the winners were announced, there was an atmosphere of support among the tamale competition contestants, each congratulating one another. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Events like these are held proudly "for culture, traditions and family," something Valley Latino residents fully understand. Reach La Voz reporter David Ulloa Jr. at david.ulloa@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Who makes the best homemade tamales in Phoenix? Food City crowns winner CHICAGO A male was found dead in a Little Village alley on the citys Southwest Side with a gunshot wound to the back late Saturday night, according to police. Toddler shot during armed robbery in Little Italy: CPD Chicago police say the male, who has not been identified, was found by officers just after 10 p.m. in the 3100 block of West Cermak Road and pronounced dead at the scene. Further investigation revealed that a green SUV that had hit an unoccupied parked vehicle was near the victim, according to police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police say the victim may have been inside the green SUV that crashed prior to being found by officers. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines Nobody is in custody, police say, and Area Four detectives continue to investigate. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) Columbus police arrested a 39-year-old man Saturday in connection to a Tuesday fatal shooting on the citys south side. Police said Haikiem Graham has been charged with murder in the shooting death of 45-year-old Darrell Hambrick at the 700 block of East Moler Street in the Vassor Village neighborhood. Hambrick was found shot just before 1:30 p.m. Tuesday and was taken to a hospital before being pronounced dead at 3:26 p.m. Wednesday. Homicide investigation underway after three found dead in South Side home, Columbus police say Graham was taken into custody without incident by a SWAT team. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Franklin County Municipal Court Monday at 9 a.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone with additional information on Hambricks death and the events surrounding it are asked to contact police at 614-645-4730. If you wish to stay anonymous, contact Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. In the early hours of New Year's Day 2021 in Canton, Georgia, Morgan Metzer was awakened to a terrifying sight. A man wearing a mask and all black clothing was standing at her bedroom doorway. The man ran and jumped on top of her. "That's when he started pistol-whipping me," Morgan said. The assailant used zip ties to constrain her wrists before strangling her nearly unconscious twice. A photo of Morgan Metzer following the attack at her home. She was found with her wrists zip tied, and bruising on her face. / Credit: Cherokee County Sheriff's Office "'You're gonna regret this, you've done really wrong now,'" Morgan recalled the man told her in a deep and gravelly voice that he seemed to be trying to disguise. She said it sounded like Batman. Morgan Metzer's harrowing attack is the focus of this week's all-new "48 Hours" reported by contributor Nikki Battiste. "The 'Batman' Intruder" airs Saturday, Dec. 14 at 10/9c on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. Afterward, the attacker placed a pillowcase over her head and picked Morgan up and left her on the back porch, which was connected to the bedroom. He told her not to move until she heard two car honks or he'd kill her. Then all went quiet except the sound of the stream near her secluded home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Forty minutes passed, but then terror struck again. Morgan heard someone walking towards her and up the porch steps. Initially terrified her attacker had returned, she was surprised to hear a familiar voice. "'Oh honey, what happened?'" Morgan remembered her ex-husband, Rod Metzer, said when he found her. Rod called 911 and law enforcement showed up to the scene. Rod's rescue of his ex-wife appeared to be an act of heroism. Rod said he had been looking out for Morgan despite their divorce, which came after a nearly 20-year history together. They started dating when Morgan was 14 and Rod was 17 before marrying in their early 20s. The couple had twins, who were spending a few days with Morgan's sister in Florida when the attack occurred. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Morgan said her decision to file for divorce came after years of what she described as mental and physical abuse from Rod. Rod moved out of Morgan's home into his own apartment and Morgan was ready to move on. Their divorce was finalized just weeks before the attack. However, this new start for Morgan was cut short. Earlier in the week, Morgan said Rod called her with shocking news that he had pancreatic cancer. "And so I rushed to go see him," Morgan told Battiste. "He showed me doctors' notes and whatnot." She allowed Rod to stay at her home to help him cope with his diagnosis. "I needed to be supportive still because it's the father of my children." Morgan and Rod Metzer / Credit: Morgan Metzer During this time, Morgan said Rod was constantly trying to get back together with her. But she had no interest and on the morning of New Year's Eve, she told Rod he needed to share his health news with his parents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "He said, 'No, absolutely not. I'm not telling anybody.' And that's when I was like, 'OK, get out,'" Morgan recalled. Morgan said Rod left, but still spent the day texting her about reconciling. Fed up, Morgan lied and told Rod she was going to sleep at her parents' home that New Year's Eve night. How Rod knew Morgan was at her home, along with the coincidental timing of his arrival after her attack, raised questions with investigators who spoke to Rod at the scene. Rod said he was planning on spending the night at his apartment. However, he told them he heard someone knock on his ground floor apartment window and say Morgan's name. After Rod tried calling Morgan with no answer, he decided to drive to her house to check on her. He told investigators that going to her house instead of her parents' was just out of habit. After interviewing both Morgan and Rod at the scene, investigators became suspicious of Rod's story. They ordered search warrants on Rod's apartment, car and electronic devices, uncovering his internet search history. The searches included, "How to get sympathy from your ex" and "How to change the sound of your voice." One search also stood out to investigators: "cancer letter from hospital." Investigators also discovered a fake email account created by Rod, posing as a doctor, to send the cancer diagnosis letter that he showed Morgan. But there was even more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "He had created a bill for a doctor's office to show that he was being treated for pancreatic cancer," said Rachel Ashe, the deputy chief assistant district attorney for Cherokee County. She said Rod "did all of this in order to convince Morgan that he had pancreatic cancer." He never did. Rod Metzer eventually pleaded guilty to 14 counts relating to the attack on Morgan Metzer. He was sentenced to 70 years 25 in prison followed by an additional 45 years of probation. Trump reportedly considering military action against Iran Why experts are telling people not to trade in their cars right now Growing number of drone sightings along East Coast causes confusion, alarm A man was found dead in Martin Luther King Jr. Park Saturday morning in Lima, according to our news partner WLIO. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Officers were called to the park around 10 a.m. for reports of a man down, Lima detectives say. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rakeem Jones, 23, was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds, detectives say. No one has been taken into custody at this time, but detectives are following up on leads, according to detectives. If anyone has relevant information about the death of Jones, they are asked to call Detective Steve Stechschulte at (419) 821-0059 or Crimestoppers at (419) 229-STOP. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] A man who threatened to shoot a family member at her work has learned his punishment. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Michael Robinson was sentenced to 12 months in prison after pleading guilty to inducing panic, according to Clark County court documents. Charges of terrorism and making a terrorist threat were dismissed. As News Center 7 previously reported, on Aug. 26 Robinson threatened to show up at a family members work and shoot her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The next day a manager at Pratt Industries told police that Robinson made threats to a family member, who was an employee, and said he was planning to bring an AK47 and light that (expletive) up. TRENDING STORIES: Robinson called the family member in front of the manager and said he would come to the business to shoot her. Robinson then came to Pratt Industries and parked in the parking lot, prompting the manager to lock down the business, according to court documents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An hour later police arrived and found Robinson. The family member told the manager that the gun was still in Robinsons trunk and he told her he would bond out of jail and return. A Pratt Industries employee told police that he took the gun out of Robinsons car. Police collected the AK47 style pistol and in Robinsons car found two loaded magazines, and two loaded AR-15 magazines, according to court documents. The manager told police they lost $15,000 and that 75 employees were present for the incident. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] WASHINGTON (DC News Now) Responders took a man to the hospital after he was shot in Northeast D.C. on Saturday. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) told DC News Now that shortly after 4:30 p.m., officers responded to the 1400 block of Saratoga Ave. for a reported shooting. This is not far from the Brookland Manor Recreation Center. Man dies after shooting in Northeast DC Once at the scene, officers found a man inside of a vehicle with gunshot wounds. He was conscious and breathing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Medics responded and took him to the hospital for treatment. As of Saturday night, his condition is unknown. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. If lawyers for Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old man charged in the killing of UnitedHealth Care CEO Brian Thompson, are to mount a trial defense for their client, experts say they may have to rely on his emotion and mindset to characterize his culpability for his actions against a purported mountain of evidence. Former prosecutors told Bloomberg News Mangiones case is one they would have salivated over, suggesting his defense attorneys have their work cut out for them. I tried much weaker cases than what this appears to be and won, Ken Taub, who prosecuted homicides in New York City, said in an interview with the news outlet. I would love to have a case like this. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities have said the case against Mangione includes a video, fingerprints and a murder weapon, as well as a manifesto and plan that suggest knowing and deliberate intent to kill. This case as its been made public so far is a very solid case, said Rich Esposito, a former Deputy Commissioner with the New York City Police Department, in an interview with CBS. And if you present it to a grand jury in that logical way, you cant speculate, but I would find it almost impossible that they dont indict. To get around a preponderance of evidence, Mangiones high-powered New York defense attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, could argue her client suffered from a mental disease or defect, meaning he did not understand his alleged actions. Under New York law, Friedman Agnifilo would need to prove Mangione didnt understand the nature and consequences of his actions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before she was hired to represent him, she even floated the idea during a CNN appearance: There might be a not guilty by reason of insanity defense that theyre going to be thinking about because the evidence is going to be so overwhelming that he did what he did. One former prosecutor, however, was skeptical about the prospects of such a defense. He knew a gun could discharge a bullet that could kill, and he knew it was wrong, because he fled the jurisdiction and he tried to conceal his identity, Gary Galperin, a former Manhattan District Attorneys office prosecutor, told Bloomberg. Galperin also noted, in New York, Mangione would not be allowed to argue a defense that appeals to biases against the healthcare insurance industry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement None of the evidence authorities say they have collected has been tested in court, and Friedman Agnifilo could challenge whether some of it is admissible based on how it was collected or its relevance to the alleged crime. When Friedman Agnifilo and her lawyers are able to access evidence authorities have collected, attorney Susan Walsh told Bloomberg their strategy could become much clearer: What is tantalizing sometimes to the public is not necessarily the truth. As cold wave conditions gripped the national capital, with temperature dropping to low single digits, multiple people across Delhi took refuge in shelter homes. Visuals from the Jama Masjid area, AIIMS Delhi area and other areas showed people wearing thick blankets and trying to get some sleep in the cold conditions. Ved Pal, who works at the shelter near AIIMS Delhi highlighted how over 40 people used the shelter on Saturday night. "This is a family shelter, and here we give them a proper bed, and as many blankets as they want. They also get food twice a day, and get tea and rusk in the morning too," he told ANI. Talking about the medical facilities available, he said that a doctor visits them if anyone has a health problem, or they are taken to the nearby AIIMS hospital if needed. "We have a first aid box here, and when the doctor visits we give the medicine through their orders, otherwise we try to also help them get to the hospital. We keep the general medicine like paracetamol," he said. In a separate shelter, Somu Malhotra highlighted the facilities for getting medicine, and proper beds in the different shelters of 22 people. "This shelter has both kinds of people, families and bachelors. In this shelter, we have medicines, a proper bed, and there are arrangements for food too, like tea, and rusk. For any medical assistance, we have AIIMS nearby, and we also have a first aid box," he told ANI. Roshan Kumar, who was at the shelter near Jama Masjid praised the Delhi government for giving all the necessary facilities to the people at the shelter "There are around 4 shelters here (near Jama Masjid), in some shelters, the capacity is 30 people, while another one has a capacity of 100 people, in the shelter we have all the facilities, and we also get regular food three times a day. The Delhi government has given us all the facilities, including medical facilities," Kumar told ANI. Meanwhile, the Indian Meteorological Department has warned of 'cold wave to severe cold wave' conditions in parts of North India, including Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. IMD scientist, Soma Sen Roy warned of the possibility of a 1-2 degree Celsius drop in temperature due to winds blowing in North India. She also said that the cold wave will last for one to two days in North and Central India IMD recorded the minimum temperature on December 14 at 8 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature forecast for today is expected to be 7 degrees. (ANI) PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WTAJ) A Minnesota man wanted for attempted murder was caught in Pennsylvania, according to U.S. Marshals. Theodore Jaymes was apprehended in the East Liberty section of Pittsburgh (5400 block of Baywood Street) Dec. 11, after U.S. Marshals in Western Pa. were asked to assist Marshals from Minnesota. According to a release, U.S. Marshals believe Jaymes to be a suspect in a shooting that happened on the Light Trail train in St. Paul, resulting in a female passenger being struck multiple times in her leg. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Charges were filed against Jaymes ahead of Marshals and the Ramsey County Sheriffs Office reaching out to U.S. Marshals in Western Pennsylvania and it was believed he was staying in the East Liberty section of Pittsburgh. 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. Marshals said the arrest of Jaymes is the direct result of the cooperative investigative efforts between, U.S. Marshals Western Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force, the Allegheny County Police Department, the Allegheny County Sheriffs Office, the Pennsylvania Attorney Generals Office, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTAJ - www.wtaj.com. Israel is only ever permitted to die. That has been the position of the diplomatic elites, Leftist intelligentsia and much of the media for the past 14 months. Whether it was sending troops into Rafah, exploding Hezbollahs pagers, assassinating terrorist leaders or wiping out Irans air defences, every action that would save Israeli lives has been opposed by somebody and some have been opposed by everybody. Which brings us to Syria. Israels destruction of Assads weaponry last week was pivotal for regional stability. If it had not acted, fanatics like those filmed in Damascus last week yelling, from here to Jerusalem, were coming for Jerusalem, would control MiG warplanes, attack helicopters, surface-to-surface batteries and cruise missiles, not to mention chemical weapons. Hardly a recipe for peace. The catchily-entitled United Nations special rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms While Countering Terrorism, however, saw things differently. There is absolutely no basis under international law to preventively or pre-emptively disarm a country you dont like, Prof Ben Saul huffed. Now there was a man who had never seen the inside of a bomb shelter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The BBCs Jeremy Bowen, meanwhile, wondered whether Assads chemical weapons should have been kept safe for the next regime. You could argue that if there is going to be a peaceful Syria then a reformed Syrian Arab Army should be part of it, he mused on Radio 4. Thats planet Bowen for you. Show me Israelophobia and Ill show you the irony. Aside from that UN job title (the man in charge of Countering Terrorism condemns Israel for countering terrorism), Israel may have done more for regional counter-proliferation in a single week than the UN has achieved in eight decades. On Thursday, a Syrian journalist appeared on Israeli television to say thank you a million times to the State of Israel. The special rapporteur should have been equally grateful. When gunmen attacked UN peacekeepers near the Syrian town of Hader on Saturday, the IDF was deployed across the border to save them. Was that also an infringement of international law? The loudest howls came when Israel temporarily seized a buffer zone along the frontier to prevent jihadi infiltration of its territory. Historian William Dalrymples reaction was typical. Israel has just occupied a chunk of Syria, he informed his 1.2 million followers on X. Am yet to hear our government speak out against this new invasion of sovereign territory. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Is Dalrymple aware of the 5,500 square miles of northwest Syria that Turkey has occupied for years? According to Amnesty International, Erdogans men have shown shameful disregard for civilian life, carrying out serious violations and war crimes, including summary killings and unlawful attacks. March through London anybody? Debate at the Oxford Union? A tweet? While Israel is a friendly democracy, Turkey a Nato member is a tight ally of Qatar, which until recently harboured some of Hamass leaders. Turkey is also the power behind Syrias new overlords. When Aleppo fell, it was Turkeys colours that flew above the iconic Citadel; in a display of dominance on Thursday, Ankaras spymaster, Ibrahim Kalin, prayed at the Great Mosque of Damascus. Erdogan, who supports a range of Sunni jihadis, has become increasingly hardline in recent years. This is a man who controls gas pipelines and migrant flows into Europe. But the Wests Pavlovian Israelophobia blinds it to these dangers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Which brings us to the gravest irony of all. While the bien pensant rain disparagement on Jerusalem, Israels youth stands firm against those who would also cut our throats. Think the jihadis of Syria, Lebanon and Gaza dont dream of black flags in London? Think again. 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. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) Maple Avenue United Methodist Church is set to present its annual Christmas Cantata, Heaven Rejoices. This program will tell the story of the birth of Jesus through choir, orchestra, and soloist performances along with narration. Its music and program director Dan Rodriguez said this is something the church and community looks forward to every year. Rodriguez said he cant thank his performers enough for all of their hard work and dedication. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Soul Light Ministries hosts Christmas event We have a very talented group of people from the community that put this together every year and we have such a joy bringing it to the Wabash Valley, said Rodriguez. You can share in the joy and spirit of Christmas as the event will take place tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. during their morning worship service. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyWabashValley.com. MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) Just in time for the holidays, the Black Knights of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314 returned to their home base at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar after a five-month deployment, the United States Marine Corps announced. The Black Knights of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314 were welcomed home by awaiting family members on Saturday after making history at sea. Marine Fighter Attack Squadron returns home from combat deployment in time for holidays (FOX 5/KUSI) Marine Fighter Attack Squadron returns home from combat deployment in time for holidays (FOX 5/KUSI) Marine Fighter Attack Squadron returns home from combat deployment in time for holidays (FOX 5/KUSI) VMFA-314 returned to their home base with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing after a five-month deployment with Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 3 to the U.S. 7th and 5th Fleet areas of operation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. Marine Corps says VMFA-314 deployed on July 11, 2024 aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), after completing a four-week composite training unit exercise (COMPTUEX). Research vessel, crew return to San Diego after four-month marine mammal survey While deployed, the Black Knights Marine Fighter Attack Squadron conducted dual-carrier operations with the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) and supported efforts to degrade Iranian-backed capabilities. 240607-N-NA571-2048 PACIFIC OCEAN (June 7, 2024) An F-35C Lightning II, assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314, prepares to taxi across the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). Abraham Lincoln, flagship of Carrier Strike Group Three, is underway conducting integrated exercises to bolster strike group readiness and capability in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Valerie Morrison) 240810-N-NH911-1169 PACIFIC OCEAN (Aug. 10, 2024) An F-35C Lightning II, assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314, prepares to make an arrested landing on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). Abraham Lincoln, flagship of Carrier Strike Group Three, is underway conducting routine operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. U.S. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navys largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Daniel Kimmelman) 241025-N-AB116-9160 U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (Oct. 25, 2024) A U.S. Navy officer observes flight operations as an F35-C Lightning II, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VMFA) 314, taxis on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). (Official U.S. Navy photo) The Marine Corps says VMFA-314 conducted multiple strikes on Houthi weapons storage facilities in Yemen, which housed conventional weapons, including anti-ship missiles and one-way attack drones, used by the Iranian-backed Houthis to target U.S. military and civilian vessels navigating international waters in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Marine Corps noted it marked the first use of the F-35C Lightning II in combat operations. USS Green Bay shifts homeport to San Diego after a decade in Japan The capabilities and determination of what our team can do amazes me. We made history during our time in the Middle East all due to the tireless work of our Marines and support of the Carrier Strike Group and U.S. forces, said Lt. Col. Jeffrey Davis, commanding officer of VMFA-314. This deployment was not easy, and yet the squadron overcame challenging circumstances and continued to set the standard for Marine Corps fixed-wing aviation. We held our steadfast commitment to excellence day in and day out and I will always be proud of their accomplishments. After months of hard work, we are excited to return home to our loved ones. The Abraham Lincoln Strike Group worked with more than 10 allied nations to strengthen joint maritime capabilities. VMFA-314 flew more than 1,400 flight hours across 770 sorties during the five-month deployment, with 195 hours and 61 sorties in direct support of combat operations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Secretary of Navy visit USS Boxer The Black Knights were led by commanding officer, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Wiki Davis, and executive officer, Maj. Nicholas Pwee Koza. Its incredible. You get used to being underway and on the ship and with the Marines. It really starts to hit you as you get closer to San Diego you start to see Coronado, San Diego and you finally see Miramar. And as you are pulling down the line you see all the families waiting for you. Definitely a joyful, emotional day, said Lt. Col. Davis. The Marine Corps says the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS OKane (DDG 77) and USS Stockdale (DDG 106) remain deployed in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations supporting global maritime security operations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tony Shin 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 FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. Dec. 14MORGANTOWN Public health in West Virginia lags severely behind the rest of the country. "West Virginia is currently 50th in public health for the country," Brian Huggins, health officer and medical director for Monongalia County, said. "We don't want to be 50th in anything." Huggins and other public health officials convened Wednesday at the Robert. C. Byrd Health Sciences Center to talk to newly-elected and re-elected officials about what can be done to overcome the public health challenges the state faces. Aside from Monongalia County, public health officials from Harrison and Marion counties were also there at the presentation. Huggins said Monongalia County has developed a partnership between the six counties in the North Central West Virginia region and with local hospitals and the West Virginia University School of Public Health. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Huggins' presentation, West Virginia ranks No. 2 for health care accessibility, but has the worst health outcomes of any state. The state is dead last when it comes to lifestyle habits and health outlook, as well as disease risk factors, prevalence and substance abuse. It's in stark contrast to the state's history, which used to be a health destination for the rest of the country, he said. Huggins said the state funds local health departments, and also sets policy and tone for vaccines, smoking and other public health areas. "The legislature plays a very important role in health policy," Huggins said. "These policies dramatically affect the public health potential of West Virginia. So, from a funding point of view, having them involved in the discussion and they sometimes have a better relationship or key into their constituency. A lot of people don't come talk to the health department, so they can actually provide that feedback loop to us." Sen. Mike Oliverio, R-13 Monongalia said although action steps weren't outlined during the presentation, the meeting still provided a good opportunity to start talking about West Virginia's public health challenges and identify the most important steps to take. Oliverio said he would be interested in working with the group to try and develop some health and wellness initiatives that would serve all residents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We're in very poor rankings on health care, and we know how important that is," Oliverio said. "We know there's direct correlation between the condition of people's health and the costs of health care. And so anything that we can be doing that's improving that direction, I think will be real positive." Oliverio indicated he'd be interested at looking at anything from promotional campaigns to impacting the food served in school cafeterias. Regardless, whatever's done should bring about some positive change to public health in the state. Huggins wants to see more annual prevention screening, such as annual labs, blood pressure checks, cancer screening referrals, mental health and STI checks. The purpose would be to prevent disease before it has a chance to affect health. Huggins also said that while weight management and smoking cessation clinics would be beneficial, they also depend on changing the health care environment to support people making good health care choices. David Whittaker, Marion County Health Department administrator, said his department is looking at preventative services. They're going out and meeting the community and listening to their needs and demands. Whittaker said Marion County is similar to a lot of other counties as far as health care challenges go. There's anything from geographical issues, socioeconomic issues and others to address. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "One of the things in Marion County we're really looking to do is continue our vaccine and immunization services out into the community and making sure that we bring it to them," Whittaker said. "Accessibility, especially in a rural area, can really present issues. So we're trying to loosen that barrier and make it easier for people to be able to get vaccines." One key takeaway for Whittaker was that improving public health in the state has to be a collaborative effort. "We need everybody on board," he said. "It's not just local health departments. It's not just health care facilities. It's our elected leaders. It is the hospital associations. It's the senior centers. It's community food banks. It's bringing those organizations together and what little money we can scratch together to see how we can get our best bang for our buck." Reach Esteban at efernandez@timeswv.com Dec. 15MITCHELL The Mitchell City Council will be discussing areas in the city that need sidewalks during its regular meeting Monday. The council proposes adding sidewalks along the streets and areas of Mitchell that do not have sidewalks. The proposed areas include portions of Mitchell Boulevard, South Minnesota, Hurst and Williams Avenue; the Woods Addition; North Wisconsin, south of 19th; Fiala Road and Jogene Court. The council held a city sidewalk tour earlier this year during work session meetings and reviewed areas of the community that needed sidewalk installation due to ADA laws. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As part of the proposal, property owners in these areas who do not have sidewalks will receive notices with approximate costs and details concerning the proposed project. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 16 at Mitchell City Hall, at 650 N. Main St. The full agenda for the meeting can be found here. Other business In other notable items, the council will: * Consider approving the hire of Dave Sietsema as Corn Palace director. * Consider approving the first reading of the cannabis dispensary ordinance update, to allow dispensaries to stay up until 10 p.m. * Hold a discussion of medical cannabis buffer zones. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement * Consider liquor licenses for Thunderbird Lodge and Corn Palace Shrine Club. * Review and consider financials regarding reconstruction of a municipal airport runway. * Consider approval of a street light addition at the intersection of 23rd and West Cemetery . * Consider approving financial assistance from the South Dakota Board of Water and Natural Resources to aid in storm water, waste water, and water distribution on Fifth Avenue from Main to Foster. These will be loans with 3.25-3.5 percent interest. * Consider resolution #R2024-82, which notes how many items went over budget for the city, from elections to traffic and snow removal. * Consider a compensation plan for city employees. Editors Note: The video above originally aired on Sept. 25, 2024. NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) Mayor Eric Adams Chief Advisor Ingrid Lewis-Martin has stepped down, sources told PIX11 News. Lewis-Martin on Sunday announced shes leaving her post. The departure is effective immediately, sources told PIX11. Mayor Adams indictment: Timeline of federal investigations Today, the time has come for me to focus on my wonderful family and myself and retire, she said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lewis-Martin joins a slew of other top officials to leave their posts amid Adams federal investigation. Lewis-Martins home in Brooklyn was raided shortly after Adams indictment on federal charges in September, sources said. Ingrid Lewis Martin has been served with a subpoena from the Southern District of New York and her phones were given to the New York County District Attorneys Office, Lewis-Martins attorney, Arthur Aidala, said at the time. She will cooperate fully with any and all investigations and Ms. Lewis is not the target of any case of which we are aware. Since then, Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, Schools Chancellor David Banks, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III and Director of Asian Affairs Winnie Greco have resigned. Adams said Lewis-Martins departure was not sudden, but long-planned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ingrid has not been just a friend, a confidant, and trusted advisor, but also a sister. Weve always talked about when this day would come, and while weve long planned for it, it is still hard to know that Ingrid wont be right next door every day, Adams said in a statement. More Local News In her long political career, Ingrid-Martin has worked with Congressman Major R. Owens, Attorney General Letitia James, City Council Member Farah Louis, and others. Shes worked alongside Adams since his Senate campaign. To my political partner, brother, and friend, Mayor Eric Adams: I thank you for seeking me out, way back in 2004, and asking me to run your Senate campaign. I thank you for seeing in me things that I did not see in myself, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the Adams administration, Lewis-Martin has pushed forward projects like outdoor dining, City of Yes Zoning, housing projects in Queens and Brooklyn, and class size reductions. Emily Rahhal is a digital reporter who has covered New York City since 2023 after reporting in Los Angeles for years. She joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. CHICAGO Mayor Brandon Johnson eked out a victory Monday with the narrow passage of a $17.3 billion municipal budget plan that does not raise property taxes. The 27-23 vote came just weeks before the end-of-the-year deadline, avoiding what would have been Chicagos first shutdown of the city government. The mayor needed at least 26 of 50 alders for a majority vote in order to pass the budget. A $300 million property tax hike proposed by Johnson when he unveiled his initial budget plan in late October was reduced to zero by the time the budget was passed, with savings in multiple other areas. That includes the mayors office, with 10 positions eliminated there, plus another 26 citywide at mid-management level. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Monday was a long day at City Hall, as alders fought back and forth on their positions, with outbursts from the gallery at times resulting in recess. Many against the budget proposal admonished the mayor over how things were handled, citing a lack of leadership and collaboration, and acknowledging what they said is a deep mistrust in his administration. The mayor, however, appeared unfazed during an hour-long press conference moments after the proposed budget passed, citing investments for parks and schools, along with a goal of making the rich pay their fair share. When asked repeatedly whether the property tax hike was just being kicked down the road to next years discussion, he said the following: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How about we just focus on what we want? Lets focus on what we want. I want you all to stay positive, OK? Because the people of Chicago and the state of Illinois really require that. Look, I know its easy to go back and forth about this tax versus this tax. People have sold the people of Chicago out for too long, and they have kowtowed to the interests of the the ultra-rich. While speaking Monday night, the mayor also mentioned multiple times that the new budget includes no job cuts, so WGN News asked for clarity about the 36 positions earmarked for elimination. It would appear at least some of those positions are currently vacant, while other people filling those jobs may be shuffled around to other city positions. Given the haste at which this new budget came together over the last 24 hours, it remains to be seen how some things will shake out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With 23 alders voting no Monday, just two shy of forcing a tie, obviously not everyone was satisfied by the budget plan, despite the removal of a property tax increase. This is insufficient, Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd Ward) said. I know a lot of folks are going to try and just hang onto the fact we eliminated that property tax, which was the right thing to do, as good enough to vote for this particular budget. But if you look how its being paid for, its just smoke and mirrors. WGN Full Coverage: Chicago Budget 2025 An eventful Sunday On Sunday, alders got to see a revised version of the budget that no longer included a proposed $68.5 million property tax hike. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Johnson and his budget team revised that plan following an abbreviated City Council meeting on Friday, in which the mayor and his team postponed a vote on the budget due to lack of support among alders for the $17.3 billion plan. Rather than a property tax hike, which had been at the crux of opposition to Johnsons proposed budget plans, the plan that alders got to review Sunday and voted on Monday had money coming from a whole laundry list of areas in an effort to shore up the nearly $350 million budget gap. Some taxes and fees were increased as much as 2 percent, and the 10 jobs eliminated in the mayors office saved an estimated $1 million. Eliminating the 26 other mid-management jobs around the city also reportedly saved about $3 million. City officials were additionally hoping as much as $10 million more could be recouped from event organizers and stadiums for things like police and traffic services provided by the city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While members on the fence liked those ideas, a harder sell was skipping a $40 million debt payment on a loan to buy the site of the former Michael Reese Hospital. My goal has been to defeat a property tax increase, and ladies and gentlemen, we did not defeat it, we simply delayed it, Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward) said. Behind the scenes, there were days of arm twisting, with the Johnson administration working out deals with various alders. Ive been complaining all for two years about the floods. So I was able to get some funds to help my community out, otherwise I was a no vote,' Ald. Emma Mitts (37th Ward) said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Late Sunday night, WGN obtained a letter sent by 15 Chicago alders to Johnson in response to his latest budget proposal, asking for specific reductions in spending to help balance the budget. Some reductions asked for in the letter included eliminating the Office of the Vice Mayor, which would save about $432,000; eliminating the Office of Public Safety Administration, saving $61.3 million; and removing the $175 million Chicago Teachers Unions non-teacher pension payment. The letter also asked for the reinstatement of ShotSpotter, deeper investment in the Chicago Police Department and a finalized contract for Chicago firefighters. You can read the full letter below: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MBJ_12162024Download Hopkins was one of the alders who signed the letter, and he suggested alders take more time to work on a budget plan before passing it. Instead, it was passed Monday. When you sit down with the budget and you look for efficiencies, you look for things that can be cut, you look for things that can be trimmed, you find them, Hopkins said. We shouldve started doing this months ago, and here we are with our backs against the wall. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler is counting down the days. In three weeks, he will be the ex-mayor, having served as mayor of Oregons largest city since 2017. Before that, he was the Oregon State Treasurer and chair of the Multnomah County Commission. A sixth-generation Oregonian, Mayor Wheelers great grandfather, a lumber industry executive, founded the town of Wheeler on the northern Oregon coast. Almost a year after he announced his intent to not run for a third term, Wheeler returned to Eye on Northwest Politics this week to discuss the mayoral transition and reflect on his tenure in office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ive had a good run, but its been a long run, he said. Ive been in elective office now for 18 years. I did not expect to spend that much time in politics, and I think its time for new people with new energy, new ideas, to come in and take up from where Im leaving off. Wheeler has been working closely with mayor-elect Keith Wilson on the transition to the new form of government, along with interim city administrator, Michael Jordan, who will stay on for another year. Wheeler said he believes Wilson will have to navigate a steep learning curve, just like he did. You cant anticipate whats going to happen, you cant anticipate what crises you will be in charge of managing. Theres a lot of great opportunities for the City of Portland, he noted. And so my goal is to help him transition well into the mayors office. He actually has an office right next to mine. His staff is there, were collaborating, were working together. Were introducing him to the city leadership. And I want to make sure that on January 1, I can just toss the keys across the table and he can take it from there. In October, Wheeler announced that city bureaus and departments should consider making 5% to 8% budget cuts. Further, there is a projected $27 million shortfall. Wheeler stated that, while this is not serious in the short term, these requested cuts are to make assurances for the long term. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the near term, I think we can protect public safety, police, fire, emergency management, he said. I hope the council will continue to protect the programs we put into place to address broader criminal activity, like gun violence, like retail theft, like auto theft and those numbers have improved significantly in recent years but also support the livability programs like Portland solutions that addresses litter and graffiti. Portlands reputation and, by extension, Wheelers reputation as mayor, took a big hit in 2020 during the George Floyd demonstrations. President Trump, who will return to the White House in January, targeted Portland as a place where liberals destroyed the city. As a result, federal troops were sent in to restore order against the wishes of local officials like Wheeler. Despite this, he said he does not know what he could have done differently with one exception. I think what I wish had happened was people could have made the same differentiation that I was between people who were protesting peacefully out there with their families demanding more accountability and some basic police reforms, versus people who were there clearly to commit acts of criminal destruction and violence, he noted. I was able to make that differentiation early on that I think took the community a little bit longer to see that we were talking about two fundamentally different groups who needed fundamentally different responses. This also had an affect on Wheelers personal life and family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I was born and raised in this community. I have plenty of friends here, plenty of support and so it was strange to find myself being a true pariah in the community, he recalled. I had people on the far right saying I was a member of Antifa, and they selectively showed shots from that time I went down to meet with the protesters as proof that I was in Antifa, standing at the gate, attacking the federal building. He continued, Then I had people on the far left those who actually were in Antifa calling me a clone of Donald Trump. So we had sort of these two completely divergent views of who I was. It was hard to have my home firebombed, to have my daughter threatened and chased to school, to have my tires slashed, to have people standing in front of my house. On some nights, it would be people on the far left. On other nights, it would be people holding rifles in front of my daughters bedroom window. Nobody should have to put up with that. Despite the political climate, Wheeler claimed his decision not to run for a third term is a personal one. I am burned out. I need time away. I need to recharge my batteries, he said. I need to turn the page and Id frankly like to do something different than in politics now for 18 years. Thats a lot longer than I thought I would be in elective office. Ill still be involved in the community, but I think its time for me to turn this over to a next generation of people who have more energy, more ideas, who want to build on the work that weve done and take it potentially in new and exciting directions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Watch the full interview in the video above. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas sought to assure the American people that the federal government has a handle on the reports of drone sightings on the East Coast. In an interview on ABC Newss This Week, Mayorkas said there was no evidence of foreign involvement in drone sightings, but his agency remained vigilant in investigating the matter. We know of no foreign involvement with respect to the sightings in the Northeast. And we are vigilant in investigating this matter, the Department of Homeland Security, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the lead, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mayorkas said theres no question that the drone sightings are real, but several explanations exist for the uptick in sightings. Theres no question that people are seeing drones. And I want to assure the American public that we, in the federal government, have deployed additional resources, personnel, technology, to assist the New Jersey State Police in addressing the drone sightings, Mayorkas said. Mayorkas said some drones are manned aircraft that are commonly mistaken for drones, noting, We do see duplicative reporting. But theres no question that drones are being sighted. Mayorkas said thousands of drones get flown daily and pointed to a recent rule allowing drones to get flown at night. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Let me set the record straight here. There are thousands of drones flown every day in the United States, recreational drones, commercial drones. That is the reality, he said. And in September of 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA, changed the rules so that drones could fly at night, he continued. And that may be one of the reasons why now people are seeing more drones than they did before, especially from dawn to dusk. And so that is the reality. Mayorkas called for greater resources from the federal government to expand the agencys abilities to respond to the sightings. I want to assure the American public that we are on it. We are working in close coordination with state and local authorities, Mayorkas said. And it is critical, as we all have said for a number of years, that we need from Congress additional authorities to address the drone situation. Our authorities currently are limited, and they are set to expire. We need them extended and expanded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Opposition leaders critically responded to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in the Lok Sabha on Saturday, describing it as a 'mixed' kind of speech and further questioned the government's record on past promises. TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay said there was "nothing to bite" in the Prime Minister's address and defended the Congress party's role in India's freedom struggle. He asserted that the PM had to accept Congress's role as the main strength in the fight against the British Raj. "There was nothing to bite in this speech...PM had to accept that he could speak about the dynasty, but Congress was the main strength to fight against the British government. Every Indian recognises their role in the freedom struggle. So, we are sure that the angle PM took today is not up to the mark," the TMC MP said. "If a person speaks for two hours, many issues will come out. So, there may be a few good issues. There may be a few bad issues also. So, it was a mixed kind of speech," he added. In a similar vein, Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav critiqued the Prime Minister's address, focusing on the government's record of fulfilling past promises. "If the prime minister's old resolutions had been fulfilled, then new resolutions could also have been discussed," Yadav said, emphasising that the government should address its previous commitments before making new pledges. "The Prime Minister has been saying many things since 2014. Until the old promises are not fulfilled, it is useless to have expectations for new things," the SP MP added. Meanwhile, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticised PM Modi's speech, calling it "absolutely boring" and devoid of anything new or constructive. "PM Narendra Modi did not say anything new or constructive. He absolutely bored me. I thought he would say something significant, but he spoke about 11 hollow promises. If he has zero tolerance towards corruption, he should at least hold a debate on Adani," Priyanka Gandhi said. Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav commented that the speech was a reiteration of "11 jumlas." "It was a very long speech. We got to hear the pledge of 11 jumlas today. Those who criticise dynastic politics have a party full of dynasties. The truth is that the reservation for SC/ST, OBC, and Dalits has been taken away. A day will soon come when a caste census will be conducted, and people will receive their rights and respect according to their population," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on Congress on Saturday, accusing it of constantly disrespecting the Constitution and presented eleven pledges for India's bright future, noting that the government and people should follow their duties and the country's politics should be free of "parivarvad". Responding to the two-day discussion in Lok Sabha on 75 years of the Constitution, PM Modi made repeated reference to the Nehru-Gandhi family, accusing every generation of its leaders of disrespecting the Constitution. (ANI) By Ammu Kannampilly NAIROBI (Reuters) - A contractor hired by Facebook's parent company Meta dismissed threats to content moderators by Ethiopian rebels angered by their work, according to new evidence filed in a case challenging the dismissal of dozens of moderators in Kenya. Last year 185 content moderators sued Meta and two contractors, saying they had lost their jobs with Sama, a Kenya-based firm contracted to moderate Facebook content, for trying to organise a union. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They said they were then blacklisted from applying for the same roles at another firm, Majorel, after Facebook changed contractors. Moderators focusing on Ethiopia said they were targeted by members of the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) rebel group for removing their videos but their complaints were dismissed by Sama, according to court documents filed on Dec. 4 by Foxglove, a British non-profit supporting the moderators' case. The moderators said in the petition seen by Reuters that Sama had accused them "of creating a false account and manufacturing" the threatening messages, before eventually agreeing to an investigation and sending one of the moderators who was publicly identified by the rebels to a safehouse. Sama told Reuters it was unable to comment on the allegations. Spokespeople for Meta and OLA did not respond to requests for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One moderator said in his affidavit that he had received a message from OLA threatening "content moderators who were constantly pulling down their graphic Facebook Posts". "They told us to stop removing their content from Facebook or else we would face dire consequences," he said, adding that his supervisor dismissed his concerns. Another moderator said in his affidavit that he received a message from OLA listing his and his colleagues' names and addresses. "Since I received that threatening message, I have lived in so much fear of even visiting my family members in Ethiopia," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The government of Ethiopia's largest region, Oromiya, has accused OLA rebels of killing "many civilians" in attacks that followed the failure of peace talks in 2023 in Tanzania aimed at resolving a decades-old conflict. 'ENDLESS LOOP OF HATEFUL CONTENT' The court documents also said that Meta ignored advice from experts it hired to tackle hate speech in Ethiopia. One expert, who supervised dozens of moderators, said in an affidavit that she felt "stuck in an endless loop of having to review hateful content that we were not allowed to take down because it technically did not offend Meta policies". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Out-of-court settlement talks between the moderators and Meta collapsed in October last year. The case could have implications for how Meta works with content moderators globally. The U.S. giant works with moderators around the world tasked with reviewing graphic content posted on its platform. The OLA is an outlawed splinter group of a formerly banned opposition party. Its grievances are rooted in the alleged marginalisation of Ethiopia's Oromo community. In a separate case filed in Kenya in 2022, Meta was accused of letting violent and hateful posts from Ethiopia flourish on Facebook, inflaming the civil war between the federal government and Tigrayan regional authorities. (Reporting by Ammu Kannampilly; Editing by Frances Kerry) On Saturday, Methuen Superintendent of Schools Brandi Kwong wrote an update to families regarding mice issues around the towns schools. Since September, the schools have had ongoing informal and formal inspections from the city regarding areas of concerns within each school. The inspections found an alarming amount of mice in the Donald P. Timony school, Marsh Grammar school, Tenney Grammar school, and Methuen High. I mean I dont really want mice in my school, said Yandel Martinez, a 6th grade student. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Martinez says his teacher already notified them about the upcoming changes to get rid of the mice. When we have to get breakfast in the morning we have to eat in the cafeteria because theres like mice going around in our school, so they said to just eat in the cafeteria because in the class theres like, it doesnt keep spreading more, said Martinez. We take these issues very seriously and are committed to doing better. Superintendent Kwong penned, We have implemented a range of measures to address and resolve any building issues at every school effectively. Below are summarys that provided countermeasures to fight off the mice: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Preventive Measures: We have sealed potential entry points, such as outside entrances and underground pipe openings, using materials like steel wool. These actions aim to reduce opportunities for pests to enter our buildings. Collaboration with Experts: We are working closely with Pest End to implement baiting and trapping strategies, adhering to the requirements and limitations of public school environments. Enhanced Cleaning Protocols: The Timony Grammar School, where the issue was most pronounced, is undergoing an intensive cleaning process. This includes disinfecting classrooms, removing items for thorough cleaning, and shampooing carpets. Our custodial staff has been working shifts on the weekends to ensure a clean and safe environment for our students and staff. Focused Custodial Planning: Each supervising principal, in collaboration with their senior custodian, has developed weekly cleanliness plans. These plans target specific areas identified during inspections to ensure ongoing attention to high-priority spaces. Facility Oversight: Our district Facilities Director and Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations are prioritizing building maintenance needs to address and prevent future issues and supporting the weekly building plans. Collaboration and Monitoring: Mayor Beauregard, School Committee Members Donovan and Shibilia, Assistant Superintendent Gosselin, Facilities Director Stella, and I are meeting weekly to review progress, address staffing needs, determine next steps, and prioritize capital improvement projects related to facilities and maintenance. External Support: We have reached out to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to conduct a free comprehensive review of our schools. This will include air quality assessments and visual inspections to provide us with additional data for prioritizing future work. According to Kwong, the measures implemented have so far proven to have a positive impact. Superintendent Kwong also said that starting January 2nd, students will only be able to eat food in the cafeterias as opposed to the classrooms, and school faculty eating in their designated staff rooms. Also, all kitchen appliances in classrooms will be removed to further mitigate risks. The district has also reached out to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to conduct a free review of the schools including air quality assessments and visual inspections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile the AMC movie theater in town has also been closed since December 5th as Methuen health officials investigate a rodent problem there. Superintendent Kwong also says shes meeting with the mayor and school committee members weekly to discuss next steps and any capital improvement projects that may be needed. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Award-winning director Michael Moore, who was mentioned by accused UnitedHealthcare assassin Luigi Mangione in his alleged manifesto, has vowed to pour gasoline on the public anger against insurance companies in the wake of the killing. Moore, who directed the 2007 film SICKO, reacted on his Substack to Mangione allegedly praising him in his manifesto for his examination of the state of the U.S. healthcare system in the film. Its not often that my work gets a killer five-star review from an actual killer, Moore quipped in the post Friday, noting that millions have watched the film including, apparently, Luigi Mangione. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the post, titled A Manifesto Against For-Profit Health Insurance Companies, Moore wrote that hes received countless requests to comment on the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, whom Mangione allegedly targeted over his frustrations with the company. Yes, I condemn murder, and thats why I condemn Americas broken, vile, rapacious, bloodthirsty, unethical, immoral health care industry and I condemn every one of the CEOs who are in charge of it and I condemn every politician who takes their money and keeps this system going instead of tearing it up, ripping it apart, and throwing it all away, Moore wrote. He noted that the murder has stirred up a wave of completely justified anger at health insurance companies. It is not new. It has been boiling. And Im not going to tamp it down or ask people to shut up. I want to pour gasoline on that anger, Moore continued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mangione was arrested Monday in Altoona, Pennsylvania, in connection to the killing of Thompson, who was gunned down outside of a hotel in Manhattan as he walked to a conference. The accused killer was taken into custody with several fake IDs, a U.S. passport, as well as writings about the insurance industry, including the alleged manifesto. Frankly I do not pretend to be the most qualified person to lay out the full argument. But many have illuminated the corruption and greed (e.g.: Rosenthal, Moore), decades ago and the problems simply remain, Mangione wrote. In addition to Sicko, Moore is known for other documentaries like Bowling for Columbine, a film about Americas gun violence issue, and Fahrenheit 9/11, which showed the effects of 9/11 and the Bush administrations response. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the end of his post Friday, Moore announced that he uploaded Sicko for free on YouTube for all to watch. These insurance corporations and their executives have more blood on their hands than a thousand 9/11 terrorists. And thats why they are scrubbing their executives profiles from their websites and putting up fences around their headquarters, Moore said. Because they know what they have done. Michael Moore, the Oscar-winning director of documentaries such as Bowling for Columbine and Sicko, wrote on Friday that he will not tamp down public anger against Americas bloodthirsty, profit-driven and murderous health insurance system stirred by Luigi Mangione. Mangione was accused this week of being the man who shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on the streets of Manhattan. In his alleged manifesto, published by journalist Ken Klippenstein, Mangione wrote that his alleged actions were motivated by frustrations with the U.S. health care system, writing that insurance companies have become too powerful and thus abuse citizens for profit. He referenced Moores work along with author Elisabeth Rosenthal as examples of those who have pointed out this corruption. More from The Hollywood Reporter Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a lengthy Substack article which he titled A Manifesto Against For-Profit Health Insurance Companies Moore wrote that Mangiones alleged mention of him has resulted in requests for the director to comment. Its not often that my work gets a killer five-star review from an actual killer, he wrote. My phone has been ringing off the hook which is bad news because my phone doesnt have a hook. Emails are pouring in. Text messages. Requests from many in the media. Sicko, released in 2007, examines the U.S. health insurance and pharmaceutical industry in a comparative study with the universal health care systems in Canada, the U.K. and Cuba. It was nominated for best documentary at that years Academy Awards. Moore went on to write that many of the requests inquired whether he would condemn the murder of Thompson. After the killing of the CEO of United HealthCare, the largest of these billion dollar insurance companies, there was an immediate OUTPOURING of anger toward the health insurance industry, Moore wrote. Some people have stepped forward to condemn this anger. I am not one of them. He went on to write that the anger is completely justified, and that it is long overdue for the media to cover it. It is not new. It has been boiling. And Im not going to tamp it down or ask people to shut up. I want to pour gasoline on that anger. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moore wrote that the anger in question is not about the killing of a CEO, but about the mass death and misery the physical pain, the mental abuse, the medical debt, the bankruptcies in the face of denied claims and denied care and bottomless deductibles on top of ballooning premiums that this health care industry has levied against the American people for decades. With no one standing in their way! Just a government two broken parties enabling this INDUSTRYs theft and, yes, murder. Moore added that yes, I condemn murder, and thats why I condemn Americas broken, vile, rapacious, bloodthirsty, unethical, immoral health care industry and I condemn every one of the CEOs who are in charge of it and I condemn every politician who takes their money and keeps this system going instead of tearing it up, ripping it apart, and throwing it all away. The director finished his message with a link to Sicko, available to watch for a free, and a solution: Throw this entire system in the trash, dismantle this immoral business that profits off the lives of human beings and monetizes our deaths, that murders us or leaves us to die, destroy it all, and instead, in its place, give us all the same health care that every other civilized country on Earth has: Universal, free, compassionate, and full of life. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Sign up for THR's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. A Department of Justice watchdog report on the FBIs operations during the January 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol vindicates Donald Trumps allies continued suggestion the agency had a hand in the chaos, according to Senator Mike Lee even though the report found no evidence undercover agents were there. Now it appears we werent so crazy after all, the Republican senator told Fox Newss Sunday Morning Futures. We had perfectly legitimate reasons to asked the questions. Liz Cheney called me a nutball conspiracy theorist for asking questions about FBIs involvement on January 6th The DOJ Inspector Generals report confirmed that I had good reasons to ask these questions, which Christopher Wray repeatedly dodged https://t.co/IQC10Saf1z Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) December 15, 2024 Lee went on to baselessly suggest that Democrats may be hiding further information about the nature of January 6. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What I do know is that after the Democrats lost the majority [in the House of Representatives], when the new majority came in and they started looking for documents, there was a bunch of stuff missing, he said. As far as who may have destroyed what, I dont know. In the months after the 2020 election, Lee encourage the Trump team to hire attorneys and set them loose challenging the election results and urged state legislators to appoint illegitimate pro-Trump alternative electors, according to text messages obtained by CNN. "Well, you know, had I known that my texts would be leaked to the public selectively, perhaps I wouldve said less in text messages, Lee later said in defense. Trump allies have long suggested federal agents were in crowd at January 6 insurrection, a claim a recent inspector general report largely disproves (REUTERS) Nearly four years later, the January 6 insurrection remains a political live wire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More than 1,500 people have been charged for their involvement in January 6, the largest federal prosecution in U.S. history. Trump himself has been charged with conspiracy and obstruction for his attempt to overturn the 2020 election results, though special counsel Jack Smith has moved to dismiss the case since Trumps election, citing Justice Department guidelines against prosecuting a sitting president. Trump has said he will grant pardons to large numbers of January 6 defendants, whom he has referred to as patriots and hostages. Trump nominated Kash Patel to lead the FBI, whose director Christopher Wray whom Trump initially appointed during his first administration is stepping down before Trump takes office (REUTERS) Critics of the incoming administration worry that FBI nominee Kash Patel will use the agency to go after figures who scrutinized Trump on January 6 and other issues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Patel, who has pushed a variety of conspiracy theories, has previously published an enemies list of figures, many of them Democrats, he says deserve prosecution. Patel has also said he wants to turn the FBI headquarters into a museum of the deep state, a shadowy cabal many on the right believe is running national affairs. Yes, were going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections were going to come after you, he said on an episode of War Room last year. Whether its criminally or civilly, well figure that out. Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar warned on CBS Face the Nation on Sunday that Patel is on a revenge mission when we should be on a national security safety mission. This is not the direction we need to go, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senator Adam Schiff of California, who Trump regularly pilloried for his work on the January 6 investigation in Congress, warned this week that Patels only qualification is his blind obedience to Trump. The president can find other people who are loyal to him and to his interests, but who are also loyal to the rule of law, Schiff told ABC. Patel is not one of them. Others like Republican Senator Eric Schmitt argue the FBI is in need of change after years of controversy. That agency is in desperate need of reform, he told ABCs This Week. Kash Patel is very qualified and I think hes going to get the support in the Senate. Andrea Deutsch stands in her pet store in Narberth, Pa. Deutsch is one of the millions of people who receive federal aid to help them pay their health insurance premiums on an Affordable Care Act exchange. The extra help is set to expire at the end of 2025, and states say they dont have the money to replace it. (Courtesy of Andrea Deutsch) Andrea Deutsch, the mayor of Narberth, Pennsylvania, and the owner of a pet store in town, doesnt get health care coverage through either of her jobs. Instead, she is enrolled in a plan she purchased on Pennie, Pennsylvanias health insurance exchange. Deutsch, who has been mayor since 2018, is paid $1 per year for the job. Her annual income, from Spots The Place for Paws and her investments, is about $50,000. The 57-year-old, who is diabetic, pays $638.38 per month for health care coverage about half of the $1,272.38 shed owe without the enhanced federal subsidies Congress and the Biden administration put in place in 2021. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But that extra help is set to expire at the end of 2025. It would cost an estimated $335 billion over the next decade to extend it a step the Republican-controlled Congress and the Trump administration are unlikely to take as they seek budget savings to offset potential tax cuts. You try not to go bankrupt by the end of your life. Andrea Deutsch, mayor of Narberth, Pa. States say they dont have the money to replace the federal aid. In Pennsylvania, for example, doing so would take about $500 million per year, according to Devon Trolley, the executive director of the states exchange. That is a significant amount of money, an insurmountable amount of money, Trolley said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The disappearance of the federal help would make coverage unaffordable for millions of Americans, including Deutsch. She said it would be a struggle to pay double what she is paying now. You try not to go bankrupt by the end of your life, Deutsch told Stateline. You need assets to take care of yourself as you get older and to have a little bit of security. Enhanced subsidies The 2010 Affordable Care Act included some subsidies to help people purchase health insurance on the exchanges created under that law. Under the enhanced subsidies that started in 2021, some people with lower incomes who qualified for the original subsidies have been getting bigger ones. And those with higher incomes, who wouldnt have been eligible for any help under the original rules, are now receiving assistance. Thanks to the enhanced subsidies, people making up to 150% of the federal poverty level, or $22,590 for an individual, are now getting free or nearly free coverage. And households earning more than four times the federal poverty level, who didnt qualify for subsidies before, are getting some help. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The enhanced aid also has helped push ACA marketplace enrollment to record levels, reaching more than 21 million this year. Southern states that have not expanded Medicaid as allowed under the ACA have seen the most dramatic growth in marketplace enrollment since 2020, according to KFF, a health policy research organization. The top five states with the fastest growth are Texas (212%), Mississippi (190%), Georgia (181%), Tennessee (177%) and South Carolina (167%). If the enhanced subsidies go away, premium payments will increase by an average of more than 75%, according to KFF. Some people, like Deutsch, would see their payments double. Given those premium hikes, millions of Americans would no longer be able to afford the coverage theyre getting on the exchanges, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. CBO estimates that enrollment would drop from 22.8 million in 2025 to 18.9 million in 2026 to 15.4 million in 2030. Some of those people would find coverage elsewhere, but others would not. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Edmund Haislmaier, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said Republicans view the expiration of the enhanced subsidies as an opportunity to rework and address some of the basic flaws in the ACA. Before the ACA, Haislmaier said, many self-employed people, such as small-business owners and freelancers, were able to find their own private insurance at competitive prices. But the health care law destroyed that market, he said, leaving such people with a selection of expensive and subpar plans. Haislmaier said it would take time for the Trump administration to determine how it wants to change the ACA which President-elect Donald Trump unsuccessfully tried to repeal during his first term but that you can do that in a way that preserves access and preserves subsidies for the lower-income people who were the primary focus of the ACA. States limitations But Jared Ortaliza, a research associate at KFF, said letting the enhanced subsidies expire could result in higher premiums for everyone. Thats because higher prices likely would prompt many healthier people to forgo insurance, he said. Their departure would leave only chronically ill people on the exchanges, and the cost of their care is higher. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If sicker enrollees need coverage because they need care, theyll still choose to buy it, potentially. And if the market were sicker as a whole, that could drive premiums upward as well, Ortaliza told Stateline. Ortaliza said states might consider keeping premiums down through so-called reinsurance, or reimbursing insurers for their most expensive enrollees. Theoretically, they also could try to replace the expiring federal aid with their own money. But few if any states have the financial flexibility to do that, said Hemi Tewarson, executive director of the nonpartisan National Academy for State Health Policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There might be a couple states who dont have current state subsidies that might add that, but that will be very nominal, Tewarson told Stateline, adding that officials from different states have been discussing potential solutions. They are all assuming that they would just have to absorb the loss of coverage across the population. Trolley, the head of the Pennsylvania exchange, said her state is working to provide its own subsidy to make the marketplace plans even more affordable. But even when fully implemented, it would spend only $50 million on that help, a tenth of what it would need to replace the federal aid. Two-thirds of the 435,000 Pennsylvanians who purchase insurance on the marketplace joined after the enhanced federal subsidies were put in place in 2021. If they expire, Trolley said, she worries that 100,000 or more exchange participants will leave. Jessica Altman, executive director of Californias exchange, said her state is in a similar situation. California currently receives $1.7 billion annually in enhanced subsidies from the federal government and spends an additional $165 million of its own money to keep costs down. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement California estimates that if the subsidies expire, monthly premiums for the states enrollees would increase by an average of 63%. More than 150,000 people would no longer be eligible for federal help, and between 138,000 and 183,000 would disenroll, the state estimates. Stateline 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. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE A second wave of soldiers with the Minnesota National Guards 34th Infantry Division returned to Minnesota on Saturday following a 10-month deployment to the Middle East. They reunited with their families at the General Vessey Readiness Center, the divisions headquarters in Arden Hills. An earlier group arrived on Wednesday. In total, more than 550 soldiers from Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota are returning from the deployment in time for the holidays. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The soldiers took part in a mission to conduct military exercises with partner nations in the region, according to a statement from the unit. The goal is to build the partner nations military capacities. The Red Bulls, as the 34th Infantry Division is known, were responsible for operations across seven countries. Soldiers of the 34th Infantry Division have made the Minnesota National Guard proud as they assisted allies and partners in building security throughout the Middle East, said Army Maj. Gen. Shawn Manke, the Minnesota National Guards adjutant general. We are happy to see them return to spend the holiday season with their families. Related Articles Several members of the Muslim Shia community, carried out a candlelight march in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh against the 'atrocities' against the Hindu community in Bangladesh. The candlelight march was carried out at the Chhota Imambara in Lucknow on Saturday. Maulana Kalbe Jawad, who led the march, urged the Union government to pressure the United Nations to take stock of the atrocities against minorities in Bangladesh and also declare Pakistan a 'terrorist country.' "We are always taught to stand up against the oppressor and in favour of those being oppressed...We urge the Indian government to pressurise the United Nations and Pakistan should be declared as a terrorist country," Jawad told ANI. He also called for "strict action" against Bangladesh if the atrocities are not stopped. "If Bangladesh does not mend its ways, strict action should be taken against them also," Jawad added. During the march, protestors chanted slogans against the atrocities. They criticised Israel, and Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while affirming support for Syrians and reaffirming their stance to stand with the oppressed people and fight against the oppressors anywhere in the world. Notably, there have been multiple attacks on Hindus and other minorities by extremist elements in Bangladesh. There also have been cases of arson and looting of minorities' homes and vandalism and desecration of deities and temples. India has repeatedly Bangladesh authorities to ensure the safety and security of Hindus and all minorities, including their right to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression. Recently, Foreign Secretary Misri visited Dhaka on December 9. It was the first high-level visit from India to Bangladesh since Sheikh Hasina was deposed as Prime Minister in August this year and since the interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, assumed office. During his visit to Bangladesh, Misri told the media that India desires positive, constructive, and mutually beneficial relationships and that the relationship is people-centric. The Foreign Secretary told reporters in Dhaka that he had a frank, candid, and constructive exchange of views with his interlocutors and discussed the entire gamut of issues in the "extremely important bilateral relationship". He also raised the issue of attacks on minorities, including Hindus, with Bangladesh leaders and officials. (ANI) Part two of Miracle on State Street took over the downtown scene Saturday morning. Local vendors set up shop in the Boston Store, Erie Art Museum and Ascend Climbing Gym. Miracle on State Street highlights Eries small businesses after winter storm This holiday shopping experience was postponed two weeks ago when Erie received its first wave of the snowstorm. Julie Shanahan, owner of Shanahans Shenanigans, said the last couple of weeks have been hectic with the weather, but she wouldnt want to be doing anything else. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Downtown dLights brings the Christmas spirit to the City of Erie The vibes are high today down here. The vendors are great, and people are excited. I think everyone is excited to be out of their house, said Shanahan. One thing about Erie is that they come out, and they show up. Every event that I do, I meet more and more people in the community that make all of these small businesses worth their while. We love doing it. Shanahan added that shes looking forward to selling her products for the rest of the holiday season. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CLAY COUNTY, Ga. (WDHN) A Georgia man lost his life after a boating incident on Lake Eufaula ended in tragedy. On Sunday morning, law enforcement was notified of a group of distressed duck hunters near the island off of Thomas Mill Creek in Abbeville on Lake Eufaula. Deputies say the initial call came in that their boat had drifted away from the island and one of the hunters attempted to swim to get the boat. The callers believed the hunter had made it in the boat, but was unresponsive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A rescue boat was sent out and was able to locate the missing boat but crews say the hunter wasnt in it. The boat was returned to the stranded hunters on the island and officials say they then began to search the area where the hunter was last seen. After multiple hours of searching, deputies located what they believed to be the missing hunter in nearly 20 feet of water approximately 100 yards from the bank of the island. A dive unit was called in and they recovered the body. This is a very tragic incident, I would like to express my thanks to the timely response by so many agencies to help us this morning, Henry County Sheriff Eric Blankenship said in a statement. The missing hunter is a 22-year-old from Griffin, Georgia. His identity has not been released at this time, as officials notify the next of kin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, this isnt the outcome we were hoping for. Please keep this family and his friends in your thoughts and prayers as they cope with this difficult situation, Blankenship said. The incident occurred over the Alabama-Georgia line on Lake Eufaula, so the case has been handed over to the Georga Department of Natural Resources which is now investigating. Stay with WDHN News as we bring you the latest developments. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDHN - wdhn.com. CLAY COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) First responders from multiple counties worked together Saturday afternoon to rescue an individual who had reportedly been stuck inside a cave in Clay County for two days. The Clay County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) said a man was reported missing by his family on Cherry Farm Lane shortly after noon on Saturday, Dec. 14. When members of Clay County EMA and the Clay County Sheriffs Office arrived, the persons vehicle was found parked on the side of Weber Road, near a small cave entrance. 1 in critical condition after house fire in Whites Creek Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Personnel said they entered the cave and could hear help being echoed inside. Multiple agencies were called in to assist because the man in the cave was reportedly disoriented and believed to be hypothermic. According to Clay County EMA and the Putnam County Rescue Squad, the man who was not injured told rescue technicians he had been in the cave for two days after getting turned around during a routine exploration because his flashlight died and he lost his spare on Thursday, Dec. 12. (Courtesy: Clay County EMA) (Courtesy: Clay County EMA) (Courtesy: Putnam County Rescue Squad) (Courtesy: Clay County EMA) (Courtesy: Clay County EMA) (Courtesy: Clay County EMA) (Courtesy: Putnam County Rescue Squad) (Courtesy: Putnam County Rescue Squad) (Courtesy: Putnam County Rescue Squad) (Courtesy: Putnam County Rescue Squad) (Courtesy: Putnam County Rescue Squad) Since the mans exact location in the cave was reportedly unknown, the Putnam County Rescue Squad was brought in. The squad said its Rope Rescue team completed the operation, adding that all first responders and the man exited the cave safely just over four hours after he was reported missing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A big thank you to the many responders on scene including Clay County Sheriffs Office, Clay County EMS, Celina Fire, Clay E911, Putnam County EMA, Jackson County EMA, TEMA, Putnam County Rescue Squad and Hamilton County Rescue, Clay County EMA posted on Facebook. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com We are blessed in Putnam County, and the Upper Cumberland, to have dedicated volunteers who drop what theyre doing to help others in need. I am proud of our rope team for all the time they put in to be ready for days like today, Putnam County Rescue Squad Assistant Chief David Anderson said. No additional details have been released about Saturday afternoons rescue operation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. MADISON, Miss. (WJTV) Local groups partnered together on Saturday to ensure that deployed Mississippi troops enjoy the holiday season. Mississippi Project Package, Cub Scouts, Boy Scout troops, families and volunteers gathered for a 9th year of giving back to the soldiers during the holidays. They met at Broadmoor Baptist Church in Madison to pack care packages. The Annual Christmas for Troops initiative consists of packing care boxes filled with goodies and toiletries for troops stationed in other countries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJTV. JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) As finances continue to stress out Americans nationally, a new report reveals that Mississippians are especially feeling the pinch. With 7.8 million Americans being late or allowed to delay payments on at least one of their credit accounts, money is tight for many year-round, especially around the holidays. As a result, Christmas may not be the most wonderful time of the year for some Mississippians. A recent WalletHub report reveals that the states residents are under the seventh highest level of distress nationally. Much of the sites metrics are based on year-over-year changes since the third quarter of 2023. For instance, Mississippi has the 12th most drastic change in the share of people with credit accounts in distress. In terms of credit scores, Mississippians on average have the lowest ones nationally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mississippians with third largest decline in debt: report Other WalletHub reports throughout the year also provide perspective on the financial state of Mississippians. The state has the highest share of households that do not have bank accounts and the second-highest share of people who borrow money from non-bank lenders. Additionally, Mississippi has the second lowest share of residents nationwide with emergency savings and the lowest share of residents with sustainable spending habits. Not all economic data bodes negatively for the Magnolia State. For instance, the change of bankruptcy filings in Mississippi from the third quarter of 2023 to 2024 is the fourth lowest nationally. According to LendingTree, the states double-digit decreases in its overall debt over the same period ranked as the third largest among all Americans. Close Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJTV. JOPLIN, Mo. Some Missouri Southern students received an early Christmas present this morning. The Missouri Southern State Universitys 83rd commencement ceremony was held today. After honors and recognition from school president, Dr. Dean Van Galen, and commencement speaker, MSSU Dr. Clay Routledge, 240 graduate students walked the stage and were handed their diplomas as families and friends cheered. More on MSSU Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MSSU has three commencement ceremonies each year. Its a very special day, I feel really honored to be a part of this because were recognizing the work, the achievements of aspiration from so many of our graduates. Im just proud of our university for the way we support and help our students succeed. Missouri Southerns next commencement ceremony will be in May. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Mitt Romney has been regarded as weird for much of his political life, often derided for the things he holds closest to his heart. His big Latter-day Saint family was slammed as too big. His faith was panned as odd or sinister. His love for his country, as evidenced by an impromptu a capella rendition of America the Beautiful on the campaign stump, was deemed as, well, awkward. Romney himself seems exasperated by this. I was accused of being inauthentic, Romney told his biographer, McKay Coppins, as quoted in Romney: A Reckoning. But in reality, thats just who I am. Im the authentic person who seems inauthentic. Last week, as Romney delivered his final address on the U.S. Senate floor, he offered a final dose of authenticity, wrapped in both his faith and his love of country. It is customary to end remarks like these with the words: God Bless America, Romney said. That has never seemed jarring or out of place, he noted, because Americans have always been fundamentally good. But Romney fears that may not always be the case: There are some today who would tear at our unity, who would replace love with hate, who deride our foundation of virtue, or who debase the values upon which the blessings of heaven depend. That worries Romney, because a prosperous America must be a righteous America. For it is only if the American people merit His benevolence that God will continue to bless America, he declared, Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Romneys theologizing, as Religion News Services Jack Jenkins noted, is simultaneously not that uncommon yet a bit unusual for an elected official to layer into a speech. Even so, the premise at the heart of Romneys assertionthat America must be good to merit Gods blessingis a sharp deviation from the Christian nationalism percolating on the American political right. And yet, in keeping with Romneys beliefs throughout his career, the idea is unapologetically, quirkily Mormon. That the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would maintain a uniquely American theology is not surprising. Latter-day Saints leaders and scripture have emphasized the centrality of America in Gods plan since the churchs founding in the early 1800s. The Book of Mormon, the faiths central scriptural tome, teaches that the American continent was kept hidden until God wrought upon explorers who led them there. Modern church leaders, recognized as prophets to the faithful, have declared that God helped the colonies win the American Revolution; that the U.S. Constitution was divinely inspired; and that the Constitution enabled a climate of religious freedom necessary for Christs restored church to be established in the 19th century. The idea that America is blessed by God only if its people are righteous is repeated throughout the Book of Mormon. The book tells of a group of Jews who, six centuries before Christs birth, spread across the American continent and awaited the Messiahs coming. The land on which they dwell is a land of promise, they are told; the land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land. In offering them this promised land, God enters a covenant with them: He will bless them as they are righteous. Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring, a Book of Mormon prophet, Lehi, teaches. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Throughout the Book of Mormon, God continually promises that the American peoples will prosper in the land so long as they keep the commandments. The conditional promise is repeated throughout the book76 times in all. The books final author, Moroni, believed by Latter-day Saints to be writing four centuries after Christs death, declared the covenant still in effect for whatever nations settled on the American continent: And now, warned Moroni, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. Gods wrath will come, he continues, when they are ripened in iniquity. This theologyand Romneys contemporary interpretation of itdiffers from Christian nationalist ideas in two major ways. First, Romney declares Gods favor upon the American people conditional upon their righteousness. Unlike those who declare God has irrevocably chosen America as His chosen nation, Romney notes that Gods blessing comes only to those who are morally upright. And second, Romney recognizes that moral uprightness does not equate to Christianity alone. Romney specifically praised religious liberty for all as a central tenet of the American promise: We have respected different faiths, as our first president confirmed to Muslims and Jews, he said. Being a moral nation, Romney implies, does not mean being a Christian nationnor does it even necessarily mean being religiousso much as it is rush[ing] to help neighbors in need and welcom[ing] the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. (Romneys recognition of an embrace of immigration as part of moral uprightness also squares with Latter-day Saint theology, as I wrote here.) Romneys theological claim can be succinctly summarized by the phrase credited to Alexis de Tocqueville: America is great because America is good. If America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great. The problem is that de Tocqueville never said or wrote such a thing. Romneys first cousin once-removed, though, said something very similar. Can we maintain our basic freedoms, peace, and prosperity for another 200 years? Marion G. Romney, a Latter-day Saints apostle, said in 1975. The answer to this question is yes, if we shall individually repent and conform to the laws of the God of this land, who is Jesus Christ. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The basics of those laws is this, Marion G. Romney explained: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God and thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Read more at The Dispatch The Dispatch is a new digital media company providing engaged citizens with fact-based reporting and commentary, informed by conservative principles. Sign up for free. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) is coming to grips with the fact that President-elect Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again movement are now at the heart of the Republican Party. The outgoing senator couldnt deny that Trumps far-right faction is now in control, discussing Americas shifting political landscape during an interview on CNNs State of the Union on Sunday. Asked if there was a future for a post-Trump GOP, Romney freely told host Jake Tapper, Oh, MAGA is the Republican Party, and Donald Trump is the Republican Party today. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And if you were to ask me who the nominee will be in 2028, itll be JD Vance, alright, continued Romney, a staunch moderate and once outspoken critic of both Trump and his soon-to-be vice president, Vance. Look, the Republican Party has become the party of the working-class, middle-class voter, he added. Youve got to give Donald Trump credit for having done that, taking that away from the Democrats. MAGA is the Republican Party and Donald Trump is the Republican Party today.@SenatorRomney tells @jaketapper Trump deserves credit for appealing to working class voters and predicts that JD Vance will likely be the GOP presidential nominee in 2028. pic.twitter.com/c1RUd1X6jG State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) December 15, 2024 Romney also recognized how he was mistaken in thinking the incoming president was wrong for the country, wrong for our party, that he wouldnt win. I think most people disagree with me. Im willing to live with that, he said. I just put emphasis on different things than I think the public at large does right now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Republicans 2012 presidential nominee went on to address Trumps controversial slate of Cabinet picks and called the contenders an unusual collection of people before acknowledging that Trump has every right to nominate who he wants. I lost, he won, alright. Id like to revisit that and win, but I didnt get that chance, he said. So these are the kind of people he wants to run, and hes entitled to that. Romney sounded less optimistic about the tone of Trumps America while addressing his peers in his farewell speech to the Senate earlier this month. Warning of the perils of political division, he said, There are some today who would tear at our unity, who would replace love with hate, who deride our foundation of virtue, or who debase the values upon which the blessings of heaven depend. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A countrys character is a reflection not just of its elected officials, but also of its people, Romney continued. I leave Washington to return to be one among them and hope to be a voice of unity and virtue. Related... LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Thousands of people made their way to Boulder Citys Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery Saturday morning for the annual Wreaths Across America Day. Nationwide, millions of wreaths are laid at the graves of Americas Veterans. Remembrance, honor, and teaching are the core values of Wreaths Across America and all three were witnessed in Boulder City as friends and families took the time to pay their respects. Enough wreaths were laid to almost reach Boulder Citys entire population of more than 14,000. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The wreaths were laid by volunteers like Suzi Waltos who attended the event with the Daughters of the American Revolution one of many groups uniting at the ceremony. We do this just to honor our veterans, our grandpas, our dads and sons and brothers and great grandfathers every year, Waltos said. Its cool. Its. You did something with your day, so its just thanking them and letting them know that theyre not forgotten. Overall, 12,084 wreaths were placed to honor those laid to rest in Boulder City. Before the wreaths were laid, the grave markers were cleaned throughout the week by volunteers and veterans like Jimmy DePew of US Vets and The Mission Continues. Its awesome because theres so much community of what we want for veterans support, DePew said. I want all these people to understand why theyre here and what our heroes, you know, lay their lives down for us, for them and their families. So its good to see kids out here, too. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. This article was originally published in CT Mirror. Teacher unions across the state are using votes of no confidence in their superintendents both formal and informal to demonstrate growing dissatisfaction with leadership they argue is becoming more uncommunicative, inexperienced or out of touch with staff. Since March, votes have taken place in four school districts Waterbury, Stamford, Bridgeport and the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System. The Salem Teachers Federation, which issued its own vote of no confidence in May 2023, also has an ongoing conflict with its administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The uptick in votes of no confidence is not normal, said Fran Rabinowitz, who previously served as superintendent in Bridgeport and Hamden and now is executive director of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents. She said its becoming a growing trend across the country. Education is at a Crossroads: Help Us Illuminate the Path Forward. Donate to The 74 I think its become more common nationally to have votes of no confidence, Rabinowitz said. Theres a lot of emotional unrest right now I see opposing views and an inability, many times, to come to the middle, to come to consensus, to really understand the other persons perspective moving forward with something. And I think it affects all of our relationships. You just see it nationally. You see it in government, and I think now were seeing it in education. Educators have consistently referred to public education as reaching a breaking point, with an increasing frustration in classroom conditions centered on issues like safety, workload, class sizes, limited support personnel and curriculum changes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A survey released recently by the Connecticut Education Association, the states largest teachers union, shows that 63% of educators in the state are dissatisfied with school conditions and 62% are planning to leave the profession earlier than expected. Still, CEA President Kate Dias said that votes of no confidence show an incredible amount of investment. She said educators who could have walked away are instead insisting on better. We are going to hold you accountable for doing what we know you should be doing, Dias said. The invested parties are standing up and making demands of leadership, and that means that were really focusing on improvement. Were focusing on how do we do this work better and treat our communities and students better. Despite the unique district circumstances that led to the votes of no confidence, interviews with union presidents show similar underlying issues ranging from severe disconnects in communication, concerns about transparency when it comes to district changes (like scheduling or curriculum), growing fears of retaliation and a general feeling that their concerns have gone unheard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even some unions across the state that did not issue votes of no confidence in their superintendents have conducted surveys or organized other efforts to showcase their continued dissatisfaction. If you look at sort of the consistent theme of where these situations emerge, its often where theres a breakdown of communication and respect between staff and administration particularly the superintendent, Dias said, adding that though a consistent call to action to improve the teaching profession has been rooted in salary increases, theres no amount of money that overcomes rampant disrespect. It takes time to change and move salaries. It does not take time to improve the working conditions, Dias said. You can decide tomorrow, I really need to listen to my staff. How am I going to do that in a way that they can see it, feel it and know that Im respecting them?' Rabinowitz also stressed the importance of relationship building and balancing teacher involvement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sometimes superintendents see what is lacking and they see it very clearly and they just want to take care of that really quickly, Rabinowitz said. What they dont realize is, you cant just plow ahead without getting buy-in from the pioneers the teachers and the administrators who are going to carry out what you want to carry out. Youve got to sit down with them and listen to their perspective and figure out whether the direction youre taking is the right direction. One proposal some educators and union leaders think could make a difference is changing the minimum requirements for becoming a school administrator, in particular the number of years of experience in a classroom setting. Its a measure they plan to bring up during the legislative session that begins next month. Departures In some districts, conversations between superintendents and staff either did not take place or were not fruitful enough to make a difference before the superintendents were either replaced or took a leave of absence. In Waterbury, CTECS and Bridgeport, the unions votes have been followed by changes to the district leadership. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Back in March, the Waterbury Teachers Association conducted a survey with over 700 participants that mainly focused on safety concerns in the classroom. The majority of the surveys respondents said Superintendent Verna Ruffin did not effectively address safety-related issues (80%), did not foster an environment for staff to handle discipline issues in an effective manner (86%) and did not prioritize teacher and student safety (85%). We just felt that Dr. Ruffin had really lost touch with the teacher corps in the city of Waterbury, and had really, really lost touch with the types of things that teachers were experiencing in the classroom, said local union president Kevin Egan. Those types of things ranged from a lack of support, which was the big one, especially in types of discipline issues and addressing negative behaviors in the classroom, where teachers were really starting to feel afraid and nervous to go to work. There were over 960 individual student-based arrests in Connecticut in 2021-22, the last reported data from the states education department that was broken down by district. Of that number, about 220 occurred in Waterbury Public Schools. The unions concerns arguably ended up as a vote of no confidence, though it was not officially designated, as one, Egan said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What youre seeing across the state is a byproduct of lack of respect and just the idea that theyre not valuing their teachers and teachers are feeling it, Egan said. When youre trying to get responses from the superintendent, and teachers are throwing their hands up in the end and screaming for help, and nobodys coming to the aid, that is the definition of a breaking point. Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski ultimately vetoed Ruffins contract extension despite an initial approval from the local board of education. Ruffin did not respond to a request for comment on the local unions dissatisfaction, but provided The Connecticut Mirror her final email to the local board of education. In her correspondence, she highlighted wins in her district including the opening of a dual language school, reopening of classrooms after the COVID-19 pandemic and investments into extracurricular programs. As I move to my next chapter, I wanted to express my profound gratitude to you Commissioners individually, and collectively as you continue to do whats best for all children, Ruffin wrote on July 11. Your confidence in me is deeply appreciated and I will forever be grateful to you to the teachers, the principals and administrators as well as the central office team, the parents, students and community. I will especially miss the students and wish them continued success as they dare to dream big and never lose sight of their goals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Several months later, in October, the State Vocational Federation of Teachers, the union representing certified teachers at the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System, issued its own vote of no confidence in executive director Ellen Solek after concerns over transparency. Solek oversaw the superintendent position, which has had several personnel changes in recent years as the CTEC system has branched off the jurisdiction of the state Department of Education and instead operates as a state agency. Makenzi Hurtado, vice president of the SVFT union, said Solek was responsible for the systems finances, legislative proposals and industry partnerships. Union members felt the needs were not being met in those three areas and this ultimately trickled down into the classrooms. We would hear that all the time were in a soft [hiring] freeze, but no one really understood why we were in a soft freeze, where the monies were going and when we would ask for clarification or insight or transparency, we would not get any answers, Hurtado said. In terms of the legislation, theres a lot of things that we have to advocate for. Theres a lot of different bills and things that affect us, and we werent finding out about it until after they were going into effect. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hurtado said the CTECS had a large number of staffing vacancies, which overwhelmed the existing workload of hired staff and made them more prone to burnout. Every single subject we had, they were missing things that they needed. Science labs didnt have the materials that they needed. English classrooms didnt have the books. It was everywhere, Hurtado said. It got to a point where people were feeling like they could not give kids the education that they deserved, and they didnt have the resources to give the education to kids that they deserved, and that was really the breaking point for us, Hurtado added. I think a lot of the concerns that we have in our district are very similar to concerns that teachers and other districts have. Teachers are extremely passionate about what they do, but theyre very rarely listened to as experts in what they do. Solek, who was the districts first executive director and took over the role in June 2023, announced her plan to resign on Halloween. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Solek declined a request for comment. Gov. Ned Lamont announced Alice Pritchard, who most recently served as the director of workforce development and strategic initiatives for the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services and previously served as the chief of staff and chief strategy officer for the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system, as Soleks replacement on Nov. 27. In a statement to the CT Mirror, Pritchard said she looked forward to working with stakeholders to help the system reach its full potential. My priority is to listen to our community, promote open communication, and ensure transparency and collaboration with all stakeholders. I recognize that while there is important work to do, we have the people and passion to achieve great things on behalf of CTECS students, Pritchard said. The CTEC is also under investigation by the state Department of Education after a leaked email from then-interim superintendent Justin Lowe described a process that was apparently meant to deny admission to students with disabilities. Lamont appointed Freeman Burr, a former superintendent in Shelton and former Hartford educator, as the new interim superintendent on Dec. 5. Still at odds Bridgeport was the most recent of the three no-confidence votes, with Superintendent Carmela Levy-David taking a leave of absence in early November shortly after a CEA survey revealed 93% of respondents felt Levy-David was unprofessional in dealings with teachers and staff, feared retaliation if they voiced concerns and that the superintendent was not open to differing points of view and 80% had considered leaving Bridgeport Public Schools. Levy-David was hired in August 2023 and committed to staying 10 years in the district to form a new era of stability. She had announced a complete system overhaul earlier this year, beginning with right-sizing its organizational leadership, schools and classrooms. Over the summer there was pushback on the superintendents plan to close six schools, and contention grew as educators say the district was changing its class and bus schedules, teacher assignments and curriculum on the fly. You had teachers doing everything in their power to try and create a sense of stability and security, but at the end of the day, if they dont have the materials, theyre being reassigned, they are not sure what is being communicated all those things put together just created this sense of heightened agitation at all times, Dias said. It was like this intense layer of stress that everyone was kind of experiencing, including the kids. Shortly after the surveys results were released, the district issued a statement saying they were disappointed that the CEA did not communicate those results to us first so we could have worked collaboratively, and that they took the concerns raised about teachers confidence in our leadership seriously. We understand that feelings of fear and apprehension can significantly impact our staffs willingness to communicate openly, but their feedback is essential to continue to make things better for them moving forward. We are committed to fostering a safe and supportive environment where educators feel empowered to express their thoughts and concerns without fear of retaliation, Levy-David said in the statement. Bridgeports local board of education has now entered contract negotiations that could end Levy-Davids employment in the district. Stacy Graham-Hunt, the spokesperson for Bridgeport schools, said the district remains committed to fostering a positive and collaborative work environment for all staff members, through efforts to streamline communications, enhance stability and address any operational challenges to ensure that schools run smoothly and effectively. While the District acknowledges the concerns raised by the union, we are assessing areas for improvement and identifying strategies to address challenges. Ensuring a supportive environment for educators, administrators, and students is our top priority, Graham-Hunt said. We are currently reviewing internal processes to enhance clarity and coordination, and we are prioritizing efforts to ensure all stakeholders feel informed and supported. Stamford shared concerns similar to some of those raised in Bridgeports survey and vote of no confidence, though the district has kept its leadership. Stamford educators have faced an ongoing challenge regarding class scheduling at its middle and high schools. Stamford Superintendent Tamu Lucero proposed a schedule change that would add an extra course to teachers existing class schedules and would increase workload. Local teachers argued that theyre already strained and issued a vote of no confidence in March. Who knows whats going on in the classroom better than the teachers that work with those kids every day? said local union president John Corcoran. The further you are removed from the classroom, the less impact you have. Theres a superintendent, and theres associate superintendents, but youre making decisions three levels removed from the classroom. [To make changes,] its about building relationships. Its about maintaining relationships. Its about trust. Were trying hard to build that relationship with the superintendent, but we run into quite a lot of hurdles in doing so. Stamford Public Schools did not respond to a request for comment. A legislative push At the root of teachers feeling unheard is a sentiment that district administrators are inexperienced when it comes to whats happening in a classroom setting. Currently, state law requires school administrators to have at least 50 months of appropriate teaching experience, or about five years, a masters degree and additional coursework in special education, school administration and other topics. But several educators and union leaders across the state have advocated for several years to raise the minimum requirements, particularly in regard to the number of years in a classroom setting. Its a proposal they plan to fight for again in January. We believe 10 years would be a far better minimum, and I get that it puts that point of transition out a little bit, but lets give our administrators a fighting chance. If they havent had enough experiences to convincingly lead, were setting them up for failure, Dias said. We really believe that in order to lead a building, you have to have a credible amount of experience, and you have to have had the worst day, the most challenging student, a difficult parent conversation, a challenge with your colleague, to have led a classroom through difficult times, before youre ever going to be able to lead a building credibly, she said. This article first appeared on CT Mirror and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. The Indian army, in collaboration with the Chhattisgarh Government, on Sunday hosted a Soldierathon in Raipur to mark the 53rd anniversary of the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war. Former Army Chief General VK Singh flagged off the Soldierathon. Speaking to ANI, General (retd) VK Singh said that the main objective of the Soldierathon is to inspire people to stay fit. "The main objective of Soldierathon is to inspire people to stay fit so that the new generation can stay fit. Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated every year to commemorate India's victory over Pakistan in the Kargil War. When we all unite, Naxalism will end automatically," General (retd) Singh said. 'Vijay Diwas' is celebrated on December 16 every year to commemorate the anniversary of the victory of the Indian Armed Forces in the 1971 Indo-Pak War, in which about 93,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendered, resulting in the liberation of Bangladesh. As per the Ministry of Defence, the 1971 Indo-Pak War began with Pakistan launching pre-emptive air strikes against 11 Indian airbases on 03 December 1971. The war was forced due to the widespread genocide of the people of East Pakistan carried out by an oppressive military regime under General Yahya Khan of Pakistan. The war, which was short and intense, was fought on both Eastern and Western fronts The 13-day war resulted in the complete surrender of Pakistan forces and the creation of Bangladesh. The Indian Armed Forces reigned supreme over the Pakistani military on the battlefield. During the war, Southern Command valiantly defended the borders of the nation against any action by Pakistan. "The notable battles which were fought in the area of responsibility of the Southern Army included the famous battles of Longewala and Parbat Ali where Pakistan's armoured forces were destroyed by resolute Indian troops," as per a Ministry of Defence release. The raid on the Pakistani town of Chachro carried out by soldiers of the renowned 10 Para Commando Battalion led by Lieutenant Colonel (Later Brigadier) Bhawani Singh, the erstwhile ruler of Jodhpur state was another famous military action. These battles have showcased in fine examples of grit, determination and bravery of our soldiers. (ANI) Dec. 14A cold December wind blew Saturday during a three-volley rifle salute and rendition of taps as a crowd prepared to lay wreaths on veterans' graves at the Santa Fe National Cemetery. The event was one of many taking place at more than 4,600 sites across the country for National Wreaths Across America Day, held annually on the third Saturday in December. Last year, volunteers decorated 3 million graves nationwide. Turnout at Santa Fe's cemetery, the resting place for more than 68,000 veterans and family members, was the largest in recent years, said Amy Alaniz, who started attending the event three years prior. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I think a lot of people get caught up in the holidays, and buying things and stuff like that. It should be about remembering people," she said. Alaniz, who has a son in the Marines, didn't have a particular grave she's honoring. Instead, she said she was paying her respects to those who might have no one to remember them. "I mean, so many graves that they were young, really young men," she said. "I mean, 18, 19 years old, and their graves have been there for so long, and they probably don't have a lot of family members left because they didn't have children." Vincent Ojinaga was there for his father, Vicente Ojinaga, a three-year prisoner of the Japanese during World War II and survivor of the Bataan Death March, who received the Purple Heart upon his return home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also paid his respects earlier this year in the 2024 Bataan Memorial Death March, a grueling 26.2 mile march across New Mexico's White Sands Missile Range to recognize the sacrifice of those who died on the infamous 60-mile trek. With Ojinaga was Renee Borrego, present to honor her still-living father, Placido Borrego, 100. Borrego, a veteran of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, was recognized by the city of Santa Fe earlier this year, with April 10 being named Placido Borrego Day. "I didn't get a wreath for him because he's still alive," she said. "But we need to honor our vets." Another group paying its respects was the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club of Albuquerque, which has been supporting the event for five years, said President Demetrius Brandon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We need to honor tradition and legacy, especially for those that have nobody else," he said. Prior to the wreath-placing, several speakers, mostly veterans themselves, addressed the crowd to talk about the importance of recognizing sacrifice and promote various programs to support veterans. The keynote speaker was Brig. Gen. Jamison Herrera, Cabinet secretary of the state Department of Veterans Services. He began his speech with a moment of recognition for veterans of the Vietnam War like his own father and father-in-law who he said were met with scorn upon returning home. "As we come together during this holiday season," he said, "we are mindful of the challenges and hardships that many face, continuing to struggle with mental health and the impacts of suicide." According to the New Mexico VA Health Care System, New Mexico is ranked fourth-highest in the nation for veteran suicides, averaging one every four days, or 75 to 90 a year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We know people that are struggling with the impacts of mental health," Herrera said. "Be the one to make that phone call. Be the one to visit and show up unannounced." Thomas Vialpando, president of Honoring and Remembering New Mexico Veterans, the local organization in charge of facilitating the event, spoke briefly about the significance of the wreath longevity and sacrifice and gave instruction on the proper way to lay it on the gravestone. "It's not just a wreath. It's a personal gift to an American hero," he said. The Russian Foreign Ministry has criticized German Ambassador Alexander Graf Lambsdorff following his calls for peace in Ukraine. The spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, wrote on her Telegram channel on Sunday that Lambsdorff should direct his appeals to the West and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Direct responsibility for deaths lies with the West, which is provoking the continuation of bloodshed through arms deliveries, she argued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The criticism was triggered by Lambsdorff's remarks at a Christmas concert in Moscow attended by several hundred spectators, where he expressed his hope for peace. Zakharova had also criticized the ambassador the previous year for his commemoration of war victims at the Christmas concert. The spokeswoman later emphasized in another Telegram post that she was not criticizing the message of peace but rather, for example, what she called Germany's involvement in the 2014 coup in Ukraine, arms deliveries and the blockade of negotiations by the West. Nearly three years ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin began the invasion of Ukraine with a massive missile attack on the neighbouring country. Since then, hundreds of cities and towns in Ukraine have been destroyed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Estimates suggest that tens of thousands of people, including many civilians, have been killed. Many war crimes, especially by the Russian army, have been documented. Nevertheless, the Kremlin holds only Ukraine and the West responsible for the violence. Zakharova reiterated once again that Kiev had blocked the peace negotiations. Russia presents itself as willing to engage in talks externally but sets conditions for peace negotiations that border on Ukraine's capitulation. Debra Tice, the mother of American journalist Austin Tice who went missing in 2012 while reporting in Syria, seemed to take issue with the government on Sunday for their approach toward locating her son following the collapse of the Assad regime last week. "The U.S. government has made the decision that they're not going into Damascus. So my feeling is, if they don't want to be there, they shouldn't be there, and the people that are there are the people that are determined, Tice told NBCs Meet the Press host Kristen Welker. The government's collapse was caused by Syrian rebels who entered Damascus, the Syrian capital, early in the morning Dec. 8. They declared victory, forcing Syrian President Bashar Assad, who succeeded his father in 2000, to flee to Moscow and ending the Assad familys 50-year reign. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tice gave credit to journalists such as NBC correspondent Richard Engel and organizations like Hostage Aid Worldwide a non-profit that fights for the release of hostages for reporting from Syria on the ground. They are determined to be looking, she said of Engel and the Hostage Aid Worldwide workers. They are going into the cells, they're going into some deep and dark places, and obviously, they are compelled to be there and the U.S. government is not." When asked if she thinks the U.S. government should be there, Tice said, "What do you think?" President Joe Biden renewed his commitment to finding and freeing Tices son in a White House press briefing the day of the rebel victory. He said that there is reason to believe he is alive and that the White House thinks they can get him back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tice also appeared assured that her son was alive, telling Welker, Austin was born alive and he's been alive ever since then. I've never had any doubt about that." This is not the first time that the Tice family has expressed frustration with the government for how their missing family member has been handled. On Dec. 8, the family appealed to the Biden administration to be more aggressive in their efforts and, in a news conference, were disappointed that the government was waiting to see how things unfolded in Syria before doing more to bring Austin home. Tice did express optimism that her son will come home, placing her confidence with Hostage Aid Worldwide, who the family is working with, to bring him home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They're on the ground, and they are ready, she said. They know. They know what to do when they find him." CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article identified the incorrect TV program for the Debra Tice interview. The mother of journalist Austin Tice, who went missing in Syria in 2012, told Meet the Press host Kristen Welker that a video of fellow missing American Travis Timmerman wandering the streets of Damascus is like having a rehearsal for the day her son is found safe. Tice, previously a U.S. Marine Corps officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, was reporting as a freelance journalist from inside Syria during the countrys civil war when he stopped tweeting in August 2012. A month later a video of a blindfolded Tice was released; since he escaped in early 2013, no information about his whereabouts has been released. In May 2024, President Biden said Tice is still a hostage in the country. So, when I go to sleep, I silence my phone and I really go to sleep. My children dont do that. So, my oldest daughter came into my room at 4:25, and said, Mom, you know, we have this video. You need to look at it. We dont think its Austin, but a lot of people think its Austin, so we want you to look and see if its Austin,' Debra Tice explained. And, you know, Im kind of waking up out of the fog, and you know, I took a glance and I said, No, that is not Austin.' Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said, Yeah, no, no, Mom, its not Austin, but we had to wake you up. We had to we had to ask you about it. And then, of course, we had so many people reaching out. This is so great. What a wonderful day. And so, its almost like having a rehearsal, you know, a like just an inkling of what its going to really feel like when it is Austin walking free. Debra Tice added that she has no doubt her son is still alive. At present, the Biden administration doesnt appear to have U.S. officials in Damascus who are looking for Tice. Richard Engel is there. Other journalists are there. Hostage Aid Worldwide is there, she said. They are determined to be looking. They are going into the cells. Theyre going into some really deep and dark places. And obviously they are compelled to be there, and the U.S. government is not. On Dec. 8, the fall of Assads regime in Syria, Biden told reporters at the White House, We are mindful that there are Americans in Syria, including those who reside there, as well as Austin Tice, who was taken captive more than 12 years ago. We remain committed to returning him to his family. Trimmerman, who went missing after he crossed the border from Lebanon into Syria in May, was identified in a video that circulated Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You can watch the interview with Debra Tice in the video above. The post Mother of Journalist Missing in Syria Says Travis Timmerman Video is Like a Rehearsal | Video appeared first on TheWrap. The scores of prisoners freed after the downfall of the Bashar Assad regime in Syria are giving hope to Debra Tice, mother of the American journalist Austin Tice, who has been missing since being detained in 2012. "Its almost like having a rehearsal, you know? Just an inkling of what its going to really feel like when it is Austin walking free," Tice told NBC Newss Meet the Press on Sunday. Shes been closely following reports out of the country, where another missing American, religious pilgrim Travis Timmerman, was found in the town of Dhiyabiya, after being held for seven months. Initial reports wrongly identified him as Tice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "My oldest daughter came into my room at 4:25, and said, Mom, you know, we have this video. You need to look at it. We dont think its Austin, but a lot of people think its Austin, so we want you to look and see if its Austin," Debra Tice said on Meet the Press. "I took a glance and I said, No, that is not Austin." Debra Austin has been urging officials in Washington D.C. for support to find her son Austin Tice, who has been missing since traveling to Syria 2012 (AP) The White House has said it believes Tice is still alive and pledged to keep search for him. We believe hes alive, President Joe Biden said last week after the fall of Assad. We think we can get him back, but we have no direct evidence of that yet. Tice, a former Marine Corps captain and law student, went to Syria to report on the civil war consuming the country, even though he had little journalism experience. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was hearing reports from Syria saying this is happening but it cant be confirmed because there really are no reporters on the ground, his father, Marc Tice, told The Daily Star 10 months after his sons disappearance. And he said, You know, this is a story that the world needs to know about." Debra Tice recently met with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan about the disappearance of and seach for her son Austin Tice (REUTERS) Tice embedded with the Free Syrian Army rebel group and ended up filing dispatches and making appearances for McClatchy newspapers, The Washington Post, the BBC, and CBS News. As he headed towards the Lebanese border ahead of a planned break, Tice was detained in a government-controlled area and hasnt been seen since. The State Department has said it believes Tice was being held by the Syrian government, which the Assad regime denied. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tice is now the longest-held American journalist in U.S. history. A former regime prisoner told NBC News he was held in a cell across from Tice and saw him alive as recently as July 2022, while the new government has said its actively seeking information on Tice. Families throughout the region are similarly searching for news of family members who were detained, tortured, or disappeared by the brutal regime. Thinking about taking a trip to Mount Rainier National Park this winter? You might want to think twice about it if you are not properly prepared. The park was ranked the second-deadliest national park to visit during the winter season by personal injury attorneys at John Foy & Associates. To determine which U.S. national parks were the deadliest, the attorneys analyzed mortality data provided by the U.S. National Park Service. They analyzed deadly incidents that happened between Nov. 1 to Feb 28, or Feb. 29 if it was a leap year, from 2007 to 2023. Average visitation numbers during the period analyzed were also taken into consideration, and the parks were then ranked by the highest numbers of winter deaths per 10 million visitors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement National parks that received fewer than 10 million visitors between 2007 and 2023 were not taken into account for this study. According to the study, these were the top five deadliest national parks in the U.S.: Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park - 12.19 deaths per 10 million visitors Mount Rainier National Park - 8.55 deaths per 10 million visitors Lake Mead National Recreation Area - 6.23 deaths per 10 million visitors Death Valley National Park - 5.87 deaths per 10 million visitors Grand Canyon National Park - 5.45 deaths per 10 million visitors But what makes Mount Rainier National Park the second-deadliest national park in the U.S.? Mount Rainier National Park among deadliest parks to visit in winter Mount Rainier National Park, located southeast of Tacoma, is named after and is home to the beloved active stratovolcano Mount Rainier. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On a clear day, its easy to be taken aback by the mountains size and beauty. The top of Mount Rainier, which sits at 14,411 feet of elevation, remains consistently blanketed in white snow regardless of the time of year, but the snow increases during the fall and winter as winter weather sets in. Theres no denying that Mount Rainiers large stature and diverse landscape make it extremely appealing to visitors and draws in about 1.75 million visitors every year who want to see it up close, according to the Mount Rainier Institute. While visiting MRNP is a must if you live or visit Washington, doing so during the winter can be dangerous since the park sits at 1,600 feet of elevation at its lowest point and 14,408 feet of elevation at its highest point. During the winter season, several park roads close including White River, Sunrise and Route 410/123, according to the NPS. Park roads that remain open during the winter are usually covered in snow or icy so park visitors are required to carry tire chains and are encouraged to check road status before going. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the parks website, trails at higher elevations can experience winter-like conditions through June or July. Still, though, many people decide to make the trek and do the dangerous hike to summit Mount Rainier even during the winter season. According to the study, the park sees 8.55 winter deaths per 10 million park visitors, which is 191% higher than the national average. The most common cause of death is falls, attributed to six out of the 19 deaths that happened during the period analyzed. The challenging climb attracts thousands of mountaineers each year; however, it requires a high level of skill due to the elevation and weather conditions, notes the study. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the NPS, park visitors should be aware of the following in terms of safety: Rapid change in mountain weather can turn into a survival ordeal, and it can be difficult to navigate in harsh winter conditions. There are shorter days during the winter so do not expect to cover the same amount of distance as you would during the summer. Make sure you are ready to drive on winter roads and know which roads are open. Many roads close in the winter, close early, or are only open on certain days. Use traction devices such as shoe chains to avoid slipping or falling when roads, sidewalks and trails are icy. Avalanches in the park are most common after storm avoid camping or traveling near an avalanche zone. Avoid walking near anywhere that you may hear running water as you can fall through thin snow bridges. Avoid stepping onto ledges of snow that overhang an edge because they could collapse. Avoid getting too close to trees as you may fall into loose snow which can cause an injury. Being exposed to cold temperatures may result in hypothermia, so wear appropriate clothing that can help retain body heat and protect against the wind and rain, eat frequently, avoid exhaustion and seek shelter. Here are 10 winter essentials backcountry skiers, snowshoers, and campers should be equipped to survive nights out, according to the NPS: NEW JERSEY (PIX11) Mysterious drone sightings continue to be reported throughout New Jersey and, as of Friday night, have spread to the New York area. The New York sightings have prompted Governor Kathy Hochul to comment. This has gone too far, Gov. Hochul said in a statement. Her response comes after a reported drone shut down a New York airport on Friday night. Drone activity shutdowns airport in New York Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Saturday afternoon, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Aviation Administration held a press conference to assure the public these drones are not harmful. We certainly understand why people are concerned, A DHS spokesperson said. That is one of the reasons why we are devoting significant resources to support New Jersey and our federal, state, and law enforcement partners who are actively investigating these reported sightings. The FBI said it has received over 5,000 tips on the spotted drones. Of those thousands of calls, only around 100 have been deemed credible. Hochuls reaction: Following the shutdown of Stewart International Airport for about an hour, Hochul suggested that Congress act. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In mid-November, I directed the New York State Intelligence Center to actively investigate drone sightings and coordinate with federal law enforcement to address this issue, and those efforts are ongoing. But in order to allow state law enforcement to work on this issue, I am now calling on Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act. This bill would reform legal authorities to counter-UAS, strengthen the FAAs oversight of drones, and extend counter-UAS activities to select state and local law enforcement agencies. Drone came down in New Jersey residential area: police New Jerseys reaction: Since November, New Jersey residents have described the sightings as unnerving and creepy, and they want an explanation. Witnesses say some of the drones seen in New Jersey appear larger than those typically used by hobbyists. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and law enforcement officials have stressed that the drones dont appear to threaten public safety. Where are these drones coming from? Authorities say they do not know who is behind the drones. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The FBI, Homeland Security, and state police are investigating the sightings. Speculation has raged online, with some expressing concerns that the drone or drones could be part of a nefarious plot by foreign agents. Officials stress that ongoing state and federal investigations have no evidence to support those fears. What have officials said about the mysterious drone sightings? President-elect Donald Trump has posted on his social media site that he believes the government knows more than it says. Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!! U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut on Thursday said the drones should be shot down, if necessary, even as it remains unclear who owns the unmanned aircraft. Are drones allowed in New Jersey? Flying drones for recreational and commercial purposes is legal in New Jersey but is subject to local and Federal Aviation Administration regulations and flight restrictions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In New York City, a permit is required to take off or land an unmanned aircraft, and operators must be FAA-certified. Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. A British beauty spot is seeking to ban new second homes amid a growing backlash against out-of-towners. Nearly a dozen villages in the Yorkshire Dales have been earmarked for planning regulations that would block new builds that are not permanently occupied. The proposals, drafted by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA), would only allow homes to be built if they serve as a principal residence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A report published by the YDNPA this month said the ban would maximise the use of new housing and avoid loss to the holiday market. It would come on top of North Yorkshire County Council doubling council tax for second home owners in April. If approved, the ban on new build second homes would apply to 11 villages across the Yorkshire Dales, an area that routinely attracts more than six million visitors each year. Richard Foster, a local Conservative councillor and member of the YDNPA, said: Were very popular with the tourists and a lot of the existing housing stock has already disappeared, especially smaller housing that tends to be turned into holiday cottages. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said more housing becoming second homes and holiday lets had left local people with limited housing options. We have ended up with a real reduction in the houses that weve got which people can live in. We are just proposing this on the new houses. We want to build homes because we dont have the staff to cater to the tourists when they do come and some of the pubs cant cater to the tourists. The existing properties will still have the opportunity to become holiday cottages. We are not saying we dont want them, but we want new houses to be used to send children to school and provide jobs. He added: Weve got a shortage of people living in the Yorkshire Dales and we are hoping this will help with that. We are not saying its a solution, we just hope it helps. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The proposal to ban the construction of new second homes in the area will be voted on by the YDNPA next week, before a public consultation is conducted, the findings of which would be submitted to the Government for final approval. Banning new second homes being built in the Yorkshire Dales would represent the latest blow for Britons hoping to maintain boltholes elsewhere in the country. Last year North Yorkshire Dales County Council raised council taxes by 100pc on second home owners after the previous Conservative government changed the law allowing stricter penalties on so-called empty homes. The law now states houses that are substantially furnished but with no one resident fall within this classification and allows local authorities to impose additional taxes after a property qualifies for one year, where previously it was two years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Latest available figures for second homes in the Yorkshire Dales show that roughly one in 10 houses in the area is a second home. 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. Following the terrorist attack in Dnipro on 14 December, Andrii Niebytov, the deputy chief of the National Police and chief of the criminal police, has announced that it was an attempt by the Russians to weaken not only Ukraines security and defence forces, but also the whole of society and the state by carrying out information operations. Source: Niebytov on Facebook Quote: "The latest terrorist incident, this time in Dnipro, in which police and military personnel were injured, is not merely an echo of the front line. The Russians spare no resources in order to assassinate defenders and law enforcement personnel in the rear, but the enemy's aim is to weaken not only Ukrainian security and defence forces, but also the whole of society and the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By recruiting terrorist subversives from among traitor citizens, Russia is attempting to destabilise the situation within this country and to divide society. All of these bombings, arson attacks on cars, and the devastation of infrastructure are deliberate distractions that are reinforced by the enemy's information and psychological attacks aimed at discrediting the military and the entire law enforcement establishment." Details: Niebytov criticised "experts" for spreading narratives such as the "300,000 police officers" [who purportedly stay behind and do not contribute to the war effort ed.] and calls to "send them all [i.e. the police] to the front". "Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko and Chief of National Police Ivan Vyhivskyi have repeatedly stated that there are 100,000 police officers in Ukraine, and 10% of them are already fighting in the hottest spots of the front. Another 25%, which is about a quarter of the personnel, are serving in regions where hostilities are being conducted. At the same time, about 40-45% of police officers are involved in performing security and defence functions, namely combat missions, mine clearance, evacuating people from dangerous zones, and ensuring border security. In addition, we have the task of containing crime and maintaining law and order within the state. No one but the police will do that job," Niebytov said. The deputy National Police chief emphasised that Russia is going to great lengths to construct the image it needs on social media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This fake reality is aimed at reducing, or even levelling, support for our defenders from society and destroying the law enforcement system," Niebytov said. Niebytov also released photographs of a man who has been detained on suspicion of involvement in the terrorist attack, and photos of the scene. 14 , Facebook The suspect in a terrorist attack in Dnipro on 14 December Photo: Niebytov on Facebook 14 , Facebook The suspect in a terrorist attack in Dnipro on 14 December Photo: Niebytov on Facebook Background: On the afternoon of 14 December, there was an explosion in the centre of the city of Dnipro. One person was killed and several injured, including two police officers. Dnipro police subsequently apprehended a man suspected of involvement in the attack in the city centre outside the military enlistment office, which killed one man and injured four people. Law enforcement officials revealed that the attacker had been acting on the orders of the Russian secret services. According to Ukrainska Pravda sources, the detained man is 37-year-old local resident Ruben Voskanian. In November, the police became aware of instances of sabotage targeting Ukrainian security officers, particularly involving explosives. Support UP or become our patron! WASHINGTON In addition to articles already covered by Native News Online, here is a roundup of other news released from Washington, D.C. that impacts Indian Country recently. Legislation to Promote Tribal Buffalo Management Passes Senate The U.S.Senate passed the bipartisan Indian Buffalo Management Act, legislation to create a buffalo program at the U.S. Department of the Interior and help promote and develop Tribal capacity to manage buffalo. The Indian Buffalo Management Act provides secure, consistent funding for Tribes and Tribal organizations that have an established buffalo herd and management program, and provides resources for Tribes that would like to establish new herds. The legislation now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Indian Buffalo Management creates a buffalo restoration and management program within the Department of Interior to: Promote and develop the capacity of Tribes and tribal organizations to manage buffalo and buffalo habitat. Protect and enhance buffalo herds for the maximum benefit of Tribes. Ensure that Tribes are directly involved in the Interior Department decision-making regarding buffalo. The bill has been endorsed by the InterTribal Buffalo Council, the National Bison Association, The Nature Conservancy, and the National Wildlife Federation. A fact sheet is here. Releases Final Tribal Data Access and Tribal Epidemiology Center (TEC) Data Access Policies This. past Monday, as part of the White House Tribal Nations Summit , HHS Deputy Secretary Andrea Palm announced the release of the Department's first ever Tribal and TEC Data Access Policies. The policies were shaped by extensive Tribal consultation and Tribal engagement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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. The Department-wide policies clarify the right for Tribes and TECs to receive data as Public Health Authorities, establish HHS protocols and timelines for responding to Tribal and TEC data requests, and streamline information about available data and points of contact in a new Tribal Data Access website ( https://cdo.hhs.gov/s/tribal-data). By improving and clarifying how the Department will provide Data to Tribes and Tribal Epidemiology Centers, HHS seeks to advance the health and wellbeing of AI/AN people and eliminate data disparities facing Tribes. These policies will help ensure the Department is sharing data with Tribes to the maximum extent permissible under federal laws, regulations, and existing agreements, and enhance the social, physical, spiritual, economic, and health status of AI/AN communities. Copies of the final Tribal Data Access Policy and TEC Data Access Policy are available online. IHS Invites Updates for Identified Healthcare Facility Needs Tribal leaders are invited to identify renovation and expansion needs for inclusion in the 2026 IHS and Tribal Health Care Facilities' Needs Assessment Report to Congress. The report is compiled every five years in close collaboration with the Facilities Appropriation Advisory Board and Facilities Needs Assessment Workgroup. It is not a funding request nor priority system but an estimate of needs for planning-level use. Contributions are requested no later than December 31. More details are shared in this Dear Tribal Leader Letter and its accompanying enclosure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement About the Author: "Native News Online is one of the most-read publications covering Indian Country and the news that matters to American Indians, Alaska Natives and other Indigenous people. Reach out to us at editor@nativenewsonline.net. " Contact: news@nativenewsonline.net https://x.com/pushkardhami/status/1867978055555108953 The discussion was held in the presence of BJP National General Secretary and State In-charge Dushyant Kumar Gautam. State BJP President Mahendra Bhatt and Organization General Secretary Ajaey Kumar were also present on this occasion. Uttarakhand's municipal elections are just around the corner, with the exact dates yet to be finalized. The BJP is looking to capitalize on its recent by-poll victory in Kedarnath, intensifying its campaign efforts across various municipalities. According to government sources, Uttarakhand has a total of 45 municipalities and 46 municipal councils. The municipal elections are expected to take place later this month or in January 2025. Meanwhile, the path for municipal elections in Uttarakhand has been cleared following Raj Bhawan's approval of the ordinance related to OBC reservation in municipalities. This approval paves the way for implementing OBC reservations based on the report of a single-member dedicated commission. The elections will cover 11 Municipal Corporations, 41 Municipal Councils, and 50 Nagar Panchayats across Uttarakhand. With the BJP looking to build on its momentum, the stage is set for a thrilling electoral contest in the state. (ANI) COURTESY U.S. NAVY VIDEO / 2022 Military forces from Australia, Canada, Malaysia and the U.S. fired upon and sunk the decommissioned USS Rodney M. Davis during a sinking exercise as part of the 2022 Rim of the Pacific to gain proficiency in tactics, targeting and live firing against a surface target at sea. In Hawaii, sinking exercises are required to be conducted at least 50 nautical miles from shore and in waters at a depth of at least 6, 000 feet. COURTESY U.S. NAVY VIDEO / 2022 Military forces from Australia, Canada, Malaysia and the U.S. fired upon and sunk the decommissioned USS Rodney M. Davis during a sinking exercise as part of the 2022 Rim of the Pacific to gain proficiency in tactics, targeting and live firing against a surface target at sea. In Hawaii, sinking exercises are required to be conducted at least 50 nautical miles from shore and in waters at a depth of at least 6, 000 feet. The Navys on continued training in the Pacific proposes more frequent use of nearshore areas such as Kaneohe Bay and Marine Corps Training Area Bellows, along with new activities that include training in ocean mine warfare. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The service has a federal operating permit for what it calls the Hawaii-California Training and Testing Study Area that expires in 2025, and is required to submit an EIS as part of the renewal process. Under the new permit, the Navy is requesting a special use airspace in Southern California, expansion of an underwater training range near San Clemente Island, and installation and maintenance of ocean mine warfare training areas off both Hawaii and Southern California. The four-volume EIS draft released Friday is and notes a Feb. 11 deadline for public comment. The Navy is taking comments online and will hold in both Hawaii and California. According to a Navy news release, While the overall boundaries of the Hawaii Study Area have not changed from the 2018 (Hawaii-California Training and Testing EIS and Overseas EIS ), nearshore areas, such as Kaneohe Bay or Marine Corps Training Area Bellows, are proposed to be used more frequently or for new training or testing activities, such as mine warfare training. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Pentagon considers the Pacific to be its most critical theater of operations amid tension with China, and Oahu serves as a key hub for operations in the region and the headquarters of the vast Pacific Fleet. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with top news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. The Navy also hosts the biennial Rim of the Pacific Exercisethe worlds largest naval war gamein the Hawaiian islands and off San Diego, and has been stepping up training year-round with allied countries in the region. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, the Navy also is facing increased scrutiny of its environmental record in the Pacific, and especially in Hawaii as it continues cleanup operations at its underground Red Hill facility, a World War II-era fuel farm that sits just 100 feet above a critical aquifer most of Honolulu relies on for drinking water. In November 2021, a fuel leak entered the Navys Oahu water system that serves 93, 000 people, a number of whom reported health issues they blamed on contaminated tap water. A recent Navy proposal to increase firing practice on Kaula, a small islet off Kauai thats home to nesting seabirds and endangered Hawaiian monk seals, also has sparked outrage. The state of Hawaii and the Navy have been at odds over who owns the island, with the state declaring it a seabird sanctuary and pushing for the Navy to abandon it as a training ground. For its part, the Navy says it doesnt expect that increasing training will significantly impact the 18 bird species known to nest there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The draft EIS includes analysis of how noiseparticularly underwater sonarfrom its various systems could impact the environment. Other concerns raised by environmentalists include Navy vessels hitting and injuring marine animals, especially whales. The National Marine Fisheries Service authorizes the Navy an incidental take a calculation of the number of times the government believes Navy operations could result in marine life getting harassed, injured or killed in a certain area, even if sailors are working to mitigate the encounters. The Navys current operating permit initially allowed up to three large whales to be killed in ship strikes, or fatal collisions at sea. As of 2024, the Navy had hit that limit. In 2021, the Navy announced it would review its policies after an Australian navy destroyer participating in a multinational exercise off California unknowingly dragged two dead fin whales under the ships hull into San Diego, where the animals had to be dislodged from the vessel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The federal Endangered Species Act requires the government to reevaluate its data if new information or factors it hadnt considered come to light. As a result of the San Diego incident, the Navy last year said it would provide extra training to prevent whale strikes, but also requested that NMFS retroactively amend its operating permit for Hawaii and California to allow for more fatal collisions with large whales, from three to five. Other concerns have been raised over military sinking exercises the Navy calls SINKEX. The service has conducted the exercises for decades to give sailors the opportunity to use their weapons on real targetssomething the Navy doesnt have the opportunity to do as often as other military branches. The target vessels have to be defueled and scrubbed of potential toxic chemicals in a series of costly procedures laid out by the Environmental Protection Agency. But critics argue there hasnt been enough study of what happens after the ships sink to the ocean floor. The Navy imposed a moratorium on SINKEX training in 2010 while conducting a review of the program, weighing its benefits, costs and potential environmental impacts. In 2011, the Sierra Club and other groups filed a lawsuit against the EPA alleging that it failed to prevent the SINKEX program from exposing the ocean to toxic chemicals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The training resumed in 2012 with three decommissioned vessels sunk off Kauai during that years RIMPAC, and the plaintiff groups dropped their complaint in 2013 due to lack of funding. In Hawaii, sinking exercises are required to be conducted at least 50 nautical miles from shore and in waters at a depth of at least 6, 000 feet. Navy officials have argued the sunken ships turn into reefs and habitat for sea life below. But they also admit they havent actually checked on those shipwrecks because they are at a depth that precludes them from long-term monitoring. The U.S. military isnt the only one facing scrutiny in the Pacific. China currently has the worlds largest navy by ship count and is trying to build it larger, with hopes of being capable of launching an invasion of Taiwan. In the South China Sea, a critical waterway that more than a third of all trade moves through, the Chinese military has built bases over disputed reefs and atolls and used maritime militia ostensibly civilian vessels tasked with staking out disputed territory and harassing ocean workers from other countries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Scientists have raised concerns that these activities have severe environmental impacts, but Chinese forces have chased off researchers trying to study them. Last year in a speech in Waikiki, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said there is a direct correlation between the presence of maritime militia vessels and reef damage, calling the effects on biodiversity and the environment as possibly already irreversible. Having a say Public meetings on the Navys draft environmental impact statement for the Hawaii-California Training and Testing Study Area will be held next month on Oahu and Kauai.Honolulu, Jan. 15, Keehi Lagoon Memorial Weinberg Hall, 2685 N. Nimitz Highway ; open house from 4 to 7 p.m., presentation and comment session at 5 p.m.Lihue, Jan. 16, Kauai Veterans Center, 3215 Kauai Veterans Memorial Highway ; open house from 4 to 7 p.m., presentation and comment session at 5 p.m.Virtual public meeting, Jan. 22, 3 to 4 p.m., via Zoom or by telephone. Questions concerning the draft EIS will be accepted in advance through Jan. 15 via the question form on the project website at, which also provides instructions for participating in the virtual public meeting. Welcome to the governor-elect edition of our Under the Dome politics newsletter. Im Dawn Vaughan, The News & Observers Capitol bureau chief. When Josh Stein takes office in January, he will have less power than his predecessor, outgoing Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, due to the latest move by the Republican supermajority in the General Assembly. After Republicans successfully overturned Coopers veto of Senate Bill 382 on Wednesday with a final override vote in the House, Stein called the move a power grab. You can read our coverage of the override, and the lawsuit that Stein and Cooper already filed about the State Highway Patrol aspect of the law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cooper has two weeks left in his term, and has been making a series of speeches about his major issues during his two terms, including education, energy and economic policy. Gov. Roy Cooper, left, greets governor-elect Josh Stein during a North Carolina Democratic Party election night event at the Marriott City Center in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. As for Stein, we now have details about his inauguration. Stein is likely to be sworn in at midnight on New Years Eve, but the official inauguration comes about 10 days later, along with a public ceremony. Heres what to know about it. Inauguration of Gov. Josh Stein in January The inauguration, with its ceremonial swearings-in for Stein and the other nine members of the Council of State who were elected in November, will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 11. After hes sworn in, Stein will give his inaugural address, which sets the stage for his administrations priorities. His theme will be North Carolina Strong, which his transition team says will represent the states unity and resilience as people come together to support their western North Carolina neighbors recover and rebuild from Hurricane Helene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It will be held on the Capitol grounds in downtown Raleigh, as is customary. Right after the ceremony, there will be a block party on Fayetteville Street with musical performances, food trucks, small-business vendors and community organizations. That starts at 11 a.m. PBS North Carolina will air the inauguration live. There will also be an open house at the Executive Mansion, 200 N. Blount St., from noon to 2:30 p.m. the next day, Jan. 12. The Junior League of Raleigh is hosting the Inaugural Ball the night of Jan. 11, which I wrote about last week. You can read more about inauguration weekend at ncinauguration.org. Governor-elect Josh Stein and his family, from left, Sam, Leah, wife Anna and Adam acknowledge the crowd after Stein spoke during a North Carolina Democratic Party election night event at the Marriott City Center in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. Steins Inaugural Committee is chaired by N.C. Department of Administration Secretary Pamela Brewington Cashwell. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Committee members are Wake County Democratic Rep. Cynthia Ball, Harnett County Republican Sen. Jim Burgin, Mecklenburg County Democratic Rep. Becky Carney, Forsyth County Democratic Sen. Paul Lowe, Guilford County Democratic Rep. Amos Quick, Guilford County Democratic Sen. Gladys Robinson, former state Sen. Joe Sam Queen, Malcomb D. Coley Sr. of the UNC-Wilmington Board of Trustees, Jennie Jarrell Hayman of the Junior League of Raleigh and Stephen Britt Hill of Mother Earth Brewing. Stay informed about #ncpol Listen to our Under the Dome podcast to stay up to date. On our new episode posting Monday, Im joined by a guest reporter from Enlace Latino NC, Claudia Rivera Cotto. We talk about the veto override as well as the impact on North Carolina of House Bill 10 and what the incoming Trump administration means for immigration. You can sign up to receive the Under the Dome newsletter at newsobserver.com/newsletters. Want your friends to get our email, too? Forward them this newsletter so they can sign up. You can also email me questions you may have about incoming Gov.-elect Josh Stein at dvaughan@newsobserver.com. Sen. Thom Tillis warned Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge James Wynn not to revoke his retirement last month after Republican senators struck a deal with Democrats that blocked the nomination of Wynns would-be successor. But Wynn did just that in a letter Tillis released Saturday afternoon between Wynn and President Joe Biden and a handful of other judicial officials. I write to advise that after careful consideration, I have decided to continue in regular active service as a United States Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit, the letter states. I respectfully withdraw my letter to you from January 4, 2024. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wynn is one of several judges to change their retirement plans ahead of President-elect Donald Trump taking office and being able to choose their replacement. That includes Judge Max Cogburn, a federal judge for the Western District of North Carolina. Wynns name has also been removed from United States Courts future judicial vacancies list, where he had been listed with a retirement date of to be determined, pending the appointment of his replacement. Biden had chosen, in July, North Carolina Solicitor General Ryan Park to replace Wynn, but faced backlash from Tillis and Sen. Ted Budd, both Republicans from North Carolina. Tillis, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, warned Democrats he had enough votes to block Parks nomination from approval in a floor vote. He accused Park of being partisan and said he shouldnt serve on the bench. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also accused the White House counsel of being absolutely incompetent for the names they put forward for consideration, which included Budds campaign opponent, former Superior Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, who ran on the Democratic ticket. Tillis warned the Judiciary Committee in November that if they approved Parks nomination there would be consequences and he would vote to approve any nominee Trump put forward in the future. Democrats approved Park anyway. But before Park made it to the Senate floor for a vote, Democrats and Republicans struck a late-night deal to throw out four appellate nominations from Biden if Republicans would stop making the process of approving other judicial nominees difficult for Democrats. At the time, Tillis warned Wynn and other judges who already announced their retirements not to play partisan politics with the presidential transition and a Senate deal and going back on their word to retire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Judge Wynns brazenly partisan decision to rescind his retirement is an unprecedented move that demonstrates some judges are nothing more than politicians in robes, Tillis said in a news release Saturday. Judge Wynn clearly takes issue with the fact that Donald Trump was just elected President, and this decision is a slap in the face to the U.S. Senate, which came to a bipartisan agreement to hold off on confirming his replacement until the next Congress is sworn-in in January. Tillis called on the Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing on Wynns decision and said he deserves an ethics complaint and recusal demands from the next Department of Justice. Park withdrew his name from consideration as a nominee on Thursday. There have been nearly 1,000 reported drone sightings in New Jersey in less than a month, according to data collected by the states Office of Emergency Management. The analysis revealed 964 unmanned aircraft systems sightings were reported between Nov. 19 and Dec. 13, with the majority 243 in suburban Hunterdon County. On Thursday night alone, 193 drone sightings were called in. The night skies were also busy on Dec. 4, when 141 drones were seen hovering above. A map shows the total number of drone reports since Nov. 19 as well as all of the sightings from yesterday. NJ STATE POLICE The mysterious public crisis begain with one sighting back on Nov. 19. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There were 169 sightings in Somerset County, with Bergen County next at 75 reports. Sixty-three drones were seen over Monmouth County and 59 reported over Union County. Eyewitnesses have reported the mysterious drones are the size of mini-SUVs, and hover low to the ground, emitting pulsating lights. The federal government has said the drone sightings, which have also been happening in New York, are actually misidentified manned aircraft, like helicopters and Cessna single engine planes. Theyve also said they pose no threat to those on the ground. But elected officials in New Jersey and New York are calling on federal authorities to do more, including downing one of the drones for inspection. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republican lawmakers, citing sources with high security clearances, suggested the drones were Chinese, Iranian or Russian. New Jerseys Office of Emergency Management calculated the data, which was released Saturday, NJ STATE POLICE Most of the New Jersey sightings occurred during the 6 p.m. hour, with 196 being reported at that time. Approximately 167 sightings happened during the preceding hour. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he had a very warm phone call with US President-elect Donald Trump, during which they spoke about the need for Israels victory in its war on Hamas in Gaza and its stance on Syria. In a video statement, Israels leader said he discussed a range of issues with Trump during the call on Saturday evening, including Israels commitment to preventing Lebanon-based Hezbollah from rearming and Israels conflict with Hamas, which has killed nearly 45,000 Palestinians in the besieged Gaza strip. The leaders also spoke of the need to bring home the remaining hostages in Gaza, Netanyahu said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I discussed all of this again last night with my friend, US President-elect Donald Trump, Netanyahu said. It was a very friendly, very warm and very important conversation. We spoke about the need to complete Israels victory, and we also spoke at length about the efforts we are making to free our hostages. Hamas and other groups are believed to still be holding 100 hostages in Gaza, including seven Americans. All but four of the hostages were captured during Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Netanyahu said that Israel continues to work tirelessly to bring our hostages home, both the living and the dead. And I add, the less we talk about it, the better, and so with Gods help, we will succeed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CNN has reached out to the Trump transition team for comment. No interest in confronting Syria Regarding Syria, where a rebel coalition overthrew the regime of President Bashar al-Assad last weekend following a lightning advance through the country, Netanyahu said that Israel had no interest in a conflict the country, but would adjust its policy according to the emerging reality on the ground. His latest comments come after Israeli forces following Assads fall took control of a long-standing buffer zone that had separated Israeli and Syrian forces for decades a move the rebels now in charge of Syria and some of the countrys neighbors have criticized. Israeli officials have said the measure is temporary and Netanyahu has previously insisted Israel has no intention of intervening in Syrias internal affairs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, in his statement Sunday, the Israeli leader noted that Syria had allowed Iran to arm Hezbollah through its territory and said Israel was committed to preventing the militant group from rearming. This is an ongoing test for Israel, we must meet it and we will meet it. I say to Hezbollah and Iran in no uncertain terms to prevent you from harming us, we will continue to act against you as much as necessary, in every arena and at any time, he said. Israel reached a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah in November after a 13-month conflict largely fought along Israels border with Lebanon which saw Israel kill a string of high-ranking Hezbollah commanders. Continuing tit-for-tat strikes have put strain on the deal. Plan to expand Golan settlements Israels control of the buffer zone has added to tensions with Syria over its decades-long presence in the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau in southwestern Syria that Israel has occupied since a war in 1967. Syria attempted to retake the territory in a surprise attack in 1973, but failed, and Israel annexed it in 1981. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since the fall of Assad last week, the Israeli military has also taken control of Mount Hermon, which abuts the Golan Heights and lies within the buffer zone that had previously separated the two sides troops. Despite Israels insistence the move is temporary, several Arab states have accused Israel of exploiting instability in Syria to execute a land grab, while the rebel coalition now in charge of Syria has accused it of crossing the lines of engagement. Adding to those tensions, the Israeli government on Sunday approved a plan by Netanyahu to expand settlements in the occupied Golan Heights, according to a statement from the prime ministers office. In light of the war and the new front against Syria, and out of a desire to double the population of the Golan Heights, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today submitted for government approval the first amendment to the plan to encourage demographic growth in the Golan Heights and Katzrin Heights, the statement said. Katzrin is an Israeli settlement in the Golan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The plan will assist the Golan Regional Council in absorbing the new residents who will arrive, the statement added. Strengthening the Golan Heights is strengthening the state of Israel, and it is especially important at this time. We will continue to hold on to it, make it flourish, and settle it, Netanyahu said, according to the statement. The occupation is illegal under international law, but the United States recognized Israels claim on the Golan during the Trump administration in 2019. Israel does not view its presence in the Golan as settlements. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar condemned the plan to expand the Golan settlement. Qatar said it considered the expansion plan a blatant violation of international law and a new aggression on Syrian territories; Saudi Arabia said the move would derail Syrias chances of restoring security and stability. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com People wave flags while participating in the annual Puerto Rican Day Parade marching up 5th Ave. on June 11, 2017 in New York City. Tensions were heightened at this year's parade due to the participation of Oscar Lopez Rivera, a former Armed Forces of National Liberation member who served 35 years in prison for seditious conspiracy. The FALN, a Puerto Rican nationalist group, was responsible for a string of bombings in the 1970s and 1980s. (Photo by Stephanie Keith | Getty Images) The U.S. Census Bureau and a growing number of states are starting to gather more detailed information about Americans race and ethnicity, a change some advocates of the process say will allow people to choose identities that more closely reflect how they see themselves. Crunching and sorting through those specific details known as data disaggregation will help illuminate disparities in areas such as housing and health outcomes that could be hidden within large racial and ethnic categories. But some experts say the details also might make it harder for Black people from multiracial countries to identify themselves. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Racial data gleaned from the census is important because local, state, tribal and federal governments use it to guide certain civil rights policies and in planning and funding government programs that provide funds or services for specific groups, according to the Census Bureau. The form will have checkboxes for main categories current census groupings include Asian, Black, African American and White, among others followed by more specific checkboxes. Under Asian, for example, might be Chinese, Asian Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean or Japanese. And then there will be an empty box for people to write in more specific subgroups. Collecting more detail by allowing free-form answers, for example, will make it possible for people to identify themselves as part of more racial and ethnic subgroups such as Sardinian (an autonomous region within Italy) instead of simply Italian and include alternative names for certain groups, such as writing Schitsuumsh, the ancient language for Coeur DAlene Tribe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And the Census Bureau will for the first time include Middle Eastern/North African as a separate racial/ethnic category for respondents with that heritage. Until now, Middle Eastern people who did not choose a race were treated as a subcategory under white, based on a 1944 court ruling intended to protect Arab immigrants from racist laws banning U.S. citizenship for nonwhite immigrants. Under new federal guidelines approved in March, the bureau also will give people the option to check no race at all if they identify as Hispanic or Middle Eastern/North African. The Census Bureau already has decided to use more open-ended questions in both the 2027 American Community Survey and the nations 2030 census. But the agency is seeking public comment on the way write-in responses will be categorized. The bureau wants to hear how people are likely to identify themselves, said Merarys Rios-Vargas, chief of the bureaus Ethnicity and Ancestry Branch, Population Division, in a recent webinar. The agency also is interested in whether there are missing or incorrect entries in its proposed list of possible responses. Its about peoples lives Nancy Lopez, a University of New Mexico sociology professor, said she and other experts in Black Hispanic culture think the census should have a visual race or street race question, so people can communicate how others see them as well as how they identify themselves. The answer might be Black or a yet-unrecognized racial category such as brown. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A separate question on race as a visual status helps illuminate the kind of things we are interested in discrimination in housing, discrimination in employment, discrimination in education and accessing health care in public spaces, said Lopez, who is the daughter of Dominican immigrants and a co-founder of the universitys Institute for the Study of Race & Social Justice. Its about peoples lives, its about the future, its about children, its about access to opportunities and its about fairness, she added, noting that even if the federal government doesnt add such questions to surveys and the decennial census, state and universities can still do it on their own as they collect data for health care, student enrollment and other topics. The NALEO Educational Fund, an organization representing Latino elected and appointed officials, supports the decision to make a race choice optional for Hispanics. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many Latinos did not see themselves in any of the categories for their racial identity, said Rosalind Gold, NALEOs chief public policy officer. Theres a large number of Latinos who feel that identifying as Latino is both their racial and ethnic identity. Gold said NALEO understands the concern some have that failing to require a race designation will obscure racial information on Black Hispanics. But her group argues that the census can get what it needs by educating the public on how to respond and by including prompts on the questionnaires to guide race choices. Black Hispanic people often see themselves as having a single racial and ethnic identity, according to several experts in Hispanic identity who spoke at a Census Bureau National Advisory Committee meeting Nov. 7. They conceptualize themselves as belonging to one [group], said Nicholas Vargas, an associate professor of ethnic studies at the University of California, Berkeley, speaking at the committee meeting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They check Black and they check Dominican and dont want to be counted as two or more, he said. In response, Rachel Marks, an adviser for the Census Bureau on race and ethnicity, said the bureau will consider that issue and other feedback on how people want to be represented before making a final decision on survey details. Its about peoples lives, its about the future, its about children, its about access to opportunities and its about fairness. Nancy Lopez, University of New Mexico sociology professor The bureau may recognize a term, Afro-Latino, that could be used to indicate both Black race and Hispanic ethnicity, according to a proposed code list from the agency, as well as Blaxican for Black Mexican and Blasian for Black Asian. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of civil rights groups, called the more detailed questions a step forward but also suggested more guidance on the forms to ensure people are categorized the way they want to be. In its comment on the changes, the group noted that in 2020, some people who wrote in British under the Black checkbox were categorized as partly white even if they didnt mean that. The group also said it is concerned about a conflation of the concepts of race and ethnicity, and it asked for more research to make sure people understand how to respond. State actions Some states are acting on their own to gather more detailed data about identity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Jersey is among the latest states to pass a law requiring more detailed race and ethnic data collection for state records such as health data and school enrollment. A similar bill in Michigan would require state agencies that gather information to offer multiracial and Middle Eastern or North African as choices; the bill remains in committee. And advocates in Oregon, which already has a law requiring detailed ethnic data collection, are asking the state for more details on Asian subgroups who face education challenges. A December 2023 report by The Leadership Conference Education Fund identified 13 other states with laws requiring more detailed state data on ethnic and racial groups, including laws passed last year in Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts and Nevada. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The states of California, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington already had such laws, the group found. This story was originally produced by Stateline which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network, including the Daily Montanan, supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. NIAMEY (Reuters) - Suspected jihadists killed 39 civilians, including women and children, in two separate attacks in western Niger's conflict-torn borderlands in recent days, the defence ministry said on Sunday. The attackers struck the communities of Kokorou and Libiri, it said, without giving further details on the date of the bloodshed. Niger and its neighbours in West Africa's Sahel region, Mali and Burkina Faso, are on the frontlines of the battle to contain an insurgent threat that has steadily grown since 2012, when al Qaeda-linked fighters first seized parts of Mali. (Reporting by Boureima Balima; Writing by Alessandra Prentice) Three New Jersey police officers have been indicted on charges accusing them of covering for a New York police captain after they responded to a domestic violence call despite the fact the victim, with whom he was having an affair, was found battered and bloody. Paterson police officers Justin Schmid, Guiseppe Ciarla and Juan Cruz-Fernandez are each facing criminal counts including official misconduct, conspiracy to commit official misconduct and hindering apprehension, according to NJ.com. Cruz-Fernandez was additionally charged with tampering with public records or information. All three were called to a dead-end at 21st Avenue in the early hours of Dec.10, 2022 to investigate reports of a woman being assaulted and pushed into an SUV, according to arrest affidavits filed by the Passaic County Prosecutors Office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When they arrived on the scene around 3:25 a.m., they encountered the victim, who was visibly injured, and a man who identified himself as Hariton Marachilian, an NYPD captain who then commanded a Brooklyn precinct. In their subsequent reports, the Paterson officers wrote that the woman also a New York police captain told them she could not remember how she got her injuries. They said they allowed Marachilian to leave the scene after finding no evidence of domestic violence and no dating relationship. Prosecutors have since argued Marachilian should not have been allowed to leave, citing the womans injuries, which allegedly included swelling to her nose and face, cuts to her eye and bruises on her leg and feet. The Paterson officers did not sufficiently investigate how the victim obtained her injuries and did not treat or obtain treatment for the victims injuries, the prosecutors office said in a statement announcing the charges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Paterson officers did not search for or collect physical evidence, the statement continued. Marachilian was permitted to drive away from the scene by the officers and was not charged with any domestic violence offenses at the time. Schmid, is scheduled for a court appearance on Dec. 18. The other two, Guiseppe Ciarla and Juan Cruz-Fernandez, are meanwhile due back in court on Dec. 20. Marachilian was eventually arrested last December on charges of kidnapping, assault, criminal restraint and criminal coercion. In the original court documents outlining the charges, Marachilian was accused of grabbing the womans hair and smashing her head into a dashboard. She managed to escape the vehicle but Marachilian allegedly chased her down, picked her up and slammed her to the ground. He then choked her, dragged her back to his vehicle and repeatedly punched her, prosecutors said. He was suspended without pay at the time of his arrest and is currently being held in Bergen County Jail. UPDATE: New Mexico State Police originally reported the age of suspect Diego Leyva as 16. He is 17, according to an update NMSP issued on Monday, Dec. 16. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) A Belen, New Mexico, teenager has been charged with four counts of murder after he allegedly killed his family while extremely intoxicated, New Mexico State Police said. Diego Leyva, 17, of Belen, has been charged with four open counts of first-degree murder, New Mexico State Police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Mexico State Police said they were called in by the Valencia County Sheriffs Office to investigate a quadruple homicide this weekend at a home in Belen. Belen is about 230 miles north of El Paso or about 30 miles south of Albuquerque. State Police said about about 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14, the Valencia County Sheriffs Office received a 911 call from the suspect, who reportedly told the dispatcher that he had killed his family. When deputies arrived, Leyva walked out of the home with his hands in the air and in an extremely intoxicated state, New Mexico State Police said. He was taken into custody without incident. He was then taken to a hospital for detox. He was medically cleared and booked at about 1 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 15 into the Juvenile Justice Center in Albuquerque, State Police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When deputies entered the home, they found four dead people. The victims have been identified as: Leonardo Leyva, 42; Adriana Bencomo, 35; Adrian Leyva, 16; and Alexander Leyva, 14, all dead from suspected gunshot wounds, State Police said. A handgun was also found on the kitchen table, State Police said. This incident is in the preliminary stages of investigation. New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau agents and Crime Scene Team are processing the scene and conducting interviews to learn what happened, State Police said. Once more information is learned and the investigation is complete, it will be presented to the District Attorneys Office for prosecution, State Police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 event was attended by academics, policymakers, and industry leaders to explore innovative solutions for global challenges through the intersection of technology, analytics, and development. The conference underscored the importance of partnerships in advancing global goals. The LEAD-2024 logo, unveiled during the event, symbolises the conference's vision and commitment to integrating artificial intelligence, analytics, and sustainability principles. It reflects the alignment of LEAD-2024 with several key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The ceremony was attended by dignitaries including Prof Viswanath Venkatesh of Verizon Chair at Virginia Tech, and Prof Somnath Mukhopadhyay of University of Texas at El Paso.Prof D. P. Goyal, Director, IIM Shillong and Co-Chairpersons of the LEAD 2024 Prof Parijat Upadhyay and Prof Pradeep Kumar Dadabada were also present. The pre-conference began with a Round Table Discussion and concluded with a session by Anand, Technology Advisor at Assam Electronics Development Corporation Limited (AMTRON) who highlighted the role of emerging technologies in regional development. The discussions were enriched by contributions from industry leaders, ensuring a practical perspective alongside academic insights. On the first day, delivering the keynote address Prof Viswanath Venkatesh emphasised the importance of rigorous research with practical impact, while highlighting innovative methodologies. Prof Somnath Mukhopadhyay shared insights on integrating analytics for effective decision-making and management innovation. On the second day, Prof Suprateek Sarker, Rolls-Royce Commonwealth Commerce Professor (Information Technology), McIntire School of Commerce, University of Virginia, elaborated on the transformative role of digitalisation in humanitarian action, sustainability, and health. His detailed analysis of platforms like Twitch and Slack highlighted how user engagement drives service evolution. Prof. Jason Bennett Thatcher, Milton F Stauffer Professorship in the Department of Management Information Systems, Fox School of Business, Temple University, presented a masterclass on multidisciplinary research, addressing the necessity of integrating insights from multiple fields to tackle complex global problems like misinformation. The conference spanned critical themes such as artificial intelligence, sustainable development, and management practices, fostering interdisciplinary dialogue to address challenges such as climate change, economic inequality, and digital transformation. (ANI) The Ministry of the Interior of Czechia has not recorded an increase in the number of Ukrainian refugees arriving during the winter season, contrary to popular expectations. Source: Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan on Czech Television, as reported by European Pravda Details: Rakusan noted that Czechia anticipated an uptick in applications for temporary protection filed by Ukrainians during December and the second half of November due to intensified attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote: "It turned out that the number has actually decreased from 2,000 per week, which we saw in October, to approximately 1,700 per week." The minister assured that Czechia continues its efforts to support internal migration within Ukraine. Quote: "This means that people who need to leave the eastern part of Ukraine, where the war is objectively ongoing, should have the opportunity to move to the western part of Ukraine, which can still logistically handle this." Background: As of the latest data from the Czech Ministry of the Interior, there are currently 386,782 Ukrainians who enjoy temporary protection in Czechia. Czech authorities estimate that about 60% of these refugees plan to stay in the country after the war ends. In early October 2024, only 756 Ukrainian refugees were using free emergency accommodation in Czechia, compared to over 12,000 in mid-July. Support UP or become our patron! Its a tradition that more than 4,600 locations in all 50 states, at sea and abroad participate in. More than two million volunteers and supporters across the nation have marked Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, as the day to ensure no veteran is forgotten. Approximately 250 of them are right here in Erie. The Pennsylvania Soldiers & Sailors Home (PSSH) participated in National Wreaths Across America Day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Emmas Footprints brings Christmas spirit to families dealing with grief with first of its kind event The organization began with a nationally choreographed moment of silence, salute, and the playing of taps at noon. A brief ceremony followed where active members of each branch of service placed a wreath representing their branch in front of the Anthony Wayne Blockhouse. To see how this event has grown over the years, we began in 2016 with some really humble beginnings. Just a few of us volunteers getting out there and commemorating each grave site, said Ken Vybiral, PSSHs volunteer resources coordinator. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And from 2016, Vybiral knew that this was an event that would mean a lot to the people of Erie. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News He told us that the region really supports its veterans causes and respects those who have fallen. After the ceremony, each volunteer walked town to the cemetery to receive a wreath to place on each of the graves. Family, friends and volunteers went to all 1,364 grave markers in the Veterans Memorial Cemetery and said their names out loud. Generations of participants were present to learn the value of freedom. City of Erie celebrates Harry T. Burleigh Day commemorating his legacy Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A lot of our grave sites date back to the late 1800s. It really will be the only time all year that some of these veterans receive the proper respect and gratitude for their service and sacrifice, Vybiral added. Vybiral said he looks forward to this day every year because he knows how much it means to veterans in the home. To give them that opportunity and show our residents here that their service and sacrifice still matters long after theyve taken their oath of enlistment is really great, he added. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. No fines have been handed to water companies for illegal sewage overflows despite the environment watchdog finding nearly 500 since 2020. The Environment Agency has identified 465 illegal sewage spills since that year, data obtained via a Freedom of Information request shows. A further 154 are under investigation as potentially illegal spills. But none has resulted in any enforcement action higher than a warning, despite government promises of a crackdown on water company pollution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Water firms argue that they have not been allowed to invest to upgrade their infrastructure by Ofwat, the financial regulator, which limits how high bills can be set. Ofwat is expected to announce a major rise in bills for the next five years after water company lobbying for investment to reduce sewage spills. Campaigners said the figures showed the Environment Agency was totally ineffective as a regulator, and was enabling water companies to pollute by failing to enforce the law. Water firms are permitted to release sewage from their combined sewer overflows (CSOs) which process both rain and wastewater to stop it backing up into peoples homes, but only during times of high rainfall or snow melt. Clean water campaigners say routine sewage spilling during dry weather is particularly damaging to the health of UK rivers. The Telegraph requested data from the Environment Agency on any breaches of water company permit conditions on CSOs since privatisation more than 30 years ago, and what action was taken. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Data was provided on breaches of the permit condition that spills should only occur as a result of rainfall or snow melt. The agency refused to provide data going back further than 2020, saying it was not comparable to newer figures. Data since 2020 showed that 358 permit breaches had resulted in a warning to the water company, 81 had resulted in advice or guidance, and 26 had led to no further action. Among these were five category two incidents the second-worst level of pollution that only resulted in a warning. The Environment Agency records justifications for water company breaches, which include blockages on the system and other mechanical failures. If anything symbolises the total ineffectiveness of the Environment Agency to act as an effective regulator, it is this appalling failure to properly enforce the law, said Charles Watson, the founder of the River Action campaign group. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These permit breaches are blatant unlawful acts of environmental pollution, which get away with nothing more than a mild slap on the wrist. Given this extraordinary absence of any meaningful penalties, it can be no surprise that last year record volumes of raw sewage spewed out into our rivers from CSOs. By this abysmal failure to enforce the law, the Environment Agency are effectively providing the water companies an incentive to pollute our rivers, rather than a deterrent. Since December last year, the Environment Agency has had the power to hand out on the spot fines for breaches, with an unlimited cap, as part of government efforts to limit pollution. But the Environment Agency data show that no on the spot fines have been handed out, despite more than 100 spills being identified by the watchdog this year. Penny Gane, the head of practice at the conservation organisation Fish Legal, said: Variable monetary penalties provide an alternative to criminal prosecutions, and the expectation was that raising the cap on them would act as a deterrent to would-be offenders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since 2015, the Environment Agency has concluded 63 prosecutions against water and sewerage companies, resulting in fines of over 151 million, for other major pollution incidents elsewhere on the network. It is also conducting a major criminal investigation into wastewater treatment works, with all water companies that discharge into English waters now under investigation. But campaigners say sewage spills from CSOs are effectively going unpunished. Such spills hit a record high last year, with 464,056 discharges into Englands rivers, waterways, and seas, blamed by water companies on wet weather. The Environment Agency data show that Southern Water had the highest number of permit breaches, or potential breaches, between 2020 and this year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement John Penicud, Southern Waters managing director for waste, said: In our areas with high levels of residual groundwater, spills can happen outside of periods of rainfall when the existing groundwater finds a way into underground sewer pipes and overwhelms our treatment sites. Without these releases made up almost entirely of water homes would be flooded. In 2020, Environment Agency officials clarified that discharges of untreated sewage due to groundwater infiltration alone are not permitted. Ash Smith, of the campaign group Windrush Against Sewage Pollution, said water companies had become reliant on discharging extensive pollution, often illegal, to prop up outgrown or dilapidated assets or leaky sewers. Campaigners argue that the Environment Agency is too generous in its acceptance of mitigating factors, and say any spill on a dry day should be considered a breach of water company permits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is why we dont believe the rhetoric about improving the law to tackle offending the law is there and the Government still wont allow or equip the Environment Agency to use it, said Mr Smith. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Water UK spokesman said: The latest data confirms that water company compliance is extremely high, with around 98 per cent of sewage treatment works and storm overflows meeting their permits. Nonetheless, water companies are committed to reaching 100 per cent compliance. Companies have proposed investing a record 108 billion to end sewage entering our rivers and seas, secure our water supplies, build more homes and support economic growth. Ofwat needs to approve these plans in full so we can get on with it. An Environment Agency spokesman said: We take our responsibility to protect the environment very seriously. All spills are assessed to identify any non-compliance, and we will always pursue and prosecute companies that are deliberately obstructive or misleading, and take action if they are found to have breached the conditions of their permits. We are also increasing our water company inspections fourfold this year, with up to 500 additional staff, and making better use of data and intelligence to inform our work and hold water companies to account. We cannot comment further on live investigations until enforcement is complete. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Department for the Environment spokesman said: We are carrying out a full review of the water sector to shape further legislation that will transform how our water system works and clean up our waterways for good. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. KANSAS CITY, Mo. North Kansas City Police Officers are investigating a drive-by shooting that happened Friday afternoon. People who live in the area that was hit, say it should have never happened and believe it may have been targeted. Insurance company denies covering cost of life-saving medicine for metro woman We feel safe. Our children feel safe. We are good out here. So yesterday, it shouldnt have happened, Crystal Mason shared with FOX4. We pay for the peace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mason says officers that patrol the area near where her family lives know residents of the neighborhood by name. She says the area is safe, or so she thought. We moved out here to get away from all of that, she said about violence and crime in the City. According to the North Kansas City Police Department Facebook page, on Friday, at about 3:20pm, officers responded to the area of 28th and Howell for a reported drive-by shooting. When officers arrived, there was evidence to believe a shooting took place. Thankfully, no injuries have been reported. I thought it was firecrackersI really did. We wouldnt think nothing else, Mason added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She and her family were wrapping Christmas gifts when shots were fired Friday, not knowing a crime was taking place. Its crime scene. Police came to my door trying to talk to me, asking me questions. Mason says the apartment complex that was hit by gunfire. The building is just feet from a park and an elementary school. She hopes whoever is responsible, is caught. Its dangerous. Put a whole lot of peoples lives in danger. Its sad, because I mean thats a lot of families that could have been harmed in that. Bullets dont have names and they dont have no aim, she shared. Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco fined $45k for use of helmet vs. Chargers Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She believes this act of violence was intentional, targeting someone nearby. The apartment complex building was damaged and nearby cars were hit. They targeted who they wanted. Police say the probable suspect vehicle is believed to have immediately left the city north on Holmes Street. No other details were made available. If you have any information that could assist with this investigation, you are asked to call the police department at (816) 274-6013. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean state media KCNA on Monday reported on the South Korean parliament passing President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment vote on Saturday. Yoon was impeached in a second vote by South Korea's opposition-led parliament over his short-lived attempt to impose martial law, which shocked the nation. KCNA had reported for the first time on Dec. 11 South Korea's martial law crisis which was sparked on Dec. 3. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Monday, KCNA did not offer much commentary, but called Yoon's defiant televised remarks on Dec. 12 "a press statement spliced with lies and obstinacy" and noted the rally in front of South Korean parliament that called for Yoon's impeachment. It also noted media reports on various South Korean military and police officials' suspension from duties and ongoing investigation into Yoon. After the impeachment vote passed on Saturday, South Korea's acting defence minister, Kim Seon-ho, called on the military to maintain preparedness and ordered commanding officers to work promptly to stabilise their troop commands. On Saturday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia has begun using North Korean troops in significant numbers for the first time to conduct assaults on Ukrainian forces battling to hold an enclave in Russia's Kursk region. (Reporting by Joyce Lee, Editing by Nick Zieminski) NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) A bill to relieve renters broker fees became law on Saturday despite Mayor Eric Adams declining to sign it, according to a spokesperson for New York City Council. The FARE Act passed in November with a veto-proof majority, making Adams signature unnecessary to enshrine the rule in New York City law. Real estate agent explains implications of the FARE Act The law will take effect in June, requiring landlords to pay the broker fee when they hire the broker. If a tenant hires a real estate broker to help them find a living space, theyre still responsible for those fees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a huge step forward for New York City renters, who can spend nearly $13,000 on upfront rental costs, according to the City Council. Lawmakers celebrated the win but cautioned it still needs the mayors continued support to enforce. The era of the captive tenant may finally be over. This win belongs to all of us but we must ensure that the Mayors Administration adequately implements and enforces the law after his puzzling last-minute statements, said City Council Member Chi Osse, who sponsored the bill. Speaker Adrienne Adams noted the mayor was fully engaged in the bills negotiations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Yorkers deserve a city government that will prioritize their needsnot undermine them, Adrienne Adams said. The Administration was fully engaged in negotiations with the Council to ensure successful passage of this law throughout the legislative process. We fully expect Mayor Adams to implement it without delay to reinforce his pledge to support working-class New Yorkers. Emily Rahhal is a digital reporter who has covered New York City since 2023 after reporting in Los Angeles for years. She joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. Officers and medics responded to a crash in Dayton early Sunday morning. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Around 3:08 a.m. crews were dispatched to the area of South Gettysburg Ave and Caylor Rd on reports of a crash. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to a Montgomery County Regional Dispatch Sergeant, a vehicle crashed into a pole. Then shortly after, a second vehicle hit the pole. Medics are on scene but details on injuries were not immediately available. This is a developing story. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] DIXON, Ill. (WTVO) Jonathon Gounaris, the man who allegedly shot three deputies, will be appearing in court again for a hearing in December, according to Ogle County Court Documents. Gounaris will be going before a judge for a status hearing on Dec. 19, at 2:30 p.m., in the Ogle County Courthouse. Status hearings are used to discuss progress in the case and if it will be resolved without trial, according to LegalClarity. The Ogle County States Attorney Mike Rock announced authorities use of force against Jonathon Gounaris was justified on September 27. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Illinois State Polices Major Crime Investigation Unit conducted the investigation and States Attorney J. Hanley issued a memorandum concluding that the officers acted reasonably and lawfully. Three Ogle County deputies were injured in June after suspect, Jonathon Gounaris, allegedly opened fire on them during a standoff situation at the Lost Lake community just outside of Dixon. According to Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle, on June 12, at 8:39 a.m., police were called to the 400 block of Wild Rice Lane. VanVickle said a 911 call was made by a family member, claiming Gounaris had threatened them and himself. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Multiple agencies, including the Ogle County Sheriff and first responders from Dixon, Oregon, Mount Morris, and Polo, were called to the scene. The SWAT team and hostage negotiators were called at 9:18 a.m., and repeatedly tried to make contact with the suspect, VanVickle said. At 11:51 a.m., authorities made entry into the home and, immediately upon entering the house, our deputies received fire. Police returned fire, incapacitating the suspect. Police said Gounaris was armed with multiple firearms, a fixed-blade knife, pepper spray and ballistic armor. Two of the three deputies injured in the shooting were transported to KSB Hospital, according to Nancy Varga, Chief of Staff. The other deputy was flown to OSF St. Anthonys Hospital in Rockford and underwent surgery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The suspect was also taken to the hospital where he underwent surgery. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyStateline | WTVO News, Weather and Sports. April 10, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio Governor Mike DeWine gives his 2024 State of the State address in the Ohio House chambers at the Ohio Statehouse Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine remains tight-lipped about who is considering to fill the soon-to-be-vacant Ohio U.S. Senate seat. DeWine told reporters Thursday morning he doesnt know yet who is going to pick to replace Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance when he becomes vice president. Vance will be inaugurated on Jan. 20 and has yet to announce when he will resign from the Senate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ive interviewed a number of people, Ive talked to a number of people, DeWine said. A lot of people want to be senator, quite an amazing number. People have had some contact with us about that, a lot of people have opinions around the state. Were in the process of reaching a decision and we will have it by the time J.D. Vance resigns. DeWine said he has spoken to President-elect Donald Trump and Vance about the Senate seat, but said he was not going to divulge information about their conversations. Both of Ohios senators will be new to the U.S. Senate with Republican political newcomer Bernie Moreno ousting Sen. Sherrod Brown during last months election. Whoever DeWine appoints must run in the 2026 special election if they want to maintain their Senate seat, something he is taking into consideration. Who I appoint has to be able to, in less than two years, win a primary and then win a general election and then come back two years later and win a primary general election, DeWine said. So it has to be someone who I believe will win a primary and then win a general election. Some people are speculating if Brown is eyeing the Ohio U.S. Senate seat in 2026. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DeWine, who served as a U.S. Senator from 1995 to 2007, said he is looking for someone who can advocate for Ohio. Every senator can have a big influence in many ways, but one way certainly is advocating for their state, he said. It is a major criteria, someone who gets Ohio, who gets us. Even though DeWine is keeping his list of potential candidates close to the vest, there are several potential names that have been floating around including state Sen. Matt Dolan, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, U.S. Rep. Mike Carey, Republican National Committee Committeewoman for Ohio Jane Timken and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, among others. Republicans recently secured a slim majority in the U.S. House, a factor DeWine said he is considering when it comes to making a decision which not might bode well for Carey. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a reality of where we are today after the president took a few, DeWine said. Two prominent Ohio Republicans who were initially thought of as a potential Senate pick wont get the job. Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy was originally considered a potential Senate pick, but Trump tapped him and billionaire Elon Musk to help lead his new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a nongovernmental task force designed to find ways to fire federal workers, eliminate programs and gut federal regulations. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has publicly said he is running for governor in 2026, even recently posting a video on the social mediajdj platform X hinting at his campaign for governor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Follow OCJ Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky. 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. Archaeologists have unearthed what is now recognized as the oldest known Christian artifact north of the Alps, the 'Frankfurt Silver Inscription.' This third-century amulet in a Roman-era grave is more than just a relic. It represents a significant milestone in understanding the early spread of Christianity in Northern Europe. Its discovery not only pushes back the historical timeline of Christian artifacts in the region but also highlights the profound personal devotion of the believers who lived when professing such faith could have led to severe consequences. Unearthing the 'Frankfurt Silver Inscription' In December 2018, during an excavation in Frankfurt's Praunheim district, archaeologists stumbled upon a groundbreaking artifact within the remnants of a Roman-era grave. This area, once the Roman settlement of Nida, revealed a grave that encapsulated its era's cultural and religious undertones. On December 11, the discovery was formally announced in a press release from the City of Frankfurt am Main. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The grave, dated between 230 and 270 AD, held a small but profoundly significant object. A silver amulet known as the 'Frankfurt Silver Inscription.' The amulet measures about 3.5 centimeters in length and features two loops on top, suggesting it was likely worn around the neck. Its most compelling aspect, however, was the wafer-thin silver scroll enclosed within, preserved yet extremely fragile. The scrolls delicate condition posed a significant challenge to researchers, as any attempt to physically unroll it risked irreversible damage. Imaging technology used in revealing the ancient texts The intricate nature of the 'Frankfurt Silver Inscription' required the use of advanced imaging technologies. Researchers at the Leibniz Center for Archaeology in Mainz employed a computed tomography (CT) scanner, a tool more commonly associated with medical diagnostics, to peer inside the coiled artifact. This method provided a non-invasive way to analyze the interior without physically tampering with the scroll. CT scanning offers detailed images of internal structures, and in the case of the amulet, it allowed experts to create a high-resolution, three-dimensional model of the scroll. This breakthrough was crucial as it enabled the virtual unrolling of the silver scroll. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The digital reconstruction revealed 18 lines of Latin text, carefully inscribed and hidden for nearly two millennia. This not only preserved the text but also brought to light archaeological technology's advanced capabilities in uncovering past secrets. The Unique Christian Identity of the Frankfurt Amulet The 'Frankfurt Silver Inscription' contains a distinctly Christian invocation, with phrases such as Holy! Holy! Holy! In the name of Jesus Christ, Son of God. Protect the man who surrenders himself to the will of the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, since before Jesus Christ every knee bows. This text is significant not only for its content but also for its language. While many early Christian artifacts featured inscriptions in Greek or Hebrew, the use of Latin in this context points to a sophisticated and potentially educated Christian community in the region. Comparatively, religious amulets of the same era frequently referenced multiple deities and faiths, often blending pagan, Jewish, and Christian symbols. This amulet, devoid of any pagan or other monotheistic symbols, highlights a singular devotion to the Christian faith during a period marked by religious plurality and persecution. A shift in Christianity's historical timeline The discovery of the amulet predates the previously known artifacts and textual references to Christianity in Northern Europe by several decades, approximately 30 to 70 years earlier than the earliest evidence dated to around 300 AD. This adjustment in the timeline provides new insights into the spread and acceptance of Christianity across the Roman Empire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Professor Markus Scholz of Frankfurts Goethe University remarks, The finding is extraordinary. It tells us that the Christian community in this region was not only present but also boldly expressive of their faith, even in the face of possible persecution. This challenges our previous understanding of the religious landscape in Roman Germany. Dr. Ivan Calandra from the Leibniz Center for Archaeology adds, The technological prowess we applied here goes beyond just uncovering an ancient textit helps us understand the societal structures and personal convictions of early Christians. This amulet is a window into their lives and beliefs. More than an archaeological curiosity, the 'Frankfurt Silver Inscription' is a profound indicator of the complexities of early Christian history in Europe. Three people have been arrested in connection with the Atul Subhash death case who committed suicide by hanging alleging harassment by his wife, Karnataka police said, adding that Subhash's wife Nikita Singhania has been arrested from Haryana's Gurugram. According to the police, the other two accused, identified as Nisha Singhania, mother of Nikita Singhania and her brother, Anurag Singhania, were arrested from Uttar Pradesh's Allahabad. All the three accused in this case were sent to judicial custody as per the order of the court, police said. "Accused A1 Nikita Singhania has been arrested from Gurugram, Haryana. Accused A2 Nisha Singhania and Accused A3 Anurag Singhania were arrested from Allahabad and were produced before the court and given to judicial custody," Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) White Field Division, Bengaluru, Shivakumar said in a release. Atul Subhash, the 34-year-old deputy general manager of a private firm, died by suicide on Monday in his Bengaluru apartment, leaving behind a 24-page suicide note, accusing his wife and her relatives of harassment. In his suicide note, he also alleged that a judge had demanded Rs 5 lakh to "settle" the case. The father of Bengaluru techie Atul Subhash, said his son had been "broken from inside" after multiple cases were filed against him and his family by his wife. "My son used to say that there is a lot of corruption but he will fight as he is on the path of truth...He was broken from inside, though he didn't tell anyone anything," Subhash's father Pawan Kumar told ANI. Atul Subhash died by suicide in the early hours of December 9 after alleging harassment from his wife and her family. Subhash wrote "Justice is due" on every page of a 24-page note. He also alleged in his suicide note that his wife had filed nine cases against him under various sections, including murder, sexual misconduct, harassment for money, domestic violence, and dowry. (ANI) In the Spotlight is a Fresno Bee series that digs into the high-profile local issues that readers care most about. Story idea? Email tips@fresnobee.com. For 10 years, Chris Koch wandered the streets of Fresno and believed constantly being drunk and homeless felt better than dealing with reality. Alcoholism had destroyed Kochs marriage, ruined his relationships with much of his family and kept him from thinking clearly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the streets, Koch, 54, said he was assaulted by gang members for no reason and spit on by strangers for sleeping on the sidewalk. When food was hard to find, Koch would search at nearby restaurants or stores for half-eaten meals that still seemed clean and convince himself its just leftovers not trash. This was life for Koch as a homeless person in Fresno. Just got to a point where you dont care anymore and youre so depressed that you want to use any coping skill for that pain to go away, Koch said. Then it all just perpetuates and you end up alone on the streets for days, for months, for years. All of a sudden, its 10 years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Being homeless, its a living hell. With homelessness on the rise, including in Fresno where there are an estimated 1,800 people living on the streets based on a 2023 count conducted by the Fresno-Madera Continuum of Care, Koch can attest to how someone with a job and normal life can suddenly find themselves on the streets. But more than the details of how he survived for so long, Koch can talk about his own experience of what it took to climb out of homelessness. Koch said hes been sober for 11 months and counting, and no longer lives on the streets. Just got sick and tired of it all, Koch said. Tired of being dirty, taking risks when I ate. Just wanted something better. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats one of the things about helping the homeless. You can help others. But theyve got to want it for themselves. And theyve got to want it more than any of those distractions or things that are bad for them thats on the streets. Chris Koch used to be homeless. Koch talks about the challenges homeless encounter in an interviewed Friday Dec. 6, 2024 in Fresno. Life before homelessness Koch is willing to open up in detail about much of his life except when it comes to his family. He does mention that he once was married and they had a child. But the couple divorced sometime just before or soon after Koch became homeless. He eventually lost contact with both his ex-wife and child. Kochs father and mother also died while he lived on the streets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I didnt want to be a burden to anyone, Koch said. And then I lost everyone. Koch cites his drinking problems and divorce as reasons for him becoming homeless as he dealt with depression. Before that, Koch said he worked for Hewlett Packard as a network administrator and made good money. As a student at Fresno State in the 1990s, Koch said he was named most likely to succeed by deans. Didnt expect to be homeless at all, Koch said. At first, youre sleeping on someones couch. Then eventually, you overstay your welcome and dont have a place to stay. Youve got no family. Or maybe you do but they dont want anything to do with you because you have a drug or drinking problem. So youve got no support. Youre suddenly on the streets. Its all bad from there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Koch, who graduated from Fresno High in the late 1980s, decided he wanted to remain close to where he grew up. So he decided to be homeless near the Tower District. He met others who were living on the streets and said he felt a connection bonded by their similar struggles and comforted by simply having some type of companionship. Chris Koch used to be homeless. Koch is interviewed about the challenges homeless encounter on Friday Dec. 6, 2024 in Fresno. But Koch also learned true friendships are tough to maintain when people are just trying to survive. Really, you cant trust anybody, Koch said. Ive had my sleeping bag stolen by friends. Have had a lot of fentanyl smokers try to get you to smoke so you get hooked like them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some of the people you hang out with will say Give this a try. And you think its one thing. But its really a more addictive drug. They do that so maybe they can score from you or you can score together. They dont want to be alone. Koch said Fresnos scorching summers are rough on the homeless. But he said its the wet weather and cold thats most brutal. If you dont have any warm clothes or your bag is wet, youre screwed, Koch said. You stay up all night because its so cold. You cant sleep anywhere because youve got security (guards) coming for you. So youre just waiting till the sun comes up. You try to get some sleep during the day because you cant sleep at night. Your sleep is all messed up, though. Thats why you see some homeless people mad and angry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theyre not getting good sleep and its affecting them mentally, Koch added. Thats if they dont already have mental issues. TikTok fame, advice The City of Fresno works with service agencies dedicated to providing shelter, housing and case management services. The City of Fresno itself does not provide direct services. Among the homeless services are: Fresno Madera County Continuum of Care, Fresno Housing Authority, The Poverello House, and the Fresno Rescue Mission. In addition, various churches offer programs dedicated to helping the homeless in some fashion. To Koch, though, the services were often viewed as a hassle because of their location in relations to where hed usually hang out, as well as dangerous due to the surrounding areas by these agencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Koch also said transportation to and from places like the Poverello House are difficult, and theres no guarantee shelter is provided for the night. Its really not much relief, Koch said. Youve got to be there by 7 (p.m.) and sit. Then if you get picked, they want you out by 5 in the morning. You can get a meal. But there are no buses that run there. Sometimes, its not worth the trouble to go all the way down there. Chris Koch shows off his dance moves outside Tower Gas & Mini Mart on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. Akram Mohsin, who works at the family business, captured Koch dancing and shared it on social media which eventually went viral. Since then followers have been contributing money and clothing to help the homeless. Instead, Koch said he found support through social media. He was featured multiple times on a popular TikTok account that was run by a former Tower Gas manager who showcased the talents of homeless people whether it was of them singing or dancing or just smiling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Koch, in particular, caught many viewers attention with his dance moves that date back to his breakstyle days from the 1980s. The TikTok account became so popular, viewers from all parts of the United States started sending money and gifts to ex-Tower Gas manager AK Mohsin so he could give the gifts to the homeless. Mohsin also would share all of the viewers inspiring words of encouragement. Koch would read some of the comments posted on social media. It was really nice, Koch said. I had some people come from out of state and found me on the street to meet me. I felt like a hero. Kind of made me want to clean my act up. Still, Koch was homeless another three years before he quit drinking. Half the people who were living on the streets that I knew died in one year, Koch said. It was just feeling like death was pending. I needed to change. Koch said he got lucky when he found a hotel that was available to him to stay for 90 days. Koch said he did have a roommate who was using drugs but was relieved that the roommate wasnt getting high in their room. Then Koch transitioned to a sober living home. Just staying in a positive environment, Koch said. Go the movies. Go for a walk at Woodward Park. Wouldnt hang out in bad environments. Koch said he understands how easily he could return to homelessness. He tries to avoid returning to his old stomping grounds or hanging out with those he used to associate with. Not that he thinks hes too good for them. But Koch just wants to make sure he doesnt slip and repeat old habits. And for Koch, that starts by avoiding all drugs and alcohol. It took me like 30 days for my brain to clear up and for me to see what I was doing and what I was really avoiding, Koch said. I was determined to stick it out as long as I could. My sobriety is everything. Chris Koch used to be homeless. Koch is interviewed about the challenges homeless encounter. Interviewed Friday Dec. 6, 2024 in Fresno. Koch said he goes to meetings daily to help maintain his sobriety. A lot of times, people become homeless because of circumstances, Koch said. I went through a separation, got separated from my child, completely lost it. Then started to hang around the wrong group of people, started coping by using drugs and alcohol. Sometimes in hard times, you just want to feel better, Koch added. You dont know what to do, but you just want your pain to go away. I know I messed up. Ive tried to forgive myself. Koch said he is going to vocational school and trying to get a truckers license. Hes also considered going to Fresno City to get into counseling. Maybe give back to the community and help others, he said. Kochs primary advice for those homeless is to stay away from the drugs and alcohol, and find that desire to want to get out of the situation. For those who arent living on the streets, Koch said people should not judge the homeless but try to be compassionate toward them. Nobody chooses to live a rough life, Koch said. You have to be in that situation to really understand. If you get rid of your phone, get rid of your car, get rid of your wallet and just go and try to live homeless for a couple of days, youll totally understand. Then you can pass judgment. We all live in this community and some people are doing well and got lucky. Some people slip through the cracks. And it seems like those who are less fortunate get blamed for a lot of the problems of society. Theyre not trying to cause problems, Koch said. Theyre just trying to get by. DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) Some would call her a living legend. At 107, Etta Freeman lived her life fueled by passion and determination. In February, News 19 highlighted Mrs. Freeman in its Black History Month special titled Paving The Way. You can watch that special and read more about Etta Freeman below. Etta B. Freeman was born on July 27, 1917, and was raised by her grandparents. She was born into a life of struggle but surrounded by love. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She always knew that education would be her way out of poverty but the world around her was scary and disheartening. But, Mrs. Freeman didnt let the world around her stop her dreams. So, she pressed on. Mrs. Freeman graduated from Decatur Negro High in 1937 when Mr. C.J. Hurston was the principal. Her class consisted of eight boys and four girls. Hurston was a large influence in her life, even leading her to pursue a degree at a higher level. With the help of her brother, Sam Bankston, Mrs. Freeman attended Alabama State College and completed two years there. Because of this, she qualified for a teaching position in 1939. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She taught in Moulton where she taught for two years before marrying in 1941. Her first class had more than 60 students varying in age. In 1943, she resigned from her position in Moulton and moved back to Decatur. Once she moved back, she had her only son who eventually became one of her students. She began teaching in Decatur at Cherry Street Elementary School. Mrs. Freeman returned to college to finish her bachelors degree in education at Alabama A&M University. After 37 years of full-time teaching, Mrs. Freeman retired. She couldnt stay away from teaching for long as she spent another two decades teaching as a substitute teacher and then four years as a Walmart greeter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mrs. Freeman has a park named in her honor. Mrs. Freeman said life is just what you make of it. According to the Jackson Memory Funeral Home, Mrs. Freeman passed away on Dec. 14. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) A person is expected to survive after being shot Saturday night in the Longs area, Horry County police said. It happened around 10:30 p.m. on West Bear Grass Road. Officials said one person had been arrested, and there was no danger to the community. Count on News13 for updates. * * * 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. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW. Dec. 14MINNEOLA TOWNSHIP, Minn. Only one was injured in a four-vehicle crash on U.S. Highway 52 at milepost 85 near Minneola Township, on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 14, 2024. A Honda Pilot and the Jeep Patriot were both northbound on Highway 52 when they collided. The Honda Pilot then lost control and collided with the Chevrolet Colorado in the southbound lane. The Toyota Rav4 was also southbound on Highway 52 when it was hit by debris, according to a Minnesota State Patrol crash report, 50-year-old, Karsten Ann Knudsen, of Roseville, Minnesota, was a passenger in the 2019 Chevrolet Colorado and the only person to sustain any injuries. She was transported to Mayo Clinic Hospital-Saint Marys. The other drivers did not sustain any injuries. Goodhue County Sheriff's Office, Zumbrota Police Department, Wanamingo First Responders, Zumbrota Ambulance also responded to the scene. Former OpenAI researcher and company whistleblower Suchir Balaji has died by apparent suicide, according to multiple reports. He was 26. Balajis body was reportedly discovered in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26, according to CNBC. The manner of death has been determined to be suicide, David Serrano Sewell, director of San Franciscos Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, told the outlet in a Dec. 13 email. Sewell also noted that Balajis next of kin have been notified. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The San Francisco Police Department confirmed the report in an email to The San Francisco Standard, sharing that police officers were called to an apartment on Buchanan Street on Nov. 26 to conduct a wellness check. It was there that they discovered a deceased adult male. The department noted that there is no evidence of foul play at this time. Related: Scarlett Johansson Angered and Shocked Over OpenAI Employing Voice Eerily Similar to Mine PEOPLE reached out to both the SFPD and San Franciscos Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for comment but did not receive an immediate response. Jaque Silva/NurPhoto via Getty OpenAI logo OpenAI logo "We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news today and our hearts go out to Suchirs loved ones during this difficult time," a spokesperson for OpenAI the company that developed ChatGPT told Fox News. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to The New York Times, Balaji left his job at OpenAI in August after four years as an artificial intelligence researcher. He said he had come to the conclusion that the company had violated copyright laws in developing its AI technology and that platforms like ChatGPT were harming society. Related: Sarah Silverman Sues Meta and OpenAI, Alleging They Used Her Book Without Permission to Train A.I. Models If you believe what I believe, you have to just leave the company, he told The New York Times in a series of interviews. 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. Balaji referenced the piece in his final post on X post (formerly Twitter) on Oct. 23, writing, I recently participated in a NYT story about fair use and generative AI, and why Im skeptical fair use would be a plausible defense for a lot of generative AI products. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That being said, he continued, I don't want this to read as a critique of ChatGPT or OpenAI per se, because fair use and generative AI is a much broader issue than any one product or company. If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org. Read the original article on People Public confidence in higher education has hit its lowest level ever. Only 36 percent of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in higher education, down from 57 percent in 2015. Majorities of Democrats and Republicans believe higher education is heading in the wrong direction. The decline is sharpest among Republicans, with only 31 percent of them thinking colleges and universities have a positive impact on the nation, down from 58 percent in 2010. Topping the list of reasons for this decline are perceptions that colleges and universities indoctrinate students in left-wing ideologies while failing to teach workplace skills. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is worth placing this loss of trust in context. Americans trust in the federal government to do the right thing, which reached 70 percent in the late 1950s, now stands at 22 percent. Seventy percent view Congress unfavorably, and 85 percent claim elected officials dont care what people like them think. Public approval of the Supreme Court is near a record low at 47 percent. Only 42 percent of Republicans trust the news media. Only 57 percent of Americans think science has had a mostly positive effect on society. Misery loves company, but historic lows in trust in national institutions offers little consolation to colleges and universities. With first-year enrollment down 5 percent and a demographic cliff approaching, many of them are struggling financially. Meanwhile, President-elect Trump wants to reclaim colleges and universities from Marxist maniacs. JD Vance has called professors the enemy and proposed increasing the endowment earnings tax imposed on wealthy universities from 1.4 percent to 35 percent. Officeholders at the federal and state level have already restricted or are seeking to restrict the teaching of divisive concepts, shutter campus diversity, equity, and inclusion offices, limit tenure, mandate ideological diversity, privatize student loans, stifle student protests, ban controversial books, weaponize accreditation, bar transgender athletes from womens sports, scrap student debt forgiveness plans, and eliminate the Department of Education. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Restoring public trust in higher education would go a long way toward addressing these challenges. In a new book, Networks of Trust: The Social Costs of College and What We Can Do About Them, Anthony Laden, a professor of philosophy at the University of Illinois at Chicago, suggests a path forward. Laden notes that Americans disagree not only about facts and policies, but also about what sources of information can be trusted and what makes a source of information trustworthy in the first place. College-educated people tend to trust mainstream media, government reports, and scientific and academic sources whose facts, interpretations, and conclusions are based on disciplinary expertise and generally accepted rules of evidence. Aware of ways in which pedigreed experts sometimes dismiss [their] lived experience, those without college educations may value situated knowledge and understanding developed on the basis of long acquaintance with and participation in various social practices. They may trust community members and religious authorities and distrust scientific information precisely because it is scientific. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although he is convinced that the broadly scientific approach to knowledge is arguably the great intellectual contribution of the modern university, Laden warns it can lead to groupthink and policies that distribute harms and benefits unequally. Recent examples, we would note, include trade policies that hollowed out working-class communities and pandemic regulations that kept children out of school longer than necessary. And so, even as the scientific approach positions students for careers and lives in the elite sectors of society, it imposes significant social costs on students from religious, rural, or conservative backgrounds by distancing them from the values and cultural assumptions of their families and home communities. Family members, friends, and community leaders, in turn, may conclude that what is happening must be the result of indoctrination, not education. This insight helps explain claims that colleges and universities indoctrinate their students, even though multiple studies suggest otherwise. Its hard to know how much higher education fosters the alienation Laden describes. Most students political and religious views change relatively little in college, and to the extent they are open to change, fellow undergraduates tend to be more influential than professors. Nor is there much evidence beyond anecdotes to demonstrate that college impairs students relationships with their communities. We commend Laden for reminding administrators and professors to avoid dogmatism, groupthink, information silos and echo chambers, consider challenges based on long experience as well as random-controlled trials, and teach students to think charitably, flexibly and with intellectual humility. We agree with him, moreover, that colleges create and require vulnerability and that they can keep students safe without coddling them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All that said, Ladens thesis that colleges should place trust and the building of trust, rather than beliefs, values, and their formation, at the center of [their] picture of education is, for us, a bridge too far. In our view, the fundamental goal of education is to shape students beliefs regarding what and how to learn and help them understand and identify legitimate grounds on which to question settled truth. We think it unwise and maybe even counter-productive to enlist professors in preserving or restoring students preexisting networks of trust. His suggestion, for example, that professors assist parents and their communities with the problems they wish to identify and to solve would in our judgment divert faculty from their core responsibilities. Laden emphasizes that the broadly scientific approach is essential to the pursuit of knowledge, and that it necessarily entails privileging some beliefs and ways of knowing over others. He acknowledges that biology professors, for example, should not treat religious texts as a valid way to understand evolution. But he muddies the waters by urging colleges to build an open-minded informational trust network for students instead of a broadly scientific one. In our highly polarized society, with its siloed sources of information and opinion, attitudes toward expertise and institutions are largely driven by forces outside educators control. Americans, after all, disagree about basic principles and precepts. What constitutes a settled truth and how should it be presented? Should we trust experts? What is the relationship between information and interpretation, critical thinking and indoctrination? Should divisive concepts be excluded from required reading, classroom presentations and discussions? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They disagree as well about how to rebuild trust in higher education. Ensuring representation of a wide range of views on campus, promoting a culture of civil discourse, and treating all students with respect will help. But higher education risks losing everyones trust if it fails to stay true to its broadly scientific mission. Glenn C. Altschuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Emeritus Professor of American Studies at Cornell University. David Wippman is president emeritus of Hamilton College. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated billionaire entrepreneur and private space traveler Jared Isaacman to become the next NASA administrator. It came as a surprise to many, as Isaacman was not on anyones short list. But, on close examination, the decision should not have come as a surprise. President-elect Trump stated, Jareds passion for Space, astronaut experience, and dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and advancing the new Space economy, make him ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new Era. Isaacman replied, We will inspire children, yours and mine, to look up and dream of what is possible. Americans will walk on the Moon and Mars and in doing so, we will make life better here on Earth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reaction to Isaacmans nomination has been almost universally positive. Jim Bridenstine, who served as NASA administrator during Trumps first term, stated, Jareds vision for pushing boundaries, paired with his proven track record of success in private industry, positions him as an ideal candidate to lead NASA into a bold new era of exploration and discovery. Ars Technica has a rundown of Isaacmans career so far. He founded an online payment company, Shift4, in his parents basement at the age of 16 which made him a billionaire. He also owns Drakon International, which trains military pilots. Isaacman also discussed a space policy vision at a recent Space Power Conference. Isaacman is famous for the two commercial space flights he arranged for and flew on using the SpaceX Crew Dragon. Inspiration4, which occurred in September 2021, raised money for St. Judes Childrens Cancer Research Hospital. Polaris Dawn, in September, took four astronauts, including Isaacman, farther from Earth than any human has flown since the Apollo program and featured the first commercial spacewalk using SpaceX-designed Extravehicular Activity suits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Isaacman should sail through the confirmation process. He has the right combination of business and space experience that NASA needs right now. He will be before the Senate Commerce Committee, chaired by Sen. Ted Cruz, (R-Texas), a great supporter of both NASA and commercial space, After Isaacman is sworn in as NASA administrator, he will have much to do to turn the agency around so it can enable humankinds expansion into space. Isaacman will have to get NASA back on track in its relations with its commercial partners. The space agency has backslid a little bit and has started to micromanage fixed-price projects excessively. NASA has rolled out a new plan for the next two Artemis flights. Artemis II will now fly in April 2026 and Artemis III, the first crewed moon landing in decades, is scheduled for mid-2027. NASA has found a workaround for the heat shield problem that cropped up during Artemis I. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Isaacman will want to make his own evaluation of this plan, slow and plodding as it is. The schedule is utterly dependent on the expensive, difficult-to-operate Space Launch System, a launch vehicle that costs $4 billion to launch and flies only once every few years, unsustainable if we want to open the moon and Mars to human exploration. Ars Technicas profile of Isaacman suggests that the days of the Space Launch System are numbered. But when would it go away, and what would replace it? One idea would be to allow the NASA plan to go forward while working on commercial alternatives to get people to the moon and back. The Ars Technica article suggests launching the Orion on a commercial heavy lifter such as a New Glenn or Falcon Heavy, launching a Vulcan-Centaur, then using the Centaur stage to take the Orion the rest of the way to lunar orbit. Using the Starship to take people and cargo directly from the Earth to the moon is another option. Other programs that Isaacman will have to look at will be the Axiom Extravehicular Activity suits, Lunar Gateway Station and the VIPER rover, which was canceled in July. All must be dealt with if we intend to return to the moon any time soon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Isaacman once proposed the second Polaris mission to service the aging Hubble Space Telescope. NASA vetoed the mission, but it may return, now that Isaacman will become NASA chief. Isaacman should be confirmed with all due speed so that he can hit the ground running as NASA administrator. He will need the full support of Congress, the White House and the commercial space sector to succeed in the great task of using NASA to make humanity a multi-planet species. Mark R. Whittington is the author of Why is It So Hard to Go Back to the Moon? as well as The Moon, Mars and Beyond , and, most recently, Why is America Going Back to the Moon? He blogs at Curmudgeons Corner. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. In the wake of the Supreme Courts departing from Chevron deference, a new battle is brewing. Mere months after the courts landmark ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the government is continuing to claim broad regulatory powers now motivated by the decision in Loper Bright itself. In several cases, the government is taking an aggressive reading of Loper Brights acknowledgment that Congress sometimes delegates discretionary authority to agencies. Courts should proceed with caution when evaluating these arguments, both to protect judicial authority and to safeguard the separation of powers. To start, courts should scrutinize the limits of delegations. Additionally, against the backdrop of a broader-scale constitutional revival, courts should be clear about the constitutional limits on delegation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Loper Bright was a sea change. Since at least 1984, federal courts have deferred to certain agency interpretations of ambiguous federal laws. This framework known as Chevron deference, because it largely grew out of the Supreme Courts decision in Chevron v. NRDC encouraged federal agencies to take increasingly expansive interpretations of the limits on their statutory authorities. In Loper Bright, the court declared the end of this practice. Now, when an agency bases a regulation on its interpretation of a statute passed by Congress, courts must exercise independent judgment in determining whether the agencys interpretation is the best reading of the law, rather than defer by default to the agency. But the court in Loper Bright established a limitation on the decision: It acknowledged that sometimes the best reading of a statute is that it delegates discretionary authority to an agency. While inaugurating a new era of rigorous review of agency interpretations, the Loper Bright court cautioned that certain cases still presented courts with a more limited role. The government saw an opportunity in these words. Yes, after the court decided Loper Bright, the government could no longer formally claim deference for its interpretations of federal law. But it could argue in certain cases (and it has) that a court should refrain from rigorous review because the best reading of a given statute is that Congress has delegated discretionary authority to the agency to determine the laws meaning. Thus, Loper Bright notwithstanding, a class of cases remains in which courts essentially defer to agencies interpretations of federal law. To take one post-Loper Bright example, the government argued in a case involving the Securities and Exchange Commissions Climate Disclosure Rule that the court should uphold the rule under Loper Bright. Quoting from Loper Bright itself, the government contended that the securities laws expressly delegate to the [SEC] discretionary authority both to fill up the details of a statutory scheme and to regulate subject to the limits imposed by a term or phrase that leaves agencies with flexibility. Thus, in the governments view, the court should respect that delegation and defer to the SECs interpretation of the securities laws as allowing the agency to require disclosure of climate-related information. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The same thing happened with the EPAs Carbon Reduction Rule. Responding to a requested stay of the rule in the Supreme Court, the government submitted that Section 111 of the Clean Air Act the claimed authority for the rule delegates authority to the Environmental Protection Agency. Like with its defense of the Climate Disclosure Rule, the government quoted Loper Bright and urged that the court respect the delegation. Reporting on this development, one legal commentator described the governments argument as implicating an exception to the no-deference rule in Loper Bright. And courts are accepting this argument. In a recent case (Mayfield v. Department of Labor), the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reviewed the validity of the Labor Departments 2019 Minimum Salary Rule. The regulation updated the minimum salary requirement for the White Collar Exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act to apply. The court rejected a challengers argument that the rule exceeded the departments statutory authority, citing Loper Bright for the proposition that Congress had clearly delegated discretionary authority to [the] agency. The end of Chevron deference is important, no doubt. But as Professor Adrian Vermeule predicted as soon as Loper Bright came down, [i]t is entirely possible that much or most of what was (somewhat misleadingly) called Chevron deference can be and will be recreated under a different label: Loper Bright delegation. What to do about it? Two ideas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement First, courts will need to develop a framework for how far delegation goes. The federal code is littered with statutory language that sounds in delegation: authorizations for agencies to do what is reasonable, appropriate, feasible and the like. The next frontier will involve the question of just how far agencies can go when implementing language like this. Courts will need to parse the outer boundaries of [the] delegation just as the Fifth Circuit, to its credit, did in Mayfield before ruling in the governments favor. Second, courts must heed the Supreme Courts warning that some delegations violate the Constitution. In Loper Bright, the court emphasized that when the best reading of a statute is that it delegates discretionary authority to an agency, a court must effectuate the will of Congress subject to constitutional limits. Those limits can be found in the nondelegation doctrine, pursuant to which Congress cannot delegate legislative power to the executive branch. Thus, if Congress grants too broad of a discretion to an agency, the whole regulatory scheme might be unconstitutional. These two ideas work in tandem. Under the principle of constitutional avoidance, courts read statutes as best as they can to avoid constitutional problems. A nondelegation issue would be one such problem. Courts therefore will need to read delegations narrowly to avoid constitutional issues. Either way, the post-Loper Bright landscape is emerging, and the government has found a new way to claim deference for its actions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Courts should be vigilant about ensuring that the government does not just smuggle Chevron deference back into administrative law for a substantial subset of regulatory cases. If early post-Loper Bright signs are any indication, the government is trying to do just that. Eli Nachmany is an associate at Covington and Burling LLP in Washington, D.C. The views expressed in this essay do not necessarily reflect those of the firm or its clients. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Every American in the armed forces, and any veteran who has served, hopes and prays for peace and stability under the recently reelected, incoming commander in chief. Political leanings are no factor here. We salute and serve because thats who we are even as our oaths may soon be tested as the next frontline in the war for Americas soul. Everyone in the military takes an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Enlisted service members also swear to obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Given Donald Trumps threats to use the military against his own enemies, some wonder with dread: What will the military do if the president gives unconstitutional orders? While nobody would ever want such a challenge, I am fully confident that Americans in uniform will honor the highest duty we swore, which is to the Constitution. Read more: Gen. Mark Milley is right: Trump proved himself unfit to be commander in chief Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My introduction to the oath came at West Point, when a Vietnam War veteran and professor put it to me straight: Just who do you want to be? An employee? Or a professional, self-abnegating servant of the nation? It was an admonition and expectation that, decades on, may be the most consistent North Star Ive known. I fought with better men than me who died in Iraq, I spent years and years overseas missing birthdays and everydays with my young daughters, and my final act in uniform was to give away a kidney at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. I wouldnt have done those things if I hadnt meant the words spoken at my commissioning ceremony, pledging my true faith and allegiance, which means more to me than my next breath even now that Ive retired from active service. Read more: Opinion: Everyone who grasps the risk of nuclear war says Trump shouldn't be trusted Im not alone. Millions of others put that same oath at the center of their lives. I liken it to a baptism; instead of joining a faith community, we pledge our lives to the ideals of the United States. These arent just words. Theyre practical; theyre our common ground regardless of where were from or what political differences we might have. They build trust for cohesion to function amid terrifying and violent circumstances. And these oaths that power American national security will likely be tested in coming years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During his first administration, Trump threatened use of the Insurrection Act (of 1807). At one point he suggested the military should shoot protesters in the legs, which clearly would have been illegal. More recently, hes said he would invoke the Alien Enemies Act (of 1798) and may use the military to detain and deport noncitizens. If either order came to pass for the 1st Armored Division to roll into Cincinnati or the 82nd Airborne to drop on D.C. it would immediately pose a cant-fail test for the American military. What will the troops do? Must members of the U.S. military blindly obey their commander in chief? Or should these individuals always defy orders they consider unconstitutional? Unfortunately, the answers arent straightforward. The U.S. military oaths counsel thoughtful loyalty, not unthinking fealty and the law treats each troop as responsible for making the right choice. Theres no respondeat superior (let the master answer), no just following orders defense, a principle discredited since World War II when the international community held middlemen and foot soldiers responsible for their war crimes that were ordered by Nazi commanders. Thus the militarys first duty is to obey legal orders (and disobey illegal orders). Our generals and JAGs (military lawyers) must lead the institution through the ethical minefields ahead. They, and everyone in camo, must stand their moral ground with courage indistinguishable from the battlefield. Because their oaths expect they should be prepared not only to die for [their] country, but to be fired for it, in the words of John Silber. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres another bedrock obligation for military members, a principle that has made the uniformed services among the last remaining trusted institutions in the nation. To preserve American democracy as it exists, the armed forces must always remain politically neutral and not side with any politician or party. This is where things get even messier. If a president ordered the military to shoot protesters, or to become substantially involved with wholesale domestic detentions, what the military must do obey or defy depends heavily on the situations specifics and any actual violent threat. To issue an advisory opinion without that context would be malpractice. The world is as gray and complex as our oaths are pure and simple. Because there could be constitutional circumstances for military engagement on U.S. soil. We just cant know yet whether controversial orders will come, and if so what the situation will be. What we can know is that the U.S. military is a house with good bones. Its an institution thats prepared for dire circumstances like these for quite some time. A century ago, a chaplain at West Point penned the Cadet Prayer, which advises: Make us to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lets hope that our next president does not attempt to abuse his authority as commander in chief. But if he does, Americans in uniform will choose the harder right so help us God. ML Cavanaugh recently retired after 25 years in the U.S. Army. He co-founded the Modern War Institute at West Point. @MLCavanaugh If its in the news right now, the L.A. Times Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. The deceased were returning from Thiruvananthapuram when the accident took place. The minibus was carrying Ayyappa devotees from Telangana to Sabarimala. The incident happened around 4.15 am. The deceased were identified as Mathew Eapen, his son Nikhil, Nikhil's wife Anu and Anu's father Biju. Nikhil and Anu got married on November 30th and they were returning after their honeymoon in Malesia. Mathew Eapen and Biju went to pick them up from Thiruvananthapuram airport. (ANI) Peace is priceless, and war has no winners. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, also known as William Lai, included that statement in a Honolulu address to an audience of Hawaii and U.S. government officials, including members of Congress. Lai was on a brief two-day transit stop in Hawaii, carefully choreographed to show U.S. support for Taiwan without indicating formal diplomatic relations. This reflects ongoing tensions with mainland China, which claims Taiwan. Lais Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, is formally committed to independence from China. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Early this year, the DPP won a third-consecutive Taiwan election. However, the conservative Kuomintang gained substantial legislative seats. The Kuomintang is more pragmatic regarding Beijing. China is not happy about continued DPP control of the executive office, but greater Kuomintang presence in the legislature provides opportunities for cultivation. Chinese media were relatively restrained about this election result, compared to the past. Both sides likely will continue to avoid armed conflict. The first DPP government, from 2000 to 2008, was able to finesse the political challenges with Beijing. Today, economic concerns remain more important than ideological purity for Chinas challenged Communist leadership. In 2016, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago, which represents Taiwan, hosted a remarkably instructive, insightful seminar on the implications of the return of the DPP to governing power. There was general agreement that new President Tsai Ing-wen endorsed the framework of cooperation established by Beijing and Taipei in 1992. This remained true despite her 2019 speech that emphasized independence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One participant emphasized the global importance of the Chinese people, a primary source of investment. This was a remarkably shrewd, insightful suggestion, still worth consideration by government leaders of Taiwan. Mainland China and Taiwan share a bloody legacy. In 1949, Nationalist forces of General Chiang Kai-shek evacuated to Taiwan. Mao Zedongs Communist forces now controlled the mainland. Except for some island territories, Communist revolution was complete. The Korean War of 1950-1953 made the Cold War global, with China and the United States direct combatants. U.S. commitment to Taiwans security became explicit. The foundation of cooperation has been built steadily if slowly over time. Pragmatism characterizes Taiwans approach to mainland China. Following formal U.S. diplomatic recognition of Beijing in 1979, a consequence of President Richard Nixons 1972 visit, Taipei immediately launched a comprehensive, nonconfrontational strategic response. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In November 2008, agreement was reached on far-reaching trade accords, including direct shipping, expansion of weekly passenger flights from 36 to 108 and introduction of up to 60 cargo flights per month. In 2010, the bilateral Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement was concluded. This has been a major triumph for then-President Ma Ying-jeou. His election as chief executive in 2008 and 2012 greatly furthered rapprochement with Beijing. In February 2014, senior representatives of the island and the mainland agreed to exchange representative offices. Face-to-face negotiations were led by Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun of China and Taiwan Mainland Affairs Minister Wang Yu-chi. Unfortunately, in 2016, Beijing suspended direct communications. Utah likely has millions in unused federal funds that are earmarked specifically to support needy families and promote self-sufficiency. To maximize our collective potential, our state must invest more in Utahs child care system. It can start with investing the maximum amount possible to support this mostly locally owned and operated critical industry, our families with young children and our employers looking to recruit and retain their workforce. The Utah Childcare Solutions and Workplace Productivity Plan recommends, among other suggestions, that Utah immediately invest more Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, funding to make child care more affordable for Utahs needy families. Each year, Utah receives TANF allocations from the federal government and has great flexibility in how these funds are spent, so long as they are used in any manner reasonably calculated to accomplish one or more of the TANF purposes. The federal government actually encourages states to direct TANF funds to child care since it serves as an essential work support to families that helps lift these families out of poverty, expose children to high-quality services during a rapid period of development, and reduce incidences of involvement in the child welfare system. TANF provides a significant amount of funding that could improve our childrens development and school readiness while simultaneously increasing families self-sufficiency and reducing Utahs labor shortages without tax hikes. The money is already there! Despite this incredible opportunity, Utah has allowed the amount of unobligated TANF funds to continue to increase at a time when Utahs TANF caseload is decreasing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, many of our local child care providers find it difficult to stay open on razor-thin margins despite providing very low wages for the child care workforce and pricing parents out of the market. With a state unemployment rate of 3.5% and a labor force participation rate of 68.3%, many employers are struggling to recruit and retain qualified employees. Only 42% of Utah children entered kindergarten with adequate skills in literacy, and many families are unable to secure and afford high-quality child care. It is intolerable to allow unobligated TANF funds to build up over the recommended reserve amount when needy families, struggling child care providers and employers alike could benefit from investing TANF funds now. According to a Review of TANF Programs and Expenditures dated Jan. 15, 2024, Utah had $117.1 million in unobligated TANF funds. After deducting the recommended reserve (approximately $37.7 million) and reserve commitments over the next three fiscal years ($52.1 million), Utah still had $27.3 million in unobligated TANF funding available. According to the federal Office of Family Assistance, as of Nov. 7, 2024, Utah has over $96 million in unobligated FY23 TANF funding. Its time to increase our investment in our youngest Utahns so that parents who want or need to work dont have to choose between a safe, enriching environment for their children and their paycheck. Please encourage Gov. Spencer Cox and Utahs elected representatives to direct Utahs Department of Workforce Services to invest all available TANF base and unobligated reserve funds in high-quality child care now so that our children, working parents, employers and economy can all thrive. As Cox said, Our state is only as strong as our families. Washington County Commissioner Gary Kriesel neednt travel far to see one of his proudest achievements. Lumberjack Landing Park, on the St. Croix River just north of downtown Stillwater, is a five-minute drive from Gary and Ann Kriesels home in Stillwater. The purchase of the 15-acre park, which Kriesel helped orchestrate, basically doubled the size of the citys waterfront, protecting the longest section of shoreland 3,500 feet under private ownership along the St. Croix River. Im grateful I got to play a part, he said. One of our highest goals has always been to protect the St. Croix River. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kriesel, 82, retires at the end of this month after 20 years on the county board. Prior to joining the board in 2004, he served two years on the Stillwater City Council. Kriesel worked with state Sen. Karin Housley and city officials on the 2014 purchase of the property from Elayne Aiple. Washington County contributed $1.93 million from its Land and Water Legacy Fund, and the state added $1.25 million from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, which is administered by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources. Stillwater, which contributed $1.12 million, owns and maintains the land as a public park, and Washington County holds a conservation easement on the land, Kriesel said. We wouldnt have the Aiple property if not for Gary pushing for it, said Stillwater City Council member and longtime friend Mike Polehna. Stillwater now owns almost the whole riverfront in the city; the Aiple property was basically the final piece. He got it done, and the best part about it is he got us the money to do it. Its going to be so awesome. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Polehna, whos been on the council since 2004, said he was initially nervous about taking Kriesels spot on the council. Those were some big shoes to fill because hes so well-liked and so well-known around the community, he said. Kriesel built strong relationships with city and township officials throughout District 3, said County Administrator Kevin Corbid. District 3 includes Afton, Bayport, Baytown Township, Lake Elmo, Lake St. Croix Beach, Lakeland, Lakeland Shores, Oak Park Heights, St. Marys Point, Stillwater, Stillwater Township and West Lakeland Township. Those relationships really made county projects successful when we were working in those District 3 communities, Corbid said. He placed a huge emphasis on advocating for those communities within the district. Kriesel was always upfront about where he stood on an issue something that made Corbids job easier, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He has a lot of integrity, he said. He didnt hide how he felt about something or how he was going to vote on something, so that was helpful as an administrator. He was a strong advocate for us as service providers. He had a lot of self-deprecating humor that he used sometimes to disarm people. He built relationships with his peers that way being willing to make fun of himself. Wayne Sandberg, the countys director of public works, said he will miss Kriesels strong work ethic and sense of humor. Whenever discussions arose about District 3, Kriesel would quip, You mean the center of the universe? Sandberg said. Gary truly believed that the St. Croix Valley represented just that. His passion for the community was evident, and for the staff, it became clear that whenever he mentioned an issue impacting the center of the universe, it signified its utmost importance to him. Rough upbringing Kriesel, the youngest of three brothers, moved to Stillwater when he was 8. His parents, Melvin and Irene Kriesel, lost their farm in Somerset, Wis., in 1950, after their barn roof was destroyed by lightning, and loans for cows, hogs and chickens came due. The family moved in with a bachelor farmer neighbor for six months, then spent a year at the Central House Hotel in downtown Stillwater. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gary, Nile and Melvin Buzz Kriesel had a rough upbringing, Gary Kriesel said. We didnt have any money. I was probably the worst dressed because the clothes got worn out by the time they were handed down to me. Still, the Kriesel brothers stories about climbing to the top of the Stillwater Lift Bridge, swimming across the St. Croix River, raiding parking meters to pay for groceries and afternoon matinees at the Majestic Theater, and setting pins at the Pla-Mor bowling alley for 9 cents a line are snapshots of the way things were in the old river city. Downtown was our back yard, Gary Kriesel told the Pioneer Press in 2015. You got to meet all the interesting characters. Stroll downtown on a Friday night, and the bars always had the doors open, and you could hear that din. Kriesel, who attended Stillwater High School, followed his brother, Nile, into the Navy, serving on the same ship. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I joined the Navy, and I didnt know how to swim worth a damn, Kriesel said. I had to jump off a diving platform in boot camp and swim up to the end of an Olympic-sized pool and back, and it was all I could do. To me, swimming is clubbing the water. The other guys could float. I didnt float. I had rocks in me or something. Oh my God, it was horrible. But joining the Navy was a game changer for Kriesel, he said. Buzz and Nile were such role models for me with that what I was lacking when they left was the discipline. The Navy gave me the skills and discipline and foundation for learning responsibility, as well as accepting authority. After three years, 10 months and 14 days in the Navy, he was honorably discharged and returned to Stillwater. I was an artist for six months, he quips. I drew unemployment. Kriesel got a job with Ayers Plumbing and Heating in Stillwater for a couple of years and then got a job on the gas crew at Northern States Power, which later became Xcel Energy. He worked there for 33 years, retiring from Xcel in 1999 as a senior area specialist. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He and his wife, Ann, live in Stillwater and have three children, Chris, Amy and Kari, and seven grandchildren. Kriesel started writing a weekly column for the Stillwater Gazette after he retired from Xcel. It was mostly human-interest stories, but I also got into the political aspect of the new St. Croix River Crossing, he said. He decided to follow his brother Nile into politics. Nile Kriesel was Stillwater city administrator and then served two years on the county board. Gary Kriesel served two years on the Stillwater City Council, and then ran for county board after his brother decided not to run for re-election. He ran and then didnt have the interest to continue on, Gary Kriesel said. He decided he liked the staff side more than the elected side. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kriesel jokes that he got elected to the county board on name recognition. They thought they were voting for my smarter brother, Nile, he said. All about the partnerships Kriesel says that when he got the packet for his first county board meeting, he was shocked by how thick it was. I called Nile, and I said, My God, this is like trying to read Gone With the Wind, he said. He said, Gary, you dont have to know all the elements involved. All you have to do is know who the heck you contact. That was good advice. County government has, like, 200 moving parts, and its impossible to know them all. Thats why you have professional staff. All you have to do is know who to get a hold of. Kriesels replacement on the board is Stillwater resident Bethany Cox, director of development at the Wild Rivers Conservancy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When asked whether he had any advice for incoming commissioners, Kriesel said: Dont micromanage. You have to recognize that staff works for the board. They dont work for you individually. They dont get directions from you. They get direction from the entire board. Being a team player also is key, he said. Its not about who gets the credit, he said. Its about a team effort. On an initiative, you might be the minority on it, voting against it, but once the vote is taken, its the will of the board thats important. Finally: Youve got to enjoy people, and youve got to enjoy the job, he said. If you dont have both of those, you have no business serving. Kriesel, who was re-elected in 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020, is believed to be the second-longest-serving commissioner in Washington County; Commissioner Dennis Hegberg served from 1989 to 2012. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its pretty incredible that he stayed on the county board for so long, Nile Kriesel said. I lasted two years. After two years, I said, Whoa, this is too demanding. There are 18 to 20 different committees or commissions that you serve on, and youre going from one meeting to another, including all the board meetings and the workshops and everything like that. Nile Kriesel said his brothers common sense helped him be so successful. He could look at an issue and just dissect it and, you know, get to the core of the problem or the issue, he said. Related Articles Said Gary Kriesel: Its all about the partnerships you build and the friends you accumulate along the way. Thats why Ive been re-elected so many times. Its about being honest with people and being transparent. You cant always give them what they want, but you can make them feel good that they were treated fairly and listened to. Among Kriesels proudest achievements: advocating for the new St. Croix River bridge in Oak Park Heights; helping bring about the new Manning Avenue/Minnesota Highway 36 interchange, including the 58th Street extension; and championing the Browns Creek State Trail, he said. But Kriesel said the best part of his job has been meeting people like Alice Kane, who recently celebrated her 35th work anniversary at McDonalds in Stillwater. Make sure that you tell everyone that my favorite constituent has been Alice Kane, he said. Alice has Down syndrome, and she is an inspiration to everybody. She goes to work every day, and every day she posts an uplifting message. I love her. Shes part of what makes Stillwater so great. We really are the center of the universe, you know. Gary Kriesel reception A reception to honor retiring Washington County Commissioner Gary Kriesel will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Washington County Government Center in Stillwater. TOPEKA (KSNT) An area food bank hosted its third-annual Christmas dinner giveaway this morning. Be Filled of South Topeka, alongside other vendors had the opportunity to hand out over 60 baskets of food items. The baskets were donated by an anonymous donor from a church, and allow people to cook a Christmas dinner for their families. Holton student gets surprise visit from Taylor Swift at Childrens Mercy Hospital Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We enjoy just sharing the love and giving to people what they need, Jamie Jalil, interim executive director of Be Filled, said. We know that prices are really high right now and its difficult to purchase food let alone holiday meals, which are more expensive anyway. So this just really helps them not to worry about their Christmas meal Be Filled doesnt just help during the holiday season with meals. They also have other essentials like clothing available year-round. 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. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A victory was won for Wisconsin workers with the overturning of the 2011 law, Act 10, on Dec. 2 (Judge overturns states Act 10, Dec. 3). The judge's ruling will be appealed, but I hope the Wisconsin Supreme Court will rule similarly. Over the past 50 years there has been a strong movement by the Republican Party to take away worker rights. This resulted in the following Wisconsin laws: Act 10, the no rights at work law, and repeal of the prevailing wage. Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican state legislature had it in for the ordinary Wisconsin worker. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kristin Brey: Wisconsin was united and divided in 2011 by Packer Super Bowl win and Act 10 law James Causey: County Executive David Crowley quietly returned to UWM. Now, he's graduating. However, in a state of small towns and small businesses all workers can't join together in unions, they need government support. The state legislature and governor must create programs that insure worker rights and support everyone's opportunity to succeed. Programs such as an increased minimum wage and paid family/sick leave have passed in many states and would support all Wisconsin workers and their families. Why should an American citizen have to give up their Constitutional rights to take a job? We citizens must elect legislators, judges and other government officials that respect workers, support worker rights and support fair wages, benefits and safe working conditions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bill Dagnon, Baraboo Tips for getting your letter to the editor published Here are some tips to get your views shared with your friends, family, neighbors and across our state: Please include your name, street address and daytime phone. Generally, we limit letters to 200 words. Cite sources of where you found information or the article that prompted your letter. Be civil and constructive, especially when criticizing. Avoid ad hominem attacks, take issue with a position, not a person. We cannot acknowledge receipt of submissions. We don't publish poetry, anonymous or open letters. Each writer is limited to one published letter every two months. All letters are subject to editing. Write: Letters to the editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 330 E. Kilbourn Avenue, Suite 500, Milwaukee, WI, 53202. Fax: (414)-223-5444. E-mail: jsedit@jrn.com or submit using the form that can be found on the on the bottom of this page. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Citizens shouldn't have to give up rights to take a job | Letters OWEGO, N.Y. (WETM) An Owego man is facing multiple charges after police say they found illegal weapons and ghost gun parts in his home. The New York State Police Department reported that troopers arrested John M. Standish, 52, on weapons charges after visiting his residence on Dec. 10. The troopers allegedly saw illegal weapons inside Standishs home while investigating a different matter. Police say Standish, who doesnt have a pistol permit and cant lawfully have a firearm, had firearms that arent compliant with the NY SAFE Act, high-capacity magazines, and silencers. An investigation also found that Standish was using a 3D printer to illegally make parts for ghost guns, according to the New York State Police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pictures of the weapons and parts police say they found in Standishs home can be seen below: (Courtesy: New York State Police) Investigators allegedly found illegal weapons and ghost gun parts in John Standishs Owego home. Standish was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon (a class C felony), two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon (a class D felony), third-degree criminal possession of an assault weapon (a class D felony), fourth-degree criminal possession of a firearm (a class E felony), and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon (a class A misdemeanor). Standishs charges were read in court on Dec. 13. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WETM - MyTwinTiers.com. How would you feel playing darts against the future King of England? If youre Hannah Waddingham that answer would be equal joy and terror, but the casual game was for a very good cause which Im sure helped take some of the pressure off. In a new video released by The Earthshot Prize, Waddingham interviews Prince William about this years awards and the incredible ways in which the organization is helping combat global warming and create a more sustainable futureall while sipping ciders and throwing darts. Plus, she got to put him on the spot with tough questions about his work with The Earthshot Prize, leveling the playing field a bit more as well. Prince William first announced The Earthshot Prize in 2020 as a celebration of various companies and individuals from across the globe working to create environmental solutions. It was why he traveled to Cape Town, South Africa, earlier this year, and to Singapore in 2023. And today, Dec. 15, a new documentary titled The Earthshot Report and hosted by Waddingham will premiere on the BBC and iPlayer, to showcase numerous collaborators of The Earthshot Prize and how their work is having a real impact on protecting and restoring the planet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During Waddinghams interview with the Prince, she did not hold back in asking him detailed questions about how exactly The Earthshot Prize is working to create a better world, and Williams day-to-day work in doing his part. In addition to asking William the ways in which he, as a parent, is getting his children invested in conservation efforts, Waddingham also poses the question that even the most royally-obsessed fan may not have known to ask: The most important question, sir, I need to ask you, is what on Earth is your obsession with seaweed all about? Who knew the Prince had such a devotion to seaweed? But in his explanation he stayed as cool as a sea cucumber, as he does through most of Waddinghams interview. All the way up until he completely whiffs on a dart throw at just about the 8:05 mark. And you can bet Waddingham does not let him breeze past the gaff, despite the fact that he is, indeed, the future King of England. He may not be able to keep up with Ted Lasso in a game of darts (though, to be honest, few could), but it seems Prince William is pretty darn good at keeping his cool while multitasking. Which feels like a promising trait for a future king to have. Royal Familys Christmas Tree Revealed in New Behind-the-Scenes Video In the eastern city of Changshu, six Palestinians have spent two weeks being trained by a team from China's Blue Sky Rescue in urban search and rescue operations. They were taught how to shore up collapsed buildings, cut through walls, search for victims and safely evacuate survivors. It is over a year since the Israel-Gaza war began, and in that time more than 44,000 Palestinians - including at least 88 of the search and rescue team's colleagues - have been killed. So when they were invited to send a delegation for training in China, they jumped at the chance to help save more lives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. The search and rescue team of Palestine's Civil Defence first met China's Blue Sky rescuers back in February 2023, amid the rubble of Malatya, Turkey, as they worked side by side to find survivors after a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit eastern Turkey and Syria. China sent more than 200 members of its grass-roots rescue organisation to assist in the wake of the disaster. Blue Sky Rescue team members on the rubble in Malatya, Turkey, in February 2023, after the region was hit by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake. Photo: Ming alt=Blue Sky Rescue team members on the rubble in Malatya, Turkey, in February 2023, after the region was hit by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake. Photo: Ming> That shared experience has led to a growing relationship between the two teams. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "China has the kindest and most hospitable people," said Raed Qazmouz, director of central operations in the Palestinian Civil Defence, from his headquarters in Ramallah. "I had known they were a polite and respectful people, but not to this extent." Invited by Blue Sky Rescue and the local Changshu emergency volunteer association - and facilitated by the United Nations International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) - the Palestinian officers spent their time in China benefiting from Blue Sky's knowledge. "There are international standards and guidelines for urban search and rescue operations, and we learned from China how to do that," Qazmouz said. Founded in 2007, Blue Sky Rescue is China's largest non-governmental humanitarian organisation. It provides vital help in natural disaster rescue efforts, both in China and beyond, including during the catastrophic magnitude 8 earthquake in Sichuan in 2008, which killed 69,000 people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the Palestinian search and rescue workers are not dealing with natural disasters, there are stark similarities between rescue efforts in earthquakes and those in bombings. Both involve survivors trapped in unknown locations and conditions. Since the war began on October 7, 2023, the Israeli military has dropped more than 85,000 tonnes of bombs inside the besieged Gaza Strip, according to a statement by the Palestinian Environment Quality Authority in November. With nearly two decades of experience dealing with floods, quakes and typhoons, Blue Sky instructed the Palestinian team in the use of sensors in rescue operations. The six Palestinian Civil Defence delegates were instructed in a variety of search and rescue techniques during their Blue Sky training in Changshu. Photo: Ming alt=The six Palestinian Civil Defence delegates were instructed in a variety of search and rescue techniques during their Blue Sky training in Changshu. Photo: Ming> Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The techniques were very helpful to our daily missions after any attack, as each intervention dealing with the consequences of an attack takes us at least 10 to 24 hours," Qazmouz said. "We were amazed at the high capabilities of the Chinese civil defence and civil protection." One Blue Sky member named Ming who coordinated the exchange, said it was his own visit to Palestine in June that really opened his eyes to what the search and rescue team is dealing with over there. He described what he saw as a "man-made earthquake". "I was mentally prepared for a very difficult situation as a war was taking place, and after going there and seeing the situation in refugee camps, it confirmed my belief that they need international help," he said. "China was the first country to recognise Palestine as a state and as a country. So this kind of relationship, especially at the civil level, complements what the government is doing, and we are using our expertise to enable and equip our friends on the front line to save more lives." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Qazmouz first met Ming in the aftermath of the earthquake in Turkey last year. He said Ming was a "very brave man" to have visited areas that had been devastated by Israeli attacks, despite his warnings. Ming, who recently assisted with the UN's evacuation efforts in Beirut, Lebanon, is a firm believer that "actions speak louder than words". "I told him, 'It's not safe for you to visit; it's a very risky area,' but he said, 'I will go to the affected area,' so he was the first of the Civil Defence's guests to do that," Qazmouz said. "He went to the affected area in our camps in the north, he walked on the destroyed streets, he heard the sound of the drones, he was inside collapsed buildings - he saw everything there." Ravaged buildings in the Nur Shams Refugee Camp in the northern part of the West Bank, taken by Blue Sky Rescue member Ming during his visit in June 2024. Photo: Ming alt=Ravaged buildings in the Nur Shams Refugee Camp in the northern part of the West Bank, taken by Blue Sky Rescue member Ming during his visit in June 2024. Photo: Ming> Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Israeli military authorities consolidated complete power over all water resources and water-related infrastructure in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Israel continues to control and restrict Palestinian access to water. According to Qazmouz, fire engines and water tanks have been shot at by Israeli forces, and there has been a very strict control on the availability of water and especially on water tanks - essential to fire and rescue situations. The process of getting replacements for parts has also been challenging. "After each attack or during the attack, in addition to fire and rescue services, we as Civil Defence are responsible for providing water to hospitals, critical facilities and the population," he said. Qazmouz said water supply trucks were an "urgent need", especially for when Israel cut off water supplies. He also stressed the need for diggers, bulldozers, cutting machines and fire rescue vehicles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Some of them are damaged, completely damaged; some of them are consumed and getting out of service," he said. Qazmouz added that there was "no problem" for those resources to be received from donors and international organisations through the West Bank. Currently, donations come directly from Blue Sky Rescue members themselves and their operation in Palestine is not open to public help, but Ming has noted a "strong passion" from many in China to help, and said there would be opportunities for them to do so in the future. "There is a strong willingness from the donors to contribute - they just lack the right channels and platforms to do that," Ming said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "A lot of people have donated to the Palestinian embassy in China, and they are always looking for platforms where they can see direct impact." To round off their two-week visit, the delegation visited nearby Shanghai and Hangzhou, two of China's most scenic and innovative cities. For the Palestinian delegates, an act as simple as a leisurely stroll along Shanghai's Bund or Hangzhou's West Lake was something to savour. "Most importantly, it is a very safe country ... You are safe everywhere you go," Qazmouz said. This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. As 2024 reaches its end, its a good time to ask whats coming next for K12 education. Nearly five years after the emergence of COVID, the pandemics after-effects still ripple through schools and communities, with student learning persistently failing to reach levels seen in 2019. Just under $200 billion in federal assistance to states, which was used to keep districts afloat during the crisis, expired in September with no further help visible on the horizon. Increasingly, though, the kids filling American schools have only dim memories of quarantines or virtual instruction. Their experience is instead defined by a rash of trends and technologies that sprang up, or became much more common, during the period when schooling was scrambled: a massive build-out of tutoring programs; the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence as a tool of both academic achievement and academic dishonesty; a rise in student despair and anxiety, which some experts attribute to the spread of smartphones; and, for adolescents, soaring recreational marijuana use under newly permissive state laws. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related 14 Charts that Changed the Way We Looked at Americas Schools in 2023 Tomorrow is coming faster than ever, and its contours will be shaped by new leadership in Washington. After a fervid campaign season, President-elect Trump has already vowed to essentially terminate the federal governments role in setting education policy by eliminating the U.S. Department of Education. But before turning to the future, The 74 is taking a look back at 2024s biggest discoveries from the world of education research. Welcome to the year in charts. Federal Funds Lifted Learning But Not Enough Two papers released this summer by the Education Recovery Scorecard and the Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research attempted to quantify the effects of the federal governments ESSER funds, which channeled $190 billion to schools and districts over the last four years in response to the pandemic. Their findings showed that the money has helped, but came nowhere close to filling the academic hole left by COVID. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related Studies: Pandemic Aid Lifted Scores, But Not Enough To Make Up for Lost Learning ESSERs benefits were relatively modest (measured in math test scores, each $1,000 spent yielded about 10 percent of what is generally considered a medium-sized effect in education research) and distributed unequally, as different school districts received wildly divergent amounts from Washington. Assuming a similar bang for the buck, Congress would have to appropriate between $450 and $900 billion in further legislation in order to bring learning back to where it was in 2019, the researchers estimated. Thats almost certainly not going to happen; ESSER funds officially dried up this September, and no effort has been made to renew them. If no further assistance is coming, the programs legacy will have been helping to spur an incomplete learning recovery: According to a January analysis released by the leaders of the Education Recovery Scorecard, students across the country had only made up one-quarter of their lost progress in reading, and one-third of their deficits in math, by the beginning of this year. Students Are Still Hurting NWEA The full picture of learning loss remains discouraging, particularly for those who were in their foundational years of schooling when the pandemic threw their education into chaos. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to data released in July by the testing group NWEA, eighth graders in 2024 were still a full school year behind in both math and reading compared with similar students from five years prior. Derived from the scores of 7.7 million students on the organizations MAP Growth measure, that assessment also pointed to racial achievement gaps that have only grown wider in the 2020s, with Hispanic students falling the furthest behind in both elementary and middle school. Related Students Headed to High School Are Academically a Year Behind, COVID Study Finds While academic damage has been especially scarring for those in middle and high school, even elementary schoolers are making slower academic progress today than in previous years. A separate report, released in March by the curriculum provider Amplify, showed that students from kindergarten through the second grade are making less progress toward literacy than they did during the 202122 and 202223 school years. In other words, growth has even slowed down since the immediate post-COVID period. The Disappearing College Freshman Colleges and universities face punishing demographic challenges in the years to come, as smaller birth cohorts and shrinking high school classes leave institutions to fight over a diminished applicant pool. Even more worrying, data suggests that rising numbers of potential college-goers are reconsidering their future plans and heading directly into the workforce. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The end result is a surprising erosion in the numbers of rising college students. According to preliminary figures circulated this fall by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, freshman enrollment has declined by 5 percent since last year, with 18-year-old freshmen falling by 6 percent. Whats more, that drop comes after a 3.6 percent decline just last year. Related Fall College Data Shows Big Gains And Jarring Freshmen Declines Much of the shrinkage was concentrated in particular student demographics and institutional types. For example, the number of white students who constitute a healthy majority of all college attendees fell by 0.6 percent this year, while their non-white peers continued to tick upwards. Most striking of all, both public and private colleges that enroll high percentages of Pell Grant recipients saw double-digit losses in freshman enrollment. Charter Schools Boost College-Going, If Not Test Scores NBER Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Charter schools have long enjoyed an uneven reputation based on geography. While those located in cities often built on a no excuses framework that emphasizes high standards and tough discipline can achieve incredible results, their suburban and rural counterparts generally underperform traditional public schools. Related Study: Charters Boost College-Going Even When Test Scores Fall But a paper authored by University of Michigan researcher Sarah Cohodes added a striking addendum. In an experiment based in Massachusetts, where Boston-based charters post some of their best results anywhere in the country, she discovered that non-urban charters also manage to significantly increase students chances of enrolling and graduating from college. Paradoxically, however, they do so even as those same students perform worse on standardized tests than their peers in nearby public schools. Its an open question how childrens achievement could decline even as post-secondary outcomes improve. Cohodes allowed for the possibility that families in suburban and rural school districts might enroll their kids in charters that focus heavily on areas like arts programming or social-emotional instruction, rather than elevating achievement in core subjects like math or English. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The whole premise of test-based accountability is that test-scores predict longer-term outcomes, Cohodes told The 74. But this situation shows it is not always the case, and other things are going on in schools. AI Could Get the Most out of Tutors Tutoring programs exploded in the last five years as states and school districts searched for ways to counter plummeting achievement during COVID. But the cost of providing supplemental instruction to tens of millions of students can be eye-watering, even as the results seem to taper off as programs serve more students. Thats where artificial intelligence could prove a decisive advantage. A report circulated in October by the National Student Support Accelerator found that an AI-powered tutoring assistant significantly improved the performance of hundreds of tutors by prompting them with new ways to explain concepts to students. With the help of the tool, dubbed Tutor CoPilot, students assigned to the weakest tutors began posting academic results nearly equal to those assigned to the strongest. And the cost to run the program was just $20 per pupil. Related Study: AI-Assisted Tutoring Boosts Students Math Skills The paper suggests that tutoring initiatives may successfully adapt to the challenges of cost and scale. Another hopeful piece of evidence appeared this spring, when Stanford University researchers found that a small burst program in Florida produced meaningful literacy gains for young learners through micro-interactions lasting just 57 minutes at a time. If the success of such models can be replicated, theres a chance that the benefits of tutoring could be enjoyed by millions more students. Teachers Arent Happy K12 educators have had a tough few years. While theres strong disagreement about just how many of them actually walked off the job during the worst years of COVID, a combination of public health fears and worsening conditions in schools has led many to consider leaving the field since the pandemic began. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related Teachers Felt More COVID Anxiety than Healthcare Workers, Study Finds A paper published this fall by Brown University economist Matt Kraft put those fears into a much larger context. Using polling data going back decades, he found that public esteem for teaching as measured by how many people called it a prestigious career, compared with other professions is now at the lowest level seen in half a century. Fewer than half of all teachers said that the stress of their job was worth the effort, compared with over 80 percent in the 1970s. Those numbers are bad enough, but they also appear to be turning off potential teaching candidates. The number of newly licensed teachers fell by one-third between 2006 and 2020, indicating that the reputational problems facing the K12 workforce came about long before the pandemic. Interest in teaching as a career path among high school seniors and college freshmen has also dropped substantially since 2010. Even with a precipitously shrinking number of K12 students, schools will have a hard time coping if this generation of educators is replaced by a smaller, more demoralized cohort of successors. The Culture Wars Are Coming to a School Near You One likely reason for lower job satisfaction among those toiling in the classroom? Disputes over politics and culture, which have recently grown far more contentious. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A survey released by the RAND Corporation in February first publicized what many school employees have complained about for years. Lawmakers in 18 states passed legislation restricting classroom discussion of some topics, whether related to politics, history, race, gender, or sexuality, between 2021 and 2023. Those states are home to approximately one-third of all American teachers. Related New Study: Two-Thirds of Teachers Censor Themselves Even When They Dont Have To Strikingly, however, a full two-thirds of all teachers polled by RAND said that they self-censored or otherwise curtailed dialogue with students about hot-button issues. The authors dubbed that trend a spillover between school communities, often driven by groups of particularly vocal parents who may not reflect the attitudes of their neighbors. In the end, more than half of all teachers working in states with no statutory restrictions on classroom discussion still self-censored to one degree or another, the poll indicated. Notably, those findings dovetail neatly with other research showing that clashes over culture war issues can be surprisingly expensive for districts and potentially harmful to student learning. Screentime Is On the Rise. So Is Depression Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This year will likely be remembered as the period when concerns over childrens smartphone use, both inside schools and out, came under a microscope as never before. An increasing number of schools in the United States and around the world have moved to restrict the use of phones in the classroom, with many complaining of both disengagement during lessons and an atomized culture brought about by technological distraction. But a growing scientific literature suggests that young people may be profoundly impacted by phones and social media during their hours at home and with friends. In a paper released in February, British academic Danny Blanchflower a labor economist who has also specialized in the study of public happiness over decades demonstrated a close correlation between the steep increase in youth exposure to screens and a concurrent upswell in self-described feelings of despair, worry and self-doubt. Related Kids, Screen Time & Despair: An Expert in Economics & Happiness Sounds the Alarm In 2022, Blanchflower and his colleagues found, over one-in-ten young women said theyd experienced a bad mental health day every day over the previous month, tripling the rate theyd reported in the early 1990s. At the same time, the percentage of young women who absorbed more than four hours of screen time each day jumped nearly eightfold. Arguments about the effect of information technology on youth mental health are hotly contested, with skeptics observing that the evidence for a firm casual relationship between smartphones and depression is still quite tentative. But Blanchflower believes the downside risk of unfettered screentime is too great for policymakers not to act. We could fart around about causality, but the potential cost of not doing something is so much greater than the cost of doing something and being wrong, he told The 74. Catholic Schools Might Need Vouchers to Survive Since the beginning of the charter school explosion in the late 1990s, denizens of the policy world have speculated that the birth of a new educational model could escalate the decades-long decline in Catholic schooling. While increasing secularization has likely driven much of the fall in parochial enrollments, the more recent emergence of free, easily accessible schools of choice in virtually every major American city seemed like the equivalent of throwing an anvil to a drowning man. In a paper released in August, Boston College professor Shaun Dougherty offered persuasive evidence that charter expansion had indeed come at the expense of the Catholic sector. Relying on data collected from over 25,000 K12 institutions, the study calculated that between 1998 and 2020, an average of 3.5 percent of Catholic school students disenrolled within two years of a charter opening in the vicinity. Given the thin margins in Catholic education, those declines made full-on closures significantly more likely. Related Study: Charters Hastened Catholic School Decline. Will ESAs Slow the Process? In a telling wrinkle, those trends were considerably muted in 10 jurisdictions that offered some form of private school choice, which provides families with money to spend on tuition or other educational expenses. That suggests that, with the spread of education savings accounts and similar policies, the multi-generational eclipse of Catholic schooling may begin to slow or even reverse. But, as Notre Dame law professor Nicole Stelle Garnett told The 74, it could be too late for the Church to reverse its losses. If wed gotten this much of private school choice in 1999, instead of 25 years later, we might have a lot more kids in Catholic schools today. Schools In, So Is Crime As community hubs attracting large numbers of young people, schools are somewhat unavoidably linked to violence and antisocial behavior. Previous research has shown that when low-performing schools in Philadelphia were permanently closed in the early 2010s, the surrounding areas saw a pronounced reduction in violent crime. Related Failing Schools: Home to Underachieving Students, Disillusioned Teachers and According to a New Study Higher Rates of Crime But a paper released this fall gave a much more sweeping overview of the link between schools and disorder. Using data from the National Crime Victimization Survey, the authors found that criminal activity among children from the ages of 10 to 17 whether as perpetrators or victims peaks during the school year, particularly during the autumn and spring. Thats an exact inversion of the pattern for older offenders, who are much more likely to commit crimes during the summer months. Across more than 3,000 school districts, the school calendar was linked to a 41 percent increase in youth arrests and a 47 percent increase in reported crime, with the surge mostly occurring during school hours and during the week rather than the weekend. Much of the lawbreaking even occurs in schools themselves. In poor and rich counties; well-resourced school districts and poorly resourced school districts; and rural and urban counties, schools are a primary driver of criminal activity involving children, the authors conclude. For High Schoolers, Weed is Everywhere Related Pandemic, Politics, Pre-K & More: 12 Charts That Defined Education in 2024 But a paper released this fall gave a much more sweeping overview of the link between schools and disorder. Using data from the National Crime Victimization Survey, the authors found that criminal activity among children from the ages of 10 to 17 whether as perpetrators or victims peaks during the school year, particularly during the autumn and spring. Thats an exact inversion of the pattern for older offenders, who are much more likely to commit crimes during the summer months. Across more than 3,000 school districts, the school calendar was linked to a 41 percent increase in youth arrests and a 47 percent increase in reported crime, with the surge mostly occurring during school hours and during the week rather than the weekend. Much of the lawbreaking even occurs in schools themselves. In poor and rich counties; well-resourced school districts and poorly resourced school districts; and rural and urban counties, schools are a primary driver of criminal activity involving children, the authors conclude. INSERT WHATEVER GRAPHIC WE COME UP WITH HERE (under Figures/Tables on the right-hand side): https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2816083?guestAccessKey=8fa21dc7-2a39-4c35-9dd2-47231f9c60d8&utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=031224" target="_blank">JAMA Network Related Pandemic, Politics, Pre-K & More: 12 Charts That Defined Education in 2024 Much of the shrinkage was concentrated in particular student demographics and institutional types. For example, the number of white students who constitute a healthy majority of all college attendees fell by 0.6 percent this year, while their non-white peers continued to tick upwards. Most striking of all, both public and private colleges that enroll high percentages of Pell Grant recipients saw double-digit losses in freshman enrollment. INSERT FIGURE B:1, APPENDIX 8, FROM THIS STUDY: https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w32732/w32732.pdf Charter Schools Boost College-Going, If Not Test Scores This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is student-support-accelerator.png Student Support Accelerator Charter schools have long enjoyed an uneven reputation based on geography. While those located in cities often built on a no excuses framework that emphasizes high standards and tough discipline can achieve incredible results, their suburban and rural counterparts generally underperform traditional public schools. Shortcode But a paper authored by University of Michigan researcher Sarah Cohodes added a striking addendum. In an experiment based in Massachusetts, where Boston-based charters post some of their best results anywhere in the country, she discovered that non-urban charters also manage to significantly increase students chances of enrolling and graduating from college. Paradoxically, however, they do so even as those same students perform worse on standardized tests than their peers in nearby public schools. Its an open question how childrens achievement could decline even as post-secondary outcomes improve. Cohodes allowed for the possibility that families in suburban and rural school districts might enroll their kids in charters that focus heavily on areas like arts programming or social-emotional instruction, rather than elevating achievement in core subjects like math or English. The whole premise of test-based accountability is that test-scores predict longer-term outcomes, Cohodes told The 74. But this situation shows it is not always the case, and other things are going on in schools. INSERT FIGURE 2, PAGE 11, FROM THIS STUDY: https://studentsupportaccelerator.org/sites/default/files/Tutor_CoPilot.pdf AI Could Get the Most out of Tutors Tutoring programs exploded in the last five years as states and school districts searched for ways to counter plummeting achievement during COVID. But the cost of providing supplemental instruction to tens of millions of students can be eye-watering, even as the results seem to taper off as programs serve more students. Thats where artificial intelligence could prove a decisive advantage. A report circulated in October by the National Student Support Accelerator found that an AI-powered tutoring assistant significantly improved the performance of hundreds of tutors by prompting them with new ways to explain concepts to students. With the help of the tool, dubbed Tutor CoPilot, students assigned to the weakest tutors began posting academic results nearly equal to those assigned to the strongest. And the cost to run the program was just $20 per pupil. Shortcode The paper suggests that tutoring initiatives may successfully adapt to the challenges of cost and scale. Another hopeful piece of evidence appeared this spring, when Stanford University researchers found that a small burst program in Florida produced meaningful literacy gains for young learners through micro-interactions lasting just 57 minutes at a time. If the success of such models can be replicated, theres a chance that the benefits of tutoring could be enjoyed by millions more students. INSERT FIGURE 2, PAGE 49, FROM THIS STUDY: https://edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/Kraft%20Lyon%20-%20State%20of%20the%20Teaching%20Profession%20-%20April%202024.pdf Teachers Arent Happy This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is teacher-prestige.png Annenberg K12 educators have had a tough few years. While theres strong disagreement about just how many of them actually walked off the job during the worst years of COVID, a combination of public health fears and worsening conditions in schools has led many to consider leaving the field since the pandemic began. Shortcode A paper released this spring by Brown University economist Matt Kraft put those fears into a much larger context. Using polling data going back decades, he found that public esteem for teaching as measured by how many people called it a prestigious career, compared with other professions is now at the lowest level seen in half a century. Fewer than half of all teachers said that the stress of their job was worth the effort, compared with over 80 percent in the 1970s. Those numbers are bad enough, but they also appear to be turning off potential teaching candidates. The number of newly licensed teachers fell by one-third between 2006 and 2020, indicating that the reputational problems facing the K12 workforce came about long before the pandemic. Interest in teaching as a career path among high school seniors and college freshmen has also dropped substantially since 2010. Even with a precipitously shrinking number of K12 students, schools will have a hard time coping if this generation of educators is replaced by a smaller, more demoralized cohort of successors. INSERT FIGURE 2, PAGE EIGHT, FROM THIS STUDY: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1108-10.html This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is rand-research-report.png RAND The Culture Wars Are Coming to a School Near You One likely reason for lower job satisfaction among those toiling in the classroom? Disputes over politics and culture, which have recently grown far more contentious. A survey released by the RAND Corporation in February first publicized what many school employees have complained about for years. Lawmakers in 18 states passed legislation restricting classroom discussion of some topics, whether related to politics, history, race, gender, or sexuality, between 2021 and 2023. Those states are home to approximately one-third of all American teachers. Shortcode Strikingly, however, a full two-thirds of all teachers polled by RAND said that they self-censored or otherwise curtailed dialogue with students about hot-button issues. The authors dubbed that trend a spillover between school communities, often driven by groups of particularly vocal parents who may not reflect the attitudes of their neighbors. In the end, more than half of all teachers working in states with no statutory restrictions on classroom discussion still self-censored to one degree or another, the poll indicated. Notably, those findings dovetail neatly with other research showing that clashes over culture war issues can be surprisingly expensive for districts and potentially harmful to student learning. INSERT CHART 7, PAGE 28, FROM THIS STUDY: https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w32119/w32119.pdf This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is despair_and_aces.png NBER Screentime Is On the Rise. So Is Depression This year will likely be remembered as the period when concerns over childrens smartphone use, both inside schools and out, came under a microscope as never before. An increasing number of schools in the United States and around the world have moved to restrict the use of phones in the classroom, with many complaining of both disengagement during lessons and an atomized culture brought about by technological distraction. But a growing scientific literature suggests that young people may be profoundly impacted by phones and social media during their hours at home and with friends. In a paper released in February, British academic Danny Blanchflower a labor economist who has also specialized in the study of public happiness over decades demonstrated a close correlation between the steep increase in youth exposure to screens and a concurrent upswell in self-described feelings of despair, worry, and self-doubt. Shortcode In 2022, Blanchflower and his colleagues found, over one-in-ten young women said theyd experienced a bad mental health day every day over the previous month, tripling the rate theyd reported in the early 1990s. At the same time, the percentage of young women who absorbed more than four hours of screen time each day jumped nearly eightfold. Arguments about the effect of information technology on youth mental health are hotly contested, with skeptics observing that the evidence for a firm casual relationship between smartphones and depression is still quite tentative. But Blanchflower believes the downside risk of unfettered screentime is too great for policymakers not to act. We could fart around about causality, but the potential cost of not doing something is so much greater than the cost of doing something and being wrong, he told The 74. INSERT FIGURE 2.1, PAGE 40, FROM THIS STUDY: https://edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/ai24-1027.pdf This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is catholic-schools-825x283.png Annenberg Catholic Schools Might Need Vouchers to Survive Since the beginning of the charter school explosion in the late 1990s, denizens of the policy world have speculated that the birth of a new educational model could escalate the decades-long decline in Catholic schooling. While increasing secularization has likely driven much of the fall in parochial enrollments, the more recent emergence of free, easily accessible schools of choice in virtually every major American city seemed like the equivalent of throwing an anvil to a drowning man. In a paper released in August, Boston College professor Shaun Dougherty offered persuasive evidence that charter expansion had indeed come at the expense of the Catholic sector. Relying on data collected from over 25,000 K12 institutions, the study calculated that between 1998 and 2020, an average of 3.5 percent of Catholic school students disenrolled within two years of a charter opening in the vicinity. Given the thin margins in Catholic education, those declines made full-on closures significantly more likely. Shortcode In a telling wrinkle, those trends were considerably muted in 10 jurisdictions that offered some form of private school choice, which provides families with money to spend on tuition or other educational expenses. That suggests that, with the spread of education savings accounts and similar policies, the multi-generational eclipse of Catholic schooling may begin to slow or even reverse. But, as Notre Dame law professor Nicole Stelle Garnett told The 74, it could be too late for the Church to reverse its losses. If wed gotten this much of private school choice in 1999, instead of 25 years later, we might have a lot more kids in Catholic schools today. INSERT FIGURE 3, PAGE 32, FROM THIS PAPER: https://edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/School_Crime_most_recent.pdf This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is school-arrests-school-end.png Todd R. Jones and Ezra Karger Schools In, So Is Crime As community hubs attracting large numbers of young people, schools are somewhat unavoidably linked to violence and antisocial behavior. Previous research has shown that when low-performing schools in Philadelphia were permanently closed in the early 2010s, the surrounding areas saw a pronounced reduction in violent crime.But a paper released this fall gave a much more sweeping overview of the link between schools and disorder. Using data from the National Crime Victimization Survey, the authors found that criminal activity among children from the ages of 10 to 17 whether as perpetrators or victims peaks during the school year, particularly during the autumn and spring. Thats an exact inversion of the pattern for older offenders, who are much more likely to commit crimes during the summer months. Across more than 3,000 school districts, the school calendar was linked to a 41 percent increase in youth arrests and a 47 percent increase in reported crime, with the surge mostly occurring during school hours and during the week rather than the weekend. Much of the lawbreaking even occurs in schools themselves. In poor and rich counties; well-resourced school districts and poorly resourced school districts; and rural and urban counties, schools are a primary driver of criminal activity involving children, the authors conclude. INSERT WHATEVER GRAPHIC WE COME UP WITH HERE (under Figures/Tables on the right-hand side): https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2816083?guestAccessKey=8fa21dc7-2a39-4c35-9dd2-47231f9c60d8&utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=031224" target="_blank">JAMA Network One form of vice is particularly prevalent among older adolescents: marijuana use. According to a survey of high schoolers published in March, over 30 percent of seniors reported using weed over the past year. That figure reflects a few coalescing trends, most importantly the legalization (or decriminalization) of weed in the majority of states. Three-quarters of Americans now live in a jurisdiction where the drug is available for either medicinal or recreational use, though age restrictions still make it illegal for almost any high schooler to do so legally. Whats more, the development of kid-friendly gummies and vape flavors makes marijuana more accessible to young people than in decades past. Related Behind the 8 Ball: How Research is Trying to Catch Up on Cannabis and Kids Thats especially concerning given the elevated potency of new cannabis items, which are far stronger on average than the common street product of even a few decades ago. Youth marijuana use is clearly linked to inhibited brain development and increased risk of psychological disorders in later life. The biggest consequence that we think about in the field of child development is that using substances that are potentially psychoactive and addictive and have effects on development, Columbia psychiatrist Ryan Sultan told The 74s Amanda Geduld. The younger you are, the more problematic they might be. Pre-K Helps Families Bottom Lines Early childhood education has been shown to be an effective tool for improving students near-term academic performance, though research is unclear on whether its effects can be sustained over time. In the hopes of reaching students before the K12 years and combatting gaps in readiness and achievement, a growing number of states and cities have significantly expanded their public pre-kindergarten offerings in recent years. A paper released in October found that one such expansion brought considerable benefits to participating families but for a somewhat surprising reason. When New Haven, Connecticut, established a pre-K program in the 1990s, enrolled students saw only ephemeral improvements to their test scores, school attendance, and likelihood of being held back in school, with effects essentially disappearing by the time they finished the eighth grade. But by participating in the program, which provided 10 hours of instruction and supplementary programs each day, those children allowed their parents to work more during the day. On average, caregivers earned 22 percent more, or nearly $5,500 per year for each year their kids remained in pre-K. Even better, the same parents went on to earn 21 percent more in the six years after the program ended, likely because of their increased experience and job continuity, and their higher income dwarfed the costs of implementing the program. In other words, even if it contributes little in long-term academic gains, pre-K may generate huge value purely as a childcare benefit. President-elect Donald Trump is promising to consider pardons for those at the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol within the first 9 minutes of his term, and thats either the exact right approach or greatly concerning, depending whos asked. In back-to-back interviews on ABCs This Week Sens. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) struck two very different chords on Trumps promise. Schmitt, who was asked by host George Stephanopoulos whether he was concerned about Trump pardoning some of the protesters who turned violent on Jan. 6, said Trumps promise to look at the cases individually is the exact right approach. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think you do separate violent acts from nonviolent acts, but I think [Trumps] been pretty clear hes going to view these individually, Schmitt said. I think medias obsession with January 6th, and the Democrats obsession with January 6th, is because they sort of built this foundation for why President Trump should never get back in office. Schiff, on the other hand, was concerned about the message that pardoning participants in the Jan. 6 riot would send to Americans. He said voters elected Trump in part because they wanted him to do something about crime, not because they wanted him to pardon people who had been violent. That he could pardon people that beat police officers, gouged them, bear-sprayed them. Really, that's who he wants to pardon? Schiff told Stephanopoulos. But Schiff was clear that despite Trumps threat to prosecute some of those who were on the congressional committee that investigated Jan. 6, he does not want President Joe Biden to issue a preemptive pardon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The precedent of giving blanket pardons, preemptive blanket pardons, on the way out of an administration is not a precedent we want to set, said Schiff, who was one of the nine members of the House panel. "I have communicated it both publicly and privately to the administration. In an interview with Time magazine when he was announced their Person of the Year on Thursday, Trump said he would consider the pardons on a case-by- case basis. And if they were non-violent, I think they've been greatly punished, Trump told Time. And the answer is I will be doing that, yeah, I'm going to look if there's some that really were out of control. Dogs guard a residence on the city's East Side in this 2021 file photo. San Antonio police are investigating a Saturday afternoon dog attack on two toddlers that sent both girls to the hospital with serious injuries. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News A dog attack in a West Side apartment sent two toddlers to the hospital with serious injuries Saturday , San Antonio police said. Police discovered a 1-year-old and a 2-year-old with serious injuries caused by "large dog" bites around 2 p.m. on Saturday at the apartment in the 4200 block of West Commerce Street, according to a preliminary police report. Police were responding to an animal bite in progress call. ALSO READ: Elephant fatally injured zookeeper 32 years ago this week in San Antonio history Advertisement Article continues below this ad The apartment owner was babysitting the girls while also watching the dog inside the apartment before the canine attacked, biting each child. Both toddlers were taken to the hospital. Animal Care Services arrived at the scene and took possession of the dog. ACS officers cited the apartment owner, police said. The police report did not provide details about the toddlers' injuries or include information on the dog's breed or ownership. No criminal charges are pending, but an SAPD spokesperson said on Tuesday that the investigation is ongoing. The SAPD spokesperson said the department does not provide updates on health conditions of victims. Advertisement Article continues below this ad San Antonio has been reckoning with an increase in dog bites in recent years. The city logged 305 severe dog bites across the city in fiscal year 2024. In the previous year, dogs bit 297 people, a 58% increase from 2022. Last year, dogs mauled and killed two people in San Antonio. The district administration removed a wall that was built in front of the recently reopened temple in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal while undertaking an anti-encroachment drive in the area. The temple premises have been cleaned and arrangements for electricity have been made. Moreover, CCTV cameras have also been installed for security reasons. Meanwhile, Police personnel were deployed outside the Lord Shiv and Hanuman temple which reopened after 1978 and a prayer ceremony (aarti) was performed on Sunday morning. This comes after the district administration discovered the temple on Saturday during the inspection being carried out in connection to the issue of electricity theft in the area. "We came in the morning and cleaned the temple to perform the aarti. A Brahmin should be appointed here so that he can stay here. Till the time caretaker (for this temple) is appointed, we will take responsibility," Acharya Brahm Shukla, who performed the prayer ceremony, told ANI. "I came to see the temple and performed the Pooja. This temple is around 400 years old. I had come here years ago and there were dharamshalas around the temple. But now only houses remain. I had seen on TV and Whatsapp. Thus, I came to see the temple. This is a Lord Shiva and Hanuman temple," Rajiv Kumar Gupta, a devotee, told ANI. Sambhal Sub-Divisional Magistrate Vandana Mishra announced plans to restore the original structure of a temple that reopened on Saturday after 46 years. "We have written to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)... Police will be deployed near the temple," she said. Earlier, Sambhal Circle Officer (CO) Anuj Kumar Chaudhary revealed that the temple was discovered during an inspection related to encroachment complaints. "We received information about encroachment on a temple in the area. Upon inspection, we discovered a temple at the site," Chaudhary told ANI. Sambhal District Magistrate (DM) Rajendra Pensiya, who visited the site, reported that an ancient well was uncovered after the removal of a ramp constructed over it. "The (ancient Lord Shiva) temple is being cleaned. A ramp had been built over the ancient well. When we dismantled the ramp, the well was revealed," DM Pensiya said. The DM further explained that the ancient Lord Shiva temple was discovered during a district administration inspection for electricity theft. "The temple will be handed over to the community it belongs to, and action will be taken against those who encroached on it," he added. (ANI) DAMASCUS, Syria It had been less than two days since the fall of President Bashar al-Assads regime when two Islamist fighters knocked on the door of the Rev. Rafaat Abul Nassers Lady of Damascus Church, armed with assault rifles, pious beards and probing questions. Im telling you, I was not afraid, Nasser told NBC News on Wednesday. Because St. Paul says to be strong in the Lord. The soldiers strolled through the ornate sanctuary, snapped photos of the icons and asked about the meaning of the cross and the crucifix. Then they left. And that, Nasser said, was mercifully that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the chilling visit is emblematic of the uneasy optimism that pervades this new Syria, where many are wondering whether the new regime will practice the inclusiveness and liberalism it preaches. The Rev. Rafaat Abul Nasser. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which led the charge on Damascus, was once closely linked with both Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, as were its leaders, and the U.S. and much of Europe still classify it as a terrorist organization. But the group disavowed its allegiances with the more extreme jihadist groups years before it actually conquered Damascus, taking the capital with little resistance and ending almost 14 years of civil war. Precisely because we are Islamic, we will guarantee the rights of all people and all sects in Syria, Mohammad al-Bashir, the newly installed transitional prime minister, told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in an interview. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The groups leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, appears to have changed his clothes as well as his mind, sporting a trimmer beard, simple military uniforms and even sometimes business suits. He has also retired his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, and guaranteed rights for women, minority groups and supporters of the old regime. But anxiety around the new leadership remains, and while some rights groups have acknowledged HTS positive language, they have also highlighted the groups poor human rights record in regions it has governed in recent years, particularly in Idlib province in Syrias northwest. In a report last year on human rights practices in Syria, the U.S. State Department said HTS had reportedly permitted confessions obtained through torture and executed or forcibly disappeared perceived opponents and their families. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement HTS held detainees incommunicado in secret detention facilities referred to as security prisons, it added, citing another study by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry for Syria. Its rise is particularly vexing for Syrias religious minorities, who were often pitted against one another during the ironfisted rule of Assad and the years of civil war. While about three-quarters of Syrians are HTS Sunni Muslim co-religionists, the rest of the population is a kaleidoscope of Shiite Muslims and the Alawite minority sect, of which Assad was a member, which theologians consider an offshoot of that branch of Islam. Christians and the Druze, a small Middle Eastern sect that derives its beliefs from Islam while placing heavy emphasis on philosophy and spiritual purity, are much of the rest of the population. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last week, the road from Damascus to Lebanon was clogged with thousands of Syrians fleeing in the opposite direction, apparently uninterested in waiting to test the new regimes purported tolerance. Those who took over the government, their thoughts are terrorists thoughts, said Ammar Shahbander, 32, a Shiite philosophy professor from Aleppo who was waiting to cross the border with his wife and two small children. Maybe there will be a civil war. I have children. So of course I fear for them. Shahbander said he wasnt uniquely afraid of HTS and its leader. After nearly 14 years of nightmarish civil war fought by ordinary citizens, he said, his main concern is about the Syrian civilian population that is now addled by sectarianism, vengeance and easily accessible weapons. HTS maybe can control all these elements, he said. Today there is individual behavior. Maybe they will kill me or kill anyone. Can Jolani control this behavior? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jolani and his appointed prime minister, al-Bashir, have also said that welcoming Syrian refugees from abroad is among their top priorities. But despite their positive liberal signaling, some Syrians abroad are reluctant to return to a Syria that is not only destroyed but also dominated by fundamentalists. Khatab Shawi said he might go and fight in Gaza. Abdulwahed Danou, an Arabic instructor from Aleppo, said over text message last week that his asylum application in the Netherlands was put on hold after Assad was ousted. Several European governments have already announced plans to send Syrian refugees back. I am totally lost. My head is spinning, he wrote. I would not like to be ruled by jihadists or extremists. Even when HTS rank and file make all the right noises, their appearance and behavior betray a profound conservatism. At a traffic circle near Nassers church, a cluster of camouflage-clad fighters lounged on manicured grass. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They spoke freely about their fight for freedom as well-wishers crossed the busy intersection to congratulate them and offer them snacks. One of the young militiamen insisted that Syrias minorities had nothing to fear under the new regime. I will stay in my path, the path of jihad, Khatab Shawi, 21, one of the soldiers, said when he was asked what he planned to do after the revolution. Or I will go to our brothers in Gaza, and we will be martyrs for the sake of God. Hopefully after this war we will go to Gaza. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Patrick Soon-Shiong had become accustomed to making the news. He was the doctor and medical technology innovator who built a fortune, the striving South African immigrant who bought a piece of the Lakers and the L.A. billionaire who brought the Los Angeles Times back under local control when he purchased it in 2018. But none of that created the public tempest like the one that has surrounded Soon-Shiongs recent actions: First when he blocked the Times editorial board, which he oversees, from endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president. Then he suggested the newspaper had become an echo chamber for the political left. And, this month, he announced The Times would create a digital bias meter to alert readers about the ideological tilt of the paper's content. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An estimated 20,000 subscribers dropped The Times after the non-endorsement in the presidential race and its aftermath. Soon-Shiongs pledges of a more "fair and balanced" approach triggered more dismay from many and charges of a capitulation to President-elect Donald Trump. But the new stance also brought praise from others for what they saw as a long-overdue recalibration of coverage in the West's most prominent newspaper. In his first extended interview about the furor, Soon-Shiong depicted himself as an unflinching protector of journalistic balance, one who is betting that a moderate, nonideological viewpoint is the best path forward. He also spoke at length about his hopes for the future of the paper. The Times significantly increased its number of paying digital subscribers after Soon-Shiong purchased the paper. He added more than 150 people to a newsroom that had been slashed for two decades, making The Times a bright spot in an industry beset by massive downsizing as revenues cratered, following the flight of advertising to digital giants like Facebook and Google. Soon-Shiong in the lobby of the old L.A. Times building downtown shortly after he bought the newspaper in 2018. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) For The Times and virtually every other paper in America, incremental increases in online subscriptions have not been enough to fill gaping budget holes. The Times has been losing tens of millions of dollars a year and went through two rounds of painful layoffs erasing most of the staffing gains that followed the Soon-Shiong acquisition. 'I'm extremely proud' In last week's interview with The Times, the medical doctor and former transplant surgeon expressed pride in much of the journalism in the newspaper. He vowed to protect the independence of the newsroom, even as he pledged to become more involved in the outlet's editorial and opinion pages. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I'm extremely proud of work we've done right, he said, and we've done a lot right, he said, pointing to six Pulitzer Prizes the paper has won during his ownership, among other honors. Read more: L.A. Times owner's decision not to endorse in presidential race sparks resignations, questions But he said it was essential to build a bigger audience, which he described as key to securing the 143-year-old newspaper's future. I think that's our goal, Soon-Shiong said. The only way you can survive is to not be an echo chamber of one side. He said he intends on introducing more moderate and conservative commentators on the newspapers opinion pages, where liberal writers have been dominant for years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Soon-Shiong made it clear he also wants editors and reporters who produce news stories to be alert for ideological imbalance and fairness, though he said he has no intention of meddling in decisions made by The Times' newsroom leaders about how to cover the news. Soon-Shiong acknowledged he had paid less attention to The Times for much of the first 6 years of his ownership as he focused on several other businesses, with particular attention to an immunotherapy treatment that won FDA approval this spring. With the demands of his biomedical career slightly reduced, the entrepreneur said that he emphatically intends to become more involved in finding a sustainable path forward for The Times. Staying strong and resolute to transform the paper and drive a rebirth @LATimes, he recently declared on X. We laid out the path for the LA Times to report just the facts when we publish news. Big investment, big losses Many civic leaders and everyday readers hailed Soon-Shiong when he bought the newspaper in 2018, rescuing it from a cost-cutting owner and a possible sale to chains known for operating bare-bones news operations. Since that initial $500-million investment to buy The Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune, Soon-Shiong said he has set aside $250 million to renovate the El Segundo headquarters and to build a museum and auditorium, which are under construction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But, like other media outlets, The Times saw already floundering ad revenue take another big hit with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The owner said he provided his newspaper with operating capital of another $40 [million], $50 million a year, declining slightly last year, when he said he paid $30 million to fill the gap between revenue and expenditures. With total outlays of about $1 billion, Soon-Shiong has made one of the largest investments in local journalism in America. He said he has not wavered in his commitment, but made clear that he expects more progress in building the audience, particularly online. Unless we build a paper that can engage and increase the readership, what are we doing? he said. The Times has about 650,000 paid readers, combining print, digital and other third-party platforms. About 275,000 of those are direct digital subscribers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The owner sounded incredulous when he noted that the L.A. Times has fewer subscribers in California than the New York Times. We need to ask ourselves, very honestly, why is that? he said. He suggested that a reasonable starting point was to get 1% of California's 40 million residents, or 400,000, to pay for direct digital subscriptions, which go for $60 a year. When he bought The Times, Soon-Shiong suggested he had a 100-year plan and wanted ownership of the news outlet to be part of his familys legacy. And as long as I can see progress in readership, I'll continue to fund it, yes," he says now. "But something has to change if all this is [being] considered a philanthropic trust. It's not. A sustainable business has to occur." The Times owner nixed an editorial board plan to endorse Kamala Harris over Donald Trump in the presidential election. It was the first time since 2008 the paper did not endorse in a presidential race. (Associated Press) Non-endorsement roiled newspaper He believes that presenting a greater diversity of views will be a key to success. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Throughout his ownership, most of the newspapers opinion columnists have been politically liberal. The unsigned editorials that represent the views of The Times, as an institution, have also leaned left, with sharp criticism of Trump routine. As owner, Soon-Shiong has been a member of the internal board that produced those editorials, and it's understood that he can exercise his privilege to make the final decision on what is published, a common role for American newspaper owners. In the past, he infrequently attended the boards meetings and did little to influence the content of editorials, he acknowledged. That changed dramatically in the final weeks of this years presidential race. As The Times prepared to endorse Harris, and run a series of other editorials on the downsides of a second Trump presidency, Soon-Shiong said he wanted to take a different course. He asked the editorial page leaders to create a feature enumerating the records of Trump and Harris during their respective four years as president and vice president. Soon-Shiong said that such an approach would have given readers more information, without recommending either candidate. He described that as the fairest approach. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But editorials editor Mariel Garza and her staff noted that The Times had endorsed a presidential candidate in every election since 2008. After writing for several years that Trump was unfit and a danger to democracy as a convicted felon who attempted to overturn his 2020 election defeat the editorial writers said that a non-endorsement would amount to an abdication of their responsibility, and a tacit approval of the Republican. News of the internal dispute became public in late October, and Garza (calling the non-endorsement craven and hypocritical) and two of her fellow board members resigned. Two others later joined the exodus from the board. Even after the editorial board departures, the dispute continued to simmer, with one regular opinion contributor departing and some union members sending a letter of protest. While Soon-Shiong received praise on the right, he soon learned that thousands of Times readers were canceling their subscriptions in protest. Read more: Letters to the Editor: 'Gutted': Readers react to The Times' non-endorsement in the presidential race Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I knew this would be disruptive, and it took courage to do that, he said, adding that he believes that in the long run the move will win over readers in a nation that has become too polarized. He rejected claims that the late decision was so that I could support President Trump, so I could appease him, because I was scared of him, which was the furthest from the truth. Those who cancel [their] subscription should respect the fact that there may be two views on a certain point, and nobody has 100% the right view, Soon-Shiong said. And it's really important for us [to] heal the nation. We've got to stop being so polarized." The owner took heart from a commentator, writing for The Times of India, who said the non-endorsement had been the right call. Democracy depends on maintaining the trust and participation of all citizens, and endorsements risk deepening existing divisions, wrote the columnist. When distrust already runs high, even well-intended endorsements can appear partisan, eroding the medias role as a space for diverse perspectives. Soon-Shiong says he plans to revamp the Times editorial board, adding more moderate and conservative writers to provide ideological balance. He said he intends to lay out details of the new opinion operation in January. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Rethinking opinion pages Soon-Shiong soon announced on social media and in interviews that he planned to revamp the Times editorial board, adding more moderate and conservative writers to provide ideological balance. He said he intends to lay out details of the new opinion operation in January. But some of the outlines of the proposal came out during the Times interview and in talks with Times management. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Soon-Shiong has described what would amount to two distinct editorial panels. One would operate something like The Times traditional editorial board, though it would focus primarily on local and California issues and candidates. That board would be made up of full-time employees, who would write the unsigned opinion pieces and endorsements that have been a tradition for decades. With the board currently reduced to just one full-time writer, The Times is seeking to hire an unknown number of others to rebuild the group. The owner has made clear he wants writers with a variety of ideological perspectives to be on the remade editorial board. A second group of writers, now being assembled by Soon-Shiong, will focus on national and international affairs. Those opinion columnists are expected to be freelancers. Soon-Shiong has suggested that besides writing signed pieces for The Times, the columnists representing an array of professions, industries and personal backgrounds might be featured in videos produced by L.A. Times Studios or at conferences sponsored by the newspaper. Read more: The Times' reckoning on race and our commitment to meaningful change Late last month, the Times owner announced that veteran Republican political operative Scott Jennings a regular CNN panelist and frequent Trump defender will be a part of the new initiative. (Even before the announcement, Jennings was a regular contributor to The Times writing nearly three dozen columns over the last five years.) His reasoned, fact-based approach perfectly aligns with our commitment to inclusivity, Soon-Shiong wrote on X. Jennings called the Times owners emphasis on ideological diversity groundbreaking. Soon-Shiong vows 'more active role' While details remain to be worked out, Soon-Shiong said he would have a direct and more active role, adding that he would leave certain topics to his opinion writers, while having more to say about issues that are dear to my heart, [such as] cancer, climate change, energy issues and issues of national importance. His increased involvement became apparent again recently. The paper was on the verge of publishing an editorial saying that Trump's Cabinet appointments should be subject to the full Senate confirmation process rather than being seated via recess appointments. Soon-Shiong said that the editorial could be published only if the paper accompanied it with a companion piece with the opposing view, which would defend a president's right to make some recess appointments. With the print deadline fast approaching, the editors didn't have time to produce a companion piece, so they replaced it with commentary on another subject. Soon-Shiong suggested in a Fox News interview last month that he also had concerns about opinion leaking into The Times' news operation, which operates independently of the opinion staff. I knew that people don't like change, Soon-Shiong said in a podcast interview this month. And I knew I had to actually address even the newsroom by saying, Look, are you sure your news is news? Or is your news really [your] opinion of . . . news?' Many Times reporters and editors rejected the notion that they inject opinion into their news reporting, saying they long labored to be impartial arbiters. Some noted how Times reporting, with no ideological tilt, helped expose scandals at USC and the racist railings of L.A. political leaders (all Democrats) in a closed-door meeting. "Journalists of the Los Angeles Times are committed to shining a light on injustice, exposing wrongdoing, and seeking the facts," the union representing most Times journalists responded in a statement. "We speak truth to power, regardless of which party is in power." During the Times interview, Soon-Shiong made clear his skepticism about the "journalistic integrity" of some journalists who had spoken about his actions anonymously, while he has made his views on the record. He has also complained about how various outlets reported on him. He recently has expressed particular gall about how some media depicted the departure in January of Times Executive Editor Kevin Merida, suggesting that coverage contributed to his skeptical view of journalists. At the time of the exit, The Times reported that Soon-Shiong called his veteran editors departure mutually agreed, and the description was not challenged. Merida, a former managing editor at the Washington Post, told the newspaper that he made the decision to leave, "in consultation with Patrick." But in last week's interview, Soon-Shiong expressed consternation that some accounts of the Merida departure left the impression he had resigned under protest about staff cuts and other disagreements with the owner. In fact, the owner said, he fired the top editor. My great disappointment . . . was for him to go around and provide misinformation...that he resigned under protest, Soon-Shiong said. Merida responded with an email statement. "I have said all I want to say about my decision to leave the L.A. Times 11 months ago. I've moved on," it said. "But I continue to root for The Times and for all of the tremendous journalists who are still there." Though newspaper operations seem opaque to many readers, there is a tradition of the journalists who write for the editorial and opinion pages operating with almost complete independence from those who write news stories. The Times has followed that model for decades. While Soon-Shiong oversees the editorial board, the Times newsroom is led independently by the executive editor, Terry Tang, a former opinion and news editor for the New York Times who was raised in Southern California. Read more: Who is Patrick Soon-Shiong? An L.A. billionaire with big ideas and mixed achievements Soon-Shiong expressed confidence in Tang, who oversees both the news and opinion operations and was promoted to the top post early this year, succeeding Merida. He noted that she had helped increase staff productivity since taking over. Both the owner and top editors at The Times noted that Soon-Shiong occasionally has suggested news stories, particularly in his biomedical field, but most did not result in stories. The owner also said in the interview that he had no intention of blocking stories to protect friends, family or political figures he has praised, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom he recently lauded in social media posts. Said Soon-Shiong: If somebody has had a conflict of interest or done something bad, and it's factually true, we should report it." Digital news is a tough business, delivering a fraction of the income of print papers, which are in rapid decline. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) The struggle for future of local news This is not the first time Soon-Shiong has spoken out publicly about major national and international affairs. He often shares his experience growing up as a man of Chinese heritage under South Africa's racist apartheid regime. In the racial reckoning in this country that followed the 2020 murder of George Floyd at the hands of police, he wrote that The Times for much of its history had ignored large swaths of the city and its diverse population, or covered them in one-dimensional, sometimes racist ways, and thereby contributed to social and economic inequity. Read more: Billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong reaches deal to buy L.A. Times and San Diego Union-Tribune He is also not alone in wrestling with how to approach opinion journalism. Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos also killed his paper's editorial endorsing Harris in the presidential election, and faced a similar backlash. The Post reportedly lost 250,000 subscribers. In a column explaining his actions, Bezos noted that trust in the media was in major decline and he felt one reason was that some readers considered news organizations biased. A Pew Research Center survey last month found that 59% of adults in the U.S. had some, or a lot of, trust in the information presented by national news organizations. That was down from 76% who trusted national news sources eight years ago. Trust among Republicans over that time period dropped much more precipitously, from 70% to 40%, while roughly 80% of Democrats expressed trust in national news sources. But it is far from clear that more ideological diversity on opinion pages alone will bring readers back or fill revenue holes. Digital news is a tough business, delivering a fraction of the income of print papers, which are in rapid decline. As Google and other sites dominate digital advertising, a recent effort in the California Legislature to force the tech companies to compensate news organizations stalled. America's two largest newspaper chains operate with dramatically reduced staffing. Even Bezos' Post resurgent in the billionaire's early tenure ordered staff buyouts as revenue declined. The New York Times' success has been a notable exception, with the venerable newspaper recently reporting it had nearly 10.5 million digital subscribers. It has fueled revenue gains with games, recipes and consumer recommendations. Its gains have come while most of its editorials and opinion columns continued to lean left. Soon-Shiong believes a wider array of viewpoints can lure more readers back to the L.A. Times. He hopes to bring in other revenue with events, such as the Times' popular Festival of Books and its food events. He also plans to create more shows with L.A. Times Studios. He spoke proudly about the paper's Fast Break team, which produces breaking and developing news and draws an outsize share of reader page views. Read more: Historic sale of the L.A. Times to billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong to close on Monday Bill Grueskin, a former Wall Street Journal deputy managing editor who teaches at the Columbia University journalism school, said he did not think that changing the ideological leaning of editorials and columns would save newspapers, including the L.A. Times. "The declines have much more to do with the advertising market cratering, the elimination of a lot of the reporting jobs, the huge number of competitors, most of them illegitimate sources of real news, many of them free, which, unfortunately, a lot of our fellow citizens feel are a perfectly adequate substitute," Grueskin said. Still, traditional views of the kind of media that will draw paid consumers and advertising is evolving. Just a few years ago, no one could have predicted that podcaster Joe Rogan would draw more than 40 million viewers for his extended interview with Trump shortly before the November election. Explaining the 'bias meter' The furor over the newspaper's non-endorsement was dying down this month when Soon-Shiong again became a trending topic on social media. This time, it was after the Times owner told Jennings during a podcast interview that he planned to unveil a bias meter to let readers know the ideological bent of his newspaper's content. He said in the interview with The Times that the meter would use an augmented intelligence patent (dubbed the Reasoning Engine) that he created in his biomedical endeavors. The meter will be displayed atop a piece of writing to tell readers where it ranks on a scale that will range from far left to far right. Although he told Jennings the meter would appear on both news and opinion content, Soon-Shiong clarified last week that he intends it only to be an additional label on Times editorials and opinion columns, not news stories. He said he intends to have the AI technology also parse 50 years of Times editorials and columns, to determine the ideological bent of every Times editorial and opinion piece published over five decades. He says he will publish the results of that analysis. The feature also will allow readers to click on a button to obtain an AI-compiled story or stories, offering alternative viewpoints, Soon-Shiong said. A variety of experts from mainstream journalism questioned the value and reliability of a machine-driven analysis. One Times reader captured some of the concern when he said via email: I find it kind of insulting to the reader. I think I and most readers can judge the varying perspectives of the people who are writing opinion pieces. Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who has occasionally written articles for The Times also gave the "bias meter" a thumbs-down. "Another blow to journalism and democracy, Abdul-Jabbar wrote on his blog last week, by another billionaire with a conservative agenda that serves his wealth. Soon-Shiong, who said he is a political independent, believes the device will help show readers The Times is offering a variety of opinions. It's exhausting to turn on Fox and turn on CNN and turn on MSNBC, he said. We need to be that middle-of-the-road, trustworthy source. ... I think that's our goal. The only way you can survive is not be an echo chamber of one side. As the public battle over Times content has raged, the owner and his newsroom employees have been locked in a prolonged contract dispute. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Inside the newsroom As the very public battle over Times content has raged, the owner and his newsroom employees have been locked in a prolonged contract dispute. Negotiations between management and the union representing most Times journalists have limped along for nearly three years, with the sides far apart on pay and other issues. Soon-Shiong became particularly animated during the interview in declaring his determination to loosen seniority protections now written into the contract. He said the rules forced him to lay off staff members with less tenure at the company, many of them hired to help improve digital operations and growth. "The contract is structured that, no matter how good this young person is, you have to fire him, and all you will do then is, we'll take this down into an existential spiral of death, Soon-Shiong said. The council representing Times guild members disagreed, saying that seniority protection promotes stability, expertise and talent retention" and noting the contract grants the company a limited number of "skips" to retain some employees. Seniority gives our journalists a bulwark to speak truth to power. And seniority is a recognition that a superior product comes from time, deep community ties, and experience," the guild said. The Times management and workers have also been locked in a fight over whether employees should return to the office or remain working at home, as most Times staffers have been doing since the start of the pandemic in early 2020. This practice has continued as many other workplaces have returned to the office at least part time. The Times has ordered its journalists to return to the office two days a week, now that the health emergency is over, while the union has argued that the directive amounts to a change in working conditions that must be negotiated. The owner said a collective working environment is crucial to fostering collegiality, collaboration and productivity. Many workers say they get more done working at home, while not wasting time and money commuting, a more daunting cost given that they have gone without an across-the-board cost-of-living increase for more than three years. When he gave a tour of the El Segundo headquarters Monday to a couple of guests, Soon-Shiong reported finding a newsroom that was almost entirely empty. Members of the L.A. Times union and management sign a tentatively agreed upon contract in 2019 (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times) So this idea of making an investment is a two-way street, where you would think we are all in this together, he said. I'm working to make this a success. And I was extremely disappointed to see an empty building. Told that more journalists come into the office on Thursdays, the owner responded: So should I just fund you for Thursdays? There's a sense of entitlement that cannot be tolerated. The guild replied in a statement that it had not denied that workers might return to the office more regularly, but only wanted to negotiate the point. Stalling tactics in bargaining, years without a contract, and statements that inaccurately demean the entire newsroom all drain morale, the statement said. The owner said his remarks should not be construed as a blanket judgment of the quality and strength of the newsroom. The paper sets its culture, Soon-Shiong said. I'm trying to set our culture as a middle-of-the-road, trustworthy news source. "I believe that public support for journalism is completely vital, so that we can have a free and independent press, which I believe is the foundation of a healthy democracy. Without it, I think we lose our ability to hold the powerful accountable. Without it, we lose our ability to make informed decisions." 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. Dec. 14A lawsuit filed Wednesday in Johnson County's 18th District Court by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton alleges decades of corporate omissions and deception from 3M, DuPont and other companies in connection with the dangers of PFAS and other chemicals manufactured by the companies in question. Several other cases involving PFAS and other so-called "forever chemicals" have been filed in recent months by the Johnson County Commissioners Court and county landowners. Although those cases also allege PFAS dangers and damage, they differ from Paxton's suit in regard to parties and issues. Johnson County's case, filed in federal court, seeks to hold the EPA responsible for failure to properly regulate and monitor PFAS usage and hazards. Suits filed by county property owners allege property and health damages from the spreading of PFAS chemicals and biosolids, in the form of fertilizer, on neighboring property. The property owners filed those cases against Maryland-based Synagro, a producer of biosolids-based fertilizer and Renda Environmental, a Texas fertilizer company. Both companies, the lawsuits claim, knew of the dangers of PFAS and other biosolids in the fertilizer but failed to warn the public of those dangers, claims Synagro denies and Renda declined to comment on. A separate group, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, filed suit on behalf of farmers against the EPA in June. That suit alleges misconduct similar to allegations in the county's suit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Paxton's suit, on the other hand, alleges that DuPont, 3M and other companies, "engaged in deceptive trade practices by failing to disclose health risks and environmental harms associated with the products" and represented and/or implied their products were "safe in a false, deceptive or misleading manner." Through products such as Teflon, Scotchgard, food packaging, cookware, carpeting, cosmetics and other consumer goods, the companies sold products containing PFAS and other harmful chemicals for decades, according to Paxton's suit. "But they knew for much of this time, during which they profited immensely from the sale of their products, that PFAS pose risks to peoples' health and impact the environment, according to the suit. The companies sold numerous products containing per-and polyfluoroalkyl (or PFAS) substances including perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (or PFOS) and perfluorooactanoic acid (or PFOA) chemicals, according to the suit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement PFAS chemicals are persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic, according to studies. Exposure to humans has been linked to cancer, decreased vaccine response, thyroid disease, decreased birth weight and other diseases and health risks. "PFAS are a family of human-made chemical compounds containing a carbon chain on which all hydrogen atoms are replaced by fluorine atoms," according to the filing. "The carbon-fluorine bond is the strongest bond in organic chemistry and the many carbon-fluorine bonds in PFAS impart their unique chemical properties." 3M developed PFAS and PFOA chemicals in the 1940s, which they used in manufacturing processes and DuPont followed suit in 1951. Both companies became aware of the toxicity, environmental persistence and dangers PFAS and related chemicals pose to people, animals, water supplies and the environment as early as the late '50s/early '60s, according to the suit. The companies nonetheless continued to manufacture such chemicals and products containing them while advertising such as safe. The companies also failed to warn the public and regulatory governmental agencies of the dangers such chemicals pose, according to the suit. The suit alleges that the companies buried and/or falsified their own scientific and research findings revealing the dangers of such chemicals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other allegations in Paxton's suit detail in depth DuPont's "series of transactions meant to distance its valuable assets from the liability created by its actions in unleashing asnd marketing these products to the public." DuPont did so, according to the filing, by creating separate companies in order to shield the parent company's billions in assets from potential liability tied to PFAS court cases. Other than mention of several Texas-based DuPont locations, the filing provides no information as to why Paxton chose to file the suit in Johnson County. Calls to his office for explanation were not returned by press time. Johnson County Commissioner Larry Woolley, who played a large role in the county's investigation and testing into PFAS presence and the county's subsequent decision to sue the EPA, had no answers on why Paxton filed here either. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I can't say for sure and I haven't discussed the matter with Paxton," Woolley said. "I'm guessing his office maybe got wind of this from the cases filed by landowners here and the fact that this has been in the news more and more lately." Woolley, in the wake of the release of the county commissioners' findings earlier this year, has given several presentations on the matter. "I've presented talks at four different state district conferences and two regional conference where I've talked to hundreds of county commissioners and county judges," Woolley said. "There were also several state leaders at several of those conferences, which may or may not be how Paxton came to hear of the problem." Whatever the case may be, Woolley said he's encouraged by Paxton's decision to file suit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Oh absolutely," Woolley said. "Number one, this should help raise awareness of the issues and problems to the general public. It also sends a strong message I think coming from the attorney general to our state legislators that the time has come to take action on these problems." Woolley said he and others are providing input into a bill addressing PFAS issues to be introduced in the upcoming legislative session. "It's not for the elimination of biosolids," Woolley said. "It's for the elimination of PFAS chemicals through testing within biosolids. In other words, if it tests positive for PFAS chemicals then it doesn't need to be land applied." Woolley and others earlier this year explained that biosolids are present in sewage waste or sludge, which is sold to make fertilizers and that such biosolids frequently contain PFAS chemicals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Woolley and others on the court said that Johnson County was the first Texas county to test for the presence of PFAS chemicals and that other Texas counties and states have since taken note. "Now, due to the actions of the Johnson County Commissioners Court, it looks like we're finally moving forward here on these issues," Woolley said. "So yeah, [Paxton's filing] on top of all this is a home run in my opinion. "In regards to his case, I don't know what other terminology to use concerning the companies who manufactured these chemicals other than it's been a huge cover-up," Woolley said. "They've known about it and the dangers for years and just pressed ahead and it's all been driven by money." ORWIGSBURG In the shadow of a military tank memorial, Marine Corps veteran Donald Kleckner laid a wreath Saturday near Veterans Memorial Hall. Raising his right hand to the brim of a fatigue hat adorned with military badges, the 85-year-old veteran of the Cuban Missile Crisis saluted his comrades in arms. Schuylkill Haven Little Hurricanes sing the National anthem during Wreaths Across America ceremony at St. Ambrose Church in Schuylkill Haven on Thursday. (John Haeger / Staff Photographer) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Wreaths Across America Day, like the service in Orwigsburg, an estimated 3 million volunteers laid wreaths at 4,500 sites across the country. In a ceremony at noon Saturday, about 40,000 wreaths of Maine evergreen with red bows were laid at the graves of veterans in Indiantown Gap National Cemetery. The reverence with which the annual laying of wreaths is done was apparent on Thursday when a caravan of Walmart tractor-trailers stopped over for a service at St. Ambrose Catholic Church, Schuylkill Haven. Its become a holiday tradition. Schuylkill Haven Area Elementary School students wave America flags along the sidewalk in front of the school as the Wreaths Across America convoy passes by enroute to St. Ambrose Church Schuylkill Haven for a wreath laying ceremony on Thursday Dec. 12, 2024.(John Haeger / Staff Photographer) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An estimated 250 people filled the church sanctuary for a solemn ceremony honoring veterans who gave their lives in service to their country. It fills my heart with joy, said Kathy Wingle, a member of American Legion Post 38 Auxiliary in Schuylkill Haven, which organized the tribute. Im so happy so many people came to celebrate our veterans with us. Schuylkill Haven America Legion Post 38 and Schuylkill Haven Vietnam Vets Post 29 post the colors during Wreaths Across America ceremony at St. Ambrose Church in Schuylkill Haven Dec. 12. (John Haeger / Staff Photographer) On Friday, Wingle laid a wreath at the grave of her husband, Earl Wingle, in Indiantown Gap National Cemetery. He served in the Army during the Vietnam era. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You look around and see license plates from all over the country, she said of her visit to the Indiantown Gap cemetery. People are laying wreaths at the graves of their loved ones, and its an emotional time for everyone. During the St. Ambrose service, Wingle and Kathy Bainbridge escorted Vietnam Veteran Tom McGoey to the front of the church, where he laid a wreath beneath the POW-MIA flag. Both women dedicated their participation to the members of the Vietnam Veterans Post 29 of Schuylkill Haven, whose members comprised the honor guard at the service. Choir members from St. Ambrose Church and All Saints Church McAdoo perform during Wreaths Across America ceremony at St. Ambrose, Schuylkill Haven, on Thursday. (John Haeger / Staff Photographer) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bainbridges late husband, James, was a Purple Heart recipient who served in Vietnam. She laid a wreath at his grave and, with Wingle, those of 13 other veterans in Indiantown Gap National Cemetery. I come from a military family my brother was career Navy and I had uncles and brothers-in-law who served, she said. I just love our country, and I think we need to support our veterans. The combined choirs St. Ambrose and All Saints Church, McAdoo, opened the service at St. Ambrose with the Civil War anthem, Battle Hymn of the Republic. As veterans laid wreaths, the choir sang the anthems of their respective armed services. Robert Bob Fronza, who served in the U.S. Air Force from 1960 to 1964, laid a wreath in honor of the Merchant Marine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Schuylkill Haven Area Elementary School students wave flags in front of the school as the Wreaths Across America convoy passes enroute to St. Ambrose Church Schuylkill Haven Dec. 12. (John Haeger / Staff Photographer) Youre filled with pride when you think of the sacrifices millions of people made to protect our freedoms, said Fronza, 82, a retired postal worker who lives in Wayne Twp. Karen Worcester, executive director of Wreaths Across America, issued a statement commending groups like the Schuylkill Haven American Legion Auxiliary. We are forever grateful to the thousands of supporters who dedicate their time, energy and resources to fulfilling our mission, she said. These individuals and their communities know the value of remembering the fallen and honoring those who currently serve. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Begun in 1992 as a wreath-laying ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery, it has expanded to thousands of cemeteries across the country. The Walmart trucks that stopped over in Schuylkill Haven were carrying wreaths from Maine, where they are made, to Arlington, the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville and a veterans cemetery in Long Island. In his benediction, Msgr. Edward S. Zemanik prayed for the strength to carry on the mission of those who have served the nation. May we walk in the path of those who have served, he said. A video of the hour-long Wreaths Across America service is available for viewing on the St. Ambrose church website. PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) The Panama City Beach Police Department transformed into a winter wonderland Friday night. Beach police celebrated Christmas early with the community during their annual Christmas with the Cops event. Holiday festivities in full swing at Sims nursing home When people call the police department, its usually on their worst day, so were showing up trying to help them with whatever problem theyve got. Today, they get to show up to our house and just have Christmas, Panama City Beach Police Lt. Tommy Anderson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From hot chocolate and smores to snow and Santa Claus, the atmosphere seemed to put everyone in the holiday spirit. Theres toys, treats, come out and get a Cops n Kids T-shirt. Everythings free, so we just want to be able to have a few hours to have a good time with our community, Panama City Beach Police Chief J.R. Talamantez said. The Grinch and his dog Max even made an appearance, keeping beach police on their toes. The Grinch is probably sneaking around. Were keeping our eye on him, Anderson said. Panama City Beach Police officials said events like this remind them of why they serve the community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Friday the 13th Lightning Strike Survivor Its just Christmas, and the police department gets to show the community just how much we care about them. They got our back and we got theirs, Anderson said. We just want to wish everybody a very merry Christmas and happy holidays, Talamantez added. The Panama City Beach Police Department just wrapped up their Cops n Kids Christmas toy drive. Theyll deliver the toys to less fortunate Bay County families, helping to bridge any gaps this Christmas. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com. When she started teaching, Barbie Costanza didn't know if she could afford the school supplies she needed for her students. August marked her first month teaching at East Valley Institute of Technology in Mesa. Costanza said she wanted to find extra school supplies like poster boards, whiteboards, paper, staplers and bins for her students, but she estimated she would have spent over $500 on all of it if she had purchased from popular retail stores, like Target. Costanza said she was worried about how much she would have to spend. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Luckily, Costanza, a hairstylist, happened to bring up her new opportunity as a teacher with one of her clients. The client ended up being Joy Klein, who told Costanza to take a trip to Treasures 4 Teachers. "I was able to go there and pretty much fill the back of my SUV for $100," Costanza said. "It's an amazing resource. It makes things affordable." Empowering teachers with discounted classroom supplies Treasures 4 Teachers is a nonprofit organization founded in 2004. The nonprofit provides discounted school items to teachers across the metro Phoenix. Joy Klein, executive director of Treasures 4 Teachers, said the nonprofit's goal is to "empower our educators and enrich our students." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Our teachers can not only offset some of the costs they're spending of their personal dollars," she said, "but make sure that students have the supplies they need in the classroom." Teachers around the Valley often spend anywhere from $500 to $1,500 for supplies, according to the organization. While most schools supply teachers with a certain amount of items each academic year, it's often not enough for all the students or the length of the academic period, which is where Treasures 4 Teachers steps in to help out. "I think a lot of individuals don't know that teachers are spending so much out of their own pocket to support classrooms," she said. "I think it's interesting that (most professions), like construction, you're given all of the items you need, whereas in teaching, often you're responsible for providing all of those materials to do your job." How to shop for supplies at 2 metro Phoenix locations There are two Treasures 4 Teachers locations in the Valley, each stocked full of discounted supplies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Klein listed off a few of the common items teachers can find, including pencils, markers, crayons, dry-erase markers, paper, binders, Post-it Notes, flashcards, index cards, notebooks, composition notebooks, glue and scissors. Treasures 4 Teachers also offers more expensive items like desks or computer chairs, too. Not only do the stores help educators, Klein explained that the stores eliminate waste. When thrift stores, offices and other spaces no longer need their office supplies, they can donate them to the group, thereby repurposing things that would normally go into the trash. Treasures 4 Teachers estimates 3.3 million cubic feet of material is diverted from landfills every year thanks to its services. Stepping up where Arizona education funding falls short The state of Arizona education makes stores like Treasures 4 Teachers more important now than ever, Klein said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The schools, right now, have largely cut their supply budgets, so there's hardly anything they're even ordering at the school level," she said. Teachers feel "burdened" with the need to purchase classroom items, Klein said, and while teachers can choose to ask families to provide supplies for the classrooms, not every family can afford that. Klein estimates roughly 240,000 K-12 students are impacted by the group's work. The two locations are used by more than 5,000 teachers, Klein said, and thousands more have access to the mobile unit. Barbie Costanza said Treasures 4 Teachers has made a big difference for her students and their success Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's enhanced my ability to provide creative projects for my students," she said. How Season for Sharing is helping educators and students Treasures 4 Teachers is just one of the groups that received funding from Season for Sharing to help assist educators and students. Here are a few other groups that are making a difference in the state and how Season for Sharing is helping: Arizona Autism United : This group helps children with developmental disabilities by providing life-changing early intervention services and educational support at our clinic locations in metro Phoenix. Arizona Recreation Center for the Handicapped : This recreation center provides after-school care, education and enrichment activities for low-income children with disabilities. Future for KIDS : This group provides underserved third through sixth graders in Maricopa County with mentorship and enriching after-school programming designed to build social-emotional skills and improve STEAM learning. Literacy Volunteers of Maricopa County : This group works to increase literacy in metro Phoenix, providing opportunities to adults to obtain better employment, transition into postsecondary education and job skills training, fully integrate and participate in our society, and successfully participate in the educational development of their children. National Audubon Society : Audubon provides long-term, hands-on nature education for hundreds of underserved children outside of schools while making science real, relevant and memorable. Sandra Day O'Connor Institute For American Democracy: This organization educates middle school and high school students about civics. How to donate to Season for Sharing There are several ways you can donate to Season for Sharing and help organizations like Scottsdale Arts continue to help the community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fill out the secure online form at sharing.azcentral.com. Text "SHARING" to 91-999 and click on the link in the text message. Go online at facebook.com/seasonforsharing and look for the featured "DONATE HERE" post. Clip the coupon on Page 4A of The Arizona Republic, fill it out and mail it to P.O. Box 29250, Phoenix, AZ 85038-9250. Reach the reporter at zbradshaw@gannett.com or on X at @ZachBradshaw14. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How Treasures 4 Teachers helps Arizona educators and students FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. (WHTM) Veterans are being honored on National Wreaths Across America day, where special ceremonies take place coast to coast. Despite the chilly temps throughout the Midstate, that didnt stop thousands from attending the 18th annual Wreaths Across America ceremony at Fort Indiantown Gap National Cemetery in Lebanon County. The mission of Wreaths Across America; Remember our fallen, honor those who served or are serving, teach our children and future generations the value of our freedom. I just think its so important for him to honor and to know the history, said Lucinda Olejack who was accompanied by her grandson Kade Olejack. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kade added, World War II started in 1939. The ceremony began at noon, led by a handful of speakers, including Brigadier General John Pippy who said, It is just days like today that just energize me as a soldier and a military officer because people, you know, these are the moments that really truly exemplify what America is ladies and gentlemen. And Senator Doug Mastriano who shared, We remember the sacrifice of those great men and so many other men and women across the centuries who reserve our great country. America is the greatest country in the face of the earth here, but it came at a great price and continues to do so. Following the ceremony is when those in attendance, including the Olejacks, began laying the wreaths on veteran gravestones. Get daily news, weather, breaking news and alerts straight to your inbox! Sign up for the abc27 newsletters here My dad was with the navy, but hes not buried here. We come just to honor, Lucinda added. I just think its important, so important for him. And he just really, he really enjoys this and its just a good thing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. Dec. 14MORGANTOWN While nearly every city in West Virginia has already taken the police and fire pension funding lifelines first offered by the West Virginia Legislature in 2010 (Optional I) and then again in 2023 (Optional II), Morgantown has not. Today, the city finds itself with more than $110 million in unfunded promises to its first responders. Something has to be done. On that everyone agrees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What is that something ? Currently, the city's funding model requires it to contribute 107 % of what it contributed the year prior. That equates to about $2.7 million total for the two pension plans this year. Hitting that 107 % threshold triggers the state's Municipal Pension Oversight Board to release the city's portion of the state premium tax, which equaled about $1.6 million this year. Those two pools of money equal the annual contribution. To that is added the employee contributions and 25 % of the municipal sales tax revenue, which is earmarked specifically to pay down the unfunded liabilities. This is the plan that dug the hole the city finds itself in. "Every year, or every other year, we'd get these reports from the actuary, and they'd say 'You're a runaway train and you've got no hope to save it, " Assistant City Manager Emily Muzzarelli said, explaining the city has continued to lose ground regardless of how much money is funneled into pensions. "They obviously implemented the sales tax and put at least a quarter towards pensions, but we still saw this horizon where we're not going to be able to make those payments. What are we going to do ?" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What city leadership wants to do is switch over to the Optional II plan before it's too late. Optional II is a funding method through which an actuary determines the city's annual contribution needed to cover the fund's normal cost and amortize any deficiency by a deadline of 2063. Under this method, the city would increase its total annual contribution to the plans to $5.5 million. Benefits would be locked in for any existing employees and retirees, but all new hires would be shifted to the state pension plan. The city wants to help fund these annual payments a couple ways. One, it has nearly $11 million in sales tax revenue the 25 % that, by code, must be used to pay down the pension liability sitting in an account. This money would help cover the large initial payments. Further, the city would implement a 15 % increase in fire fees generating an additional $641, 000 each year to assist in paying down the plans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Representatives of the city's police and fire departments have a few issues with this move. One, they say the state plan is worse than what the city currently offers and they believe eliminating it will remove a bargaining chip when it comes to recruitment and retention. Two, they're frustrated that the aforementioned $11 million in sales tax revenue wasn't being pumped into the pension accounts as it was collected, but instead sitting for years in a checking account, then recently moved to a money market account. City Finance Director John Fergison admits not allowing the pension boards to invest the money likely meant the city failed to generate an additional $500, 000 in interest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We didn't lose money, but we didn't potentially earn an additional $500, 000, " he said. "But we owe $111 million, so it's kind of insignificant." Fire Pension Board Secretary Tanner Dalton said the city could keep its existing plan and pay its liabilities down far quicker if it immediately split the available sales tax money between the plans and continued with the 107 % annual contributions. Quicker still, he said, if the city allocated an additional 25 % of sales tax revenues to the plans, as is permitted in code, and pushed forward with the increase in fire fees. He said the city could have the plans caught up in 2041 under this method, saving millions by shortening the pay-off period. He compared it to deciding between a 15-year or 30-year mortgage. City leaders pushed back, explaining the compounding 107 % payments in the current plan will reach a point where they'll force significant cuts elsewhere. Further, they explained the additional 25 % in sales tax revenue in question currently goes into the city's general fund to pay for day-to-day operations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Everyone would choose a 15-year mortgage over a 30-year mortgage. Certainly. Then you figure out that instead of a $1, 000 monthly payment, you have a $2, 200 monthly payment. I still have to pay my utilities. I still have to be able to feed my kid. I still have to be able to make a car payment, " Councilor Danielle Trumble said. "If this were the only thing we were looking at, certainly it makes sense. But when we're talking about in 2040 having an $8 million payment, which is 20 % of the city budget ... what are we going to cut ?" As an alternative, Fergison said he's awaiting word from the Municipal Pension Oversight Board on what's been referred to as "the great compromise." In that compromise, the city still moves to Optional II, but immediately moves the accrued sales tax revenue to the pension funds. That amount is then credited back against the city's annual minimum contributions amortized through the end of the pay-down period. According to numbers shared by Fergison, the city's annual contribution would range from just over $1 million in 2026 to $3.2 million in 2064. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "At our current funding levels, we can make those payments, " he said, explaining that if the police and fire pensions get a better rate of return than 6.5 %, it would further lower the city's minimum required payment. The closure of the police and fire pensions to new entrants and switch to the Optional II financing method will be up for first reading as part of Tuesday's Morgantown City Council agenda. In a tragic incident four people were killed and 12 others were injured after a tractor-trolley overturned in Jakhoda of Ghatigaon in Gwalior, as per police officials. The injured have been admitted to the JAH Trauma Centre. The incident took place on Saturday night. "The accident occurred yesterday night after a tractor-trolley overturned in Jakhoda of Ghatigaon in Gwalior. Four people have been killed in this incident and 12 others who have been injured have been admitted to the JAH trauma centre," said Gwalior Superintendent of Police (SP) Dharmvir Singh. Upon receiving information, rescue teams immediately arrived at the spot to rescue the injured. "We sent our rescue team immediately upon receiving information about the incident," the SP further added. As per police officials, 31 people of the Saharia tribal community had gone to the Pai Kho village at 4 pm on Saturday to dig the roots of the Shatavari forest medicines. While coming back to their village, the trolley went out of control and overturned. "The incident occurred when 31 people of the Saharia tribal community had gone to the Pai Kho village at 4 pm on Saturday to dig the roots of the Shatavari forest medicines. When these villagers were coming back to their village, the trolley went out of control and overturned resulting in the death and injuries of the people," the SP further added. Earlier on December 3, more than 24 people sustained injuries after a bus overturned in the Chourai area of Chhindwara district. According to Thana Incharge, Chourai, GS Uikey, "A bus of 46 passengers overturned in Chourai area of Chhindwara district at around 7.30 am. Around 24-25 people were injured in the accident. The accident took place near Kendriya Vidyalaya of Chourai. Six people suffered major injuries." "The police officials arrived at the spot shortly. We rescued them from the bus and sent them to the hospital. No deaths have been reported in the incident," he said. (ANI) A Phoenix mother who admitted to killing her three children in 2020 changed her plea to guilty on Thursday, according to Maricopa County court records. Rachel Henry, 27, pled guilty during a status conference to three counts of first-degree murder, one for each of her children she smothered to death. On Jan. 20, 2020, police arrested Henry after she killed her children, all under the age of 4, in their south Phoenix family home. She was charged with murder by a grand jury the same year, according to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. Rachel Henry In February 2020, Henry originally pled not guilty to the charges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Court records say she confessed to smothering Zane Ezri Henry, Mireya Henry and Catalaya Kyeana Rios to death, singing songs to them as they died and then placing their bodies in the living room as though they were sleeping. Henry's change to a guilty plea meant that she would no longer face Arizona's death penalty. The Phoenix Police Department declined to comment on Henry's plea change. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office did not respond to requests for comment. Henry was next scheduled to appear in court for another status conference on Jan. 29, 2025. Her sentencing was scheduled to start on Feb. 14, 2025, and she was held without bond. The Republic's Bree Burkitt contributed to this article. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Rachel Henry pleads guilty to killing her three children in 2020 Physician associates will be banned from treating patients on their own under new guidance seen by The Telegraph. The new guidance by the Royal College of Physicians, which will be launched this week, will restrict what physician associates (PAs) can do independently, and ensure there is tight supervision by a senior doctor or consultant at all times. It comes after reports of patients coming to harm or dying after seeing a PA, with medics criticising hospitals for allowing them to do the work of doctors despite having no medical degree. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Going forward, PAs will also have an educating supervisor who will carve out time in their week to spend on the PAs long-term development and manage any issues that arise, it is understood. The General Medical Council (GMC) formally began to regulate the profession for the first time on Friday, but this will not be enforced for two years. While the Royal College of Physicians guidance is not legally binding, the GMC is expected to use it while the Government conducts a review of the PA and anaesthetic associate (AA) professions. Insiders told The Telegraph they expect the GMC to use the scope of practice guidance to prevent PAs working beyond their remit and to hold both them and their supervising consultants accountable. It means doctors could be sanctioned if they fail to follow the new rules. Medics have been criticising hospitals for allowing physician associates to do the work of doctors despite having no medical degree - Sturti/Getty Images Contributor PAs were introduced to assist doctors but have increasingly been taking on the responsibilities of doctors in a series of stories revealed by The Telegraph, which have included patients dying. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new guidance has been produced for use while the Government reviews the PA role. It says PAs must never conduct hospital appointments without a senior, supervising doctor in the clinic. The guidance states: A PA could assess a patient as part of a follow-up appointment, but only if this is followed by in-person review by the supervising clinician. A PA should never undertake outpatient clinics independently. The RCPs guidance puts forward two types of supervision dependent on the PAs experience: direct and indirect. All new PAs will be expected to have direct supervision, which will mean a supervising clinician is immediately available in the same clinical environment to provide advice to the PA and, if required, an immediate in-person review of a patient. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Indirect PAs require the same but within a reasonable timeframe rather than immediately. It makes clear that PAs must never fill in for doctors, prescribe medication, or request x-rays, which Telegraph investigations have found to be happening in multiple hospitals in England. For hospital inpatients, the procedures a PA will be able to undertake include baseline observations, cannulation, taking blood cultures, venepuncture, an ECG, measuring capillary glucose and a urinalysis. Invasive procedures are beyond the ceiling of a PA. Procedures being undertaken by PAs such as neurosurgery, limb amputation and endovenous surgery, will all be banned. The new guidance says: A PA should not be able to decide whether a patient is admitted or discharged from hospital - Soundexpert/Adobe Stock In emergency departments, PAs will no longer be able to diagnose or discharge patients. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They may be able to assess a patient presenting to the hospital, but only if this is followed by prompt in-person review by the supervising clinician to define the diagnosis and management plan. A PA should not be able to decide whether a patient is admitted or discharged from hospital. While they may be able to undertake specific tasks delegated by the senior doctor, they will no longer be able to act as an independent diagnostic opinion provider or senior medical decision maker. It comes after Wes Streeting launched separate reviews of both the PA role and the NHS workforce plan, which had initially set out to triple the number of PAs working for the health service to 10,000 over the next 12 years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new limitations on the role raise the prospect of the expansion being rowed back. Professor Gillian Leng, president of the Royal Society of Medicine, is due to publish the findings of her review into the PA profession in spring 2025. The British Medical Association and Royal College of GPs have also criticised the expansion of the PA role and tried to limit tasks they can carry out. Plans to expand the use of PAs across the NHS have caused controversy over the last year with a series of patients coming to harm after being cared for by a PA. Emily Chesterton, a 30-year-old actress, died after she was misdiagnosed twice by a PA as having an ankle sprain, when she actually had a blood clot that travelled from her leg to her lung. She thought she was seeing a GP. Unnecessary procedure Under new GMC guidance, any PA who allows a patient to believe they are being cared for by a doctor will face a fitness-to-practise hearing. If found guilty, they could face suspension or be struck off. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last year, The Telegraph revealed how Ben Peters, 25, was sent home from A&E by a PA who thought his chest pains and vomiting were a panic attack and gastric inflammation. He died later that night from a rare heart complication that led to a fatal haemorrhage. A coroners prevention of future death notice declared he had not been assessed in-person by a doctor. Last month, it was revealed that a woman who was being treated by a PA died in July 2023 because a drain had been mistakenly left in her abdomen for 21 hours 15 hours longer than permitted. The inquest into Susan Pollitts death revealed the 77-year-old had died because of unnecessary medical procedure contributed to by neglect. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are currently about 3,700 PAs and AAs working across GP surgeries and NHS hospital trusts in England. They do not require a medical degree and must only study a two-year postgraduate course. An RCP spokesman said: These draft documents cover the scope of practice for PAs working in general internal medicine, the supervision and employment of PAs, and titles and introductions for PAs, and are currently sitting with RCP Council. If approved, the interim guidance will be published before Christmas. They added that they are intended to act as a placeholder until the independent Leng review into PAs reports its findings in spring 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They will also be submitting evidence to call for the publication of a nationally agreed scope and ceiling of practice for PAs, a review of the projections for growth in the PA role in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, and a review of the way the PA role impacts training opportunities for resident doctors. A Royal College of Physicians spokesman says the guidance will be published before Christmas if it is approved - INSADCO Photography/Alamy Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: Many physician associates are providing great care and freeing up doctors to do the things only doctors can do. But we recognise there are some concerns over transparency for patients, scope of practice and the substituting of doctors. Thats why the Secretary of State has commissioned an independent review into physician and anaesthesia associate professions, to establish the facts, take the heat out of the issue, and make sure that we get the right people, in the right place, doing the right thing. An NHS spokesman said: The NHS has always been clear that physician associates are not replacements for doctors, but instead support teams with specific tasks they are trained to do, under supervision we have issued updated guidance on their deployment and there should be no circumstance where they are working without supervision. 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. Close to 80 people gathered outside the Iowa Capitol Oct. 8 for a demonstration against the Summit Carbon pipeline before a Supreme Court hearing. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch) Several opponents of the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions carbon sequestration pipeline have received letters on behalf of the company threatening lawsuits over perceived defamation, an environmental group representative said. Jess Mazour, a conservation program associate with the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter, said in a press release Thursday she received a letter from the company, threatening to sue for compensatory or punitive damages if statements were not retracted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The letter, dated Nov. 12, 2024, directed Mazour to cease and desist from interfering with and making any further false and defamatory statements about the pipeline project. The letter was sent from Jason Torchinsky with Holtzman Vogel law firm in Washington, D.C. and Todd Lantz with Weinhardt Law Firm in Des Moines. The letter points to a quote from Mazour in a nwestiowa.com article from August 2023, where she said Summit Carbon Solutions was in in collusion with the Iowa Utilities Board (now Iowa Utilities Commission) to take away democracy and peoples rights. The letter called the statement false and defamatory and said it, combined with Mazours explicitly stated goal to stop the pipelines, exposes her to significant legal liability. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related news: Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline project receives approval in Minnesota and for underground storage in North Dakota. The letter then stated Summit Carbon Solutions and investors have $1 billion invested into the project to date and Mazour should issue an immediate public retraction of her statement to avoid legal action. Mazour said in a call with Iowa Capital Dispatch that she and Sierra Club counsel believe Summit has no grounds to stand on with the threatened lawsuit. This is clearly an intimidation attempt just to keep us quiet and hamper our free speech rights, Mazour said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Representatives from Summit Carbon Solutions did not respond to requests for comment or to verify the letters were sent on the companys behalf. According to the press release from Mazour and the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter, at least six people have received similar letters. Trent Loos, who hosts several rural broadcasts, has also publicly stated he received a similar letter about comments he has made. During a Dec. 2 broadcast on X, Loos admitted he was wrong about one of the statements quoted in the letter, but he doubled down on two other statements the letter called false and defamatory. In no way, shape, or form did I make a mistake, Loos said of the two other alleged defamatory statements against him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mazour said the intention of the letters is intimidation and urged Iowans to stand strong when companies take this kind of action. Its just really important that we dont let this intimidation stop us from doing whats right, Mazour said. It is our responsibility as citizens of the state to protect our land, and our water, and our rights, and our democracy, and no one should stand in the way of that. Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. A Plymouth man with warrants out for his arrest was arrested after leading police on a chase that exceeded 100 miles per hour across southern Massachusetts early Sunday morning. Police in Wareham noticed Lashii Ortiz, 29, driving a sedan with out-of-state plates on Onset Avenue around 2:41 a.m. Sunday and pulled him over. Ortiz, who had felony warrants out of Plymouth District Court for assault and battery on a person over 60, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, intimidation of a witness, possession with intent to distribute a Class A substance, and possession with the intent to distribute a Class B substance, drove off when police approached the sedan, Wareham police say. Ortiz nearly hit a police cruiser as he raced away, officials say. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An officer was able to deploy stop sticks and deflated two of the sedans four tires. However, Ortiz continued to race onto Route 25 and Interstate 495, traveling over 100 mph, Wareham police say. Wareham units continued to pursue Ortiz until Massachusetts State Police and local police agencies took over and took him into custody in Brockton, police say. In addition to the outstanding warrants, Ortiz will also be charged with unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, and failure to stop for police. He will be arraigned on Monday in Wareham District Court. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW WASHINGTON (DC News Now) The Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD) said a man was arrested after he evaded a Metrobus fare and discarded a gun while running from police in Southeast D.C. on Friday. MTPD said that at about 5:30 p.m., officers were working a bus enforcement detail at Stadium-Armory Station when they saw a man get on a B2 Metrobus without paying the Metro fare. Officers then stopped the man and attempted to issue him a citation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House fire displaces family in Rockville, fire officials say However, the man became combative with officers before running from the area, according to police. Officers started running after him and said they saw him get rid of a handgun. Police caught and arrested the man, identified as Daquan Nelson, 22, of Northeast. He was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of an unregistered firearm, possession of unregistered ammunition, resisting arrest, assault on a police officer and fare evasion. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) A Peoria police spokesperson said a homeless man set a fire at a Downtown Peoria hospital Saturday morning as a way to keep warm. Semone Roth, a departmental spokeswoman, said Larry Peterson, 78, was trying to keep warm and thought the vestibule at Carle Health Methodist Hospital where the fire originated was made of concrete and wouldnt burn. At the time, the temperatures were in the low 30s, according to the National Weather Service in Lincoln. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Roth also said this was not the first time Peterson had been linked to a fire. She said he was known to the Peoria Fire Department as he allegedly had started fires before. A fire causes 10K in damages after spreading to Carle Health wall When the Fire Department arrived they saw an individual hovering over the fire which was burning sticks, paper and bed sheets. The fire had spread to the outside wall of the hospital near the elevators, said Battalion Chief Tom Sander on Saturday. Sander said the fire had spread nearly seven feet up the wall, but firefighters were able to quickly put the fire out before it caused too much damage and the hospital was able to remain open. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Peterson was arrested and taken to the Peoria County Jail on charges of criminal damage to property, arson, and trespassing, Roth said. He remained in the county jail as of Sunday afternoon. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CIProud.com. COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Authorities in Ohio launched a homicide investigation after the bodies of three women were found Saturday inside a home in Columbus. Officers were called to a home on the city's south side just before 4 p.m. Saturday for what a 911 caller described as a medical event. Police found three women who were pronounced dead at the scene, according to police spokesman Sgt. James Fuqua. He said the killings were considered homicides, but he did not have further details, including what led up to the killings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unfortunately, this is a very complex scene with the amount of victims that we have, he told reporters Saturday. "Its going to take a little bit longer to make sure that were very careful in going through the scene meticulously so we do not miss any key piece of evidence. He said investigators were interviewing witnesses and looking for video evidence. Fuqua said Saturday that no suspects had been taken into custody. Columbus police did not immediately have an update on the homicides on Sunday. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Sunday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi could hold office because of the independence granted by the Constitution. It was due to the Congress party that PM Modi has all the rights, he said. He (PM Modi) couldn't have been the Prime Minister of this country if not for the Constitution, the Karnataka Deputy CM said. "Prime Minister should know that Congress only has given him all rights - with the Constitution, with the national flag, with the national anthem and independence. That is why, when independence has been given to him and democracy has been given, now he is the Prime Minister of this country. He couldn't have been the Prime Minister of this country if not for the constitution," Shivakumar told ANI. Speaking on the 11 pledges presented by PM Modi, Shivakumar said, "Let us see. Let us hope for the best for this country." Modi launched a scathing attack on Congress on Saturday, accusing it of disrespecting the Constitution and presented eleven pledges for India's bright future, noting that the government and people should follow their duties and the country's politics should be free of "parivarvad". Responding to a two-day discussion in Lok Sabha on 75 years of the Constitution, PM Modi made repeated reference to the Nehru-Gandhi family, accusing every generation of its leaders of disrespecting the Constitution. "Congress has continuously disrespected the Constitution. It has made attempts to reduce its importance. History of Congress is full of such examples," he said. He took the "biggest jumla" jibe at Congress over its 'Garibi Hatao' slogan and said his government's mission is to free the poor from their difficulties. "If we follow our fundamental duties, no one can stop us from making Viksit," the Prime Minister said. Slamming Congress for the emergency, he said the country was turned into a prison, citizens' rights were snatched, and press freedom was curtailed. Taking a dig at Congress, he said from 1947 to 1952, India did not have an elected government but a temporary, selected one, with no elections held. He highlighted that before 1952, the Rajya Sabha was not formed, and there were no state elections, meaning there was no mandate from the people. The two-day debate on 75 years of the Constitution started in Lok Sabha on Friday. (ANI) For previous reports on this story view the video player above. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) An investigation into a 2017 homicide that killed an 18-year-old Columbus man is at a stalemate despite efforts to revive the case. According to Central Ohio Crime Stoppers, police remain focused on the murder of Tyquan Lackey, who was gunned down outside of a party in east Columbus the night of March 11, 2017. According to police, the incident began as a birthday party in the 1600 block of Maryland Avenue, in the Woodland Park neighborhood. Calls to 911 reported seeing a large crowd of people outside fighting at around 10:45 p.m. Moments later additional calls were received on shots fired at the same location. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officers found Lackey and two other individuals, both 17 at the time, suffering from gunshot wounds. All three victims were taken to nearby hospitals, but Lackey was unable to survive his injury. Tyquan Lackey Tyquan Lackey (right) and Valerie Lackey. Many witnesses to the shooting fled the scene and police have yet to receive tips from anyone who was at the party that night. Valerie Lackey, Tyquans mother, said she learned her son had been shot on a Facebook post. By the time she learned about it, Tyquan was already dead. Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for any information leading to the arrest and/or indictment of the person(s) responsible for this crime. Anyone with information is asked to call 614-461-TIPS (8477) or visit www.stopcrime.org and submit your tip. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (DC News Now) Police in the City of Fredericksburg are looking for a suspect who they believe shot a 23-year-old man in downtown Fredericksburg on Saturday. According to the Fredericksburg Police Department, at around 1 a.m. on Dec. 14, officers responded to the 400 block of William St. after hearing gunfire. Upon arrival, they found Tyler Lee Jones, 23, of Fredericksburg, with gunshot wounds on Charles Street. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police conducting death investigation in Alexandria Officers provided medical care to Jones until medics arrived and took him to the hospital, where he later died. In a later update, police said Elijah Musgrove, who should be considered armed and dangerous, is wanted by the city in connection to the homicide. Photograph of Elijah Musgrove. (Courtesy: The Fredericksburg Police Department) Authorities charged Musgrove with second-degree murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. The police department encourages anyone with information on Musgroves location to call 911 or 540-373-3122. To make an anonymous tip, tipsters can text FPDtip to 847-411. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. KANSAS CITY, Mo. The Kansas City Police Department has found a missing 8-year-old girl who disappeared early Sunday morning. According to KCPD, BreAsia Wilson Cotton was last seen in the area of North Stoddard Avenue and Northwest 82nd Street around 7 a.m. Suspect arrested for attempting to stab patrons at Miracle pop-up bar Police said she was wearing a multi-colored pullover, leggings and black and white Jordans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cotton was found safe on Sunday afternoon, KCPD confirmed. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. With tensions rapidly rising over an apparent drone invasion sweeping some states, New Jersey Senator Andy Kim set out to seek answers. The Democrat did a ride-along with local cops to get to the bottom of the mystery with a deeper analysis of the growing and perplexing drama. After going out with police to observe reports of possible drones, I was with help of civilian pilots and others able to do deeper analysis and concluded that most of the possible drone sightings that were pointed out to me were almost certainly planes, Kim shared in a post on X on Saturday. Last night I went out with local police to spot drone flying over New Jersey, heres what I saw. We drove to Round Valley Reservoir and the officer pointed to lights moving low over the tree line. Sometimes they were solid white light, others flashed of red and green.THREAD pic.twitter.com/ly7kUUDWDn Andy Kim (@AndyKimNJ) December 13, 2024 He called on the federal government to provide more information to residents about the UAVs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think this situation in some ways reflects this moment in our country. People have a lot anxiety right now about the economy, health, security etc., wrote Kim, who was sworn in on Dec. 9. And too often we find that those charged with working on these issues dont engage the public with the respect and depth needed. Ill keep pressing to get answers about possible drones and help us understand whats going on. On top of that, Ill push for a government that is more responsive to the people. A customer service governance that treats people with respect, transparency and accountability. Alarm has been building for weeks with the number of drone sightings inexplicably soaring. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As well as New Jersey, drones have been spotted in California, Massachusetts, Florida, Wyoming, Maryland and New York. Authorities have been unable to provide definitive answers, saying only that the objects are not believed to pose a danger to the public or national security. On Thursday, White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters that available images suggested that many of the reported drone sightings were actually manned aircraft. Federal experts should provide information and guidance to the public including local police departments like the one that took me out to help them decipher what they are seeing, added Kim. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Instead myself and others requesting are getting no feedback. He also shared a video showing lights skidding across the night sky near Round Valley Reservoir at 9:20 p.m.. I dont discount others may have seen actual drone activity, and not all I saw is fully explained by flight paths, but much of it was, said the concerned politico. And I think the process through which I got confirmation points to the kind of explanation we need from gov authorities to address the publics concern. Wrong voice The Kansas City Star should not have published the Dec. 8 guest commentary Americans arent divided on Alzheimers research, which was written by a pollster hired by a trio of pharmaceutical industry-funded groups. Its easy to get supportive poll results when the questions are misleading. The pollsters didnt tell participants that Medicare does pay for Alzheimers treatments it just requires that their doctors enroll the patients in a registry meant to track brain bleeds and other harms in patients taking these dangerous medications. Its obvious why pharmaceutical companies would want to avoid tracking harms, but the pharma-funded Alliance for Aging Research should be ashamed of supporting the industrys efforts to avoid reporting harms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement - Judy Butler and Adriane Fugh-Berman, PharmedOut, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, D.C. Tied to norms Candidates love to talk about the need for the return of bipartisanship to Washington. Despite their assertions, there is no lack of bipartisanship. Lawmakers are happy to collaborate when it comes to banning TikTok, exploding the defense budget or permanently damaging our countrys diplomatic standing. In 2024, centrists point to these bipartisan priorities as something we should be proud of. However, this election showed just how out of touch they really are. Voters of both parties want many of the same things: to retire with dignity, to be able to own a house, to get money out of politics, to not go broke visiting the doctor and for one job to be enough to live a middle-class lifestyle. Democrats are quick to blame the GOP for getting in the way of solutions, but when centrists such as Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema invoke the filibuster, Democrats simply throw up their hands in defeat. When a Republican senator gets in the way of legislation, he is publicly shamed by Donald Trump until he changes his mind. Why cant Democrats get popular things done? Simple: Centrists run the party. They will continue to lose elections until they realize that voters prefer results over outdated norms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement - Ethan Riscovallez, Prairie Village Morans time An open letter to Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran: Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. And now is the time for you to stand up and be heard. You are a moderate Republican, and Im sure youre appalled at the takeover of your party by the MAGA extremists and their morally corrupt leader Donald Trump. But you have a chance now to have a backbone and push back on the dangerous slate of Cabinet members offered by Man King Donald. It takes only four gutsy Republican senators to knock down Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kash Patel, and to keep America from falling completely into the hands of incompetent grifters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As for you, Sen. Moran, you have a chance to define your years in politics as a person willing to do the tough stuff America needs from its leaders. If you get primaried in 2028, so be it. Im confident you would enjoy retirement much more than being a puppet for Trump. Now is the time. - Dan Toughey, Leawood Make a tally Now that Donald Trump, after railing against the state of the Biden economy, has been elected our president, I hope that someone smarter than me will put together a spreadsheet of our current everyday costs and compare them with those same costs at the end of his presidency. Well see then how his tariff plan has affected all of us. And then we will be able to look at those who voted him into office and ask, Are you happy now? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement - Jim Hayes, Leawood Loss is a win I dont agree with Toriano Porter that we all lose if Jackson County is forced to return $70 million in federal COVID-19 relief money because the Jackson County Legislature cant agree on how to spend it. (Dec. 12, 10A, Jackson County loses as leaders argue about ARPA) In fact, it would be a great win for the American taxpayer. Why should taxpayers send $1.9 trillion to Washington, D.C., only to ask for a tiny percentage of it back? Any federal program of this magnitude surely is fraught with waste and bureaucracy. Thats why it passed in March 2021 with zero Republican support. Now that conservatives are back in power, lets hope that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will shine a spotlight on the programs waste and prevent such travesties of taxpayer-funded programs in the future. - Joe DeShon, Oak Grove Real RINOs The R in RINO should stand for Representatives not Republicans In Name Only. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ever since Amendment 3 was passed by the majority of Missouri voters, these RINOS have publicly vowed to cancel, nullify and get rid of it. The Dec. 9 Star front-page headline read, Missouri GOP lawmakers file bills to reinstate abortion ban. If you are not outraged by this blatant action, you should be. It says, We dont care about the will of the people the voters. We are going to pursue our own agenda and bias anyway. This means our elected representatives are in name only and will do whatever they want, not what we voters want and elected them to represent. Im 83 years old and a lifelong Republican, but these politicians are out of control and should be voted out of office ASAP. They have made a mockery of the democratic process. A pointed letter to these RINOs would be a good idea, but Im sure they would ignore it also! - Robert Shortell, Raymore By Joshua McElwee AJACCIO, France (Reuters) -Pope Francis urged Catholic priests on Sunday to guard against spiritual groups that stoke political divisions, speaking during a one-day visit to Corsica, the first by a pontiff to the French Mediterranean island. At a conference on religion in the Mediterranean region, the pontiff warned against varieties of spirituality that "seek self-aggrandisement by fuelling polemics, narrow-mindedness, divisions and exclusivist attitudes". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The Church's pastors (are) called to be vigilant, to exercise discernment and to be constantly attentive to (these) popular forms of religiosity," the pope said. Francis, making his third and probably last foreign trip of 2024, did not name any specific religious groups. Corsica has a long history of lay Catholic associations, known as confraternities. They usually focus on spiritual matters but sometimes play a role in local politics. The pope spent about nine hours in Ajaccio, Corsica's capital. After attending the conference, he celebrated an outdoor Mass with what the Vatican estimated was a crowd of 15,000 Catholics. He also met French President Emmanuel Macron. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Visiting places that often do not draw international attention is part of the pope's policy of highlighting people and problems in what he calls the "peripheries" of the world. In the course of his 11-year papacy Francis has still not visited most of the capitals of Western Europe, including Paris. Macron had invited Francis to attend the Dec. 7 reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral, five years after a devastating fire nearly destroyed the medieval building. The pope decided not to go, and the two instead met briefly at Ajaccio airport on Sunday. Francis thanked Macron for making the visit to Corsica to see him. Macron, who took the pope by the hand during a routine diplomatic gift exchange, said it was a "great honour" to come. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a departure from the usual protocol, the pope did not take questions from journalists on the return flight. The director of the Vatican press office, Matteo Bruni, said that was because of the short length of the trip from Ajaccio to Rome. POPE TURNS 88 ON TUESDAY Francis, who turns 88 on Tuesday, left his plane on arrival in Corsica via an elevator and used a wheelchair while greeting officials on the tarmac, as is now normal when he travels. During a brief ride in an open-air popemobile from the airport, the pope waved at crowds on the street and appeared on good form. He still had a small bruise on his chin, the result of what the Vatican described as a minor fall in his bedroom earlier this month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Corsica, famed for mountainous terrain and as the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte, is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean. It is one of France's poorest regions and about 20% of the population of 356,000 lives below the poverty line, according to government figures. The Vatican estimates that about 81% of Corsica's population is Catholic. Francis, originally from Argentina and the first pope from the Americas, has travelled widely around the Mediterranean since becoming pontiff in 2013, visiting Malta, the Greek island of Lesbos, and the Italian island of Lampedusa. (Reporting by Joshua McElweeEditing by Gareth Jones, Frances Kerry and Ros Russell) AJACCIO, Corsica (AP) Pope Francis on the first papal visit ever to the French island of Corsica on Sunday called for a dynamic form of laicism, promoting the kind of popular piety that distinguishes the Mediterranean island from secular France as a bridge between religious and civic society. Francis appeared relaxed and energized during the one-day visit, just two days before his 88th birthday, still displaying a faded bruise from a fall a week ago. He frequently deviated from his prepared homily during Mass at the outdoor La Place dAusterlitz, remarking at one point that he had never seen so many children as in Corsica except, he added, in East Timor on his recent Asian tour. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Make children, he implored. They will be your joy and your consolation in the future. Earlier, at the close of a Mediterranean conference on popular piety, Papa Francescu, as he is called in Corsican, described a concept of secularity that is not static and fixed, but evolving and dynamic, that can adapt to unforeseen situations and promote cooperation between civil and ecclesial authorities. The pontiff said that expressions of popular piety, including processions and communal prayer of the Holy Rosary can nurture constructive citizenship" on the part of Christians. At the same time, he warned against such manifestations being seen only in terms of folklore, or even superstition. The visit to Corsicas capital Ajaccio, the birthplace of Napoleon, is one of the briefest of his papacy beyond Italys borders, just about nine hours on the ground, including a 40-minute visit with French President Emmanuel Macron. Francis met privately with Macron at the airport before flying back to Rome. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Francis was joined on the dais by the bishop of Ajaccio, Cardinal Francois-Xavier Bustillo, who organized the conference that brought together some 400 participants from Spain, Sicily, Sardinia and southern France. The two-day meeting examined expressions of faith that often occur outside formal liturgies, such as processions and pilgrimages. Often specific to the places where they are practiced, popular piety in Corsica includes the cult of the Virgin Mary, known locally as the "Madunnuccia," which protected the island from the plague in 1656 when it was still under Genoa. Corsica stands out from the rest of secularized France as a particularly devout region, with 92 confraternities, or lay associations dedicated to works of charity or piety, with over 4,000 members. It means that there is a beautiful, mature, adult and responsible collaboration between civil authorities, mayors, deputies, senators, officials and religious authorities, Bustillo told The Associated Press ahead of the visit. There is no hostility between the two. And that is a very positive aspect because in Corsica there is no ideological hostility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The visit was awash in signs of popular piety. The pope was greeted by children in traditional garb and was continually serenaded by bands, choruses and singing troupes that are central to Corsican culture from the airport, to the motorcade route, convention center and cathedral. Thousands stood along the roadside to greet the pontiff and more waved from windows. Rene Colombani traveled with 2,000 others by ship from northern Corsica to Ajaccio, on the western coast, to see the pope. It is an event that we will not see again in several years. It may be the only time that the pope will come to Corsica. And since we wanted to be a part of it, we have come a long way Colombani said. The island, which Genoa ceded to France in 1768, is located closer to the Italian mainland than France. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From the conference, the pope traveled to the 17th-century cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta to meet with clergy, stopping along the way at the statue of the Madunnuccia where he lit a devotional candle. The pope celebrated Mass beneath a looming statue of Napoleon Bonaparte, the French emperor whose armies in 1808 annexed the papal states and imprisoned two of Francis predecessors Popes Pius VI and VII before being excommunicated and eventually defeated on the battlefield. Thousands packed the esplanade where Napoleon is said to have played as a child. Francis met with Macron at the airport before departing for the 50-minute flight back to Rome. They discussed Russias war in Ukraine, the Middle East and security issues in Africa's Sahel and Great Lakes regions, Haiti and Sudan, Macron's office said in a statement. Macron welcomed the pope's calls for peace, non-violence and respect for human rights, the statement said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both Macron and Francis expressed their deep concern regarding the situation in Gaza and called for an immediate and lasting ceasefire and the massive delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid, according to Macron's office. On Syria, they reiterated their wish to see a fair and inclusive political transition, the statement said. Macron presented the pope with two books about Notre Dame Cathedral. The pontiff pointedly did not make the trip to Paris earlier this month for the pomp surrounding the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral following the devastating 2019 fire. The visit to Corsica seems far more suited to Francis priorities than a grand cathedral reopening, emphasizing the church of the peripheries. It was Francis third trip to France, each time avoiding Paris and the protocols that a state visit entails. He visited the port of Marseille in 2023, on an overnight visit to participate in an annual summit of Mediterranean bishops, and went to Strasbourg in 2014 to address the European Parliament and Council of Europe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Corsica is home to more than 340,000 people and has been part of France since 1768. But the island has also seen pro-independence violence and has an influential nationalist movement. Last year, Macron proposed granting it limited autonomy. Given the short flight back to Rome, Francis didnt hold an airborne press conference en route home, the first time he has skipped the traditional briefing in 47 foreign trips as pope. Francis did come to the back of the plane though to greet reporters and receive a pretend birthday cake. __ Associated Press writers Colleen Barry in Milan and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report. __ 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. Pope Francis has called for a "healthy secularism" while visiting the French island of Corsica. Christian and secular culture should not be pitted against each other, Francis, who is the first pope to ever visit the Mediterranean island, said. He called for a secularism the separation of Church and state that is dynamic and adaptable. Constant cooperation between civil and spiritual authorities serves the good of the community, the pope said Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Such healthy secularism allows politics to act without exploiting religion, and religion to live freely without being burdened by politics dictated by interests," the pontiff said. France considers itself a strictly secular country, an image that is deeply rooted in society. The pope, who is set to return to the Vatican in the evening, was greeted by worshippers and onlookers lining the streets of Corsica's capital Ajaccio. He is also due to celebrate Mass and meet French President Emmanuel Macron. Pope Francis on Sunday called for a "healthy secularism" while visiting the French island of Corsica. Christian and secular culture should not be pitted against each other, said Francis, who is the first pope to ever visit the Mediterranean island. The spiritual leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics called for a secularism the separation of Church and state that is dynamic and adaptable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Constant cooperation between civil and spiritual authorities serves the good of the community, the pope said "Such healthy secularism allows politics to act without exploiting religion, and religion to live freely without being burdened by politics dictated by interests," the pontiff said. France considers itself a strictly secular country, an image that is deeply rooted in society. During the one-day visit, Francis also celebrated Mass with several thousand faithful. On the streets of Ajaccio, Francis, who turns 88 on Tuesday, was celebrated by the faithful and onlookers. Many sang songs or asked for blessings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To conclude his visit, the pope met French President Emmanuel Macron. The vast majority of Corsica's approximately 350,000 inhabitants profess the Catholic faith. For Francis, it is the last overseas trip this year. He was due to return to the Vatican in the evening. Pope Francis delivers his message inside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption of Ajaccio. Vatican Media/IPA via ZUMA Press/dpa Pope France is set to travel to the French island of Corsica on Sunday, where he will meet with President Emmanuel Macron, one week after the pontiff raised eyebrows after deciding to skip the grand reopening of the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris. Besides holding talks with Macron, Francis is scheduled to attend a gathering in the island's capital Ajaccio on popular piety, which includes expressions of faith outside of church celebrations. The 87-year-old pope will also hold mass with several thousand worshippers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Francis ruffled feathers in France last week when he did not join other world leaders in attending the reopening of Notre-Dame, a landmark medieval Catholic cathedral which was massively damaged by a fire some five years ago. However, Francis will be the first pope to visit Corsica, a Mediterranean island off the southern coast of France that has long longed for greater autonomy from Paris. Most of the island's 350,000 inhabitants are Catholics. It will be Francis's final trip abroad this year, before he returns to Rome for the busy Christmas season. Besides the usual festivities, the pope is set to open the 2025 Holy Year on Christmas Eve. Also known as Jubilee, the Catholic Holy Year only occurs every 25 years, with millions of pilgrims expected to make the trip to Rome for the occasion. The party's general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami and other top leaders, former ministers and MLAs were among those who attended the meeting. Even though it is an annual affair, the meeting of the general council assumes significance in the context of the party's drubbing in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The AIADMK drew blank in the election. The DMK and its allies had trumped the BJP and the AIADMK with the DMK winning 22 seats, Congress winning nine, VCK, CPI and CPI (M) winning two each, MDMK and IUML winning one each. AIADMK's one seat in Theni that it won in 2019 was taken by the DMK in the election. At today's meeting, the party is expected to pass resolutions condemning the state DMK government on several issues, including its alleged failure to prevent the granting of tungsten mining rights. The AIADMK leader held the Tamil Nadu government responsible for auctioning tungsten mining in Madurai, saying that the DMK was enacting a drama just to hide the issue. Earlier on Monday, the Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a resolution opposing the project. Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin said that as long as he is the Chief Minister of the state he will not allow tungsten mining at Melur in Madurai district. (ANI) PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) Students attending Portsmouth Public Schools will begin the next school year more than a week earlier than the current one, starting once again before Labor Day. The Portsmouth School Board approved at its Dec. 12 meeting a new calendar for 2025-2026 that has students starting the 2025-2026 school year Aug. 18, which is more than a week earlier than they did in this current school year. The next school year will end May 29. Portsmouth School Board approves pre-Labor Day school year start Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement PPS students will have an extended Labor Day weekend, as there will be no school Aug. 29 and Sept. 1, and they will also be out of school Nov. 26-28 for the Thanksgiving holiday, and then their last day of school before winter break will be Dec. 19, with students returning from that break Jan. 5. 2025-2026_Instructional_Calendar-PPSDownload PPS said the change was put into place to align division programming that begins in August to better partner with shared regional services and to provide students more instructional time ahead of high-stakes testing. Progress report, report card and graduation dates will be finalized and published later in the year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement PPS students started the current school year Aug. 26 and are scheduled to finish June 6. They will also have two weeks off for winter break, from Dec. 23 through Jan. 3. Prior to the current school year, PPS students started school after Labor Day. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com. Much of Western Washington has its power back after a windstorm swept through the Puget Sound this weekend, knocking out power to over 22,000 residents. The recent wind and rain were less intense than the November bomb cyclone, but still significant enough to cause issues. The winds picked up Friday night and battered the area through Saturday night, with some locations experiencing wind peaks between 50 and 100 mph. Downed trees and power lines not only caused power outages across the area, but also shut down a few roads. It took crews in Everson over three hours to clear downed trees and power lines from State Route 9. In Renton, a large tree and power power pole blocked Benson Road overnight. HEADS UP!!! Wind blew over a large tree and power pole. It is blocking both directions of Benson Rd S just north of S 28th St. Puget Sound Energy is en route but the road likely be closed through the night. pic.twitter.com/jYGfvqQ0JQ Renton Police Dept. (@RentonpdWA) December 14, 2024 In Mountlake Terrace, South County Fire crews had to remove a tree that had fallen onto a car. Luckily, nobody was hurt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Firefighters responded around noon today to this tree that fell on a vehicle in Mountlake Terrace. Thankfully no one was hurt. Stay safe out there. Well be ready to respond 24/7, if you do need us. Posted by South County Fire on Saturday, December 14, 2024 Here are the numbers of outages by county as of 2 p.m. Sunday, from the highest number of continued outages to the lowest: AURORA, Ill. A judge has granted the states motion to deny pre-trial release for an Aurora man accused of trafficking an 18-year-old woman from West Virginia into prostitution. According to the DuPage County States Attorneys Office, on Nov. 22, the Aurora Police Department received information regarding online advertisements for prostitution. Over the course of the investigation, officers were led to believe the alleged prostitution happened at 43-year-old Christopher Mungers home, located in the 100 block of North Gregory Street. On Dec. 11, undercover officers with the Aurora Police Department went to Mungers home after arranging to meet for sex acts. It is alleged that at the time of the scheduled appointment, the officer gave the woman $400, which she then slid under another door in Mungers home, according to investigators. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Woman charged in deadly Aurora crash caused by street race, prosecutors say Officials said the officer then told the woman he was going to leave. When he left the room, he reportedly saw a man, identified as Munger, picking up the $400 the woman had slid under the door. Munger was then taken into custody. It is believed Munger met the woman online, drove to West Virginia to pick her up and brought her to Aurora. According to officials, the investigation revealed that the woman had no family in West Virginia and was reported missing when she did not return to a group home where she was living. Munger has been charged with one count of trafficking in persons, two counts of involuntary servitude and one count of promoting prostitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He is set to be arraigned on Jan. 6, 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 WGN-TV. A judge this week dismissed a malicious harassment charge against a pro-Palestine protester who was arrested over the summer after a confrontation with a Jewish man. Initially, two protesters were charged in a case that raised questions about the limits of free speech amid contentious nationwide disputes over the Israel-Hamas war. The first protester had their case dismissed in August. This case involves the paramount political issue of our time: The dispute over whether what is happening in Gaza right now is in fact a genocide, the defense said in court Thursday. The stakes for free speech could not be higher. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The confrontation and arrests in Boise illustrate the tension over violence and war in Israel and Palestine. The situation escalated after Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, with reports of more than 1,200 killed and hundreds taken hostage. Israel responded with massive military force. Palestinian health authorities have said Israels military campaign has since killed more than 44,000 people in Gaza, according to the Associated Press. Idahos malicious harassment statute prohibits targeting someone based on race, color, religion, ancestry or national origin by injuring them, damaging their property or threatening them, according to previous Statesman reporting. The man was dining downtown on an Eighth Street patio, wearing a kippah and tzitzit, traditional Jewish clothing items. The protesters were chanting Free Palestine, Youre killing babies, America will fall, and Israel will fall, according to previous testimony. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The two also allegedly said, From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free, which many view as a call for Israels destruction. The man previously testified that he made eye contact with the two, stood up and as they approached, told them to leave. The group argued. The protesters left but quickly returned, according to previous testimony. But then they came back. And why did they come back? There was a Jew, visibly, a Jew, who was telling them that I didnt appreciate them and they should leave, the man previously said in court. So why did they come back? They came back for me and my wife. He got up from the patio, moved toward them and told the protesters to leave, according to previous testimony. One of the protesters allegedly hit him in the nose with a phone. That protesters charge was dismissed this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The prosecution argued this week that the protesters chants were chosen to anger someone who was Jewish. False accusations of Jews killing babies has been a calling card of antisemitism since long before Israel even existed, and thats common knowledge, the prosecution said in court. However, the defense argued this isnt something everyone knew. Both the judge and the defense said that the protests were against Israels actions relating to child deaths. Palestinian authorities have counted thousands of children among the dead, according to the Associated Press. Judge Annie McDevitt said an earlier court had abused its discretion by finding probable cause against the protester. She said that the two had been chanting at random people and that the man had come out of the patio toward them. I will note that (the protester) and the other protester were ultimately protesting actions of the Israeli government, DeVitt said Thursday. Which bears some distinction from protesting Judaism, specifically. A mother-of-two has died after attempting to confront shoplifters at her workplace. Ilson Miriam Kim was trying to stop two people who stole several items from her beauty supply store, Beauty Max, in Jacksonville, Florida, at around 6 p.m. local time on Friday, Dec. 6, when she was fatally run over, according to WSAZ 3 and Cleveland 19 News, Two individuals entered into the business, one of the individuals grabbed several items and ran out of the store with those items, Sgt. Steve Rudlaff with the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office told News 4 JAX. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the shoplifters left on foot, while the other got into a car with a driver waiting, Rudlaff added to the outlet. The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on Sunday, Dec. 15. Google Maps Kim had been working at Beauty Max, pictured Kim had been working at Beauty Max, pictured Related: 3rd Grader Faces Criminal Charge After Making Multiple School Bomb Threats on Facebook: Its Very Upsetting Kim, 64, was rushed to hospital after being hit by the vehicle, though she was later pronounced dead. Everything she accomplished in her life was through sheer grit and determination, her family told WJXT. Though she was at times hesitant, she didnt want fear to conquer her. She was in her 60s when she learned how to swim and had taken up Zumba to get into better health," they added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related: Ohio Mom Asks 'How Do You Pick Which Kid to Save' After Daughter, 21, and Son, 20, Both Shot A business owner, who chose to remain anonymous, told News 4 JAX that shoplifting had been a major issue for the plaza where Kim's shop was located. I think a lot of companies need to take accountability for their employees and make sure they are trained to know not to run after a shoplifter, especially in a busy area like this, shopper Heather Colby told the outlet. Another individual described Kims actions as being very courageous, as they shared their thoughts and prayers with her loved ones. 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 GoFundMe set up to raise money for Kims funeral expenses revealed that she is leaving behind two daughters and a husband. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ilson was a proud mother, wife, businesswoman, and store owner, the GoFundMe reads. She taught her daughters the power of hard work, persistence, empathy, and love; she exemplified these qualities with the grace and love she showed to others in her community on a daily basis," it continues. An online obituary said that Kim immigrated to the United States from Uijeongbu, South Korea, in 1986 "in search of better opportunities" and opened her beauty store in Jacksonville just three years ago. No arrests have been made tied to Kim's death. The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone who may have witnessed or has any information about the incident is asked to contact authorities at (904) 630-0500. Read the original article on People (Reuters) -Qatar will reopen its embassy in Syria on Tuesday after it was closed for more than 13 years, the Gulf country's foreign ministry said on Sunday, a week after Bashar al-Assad was removed from power. Qatar's embassy in Damascus has been shut since July 2011 when it withdrew its ambassador from Damascus after a series of deadly crackdowns by Assad's regime on protesters - violence that led to the 13-year-long civil war. Doha in recent years did not join efforts by several Arab countries to mend relations with Assad's government and re-establish diplomatic relations with Damascus. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A lightning advance by rebels, lead by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group - a former al Qaeda affiliate - led to the ouster of Assad on Dec. 8. Qatar's foreign ministry said in a statement its decision to reopen the embassy reflects its support for the Syrian people and their "struggle to attain their legitimate rights for a dignified life". (Reporting by Hatem Maher and Ahmed Tolba; Editing by Ros Russell) RENDERING COURTESY THE QUEENS HEALTH SYSTEMS 1 /3 RENDERING COURTESY THE QUEENS HEALTH SYSTEMS RENDERING COURTESY THE QUEENS HEALTH SYSTEMS 2 /3 RENDERING COURTESY THE QUEENS HEALTH SYSTEMS RENDERING COURTESY THE QUEENS HEALTH SYSTEMS An artists rendering shows The Queens Health Systems plans to build an 80-bed hospital and medical office building in Kailua-Kona. The plan also includes 150 condos and apartments for health care and other hospital staff at below-market rates. 3 /3 RENDERING COURTESY THE QUEENS HEALTH SYSTEMS An artists rendering shows The Queens Health Systems plans to build an 80-bed hospital and medical office building in Kailua-Kona. The plan also includes 150 condos and apartments for health care and other hospital staff at below-market rates. RENDERING COURTESY THE QUEENS HEALTH SYSTEMS RENDERING COURTESY THE QUEENS HEALTH SYSTEMS RENDERING COURTESY THE QUEENS HEALTH SYSTEMS An artists rendering shows The Queens Health Systems plans to build an 80-bed hospital and medical office building in Kailua-Kona. The plan also includes 150 condos and apartments for health care and other hospital staff at below-market rates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Queens Health Systems plans to build an 80-bed hospital next to the Kailua-Kona Costco on Hawaii island that would include a helipad to cut travel time to its trauma center on Oahu and, critically, construct adjacent, below-market-rate housing to recruit and retain some of the estimated 300 hospital staff, nurses and doctors. The campus, including a medical office building, would start to go up in two to three years on 30 acres of land Queens owns, with it opening perhaps five years from now, according to Queens President and CEO Jason Chang. The project would cost $400 million to $500 million, with possible funding from private investments and philanthropic contributions, Queens said. What were trying to do is create a regional health system for the Big Island, so this is in partnership with our existing hospital, Queens North Hawaii Community Hospital, Chang said. Well be bringing more access, better care and more specialists to the north and west sides of the island. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Queens plans surprised officials at the 94-bed Kona Community Hospital, located south of the Queens site closer to Captain Cook. Hawaii Health Systems Corp., which operates the Kona Community and Kohala hospitals, had been looking to build another hospital closer to the main population center in Kailua-Kona, including potentially on the land where Queens plans to build its still-unnamed hospital, said Clayton McGhan, HHSC West Hawaii regional CEO. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with top news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Because of the health care needs of the west side of the Big Island, McGhan said he supports Queens plans, especially its goal of building workforce housing for hospital staff. While some refer to the neighbor islands as providing rural health care, McGhan said that in Kona, I actually think were remote or frontier health care. Based on a needs assessment funded by the state Legislature, West Hawaiis population is expected to grow 11 % over the next decade. Last year, 22, 000 patients were treated in the Kona Community Hospitals emergency room and the number is on track to jump to 24, 000 this year McGhan said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It has its own helipad and flies about 6, 000 patients each month to Queens trauma center on Oahu via Hawaii Life Flight medical transport crews. Most are neurological or stroke patients and traumatic cases, McGhan said. But the 50-year-old Kona Community lacks the volume of specialized cases to justify full-time specialists. So it relies on specialists at Queens to consult via telemedicine technology on stroke and neurological cases, along with helping with a new electronic medical records system, McGhan said. A new Queens hospital in Kailua-Kona would be welcomed, he said. We dont look at it as competition, McGhan said. I know what our community needs. We have to celebrate that because its going to meet the communitys demands. The main thing is were supportive of any additional resources that would come here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kona community Hospital needs 25 more doctors trained in psychiatric care, cardiology, adult primary care and pediatric specialties, according to McGhan, who applauded Queens plan to build 150 condo and apartment units that would be rented to hospital staff at below-market rates, with the option to also buy at below-market prices. When its time to sell, owners would have to sell to another hospital employee at similar rates, Chang said. McGhan called the concept fantastic. Its hard to attract staff here. So were going to be supportive of any new workforce housing. Gov. Josh Green started his Hawaii medical career at a rural hospital in Kau on the southern end of Hawaii island. As lieutenant governor, he worked weekend ER shifts at Kona Community while running for governor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its very exciting to see health care weigh in on the need for affordable housing. Ive always said that housing is health care, Green said. For Queens, Chang hopes to finish building the housing before the hospital itself opens to ensure it has long-term staffing. We believe housings such a huge need and you cant recruit nurses, doctors, technologists, social workers if you dont, Chang said. Because of the difficulty recruiting health care workerslet alone specialiststo the neighbor islands, Queens 35-bed North Hawaii Community Hospital relies on traveling nurses and doctors. Its hired four full-time oncologists over the last 10 years who all left after a couple of years, Chang said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It takes a year to bring someone new in, he said. Traveling physicians dont plan to stay. Its a real challenge in rural communities. We cant hire permanent people because they cant find housingaffordable or just inventory, period. If we dont address housing ourselves, were going to have the same problem. By providing below-market-rate condos and apartments, Chang hopes to retain some traveling health care workers for the new hospital. Queens physicians also work closely with medical students at the University of Hawaiis John A. Burns School of Medicine, including students who already work with patients at Queens. They also could rotate through the new hospital, along with one or two post-graduate medical residents every couple of years. With Queens residents, he said, I just need one or two to stay every few years. That would be fantastic and it makes them appreciate the need for rural health care. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many details of the new hospital campus still need to be worked out, such as how many stories the facility would have. But the hospital probably will be around 250, 000 square feet in size, Chang said. The community wants a trauma center and specialists to treat heart attacks and strokes, but West Hawaii doesnt have the volume of cases to attract or retain a top-notch cardiologist, Chang said. Just treating 30 heart attacks a year, theyre going to leave. Instead, the hospital will focus on diagnostic cardiology, diagnostic neurologystate-of-the-art diagnosticsand general surgery, he said. There also will be an emergency room to stabilize you and fly you to Queens. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For some neighbor-island patients flying to The Queens Medical Center in Honolulu on an airplane, it can sometimes take three to four hours between when they call 911, get taken by ambulance to their local hospital, diagnosed, driven by ambulance to an airport, put on a plane to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport and then taken by ambulance to the hospital, Chang said. You end up with a massive amount of transfer time, he said. Instead, a twin-engine H145 helicopter is scheduled to be delivered to Queens in 2026. Its being paid for by philanthropists Lynne and Marc Benioff, who have a home on the Big Island. Marc Benioff is co-founder, chairman and CEO of Salesforce and owns Time magazine. The couple already have donated $5 million, dedicated solely to Hawaii island health care workers, to augment $30 million in state funds to pay off student loans to keep health care workers from leaving Hawaii. Once the helicopter goes into use at the new hospital, Chang said Hawaii County crews will staff it to fly patients to Queens trauma center. How do you get somebody to the trauma center, which is Queens Medical Center Punchbowl, as fast as you can ? Chang asked. If you can go rooftop to rooftop, you cut out all that ambulance time. Benioff, Chang said, recognizes that air transport is a real issue. Queens plans help address the growing need for health care in the area, according to Green. In a follow-up statement, Green said : The West Hawaii community truly needs a new hospital as Kona Hospital has aged, and is now further away from the regions population center. Its exciting to see Queens begin the process of raising capital and building relationships to launch this new facility. There is certainly a pathway for the state to either support or even partner with Queens on this project, once all of the stakeholders have come to a consensus on how to move forward. West Hawaii Queens hospital80 beds, 250, 000 square feet300 staff, nurses, doctors and other health care workers150 units of below-market rate condos and apartments to retain health care workersGroundbreaking in two to three years, completion in five yearsCost : $400 million to $500 million Source : The Queens Health Systems NEW KAILUA-KONA HOSPITAL The Queens Health Systems plans to build an 80-bed hospital in Kailua-Kona, part of a 30-acre campus that would include a medical office building and helipad. Pictured above are artists renderings of the estimated $400 million to $500 million project. BEIRUT (AP) Personal photos of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad have surfaced from his abandoned residences, sparking ridicule among Syrians who until days ago were persecuted for criticizing his carefully crafted public image. The intimate and candid photos, reportedly discovered in albums from Assads mansions in the hills of Damascus and Aleppo, offer a stark contrast to the polished, glamorous image that Assad and his father projected as they led Syria for half a century. Syrians have been fascinated by the background glimpses of a seemingly normal family that held the country in an iron grip and bombed some their fellow citizens regarded as a threat. The sharing of photos has become an extension of the dazed first hours after Assad's ouster a week ago, when everyday Syrians wandered the presidential palace and its disheveled signs of a rapid departure. Assad has been granted asylum in Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For many Syrians who had endured forced imprisonment, displacement and oppression under the Assads, the photos serve as both a spectacle and a chance to exhale, even laugh. One photo shows Assads father, Hafez, in his underwear, striking a bodybuilder-like pose. Other images show Bashar Assad in a Speedo flexing his biceps, astride a motorcycle in his briefs and staring blankly in a kitchen, wearing underwear and a sleeveless undershirt. What is it with the Assad family and being photographed in their underwear? Highly interested in knowing the fantasy behind, journalist Hussam Hammoud wrote on X. In the photos, Syrians can see the ophthalmologist in Assad and not the leader. In one, he's on a balcony teasing a girl sitting on his shoulders. In another, a young Assad places a ring on his wife's finger. In a third, he's seemingly taking a selfie. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Social media footage also has shown Syrians touring the Assads' opulent estates, revealing extravagant decor and possessions out of reach for many who lived through the country's civil war since 2011. Assads wife, once featured in Vogue, epitomized the sophistication and luxury, and Syrians have uncovered jewelry boxes and designer goods. Fueled by decades of persecution and a desire for vengeance, people have stripped the mansions of valuables and further exposed Assads private world. ___ Follow the APs Syria coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/syria A railway track in the city of Ulyanovsk, Russia, was blown up by unknown individuals on 14 December. Source: Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) Details: Ukrainian intelligence reported a new strike on Russian logistics. The explosion occurred in Ulyanovsk's railway district, on a line near the Sviaga River, a few kilometers from the local locomotive depot and the Ulyanovsk Engine Plant. Background: On 14 December, a Russian Su-30 fighter jet burned down at an airfield in the city of Krymsk, Krasnodar Krai. Additionally, on 13 December, a fire in the city of Krasnodar disabled three Russian railway locomotives. Support UP or become our patron! Congress MP Pramod Tiwari on Sunday strongly condemned Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he has lowered the dignity of the Prime Minister's post. Speaking to ANI, Tiwari referenced Dr BR Ambedkar's statement that Jawaharlal Nehru was instrumental in the creation of the Indian Constitution. "Yesterday PM Modi lowered the dignity of the post of Prime Minister...Dr BR Ambedkar himself had said that if Jawaharlal Nehru was not there, the Constitution would not have been made...It is the country's misfortune that under your (PM Modi's) leadership, the dignity of the Constitution has been shattered. PM Modi has lowered the dignity of people holding constitutional posts..," he said. On Saturday, PM Modi launched a scathing attack on Congress, accusing it of disrespecting the Constitution and presented eleven pledges for India's bright future, noting that the government and people should follow their duties and the country's politics should be free of "parivarvad". Responding to a two-day discussion in Lok Sabha on 75 years of the Constitution, PM Modi made repeated reference to the Nehru-Gandhi family, accusing every generation of its leaders of disrespecting the Constitution. "Congress has continuously disrespected the Constitution. It has made attempts to reduce its importance. History of Congress is full of such examples," he said. He took the "biggest jumla" jibe at Congress over its 'Garibi Hatao' slogan and said his government's mission is to free the poor from their difficulties. "If we follow our fundamental duties, no one can stop us from making Viksit," the Prime Minister said. Slamming Congress for the Emergency, he said the country was turned into a prison, citizens' rights were snatched, and press freedom was curtailed. Taking a dig at Congress, he said from 1947 to 1952, India did not have an elected government but a temporary, selected one, with no elections held. He highlighted that before 1952, the Rajya Sabha was not formed, and there were no state elections, meaning there was no mandate from the people. The two-day debate on 75 years of the Constitution started in Lok Sabha on Friday. (ANI) Weather watches and warnings A live data feed from the National Weather Service containing official weather warnings, watches, and advisory statements. Tap warning areas for more details. Sources: NOAA, National Weather Service, NOAA GeoPlatform and Esri. Open This mainly dry December will see rain this weekend as a fast-moving cold front sweeps southward through the Central Coast with southerly gales and rain. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A cold front enhanced by robust upper-level winds was expected to move over San Luis Obispo County late Saturday morning and Santa Barbara County in the early afternoon with strong to gale force (25 to 38 mph with gusts to 50 mph) southerly winds and rain. Total rainfall amounts were predicted to range between 0.33 and 0.75 of an inch in San Luis Obispo County and between 0.25 and 0.50 in Santa Barbara County. In the cold fronts wake, fresh to strong (19 to 31 mph) and sometimes gusty Santa Lucia (northeasterly) winds were forecast for Sunday. These offshore winds will produce mainly clear skies and areas of dense morning fog in the inland and coastal valleys. An upper-level trough will follow on Monday with increasing northwesterly winds, increasing clouds and a chance of a few scattered rain showers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Temperatures will struggle to reach the low 60s on Monday. An extensive area of high pressure will move into the Great Basin, creating fresh to strong winds (19 to 31 mph) and, at times, gusty Santa Lucia (northeasterly) winds Tuesday into Wednesday. Over this period, wind gusts could reach 55 mph in specific hotspots, including Highway 41 from Morro Bay High School toward Atascadero about halfway up the hills; the coastal canyons like Diablo Canyon; and parts of eastern San Luis Obispo, including Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo High School and French Hospital Medical Center. This condition will create mostly clear skies, along with areas of low clouds and fog in the inland areas with overnight temperatures dipping into the mid-30s in the inland valleys (Paso Robles) and the mid-40s in coastal valleys (San Luis Obispo) and along the beaches. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are at the time of the year when the coastal temperatures are warmer than the inland areas. Daytime highs will range from the high 60s to the low 70s in the coastal regions and the mid-60s in the inland locations. Gentle southerly winds on Thursday into Friday will allow areas of low, marine clouds and pockets of fog to move in the coastal regions overnight and in the morning. Strong to gale force (25 to 38 mph) northwesterly winds and mostly clear skies will develop next Saturday into Sunday. For the following week, the American and European numerical model indicates dry weather through Christmas. Surf report Gale force southerly winds will generate 4- to 6-foot southerly (195-degree shallow water) seas Saturday morning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A 10- to 12-foot northwesterly (295-degree deep water) swell (with a 7- to 14-second period) will arrive along our coastline on Saturday afternoon and remain at this height and period through Saturday night, decreasing to 6- to 8-feet (with an 8- to 12-second period) on Sunday. A 4- to 6-foot northwesterly (310-degree deep water) sea and swell (with a 5- to 11-second period) will develop along our coastline on Monday due to increasing northwesterly winds. A 6- to 8-foot northwesterly (290-degree deep water) swell (with an 8- to 17-second period) is forecast on Tuesday into Wednesday morning, followed by 5- to 7-foot northwesterly (295-degree deep water) swell (with an 8- to 22-second period) on Wednesday afternoon and night. This swell will build to 6- to 8-feet (with an 18- to 20- second period) on Thursday and will remain at this height on Friday into Saturday morning (but with a 14- to 17-second period). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A 9- to 11-foot northwesterly (300-degree deep-water) sea and swell (with a 5- to 15-second period) is expected next Saturday and Sunday. Surface seawater temperatures will range between 54 and 56 degrees through next Saturday and Sunday. On this date in weather history (Dec. 15) 1924: The temperature at Helena, Montana, plunged by 88 degrees in 34 hours. The mercury plummeted from 63 degrees to 25 degrees below zero. At Fairfield, Montana, the temperature plunged 84 degrees in just 12 hours, from 63 degrees at noon to 21 degrees below zero at midnight. (David Ludlum) 2010: A rare tornado struck the small town of Aumsville, Oregon, tearing roofs off buildings, hurling objects into vehicles and homes and uprooting trees. No one was injured, but the destruction left behind was severe. The National Weather Service classified the tornado as an EF2 with wind speeds of 110 to 120 mph, and they said the tornados damage trail was five miles long and 150 yards wide. Fifty houses in Aumsville and the surrounding county area were affected, with 10 of them being unsuitable for occupancy. (KATU) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 2017: A very dry air mass combined with clear skies allowed the Paso Robles Municipal Airport to break two temperature records in less than nine hours the day prior, a record low of 22 degrees followed by a record high of 73 degrees for a 51-degree-temperature swing! The San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport hit 83 degrees, breaking its record for the third day in a row. The previous record of 81 degrees was set in 1988. 2020: A cold front dissipated as it traveled from north to south through San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. The greatest amount of rain occurred in the San Simeon and Cambria area. The Walter Ranch in the Santa Lucia Mountains above Cambria recorded the most rain at 0.81 of an inch. 2021: The northwesterly winds peaked at 43 mph sustained with gusts up to 55 mph. Black ice was reported on Highway 101 on the southside of the Cuesta Grade, creating dangerous driving conditions in the morning. This weeks temperatures LOWS AND HIGHS, PASO ROBLES SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN 35, 58 33, 59 37, 67 37, 67 37, 67 36, 66 35, 63 34, 62 LOWS AND HIGHS, SAN LUIS OBISPO AND COASTAL VALLEYS SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN 43, 59 42, 60 46, 65 46, 70 46, 71 45, 71 47, 64 46, 62 John Lindsey is a retired PG&E marine meteorologist. Email him at JohnLindseyLosOsos@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @PGE_John. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said he would prioritize South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noems (R) confirmation as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security once President-elect Trump takes office in January. My first order of business will be getting her confirmed, and I plan on trying to do that either the day of the inauguration or that week, Paul, a ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, told John Catsimatidis on Cats Roundtable.. Despite Pauls support of Noem, he has strongly opposed using the military to carry out deportation efforts, although he has spoken in favor of removing people who are here illegally and have committed crimes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theyre not trained to get a warrant to do what theyre doing. The police have a difficult job, but the people removing people from our country need to be a police enforcement domestic agency, not the military, Paul said on Newsmaxs Rob Schmitt Tonight last month. Trump has declared he will use every avenue possible to deport illegal immigrants. Trump transition team spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the president-elect 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. In lieu of Pauls disagreement, he has still offered staunch support for Noem, who previously advocated for sending the National Guard to the South Dakota border. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We sent our guard because theyre used to the war zone that theyre gonna see down there at the border, she said in 2021 after deploying the National Guard. Theyre prepared and trained for it and they can deal with it. Over the past four years, shes sent the armed forces to the border numerous times to handle illegal crossings. Her latest order was issued in February. The border is a warzone, so were sending soldiers, Noem said. These soldiers primary mission will be construction of a wall to stem the flow of illegal immigrants, drug cartels, and human trafficking into the United States of America. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Ethan Herisse as Elwood and Brandon Wilson as Turner in 'Nickel Boys' - Credit: Orion Pictures RaMell Ross newest film Nickel Boys tells the story of the friendship of Elwood Curtis (Ethan Herisse) and Turner (Brandon Wilson) as the two navigate a harsh Florida reform school in the 1960s. Based on the 2019 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Colson Whitehead, the film has been praised by critics for its artful adaptation of Whiteheads book, and how it uses a masterful combination of aspect ratio and POV camera shots to make viewers feel like theyre looking out through the eyes of the boys; Rolling Stones film critic David Fear called it a radical work of art that channels a tsunami of radical empathy. But few people know the history and horror of the real-life reform school both the book and film are based on: the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys. The Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, also known as the Dozier School, first opened in Marianna, Florida in January 1900. What was meant as a home for children involved in minor crimes like truancy and theft evolved into a one-stop-shop for kids considered the throwaways of society: so-called delinquents, kids with emotional issues, and even orphans who couldnt find places in overcrowded homes. The 1,400-acre school had several names throughout its history but maintained its purpose as a place for criminal youth. Allegations of abuse began almost immediately, but it was the boys who attended in the late 1950s and 1960s who accused school administration and wardens of sexual and physical abuse, beatings, and torture. The discovery of dozens of unmarked graves on the school grounds in 2012 finally got Florida officials to believe the claims of former students. More from Rolling Stone Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jerry Cooper was sent to the school in 1961 at the age of 16 after police found him with a Marine driving a stolen car. Cooper was charged with theft alongside the adult and sent to the Dozier school rather than prison. We had many, many boys who was there for smoking in school, that were incorrigible, Cooper told NPR in 2012. We werent bad kids. We might have needed help in some respect. But that wasnt the place to find it, Ill tell you that right now. Brutal beatings Cooper and hundreds of Dozier students accused school wardens of torturous abuse over minor infractions, like whippings, beatings, forced labor, and medical neglect. According to Cooper, he was once woken up at 2 a.m. by staff and taken to a small building on the grounds known as the White House. There, he said, he was tied to a bed by his feet and beaten with a leather strap until he lost consciousness. You didnt know when it was coming, Cooper added. These were not spankings. These were beatings, brutal beatings. Cooper died from cancer in 2022, but before his death, he became the leader of the White House Boys, a group of Dozier alumni determined to get recognition from the government for the schools atrocities. Over 400 former Dozier students now in their sixties and seventies testified to Florida lawmakers as early as 2010 about abuse they experienced firsthand. Unmarked Graves Throughout Doziers century-long history, the school was investigated multiple times by state officials and authorities, including the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The school was permanently closed in 2012. But the sale of its land, and an investigation from a team of forensic anthropologists, found at least 55 unmarked graves, and 27 additional potential resting places of deceased students, according to the New York Times. While a fire and a flu epidemic killed at least 10 boys, many others who died while at the school had their cause of death listed as accidental, illness, or reasons that contradict the accounts of boys who say they saw their fellow friends and classmates die from beatings. Researchers believe that over 100 students died while attending the school, and there are graves that have yet to be recovered. It took until 2017 for survivors of the school to receive an official apology from Florida lawmakers. I cannot say with enough heartfelt remorse that its taken this long for a legislature, with all the evidence that is before us, to come forth and apologize for what has to be one of the blackest moments on our history, Richard Corcoran, Floridas speaker of the house, said at the time. And in June of this year, Florida Governor Ron De Santis signed a bill creating a $20 million restitution program for Dozier School victims. But for former students who are still alive, the memory of their time at Dozier remains. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Daily, that pain is still with me, Richard Huntly, leader of a group for Black Dozier survivors, told the New York Times. Im 77 years old now. That lives with me daily. I cant help it. Best of Rolling Stone Sign up for RollingStone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. DOTHAN, Ala. (WDHN) Over 600 wreaths were laid on the graves of veterans on Saturday at Sunset Memorial Park, Funeral Home and Crematory in Dothan. Hundreds of people from around the Wiregrass gathered to pay their respects during the annual Wreaths Across America Ceremony. What started in Arlington, Virginia has now expanded nationwide to an event allowing people to lay a remembrance wreath on the grave sites of veterans who paid the ultimate sacrifice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As each person picked a wreath they were asked to walk it to the grave, place it down, and say the name of the veteran as a way to honor the sacrifice that each man and woman had made for them. Well, every single person that is here bought a wreath and its very dear to their heart that they get to do it, Regent for the Daughters of the American Revolution, Embasse-Robert Grierson Chapter, Jessica Gautney said. Its an ongoing thing and it gets bigger and bigger each year. People also had the option to take home their wreaths if their loved one was buried in another cemetery that is not Sunset Memorial Park, Funeral Home, and Crematory. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDHN - wdhn.com. Parents are heated after a reverend ruined the magic of Christmas for a group of children. After Rev. Paul Chamberlain stopped by a primary school in Hampshire, England for a chat about the holiday and its origins, students were left sobbing and parents were upset, to say the least, according to The Times. You're all year six, now let's be real, Santa isn't real, the local vicar reportedly told the group of 10- and 11-year-olds at Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School, GB News reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rev. Chamberlain not only told the students that Saint Nick is not real, but he also explained that it's actually their parents who buy Christmas presents and eat the treats they leave out for the holiday figure each year, per The Times. Google Maps Lee-on-the-Solent junior school in England Lee-on-the-Solent junior school in England Related: From Tim Allen to Tom Hanks: 15 of the Most Memorable Cinematic Santas The news was not taken particularly well, according to parents at the school, with one mom recalling to The Times that lots of children started crying in class. Mine was upset but she still believes, the parent said, so Im quite lucky shes still not believing him and she thinks hes lost the plot. I think its wrong, but a lot of parents have had to confess to their child. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sadly, other students were taken by surprise and believed the vicar. A 10-year-old who was present during the chat told the outlet, I heard a lot of gasps because they were shocked about it, so I dont think everyone knew. One mom said her young children have since been telling her daily that Santa is not real, and another is struggling with how to move forward following the disgusting display at the primary school. I dont know how it can be undone, but I think its absolutely disgusting, the latter mom told The Times. I dont want him anywhere near my daughter. 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. Google Maps St. Faith's Church in England St. Faith's Church in England Related: Mom Details How She Handles Christmas with 8 Kids and Why They 'Don't Do Santa Claus' (Exclusive) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The mother also hopes that Rev. Chamberlain who has been the vicar of St Faith's in Lee-on-the-Solent since March 2014, per the churchs website never comes into the school again. I think he should stop doing what hes doing, she said, adding that its been difficult, really difficult in the wake of the controversial chat, because [her daughters] a very bright little girl. "So were just going to try and just push as much magic into this as we can, she added. The mom who confessed to being worried about how to bring the magic back, complained to teachers following the incident and shes not alone. Parents have since raged about a ruined Christmas and filed a formal complaint against Rev. Chamberlain, according to The Independent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The schools response? The headteacher wrote to parents twice, with the second including an apology from Rev. Chamberlain, and some teachers have been making Lee-on-the-Solent believe badges. Teachers also explained in an email that they have told students that all stories and legends around Christmas are legitimate, and your own family beliefs are what are important and just as valid as Christian Christmas story, the outlet reported. Rev. Chamberlain and St Faiths did not immediately respond to PEOPLEs request for comment, nor did representatives for St Faith's or the Diocese of Portsmouth. Getty A stock photo of Santa Claus A stock photo of Santa Claus Related: The Cutest Celebrity Throwback Photos with Santa Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The diocese did, however, issue a statement regarding the incident, with a spokesperson telling The Times, We understand that the vicar of St Faiths, Lee-on-the-Solent, the Rev Paul Chamberlain, was leading an RE [religious education] lesson for ten and eleven-year-olds at Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School. After talking about the Nativity story from the Bible, he made some comments about the existence of Father Christmas. Paul has accepted that this was an error of judgment and he should not have done so, the statement continued, "He apologized unreservedly to the school, to the parents, and to the children, and the headteacher immediately wrote to all parents to explain this." The statement also noted that the school and diocese have worked together to address this issue. Read the original article on People (Bloomberg) -- Five of the so-called Bali Nine prisoners were returned to Australia, more than 19 years after their arrests in a drug smuggling case that periodically damaged ties with Indonesia. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Matthew Norman, Scott Rush, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen, and Michael Czugaj arrived on Sunday afternoon, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement. The five men have been returned to Australia under an arrangement agreed between our two countries, Albanese said. They will now have the opportunity to continue their personal rehabilitation and reintegration here in Australia. The Bali Nine group were detained for attempting to smuggle 8 kilograms (17 pounds) of heroin out of the island a popular tourist destination for Australians in April 2005, and the case contributed to tense relations between the two countries at times. Australia recalled its ambassador in 2015 after two of the group Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were executed. A further detainee, Renae Lawrence, was released in 2018, and Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen died in prison in the same year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The five who returned on Sunday had all been sentenced by Indonesia to life in prison. Albanese praised Indonesian President Subianto Prabowo, who took office in October, over his intervention in the case. The leaders met last month on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru. The two nations will continue to cooperate to counter narcotics trafficking and transnational crime, Albanese said. Subscribe to The Bloomberg Australia Podcast on Apple, Spotify, on YouTube, or wherever you listen. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Former Fox News host Pete Hegseth has faced a wide range of allegations since Donald Trump nominated him to serve as secretary of the Department of Defense in November. In spite of the diversity of the accusations against Hegseth which range from problem drinking to sexual assault Sen. Lindsey Graham sees little more than an orchestrated smear campaign. Graham told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday that he saw shades of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's contentious (and ultimately successful) confirmation in the negative press around Hegseth, disregarding the fact that the claims have come from former employees, police reports and Hegseth's own mother. "I'm in a good place with Pete unless something I don't know about comes out," he said. "These allegations are disturbing, but they're anonymous...There's one allegation about sexual assault, that person has the right to come forward to the committee. But about mismanagement of money, about having a drinking problem... he's given me his side of the story, it makes sense to me." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Graham added that Hegseth's nomination would not become a headline-dominating affair like the hearings around Kavanaugh. "Remember Kavanaugh?" he said. "We're not going to let that happen to Pete. You're not going to destroy his nomination based on anonymous allegations." Lindsey Graham says Pete Hegseth denies all the allegations against him and he believes him pic.twitter.com/6JqDLkhVxM Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 15, 2024 Graham's point echoes one made by Hegseth himself, who has trotted out several different defenses in the weeks since his nomination. In an interview with Megyn Kelly, he accused the Democrats of propping up false allegations to derail his nomination. "That's what they're trying to do. That's their playbook," he said. "They're going to make it up. Just like they have so far." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Graham's harping on the anonymity of the allegations appears to be part of a GOP playbook around Hegseth. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa shared earlier this week that she hopes to give Hegseth a fair shake away from the noise of reports in the media. As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, she added, not anonymous sources. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) Businessman and political newcomer Renard Johnson made history on Saturday night, Dec. 14, winning El Pasos mayoral runoff and becoming the Sun Citys first Black mayor, according to unofficial final results released at about 10 p.m. Johnson tallied 19,574 votes or 56.12 percent, beating District 1 city Rep. Brian Kennedy, who had 15,307 votes or 43.88 percent. Johnson and Kennedy emerged from a crowded field of eight candidates during the Nov. 5 general election, but neither were able to secure 50 percent plus one vote, forcing a runoff. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They are vying to succeed incumbent Mayor Oscar Leeser, who is barred from term limits from seeking another term. Leeser is finshing up his second of two non-consecutive four-year terms. Also on the ballot is judge for El Pasos Municipal Court No. 4. Incumbent Lauren Ferris is facing challenger Samuel Flores. Flores appears to have a narrow win over Ferris, according to results released at 10 p.m. Flores has 15,839 votes or 50.28 percent while Ferris has 15,661 votes or 49.72 percent. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Republicans are expanding their footprint in statehouses across the country, reversing Democrats earlier trend of high-profile wins just a year ago. In the Midwest, the GOP successfully flipped the Michigan state House, ending Democrats trifecta. In New Hampshire and Vermont, those advantages were more much stark: Republicans made double-digit gains between the two state Houses alone. At the same time, Republicans suffered several losses in Wisconsin and Montana, where Democrats managed to make substantial gains in both state legislatures amid redistricting. Meanwhile in North Carolina, the GOP lost their supermajority. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As all eyes turn toward 2025s state legislative races, several special elections in Virginia set to take place next month will reveal whether Republicans gains were limited to Election Day in November or whether their appeal is broader. Its to what extent there is a continuation of the enthusiasm for Republicans, GOP strategist Dave Abrams explained. The GOP largely enjoyed a good night last month in state legislatures across the country. Among their targets at the outset of the 2024 cycle, Republicans had sought to flip Democratic state legislative majorities in Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania. Republicans made gains in both Michigan and Minnesota, winning enough seats to tie the Minnesota state House with Democrats for control. Democrats and Republicans are in the process of creating a power-sharing agreement in Minnesotas chamber. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Pennsylvania, Democrats retained their narrow state House majority while Republicans maintained their GOP control in the state Senate. And while Democrats had hoped to flip legislative chambers in New Hampshire and Arizona, Republicans were able to defend their majorities in both state legislatures. In fact, New Hampshire and Vermont offered some of the largest Republican legislative gains. In New Hampshire, Republicans capped off the 2022 midterms with a 201-199 slim majority in the state House. But last months victories propelled the party to a 221-178 edge. They also gained two seats in the state Senate this cycle, including knocking off Senate Minority Leader Donna Soucy (D). Meanwhile, in Vermont, Republicans picked up more than dozen seats in the state House and half a dozen in the state Senate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats not to mention that Republicans also created legislative supermajorities in several states, including Iowa and South Carolina. Max Docksey, political director at the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC), attributed those wins to starting their persuasion messaging early, microtargeting voters and focusing more on policy and less on the things like the presidential race. When you look at our spending, youll notice, like, we werent on broadcast TV, we werent on cable. We werent really doing a lot of TV buying, Docksey told The Hill. What we were doing was spending a lot of time on YouTube, a lot of time finding different digital avenues to talk to voters, and we were breaking those voters into compact universes. Former and current state legislators also noted different undercurrents taking place amid this years state legislative elections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman (D) noted the geographic realignment taking place both across the country, including in her state, where the rural areas that used to be blue are turning red, and the suburban areas that used to be red are turning blue, but not all at the same pace. What we saw in the 2016, 2020, and 24 elections with Trump on the ballot is an acceleration of the transition of rural Minnesota from blue to red, she said. And so in a couple places where we had candidates trying to hang on to seats that had been in the Democratic column, it turned to be turned out to be real headwinds coming from the Trump effect. For former Vermont state Sen. Corey Parent (R), he chalked Republicans gains in his home state to economic anxiety, particularly Vermont state legislators move earlier this year to pass annual legislation, which uses property taxes to fund school budgets, that raised property taxes to nearly 14 percent. I last ran in 2020, and what I heard from voters was, you know, in my district was We want Democrats nationally but more balance locally, Parent, who voted for Vice President Harris in last months presidential election, explained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think most of the time most pragmatic voters middle of the road voters they want balance in government, he said. Democrats gained 14 seats in the Wisconsin state legislature putting them closer toward potentially flipping the state Senate in 2026 and 11 seats between the two chambers in Montana. Those gains came against the backdrop of redistricting in Wisconsin and Montana, which put new maps into play in both states this year. Its more than just redistricting, because, as I say, redistricting gave us competitive maps, and those two seats particularly are really evidence of what can happen if its competitive, said Wisconsin state Sen. Jeff Smith (D), referring to two seats Wisconsin Senate Democrats won from two longtime GOP members. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heather Williams, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC), acknowledged that while Republicans notched wins, she said the election also proved that the Democrats could stand their ground on tougher turf. None of these chambers were won or lost by very many seats, she said, and so we know that were very competitive in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan. Williams added that in 2024, in a year, obviously that was challenging for Democrats, and where, certainly we did not win at the top of the ticket, we notched some like, interesting wins or some places where we held our ground in a way that I think history would have showed us that we shouldnt have. Despite a busy election cycle, neither party will have much of a reprieve as Virginia holds several special elections one for a state House seat and two for state Senate seats that will determine whether Republicans will be able to flip one or both chambers in Virginias Capitol. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Jersey and Virginia will hold state legislative elections next November, which will inevitably be seen as a bellwether for both parties ahead of the 2026 midterms. Michael Biundo, a prominent Republican strategist in New Hampshire who did work in the states legislature elections, said it behooves his party to make good on the campaign promises the GOP made during the election cycle, or risk losing them again in upcoming elections. Republicans talked about changing and fixing the economy. We talked about cutting spending, making efficiencies. We talked about getting people back to work and putting power back into peoples hands, Biundo said. I think were at a point in politics in general that if we dont deliver, voters are very fickle, he added, and youre borrowing voters you dont own voters youre borrowing voters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in Lok Sabha, where he emphasized zero tolerance towards corruption. Raut questioned PM Modi's sincerity, pointing out the presence of allegedly corrupt leaders within the BJP, such as Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde. Raut's criticism also extended to PM Modi's relationship with business magnate Gautam Adani, implying that the Prime Minister's tolerance of Adani undermines his claims of zero tolerance towards corruption. "Ask your 56-inch chest, how many corrupt people are around me? He should ask himself. You (PM Modi) are tolerating Adani and he talks about zero tolerance towards corruption. PM Modi never does what he says," Raut told reporters. He further accused Maharashtra Deputy Chief Ministers Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde of being "corrupt," demanding that PM Modi should remove the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief from the party (alliance). "He (PM Modi) should remove Ajit Pawar from the party (alliance). He took an oath in your 'great' presence...Eknath Shinde is one of the most corrupt leaders and the other 10-12 people who came with him underwent raids by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED). Can you dare to sideline them?" Raut remarked. Earlier, the Prime Minister on Saturday presented the 11 pledges towards the end of his speech in Lok Sabha. He laid thrust on inclusive development and zero tolerance for corruption."There should be zero tolerance for corruption and no social acceptance of the corrupt. People should feel proud in following the country's laws, rules, traditions...there should be a sense of pride," PM Modi said. Meanwhile, PM Modi launched a scathing attack on Congress, accusing it of constantly disrespecting the Constitution and presented eleven pledges for India's bright future, noting that the government and people should follow their duties and the country's politics should be free of "parivarvad." Responding to a two-day discussion in Lok Sabha on 75 years of the Constitution, PM Modi made repeated reference to the Nehru-Gandhi family, accusing every generation of its leaders of disrespecting the Constitution. "Congress has continuously disrespected the Constitution. It has made attempts to reduce its importance. History of Congress is full of such examples," he said. He took the "biggest jumla" jibe at Congress over its 'Garibi Hatao' slogan and said his government's mission is to free the poor from their difficulties. The two-day debate on 75 years of the Constitution started in Lok Sabha on Friday. (ANI) DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) Residents were without power for a brief period Sunday morning after a power pole caught fire. A fire was initially reported in the 4800 block of Germantown Pike earlier this morning. According to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch, officials believe a transformer blew, catching the utility pole on fire as a result. Rain causes car to crash, catches fire on I-75 Firefighters on scene told 2 NEWS that the fire was quickly put out, and power was soon restored to local customers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Rocco Joseph Frakes, of Middleburg, pleaded guilty to illegally having unregistered silencers and guns, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< According to a news release, the plea agreement reveals that federal agents executed a search warrant at Frakes home in July. They found 22 caliber rifle with a threaded barrel, three silencers, a rifle with a 7 inch long barrel, and a .45 caliber machinegun. None of these were registered to Frakes in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the news release, he is retired from the United States Navy, where his primary duty was as a weapons instructor for Atlantic Fleet squadrons. Frakes faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. Green hydrogen is often proposed as a climate-friendly alternative to natural gas for energy production. However, a green hydrogen economy is not yet in place and may take years to develop, if it happens at all. To sustain small natural gas power plants ahead of a hydrogen economy, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and power-plant service provider Power Service Consulting (PSC) have tested micro-turbines capable of burning hydrogen, natural gas, or both. Hydrogen retrofits slash costs and time Peter Kutne, head of the Gas Turbines Department at the DLR Institute of Combustion Technology, highlighted the advantages of retrofitting gas turbines for hydrogen use to reduce emissions. He noted that building a new 15-megawatt gas turbine power plant takes about six years and costs $31 million (30 million). In contrast, retrofitting an existing plant takes just 1.5 years and costs roughly a tenth of that amount. Moreover, the two organizations have achieved what is claimed to be the first commercially viable retrofit of a gas micro-turbine, enabling it to run on both hydrogen and natural gas. This innovation aims to prepare for a future when green hydrogen becomes widely accessible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Retrofit H2 project used 100 kW micro-turbines due to their high power-to-weight ratio. These turbines are commonly used in remote areas, as backup power for hospitals, and for heating in hotels and swimming pools. They can also power facilities like breweries or waste treatment plants that use waste methane as fuel. However, burning hydrogen in a natural gas turbine is akin to using gasoline in a diesel enginefundamentally incompatible and highly hazardous. Hydrogen burns much hotter than natural gas and has a lower flash point, which can easily damage a micro-turbines combustion chamber with intense heat and shockwaves. Burner design reduces emissions, stabilizes flames To address this, engineers developed a jet-stabilized burner optimized for hydrogen. Unlike conventional setups, the air and fuel injectors are arranged in a ring, generating a backflow in the chamber. This helps mix exhaust gases with the new air/fuel mixture, lowering temperature, reducing nitrogen emissions, and stabilizing the flame. In turn, this reduces the temperature in the combustion chamber and produces fewer nitrogen oxides. The re-circulation of the exhaust gases also effectively stabilizes the flame. The concept is scalable and suitable for various turbine types and sizes, the DLR points out. So far, the system has been run in a pilot plant in Lampoldshausen using pure hydrogen for about 100 hours. DLR researcher Martina Hohloch explained that the high chemical reactivity of hydrogen presents significant challenges. We were eager to see how the turbine would perform with the new combustion chamber system outside the laboratory environment. The tests have shown that we can start up with pure hydrogen without any problems and that the system achieves the full operating range from partial to full load, Hohloch added. By Rich McKay (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of Rhode Island residents' personal and bank information, including Social Security numbers, were very likely hacked by an international cybercriminal group asking for a ransom, state officials said on Saturday. In what Rhode Island officials described as extortion, the hackers threatened to release the stolen information unless they were paid an undisclosed amount of money. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The breached data affects people who use the state's government assistance programs and includes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and healthcare purchased through the state's HealthSource RI, Governor Dan McKee announced on Friday. Hackers gained access to RIBridges, the state's online portal for obtaining social services earlier this month, the governor's office said in a statement, but the breach was not confirmed by its vendor, Deloitte, until Friday. "Deloitte confirmed that there is a high probability that a cybercriminal has obtained files with personally identifiable information from RIBridges," the governor's office said in a statement on Saturday. A representative from McKee's office was not immediately available to Reuters for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone who has applied for or received benefits through those programs since 2016 could be affected. The state directed Deloitte to shut down RIBridges to remediate the threat, and for the time being, anyone applying for new benefits will have to do so on paper applications until the system is back up. Households believed to have been affected will receive a letter from the state notifying them of the problem and explaining steps to be taken to help protect their data and bank accounts. (Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta;; Editing by Sandra Maler) NEW YORK A retiring Rikers Island captain named a pair of sexual misconduct lawsuits got a celebratory goodbye from his colleagues, video obtained by the Daily News shows. Capt. Edwich Jasmin, a 37-year-old veteran, received a celebratory escort from a parade of emergency vehicles, lights and sirens blaring, to cheer him out as he left Rikers Island and drove into Queens Dec. 4, sources said. Jasmin has been sued twice in Brooklyn Federal Court for sexual harassment. Shante Orr sued Jasmin Nov. 12 for sexual harassment, four years after the city paid $250,000 to settle a similar lawsuit filed against the captain by another female officer, court records show. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Video from the celebratory walkout shows the slow parade of vehicles, including Correction Department Transportation Division buses usually used to ferry detainees to and from the island, in front of and behind Jasmins car, stopping traffic as he heads to the gate leading to the bridge off Rikers Island. Jasmin worked in the Transportation Division on Rikers. At least one civilian car leaving the island is pulled to the side waiting for the caravan to pass, the video shows. The motorcade passes a digital messaging sign that reads, Thank you for your service. Get home safe. It looked like they were praising a hero, when what they should have been doing was condemning his actions, said Paul Liggieri, the lawyer who represented Joanne Vega in the earlier suit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its pretty disgraceful. I am astounded that thats the message the Department of Correction wants to send to officers who are abused or sexually harassed, he said. Paul Idlett, the new president of the Correction Captains Association, said the escort was appropriate for a man who had served the city for more than three decades. He gave 37 years of service to the city. He should be commended for the time of service he gave to the department, said Idlett, the successor of longtime president Patrick Ferraiuolo who recently retired. Idlett noted that Jasmins 29-year-old son, Joshua Jasmin, was shot and killed on Long Island Aug. 30. Romeo Campbell, 23, has been arrested and charged with the crime. He said Jasmin filed retirement papers in mid-November. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He wanted to go and take care of his family after that and decided to retire. He retired before the lawsuit allegation was made. He was leaving anyway, Idlett said. In a statement, Correction Department spokeswoman Shayla Mulzac confirmed Jasmin is retiring but noted the escort was not arranged by the department. It is not uncommon for staff to voluntarily provide a small send-off to honor colleagues who are retiring, Mulzac said in the statement. Any celebration honoring Capt. Jasmin was not organized by the department. Jasmin made $274,561 in fiscal year 2024, more than doubling his base salary of $125,855 with overtime and other compensation, according to public payroll records. He remains on the books because he has vacation days to burn through, sources said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DOC officials wouldnt comment on whether Jasmin had been investigated or disciplined for sexual misconduct in any of the past incidents or other incidents. Jasmin, who cost the city a $250,000 settlement after a Correction Department subordinate accused him of sexual abuse in 2019, was sued again on Nov. 12, accused of tormenting, harassing and sexually assaulting a correction officer under his command for six months. I would assume that after my case, the department would have taken additional measures to ensure that officers were protected, and to leave Jasmin in that environment, to only permeate it more with hostility and discrimination is astounding to me, said Liggieri. Vega in 2017 accused Jasmin of sexually assaulting her two years prior, shortly after she was assigned to the Transportation Division. She says he ordered her into a mens locker room, where he forcibly kissed her, shoved his tongue in her mouth, grabbed her breasts and forced her hand onto his crotch. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Idlett countered, His cases are allegations. Nothing was sent to us that indicated anything was pending. In the new lawsuit against Jasmin, Correction Officer Shante Orr claims he repeatedly propositioned her, exposed himself to her and forcibly kissed her over six months in 2022 and 2023, after she was placed on modified assignment and sent to the Transportation Division on Rikers. Jasmin ran the Transportation Division store, where correction officers sell food. The suit lists about two dozen separate incidents alleging Jasmin made inappropriate remarks, tried to pressure Orr into sex or groped her. At one point, he exposed his penis to Orr, the suit alleges. Before the filing of the lawsuit Orr filed an internal EEO complaint and received a right-to-sue letter as is customary in such cases. The Florida Highway Patrol said lanes are blocked due to a fatal crash in Volusia County. According to a news release, the fatal crash happened at 10:11 a.m. on Josephine Street and Elizabeth Street in New Smyrna Beach. FHP said a 2008 Hyundai Elantra was driving westbound on Josephine Street, west of Elizabeth Street. A 2016 Chevy Tahoe was driving eastbound on Josephine Street, west of Elizabeth Street. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read: Police: 1 person was taken to the hospital after a shooting near Mall of Millenia Troopers said the Hyundai Elantra driver failed to negotiate a curve and veered into the eastbound lane, directly in the path of the Chevy Tahoe. FHP said that, as a result, the front of the Hyundai hit the front of the Chevy. The Hyundai driver was taken to the hospital and pronounced deceased, FHP said. Read: How a viral Instagram video boosted reservations at Omo by Jont Troopers said the Chevy driver, a 77-year-old man from New Smyrna Beach, and the passenger, a 70-year-old woman from New Smyrna Beach, were taken to the hospital with serious injuries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There is currently a roadblock for both travel lanes on Josephine Street from Old Mission Road to James Street. FHP said the crash remains under investigation. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. GOP Senator Mitt Romney said on Sunday that MAGA Republicanism now wholly dominates the Republican Party, echoing the skepticism of those who have been waiting for some kind of post-Trump Republican Party to emerge. Romney is one of Trumps most frequent critics in the GOP and voted for the impeachment of the president-elect in 2021. This election cycle, he opted to retire from Congress rather than face an inevitable primary challenge backed by the former-and-future president. In a lengthy live interview Sunday with Jake Tapper on CNNs State of the Union, he said that traditional conservatism had been wholly subsumed by MAGA Republicanism within the GOP, he seemed to back away from the idea that there would be a return to the kind of neoconservative policy alignment pursued by the Republican Party under the Bush administration or embemified by Romneys own 2014 campaign for president. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MAGA is the Republican Party and Donald Trump is the Republican Party today, Romney said, before going on to predict that the next election cycle would see that trend continue under whom he saw as the presumptive 2028 GOP nominee: JD Vance. Prompting himself to ask whether the GOP should change, Romney stated that the Trump factions successful peeling-away of working class voters from the Democratic coalition would require the partys policies to shift to align more with working-class interests, but said that it was the Democrats who were really in trouble as a result. The Democrat Party is the one in trouble. I mean, I dont know how they recover, said the senator. Union guys, and gals ... have left the Democratic Party. He went on to blame that trend on the Democrats embrace of transgender rights and a focus on cultural issues while the party ignored economic issues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Romney was also asked about his prior criticism of Trump, to which he laid out how he had assumed the ex-president would lose the 2024 election: I was wrong about that. "I think most people disagree with me. I'm willing to live with that, he said of his thoughts about Trumps fitness to lead the GOP. The Democratic Partys shift away from populist messaging was apparent after Kamala Harris took over the ticket in July, and has been blamed for her failure to win back reliable Democratic voters in numbers needed to defeat Donald Trump. Numerous campaign officials have also noted, however, that Harris largely dug herself out of a pit where the party found itself after months of near-constant reminders from voters that they were concerned about Joe Bidens ability to serve as president and disgusted with the Democratic Party for ignoring it. Still, the party suffered major losses among key demographics including younger voters, Americans without college degrees, and Latino voters to name just a few. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The across-the-board defeat resulted in a landslide for Donald Trump in the Electoral College, while Democrats lost the Senate and the House makeup was largely unchanged. Romney is one of many of the former presidents opponents who have essentially come around to acknowledge his ideological victory over the senators own wing of the party throughout 2024. Others came around and made such admissions after Trump cleanly swept through the GOP primaries this spring, losing just one state to rival Nikki Haley. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) joined CNNs State of the Union on Sunday for his congressional exit interview, noting that he thinks his political legacy will be a footnote in the history books. Romney, 77, was asked by host Jake Tapper about how he wants to be remembered for his time serving the country. I dont think history will remember Mitt Romney, he replied. Its a footnote for somebody whos reading ancient history. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Romney, a father to five and grandfather to 25, said what he wants is for his family to remember his legacy. I want my family to remember me as someone who stood up for the things I believe, was not embarrassed by my fundamental beliefs, who loved the country and did what I believed was right to help preserve the greatest nation on Earth, he said. Romney, who has served in the Senate since 2019, announced last year that he would retire from the Senate, opening the door for a new generation to serve. The Utah senator previously served as governor of Massachusetts and notably ran against former President Obama in 2012. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this month, Romney delivered his farewell speech on the Senate floor. He called for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to work toward unity in a time of heightened partisanship. Looking forward, Romney said he believes Americans need to allow President-elect Trump the chance to do what he said he would do on the campaign trail. I disagree with him on some things, but its like, OK, give him a chance to do what he says hes going to do and see how it works out, he said. Still, Romney said he hopes the president-elect spends his next term focused on the future. He noted that the American people spoke through their votes over the last decade. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I lost. He won, Romney 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 The Hill. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) argued that the American public cant complain if President-elect Trump does what he said he would do during the campaign. Donald Trump won. He won overwhelmingly. He said what he was going to do, and thats what hes doing, Romney said Sunday on CNNs State of the Union. I mean, people are saying, Oh, I dont like this appointment or this policy that hes talking about, but those are the things he said he was going to do when he ran. So, you cant complain about someone who does what he said he was going to do. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Romney, who has served in the Senate since 2019, joined the network for his congressional exit interview. The Utah lawmaker, 77, announced last year that he would retire from the Senate, opening the door for a new generation to serve. Hes been a critic of Trumps but acknowledged in the interview Sunday that he agrees with the president-elect on a lot of policy fronts. Romney said he didnt support Trump in his two most recent elections over an issue of character disagreements. I disagree with him on some things, but its like, OK, give him a chance to do what he says hes going to do and see how it works out, he said. Romney said he isnt concerned about a potential threat of prosecution from Trump, and hopes the president-elect spends his next term focused on the future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his farewell speech on the Senate floor earlier this month, Romney called for bipartisanship and urged lawmakers to unite, even as party divides seem greater than ever. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. As news began to spread Sunday of Bashar al-Assads fall from power, Syrian exiles began rejoicing all over the world. On Augusta, Maine's Sand Hill, where Muslim families have been relocating in recent years, pickup trucks and cars gathered in a parking lot sporting rebel flags on the roof, with fist-waving young men chanting joyfully. A caravan of vehicles, lights flashing and horns honking, drove slowly up Northern Avenue, stopping where families gathered on second floor porches to wave and shout in response. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was a sight rarely seen in America, and probably never before in Maine. One who quickly saw the international significance was President Joe Biden, who called it a fundamental act of justice. Douglas Rooks Bashar al-Assad, like his father Hafez al-Assad, who took power through a military coup in 1971, had been tormenting and suppressing his own people for decades, much like tyrants around the Middle East and in Asia and Africa, producing turmoil and suffering throughout their lands. The crackdown became particularly brutal in 2011, when the Arab spring inspired uprisings that in Syria led to civil war. Everyone assumed that the 13-year war would continue indefinitely until, 10 days earlier, a rebel offensive swept the country, with Assads soldiers abandoning their posts in droves and the dictator fleeing to Moscow. Biden correctly observed that during his four years in office three U.S. adversaries Syria and its historic patrons, Russian and Iran have been dramatically weakened. Israels military juggernaut that followed the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack, however ruthless and needlessly destructive, has degraded the military capacity of Hamas in the Palestinian territories and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Syrias reprieve, which will see thousands and eventually millions of exiles returning from neighboring countries, is a moment to celebrate for Americans and all those who aspire to freedom from tyranny. That is not, of course, how these events were greeted in the established media. Rather than pause and savor the wonder of the moment, we were immediately ushered into clouds of uncertainty and doubt as if anyone, including the Syrian opposition, could predict what will happen next. Its as if weve forgotten that this nation, too, was created through revolution, as 13 ill-organized colonies of Britain attempted to wrest themselves free of what was then the greatest empire of the day. Authoritarian rhetoric of the recent presidential campaign and the lionizing of leaders like Russias Putin and Chinas Xi seems to have blinded us to the reality that all people, all families and communities, want to live in peace, raise their children without fear, and create lives for themselves without excessive oversight by the State. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement False gods like illiberal democracy and state capitalism are perceived to be ascendant, but the Syrian revolution suggests this may be overstated. It was, after all, the Syrian civil war that drove millions out of the country and toward Europe, where Angel Merkels laudable but miscalculated pledge to accept a million migrants in Germany helped right-wing nationalist parties to power in Central Europe, Italy, and perhaps now France and Germany too. Mass migration and the resistance to it have risen quickly but can subside where war and extreme violence diminish. For the United States, which has had many bad moments in this part of the world, including the unwarranted invasion of Iraq in 2003 and a two-decades-long, ultimately futile intervention in Afghanistan, Syria represents an opportunity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That Assad fell so quickly does owe something to the distraction of Russia through the quagmire it created by invading Ukraine, and the multiple assaults by Israel on Iran and its allies but the deeper cause was a dictators dependence on foreign troops to survive. Former President Barack Obama had no answers, unfortunately, when he declared at the outset of civil war that Assad must go, then established a red line against the gassing of civilians that, embarrassingly, Vladmir Putin offered to mediate after Assad ignored it. Bidens policies have redeemed that blunder and put the U.S. in a more favorable position, should the incoming administration chose to, or be capable of building on it. Despite the complexities so insistently detailed in the news feeds, theres also a simplicity to dilemmas like Syrias. However necessary national governments are to contemporary life, they are only legitimate when they have the consent willing or at least grudging of the governed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By that standard, in the United States' consent remains and the rule of law, though shaken, persists. Lets remember the Syrian flags and the joy of those who waved them as we navigate what lies ahead for their struggle is our own. Douglas Rooks has been a Maine editor, columnist and reporter for 40 years. He is the author of four books, most recently a biography of U.S. Chief Justice Melville Fuller, and welcomes comment at drooks@tds.net. This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Rooks: Syrian celebrations should be joined by all of us Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Praveen Khandelwal on Sunday criticised Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for her comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi reply in Lok Sabha on the 75 years of the adoption of the Constitution, terming her and the entire Congress party as "dejected and disappointed." He also said that when it comes to matters related to the nation, the Congress party and its leaders fail to understand them. Speaking to ANI, BJP leader Praveen Khandelwal said, "Priyanka Gandhi and all the people of Congress are dejected and disappointed. When she says that she could not understand it, that is not surprising because when it comes to something related to the nation, Congress and its leaders do not understand it. If this continues, they will never understand it." On Saturday, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in the Lok Sabha, calling it "absolutely boring" and devoid of anything new or constructive. Speaking to the media, Priyanka Gandhi said, "PM Narendra Modi did not say anything new or constructive. He absolutely bored me. I thought he would say something significant, but he spoke about 11 hollow promises. If he has zero tolerance towards corruption, he should at least hold a debate on Adani." On Saturday while Speaking in Lok Sabha during the discussion on the Constitution of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the Congress over the Emergency and said whenever democracy' is discussed, "this very sin" of Congress will be remembered. Speaking in Lok Sabha during the discussion on the 'Glorious Journey of 75 Years of the Constitution of India,' the Prime Minister launched a strong attack on Congress and said "one family of Congress left no stone unturned in hurling a blow to the Constitution" Emergency was imposed on June 25, 1975, by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Referring to the Nehru-Gandhi family, PM Modi alleged that it "has challenged the Constitution at all levels". "Highs and lows occurred, there were difficulties too, there were obstacles as well. But I bow before the people of the country once again that they strongly stood with the Constitution...I do not want to make personal criticism on anyone but it is important to place facts before the country. That is why, I would like to do that," he said. The special two-day debate in Lok Sabha on 75 years of the Constitution concluded on Saturday. (ANI) CHICAGO After his son was diagnosed with an uncommon illness, a local father decided to spread joy to other children experiencing similar battles. Christmas gifts picked out for children battling rare diseases were dropped off Saturday morning at Rush University Medical Center. The children will receive the gifts when they come to the hospital for treatment. Part of what we wanted to do here today is not just let these kids know that others care about them, but let the families know there are other families that are here with them, Matt Sims said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For the second year in a row, Sims has rallied a team from his law firm to bring some joy to the hospital. Where do they find the time? Holiday shoppers seek hand crafted cuckoo clocks at Christkindlemarket We brought our entire law firm that participated in this purchasing and wrapping gifts and writing cards to these children for weeks, Sims said. His desire is to spearhead spreading joy to children battling rare diseases close to home. My 8-year-old Charlie was diagnosed a year and a half ago with Batten Disease, Sims said. It is a rare aggressive neurodegenerative disease; it causes blindness, seizures, loss of motor control and premature death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thanks to Charlies doctor at Rush, Sims said Charlies is receiving a first of its kind treatment. Dr. Berry-Kravis was able to make a request to the FDA so that Charlie could become the first human in the world to receive an experimental gene therapy for his treatment, Sims said. Brightening the spirits of children like Charlie is also near and dear to Harry Koujaian and his son Alec. We will do anything to raise awareness of any rare disease, Harry said. Find Santa On The Time Warp Express Niemann-Pick Disease is a rare illness the Koujaians are very familiar with. Harrys daughter and Alexs sister Haley lost her battle with the disease when she was 20 years old. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We had a lot of good years with her, but she passe away on April 3, 2020, Harry said. Alec, 26, was diagnosed with Niemann-Pick Disease when he was 13. Receiving treatment at Rush has become part of his regular routine. So I get a spinal tap every other week actually to clear the bad cholesterol in my brain, and they insert like the medicine through my back and then I lay upside down for a good 40 minutes for the medicine to get to my brain, Alec said. Kendall Robbins, a clinical research coordinator at Rush who works closely with both Charlie and Alec, said helping families find hope is rewarding. She cant wait to see her patients receive their gifts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines Having an occasion such as this gift giving event at the hospital just changes their mindset that little bit, and theyll talk about it all year long, Robbins said. Sims said word spread about the holiday gift donation at Rush, so lawyers across the nation are also dropping presents off to children with rare diseases at hospitals across the country. We really wanted to put love in the world and happiness and joy, especially close to the holidays, he 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 WGN-TV. UK Defence Intelligence has analysed the advance of Russian forces in Donetsk Oblast, specifically on the Pokrovsk front. Source: UK Defence Intelligence update dated 15 December on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda Details: UK intelligence reported that Russian troops have made new advances south of Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub in Donetsk Oblast. Russian forces are now reportedly about 3 km from the southern outskirts of Pokrovsk, likely having captured the village of Shevchenko, which lies at the intersection of two critical roads leading to the city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement UK intelligence suggests that Russia is likely to continue its offensive towards Pokrovsk while also advancing west to the south of the city. UK Defence Intelligence also noted that Russian troops have likely crossed the northeastern logistics route of Velyka Novosilka, the -05-18. The update explained that in early December, Ukrainian forces regained control of the village of Novyi Komar and are continuing to hold the only supply route to Velyka Novosilka from the north. Novyi Komar and Velyka Novosilka. Screenshot: DeepState map Background: In early December, UK intelligence noted that most recent Russian advances had been concentrated on three fronts in Donetsk Oblast. Meanwhile, NATO data confirms that the rapid advance of Russian troops has significantly accelerated in recent weeks. However, Alliance analysts expect this momentum to slow down after Pokrovsk if the Russians succeed in capturing it. On 14 December, Colonel Ants Kiviselg, Head of the Estonian Defence Forces Intelligence Centre, stated that Ukrainian troops are experiencing intense pressure from Russian forces on the Pokrovsk front. Support UP or become our patron! In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, host Anna Belokur dives into Russias withdrawal from Syria after the dictator Bashar al-Assads downfall, as well as a front line update from Ukraine and the controversy surrounding mobilizing younger men. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. The Russians attacked an infrastructure facility in Mykolaiv with a Shahed drone on Sunday morning, leaving two employees injured. Source: Vitalii Kim, Head of Mykolaiv Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram; Oleksandr Sienkevych, Mayor of Mykolaiv, on Telegram Details: At 07:06, Vitalii Kim reported an explosion in Mykolaiv. Kim also said that rescue services had arrived at the scene. Later, Sienkevych reported that the Russians attacked the city with a UAV. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote from Sienkevych: "In the morning, the Russian aggressor attacked the city with a Shahed 131/136 UAV. There is damage to infrastructure. Two employees were injured." Support UP or become our patron! MOSCOW (Reuters) -A Russian oil tanker carrying thousands of tonnes of oil products split apart during a heavy storm on Sunday, spilling oil into the Kerch Strait, while another tanker was also in distress after sustaining damage, Russian officials said. The vessels were in the Kerch Strait between mainland Russia and Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, when they issued distress signals. Russian investigators opened two criminal cases to look into possible safety violations after at least one person was killed when the 136-metre Volgoneft 212 tanker, with 15 people on board, split in half with its bow sinking. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Footage on state media showed waves washing over its deck. The Russian-flagged vessel, built in 1969, was damaged and had run aground, officials said. Unverified video posted on Telegram showed some blackened water on stormy seas and a half-submerged tanker. The second Russian-flagged ship, the 132-metre Volgoneft 239, was drifting after sustaining damage, the Emergencies Ministry said. It has a crew of 14 people and was built in 1973. KEY ROUTE FOR RUSSIAN GRAIN, OIL EXPORTS The Kerch Strait is a key route for exports of Russian grain and is also used for exports of crude oil, fuel oil and liquefied natural gas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In September, Ukraine accused Russia at an international court of flouting sea law by trying to keep the Kerch Strait under its sole control, something Moscow dismisses at groundless. Emergency services said one person had died in the wreck of the first tanker, and 12 other people had been evacuated. Eleven of those were taken to hospital, with two in a serious condition, the TASS news agency quoted Alexei Kuznetsov, an aide to the health minister, as saying. The Emergencies Ministry said it was still in contact with the other tanker and its crew after the ship ran aground 80 m from shore near the port of Taman at the south end of the Kerch Strait. The ministry later wrote on Telegram that efforts to evacuate the crew of the second ship, Volganeft 239, were suspended because of bad weather. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ministry said rescue teams were in contact with the ship, which had all facilities on board necessary to ensure the lives of the crew were not in danger. Both tankers have a loading capacity of about 4,200 tonnes oil products. Official statements did not provide details on the extent of the spill or why one of the tankers sustained such serious damage. President Vladimir Putin ordered the government to set up a working group to deal with the rescue operation and mitigate the impact of the fuel spill, news agencies cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying, after Putin met with the ministers for emergencies and environment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russia said more than 50 people and equipment, including Mi-8 helicopters and rescue tugboats, had been deployed to the area. Svetlana Radionova, head of Russia's natural resources watchdog Rosprirodnadzor, said specialists were assessing the damage at the site of the incident. (Reporting by ReutersAdditional reporting by Gleb StolyarovWriting by Alexander MarrowEditing by Guy Faulconbridge, Bernadette Baum and Frances Kerry) The former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev on Friday suggested the possibility of further territorial acquisitions in Ukraine. At a party congress of the Kremlin;s United Russia party, Medvedev said it was necessary to develop the [Moscow-annexed] regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson. "This experience, incidentally, could be helpful if more new, but very close regions appear in our country," which he said was quite possible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Medvedev remains influential as the party chairman of United Russia and deputy head of Russia's National Security Council. The Kremlin, which began its war against Ukraine in February 2022 under the pretext of protecting the Russian-speaking civilian population in Donbas, has so far only partially captured the four regions, but demands their cession from Kiev as a precondition for peace talks. Moscow has repeatedly threatens further annexations should Ukraine not accept the demand. Ukraine's Security Service, Defence Intelligence, the Special Operations Forces, and the Armed Forces carried out a multi-stage special operation in Zaporizhzhia Oblast on 14 December, resulting in the destruction of a locomotive and 40 tank cars. Source: Ukrainska Pravda sources in special services Details: Counterintelligence officers from the Security Service of Ukraine first sabotaged the railway tracks while a Russian train carrying tankers was passing near the village of Oleksiivka in the Bilmak district. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the train came to a halt, soldiers from the 14th Regiment of the Unmanned Systems Forces launched a drone attack, setting some of the tankers on fire. 40 https://t.co/E925Lnei2Q pic.twitter.com/1YxMtkVHFL (@ukrpravda_news) December 15, 2024 Following this, Defence Intelligence air reconnaissance, in coordination with soldiers from the Tavriia Operational Strategic Group, targeted the outermost cars with HIMARS missiles to prevent the Russians from separating the tanks and salvaging some of the fuel. Finally, Defence Intelligence officers finished off the train using attack drones. In addition to the destruction of the locomotive and 40 tank cars, an important railway line supplying Russian forces has been put out of action for a long time. Support UP or become our patron! Russian forces in Syria lack access to drinking water and food. Source: Ukraines Defence Intelligence on Telegram Details: According to Ukrainian intelligence, the Russian military is being accompanied by anti-Assad armed groups on several routes as it withdraws from rural areas of Syria. Furthermore, Russian servicemen claim that Moscow has agreed to keep up to 3,000 Russian troops at Syrian facilities in Tartus and Khmeimim. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote: "Problems with drinking water and food were reported at these facilities, as well as on Russian ships in the region. The aggressor state's remaining forces are waiting for the military transport aircraft involved in the evacuation, which is expected to carry food. On 14 December 2024, two An-124-100 and two Il-76MD flights were scheduled from Chkalovsk to Khmeimim." Background: Assads regime ruled Syria for 24 years before collapsing, following a 12-day offensive led by rebel forces spearheaded by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (Levant Liberation Organisation). The offensive ended with the capture of Damascus, the countrys capital, on 8 December. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that losing military bases in Syria could severely impact the Kremlins ability to conduct operations in Africa. It would weaken Russias position in Libya and sub-Saharan countries and undermine its influence on authoritarian regimes in Africa. Russian state agencies TASS and RIA Novosti reported that deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family are in Moscow, where Russia has granted them asylum. On 10 December, Ukrainian intelligence reported that Russian forces were using ships and military transport aircraft to load troops, weapons and equipment, returning them from Syria to Russia. On 12 December, Bloomberg wrote that Russia is reportedly nearing an agreement with Syria's new leadership to retain its bases at the naval port of Tartus and the Khmeimim airbase. Support UP or become our patron! The Russians conducted 76 attacks on Sumy Oblast over the past day, with a total of 176 explosions in the oblast, causing damage to infrastructure. Source: Sumy Oblast Military Administration Quote: "Khotin, Myropillia, Krasnopillia, Velyka Pysarivka, Esman, Seredyna-Buda, and Svesa hromadas were attacked. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories ed.]" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Details: The Russians attacked Krasnopillia hromada with artillery, mortars, FPV drones, and UAV-dropped explosives 36 explosions. The strikes damaged an apartment block and an office building. Seredyna-Buda hromada was subjected to grenade and mortar attacks, an FPV drone attack, and MLRS bombardment 43 explosions. The attack damaged an administrative building. Velyka Pysarivka hromada was attacked by Russians with unguided missiles, an FPV drone, and mortar fire 25 explosions. Svesa hromada was also targeted with FPV drones and artillery shelling 21 explosions. The Russians dropped 9 mines on the territory of Esman hromada. Russian forces attacked Khotin hromada with mortars, artillery, and FPV drones 41 explosions. There was a missile attack on Myropillia hromada 1 explosion. Support UP or become our patron! SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) Several San Diego County hospitals have been named by U.S. News & World Report among the top hospitals in the United States for maternity care for 2025. The U.S. News & World Report has released its list of the top high-performing hospitals for maternity and prenatal care for 2025 based on hospital ratings. In California, 71 of 99 hospitals that were evaluated made it to the list of high-performing hospitals. Of those, 9 San Diego County hospitals made the list. U.S. News & World Reports Best Hospitals for Maternity Care (Uncomplicated Pregnancy) near San Diego: UC San Diego Health-La Jolla and Hillcrest Hospitals (La Jolla) Kaiser Permanente San Diego Zion and San Diego Medical Center (San Diego) Scripps Mercy Hospital (San Diego) Sharp Grossmont Hospital (La Mesa) Scripps Memorial Hospital-Encinitas (Encinitas) Palomar Medical Center Escondido (Escondido) Scripps La Jolla Hospitals (La Jolla) Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women and Newborns (San Diego) Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center (Chula Vista) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. News said an all-time high of 817 hospitals were evaluated and only half of those hospitals made the list. The following 10 metropolitan areas, in alphabetical order, have the greatest number of Best Hospitals for Maternity Care in the U.S.: Chicago Dallas-Fort Worth Denver Detroit Los Angeles New York Philadelphia Riverside-San Bernardino San Francisco Seattle With a record-breaking number of hospitals evaluated, U.S. News 2025 Best Hospitals for Maternity Care ratings represent the most comprehensive resource yet for expectant parents, said Jennifer Winston, Ph.D., health data scientist at U.S. News. These high-performing hospitals showcase exceptional care for expectant parents, demonstrating significantly lower C-section rates and severe unexpected newborn complications compared to hospitals not recognized by U.S. News. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. News says it evaluates how well hospitals perform in childbirth using C-section rates, newborn severe complication rates, breast milk feeding rates, routine birth after cesarean delivery (VBAC) rates, episiotomy rates, whether a hospital meets new federal criteria for birthing-friendly practices, and whether a hospital tracked and reported their outcomes for patients of different races and ethnicities. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Father of deceased Bengaluru techie Atul Subhash on Sunday, pleaded for custody of his grandson. Subhash's father, Pawan Kumar Modi, has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and others to ensure the custody of his grandson. Although Pawan Kumar expressed gratitude towards the police for arresting the accused, he asserted that he still has not received justice as a new case has been filed against him in the name of his grandson for maintenance. "We don't know where she has kept our grandson. Has he been killed or is he alive? We don't know anything about him. I want my grandson to be with us...I thank the police for arresting the accused...I still haven't got justice as a case has been filed against me. A new case has been filed against me in the name of my grandson for maintenance. We appeal to PM Modi, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and other leaders to ensure that my grandson comes to me...For a grandfather, his grandson means more than his son...The whole society, people are standing in my support..." Pawan Kumar told ANI. Bikas Kumar Modi, the brother of the deceased man has also expressed concerns regarding the whereabouts of his nephew. He said that two arrests in the case were yet to be done. "Our biggest concern right now is that we don't know where my nephew (Atul Subhash's son) is. We couldn't find him in the photograph circulated by the police. We want to know where he is. I thank the Karnataka Police for arresting these three... Two other arrests are pending. I hope they will also be arrested soon..." Bikas Kumar Modi told ANI. Three people have been arrested in connection with the death case of Atul Subhash, who committed suicide by hanging alleging harassment by his wife, Nikita Singhania, Karnataka police said, adding that she has been arrested from Haryana's Gurugram. According to the police, the other two accused, identified as Nisha Singhania, mother of Nikita Singhania and her brother, Anurag Singhania, were arrested from Uttar Pradesh's Allahabad. All the three accused in this case were sent to judicial custody as per the order of the court, police said. "Accused A1 Nikita Singhania has been arrested from Gurugram, Haryana. Accused A2 Nisha Singhania and Accused A3 Anurag Singhania were arrested from Allahabad and were produced before the court and given to judicial custody," Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) White Field Division, Bengaluru, Shivakumar said in a release. Atul Subhash, the 34-year-old deputy general manager of a private firm, died by suicide on Monday in his Bengaluru apartment, leaving behind a 24-page suicide note, accusing his wife and her relatives of harassment. In his suicide note, he also alleged that a judge had demanded Rs 5 lakh to "settle" the case. (ANI) Severe storms caused damage across northern California on Saturday, and for the first time in recorded history, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a tornado warning for the city of San Francisco. The warning went out just before 6 a.m. local time on Saturday, with about one million people warned to take shelter. The warning ended at 6:15 a.m. as the storms moved northward into the San Francisco Bay, and damage in the tornado-warned area in San Francisco was ultimately determined by the NWS to be straight line wind damage, not a tornado. San Franciscos Department of Emergency Management issued a statement about the tornado warning, noting that residents were "understandably anxious to receive an alert so uncommon for the region. (MORE: Back-To-Back Systems Bringing Rain To The East) They also advised residents that in the event that San Francisco gets a future tornado warning, that people should seek shelter in an interior room away from windows on the lowest floor possible, acknowledging that few buildings in the city have basements. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement San Francisco has actually had a confirmed tornado before in 2005, but it came without a tornado warning. So the first confirmed tornado happened without a tornado warning, while the citys first tornado warning happened without a confirmed tornado. The storms caused flooding in some parts of the city and in the wider region, winds gusts toppled trees and knocked out power to homes and businesses in places like Seaside, Livermore and Monterey, California. Confirmed Tornado In Northern California About an hour south of San Francisco a tornado touched down in the city of Scotts Valley later Saturday. Preliminary damage assessments from the National Weather Service said the EF1 tornado had peak winds of 90 mph when it hit at 1:39 p.m. local time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The tornado was only on the ground for 5 minutes, and it traveled a third of a mile and stretched 30 yards wide. In that short amount of time, it flipped multiple vehicles and tore down power lines. The Scotts Valley Police Department told local media at least five people were injured, most of them were inside vehicles that were overturned. One of the injured was a battalion chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), according to a report from KSBW-TV. The most severe damage was along Mount Hermon Road in the citys retail district. The road was closed Saturday as officials assessed the damage and crews worked to restore power. On Sunday morning, about 3,600 customers in the region remained without power, according to PowerOutage.us. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Captain Jayson Rutherford with the Scotts Valley Fire Department told KION News, Ive been here 27 years, and weve never had a tornado in my time here or anything remotely like this. He added that it was very fortunate that nobody lost their life. By Sunday afternoon, Scotts Valley Police announced that Mount Hermon Road was back open and they thanked PG&E crews for restoring power to the area. Residents of California may have more experience with earthquakes than with tornadoes, but the state does experience approximately 11 tornadoes per year on average. What's next for the region: Another storm system is expected to impact the West Coast early this week, and heavy rain is possible for coastal Washington, Oregon, and northern California. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The system will move inland by midweek, and there is not currently any threat of heavy rain or severe weather for the regions most affected by Saturdays severe weather. (MORE: Two Rounds Of Winter Weather Heading North) Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said on Sunday that he thinks President Bidens decision to pardon his son, Hunter, is understandable, but he expressed concern about the precedent it could set for future presidents. I think two things: When you have his opponents going after his family, as a father, as a parent, I think we can all understand Biden trying to protect his son and his family, Sanders began when asked on NBC Newss Meet the Press whether pardoning his son was the best choice the president could have made for the country. On the other hand, I think the precedent being set is kind of a dangerous one, he continued. It was a very wide open pardon which could, under different circumstances, lead to problems in terms of future presidents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sanders said he does not think the pardon will tarnish President Bidens legacy. I think his legacy is a strong legacy, he said when asked. I think President Biden on domestic policies has been perhaps the most progressive president in American history, since FDR, and I think the economy today, in many ways, is in very strong shape. Biden has faced mixed responses following his sons pardon, which he announced two weeks ago. For more than a year, Biden said he would not pardon his son. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that the president made his decision in part because he believed Republicans and President-elect Trump wouldnt let up on prosecuting his son once the incoming administration took over. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the reasons the president did the pardon is because it didnt seem like his political opponents would let go of it, it didnt seem like they would move on. And so, this is why this president took this action, Jean-Pierre said upon being peppered with questions about Bidens stark reversal. Hunter Biden was found guilty in June in a federal case on three felony charges over his purchase and possession of a gun in 2018, violating the law by concealing drug use. He pleaded guilty in September to nine federal tax charges, avoiding a trial. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Dec. 14Cold December morning winds blew over the crowd as they silently listened to a three-volley rifle salute and rendition of taps. The procession is one of many taking place at more than 4,600 sites across the country for today's National Wreaths Across America Day, which last year provided 3 million wreaths to lay on veterans' graves. The local ceremony takes place at the Santa Fe National Cemetery, the resting place for more than 68,000 veterans and family members, with this year's event bringing large crowds to pay their respects. This year's turnout in Santa Fe was the largest in the last few years, said Amy Alaniz, who started attending the event three years prior. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I think a lot of people get caught up in the holidays, and buying things and stuff like that. It should be about remembering people," she said. Alaniz, who has a son in the Marines, didn't have a particular grave she's honoring. Instead, she said she was paying her respects to those who might have nobody else to remember them. "I mean, so many graves that they were young, really young men," she said. "I mean, 18, 19 years old, and their graves have been there for so long, and they probably don't have a lot of family members left because they didn't have children." Vincent Ojinaga was there for his father, Vicente Ojinaga, a three-year prisoner of war of the Japanese during World War II and survivor of the Bataan Death March, who received the Purple Heart upon his return home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also paid his respects earlier this year in the 2024 Bataan Memorial Death March, a grueling 26.2 mile march across New Mexico's White Sands Missile Range to recognize the sacrifice of those that died on the infamous 60-mile trek. With Ojinaga was Renee Borrego, present to honor still-living father Placido Borrego, 100. Borrego, a veteran of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, was recognized by the city of Santa Fe earlier this year, with April 10 being named Placido Borrego Day. "I didn't get a wreath for him, because he's still alive," she said. "But we need to honor our vets." Another group paying its respects was the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club of Albuquerque, which has been supporting the event for five years, said President Demetrius Brandon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We need to honor tradition and legacy, especially for those that have nobody else," he said. Prior to the wreath-placing, several speakers, mostly veterans themselves, addressed the crowd to talk about the importance of recognizing sacrifice and promoted various programs to support veterans. The keynote speaker was Brig. Gen. Jamison Herrera, Cabinet secretary of the state Department of Veterans Services. He began his speech with a moment of recognition for veterans of the Vietnam War like his own father and father-in-law who he said were met with scorn upon returning home. "As we come together during this holiday season," he said, "we are mindful of the challenges and hardships that many face, continuing to struggle with mental health and the impacts of suicide." According to the New Mexico VA Health Care System, New Mexico is ranked fourth-highest in the nation in veteran suicide rates, averaging one every four days or 75 to 90 a year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We know people that are struggling with the impacts of mental health," Herrera said. "Be the one to make that phone call. Be the one to visit and show up unannounced." Thomas Vialpando, president of Honoring and Remembering New Mexico Veterans, the local organization in charge of facilitating the event, spoke briefly about the significance of the wreath longevity and sacrifice and gave instruction on the proper way to lay it on the gravestone. "It's not just a wreath. It's a personal gift to an American hero," he said. I am appalled at the secretive actions of the N.C. Republican legislators who once again shield themselves in closed door actions, drafting a major, policy changing bill without debate, discussion or explanation to the people of N.C. SB 382 is a major power grab that hurts our democratic process and each citizen of the state. We cannot stand for this. The bill is a pathetic effort to undermine the will of the people and harm western N.C.s hurricane relief effort. As usual, the legislatures majority party has no shame. Julia Welch, Chapel Hill Going backward Im a bit concerned that N.C. will once again have signs on water fountains for white people and colored people. The school voucher program voted in by our majority Republican legislature is on track to re-segregate our school system. Not to mention draining the lifeblood from our public education system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im sure Sen. Berger and his cronies will say theyre just responding to their constituents and, sadly, theyre probably right. I will not be proud of a return to Jim Crow and will be ashamed of living in the N.C. once considered a more enlightened state. Unfortunately, my vote wont count since the powers that be have gerrymandered the map to guarantee unchallenged power, which includes a now weakened governor who might have been the last check on their racist policies. Is this really what North Carolinians want? David Reid, Raleigh Sen. Cooper? In regards to the Dec. 6 editorial Is Thom Tillis Toast? Its not going to be an easy path. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Given the fact that Republicans have threatened Sen. Thom Tillis with finding a candidate to run against him, North Carolina Democrats are given an opportunity to put forward our strongest contender for Senate, Gov. Roy Cooper. Let us hope that Gov. Cooper gives every consideration to running. We need his leadership as a Democratic North Carolina Senator more than ever. Run, Governor, Run! Michael Rakouskas, Burlington Carbon tax We need to do much more to address climate change. I ask Elon Musk and President Trump to promote a carbon-tax-and-dividend approach. Alaska already has a carbon-tax-and-dividend program. Hurricane Helene destroyed communities in Western N.C. The Amazon River is drying up. Worse disasters are coming if we dont do more. President Reagan promoted the treaty to protect the ozone layer. President Trump could follow in his footsteps with climate change. The carbon-tax-and-dividend approach has been described as a conservative answer to climate change. This approach includes tariffs on goods from countries that do not have a carbon tax. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement David Sokal, MD, Durham Outraged The N.C. General Assembly has shamelessly exploited those impacted by Hurricane Helene, pushing forward SB 382, a disaster relief package that undermines voters will and provides no legitimate aid to Western NC. I am outraged that the 131-page bill contains only twelve pages about relief. Leadership wrote the bill in secret, allowed no amendments and released the bills text mere hours before a vote. This opaque process demonstrates the corruption plaguing our state. SB 382 holds a mirror to our states political landscape, reflecting lies, deceit and callous disregard for peoples needs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Samuel Hinds, Durham Bad tax cuts State lawmakers are considering SB 920, a new giveaway to the wealthiest households and corporations that would lead to higher sales and property taxes for working-class families. In state and local taxes, N.C. already has an upside-down tax code that asks the most from families with the least financial resources. The richest 1% of households in our state make well over a million dollars each year on average but pay just 6% of their annual income in state and local taxes. Meanwhile, the average household in the bottom 20% makes about $15,000, but pays 11 percent in taxes a portion almost twice as high as the millionaires. We dont need permanent tax breaks for the wealthy. We need good schools, childcare centers and clean air and water! Its time for our legislators to represent regular people, not millionaires. Lynn Holbein, Pittsboro A South Carolina man has been sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of killing a man with a machete in 2020, the 14th Circuit Solicitors Office announced. Around 2:30 a.m. on July 8, 2020, deputies were called to a fight outside a mobile home on Horton Road in Burton. They saw Michael Eugene Goode swinging a machete toward the ground before dropping it and running after deputies asked him to put it down, according to previous reporting by The Island Packet in Hilton Head. When deputies got closer to the scene, they found Rodney Watson, 66, of St. Marys, Georgia, lying on the ground, seriously wounded. Watson was taken to Beaufort Memorial Hospital, where he died shortly thereafter, law enforcement told the Packet at the time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Goode already had an outstanding warrant for an unrelated assault and battery. Following a three-day jury trial, Goode was convicted of murder and possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a violent crime. He was given a life sentence, and an additional five years in prison for the weapons charge, according to a news release. He will not be eligible for parole. According to a news release, Watson was driving to a store with his niece when they saw Goode in the roadway and stopped to give him a ride. Goode began attacking the woman. When Watson tried to intervene, Goode attacked him with a machete. Watson had at least six stab wounds, mostly to the back, the solicitors office said. A blow to an artery in Watsons left arm proved fatal, the office said. Goode originally claimed he was elsewhere during the attack, according to a news release, but DNA evidence linked the clothes he was seen wearing to Watson and the 10-inch machete. Goode changed his story on the witness stand, and said he was afraid but ultimately did remember his actions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Beaufort County Sheriffs Office assisted in the investigation. The victim in this case was simply trying to help someone who looked to be in distress, but instead was met with senseless brutality, said Jared Shedd of the 14th Circuit Solicitors Office, which prosecuted the case. This defendant behaved unconscionably, and both the verdict and sentence are just. When 43 monkeys escaped from captivity into the South Carolina Lowcountry village of Yemassee last month, almost everyone seemed to be rooting for them to elude capture. Now, all but four of the adolescent female rhesus monkeys have returned as I write this. The great escape inspired greater memes and creative merchandise including a new beer and reminded people in our area that Beaufort County is a monkey capital of the world. The 43 little rogues who did nothing more than walk out an open door are among a cohort of nearly 10,000 that includes some 6,500 monkeys living in Beaufort County and 3,000 more in a nearby facility in Hampton County. They are bred and sold primarily for biomedical research. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its big business. Millions of dollars change hands between the private sector, federal government and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Its all managed by a company called Alpha Genesis, whose primary customers are the federal government, pharmaceutical companies and universities. Beyond occasionally recurring questions that arise about escapes, animal maltreatment and animal ethics in general comes a big question that too few contemplate: Are we vulnerable to a mass escape that would amount to more than just the monkeying around of this past month? About 3,500 monkeys run loose on Morgan Island, just north of St. Helena Island in the mouth of the Combahee River, and a storm surge from a hurricane could sweep them into the wilds of precious Lowcountry lands protected from development. It would be a problem similar to the one with pythons in the Everglades, said a retired DNR biologist who lives in northern Beaufort County has long sounded the alarm about the monkeys. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sally R. Murphy wrote about it in her 2019 book, Turning the Tide: A Memoir, which focused on her career of saving sea turtles. As DNRs first sea turtle coordinator, Murphy knows well the personal and professional cost of successfully bucking resistance to a sensible cause. Murphy is an advocate for what we call the ACE Basin, the collective conservation named for the Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto rivers. It encompasses parts of four counties between Beaufort and Charleston, and The Nature Conservancy has called it one of the last great places on Earth. Murphy says the thousands of monkeys raised on Morgan Island are the single greatest threat to the ACE Basin. She says its not a question of if a storm surge will disperse the monkeys, its a question of when. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No nesting bird would be safe, she wrote. It would be like having feral hogs that climb. I asked her last week about the monkeys involved in the much ballyhooed recent escape. The ones in Yemassee seem to be tamer and more accustomed to people and were easier to catch, she said. I doubt the ones on Morgan Island are this way. If they are carried by storm surge into the wilds of the ACE Basin, there will be no catching them. Period! This is where money can cloud good sense. The Department of Natural Resources gets about $1.5 million a year to lease Morgan Island, which it owns. That money pays for all or part of the salaries of 33 employees in a department that in recent years has seen its state budget shrink. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the public owns the island and it should be open to the public, and the state is so flush with money that it lost track of $1.8 billion. It can fund DNR without public land being used as a cash cow. Heres what Murphy says we should do: Buy out Alpha Genesis for the remaining lease on Morgan Island. Remove ALL of the monkeys on Morgan Island. Over the decades, the monkeys have decimated all living things in/on the ground and the understory on the island. It would be interesting to see how it is recolonized by both plants and animals. This would be a great study for many of the biology department students at USC-B. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Move the monkeys, staff and facilities in Yemassee to the other facility in Hampton County, away from the Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge. The 43 monkeys 15 minutes of fame would be nothing compared to the enduring impacts of thousands of missing monkeys. David Lauderdale may be reached at lauderdalecolumn@gmail.com . German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Friday that he can't imagine forming a federal government with the upstart populist party known as BSW. "Given the topics raised by the BSW, it's hardly conceivable," said Scholz on a local public broadcaster TV programme. BSW is the German acronym for the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, named after the east German politician whose ideas range from stopping support for Ukraine to pro-Russian sentiments. "We support Ukraine and ensure it is not left alone in defending its sovereignty and democracy. This clearly differentiates us from the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance," Scholz said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) are in a new alliance on the state level in Brandenburg, near Berlin, where Scholz lives and where he was just elected as the top candidate for the Brandenburg SPD. The chancellor criticized the BSW's demand to push for a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict while simultaneously rejecting arms deliveries. "We don't believe that words alone can guarantee the country can defend its independence," he said. But Scholz also rejected the stance of the leading conservative chancellor candidate, Friedrich Merz, of the Christian Democrats. Merz supports sending long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine. "Conversely, we are also clearly positioned against all the hotheads who think various measures must be taken," said Scholz. "There will be no permission to deploy long-range weapons delivered from Germany deep within Russian territory - that is set." Current German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD) may include a refusal to provide Ukraine with Taurus long-range missiles in its manifesto. Source: DPA and Berliner Morgenpost, citing the draft SPD party manifesto, as reported by European Pravda Details: In the document cited by DPA, the German Social Democrats pledge "diplomatic, military, financial and humanitarian support for Ukrainians in their fight against Russias aggression, which violates international law for as long as it takes". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Ukraine must be able to negotiate with Russia on equal terms... We will not accept a peace dictated by Russia at Ukraines expense," the draft manifesto states. The SPD also supports military aid to Ukraine "with prudence and a sense of proportion", ensuring that Germany and NATO do not become parties to the conflict. "That is why we support Chancellor Olaf Scholzs decision not to supply Taurus cruise missiles from Bundeswehr stockpiles," the media quote the manifesto as reading. Furthermore, the SPD manifesto makes no mention of ongoing discussions about Ukraine's NATO accession, peacekeeping forces in the event of a "ceasefire", or other security assurances for Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among other things, Scholz's party favours allocating at least 2% of the country's GDP to defence and deploying US Tomahawk missiles in Germany, as well as advocating for a new, though voluntary, model of military service. The SPD's election manifesto must be approved at the party congress on 17 December. Background: Germany's current chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has consistently refused to supply Ukraine with long-range weapons. Friedrich Merz, leader of the German opposition bloc CDU/CSU and a candidate for chancellor, said he would only provide Ukraine with Taurus missiles after consulting the United States. Support UP or become our patron! Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) are to rule out deliveries of long-range missiles to Ukraine in their manifesto for elections expected in February, dpa learnt on Sunday. A draft manifesto seen by dpa includes policies such as spending 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence in line with NATO's target, a wealth tax on the super-rich and speed limits of 130 kilometres per hour. Chancellor Olaf Scholz's party, which has governed Germany since 2021 in an unpopular coalition with the Greens and - until November - the Free Democrats (FDP), plans to finalize the manifesto in Berlin on Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, the SPD faces a difficult battle to remain in power, with the latest opinion polls showing it on 17%, well behind the conservative CDU/CSU bloc's 31%. The draft manifesto promises the party will fight for ordinary Germans, with 95% of residents to enjoy tax cuts while those with fortunes exceeding 100 million ($105 million) face duties on their wealth, inheritance and real-estate profits. The SPD further backs investments in electricity and heating networks, housing construction and electric vehicle charging stations through an investment fund financed by the government to the tune of 100 billion. Other policies include a 15 minimum wage, a speed limit on Germany's motorways and a commitment to continue deportations of criminals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The programme also supports stationing US medium-range weapons in Germany, but rejects sending Taurus cruise missiles to Kiev in accordance with Scholz's position on the issue. A vote of confidence is due to take place on Monday in the German parliament to pave the way for elections in February. ACCIDENT WITH INJURY: Report from Junior Furnace-Powellsville Road of a single-car accident with a motorist complaining of chest pains. Ohio State Highway Patrol contacted. 8:17 a.m., Friday, Dec. 6. THREATS OR HARASSMENT: Report from Mohawk Drive of an email containing threats or harassment sent by student. 3:03 p.m., Friday, Dec. 6. DOMESTIC COMPLAINT: Report from South Washington Boulevard of a male making threats at a residence and refusing to leave. 3:04 p.m., Friday, Dec. 6. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SUSPICIOUS VEHICLE: Report from Chester Street of a yellow truck doing burnouts in the street. Made contact with motorist, who was advised. 3:31 p.m., Friday, Dec. 6. THEFT: Report from Hammerstein Road of items stolenb from the property of a recently deceased person. 3:52 p.m., Friday, Dec. 6. FIRE: Report from High Street of a vehicle fire in a driveway. 3:57 p.m., Friday, Dec. 6. INVESTIGATED: Report from Oliver Road of a possible case of identity theft. 3:58 p.m., Friday, Dec. 6. THEFT: Report from Tick Ridge of the theft of a gate and several trees off property. 4:44 p.m., Friday, Dec. 6. SUSPICIOUS PERSON: Report from Norwich and Maynard Avenues of a male blocking traffic with his vehicle. 5:13 p.m., Friday, Dec. 6. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement BURGLARY IN PROGRESS: Report of people in a barn, removing items. Reporting party called back to inform it was a lost hunter and to disregard. 6:55 p.m., Friday, Dec. 6. THEFT: Report from Elmwood Avenue of a stolen firearm. 4:13 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 7. A later report was made by caller in regards to possible person of interest in theft making threats. INVESTIGATED: Report from Tatman-Coe Road of a male juvenile asleep on the ground. Male juvenile said he was waiting for a ride. His mother arrived. 9:56 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 7. INVESTIGATED: Report from Ohio 140 of a female laying in a ditch, waiting for another female to leave residence. First female was detained. 10:58 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 7. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ACCIDENT WITH INJURY: Report from Ohio River Road of two-car crash involving three patients. 1:01 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7. INVESTIGATED: Report from Dold Road of a loose dog attacking callers dog. 2:22 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7. JUVENILE COMPLAINT: Report from Dogwood Ridge Road of a male juvenile running alongside roadway. Deputy gave juvenile a ride home, spoke with mother about allowing juvenile outside after dark. 6:35 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7. INVESTIGATED: Report from Careys Run-Pond Creek Road of a light in the sky. Caller was worried it was a drone. 7:19 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7. INVESTIGATED: Report from Webster Street of two vehicles blocking the roadway. 7:22 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FIRE: Report from Ohio River Road of a small fire behind medical building. 8:15 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7. INVESTIGATED: Report from Gallia Pike of a possibly intoxicated male doing drugs in parking lot. 12:37 a.m., Sunday, Dec. 8. THREATS OR HARASSMENT: Report from Boren Boulevard of a male who came inside residence, threatened to kill everyone, then left. Believed to be armed with a knife. 1:43 a.m., Sunday, Dec. 8. SUSPICIOUS PERSON: Report from North Bend Avenue of a juvenile male possibly intoxicated on narcotics. Male was transported to SOMC ER with mother behind. 5:31 a.m., Sunday, Dec. 8. INVESTIGATED: Report from Ohio River Road business of an armed patron refusing to leave. 10:38 a.m., Sunday, Dec. 8. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ROAD BLOCKED: Report from Slab Run Road of a tree and power lines down, blocking roadway. 11:07 a.m., Sunday, Dec. 8. INVESTIGATED: Report from Cedar Street of minors riding four-wheelers recklessly all over roadway. 2:25 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 8. ACCIDENT WITH INJURY: Report from Ohio 140 of a vehicle rollover crash with entrapment. OSP was contacted. 5:38 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 8. ANIMAL COMPLAINT: Report from South Bennett Street of a loose pitbull causing issues in the neighborhood. 5:47 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 8. SUSPICIOUS PERSON: Report from Center Street of an impaired driver. Male driver was detained for OVI and became combative when cuffs were placed. 6:30 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 8. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ATV COMPLAINT: Report from Duncan Road of ATVs coming and going. 12:15 a.m., Monday, Dec. 9. ASSAULT: Report from Sulphur Lick Road of a possibly armed male coming to residence and assaulting caller. 5:06 p.m., Monday, Dec. 9. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra paid tributes to former Congress President Sardar Vallabhai Patel on the occasion of his 74th death anniversary on Sunday. In a post on X, Priyanka Gandhi said that the former President was a great freedom fighter, creator of modern India and the symbol of unity and integrity of the country. "Respectful tribute to the great freedom fighter, creator of modern India, symbol of unity and integrity of the country, former President of the Indian National Congress and Bharat Ratna Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his death anniversary," she said. Further, the Congress MP said that Patel strengthened the values of democracy, justice equality, truth, non-violence and satyagraha under the aegis of Mahatma Gandhi. "Sardar Patel, who strengthened the values of democracy, justice, equality, truth, non-violence and satyagraha under the aegis of Mahatma Gandhi, along with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation of Indian democracy and built the country. His great ideas and contributions are a source of inspiration for the entire country," she said. Congress President Malikarjun Kharge, in a post on X earlier, paid tribute to Patel. "Our duty is that we should decide that we have to live like brothers in India... whatever be the community. Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Parsi, Christian, everyone should understand that this is our country, Sardar Patel," he said. "Humble tribute to the Iron Man of India, the first Deputy Prime Minister of the country, former Congress President and our source of inspiration, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, on his death anniversary, who united independent India into a single nation," he added. Further, Kharge said that Patel's thoughts would continue to remain his ideals and inspire the future generations. "His thoughts will always remain our ideal and will continue to inspire future generations to serve the nation," the Congress President wrote. Former leader of the Congress party, Patel played an important role in the country's struggle for independence. Loyal to Mahatma Gandhi, he served as the first Deputy Prime Minister of the country and also organized relief efforts for refugees who fled from Punjab and Delhi to Pakistan and worked on restoring peace. His thoughts will always remain our ideal and will continue to inspire future generations to serve the nation. He breathed his last at the Birla House located in Bombay on December 15, 1950, and is best remembered as the 'Unifier of India'. (ANI) A 92-year-old woman with dementia and her nephews caretaker each suffered cruel, tragic ends dying within feet of each other in her two-bedroom Upper West Side pad some neighbors feared has now become a horror show. Alice Osman spent her life traveling the world before dementia made her a prisoner in her own mind, dying alone in her co-op, with the body of her haunted, struggling nephew Steven Osman in the next room. Both Osmans were found dead inside her ground-floor home at 370 Riverside Dr. in June, according to relatives, court papers, and officials. Alice Osman spent her life traveling the world before dementia made her a prisoner in her own mind. Courtesy of Mark Osman neighbors of Osman fear the apartment she was found dead in has now become a horror show. Helayne Seidman Osman, 92, graduated Teachers College in 1959 and taught English to non-native speakers, working at Columbia Universitys American Language Program in 1969, the school and another nephew, Mark Osman, said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She was a world traveler, Mark Osman told The Post. I think thats one of the reasons she never got married because she liked to travel the world. Ive seen pictures of her riding a camel, visiting different continents. She loved going to places that didnt speak English. The elder Osman lucked out, landing her two-bedroom, roughly 1,500-square-foot pad at 370 Riverside Dr. decades ago, using it as her home base and at times, hosting younger relatives, Mark Osman said. Similar apartments now sell for $1 million or more, records show. She often flew by herself to her Lake Worth, Fla., condo just south of West Palm Beach, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her family didnt realize Alice was struggling until she started getting lost in her longtime neighborhood and fell a year behind on her monthly maintenance charges, her nephew said. Thats when Marks brother Steven, 63, a former lawyer who was also struggling with drug and alcohol addiction and was tormented by the death of his best friend NYPD Officer John Perry, who perished trying to rescue people in the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks stepped in. Alices nephew Steven Osman died in the next room, according to officials. Helayne Seidman The pair lived together, but Stevens unwelcome penchant for collecting and storing cans and bottles from the street inside the apartment, caused problems with management, according to Mark and a doorman at the 16-story building. Doorman Ermal Milori made the wretched find on June 28, after arriving for his afternoon shift and noticing a foul odor, he told The Post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After checking the lobby, he entered the Osmans home to find Alice dead, face up on a bed, and her nephew whom Milori hadnt seen in four days dead in another room. He died first, in his bed asleep, said Mark Osman, and then my aunt, she laid down and went to sleep and never woke up. The Osmans died of natural causes, the city Medical Examiner told The Post, including hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. But nearly five months after the sad demise of the Osmans, the apartment is still sealed shut. A DO NOT ENTER sign across the door, and management has gone to the Manhattan Supreme Court asking a judge to force the NYPD to give them access so they can clean, remove garbage, and fumigate, according to the litigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since the bodies were removed, Plaintiff has received multiple complaints from other residents about a strong foul smell emanating from the apartment, they said in court papers, noting vermin and roaches are believed to have set in. The situation is just an unfortunate set of circumstances, said attorney Peter Livingston, who represents 370 Riverside. Doorman Ermal Milori found the bodies of Osman and her nephews caretaker on June 28. Helayne Seidman Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But a lawyer for Alice Osman insisted 370 Riverside was wrong to seek access to the apartment and had cut her family out of its bid to get inside. They should not have access to the apartment before we have access, said attorney Yoram Nachimovsky, who also knew Steven Osman for decades. To leave us out of the case is totally inappropriate. The family just got the remains of their loved ones within the past two weeks, and only received death certificates last month, he said, finally giving them clearance to seek to have Mark Osman appointed in Surrogate Court as the executor of Alice and Stevens estates. Alice was an intellectual, a very sweet lady, very old school, very dignified, Nachimovsky said of the elder Osman in her better years, adding that Steven was taking care of her hand and foot. He was in my office probably a couple days before he passed. It was so unexpected. A DO NOT ENTER sign across the door, and management has gone to the Manhattan Supreme Court asking a judge to force the NYPD to give them access so they can clean, remove garbage, and fumigate, according to the litigation. Helayne Seidman He disputed claims the apartment was dirty or causing problems, noting hed hired professional cleaners about a month before Alice and Stevens death and was prepared to do so again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think the fact that [370 Riverside] started a case to get into the apartment without us is an indication they have their own ax to grind, Nachimovsky added, noting the Osmans are current on the rent and maintenance. You want to go into her apartment without even mentioning it to her lawyer? Theres something very wrong about that. The NYPD cant open the home without authority from the Surrogates Court or other authority, the department said in a statement. She was a nice lady, one resident who declined to give their name said of Alice Osman. Its probably a horror show inside, said another resident. Its a very difficult time for everyone, another resident said. On Thursday, crews from the Seattle Fire Department answered calls for a rope rescue in a high-rise building near the intersection of Fourth Avenue and Union Street in Seattle. According to SFD, a power outage in the building shut down all the elevators and trapped three people near the sixth floor. The people were trapped in an area that had no door access, forcing rescue crews to rope down to reach them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SFD said that the closest elevator access point was on the 21st floor. Crews were able to set up a rope rescue platform from the access point and rappeled roughly 200 feet down to reach the elevator. After communicating with the three people, they were secured with a harness and pulled up one by one. SFD said that no one was injured. Boston Police Department are asking for the publics help with finding a missing 61-year-old East Boston woman. Elba Portillo was last seen going to work at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, December 13, in the area of Marion Street. She is described as a Hispanic female standing at 53 tall, 140 lbs, with light skin, brown hair and eyes. She was last seen wearing a black jacket and purple sweatpants with a crossbody brown purse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Portillo is known to have gone missing before, as she suffers from insomnia and possible early stage dementia. She is known to sit along the waterfront in East Boston. Anyone with information about her whereabouts is urged to call police at 617-343-4234. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall delivered bleak messages to the nations postmaster general about the beleaguered U.S. Postal Service by channeling frustration of Kansans, specifically Dana from El Dorado, Mike from Topeka and Stacy of Marysville. During a recent hearing of the U.S. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee in Washington, D.C., the Kansas Republican quizzed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who took the top USPS job in 2020. DeJoy has faced criticism for inconsistent handling of first-class mail, decommissioning high-speed sorting machines, forming bigger regional processing hubs that slowed delivery to rural customers and six postage rate hikes since 2021. We asked some folks back home, if you could be in front of the postmaster general, what questions would they ask you, said Marshall to DeJoy. The senator said Stacy and Mike proposed the same query. What is justifying the consistent price increases with no change or improvement in delivery time or service? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DeJoy said mail-delivery service was slipping before he was selected by the Postal Services Board of Governors. Senator, we had a defective pricing model for 20 years, DeJoy said. Mail volume was cut in half and we werent allowed to raise our prices to accommodate that. The cost of a U.S. first-class stamp was 1 cent in 1863 and didnt hit the 5-cent plateau for a century. The price of the basic postage stamp hit 50 cents in 2019. Under DeJoy, the cost of a forever stamp surged to 58 cents in 2021, 60 cents in 2022, 63 cents in early 2023, 66 cents in late 2023, 68 cents in early 2024 and 73 cents later in 2024. The Postal Services financial trajectory must be stabilized before delivery metrics substantially improve, DeJoy said. He also said there had to be workplace adjustments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have my people, 640,000 people, that need to learn how to operate like Fed Ex and UPS, the postmaster said. Thats the only way we survive. Half Kansans disappointed Marshall said Dana from El Dorado would have asked the postmaster general why rural mail was no longer delivered in a timely manner. She yearned for days of two- or three-day delivery anywhere in the United States. DeJoy said the standard USPS delivery time was reset in 2021 at five days, up from the unrealistic goal of three days. The Postal Service was spending $3.5 billion flying mail around the country in an attempt to hit the three-day target, he said. We put everything on a truck on a ground service. Weve taken $1.5 billion out of our transportation budget, DeJoy said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Marshall said a poll was sent to about 400,000 Kansans to get a sense of attitudes about mail delivery. More than half of Kansas respondents said their mail service was unreliable. Nearly 70% said theyd personally experienced delays in the past year. Certainly youre not going to call that success? Marshall said. DeJoys confession: We have issues in Kansas. Im working a strategy specifically to enhance the service in Kansas. I recognize its there, and were going to fix it. Marshall said he was convinced DeJoy wanted to make the system better, but urged the postmaster general to explain where resistance to reform was coming from. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think theres a romance with an organization that long ago lost its ability to do the service that everybody expected, DeJoy said. Thats the issue here. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy at a hearing in 2020 What about Winchester? Marshall asked DeJoy to pledge to complete work on a contract so the city of Winchester in Jefferson County could have a post office for the first time since October 2020. The senator sent a letter last summer to DeJoy about Winchesters lack of a post office. At the hearing, DeJoy said he was uncertain he could make the commitment. DeJoy said Congress had long burdened the Postal Service with significant unfunded mandates. He said members of Congress were loath to embrace his plans for price hikes, shorter post office hours and slower first-class mail delivery. He said U.S. House members had begged him not to saddle their congressional district with unpopular changes. It would have been easier for me to build a new postal service than to transition this one, because were also delivering 400 million pieces of mail and packages a day, DeJoy said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While serving as postmaster general, DeJoy has been accused of conflicts of interest and meddling with mail-in voting to distort outcomes in the 2020 election. Hes also been lauded for securing passage of a bipartisan Postal Service reform bill, delivering 500 million COVID-19 test kits through the mail and agreeing to change course and move the Postal Services fleet to electric vehicles. Other inquiries, comments about Postal Service Prior to the hearing, Marshall requested followers on Facebook recommend questions for DeJoy. Some asserted DeJoys initial assignment from then-President Donald Trump was to undermine the Postal Service so it would be easier to privatize the federal agency. Wasnt DeJoy a Trump appointee specifically to slow down and screw up USPS? said Timothy Cable. Id like you to mention that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stop with the pandering, Andrea Pfeifer messaged Marshall. You knew when he was put in place by Trump, with no experience, that he was put in there to try and destroy the basic functions of the P.O. in order to try and privatize the services and make money for the rich corporate pocket liners. Allen Crowder wondered if DeJoy could explain why Postal Service union members were given so much power to slow down the mail? I am a former postal worker, and have seen the corrupt unions doing their corrupt tricks, Crowder said. Mellissa Chestnut, who said she was a Postal Service employee, said it didnt make sense DeJoy embraced a philosophy of giving Amazon packages preference over regular mail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Id like to know what the plan is to get Amazon under control? Amazon is killing us. Why are we putting Amazon priority over everything else? she said. Meanwhile, Mike Smith recommended Marshall and DeJoy talk about allowing local mail to be canceled in the city of origin for delivery the next day. In some instances, letters must be hauled long distances to centralized facilities for processing before transported back to the place of origin. From here to Dodge, to Wichita for canceling, then to Dodge, and back to Ashland. Thats government for you, Smith said. This story first appeared on Kansas Reflector , a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization covering state government, politics and policy. Sen. Chuck Schumer wants expanded surveillance and drone detection systems for the tristate area after residents for weeks have been unnerved by the unmanned flying vehicles. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said federal authorities should hand more power to state and local law enforcement to deal with the mystery drones. Locals should not have to shake an eight ball to get desperate answers on non-stop drone sightings when the feds can do more to help, Schumer said Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Jersey residents have been bothered by drones since late November and numerous recent sightings have been reported in Queens, the Bronx and the Hudson Valley. On Friday night, runways at Stewart International Airport in Orange County were shut down for an hour due to drones. The drones have sparked a handful of kooky theories including one from a Republican New Jersey congressman that an Iranian mothership was behind them. The Pentagon scoffed at the conjecture. Gov. Hochul said Sunday the federal government had approved a state-of-the-art drone detection system for New York. But that was only one system, a small step in the desired effort, according to Schumers office. Schumer is focused on a company called Robin that makes advanced drone detection technology. Over the summer, the Netherlands purchased 51 Robin drone radar systems and sent them to Ukraine. Schumer thinks they could be useful outside of war zones as well. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I want [Robin] deployed across New York and New Jersey and the metro area widely to help give us concrete answers on what is going on and from where, Schumer said Sunday. The [briefings] I have had tell me there is no evidence that this is a government or foreign activity and so we have to answer the logical question of Who? Federal authorities have downplayed the threat of the drones. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security said Thursday there is no evidence of the drones flying in restricted airspace. In fact, according to the feds, many of the reported drone sightings were actually manned aircraft, operating lawfully. Republican lawmakers and leaders have urged the federal government to take more decisive action by simply shooting the drones down. It is illegal for private citizens to shoot down drones so the military would have to handle any such action. Can this really be happening without our governments knowledge, President-elect Donald Trump wrote Friday on social media. I dont think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is illegal to fly drones in New York City without a permit, leading New York leaders to call for help from the feds. Our federal partners are deploying a state-of-the-art drone detection system to New York State, Hochul said in a statement. This system will support state and federal law enforcement in their investigations. We are grateful to the Biden Administration for their support, but ultimately we need further assistance from Congress. Hochul mentioned a bill that would allow state and local authorities to respond to drones without consulting the feds first. The bill has not yet hit the Senate floor. Its that time of year in the capital city when state legislators who are not returning for a new session in January are cleaning out their desks to make way for the new crop of lawmakers. This years election results delivered a significant leadership change that underscores how the state of Idaho is falling in line with the radical right agenda of a changing Republican Party. Sen. Chuck Winder, president pro tempore of the Idaho Senate, lost in the Republican primary election to yet another California migrant, Josh Keyser, who has lived in Idaho since 2018 and who won the general election in Boises Senate District 20. Keyser answered the Idaho Statesman Voters Guide question as to why he was running by claiming, Its time for a fresh perspective to tackle challenges and to preserve Idaho culture and way of life. That might make sense if he was running against a hubcap, but he was running against Winder, whose significant multifaceted career in business and government qualifies him for Mr. Idaho when it comes to standing up for Idaho culture and way of life, not to be confused with Mr. California, who flipped the truth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a far more revealing statement that is standard fare for Idahos far-right California transplants, Keyser accused Winder of not adequately representing my values. And therein lies the Idaho experience with former Californians importing and demanding Idaho install their values into state law. Winder estimated that 30%-50% of the people he encountered as he campaigned door to door had moved to Idaho within the last three to five years. That is certainly no shock to anyone who drives around the Treasure Valley and sees California plates on the car in front of you. Winder summed up his defeat by saying, The party changed, and I didnt. He added, Ill take blame for that, but I also wear that with pride, too. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And wear it with pride he should. Winder joins a growing number of civic-minded Idahoans who were rejected at the polls by right-wing agitators, some funded by dark money, who are very good at campaigning against something, but sadly lacking in the temperament and skill required to craft public policy for all Idahoans. Winder worked for the compromise, a downright dirty word in far-right lingo. I cannot claim a lifetime of Idaho experience, but when I arrived in 2003, Idaho was a conservative state safely in the hands of majority Republicans in the state Legislature and in the governors office. The agenda in those days followed a basic tenet of conservatism: Allow local government officials to do their job without dictates from the state Legislature, and keep state laws to a minimum, especially out of the private lives of citizens. Thus, the reason for a relatively short three-month session compared to many states. I dont remember any Republicans trying to run local libraries, where librarians are perfectly capable of setting up the rules and protocols as to who has access to books. I dont remember Republicans already in a state strapped to fund public education then deciding to fund private schools as the religious right seeks today. As far as abortion is concerned, Roe v. Wade was in place. Even staunch conservatives like Ronald Reagan chose not to challenge the Supreme Courts ruling. Butch Otter was governor during most of my years in the Boise State presidents office. Another staunch conservative out of the Reagan mold, Otter believed in Idahos universities and actively supported funding to university programs, including his Idaho Global Entrepreneurial Mission (IGEM), which provided funding for universities to help Idaho businesses bring new products and technologies to market. Todays Idahos Republican Party platform earns the extreme epithet with its opposition to any state funding beyond high school. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When theyre not trying to cleanse the teaching of American history of racial injustice, they are targeting diversity and inclusion efforts on Idaho campuses, as though it were a communist plot. I find it amusing that Micron, the behemoth engine of economic opportunity for Idahoans, has an impressive section of its website devoted to diversity and inclusion, but Republican state legislators scold university presidents for such emphases and threaten to remove state funding for universities who violate the all-white dictates of extremist right-wingers. Idahos homegrown Simplot Company also has a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion website that recognizes the role Simplot plays in creating a culture of acceptance, support and inclusion. Use those DEI words on a university campus in Idaho these days and Republican legislators pull state funding, teaching their own lesson this one on depravity. In one sense, the Democrats in the state Legislature have taken on the mantle of leadership that was once the province of the Republicans. Now its the Democrats who show up every day during session to object to the latest interference in the private lives of Idahoans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The best example of Democratic legislators coming to the rescue of Idaho women and families is the issue of abortion. Radical Republican busybodies with their near-total ban on abortion force Idaho women and families to conform to their own set of beliefs and values, and seem to have all the answers for how we lead our private lives. Gov. Brad Little is either afraid or unwilling to use the veto pen, and that adds fuel to the fire of the extremists. If Republicans continue to police Idahos bedrooms and insert themselves as family planners, whats to prevent them from prohibiting in vitro fertilization and intrauterine devices (IUDs) in the upcoming session? Radical Republicans from California dont just land in Idaho to upend state government and politics. Its at city halls, school district meetings and in other local governments, where they expect everyone to conform to their own political and religious beliefs. Life in Eagle, Idaho, may be the best example of an Idaho city overwhelmed with Californians having a partisan picnic in local elections charging each other with who might be the liberal spook who snuck into Eagle while no one was checking license plates at the citys boundaries. Its downright laughable to hear candidates accuse each other of not being conservative enough for Idaho, when they bring so little of value to the table. For even more of this, head up north to enter a twilight zone of extremists interfering in the work of local governments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How many more messages like Winders defeat will Idaho experience before Idahoans standing on the sidelines decide to ramp up their political activism? It is so easy to assume someone else will step up and halt the radical rush to the far right in Idahos Legislature, yet there are so many ways to support moderate candidates, Republicans and Democrats, who challenge extremists and their intent to shape Idaho law to their own personal values. Dark money can be defeated with Idaho money. Voter turnout can always improve to bring more Idahoans to the polls who just assumed their vote wouldnt make a difference. Today more than ever, Idahoans need each other, and we do not need any more extremists from California who come from the right, not the left making a mess of a state once proud of its civility and good governance. And one final note to the far right from out of state looking over Idaho: Have you tried Wyoming? Bob Kustra served as president of Boise State University from 2003 to 2018. He is host of Readers Corner on Boise State Public Radio and is a regular columnist for the Idaho Statesman. He served two terms as Illinois lieutenant governor and 10 years as a state legislator. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Dec. 13 that the United States is planning to impose sanctions in the coming days on the countrys sole gas supplier, citing its Russian ownership. The Petroleum Industry of Serbia (known by its local acronym NIS), primarily owned by Russias Gazprom Neft and its parent company Gazprom, is Serbias exclusive gas supplier and controls the main pipelines delivering gas from Russia to Serbian households and industries. "The British are also joining the sanctions, which then means everyone. This is probably one of the hardest pieces of news," Vucic said during an interview on a government-linked private television station, according to AFP. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Neither the United States nor the United Kingdom has commented on the reported sanctions. Serbia, an EU candidate country, has maintained close ties with Moscow and refused to impose sanctions against Russia since the invasion of Ukraine. "I think this is part of broader geopolitical pressure on Russia," Vucic added, warning that the move would significantly impact Serbia, which relies heavily on Russian gas. He noted that Serbia is negotiating a new gas arrangement with Russia, as the current deal expires in March 2025. Vucic suggested that reducing Russian ownership of NIS to below 50 percent might be a solution, allowing Serbia to purchase a larger stake. He added that the sanctions, if implemented, are expected to take effect from Jan. 1. According to NIS's website, Gazprom Neft owns 50 percent of the company, Gazprom holds 6.15 percent, and the Republic of Serbia owns 29.9 percent, with the remaining shares distributed among citizens, employees, and other minority shareholders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: Serbia makes deal with Gazprom for extra 400 million cubic meters of gas this winter Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Sunday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in Parliament, saying he should focus on addressing present challenges rather than invoking Jawaharlal Nehru to distract from his failures. Ramesh alleged that PM Modi has an "obsession" with Nehru, using him to divert attention from current issues. He questioned why the Prime Minister didn't discuss pressing concerns like the India-China border situation, communal tensions and farmers' protests and termed it as an election speech. Speaking to ANI, Ramesh said "The PM keeps disrespecting Jawaharlal Nehru to hide his shortcomings..Whenever PM Modi speaks in the parliament he proves that he can never speak the truth even by mistake....Yesterday he spoke a lot of lies and he is an expert in giving new shape to history...He spoke about emergency, isn't there an undeclared emergency today? There is an atmosphere of fear, politics of threats...Yesterday's speech in Lok Sabha was an election speech...He is silent on Adani, farmers' protests, and communal tensions in the state. They gave a clean chit to China in 2020..." Further, Ramesh said that the Prime Minister did not speak on India's relations with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. "He did not speak about India's relations with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and the economic condition of the nation. The GDP has decreased...Unemployment is on the rise and he just talks about Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi...He should talk about the present challenges..." Ramesh said. The Congress MP also alleged that the constitutional posts were being disrespected and the Constitution was being violated every day. "The constitutional posts are being disrespected...The Constitution is being violated every day...PM Modi should stop speaking about Indira Gandhi, and Jawaharlal Nehru and talk about what is he doing. How many all-party meetings have been called by PM Modi? How many times has he talked with the leaders of the opposition parties?..." Ramesh also said that he hoped that the ruling party would allow discussions in the Rajya Sabha. "We hope that the ruling party would allow discussion in the Rajya Sabha. The House is not able to function because the government does not want the House to function...BJP MPs do not allow the Leader of Opposition to speak in the Rajya Sabha...For the first time, I saw that the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha asked the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha based on which rule are you speaking..." he further added. The Prime Minister on the 75 years of the Constitution had launched a scathing attack against Congress on Saturday and said, "One family of Congress left no stone unturned in hurling a blow to the Constitution". PM Modi had also said that when India was celebrating 25 years of the Constitution, it "was torn apart" and an Emergency was imposed. The special two-day debate in Lok Sabha on 75 years of the Constitution concluded on Saturday. (ANI) ELKHART An Elkhart County man is accused of having a sexual relationship with an underage girl and sending her explicit videos. Esneider Jose Brito Ramos, 30, is charged in court documents filed Thursday with three counts of sexual misconduct with a minor. In addition to the Level 4 felony, he faces one count of child solicitation, a Level 5 felony, and dissemination of matter harmful to minors, a Level 6 felony. A court order for his arrest was signed Thursday with bond set at $75,000. The order was issued following an investigation by a detective with the Elkhart County Sheriffs Office Child Victim Unit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to court documents: The sheriffs office began investigating Brito Ramos in November after receiving a report of a potential child exploitation case involving an underage victim. The girls mother provided her phone to detectives, who pulled data including a lengthy WhatsApp conversation between the victim and a man later identified as Brito Ramos. Investigators say the phone number, name and date of birth used in the messages pointed to Brito Ramos and that his drivers license photo matched images shared during the conversation. One detective also recognized Brito Ramos because they go to the same gym, according to the sheriffs office. The images allegedly included Brito Ramoss face, body and genitals as well as photos of him and the victim together, sometimes kissing. He also allegedly sent the victim pornographic images and videos. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The messages contained several instances of Brito Ramos soliciting the victim to have sex, according to investigators, who say they used Google to translate them from Spanish. The conversation also contained arrangements to sneak out and meet as well as discussions of specific sex acts, according to investigators. The victim told investigators about how she and Brito Ramos met and how their relationship turned sexual over time, according to police. She allegedly mentioned the pornographic images he sent her as well as naked photos of himself and described how they would meet and engage in sexual activity. In December, Brito Ramos was interviewed at the sheriffs office through an interpreter and allegedly admitted to sending messages and explicit images to the victim despite knowing she was underage. He also allegedly admitted to engaging in sexual activity with her. MACON COUNTY, N.C. (WSPA) A teacher is facing criminal charges after it was discovered they brought a gun to school. According to Macon County Sheriffs Office, on Thursday, it was reported to a school resource office an unnamed teacher brought a gun with them inside East Franklin Elementary School. The gun was discovered in an unattended purse inside the school, outside the presence of its owner, the sheriffs office said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The teacher was charged a felony count of having a weapon on a campus or educational property. The sheriffs office said it does not believe there was any threat to the school or anyone inside at any time. While we acknowledge that this teacher is a respected member of our community, it is essential to emphasize that weapons are strictly prohibited on school grounds, with the exception of law enforcement officers, the sheriffs office said in a social media post on Friday. The safety and well-being of our students and staff are our top priorities. It is imperative that we uphold the laws designed to protect our schools and maintain a safe learning environment for everyone. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Just when you think the world couldnt get any smaller, a revelation like this comes along and defies the odds. The two biggest media stories of the year have just overlapped in a major way, with a surprising connection that will certainly have everyone talking. As far as pop culture moments go this year, nothing has captured the publics attention quite like the headline-making arrest and charges against Sean Diddy Combs and the assassination of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Dec. 4. Now, according to a new report in the New York Post, an unexpected connection has been discovered when it comes to Diddy and United Health Care CEO killing suspect, Luigi Mangione. The mind-blowing link between the disgraced rapper and Mangione? Their lawyers are married to each other. Thats right, according to the report, Mangione has retained high-powered lawyer Karen Friedman-Agnifilo as his attorney as he faces murder charges in New York City. Friedman-Agnifilo is reportedly married to Marc Agnifilio, the attorney who has been representing Diddy as he faces an onslaught of who has sex trafficking charges. Yeah, it really is a small world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the Post, Friedman-Agnifilo was head of the sex crimes unit in the Manhattan District Attorneys Office, before leaving her position in 2021 to join Agnifilo Intrater LLP, her husband Marc Agnifilios private firm. Talk about a legal power couple. The two just so happen to be representing defendants in the biggest stories in pop culture and the news in general in the last year. The outlet also reports that their relationship has affected their professional lives from time to time, citing that Friedman-Agnifilo has been forced to recuse herself from several cases in which her husband was representing accused suspects, including Harvey Weisnetins rape prosecution. As we reported, both the Luigi and Diddy stories have taken over pop culture in sizable ways. Diddys arrest and numerous allegations have led many down rabbit holes trying to differentiate between fact and fiction. while the assassination of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Dec. 4 has opened up a larger discussion about the healthcare system in our country (and fascination with suspect Mangione about everything from his personal history, life story, and even his looks have taken over the internet). Lets be clear: these are both tragic stories, as victims are involved in both cases, though neither of the men have been found guilty of anything by the court of law. Still, this unexpected connection between the two is the plot twist we certainly didnt see coming, leaving one to wonder just how much these two high-powered attorneys have been exposed to when it comes to the most head-scratching events of our times. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. A man was wounded early Sunday in a shooting outside a restaurant in the City of Washington. Officials at Washington County 911 said it happened on South Main Street, near Maiden Street, around 2:15 a.m. Police found the victim after responding to a report of shots fired. The man was first taken to a Washington hospital, then flown to Pittsburgh for further treatment. The Washington City Police Chief says the mans injuries are not life-threatening. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No arrests have been made. Anyone who witnessed the shooting or has video of it is asked to call the Washington City Police Department at 724-223-1386 or 724-233-4236. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW SkyDefense has introduced advanced CobraJet to combat drones with precision and speed. The CobraJet features a carbon fiber monocoque airframe inspired by the 5th-generation Lockheed F-35B and F-22 jets. It has vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capability and thrust vectoring nozzles, allowing for enhanced maneuverability. The jet is equipped with VIPER air-to-air rockets, each fitted with a PYTHON electroshock payload to neutralize kamikaze drones. AI-assisted C2 system for real-time surveillance Expected to be available in the second quarter of 2025, the aircraft is powered by high-energy density solid-state batteries and equipped with an AI-assisted flight controller/autopilot, day/night camera, and inertial sensors for 24/7 autonomous flight. Additionally, it is propelled by an "electric jet," a system comprising turbines within a duct, driven by an electric motor to produce thrust. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its VTOL capability allows CobraJets to launch from mobile platforms like trucks, ships, or other aircraft such as the C-130. The SkyDefense Command and Control (C2) system integrates VRAM (Visual Realtime Area Monitoring). VRAM uses an AI-powered operating system to quickly analyze data from CobraJets and keeps operators in the decision chain. Moreover, CobraJets are designed to maintain operational effectiveness even in contested electromagnetic environments, thanks to their advanced jam-proof radios and GPS receivers that ensure reliable communication and navigation under interference. To further bolster their capabilities, satellite communication systems like Starlink are being explored, offering the potential for seamless connectivity and enhanced performance in electronic warfare scenarios, even in remote or highly contested regions. "Our USA-made CobraJet neutralizes hostile drones with its onboard munitions and returns to base for rearming. This approach drastically reduces the cost of counter-drone operations while maintaining stealth and effectiveness against emerging threats, including unmanned surface and ground vehicles, said Nick Verini, president of SkyDefense. Advanced mobile configuration for high-security applications According to the company, the product also offers a mobile configuration suitable for law enforcement, DHS, and military applications. This setup houses the C2 and VRAM systems in tactical or militarized Cybertrucks, designed to operate in extreme environments with low acoustic and thermal signatures to avoid detection by the enemy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tesla's Cybertrucks have already been adapted for different uses, with various militarized upgrade packages for law enforcement. The enhanced Cybertrucks are also available to private security firms, and could soon be seen patrolling neighborhoods, securing facilities, or supporting tactical operations in high-risk environments. Furthermore, the Cybertruck appears to have already found its way to the battlefield, as showcased in a video posted by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, a prominent ally of Moscow in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Shared on Kadyrovs Telegram channel, the footage reveals the electric truck outfitted with a mounted machine gun. The video features Kadyrov driving the modified Cybertruck before standing in its bed alongside the weapon, underscoring its unexpected adaptation into a potential combat vehicle. SEOUL, South Korea (AP) South Koreas opposition leader offered Sunday to work with the government to ease the political tumult as officials sought to reassure allies and markets, a day after the opposition-controlled parliament voted to impeach conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol over a short-lived attempt to impose martial law. Liberal Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, whose party holds a majority in the National Assembly, urged the Constitutional Court to rule swiftly on Yoon's impeachment and proposed a special council for policy cooperation between the government and parliament. Yoon's powers have been suspended until the court decides whether to remove him from office or reinstate him. If Yoon is dismissed, a national election to choose his successor must be held within 60 days. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lee, who has led a fierce political offensive against Yoon's embattled government, is seen as the frontrunner to replace him. He lost the 2022 presidential election to Yoon by a razor-thin margin. He told a televised news conference that a swift court ruling would be the only way to minimize national confusion and the suffering of people. The court will meet to discuss the case Monday, and has up to 180 days to rule. But observers say that a court ruling could come faster. In the case of parliamentary impeachments of past presidents Roh Moo-hyun in 2004 and Park Geun-hye in 2016 the court spent 63 days and 91 days respectively before determining to reinstate Roh and dismiss Park. Lee also proposed a national council where the government and the National Assembly would work together to stabilize state affairs, and said his party won't seek to impeach Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, a Yoon appointee who's now serving as acting president. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Democratic Party will actively cooperate with all parties to stabilize state affairs and restore international trust, Lee said. The National Assembly and government will work together to quickly resolve the crisis that has swept across the Republic of Korea. It's unclear if Lee's proposed council will be realized. In a meeting with the parliament speaker, who touched upon Lee's idea, Han said he will closely cooperate and communicate with the National Assembly but didn't specifically say whether the government intends to join the council. Kweon Seong-dong, floor leader of the ruling People Power Party, separately criticized Lee's proposal, saying that its not right for the opposition party acting like the ruling party. Kweon, a Yoon loyalist, said that his party will use existing PPP-government dialogue channels "to continue to assume responsibility as the governing party until the end of President Yoons term. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Democratic Party has already used its parliamentary majority to impeach the justice minister and the chief of the national police over the martial law decree, and had previously said it was also considering impeaching the prime minister. Upon assuming his role as acting leader, Han ordered the military to bolster its security posture to prevent North Korea from launching provocations. He also asked the foreign minister to inform other countries that South Koreas major external policies will remain unchanged, and the finance minister to work to minimize potential negative impacts on the economy from the political turmoil. On Sunday, Han had a phone call with U.S. President Joe Biden, discussing the political situation in South Korea and regional security challenges including North Koreas nuclear program. Biden expressed his appreciation for the resiliency of democracy in South Korea and reaffirmed the ironclad commitment of the United States, according to both governments. Yoons Dec. 3 imposition of martial law, the first of its kind in more than four decades, lasted only six hours, but has caused massive political tumult, halted diplomatic activities and rattled financial markets. Yoon was forced to lift his decree after parliament unanimously voted to overturn it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yoon sent hundreds of troops and police officers to the parliament in an effort to stop the vote, but they withdrew after the parliament rejected Yoons decree. No major violence occurred. Opposition parties have accused Yoon of rebellion, saying a president in South Korea is allowed to declare martial law only during wartime or similar emergencies and would have no right to suspend parliaments operations even in those cases. Yoon has rejected the charges and vowed to fight to the end." He said the deployment of troops to parliament was aimed at issuing a warning to the Democratic Party, which he called an anti-state force that abused its control of parliament by holding up the governments budget bill for next year and repeatedly pushing to impeach top officials. Law enforcement institutions are investigating Yoon and others involved in the martial law case over possible rebellion and other allegations. They've arrested Yoon's defense minister and police chief and two other high-level figures. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yoon has immunity from most criminal prosecution as president, but that doesnt extend to allegations of rebellion or treason. He's been banned from leaving South Korea, but observers doubt that authorities will detain him because of the potential for clashes with his presidential security service. South Korean media reported that prosecutors asked Yoon to appear at a prosecution office for questioning on Sunday but he refused to do so. The reports said prosecutors plan to ask him to appear again. Repeated calls to a prosecutors office in Seoul were unanswered. Lee called for authorities to speed up their probes and said that an independent investigation by a special prosecutor should be launched as soon as possible. Last week, the National Assembly passed a law calling for such an investigation. SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party has decided not to seek the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo over the Dec. 3 declaration of martial law, party leader Lee Jae-myung said on Sunday. Han was made acting president on Saturday after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached for his decision to impose martial law. (This story has been refiled to correct the date to Dec. 3 in paragraph 1, and to remove the date in paragraph 2) (Reporting by Josh Smith; Editing by William Mallard) *WARNING: The details of this case are disturbing. Viewer/reader discretion is advised. CHICAGO A South Side family is speaking out on the unsolved murder of their son. Just before 5:15 p.m. on Oct. 12, police officers were sent to an alley in the 6700 block of South Prairie Avenue for reports of a person on fire. That person, later identified as Al Walker, was found unresponsive and burned extensively. He was taken to University of Chicago Hospital in critical condition and later died from his injuries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I buried him Tuesday right before Thanksgiving, the worst day of my life. I never thought I would bury one of my kids. I always thought my kids would bury me, Walkers mother Tashanna Jenkins said. He did not deserve to be burned alive. Walkers family told WGN News that Walker died from his injuries on Oct. 15, but they were not notified of his death until November as fingerprint analysis was needed to identify him. ShotSpotter plays key role in shooting investigation in Elmwood Park He was 30 years old. Its been hard like to talk about it. I cant sleep, I cant eat, I dont want to drink water, I dont want to do anything, Jenkins said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jenkins used all her strength to share her sons story with WGN News. She said he was loved by his family and was a talented dancer. He also was once part of the South Shore Drill Team. A loving child, loved everybody, loved the kids and loved to dance. I mean, twist a rifle and flip it. We used to have to duck it, but he was good, Jenkins said. According to Jenkins, Walker was often staying with relatives and also struggled with his mental health. Jenkins said it was not out of character for Walker to go days without communicating his whereabouts as he often kept to himself. COPA investigates early-morning West Side shooting near car with off-duty officers inside Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Walkers sister said they knew something was wrong when he didnt show up to important family reunions or celebrations. My brother didnt deserve to die like this no one deserves to die like this, Walkers sister Kearita Ladd said. Walkers family is now pleading for the public to speak up if they know anything about the person or persons responsible for his death. I need closure right now and thats all I want closure, Jenkins said. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines For now, his family holds onto his memory and the hope that someone out there will come forward. We want justice for his death and we need answers, cant rest until we get answers, Ladd said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone with information is asked to call Chicago police at 312-746-6000 or Crime Stoppers where you 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 WGN-TV. The Mount Graham red squirrel population in Arizona has risen more than expected, according to the Arizona Department of Game and Fish. The latest survey shows an increase of about 89 squirrels since last year, marking a positive trend for this species, which is native only to the Pinaleno Mountains in southeastern Arizona. That brought the total population of the unique red squirrels to about 233 animals, a 60% increase since the previous year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The good news came after the squirrel population fell by about a dozen animals between 2022 and 2023, a small hit after tragedy dropped numbers to double digits. "We all knew that we were seeing a lot of squirrels and middens during this last survey... but I dont think any of us expected such a dramatic increase," wrote Holly Hicks, AZGFD small mammal project coordinator in a news release on Tuesday. The wildlife agency said they noticed the uptick after discovering more middens, which are food storage areas for the squirrels. The Mount Graham subspecies of the squirrels were listed as endangered in 1987 by the U.S. Federal Wildlife Service, according to Game and Fish. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Their population peaked in the 1990s at over 500, but had since dwindled, aggravated by the 2017 Frye Fire that drove the population of the animal to around 35, according to Game and Fish. We were all extremely concerned for the subspecies after the 2017 Frye Fire caused the squirrels population to drop drastically, wrote Marit Alanen, lead Mount Graham red squirrel biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the news release. "Seeing a number now over 200 is really fantastic news, she added. Game and Fish noted the reintroduction of the population faced challenges on top of the squirrels "highly territorial" nature and lower production rates than other red squirrels. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Long-term impacts on Mount Graham red squirrels population size and habitat include wildfire, insect infestations, competition with non-native Aberts squirrels, and poor pine cone crops caused by drought," read the news release. Game and Fish would continue repopulation efforts alongside the Coronado National Forest and the USFWS. Efforts included long-term habitat assessments, as well as conservation and research initiatives in collaboration with the Arizona Center for Nature Conservation, the University of Arizona, and the Phoenix Zoo. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why these endangered squirrels saw a population spike in 2024 San Antonios Holiday on Houston Street wraps up their final two days of their Christmas event on Dec. 14 and Dec. 15. Centro San Antonio San Antonios Holiday on Houston Street wraps up their final two days of their Christmas event on Sunday, Dec. 15. Centro San Antonio San Antonios Holiday on Houston Street wraps up their final two days of their Christmas event on Sunday, Dec. 15. Centro San Antonio San Antonios Holiday on Houston Street wraps up their final two days of their Christmas event on Sunday, Dec. 15. Centro San Antonio If youre looking for some holiday fun for friends and family, the Holidays on Houston Street Market is the place to go. The festive downtown event is wrapping up this weekend. The Christmas event, in its second year, is led by the city of San Antonio, Centro San Antonio, and Visit San Antonio. The goal behind the event is to increase support for local businesses and the downtown community through the holiday season, according to a news release. San Antonio residents can enjoy local markets, food and drinks, and drone shows at night along downtowns most historic promenades. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Its not too late to catch one of the drone shows on Saturday night. The event concludes Sunday, Dec. 15. Here are the times to visit. Market hours and location: 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Houston Street between Broadway and Navarro Street Drone show hours and location: 7 p.m., 8 p.m., and 9 p.m. at Legacy Park Additionally, you can visit the Houston Street Experimental Lounge on the corner of Houston and Jefferson Street for holiday food and drinks. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Sunday took a dig at the Congress, saying that the party can regain its lost trust in the people by atoning for its "mistakes". He said that Congress is living in its own 'Hawa Mahal'. "Congress can regain its lost trust in the people by atoning for its mistakes...They fought the entire Lok Sabha election on the Constitution and reservation, did they not murder the Constitution by imposing an Emergency in 1975?," Paswan told reporters here. "Congress is living in its own 'Hawa Mahal' where they think whatever they say is the truth. The result of the mistakes they have made is that today it has become difficult for them to even get 150 seats," he added reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech during a debate on the 75-year journey of the Indian Constitution at Lok Sabha. Meanwhile, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Sunday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in Parliament, saying he should focus on addressing present challenges rather than invoking Jawaharlal Nehru to distract from his failures. Ramesh alleged that PM Modi has an "obsession" with Nehru, using him to divert attention from current issues. He questioned why the Prime Minister didn't discuss pressing concerns like the India-China border situation, communal tensions and farmers' protests and termed it as an election speech. Speaking to ANI, Ramesh said "The PM keeps disrespecting Jawaharlal Nehru to hide his shortcomings..Whenever PM Modi speaks in the parliament he proves that he can never speak the truth even by mistake....Yesterday he spoke a lot of lies and he is an expert in giving new shape to history...He spoke about emergency, isn't there an undeclared emergency today? There is an atmosphere of fear, politics of threats...Yesterday's speech in Lok Sabha was an election speech...He is silent on Adani, farmers' protests, and communal tensions in the state. They gave a clean chit to China in 2020..." The Prime Minister on the 75 years of the Constitution had launched a scathing attack against Congress on Saturday and said, "One family of Congress left no stone unturned in hurling a blow to the Constitution". PM Modi had also said that when India was celebrating 25 years of the Constitution, it "was torn apart" and an Emergency was imposed. The special two-day debate in Lok Sabha on 75 years of the Constitution concluded on Saturday. (ANI) A San Bernardino County man was arrested for allegedly driving an off-road vehicle through an intersection full of children. The suspect was identified as Jacob Vidana-Delgado, 19, from Adelanto, according to the Victor Valley Sheriffs Station. On Friday night, a deputy witnessed the suspect driving a Polaris off-road vehicle near the intersection of Mojave and Alexandria Streets in Adelanto at around 5:30 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities said Vidana-Delgado was traveling at high speeds when he drove into the crowded intersection that was filled with children at the time. Deputies attempted to pull the man over but he refused to yield, leading authorities on a pursuit. During the chase, Vidana-Delgado accelerated, drove at unsafe speeds with disregard for public safety, and failed to stop at controlled intersections, officials said. 37 arrested in Southern California retail theft bust The 19-year-old eventually drove back home as deputies followed closely behind. They took him into custody at the residence without further incident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was arrested for evading a peace officer with disregard for public safety and reckless driving on a highway. The Polaris was also towed from the property. No injuries were reported following the incident. The case remains under investigation and anyone with information is asked to call Deputy M. Lewis at the Victor Valley Sheriffs Station at 760-552-6800. Anonymous tips can be provided to We-Tip at 1-800-782-7463 or online at wetip.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. A Southern California taco truck vendor said after serving the local community for over a decade, hes been forced to leave his usual spot after a Ralphs supermarket banned him from operating nearby. Rudy Barrientos owns the popular Gracias Senor taco truck and has been serving the residents of Pacific Palisades for many years. His truck is typically parked on the 15100 block of Sunset Boulevard along a row of parking meters on a busy street. In January, Barrientos received a cease-and-desist letter from a lawyer representing Ralphs, threatening legal action if he did not move his food truck from the spot. The metered sidewalk is located right outside the grocery store. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In November, he received another letter from the grocer, banning him from the supermarkets premises. They banned us from Ralphs saying that we couldnt use the restroom, we couldnt shop there, we couldnt even step foot in the parking lot, Barrientos told KTLAs Jennifer McGraw. The cease-and-desist order claimed Barrientos customers were using the stores parking lot while also accusing his business of engaging in disruptive behaviors interfering with Ralphs business and its customers. The Gracias Senor food truck has been serving up tacos and other Mexican food in the Pacific Palisades community for over a decade. (KTLA) Rudy Barrientos, owner of Gracias Senor street food truck, speaks with KTLA on Dec. 14, 2024. (KTLA) A letter Rudy Barrientos received from Ralphs grocery store in Pacific Palisades threatening legal action and ordering him to move from his parking spot. (Rudy Barrientos) A cease-and-desist letter Rudy Barrientos received from an attorney claiming to represent the Pacific Palisades Ralphs. (Rudy Barrientos) Rudy Barrientos serves up an order to a customer on Dec. 14, 2024. (KTLA) A sign posted on the Gracias Senor food truck asking his patrons to avoid parking in the nearby Ralphs parking lot. (KTLA) Rudy Barrientos, the owner of Gracias Senor street food truck (on right), speaks with customers on Dec. 14, 2024. (KTLA) The Gracias Senor food truck has been serving up tacos and other Mexican food in the Pacific Palisades community for over a decade. (KTLA) Gracias Senor and several other food trucks moved their location to Alma Real Drive, a much smaller street tucked behind the main Sunset Boulevard thoroughfare in Pacific Palisades. (KTLA) The Ralphs grocery store located at 15120 Sunset Blvd. in Pacific Palisades. (KTLA) On a sign visible outside his truck, Barrientos had already posted a message advising his customers to avoid parking in the Ralphs parking lot. Oftentimes, his customers end up visiting Ralphs to purchase extra food and drinks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Barrientos said the situation escalated in November when one night, his truck was suddenly surrounded by armed security guards as he was packing up to leave for the day. [They would] patrol our trucks constantly, he said. The popular taco truck has been serving customers in the Pacific Palisades in the same parking spot for around 10 years. The busy street is home to several other food trucks as well. He operates with the necessary permits and always pays for street parking when hes conducting his business, he said. Throughout the ordeal, Barrientos claimed Ralphs asked some of their employees to park in the street, taking away his usual spot and making it difficult to earn a living. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Following threats of legal action, he said the fight with Ralphs just wasnt worth sacrificing his health or peace of mind. More than anything, it was chaotic and it wasnt something I wanted to be around and weve had such great local support so I figured if we moved, people would follow us, Barrientos said. He has since moved his truck to Alma Real Drive, a much smaller street tucked behind the main Sunset Boulevard thoroughfare. He said the move has financially hurt him, with sales plunging about 20%. Loyal customers were equally upset to hear about the situation. I think its just ridiculous, the whole saga with Ralphs and fighting over the parking lot, said Daniel Morris, a patron. [Barrientos] encourages people not to park there, but if they do, its not any of his fault. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some neighbors, however, said they agreed with the grocery store. Its not the right way to do business when you have stores that are paying rent that really make a community, said John Palle, a local resident. These people come, they take and they leave and thats not fair. Gracias Senor has been a dream venture for Barrientos, a proud taquero with a business degree who said he loves serving his customers without any intention of creating trouble. To patrol a taco truck that generally just wants to provide some goodness and delicious food, its ridiculous, Barrientos said. In a statement issued to KTLA Sunday morning, a Ralphs spokesperson stated that due to the situation being a legal matter, they were unable to provide additional comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ST. LOUIS Plans to add a third baggage carousel to the Southwest Airlines terminal at St. Louis Lambert International Airport have been shelved. Airport officials say the decision rested in the hands of Southwest Airlines. In 2018, the St. Louis Airport Commission and Southwest Airlines reached an agreement to install three new baggage carousels for Lambert Airports Terminal 2 and replace two existing carousels in use. However, that agreement was voided in 2022 due to setbacks that surfaced during the COVID-19 pandemic. During a Dec. 4 airport commission meeting, a new memorandum of agreement gained preliminary approval in which Southwest Airlines outlined plans to modify the existing outbound baggage handling system and expand various sections of Terminal 2. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Drone drama in the bi-state region Roger Lotz, a spokesperson for Lambert Airport, tells FOX 2 that the agreement is not yet in motion. The project still needs approval from at least two other St. Louis stakeholders. In a recent phone call with FOX 2, Lotz further described the plan as one thats moving forward on some upgrades on how baggage is handled, but its not in the address of what was on the plan years ago. Various presentations leading up to the latest MOA suggested that the planned changes could result in checked baggage for departing passengers being moved to planes faster, improving overall efficiency of inbound and outbound baggage services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the MOA with preliminary approval, Southwest Airlines would finance the revised plan and oversee construction at its sole expense, while the City of St. Louis would not have any financial responsibility. The citys role would be limited to supervising and approving construction plans. A recent report from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch indicates the revised project would carry an anticipated price tag of $25 million for Southwest Airlines. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News As the revised plan awaits execution, a spokesperson for Southwest Airlines provided this statement to FOX 2: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Southwest is supportive of upgrades to the customer experience at St. Louis Lambert International Airport. The planned enhancements to the existing baggage handling system are sufficient to serve ours and the airports mutual customers. The MOA also indicates that while Southwest Airlines would finance and facilitate the upgrades to the baggage claim area, the City of St. Louis will retain ownership of the baggage claim area itself and any improvements that move forward. Its unclear how soon the outlined changes to Terminal 2s baggage operations could begin after final approval or whether these plans could be affected by efforts to consolidate Lambert Airports two terminals. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Dec. 14Abdulkareem Mohammad smiles broadly about his Spokane Valley restaurant, Arabian Palace, opening soon. It's for his wife and four children, said Mohammad, 46, who fled with them from Syria in 2012. A year before, he was there in Daraa when people got shot during a peaceful protest against the jailing of teenagers for anti-government graffiti. Some of the kids were tortured, and one teen died. Rebellion spread, as did government brutalities, leading to full-blown civil war. Mohammad's family escaped to Jordan by late spring 2012. Now, he closely watches news unfolding since the Dec. 8 power shift in Syria. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking mostly through an interpreter, he shared relief that rebel fighters on Dec. 8 overran its capital, Damascus, as President Bashar al-Assad fled the country. "Happiness," he said in English. In Arabic, he continued. "He was a criminal," referring to Assad and his regime's prisons for thousands unjustly arrested, along with random killings and kidnappings. Some of Mohammad's relatives died, but a brother, sister and uncle still live in Syria. He's heard they're safe since the turnover. "They are so happy, but they have hard circumstances poor, not enough food," he said. "Yes, they have fear that some problems will still happen, but they're hopeful." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Monday, other Syrian refugees gathered in downtown Spokane at Riverfront Park to celebrate, including A. Almahmoud, who fled from Syria to Jordan in 2012. "We're so happy about what is happening in Syria right now. I have friends there; they don't know what's going to happen, but it's happiness everywhere, like everybody's happy," she said. "The main thing is that we got rid of this dictator this oppressor and his regime." Those who came to Riverfront Park cheered and sang freedom songs. "In social media, people are using them to celebrate this victory," Almahmoud said. "Yeah, people were singing here." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the main Islamic rebel group involved, has been labeled by the U.S. as a terrorist organization. But rebel forces set up a transitional government calling for peace and tolerance, according to several news outlets. Almahmoud said she has some long-term concerns , but she and other refugees are hearing from people in Syria of mostly celebration and return to normal life. "They already set up rules about not harming anyone," Almahmoud said, referring to the rebel group that overthrew the regime. "They told their fighters, 'Don't interfere; just let the people feel peace, safe.' " The transitional government recently freed long-held prisoners, although families also have since learned from records that some relatives died in captivity, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I'm so happy for the people who were in prison; they're free now, even though we lost lots of people." Since 2011, more than 14 million Syrians fled the war, with about 5.5 million of them living in five neighboring countries, according to the agency United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Christi Armstrong, executive director World Relief Spokane, said the most recent data she has shows her agency has supported about 190 Syrian refugees in Spokane since October 2022. But she said some have since moved to other U.S. cities where they have friends and family. Mohammad said the rising attacks in 2011 against citizens and the civil war came as a surprise, because people in Syria were emboldened by the "Arab Spring" that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s, including Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It started peacefully," he said. "There were rebellions in nearby countries." In Syria, Assad spoke of token reforms, while directing his security services to put down the protests with force. Almahmoud, who came to Spokane about eight years ago, also had lived near Daraa. She also recalls events unfolding after protests in her country, starting with the upset over teenagers who wrote the slogans. People were angry at the one teen's funeral and started protesting again, she said. "The Army just started to kill people, cut the power and internet," Almahmoud said. "They just attacked them in the middle of the night." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Violence widened as other towns around the main city heard the news. Videos leaked out. "People heard and wanted to support those brothers and sisters inside the city; they started collecting forces. "This main city was totally surrounded by the soldiers, and when people went to protest at the main entrance to the city, the army was there and told people to stop, 'or we'll start shooting.' People didn't stop; they didn't believe it was real shooting. There were thousands." But then people noticed others around them bleeding and falling to the ground. "They arrested a lot of people that day, and a lot of people got killed, too, in other states and cities in Syria. Cities started to protest, one after one, after one," Almahmoud said. "The president starts attacking with missiles and helicopters and bombing everywhere. Eventually, when the Russian Air Force started to fight, I thought it was like the end of the world." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two bombs exploded next to her house. She survived, but the overall bombings got worse. By Oct. 15, 2012, she left for a refugee camp in Jordan, crossing in the dark of night with a group of more than 600 people. Almahmoud said people were arrested for just saying the word "dollar" or anything perceived as against the regime. One group went to dawn prayer, and all were arrested because gatherings were banned. People were killed and tortured by whim, she said. Despite some uncertainty now, hope overrides it, Almahmoud added. "My happiness is more than my concern. The main point is we got rid of Assad, his regime and all the countries that were fighting in our land and supporting him, like killing us inside our land." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After coming to America, Mohammad soon skipped out of English classes because he wanted to work, eventually rising as a chef in his native cuisine. The family was briefly in Kentucky, then Spokane. He got U.S. citizenship in 2021. Mohammad said he feels safe in Spokane. Even with the latest events, he doesn't think he'll travel soon to visit relatives. "Comparing Spokane and Syria, there in Syria at any moment I could be dead a bombing or maybe someone is kidnapped," he said. "Here, we find safety, respect, the easy access to jobs, to everything. There is a big difference." SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) Saturday marked 12 years since the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. On December 14th, 2012, a gunman killed 20 children, ages 6 and 7, as well as six adults, before taking his own life. It remains one of the deadliest school shootings in American history. Friday, teachers from the Rebecca Johnson school continued their annual tradition of walking from Springfield city hall to the memorial bridge, where they held a ceremony remembering the victims. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Roni Gold, a teacher at Rebecca Johnson School told 22News, We feel like being teachers, we know that could have been our classroom. It could have been any classroom. That tragedy really hit home and we feel like by honoring our past is a way to cherish the future and hope that we never let this happen again. The annual vigil for all victims of gun violence was held at a church in Washington DC. 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. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com. After years of construction, the new bike trail over the Montlake Lid project opened to the public on Saturday. State officials introduced it and welcomed first-time visitors in an opening ceremony held at 11:00 a.m. Following the ceremony, the trail opened for an inaugural, free, group-bicycle ride and guided tours. The trail on a paved overpass is high above cars traveling at freeway speeds, making their way across the SR 520 floating bridge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It also connects Washington Park Arboretum trails with the Montlake neighborhood and the University District. The bridge is part of a highway interchange construction project completed by Graham Construction that cost taxpayers $486 million. For the first time ever, pedestrians and cyclists had the opportunity to travel the 14-foot-wide paved trail and meander along a grassy three-acre, open-green-space park built on a lid just west of the trail. Engineers designed the overpass to be 73 feet wide, much larger than the curved bicycle path that winds across the bridge. There are also soil berms built up to a height close to five feet in elevation to help keep freeway noise to a minimum. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Transportation officials say the cost of the lid project was less than $50 million, just a portion of the $486 million cost of the entire project. According to state officials, the old SR 520 west approach bridge, built in the early 1960s, was constructed on hollow columns and vulnerable to earthquakes. The location of the bridge also split the Montlake community into two halves. In 2017, a new eastbound bridge opened parallel to the westbound bridge, making travel safer and more reliable. The next phase of the Montlake Project has already begun with construction on a new addition to eastbound SR 520, with a bridge over Union Bay. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Huge pile drivers tower above the existing bridge, driving support columns into the water that will serve to support massive iron beams comprising the new span. An environmental impact statement conducted before construction began included these projects in its analysis. WSDOT refined the projects final design during that process and held community meetings with local government leaders and design professionals. The process resulted in some designs being revised to emphasize better travel connections and more usable open space. The changes also led to the inclusion of the bicycle and pedestrian bridge that opened for the first time this weekend. Kurtis Watkins at Jefferson City Correctional Center on Feb. 6 (Clara Bates/Missouri Independent). Crouched behind a dumpster in a St. Louis alley, Officer Steven Pinkerton heard gunshots. It was after midnight on Aug. 10, 2013, in the Dutchtown neighborhood and an argument that had been building for hours among a group of young men had escalated into a shootout. Pinkerton said he saw two men rush by the mouth of the alley, shooting as they ran. He couldnt see what happened next if anyone had been shot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After a few minutes, one man, holding a gun, ran down the alley where Pinkerton was staked out. The longtime St. Louis Metropolitan Police officer raised his upper torso above the dumpster, hed later say in a deposition, and ordered the man to stop. It was one of the shooters, trying to flee, Pinkerton thought possibly one hed seen run by earlier but he couldnt really tell at that point, he later said. When the man kept running, and appeared to raise his gun, Pinkerton fired five shots. He thought he hit him the man was kind of staggering, Pinkerton later said but he escaped. Pinkerton, who is white, said he only saw the mans face for a few seconds and couldnt determine his age or note any distinguishing characteristics. He was Black, 6 feet, 2 inches tall, weighed about 180 pounds and bald, according to Pinkerton. He wore blue jeans and a black shirt. Around 15 minutes after Pinkerton fired his gun, other officers arrested Kurtis Watkins, a 23-year-old Black man, two blocks away. Pinkerton identified him as the man he had seen run through the alley. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Based solely on Pinkertons account, Watkins has been incarcerated for the last 11 years, convicted of shooting and critically injuring a man. Watkins says he had nothing to do with it. In his account, he wasnt at the scene of the shooting or in the alley that night: He was walking from a friends house to a convenience store when he got arrested. He says he didnt know the victim or anyone involved. He had no discernible motive for the shooting. There was no physical evidence. None of the witnesses to the shooting said they knew who he was. Another man who was apprehended and convicted in the shooting testified hed never met Watkins before. Everyone agrees that the sole evidence against Watkins was Pinkertons account of what he saw from behind the dumpster. The only issue in this case is identification of the defendant by Officer Steven Pinkerton, the prosecutor said at Watkins trial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As part of a monthslong investigation, The Independent uncovered two pieces of information about Pinkerton that could have cast doubt on his credibility. But the jury never heard them. First, less than a year before he arrested Watkins, Pinkerton arrested a man he encountered in a gas station parking lot named Kerwin Harris who he mistakenly believed was the suspect in an earlier robbery. Pinkerton chased the 39-year-old Black man, tackled him to the ground and then held him face-down in a chokehold as another officer shocked him with a Taser. Harris died at the scene, and the robbery case remains open. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Second, Pinkerton had a history of social media posts denigrating Black people that raised concern from at least one of his colleagues at the time. Black people are pathetic, one of Pinkertons Facebook posts read. You dont want to be treated equally, you want favored treatment. And you wonder why there is so much animus toward you? Watkins, who has been appealing his case for years without success, didnt know about Pinkertons past until he was informed by a reporter from The Independent during a March interview at the Jefferson City Correctional Center, where he is now incarcerated. All along, hes racist, Watkins said from the visitors room of supermax Jefferson City Correctional Center when told about Pinkertons history. They let him put me in prison? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The law, under the U.S. Supreme Courts decision in the 1963 Brady v. Maryland case, requires prosecutors to notify defense attorneys of credibility issues with witnesses when they could materially affect the outcome of a case. The information about Pinkerton should have been turned over at trial, said Vida Johnson, a law professor at Georgetown University. Hes already misidentified another suspect. And we also know that he tends to paint Black people with a broad brush, Johnson said, pointing to the Facebook posts. Peter Joy, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis, agreed that the information should have been turned over to the defense because it could have prompted jurors to discount Pinkertons testimony. When you have a one-witness ID case and the entire case hinges on that one witness, he said, then that witnesss credibility is the entire case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pinkerton did not respond to calls, emails and certified letters seeking comment for this story. He appeared to block an Independent reporter on Facebook after several messages went unanswered. Watkins arrest Crime scene tape surrounds the apartment complex outside of which the shooting occurred (Source: St. Louis Metro Police Department). The night of his arrest began like any other, Watkins remembers, until he walked into a hostile environment. He had spent the evening at his friends house, chatting and playing video games both lived in the neighborhood. He decided to walk to the Conoco gas station to buy liquor for them sometime after midnight, he says. As he walked on the sidewalk to the gas station, police officers pulled up in a patrol car. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They stopped him, pushed him to the ground and struck him several times on his head and ribs, according to the police report. The officers claimed he was sweaty and out of breath; Watkins said that he was perspiring because it was humid out and that he had been walking, not running. One of the officers used his knee to pin Watkins face-down to the ground. Watkins says he tried to push back to lessen the pain; the report says he was resisting. The officers handcuffed him so tightly, he testified later, that his hands went numb. Police then drove him a few blocks to Pinkerton, who was waiting in the alley. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Watkins was in the back of the van, surrounded by police officers. One of them shone a flashlight on him and Pinkerton peered in. It took Pinkerton around two seconds to reach a conclusion. He said at trial he was 100% positive it was the same person he had encountered in the alley. Watkins, like the man Pinkerton described, was around 6-foot-2, Black, bald and wearing a black shirt. His jeans were black, not blue, but Pinkerton later said he had meant blue jeans as slang for jeans in general. And although Pinkerton had called for emergency medical services after the man staggered away because he thought hed shot him, Watkins hadnt been shot. Pinkertons gun fired five times, but only four bullets were recovered from the scene. The crime scene investigators didnt find blood in the alleyway. They found a gun on the ground, possibly the one belonging to the man who ran through the alley, but there were no recoverable fingerprints. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pinkerton also added a new detail after seeing Watkins in the van. He said he remembered seeing large white letters on the mans shirt. It just reminded me of it, he said at trial. Watkins shirt had the brand Levi written across it in white, Watkins said at trial. Watkins was booked and charged with three counts of first-degree assault, three counts of armed criminal action, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful use of a weapon and resisting arrest. At the time he had five kids, another on the way and two jobs, driving a Frostys Treats ice cream truck and working at Popeyes. He felt like he was getting on the right path, he said, after spending time behind bars for a drug charge and a gun charge. So did his mother, Judy Watkins, who said that at the time I was thinking that he was going to be OK working and caring for his kids. She has long had health problems and expected her son would be the one to provide for her. Watkins said he declined plea deals because he wanted to prove his innocence. The man who was shot outside the apartment complex, Darrell Macon, was hospitalized for weeks. Macon and his family members who witnessed the crime said that shots had been fired by a man they knew named Stephant Hibler. Macon remembered seeing Hiblers face close to his as Hibler pulled the trigger. Asked by detectives, and then attorneys in depositions, he and his family said they didnt know who Watkins was. There is no record that the police showed witnesses a lineup of photos that included Watkins. Failure to show such a lineup, according to several experts, could have been a sign of tunnel vision in the police investigation not seeking out evidence that could cast doubt on their suspect. The Macons were, however, shown a lineup of photos including Hibler and selected Hibler, according to the police report. Witnesses said they didnt recognize any of the shooters other than Hibler. At the hospital, according to the police report, Macon himself named another man, an acquaintance who had been present at the fight leading up to the crime, and said he had been a shooter. No records indicate that the officer followed up on the lead. Macon subsequently denied having made the statement. At his first trial, Watkins was a co-defendant with Hibler, though both swore they had never met before the trial. The jury at Watkins trial in late 2015 deadlocked on him but convicted Hibler. Hibler was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the shooting and was released on probation in September of last year. Watkins was retried in early 2016 by a jury that had only one Black member. The jury deliberated for three hours before telling the judge they couldnt reach a consensus, with four of the twelve jurors holding out against conviction. The judge told them to keep deliberating. Around a half hour later they returned the verdict: Watkins was found guilty on all nine counts. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Pinkertons identification What did this have to do with me? Watkins said during a March interview in the correctional center visitors room. For hours leading up to the fight, Watkins had been at his friends house. He and his friend said Watkins didnt have a gun when he left. Watkins said he didnt even have a cell phone at the time because he couldnt afford it, so hes not sure how he could have been summoned to the fight. Watkins was the only defense witness at both his 2015 and 2016 trials. The prosecution focused on attacking his credibility because of his prior convictions. This is a man who is dangerous and this is a man who needs to be held accountable, Matt Martin, a prosecutor at the time in the St. Louis Circuit Attorneys Office, told the jury during the 2016 trial. So because I have a background, do I deserve to be in prison for somebody elses crime? Watkins asked in an interview. At trial, Watkins public defender, Brian Horneyer, called Pinkertons description of the man who ran through the alley a bald Black man of roughly 180 pounds and six foot two about as vague and ambiguous as you could get, asking: How many young men in the City of St. Louis fit that description? Horneyer raised doubts about the identification. Pinkerton is white and Watkins is Black, and cross-racial identifications are known to be less reliable than identifications within ones own race. The circumstances it was the middle of the night, with the added stress of gunfire could further reduce accuracy. Experts say a show-up identification, where the witness is shown only one person, is far less reliable than a lineup, where the witness must choose from several people. Of course he is going to pick up Kurtis, Horneyer told the jury. He is the only one there. Officer Pinkerton was crouched behind the alleyway dumpster on the left as the crime unfolded, and couldnt see Darrell Macon get shot (Source: St. Louis Metro Police Department). Studies have found that eyewitnesses often misremember details. Under a Missouri Supreme Court decision from 2020, defense attorneys can have experts testify about these studies in order to cast doubt on eyewitness accounts. But when Watkins was tried in 2015 and 2016, there was some uncertainty in Missouri about the admissibility of such expert testimony. Experts interviewed by The Independent said that with the risks of misidentification in this case, jurors might have found such testimony persuasive. At Watkins trial, the prosecutor emphasized Pinkertons expertise again and again. We are talking about a trained police officer who has been on the force for 20 years, Martin, the prosecutor, told the jury. Watkins lawyer speculated in court that Pinkerton had been eager to arrest someone quickly, to make up for the fact that the police on the scene had done little to intervene or stop the shooting. He also wondered aloud if Pinkerton had been distraught in the aftermath, coloring his identification, out of concern hed be disciplined for shooting his gun five times. That prompted Martin to say: Its incredible that at this point the defense wants to put Officer Steven Pinkerton on trial. A prior mistaken arrest and death The sign at the bottom of the road leading to Jefferson City Correctional Center (Clara Bates/Missouri Independent). What the defense didnt know was that Pinkerton had mistakenly arrested a different Black man months prior. On the morning of Dec. 22, 2012, a Dennys diner in St. Louis was robbed of $109. That night, Pinkerton was starting an overnight shift, he wrote in a later police report. He had stopped at a Quiktrip gas station to buy a drink and go to the restroom when he saw a gold Buick Century in the parking lot the same model that had been used in the Dennys robbery. Kerwin Harris was sitting in the car. Harris, like the robber, was Black and wearing glasses and a hat. Pinkerton ran Harris license plate which revealed no theft on the primary screen, according to the police report. But as he was waiting for more information to appear and preparing to notify the dispatcher of a possible robbery suspect, Harris started his car. Pinkerton put on his emergency lights and blocked Harris from backing up. Harris got out and began to run away, according to Pinkertons arrest report. I believed I was pursuing a robbery suspect, Pinkerton later wrote. Pinkerton eventually tackled Harris to the ground, on his stomach. Harris wouldnt release his arms from under him, Pinkerton said in the reports, and he was worried Harris might be armed because the robber earlier in the day was alleged to have been. So he sat on Harris back and struck his head several times. Harris was unarmed. Then Pinkerton placed him in a neck restraint because of what he later called Harris strenuous resistance a detail that was disputed by several witnesses later interviewed by the police. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department had banned the neck restraint five years earlier. Other officers soon arrived, and one tased Harris six times against his bare skin. A witness interviewed by police and quoted in the arrest report said officers struck Harris head against a landscape paving rock several times. Another witness said she heard an officer call Harris a racial slur during the arrest. The department didnt begin using body cameras until 2020, and there is no dashboard-camera footage from the arrest. When Harris was finally handcuffed, his body went limp, the officers wrote. The officers checked for a heartbeat and found none. He was taken to Barnes-Jewish Hospital and pronounced dead. He was 39 and had a five-month-old daughter. Harris was at least 80 pounds heavier than the robber, according to his autopsy alongside witness descriptions. He was also at least two inches taller. The robber wore a green cap, but Harris wore a black one. Neither witness from that robbery selected Harris photo from a lineup. The Dennys robbery case remains open. Any internal investigations related to Harris death are closed and unavailable under Missouris Sunshine Law. Harris family never knew the details of his death until notified by a reporter for The Independent 11 years later. One of Pinkertons colleagues, the homicide detective assigned to the case as scene supervisor, Heather Taylor, testified before a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on civil rights and civil liberties in a hearing on white supremacy in local police departments in September 2020. Even though she didnt identify Pinkerton or Harris by name in her testimony, the facts of the description fit Harris death. Taylor told the committee the death haunts me to this day, and that she personally delivered a copy of the police report to St. Louis circuit attorney in 2013, hoping the office might investigate charges against the officer. A request under Missouris Sunshine Law filed with the circuit attorneys office this year by The Independent for copies of documents related to Harris returned no responsive records. I just couldnt believe that there were no charges, there was nothing, Taylor, who has since retired from the St. Louis Police Department, told the committee. Taylor declined to comment for this story. Pinkertons social media An SLMPD police car in front of the downtown courthouse (Clara Bates/Missouri Independent). Leading up to the trial that convicted Watkins in 2016, Pinkerton was posting negatively about Black people on Facebook, according to posts collected by the Ethical Society of Police dating back to at least 2015. And following the trial, he continued posting. You black people are pathetic, he wrote in one post. Having negative feelings about someone or a sub-group of certain people, is different than treating them differently because of it, which I do not, he wrote in another, referring later in the comment to the violence and complete disregard for civility in much of the black sub-culture. If the case were remanded for a new trial with the credibility evidence allowed, Johnson, the Georgetown professor and former public defender, said Watkins lawyer would be able to cross-examine Pinkerton on all of the pejorative things that Officer Pinkerton has expressed about Black people in the community where hes supposed to be protecting people. Taylor told the 2020 congressional committee: For nearly seven years, I have repeatedly reported an officer for his racism, based in part on the officers posts. According to a report from the Ethical Society of Police, which advocates for officers of color in St. Louis, an officer was under internal investigation in 2020 for racially denigrating Facebook posts. Pinkerton is not named, but the reports description of the officer, including his involvement in the Dec. 2012 death in custody, matches exactly. And The St. Louis American, writing about the report when it was released, named Pinkerton as the officer in question. (That reporter now works for The Independent.) The Facebook posts, according to the Ethical Society of Police report, centered around George Floyd, the Black man whose murder by white officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis that year set off widespread racial justice protests. That report also discussed the 2012 death of Harris. It was later determined that this subject was not involved in the robbery, the report noted, of Harris. Pinkertons employment with the St. Louis Metro Police ended in May 2021, according to a spokesperson for the department, after he spent 24 years there. A Facebook account under his name offers a possible explanation for his departure, in the form of at least five posts referring to having been forced out of the department for his assessment of the murder of George Floyd. I was told, my words could have started a riot, he added in a comment last year. For all you mother f at the St. Louis Police Department, one post began last year, especially the Internal Affairs Division, you can all kiss my a for condemning me and pushing me out of my decorated career and losing my ability to retire with the benefits I wanted, all because I exposed the corruption behind the prosecution of Derek Chauvin. The police department declined to provide any information on an internal investigation or the circumstances under which his employment ended, and law enforcement officers personnel records are closed under Sunshine Law in Missouri. But Pinkerton still works as a police officer, with an active license: He has been an officer with the police department in Moscow Mills, a community of 3,300 about 50 miles northwest of St. Louis, since August 2022. The chief of police in Moscow Mills, Terry Foster, declined to answer a list of questions but confirmed Pinkerton is an active employee. I stood up for truth and lost my 25 year career and I would do it all over again, Pinkerton wrote on Facebook in May. And he has continued to post denigrating comments about Black people, among other groups including immigrants and women. Some black folks just disgust me, one June post read, in the way they act in simple interactions. A reexamination? Kurtis Watkins with his wife and youngest son, who was 8 when this photo was taken in October 2021 (photo submitted). Watkins lawyer, Kansas City-based Jonathan Sternberg, plans to file a federal habeas corpus petition next month, which will include arguments about the new credibility evidence. He hopes that St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore will take up the case for review in his conviction integrity unit. I believe hes innocent, Sternberg said. I dont believe the prosecution proved anything beyond a reasonable doubt, but at every stage, for some reason, a court has disagreed with us. Adolphus Pruitt, president of the St. Louis city branch of the NAACP, said he doesnt think any reasonable jury would have believed Pinkerton if all the information had been disclosed. Were talking about someones life whos been taken away from them by being incarcerated, their freedom taken away from them, for years and years to come, Pruitt said, And so if there are any questions related to that, I think it warrants a reexamination. Past appeals have argued Watkins trial lawyer was constitutionally deficient in failing to call witnesses, including the friend he was with that night and witnesses to the shooting who would have testified that he was not present. Late last year, the Missouri Court of Appeals ruled against Watkins in part because of a bureaucratic disagreement about whether his attorney had submitted a document correctly, as St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Tony Messenger wrote at the time. Watkins public defender for the original trials, Brian Horneyer, declined to comment for this story, except for confirming he had no knowledge of Pinkertons credibility issues and that he was unaware of Pinkertons past. From within the maximum security prison off of Militia Avenue in Jefferson City, on No More Victims Road, Watkins hope has waned. His wife, Kelsey Watkins, took on an extra job as a nurse to help cover their attorney fees, but theyre still behind on payments. Watkins spends upward of 20 hours a day in his concrete cell in the max-security prison, allowed to go outside for three hours per week. He has nearly 14 years left in his sentence. Kelsey started a dog kennel a few years ago because they thought he was about to get out on appeal and theyd run it together. They spend hours on the phone most days talking about the business, racking up around $30 per day in phone fees. Watkins has six kids, one of whom was born a few months after he was arrested, when he was in jail. I missed life. I missed my kids life, he said, And Im still missing it. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The United Kingdom needs to be much more aware of the threat we face from Beijing. The allegations over the past few days of Prince Andrews business involvement with an alleged Chinese spy should provoke a re-examination of our relationship with the worlds second largest economy. British governments have been far too complacent about the threat China poses. The United States has taken a much more robust approach. Donald Trump is a notable China hawk, but he does not stand alone. Democrats too have seen the risks that Beijing poses. A figure as ideologically distant from the incoming president as former House speaker Nancy Pelosi has made standing up for human rights in China and showing solidarity with Taiwan a key concern. The Biden administration too has not been silent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both the Labour and Conservative parties have mis-read the rise of China for too long. They have assumed that it was a basically friendly power, and one that as it grew richer would also move closer to Western values. But friendly powers dont try to infiltrate and undermine our parliament, universities and other prestigious institutions with a mixture of cash and threats. And they dont support Vladimir Putins brutal assault on Ukraine. If we think our relations with China can be based on trade alone, we have been fooling ourselves. They cant. China is an alternative civilisation, with its own very different view of the world. Whether it is intent on global domination or not remains an open question. But it is certainly a hostile power, with plans to shape the rest of the world to its own interests, and with no respect for Western values of freedom and democracy. Trump instinctively gets that, and is ready to mobilise the power of the West to contain its ambitions. On China the president-elect is fundamentally right. Over the coming year, the UK will have to take a side. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We should forget about steering a middle course between Washington and Beijing, or trying to be a bridge between East and West. It is not going to work, and we will just humiliate ourselves in the process. The UK should stand up for Western values, and in reality, that will mean standing with the United States as it combats Chinese aggression wherever it manifests itself. 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. Dec. 14Higher education officials say New Mexico's two scholarship programs are why state schools are experiencing enrollment growth even as numbers are shrinking at colleges and universities nationwide. Leaders of the state's public colleges and universities used that growth last week to defend the Higher Education Department's proposed $1.4 billion budget for fiscal year 2026, presented Wednesday to the Legislative Finance Committee. The budget proposal is a $186.5 million increase almost 6% from the current fiscal year. Much of the increase is for basic need and academic supports for students, employee pay hikes and efforts to build the workforce in high-demand sectors like health care, education, construction and social work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Since 2021, our institutions have grown by 9.7%," said Joseph Shepard, president of Western New Mexico University and chair of the Council of University Presidents. "To put that into perspective: The rest of the nation is seeing declines in enrollment while New Mexico is seeing increases." College enrollment had been on a trend to bounce back from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic nationwide with 2023's freshman enrollment numbers up 2.1% from the previous year but that changed this fall when freshman enrollment was reported as down 5% nationally, according to studies from National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Shepard cited the success of the New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship and Lottery Scholarship in expanding access to college in New Mexico. New Mexico's higher education budget proposal calls for maintaining the Opportunity Scholarship's funding levels at the current $146 million and credits the scholarship for increasing retention and graduation rates for recipients by 8%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Legislative Finance Committee evaluation in 2023 found while the scholarship programs had increased students' access to college, readiness remained low and schools were underperforming, given their increased funding a 59% rise since 2014, despite a 17% drop in enrollment in the same time. New Mexico's college retention and graduation rates continue to lag behind national averages by about 10%, according to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. The Legislative Finance Committee report cites New Mexico's rank as 49th in the nation for the rate of students who graduate within six years despite the state's rank as second in the nation for per-student spending on higher education in fiscal year 2023. This raised questions from Sen. George Munoz, D-Gallup, who chairs the committee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "When we fund you at the second highest level of the U.S. per student, and we're 49th," Munoz said, "that's on you guys. That's on you presidents in not succeeding in what needs to happen. And I don't know how we're going to rebalance that." Higher Education Cabinet Secretary Stephanie Rodriguez countered the senator's numbers, noting that U.S. News and World Report ranks the state's higher education system at 21st. She attributed that ranking to legislative support and "the leaders in this room." "As far as higher education, we are really moving mountains to move our students forward," she said. Her agency's budget request includes several one-time appropriations targeting pathways toward professions in which workers are in demand. Along them: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement * $25 million for a health professional loan repayment program. * $25 million for a student endowment at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine to provide scholarships and stipends for in-state students. * $10 million for a teacher loan repayment program. Rodriguez said a funding initiative in 2022 that invested $10 million in the state's nursing programs increased enrollment by 437 students. "In the health profession workforce alone," she said, "we still need 2,300 nurses. In educator prep, we need 800 teachers. And as far as social work, we're looking at the thousands." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other one-time appropriations would include campus investments like deferred maintenance and cybersecurity. A $2.25 million increase in recurring funding is proposed for Tribal Education Technical Assistance Centers, established through legislation in 2023, to support tribal education and career pathways, and a $3 million annual increase is proposed for the state's continuing education programs, with an additional $2 million for adult literacy programs. The budget also requests $8 million for a minimum 4% salary increase across the board because of an increase in the cost of living and insurance premiums. "We've seen a sharp increase in basic needs over the last couple of years," said Becky Rowley, president of Santa Fe Community College and chair of the New Mexico Independent Community Colleges. She said rising costs for basic needs have have forced institutions to start initiatives like food pantries for their faculty. Shepard said the salary increase also would help mitigate the poaching of faculty from research institutions by private and out-of-state schools. BOSTON (WWLP) Beacon Hill was abuzz with holiday joy this week, as state officials tie up loose ends before the New Year. Lawmakers looked ahead to some new health care regulations created by the passage of laws allowing qualified internationally-trained physicians to practice medicine in the state and improving the systems in place for maternal health care support. New emergency shelter rules took effect this week, but advocates say they more families will end up on the streets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think the criteria dont really seem to match what families need are when it comes to being able to safely exit a shelter for permanent housing, Andrea Park, the Director of Community Driven Advocacy for the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, told 22News. The new regulations feature a two-track system based on each familys level of need. The Massachusetts GOP joined in on the debate about when ballot question 1 takes effect, which allows the state auditor to examine the finances of the legislature. This is not a particularly controversial thing, because passed with over 70% of the vote statewide and 70% of the vote in Springfield. Why is the legislature trying to delay this? said Amy Carnevale, Chair of the Massachusetts GOP. The GOP called for the attorney general to step in and enforce the audit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Friday morning, state officials joined service members to celebrate the National Guards 388th birthday and the role they play in protecting our nation. You support our communities in many ways every day. But when the call goes out, and you put on that uniform, you become, you are our protectors, said Governor Maura Healey. The National Guard has fought in every major US conflict since 1636. Legislators have just under three weeks until the start of the next session when new bills can be proposed. 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. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Several Naxals who laid down their arms and surrendered in Chhattisgarh to reintegrate into mainstream society were welcomed at the Bastar Academy of Dance, Art, and Literature on Sunday. They are also set to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah later today. One of the surrendered Naxals, Sandhya, recounted her journey, stating that she joined the Naxal movement in 2001, believing she would be serving the poor. However, after surrendering in 2014, she realised that the reality was far from what was promised. "We were told we would be serving the poor, which is why we joined. But after joining, the reality was very different. I had joined in 2001 and surrendered in 2014. All this time, I held on to the hope that I was helping the poor, but when that did not happen, I surrendered," she said. Meanwhile, Shankar Madka, a former Militia Company Commander with a bounty of Rs 5 lakh on his head, shared his experience. He joined the Naxal group in 2007 and left in 2023. Madka admitted to being involved in the killing of two Special Task Force (STF) personnel but said he now feels a sense of purpose as part of mainstream society. He has been employed by the police force, thanks to the Superintendent of Police. "I joined in 2007 and left in 2023. From 2019 to 2023, I served as the Militia Company Incharge. Along with my team of 12 Naxals, I killed two STF personnel and looted their weapons. At that time, there was Janta Sarkar in many areas, and even the police feared entering our regions. Now, I feel better as part of the mainstream, meeting officers and ministers. I want to tell the home minister that I have been given a new life and a new job. The SP gave me a job, and I am now part of the police," he said. Sukanti, another former Naxal who surrendered in 2018, described her disillusionment with the movement. She said she was lured in with promises of a better life but instead witnessed violence and death, leading her to leave. "I joined in 2003 and surrendered in 2018. I was told we would sing and dance and have a good time, but nothing of the sort happened. I saw many dead bodies, which I could not bear, and that is why I left in 2018. I am living happily now," she said. Earlier today, Union Home Minister Amit Shah reiterated the Centre and Chhattisgarh government's commitment to eradicating Naxalism in the state. He praised the achievements of the Chhattisgarh Police in their fight against Naxals. "Chhattisgarh Police has achieved significant success against Naxals. In the past year, 287 Naxals have been killed, around 1,000 arrested, and 837 have surrendered," he said. Shah arrived in the state on Saturday for a three-day visit from December 14 to 16. During his visit, he will chair a high-level security review meeting in the state capital, Raipur, to discuss the security situation and related developments. He will also travel to Jagdalpur to interact with surrendered Maoists, residents, and intellectuals. (ANI) State Sen. Anthony Kern suffered broken bones and other injuries in a single-car accident on an icy road in South Dakota on Saturday. "He's pretty banged up," said Kim Quintero, communications director for the Arizona Senate Republicans. Kern and the driver of the car he was riding in were taken by ambulance to area hospitals. Kern remained at a Rapid City hospital Sunday in stable condition and was expected to make a full recovery. Quintero said it is unknown when he will be discharged. Advertisement Advertisement Kern was in South Dakota to visit with family. On Saturday, he was riding with a friend through a snowstorm when their car hit ice and the driver, who is not identified, lost control, Quintero said. She added Kern was communicating with family and was thankful for the outpouring of support from Arizona Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen announced the accident on the social platform X and asked for prayers for Kern. Oh man we are praying for him Glendale Arizona FOP Lodge 12 (@GlendaleFOP12) December 15, 2024 Kern's sister Margaret Kern Trout confirmed on Facebook that her brother was in a "serious vehicle accident" over the weekend and asked for prayers. Kern, R-Glendale, is finishing his first state Senate term. He previously served three terms in the state House. This fall, he opted to run for a congressional seat rather than seek a return to the state Capitol but lost the GOP race for Congressional District 8 to Abe Hamadeh. Advertisement Advertisement Posts on social media by both Petersen and Arizona Senate Democrats wished a speedy recovery for Kern. Sending our well wishes to Senator @anthonykernAZ and praying for a complete and speedy recovery. Arizona Senate Democrats (@AZSenateDems) December 15, 2024 Kern is one of 11 people indicted in the "fake elector" scheme stemming from the 2020 presidential election in Arizona. Kern has vowed to fight the charges brought by Attorney General Kris Mayes. This is a developing story; check back for updates. Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Threads as well as on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @maryjpitzl. Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Sen. Anthony Kern injured in car accident AUSTIN (Nexstar) Texas House Republicans remain split on who to support in the Speaker of the House race one week after Speaker Dade Phelan removed himself from contention and was replaced by Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock. Rep. David Cook, R-Mansfield, was able to secure enough votes to earn the Republican House Caucus nomination this past weekend, even after Burrows and more than 20 other House members walked out of the vote. That same day, Burrows declared victory in the race saying he had enough bipartisan support to get the 76 votes needed to win the Speaker race. Those 26 members that chose to leave, please know that you have my commitment that I want to continue working with you day and night between today and Jan. 14, Cook said to a room of reporters following the Saturday vote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Republican House Caucus rules state any member who is able to win the nomination will receive support from all 88 members, but it appears Cook does not have the full support just yet. Gov. Greg Abbott took to the social media website X this week to voice his opinion about the race, saying, I worked this entire year to elect conservative candidates who will pass conservative laws, including school choice. To achieve that goal we need a Texas House Speaker chosen by a majority of Republicans in accordance with the Republican Caucus Rules. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick echoed the governors remarks in his own statement on X, saying it was time for 76 House Republican members to support the GOP Caucus nominee, David Cook. The Chairman of the Texas Republican Party, Abraham George, said it is time for Burrows to remove himself from the race and support Cook for Speaker. George said any members who go against the GOP nominee could possibly face a censure from the party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you end up having multiple censures on your record, the Party has the right to tell you, you cannot run as a Republican in the next cycle,' George explained. If an elected Republican official is censured by a county or district committee of the party, the State Republican Executive Committee has the right to penalize that member, according to Rule 44 of the Texas GOP Rules. One of the penalties would direct the state chairman to refuse to accept any application for a place on the ballot of a Republican Primary Election for a period of 24 months. It is a major issue for elected officials, George said. It also gives the grassroots a lot of power to say who do we want to represent us. Thats the gist of the rule. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement George said now is not the time for handing out censures, but he expects the members to fall in line in supporting Cook. Our goal is to get the rest of the Republican House members to come and back David Cook, because that is the right thing to do, and to have Dustin Burrows to withdraw his nomination, George said. If he goes out there and gets support from Democrats and, you know, get some support from some Republicans were going to look at it as a violation of our rules, and also the caucus rules. We will go into the censorships and ballot access and all those things at that point. We are having an impact: Democrats work to influence Speaker race The split in the Republican party has given the minority party in the House the chance for some influence. The House Democratic Caucus is not supporting a candidate currently. But the chair of the HDC said it is not supporting the GOP nominee. Democrats passed a resolution saying we will absolutely not vote for David Cook because he is offering Texans nothing, said Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wu added that after the resolution passed, Cook reached out, potentially opening the door for dialog. So far, he has sent a letter saying, oh, okay, Im willing to talk. Tell me what you want. Tell me what Texans want. Maybe Ill consider it,' Wu said. What Democrats are doing right now, even as a minority party, we are having an impact on the convesations. Were making potential leaders of Texas change their tune, Wu added. Wu said Democratic members are looking for a candidate that will focus on tackling issues that are impacting Texans. All that stuff that is just there to generate hate, keep that to yourself. Tell us about wages. Tell us about housing. Tell us about medical costs, Wu said. Student study sets baseline to measure effect of DEI ban on campuses The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board released its inaugural study on the impacts of Senate Bill 17, which outlawed the use of diversity, equity, and inclusion offices (DEI) on public colleges and universities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Universities across the state closed DEI offices this year and fired staff to comply with the new law that went into effect in 2024. The study released by the THECB does not show the impact SB 17 had this year because it only looked at data from 2022 and 2023. The board will treat the data in this initial study as a baseline moving forward. It plans to release a study on the impact of the bill every two years. The report looks at six metrics: application rate, acceptance rate, matriculation rate, retention rate, grade point average and graduation rate. Critics of the law point to the data in this study as proof that DEI offices are needed on college campuses, while the author of the bill itself says its proof DEI is the reason some groups are lagging behind their classmates. Breaking the graduation rate down by race and ethnicity shows an even more apparent gap between African American students and their fellow students. At four-year institutions, only 29% of African American students graduated in four years. Compare that to Asian students whose graduation rate in the same time span was 64% in 2023, according to the report. White students graduated at a rate of 53% in the same period. Critics of the law said they are happy the state collected this baseline data, because they believe things will get worse. Its very sobering to look at this data and know that it will likely change in the coming years when they review it again, said Emily Witt, a media strategist with the Texas Freedom Network. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She believes the data proves critics point that DEI offices are needed on college campuses. We have to make an effort to build connection and community and give first-generation students, and students of color, and students from black communities, places where they can access resources that are for them. However, Sen. Brandon Creighton, who authored the law, said the data in this report actually proves DEI was ineffective. He said the numbers show African American students were falling behind even when DEI offices were already in place. We saw that across the state of Texas the diversity, equity, and inclusion offices were taking us backwards, where even the hiring of minority faculty professors and their recruitment had slid from 3.1% to 1.7. So it doesnt surprise me that student performance had also declined, Creighton explained. Time Frame Asian White Hispanic African American Four-year graduation rate 64% 53% 38% 29% Five-year graduation rate 79% 69% 55% 43% Six-year graduation rate 84% 73% 60% 48% He said he wants to use the money that once hired DEI employees on college campuses and funnel it into resources for students. That money should have been used for that purpose all along, Creighton said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We need to help all students that need support in a lift up, so that they can, in turn, through their own hard work and merit and work ethic continue to climb to a successful opportunity in the workforce, Creighton concluded. The board concluded the study needed to break down student success rates by both gender and race at the same time. The study said this will provide a more granular analysis. The report also said the metrics do not show all the factors that may influence student success. This will save lives: New Austin law will make hospitals safer The Austin City Council gave final approval Thursday to a new ordinance already being praised for its potential to save lives requiring security barriers at all new hospital entrances in direct response to a series of KXAN investigations and nearly 10 months to the day after a deadly crash at St. Davids North Austin Medical Center. Absolutely this will save lives, said Council Member Mackenzie Kelly, who introduced the resolution in July. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That resolution was sparked by KXANs diligent investigative coverage, Kelly said publicly at the time after watching the Bernard familys story. In an exclusive interview, Nadia and Levi described how they, and their two toddlers, were run over inside the ER lobby. The driver had a blood-alcohol level between three and four times the legal limit to drive, an autopsy showed. Nadia wanted to share their story with KXAN so no one else will have to go through what were going through. On Thursday, Kelly again praised the family for speaking out. Photos of the February 2024 crash at St. Davids North Austin Medical Center, killing the driver and injuring five others, including the Bernard family (Courtesy Diane Warmoth; Howry, Breen & Herman; KXAN Photo) I want to thank the Bernard family for their courage to speak up and to talk about their experience, she said. Which is why, in part, I brought this forward to prevent future tragedy. After months of policymaking, there was a tense moment when Council Member Zo Qadri introduced a motion to postpone discussion until the end of January. Qadri cited the Planning Commissions concerns that requiring crash-rated barriers, called bollards, at new hospitals, urgent care clinics and standalone emergency rooms doesnt go far enough. The motion to delay a vote was also supported by Vanessa Fuentes, who sponsored Kellys resolution. Council Member Mackenzie Kelly holds a copy of her resolution after it passed, unanimously, on Dec. 12. (KXAN Photo/Matt Grant) I think it would be an absolute travesty for us not to vote today in favor of this item, Kelly said. And to postpone and kick it down the road further. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the last council meeting before her term ends, Kelly urged the council to pass the measure and expand it later. I would encourage that while Im watching from home on my couch eating popcorn, she said. But, right now, we have the ability to affect a very serious change. That final plea helped pass the measure unanimously. Im going to say it without objection: Item number 74 is adopted, Mayor Kirk Watson said. EXPLORE: KXANs Preventing Disaster investigation that led to a new law change Levi and Nadia Bernard with their toddlers, Sunny and Rio, left, before being run over by a car in the lobby of St. David's North Austin Medical Center. (Source: Austin Police Department) The change in city law comes in response to 10 months of KXAN investigations. Our team collected and analyzed data from the Storefront Safety Council a nonprofit that tracks vehicle crashes along with TxDOT crash data, police and media reports and built our own database. Since our initial investigation, we have now found more than 400 crashes at, or into, medical centers nationwide in the last decade. When we combined data from the SSC with crash data from TxDOT, we found more than 100 crashes in Texas since 2014. Map of crashes that have occurred in Texas involving medical facilities or hospitals in the last 10 years. Source: Texas Department of Transportation (KXAN Interactive/Dalton Huey) Map of crashes involving medical facilities and hospitals nationwide in the last 10 years. Source: Storefront Safety Council, police, media reports (KXAN Interactive/Dalton Huey) That number, 400, does not surprise me, attorney Sean Breen said. Breen represents the Bernard family in their $1 million lawsuit against St. Davids NAMC accusing the hospital of gross negligence for not having bollards. After the crash, and following our questions, it installed a dozen. Now, new facilities and existing ones wishing to expand are required to take those safety steps. St. Davids North Austin Medical Center added a dozen bollards outside its ER after the fatal crash on Feb. 13. (Courtesy Howry, Breen & Herman) St. Davids did not respond to KXANs request for comment following Thursdays vote. The hospital group previously told us it does not comment on pending or active litigation. St. Davids HealthCare will work with policymakers to ensure compliance with any new legal or regulatory requirement, if they are passed, the hospital group said in a statement after Kellys resolution to initiate a bollard ordinance passed unanimously in July. Breen spoke with the Bernard family after the vote and said they are absolutely enthused. And very grateful that the city council acted appropriately and quickly here, Breen said. This is a great day for Austin. It doesnt help the Bernards but it will help other families not have to go through what theyve gone through. Reflecting on her time on the council, Kelly said she felt an incredible sense of honor and gratitude. Austin is now one of at least six cities or counties that passed bollard rules, most sparked by deadly incidents. (KXAN Interactive/Dalton Huey) This is something really special that I can hang my hat on, she said. It is now an ordinance, which is city law. And that is my legacy. It is a wonderful legacy to have. This comes following yet even more crashes involving medical centers in recent days and weeks in Fort Worth, Maryland, Ohio, Rhode Island and South Carolina. On Dec. 7, a car crashed into a Fort Worth dialysis center. (Courtesy Glen E. Ellman/FWFD) Austin became at least the sixth city or county nationwide to require security barriers. The investigation by KXAN and the team there really ensured that this was brought to resolution in an expedient manner, she said. The research was impeccable and data-driven. My hope, she added, is that other communities can use this as a framework to get it passed in their jurisdictions. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A suburban New York police department routinely violated residents civil rights, including making illegal arrests and using unnecessary strip and cavity searches, according to a new US Department of Justice report. The report on a pattern and practice of police misconduct at the department in Mount Vernon, just north of New York City, is one of 12 investigations opened by the DOJ into local policing agencies since 2021, including those sparked by the killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Kentucky. No single incident prompted the investigation into Mount Vernons approximately 160-officer force. But the illegal strip search in 2020 of two women, one age 65 and the other 75, were emblematic of the departments shortcomings, said the report, which was released Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arrested on suspicion of buying drugs, officers searched the womens car, found nothing, and hauled them into a police station in handcuffs, the report said. Supervisors there approved a fully nude strip search by detectives who told them to bend over and cough. After an internal investigation found that the officers had lied about the pair buying drugs, those involved were docked a few vacation days, the report said. The police union representing officers in the department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Until at least the fall of 2022, it was the Mount Vernon forces practice to strip search every person it arrested, according to the report. Officers also strip-searched people they did not arrest, detained and interrogated people without formally arresting them, and arrested people for verbally criticizing police officers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Illegal strip and cavity searches continued until at least 2023, the report found. The investigators said that while the practice was curtailed during its probe, we are not confident that these practices have ended. Among a catalog of unconstitutional arrests, the DOJ identified a case where officers took the mother of a shooting victim to a police station and interrogated her, even as her dying daughter was rushed to the hospital. The daughter, struck by a stray bullet, died while her mother was in custody. Officers didnt articulate probable cause for her detention. The department also suffered from financial mismanagement, which exacerbated pervasive human rights violations rooted in illegal policies and lack of training, the report said. It noted that low salaries make it hard to attract and retain quality officers, train staff and pay its bills, starving its supply budget. The report noted that the city is already taking steps to improve its policing. It offered a series of recommendations, including implementing measures to ensure that unconstitutional strip and body cavity searches do not take place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement, Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard said the city would work with the DOJ to address its findings. We wholeheartedly support our good officers and at the same time will not tolerate and will punish unconstitutional policing, said Patterson-Howard, a Democrat. The statement noted that three police officers and two civilian employees had been fired following an investigation in 2021. A spokesperson for the mayor did not immediately respond to questions about when and why those people were fired. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) are gradually making up ground ahead of expected elections in late February, having gained one percentage point for 17% support, a new poll commissioned by the Bild tabloid showed on Saturday. The conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), along with their Bavarian sister party, the CSU, remain in the lead on 31%, one percentage point down on the week, the Insa poll of 1,203 respondents taken between December 9 and 13 found. Three weeks ago, the CDU/CSU bloc was 18 percentage points ahead. That lead is now down to 14. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Greens, the only remaining party in Scholz's coalition government, are down one percentage point at 11%. Liberal FDP might make 5% threshold, poll says Meanwhile the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), which left the coalition in early November after Scholz fired FDP leader Christian Lindner as finance minister, is up one percentage point at 5%, just clearing the threshold to enter parliament. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) was also up a percentage point at 20%, placing it second behind the CDU/CSU. Despite this support, the party is unlikely to be part of a governing coalition, as all other parties refuse cooperation with the AfD. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) was stable at 8%, while The Left party was down a point at 3%, looking unlikely to make the cut. Following the collapse of his coalition government, Scholz is to put a confidence vote to parliament on Monday that he is expected to lose. He will then ask President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to call early elections for February 23. Scholz does not see coalition with BSW as an option Meanwhile, in an interview with a local public broadcasting programm, Scholz said on Friday that he can't imagine forming a federal government with the upstart populist party known as BSW. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Given the topics raised by the BSW, it's hardly conceivable," said Scholz said of the new populist party, named after the east German politician whose ideas range from stopping support for Ukraine to pro-Russian sentiments. "We support Ukraine and ensure it is not left alone in defending its sovereignty and democracy. This clearly differentiates us from the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance," Scholz said. But Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) are in a new alliance on the state level in Brandenburg, near Berlin, where Scholz lives and where he was just elected as the top candidate for the Brandenburg SPD. But Scholz also rejected the stance CDU chancellor candidate, Friedrich Merz, who supports sending long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Conversely, we are also clearly positioned against all the hotheads who think various measures must be taken," said Scholz. "There will be no permission to deploy long-range weapons delivered from Germany deep within Russian territory - that is set." German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks at the Brandenburg SPD state representatives' meeting. During the event, the state list for the early federal election is drawn up. Scholz is to be the top candidate for the Brandenburg SPD. Soeren Stache/dpa Bucket lists are being drastically revised as travelers swap out dream tourism destinations amid changing climates. What's happening? The World Travel Market Global Travel Report released in November found that 29% of travelers from key global markets had passed on visiting a destination within the previous year because of weather concerns. As the report observed, extreme weather is exacerbated by human-caused global heating, and places susceptible to wildfires, deadly storms, and excessive temperatures are becoming less appealing for vacationers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In particular, people aged 18 to 34 categorized as primarily Generation Z were defined as the most likely to change travel plans because of shifting weather conditions, with 43% of this group saying they had reconsidered their plans. Why is this trend concerning? Tourism is a key income generator for a number of countries. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the sector's global economic contribution for 2024 is expected to be $11.1 trillion. To put that into perspective, the WTTC suggested that's the equivalent of one in every 10 dollars generated worldwide. It's also a key employment arena, with an estimated 348 million jobs in tourism globally. If there is a decline in tourist numbers, that could lead to an increase in unemployment and reduced local authority budgets that benefit residents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Global Travel Report referenced a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study that used "outdoor days" as a way to measure how recreation activities are changing amid the warming climate. In Thailand, it's predicted there will be 55 fewer outdoor days by 2100, while Canada will have 23 more. That could stop people from visiting Thailand because of an increase in days featuring unbearable heat, while Canada's snow-reliant ski resorts will also be impacted by warmer conditions. Tourism does have its issues, though. Plane travel is a notable contributor of planet-warming gases, and the bad behavior of tourists has impacted historic and natural areas across the globe. What's more, local residents are being priced out of property and other essential items in tourist hotspots including Venice, Italy; Lisbon, Portugal; and Barcelona, Spain. What can be done about a change in tourist attitudes? It's not all bad news, as the WTM study pointed out that 65% of travelers understood the negative environmental impact that tourism can have. Meanwhile, Booking.com found that 74% of potential customers want more sustainable travel options, and 65% favor accredited sustainable accommodations. "Travel is perhaps the industry most exposed to the climate emergency and the wider concerns around sustainability," said Juliette Losardo, exhibition director for WTM. "These are issues which are embedded into what travelers want and how the industry operates, but the report highlights some ways in which the industry can continue to grow while maintaining its commitment to reducing emissions." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vacationing responsibly is no bad thing and this can encourage a different kind of tourism but reducing the rate of rising temperatures by cutting our production of planet-warming gases is essential, too. One sustainability expert has provided tips and tricks to lower your polluting impact when traveling, such as packing lightly, taking a reusable water bottle, and avoiding flights that have connections. 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. KANSAS CITY, Mo. One person is in custody after threatening to stab patrons at a local holiday pop-up bar Saturday night. According to the Kansas City Police Department, just before midnight, officers were dispatched to the Miracle pop-up bar, located at West 49th Street and Jefferson Street in the Country Club Plaza, on reports of a person armed with a knife and attempting to stab customers. Drunk driving victims honored at MADD event in Overland Park Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Miracle told FOX4 that the individual had been removed from the pop-up bar a few days prior, on Thursday evening, for being disruptive. The person then tried to come back Saturday night but was eventually removed by police. A short time later, at about 11:30 p.m., Miracle said the individual came back to the bar with a knife. To stop the suspect from hurting employees and other patrons, staff members took action into their own hands and restrained the individual. Officers were then called back to the scene, and when they arrived, KCPD reportedly found the suspect partially barricaded in a corner with stools and bar furniture. North Kansas City police investigating drive-by shooting Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police said they were then taken into custody without incident and nobody was seriously injured. Moving forward, we will add additional security and off-duty police officers to reinforce that the safety of our patrons and employees is our top priority, Miracle said. Law enforcement did not release the name of the suspect. However, court records show that Rustam Huseinov, 37, of Kansas City, Missouri was charged with second-degree assault, first-degree harassment, first-degree property damage, first-degree trespassing and three counts of armed criminal action. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. Suspect named in Copper and Tramway homicide ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) Albuquerque police have issued a warrant for a man suspected of a northeast area murder earlier this week. According to APD, officers were called out to a home near Copper and Tramway early Wednesday after neighbors heard several gunshots. Albuquerque Police Dept. highlights new crime map They arrived to find one person dead. According to the criminal complaint, police believe Christopher Barela was fighting with the victim before the shooting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police also say Barela had sent threatening messages to a woman saying he would shoot the victim. APD has issued a warrant for Barelas arrest. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. "Bhavnagar is being developed as the largest hub for container manufacturing in India. Currently, 95% of containers are constructed in China. In Bhavnagar, three companies have already begun container construction. The state and Central governments are committed to transforming Bhavnagar into a container manufacturing hub," Mandaviya said while addressing reporters. Meanwhile, on Friday, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel met the Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey, Tahesha L. Way, in Gandhinagar to discuss strengthening the sister-state agreement between Gujarat and New Jersey through enhanced cultural, economic, and industrial exchanges. Both leaders expressed a shared commitment to fostering closer people-to-people ties, with Index-B acting as the primary liaison between the two regions to ensure ongoing dialogue and collaboration. Chief Minister Patel highlighted Gujarat's leadership in green hydrogen, renewable energy, offshore wind energy, fintech, and innovation. Lieutenant Governor Way expressed interest in exploring mutual investment opportunities and advancing cooperation in these fields. The Chief Minister acknowledged the contributions of approximately 425,000 Indian-Gujarati residents in New Jersey, praising their role in promoting environmental initiatives, innovation, and trade. He reaffirmed that Indian and Gujarati families remain dedicated to the development of their local communities. Both parties agreed to identify areas of mutual interest to further strengthen the sister-state relationship. Chief Minister Patel also invited Lieutenant Governor Way to visit the Statue of Unity during her next trip. Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister, M. K. Das, showcased the progress of Gift City as an international financial hub, which has already attracted global fintech firms such as Bank of America. As a gesture of goodwill, a replica of handicrafts made by Gujarat's women artisans was presented to Lieutenant Governor Way. (ANI) Dec. 14An alleged stabbing landed one person in the hospital with life-threatening injuries and a 27-year-old man in handcuffs after a nearly two-hour standoff with police Saturday on the lower South Hill, according to the Spokane Police Department. Michael Sam was arrested on suspicion of first-degree assault domestic violence for the alleged stabbing at a brick apartment building at 1631 W. Sixth Ave., police said in a news release. Officers responded to the reported stabbing shortly before 10 a.m. at the building on Sixth Avenue and Ash Street. An adult was taken to the hospital for treatment, and once it was determined which apartment unit Sam was in, several resources were called to take him into custody, according to police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A SWAT team, Explosives Disposal Unit, hostage negotiation team, K-9 officers and an air support unit were among the units that responded to assist, police said. Several apartments were evacuated out of an abundance of caution. The Spokane Fire Department and American Medical Response were on standby. Police told Sam multiple times he was under arrest, but he failed to obey commands to come outside, the release said. SWAT officers fired a chemical agent into the apartment, causing Sam to come out, leading to his arrest. Officers escorted Sam in handcuffs and sat him down outside the tan-colored building. Medical first responders assessed Sam and put him on a gurney. Spokane Police Sgt. Teresa Fuller said Sam was taken to the hospital for injuries that were not life-threatening. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sam will be booked into the Spokane County Jail after he is medically cleared. The standoff forced nearby streets and Interstate 90 to close. Both directions of I-90, from U.S. Highway 195 to Division Street, reopened after Sam was arrested, according to the Washington State Patrol. Dan Connery, who lives in the Sixth Avenue apartment building, was one of the residents who evacuated. Connery said he heard someone yelling in the building that morning. Later, he was watching TV when he heard Spokane police announce themselves, asking the suspect to come out of one of the units with his hands up. Connery said he looked through his door peephole and saw police with rifles and shields. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Heck with that, I've seen this story before in this building," said Connery, who went back to watching TV. Connery said there have been several prior domestic violence issues in his building. Connery then got a knock at the door from police and was asked to leave the building. Connery was one of several neighbors outside who watched the standoff unfold. (WJET/WFXP) An Erie man was taken in custody after threatening police Saturday afternoon leading to a standoff. According to police, officers were originally called to the scene for a domestic assault at an apartment building on Treetop Drive. When they arrived, police stated that one man was at the residence and threatened to shoot at the officers on the scene. Millcreek SWAT was then called to assist police and eventually made entry into the residence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The man identified as 41-year-old Adam Hale was then removed from the premises and taken into police custody. We made several attempts to talk with him through the door. He continued to threaten our officers, stating if we came into the apartment that he would shoot us. Eventually, we used chemical munitions to draw him out of the residence which led to a peaceful resolution, said Lieutenant Adam Hardner, Millcreek police. According to a police report, Hale was charged with felony terroristic threats, misdemeanor terroristic threats and misdemeanor simple assault. Hale is being held in the Erie County Prison on a $25,000 bond. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Sir Keir Starmers decision to leave thousands of Syrian asylum seekers in limbo is costing the British taxpayer up to 11m a month in hotel bills. Some 6,500 Syrian asylum seekers face an uncertain future in the UK after the Government froze their applications following the fall of former leader Bashar al-Assad. This group included around 5,700 people who were receiving support such as accommodation and help with living costs from the Home Office as of the end of September. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Of those awaiting the outcome of their application around 2,550 were in hotels at the end of September. This suggests that the hotel bill alone from the Governments pause is likely to be in excess of 11m a month. The total cost of delaying Syrian applications for one month will raise costs by as much as 19.6m, Telegraph analysis shows. The National Audit Office has previously found that the cost per night per person is 145. Dame Angela Eagle, a Home Office minister, has insisted the Government must just stop and let events play out a bit before continuing processing the applications. However experts warn Syria may not be safe in six months or even a year from now, meaning costs are likely to surge with many applications ultimately successful anyway when processing resumes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the Government pauses claims for three months, it will rack up a bill of as much as 60m. If it has still failed to resume processing claims after a year, costs would likely be around 235m without accounting for any further applicants arriving during that time. Neil Quilliam, an associate fellow at Chatham House and expert on the region, warned the Home Offices decision was very premature. Mr Quilliam said: It is going to be some time before conditions on the ground allow decisions to be made whether to reject asylum applications on the basis that theres a stable and safe environment to which asylum seekers can return. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont think its safe for Syrians to be returning now. The pause is going to last, I would have estimated, an absolute minimum of six months but probably more like a year or 18 months before we see things play out in Syria. The average annual cost of housing an asylum seeker was about 41,000 in 2023-24, according to analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research. This is up from 17,000 per person four years ago, reflecting greater use of hotels. Syria is now mostly controlled by the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which a week ago toppled Bashar al-Assads tortuous regime after nearly 14 years of civil war. The countrys new rulers are considered a terrorist group by the UK, US and the European Union. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is an offshoot of Al-Qaeda that has since sought to sanitise its image and portray itself as more moderate. Meanwhile, different groups control various Syrian territories, Isis poses a growing threat and big parts of the country remain levelled by Assads and Russias air strikes during the war. Mr Quilliam said: There is going to be conflict between those different groups. It is looking quite unlikely that HTS is going to want to share much of its power. That doesnt bode well. Its going to take time before the country can really stabilise. Marley Morris from the Institute for Public Policy Research said that while it made sense for the Government to pause claims while reassessing the situation, it would have to make a judgement fairly quickly to avoid spiralling costs and backlogs getting worse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Morris said: It is highly uncertain whether Syria is going to be a safe country in the near term. Any long-term pause [in claims] would be very costly and make it harder for the Government to close hotels. Some 99pc of asylum applications from Syrians were granted while Assad, who is accused of war crimes, was in power and the country was gripped by ongoing civil war. Mr Morris added: Once the situation becomes clearer I suspect the grant rate will still be pretty high because there is likely to be ongoing volatility and an ongoing risk of persecution from various factions within Syria. Warnings over the future of Syrian asylum seekers came as Labour research suggested that the Conservatives had spent 78.3m on buying and preparing failed asylum accommodation sites at Northeye, Scampton and Linton-on-Ouse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another 500,000 was wasted by the Tory Home Office ministers on searching for floating asylum berths similar to the Bibby Stockholm barge, Labour said. A Labour spokesman said: The asylum backlog rose to record highs on the Tories watch. Pursuing these unsuitable sites shows the Tories were making it up as they went along. A Home Office spokesman said: The Home Office has temporarily paused decisions on Syrian asylum claims whilst we assess the current situation. We keep all country guidance relating to asylum claims under constant review so we can respond to emerging issues. 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. By Timour Azhari and Tuvan Gumrukcu DAMASCUS/LATAKIA, Syria (Reuters) -Syrian Christians attended regular Sunday services for the first time since the dramatic overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad a week ago, in an early test of assurances by the new Islamist rulers that the rights of minorities will be protected. As the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) swept to power last week, it sought to reassure Syria's minority groups that their way of life would not be at risk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before Assad fell, historic religious minority groups, including Christians, worshipped freely and some remain jittery at the prospect of an Islamist government. Streets in the heavily Christian Damascus neighbourhood of Bab Touma filled with worshippers returning from church on Sunday morning but some struck a note of caution. "We're scared, we're still scared," said local resident Maha Barsa after attending Mass at the local Greek Melkite Catholic church. Barsa said she had barely left her home since HTS took over one week ago, though she said that nothing had happened to warrant her concern, adding: "Things are ambiguous." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the coastal city of Latakia, long an Assad stronghold, Lina Akhras, a parish council secretary at the St George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, said on Sunday that Christians had been "comfortable" under his rule in terms of freedom of belief but that they just wanted to live in peace and harmony. "(Assad's fall) happened all of a sudden, we didn't know what to expect... Thank God, we received a lot of assurances and we saw that members of the (HTS) committee reached out to our priest," she told Reuters. "God willing, we will return to our previous lives and live in our beautiful Syria," Akhras added. Syria is home to multiple ethnic and religious minorities including Christians, Armenians, Kurds and Shi'ite Muslims. The Assad family itself belongs to the minority Alawite faith, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, in Sunni Muslim-majority Syria. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tens of thousands of mostly Shi'ite Muslims have fled Syria for Lebanon in the last week out of fear of persecution by the country's new rulers, a senior Lebanese security official told Reuters last week. The protection of Syria's minorities was a key concern on Saturday when top diplomats from Arab nations, Turkey, the United States and European Union met in Jordan. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said they backed an inclusive and representative government that would respect minority rights and not offer "a base for terrorist groups". SCHOOLS REOPEN Syrian students also returned to classrooms on Sunday after the new rulers ordered schools reopened in another potent sign of some normalcy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The country's new de facto leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, faces a massive challenge to rebuild Syria after the civil war, in which hundreds of thousands were killed. Cities were bombed to ruins, the economy was gutted by international sanctions and millions of refugees still live in camps outside Syria. Officials said most schools were opening around the country on Sunday, the first day of the working week. However, some parents were not sending their children to class due to uncertainty over the situation. Pupils waited cheerfully in the courtyard of a boys' high school in Damascus on Sunday morning and applauded as the school secretary, Raed Nasser, hung the flag adopted by the new authorities. In one classroom, a student pasted the new flag on a wall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I am optimistic and very happy," said student Salah al-Din Diab. "I used to walk in the street scared that I would get drafted to military service. I used to be afraid when I reach a checkpoint." ENDING SANCTIONS? As Syria starts trying to rebuild, its neighbours and other foreign powers are still working out a new stance on the country, a week after the collapse of the Assad government that was backed by Iran and Russia. Sharaa - better known by his rebel nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani - leads the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist group that swept Assad from power last week. HTS is a group formerly allied with al-Qaeda that is designated a terrorist organization by many governments, and is also under United Nations sanctions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.N. Syria envoy Geir Pedersen said on Sunday he hoped for a swift end to the sanctions to help facilitate economic recovery. "We will hopefully see a quick end to sanctions so that we can see really rallying around building up Syria," Pedersen said as he arrived in Damascus to meet Syria's caretaker government and other officials. In a statement, the Syrian ruling General Command said Sharaa discussed with Pedersen the need to reconsider a roadmap outlined by the Security Council for the country in 2015, known as U.N. Security Council Resolution 2254. Blinken has said the transition in Syria should lead to "credible, inclusive, and non-sectarian governance" consistent with U.N. Security Council Resolution 2254. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That resolution calls for a Syrian-led process facilitated by the United Nations, establishing within six months non-sectarian governance and setting a schedule for a process of drafting a new constitution. It also calls for free and fair elections. (Reporting by Timour Azhari in Damascus, Tuvan Gumrukcu and Umit Bektas in LatakiaWriting by Andrew Mills, Frances Kerry and Idrees Ali. Editing by Gareth Jones and Deepa Babington) CNN may have been duped by a so-called hidden prisoner from a Syrian jail that one news agency claims is actually a first lieutenant in the Syrian Air Force Intelligence. During a segment, CNNs Clarissa Ward and a rebel fighter uncovered a prisoner who appeared to be still unaware of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assads ouster. CNN has since said the network is investigating the mans background further. In nearly twenty years as a journalist, this was one of the most extraordinary moments I have witnessed. https://t.co/rG3WmhKh7X Clarissa Ward (@clarissaward) December 11, 2024 The Verify-SY news agency which claims to be a media platform identifying false news and correcting it is identifying the prisoner as a Syrian officer who is believed to have killed civilians and detained and tortured young men in Homs. His posing as a prisoner, the organization tweeted, seems to be trying to rehabilitate his image. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CNN captured the moment Ward found the man, who was cloaked in a blanket in a locked cell of an emptied prison. We were looking to do a story about the tens of thousands of Syrians who have vanished into Assads dungeons, and particularly also about one American journalist, Austin Tice, who was disappeared, Ward later reported on CNN. Ward was shown entering the cell after a guard shot off the lock. Is there someone there? Ward asks multiple times. The man emerged from beneath the cover with his hands raised. A CNN translation said the man claimed he had been in the cell for three months. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Youre OK, youre OK, Ward tells him, assisting him out into the open and into a vehicle. Social media quickly questioned the scenario. Verify-Sy, a Syrian fact checking group, now says that this man is Air Force Intelligence First Lieutenant Salama Mohammad Salama, notorious for extortion and theft in Homs, who had been arrested due to disputes with his colleagues about profit sharing: https://t.co/wFmstO8ZWo https://t.co/2PcbCbHNh4 Evan Hill (@evanhill) December 15, 2024 Clean clothes, perfectly groomed, and perfectly manicured nails. Looking good for a prisoner who was supposedly confined and starved in a prison cell for months by Assad who didnt know that the regime had fallen and that the prison had been emptied. CNN never fails to deliver. pic.twitter.com/AIaxnvLrqt Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) December 13, 2024 The post Syrian Prisoner Freed by CNNs Clarissa Ward May Have Been Intelligence Officer in Hiding appeared first on TheWrap. Returning home to Homs is a lottery. In the early years of Syrias uprising more than a decade ago, the city became a byword for horror: nowhere in the world at the time did there seem to be such suffering, such inhumanity, such colossal disregard for the sanctity of life itself. As forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad systematically laid waste to the rebel-held Baba Amr district to the east of the city, the vast majority of its residents fled, first in a trickle, soon after in a torrent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In recent days, rejoicing that the dictator they so hated has finally fallen, some are cautiously starting to return. For nearly 13 years, Amina Obeid and her family have lived as refugees, along with more than 100,000 Syrians, in the Akkar district of northern Lebanon. On Sunday, asked by her sick husband to find out if their house was still standing, she ventured back for the first time, bringing her daughter Marian and her three-year-old grandson Bakr with her. When I was in Lebanon I had one dream every day: to come home to Syria, she said as she nervously walked down a war-damaged street towards her home, wondering what she would find. Im so happy to be back but so horrified by the destruction I have seen on the way. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mrs Obeid was fortunate. Although there was some superficial damage to her building, the flats inside were mostly intact. Amina Obeid holds her grandson as she enters her house after many years in exile - Eduardo Soteras for The Telegraph Slinging Bakr onto her shoulders, she climbed the narrow stairs to her house, fumbled with the once familiar key, and walked into the hallway where her youngest son Zayds tricycle lay in the same spot they had hurriedly left it in all those years ago. Taking a moment to take in the scene, Mrs Obeid began to weep, not just with the emotion of coming home but also from the memory of Taha, Zayds 16-year-old brother, killed by a sniper on the street outside the death that prompted the family to flee. Given the scale of destruction not just in Baba Amr, but across vast swathes of Syria, many returning refugees are likely to find themselves homeless. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fadia al-Faraja is one of them. Returning to Homs on Saturday, she found a heap of rubble where her house once was. Although she and her family spent the night in a school, they were asked to leave the following morning as lessons resumed for the first time since Assads fall a week ago. Finding temporary accommodation for Mrs Faraja and others like her is now the responsibility of Nasser al-Nahar, the rebel who led the fight against the regime in Baba Amr and who now finds himself back in charge of the district. Nasser al-Nahar (front) with some of his soldiers in Bab Amr - Eduardo Soteras for The Telegraph For the rebel leaders managing the post-Assad transition, the influx of returning refugees will be one of their biggest challenges. Some 14 million Syrians, half the population, fled their homes during the uprising, with 30,000 being granted asylum in the UK. Many are already feeling the pressure from host communities to return home, with neighbouring countries feeling the strain of their prolonged largesse. Turkey is home to 3 million Syrian refugees, while Lebanon, a country not much bigger than Yorkshire, has taken in 1.5 million, the equivalent of a quarter of its native population. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yet people coming home to find they no longer have one is only one of the challenges Mr Nahar said he and his colleagues in the victorious Hayat Tahrir al-Shams (HTS) rebel coalition were grappling with. Ensuring law and order, as well as providing food and shelter, is just as important. While there has been remarkably little disorder since Assads fall, there are still what he described as criminal gangs operating in pockets of Homs, the countrys third-largest city. From time to time, volleys of gunfire can be heard not just in Homs but also other war-damaged towns between the city and Damascus, the capital, 100 miles to the south. Most of the gunmen are lone opportunists, he said, although others expressed concern about the return of the Shabiha, a loose term describing gangs of smugglers and racketeers from the nearby Latakia region, a former Assad stronghold. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Co-opted by the Assad regime in the early years of the uprising to kill protesters and fight the nascent rebellion, the Shabiha were later formally brought under the control of the Syrian armed forces. With the Syrian army melting away over the past three weeks, the rebels say they are watching out for signs of Shabiha groups re-emerging. Jihad Jneid (second from right) with members of his family in front of their house in Bab Amr - Eduardo Soteras for The Telegraph Likewise, Mr Nahar said, he and his fellow Sunni Muslim rebels are keenly aware of the delicate sectarian balance in Homs. A microcosm of Syria, the city has a Sunni Muslim majority, a mostly Christian old city and suburbs dominated by Assads Alawite minority, followers of an offshoot of Shia Islam. Keeping the peace will be hard. We want everyone to live in friendship, he said. Homs is the birthplace of the revolution. This is what we fought for. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Nahar paid a heavy price for the victory he is now savouring. He lost 1,000 men, including four of his own brothers, in the grinding campaign for Homs, a campaign that resulted in a devastating defeat for the Free Syrian Army (FSA), the main rebel movement at the time. Mr Nahar led one of the FSAs three brigades in Baba Amr, commanding 10,000 men. The wholesale destruction of Baba Amr, where the vast majority of houses are missing facades or have crumpled into rubble, bears testament to a period of carnage from late 2011 that shocked the world. Abdelkafi Mohamed-Diab Khader moves rubble where his house was, in the area of Bab Amr, in the city of Homs - Eduardo Soteras for The Telegraph Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was in Homs that Assad, according to Frances then foreign minister, Alain Juppe, broke the limits of barbarity, and it was in Baba Amr where, in 2012, a missile fired by Assads forces struck a building housing foreign correspondents. It killed Marie Colvin of the Sunday Times and Remi Ochlik, a French photojournalist. Mr Nahar and his men eventually retreated north to Idlib, where his brigade later joined forces with HTS and trained for four years before embarking on an offensive against the Assad regime that he believed would take at least six months to succeed. It took less than a fortnight. Instead of the bloody second battle for Homs he expected, his men entered the city unopposed, weeping as the familiar landmarks they had yearned for so long to see came into view. I couldnt believe it, he said. I still cant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For most of his men there would be no return to their homes, however, with only rubble marking the spots where they once lived. But for some fighters, like Abdelkafi Khader, the joy of finding neighbours again, eking out a living in the ruins, softened the blow. Amina Obeid (second from left, sitting) holds her grandson, as her daughter Amina (second from right) sits nearby and they are welcomed by relatives - Eduardo Soteras for The Telegraph Across the road from his home he discovered Jihad Jneid and his family, who had returned in 2020 to Baba Amr because they could no longer afford the rent elsewhere. Several times Mr Jneid, a furniture maker, partially rebuilt the family home with his own hands and several times army soldiers came back to destroy it, angry that he had not bribed them, as his neighbours had, in exchange for planning permission. Although Mr Assads forces regained Homs in 2014, his government did almost nothing to rebuild Baba Amr, partly out of vengeance and partly to prevent a hostile population returning, residents surmise. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For the Jneid family, the joy of Assads fall is encapsulated in the removal of the fear they felt when they left their homes. Simply having the name Baba Amr on his identity card meant that there was a perpetual fear of arrest at army checkpoints, something that landed both him and his wife in prison for several months. The situation was almost as bad for his two sons, Khaled and Mohammed, both in their 20s and therefore, until Assads fall, liable to conscription. Most of the past four years has consisted of hiding in a single room at home for fear of discovery. Those days, suddenly and unexpectedly, are in the past. We now have the freedom to go for a walk without fear of terror and arrest, Mr Jneid said. It is the sweetest feeling you can imagine. 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. TAYLORVILLE, Ill. (WCIA) The Taylorville Police Department said a recent social media post alerting residents of a dangerous man on the loose in Christian County is a scam. The department took to Facebook to let people know about the recent scam post, and to inform the community what to look out for in the future. FBI warns customers against holiday scams They said that if you see the Facebook post, it should raise a couple of red flags. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement First, legitimate posts will not hashtag a county, according to Taylorville Police. Second, if you click on the original post, youll see that the profile is fake. Last, they assured residents that if there is a threat to the public, theyll inform the community through official channels. According to the Taylorville Police Department, scammers often love to prey on people in Facebook buy/sell groups. The police department asks that residents reach out if they are unsure on scams and safety in the 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 WCIA.com. MEMPHIS, Tenn. A Selmer police officer and another person are dead after an officer-involved shooting in McNairy County, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation confirmed. WREG reached out to the TBI asking for information and received the following response: At the request of 25th Judicial District Attorney General Mark Davidson, TBI agents are investigating the circumstances leading to an officer-involved shooting in McNairy County involving officers with the Selmer Police Department. The incident occurred this afternoon in the 100 block of New Bethel Road in Selmer. Two individuals were fatally shot during the incident, one of which was a Selmer police officer. Leslie Earhart Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The identity of the officer and the other individual are unknown at this time. We will update this story as more information becomes available. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech during a debate on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey on Sunday said that PM Modi had committed to implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country, ensuring equal treatment for all citizens. Referring to the Prime Minister's address, Dubey highlighted that the UCC was a long-standing demand of the Constituent Assembly and was expected to be implemented by previous governments. Speaking to ANI, Dubey said, "He [PM Modi] made three points very clearly: first, the UCC was a demand of the Constituent Assembly, and its implementation was the responsibility of earlier governments. Now, PM Narendra Modi has unequivocally committed to implementing the UCC, which ensures equality among all citizens. Secondly, he stated that no reservation will be granted based on religion..." On Saturday, PM Modi reiterated his government's resolve to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), emphasising that efforts were being made with "full force" to establish a "Secular Civil Code." Participating in the Lok Sabha discussion on the 'Glorious Journey of 75 Years of the Constitution of India,' the Prime Minister remarked that the idea of a Uniform Civil Code had been thoroughly debated by the Constituent Assembly. "There was an extensive discussion on the matter. After the debate, it was decided that the elected government should take a decision and implement the UCC in the country. The Supreme Court has also repeatedly called for the implementation of a UCC. Guided by the spirit of the Constitution and its framers, we are working with full force for a Secular Civil Code," PM Modi said. The special two-day debate in the Lok Sabha on the 75th anniversary of the Constitution concluded on Saturday. The Rajya Sabha is scheduled to take up the discussion next week. (ANI) A 16-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder after an early Saturday shooting in Sim Park in the Riverside neighborhood. One person died and another was hospitalized with critical injuries, Wichita police spokesperson Kristopher Gupilan said. David Hernandez-Cervantez, 19, of Wichita, was taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries. A 22-year-old Wichita man remains hospitalized in critical condition, Gupilan said in a 12:45 p.m. Saturday news release. He said its still being investigated whether the suspect was the only shooter, if anyone else was there other than the victims and suspect and what the shooting was over. The three know one another, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police found the two victims, each with multiple gunshot wounds, inside Sim Park. The shooting was reported at 12:55 a.m. A Sedgwick County Emergency Communications 911 dispatcher said there was a disturbance before the shots were fired and that the caller refused to answer any further questions and disconnected on us and that there was yelling in the background. Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to call detectives at 316-268-4407, the See Something Say Something hotline at 316-519-2282 or Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111. Callers can remain anonymous with Crime Stoppers. This is at least the citys 43rd homicide so far this year, according to reports from police. There were 46 at this time last year. Dec. 14New Mexico State Police say a 16-year-old boy fatally shot four family members at their home in Valencia County early Saturday morning. Diego Leyva was charged with four open counts of murder, said officer Ray Wilson, a State Police spokesman. Wilson said Leyva, who was extremely intoxicated, was taken to a hospital "for detox" and will be booked into a juvenile detention center after his release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said the Office of the Medical Investigator "is still working to identify the victims." Leyva called 911 around 3:30 a.m. and told a dispatcher that "he had killed his family" at a home on Camino Escondido, in a rural area southeast of Rio Communities, Wilson said. When Valencia County deputies arrived, Leyva walked out of the home "with his hands in the air and was extremely intoxicated." Deputies found four people dead inside the home and a handgun on the kitchen table, he said. The Valencia County Sheriff's Office handed the case over to the State Police for investigation. "This incident is in the preliminary stages of investigation. New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau agents and Crime Scene Team are processing the scene and conducting interviews to learn what led up to these tragic events," Wilson said. "Once more information is learned and the investigation is complete, it will be presented to the district attorney's office for prosecution." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police vehicles could be seen parked outside the home, which sat in a rural and undeveloped area. Crime scene tape stretched across the road as officers investigated the killings. A wreath was tied snug to the white wrought iron fence, the top of which was strung with colorful Christmas lights. Through the gate, a small Santa figure could be seen standing beside the front door, a few feet away from a lit-up tree. AUSTIN (KXAN) A dirty diaper may be gross to you, but one Texas company believes it could be the secret ingredient to helping answer an environmental question: How do we clean up all of our plastic waste? Hiro Industries hopes these diapers could help solve the plastic crisis. (Eric Henrikson/KXAN) Its estimated that 7 billion tons of plastic have already been created, and over 400 million tons get added every year. So its just a global mega problem, Tero Isokauppila with Hiro Technologies explained to Nexstars KXAN. The Finnish farmer partnered with Miki Agrawal to help solve this problem. They say the solution can be found in baby poop. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Agrawal has built a career out of stuff most people dont like talking about. She founded the bidet company Tushy and the womens underwear line Thinx. Now, she and Isokauppila have a new start-up: the aforementioned Hiro Technologies. Named for Agrawals son, the company is looking to fungi, grown in a dirty diaper, to eat plastic in landfills. The plastic problem and diapers According to Healthline, a baby typically uses around 3,000 diapers a year. The World Economic Forum estimates that 300,000 disposable diapers are sent to landfills every minute. All those diapers contain plastic in various forms. A report filed by the McArthur Foundation estimated that the diaper industry burns through 248 million barrels of crude oil a year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When you give birth, its the most intimate, beautiful, poignant experience, and then youre just going through so much waste, and theres this, like, sort of whiplash, Agrawal said. Plastic itself is filling landfills at an alarming rate. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said that over the past 65 years, plastic production has gone from two million metric tons a year to 450 million metric tons. Diapers can take five hundred years to decompose, according to the OCED. (Eric Henrikson/KXAN) Coffee cups can take thirty years to decompose, according to the OCED. (Eric Henrikson/KXAN) Plastic bags can take twenty years to decompose, according to the OCED. (Eric Henrikson/KXAN) Plastic doesnt dissolve quickly or efficiently. The World Wildlife Fund estimates that a single plastic straw takes 200 years to decompose. Plastics are increasing exponentially, and we have no end-of-life solution to them. Were just punting that into the next generations, Isokauppila said. Crappy solution It all comes down to fungi. Think mushrooms or mold: Fungi have been on our planet for billions of years and have evolved to eat anything to survive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Scientists are turning to fungi to solve the plastic issue. In 2024, scientists in Germany found a plastic-eating fungi species. Isokauppila said his team found several other species as well. Scientists with Hiro Industries decomposed a diaper into soil using fungi over six months. (Eric Henrikson/KXAN) These fungi consume plastic by eating lignin, a substance found in trees that is used in many types of plastic. Growing this fungus requires fertilizer. Enter baby poop. The Hiro Industries team is developing a diaper that, once used, can serve as the breeding ground for this fungi. A small pouch comes with the diaper, which can be tossed into the dirty diaper during changing. This pouch feeds off of the poop and then grows, consuming the diaper and any surrounding plastics. Since diapers end up in landfills, they could help clean up the plastic in these landfills. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The team tested multiple types of diapers to see if urine, poop, or a combo of both would make growth challenging. They found that the chemicals in urine didnt interfere with the fungi growth, but helped provide a moist environment. Launching a brand This week, Hiro Industries launched its Kickstarter in hopes of funding the project. As part of the campaign, theyre offering an at-home science kit that shows how the fungi consume plastic. Its safe, easy, and you can see with your own naked eyes of how plastic gets broken down, Isokauppila said. This at home kit shows how fungi consume plastic. (Eric Henrikson/KXAN) While the idea of using diapers to solve a crisis might turn many off, Agrawal said that it is actually an opportunity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When things are weird or awkward for culture, there is the opportunity to change culture, to bring culture forward, to get them to learn about something new, she said. The diapers are scheduled to launch in February 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 Queen City News. THIBODAUX, La. (WGNO) Girl Scouts are known for selling cookies, but in Thibodaux, they are doing so much more. They just have to come up and open it and grab something, said Girl Scout with Troop #2073 Hailey Holland. When visiting the scout hut in Thibodaux, youll notice a food pantry labeled Blessing Box housing non-perishable food. Somebody else had made a bunch of these like libraries, and we were like, Hey they give out books. How about we can help the homeless if theyll have food?' said Girl Scout with Troop #2073 Emilie Chiasson. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Orleans East community leaders brighten holidays for families Chiasson and Holland say the goal behind the pantry is to provide 24/7 access to food for those in need at any time of day. There are other places, like free places, that feature free food, but sometimes theyre not open on the weekends. Ours is open whenever. Take your fair share. Take what you need. Leave what you dont, said Holland. The words please take what you need and give what you can are plastered in wood. Both scouts say immediately after the pantry was established, community members began to fill the shelves with food. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im glad to see how people just want to help out others and make the world a better place, said Chiasson. Crews respond to partial building collapse in Central Business District It made me feel happy that people are, like, actually interested in helping out with keeping it stocked and stuff. So, you do have a supplier like someone who stocks it, but there are also other people who come around and they stock it too, said Holland. Earning the Think Like an Engineer Journey badge, both tell WGNO this is only the start, as theyd like Blessing Boxes to be all around the Thibodeaux area. We are most likely going to be going out in our community since our Girl Scout troop likes to do like big things for our community, but yeah, this is just a kickstart. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Blessing Box can be found at the Thibodaux Scout Hut on 699 Bayou Lane. 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. Latest Posts Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. On Saturday, Westminster Fire Department responded to a building fire that upgraded to a three-alarm response, prompting multiple fire crews to assist. Crews were dispatched at approximately 7:32 a.m. to 238 South Ashburnham Road to severe fire and smoke on the second floor of the two-family home. Mutual aid was called in due to there being no fire hydrants in that area of the town. The first crews crews to respond immediately began work on extinguishing the fire from the outside of the home prior to making entry. Once in the building, crews noticed the amount of heavy smoke on the second floor, prompting them to evacuate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Crews took down the flames from the outside of the building, while a demolition team was called in to take down parts of the second floor so that fire crews could finish off the remaining hot-spots. 12 total companies were called on to assist Westminster fire, including those from Fitchburg, Leominster, Gardner, Ashburnham, Hubbardston, Ashby, Sterling, Woods, and Princeton. Firefighters from Leominster and Winchendon watched over the station, and Woods ambulance was at the scene to provide medical attention if needed. No injuries were reported, unfortunately however occupants of the building did loose multiple pets. Initial investigations believe that the cause of the fire was accidental, but is still being investigated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW VAN METER, Iowa The Iowa Veterans Cemetery joined Wreaths Across America and laid over 5,000 wreaths on veterans graves Saturday morning. Wreaths Across America began in 2007 as a way to honor the men and women who serve our country. Since then, the program has grown into a non-profit which remembers, honors, and teaches the work of Americas servicemen and women. On Saturday, National Wreaths Across America Day, more than 4,500 locations around America placed veterans wreaths. More than three million volunteers came together for the event. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are forever grateful for the thousands of supporters who dedicate their time, energy and resources to fulfilling our mission all year long, said Karen Worcester, Wreaths Across America Executive Director. The Iowa Veterans Cemetery held a ceremony and was able to place more than 5,000 wreaths with the help of volunteers on Saturday morning. These individuals and their communities know the value of remembering the fallen, honoring those who currently serve and teaching the next generation about the sacrifices made for our freedom every day, and because of their continued support, Wreaths Across America continues to grow and touch new people each year. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. AKRON, Ohio (WJW) Akron Mayor Shammas Malik says threats have been made to the entire Akron Police Department. The threats follow the police shooting death of 15-year-old Jazmir Tucker. The Akron teen was killed by police on Thanksgiving. The teen was armed. Local Giant Eagle sells scratch-off ticket worth $1 million Malik said in a Facebook post hes been made aware of threats against specific officers and the entire police department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president of the Akron Police Department, Brian Lucey, previously told the FOX 8 I-Team that there had been veiled threats against officers. Individuals on Facebook have made veiled threats or vague threats, stating that let us find out and the officers will pay and they use the little blood drop emojis. People have posted pictures of addresses and homes, Lucey told the I-Team. Mayor Malik says they are investigating the threats. Social Security retirement age set to change in 2025 When tragedies like this occur, our city government has a responsibility to be transparent in sharing information and records, and we also have a responsibility to the safety of our employees and their families and I take both of these with the utmost seriousness. As we continue to release records in response to this incident, we will also continue to evaluate any and all threats, and where they constitute criminal conduct, we will work to hold those making threats accountable, he wrote in a social media post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Akron has not identified the officers who were involved in the deadly shooting of Jazmir Tucker. The city also did not identify the officers in the Akron police killing of 23-year-old Jayland Walker. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. WARR ACRES (Okla.) Three men from Houston, Texas, were arrested this week after a bank robbery at a Bank of America. Warr Acres Police believe the trio are tied to other robberies in the area as well. Theyve been identified as John Martin, Cortez Perry and Tyrone Jones. Each are facing charges of robbery and conspiracy. John Martin, Cortez Perry and Tyrone Jones courtesy Warr Acres Police Department One dead after being struck by train in Edmond This incident happened Wednesday around nine in the morning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They appear to purposely break the ATM. Then, they wait for the service person to show up. When the service person showed up, they tried to rob him. He did not give them over any money, said Major Jason Allen from the Warr Acres Police Department. After the worker refused to give them cash, investigators say the trio beat him and ran away. Oklahoma City police assisted Warr Acres police with the investigation. They were able to find a rental car out of Houston. After putting that into the system, the rental vehicle by that point had already hit Wichita, Kansas, said Major Allen. Although the men crossed state lines, they made their way back into Oklahoma the same day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Major Allen said, It was already back southbound on I-35. Once it arrived back in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City Police and our detectives stopped it on I-35. The three were booked into the Oklahoma County Jail, some with extensive criminal backgrounds. Two are being held on $100,000 bond each and the other one is being held on a $75,000 bond, said Major Allen. Officers say the victim was taken to a hospital to be treated for his injuries and later released. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) Three people were found dead Saturday afternoon in a home on the South Side. A friend of the victims called Columbus Police just before 4 p.m. to report a medical event at the home on the 1300 block of South Ohio Avenue. Police say the woman had gone to the home to check on her friends when she found them. All three of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene. Sgt. James Fuqua said this is a homicide investigation, and there is an active search for a suspect in the investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its unfortunate when someone loses their life, but particularly this time of year, during the holidays, its going to be very difficult for all of these victims families to come to grips with that unfortunately, Fuqua said. These family members will no longer be in their lives. The scene on South Ohio Ave was filled with multiple units of Columbus police cars and Fuqua said officers were working with detectives and canvasing the area for video evidence. You see the amount of detectives we have back here thats going to work tirelessly to determine who did this heinous crime and bring justice to the family of these victims. Fuqua said. Fuqua said officers were working with witnesses and canvasing the area for video evidence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The incident was originally reported as a shooting and police confirmed Sunday afternoon all three victims were pronounced dead at 4 p.m. and all suffered from gunshot wounds. Some members of the community like Jeff Frentz said he has never seen something like this. Other than car accidents, a couple of those out here, but nothing this traumatic. So, yeah, thats kind of a shocker, Frentz said. Its unfortunate whoever got hurt or got killed, they got families, they got mothers and fathers. Theres so many moving parts because investigators obviously arent sure exactly of everything, Fuqua said. So they want to make sure they have a full picture in their head of what actually happened to piece these things together. So thats what makes it so particularly complicated. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Three large dogs attacked and fatally injured their owner at a neighborhood park in San Diego on Friday, officials said. The man was not identified. A second victim who suffered "serious bite injuries while trying to assist the first victim" was taken to a hospital and was recovering, officials said. All three dogs were euthanized Saturday, according to Nina Thompson, a spokeswoman for the San Diego Humane Society, which contracts with the city to help police handle animal incidents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thompson said the animals' DNA had not been tested, making their breed uncertain. However, a second owner told officials that the animals had been purchased as "XL bullies" a large, powerful bull mix that has been banned in other countries. The San Diego Police Department, which responded to the attack, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Thompson, in a statement provided to the Times, said Humane Society law enforcement officers responded to Mesa Viking Neighborhood Park in Mira Mesa at 12:13 p.m. Friday after receiving an "urgent call for assistance" from the San Diego police. The Humane Society and police officers were able to control two of the dogs, before finding the third secured in a vehicle, Thompson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The dogs were impounded under "mandatory bite quarantine protocols," Thompson said. The animals' second owner later signed them over to the Humane Society, and agreed to their being euthanized. The Humane Society had no previous record on the dogs, Thompson said. Video footage was recovered showing the owner walking the three dogs toward the park prior to the attack. "Our hearts and deepest sympathies go out to the victim's loved ones during this incredibly difficult time," Thompson said. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Reacting to 'One Nation One Election, Jammu and Kashmir Congress Committee chief Tariq Hameed Karra on Sunday said that he doesn't want to cast any aspersions before reading the final bill. "... I don't want to cast aspersions before reading the final bill. But speaking generally, any bill is a matter of 2-2.5 hours for them (central government). They raise slogans and make accusations, and bring Jawahar Lal Nehru and Indira Gandhi in between. They blame everything on Jawahar Lal Nehru. This (passing of 'One Nation One Election' bill) will also happen on the same pattern..." Karra told ANI. On Saturday, People's Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti criticized the NDA government, accusing it of destroying the Indian Constitution with its proposal for 'One Nation, One Election.' Speaking at the PDP General Council Meeting in Srinagar, Mufti said that India's federal structure was at risk due to the proposal. "Unfortunately, the NDA government is destroying the Constitution of India day by day. India is a federal country. There is a federal structure here. One Nation, One Election is undermining this federal structure," she said. Notably, Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will introduce The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024 in the Lok Sabha on December 16. "The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024: Arjun Ram Meghwal to move for leave to introduce a Bill further to amend the Constitution of India. Also to introduce the Bill," read the list of business. The first amendment bill aims to facilitate simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, while another bill seeks to synchronise assembly elections in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, and Puducherry. On December 12, the One Nation, One Election bill was approved by the Union Cabinet, paving the way for its introduction in Parliament. However, even before its formal tabling, the bill has sparked debates between ruling and opposition parties. While several parties of the INDIA bloc have opposed the bill, BJP-led NDA alliance parties have welcomed it, arguing that it would save time and establish a framework for unified elections across the country. Earlier in September, the Union Cabinet had approved the One Nation, One Election proposal, which seeks to hold simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, along with urban body and panchayat polls, within a span of 100 days. The recommendations were outlined in a report by a high-level panel chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind. Following the Cabinet's approval, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the decision, calling it a significant step towards strengthening India's democracy. (ANI) CHICAGO A toddler was hit by gunfire during an armed robbery Saturday afternoon in Little Italy. Chicago police said the incident happened at around 4:50 p.m. in the 1000 block of West 14th Street. COPA investigates early-morning West Side shooting near car with off-duty officers inside A 20-year-old man was in a parking lot when an unknown suspect approached him, pulled out a gun and demanded his belongings. The suspect then fired shots into the air, hitting a 3-year-old boy who was inside a nearby apartment, according to investigators. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police said the toddler was shot in the left ear and taken to Stroger Hospital in fair condition, while the 20-year-old robbery victim was not injured. No arrests have been made and Area Three Detectives are investigating. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. The News Tokyos city government will give staff a four-day week in an effort to boost Japans declining birth rate. The countrys population is expected to fall for the 16th year in a row, and municipal authorities hope that a four-on, three-off work schedule could make childcare easier and less expensive and, in turn, the thought of parenting less daunting. Several other Japanese jurisdictions have introduced similar measures, as have South Africa, Brazil, and Germany. A four-day week nonprofit that worked with the Tokyo government told the Financial Times that staff retention and productivity consistently improved, while sick days fell, after its introduction. A tornado touched down in the Northern California town of Scotts Valley near Santa Cruz Saturday afternoon, flipping cars and knocking down power lines, according to authorities. Several people were hurt, fire officials said. The National Weather Service classified it as a weak EF1 tornado that touched down at 1:39 p.m. at the corner of Mount Hermon Drive and Lockewood Lane. An NWS preliminary damage survey report posted Saturday night indicated the tornado lasted five minutes and winds were estimated to have peaked at about 90 mph. It traveled southeast for more than a quarter mile and was 30 yards wide, according to the report. Most of the severe damage was seen along Mount Hermon Road. Preliminary Damage Survey Conducted. EF1 tornado observed in Scotts Valley this afternoon, December 14, 2024. The most severe damage was observed along Mt Hermon Rd. Full info: https://t.co/RQIwRzlVFk #cawx #scottsvalley pic.twitter.com/gs48BsaVrr NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) December 15, 2024 Scotts Valley police initially posted an alert on social media advising residents to avoid the area following a multi-vehicle accident that had multiple power lines down and completely blocked the road in all directions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police later posted an update saying that witnesses reported it was not an accident "but rather a possible tornado" that touched down near the Target store at 270 Mount Hermon Drive "and threw multiple cars off the road." The Scotts Valley Fire Protection District told CBS News that four to five people were hurt in the weather event, sustaining minor to moderate injuries. At least two of those people were transported to hospitals. A Cal Fire spokesperson said a battalion chief was on duty when the tornado flipped over his vehicle. He's expected to be OK. Tornado damage in Scotts Valley, California. Dec. 14, 2024. / Credit: Scotts Valley Police Department Around 20 cars were believed to have been damaged, the fire district said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The National Weather Service had issued a severe thunderstorm warning in the area a short time before the tornado. Severe Thunderstorm Warning continues for Scotts Valley CA, Capitola CA and Soquel CA until 2:00 PM PST pic.twitter.com/guLKEZRLeJ NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) December 14, 2024 A later post on X by the Bay Area office of the National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado had occurred based on "video, photos, firsthand accounts, and radar signatures." Scotts Valley is a small town about six miles north of Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz County and a short distance off of State Highway 17. The tornado was just the latest extreme wind event connected to the powerful storm that passed through Northern California overnight. The first-ever tornado warning in San Francisco was issued by the National Weather Service early Saturday morning shortly before 6 a.m., alarming residents with a cell phone alert that woke many people up, according to reports on social media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While that tornado did not materialize, high winds were causing impacts across the region, including a city-wide power outage in the North Bay city of Novato and a full closure of Interstate 580 in both directions at the San Joaquin and Alameda county line after a multiple-vehicle collision involving a big rig due to high winds. Trump reportedly considering military action against Iran Why experts are telling people not to trade in their cars right now Growing number of drone sightings along East Coast causes confusion, alarm UPDATE: I-10 in East El Paso reopens after traffic incident UPDATE: I-10 West at Loop 375 has reopened, TxDOT said at about 1 p.m. Sunday. The highway had been closed down while police investigated a traffic incident. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) Interstate 10 is closed in East El Paso at a couple of spots, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. These are not regularly scheduled road closures, but for law enforcement to investigate a traffic incident, sources have told KTSM. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I-10 West at Don Haskins is closed because of law enforcement activity, TxDOT said. Motorists are being told to use Exit 34. The on-ramp to I-10 West along Gateway West at Eastlake is also closed, TxDOT said. I-10 West at Loop 377 was also shut down. The closure is expected to last three or four hours, TxDOT said. We have reached out to the El Paso Police Department and the El Paso County Sheriffs Office for further information. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Britain is beating its peers at signing free trade agreements, but does the Labour Government know how to use them? Today the UKs membership of Asia-Pacific trade bloc, CPTPP, comes into force. The Conservative government applied to join in June 2021. After intense negotiations, I signed the accession agreement in July 2023; and today, ratified and passed into law by Parliament, we become full members. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Contrast this with the EUs deal with the South American Mercosur bloc 25 years of negotiations to get to the deal they announced last week, and it still faces intense opposition in several member states, which might prevent it from ever coming into force. This is worth remembering as the Government constantly tries to edge us back into the EU. CPTPP, or as it is fully known, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, links the UK to some of the fastest-growing economies on the planet, removing tariffs and opening markets at a time when too many are closing their doors to Western countries. When I became trade secretary in 2022, joining CPTPP was my first priority. A real Brexit benefit to add to our deal with the EU, it would show that we could negotiate new trade deals without creating the problems that came from EU membership. Labour, of course, were constantly negative about the negotiations. It knew that signing this deal would stop us re-joining the EUs customs union. So why should Brits care about this deal? For a start, the Indo-Pacific region has 60 per cent of the worlds population and is set to account for the majority of global economic growth and around half of the worlds billion middle-class consumers in the decades ahead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CPTPP membership cuts costs and will make life cheaper. It was even welcomed by the National Farmers Union for providing opportunities to sell produce overseas. So much so, that the Canadian government was upset at how well Britain had done in the negotiations. It gives our car manufacturers better terms for rules of origin on parts and components that can add huge costs to vehicles we export. It also allows our world-leading financial services providers to trade across borders. From farms to fintech, I made sure that we secured the best possible terms for the UK without giving away our competitive advantage. Meanwhile, with their disastrous Budget, the Labour Government has shown it is intent on adding barriers to growth and introducing new costs for British businesses, costs that will be a drag on innovation and reduce our competitiveness. I fear that we are about to see how that affects people in real life as we face job losses, rent increases and price rises. Other countries are queuing up to join CPTPP, and as a member, the UK now has an important voice in that process. Its a process of geopolitical significance, as the bloc was originally conceived as a counterweight to Chinese power in the Pacific region, giving countries a free market alternative to closer economic ties with China. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In fact, its a sign of the CPTPPs success that China has itself now applied to join and I will be closely watching the Labour Governments position on how that application is handled, given its recent cozying up to Beijing. When I hear the Prime Minister talking about reparations for slavery, or paying to give away the Chagos Islands, it worries me that Labour has no serious foreign policy. The Labour Cabinets relentless rudeness about Donald Trump has also made a US trade deal harder than ever. Labour doesnt seem to understand that our security and prosperity are underpinned by strong trade links with like-minded partners. Links with countries that we are already close to such as Singapore, Japan and New Zealand that this deal will build on, and with fast-growing economies like Malaysia and Vietnam, where our exporters can break new ground. No doubt the Labour Government will try to take credit for Conservatives hard work in boosting trade with CPTPP. Almost all of its boasts since July have been as a result of policies that the Conservatives enacted, such as the returns agreement with Albania, or many of the investment wins at the International Investment Summit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sad truth is that to take full advantage of these new trade links, we need a low-tax, low-regulation economy, not one where the burden of Rachel Reevess disaster Budget stunts investment and our farmers fear for their very futures. The CPTPP is a ray of light in an otherwise gloomy economic outlook for our country, and I pay tribute to the contribution of our outgoing head trade negotiator, Sir Crawford Falconer, who did so much to deliver it. It says everything about Labours lack of interest in doing trade deals that one of their first acts was to dispense with the services of the UKs most experienced trade negotiator. But trade deals can only open up opportunities. The Government now needs to ensure that our firms are able to invest, grow and take advantage. If it can get out of the habit of opposing our Brexit benefits, it just might be able to do right by the people of this country. As Leader of the Opposition, I will certainly be holding the Government to account on this. Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP is leader of the Conservative Party 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. Responding to Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on the Rohingya issue, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi on Sunday accused him of inconsistency, claiming he was either lying earlier or is lying now. Addressing the media, Atishi reiterated her allegation that the Central government was responsible for settling Rohingyas in various parts of Delhi. "... He was either lying earlier, or he is lying now... The Rohingyas settled in different parts of Delhi are here entirely because of the Central government. They allowed them to enter India illegally; they crossed six states to reach Delhi. Once here, the Central government provided them with houses and officially facilitated their settlement. If resources are being used or there are reports of illegal activities involving these migrants, the responsibility lies solely with the BJP-led Central government," she said. Earlier, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Chief Minister Atishi of spreading "diversion, false narratives, and half-truths" regarding the rehabilitation of Rohingyas in Delhi. Puri asserted that facts about illegal Rohingya migrants were clarified promptly in a tweet, which he claimed the AAP had deliberately ignored. In a post on X, Puri wrote, "Aam Aadmi Party continues with its politics of diversion, false narratives, and half-truths. Facts and the actual position on illegal Rohingya migrants were immediately clarified through a tweet on the same day, which they selectively chose to ignore and continue to do so." He further claimed that "no Rohingya migrant" had been provided with a government house in Delhi. "The AAP government is the one facilitating illegal Rohingyas in Delhi," Puri alleged. "Contrary to their fabricated rhetoric, they have settled these migrants in large numbers, provided them with electricity and water, and even pay them Rs 10,000," his tweet stated. On Sunday, Atishi wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, accusing the BJP-led central government of settling a "large number" of "illegal Rohingya migrants" in Delhi without consulting the state government. Citing two older posts by Puri on X, Atishi alleged that this situation had been ongoing for several years. She urged the Union government to provide the Delhi government with a complete list of Rohingyas and their addresses. Additionally, she demanded that no further rehabilitation of Rohingyas in Delhi occur without consulting the Delhi government and its residents. (ANI) WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) President-elect Donald Trump announced Saturday that he's picked longtime foreign policy adviser Richard Grenell to serve as an envoy for special missions, tasking him with helping the incoming administration deal with some of the toughest foreign policy challenges. Grenell served as ambassador to Germany during Trumps first administration, special presidential envoy for Serbia and Kosovo peace negotiations, and did a stint as acting director of national intelligence. He was also a contender to serve as secretary of state, but Trump opted to nominate Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ric will work in some of the hottest spots around the World, including Venezuela and North Korea, Trump said in a posting on his social media platform, Truth Social, announcing the appointment. Grenell during Trump's first term developed a reputation for employing a sometimes contentious approach to diplomacy that rankled allies and the foreign policy establishment in Washington. But his style was appreciated by the president-elect who sees value in blunt talk with allies. Grenell remained close to Trump after he left office in 2021, serving at times as a key adviser on foreign policy. He was in the room when Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in September. Grenell has advocated for a peace deal that would preserve Ukraines territory while still allowing for autonomous regions where Russia could remain in control. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hes also advised against expanding NATO to include Ukraine, saying as Trump has that the alliance shouldnt grow until current members meet the alliance's defense spending targets. Members of the transatlantic alliance have committed for years to spending 2% of their GDP on defense, but several countries still fall short of the target. He was an early supporter of Trumps 2024 campaign and held multiple events for the Republican nominee focused on economics and national security. Speaking at the Republican National Convention, Grenell echoed Trumps mantra that its time to put America first on the global stage and argued that China and Russia saw President Joe Biden's administration as weak. Trump raised concerns among some allies during the 2024 campaign when he said he would not defend NATO members that failed to meet defense spending targets, and warned he would encourage Russia to do whatever the hell they want to alliance countries that he considered delinquent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Grenell has downplayed Trump's criticisms of NATO and said the only talk of leaving the alliance altogether was really from the media. What were saying is, dont come to the wedding without a gift, Grenell said. Grenell was part of the Trump campaign's outreach to Arab American voters in Michigan, where the president-elect made gains with a traditionally Democratic constituency despite his history of banning immigration from several majority-Muslim countries. Grenell orchestrated pro-Trump events with Arab American voters, including a May meeting held in Troy, Michigan. A U.S. spokesman at the United Nations during the George W. Bush administration, Grenell, like many other Republicans, has his own history of criticizing Trump before embracing him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Once an adviser to GOP moderates like 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney and a supporter of gay marriage, Grenell, who is openly gay, deleted social media posts blasting Trump as reckless and dangerous once the former reality TV star became the Republican nominee in 2016. Trump also announced Saturday that hes appointing Devin Nunes, the chief executive officer of the president-elect's Truth Social platform, to head a presidential advisory board that will keep tabs on the U.S. intelligence community. Nunes will continue leading Trump Media & Technology Group. Trump is the companys largest shareholder. The former California lawmaker chaired the House Intelligence Committee and was one of Trumps closest allies in Congress during the president-elect's first term. ___ Kinnard reported from Columbia, South Carolina. Pete Hegseth has pushed for years to steep American education in patriotic principles and Christian theology and he could implement that vision for thousands of military families if hes confirmed to lead the Defense Department. Tucked inside the Pentagons nearly $900 billion-per-year bureaucracy is a network of 161 schools in 11 countries, seven states, Guam and Puerto Rico. The Department of Defense Education Activity agency educates some 67,000 children of active-duty military and civilian service members. And unlike public school systems, which are driven largely by state and local policy, the DODEA is a high-profile example of a federally run education program conservatives have longed to restructure. If Hegseth weathers allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking and gets confirmed, he will have the opportunity to bend a key facet of the education system in his image. It would also be a way to resurrect the patriotic education blueprint Trump advanced during his first term and set an example Republican-led states can follow. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The federal government does have control over one major school districts curriculum that can be a model for our nation, said Max Eden, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute who is influential in conservative education circles that are pushing to revamp the Defense Departments schools. It could be huge. It could change the character of American education beyond DODEA, but for half the country. For Hegseth, Defense Department schools would be a new front for his yearslong campaign on American education. In his 2022 book, Battle for the American Mind, Hegseth and his co-author David Goodwin, president of the Association of Classical Christian Schools, discuss abandoning the country's education models. Hegseth, through a representative, declined to comment. Goodwin also declined to comment. I believe hes a good man. I believe God will use him, Goodwin wrote this month in a Substack post responding to the allegations facing Hegseth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The nominee has described the countrys public and private education system as infected with leftist ideology. Hegseth declared the government must purge critical race theory (and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives) from military academies. He has further urged families to abandon traditional schools in favor of classical education programs that are infused with great works of literature, plus the study of Greek, Latin and Christian beliefs intertwined with the American myth. Get your kids out of government school systems right now if you can, Hegseth said in November during an interview recorded with Shawn Ryan, a former Navy SEAL and conservative media personality. Save money. Move. Get a second job. Dont take the vacation. Sell the boat. Whatever. Drive for Uber. ... Because its about saving your kid right now. A new defense secretary would have power to install a new chain of command over the military school system, and use federal contracts to marshal consultants who write new curriculum, testing and teacher training standards. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hegseth, an Army veteran of deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, could enact the principles of the 1776 Commission that Trump created four years ago to promote patriotic education and counter lessons that he says divide Americans over race and slavery. In his 2022 book, Hegseth outlines the politics and policy of a conservative fight against public education and makes the case for more instruction on the fundamentals of Christian theology. Marxist teachers colleges pump out ideological teachers, left-wing teachers unions reign supreme, PTAs are neutered, school boards scared fully woke. Almost no school public or private seems safe. Conservatives and Christians are surrounded, Hegseth and Goodwin wrote. They argued political progressives and Marxists have conspired since the writing of the Pledge of Allegiance to oust Christianity from public education. They described a disease of wokeism that permeated Ivy League institutions and public universities. Curriculum, teacher training, and certification processes for the vast majority of K-12 schools are fully under the influence of a leftist agenda, they said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But in DODEA, Hegseth would be targeting a well-regarded school system whose students outperform the rest of the country on federal standardized tests. One education think tank labeled the system as The Relentless Improver earlier this year, in a report that outlined the schools deep historical roots and lauded extraordinarily disciplined, patient, and systematic approach to school improvement. The school system has served as a federal laboratory for universal pre-kindergarten programs promoted by the Biden administration. But its also been a recurring target for conservative politics. The House passed a $895 billion defense bill this month that bans the Pentagon from endorsing critical race theory in any DOD-run academic institutions. Prior congressional proposals have sought to prohibit funding from being used to enforce Covid-19 mask mandates or mandate vaccines as a prerequisite for attending Defense Department schools. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Conservative lawmakers and think tanks such as the Claremont Institute have further accused the agency of peddling "left-wing" ideology to students. At the end of the day, regardless of anything that happens externally to our schools, we will continue to remain focused on providing a world class education and supporting our military families, DODEA spokesperson Will Griffin said. We continue to remain focused on serving military connected students and their families. Military connected students are at the heart of everything we do, he said. The agency declined to comment on potential cabinet appointments, policy changes, and conservative politics. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If I were advising Hegseth, I would say lets transform DODEA into a classical school network and lets get away from the DEI, get away from the gender stuff, Eden said. And lets give our military service members a world-class education that American parents are scrambling to get into but they cant because were not there yet as a country. Those ideas could then take hold across the country. What I could see unfolding politically is a patriotic curriculum inspired by Trumps 1776 Commission when it's fully fleshed out and developed is implemented in the DODEA schools, Eden said. And spreads state by state until half of American states, because I don't expect blue states to like this very much, have a patriotic curriculum. President-elect Trump announced a new round of picks for his incoming administration on Saturday ahead of his inauguration in January. He announced Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes to be chairman of the Presidents Intelligence Advisory Board, IBM executive Troy Edgar to be deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), businessman Bill White to serve as ambassador to Belgium, former acting director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell as Presidential Envoy for Special Missions, and Edward Sharp Welsh as ambassador to Ireland. While continuing his leadership of Trump Media & Technology Group, Devin will draw on his experience as former Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and his key role in exposing the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, to provide me with independent assessments of the effectiveness and propriety of the U.S. Intelligence Communitys activities, Trump wrote in a statement posted to Truth Social. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nunes, a Republican, previously served as a congressman for the state of California. He also chaired the House Intelligence Committee from 2015 to 2019, where he oversaw the 2016 investigation into Russian election interference. In 2022, the former congressman resigned from office to run Trumps media and technology company, which underscored Trumps looming presence in Washington, even after his 2020 election defeat. This announcement comes after allegations emerged earlier this fall that Nunes mismanaged finances at the company, as reported by ProPublica. Edgars nomination comes after a stint as the chief financial officer and associate deputy under secretary of the DHS, where he oversaw a $90 billion budget and managed 240,000 employees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was previously the Mayor of Los Alamitos, California, where he helped me lead the City and County revolt against Sanctuary Cities in 2018, the former president wrote in a post on Truth Social. I am very excited to have Troy on our team, as he will help us Make America Great Again! Trump added to the extensive list of businessmen in his administration with Whites appointment, who was a large donor throughout the 2024 presidential election cycle. He is the CEO of Constellations Group, and former President of the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. Bill has worked tirelessly to support Great American Patriots who have given everything for our Country by raising over $1.5 Billion Dollars for our fallen heroes, catastrophically wounded, and severely burned Service Members, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement White was previously accused of being involved in a state pension scandal while leading Intrepid in New York. He stepped down ahead of a pending investigation from Andrew Cuomo, who was serving as the New York attorney general at the time. Another pick Trump announced on Saturday is Richard Grenell, who served in the past Trump administration as former acting director of National Intelligence of the United States. Trump announced that Richard Grenell would serve as the Presidential Envoy for Special Missions in a Saturday statement. I am pleased to announce Richard Allen Grenell as our Presidential Envoy for Special Missions, Trump wrote on Truth Social. Ric will work in some of the hottest spots around the World, including Venezuela and North Korea, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Grenell also previously served as Presidential Envoy for Kosovo-Serbia Negotiations and the United States Ambassador to Germany during Trumps first term in office. He also worked for the United Nations Security Council. Ric will continue to fight for Peace through Strength, and always put AMERICA FIRST. Congratulations Ric, Trump concluded in the post. Trump also announced Edward Sharp Welsh, president of the construction services company the Walsh Company, to serve as Ambassador to Ireland. Edward is the President of the Walsh Company, a very successful nationwide construction and real estate firm, Trump wrote in a Saturday post on Truth Social. He is a great philanthropist in his local community, and previously served as the Chairman of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority Board, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president commended Sharp on his golfing skills and called him an asset for the ambassador role. Do well Ed, Trump concluded in his post. Updated at 8:33 p.m. EST. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. President-elect Trump is signaling he plans to lean on appointed czars to carry out his plans in key policy areas, specifically when it comes to immigration and energy production, centralizing power within the White House. One of Trumps first appointments after winning Novembers election was Tom Homan as border czar. He has since said Doug Burgum, his nominee for Interior secretary, would serve as energy czar, and venture capitalist David Sacks has been tasked as a czar for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency. The decision to appoint czars for those subject areas underscores Trumps desire to both show he is prioritizing issues like immigration and energy, and to avoid relying on Senate-confirmed nominees at sprawling agencies to implement his agenda. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The creation of czars can at least, even if Trump is bound to use preexisting legal authority to affect change in these policy areas, it does politically help them because this signals to the media and the public that these are important areas, said Mitch Sollenberger, a professor at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and author of the book The Presidents Czars: Undermining Congress and the Constitution. Trumps decision to name Homan as border czar came within days of winning the election. The move signaled how Trump intended to follow through on his immigration pledges from the campaign trail, namely his calls for mass deportations of those in the country illegally. Homan, a former top official at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has already been omnipresent on Fox News, appearing on the network regularly to discuss his trips to the southern border and meeting with local officials, including New York City Mayor Eric Adams this week. Trump in recent interviews has signaled mass deportations will begin on his first day in office, though it is expected to be a logistically and financially complicated undertaking. Another of Trumps major campaign pledges was to bring down energy costs by increasing drilling. For that, he has tapped North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) for the dual role of Interior secretary and energy czar. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Burgum is expected to lead a newly formed National Energy Council, which Trump said will oversee all Departments and Agencies involved in the permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation, transportation, of ALL forms of American Energy. And Trump has chosen David Sacks, a Silicon Valley billionaire, to serve as his czar on the emerging areas of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency. Sacks will also lead the Presidential Council of Advisors for Science and Technology, Trump said. Trump has become increasingly friendly to the cryptocurrency industry, and he and his family have launched their own digital currency. But the AI and crypto spaces are still largely unregulated, and Sacks could play a key role in helping to develop guidelines for those industries moving forward. There are other officials joining Trumps administration without the title of czar but who may be accountable only to Trump, such as Peter Navarro on trade issues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hes not the first president to do this, right, and what it does is centralize White House power and authority, a Republican lobbyist told The Hill. What it does necessarily is it continues the reduction of power of the Cabinet officials. You have this rim of people who, many of whom accumulate their own staff, they have a direct line to the president, they speak to with authority, potentially for the president, the lobbyist added. Trumps reliance on czars is not new for a president. Presidents have for decades used czars, both through official titles and through more formal appointments that are branded as czars. William Bennett was the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy during the George H.W. Bush administration, but was known as the drug czar. Then-President Barack Obama tapped Ron Klain to coordinate the federal response to Ebola, though Klain was informally known as the Ebola czar. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump himself tapped Dr. Moncef Slaoui as a coronavirus vaccine czar in 2020 to help carry out Operation Warp Speed. Sollenberger noted that the increasing reliance on czars can help centralize power within the White House. It can also allow a president to install officials who may otherwise struggle to win Senate confirmation, and it can make congressional oversight more difficult both because White House appointees may enjoy more privilege when it comes to testimony, and because their roles may not be as defined as a Cabinet official. If you step back from the czars moniker itself, this is about presidential management of the executive branch, Sollenberger said. Its the policy and the political. You combine those two with this solution, Sollenberger said. You bring something to light, you give it its own spotlight, and it has the attraction at least for presidents that they can do that while not necessarily having to go through traditional pathways of affecting policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. President-elect Trumps extended family will fill his inner circle during his second term while his immediate family members step back from formal roles, a change in dynamics from his first administration. Trump gave the fathers-in-law of two of his daughters an ambassadorship and an adviser role, and named his sons ex-girlfriend to another ambassadorship. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., the president-elects sons, will likely continue their public messaging for their father while his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, has the backing from the president-elect to grow her political career. But, in a glaring difference from his first term, President-elect Trumps daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner arent expected to take on formal titles, despite previously serving as senior advisers during Trumps first four years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some political observers say keeping the family close in politics could prove to be a double-edged sword. The family members hes appointing are extremely loyal, so that sort of makes sense from the perspective of how Donald Trump does things, said Peter Loge, a professor of politics at George Washington University and a senior adviser with the Food and Drug Administration during the Obama administration. But Im not sure its the best way to run a country. Still, several of Trumps extended family members are expected to pepper the administration in several forms. They include Charles Kushner, Ivankas father-in-law who was picked to serve as the U.S. ambassador to France, and Massad Boulos father-in-law to the president-elects daughter Tiffany as senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kimberly Guilfoyle, who previously was in a relationship with Donald Trump Jr. before the two recently broke up, was named ambassador to Greece in the president-elects second term. I think its what to expect here personal relationships, loyalty defined by family, connectivity, matter a lot to him, and so its not surprising that whether its Kushner or Kimberly Guilfoyle I think the consistent thing here is that the president is really loyal to people who are loyal to him, a Republican lobbyist said. A former Trump campaign official noted that the president-elect has always been about loyalty and trust to him. Those married into the family, you can assume check those boxes. Melania Trumps role as first lady may also look different from the way it did during the first term after she was all but absent from the campaign trail during the 2024 race, only making notable public appearances during the Republican National Convention and on Election Day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And their son, Barron Trump, wont be living at the White House with his father in Washington, D.C., because he is in college at New York University. But unlike his mother, Barron made his mark on the 2024 campaign when he reportedly helped as the voice of a younger generation to advocate for his father to join popular podcasts. GOP strategist Brian Seitchik said it shouldnt come as a surprise that there will be a heavy family involvement in the next administration after President-elect Trump kept relatives in his inner circle during his first term. If you look at Trumps business life and his political life, he has always leaned on family for counsel. So this should be no different, Seitchik said. Another Republican strategist argued that picking family members doesnt mean the president-elect isnt going with some of the best and the brightest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think sometimes the hubbub is more because its Donald Trump, the strategist said of criticism about Trumps picks. But Loge argued that even though some of the family members Trump is elevating may have the experience or expertise to take on top roles, the appearance of impropriety also matters. Trumps decisions to work his family into his political machine notably sparked accusations of nepotism during his first term. If youre putting your family members into senior positions, no matter how qualified, the publics gonna ask, Hey, did they get the job because theyre good, or because theyre related to the boss? And its bad for public trust in public institutions, Loge said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump isnt the first president to appoint family members to top roles in their administrations. Former President Kennedy, for one, appointed his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, as U.S. attorney general in the 60s and his brother-in-law, R. Sargent Shriver, to lead the Peace Corps. A few years later, Congress passed an anti-nepotism law. Nepotism has been part of American politics from the beginning. Congress is full of people whose parents or uncles or other relatives either were elected officials or certain senior staff positions, Loge said, pointing to the Kennedy family. But with Trumps second term, the brakes appear to be off. President Biden made a point at the start of his term to promise, in an interview alongside first lady Jill Biden, that no one in their family or extended family would be involved in any government undertaking or hold an office in this place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But, the first lady has been a part of many of the big decisions the president has made and was especially in the spotlight when he refused to drop out of the 2024 race before ultimately announcing he would. The presidents son, Hunter Biden, who often joined his father on unofficial travel on Air Force One, has also been a target of Republican attacks during the administration over his legal issues. President Biden recently pardoned him following a weekend spent with family in Nantucket after insisting for months that he wouldnt, in a move that will define Bidens presidency. You look at other families: Have they been involved in making policy decisions, or making decisions about people who will set policy? And the answer is generally no, said Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf. Have we ever seen anything like this? The answer is not likely, not at least in the last 50, 60 years. Trumps two adult sons, Eric and Donald Jr., are expected to play an outsized role in touting their fathers accomplishments, including on Fox News and through statements online. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ivanka Trump, the president-elects oldest daughter, served as executive vice president of the Trump Organization before joining her fathers first administration as a senior adviser alongside her husband. They both waived government salaries. Shes since taken a step back from politics, was notably absent on the 2024 campaign trail and isnt expected to join a second Trump term. Ivanka, as well as Trumps youngest daughter Tiffany, showed up in New York this week when the president-elect rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange after he was named Times Person of the Year. They also were both with him on election night. Jared Kushner is still seen as a key voice for President-elect Trump on the Middle East but is reportedly unlikely to take a formal role. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A White House job is a tough one, Loge said, and the last Trump administration was no stranger to chaos. I can absolutely see someone who served in the first administration saying, We were proud to serve, but were gonna take a back seat this time,' Loge 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 The Hill. The former US ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, is set to become the envoy for special missions for President-elect Donald Trump. "Ric will work in some of the hottest spots around the World, including Venezuela and North Korea," Trump wrrote on Sunday on his social media platform Truth Social. "Ric will continue to fight for Peace through Strength, and always put AMERICA FIRST," he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During his time in Berlin, where Trump sent him in 2018 during his first term as president, Grenell often criticized his host country and its leader, former chancellor Angela Merkel, complaining about what he said was Germany's insufficient financial contribution to the NATO defence alliance. Even after his tenure, Grenell, 58, frequently criticized Germany. When the Foreign Office mocked a Trump statement by from an election campaign TV debate on platform X, Grenell called the post election interference. Trump loyalist Grenell had previously been considered as a potential secretary of state, but that nomination went to Florida Senator Marco Rubio. On Saturday, Trump announced that former California Republican congressman Devin Nunes, another Trump loyalist, will head the future presidential intelligence advisory board - and also keep his current job as Truth Social's chief executive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Nunes was involved in confronting the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) over allegations that Russia helped Trump win the 2016 election. Trump has consistently rejected that, calling it the "Russia hoax." Lengthy investigations by special counsel Robert Mueller and his team concluded that Russia did interfere in the 2016 election but they did not find that Trump or anyone in his campaign had colluded with the Russians on that. By Maayan Lubell and Jeff Mason JERUSALEM/WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump about developments in Syria and a recent push to secure the release of Israeli and foreign hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, he said on Sunday. Netanyahu said he spoke with Trump on Saturday night about the issue, which will loom large as one of the main foreign challenges facing Trump when he takes office if it is not resolved before he is sworn in on Jan. 20. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and abducted more than 250, including Israeli-American dual nationals, during their Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, according to Israeli tallies. More than 100 hostages have been freed through negotiations or Israeli military rescue operations. Of the 100 still held in Gaza, roughly half are believed to be alive. Israel's response has killed almost 45,000 people, mostly civilians, according to authorities in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, displaced nearly the entire population and left much of the enclave in ruins. Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, warned last week during a visit to the region that it would "not be a pretty day" if the hostages held in Gaza were not released before Trump's inauguration. Trump said earlier this month there would be "hell to pay" in the Middle East if the hostages were not released before he came into office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Trump spokesperson on Sunday declined to give further details about the call. A bid by Egypt, Qatar and the United States to reach a truce that would also include a hostage deal has gained momentum in recent weeks. Netanyahu said he had spoken with Trump about efforts to secure a hostage release. "We discussed the need to complete Israel's victory and we spoke at length about the efforts we are making to free our hostages," he said. President Joe Biden's outgoing administration is working hard to achieve a deal. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan, who was in the region last week, said on Thursday he believed a deal on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release may be close, and deputy national security adviser Jon Finer told Reuters there was momentum in the process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Netanyahu said he and Trump had also discussed the situation in Syria following the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on Syria's strategic weapons stockpiles in the days since Assad's ouster and moved troops into a demilitarised zone inside Syria. "We have no interest in a conflict with Syria," Netanyahu said in a statement. Israeli actions in Syria were intended to "thwart the potential threats from Syria and to prevent the takeover of terrorist elements near our border," he said. (Reporting by Maayan Lubell and Jeff Mason; Editing by Ross Colvin and Bill Berkrot) Richard Grenell, former U.S. ambassador to Germany, will serve as President-elect Donald Trump's "special missions envoy," Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Dec. 14. In his post, Trump stated that Ric will work in some of the hottest spots around the World, including Venezuela and North Korea [and] ... will continue to fight for Peace through Strength, and always put America first. The New York Times describes Grenell as a loyalist known for unbridled social media attacks on Mr. Trumps perceived critics." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He previously served as U.S. Ambassador to Germany during Trumps first term, as acting National Intelligence Director in 2020, and as Special Presidential Envoy for Serbia and Kosovo Peace Negotiations from 2019 to 2021. Grenells name emerged during Trumps selection process for the U.S. Ukraine peace envoy, where he was a prominent contender, though the role ultimately went to Keith Kellogg. Michael OHanlon, director of research in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution, told the Kyiv Independent that he was more hopeful about Kelloggs selection, contrasting him with Grenell, whom he described as more radical. Ukrainian analyst Volodymyr Fesenko agreed, noting that Grenell is more radical and more inclined to apply strong pressure [to Ukraine]. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Grenell's perspective on Ukraine is consistent with the "peace through strength" approach, which involves leveraging military power, economic pressure, and assertive diplomacy to deter aggression and secure peace, as Trump's advisor Robert C. OBrien elaborated in Foreign Affairs in June 2024. In 2022, he applauded Elon Musks controversial peace proposal but called for an even stronger [peace] deal. Musks plan, which proposed Ukraines neutrality, recognition of Crimea as Russian, and a UN-supervised vote on other occupied territories, ignited widespread criticism. By July 2024, Grenell suggested that peace in Ukraine could involve creating autonomous zones, though he did not provide details. Autonomous regions can mean a lot of things to a lot of people, but you got to work through those details, he said. Grenell also expressed the belief that Ukraine should delay its NATO membership ambitions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It remains unclear what priorities and actions this newly created role will entail, as it currently has no established precedent. Read also: Trumps pick for Ukraine envoy backs peace through strength, security guarantees Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his speech in Parliament, Congress leader Harish Rawat on Sunday said that he keeps criticizing everyone and considers them a demerit. "Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister of the country but he sees everyone except himself and his party as demerit and corrupt and he keeps criticizing them. That is why his words as the Prime Minister are not given as much seriousness as they should have been...," Rawat told ANI. Earlier today, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh criticised PM Modi's speech in Parliament, saying he should focus on addressing present challenges rather than invoking Jawaharlal Nehru to distract from his failures. Ramesh alleged that PM Modi has an "obsession" with Nehru, using him to divert attention from current issues. He questioned why the Prime Minister didn't discuss pressing concerns like the India-China border situation, communal tensions and farmers' protests and termed it as an election speech. Speaking to ANI, Ramesh said, "The PM keeps disrespecting Jawaharlal Nehru to hide his shortcomings... Whenever PM Modi speaks in the parliament he proves that he can never speak the truth even by mistake....Yesterday he spoke a lot of lies and he is an expert in giving new shape to history...He spoke about emergency, isn't there an undeclared emergency today? There is an atmosphere of fear, politics of threats...Yesterday's speech in Lok Sabha was an election speech...He is silent on Adani, farmers' protests, and communal tensions in the state. They gave a clean chit to China in 2020..." The Prime Minister on the 75 years of the Constitution had launched a scathing attack against Congress on Saturday and said, "One family of Congress left no stone unturned in hurling a blow to the Constitution". PM Modi had also said that when India was celebrating 25 years of the Constitution, it "was torn apart" and an Emergency was imposed. The special two-day debate in Lok Sabha on 75 years of the Constitution concluded on Saturday. (ANI) President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday named Devin Nunes, the CEO of Trumps TruthSocial platform, as chairman of the Presidents Intelligence Advisory Board. I am pleased to announce that I will appoint TruthSocial CEO Devin Nunes as Chairman of the Presidents Intelligence Advisory Board, which consists of distinguished citizens from outside of the Federal Government, Trump announced on TruthSocial. Nunes, a key Trump ally and former representative from California, left Congress in 2021 to become the CEO of Trump Media and Technology Group, which runs TruthSocial. During his time in Congress, Nunes chaired the House Intelligence Committee and was one of Trumps most staunch allies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As chair of the Intelligence Committee, Nunes released a memo in 2018 alleging an FBI conspiracy against Trump and raising questions about the bureaus surveillance of one of Trumps 2016 campaign aides. The memo received pushback from some Democrats, who called it deliberately misleading. Trump also wrote: While continuing his leadership of Trump Media & Technology Group, Devin will draw on his experience as former Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and his key role in exposing the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, to provide me with independent assessments of the effectiveness and propriety of the U.S. Intelligence Communitys activities. Congratulations Devin! The advisory board is an independent group within the executive office that provides the president with independent advice on the effectiveness of the intelligence community. The board has direct access to information it needs to make decisions and to communicate with the president. Nunes will remain CEO of TruthSocial while serving on the advisory board, Trump said Saturday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nunes appointment is the latest in a line of administration picks with ties to Trumps media company. Linda McMahon, Trumps pick for the Department of Education, and Kash Patel, his pick for FBI director, both sit on the companys board of directors. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com There is palpable fear that Donald Trump's upcoming presidency will, as he repeatedly promised during the 2024 campaign, bring systemic suppression of free speech and criminalization of dissent. In his victory speech, Trump called the media "the enemy of the people," a recurring refrain of his political career. His nominee to head the FBI, Kash Patel, has called for the prosecution of journalists and leakers. I know what this looks like first-hand: I have represented national security and intelligence whistleblowers across the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations who've been investigated or prosecuted for leaking government secrets to the press. Those secrets revealed "dark ops" like torture, extraordinary rendition, mass domestic surveillance and drone assassinations. Many of these programs were later deemed to be illegal, unconstitutional or both. In an inversion of the standard judicial paradigm, government employees and contractors who revealed these extrajudicial activities were the ones subject to criminal investigation and prosecution. Even more concerning, they were charged under a draconian World War I-era law called the Espionage Act. Despite its name, the law has rarely been used against actual spies. Instead, it has almost exclusively been deployed against public servants to stifle internal dissent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Espionage Act is an ideal weapon for Trumps retribution toolkit. In one of the ultimate dark ironies of this era, Trump himself has been charged under this law and knows its blunt force at first hand. His administration wielded the Espionage Act against FBI whistleblower Terry Albury, who revealed surveillance of journalists, religious and ethnic minorities and immigrant communities. Under Trump, the Justice Department also used this law to prosecute Air Force veteran Reality Winner, who disclosed Russias attempts at election interference. The Espionage Act's most recent victim is Daniel Hale, a veteran of the Afghan war who exposed the brutally inaccurate targeting of drone strikes and the extent of unreported or under-reported civilian casualties. More troubling still, Trump expanded the Espionage Acts use in charging WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for activities that can reasonably be described as ordinary journalistic practice. Joe Biden's administration could have closed the door on this dangerous law, either through a legislative fix or by standing down in court cases, but did not, instead allowing the problematic prosecutions against Hale and Assange to continue. The most insidious part of this law and the part that may appeal to Donald Trump the most is its built-in provisions of secrecy. During the pre-trial phase, discovery takes place in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, or SCIF, an enclosed, government-controlled room for dealing with allegedly classified information that has supposedly been leaked. This hermetically sealed, windowless room is the only place where attorneys and their clients can discuss the evidence. Cell phones, personal laptops and even legal pads are prohibited. After that, legal proceedings under the Espionage Act largely transpire away from the eyes of the public, thanks to national security secrecy rules in effect, creating a modern-day Star Chamber. Preliminary hearings transpire behind closed doors. In one especially Kafkaesque incident, I was even shut out of a hearing on dispositive motions for my client, Daniel Hale, even though there was no classified information at issue. The "public" docket, a formal record of all the proceedings and filings in the case, sheds no additional light, consisting largely of pleadings that are filed ex parte (that is, by only one side) and under seal, for what is called "in camera review" (meaning for the judges eyes alone). Once the process reaches open court, further barriers arise. The Classified Information Procedures Act allows the government to create substitutions for secret information, such as summaries or redacted versions that can be used in court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These procedures can sometimes border on the bizarre, beyond George Orwell's imagination. In the prosecution of NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake, the government tried to invoke the silent witness rule, which would require the judge, the jury and the opposing lawyers to speak in code words indecipherable to the public. In that case, the government even tried to preclude the usage of the terms "whistleblowing" and "First Amendment." Finally, the Espionage Act is a strict liability law, meaning that a defendants intentions whether salutary, malevolent, purely selfish or some combination thereof are entirely irrelevant. It doesnt matter whether disclosures were made because the whistleblower believed that the public had a right to know what the government was doing in secret, or were made for fame, personal profit or petty revenge. No public interest defense is available, meaning that a defendant cannot explain at trial that their disclosure of information even if it demonstrated illegal, unethical or morally troubling conduct by the government was something the public needed to hear about. In fact, defendants cannot talk about their motives, benevolent or otherwise, until they face sentencing once theyve already been found guilty. Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course. The fact that Trump himself has been charged under this law is likely to embolden him, not deter him. Both of our political parties bear responsibility for the looming crackdown on media sources and journalists who have spoken out against abuses of power. In a permanent stain on Barack Obamas legacy, his Justice Department revived the long-dormant Espionage Act and used it to prosecute more whistleblowers than all previous presidents combined. That created a dangerous precedent that has subsequently been used to normalize the prosecution of so-called leakers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump's DOJ further expanded the Espionage Acts use during his first term with the indictment of Assange, which sought to criminalize such typical journalistic activities as cultivating a source, protecting their identity and using encrypted messaging. The Biden administration aggressively continued the Assange case, which ended in a plea bargain and the first-ever Espionage Act conviction for a publisher. Trump is likely to use a range of more obvious press suppression methods, such as defamation lawsuits, the revocation of FCC licenses, and the repeal of Justice Department regulations that restrict subpoenas for media outlets' proprietary information and internal records. But the table has been set for the incoming Trump administration to unleash the far stealthier and constitutionally dubious tools of the Espionage Act to prosecute media sources and journalists as part of his revenge campaign to go after "enemies within." It is worth remembering that this pernicious law was most famously abused when a corrupt president deployed it several decades ago against a legendary whistleblower. That president was Richard Nixon, and that whistleblower was Daniel Ellsberg, who released the Pentagon Papers to reporters and ranked near the top of Nixon's infamous enemies list. That is a cautionary tale we should not forget. We must be wary of this deeply flawed law being used by a president who, by his own admission, is hellbent on retaliation against media critics and perceived political enemies. If the past is prologue, the danger that press freedom may fall victim to personal vendettas is real. President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday announced that former Ambassador to Germany and top loyalist Richard Grenell will serve as a presidential envoy for special missions, ending weeks of speculation about the bombastic allys role in the second Trump administration. In a Truth Social post, Trump said that his former acting director of national intelligence and special envoy for dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo will work in some of the hottest spots around the World, including Venezuela and North Korea. The scope of the newly created position is unclear and the Trump transition team did not respond to a request for further details. Given the apparent focus on global flashpoints, It is possible Grenells portfolio could include Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Haiti or any number of other crises. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The announcement solves the mystery of the role Grenell would occupy in the second Trump administration, after Grenells name was conspicuously absent for the torrent of early senior administration and cabinet roles. Grenell had pushed to be named secretary of State, but lost out to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, frustrating more right-leaning foreign policy voices. He also turned down the role of director of national intelligence. Speculation had then turned to the question of whether Grenell would be appointed to be a special envoy for Iran or the Russia-Ukraine crisis, or receive a high-profile ambassadorship. In recent days, Trump had signaled the loyalist would end up with an important post. Trump on Wednesday night posted on Truth Social that: Richard Grenell is a fabulous person, A STAR. He will be someplace, high up! Grenells position could set him up for conflict with Rubio and it was not clear from the announcement how Grenells role will interact with the State Department. Trumps post did not specify whether Grenell would face a confirmation process. Special envoys, by law, must receive Senate confirmation, but the Biden administration has at times gotten around that by tweaking job descriptions. Grenell, a pugilistic defender of the president-elect, could face some criticism from lawmakers, but is still likely to be confirmed if he faces a Senate confirmation process. Donald Trump continues to pick for his second administration his closest allies and loyalists, including the likes of Elon Musk and Pete Hegseth. MSNBC's Jonathan Capehart explains how this "team of toadies" puts a stain on the legacy of Republican President Abraham Lincoln and his "team of rivals" that helped America survive the Civil War. Mike Waltz, Donald Trumps nominee for National Security Adviser, has said that the world would welcome "some form of cessation" of hostilities in Ukraine, referring to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbans proposal for a "Christmas truce". Source: Waltz on CBS News, as reported by European Pravda Details: Commenting on Trumps recent meeting with Orban in the US and the Hungarian prime ministers truce idea, Waltz said he hoped that "the entire world would want to see some type of cessation to the slaughter that is happening in eastern Ukraine". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote: "We need to stop the fighting. And, you know, look, if that is some type of ceasefire as a first step, again, we'll take a hard look at what that means." Waltz declined to give any details about the Trump administration's future policies on Ukraine. Quote: "Well, you know, what's been so interesting is, just since the election, everyone coming to us, our European allies, President Zelenskyy in that meeting, and others, have shifted to how to that framework How do we end this conflict?" Background: On 11 December, Orban claimed that Hungary had proposed a Christmas ceasefire and a large-scale prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had allegedly rejected the idea. Later, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto effectively confirmed that this was untrue, as Orban had not spoken with Zelenskyy and thus could not have known whether the Ukrainian president had rejected the proposal. Trumps team is known to be working on a plan to halt the fighting in Ukraine and is discussing this with the current US administration and Ukrainian representatives. Support UP or become our patron! A former US attorney general who stepped down in 2017 when Donald Trump dismissed dozens of Obama-era holdovers has attacked his pick for chairman of the Presidents Intelligence Advisory Board as deeply disturbing. Barbara McQuade, who was an attorney in the Eastern District of Michigan, said his choice of Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes for the role presented a clear problem for the government. This is a shocking, astonishing, disturbing fill in your descriptor here conflict of interest, she said on MSNBC on Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She described the role as being one of tantamount importance and deep influence. As chairman, Devin Nunes will have access to all of the intelligence that is gathered by the intelligence community. The idea is that he is supposed to be the presidents eyes and ears over the intelligence community, she said. The political strategist and former Republican Party member Rick Wilson, who appeared alongside McQuade on the show, said the choice was no shock and that Nunes was a crony whose company Truth Social was funded by foreign parties, which left him in a hell of a compromised position. In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, president-elect Trump announced Nunes' nomination and said he would play a role in exposing the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Truth Social is owned by Trump Media & Technology Grou and its stocks are traded publicly. McQuade also did not mince her words as she agreed with Wilsons analysis. With that information, and simultaneously serving as the head of Truth Social, it means he has the ability to post things he shouldnt know but also as Rick Wilson points out, the fact that Truth Social receives funding from foreign governments, while they are also targets of our intelligence, is deeply disturbing, If someone had to go through a routine background investigation, those conflicts would be flagged with screaming sirens and I would imagine that most presidents, most offices of personnel management would find him to be a nonstarter. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) suggested that the Republican Party ended up with a razor-thin majority in the upcoming Senate term because the GOP took our eye off the ball. We took our eye off the ball We should have 56, 57 Republican senators. But things were done the wrong way in a lot of these states, Tuberville told John Catsimatidis on his radio show, Cats Roundtable on WABC 770 AM. The GOP secured a slight majority, 53 to 47, in the upper chamber following Election Day, which includes independents who generally caucus with Democrats. Republicans entered the election cycle as favorites to recapture the Senate, as Democrats had to defend 23 seats including four rated as toss-ups and one rated lean Republican while Republicans only had to worry about 11 seats, all in states that supported Trump in 2016 and 2020. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate Democrats faced an uphill battle toward control of the upper chamber prior to Election Day as Republican candidates in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan were quickly closing the gap. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) is set to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as Senate majority leader. Tuberville said that underlying elections in Nevada, Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin were to blame for the small majority in the upper chamber. If you look at the underlying elections one in Nevada, one in Arizona, one in Michigan, and one in Wisconsin all four of those were in play for the Republicans right at the end. In fact, two of them were way ahead, and they lost in the last few days, Tuberville said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) ended up beating her Republican opponent Eric Hovde by less than 1 percentage point as the race became increasingly tight in the days before the election, according to a polling aggregate from The Hill/Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ). In Nevada, Sen. Jacky Rosen (D) beat Republican Sam Brown by less than 2 percentage points, according to polling from The Hill/DDHQ. In Arizona, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Republican Kari Lake faced off in a close race, with Gallego ultimately beating Lake, 50.1 percent to 47.7 percent, according to polling from The Hill/DDHQ. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) beat her Republican rival, former Rep. Mike Rogers by less than half a percentage point, according to polling from The Hill/DDHQ. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The Government has made diplomatic contact with the rebel group that toppled the Assad regime in Syria. It comes after the US said overnight that it had also made direct contact with the rebels, following earlier reports that Joe Biden had sent messages to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) via Turkey. David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, said the UK had made contact as he announced 50 million of humanitarian aid for Syria. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said that HTS, which now runs most of Syria, remained a banned terrorist organisation, but that Britain can have diplomatic contact and so we do have diplomatic contact, as you would expect. Part of the new UK aid would go to chemical weapons inspectors working in Syria, Mr Lammy said. Israel has been bombing depots to prevent the weapons from falling into the hands of rebels. Mr Lammy said: We want to see a representative government, an inclusive government. We want to see chemical weapons stockpiles secured, and not used, and we want to ensure that there is not continuing violence. For all of those reasons, using all the channels that we have available, and those are diplomatic and of course intelligence-led channels, we seek to deal with HTS where we have to. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement France, meanwhile, announced on Sunday that it would send a diplomatic mission to Syria to make first contact with the rebels. The French mission would be the first from a Western power as allies contemplate lifting sanctions and engaging. On Sunday, Turkey also offered to give military training to the Islamist-led rebels governing Syria the latest move by Ankara to position itself to take a major role in the countrys future. Yasar Guler, the Turkish defence minister, said his country would give the support if the new administration requests it. He added that the rebel government should be given a chance after assurances that it would respect governmental institutions and international organisations, such as the UN. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Turkey, a Nato member, backed some of the Syrian rebels who toppled Bashar al-Assads regime last weekend, ending almost 14 years of civil war. Ibrahim Kalin, Ankaras intelligence chief, then visited Damascus on Thursday for talks with the new rebel leadership, according to the Syrian information ministry. Yasar Guler, the Turkish defence minister, said his country would give military training if the new administration requests it - Johanna Geron/Reuters Turkeys engagement with the new Syrian authorities comes amid uncertainty over Russias future there, and as Western countries consider working with the rebels. HTS, which led the rebels who seized Damascus last week, is attempting to transition from a militant insurgency to a more legitimate governing authority, but is still designated as a terrorist organisation by countries including the US and the UK. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said over the weekend that Washington had made direct contact with the rebels, following earlier reports that Joe Biden sent messages to HTS via Turkey. Britain last week suggested that it would reconsider HTSs proscribed status, as it is currently legally impossible for the Government to work with the group. US contact with HTS also underscores international efforts to support Syrias transition and stabilise the country. Russia, meanwhile, a key backer of the Assad regime, has been withdrawing troops from parts of northern Syria in recent days. Sources told Reuters, however, that Moscow did not intend to abandon its two major bases in the country. The Kremlin claims it is in discussions with Syrias new government over the Tartus naval port, Russias only Mediterranean repair and resupply hub, and the Hmeimim air base, a major staging post for military and mercenary activity in Africa. Video reportedly shows Russian troops pouring into Khmeimim airbase in Syria | Credit: SameralAtrush/X Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The growing relationship between Ankara and the new Syrian government will be a cause for concern in Aanes, the Kurdish-led autonomous region in the north-east of the country, where Turkish-backed rebels have been carrying out an offensive against Kurdish-led forces since early December. Mr Guler said on Sunday that the aim of this operation was to dismantle the Peoples Defense Units (YPG). Turkey sees both the YPG and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) it is part of as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party, which has fought a decades-long insurgency against Ankara. Aanes political leadership has said it was keenly seeking negotiations with the new Syrian government. Critics of the Turkish-backed operation against Kurdish-led forces say it could further destabilise Syria, with the Turkish-led rebels already seizing control of the city of Manbij and advancing towards Kobani on the Turkish border. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kurdish channels reported on Saturday that US armoured vehicles had entered Kobani, with videos circulating on social media. The SDF warned of an imminent rebel offensive against the city after a four-day ceasefire was agreed on Thursday. Iran, a vital backer of the previous regime, has been dealt a significant blow as the rebel takeover means it can no longer supply Hezbollah, its Lebanese proxy, with routes through Syria. Assads government had provided a land corridor for weapons and materiel to be sent from Iran to Lebanon, but Naim Qassem, the Hezbollah leader, acknowledged on Saturday that it had been lost. The group will now look for alternative supply routes or see whether the Syria route could be re-established under a new regime, Qassem said in a televised speech. Naim Qassem, the Hezbollah leader, said the land corridor to Iran had been lost - Al Manar TV/Reuters Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel, meanwhile, has launched dozens of overnight airstrikes on Syria, firing 61 missiles at former Assad regime military sites in less than five hours on Saturday evening, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. However, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the HTS leader, has said the new government is not interested in a conflict with Israel, telling Syrian state media that there are no excuses for any foreign intervention in Syria now after the Iranians have left. We are not in the process of engaging in a conflict with Israel, he said, adding that diplomatic solutions were the only way to ensure stability. That is despite a statement by Israel Katz, Israels defence minister, saying that Israeli troops would remain for the winter on Mount Hermon after seizing the Golan Heights buffer zone last week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Friday, Israel conducted secret talks over Syria with Jordan, according to Axios, with officials reportedly discussing engagement with the new rebel government. 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. Defence Minister Yasar Guler has expressed Turkey's readiness to offer military support to the new Syrian leadership, a statement from his ministry said on Sunday. Turkey, a member of NATO, had agreements with several other countries on military training and other assistance and would offer this to Syria if requested, Guler said. While the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Islamist movement, which led the assault on the regime of Bashar al-Assad, is listed as a terrorist organization in Turkey, Ankara maintains strong links with its leadership. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The director of Turkey's National Intelligence Organization, Ibrahim Kaln, visited Damascus on Thursday. And on Saturday, Turkey reopened its embassy in the Syrian capital. Al-Assad's fall and flight to Moscow on December 8 has prompted a major political realignment in the region, with Russian and Iranian influence severely dented. Turkish forces have been engaging Kurdish separatists in the north of Syria, as Ankara seeks to expand its influence. By Huseyin Hayatsever ANKARA (Reuters) - The new administration in Syria should be given a chance to govern following their constructive messages, and Turkey stands ready to provide military training if such help is requested, Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler said. NATO member Turkey backed the Syrian rebels who toppled President Bashar al-Assad last weekend, ending a 13-year civil war. Turkey reopened its embassy in Damascus on Saturday, two days after its intelligence chief visited the Syrian capital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "In their first statement, the new administration that toppled Assad announced that it would respect all government institutions, the United Nations and other international organisations," Guler told reporters in Ankara in comments authorised for publication on Sunday. "We think that we need to see what the new administration will do and to give them a chance." When asked whether Turkey was considering military cooperation with the new Syrian government, Guler said Ankara already had military cooperation and training agreements with many countries. "(Turkey) is ready to provide the necessary support if the new administration requests it," he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since 2016, Turkey has mounted four military operations across growing swathes of northern Syria, citing threats to its national security. Turkey is estimated to maintain a few thousand troops in towns including Afrin, Azez and Jarablus in northwestern Syria and Ras al Ain and Tel Abyad in the northeast. Ankara may discuss and reevaluate the issue of Turkey's military presence in Syria with the new Syrian administration "when necessary conditions arise", Guler said. ELIMINATING 'TERRORISTS' Turkey's priority remains the elimination of the Kurdish YPG militia, part of a U.S.-backed Syrian opposition group, and it has made this clear to Washington, Guler said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which controls some of Syria's largest oil fields, is the main ally in the U.S. coalition against Islamic State militants. It is spearheaded by the YPG, a group that Ankara sees as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), whose militant fighters have battled the Turkish state for 40 years. "In the new period, the PKK/YPG terrorist organisation in Syria will be eliminated sooner or later," Guler said. "Members of the organisation coming from outside Syria will leave Syria. Those who are Syrian will lay down their weapons." Guler said Turkey saw no sign of a resurgence of Islamic State in Syria, contrary to the U.S. view. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Has anyone heard of any attacks by DAESH terrorists in Syria in the last three years? We don't see or hear anything about DAESH at the moment," he said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State. Turkey has in the past told the U.S. that Ankara could deploy three commando brigades in Syria to fight Islamic State, and to run al-Hol, the detention camp for IS families, Guler said, adding that Washington had rejected both offers. "Instead, they cooperated with the PKK/YPG terrorist organisation under the banner of fighting DAESH. But you can't fight one terrorist organisation with another terrorist organisation." Asked about the future involvement in Syria of Russia, a longstanding ally of Assad which last weekend granted him asylum, Guler said he saw no sign of a complete Russian withdrawal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russia, he said, is moving its military assets from different parts of Syria to its two bases in the country - the Hmeimim air base at Latakia and a naval base in Tartous. "I don't think the Russians are going to leave (Syria). They'll do everything they can to stay," he said. (Reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Gareth Jones) Amid a war of words between AAP and BJP over the Rohingya issue, Delhi Minister Gopal Rai on Sunday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party raised the issue of "Rohingyas" because all their strategies to win elections have failed. Rai further stated that such tactics would not work in Delhi elections as the people of Delhi seek a government that prioritises their welfare. Referring to Union Minister Hardeep Puri's tweets from 2022 on the Rohingya issue, Rai questioned the BJP's inaction, asking why no steps were taken against Puri if his statements did not align with the party's policy. "The BJP is completely confused. First, they thought they could win elections by jailing Arvind Kejriwal and other AAP leaders. Then they resorted to spreading lies. Now, having failed in everything else, they have come up with the Rohingya issue. Hardeep Puri was Union Minister when he tweeted about this. Why did he tweet it? Why didn't the BJP take action against him if it contradicted their policy? The BJP stands completely exposed. They believe such tactics will win them elections, but these won't work in Delhi. The people of Delhi want a government that works for them, and they have seen Arvind Kejriwal doing just that," Rai told ANI. Meanwhile, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of settling illegal Rohingya migrants in Delhi to secure their votes. Earlier in the day, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi responded to Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri's remarks on the Rohingya issue, accusing him of inconsistency and claiming he was either "lying earlier or lying now." Speaking to the media, Atishi reiterated her claim that the Central government was responsible for the settlement of Rohingyas in Delhi. "He was either lying earlier or is lying now. The Rohingyas settled in different parts of Delhi are here entirely due to the Central government. They allowed them to enter India illegally, crossing six states to reach Delhi. Once here, the Central government provided housing and facilitated their settlement. Any misuse of resources or illegal activities by these migrants is solely the responsibility of the BJP-led Central government," Atishi said. Previously, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had accused the AAP and Chief Minister Atishi of spreading "diversionary tactics, false narratives, and half-truths" regarding the rehabilitation of Rohingyas in Delhi. Puri maintained that the facts about illegal Rohingya migrants were clarified promptly in a tweet, which he alleged the AAP had deliberately ignored. In a post on X, Puri wrote, "The Aam Aadmi Party continues with its politics of diversion, false narratives, and half-truths. Facts about illegal Rohingya migrants were clarified in a tweet the same day, but they have chosen to ignore it and persist with their misleading claims." He further stated that "no Rohingya migrant" had been provided government housing in Delhi. "The AAP government is facilitating illegal Rohingyas in Delhi," Puri alleged. "Contrary to their fabricated rhetoric, they have settled these migrants in large numbers, provided them with electricity and water, and even pay them Rs 10,000," he claimed in his tweet. On Sunday, Atishi wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, accusing the BJP-led Central government of settling a "large number" of "illegal Rohingya migrants" in Delhi without consulting the state government. Citing two older posts by Puri on X, Atishi argued that the issue has persisted for years. She called on the Union government to provide the Delhi government with a complete list of Rohingyas and their addresses. Additionally, she demanded that no further rehabilitation of Rohingyas in Delhi take place without consulting the Delhi government and its residents. (ANI) More than 7,500 refugees have returned to Syria from Turkey since the regime of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad was toppled last week, according to Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. More than 1,000 Syrians had crossed the border daily from Monday up to and including Friday, he wrote on social media platform X late on Saturday. Smaller numbers had already crossed between December 6 and December 8, Yerlikaya said. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) counted 3,000 returnees on the Turkish-Syrian border up to Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Turkey has taken in the largest number of Syrian refugees fleeing the civil war that began in 2011. According to UN figures, around 3 million Syrians live in the country. Those returning home lose their right to remain in Turkey on crossing the border. The UNHCR puts the total number of Syrian refugees at 4.8 million, with Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt also hosting large numbers. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had come under pressure domestically over the large number of Syrian refugees in the country and has called for most of them to return. Turkish migration expert Murat Erdogan believes the majority will prefer to remain in Turkey, however. He cites the poor economic and security situation in Syria and the fact that many Syrians have created a new life for themselves during a lengthy period in exile. Two Russian tankers have suffered significant damage in the Kerch Strait due to severe weather conditions and have already sunk, Russian media outlets Mash and Baza reported on Dec. 15. Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry also reported that the tankers, Volgoneft 212 and Volgoneft 239, had been damaged. Both vessels were carrying approximately 4,000 tons of fuel oil on board each, according to Baza. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Volgoneft 212 has 13 crew members aboard, while the Volgoneft 239 has 14. Both crews have requested assistance. In response, Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry stated that a Mi-8 helicopter with rescuers was deployed and that 13 sailors were evacuated from the Volgoneft-212, but one of them had died. The ministry has primarily focused on ongoing rescue operations, offering few details on the current condition of the tankers. According to eyewitness accounts reported by Mash, the Volgoneft-212 was cut in half by waves near the coast of Kerch, while the Volgoneft-139 sank within minutes after waves created a hole in the hull, causing a crack that split the ship in two. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mash reported that both tankers were built around 50 years ago and were hastily converted in the 1990s from full-fledged tankers to "river-sea" class vessels. The rushed modifications included cutting the ships in half, discarding the center, and welding the bow and stern together, leaving a large seam that failed under the impact of powerful waves. This seam ultimately split apart, contributing to the vessels sinking. Baza reported that investigators have opened two criminal cases following the sinking of the tankers, though this has not been confirmed by official sources. Russian-occupied Crimea is home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet but successful Ukrainian strikes on Crimea have forced Moscow to relocate much of its naval forces from the peninsula to the Russian port city of Novorossiysk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukraine has repeatedly struck Russia's vessels since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Around 30% of Russias Black Sea Fleet is lost or disabled, according to the Ukrainian military. Read also: Russia continues construction of naval base in occupied Abkhazia, Ukraine hints it will be legitimate target Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Reports emerged on the morning of 15 December indicating that two Russian tankers, Volgoneft 212 and Volgoneft 239, were sinking in the Kerch Strait. Both vessels were reported to be broken in half, with fuel oil leaking into the water. Source: Russian media outlets Mash and Astra; Kremlin-aligned Russian news agency Interfax Details: The Volgoneft had 13 crew members and about 4,300 tonnes of fuel oil on board. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Later reports revealed that another tanker, Volgoneft-239, sank after the Volgoneft-212. Its hull also broke into two parts, reportedly due to being struck by a wave. A total of 4,000 tonnes of fuel oil leaked from the Volgoneft-212's tanks, creating a large black spot on the sea's surface. Emergency workers on tugboats are attempting to rescue the sailors from the water. A tugboat, Mercury, along with a Mi-8 helicopter from the Russian Emergencies Ministry, are en route from Kerch to assist the crew. Support UP or become our patron! (Bloomberg) -- The UK and Australia plan to underscore their resolve to maintain a defense pact with the US at a meeting on Monday amid concern about President-elect Donald Trumps commitment to the agreement. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement David Lammy, the UK foreign secretary, and John Healey, the UK defense secretary, will host their Australian counterparts in London for the annual meeting, known as AUKMIN. While it was planned long before last months US election, both countries intend to emphasize their steadfast commitment to Aukus named after Australia, the UK and US. Under the Aukus deal signed in 2021, the three countries have committed to delivering a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines for Australia by the 2030s to counter Chinas undersea presence in the Indo-Pacific region. The deal is one of the most strategically important collaborations for decades, the UK government said Sunday in a news release. Uncertainty about Trumps approach to Aukus is based largely on his vows to cut government spending, as well as concerns he may seek to alter terms negotiated by the current president, Joe Biden. Still, Trumps hawkish approach to China may push him to want to focus more on the pact, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In June, former Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who signed the deal with Biden and the UKs Boris Johnson, said Trump had expressed a positive opinion toward the Aukus pact during a visit to the US in May. The Trump transition team didnt immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. The UK and Australia will also use the summit to unveil new security initiatives including deploying a branch of the Royal Navy, the UK Carrier Strike Group, to Australia in 2025 and extending Australian training of Ukrainian armed forces. Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be in Norway on Monday to announce plans for a green energy deal with the country before attending a defense summit in Estonia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement --With assistance from Akayla Gardner and Ben Westcott. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. (Bloomberg) -- The UK announced new funding to crack down on illegal migration as it deports the largest number of people from the country in years. Most Read from Bloomberg The Labour government says 13,500 people with no right to be in the UK have been removed since they took office, the most since 2018. They have organized 33 charter flights since they took office and used raids to find some of these illegal migrants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The government also announced about 8 million ($10.1 million) in funding for new technology, including body worn cameras and biometric kits, to support the efforts. Labour is under pressure to bring net migration numbers down. Immigration was a key election issue when the British people went to the polls in July, with former Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks failure to curb the number of arrivals contributing to the Tories defeat to Keir Starmers party as the anti-migrant Reform UK Party gained ground. Since the election, we have intensified our efforts to crackdown on exploitation and illegal working the number of operations and arrests are up, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said in a statement Sunday. The number of long-term migrants arriving in the UK slipped in the year to June, but remains historically high despite curbs introduced by the last Conservative government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The continued arrival of migrants on small boats across the English Channel led to far-right riots and attacks on hotels housing asylum seekers earlier this year. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has emphasized the importance of inflicting "maximum pain" on Russian President Vladimir Putin through additional sanctions and enhanced military support for Ukraine. Talking during a video conference with G7 leaders, Starmer highlighted Putin's unwillingness to make concessions and argued for bolstered aid to Ukraine to position the country as strongly as possible for the future. He noted that the international community must increase economic pressure and military assistance to achieve this goal. The remarks come amid ongoing efforts by G7 nations to finalize a $50 billion aid package for Ukraine using Russian assets, as recently noted by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Dec. 9, the U.K. announced new sanctions targeting the illicit gold trade, which it says finances Russia's war against Ukraine. "Russia uses the illicit gold trade to launder money and evade sanctions, in doing so bolstering (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's war efforts," the U.K. government said in a press release. The measures include asset freezes on five individuals, including Anto Joseph, CEO of Paloma Precious, which has reportedly purchased over $300 million worth of Russian gold. The British government reported in 2023 that gold brought $15.5 billion to the Russian economy in 2021, making it one of the country's most valuable commodities after energy exports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: A more dangerous Russia UK armed forces chief issues stark third nuclear age warning Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Ukraine has delayed signing a critical minerals agreement with the United States, reportedly to allow president-elect Donald Trump to claim credit when he takes office and hopefully secure his backing during peace talks. The Republican, who is due to begin his second presidential term on Jan 20, has promised a quick end to Russias war, recently telling French media it was his main foreign policy priority. While Mr Trump has remained elusive over how he would end the conflict, Kyiv fears he will withdraw US military aid and try to force a settlement on terms favourable to Moscow. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The US has been Ukraines biggest supplier of military aid, providing support worth more than $62 billion (49 billion) so far. As part of Ukraines efforts to gain Mr Trumps approval, Kyiv has now twice delayed signing an agreement with Joe Bidens administration to co-operate on extracting and processing minerals, The New York Times reported. Ukraine is home to large deposits of 20 critical minerals including cobalt, graphite and lithium many of which are highly important for US industries. Lithium, which is a key component in rechargeable batteries, will be of particular interest to Elon Musk and his electric car ambitions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Signing the agreement at the start of his second term in office would be an early victory for the Trump administration. Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator and Trump ally, told Fox News last month: This war is about money. So Donald Trumps going to do a deal to get our money back, to enrich ourselves with rare earth minerals. A good deal for Ukraine and us, and hes going to bring peace. Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraines president, has shifted his public messaging on the war in recent weeks - AFP Since Mr Trump won Novembers election, Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraines president, has shifted his public messaging on the conflict, suggesting he is open to negotiations that could involve concessions. Two weeks ago, he said the hot phase of the war could end if his country were offered Nato membership, and, significantly, that he would accept that occupied eastern parts of Ukraine would initially fall outside of such a deal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Zelensky added that Kyiv would aim to regain the territory later through diplomacy. Last week Mr Zelensky also travelled to France to meet Mr Trump, while a Ukrainian lawmaker nominated the president-elect for the Nobel Peace Prize. Andriy Yermak, Mr Zelenskys chief of staff, also travelled to Washington earlier this month to meet with Mr Trumps team. While the Republican has repeatedly criticised the Biden administrations level of support to Ukraine, and has often spoken favourably about Vladimir Putin, Russias president, there have been signs that Mr Zelenskys tactics are working. After their impromptu meeting in Paris last week, Mr Trump said Mr Zelensky would like to make a deal and stop the madness, while in an interview on Dec 12, the president-elect insisted he would not abandon Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I want to reach an agreement, and the only way youre going to reach an agreement is not to abandon, he said. Residents have been evacuated from Pokrovsk this weekend as Russian forces advance towards the city - ROMAN PILIPEY/AFP Mr Trumps team has also been holding discussions with White House officials as part of the incoming administrations efforts to establish a ceasefire. The discussions come as Ukraines military continues to lose ground in the east, with the Kremlins forces now occupying around 20 per cent of the country. On Sunday, Russia said its troops had captured more villages in two key front-line areas as they advanced towards the supply hub of Pokrovsk and the industrial town of Kurakhove. Ukraines Khortytsia group of troops reported ongoing exhausting clashes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Zelensky also said this weekend that a significant number of North Korean soldiers have begun fighting alongside Russian forces in assault operations in Kursk Oblast. The Ukrainian president said on Sunday: This week alone, Russia has used nearly 630 guided aerial bombs, around 550 strike drones, and over 100 missiles of various types against Ukraine. I am grateful to the warriors defending Ukraine and to our partners who understand our need to bolster Ukraines air defences to save the lives of our people. 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. Ukrainian intelligence agencies destroyed a Russian train carrying 40 fuel tanks in the Russian-occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast on Dec. 14, an intelligence source told the Kyiv Independent. The source said that the aim of the operation was to disrupt a supply line used to transport fuel from Crimea to Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The operation was carried out jointly by the the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Ukrainian army's Tavria Group, the Military Intelligence Agency (HUR), and the Special Operations Forces (SSO). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The operation began with the SBU organizing a sabotage mission to destroy railroad tracks near the village of Oleksiivka in the Bilmak district, the source said. As the train carrying 40 fuel tanks was moving along the tracks, an explosion derailed the train, and some of the tanks ignited, according to the source. Using HIMARS rockets, the Ukrainian forces targeted the locomotive and the outermost cars, preventing Russian forces from ripping apart the tanks and saving some of the fuel. The operation resulted in the complete destruction of the locomotive and 40 fuel tanks, effectively crippling a key supply line to Russian forces in the region and rendering the targeted rail line inoperable, the source said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The operation follows another alleged operation by the Atesh partisan group, which said it had sabotaged a key railway in Zaporizhzhia Oblast on Nov. 16, knocking out electrical equipment and disrupting Russia's military supply chain. Ukraine has been strengthening its defensive positions near the city of Zaporizhzhia in anticipation of a potential Russian offensive in the region. Local authorities, including the citys' mayor, Oleksandr Fedorov, have confirmed the ongoing construction of multi-level fortifications designed to bolster the citys defense. This effort comes amid growing concerns over Russian military movements in the region. On Nov. 25, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine is closely monitoring Russian troop movements in southern Ukraine, noting that the threat of a renewed offensive remains high. The escalation in the south follows a broader trend of intense military activity, with Russia also concentrating its efforts along the eastern front. In Donetsk Oblast, Russian forces have been pushing aggressively toward key towns such as Pokrovsk and Kurakhove, aiming to break through Ukrainian defenses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: Outnumbered and outgunned, Ukraine struggles to halt Russian advance near Pokrovsk Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. (Reuters) - Ukraine's SBU security service said on Sunday it had launched an operation to destroy 40 rail cars carrying fuel to Russian troops in an area of the Zaporizhzhia region Moscow holds in southern Ukraine. The SBU told Reuters the operation involved different intelligence and military services and unfolded over a series of stages. "The aim was to disrupt the logistical supply routes for fuel from Crimea to temporarily occupied areas of Zaporizhzhia," it said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reuters could not independently verify the Ukrainian account. Russia made no immediate comment on the reported incident. The SBU said one of its units organised a sabotage operation that damaged a rail line as the train was moving near the village of Oleksiivka in a Russian-held part of Zaporizhzhia region. The train was halted, with tanker cars ablaze, and army units fired U.S.-supplied HIMARS missiles at the site. "The missiles struck the locomotive and cars at the end of the train. The enemy was unable to reach the tanks and salvage some of the fuel," the statement said. "As a result of the special operation, the locomotive and 40 tanker cars were destroyed and an important rail line used to supply Russian troops was taken out of service for an extended period." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russian forces control about 70% of Zaporizhzhia region and a Ukrainian military spokesperson said last month Kyiv expected Moscow to launch concerted attacks in the region soon. Russian forces also control about 70% of neighbouring Kherson region and about 80 percent of the Donbas in the east, the main theatre of current clashes in the 33-month-old war. (Reporting by Ron Popeski, Editing by Nick Zieminski) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has taken the initiative to support three destitute children in Khainuri village, Chamoli district, who have been struggling after losing their parents. The Chief Minister has arranged for essential items and sustenance for the children through the district administration, according to a press release from the Uttarakhand CMO. Following the Chief Minister's instructions, the Chamoli district administration team visited Khainuri village on Sunday and provided the children with blankets, warm clothes, fruits, and nutritional supplies. The team also inspected their living conditions, including housing and toilet facilities, and assured them of continued support, the release stated. Nain Singh, a resident of Khainuri village, passed away in October due to illness. His wife, Kusum Devi, had died earlier in 2020. This left their two daughters, Sanjana and Sakshi, and their son, Ayush, in a dire situation. Although Gram Pradhan Virendra Singh and the villagers extended support, the absence of their parents led the children into financial hardship, the release mentioned. Upon learning about their plight, the Chief Minister immediately directed officials to provide assistance. The administrative team delivered blankets and warm clothes to shield the children from the cold, along with fruits and other essential items to ensure proper nutrition. The team also assured that the government would continue to extend all possible support, the release added. The Chief Minister reiterated his commitment to supporting the children, emphasising that the state government is dedicated to ensuring their bright future. He assured that all necessary arrangements would be made for their welfare. While the story of these three orphaned children from Khainuri village is one of hardship, the efforts of the administration and the government have brought a glimmer of hope for them, the release concluded. (ANI) The Ukrainian side declined to arrange a phone call between Viktor Orban and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss the Hungarian ceasefire proposal. Source: Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto live on Kossuth radio station, writes MTI, as reported by European Pravda Details: Szijjarto underlined Hungary's proposal for a "ceasefire and mass exchange of prisoners", which Budapest hoped to submit to Ukraine and Russia before Christmas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This initiative, he claims, was discussed during Orban's conversation with Vladimir Putin, after which the Hungarian foreign minister informed his Ukrainian counterpart and the "head of the presidential administration", likely meaning Andrii Yermak, Head of the Ukrainian President's Office. The Hungarian minister claims Budapest initiated a phone call between Viktor Orban and the Ukrainian president, but was "somewhat sharply and politely refused" in a gesture "completely unprecedented in diplomacy". Szijjarto did not explain why Hungary informed Ukraine about its ceasefire plan only after a conversation with Putin, but instead praised his country's efforts in the role of peacemaker. "There is a proposition on the table that has not occurred in the last thousand days, and it is not up to Hungary to judge if it will be analysed and agreed upon by both sides. One side considered it and found it acceptable, but the other side took an unacceptable attitude," he continued. Background: It should be noted that Szijjartos remark regarding the absence of previous ceasefire proposals is false: in the summer of 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed an Olympic ceasefire, which Russia did not even consider. However, the Hungarian foreign minister underlined that Orban's allegation that Ukraine rejected his concept of a Christmas ceasefire was false, as the Hungarian side did not discuss it directly with the Ukrainians. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for his phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Support UP or become our patron! Key developments on Dec. 14-15: North Korean troops joining Russian assaults in Kursk, Zelensky says Ukraine destroys Russian train with 40 fuel tanks in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, source claims 292 front-line clashes recorded over the past day, General Staff reports Two Russian oil tankers reportedly sink in Kerch Strait North Korean troops open fire on Russian unit, Ukraine's military intelligence claims A "significant number" of North Korean soldiers have begun fighting alongside Russian forces in assault operations in Kursk Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on Dec. 14. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukrainian and Western officials in fall 2024 warned that over 10,000 North Korean troops had amassed in Kursk Oblast, ready to aid Russia's attempt to oust Ukrainian forces in the region. The move represents an unprecedented escalation in Russia's war against Ukraine. "Today, we already have preliminary data that the Russians have begun to use North Korean soldiers in their assaults a significant number of them," Zelensky said in a video address. "The Russians include them in combined units and use them in operations in Kursk Oblast." North Korean troops have not yet joined Russian forces in any other areas of the front, but this could change, Zelensky said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zelensky also reported that North Korean units have sustained "noticeable losses." Russian President Vladimir Putin has "dragged another state into this war," Zelensky said. "And if this is not escalation, then what is the escalation that so many have been talking about?" The first clashes between North Korean and Ukrainian troops in Kursk Oblast were reported in early November. Zelensky reported on Dec. 1 that North Korean soldiers had already been killed fighting for Russia, but did not specify figures. Moscow and Pyongyang have deepened their alliance over the course of the full-scale war. The two nations signed a defense treaty in June, requiring either state to render military aid to the other in the event of an attack. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement North Korea has reportedly provided Russia with over 100 ballistic missiles and 5 million artillery shells. In exchange, Moscow has allegedly given Pyongyang economic support and assistance with its nuclear weapons program. Ukrainain forces launched a shock offensive into Kursk Oblast in August. Russia began a counterattack in September and has reportedly taken back 40% of the territory initially captured by Ukraine. Read also: Russia could swap North Korean soldiers for Su-27s and MiG-29s, US officer says Ukraine destroys Russian train with 40 fuel tanks in Zaporizhzhia Obalst, source claims Ukrainian intelligence agencies destroyed a Russian train carrying 40 fuel tanks in the Russian-occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast on Dec. 14, an intelligence source told the Kyiv Independent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The source said that the aim of the operation was to disrupt a supply line used to transport fuel from Crimea to Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The operation was carried out jointly by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Ukrainian army's Tavria Group, the Military Intelligence Agency (HUR), and the Special Operations Forces (SSO). The operation began with the SBU organizing a sabotage mission to destroy railroad tracks near the village of Oleksiivka in the Bilmak district, the source said. As the train carrying 40 fuel tanks was moving along the tracks, an explosion derailed the train, and some of the tanks ignited, according to the source. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Using HIMARS rockets, the Ukrainian forces targeted the locomotive and the outermost cars, preventing Russian forces from ripping apart the tanks and saving some of the fuel. The operation resulted in the complete destruction of the locomotive and 40 fuel tanks, effectively crippling a key supply line to Russian forces in the region and rendering the targeted rail line inoperable, the source said. The operation follows another alleged operation by the Atesh partisan group, which said it had sabotaged a key railway in Zaporizhzhia Oblast on Nov. 16, knocking out electrical equipment and disrupting Russia's military supply chain. Ukraine has been strengthening its defensive positions near the city of Zaporizhzhia in anticipation of a potential Russian offensive in the region. Local authorities, including the citys' mayor, Oleksandr Fedorov, have confirmed the ongoing construction of multi-level fortifications designed to bolster the citys defense. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This effort comes amid growing concerns over Russian military movements in the region. On Nov. 25, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine is closely monitoring Russian troop movements in southern Ukraine, noting that the threat of a renewed offensive remains high. The escalation in the south follows a broader trend of intense military activity, with Russia also concentrating its efforts along the eastern front. In Donetsk Oblast, Russian forces have been pushing aggressively toward key towns such as Pokrovsk and Kurakhove, aiming to break through Ukrainian defenses. Read also: Russian drone hits IAEA service vehicle near Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant 292 front-line clashes recorded over the past day, General Staff reports A total of 292 combat clashes were recorded along the extensive eastern front line on Dec. 14, according to a new operational summary from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russian forces continue their assaults employing diverse weaponry and tactics to strike Ukrainian positions, with a concentrated focus on Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts. According to the report, Russian forces conducted one missile strike, utilizing two missiles aimed at Ukrainian unit positions and settlements. They also carried out 61 aviation strikes, involving 99 Controlled Aerial Bombs (KABs), over 5,000 artillery shelling incidents, including 158 rocket salvo system attacks, and deployed more than 3,000 kamikaze drones across various regions. In response, the Defense Forces conducted 35 targeted strikes against Russian troop concentrations, armaments, and military equipment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These efforts resulted in the destruction of one unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) control point, three artillery systems, and two air defense systems. Ukrainian forces successfully defended their positions and repelled numerous enemy attacks across multiple regions, including Kupiansk, Lyman, and Pokrovsk. In these areas, Ukrainian defenders thwarted 52 attacks. Other key locations, such as Toretsk, Kurakhiv, Kramatorsk, and Siversk, also saw significant resistance. Despite these official updates, Stanislav Buniatov, a platoon commander of the 24th Separate Assault Battalion Aidar, expressed concerns about the situation in Kurakhiv on his Telegram channel, stating, "The advantage in manpower and firepower is multiple; in such conditions, it is very difficult, one might say unrealistic, to hold defense in dense construction." These concerns were echoed by DeepState, which reported on its Telegram channel that, as of Dec. 15, Russian forces had captured the city council in Kurakhiv and raised their flag over it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the northern areas of Volynsk and Polisk, the operational situation remains stable, with no signs of offensive group formations by Russian forces. The situation on Dec. 15 showed a slight intensification in combat compared to the previous day, according to data shared by the General Staff. The number of combat clashes increased from 205 to 292, and Russian airstrikes rose from 38 on Dec. 13 to 61 on Dec. 14. These updates follow reports of a dire situation near Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, as Russian forces continue to gain ground, putting additional pressure on Ukrainian defenses. Recent reports indicate that Russian troops have successfully advanced to key locations, and Ukrainian forces are struggling to hold the line against a well-equipped and larger Russian military, despite efforts to recapture lost positions. Read also: Outnumbered and outgunned, Ukraine struggles to halt Russian advance near Pokrovsk Two Russian oil tankers reportedly sink in Kerch Strait Two Russian tankers have suffered significant damage in the Kerch Strait due to severe weather conditions and have already sunk, Russian media outlets Mash and Baza reported on Dec. 15. Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry also reported that the tankers, Volgoneft 212 and Volgoneft 239, had been damaged. Both vessels were carrying approximately 4,000 tons of fuel oil on board each, according to Baza. The Volgoneft 212 has 13 crew members aboard, while the Volgoneft 239 has 14. Both crews have requested assistance. In response, Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry stated that a Mi-8 helicopter with rescuers was deployed and that 13 sailors were evacuated from the Volgoneft-212, but one of them had died. The ministry has primarily focused on ongoing rescue operations, offering few details on the current condition of the tankers. According to eyewitness accounts reported by Mash, the Volgoneft-212 was cut in half by waves near the coast of Kerch, while the Volgoneft-139 sank within minutes after waves created a hole in the hull, causing a crack that split the ship in two. Mash reported that both tankers were built around 50 years ago and were hastily converted in the 1990s from full-fledged tankers to "river-sea" class vessels. The rushed modifications included cutting the ships in half, discarding the center, and welding the bow and stern together, leaving a large seam that failed under the impact of powerful waves. This seam ultimately split apart, contributing to the vessels sinking. Baza reported that investigators have opened two criminal cases following the sinking of the tankers, though this has not been confirmed by official sources. Russian-occupied Crimea is home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet but successful Ukrainian strikes on Crimea have forced Moscow to relocate much of its naval forces from the peninsula to the Russian port city of Novorossiysk. Ukraine has repeatedly struck Russia's vessels since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Around 30% of Russias Black Sea Fleet is lost or disabled, according to the Ukrainian military. Read also: Russia reduces barge barriers protecting Crimean Bridge by half in a month North Korean troops open fire on Russian unit, Ukraine's military intelligence claims North Korean troops fighting alongside Russian forces in Kursk Oblast killed eight members of a Russian unit in a "friendly fire" attack, Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) claimed on Dec. 14. Earlier in the day, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that a "significant number" of North Korean troops had joined Russian assault operations in the Kursk region. While engaged in combat in Kursk Oblast, a group of North Korean soldiers opened fire on members of the Chechen Akhmat unit fighting for Russia, HUR reported via its official Telegram channel. The attack allegedly killed eight Russian soldiers. The Kyiv Independent was unable to verify the report. HUR said the incident was the result of the language barrier between Russian and North Korean troops, which continues to be a "difficult obstacle" on the battlefield. An estimated 200 servicemembers fighting with Russian and North Korean units have been killed as of Dec. 14, HUR claimed. Zelensky previously announced that North Korean personnel had begun incurring "noticeable losses," but did not provide a figure. Ukrainian and Western officials in fall 2024 warned that over 10,000 North Korean troops had amassed in Kursk Oblast, ready to aid Russia's attempt to oust Ukrainian forces in the region. The Russian military has instituted special protocols in places where North Korean personnel are located, HUR said. Russian soldiers must undergo inspections before entering these areas, and their phones and electronic devices are confiscated. The first direct clashes between North Korean and Ukrainian troops in Kursk Oblast were reported in early November. According to Zelensky, North Korean personnel have not been deployed to any other areas of the front, but that could change in the future. Read also: Russia continues to suffer record losses in December, Zelensky says Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Ukraine is ready to provide humanitarian aid to Syria, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday. In coordination with his government, he said that food from the Grain from Ukraine programme could be used to assist the Syrian population, Zelensky said in his evening video address. "Now we can help the Syrians with Ukrainian wheat, flour and our oil - our products that are used worldwide to ensure food security," Zelensky said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Specifically, he said, the logistics need to be agreed upon with representatives from Syria. "We will definitely support this region so that peace there can become a cornerstone for our movement towards genuine peace," Zelensky said. The humanitarian programme, initiated in 2022, stipulates that donor countries and other organizations purchase agricultural products directly from Ukrainian producers and send them to countries in need, primarily in Africa and Asia. Syria's long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad was overthrown a few days ago following a surprise offensive by Islamist rebels. Large parts of the country were destroyed after a civil war broke out in the country following the Arab Spring in 2011. After initial successes by the rebels, the uprising was largely suppressed with Russian military aid. BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11) If its Christmas time, its time for hundreds of Nutcracker performances throughout our area. But none was perhaps more heartfelt than a Ukrainian ballet companys fundraising performance to raise money for their ballet school, which was bombed during the early days of the Russian invasion. More Local News It was an evening filled with hope and healing. Thirty-five professional Ukrainian Grand Kyiv Ballet dancers performed in The Nutcracker at Brooklyns Kings Theatre. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its been 2 years since their ballet school was bombed. Some students were killed. Others fled to safer parts of Europe, like the dancer in the lead role of Clara. Im so happy that we can send money to rebuild, Anna Stoianova, principal dancer, told PIX11 News. I grew up in the school. It was my second home, she added. More than 1500 people attended this fundraising performance. A portion of the $49 ticket price will go towards rebuilding Kyiv State Choreographic College. For all my colleagues in the company, its scary, Zack Tidswell, a company member from England, told PIX11 News. They dont have a home. They have to keep dancing. They have to keep touring; otherwise, they dont have work. They dont have somewhere they can go back to. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many in the audience came to see and support these world-class dancers, who have suffered greatly in their homeland. Im really glad my ticket is contributing to the school over there, Milca Ariste, an audience member, told PIX11 News. I know theres a lot of talent. I am glad I can participate in some way. Since a lot of people in Ukraine struggle with the funding, especially right now, because of the war, Im glad I can help, Dasha Faynshteyn, a Ukrainian New Yorker who was an audience member, told PIX11 News. Another audience member, Angela Law, added, Weve been to the Nutcracker at Lincoln Center. I know theres a lot of different options, but this was in Brooklyn. We live in Brooklyn. Its a good cause, she added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The next performance of the Grand Kyiv Ballet will be on Wednesday in Tribeca, a world premiere of a new ballet called Snow Queen. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. KYIV, Ukraine (AP) A Ukrainian drone struck a campus belonging to Russias National Guard Sunday in the Russian region of Chechnya, as Kyiv continues to strike back after a mass air attack from Moscow. Footage on social media showed a drone swooping low over the Chechen capital, Grozny, some 800 kilometers (500 miles) southeast of the front line in Ukraine, before exploding. No casualties were reported. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov confirmed that the drone had hit a site belonging to the Akhmat Grozny riot police battalion, and said that two other drones had been shot down by air defenses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kadyrov pledged revenge on Ukrainian forces and said he had ordered a missile strike against military facilities in Kharkiv in retaliation for the attack. The claim could not be independently verified. Russias Defense Ministry said Sunday that it had shot down 15 Ukrainian drones overnight in the countrys Kursk and Belgorod regions, as well as over the Black Sea. It did not mention the Grozny attack. An official in Ukraines security service also told the AP on Sunday that Ukrainian intelligence services had conducted a special operation to sever Russias logistic fuel supply routes from Ukraines annexed Crimea to occupied Zaporizhzhia. The operation, which took place Saturday, destroyed a locomotive and 40 tanker cars, the security official said. A sabotage operation reportedly blew up railway tracks while the train was moving, before HIMARS rocket launch systems joined the attack. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a result, a key railway branch used to supply Russian troops was put out of service for an extended period, said the official, who asked to remain anonymous in order to share sensitive information. Kyivs strikes on Russia over the weekend, which also set fire to a major oil terminal on Saturday, follow a mass bombardment across Ukraine by Moscow Friday. Russia fired 93 cruise and ballistic missiles and almost 200 drones at its neighbor, battering Ukraines energy infrastructure. Russias troops also continue to slowly advance in eastern Ukraine. Washington-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War reported Sunday that geolocated footage placed Russian forces inside the settlement of Kurakhove, which Moscows troops had besieged for weeks after surrounding it on three sides. The push compounds further uncertainty as to how the war might unfold next year, with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office next month, sparking doubt as to whether vital U.S. military support for Kyiv will continue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an interview published in TIME magazine Thursday, Trump said that he was against allowing Ukraine to hit targets on Russian soil using U.S.-provided weapons. Meanwhile, Russia launched 108 drones across Ukraine overnight into Sunday, the Ukrainian air force said. It said that 56 were shot down by air defenses, while another 49 disappeared from radar after failing to reach their targets. Three more drones returned to Russia, officials said. Gov. Vitalii Kim said that two people were injured in the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv as a result of the attack, which also damaged local infrastructure. Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Following massive assaults on Saturday 15 December, Ukrainian forces released images and videos of killed Russian and North Korean soldiers in Kursk Oblast. Source: Madiar Telegram channel Details: The video shows bodies in the snow. Killed Russian and North Korean soldiers in Kursk Oblast Photo: Ukraines Armed Forces The Madiar channel emphasised that this is a collaborative effort of FPV-drone pilots of the 414th Unmanned Strike Aviation Systems Regiment, the Mahura Brigade, the 95th Air Assault Brigade, the 36th Separate Marine Brigade, the 1st Tank Brigade and the 17th Tank Brigade. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Previously: On Saturday 14 December, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that evidence had emerged suggesting that Russia had begun using North Korean troops in assaults against Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk Oblast, where Ukrainian troops are conducting operations. Defence Intelligence of Ukraine also reported that Russia began using North Korean soldiers in assault operations in Kursk Oblast, particularly as part of combined marine and airborne units, but they opened friendly fire and killed eight Kadyrovites [the collective term for Chechen troops loyal to the country's leader, Ramzan Kadyrov ed.]. Background: On 7 November, President Volodymyr Zelenskyyhas stated that the North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russian forces in Kursk Oblast, Russia, had already suffered losses. The United States confirmed that North Korean troops are involved in combat operations in Russia's Kursk Oblast. The New York Times reported that 50,000 Russian and North Korean soldiers are preparing to launch a large-scale counteroffensive in Russias Kursk Oblast. Support UP or become our patron! Syria faces many challenges, along with hopes for the future, UN Special Envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen said during a visit to Damascus on Sunday. The changes brought about by the toppling of Bashar al-Assad were "immense," Pedersen said. He listed the tasks facing the country as a political process involving all Syrians, economic reconstruction, an end to international sanctions and immediate humanitarian support to people in Syria and exiles seeking to return. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The transitional government needed to get state institutions up and running and to ensure "law and order," the UN representative said. This includes uncovering the crimes of the al-Assad family, which ran the country for more than 50 years, and preventing people from taking revenge, he said. John H. Knox The Conversation For more than a century, conservationists have worked to preserve natural ecosystems by creating national parks and protected areas. Today the Earth faces a global biodiversity crisis, with more than 1 million species at risk of extinction. This makes it even more important to conserve places where at-risk species can thrive. In 2022, governments around the world committed to protect 30% of the entire planet by 2030, nearly doubling the current coverage. They also agreed to respect the rights of Indigenous peoples, whose lands contain large shares of the worlds remaining natural ecosystems. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But such promises have often been broken. Historically, governments and private conservation organizations have typically insisted that only pristine, human-free parks can properly conserve nature. In many places, including U.S. national parks, authorities have forcibly removed people who lived on and cared for those lands for centuries. I am a lawyer and law professor, and my work has focused on human rights, environmental law and areas where they overlap. From 2012 to 2018 I served as the first United Nations special rapporteur on human rights and the environment. In my work, I have heard many reports of human rights abuses associated with these forced displacements, including murder, rape and torture. To address this problem, the U.N. Environment Programme convened a series of meetings starting in 2022 that brought together representatives of Indigenous peoples, conservation organizations, rights-based organizations and funders. The result is a set of core human rights principles for conservation organizations and funders, which will be formally announced on Dec. 13, 2024. The history of fortress conservation Indigenous peoples and others who live on undeveloped lands are on the front lines of battles against illegal mining, logging and poaching. They are generally more effective than governments at preventing deforestation and loss of living species, and they do so far more cost-effectively. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Studies confirm that protecting the human rights of Indigenous peoples results not only in better lives for these communities but also better conservation of the lands where they live. However, governments often do not recognize Indigenous peoples legal rights in their ancestral lands. And Indigenous communities receive only a small fraction of the billions of dollars directed toward climate and biodiversity protection. Making matters worse, Indigenous people often are evicted from their land in the name of conservation. This practice began in the United States in the late 19th century with the creation of Yosemite and Yellowstone national parks. Among the peoples who lost their homes were the Miwok from Yosemite and the Shoshone from Yellowstone. Over the following century, the pursuit of what came to be called fortress conservation spread around the world. Colonial European powers took this strategy to Africa and Asia; after countries there became independent, international conservation organizations based in North America and Europe continued to push their governments to create national parks on the Yosemite and Yellowstone models. Researchers estimate that millions of people were dispossessed, suffering physical harm and, in many cases, the loss of their cultures. Stewards at risk In recent years, growing evidence that fortress conservation is both morally repugnant and ecologically ineffective has led nations to formally reject it. At an international conference in 2003 in Durban, South Africa, conservationists adopted an action plan that promised to create and manage protected areas in full compliance with the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nonetheless, many protected areas still prohibit Indigenous peoples from remaining in or returning to their ancestral homes. When they try to return, park rangers treat them as criminals. In some cases the rangers, who are often poorly trained, abuse them further by beating, torturing or even killing them. In 2019, news reports publicized allegations of abuses against Indigenous communities in parks in Asia and Africa that were supported by the World Wildlife Fund, one of the largest global conservation groups. The increased attention led to multipleinvestigations, congressional hearings and suspension of millions of dollars in U.N. and U.S. government funding to the organization for projects in the Congo Basin. Investigators found that rangers in Salonga National Park, the largest park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, regularly punished local residents by beating them with sticks, bayonets and the butts of weapons and engaging in sexual abuse. Investigators there also heard multiple allegations of rape and murder. The World Wildlife Fund was not accused of encouraging or participating directly in such abuses, but it co-managed Salonga and paid its rangers. An independent panel of experts, on which I served, concluded that the organization had failed to effectively prevent or respond to the violations and had continued to fund the rangers even after learning about the allegations. Since then, stories of similar abuses have continued to proliferate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2024, for example, Human Rights Watch reported on allegations of violent evictions of Indigenous Chong residents by a conservation organization, Wildlife Alliance, that co-manages a conservation project in Cambodias Cardamom National Park. And rangers working for African Parks, a private conservation organization that manages more than 20 national parks in 12 African countries, were accused by human rights organizations of beating and sexually assaulting Baka Indigenous people in Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the Republic of Congo. Human rights principles for conservation Conservation is not fundamentally at odds with human rights. Many Indigenous peoples, conservation organizations and others are trying to replace fortress conservation with a truly inclusive approach that safeguards human rights and the environment. For the past two years, I have worked with people from many different organizations, under the auspices of the U.N. Environment Programme, to clarify human rights principles that we believe should apply in conservation. Our focus is on affecting the behavior of private conservation organizations and funders, who play critical roles but often receive far less scrutiny than governments. Organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Nature Conservancy funnel hundreds of millions of dollars in financial and technical support from donors in wealthy nations to protected areas around the world. In many cases, they manage or co-manage parks directly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The principles that will be announced on Dec. 13, 2024, are not binding, but they reflect and summarize widely accepted human rights standards. They are based on key concepts that urge conservation organizations and funders to: Adopt commitments to respect human rights. Embed the commitments in their work. Institute processes to ensure that they identify and address human rights concerns. Avoid causing or contributing to human rights abuses. Use their influence to try to ensure that their partners, including government agencies, do not engage in abuses themselves. In particular, the principles call on conservation organizations and funders to respect the rights of Indigenous peoples, including their right to decide whether to give their free, prior and informed consent for conservation initiatives and projects. The principles have already been supported by more than 70 organizations and individuals, including the U.N. special rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples and the U.N. special rapporteur on the human right to a healthy environment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More remains to be done, including creating a regular conference to bring conservation organizations and funders together with Indigenous peoples to jointly address issues of conservation and human rights. But these principles are an important step toward greater protection for nature and the people who live closest to it. WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) On November 5, 2024, registered voters nationwide went to the polls to cast ballots in many races, including President of the United States, congressional, statewide, and local races. In Texas, candidates running must receive the majority vote to win the race. In the Wichita Falls Councilor At-Large, Austin Cobb and Sam Pak were the candidates that tied with an equal majority vote. Pak won the popular vote by less than 200 votes. Wichita Falls voters returned to the polls on Saturday, December 14, 2024, for a final cast vote in a runoff election. However, no projected winner for Wichita Falls Councilor At-Large will be announced Saturday due to outstanding mail-in ballots or ballots with insufficient voter information. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Voters have until Dec. 19 to go and correct their ballot. According to the League of Women Voters, your county election office must notify and instruct the voter how to fix it by mail, in person, or via the online tracker. The projected winner could be announced from Dec. 19 through Dec. 23, 2024. We will update you as soon as more information is provided. Contact information for the Wichita County Election Office: Location: 900 7th St, Room 104, Wichita Falls, TX 76301 Office phone number: 940-766-8174 Email: Voter.Registration@co.wichita.tx.us Follow Texomas Homepage and our KFDX and KJTL anchors and reporters on social media for the latest election news, live coverage from polling locations and accurate final results. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement F A C E B O O K T W I T T E R I N S T A G R A M Texomas Homepage is Your Local Election Headquarters. Follow us for candidate profiles, the latest updates regarding decisions for voters in Texoma, and the final results from local elections. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Texomashomepage.com. Deputies arrested a 50-year-old woman in San Bernardino County on Saturday morning after she allegedly stole mail from about 20 people, officials say. The San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department said in a release that the woman, identified as Lucy Estrada of Fontana, was living as an unhoused individual at the time of her arrest. A call came into the department around 11:14 a.m. reporting a suspicious person near the 13000 block of Arrow Route, according to SBSD. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The department said the caller reported seeing Estrada pushing a shopping cart, opening mailboxes and taking mail in the area. Deputies responded and located Estrada, and purportedly found her to be in possession of stolen mail belonging to over 20 different people. SBSD said deputies arrested Estrada and booked her at the West Valley Detention Center for mail theft. Officials urge anyone with information regarding this incident to contact the Fontana Sheriffs Station at 909-356-6767. Callers wishing to remain anonymous may contact the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78CRIME (27463), or you may leave information on the We-Tip website at www.wetip.com. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday stated that around 9,000 Naxals had surrendered in the Northeast between 2019 and 2024, alongside numerous youths from Naxal-affected areas in Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra who have also laid down their arms. During his interaction with surrendered Naxals in Jagdalpur, Shah emphasised the Union Government's initiatives to reintegrate former insurgents into society. He noted that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed him as Home Minister in 2019, a key priority was addressing the violence that had hindered development across large parts of India, including Naxal-affected regions. "From 2019 to 2024, in the Northeast alone, 9,000 people have surrendered. In Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra, many youths in Naxal-affected areas have also surrendered," Shah said. He explained that the government implemented policies to facilitate the reintegration of those willing to abandon violence, offering them a pathway back to mainstream society. Shah added that the government had developed a comprehensive plan to support surrendered individuals and those impacted by Naxal violence. "In 2019, when PM Narendra Modi entrusted me with the role of Home Minister, many youths were taking up arms, disrupting their own lives and the development of regions such as Kashmir, the Northeast, and Naxal-affected areas. We decided to allow anyone who wished to surrender their weapons to do so," Shah said. "The Government of India has devised a detailed welfare plan for surrendered youth and those affected by Naxal violence. The central government has also provided 15,000 houses in Naxal-affected regions," he added. Earlier today, Amit Shah reiterated his commitment to "completely eradicate" Naxalism from the country by March 31, 2026. Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Bastar Olympics 2024, Shah highlighted the substantial progress made in combating Naxalism over the past decade, citing a 73% reduction in security personnel deaths and a 70% decrease in civilian casualties in regions once dominated by Naxals. "In the past 10 years, we have tackled Naxalism on multiple fronts. Today, there is a 73% reduction in security personnel deaths and a 70% decline in civilian casualties in former Naxal strongholds. By March 31, 2026, we will completely eliminate Naxalism from the country," Shah affirmed. He credited the improved efficacy of anti-Naxal operations to the establishment of a BJP-led government in Chhattisgarh. According to Shah, during the initial years, the campaign lacked support from the state government, but after the BJP assumed power, the operations gained significant momentum. "In the first year of the BJP government in Chhattisgarh, 287 Naxals were killed, 992 were arrested, and 837 surrendered," Shah said. He appealed to remaining Naxals to surrender, lay down their weapons, and contribute to the nation's progress. "I urge all Naxals to surrender, renounce violence, and join the mainstream to work for the welfare of the country. I am proud to say that Chhattisgarh's surrender policy is the most attractive in the nation," he added. Shah also highlighted Bastar's transformation from a conflict-ridden zone to a symbol of peace and development during the Bastar Olympics 2024 closing ceremony. He described the event as more than a sporting event, portraying it as a foundation for sustained peace, security, and progress in the region. Shah expressed confidence that by the time of the 2026 Bastar Olympics, the area would undergo a complete transformation. "The Bastar Olympics is now a defining feature of all seven districts in the region. This event will mark the final chapter of Bastar Naxalism. When I attend the 2026 Olympics, I will declare that Bastar has changed," he said. The Bastar Olympics 2024 witnessed the participation of over 1.65 lakh individuals. The Union Minister also conferred the prestigious 'President's Colours' award on the Chhattisgarh Police, recognising their exemplary service and dedication to peace and security in the state. This honour makes Chhattisgarh Police the 11th police organisation in the country to receive this distinction. Addressing the event, Shah praised the force for their "hard work, dedication, bravery, and close ties with the public." "I can confidently say that the Chhattisgarh Police Force ranks among the bravest in the country. As Chhattisgarh celebrates 25 years since its formation, this award reflects your unwavering commitment, courage, and strong bond with the people," he added. Amit Shah arrived in Raipur on Saturday for a three-day visit to the state, scheduled from December 14 to 16. (ANI) Luigi Mangione's mother filed a missing persons report about her son in San Francisco on Nov. 18 -- 16 days before he allegedly shot dead UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City -- law enforcement sources told ABC News. Mangione appeared in court in Pennsylvania on Monday, shortly after his arrest at a McDonald's restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, following a five-day manhunt across multiple states. Mangione told a judge he was in touch with his family "until recently." Law enforcement sources told ABC News that Mangione's mother spoke with a task force of FBI agents and New York Police Department detectives one day before her son's arrest on Dec. 9. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That conversation followed a tip the FBI received from the police in San Francisco, where Mangione's mother filed the missing persons report. PHOTO: Shooting suspect Luigi Mangione is taken into the Blair County Courthouse on Dec. 10, 2024, in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. (Janet Klingbeil/AP) MORE: What we know about Luigi Mangione, Ivy League grad charged in CEO's murder The tip from SFPD was based on physical appearance and Mangione's mother, in her conversation with the Joint Violent Crimes Task Force last Sunday, indicated the person in the surveillance photos circulated by the NYPD could be her son, the sources said. The task force was still working on the information the mother and San Francisco Police Department provided when Mangione, 26, was arrested in Altoona. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Mangione family released a statement saying they were "shocked and devastated by Luigi's arrest" and offered "our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved." Mangione is currently in custody at a Pennsylvania state prison after a judge denied bail on Tuesday. Mangione faces charges in Pennsylvania including allegedly possessing an untraceable ghost gun. In New York, he faces charges including second-degree murder. PHOTO: A view of the exterior of SCI Huntingdon where Luigi Mangione is being held in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 11, 2024. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters) MORE: UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting supporters may target police, courts: Analysts Mangione's new attorney Mangione has now hired veteran former New York City prosecutor Karen Friedman Agnifilo to defend him, according to a statement from her law firm Agnifilo Intrater LLP. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Friedman Agnifilo served as the second-in-command in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office from 2014 to 2021 under former District Attorney Cyrus Vance. A biography on her law firm website says she played a lead role in prosecuting "high-profile violent crime cases," including those involving mental health and cold case homicides. "Karen Friedman Agnifilo has a three-decade background in criminal justice, litigation and trials. Her practice focuses on criminal defense in state and federal courts, leveraging her extensive experience prosecuting serious violent crimes, including complex homicide cases, from accusation to investigation to arrest and trial," the biography said. "While serving in the Manhattan DA's office, Ms. Friedman Agnifilo was also integral to creating the office's Human Trafficking Unit, Hate Crimes Unit, Antiquities Trafficking Unit, Terrorism Unit, its Cybercrimes and Identity Theft Bureau, as well as working on the creation of Manhattan's first Mental Health Court," the biography continued. Friedman Agnifilo is also a frequent television news guest and commentator and is a former legal analyst for CNN. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She is the co-host of a weekly podcast on the Meidas Touch Network where she discusses emerging legal issues and litigation strategy, and serves as a legal adviser for the television show "Law and Order." PHOTO: In this Feb. 14, 2017, file photo, Chief Assistant District Attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo speaks at a press conference following the guilty verdict in the trial against Pedro Hernandez. (Natan Dvir/Polaris, FILE) MORE: Supporters of suspected CEO killer Luigi Mangione establish defense fund Writings analyzed Law enforcement sources told ABC News that writings seized from the suspect indicate he developed a fixation and increasing malice toward UnitedHealthcare and allegedly talked about harming its leader for months. Some entries in the notebook seized from Mangione upon his arrest were dated as far back as mid-2024, the sources said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That fixation eventually evolved into the alleged plan to shoot executive Thompson, the sources said. Some of the writings were diary-style, documenting how he felt and what he did that day. They also documented a desire to focus on his health and find his purpose, the sources said. But as time went on -- and as Mangione allegedly fell out of contact with friends and family and grew increasingly isolated -- some writings indicated a deterioration in his state of mind, illustrating a gradual build towards the alleged plan to kill Thompson at what the writings described as UnitedHealthcare's "annual parasitic bean-counter convention," sources said. PHOTO: Luigi Mangione is escorted after an extradition hearing at Blair County Court House in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 10, 2024. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: UnitedHealthcare CEO killing latest: Investigators spoke to Mangione's mother before arrest Mangione's writings, obtained by ABC News, claimed that the U.S. has the most expensive health care system in the world but ranks around 42nd in life expectancy. He said UnitedHealthcare "has grown and grown, but as our life expectancy? No the reality is, these [indecipherable] have simply gotten too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for immense profit." "I do apologize for any strife of traumas but it had to be done," he allegedly wrote. "Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Neither Mangione nor his parents received insurance through UnitedHealthcare, according to UnitedHealth Group. UnitedHealthcare CEO killing latest: Mangione's mother filed November missing report originally appeared on abcnews.go.com It looks like Luigi Mangione and Sean Diddy Combs have more in common than orange jumpsuits and ankle shackles. Karen Friedman-Agnifilo, the high-powered lawyer hired by UnitedHealthcare murder suspect Luigi Mangione, is married to none other than Marc Agnifilio, who has been representing the rapper as he battles sex trafficking charges. Friedman-Agnifilo is a former prosecutor who ditched her longtime position as the head of the sex crimes unit in the Manhattan District Attorneys Office in 2021 to join her husbands private firm, Agnifilo Intrater LLP . Karen Friedman-Agnifilo was hired this week to represent Luigi Mangione. MSNBC Before joining her husband in the private sector, Friedman-Agnifilo clocked in seven years as second in command to District Attorney Cyrus Vance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her marital relationship even caused career strife at times Friedman-Agnifilo was forced to recuse herself from several cases in which her husband was representing accused suspects, including Harvey Weinsteins rape prosecution. The disgraced movie mogul retained a member of the Agnifilo Intrater LLP team in 2017 after Boardwalk Empire actress Paz de la Huerta made credible and detailed claims that Weinstein raped her several years earlier, meaning Friedman-Agnifilo had no choice but to step down from the case. Friedman-Agnifilo also clocked in time as the lead investigator on allegations that Seton Halls former board chairman sexually harassed the schools former presidents wife, a claim later found to be unsubstantiated. Marc Agnifilo and his firm are representing Sean Diddy Combs. J.C. Rice Other attorneys said it was no surprise she was plucked to represent the blockbuster Mangione case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shes got as much experience as any human being, especially in the state court, a New York prosecutor told CNN. She knows every corridor, every judge, every clerk in the courthouse. Combs is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York. Getty Images Mangione is currently being held in Pennsylvania and has pleaded not guilty to the slew of charges levied against him. Luigi Mangione/Facebook Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mangione a 26-year-old University of Pennsylvania graduate is accused of fatally shooting Thompson as the 50-year-old CEO walked to the Hilton hotel on Sixth Avenue, where UnitedHealthcares parent company was holding its annual investor conference on Dec. 4. The alleged assassin led police on a five-day manhunt that ended when he was taken into custody at a Pennsylvania McDonalds on Monday after an employee recognized him and called the police. He is being held in Pennsylvania. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to the slew of charges levied against him, including murder and gun possession. HONOLULU (KHON2) About 250 University of Hawaii students are gearing up to take the next step in their lifes journey. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You The UH-West Oahu students received their diplomas Saturday morning in a mid-year commencement ceremony held on campus. About 160 students participated in the ceremony. Dead zebra doves found at Hilo park before avian flu confirmed in water Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They earned their bachelors degrees in applied sciences, business administration, creative media, and cybersecurity to name a few. The school also honored outgoing UH president David Lassner who is retiring at the end of the years term. UH Manoa will hold its commencement ceremony Saturday, Dec. 21 at 9 a.m. in the Stan Sheriff Center. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news UH Hilo will also hold its commencement on Saturday. Dec. 21 at the UH Hilo Vulcan Gym. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Originally appeared on E! Online It isn't a coincidence that Prince William picked this yearwhich he has called the hardest in his lifeto grow a beard. While it was undeniably a strong move aesthetically, the 42-year-old getting high marks (except from 9-year-old daughter Princess Charlotte) for his rugged new look, beards are known to symbolize maturity, status and formidability. All of which is expected of the future king whether he's ready or not. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the Prince of Wales has known griefand the royal family is no stranger to scandal, tragedy, schisms and other palace-rattling eventsthe last 12 months have been a lot for the descendants of Queen Elizabeth II, whose mostly hale 70 years on the throne set what quickly proved to be an inimitable precedent. With both King Charles III, 76, and his daughter-in-law Kate Middleton, 42, undergoing cancer treatment in 2024, never in recent memory has the literal health of the institution seemed so in peril. (Even the most robust royal in the land, 74-year-old Princess Anne, was briefly hospitalized with a head injury that her doctors deemed consistent with an impact from a horse.) "Trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult, William told reporters during his visit to Cape Town, South Africa, to award the fourth annual Earthshot Prize in November. "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 brutal." More from E! Online Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And uncertainty still reigns heading into 2025, as William and Kate feel the ever-present pressure to step up as co-faces of the Firm, while she continues to refrain from over-exerting herself just a few months removed from completing chemotherapy. Danny Lawson - WPA Pool/Getty Images "The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family," the Princess of Wales said in a video posted on social media in September that included the rarest of montages of her driving, snuggling with her husband, rambling through the woods with Prince George, 11, Charlotte and Prince Louis, 6moments the public does not normally see. "Life as you know it can change in an instant and we've had to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road unknown," she continued. "The cancer journey is complex, scary and unpredictable for everyone, especially those closest to you." Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images While sharing they were ailing at all was a nod to the more modern demand for transparency that the late queen faced in her later years but rarely acknowledged, neither Charles nor Kate has divulged what type of cancer each was treated for. (The palace noted the monarch didn't have prostate cancer, an early assumption after he was treated for an enlarged prostate in January.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It's possible Kate would have preferred to not say anything until after she finished chemo, but conspiracy theories ranging from the benign to the bizarreand then news of a possible records breach at the hospital where she had abdominal surgery in Januaryhastened her breaking her silence in March. And though most updates on Charles and Kate's health were of the noncommittal "doing well" variety as their respective spouses made the rounds in their stead, it ultimately became a year of unprecedented candor. William has always known that staying relevant is key for the monarchy's long-term existence, and falling in love with just the right woman for the job of future queen was certainly a happy twist of fate. But this year was the one in which the heir-to-the-throne part became less important than being a husband and fathereven though he had to outwardly maintain the look of having it all under control. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As 2024 draws to a close, however, and with William and Kate's big promotion hopefully still many years away, Charles and Queen Camilla (who was also temporarily out of commission with a chest infection, but has since recovered) will be hosting a massive Christmas celebration at Sandringham for even more family members than usual. "The monarchy would be taking too much of a risk if it went all the way out and revealed everything," royal correspondent Sharon Carpenter told E! News after Charles shared his cancer diagnosis in February, "because there's something to be said about this infallible nature, this keeping calm and carrying on, there's a lot of respect around that." But the newer way is here to stay, she observed. "Showing that they're human, that they go through the same things that we go througha lot of people have softened toward King Charles," Carpenter continued. "This more human side of the royal family is going to continue to win people over." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The public is also seeing "a much more relaxed side" of William and Kate, she added, "and moments of emotion. The royals seem a lot more relatable in this day and age." William has always known that staying relevant is key for the monarchy's long-term existence, and falling in love with just the right woman for the job of future queen was certainly a happy twist of fate. But this year was the one in which the heir-to-the-throne part became less important than being a husband and fathereven though he had to outwardly maintain the look of having it all under control. As 2024 draws to a close, however, and with William and Kate's big promotion hopefully still many years away, Charles and Queen Camilla (who was also temporarily out of commission with a chest infection, but has since recovered) will be hosting a massive Christmas celebration at Sandringham for even more family members than usual. Aaron Chown - WPA Pool/Getty Images Which is certainly in keeping with the overriding message of 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a letter to the attendees of her annual carol service at Westminster Abbey this month, Kate called Christmas "a time for celebration and joy," but also an "opportunity to slow down and reflect on the deeper things that connect us all." "It is when we stop and take ourselves away from the pressures of daily life, that we find the space to live our lives with an open heart, with love, kindness and forgivenessso much of what the Christmas spirit is all about," she continued. "Love is the light that can shine bright, even in our darkest times." While cracking open a window into how hard the year had been for their family, William also called Kate "amazing" and pushed back against the observation that he looked unusually relaxed at the Earthshot Prize ceremony. "I couldn't be less relaxed this year," he told Sky News last month. "So it's very interesting you're all seeing that. But it's more a case of just crack on and you've got to keep going." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Which William did, amid an unusual onslaught of challengesmost of which we haven't even mentioned yet. Before (almost) everyone descends on Sandringham for Christmas, refresh yourself on all the royal headlines that emerged from Britain and beyond in 2024: Kate Middleton and Prince William Take Their 3 Kids Christmas Caroling The family of five attended the annual Together At Christmas Carol Service at London's Westminster Abbey on Dec. 6. The holiday outing marked the first time the Prince and Princess of Wales stepped out with their children since the Trooping of the Colour ceremony in June. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meghan Markle Breaks Silence on Prince Harry Divorce Rumors The Duchess of Sussex shut down speculation of marital problems, joking during a Dec. 4 event in New York, "We've apparently divorced maybe 10, 12 times." "So, it's just like, 'What?'" continued Meghan, who shares kids Archie Harrison and Lilibet "Lili" Diana with the Duke of Sussex. "It's hard to keep up with, but that's why you just sort of ignore it." King Charles III and Queen Camilla's Dog Beth Dies The couple paid tribute to their late Jack Russell terrier on Nov. 18. "A sad farewell to Beth, The Queens much-loved companion from @Battersea Dogs and Cats Home," a message on their official Instagram account read, "who brought such joy, whether on walkies, helping on official duties, or curled up by the fire." 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." Camilla returned to work on Nov. 12 to host a reception at Clarence House. 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. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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." 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. 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 queen consort didn't have any engagements on her calendar until March 11, when she'd be due at Westminster Abbey to observe Commonwealth Day. 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. 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." 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. Kate Middleton Is Hospitalized Kensington Palace announced on Jan. 17 that the Princess of Wales 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." Florida Blue will host a celebratory breakfast on January 17, 2025, honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s life, legacy, and service. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] The breakfast, which will be held at the Prime F. Osborn Convention Center, will be held from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. Organizers see the event as an opportunity to network and explore opportunities for community involvement. The formal program will begin promptly at 8 a.m. and will feature our 2025 keynote speaker, Jonathan Eig, the winners of the Tomorrows Leaders competition, and more. Action News Jaxs very own Dawn Lopez will co-emcee the event. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Action News Jax is also a media sponsor of the event. To reserve your ticket, click HERE. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. By Nate Raymond (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court judge has taken the rare step of revoking his decision to retire from active service on the bench, depriving Republican President-elect Donald Trump of the ability to fill a judicial vacancy. U.S. Circuit Judge James Wynn, an appointee of Democratic former President Barack Obama on the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, disclosed his decision in a letter to Democratic President Joe Biden on Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It marked the first time since Trump won the Nov. 5 election that a Democratic-appointed appellate judge had rescinded plans to take senior status, a form of semi-retirement for judges that creates vacancies presidents can fill. Two trial court judges had similarly done so, prompting complaints by conservatives including Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who railed about an "unprecedented" spate of judges un-retiring post-election. Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who had fought to prevent Biden's pick to fill Wynn's seat from winning Senate confirmation, said on X that Wynn had engaged in a "blatant attempt to turn the judicial retirement system into a partisan game." Wynn sent his letter a day after Biden's nominee to succeed him, North Carolina Solicitor General Ryan Park, formally withdrew from consideration after his path to win Senate confirmation vanished. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate Democrats and Republicans post-election cut a deal that cleared the way for votes on about a dozen of Biden's remaining trial court nominees in exchange for not pushing forward with four appellate court nominees, including Park. A spokesperson for Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said all four lacked sufficient votes to be confirmed. That left four seats without confirmed nominees that Trump could try to fill upon taking office on Jan. 20. But two vacancies were contingent on two Democrat-appointed judges following through on their plans to leave active service. Those judges included Wynn, 70, who in January announced plans to take senior status contingent on a successor being confirmed. On Friday, he told Biden he changed his mind. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused," Wynn wrote. The Article III Project, a group run by Trump ally Mike Davis, late Friday announced it had meanwhile filed judicial misconduct complaints against the two trial court judges who likewise rescinded retirement plans post-election. Those judges are U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn in North Carolina and U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley in Ohio. They did not respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Daniel Wallis) The News The US is in direct contact with the Syrian rebel faction that led the ouster of Bashar al-Assad. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed Washingtons vision for Syrias political transition on a trip through the region this week. The success of the main rebel group, which the US designates a terror organization, has sparked debate among Western officials over how, or even if, to engage as Syrias political transformation unfolds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Blinken praised the positive words that weve heard but what really counts is action, adding that the US would reconsider sanctions and other measures enacted against Assad as the countrys transition progressed. Washington is not alone in angling to shape post-war Syria: Turkey reopened its embassy in Damascus on Saturday, while Israel has launched a new round of strikes on Syrian military sites. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has delivered 10 autonomous welding units to Ukraine to assist in the swift repair of the country's energy infrastructure. Source: USAID on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda Details: USAID reported that Ukraine had received 10 autonomous welding units to aid in the swift repair of energy infrastructure damaged by Russian attacks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "During Ukrainian winters, restoring power and heat quickly is lifesaving work," USAID added. .@USAID delivered 10 autonomous welding units to enable rapid repairs of energy infrastructure damaged by Russia's attacks. During Ukrainian winters, restoring power and heat quickly is lifesaving work. pic.twitter.com/HDXXpb4oWi USAID Ukraine (@USAIDUkraine) December 13, 2024 Background: On 13 December, Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine's energy sector. The bombardment severely damaged equipment at thermal power plants belonging to DTEK, the largest private energy company in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Russia had launched 93 missiles, including one supplied by North Korea, on Ukraine that day. Ukraine intercepted 81 of them, with Western-supplied F-16 fighter jets downing 11 cruise missiles. Additionally, Russia used nearly 200 drones in the bombardment. Zelenskyy noted that this was one of the largest attacks on Ukraine's energy sector. Following the attack, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha reiterated the country's request to its partners for at least 20 additional medium-range air defence systems. Support UP or become our patron! RICHMOND, Va. (WAVY) After multiple drone sightings across the state, including Hampton Roads, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said information from federal partners about them has been insufficient. This comes after many 10 On Your Side viewers have reached out to ask about the bright images cutting through the darkness, and in other parts of the country, have sparked speculation about who has sent them, and why. Drones light up the Hampton Roads skies Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And though a federal probe into the mysterious drone sightings has centered around skies over New York and New Jersey, the drones, controlled by unknown operators, have become a global phenomenon. Mystery drones: Where they have been spotted? The FBI has insisted that the drones do not belong to the U.S. military, and are also not the property of foreign governments. In a statement issued Saturday, Youngkin said the state is closely monitoring the drone activity. The Commonwealth of Virginia is home to a significant number of national security and critical infrastructure sites upon which our nation depends each and every day, Youngkin said in a statement. I remain deeply concerned that Virginia has consistently sought information from federal partners, and to date, the information shared with the Commonwealth has been insufficient. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Virginia State Police Homeland Security Division and Virginia Department of Emergency Management continue to closely coordinate through our Fusion Center with the greater law enforcement and first responder community regarding drone activity in the Commonwealth. We will continue to engage with numerous federal partners and release further information as it becomes known and available. The governor is calling on people to report drone observations to the Virginia Fusion Center at VFC@vfc.vsp.virginia.gov or 877-4VA-TIPS. He said people should not try to interfere with drones by using personally-owned drones or other airborne craft, or attempt to capture the suspected drone or aircraft individually. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com. Thousands of volunteers, like Pamela Bartholomew, center, helped at the annual H-E-B Feast of Sharing at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. The event is one of 34 feasts hosted by H-E-B in Texas and Mexico. More that 250,000 meals were expected to be served at the feasts. In San Antonio, people were treated to smoke brisket and sausage dinners along with dessert and treats. Jerry Lara, Staff / San Antonio Express-News VIA Metropolitan Transit is partnering with H-E-B to provide free rides to this years Feast of Sharing, the grocers annual holiday event downtown. H-E-Bs Feast of Sharing will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. The lunch is free and open to the public. This gathering is part of H-E-Bs Hunger Relief Program, which donated 34 million pounds of food to families in need last year, according to H-E-B. Advertisement Article continues below this ad This holiday event includes food, music, family activities, and a variety of free services. ALSO READ: Bexar County opens Section 8 housing voucher waitlist for one week only All mainline bus services, VIA Link, and VIAtrans will serve as fare-free rides to the event. Passengers can inform the operator that they are attending the event and will not be charged. Additionally, registered VIAtrans customers are urged to schedule their trip per VIAtrans policies and procedures. VIA and H-E-B have partnered to ensure transportation to this annual holiday event since 2002. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The company began hosting Feast of Sharing in 1989 and has served more than 340,000 meals annually in 34 cities throughout Texas and Mexico. Since its inception, about 375,000 volunteers have served more than 4 million meals. About 2,000 volunteers half of them H-E-B employees helped pull off last years event, which served at least 10,000 meals, organizers said then. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel addressed the annual meeting of the World Hindu Economic Forum-2024 in Mumbai, reiterating Gujarat's commitment to leading futuristic development sectors in alignment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision, according to a statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO). The Chief Minister highlighted Gujarat's focus on sustainability, citing key initiatives such as the Renewable Energy Policy and the Green Hydrogen Policy. The three-day forum, held on the death anniversary of the Iron Man of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, witnessed the participation of over 1,000 Hindu business entrepreneurs from around 40 countries. On this occasion, the Chief Minister paid heartfelt tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, honouring his immense contributions to the nation, the statement added. He emphasised Sardar Patel's visionary ideas that laid the foundation for a transparent and self-reliant economy after independence, recalling his pioneering concept of global tendering introduced in Ahmedabad Municipality in 1925. Praising Sardar Patel's vision for cooperatives, the Chief Minister underscored the importance of empowering milk producers through self-reliant cooperative societies to shield them from exploitation. Chief Minister Patel stated that efforts to further strengthen Sardar Patel's ideals of self-reliance and transparency have been carried forward under Prime Minister Modi's leadership. He noted that, under the Prime Minister's guidance, India's economy has nearly doubled in the past decade, positioning the country as the fifth-largest economy in the world, according to the CMO statement. With the Prime Minister's visionary leadership, India is rapidly progressing toward becoming the third-largest economic superpower. Speaking on the topic "Gujarat: Industrial Powerhouse Driving Economic Growth," the Chief Minister presented a comprehensive overview of Gujarat's growth journey under the Prime Minister's leadership. He noted that Gujarat has benefited from the Prime Minister's development vision for over two and a half decades, establishing itself as an industrial powerhouse contributing 16 per cent to the country's industrial production, over 8 per cent to GDP, and 30 per cent to exports. The Chief Minister, discussing Gujarat's readiness to lead in emerging sectors, announced that three semiconductor plants are set to become operational in the state. He added that Gujarat will produce the country's first Make-in-India semiconductor chip. He proudly highlighted that Dholera SIR has emerged as a premier investment destination for sectors such as semiconductors, defence, and aerospace manufacturing, owing to its world-class infrastructure and logistics facilities, as stated by the CMO. Additionally, he mentioned the Viksit Gujarat @2047 Vision Roadmap, designed to align with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a Viksit Bharat @2047. He lauded the World Hindu Economic Forum-2024, themed "Think in Future - Think for Future," for offering mentorship and networking opportunities to emerging startups and entrepreneurs. The Chief Minister encouraged youth and entrepreneurs across industries, trade, and the economy to invest in Gujarat and establish industries, taking advantage of the state's extensive development opportunities. Swami Vigyananandji, Chairman of the forum, also paid tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, emphasising the continued relevance of his ideas in the modern world. He highlighted the forum's critical role in promoting industry, business, trade, banking, and investment while fostering ideological exchanges among technocrats and thinkers. Sanjay Khemani, Vice Chairman of the Organising Committee, along with other members and invitees, attended the forum. (ANI) BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) At the Louisiana National Cemetery, family members and volunteers gathered Saturday to honor the sacrifices of veterans during the annual Wreaths Across America ceremony. The first American hero laid to rest here was part of the Battle of Baton Rouge during the Civil War, said Denise Singleton, President of the Blue Star Mothers of Louisiana. Many of them no longer have families here to remember them, so it is our duty and responsibility to make sure they are never forgotten. For 15 years, the Blue Star Mothers of Louisiana have worked tirelessly to ensure the graves of veterans are remembered. This year marked a historic milestone, as every headstone in Louisiana National Cemeteries received a wreath. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its really not about the headstone; its about the hero laid to rest there. If we can continue in that effort going forward, then we will have accomplished our mission to remember, honor, and teach, said Singleton. The ceremony also included a solemn roll call of veterans names, with organizers stressing the importance of community involvement in keeping this tradition alive. All wreaths placed during the event will be removed by Jan. 11, 2025. Child hurt, 1 dead after multiple shootings reported in Baton Rouge Latest News Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to BRProud.com. EAST HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) East Haven was one of 4,600 locations paying respects to fallen servicemen Saturday morning at Wreaths Across America. More than two million volunteers came together in different communities across the United States to lay wreaths on the graves of veterans who served our country at home and abroad. We joined with the Arlington National cemetery in locations throughout the country in laying wreaths in honor of our veterans who have been interred in our local cemeteries, said Wendy Bellmore, Chaplain of the Harry R Bartlett American Legion Post 89 and a location coordinator for Wreaths Across America in East Haven. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wreaths Across America to be observed Saturday, Dec. 14 Neighbors gathered in the Town Green for a brief ceremony where a wreath was laid for each branch of service. Then, volunteers like Eagle Scout Troop 401 representative Joseph Taylor, moved to Eastlawn and Greenlawn cemeteries where wreathes were laid on individual veterans graves. This coming year will be our 50th year of my family running the Troop, said Taylor, so its been a great honor to serve the town of East Haven and our community in that way. Organizers say it was a day full of emotion, respect and honor, both for the volunteers and for families. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Dec. 14SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP Dozens of volunteers showed up at Shawnee Cemetery on Saturday to lay balsam wreaths on veterans' graves for National Wreaths Across America Day. According to the event website, there were 625 veteran graves that needed wreaths; 695 wreaths were sponsored at $17 per wreath, which exceeded the goal by 70 wreaths. The cemetery holds veterans who served in the War of 1812, the Civil War, World War I and World War II to name a few, according to Shawnee Cemetery Sexton Lesa Wende as written in a previous article. She made the event possible at Shawnee Cemetery, and the cemetery became the first one in Allen County to participate in Wreaths Across America. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This has been something that I wanted to do since I started as cemetery sexton two and a half years ago," she said Saturday. "The response from the community has blown me away and really shows how important it is to remember the fallen, honor those who serve and their families and teach the next generation the value of freedom." Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose a U.S. Army reservist and former U.S. Army Special Forces Green Beret spoke at the event and touched on the mission of Wreaths Across America: remember, honor and teach. "A wreath is a symbol of victory. A wreath is a symbol of eternal life. As long as we speak their names and honor their memory, they're still with us. That's why Wreaths Across America is such an important opportunity," he said. "Our most important guests are the young Americans, the young Ohioans, among us. Because as we know, patriotism is only one generation away from extinction. It's not passed down in the bloodstream. It's taught from each generation to the next." Shannon Mellano, of Lima, attended with her family and helped her five-year-old granddaughter, Felicity Mellano, place a wreath. She expressed the importance of both adults and children remembering veterans and military events. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We have a lot of military in our family. My dad was in World War II, and both of my uncles were in Vietnam, and my son is in the Army," Mellano said about why she attended the event. "I've donated to Wreaths Across America for years but there's never been anyplace here locally [to place wreaths]." Air Force veteran Cathy Smith and her husband, Gary Smith, of Gomer, honored three of Cathy's family members who are buried in the cemetery with wreaths. Two served in World War II and one served in the Vietnam War. "When I found out they were doing this, I had to come," Cathy said. "We always order one and I put it out in Gomer just by myself, so I was really excited this year when I saw they were doing this." In 2015, Gary was awarded Driver of the Year at his work, Garner Trucking, and he and Cathy were able to drive 424 boxes of wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia in a patriotically decorated truck for Wreaths Across America. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Everybody essentially here has someone that is family, or they know them," Gary said. "Even if they don't, the thing I like more than anything else is watching the children learn about this, because freedom is never free, somebody's got to pay for it." Reach Charlotte Caldwell at 567-242-0451. Featured Local Savings DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) Veterans are being honored during the holidays with an annual ceremony at Dayton National Cemetery. 5,300 veterans wreaths were placed on the headstones of fallen services members laid to rest in Dayton on Saturday. The event was part of the national Wreaths Across America Day. Over 3,500 ceremonies took place across the country on Dec. 15, with local volunteers coordinating the event. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its paid for by fundraising campaigns throughout the year by local organizations. Organizers for the event say its moments like these that ensure the memory of those who served our country never dies. If we dont remember where we came from, whats been done for us where we are at now, we wont have that future, said Justin MacKellar, volunteer coordinator. We need to teach them what it takes to secure our future, so we can keep America going as the great country it is. Thousands of volunteers from across the Dayton area came together for the event. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. MEADOWVIEW, Va. (WJHL) The driver of a tractor-trailer suffered life-threatening injuries Saturday night during a crash on Interstate 81 in Washington County, the Virginia State Police (VSP) told News Channel 11. A statement from the VSP said the crash took place on I-81 South near Exit 24 in Meadowview at around 11:49 p.m. A tractor-trailer went off the right side of the interstate, struck a guardrail and overturned, the VSP said. The driver of the tractor-trailer suffered serious, life-threatening injuries, the VSP told News Channel 11. No additional information was available from the VSP. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a developing story. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) A man was taken into custody after authorities said he led them on a foot chase into a South Nashville Kroger while shoppers were inside Saturday afternoon. It was a surprising scene for shoppers at the Kroger off Thompson Lane on Saturday, Dec. 14, including Tony Peterson, whose son works there. My wife was pretty concerned that it was more than just shoplifting, because generally if its a shoplifter, someone might run after them, but they dont usually call the police, Peterson said, adding that he and his wife came to check on their son. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Christian Co. woman charged with manslaughter after fatal pedestrian-involved crash The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) said it all started when a mans car stalled out along Thompson Lane. Officers pulled up behind him to help, but they later realized he had at least one outstanding warrant. Thats when officials said he ran off, with the chase continuing into the store. He just looked like a normal person, explained Josephine Crocker, a cashier. He wasnt that tall, he had a beanie on, and he was wearing a hoodie and a coat and black pants. According to Crocker, the individual later identified as 28-year-old Alexander Smith of Joelton managed to hide from the officers for a few minutes before more chaos ensued. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com He came out of the bathroom and he spilled a bunch of stuff in the pharmacy, and then he was running down aisle 17, and then the police were chasing him, she recalled. It was crazy! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police reportedly used a Taser on Smith and he left the store in handcuffs. He looked sad. Im pretty sure it was because they had just tased him, so he was, like, in a bad mood, Crocker said. According to the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD), Smith was charged with three counts of assaulting a law enforcement officer, theft of property, evading arrest, resisting arrest and vandalism for Saturdays incident. He was reportedly wanted for an outstanding theft of a vehicle warrant, which was served. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PORTSMOUTH The winter season is nearly here, and with it, not only are people celebrating holiday favorite traditions, but some are seeking shelter from the cold that comes with Old Man Winters welcome. Two years ago, during a polar vortex, it became clear that there was a dire need for a warming station not operated by Salvation Army during some part of the colder season, due to their winter programming and security needs for its red kettle campaign. Community leaders Abby Spears and Larry Mullins came together and worked out a deal with ASCEND Counseling and Recovery Services to operate out of their large lobby. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Spears, working with feet on the ground daily to assist those who need help the most, knows the importance of a warming station during painfully cold nights. She has been operating the program since, continuing to utilize the ASCEND location. Spears is the Scioto County rural outreach specialist for The SOAR Initiative, Southeastern Regional Coordinator for Harm Reduction Ohio. She is also the volunteer Executive Director of Scioto Connect, founder of AppalAction, AppalAction Mutual Aid Network, and the Southern Ohio Peoples Union. For roughly two decades, Ive done outreach and volunteered in the community because I believe that we have to take care of each other. As a harm reductionist, I have seen that most everyone at some point needs care, compassion, and support that is done with respect and dignity, Spears said. The warming shelter is a necessity for our neighbors that are unhoused and for those in the area who may have a dwelling but lack adequate heating. ASCEND is a nonprofit treatment center in downtown Portsmouth. It is a CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) Accredited institution that handles inpatient and outpatient treatment for addiction and mental health services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mike Fraulini, former executive director of ASCEND welcomed the opportunity to serve the community with the warming station and current Executive Director Lindsey Thomas has continued the offering. Spears has been grateful for ASCEND, saying that it allowed her to show the compassion she felt was very needed. When we were reaching out to find locations, we were getting denied. One person reached out and said they were told these folks are destructive and make cleanup incredibly difficult. That wasnt the case we had at all. Every person who came through those doors were contributing in some way, Spears said. I told one person that, when you treat folks with dignity and kindness, that is how people will respond. I think the most heartbreaking thing for me is the number of people who were just overwhelmingly grateful to just be treated kindly. That, that really broke my heart. No one should ever not be treated like a human being. Spears says she wont waver while working for some of the most vulnerable in the community when partners she respects are unable to do so. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its also important to be able to support our partners in the community. Our local Salvation Army provides, among numerous services, warming and cooling stations for ten months out of the year and due to their incredibly robust Christmas program are unable to during November and December. A group of community partners and individuals have been working collaboratively to ensure that these services are able to continue to be offered and that safe and warm shelter is open to all who need it. Abby works every shelter night herself, with volunteers she enlists through Facebook or her friend and professional circle. I have met some of the best people in the world who come in through those doors and they are folks who often have very little of their own and will still give to someone in need if they come across that other person in need of help, Spears said. Every person who came in, folks who were using the space because they needed heat or those volunteeringit was just a very warm and caring environment for everyone. Everyone was making sure people were cared for, had something to eat, had plenty of supplies, and so on. Everyone was instrumental in making sure the space was well cared after and everything was cleaned up. People can monitor shelter activity through Facebook, on pages listed in Spears affiliations. If folks in the community have questions, are interested in volunteering, or would like to donate to the community efforts they can contact Spears at 740.357.9773 or at abby@sciotoconnect.org. ASCEND is at 729 6th Street. MUSTANG, Okla. (KFOR) With the start of winter just a week away, the Mustang Lions Club clicked off its Brad Edwards Warmth 4 Winter coat drive Saturday morning. The Lions Club took its big trailer to the streets and parked on the corner of Mustang Road and SH 152, so Oklahomans could easily drive or walk up to make their donations. For our third year, weve joined Channel 4s Warmth 4 Winter and Salvation Army to gather coats because we know there are a lot of Oklahomans in need and this is one way we can bless a lot of people, said Rob Estes, president of the Mustang Lions Club. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LOCAL NEW: Generous donor makes sure 1,000 low-income children will receive Christmas bikes Warmth 4 Winter coat drive. (KFOR) Warmth 4 Winter coat drive. (KFOR) Warmth 4 Winter coat drive. (KFOR) Warmth 4 Winter coat drive. (KFOR) Warmth 4 Winter coat drive. (KFOR) Warmth 4 Winter coat drive. (KFOR) Warmth 4 Winter coat drive. (KFOR) The mission of Warmth 4 Winter was born when the late Brad Edwards noticed children walking outside in the cold without coats on his way to work. He thought Oklahomans could make a difference. As the temperatures begin to dip down into the colder temperatures, any coats that you may not use anymore could go a long way for another Oklahoman. If you would like to donate new or gently used coats to Warmth 4 Winter, click here, to find a drop-off location near you. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A Washington DC waitress has been sacked after saying she would refuse to serve members of the new Trump administration. Suzannah Van Rooy, who works at Beucherts Saloon on Capitol Hill, said she would not feel comfortable serving someone who has moral convictions that are strongly opposed to mine. It comes amid reports of a resistance among Washingtons serving staff when Donald Trump returns to the White House next month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I personally would refuse to serve any person in office who I know of as being a sex trafficker or trying to deport millions of people, Ms Van Rooy told the Washingtonian this week. Its not, Oh, we hate Republicans. Its that this person has moral convictions that are strongly opposed to mine, and I dont feel comfortable serving them. Several members of Mr Trumps inner circle, including the president-elect himself, have pledged to institute the largest deportations in US history. Ms Van Rooys reference to sex traffickers appeared to be a reference to Matt Gaetz, Mr Trumps first pick as attorney general who later removed his name from consideration, who was the subject of a justice department probe into sex trafficking. Mr Gaetz was the president-elects first pick for attorney general - JONATHAN ERNST/Reuters A lawyer claimed to ABC News in November that two women whom he represents had been flown across state lines by the former Florida congressman for the purposes of sex. Mr Gaetz denied all claims and was not subject to any criminal charges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Several members of the first Trump administration were allegedly targeted because of their association with the Republican at restaurants in or around Washington. In June 2018, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, then the White House press secretary, claimed she was asked to leave a restaurant in Lexington, Virginia because she worked for Mr Trump. The same month, Kirstjen Nielsen, the then Homeland Security secretary, was eating at a Mexican restaurant in Washington when she was heckled by protesters and forced to leave. People were a lot more motivated the first time around to do those kinds of shows of passion. This time around, there is kind of a sense of defeat and acceptance, Ms Van Rooy said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But I hope that people still do stand up to this administration and tell them their thoughts on their misbehaviour. There are reports of a resistance among Washingtons serving staff when Mr Trump returns to the White House next month Beucherts Saloon told Fox News Digital that Ms Van Rooys remarks were reprehensible and she had been sacked for violating their zero-tolerance policy on discrimination. It also claimed that she had signed on its social media accounts in the middle of the night to post her own rhetoric in wildly offensive response to comments, and that it felt dismay and disgust at her unforgivable behaviour. In an earlier statement on social media, Beucherts apologised for Ms Van Rooys comments and said that she does not speak for us as a restaurant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the inauguration in January, we will begin serving our fourth administration as a neighbourhood restaurant on Capitol Hill open to all and welcoming to all, it said. We deeply apologise for the comments made by a member of staff. They are not representative of our restaurant and do not reflect how we operate as a business, and how proud we are to be a gathering place on Capitol Hill. Ms Van Rooy has been approached for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel attended a cultural programme organised by the Gujarat Tourism Corporation Limited at Sadd Ran Dhordo, where he witnessed various performances showcasing the art and culture of Kutch. On this occasion, the Chief Minister, along with other dignitaries, unveiled a special postal cover themed "Ranotsav," released by the Indian Postal Department. Paying tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the architect and 'Iron Man' of a united India, on his death anniversary, the Chief Minister remarked that just as Sardar Patel unified the princely states, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has followed in his footsteps by fostering the concept of "Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat." The ongoing Ranotsav, highlighting the culture and tourism of the desert, embodies this vision. Recalling the challenges faced by Gujarat after its separation from Maharashtra, the Chief Minister noted that the state, once known primarily for its sea, desert, and hills, has undergone remarkable development. Earlier, growth was concentrated in the Vapi to Tapi belt, and progress in areas like electricity, water, roads, and infrastructure was limited. However, with visionary leadership under then Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Gujarat embarked on a journey of global-level development. He highlighted Modi's efforts to rebuild Kutch after the devastating earthquake, turning the calamity into an opportunity that drew attention from across the nation and the world. The Chief Minister also emphasised the successful water management initiatives that have brought the waters of the Narmada River to Modkooba village at the edge of Kutch. Furthermore, he noted that the largest hybrid renewable energy park, with a capacity of 30 gigawatts, is being established in the desert under the Prime Minister's vision. Reflecting on the origins of Ranotsav, the Chief Minister stated that in 2005, Narendra Modi, as Chief Minister, initiated the festival with just three days of planning. Today, it has transformed into a global event, turning a barren desert into a thriving tourist destination. Dhordo, the festival's venue, has also been recognised as the "Best Tourism Village" by the United Nations World Tourism Organization. The Kutch Ranotsav has significantly boosted Gujarat's tourism industry, becoming a key driver of economic and social development. Millions of visitors have provided a substantial income source for locals, particularly in the handicrafts sector, where traditional artefacts now reach a global market. The craft market has empowered rural women economically. Additionally, the Smritivan Earthquake Memorial Museum, built in memory of the 2001 earthquake victims, has been ranked among the world's three most beautiful museums this year, adding another feather to Gujarat's cap. Discussing tourism infrastructure, the Chief Minister mentioned the introduction of direct Volvo bus services from Ahmedabad airport to Dhordo, making the white desert more accessible to domestic and international tourists. With steady growth in visitor numbers, over seven lakh tourists visited Kutch last year. The government has also launched Volvo bus services to connect Ranotsav with other scenic destinations such as Mata Madh, Mandvi, Karna Dungar, and Narayan Sarovar. The Chief Minister expressed confidence that Ranotsav, blending development and heritage, would continue to serve as a guiding beacon for the state. He reiterated the goal of making Gujarat a leader in tourism as part of Prime Minister Modi's vision of "Developed India 2047." The cultural programme captivated the Chief Minister and other attendees. Performances included Kachchi Khmeer, a dance drama depicting Kutch's geography, history, and culture, as well as Garbo, narrating the tale of "Vrajwani Ahirani and Dholi." The natika Kachdo Baremas highlighted Kutch's historical landmarks and royal heritage, winning widespread acclaim. Artists enthralled the audience with vibrant performances of dance, music, and singing that brought Kutch's culture and journey to life. Highlights included a live rendition of "Maru Mann Mor Bani Thanganat Kare" and the devotional "Bhole Nath Shankara," performed on a full moon night, creating a serene atmosphere. The event showcased the richness of Kutch's folk music and arts, leaving a lasting impression on all present. (ANI) LARGO, Fla. (WFLA) A child was safely returned to their family within minutes of going missing Friday thanks to the help of a K-9 with the Pinellas County Sheriffs Office. The sheriffs office said K-9 Duke and his partner Deputy Wede, along with Flight Units, were called to assist the Largo Police Department after receiving reports of a missing child. Pinellas schools say classroom air quality is safe following tests Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities said the child had run off from their parent and was believed to be nearby. Largo officers worked with the parent to gather some of the childs belongings so that K-9 Duke could try to pick up a scent. Meanwhile, a helicopter crew searched from above. After getting a sniff, K-9 Duke took off, leading Deputy Wede to a parking lot where the dog began circling a car covered by a tarp. Deputies said the child was found hiding under the car and was unharmed. The entire search lasted just about 20 minutes. K-9 Dukes efforts were celebrated with pets, and authorities stuck around afterward to ensure the child got home safe and sound. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Ukraines military attacked the capital of Chechnya on Sunday, with locals reporting that three drones targeted military and police bases. Two of the devices were shot down, while the third hit the Akhmat-Grozny OMON base, which reportedly houses units of the Chechen leaders private army. Footage posted on Russian Telegram channels showed a plane-like long-range missile hurtling towards a building in the city of Grozny, accompanied by the sound of gunfire in the background, followed by a large explosion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Posts on a Chechen Telegram channel reported the attacks targeted key facilities including a riot police base, the second regiment of the Chechen interior ministrys patrol and guard service, and a military base linked to the Russian war effort. Self-styled Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov said no casualties had been reported and that he would respond with more precise and harsher retaliatory strikes. Chechnya is a mainly Muslim republic within the Russian Federation. Kadyrov has been a vocal supporter of Moscows war and has sent forces to Ukraine, some 1,000km away, to fight alongside Russian forces. Video footage appeared to show the drone exploding after it flew into a building Yan Matveyev, a Russian military analyst, wrote on social media that the drone was probably an A-22, a modified light aircraft which has reportedly been used by Kyiv for long-range unmanned strikes into Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yaroslav Trofimov, The Wall Street Journals chief foreign affairs correspondent, said on X that the drones flew at least 500 miles. The attack is Ukraines third this month in the region. Earlier this week, a drone was shot down over a police barracks, with four guards suffering light wounds from the falling debris. Last week a drone reportedly hit the roof of a police facility. In October, the roof of a military training centre in the Chechen city of Gudermes was set ablaze in what appeared to be the first Ukrainian drone attack directed against Chechnya since the start of the war in February 2022. Addressing Sundays attack, Kadyrov said on Telegram: Next time you think of attacking the Chechen Republic with drones, keep in mind that we will be launching selective strikes on places where Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel are concentrated. And the consequences of such strikes will be many times more terrible. 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. On December 16, 1974, President Gerald Ford signed into law the Safe Drinking Water Act. Fifty years later, it remains one of Americas most important environmental laws and most effective public health regulations. Its largely responsible for the US ranking among the countries with the safest drinking water year after year. Its also why, with a few notable exceptions, Americans in most communities across the country can confidently pull straight from the tap with little concern for what might be in their water supply. While our drinking water is still the envy of most countries, the legislation has not been a cure-all. More than two million Americans still lack access to clean drinking water at home and nearly one in four US households on private wells have dangerous contaminants in their water. High-profile breakdowns in water infrastructure in long neglected communities like Flint, Michigan and Jackson, Mississippi have exposed socioeconomic and racial disparities in our water systems. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Increasing awareness of the more than 9 million lead service lines still in use across the country has also chipped away at trust in our water. Underscoring the urgency of this matter, President Biden visited Milwaukee in October to announce his administrations commitment to replace all lead pipes in the country by 2037. Milwaukee alone still has 65,000 lead service lines, easily the most in Wisconsin. Maintaining safe drinking water is a particularly acute challenge in small towns and rural communities. Americas drinking water utilities are highly fragmented, with tens of thousands of independent community water systems across the country; there are more than 570 water utilities in Wisconsin alone. Most of these water systems are very small, and many lack the financial resources and organizational capacity to provide safe, affordable, and sustainable water service. Aging infrastructure leaves our water supplies leaky and prone to main breaks that threaten health and disrupt homes and businesses; Wisconsins water utilities repair an average of more than 3,000 main breaks each year. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the nations water utilities will need more $625 billion to pay for pipe replacements, treatment plant upgrades, and other facilities to maintain safe drinking water. Here's how we provide clean drinking water for the next 50 years Against this backdrop, more than 50 leading water professionals and scholars came together in Madison earlier this month to envision the next fifty years of the Safe Drinking Water Act. At that symposium, colleagues at the Water & Health Advisory Council and I formally unveiled our vision for the future of drinking water in America. In it we lay out principles to ensure public health, rebuild trust, and provide sustainable drinking water: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prioritizing risk. Regulators, utilities and policymakers must focus on the most serious threats to drinking water using the best available science on risks and benefits. Recently, regulators have prioritized identifying and regulating new contaminants over eliminating known risks and enforcing existing rules. Vigilance is important, but advancing public health requires concentrating on the most serious problems first. Building capacity. Water utilities need sustainable funding through service rates and other local sources. Federal funding can be a useful complement in some cases, but it shouldnt be viewed as a main source of financial support. Americas fragmented drinking water systems must consolidate substantially to achieve the organizational scale needed to operate effectively and affordably. Rigorous enforcement. Regulators can no longer tolerate failure. Authorities must anticipate and prevent systems at risk of failure and respond to serious or ongoing violations of the act's health protections with swift and effective enforcement. We must level the regulatory field so that protections apply to all public, private, and nonprofit water systems, as well as bottled and other commercial drinking water. Justice. Regulations must foster safe, reliable, resilient, and affordable tap water for all. We must eliminate racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in tap water access, quality, and reliability. Regulation must evolve with the times to protect vulnerable populations as our economy and society evolves. Transparency & trust. Utilities and regulators must lavishly share information about drinking water in clear and understandable terms. We must replace ineffective and antiquated Consumer Confidence Report rules with more effective, rigorously tested methods of communication. Meteoric rise in bottled water mirrors declining trust in government As pipes crumble, so does trust in tap wateralong with trust in the institutions that provide and regulate this most essential service. Americans trust in institutions is at an all-time low; the meteoric rise of the bottled water industry is in part a sign of that declining trust in government. Distrust in the government and concerns around transparency came up frequently in the Main Street Agenda community conversations that the La Follette School of Public Affairs conducted this fall. Oddly enough, the survey respondents from the project were not concerned about too much government regulation. This leads me to believe that public trust depends on effective implementation. Opinion: UW-Milwaukee would be demoted by plan to split apart Wisconsin university system Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats why our vision emphasizes the basics and focuses on implementation of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Sustaining the miracle of modern drinking water requires an ongoing commitment to the original intent of the legislation signed by President Ford 50 years ago. In the decades ahead we must rebuild the critical infrastructure that sustains our lives, our environment, and our economy. The legislation can help get us there. If we get it right, well rebuild faith in democracy along the way. Manuel P. Teodoro is a professor at the La Follette School of Public Affairs at UW-Madison and a member of the Water & Health Advisory Council. His Caldwell Prize-winning book, The Profits of Distrust: Citizen Consumers, Drinking Water and the Crisis of Confidence in American Government, explores the relationship between public drinking water and confidence in government. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin can't take clean drinking water for granted | Opinion NHS hospitals are telling patients, visitors and staff to wear face masks amid fears of a quad-demic. An early flu season has piled pressure on the health service, with the number of patients in hospital with influenza more than tripling in two weeks. The rate of hospitalisations from flu increased from 1.8 per 100,000 toward the end of November to 5.53 in the week ending Dec 8, data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) show. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Combined with high rates of Covid, vomiting-bug norovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in children, some NHS hospitals have ushered in a return to face masks. Hospitals across Lincolnshire introduced mandatory face masks for patients and visitors across some areas on Friday. The United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: The additional infection prevention and control measure is being re-introduced in some high-risk areas due to an increase in respiratory illnesses such as Covid-19, Influenza A and RSV in the countys hospitals and community settings. The trust said all visitors would be asked to wear a hospital-provided type II R surgical face mask when visiting our wards and departments including in A&Es, urgent treatment centres and in cancer and paediatric units. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Birmingham Womens and Childrens NHS Foundation Trust warned that its A&E was extremely busy and urged parents to only attend if your child is seriously unwell. We are seeing a high number of patients with flu currently, it added. If you do need to attend our emergency department with your child, please do wear a face mask to protect yourself, other families and our teams caring for patients. South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust has said it was encouraging visitors to wear masks when entering, especially patients entering the emergency department. It said it was to provide protection from increasing numbers of Covid-19, flu, RSV, and norovirus cases in our hospital and reminded the public to wash their hands regularly with soap, warning that alcohol hand gels do not kill norovirus. Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust asks staff to wear masks in response to a low uptake of the flu vaccine in the local area - Jane Barlow/PA University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust also warned that visitors may be asked to wear a mask if you are able to. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the Humber and Yorkshire, staff are being told to wear face masks. The Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has asked staff to wear the coverings in all patient-facing areas in response to a low uptake of the flu vaccine in the local area. Amanda Stanford, group chief nurse, said it was because of rising cases of the virus over the last fortnight and that all measures will be kept under constant review by our senior nursing and infection control teams. Humber Health Partnership told staff: It is now mandatory for all staff, clinical and non-clinical, in all patient-facing areas to wear face masks because of the increase in cases of flu. South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust reminds the public to wash their hands as alcohol hand gels do not kill norovirus - Bogdan Kurylo/iStockphoto At the end of October fewer than one in four NHS frontline workers had received a vaccine against flu, which is the fewest in 14 years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The NHS last week warned of a tidal wave of flu ahead of Christmas with almost 2,000 patients in hospital beds with the virus every day of the week ending Dec 8. The public only have until Thursday to book in to get a jab on the NHS. Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director for NHS England, said: The tidal wave of flu cases and other seasonal viruses hitting hospitals is really concerning for patients and for the NHS the figures are adding to our quad-demic worries. While the NHS has plans in place to manage additional demand over the busy winter period, with one week left to book your vaccine, I cannot stress enough the importance of getting booked in to protect yourself against serious illness and to avoid festive flu. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust also told visitors of its cancer wards with clinically vulnerable patients not to attend if they have a cough, any respiratory symptoms or a temperature and said they would be asked to wear a face mask on the ward. A number of GP practices around England are also telling patients to wear a mask when visiting if they have symptoms of a respiratory virus such as flu or Covid. The decision to mandate mask-wearing is made by individual NHS trusts depending on local factors, such as rates of infection in the community and pressures on hospitals. 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. BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) On This Week in Louisiana Politics, the state legislature is taking a closer look at how child sexual abuse cases are handled between different agencies. A task force is helping shape new legislation. After a major upset in the East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-Presidents race, incoming leader Sid Edwards talked about his plans for the parish and laid out his transition team. Meanwhile, the first candidates for the New Orleans mayors race are announcing their campaigns. EBR Mayor-President-elect Sid Edwards on next steps after upset election win Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The closely watched Social Security Fairness Act in Congress is set to get a vote in the Senate next week. This could mean that government retirees could soon see a little more money in their monthly payments. Congress is also weighing in on TikTok and child safety online. But there could be a hold-up on Capitol Hill on some of the legislation. Court denies TikToks request to halt enforcement of potential US ban until Supreme Court review Latest News Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to BRProud.com. On Thursday, Republican Gov. Tate Reeves announced he is designating a donation of 59,500 pounds of chicken meat and 129,000 eggs from the Mississippi Poultry Association to the Mississippi Food Network and Salvation Army. The food will now go to residents in need, Reeves said. "Im grateful to the Mississippi Poultry Association for always stepping up to help ensure no Mississippi family goes hungry during the holiday season," Reeves said in a Thursday press release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Mississippi Poultry Association has been participating in the donation of food to the state during the holidays season for years and has so far donated 862,352 pounds of chicken and 1,882,600 eggs, which totals 5,332,008 servings of protein. "This has been a difficult year for many across the country, and the 32,000 employees of the states poultry industry want to help their fellow Mississippians this Christmas season, said Mack Walker, Mississippi Poultry Association Board president. We appreciate Gov. Reeves coordinating this effort." MAE releases education priorities for 2025 The Mississippi Association of Educators on Dec. 12 released its list of priorities for the upcoming 2025 Session. At the top of the organization's list is legislation to continue fully funding the Mississippi Student Funding Formula, which was created during the 2024 Session and has funded public schools with about $3 billion for the current fiscal year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The Mississippi Association of Educators is looking forward to another productive legislative session as we work together with lawmakers to improve Mississippis public education system," MAE President Erica Jones said. "We are confident that our elected officials agree with us that there are no issues more important to Mississippis economic future and the success of our citizens than a strong system of public schools." Education news: MS legislators discuss expanding tuition assistance to grow better educated workforce Jones said the organization is also advocating for equitable teacher pay, the removal of standardized testing and establishing universal pre-k and kindergarten education facilities across the entire state. "We know that the earlier children are provided with these learning opportunities, the greater the potential for lifelong success," Jones said. Auditor's position on disenfranchisement As for at least one policy issues, Mississippi State Auditor Shad White may fall further to the right than some of the state's Republican leadership: Disenfranchisement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an interview with the Clarion Ledger about his legislative priorities, White said he doesn't believe anyone should have their voting rights restored due to disenfranchising felony convictions. He also confirmed he is still considering a run at the governorship in 2027. White, Hosemann and Fitch trade blows: AG Fitch says state auditor White's $2M report was beyond his authority. White responds "If you have committed a felony, there are certain consequences that should come along with that, even after you serve your sentence, and one of those consequences is you should not have the right to vote," White said. " (In the auditor's office), we investigate and ultimately arrest people if they're charged for non-violent crimes. These are people stealing taxpayer money. When I see that, I'm disgusted by it, and I think that person has knowingly made a choice to take money that doesn't belong to them, at the expense of their neighbors, and sometimes at the expense of poor people in Mississippi." In the 2024 Session, Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed off on 15 suffrage bills and allowed one to pass by his desk without his signature. Between 2021 and January 2024, there were 47 individual requests for suffrage from people seeking their voting rights back, but only seven were approved, and they were not signed by Reeves. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House to take up disenfranchisement: How will lawmakers address disenfranchisement in 2025? See their plan "I would veto all of those bills," White said. There are currently about 68,000 people in Mississippi who are disenfranchised, and most of them committed nonviolent crimes. Disenfranchisement began in Mississippi as a method to keep Black voters from polls by disenfranchising them for committing crimes lawmakers believed Black people were likely to commit. There is no use to equivocate or lie about the matter. Mississippi's constitutional convention of 1890 was held for no other purpose than to eliminate the (explicative) from politics, Former Gov. James K. Vardaman said of the decision years later. Other Southern states soon followed with similar laws, as reported by the Clarion Ledger. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Efforts to provide suffrage to people who had committed nonviolent felonies in Mississippi died in the Legislature in the 2024 Session. House leadership, including Rep. Price Wallace, R-Mendenhall, and House Speaker Jason White, R-West, has vowed to take up the issue again in 2025. Grant McLaughlin covers the Legislature and state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335. This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: State politics: Reeves gives poultry association to Salvation Army, MS group ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) West Africas regional bloc ECOWAS approved Sunday an exit timeline for three coup-hit nations after a nearly yearlong process of mediation to avert the unprecedented disintegration of the grouping. In a first in the 15-nation blocs nearly 50 years of existence, the military juntas of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso announced in January that they decided to leave ECOWAS, accusing it of inhumane and irresponsible coup-related sanctions and of failing to help them solve their internal security crises. The authority decides to set the period from 29 January, 2025 to 29 July 2025 as a transitional period and to keep ECOWAS doors open to the three countries during the transition period, ECOWAS Commission President Omar Alieu Touray said in his closing remarks Sunday at the summit of regional heads of state in Nigerias capital, Abuja. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The three coup-hit countries have largely rebuffed ECOWAS efforts to reverse their withdrawal. They have started to consider how to issue travel documents separately from ECOWAS and are forming their own alliance. The one-year notice for their departure is expected to be completed in January. Touray commended efforts by the bloc's envoys to resolve the crisis. These efforts underscore your collective commitment to preserving peace and unity in our region, he said. Bola Tinubu, the president of Nigeria and chairman of ECOWAS, said the challenges faced around the world and in the region test its ability to work together. We must not lose sight of our fundamental responsibility, which is to protect our citizens and create an enabling environment where they can prosper, he said. One major benefit of being a member of ECOWAS is visa-free movement to member states, and it is not clear how that could change after the three countries leave the bloc. Asked about such an implication in July, the ECOWAS commission president said: When you get out of an agreement ... if it is about free trade, free movement of people, the risk of losing those concessions remains. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Saturday, the three countries said in a joint statement that while access to their territories would remain visa-free for other West African citizens, they reserve the right to refuse entry to any ECOWAS national falling into the category of inadmissible immigrants. As West Africa's top political authority since it was formed in 1975, such a division is ECOWAS' biggest challenge since inception, said Babacar Ndiaye, senior fellow with the Senegal-based Timbuktu Institute for Peace Studies. The chances of ECOWAS getting the three countries back into their fold are slim mostly because the bloc wants a quick return to democracy, which the juntas have not committed to, said Mucahid Durmaz, a senior analyst at global risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft. Allowing the juntas to remain in power could risk further regional fragmentation while recognizing them as legitimate authorities would represent a serious departure from ECOWASs founding principles, Durmaz said. The regional bloc also failed to manage the situation in the best possible way, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The blocs inconsistent responses to coups in the region have given an impression that its stance is influenced more by the political ambitions of member states than by its founding principles of promoting democratic governance, Durmaz said. ___ Associated Press journalist Baba Ahmed in Bamako, Mali, contributed. AKRON, Ohio (WJW) It was special day for employees and customers at the original Swensons Drive-In in West Akron. The restaurant was able to return to normal operations three weeks after a car crashed into the building. Local Giant Eagle sells scratch-off ticket worth $1 million According to police, the crash happened at about 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 22 when a vehicle traveling southbound on South Hawkins Avenue at a high rate of speed went off the road. Police said the vehicle hit a curb, traveled through the parking lot, and then struck the building. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A little hole in the wall is not going to stop us, weve been doing this for 90 years. This is our 90th anniversary. It was right around the holidays. We know that Swensons is a tradition here in Akron, said Jeff Flowers, president for Swensons Drive-Ins. Flowers said after the crash, they wanted to stay open through the holiday season. To make that happen, they worked out of their food truck while repairs were being made to the kitchen. With the interior work complete, the building reopened Saturday with a few decorations and gifts ready for their loyal customers. Customers like Marie Freels who arrived at Swensons before they officially opened Saturday. Shes from California but discovered Swensons while living in Kent for work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I grew up with In & Out and I have found that Swensons, its starting to hit that spot of a good burger joint out here, she said. Greg McDermott is from Philadelphia. He was in town to watch Duqesne and Towson game in Akron, but before he could enjoy that, or even see it his family, he had one top priority. Ive been coming here for over 40 years and its my favorite burger place in the world, he said. When we come into town, my family laughs, my kids were laughing like Wheres dad going? Were going to Swensons. Demolition set for Richmond Town Squares Sears It was a celebration for all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The outpouring of support from the community was absolutely fantastic, Flowers said. The original Swensons is now open during its regular hours. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. After the violence in Maharashtra's Parbhani city drew sharp reactions from Congress leaders, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said that his government will never do anything against the constitution. "Regarding the violence in Maharashtra's Parbhani city, I have to make a request that it is not right to react in this way. This government will never do anything against the constitution. Action has been taken against some people. Three accused have been found," he said. Violence erupted in Parbhani city on Wednesday following the alleged vandalism of a replica of the Indian Constitution. Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad condemned the violence and the attack on the statue and called for immediate action against those responsible. "Action should be taken against those who vandalized the statue of Baba Saheb Ambedkar in Parbhani," Gaikwad said. She also slammed the state government for its handling of the situation, noting that a curfew had been imposed in the city without restoring peace. "The Mahayuti government should take responsibility for the current situation in Parbhani. They are showing that they are anti-constitution," Gaikwad added, accusing the ruling government of failing to uphold the Constitution's values. She also criticized the authorities for their approach to law enforcement, stating, "They have failed to restore peace in Parbhani city. They should not register false cases." Echoing Gaikwad's sentiments, Congress MP Praniti Shinde condemned the violence and pointed out the hypocrisy of the BJP government. "We condemn the incident that happened in Parbhani city. The two faces of BJP have been exposed, on one hand they are celebrating 75 years of independence while on the other hand they are insulting the Constitution of India," Shinde remarked. Earlier, Special Inspector General, Nanded, Shahaji Umap on Thursday said that around 50 people have been arrested and 8 cases have been filed in connection with the violence in the Parbhani city of Maharashtra late December 11. The official also said that all the arrests were made at the spot of the incident, adding that a deputy superintendent of police and other nine police personnel sustained minor injuries following the violence. Speaking to ANI, the Special Inspector General said, "So far, 8 cases have been registered at different police stations. We have arrested 50 people so far in this regard. While bringing the situation under control, after the stone pelting yesterday afternoon, we nabbed these people. It is incorrect that we arrested a few people during the combing operation last night. All the arrests so far have been made at the spot of the incident. (ANI) When Dr. Robert Lefkowitz received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2012, he used part of his acceptance speech to denounce the clear anti-science bias of some candidates who had sought the presidential nomination that year. This was manifest as a refusal to accept for example, the theory of evolution, the existence of global warming, much less of the role of humans in this process, the value of vaccines or of embryonic stem cell research, Lefkowitz told attendees at the Nobel banquet in Stockholm. Twelve years later, Lefkowitz is speaking out again this time about the man whom President-elect Donald Trump has nominated as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lefkowitz, who is a distinguished professor in the Duke University School of Medicine, on Monday joined more than 75 Nobel laureates in signing a letter opposing Trumps nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the agency. The New York Times obtained and published the letter that was sent to all 100 members of the U.S. Senate, who are responsible for confirming presidential nominees. Paul Modrich, a distinguished professor of biochemistry at Duke, also signed the letter but declined to comment on that decision to The News & Observer. Kennedy, who ran as a third-party candidate in the presidential election before dropping out and endorsing Trump, is a noted anti-vaccine activist who has also promoted conspiracy theories related to medical treatments, food safety and other topics. An attorney, he does not have a professional background in health care or medicine. In their letter, the Nobel laureates argued that Kennedy has a lack of credentials or relevant experience for the DHHS role. They also expressed concerns about the potential consequences of Kennedy leading the agency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In view of his record, placing Mr. Kennedy in charge of DHHS would put the publics health in jeopardy and undermine Americas global leadership in the health sciences, in both the public and commercial sectors, the letter reads. Now, like the other laureates who signed on, Lefkowitz will wait to see whether it influences the senators opinions and whether it can help counter these pernicious anti-scientific trends, as he asked his fellow laureates to do in their own small way in his banquet speech more than a decade ago. A rare letter The letter opposing Kennedys nomination to lead DHHS is believed to be the first time that Nobel laureates have joined together to oppose a Cabinet nominee, The New York Times reported. But its not the first time they have spoken out. Lefkowitz told The N&O that its not unusual for a group of laureates to pen a letter about non-political issues, such as human rights abuses especially those against scientists. Such letters are typically documented in national and international media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lefkowitz said he has signed several of those letters, though he tries not to dilute the messages by signing too many. Every once in a while, something really speaks to me or seems very egregious, Lefkowitz said, and Ill sign. Robert Lefkowitz is the Chancellors Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry at the Duke University Medical Center. But for the letter opposing Kennedy, the decision was a no-brainer. Lefkowitz said he has been appalled by several of Trumps nominations, and Kennedy is as appalling as any of them. I was thrilled that something was being organized, Lefkowitz said. Lefkowitz, who won the Nobel Prize for his research of G-protein-coupled receptors, said he worries specifically about how the availability of vaccines could change under Kennedy, as well as about the possibility of Trump recommending the removal of fluoride from drinking water, as Kennedy told NPR would be the case. Fluoride strengthens teeth and prevents cavities, but is toxic at high levels and has become fodder for fringe health theories. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Such proposals fly in the face of scientific research, Lefkowitz said. Possible impacts of letter Though he is proud to have signed the letter against Kennedy, Lefkowitz now wonders what its impact will be and whether it could actually further perpetuate the anti-scientific trends that he has long been concerned about. Instead of encouraging the senators to vote against Kennedys confirmation, Lefkowitz said, it could have the opposite effect. He noted that Trump, and the broader Make America Great Again movement he has spearheaded, has included polarizing rhetoric about science and academics or, in Lefkowitz words, a total disrespect and disbelief of elites and expertise. In a statement to The New York Times, a spokesperson for the Trump transition team said: Americans are sick and tired of the elites telling them what to do and how to do it. Our healthcare system in this country is broken, Mr. Kennedy will enact President Trumps agenda to restore the integrity of our healthcare and Make America Healthy Again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Well, could you have more elitism or expertise, than Nobel Prize-winning scientists? Lefkowitz said. Its a good chance the senators will look at this as a bunch of pointy-headed scholars who think they know better than the man in the street. He added: Nothing we can do about that. Still, Lefkowitz said he has received more attention from family, friends and colleagues about this letter than any other he has previously signed with the Nobel laureates. That could be a sign that the message is resonating, and that it could make a difference if not with the senators themselves, then with the broader conversations about science in the political landscape. So, Lefkowitz said, we shall see what goes on. Israel wasted no time after Bashar al-Assads fall to bomb all the Syrian military assets it wanted to keep out of the rebels hands striking nearly 500 targets, destroying the navy, and taking out, it claims, 90% of Syrias known surface-to-air missiles. But it is Israels capture of Syrias highest peak, the Mount Hermon summit, that may prove among the most lasting prizes though officials have insisted that its occupation is temporary. This is the highest place in the region, looking upon Lebanon, upon Syria, Israel, said Efraim Inbar, director of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS). Its strategically extremely important. There is no substitute for mountains. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The summit of Mount Hermon lies in Syria, in a buffer zone that separated Israeli and Syrian forces for fifty years until last weekend, when Israeli troops took control of it. Until Sunday, the summit was demilitarized and patrolled by UN peacekeepers their highest permanent position in the world. Israels defense minister, Israel Katz, on Friday ordered the military to prepare for the harsh conditions of winter deployment. Due to developments in Syria, it is of immense security importance to maintain our control over the summit of Mount Hermon, he said in a statement. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has advanced beyond the summit, as far as Beqaasem, about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) from the Syrian capital, according to Voice of the Capital, a Syrian activist group. CNN could not independently confirm that claim. An Israeli military spokesperson this week denied that forces were advancing toward Damascus. Israeli artillery on Mount Hermon in 1974. - Alain Dejean/Sygma/Getty Images Israel captured the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau in southwestern Syria that abuts Mount Hermon, in the 1967 war and has occupied it since. Syria attempted to retake the territory in a surprise attack in 1973, but failed, and Israel annexed it in 1981. The occupation is illegal under international law, but the United States recognized Israels claim on the Golan during the Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel has for decades held some lower slopes of Mount Hermon, and even operates a ski resort there, but the peak remained in Syria proper. We have no intention to intervene in Syrias internal affairs, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video days after Israel bombed hundreds of Syrian targets and seized the demilitarized buffer zone. But we certainly intend to do everything necessary to take care of our security. Mount Hermons summit is a tremendous asset under Israels control. At 9,232 feet (2,814 meters), it is higher than any point in Syria or Israel, and second to only one peak in Lebanon. People sometimes say in the age of missiles, land is not important its simply untrue, Inbar said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an academic paper published in 2011, he wrote of the many advantages presented by Mount Hermon. It enables the use of electronic surveillance deep into Syrian territory, giving Israel early-warning capacity in case of an impending attack, he wrote. Advanced technological alternatives like airborne surveillance, he argued, was simply not comparable. In contrast to an installation on a mountain, these cannot carry heavy equipment such as big antennas, and they can be shot down by anti-air missiles. Israeli military forces on Mount Hermon on Sunday. - Social Media The peak is just over 35 kilometers (about 22 miles) from Damascus, which means that control of its Syrian foothills also now in IDF hands put the Syrian capital within range for artillery cannons. The Syrian rebel leader Mohammad al-Jolani on Saturday accused Israel of crossing the lines of engagement with its actions in Syria, while a group of the countrys neighbors called on Israel to withdraw its forces from all Syrian territories. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After meeting in Aqaba with officials from Turkey, Iraq, Egypt, and the European Commission, Jordans Deputy Prime Minister Ayman Safadi accused Israel of trying to exploit a power vacuum in Syria. Safadi warned that the countrys stability was a pillar of the regions security and that if Israel did not respect Syrian sovereignty it risked an explosion of the situation. Israels Netanyahu, meanwhile, has insisted his hand is extended to the new government in Syria. But in the post-October 7 world, he and other national security heavyweights have made clear they are not going to take any chances. Mostly, its a comfort for us, retired Brigadier General Israel Ziv said of Israels operations in Syria. We have learned what happened in other countries when you have a terror organization that captures military equipment. Netanyahu has also insisted that the occupation is temporary. Israel will not permit jihadi groups to fill that vacuum and threaten Israeli communities on the Golan Heights with October 7 style attacks, he said. His criteria for withdrawing, he said, was a Syrian force that is committed to the 1974 agreement can be established and security on our border can be guaranteed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is unclear when that may be achieved. Whether the military withdraws is a political decision, Inbar said. The military would love to stay there. Mike Schwartz and Tim Lister contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Donald Trump campaigned on making groceries more affordable for American families, but he's already reversing course. Former Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones and "Strongman" author Ruth Ben-Ghiat discuss Trump's real priorities in office. The Latest from Storm Team 5 An area of low pressure is moving into the mid Mississippi River Valley, with moisture surging out ahead of the warm front. Snow showers moved into Fond Du Lac county around 4pm Saturday afternoon and are continuing to move north across the area. Temperatures for the Fox River Valley are right at or above freezing, so it does appear that snow covered roads will be tough to get, which is great news, but roads could still become slippery. We have a WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY issued by the National Weather Service for most of our counties, advising the possibility of some slippery travel, and the expiration time of the advisory differs by county: Brown, Calumet, Fond Du Lac, Kewaunee, Green Lake, Marquette, & Manitowoc until 12am Sunday Outagamie, Shawano, Waupaca, Waushara until 6am Sunday Langlade, Marinette, Menominee until 9am Sunday As we head deeper into this evening and overnight, Im expecting temperatures to rise, so for the Fox Valley and Lakeshore, this should start to turn over to a rain event. Areas north of Green Bay, where the cold air looks to be a bit stubborn, expect it to stay snow with some ice mixing in. Snowfall totals should stay under inch and we could see a glaze of ice to form, so watch for slippery travel especially north and west of the valley. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This system will begin to taper overnight and we should be dry before day break tomorrow morning. With winds easing back and low level moisture from melting snow & ice and recent rain, expect areas of fog Sunday morning. Low clouds continue throughout the day, so cant rule out some drizzle or mist. Highs surge into the upper 30s and low 40s. Watching a system bringing in a few rain showers really early Monday morning. Highs return to the 40s once again Monday before the colder air rushes in and the wind picks up. A quick moving trough zips through overnight Tuesday, cant rule out a few flakes. Watching the potential for some accumulating snow late Thursday into Friday. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton. JANESVILLE, Wis. (WFRV) Officers in southern Wisconsin tracked down a pair of suspects after they allegedly stole a vehicle from a gas station that had a 2-year-old still inside. According to the Janesville Police Department, officers were called to the Stop N Go in the 700 block of Center Avenue around 4:35 p.m. on December 13 for reports of a stolen vehicle. Officers investigating deadly stabbing at a Wisconsin bar, suspect apprehended at scene Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The caller reported that there was a 2-year-old child still inside the stolen vehicle. As officers were responding to the gas station, they were provided updated information that another witness found the 2-year-old abandoned on the side of Riverside Street, still in its car seat, unharmed. Multiple agencies pitched in to help the Janesville PD find the suspects and within minutes, the stolen vehicle was spotted southbound on Afton Road, going towards the Beloit area. Both suspects, later identified as Kristopher Klein and Neanni Bowman, were safely taken into custody. Officers find nearly 6 lbs. of weed during North Fond du Lac traffic stop, thousands in cash Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Klein and Bowman face the potential following charges: Kristopher Klein Operating a Vehicle without Owners Consent Abduction of Anothers Child Child Abandonment Two charges of Misdemeanor Bail Jumping Felony Bail Jumping Neanni Bowman Operating a Vehicle without Owners Consent Abduction of Anothers Child Child Abandonment Two charges of Misdemeanor Bail Jumping Kristopher Klein (Janesville Police Department) Neanni Bowman (Janesville Police Department) Both the City and Town of Beloit Police Departments, the Rock County Sheriffs Office, and the Wisconsin State Patrol assisted the Janesville PD during the incident. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton. Dec. 14The parting shot on Thursday from the outgoing chair of the Western New Mexico University Board of Regents was that embattled President Joe Shepard and the board, accused by the state auditor of spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer funds on lavish furniture and foreign business trips, are being treated unfairly in the court of public opinion. Mary Hotvedt's comments came in a prepared statement during the board's meeting in Silver City, where members of the public called on Shepard and the entire board to resign as numerous state agencies and WNMU itself investigate the university's alleged $360,000 in wasteful spending from 2018 to 2023. Shepard did not respond to the public's comments on Thursday but did ask for the board to "re-look" at the university's travel policy. Shepard may be losing a significant ally in Hotvedt, who deemed the university's board meetings "boring." "There is a political drumroll to not just damage the president," Hotvedt said on Thursday, "but also the university and its entire governing structure." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Certainly, whistleblowers, critics and investigators in state legislators do not find Shepard's actions boring. Shepard, who has served since 2011, is being publicly questioned ahead of the start of the legislative session in January and as the state and the university continue their investigations into the spending. While critics have taken the board's "careful silence" to mean that members are unaware of the ethics violations or "complicit in something bad," Hotvedt said this could not be further from the truth. "The people of this board are some of the most accomplished, solid human beings I have ever met," she said, noting she was getting emotional. The successor for Hotvedt, who departs after a six-year term, has not been named, a university spokesperson said Friday. Searchlight New Mexico first reported the ethics allegations in December 2023. The article said Shepard purchased high-end furniture for the president's residence and went on foreign trips with board members and his wife, ex-CIA agent Valerie Plame. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an interview with Searchlight at the time, Shepard said the travel was needed to help boost recruitment of international students and the residence furniture would give donors a unique experience at events. He has since declined to comment. Meanwhile, the New Mexico Higher Education Department, the Office of the State Auditor, and the university all launched audits into the matter. Only state Auditor Joe Maestas has completed his investigation, which was forwarded to the State Ethics Commission for review. On Thursday, Hotvedt said the university started asking for an independent spending audit in the summer of 2023. She said the university has complied with all audits and reformed university policies. Hotvedt noted that Maestas applauded the university's reform in his November letter to her. "(The board) shall continue to do the work necessary to ensure the health of the university," Hotvedt said during Thursday's meeting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said that some people, including news media members, may find that information "boring," but "the truth is, boards are designed to be boring." She said board members should remain "calm" and "deliberative" and not speak to the media, except on the decisions made. And even then, Hotvedt said, board members don't make editorial comments. During the public comment period of the meeting, Sen.-elect Gabe Ramos, R-Silver City, said he came to stand in support of the university. "It's time to move on; it's time to let Dr. Shepard and the board do their job and keep us on track," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Miriam Hill, a former WNMU adjunct, disagreed. "Please be accountable, Dr. Shepard and Regents," she said. "Out of respect for the students, the university culture and the community that supports it, it's time for you all to step down. Jay Hemphill, a former WNMU employee who has filed ethics complaints against Shepard and once considered him a friend said the president could have made policy reforms. However, he has refused to take responsibility or apologize for the spending. Hemphill said Shepard and the board have run the university's reputation into the ground and hurt its ability to raise funds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "How can the New Mexico Legislature take us seriously anymore?" Hemphill said. The board and university officials who defend Shepard's conduct are trying to "deflect attention away from the real issues," Hemphill said. Later on in the meeting, student Regent Trent Jones said he welcomed public comment. "It's really the public that gets to critique us when you believe we're not doing something the way it should be done," Jones said. (WJET/WFXP) A New York woman was arrested after breaking into a victims home, stealing items and attacking the victim with a knife in the City of Jamestown. According to a report, Jamestown police officers were called for a report of an altercation in the north side of the city at around 6 p.m. on Dec. 13. North East family displaced after fire destroys home two weeks before Christmas Once on the scene, police located a woman, later identified as 45-year-old Jessica Diaz-Hernandez, of Falconer, walking away from the residence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Diaz-Hernandez was detained and found to have multiple warrants from outside agencies. NY teen charged for online threat to Chautauqua Co. high school Police later learned that Diaz-Hernandez allegedly forced her way into a residence and started stealing the victims belongings. When confronted, she charged the victim with a knife, who suffered minor injuries. Diaz-Hernandez was transported to the city jail being held pending arraignment and is being charged with the following: Burglary in the first-degree Robbery in the first-degree Assault in the second-degree Menacing in the second-degree Criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth-degree Criminal mischief in the fourth-degree Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. For transgender Americans looking for help or protection from the Biden administration in its dying days, Raquel Willis has a stark assessment. "Unfortunately, the signals coming from our government right now, under a Democratic president, are telling us that were essentially on our own," the 33-year-old activist tells The Independent. That is nothing new for the woman behind last weeks headline-grabbing Congressional bathroom sit-in, protesting Republicans attempt to ban trans people from using the correct bathrooms for their gender on any federal property. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alongside former US Army whistleblower and trans rights advocate Chelsea Manning, Willis was among 15 people arrested by Capitol police for occupying the womens bathroom and the hallway outside House speaker Mike Johnsons office. But that protest wasnt only aimed at Republicans. It was also meant to push Democrats to abandon what Willis describes as "a pattern of ignoring and sidelining the trans community" in the face of escalating conservative attacks. Raquel Willis, bottom left, and Chelsea Manning, bottom right, during a trans rights sit-in at the US Capitol (Alexa B Wilkinson via Gender Liberation Movement) Just hours after Williss interview with The Independent, House and Senate negotiators revealed a bipartisan compromise spending bill that would ban military health insurance from covering transition care for children. On Wednesday, 50 House Democrats who previously denounced that provision voted in favor, and key Senate Democrats said they would reluctantly back it too. Now, with Republicans taking control of all three branches of government and both houses of Congress in January, Willis is gearing up for a fight and she does not believe trans people can afford to take their cues from Democrats. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We have to be prepared to take care of ourselves, and speak for ourselves, and fight for ourselves, because there are not enough political leaders who are sticking up for us, she says. "Folks need to find political homes that actually speak to their values I dont think that the Democratic Party is serving that right now for most marginalized folks." Fighting back against eradication For many Americans, their introduction to Willis came one sunny day in Brooklyn in June 2020, three weeks after the murder of George Floyd sparked racial justice protests across the US. I believe in Black trans power, Willis said into her microphone. Nearly 15,000 people chanted it back at her an electric moment, given that the citys usual LGBT+ Pride parade had been cancelled due to Covid-19. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was, she said afterwards, "the complete opposite" of what happened when she spoke at the first Womens March in Washington DC three years earlier. As she called on feminists not to treat trans women as an "afterthought", her mic was allegedly cut off. Originally from Augusta, Georgia, Willis got her start in Black social justice activism and anti-violence advocacy, later working at the Transgender Law Center and serving as executive editor of Out magazine. In spring 2023 she co-founded a new protest collective called the Gender Liberation Movement, which organised last weeks action. (Manning, Willis says, has been involved since earlier this year.) According to Willis, the protest was modelled on the 1960 Greensboro sit-ins, organised by four Black students against racial segregation in North Carolina, as well as the barroom "sip-in" staged by gay rights activists in New York City in 1966. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This time, the issue was Republicans attempt to ban incoming Delaware representative Sarah McBride, the first openly trans woman ever to be elected to the US Congress, from womens bathrooms on Capitol Hill along with any staffers, tourists, journalists, and lobbyists who happen to also be trans. Chelsea Manning under arrest outside the US Capitol on Thursday Dec 5, 2024 (Alexa B Wilkinson via Gender Liberation Movement) One group, consisting of trans women, cisgender (ie, non-trans) women, and non-binary people, occupied the womens bathroom itself, holding banners and chanting slogans, while another group of largely trans and cis men made noise in the corridor outside. That was important, says Willis, because bathroom bans also affect cis people by subjecting them to hostile scrutiny and policing based on their gender presentation and bodily appearance. She also argues that people of colour are especially targeted for such scrutiny. For years and decades and possibly even longer, trans folks have been using public accommodations like anyone else and it has not been an issue, she says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To Willis, these types of bans are part of a campaign of "eradication" intended to erase trans folks from public life in the USA, in concert with attempts to purge trans people from the US military and scour pro-LGBT+ and anti-racist books from schools. The Republican Party [is] banking on the general public not caring enough about less than 1 per cent of the population, she says. Weve seen this throughout history, where authoritarian regimes will go after a small part of the population, make them public enemy number one, and then use that as permission to slowly go after other groups that they deem undesirable. We are beyond the point of calling this a distraction With a few outspoken exceptions, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and John Fetterman, the party largely did not hit back directly against Republican Nancy Mace, who led the ban against McBride, reportedly at McBrides own request. Willis says that McBride herself "deserves all the grace to handle her career as she sees fit". But she goes on: "The discrimination and disrespect that she experiences has ramifications for how trans folks will be treated at every stage of existence within the United States. Its so important to make it clear that we will not allow the continued disrespect and infringing on our civil rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What does Willis think of the standard Democrat line that the GOPs war on trans is only a "distraction" from the "real issues"? Willis pauses and considers her words carefully before answering. Trans rights protesters make noise outside a womens bathroom in the US Capitol on Thursday Dec 5, 2024 (Alexa B Wilkinson via Gender Liberation Movement) "In this moment, it is not enough to simply call anti-trans attacks from Republicans a distraction," she says. "Perhaps if this was 2015, 2016 there might be an argument. "But lives have already been targeted and changed by these efforts. So we are beyond that point, and we cant confront discrimination with inaction." The Harris campaign, she adds, set a "horrible example" by declining to respond to t he GOPs late-election blitz of anti-trans TV ads, on which the party is estimated to have spent at least $215m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "That was a loss before the election even happened," says Willis. "If the Democratic Party wants to claim to be representative of progress and of the Left, it cannot leave communities on the chopping block, because it will continue to lose if it does so." For now, Willis believes it is a good time for trans people and their allies to step back, connect with each other, and "recharge their batteries" for the coming era of radical defiance. In future, she suspects theyll need to practice mutual aid of the kind that was widespread during the pandemic, and study movements in other countries that have "faced authoritarian takeovers". And after that? "We definitely cant share more about our plans publicly at this time," says Willis. ARLINGTON COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) The Arlington County Police Department (ACPD) said a woman and a toddler, a girl, were stabbed in Pentagon City on Saturday night. On Dec. 14 at about 9:45 p.m., police were sent to the 900 block of Army Navy Drive for the report of a stabbing. This is where the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City is located. The woman and toddler had serious injuries when police found them. They were transported to the hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A second child was at the scene when the incident happened but was not injured, according to police. As of Sunday, the woman is in critical but stable condition, and the toddler is in stable condition. A preliminary investigation revealed that the woman was walking on the sidewalk outside a business while holding the toddler when a man approached them. Automatic train operations return to Metros Red Line The man then allegedly assaulted the woman and toddler with a knife before leaving the area. Shortly after, police found a person going into a parking garage who matched the description of the man, and officers found him underneath a parked vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A struggle ensued between police and the man as officers tried to take him into custody. He was eventually arrested after the use of a police K9. Authorities charged Leonardo Reyes, 23, with Aggravated Malicious Wounding (x2), Contributing to the Delinquency of a Child (x2) and Child Abuse (x2). Police noted that investigators believe Reyes and the victims were known to each other. He is being held without bond at the Arlington County Detention Facility. Anyone with information should contact the Arlington County Police Departments tip line at 703-228-4180 or ACPDTipline@arlingtonva.us. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Vijay Diwas for the 1971 Liberation War is celebrated nationwide on December 16, to commemorate India's victory against Pakistan in the 13-day war, which ended with Pakistan signing the instrument of surrender in Dhaka and the subsequent liberation of Bangladesh (erstwhile East Pakistan). Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also graced the event, hosted by Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi on Sunday. The president also interacted with various guests at the event. https://x.com/rashtrapatibhvn/status/1868294971968590005 The Indian Army also highlighted the VP and Raksha Mantri interacting with various veterans, diplomatic fraternity, sportspersons and many others. "The reception provided an opportunity to the Hon'ble President, Vice President and Raksha Mantri to interact with #Veterans, #Veernaris, Diplomatic fraternity, Sportspersons, eminent personalities, Asha School Children and achievers from different walks of life," the post read. https://x.com/adgpi/status/1868357336173105219 The event also gave an opportunity to the tribal community to showcase their talent. The dignitaries carried out heartfelt interactions with the VeerNaris saluting their sacrifice for the nation, the post added. Earlier on Friday, President Droupadi Murmu paid tribute to the bravehearts who sacrificed their lives in the Parliament attack in 2001 and said that the nation stands united against the forces of terror. "I pay my humble tribute to the bravehearts who sacrificed their lives defending our Parliament on this day in 2001. Their courage and selfless service continue to inspire us. The nation remains deeply grateful to them and their families. On this day, I reiterate India's unwavering resolve to combat terrorism. Our nation stands united against the forces of terror," the President posted on X. (ANI) ST. LOUIS A striking display in honor of local veterans buried at Jefferson National Barracks Cemetery. Volunteers with Wreaths Across America paid tribute to nearly 200,000 servicemen and women buried at Jefferson Barracks in a ceremony Saturday. They placed wreaths on the graves of fallen veterans and read their names out loud. FOX 2s Shirley Washington was among the volunteers. Organizers say they hope the St. Louis community will remember its fallen heroes this holiday season and always remember the ultimate sacrifice made for our country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You can visit Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery every day from sunrise to sunset. The wreaths will be removed on January 18. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) Family members and volunteers recognize veterans during the holiday season in a nationwide movement. Wreaths Across America, a movement based in Maine, sent wreaths across the country to be laid at the headstones of veterans to honor their sacrifice all in one day. Hospice of Wichita Falls ends another successful Tree of Lights campaign The proceedings in Wichita Falls started with a ceremony in Hampton Vaughan Memorial Park off Highway 79, followed by every volunteer grabbing one or more wreaths and taking them to lay on a veterans headstone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Colonel Harriet Smith with the Civil Air Patrol said the most impressive part of the movement was that the same thing was taking place in cemeteries around the country simultaneously. We always do that on Memorial Day, but this is kind of special, Smith said. Were placing wreaths across America for the holidays. Every unit that is involved in this starts exactly at 12:00 Eastern time, starting from Arlington all the way to Hawaii. After the wreaths had been placed, there was a ceremony to recognize Medal of Honor recipient Thomas W. Fowler. Fowler was a Wichita Falls native who fought and died in World War II. His efforts during the invasion of Italy earned him the Medal of Honor, and he became the namesake of the Fowler V.F.W. and Fowler Elementary School. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Texomashomepage.com. Dec. 15A Windham man is facing charges after allegedly driving the wrong way on I-95 in Falmouth and colliding head-on with another vehicle driven by a pregnant woman. Maine State Police responded to the crash Saturday night near mile marker 53. A vehicle traveling southbound was struck by the wrong-way driver going northbound in the southbound lane, state police said in a release. The driver of the southbound car, a pregnant woman, and her passenger were taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure. They sustained minor injuries, police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The driver of the wrong-way vehicle was identified as Stephan Adams, 30, of Windham. Adams was injured in the crash, and was transported to the hospital for treatment, state police said. He is facing charges of operating under the influence and driving to endanger. Copy the Story Link Chancellor Sandra Haynes says she still has more work to do at Washington State University Tri-Cities. Thats why the Richland campus leader has signed an extension to lead for another four years. She first arrived in 2018. Because of our closeness to research infrastructure like Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the vast energy and agriculture resources of our region, we have tremendous opportunities to make an impact here in the Mid-Columbia region and far beyond, she said in a release announcing her extension. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Haynes said in the announcement that WSU Tri-Cities will play a major role in further nuclear research and workforce development as part of the regions effort to wane off carbon-emmitting energy sources. The recently opened Institute for Northwest Energy Futures in the Tri-Cities will serve as a virtual hub for clean energy solutions for some of the countrys most pressing green energy challenges. Her tenure so far has seen research partners expand and new facilities constructed while withstanding enrollment headwinds. The campus deepened its ties with PNNL and its joint research in the Bioproduct Engineering Sciences Laboratory, and also opened one of the only open labs for sustainable aviation fuel testing in the world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2021, WSU Tri-Cities opened the first state-funded academic building in 30 years Collaboration Hall which features state-of-the-art science, research and teaching facilities. In August, WSU Tri-Cities total fall headcount grew 3% thanks to a record-busting 16% increase in first-year students, despite higher costs to attend collect and the bungled, frustrating roll out of a new federal financial aid application. Haynes attributes student growth to bringing recruitment efforts in-house and reaching out to students who have been historically underrepresented in higher education. WSU Tri-Cities total student enrollment is about 1,500 students, about half of whom come from diverse backgrounds. The campus offers more than 20 bachelors degrees and 30 graduate degrees. Effective leader The seventh WSU Tri-Cities chancellor, Haynes holds a PhD in experimental neuropsychology and re-spacializing in counseling psychology. She also holds a faculty position in WSUs Department of Psychology. WSU Tri-Cities Chancellor Sandra Haynes Before her current position, she served as a senior administrator at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She has more than 20 years of administrative experience and holds expertise in research-intensive institutions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Haynes annual salary for 2023 was listed at $412,100, according to Washingtons database of employee salaries. WSU President Kirk Schulz says Haynes has done an exemplary job leading the Tri-Cities campus. From navigating the perils of the COVID-19 pandemic to overseeing the continued development of the campus research and academic infrastructure, Sandra has proven herself to be an effective leader in the community. Im confident she will continue to guide the campus through the full optimization of our system structures and beyond, he said. Bob Ferguson and Sandra Haynes, Washington State University Tri-Cities chancellor, discuss Fergusons $500,000 donation for an endowed faculty position in energy and environment. Washington State University administrators and Tri-City lawmakers cut the ribbon Oct. 2, on the new WSU Tri-Cities Institute for NW Energy Futures. The ceremony included, from left, Congressman Dan Newhouse, WSU President Kirk Schulz, WSU Tri-Cities Chancellor Sandra Haynes, the inaugural institute director Noel Schulz, state Sen. Matt Boehnke and Richland Mayor Theresa Richardson. The branch campus was established in 1989 from the Joint Center for Graduate Studies. Police at WVU are urging students to be cautious after a reported burglary near campus. In a campus alert, WVU officials say the burglary happened at 216 Belmar Ave., near the Downtown area of campus, on Saturday morning. Surveillance video shows one of two suspects entering the building through an unlocked basement window. University Police are investigating the incident and are working to determine if its related to burglary and larceny reports in a similar area at the end of November. Anyone with information that may help in the ongoing investigations should call UPD at 304-293-313. Callers can remain anonymous. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With this reported burglary, police are urging students to take action. We cannot stress enough how important it is that members of our University community secure their property whether that be their homes or vehicles, Chief Sherry St. Clair said. The department released several tips to help students stay safe: Make sure to lock windows, doors and vehicles while you are away or not actively monitoring them Always lock exterior doors. This includes your residence hall, apartment, house and car doors Develop a routine to inspect locks on your doors, windows and other applicable areas to ensure they are working effectively and locked, especially at night Do not leave spare keys in places accessible to others If you lose your key or ID, report it immediately so locks can be changed, and ID access suspended until a new ID has been issued Anyone who believes they are in danger should immediately call 911 If you witness a potentially dangerous situation or a crime, call 911 or WVUPD Download the WVU LiveSafe app If you encounter an emergency situation on campus, utilize the blue light emergency call system, if available Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) The Yankton Police are investigating a suspicious death from Friday morning, according to a news release. Authorities were dispatched to the 1000 block of Walnut St. shortly before 8:30 a.m. for a welfare check where they found an unresponsive individual. An officer attempted life saving measures, but was unable to revive them. Sioux Falls police investigate deadly hit & run crash Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police arrested Theodore E Kranig Jr, 19, with second degree murder and first degree manslaughter charges. The case is still under investigation by the YPD, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation and the Yankton County Sheriffs Office. There is no ongoing threat to the public. If anyone has relevant information regarding the case, theyre encouraged to contact YPD at 605-668-5210. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. President Volodymyr Zelensky has "forcefully but politely" rejected a call from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to discuss a Christmas ceasefire, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto claimed on Dec. 15. He said that Hungary had proposed organizing a telephone conversation between Zelensky and Orban on the issue but Zelensky had not accepted the proposal. Zelensky's spokesman Serhiy Nikiforov did not respond to a request for comment. Hungary has maintained close economic and diplomatic relations with Moscow despite Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It has repeatedly criticized EU sanctions against Russia and obstructed efforts to provide military aid to Kyiv. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Szijjarto, quoted by Hungarian news agency MTI, said that the Hungarian peace mission had "tried everything in the past six months" in connection with a proposed Christmas ceasefire and prisoner exchange in Ukraine. "Christmas is approaching, and when we talk about Christmas, peace gets special emphasis, which is why Hungarian diplomacy - with the prime minister surely taking the lead - took some serious steps recently in order to improve the situation for people living in the affected area, even before the war finally ends," he first said to MTI on Dec 13. "We have therefore proposed a Christmas ceasefire and a large exchange of prisoners, so that more people can celebrate Christmas at home and in peace even in that part of the world." The foreign minister said that the Hungarian government presented this proposal to Russian President Vladimir Putin and and to several Russian government officials who allegedly demonstrated "an openness to considering the proposal and carrying out the related talks." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Szijjarto, however, explained on Dec. 15 that Zelensky had, "in a gesture that is quite unprecedented in diplomacy, forcefully but politely refused the opportunity to negotiate." "There is an offer on the table that has not been comparable in the past thousand days. It is not up to Hungary whether both parties consider and accept this offer. One party has considered it and finds it suitable for acceptance, but the other party has taken a position of rejection," he stated. Szijjarto's statement follows a parallel one by the Hungarian Head of the Prime Minister's Office Gergely Gulyas. He said on Dec. 12 that Hungary would not give up the goal of a cease-fire, "even though the current Ukrainian government is apparently uncertain about the issue of war and peace, at least until the new U.S. president takes office." This topic has been in the spotlight since Hungarian Prime Minister Orban said on his X profile on Dec. 11 that Budapest had proposed a ceasefire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's sad that President Zelensky clearly rejected and ruled out this today," he said. "We did what we could!" But Dmytro Lytvyn, an advisor for Zelensky, told Suspline that denied the claim that Orban had approached Ukraine with his ceasefire and prisoner exchange proposal. Gulyas mentioned on Dec. 12 that Orban had met with Pope Francis in the Vatican and President-elect Donald Trump in Florida, as well as held phone conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but he made no reference to any talks with Zelensky. Read also: Azov soldiers, human rights activist Butkevych among those returned in 190-person prisoner swap Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. The Russian military is now deploying North Korean soldiers in greater numbers for attacks in Kursk near the Ukrainian border, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday evening in his nightly video address. "The losses in this category are already significant," Zelensky said in his evening video address. He did not provide any figures. Zelensky accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of deliberately escalating the war against Ukraine and ignoring calls from China and Brazil to do everything possible to de-escalate the situation. Initial reports of the deployment of North Korean soldiers to Russia emerged in October. In early November, Ukraine first reported the involvement of these soldiers in combat. According to Zelensky, North Koreans are now largely integrated into Russian units and could soon appear on other fronts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His comments came after earlier in the day,. Russian shelling claimed the lives of at least two people in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, with a further six injured, Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on Telegram. Prokudin said that three residential blocks, two single-family homes and many cars had been damaged in the attack. The front line in the region runs along the Dnipro River which flows into the Black Sea. As cold weather sets in, Moscow has been repeatedly attacking the electricity and heating infrastructure to make life miserable for Ukrainian citizens. Kiev has also been losing territory to Russia at multiple points along the roughly 1,000-kilometre front line, according to military observers, as after nearly three years of war, Kiev's military is stretched thin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russia stated that its heavy strikes are in response to Kiev's use of weapons obtained from Western powers. But in Moscow, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev suggested the possibility of further territorial acquisitions in Ukraine. At a party congress of the Kremlin's United Russia party, Medvedev said it was necessary to develop the [Moscow-annexed] regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson. "This experience, incidentally, could be helpful if more new, but very close regions appear in our country," which he said was quite possible. Medvedev remains influential as the party chairman of United Russia and deputy head of Russia's National Security Council. The Kremlin, which began its war against Ukraine in February 2022 under the pretext of protecting the Russian-speaking civilian population in Donbass, has so far only partially captured the four regions, but demands their cession from Kiev as a precondition for peace talks. Moscow has repeatedly threatens further annexations should Ukraine not accept the demand. The Russian military is now deploying North Korean soldiers in greater numbers for attacks in Kursk near the Ukrainian border, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday evening in his nightly video address. "The losses in this category are already significant," Zelensky said in his evening video address. He did not provide any figures. Zelensky accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of deliberately escalating the war against Ukraine and ignoring calls from China and Brazil to do everything possible to de-escalate the situation. Initial reports of the deployment of North Korean soldiers to Russia emerged in October. In early November, Ukraine first reported the involvement of these soldiers in combat. According to Zelensky, North Koreans are now largely integrated into Russian units and could soon appear on other fronts. War-torn Ukraine to help Syria The Ukrainian leader also announced his intention to engage with Syria. He stated that it was important for his country that stability be quickly established there so that the world could then focus on establishing peace in Ukraine. Zelensky offered Syria grain deliveries as part of the "Grain from Ukraine" programme. The recently ousted, long-standing ruler of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, was considered a protege of Kremlin chief Putin, who granted him asylum in Russia. Meanwhile, the future of the Russian military bases in Syria remains unclear. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described the situation in Kurakhove, Donetsk Oblast, as difficult and emphasised the need for strength on the Kursk front to achieve "the right results" in diplomacy. Source: Zelenskyy's evening address Quote: "And of course, today I received a report from Commander-in-Chief [Oleksandr] Syrskyi on the situation at the front and in the areas of the Kursk operation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The situation remains difficult in the Pokrovsk sector and in Kurakhove. I am grateful to all the units that are killing the occupiers there. I would also like to express particular gratitude to our warriors in the Kursk region we need strength there to achieve the right outcomes for Ukraine and Ukrainians in diplomacy." Details: Zelenskyy highlighted that Ukraine requires a reliable and guaranteed peace. "We will undoubtedly achieve our objectives," the president concluded. Background: On 14 December, Zelenskyy announced that there is evidence to indicate that Russia has begun to deploy North Korean troops in assault operations against Ukrainian forces in Kursk Oblast. Ukraines Defence Intelligence has reported that Russia has begun to deploy North Korean soldiers in assault operations in Kursk, including as part of combined marine and airborne units, but they have killed eight Kadyrovites Chechen troops loyal to the country's leader, Ramzan Kadyrov by friendly fire. Media reports suggest that NATO countries believe Russia has deployed 50,000 Russian and North Korean troops in an attempt to retake Kursk Oblast from Ukraine before Donald Trump takes office in January. Support UP or become our patron! Eight Indian war veterans and two serving officers of the Indian Armed Forces have arrived in Dhaka to commemorate Bangladesh's Victory Day celebrations. Similarly, eight distinguished Muktijoddhas (freedom fighters) and two serving officers of the Bangladesh Armed Forces also reached India to participate in the Vijay Diwas celebrations in Kolkata today, the Indian Army said on Sunday. Vijay Diwas for the 1971 Liberation War is celebrated nationwide on December 16, to commemorate India's victory against Pakistan in the 13-day war, which ended with Pakistan signing the instrument of surrender in Dhaka and the subsequent liberation of Bangladesh (erstwhile East Pakistan). Earlier in the day, on the eve of Vijay Diwas, President Droupadi Murmu attended an 'At-Home' reception at Army House, hosted by Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan were also present for the occasion. During the reception, the President, Defence Minister and Vice President also interacted with veterans, diplomatic fraternity, Asha school children and various other eminent personalities. According to reports, 3,900 Indian soldiers are believed to have died and 9,851 were injured during the war of 1971. The Indian Army also highlighted the VP and Raksha Mantri interacting with various veterans, diplomatic fraternity, sportspersons and many others. "The reception provided an opportunity to the Hon'ble President, Vice President and Raksha Mantri to interact with #Veterans, #Veernaris, Diplomatic fraternity, Sportspersons, eminent personalities, Asha School Children and achievers from different walks of life," the post read. https://x.com/adgpi/status/1868357336173105219 The event also gave an opportunity to the tribal community to showcase their talent. The dignitaries carried out heartfelt interactions with the VeerNaris saluting their sacrifice for the nation, the post added. (ANI) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that Ukraine is coordinating food aid to Syria with its partners and the Syrian side. Source: President's address Quote: "Today, I discussed with our government officials the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food the issue of food assistance under the Grain from Ukraine programme, including aid for Syria. This is our humanitarian program, which has already contributed significantly to stabilising the food situation in vulnerable regions around the world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, we can help Syrians with Ukrainian wheat, flour, and oil our products that play a global role in ensuring food security. We are coordinating with our partners and the Syrian side to address logistical issues. We will certainly support this region so that stability there can become a foundation for us in moving toward real peace." Background: On 14 December, Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine is ready to assist Syria in preventing a food crisis, particularly through the humanitarian programme Grain from Ukraine. Support UP or become our patron! In a heartwarming display of spirituality, actors Utkarsh Sharma and Simrat Kaur, the stars of the highly anticipated film Vanvaas, visited two iconic religious landmarks in Delhi to seek blessings before the films release. Accompanied by members of the films team, the duo paid a late-night visit to the revered Pracheen Hanuman Temple and the serene Bangla Sahib Gurudwara as part of their ongoing promotional campaign. Their journey began at the Pracheen Hanuman Temple, an ancient site deeply rooted in history and spirituality. With quiet reverence, they participated in traditional rituals and sought the blessings of Lord Hanuman for the success of Vanvaas. The actors were seen soaking in the sacred ambiance of the temple, which holds a special place in the hearts of devotees. Following this, the team proceeded to the Bangla Sahib Gurudwara, a spiritual sanctuary for Sikh worship. There, they offered heartfelt prayers and participated in the langar service, a community meal symbolizing equality and unity. The serene atmosphere of the Gurudwara provided a moment of reflection amid their busy promotional schedule. This visit is part of a spiritual journey the actors have undertaken during their film promotions. Earlier, Utkarsh Sharma and Simrat Kaur were in Banaras, where they attended the Ganga Aarti and visited temples along the ghats, seeking divine guidance for their cinematic endeavor. Directed and produced by Anil Sharma, Vanvaas marks a promising addition to the legacy of the team behind the blockbusters Gadar: Ek Prem Katha and Gadar 2. Backed by Zee Studios, the film is set to hit theaters on December 20, 2024. Featuring Nana Patekar, Utkarsh Sharma, and Simrat Kaur in lead roles, Vanvaas is a tale poised to captivate audiences with its narrative and performances. New Delhi: Actor Varun Dhawan expressed his admiration for superstar Salman Khan and spoke candidly about the impact of Khan's role in the upcoming film Baby John. During a press conference in New Delhi, Dhawan shared his experience of working with Salman Khan, saying, "It is wonderful. I think whenever you get a chance to work with such a big superstar, a megastar, such a magnanimous human being, it's amazing." Salman Khan is set to make a special appearance in the film. Dhawan revealed that Khan's role is unique and promises a lasting impression. "It's a completely original character crafted for him by Atlee sir. There's nothing like this character that's been seen before. I won't divulge much about his role, but one thing I can say is that the impact of his role will be long-lasting," added the Badrinath Ki Dulhania actor. Baby John is directed by A. Kaleeswaran and stars Keerthy Suresh, Wamiqa Gabbi, Jackie Shroff, and Rajpal Yadav in key roles. The film marks Keerthy Suresh's Hindi film debut. Atlee presents the movie in association with Jio Studios and Cine1 Studios. Dhawan, who plays a father in the film, discussed the relatability of his role, which showcases a range of emotions, from being a police officer to falling in love with Keerthy Suresh's character. "Being a father, especially to a daughter, is a transformative experience. It changes your perspective. When I became a father, I recalled my mother's teachings and realised how I could ever be rude to her after seeing how my wife, Natasha Dalal, cares for our daughter. It's been a crazy and wonderful journey," Dhawan shared. Referring to a dialogue from the film, "Haath laga ke bata mere beti ko" (Just try to touch my daughter), he added, "It comes straight from the heart, and I genuinely feel it now." Dhawan and Natasha Dalal, who married in an intimate ceremony in 2021, welcomed their first child on June 3 this year. Baby John is an adaptation of Atlee's 2016 Tamil film Theri, which starred Vijay and Samantha Ruth Prabhu. Dhawan explained the differences between the two versions. "When Atlee came with this project, he emphasised the need to adapt the story, not remake it. We've changed the geography and many story angles. It's an adaptation focused on parenting, women's safety, and a significant case inspired by real events. If someone expects a scene-by-scene remake, they will be disappointed." He also spoke about his passion for action films and how Baby John allowed him to explore innovative action sequences. "You'll see very creative action in the film. I'm obsessed with martial arts, and MMA fans will notice some flying knee moves. There are even one or two wrestling moves inspired by WWE. I want to do more action films but approach them differently each time." The song Bandobast from Baby John was launched recently. Composed and sung by Thaman S alongside Mame Khan, with lyrics by Irshad Kamil, the song adds to the anticipation surrounding the film. Earlier this month, the trailer of Baby John was unveiled in a grand event. Packed with mass action, the trailer showcased Dhawan's versatility, portraying a police officer, a father, and a romantic lead. Jackie Shroff appeared menacing as the antagonist, while Wamiqa Gabbi also plays a significant role. The trailer concluded with a surprise cameo by Salman Khan. Although his face was covered with a black cloth, a glimpse of his eyes left a lasting impression. Salman ended the trailer by wishing everyone, "Merry Christmas" in advance. Baby John is produced by Murad Khetani, Priya Atlee, and Jyoti Deshpande. Directed by A. Kaleeswaran and presented by Atlee, the film is slated for release on December 25. The year 2025 will mark the return of the Maha Kumbh Mela, an event that occurs once every 12 years. Scheduled to take place in Prayagraj, the Maha Kumbh will begin on January 13, 2025, and conclude on February 26, 2025, coinciding with Mahashivaratri. This revered festival holds immense spiritual and cultural importance, drawing millions of devotees from across the world. During the Maha Kumbh, devotees engage in sacred rituals such as Kalpvas (spiritual practices), Ganga Snan (holy dip in the Ganges), and chanting of prayers. These rituals are believed to cleanse past sins, ensuring a prosperous future and spiritual peace. The History of Maha Kumbh Mela The origins of the Maha Kumbh Mela date back to the Vedic period, deeply rooted in mythology and Hindu beliefs. The festivals core practicetaking a holy dip in sacred riversis said to wash away sins and grant Moksha (liberation from the cycle of rebirth). The Maha Kumbhs significance is closely tied to the mythological story of Samudra Manthan (churning of the ocean). According to legend: The gods, weakened by a curse from Sage Durvasa, sought Lord Vishnus help to regain their strength. Vishnu advised the gods to join forces with the demons to churn the ocean for Amrit (nectar of immortality). During the churning, a Kumbh (pot) of nectar emerged, sparking a fierce battle between gods and demons to claim it. To protect the nectar, Lord Vishnu entrusted his mount, Garuda, to carry the pot. As Garuda flew across the heavens, drops of nectar fell at four locations: Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nashik. These places became sacred sites where the Kumbh Mela is held. Why Is the Kumbh Mela Held Every 12 Years? The battle for the nectar between gods and demons lasted 12 divine days, equivalent to 12 human years. Hence, the Kumbh Mela is organized every 12 years at these four sacred locations. Prayagraj, in particular, is believed to be where the nectars divine essence merges with the Ganges, making it a focal point of the festival. Spiritual and Cultural Significance of Maha Kumbh The Maha Kumbh Mela is more than just a festival; it is a journey of faith, devotion, and spiritual awakening. Millions gather to take a dip in the holy Ganges, seeking forgiveness for their sins and a renewed connection with the divine. The festival also serves as a confluence of Hindu traditions, rituals, and teachings, reaffirming the timeless values of peace, unity, and devotion. As Maha Kumbh 2025 approaches, it invites devotees to immerse themselves in its profound spiritual energy, honoring the ancient legend of Samudra Manthan and the eternal quest for redemption and enlightenment. New Delhi: A political row erupted between the AAP-led Delhi government and the BJP-led Central government over the issue of Rohingya rehabilitation in the national capital on Sunday. The Delhi government accused the BJP-led Centre of settling a "large number" of "illegal migrant Rohingya" refugees in various parts of Delhi without informing the state government. Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, in a counter-allegation, accused the AAP of engaging in "diversion, false narratives, and half-truths." Responding to Puri's allegations, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi accused him of inconsistency, claiming he was either lying earlier or lying now. The dispute escalated after Delhi CM Atishi wrote a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, accusing the BJP-led Central government of mishandling the issue. She referenced two 2022 tweets by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on the matter. Other AAP leaders also weighed in, with party member Satyendar Jain denying any involvement in rehabilitating illegal Rohingya migrants. He argued that managing such migrants falls under the purview of the Central government. "The Rohingyas come from Bangladesh. How did they enter India and reach Delhi? This is the Central government's responsibility. Either the Ministry of External Affairs or the Ministry of Home Affairs is involved. AAP has no role in this," Jain told ANI. Delhi Minister Gopal Rai accused the BJP of raising the "Rohingya issue" as a distraction, stating that all their other strategies to win elections had failed. Rai further asserted that such tactics would not influence Delhi voters, who prioritise governance that focuses on their welfare. "The BJP is completely confused. First, they thought jailing Arvind Kejriwal and other AAP leaders would help them win. Then, they resorted to spreading lies. Now, having failed at everything else, they've turned to the Rohingya issue. Hardeep Puri was Union Minister when he tweeted about this. Why did he make that statement? Why didn't the BJP act against him if it contradicted their policy? The BJP stands exposed. They think such moves will help them win elections, but Delhi's people want a government that works for them, and they've seen Arvind Kejriwal deliver on this," Rai said. Meanwhile, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva accused AAP of settling illegal Rohingya migrants in Delhi to secure their votes. Earlier in the day, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi responded to Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri's remarks, reiterating her accusation that the Central government was responsible for the settlement of Rohingyas in Delhi. "He was either lying earlier or is lying now. The Rohingyas settled in different parts of Delhi are here entirely because of the Central government. They allowed them to enter India illegally, crossing six states to reach Delhi. Once here, the Central government provided housing and facilitated their settlement. Any misuse of resources or illegal activities by these migrants is solely the BJP-led Centre's responsibility," Atishi said. Union Minister Puri, however, maintained his stance, accusing AAP of spreading "diversionary tactics, false narratives, and half-truths" on the Rohingya issue. In a post on X, Puri stated, "The Aam Aadmi Party continues its politics of diversion, false narratives, and half-truths. Facts about illegal Rohingya migrants were clarified in a tweet the same day, but they have chosen to ignore it and persist with their misleading claims." He further claimed that "no Rohingya migrant" had been provided government housing in Delhi. "The AAP government is facilitating illegal Rohingyas in Delhi," Puri alleged. "Contrary to their fabricated rhetoric, they've settled these migrants in large numbers, provided them with electricity and water, and even pay them Rs 10,000," he claimed in his tweet. On Sunday, Atishi wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, accusing the BJP-led Central government of settling a "large number" of "illegal Rohingya migrants" in Delhi without consulting the state government. Citing Puri's older posts on X, Atishi argued that the issue has persisted for years. She demanded that the Union government provide the Delhi government with a complete list of Rohingyas and their addresses. Additionally, she insisted that no further rehabilitation of Rohingyas in Delhi take place without consulting the state government and its residents. Atul Subhash Suicide Case: Key details have emerged in the suicide case of Atul Subhash, a Bengaluru techie who ended his life on Monday, alleging harassment at the hands of his estranged wife and her family. The wife and in-laws of the 34-year-old techie were arrested and sent to judicial custody, news agency ANI reported on Sunday. According to ANI, accused Nikita Singhania has been arrested from Gurugram in Haryana, and the other accused, Nisha Singhania and Anurag Singhania, were arrested from Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj. Shivakumar, DCP White Field Division, Bengaluru, said that they were produced before the court and given to judicial custody. Atul Subhash suicide case | Accused Nikita Singhania has been arrested from Gurugram, Haryana. Accused Nisha Singhania and Anurag Singhania arrested from Prayagraj and produced before the court and given to judicial custody: Shivakumar, DCP White Field Division, Bengaluru pic.twitter.com/8XxZUcwkfQ ANI (@ANI) December 15, 2024 The latest development came two days after the Bengaluru City Police issued a summons to his wife Nikita Singhania and asked her to appear before it within three days. Earlier this week, a four-member Bengaluru City Police team led by sub-inspector Sanjeet Kumar arrived at Singhania's residence in the Khowa Mandi area in this Uttar Pradesh district around 11 am and pasted the notice for her summons. According to Circle Officer (City) Ayush Srivastava, the Bengaluru City Police notice said, "Nikita Singhania to appear before the investigating officer at Marathahalli police station, Bengaluru, within three days for interrogation regarding the circumstances surrounding the death of her husband, Atul Subhash." The notice, addressed solely to Singhania, did not mention other accused family members, including her mother Nisha Singhania, uncle Sushil Singhania and brother Anurag Singhania despite their names being in the FIR. At the time the notice was pasted, the main door of the house was locked and no family members were present. The Bengaluru City Police team arrived in Jaunpur late on Thursday. After meeting Superintendent of Police Ajay Pal Sharma, the team proceeded to the city police station for further action. The team planned to visit the civil court in Jaunpur to gather information about cases previously filed by Singhania, Srivastava said. Subhash, a 34-year-old engineer, died by suicide in Bengaluru on December 9, allegedly due to harassment by his estranged wife and her family. A case of abetment to suicide has been filed against Singhania and her family members. (With agencies inputs) Sambalpur: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan criticized the Congress party, stating they have "no shame, responsibility, or liability." Speaking to ANI on Sunday, Pradhan said that the people of India have repeatedly exposed the Congress party's actions. "Yesterday the Honourable Prime Minister placed some historical truths before the House. The Congress party has neither shame nor responsibility and no liability. Yesterday also they adopted the same attitude during the speech of the Prime Minister, they still have to practice listening to the truth. The people of the country have shown the mirror to the Congress party again and again," he said. Earlier on Saturday, PM Modi launched a scathing attack on Congress, accusing it of disrespecting the Constitution and presented eleven pledges for India's bright future, noting that the government and people should follow their duties and the country's politics should be free of "parivarvad". Responding to a two-day discussion in Lok Sabha on 75 years of the Constitution, PM Modi made repeated reference to the Nehru-Gandhi family, accusing every generation of its leaders of disrespecting the Constitution. "Congress has continuously disrespected the Constitution. It has made attempts to reduce its importance. History of Congress is full of such examples," he said. He took the "biggest jumla" jibe at Congress over its 'Garibi Hatao' slogan and said his government's mission is to free the poor from their difficulties. "If we follow our fundamental duties, no one can stop us from making Viksit," the Prime Minister said. Slamming Congress for the emergency, he said the country was turned into a prison, citizens' rights were snatched, and press freedom was curtailed. Taking a dig at Congress, he said from 1947 to 1952, India did not have an elected government but a temporary, selected one, with no elections held. He highlighted that before 1952, the Rajya Sabha was not formed, and there were no state elections, meaning there was no mandate from the people. The two-day debate on 75 years of the Constitution started in Lok Sabha on Friday. Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher announced that a tractor march would be organised outside Punjab on December 16, followed by a 'Rail Roko' in Punjab on December 18. The announcement came hours after a 'Jathha' of 101 farmers, blocked by the police at the Shambhu border due to security concerns, was withdrawn for the day. Pandher claimed that 17 farmers were injured after the police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters at the Shambhu Border. He further alleged that several farmers are in serious condition and accused the authorities of negligence in providing treatment at the hospital. Speaking to ANI at the Shambhu Border, Pandher said, "The Indian government, the fifth-largest economy in the world, used force against 101 farmers. Chemical water was thrown at us using cannons, bombs were hurled, and tear gas shells were fired. Seventeen farmers have been injured, many of whom are in serious condition, and they are not being given proper treatment in the hospital. We urge the Punjab government to ensure adequate treatment." "On December 16, a tractor march will be organised outside Punjab, and on December 18, we have called for a 'Rail Roko' in Punjab. We appeal to all Punjabis to participate in large numbers," he added. Responding to a query, Pandher criticised the opposition for not effectively addressing farmers' concerns in the ongoing winter session of Parliament. He specifically accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of failing to fulfil his promises to the farmers. "The opposition should not shirk its responsibility by merely issuing statements. They should highlight our agenda and stall Parliament on our issues just as they do for other matters. Rahul Gandhi is not raising our concerns in Parliament as he assured us he would," Pandher said. Earlier in the day, security forces used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the 'Jathha' of farmers marching towards Delhi ('Delhi Kooch') from the Shambhu border. Despite the police barricades and heavy deployment, the farmers remained resolute in their protest. The 'Jathha' of 101 farmers was stopped from entering the national capital at the Shambhu border point in Haryana on Saturday afternoon. Tensions arose at the protest site as the farmers attempted to move forward, but police cited security concerns and the need to regulate the movement of protesters into Delhi. Farmers appealed to security forces to allow them to continue their demonstration peacefully. A farmer leader, addressing the police through barricades, said, "SP Sahab, we want to march to Delhi peacefully. We request you not to block our protest. Please give us the road. Our voice should not be suppressed by these iron and stone barriers." In response, the Ambala Superintendent of Police said, "If you want to go to Delhi, you must obtain proper permission. Once you have it, we will allow you to proceed. There was a hearing in the Supreme Court yesterday. Instructions have been given to hold a meeting, and the next date is December 18. We appeal to you to sit here peacefully and follow the rules." Police presence at the border was significantly increased after the farmers announced their fresh attempt to march towards Delhi. As the protest gains momentum, farmers are intensifying their demonstrations to press the government into addressing their demands. The initiative aims to improve the quality of services offered to Gaza's residents and address the severe shortages faced by local authorities amid ongoing challenging circumstances. During a press conference held today with municipalities and the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility, Operation Chivalrous Knight 3 delivered four water tankers and two sanitation trucks. This initiative seeks to alleviate the challenges affecting the region, improve the services provided by municipalities to displaced families, and address the deteriorating humanitarian situation. Mohamed Rabie, Operations Coordinator, Chivalrous Knight 3, stated that the water tanker project is an urgent response from the UAE to address the deteriorating infrastructure in Gaza and meet the needs of over 1.5 million displaced individuals. He affirmed the operation's commitment to continuing vital projects to support the Palestinian people by mobilising all available resources. A representative of the Union of Gaza Municipalities expressed gratitude to the UAE and to President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for their unwavering support through Operation Chivalrous Knight 3. The representative highlighted the importance of the provided tankers, which address the urgent needs of municipalities amid the deterioration of existing vehicles, enabling them to continue delivering essential services to residents and displaced individuals. Dr. Omar Shatat, Director-General of the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility, praised the UAE's unlimited support for local authorities and municipalities through Operation Chivalrous Knight 3 since the onset of the aggression on Gaza. He highlighted the establishment of the first freshwater lifeline, which became the only source of potable water in the region. He added that the operation continues to ease the burden on local authorities by supplying Palestinian citizens with clean water to sustain life and improving the environmental conditions through sanitation trucks to mitigate diseases and environmental health risks in Gaza. The UAE continues its support for local authorities and municipalities in Gaza to alleviate the region's suffering and provide the necessary equipment for delivering potable water and sanitation services to displaced individuals. This assistance addresses the immense challenges faced by municipalities due to the dire circumstances in Gaza, ensuring the continuity and improvement of essential services for residents. (ANI/WAM) Opening another friction point with an important ally, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has dismissed the Congress party's vehement objections to Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and echoed the BJP's defence of the technology. He asserted that if there is a problem with EVMs, political parties should maintain consistency in their stance. "When you get a hundred plus members of Parliament using the same EVMs and you celebrate that as sort of a victory for your party, you can't then a few months later turn around and say... we don't like these EVMs because now the election results aren't going the way we would like them to," Abdullah said, PTI reported. When asked that he sounded suspiciously like a BJP spokesman, Abdullah responded, "No, it's just that... what's right is right." He stated that he speaks based on principles, not partisan loyalty and used his support for infrastructure projects like the Central Vista as an example of his independent thinking. "Contrary to what everybody else believes, I think that what's happening with this Central Vista project in Delhi is a damn good thing. I believe constructing a new Parliament building was an excellent idea. We needed a new Parliament building. The old one had outlived its utility," he said. When asked whether he believed the opposition, particularly the Congress, was barking up the wrong tree by focusing on EVMs, Abdullah responded, "If you have issues with the EVMs, you should remain consistent in your stance on them." The grand old party expressed doubts about the EVMs infallibility after losing in Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly polls, Abdullah's comments reflect his National Conference party's growing dissatisfaction with the Congress with which it was allied during the September Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. He emphasised that he never questioned the reliability of the EVMs and electoral machines remain the same regardless of the election outcome. (With PTI Inputs) Kerala Lottery Results Sunday 15-12-2024 LIVE: The Kerala Lottery Department, on behalf of the Keralan government, announces the "AKSHAYA AK-681" Lucky Draw Result today Akshaya AK-680, December 15, 2024. The draw will be held at Gorky Bhavan near Bakery Junction in Thiruvananthapuram. The Kerala Lottery Result 2024 for "Akshaya AK-681" will feature 12 series, with changes in series possible each week. A total of 108 lakh tickets are available for purchase weekly. The ticket prices may vary. Check the Akshaya AK-681 results right here to see if youre the first-place winner of 70 Lakhs. Stay tuned to this website for the live update of Kerala Lottery Akshaya AK-681 results today. Kerala Lottery Result 15-12-2024 December: FULL LIST OF WINNING NUMBERS FOR AKSHAYA AK-681 Draw LUCKY NUMBER FOR 1ST PRIZE OF RS 70 LAKHS IS: AH 728864 LUCKY NUMBER FOR 2ND PRIZE OF RS 5 LAKHS IS: AE 675158 LUCKY NUMBERS FOR 3RD PRIZE OF RS 1 Lakh ARE: AA 628381 AB 725561 AC 707272 AD 705579 AE 275913 AF 678841 AG 665615 AH 572901 AJ 494899 AK 949226 AL 944255 AM 298929 LUCKY NUMBERS FOR CONSOLATION PRIZE OF RS 8,000 ARE: AA 728864 AB 728864 AC 728864 AD 728864 AE 728864 AF 728864 AG 728864 AJ 728864 AK 728864 AL 728864 AM 728864 (For The Tickets Ending with The Following Numbers below) LUCKY NUMBERS FOR 4TH PRIZE OF RS 5,000 ARE: 0148 1823 1915 2268 2325 2355 4340 4639 4836 5087 5399 5478 6304 6329 7086 7818 7878 8966 LUCKY NUMBERS FOR 5TH PRIZE OF RS 2,000 ARE: 0360 1163 2253 3374 4459 5347 6628 LUCKY NUMBERS FOR 6TH PRIZE OF RS 1,000 ARE: 0236 0781 1421 1549 1592 2492 2582 3667 3811 4331 4521 5506 6038 6645 6923 7101 7262 7456 7943 8122 8191 8403 8861 8944 9176 9871 LUCKY NUMBERS FOR 7TH PRIZE OF RS 500 ARE: 0436 0517 0681 0803 0833 0838 0878 0988 1244 1430 1598 1666 1670 1740 1857 1865 2085 2610 2634 2657 3095 3164 3180 3371 3471 3768 3900 3965 4175 4228 4348 4377 4386 4497 4855 4896 4973 4990 5126 5463 5638 5722 5907 6023 6089 6533 6644 6853 6936 7092 7438 7598 7644 7731 7792 7895 7926 7934 8410 8493 8508 8557 8754 8786 8897 8917 9426 9491 9599 9656 9901 9964 LUCKY NUMBERS FOR 8TH PRIZE OF RS 100 ARE: 0190 0429 0495 0570 0688 0753 0835 0840 0903 0947 0962 1035 1108 1203 1281 1515 1550 1676 1762 1825 1997 2039 2098 2187 2342 2399 2530 2550 2627 2747 2755 2784 2786 2794 2897 3032 3276 3277 3306 3442 3610 3634 3803 3879 3937 3973 4111 4199 4201 4211 4283 4356 4434 4484 4515 4575 4647 4712 4767 4774 4989 5216 5274 5497 5590 5628 5787 5799 5808 5818 5989 6079 6310 6350 6395 6397 6495 6661 6665 6680 7016 7087 7159 7174 7182 7236 7251 7255 7256 7277 7563 7576 7646 7671 7688 7800 7874 7881 7885 7938 7950 8004 8018 8053 8063 8184 8222 8432 8474 8491 8498 8552 8801 8936 9062 9136 9214 9364 9500 9625 9713 9792 9939 KERALA LOTTERY RESULT 15-12-2024 December TODAY: AKSHAYA AK-681 LOTTERY PRIZE DETAILS 1st Prize: Rs 70 Lakhs 2nd Prize: Rs. 5 lakhs 3rd Prize: Rs. 1 Lakh 4th Prize: Rs. 5,000 5th Prize: Rs. 2,000 6th Prize: Rs. 1,000 7th Prize: Rs. 500 8th Prize: Rs. 100 Consolation Prize: Rs. 8,000 (NOTE: Lottery can be addictive and should be played responsibly. The data provided on this page is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as advice or encouragement. Zee News does not promote lottery in anyway.) New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the Modi government is firm that there will be no tinkering with the current reservation system in the country as he accused the Congress of reducing the quota for SCs, STs and OBCs by giving it to Muslims. Speaking at the 'Agenda Aaj Tak 2024' event here, he ridiculed Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and said that he has turned "arrogant" after the Congress was defeated in the Lok Sabha polls. "The opposition claimed we will change the Constitution. We have not touched reservation. The Congress granted reservation to Muslims and reduced it for SCs, STs and OBCs. We have said clearly that we will not tinker with the current system of reservation," Shah said. He said the Congress should remember that it lost the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the number of seats the BJP won was more than what the opposition party could not win in the last three elections -- 2014, 2019 and 2024. The home minister asserted that there is no difference between the present Modi government with 240 seats and the one which had 303 as it is still firm on what it had vowed to implement -- One Nation One Election, amending the "unconstitutional" Waqf Act, strengthening national security and making India the third largest economy in the world. Asked about the allegations against the Adani Group in the indictment in a US court and charges against the Modi government over its links with the business house, Shah said he was surprised to see that the Congress and its leaders like Rahul Gandhi were "taking inspiration" from foreign institutions. "No government can work on media reports... we will see when we get documents in this regard (US indictment)....," he said. The senior BJP leader said corruption is not his party's culture but the previous UPA era is known for scams worth Rs 12 lakh crore. "Why don't they go to court if they have evidence? What happened to the charges made in the Pegasus case? If there is any truth to these allegations, then courts are there. No one has given any evidence against the Modi government till now," he said. On the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, Shah said more than 2 crore tourists visited the union territory in the last one year, cinema halls opened after three decades, Tazia procession was taken out peacefully there and recent elections were held without bloodshed. These, he said, show that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is better after the abrogation of Article 370. Shah also thanked the voters of Maharashtra for the victory of the Mayahuti alliance in the recent assembly polls. The state is "now in safe hands", he said. He dismissed suggestions that Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Ekanth Shinde was upset over power sharing in the state. There is no reason for him to get upset, the minister added. Shah said he was committed to the target of freeing India from Left Wing Extremism (LWE) by March 2026. Many states are now free from the menace and two districts in Chhattisgarh remain the last bastions of Naxals, he said. "We have finished 70 per cent Naxal strength in Chhattisgarh too... more than 300 ultras have been killed and 900 arrested since the BJP government assumed charge (in Chhattisgarh). We are committed to ending the Maoist menace by 2026. Security along with development of tribals is our watchword," he said. Shah expressed his disappointment over the disruptions in the ongoing winter session of Parliament and said, "The opposition has decided that it will not allow the House to function." He said the government is ready to discuss each issue on the floor of the House and has nothing to hide on any subject. Speaking about 'One Nation, One Election', a bill on which is expected to be introduced in Parliament next week, Shah said there is no merit in the opposition's claims that it will end federalism in the country. It has been seen in the past that "when Lok Sabha and assembly polls were held together, the results came out different (in favour of different parties). The 'ghamandiya' alliance (INDIA bloc) has decided to boycott it", he said. The home minister said such a move will save a lot of money that can be used for development and welfare work, allow security forces to concentrate on their core job and ensure that primary school teachers, who are majorly deployed during elections, continue with their job of teaching children apart from many other positives. On the current situation in Manipur, which has been roiled by ethnic strife since May last year, Shah said, "I am assured that the violence will end and the situation in Manipur will be resolved." Asked about illegal infiltration from Bangladesh, he said only 4 per cent of the total 4,096 km of the border with the neighbouring country remains unfenced due to riverine areas, thick jungles and undulating land. He said he has written to governments of states under which this 4 per cent area falls and sought enhanced vigil to check those getting enrolled for welfare schemes using government-issued IDs. "Unfortunately, some state governments consider illegal infiltrators as vote bank. I have never seen such lowly politics in my life," Shah said. On the latest farmers' protest, the minister defended his government's policies for farmers and said, "The farmers of the country are satisfied but some have brought forward some issues... we will talk to them as per the recent directions of the Supreme Court." Shah further stressed that once the three new criminal laws brought by the Modi government are "completely implemented" in the country, it will be the "world's most modern criminal justice system". Targeting opposition parties, he said a "canard" is being spread by some parties that mass deletions of voters' names from electoral rolls were being orchestrated in poll-bound states. "There is a stipulated procedure for this... the EC sends a notice 11 days before such a deletion. It is all a canard being spread by some parties," he said. Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, 73, has been admitted to the ICU of a San Francisco hospital due to heart-related issues, according to his family and friends on Sunday. Hussain, who has brought the tabla to the global stage, had been struggling with blood pressure problems, as confirmed by his manager, Nirmala Bachani. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting initially announced Zakir Hussain's death on its 'X' page but later removed the post. Amid false reports of his death, Hussain's sister Khursheed clarified to PTI that while her brother remains 'very very critical,' he is still alive. "My brother is deeply ill at this time. We are asking all his fans around India and around the world to pray for him, to pray for his health. But as India's greatest ever exports, do not finish him off just yet," she said. She further urged the media to refrain from spreading misinformation: "I just want to request all the media not to follow wrong information about Zakir's passing. He is very much breathing at the moment. He is very very critical, but he's still with us. He has not yet gone. So, I will request (the media) not to spread this rumour by writing or saying that he has passed away. I feel so bad watching all this information on Facebook which is very wrong," she added. "He has been admitted to a hospital in San Francisco for a heart-related problem for the last two weeks," Bachani told PTI. Hussain's publicist also confirmed to the news agency that the percussionist is being treated in San Francisco and is "very much alive." Zakir Hussain: The Tabla Maestro The Bombay-born, eldest son of legendary tabla player Allah Rakha, Zakir Hussain followed in his father's footsteps to become a global icon. Hussains wife is Antonia Minnecola, a Kathak dancer and teacher. The couple has two daughters, Anisa Qureshi and Isabella Qureshi. In a career spanning six decades, Zakir Hussain collaborated with several renowned artists, both Indian and international. His 1973 project with English guitarist John McLaughlin, violinist L Shankar, and percussionist T.H. 'Vikku' Vinayakram was groundbreaking. The collaboration fused Indian classical music with jazz, creating a unique sound never heard before. Throughout his career, Hussain won five Grammy Awards, including three at the 66th Grammy Awards earlier this year. He is regarded as one of Indias most renowned classical musicians. Hussain has received the Padma Shri, one of the countrys highest civilian honours, in 1988; the Padma Bhushan in 2002; and the Padma Vibhushan in 2023. The tabla legend has also appeared in several films, including Saaz and Heat and Dust. His latest film, Monkey Man, was released in 2024. Mumbai: Bollywood star Varun Dhawan, who is currently promoting his upcoming film Baby John, got a chance to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his visit in the National Capital and said it was an absolute pleasure. Varun took to Instagram, where he shared a picture with the renowned leader. In the photograph, the two are seen looking at the camera smiling. Inke Saamne Toh Hum Sab Baby Hai, Varun wrote for Amit Shah, who is tagged as the Chanakya of Indian politics. Varun expressed his gratitude on meeting the leader. It was an absolute pleasure to meet the Honorable Home Minister Amit Shah ji in Delhi, he added. Take A Look At The Post: Varun Dhawan had a curious encounter with Union Home Minister Amit Shah at an event in Delhi, where he posed an intriguing question: "What's the biggest difference between Ram and Ravan?" Union Minister Amit Shah emphasized that the key difference between Ram and Ravan lies in their distinct approaches to fulfilling their duties, or 'dharma'. He explained that for individuals like Ram, their personal interests are guided by their sense of duty, whereas others, like Ravan, prioritize self-interest over their responsibilities. Talking about Baby John, the action thriller film is directed by Kalees. It serves as an adaptation of Atlee's 2016 Tamil film Theri. The film stars Varun Dhawan in the title role, alongside Keerthy Suresh , Wamiqa Gabbi, Zara Zyanna and Jackie Shroff. Baby John is scheduled to be released on 25 December. It tells the story of DCP Satya Verma IPS, alias Baby John, who fakes his death and goes underground to raise his daughter, Khushi, in a peaceful environment in Kerala after a personal tragedy. However, his past starts to catch up when his nemesis, Babbar Sher, a politician, figures out he is alive. Amidst his promotions in New Delhi, Varun met rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh. In an image shared by the rapper on Instagram, Honey Singh is seen all dressed up in a black overcoat, shirt and pants to beat the winter cold while Varun unfazed by the Delhi chills wore a white half sleeves T-shirt with Baby John written on it paired with denims. My lil brother @varundvn doing nain mattaka in west delhi!! BABY JOHN IS COMING keep it locked #yoyohoneysingh #varundhawan #babyjohn, Honey Singh wrote as the caption. Checkout The Post Here: Before Delhi, Varun visited Jaipur to promote the film. He spent a day in Jaipur to promote his upcoming film Baby John and savoured on dal bati and vada pav. Varun took to Instagram, where he shared a string of images of himself from Jaipur. In the first picture, the actor is seen wearing the traditional Rajasthani pagdi and trying the authentic Rajasthani thali. Niamey: Thirty-nine people were killed this week in two separate attacks in Niger's western Tillabery region, the Niger Armed Forces (FAN) announced on Saturday. The incidents claimed the lives of 18 people in Kokorou and 21 in Libiri, Xinhua news agency reported. "Two terrible tragedies occurred in the localities of Libiri and Kokorou: criminals, cornered by the incessant operations of the defense and security forces, cowardly attacked defenseless civilians," the FAN reported in its Saturday evening news bulletin. "Among the victims are many women and children," the army said, adding that "in the face of these barbaric acts, the authorities expressed their deep indignation and solidarity with the bereaved families. They reaffirmed their commitment to take all necessary measures to find and neutralize the perpetrators." Libiri and Kokorou are situated in the "three borders" region, where Niger shares boundaries with Mali and Burkina Faso. This area has become a hotbed of insecurity in recent years, plagued by attacks from various jihadist groups. The operations took place from December 12 to 14, the statement said without detailing when the attacks happened. However, Niger's military junta dismissed reports of the attack and deaths as "baseless assertions" and a "campaign of intoxication". Niger's military government has suspended the BBC for three months, claiming that it was spreading fake news. Niger's Communication Minister Raliou Sidi Mohamed said that the decision would take effect immediately. Niger has also suspended French outlets France24 and Radio France Internationale (RFI), since the military seized power in a coup in July, 2023. The junta government in Niger is under pressure for failing to curb militant attacks, one of its justifications for deposing democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum. According to conflict monitoring group ACLED, at least 1,500 civilians and troops have been killed in jihadist attacks in Niger in the past year. Kathmandu: Nepals Minister for Home Affairs Ramesh Lekhak on Sunday said a consensus of all political parties will be ensured to amend the Constitution, a media report said. Lekhak, speaking at a press meet, stressed on the need for the Constitution amendment for strengthening the federal democratic republic, The Himalayan Times newspaper reported. "The preliminary dialogue on this issue has commenced. But the constitution amendment will not be determined by two political parties, he said. Lekhak said that the Nepali Congress (NC) and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN UML), the largest parties in Parliament, had decided to form the incumbent coalition government to promote stability, prevent corruption, strengthen good governance and economic activities and accelerate the pace of development. The minister further said that the existing political alliance between the NC and CPN (UML) has no issues and it will continue until the next general election. Responding to a question about the arrest of opposition leader Rabi Lamichhane, he claimed that the government is highly aware of the guarantee of human rights for each citizen. He added that the government has no feeling of "revenge" against Lamichhane, the chair of Rastriya Swatantra Party, as the current investigation against him is a legal issue. Meanwhile, Nepali Congress spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat advised the government to seek and accept foreign loans only on the need-basis as it has been very challenging for the country to repay loans taken after Covid-19. In July, K P Sharma Oli was sworn in as Nepal's Prime Minister for the fourth time to lead a new coalition government. The leader of Nepal's largest communist party was appointed as prime minister by President Ram Chandra Paudel to lead the coalition government with Nepali Congress (NC), the largest party in Parliament, apart from other smaller parties. Oli, 72, succeeded Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda,' who lost the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives (HoR), leading to the formation of the new government. Nepal has faced frequent political turmoil as the country has seen 14 governments in the past 16 years after the Republican system was introduced. Isak Andic, the founder and owner of the global fashion brand Mango, tragically passed away in a hiking accident on Saturday. The 71-year-old businessman, originally from Istanbul, slipped and fell from a 150-meter cliff while hiking with his family near the Montserrat caves, close to Barcelona, according to Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia. A Legacy in Fashion Andic, who moved to Catalonia from Turkey with his family in the 1960s, founded Mango in 1984, building it into one of the world's most recognizable fashion brands. Under his leadership, Mango expanded rapidly, first opening stores across Spain and then branching out internationally, beginning with Portugal and France. Today, Mango has a presence in over 120 countries, with a turnover of 3.1 billion euros in 2023. Approximately 33% of its business comes from online sales. Mangos CEO, Toni Ruiz, expressed profound sorrow following Andics death, stating, His departure leaves a huge void, but we are all, in some way, his legacy and the testimony of his achievements. It is up to us to ensure that Mango continues to be the project that Isak was ambitious and proud of. Cesar de Vicente, Mangos global retail director, remembered Andics unique vision for the brand. "He saw that we needed color, style," de Vicente said in an interview with AFP in March 2024. His leadership and eye for fashion transformed Mango into a global powerhouse. Andics Impact on Catalonia and the Fashion Industry With a net worth of $4.5 billion, Andic was serving as Mangos non-executive chairman at the time of his death. The head of Catalonia's regional government, Salvador Illa, paid tribute to Andic as a businessman whose leadership "has contributed to making Catalonia great and projecting it to the world." Illa also described Andic as someone who left an "indelible mark on the Catalan and global fashion sector. The leader of South Korea's main Opposition Democratic Party (DP) on Sunday, proposed forming a consultative body between the parliament and the government to stabilise state affairs, a day after President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment over his declaration of martial law. DP leader Lee Jae-myung made the proposal after the National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against Yoon on Saturday over his short-lived imposition of martial law on December 3, suspending his duties as President. "The normalisation of the Republic of Korea is urgent," Lee said in a press conference. "The Democratic Party will actively cooperate with all political parties for the stabilisation of state affairs and to recover international trust." The People Power Party (PPP), however, rejected Lee's proposal, noting that it remains the ruling party, Yonhap news agency reported. "As the ruling party, (we) will take a responsible role through senior and working-level meetings with the government until the end of the Yoon Suk Yeol government," PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong told reporters. Lee also said he would not take steps for the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who assumed duties as acting president immediately after Yoon's impeachment. Han has been asked by the police to appear for questioning as part of their investigation into the martial law declaration. "Too many impeachments could lead to confusion in state affairs. As for now, we have decided not to take impeachment steps (against Han)," he said. Lee also called for the Constitutional Court to take 'swift' steps for Yoon's dismissal, saying that it is the only way to "minimise the country's chaos." The court has 180 days to decide whether to approve the parliament's decision that will either remove Yoon from office or have him reinstated. On Saturday, the National Assembly voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his botched imposition of martial law, suspending him from his duties until the Constitutional Court decides whether to reinstate him or remove him from office, with citizens cheering over his impeachment. Ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday launched another scathing attack on the country's interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, accusing him of heading an "undemocratic group" with no accountability to the people. In a statement on the eve of the 'Bijoy Dibosh', a day when Bangladeshi celebrate December 16 as 'Victory Day', Hasina referred to Yunus as a "fascist" and claimed that the primary objective of his leadership is to suppress the spirit of the Liberation War and the pro-liberation forces. Hasina, who sought refuge in India after resigning as prime minister in August amid large-scale anti-government protests. "This undemocratic group led by the fascist Yunus has no responsibility towards the people," she said. "They are taking power and obstructing all public welfare work," she added. Hasina added that the Yunus government is not democratically elected and their main aim is to suppress the spirit of the Liberation War. "As this government is not democratically elected, they have no accountability to the people. Their main aim is to suppress the spirit of the Liberation War and the pro-liberation forces and suppress their voice," Hasina said, PTI reported. "On the contrary, they are secretly supporting the anti-independence radical communal forces. The lack of sensitivity of the leaders of this government, including the fascist Yunus, towards the Liberation War and its history is proven in every step they take," she added. (With PTI inputs) Aqaba [Jordan], December 15 (ANI/WAM): King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan received Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, along with Arab and foreign ministers and international officials participating in the Aqaba ministerial meetings on Syria held today in Aqaba. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed conveyed the greetings of President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his wishes for continued prosperity and well-being for Jordan and its people. In return, King Abdullah extended his greetings to President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, wishing the UAE and its people further progress and prosperity. During the meeting, King Abdullah II emphasised that stability in Syria is a strategic interest for Arab nations and the region as a whole, underscoring the need for a unified and effective international stance to safeguard Syria's security, citizens, national institutions, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. The King reiterated Jordan's support for an inclusive, peaceful political transition in Syria, involving all Syrian political and social forces. He stressed the importance of UN and Arab League sponsorship in ensuring the aspirations of the Syrian people across all communities are met. King Abdullah highlighted the need for unity among the Syrian people to build a free, safe, stable, and unified Syria. He also underscored the importance of enhancing efforts to combat terrorism and collaborate in addressing its threats to Syria, regional security, and global stability. The King reaffirmed Jordan's commitment to providing essential humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people. He stressed the importance of creating the necessary security, living, and political conditions to enable the voluntary return of Syrian refugees to their homeland, in cooperation with relevant UN organisations. The meeting also addressed the significance of the ministerial meetings in fostering Arab coordination and collaboration with the international community to achieve a political resolution that supports Syria's unity, sovereignty, and the security and stability of its people. (ANI/WAM) The United States reiterated its strong support for Korea, its citizens, and the country's democratic processes, hours after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached as President following a row over his brief declaration of martial law. Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the US Department of State, expressed Washington's continued commitment to the US-Korea alliance, describing it as "ironclad." In his statement, Miller emphasized the significant progress made in the bilateral relationship in recent years, highlighting the ongoing cooperation between the two nations. "Our commitment to the US-ROK alliance is ironclad. In recent years, that Alliance has made enormous strides," he said. Miller also conveyed the United States' readiness to collaborate with acting President Han Duck-soo and the Korean government, affirming the shared interests and values that underpin the partnership. "In recent years, that Alliance has made enormous strides, and the United States looks forward to partnering with the ROK on achieving further progress," he said. "We stand ready to continue this work with Acting President Han Duck-soo and the ROK government to advance our mutual interests and shared values," he added. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken also spoke on the political developments in South Korea. Speaking to the media in Jordan, Blinken responded to questions about the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol expressed strong support for the Korean people and reaffirmed the US commitment to its alliance with South Korea, which remains "ironclad." "And on events in South Korea and President Yoon, look, I think the most important thing is that the Korea has demonstrated its democratic resilience. We've seen it follow, peacefully, a process laid out in its constitution, and we're ready to work with President Han as he assumes office. "Most important, we strongly support the Korean people. We strongly support the ironclad alliance that joins our two countries together and that's done so much over the last few years," he added. Notably, South Korea is facing a challenging time politically since the former president's declaration of martial law, which led to his impeachment by the National Assembly on Saturday. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached by the National Assembly over his attempt to impose martial law in the country on Saturday. The members of the unicameral National Assembly on Saturday voted 204 to 85 to impeach South Korea's President, the second such vote in eight days. Three members of the National Assembly abstained from voting while eight votes were declared invalid. The voting was conducted through a secret ballot, with two-thirds of the vote needed for impeachment. All 300 members of the assembly cast their votes. After his impeachment, Yoon was suspended from office while South Korea's Constitutional Court deliberated his fate. South Korea's Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is taking over as the interim president, as reported by Al Jazeera. (ANI) Baloch activist Mahrang Baloch has called on human rights organisations to take immediate action following the 'disappearance' of Master Fareed Ahmed, a respected teacher from Nushki, Balochistan. Ahmed has been missing for two months, creating a profound impact on his family, students, and the education system in the region. https://x.com/MahrangBaloch_/status/1867956381510471714 Sharing a post on X, Baloch stated, "Master Fareed Ahmed, a respected teacher from Nushki, Balochistan, has been missing for two months. His absence is a devastating loss for his family, his students, and the already struggling education system in #Balochistan." "His family will protest tomorrow, for his safe release. We urge human rights organizations to take immediate action to ensure his release," she added. Earlier on Friday, Baloch has condemned the closure of Bolan Medical College and hostel, calling it an "attack on education and an attempt to militarize academic spaces in Balochistan." Mahrang Baloch called on people to join the rally from Bolan Medical College to Balochistan Assembly to defend the students' right to education. She said that Baloch students already face forced abductions, profiling and state oppression. Meanwhile, highlighting the issue of enforced disappearances in Pakistan, she said that five Baloch people have been forcibly abducted in Karachi, adding that Baloch people have been raising demands for their right to live and exist without fear in their own homeland. In a post on X, Mahrang Baloch stated, "What could be more devastating for a Nation than the daily enforced disappearances of its students? In Karachi, Miraj Shad, Doda Elahi, Ghamshad Baloch, Muzammil, and Ismail have been abducted. Doda Elahi and Ghamshad Baloch, who were previously abducted and forced to abandon their studies after release, had recently resumed their education but have been abducted again." "Meanwhile, three brothers--Irshad, Mureed, and Mehboob Baloch--were forcibly disappeared from Mungochar, Kalat. Their families are protesting, blocking the main RCD highway, demanding their release. On this Human Rights Day, the Baloch people are not only seeking justice--they are demanding the right to live and exist without fear in their own homeland, from a state that has denied them their very humanity," she added. The students were taken into custody at around 1 am (local time) on Monday from Karachi's Hassan Square area and their whereabouts remain unknown, The Balochistan Post reported. These ongoing incidents of enforced disappearances have led to human rights violations by the Pakistan armed forces. (ANI) Of the 4 People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, 2 aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, according to Taiwan's MND. The details were shared by Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) in a post on X. https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/1868098798167466173 "4 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 of the Taiwan Strait. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly," Taiwan MND said on X. On Saturday, Taiwan reported 17 Chinese aircraft, and 5 naval vessels near its territory. "17 PLA aircraft and 5 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 13 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's southwestern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly," Taiwan MND said on X. This incident follows a recent pattern of escalated manoeuvres by China around Taiwan, raising concerns over regional stability as Beijing continues to assert its claims over the island. In response to the PLA's activities, the MND initiated war-preparedness drills at strategic locations across the island and is closely coordinating with the Coast Guard Administration to implement appropriate countermeasures. The Taiwan-China issue is a complex and longstanding geopolitical conflict centred on Taiwan's sovereignty. Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China (ROC), operates its own government, military, and economy, functioning as a de facto independent state. However, China considers Taiwan a breakaway province and insists on the "One China" policy, which asserts that there is only one China, with Beijing as its capital. This has fuelled decades of tension, especially since the Chinese Civil War (1945-1949), when the ROC government retreated to Taiwan after the Communist Party, led by Mao Zedong, took control of mainland China. Beijing has consistently expressed its goal of reunification with Taiwan, using diplomatic, economic, and military pressure to isolate Taiwan internationally. Meanwhile, Taiwan, supported by a significant portion of its population, continues to maintain its independence. (ANI) San Antonio police arrested a man accused of fatally stabbing a 52-year-old man on the North Side early Saturday. Carl Mott, 61, was arrested without incident at his residence around 6 p.m. Saturday after police identified him as the attacker through security footage. He faces murder charges in connection with the attack, police said. Douglas Sacha/Getty Images San Antonio police arrested a man accused of fatally stabbing a 52-year-old man on the North Side early Saturday. Police arrested Carl Mott, 61, without incident at his residence around 6 p.m. after identifying him as the attacker through security footage. Mott faces murder charges in connection with the attack, police said. Officers were called to a business in the 2600 block of Northeast Loop 410 around 7 a.m. after a man with an apparent stab wound walked into the building. The man refused to provide details of the stabbing and was taken to the hospital, where he later died, according to a preliminary police report. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office has not identified the man who died. US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti on Saturday raised concern over the ongoing atrocities against Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh and reiterated that the cornerstone of democracy is peace in the world. He added that religious minorities must be safeguarded regardless of their country of residence. While speaking with ANI, Garcetti said, "We have been very clear that around the world, religious minorities must be protected no matter what country they live in. That's a cornerstone not only of democracy but of peace in the world." He added, "We're working very closely as we always have in South Asia, Bangladesh and here in India to make sure that those voices are never excluded and we hope that will continue." The remarks by Garcetti came while he paid an informal visit to St. Xavier's College in Maharo, Dumka, as part of a cultural exchange along with High Commissioner of Malta Reuben Gauci on Saturday. Both the dignitaries were welcomed with Santali traditional folk dance. Garcetti further said that the Jharkhand region is the heartland of India. "Santhal people and Jharkhand - this entire region is such a heartland of India, a place where the people are close to the land, where the traditions run deep, and a place that I've wanted to come to since that very first day of the meeting - President Murmu..." On similarities between Indian and American tribes culture, he said, "I think we have a closeness to the land. We understand why nature is important, we preserve and conserve nature, and we look at ways that we can coexist with nature. The world needs these lessons more than ever, and whenever I'm with tribal communities here in India, whether it's here, whether it's been in the northeast, or in Rajasthan, we see people are closely connected to the old ways, that need to be the new way so that we can have healthy rivers, forests, clean air..." High Commissioner of Malta to India, Reuben Gauci, shared his connection with Jharkhand and highlighted the historical ties between Malta and Dumka, dating back to 1925 when the Jebusites arrived in the region. He said, "I've been here in India for more than four years now and this is my 5th visit to Jharkhand. I am so honoured that my very good friend and colleague, the American Ambassador came here to see this very wonderful place. I think the first thing which brought us close together is this discussion of minorities... I see that not a lot of my colleagues in Delhi have travelled here. When I tell them I come to Dumka. Sometimes they ask me where it's Dumka and I'm so proud to say that for me Dumka - first of all, has a history with my country going back to 1925 when the Jebusites arrived here... Now not a lot of people in Malta know how many of the Maltese Jebusites spoke fluent Santhali." Gauci also shared a post on X about his visit to Dumka and wrote, "Thanks to @USAmbIndia H.E. Eric Garcetti who found time to travel to Dumka, Jharkhand with me, in order to visit the Jisu Jaher complex, founded by Maltese Jesuits in India." https://x.com/reubengauci1976/status/1867958442788364787 "Happy to meet again Maltese Missionaries Fr Paul Aquilina SJ & Marcette Buttigieg," the post added. (ANI) Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East) of the Ministry of External Affairs, emphasised the importance of expanding discussions on regional cooperation and maritime heritage beyond New Delhi and highlighted the significance of states like Odisha, which have historically been at the "forefront of commerce, trade, and maritime linkages." The remarks by Mazumdar came while speaking with ANI after attending the second edition of the International Conference on Purvodaya Perspectives: Reclaiming India's Maritime Heritage on Saturday. Mazumdar said, "It's very essential that discussions regarding such subjects - about our regional cooperation, our cooperation with countries of the Indo-pacific are taken not only in Delhi but also outside to states like Odisha which have traditionally been at the forefront of commerce, trade, maritime linkages throughout history... Unless states like Odisha which have great potential in our relations with the surrounding region of Bay of Bengal, from BIMSTEC as well as with ASEAN countries, unless they are aware of the opportunities, it will never be fulfilled..." Notably, the 2nd edition of the 'Purvodaya Perspectives,' an international conference with the theme, 'Reclaiming India's Maritime Heritage - Perspectives, Prospects, and Prognosis' is being held in Odisha's Bhuvaneshwar from December 14 to 15. According to the official statement of the Ministry of External Affairs, the conference is being organised by The Energy Forum (TEF) with support from the MEA, as a part of the Ministry's various foreign policy outreach initiatives. Mazumdar delivered the keynote address on the theme of the Conference. In his address, Secretary Mazumdar highlighted the role of the maritime economy in achieving the economic potential of India's Eastern Seaboard States, including Odisha and initiatives under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for the Indo-Pacific, SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region), the press statement by the MEA observed. Earlier this year in September during the QUAD Summit which took place in the US, Prime Minister Modi highlighted, "Free, open, inclusive, and prosperous Indo-Pacific is our shared priority and shared commitment." In October, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reiterated the PM's vision of SAGAR during the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue (IPRD) 2024. He had said, "India's vision for the Indo-Pacific is based on Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's idea of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) as we believe in fostering partnerships that prioritise sustainable development, economic growth and mutual security." Meanwhile, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal also shared a post on X on Saturday about the second edition of the Purvodaya Perspectives in Bhuvaneshwar. https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/1867944310261551581 He wrote, "Secy(East) @JaideepMazumder delivered keynote address on the theme "Reclaiming India's Maritime Heritage- Perspectives, Prospects, and Prognosis" at the 2nd edition of the "Purvodaya Perspectives" in Bhuvaneshwar, Odisha today." (ANI) The Italian government has granted Argentine President Javier Milei citizenship in recognition of his Italian heritage, a move that has sparked outrage across Argentina, according to a report by The New York Times. Javier Milei, whose grandparents migrated from Italy to Argentina, was granted Italian citizenship based on his ancestral ties, according to Italy's foreign ministry. The decision has provoked criticism, particularly from opponents of Italy's citizenship policy, who argue that the law, which allows descendants of Italians to obtain citizenship, is unfair. Critics point out the inconsistency of granting citizenship to individuals with distant Italian ancestry while denying it to children of immigrants born in Italy. Riccardo Magi, a liberal opposition lawmaker expressed strong disapproval over the Italian government's decision to grant citizenship to Argentine President Javier Milei and described the move as "another slap in the face" to children born in Italy or those who have lived there permanently, many of whom have been waiting for citizenship for years without success. Sharing a post on X, Magi wrote, "Granting the Italian citizenship to President Milei is yet another slap in the face to boys and girls who were born here or live here permanently and have been waiting for citizenship for years and years, sometimes without any result," The New York Times reported. Unlike the United States, Italy does not automatically grant citizenship to children born within its borders, whether or not the child's parents are in the country legally. Liberal forces have proposed a referendum to change the law, but Giorgia Meloni's government has resisted alterations that would relax it. Instead, the Italian authorities have recently updated their interpretation of the citizenship law based on decisions by Italy's supreme court, making it harder to obtain it through bloodlines, The New York Times. Notably, Meloni on Saturday met Milei, with the discussions focused on advancing cooperation, with both leaders expressing a shared commitment to finalizing a 2025-2030 Action Plan to deepen their collaboration across various sectors. The meeting also underscored the importance of judicial and security cooperation, particularly in combating transnational organized crime, and highlighted Italy's interest in expanding its economic and commercial presence in Argentina, especially in energy and high-value sectors. Sharing a post on X on Saturday, "A few weeks after my visit to Argentina, I received the President of the Argentine Republic, @JMilei today at Palazzo Chigi. The discussion was an opportunity to reiterate the common will to further strengthen the already solid bilateral partnership, with the aim of concluding in the coming months a 2025-2030 Action Plan that will allow for a deeper understanding of the already broad areas of cooperation between the two Nations." The post added, "The meeting also allowed us to reaffirm the importance attributed to judicial and security cooperation, with particular reference to the fight against transnational organised crime, as well as Italy's desire to increase its economic and commercial presence in Argentina, starting from the energy and high value-added sectors. In conclusion of the meeting, we agreed to maintain close coordination also on the main issues of the international agenda." (ANI) ABC News has agreed to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by US President-elect Donald Trump, and will pay USD 15 million to a "presidential foundation and museum," according to a report by CNN. The lawsuit, which also involved network anchor George Stephanopoulos, emerged from statements made in a March 2024 interview. As part of the settlement, ABC News will also pay USD 1 million to cover Trump's attorney fees and will issue an apology. ABC News will issue the following statement as an editor's note on the online article at the centre of the suit, "ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC's This Week on March 10, 2024," CNN reported. In a statement, an ABC News spokesperson said, "We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing." Earlier this year, Trump filed a defamation lawsuit in a Florida federal court, claiming that Stephanopoulos and ABC News ruined his reputation. The lawsuit centred around statements made by Stephanopoulos, who repeatedly said during an interview with South Carolina GOP Rep. Nancy Mace in March that a jury had determined Trump "raped" E. Jean Carroll. In the lawsuit filed against ABC News in March, Trump claimed that Stephanopoulos' statements were "false, intentional, malicious and designed to cause harm," CNN reported. Notably, American journalist and an advice columnist for the Elle magazine Elizabeth Jean Carroll had accused Trump of sexually assaulting her at a New York luxury department store in the late 1990s. Trump has denied all wrongdoing toward Carroll. In May 2023, jurors in a trial awarded Carroll a little more than USD 2 million after finding Trump liable for sexually abusing her. They also found that Trump had defamed her in separate instances and awarded her USD 3 million in damages for those. (ANI) Mihail Popsoi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova, arrived in India on Sunday, on his first official visit to India. Sharing a post on X, Randhir Jaiswal, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson wrote, "Warm welcome to Deputy PM & FM @MihaiPopsoi of Moldova on his first official visit to India." "His visit will deepen India-Moldova bilateral ties and foster a stronger partnership," the post added. https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/1868144078933934142 Popsoi will be on an official visit to India from December 15 to 17. The MEA earlier in a press release said that the official schedule of Popsoi will begin on Sunday, December 15, with him arriving at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Terminal 3, at 05:15 am (IST). Later in the evening, at 08:00 PM, he will meet with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at Hotel ITC Maurya. On Monday, December 16, Popsoi will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at Rajghat. The visit will conclude on Tuesday, December 17, with Popsoi's departure from Delhi. Notably, earlier in October, the second India-Moldova Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) was held in New Delhi, which featured discussions centred around enhancing political relations, trade, cultural exchanges, and people-to-people contacts. The Indian side was led by Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West) in the MEA and the Moldovan side was led by Sergiu Mihov, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Moldova. Sharing pictures on X, spokesperson for Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal wrote, "2nd India-Moldova Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) held in New Delhi today. Co-chaired by Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West), MEA and Sergiu Mihov, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Moldova." "Discussions focused on enhancing bilateral ties. Regional and international issues of mutual interest were also discussed," the post further said. During the FOCs, both sides held discussions on bilateral, regional and international issues. Bilateral discussions included political relations, trade, cultural relations and people-to-people contacts. Co-operation between the two countries in international and multilateral fora was also discussed, the MEA said in a press release. India recognised Moldova on December 28, 1991 and diplomatic relations were established on March 20, 1992. The relations between both countries are friendly and cordial and cooperate well on matters of mutual interest at multilateral fora, as per the Ministry of External Affairs. In April 2023, Moldova announced its decision to open an embassy in India. The Moldovan Ambassador arrived in India in June 2023. India accredits its Ambassador in Bucharest to the Republic of Moldova. (ANI) US President-elect Donald Trump announced the appointment of Richard Grenell as the Presidential Envoy for Special Missions. Trump also said that Grenell will work in some of the "hottest spots," including Venezuela and North Korea. In a statement, Trump said, "I am pleased to announce Richard Allen Grenell as our Presidential Envoy for Special Missions. Ric will work in some of the hottest spots around the World, including Venezuela and North Korea." Trump also highlighted Grenell's extensive work experience, noting his previous roles as the US Ambassador to Germany, Acting Director of National Intelligence, and Presidential Envoy for Kosovo-Serbia negotiations and said that Grenell will continue his fight for "Peace through Strength." "In my first term, Ric was the United States Ambassador to Germany, Acting Director of National Intelligence, and Presidential Envoy for Kosovo-Serbia Negotiations. Previously, he spent eight years in the United Nations Security Council, working with North Korea, and developments in numerous other countries. Ric will continue to fight for Peace through Strength, and always put AMERICA FIRST," the statement added. Notably, Grenell earned a BA from Evangel College and a MPA from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He has served as the primary communications adviser for public officials at the local, state, federal, and international levels, as well as for a Fortune 300-ranked company. Grenell has also worked extensively with clients based in the US as well as around the world and throughout Europe, according to the US Department of State. Grenell was also the longest-serving US spokesman in history at the United Nations in New York (2001-2008), where he was part of the negotiation team with the German delegation on a myriad of global issues, including Iran and North Korea sanctions, UN reform and peacekeeping operations. Previously, Grenell served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications for DaVita, El Segundo, California (2008-2009), Press Secretary, Mayor of San Diego, California (1998-2000), Press Secretary, State of New York Division of Lottery, Albany, New York (1995-1997), Press Secretary, House of Representatives, Washington, DC (1993-1995), Assistant, Campaign Division, National Republican Congressional Committee, Washington, D.C. (1993), Coalitions Coordinator for the Bush-Quayle Re-election campaign, Washington, DC (1992) and Administrator, American Arbitration Association (1989-1991). Donald Trump won a second term as President of the United States after securing 312 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) US President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes as Chairman of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board. Trump emphasised Nunes' experience as the former Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and his pivotal role in exposing the Russian interference in the 2016 US elections as key qualifications for the role. Sharing a post on the Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, "I am pleased to announce that I will appoint Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes as Chairman of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board, which consists of distinguished citizens from outside of the Federal Government." "While continuing his leadership of Trump Media & Technology Group, Devin will draw on his experience as former Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and his key role in exposing the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, to provide me with independent assessments of the effectiveness and propriety of the US Intelligence Community's activities. Congratulations Devin," the post added. https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/113652759052067639 Born on October 1, 1973 in Tulare, California, his family is of Portuguese descent, having emigrated from the Azores to California. Nunes graduated from Tulare Union High School and was the second Member of Congress to attend Tulare Union, following Olympic gold medalist Bob Mathias, who served in the House of Representatives from 1967 to 1975. After associate's work at College of the Sequoias, Nunes graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he received a bachelor's degree in agricultural business and a master's degree in agriculture. Nunes was first elected to public office as one of California's youngest community college trustees in state history at the age of 23. As a member of the College of the Sequoias Board from 1996 to 2002, he was an advocate for distance learning and the expansion of programs available to high school students. In 2001, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as California State Director for the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Development section. He left this post to run for California's 21st congressional district and now serves in the 22nd district as a result of redistricting in 2010. Notably, the President's Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB), with its component Intelligence Oversight Board (IOB), is an independent element within the Executive Office of the President. The President's Intelligence Advisory Board assists the President by providing the President with an independent source of advice on the effectiveness with which the Intelligence Community is meeting the nation's intelligence needs, and the vigor and insight with which the community plans for the future. The Board has access to all information needed to perform its functions and has direct access to the President. Donald Trump won a second term as President of the United States after securing 312 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) The Pakistan government on Saturday entered into a USD 330 million loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the Integrated Social Protection Development Programme (ISPDP), Dawn reported on Sunday. The loan agreement was signed by Economic Affairs Secretary Kazim Niaz and ADB Country Director Emma Fan. During the signing ceremony, Niaz emphasised the significance of this additional funding, highlighting its role in bolstering institutional capacity and improving access to essential services like education and healthcare. He also expressed appreciation for ADB's ongoing support in these areas. In her remarks, Fan reiterated ADB's commitment to assisting Pakistan in enhancing its social safety nets. She noted that the additional financing would play a crucial role in promoting inclusive growth, reducing poverty, developing skills, and expanding healthcare access for vulnerable populations, according to Dawn. Meanwhile, the World Bank cancelled a budget support loan of over USD 500 million to Pakistan after Islamabad failed to meet key conditions on time, including the revision of power purchase agreements under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), as reported by The Express Tribune on Friday. The Washington-based lender also announced that it will not provide any new budget support loans during the current fiscal year, which could affect the government's expectation of receiving USD 2 billion in fresh loans. A key reason for this decision is that Pakistan has largely exhausted its loan quota as reported by Express Tribune. Government sources revealed that the World Bank had cancelled the USD 500 to 600 million loans under the Affordable and Clean Energy program (PACE-II). Initially, the bank had agreed to provide 500 million, later increasing the amount to 600 million to help bridge Pakistan's external financing gap. The PACE program was approved by the World Bank in June 2021, with the first tranche of USD 400 million already released. However, the second tranche was contingent on several conditions, including negotiations with all Independent Power Producers (IPPs), notably the Chinese power plants established under CPEC. According to the Express Tribune report Pakistani authorities said that no progress was made in renegotiating agreements with CPEC-related power plants. China has repeatedly rejected reopening these deals, including restructuring the energy debt, which totals around USD 16 billion, the sources added. (ANI) Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Commodore Jay Tarriela, spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, accused China of using automatic identification system (AIS) spoofing to mislead the international community and create public unrest. Notably, AIS spoofing refers to the alteration of AIS data to mislead maritime vessels or monitoring systems. His remarks came after residents of San Felipe, Zambales raised concerns upon seeing a China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel near a dredging site in the area, as detected on a marine tracker local media outlet Inquirer Net reported. "It is clear that the Chinese Coast Guard is engaging in AIS spoofing to mislead the international community, confuse authorities, and instigate public concern," said Tarriela in a tweet. Tarriela stated that it is "ironic" that maritime safety is being jeopardised by China's disregard for the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea. "Analyzing the 60-day track of CCG-21543, it becomes evident that this vessel could not realistically navigate those routes. They are probably exploiting the AIS signals of other vessels for their spoofing activities," Tarriela said. He further said, "In the Philippines, it appears that they are using dredgers to enable this AIS manipulation." After the alarm was raised by residents of San Felipe, Cmdr. Euphraim Jayson Diciano, head of the PCG station in Zambales, reassured the public that all vessels would be closely monitored. He suggested that the detection of the suspected CCG vessel might have been a result of a technical malfunction. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which both the Philippines and China are parties to, research vessels must obtain prior approval before carrying out any activities within another country's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is collaborating with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to investigate the nature and purpose of the activities carried out by these vessels. In recent years, Chinese vessels have been reported multiple times in Philippine waters, escalating tensions between the two nations. The PCG has stated that it will continue to monitor the movements of these vessels and provide updates. However, the DFA has yet to comment on whether it will file a formal diplomatic protest. The dispute revolves around the South China Sea's strategic and resource-rich waters, claimed in whole or in part by several countries, including China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei. Tensions between Manila and Beijing have grown significantly due to conflicting territorial claims. China asserts its dominance over nearly the entire sea based on its "nine-dash line," while the Philippines defends its rights to the area based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and its EEZ. (ANI) Political parties and traders united to voice their opposition to the Murree Development Plan introduced by the Pakistan Punjab government, expressing concerns that it could lead to the loss of jobs and livelihoods for local residents, the Dawn reported. The protest saw participation from political parties such as the PPP and PTI, while the PML-N chose to boycott the event, which the protesters referred to as a 'grand jirga.' Despite Section 144 being imposed in Murree, a large crowd gathered, leading to road blockages lasting three to four hours, according to Dawn. Participants announced a shutter-down strike in Murree on December 27, urging the government to refrain from depriving people of their jobs under the guise of development or seizing local land unjustly. As per the Dawn, following the protest, a committee was formed to develop a joint action plan to pressure the Punjab government into halting the Murree Development Plan. The plan is reportedly set to demolish 200-year-old bazaars in Jhika Gali and The Mall, displacing locals in the name of development. The committee includes members from various groups, including Tufail Ikhlaq and Nasir Abbasi of Anjuman-i-Tajran; Raja Nadeem, Umar Naveed Satti, and Irfan Almas Abbasi from PTI; Nauman Abid Abbasi from Awam Pakistan; Saifullah Saifi from JUI-F; and Murtaza Satti, Mehreen Anwar Raja, and Shafqat Abbasi from PPP, among others. Sadaqat Abbasi, the former PTI MNA from Murree, told Dawn that all parties, except the PML-N, had united with traders and residents to oppose the Murree Development Plan. He argued that the plan was designed to close Murree's century-old bazaars and included the use of Section 4 to forcibly acquire local land. He emphasized that PTI had nominated three individuals for the committee to decide on an action plan, highlighting that the movement was not targeting any specific party, but was instead focused on opposing a policy aimed at dismantling the historic bazaars. He also noted that during PTI's tenure, Murree was granted district status, but the Punjab government had failed to establish a district headquarters hospital in the area. Dawn also noted that during the protest, former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi criticized the government's actions, saying that while local residents were restricted from constructing buildings on their own land, elites from other regions were allowed to build in the hill station. He claimed that a "law of the jungle" prevailed in the region, with the provincial government seeking to dismantle the 200-year-old bazaars that supported over eight villages in the district. "What kind of government is this that demolishes buildings and takes away jobs without consulting the people? There is always a solution to everything, and no government can compete with the power of the people," he said, adding that Nawaz Sharif, in contrast, would provide jobs to people rather than taking them away. He urged the government to consult local residents and address their concerns before proceeding with any action in Murree. Other speakers at the protest argued that the government's real aim was to shut down the historic bazaars and pressure shopkeepers and hotel owners into selling their land. They criticized the concentration of development within a three-kilometer radius while neglecting rural areas of Murree. Meanwhile, Murree Deputy Commissioner Agha Zaheer Sherazi told Dawn that the administration did not prevent the protest in Lower Topa. He explained that the protest had been initiated by traders after the government began work to widen and remodel The Mall and Jhika Gali, and address encroachments. He emphasized that the Murree Development Plan was intended to beautify the hill station and attract more visitors, adding that no new taxes or building regulations had been introduced. In June of this year, the Punjab government approved the Murree Development Plan, which also includes the Rawalpindi-Murree tourist glass train project. As part of this initiative, the government decided to relocate hotels from GPO Chowk to a different site, restore the original names of areas and historical buildings, and implement a uniform color scheme for old buildings along The Mall. The plan also included removing multi-storey hotel buildings that obstructed natural views of The Mall, along with amendments to construction by-laws, transferring approval authority to the provincial level. (ANI) At least 14 people were killed in Mayotte when a fierce cyclone battered the French Indian Ocean territory, authorities said Sunday, with officials warning it will take days to know the full toll. Rescue workers and supplies are being rushed in by air and sea, but their efforts are likely to be hindered by damage to airports and electricity distribution in a territory where even clean drinking water was already subject to chronic shortages. The toll of 14 was counted in a provisional list compiled by authorities, a security source told AFP. Nine people were gravely wounded and fighting for their lives in hospital, said Ambdilwahedou Soumaila, mayor of Mayotte's capital Mamoudzou, while 246 more were seriously injured. "The hospital is hit, the schools are hit. Houses are totally devastated," he said, adding that the hurricane "spared nothing". Mayotte's 320,000 residents were ordered into lockdown as cyclone Chido bore down on the islands around 500 kilometres (310 miles) east of Mozambique. Its gusts of at least 226 kilometres per hour had "completely destroyed" the territory's many shantytowns, acting Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said following a crisis meeting in Paris late Saturday. Electricity poles were hurled to the ground, trees uprooted and sheet-metal roofs and walls torn off improvised structures inhabited by at least one-third of the population. "It will take several days" to establish the full death toll, but "we fear that it is heavy", Retailleau said, adding that the Muslim custom of burial within a day of a death could complicate the count. Information from the locked-down population, in shock and largely cut off from water and electricity supplies, is slow to filter out, a source familiar with the recovery effort told AFP. One local resident, Ibrahim, told AFP of "apocalyptic scenes" as he made his way through the main island, having to clear blocked roads for himself. "Even the largest companies have suffered damage," he added. Retailleau will travel to Mayotte on Monday, his office said, alongside 160 soldiers and firefighters to reinforce the 110 already deployed to the islands from mainland France ahead of the storm. Medical personnel and equipment were being delivered from Sunday by air and sea, said the prefecture in La Reunion, another French Indian Ocean territory some 1,400 kilometres away on the other side of Madagascar. Pope Francis, visiting French Mediterranean island Corsica on Sunday, urged people to pray for Mayotte residents. "Everything has been swept away, everything is razed," said Mounira, a woman whose house was destroyed in the Kaweni district in Mamoudzou's east -- France's largest shantytown. More than 15,000 homes are without electricity, acting Environment Minister Agnes-Pannier Runacher has said, while telephone access is severely limited even for emergency calls. Acting Transport Minister Francois Durovray wrote on X that the Pamandzi airport on Petite-Terre, the smaller of Mayotte's two major islands, had "suffered major damage". Just northwest of Mayotte, the Comoros islands, some of which had been on red alert since Friday, were also hit, but suffered only minor damage. Cyclone Chido later slammed into Mozambique early Sunday, bringing gale-force winds and heavy rain when it made landfall around 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of the northern city of Pemba, weather services said. "The cyclone is already affecting Pemba with a very strong intensity. We were monitoring the situation but there is no communication with Pemba since 7:00 am (0500 GMT)," National Institute of Meteorology director Aderito Aramuge told AFP. UNICEF said it was on the ground to help the people impacted by the storm, which had already caused some damage. "Many homes, schools and health facilities have been partially or completely destroyed and we are working closely with government to ensure continuity of essential basic services," it said in a statement. Cyclone Chido is the latest in a string of storms worldwide to be fuelled by climate change, according to experts. The "exceptional" cyclone was super-charged by particularly warm Indian Ocean waters, meteorologist Francois Gourand of France's Meteo France weather service told AFP. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Friday it was similar in strength to cyclones Gombe in 2022 and Freddy in 2023, which killed more than 60 people and at least 86 in Mozambique respectively. It warned that some 1.7 million people were in danger, and said the remnants of the cyclone could also dump "significant rainfall" on neighbouring Malawi through Monday, potentially triggering flash floods. Zimbabwe and Zambia were also expected to see heavy rains, it added. The Baloch National Movement (BNM) held a debate in the British Parliament, highlighting the ongoing human rights abuse in Balochistan. The Member of Parliament John McDonnell hosted the debate on the occasion of International Human Rights Day. The debate focused on the severe repression faced by the Baloch people at the hands of the Pakistani state. Speakers at the event called for immediate international action to address the widespread human rights violations, including enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and other forms of state repression. The participants emphasized the urgent need for global intervention to end these atrocities and ensure justice for the Baloch nation. The debate featured prominent figures, including John McDonnell MP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Richard Burgon MP, BNM Chairman Naseem Baloch, Sami Deen Baloch, Sabiha Baloch, Naseer Dashti, Faheem Baloch, and Saleem Elahi Baloch. John McDonnell, who hosted the event, stressed that despite the UK's close ties with Pakistan, the government must not remain silent in the face of the ongoing violations in Balochistan. He urged fellow MPs to advocate for justice on behalf of the Baloch people. Naseem Baloch, Chairman of the BNM and a two-time victim of enforced disappearance by the Pakistani military shared his personal account of survival in Pakistani torture cells. He revealed that his belief in the independence of Balochistan was the only thing that kept him alive. He also highlighted the scale of the oppression, noting that thousands of Baloch men and women have faced similar atrocities. BNM Foreign Secretary Faheem Baloch spoke about the deep and lasting impact of enforced disappearances on the families of victims, reaffirming the Baloch people's unyielding determination to pursue freedom despite the ongoing violence. Naseer Dashti, a BNM leader, focused on the illegal annexation of Balochistan and the role of China in the region through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). He called for global accountability for both Pakistan and China's actions in Balochistan. Sami Deen Baloch, a key figure in the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), recounted his family's struggles following his father's disappearance and the dangers that families face when seeking justice. He underscored the need for international solidarity to combat the ongoing atrocities against the Baloch nation. Sabiha Baloch, a leader of the BYC, discussed the severe deprivation of basic rights in Balochistan and the brutal suppression of peaceful activists, aided by Chinese financial involvement. She called for an international fact-finding mission to investigate and address the region's human rights violations. Saleem Elahi Baloch shared the heartbreaking story of his brother, Zahid Baloch, a student leader who was forcibly disappeared. He made an emotional appeal to the international community to help end the widespread practice of enforced disappearances in Balochistan. Jeremy Corbyn MP emphasized the importance of raising global awareness about the atrocities in Balochistan and fostering solidarity with oppressed communities worldwide. (ANI) The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) on Saturday issued a strong condemnation regarding the arrest orders of 150 journalists, including Asif Bashir Chaudhry, the general secretary of the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ), and anchor Harmeet Singh, under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, Dawn reported. In a statement, PFUJ President Afzal Butt and Secretary General Arshad Ansari demanded the immediate revocation of the arrest orders and called on authorities to respect and protect the fundamental rights of journalists and media workers according to Dawn. The union also called for a detailed investigation into the issue and requested assurances regarding the safety and security of journalists. "We strongly condemn the harassment and arrest of journalists for simply doing their job," they said in a statement. "This is a blatant attack on press freedom and freedom of expression in Pakistan and depicts the authoritarian mindset of the so-called elected government." The PFUJ stressed that although the organization opposes fake news, proper legal procedures must be adhered to when filing cases against journalists accused of breaking the law. The union expressed its support for the journalists affected and reaffirmed its commitment to defending their rights and freedom. As per Dawn, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has initiated two separate cases against Asif Bashir Chaudhary and Harmeet Singh, alleging that they created a false narrative and spearheaded a deceptive campaign against state institutions and security agencies on X. The FIA asserts that tweets posted between November 24 and 27 encouraged the public to engage in violent acts against state institutions, law enforcement, and security agencies. The FIA alleges that tweets posted between November 24 and 27 incited the public to commit violent acts against state institutions, law enforcement, and security agencies. The cases have been filed under Sections 9, 10, 11, and 24 of PECA 2016. Section 9 (Glorification of an Offence) provides for up to seven years in prison and a fine of Pakistani Rupees 10 million; Section 10 (Cyber Terrorism) carries a penalty of up to 14 years in prison and a fine of up to Pakistani Rupees 50 million; Section 11 (Hate Speech) includes up to seven years imprisonment, a fine, or both; and Section 24 (Cyber Stalking) is punishable by up to three years in prison, a fine of up to Pakistani Rupees 1 million, or both, Dawn noted. Notably, Pakistan has consistently ranked low on indices rating freedom of expression, even online spaces are no different, especially when it comes to press freedom in the country. (ANI) Turkiye Defence Minister Yasar Guler on Sunday emphasised on the dismantling of Khurdish groups PKK/YKG in Syria, Anadolu Ajansi reported. Guler mentioned that Turkiye has been in contact with America over the dismantling of the groups. "Our primary issue in Syria is the dismantling of the PKK/YPG terrorist organization. We have expressed this to our American friends. We expect them to reassess their position," said Guler. Defence Minister Guler noted that Turkiye has neutralised 2,939 terrorists, since the beginning of this year. "With the operations we have carried out, we have neutralized 2,939 terrorists, including those in northern Iraq and Syria, since the beginning of this year," he said. According to Anadolu Ajansi, Guler emphasized Turkiye's position regarding the Kurdish population in the region, saying, "We have no problem with our Kurdish brothers and sisters living in Iraq and Syria. Our problem is only and solely with the terrorists." Guler remarked that protecting Syria's territorial integrity is Turkiye's top most priority. Earlier in the day, US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken confirmed that the US is in direct contact with the Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which has gained control of Damascus after overthrowing the over two-decade regime of Bashar al-Assad. Blinken also affirmed that the US is committed to finding home Austin Tice, an American journalist who has been missing in Syria since 2012. "We've been in contact with HTS and with other parties. We have impressed upon everyone we've been in contact with the importance of helping find Austin Tice and bringing him home," he told reporters in Jordan. "We've also shared the principles that I just laid out for our ongoing support - principles, again, that have now been adopted by countries throughout the region and well beyond. And we've communicated those," Blinken added. Syria rebel forces led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Shamb entered Damascus, forcing President Bashar al-Assad to flee from the country, ending his over two-decade rule in the country. (ANI) Residents of Pakistan-Occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB) are grappling with a worsening healthcare crisis as overcrowded hospitals, a severe shortage of diagnostic equipment, and the high cost of medical services continue to put immense pressure on the local population. Many patients are now forced to travel long distances for treatment, with limited options available locally. A social worker, Ghulam Abbas, expressed deep concerns over the inadequate healthcare services provided by the government. He emphasized that the overcrowded government hospitals and the lack of essential diagnostic machines have made it increasingly difficult for patients to receive proper care. "The government is not fulfilling its duty, and that is why the public is facing difficulties. The government hospitals are overcrowded with patients. Medicines have become costly; no person can buy them easily. Due to poor purchasing power, many patients are lying in their homes," said Abbas. The situation has been exacerbated by the discontinuation of the health card scheme, which previously provided some relief to residents, as well as skyrocketing prices for medicines and medical tests. Local residents feel the healthcare sector could have been significantly improved had the government implemented proper planning and policies. However, the prevailing apathetic attitude from the authorities has left many feeling abandoned. Abbas further criticized the lack of diagnostic machines and essential medical equipment in the region's hospitals, despite having competent doctors. "We feel a great lack in the diagnostic machines. There is no concerned equipment in our hospitals. We certainly have competent doctors, but it is obvious that there are difficulties in diagnosing diseases due to the lack of proper equipment," he stated. "It is the responsibility of the government to address these problems, especially as Gilgit has grown into a large city. Urgent action is needed to ensure proper healthcare services are provided," he added. The healthcare crisis in Pakistan-Occupied Gilgit-Baltistan is further compounded by inadequate infrastructure, a shortage of trained medical professionals, and limited resources. Many regions lack basic healthcare facilities, and the existing hospitals are often understaffed and poorly equipped. Geographic isolation makes access to healthcare even more challenging, especially during harsh weather conditions. Additionally, reports highlight a significant shortage of trained healthcare workers, with many professionals leaving the region due to difficult working conditions and limited career opportunities. (ANI) Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan welcomed Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Delhi for his three-day state visit to India. This is the first bilateral visit of Sri Lankan President Dissanayake to India after assuming office in September. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhi Jaiswal welcomed the Sri Lankan President and said that his visit will further deepen the ties between the two countries. "Warm and special welcome! President Anura Kumara Dissanayake of Sri Lanka was warmly received by MoS L Murugan as he arrived in New Delhi. This is President Disanayaka's first bilateral visit since he assumed the Presidency. An opportunity to further deepen - ties and add momentum to the people-centric partnership." Randhi Jaiswal said in a post on X. https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/1868288223727796584 The Sri Lankan President is on a day State visit to India from December 15 to December 17. Dissanayake will meet President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit. On Friday, addressing a weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal noted that it will be President Dissanayake's first visit to India after the recently concluded presidential and parliamentary polls in Sri Lanka. Jaiswal said that Anura Kumara Dissanayake will participate in business events in Delhi. Jaiswal said, "President of Sri Lanka His Excellency Anura Kumara Dissanayake will visit India on a State visit on 15-17 December, 2024. This will be the first visit of President Dissanayake to India after the recently concluded presidential and parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka. During the visit, President of Sri Lanka will meet Rashtrapatiji and also hold discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest. "President of Sri Lanka will also be participating in a business event in Delhi. He will also visit Bodh Gaya. The visit of President Dissanayake to India shall further strengthen the multi-faceted and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries," he added. In a press release, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, "Sri Lanka is India's closest maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and holds a central place in Prime Minister's vision of 'SAGAR' (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy." Earlier in October, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Colombo. The two leaders discussed ways to deepen cooperation and strengthen bilateral ties to benefit the people of India and Sri Lanka. (ANI) India and Malaysia concluded exercise Harimau Shakti at Bentong Camp in Malaysia on Sunday. In a post on X, Additional Directorate General of Public Information, Indian Army said, "#Exercise #HARIMAUSHAKTI 2024, a joint military exercise between #India and #Malaysia, being held at Bentong Camp, #KualaLumpur #Malaysia concluded today." "During the #Exercise, the contingents trained on Fieldcraft & Battlecraft, Obstacle crossing drills, Close Target Recce and Raid on terrorist and enemy camps which ended in a 48-hour long validation exercise of counter-terrorism drills. The objective of the exercise was to strengthen interoperability between the #IndianArmy and the #MalaysianArmy in conducting Sub Conventional Operations under the #UN Mandate," the post further reads. "The bilateral exercise has improved mutual understanding, trust and cooperation between the two nations for promoting peace and stability. Two Nations One Mission: Ensuring Global Peace," the post added. https://x.com/adgpi/status/1868214140961009978 The Indian contingent, represented by 78 personnel from the MAHAR Regiment, is joined by a Malaysian team of 123 personnel from the Royal Malaysian Regiment. Harimau Shakti is an annual training event conducted alternately in India and Malaysia. The previous edition took place in November 2023 at Umroi Cantonment in Meghalaya, India. This year's exercise in Malaysia marks a crucial step in enhancing the operational readiness of both armies, particularly in jungle warfare, an environment where both nations have considerable experience, the MoD stated in the press release. The core objective of Harimau Shakti is to bolster joint military capabilities, focusing specifically on counter-insurgency operations in jungle terrains. This aligns with Chapter VII of the United Nations Mandate, which guides military operations in such environments. The exercise is structured into two distinct phases. The first phase involved cross-training between the two armies, where soldiers will engage in lectures, demonstrations, and practice various drills tailored to jungle warfare tactics. These exercises are designed to improve proficiency in ambush prevention, reconnaissance, and enemy combat scenarios. In the second phase, the two forces actively participated in a simulated exercise, executing a series of drills such as Anti-MT Ambush, Occupation of Harbour, and reconnaissance patrols. Harimau Shakti serves as a platform for both armies to exchange best practices in tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) for conducting joint operations. It not only enhances operational efficiency but also fosters greater camaraderie and mutual respect between the two armies. (ANI) The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) Punjab has urged its supporters and workers to prepare for protests as the party accused the government of taking back its commitments regarding the 26th Amendment. This comes amid increasing tensions over the delay in the controversial madrassa registration bill, the news international reported. "We believe in reconciliation, but the government is pushing us towards putting up resistance," a JUI-F Punjab spokesperson said. The statement from the religio-political party was issued shortly after President Asif Ali Zardari raised concerns that if the madrassa bill becomes law, seminaries could be registered under the Societies Act, potentially resulting in the imposition of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) measures, Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), and other sanctions on the country. Earlier today, a spokesperson for the Maulana Fazlur Rehman-led party alleged that the delay in the legislation was intentional, aimed at pleasing "international powers." Speaking at an event at Madrassa Jamia Usmania in Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on December 7, the party's leader set December 8 as the deadline for the government to pass the seminary registration bill. However, just hours before the deadline was set to expire, Fazl reconsidered his decision and pushed the deadline to December 17 in an effort to increase pressure on the government, the news international reported. The controversial madrassa bill, which has already been approved by both houses of parliament, has become a point of conflict between the religio-political party and the government. Fazl stated that its enactment was part of an agreement between the two parties in exchange for support of the 26th Amendment. According to the report earlier this month, President Zardari sent back the 'Societies Registration (Amendment) Bill 2024,' with sources revealing on December 13 that he raised eight objections to the bill, which would mandate the registration of madrassas. Among other concerns, he pointed out the possible conflict of interest arising from the registration process and voiced worries about its negative impact on Pakistan's international reputation and internal stability. According to the president's objections, registering religious seminaries under the law could fuel sectarianism, and the proliferation of seminaries within the same community could worsen the law and order situation. The highly debated legislation is an amended version of the Societies Registration Act of 1860, which mandates the registration of madrassas (Islamic seminaries) within "six months" of its enactment. It also specifies that any Deeni Madrassa established after the introduction of the Societies Registration (Amendment) Act, 2024, must register "within one year of its establishment." A madrassa with multiple campuses would only require a single registration. Additionally, each madrassa would be obligated to submit an annual report detailing its educational activities and an audit report to a registrar. The law defines a Deeni Madrassa as a religious institution primarily established or operated to provide religious education, which also offers boarding and lodging facilities. (ANI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke about the various strategies that India needs to balance to emerge as a leading power in the world. He also touched upon the need for supply chain reformulations, moving over from the hangovers of past and changing priorities of India in the last decade. The External Affairs Minister delivered the remarks during the launch event of 'India's World' magazine in the national capital on Sunday. Speaking about the aspiration of India becoming 'Viksit Bharat', Jaishankar said, "If today our aspiration at home is to become a Viksit Bharat, surely there must be a foreign policy for Viksit Bharat... Because Viksit Bharat means India's rise." He noted that there is a need for India to start thinking of moving towards being a leading power and we should focus on how to be more ambitious, how to plan ahead and position ourselves. A country will move ahead if it has, in a sense, "some mixture of offence, of defence, of hedging, of prudence". This, he said would include that India join and rebalance groupings, participate in "re-globalization", take advantage of interdependence, accelerate multipolarity and utilise the impact of technology. Explaining the key issues which a multigenerational foreign policy of India will look at, he said that the issues are "a mix of the old and new". "The issues that we have historically confronted, many of them have not gone away. We have yet to secure our borders. We are still combating terrorism on a very serious scale, so there are the hangovers of the past". He noted that today we have moved to a foreign policy which is much more directly tasked to advance national development. He highlighted that in the last 10 years much greater stress has been on economic diplomacy. "Technology, capital, best practices, collaborations, investments, these actually occupy a much larger space in terms of what we do with other countries", EAM said. He also spoke of the relevance of the digital era and the role of the manufacturing industry in foreign policy. "The digital era calls for a foreign policy requirement of its own because the digital era is fundamentally different from the manufacturing era. The kind of hedging that could be done in manufacturing, at the end of the day, products were products, whereas something digital is not just a product anymore, it's a data emitter. Today, we have to build our global partnerships into our economics," Jaishankar said. In his speech, he said that another issue which is of a very high priority is the supply chain reformulations. He said, "The rerouting of supply chains today has both a foreign policy implication, but it also is a great national development opportunity". He noted that the idea of more resilient, reliable supply chains, can spur manufacturing in the country, and act as a catalyst for technology growth in India. Speaking about the importance of connectivity, EAM noted the various connectivity projects India is associated with such as the India Middle East Economic Corridor, International North-South Transport Corridor and the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway. In his concluding remarks, Jaishankar said that the changing world brings forth new ideas and initiatives such as the QUAD, IMEC, I2U2 and the International Solar Alliance. Jaishankar also highlighted India's growing responsibilities in geopolitics and the idea of India as a first responder in time of need. "Today, India is a country of whom there are greater expectations, a country which has greater responsibilities. The idea of India as a first responder will get more frequent. In the expanded neighbourhood region would be an expectation that India be part of an international response whenever wanted. Because the world is changing, there will be new ideas and initiatives" he said. "I think we have to do very much more with the world. I think it's for the good of this country that our own progress and development will accelerate with a deeper engagement with the world. So my, my sense for a foreign policy ahead would really be to think big, to think long, but to think smart", he concluded. (ANI) The visit of Suprabal Janasewashree General Ashok Raj Sigdel, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) of the Nepali Army, to India from December 11 to 14 marked a significant milestone in strengthening the longstanding ties between the Nepali and Indian Armies. A press statement by the Ministry of Defence noted that the visit featured key engagements between senior leaders and officials from both sides, further reinforcing the foundation for enhanced bilateral military cooperation, exchanges, and collaboration in strategic and defence-related areas. During his visit, General Ashok Raj Sigdel held a series of productive discussions with his Indian counterpart, General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army. The talks focused on expanding and deepening cooperation between the two armies, yielding several key outcomes that are set to further strengthen the bond between the two nations. Highlights of the visit included several high-level engagements aimed at bolstering bilateral defence cooperation and strategic alignment between India and Nepal. General Sigdel was conferred with the Honorary Generalship of the Indian Army, symbolising the deep and enduring friendship between the two military forces. He also served as the Reviewing Officer for the Passing Out Parade at the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun. According to the Ministry of Defence, the visit resulted in agreements to enhance the operational and technological capabilities of the Nepali Army, including the scope of joint exercises. As part of the defence cooperation, General Upendra Dwivedi announced the transfer of a target practice drone and medical equipment for Field Hospitals to the Nepali Army. General Sigdel also visited key Indian defence industries, including Tata Aerospace & Defence Ltd (TASL) and Bharat Forge in Pune. Discussions during the visit included assistance to the Nepali Army in organ transplantation, the supply of life-saving drugs, and the sharing of experiences related to personnel mental health and telemedicine, the ministry stated. In addition to the defence-focused agenda, General Sigdel visited the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, underscoring the cultural and spiritual ties that complement the growing defence and strategic relationship between India and Nepal. General Ashok Raj Sigdel's visit was a resounding success in furthering the longstanding friendship between the Indian and Nepali Armies. The initiatives outlined above reflect a shared commitment to strengthening the deep-rooted bond between the two forces. (ANI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Mihai Popsoi signed the declaration of intent on Migration and Mobility in the national capital on Sunday. In a post on X, EAM Jaishankar shared the details of the talk between the two leaders. "Held productive talks with DPM & FM @MihaiPopsoi today in New Delhi. Discussed our growing bilateral and multilateral cooperation. And new opportunities in investment, education, technology and culture. Today's signing of declaration of intent on a Migration and Mobility partnership will open new avenues for our partnership," Jaishankar wrote on X. https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1868334772453556729 Earlier today, EAM Jaishankar and Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Popsoi had also inaugurated the Embassy of Moldova in New Delhi. Delivering remarks during the event, Jaishankar noted that the inauguration of the embassy is a statement of a deeper relationship with Moldova and reflects the shared commitment of the two nations since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1992. Calling the relationship between the two "very comfortable and trusting bilateral ties, the EAM thanked Moldova in extending help during Operation Ganga to evacuate a large number of stranded Indian students during the Ukraine crisis. "I want to say today that India will never forget it", the EAM said. Jaishankar highlighted that Moldova is a second home to about 2000 Indian students. Addressing a few of them who were present during the inauguration, EAM said that they embody the partnership between the two countries. "You help to bridge cultures, and you are actually forging a lasting friendship between our countries", EAM added. "We should also recognise that there is a shared vision of a world between us; a world that values peace, understanding, and cooperation. I believe that the establishment of this embassy is a new chapter that will further our partnership. As we celebrate its inauguration, let us renew our commitment to build that world where the future is one of convergences and shared values. I'm confident that this embassy will become a beacon of friendship" EAM concluded. (ANI) A week after a lightning rebel offensive toppled longtime leader Bashar al-Assad, the United Nations special envoy for Syria on Sunday called for justice to prevail, not revenge. Syrians are only now beginning to scratch the surface of the atrocities committed, after the former despot fled the country for Russia. "We need to see of course justice and accountability for crimes," UN envoy Geir Pedersen said after arriving in Damascus. "And we need to make sure that that goes through a credible justice system, and that we don't see any revenge." Pedersen also called for "increased, immediate" aid to war-ravaged Syria, saying it had been through "an enormous... humanitarian crisis". "We need to make sure that Syria receives increased, immediate humanitarian assistance," he said. Assad fled Syria last Sunday following an 11-day rebel offensive led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), bringing to a dramatic end more than 50 years of Assad rule. It came more than 13 years into the civil war sparked by Assad's violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011. The war has killed upwards of 500,000 people and displaced more than half the country's population. In the week since the rebels took Damascus, each day has seen more light shed on the depths of the despair visited upon Syria's people over the past decades. Journalist Mohammed Darwish was one of those held in the so-called Palestine Branch, a jail run by Syria's feared intelligence services. "I was one of those they interrogated the most," Darwish told AFP as he returned to the prison years after his ordeal. He said he was questioned "every day, morning and night" for 120 days. Calm is slowly returning to the streets of Damascus, with dozens of children streaming back to school Sunday for the first time since Assad fled. An official at one school said "no more than 30 percent" were back on Sunday, but "these numbers will rise gradually". On the diplomatic front, US State Secretary Antony Blinken said Saturday Washington had "been in contact with HTS and with other parties," without specifying how. After meeting in Jordan, Western and Arab states along with Turkey -- a key backer of anti-Assad rebels -- called for a united peaceful Syria. In a joint statement, diplomats from the United States, Turkey, the European Union and Arab countries called for a Syrian-led transition to "produce an inclusive, non-sectarian and representative government formed through a transparent process", with respect for human rights. France said a four-strong diplomatic team would arrive on Tuesday to "retake possession of our real estate" as well as "establishing initial contact" with the new authorities and "evaluating the urgent needs of the population", acting Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said. A Qatari delegation was due in Syria Sunday to meet transitional government officials for talks on aid and reopening its embassy. Unlike other Arab states, Qatar never restored diplomatic ties with Assad after a rupture in 2011. Turkey was ready to provide military support to Syria's new Islamist-led government set up by rebels if it requests it, Defence Minister Yasar Guler said on Sunday. Guler said the new leadership should be given "a chance" and that Ankara was "ready to provide the necessary support" if needed, in remarks reported by Turkish media. Sunni Muslim HTS is rooted in Syria's branch of Al-Qaeda and is designated a "terrorist" organisation by many Western governments. Although it has sought to moderate its rhetoric in recent years, its seizure of power has sparked concerns both domestically and internationally over the protection of religious and ethnic minorities. The interim government insists that the rights of all Syrians will be protected, as will the rule of law. On Sunday, Syrian Christians attended their first church service since Assad's fall. Pubs and stores selling alcohol in Damascus initially closed following the rebel victory, but are now tentatively reopening. The landlord of one Damascus bar said the rebels told him: "'You have the right to work and live your life as you did before'." Assad was propped up by Russia, Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group. The rebel onslaught began on November 27, the day a ceasefire took effect in the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon, in which Assad's ally suffered staggering losses. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem admitted Saturday that with Assad gone, his group could no longer be supplied militarily through Syria. He also said he hoped Syria's new rulers saw Israel "as an enemy" and do not normalise ties with the country. Both Israel and Turkey have carried out military strikes inside Syria since Assad's fall. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Sunday reported new Israeli strikes near Damascus, after 60 strikes across Syria on Saturday. The Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources in Syria, reported attacks on Syrian army tunnels and arms depots in the Damir area. Israel has also ordered troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights, a move the UN said violated a 1974 armistice. But "the general exhaustion in Syria after years of war and conflict does not allow us to enter new conflicts", he said in an online statement. He further affirmed confidence that President Dissanayake's talks with Prime Minister Modi today will lead to greater cooperation between New Delhi and Colombo. "Pleased to call on President Anura Kumara Disanayake at the start of his first State Visit to India. Sri Lanka is key to both India's Neighborhood First policy and SAGAR Outlook. Confident that the talks with PM Narendra Modi tomorrow will lead to greater trust and deeper cooperation," the EAM stated in a post on X. https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1868349300100460585 Earlier, Sri Lankan President Dissanayake said he held "fruitful discussions on the matters of mutual interest" during his meetings with EAM Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. "Arrived in New Delhi today (15th) at approximately 5:30 PM, warmly welcomed by Dr. L. Murugan, Hon. State Minister of Information & Broadcasting, and other distinguished officials. Held fruitful discussions tonight with S Jaishankar and Shri Ajit Doval on matters of mutual interest," Dissanayake wrote on X. https://x.com/anuradisanayake/status/1868305061010628996 President Dissanayake arrived in India on a state visit on Sunday. He was received by Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan. During his visit from December 15 to December 17, Dissanayake will meet President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit. "Sri Lanka is India's closest maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and holds a central place in Prime Minister's vision of 'SAGAR' (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy," the Ministry of External Affairs said. Earlier in October, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Colombo. The two leaders discussed ways to deepen cooperation and strengthen bilateral ties to benefit the people of India and Sri Lanka. (ANI) The envoy said that he was 'honoured' to receive the President's guidance. In a post on X, he said, "Honoured to call on Rashtrapatiji and receive her guidance as I move into my new role as High Commissioner of India in Mauritius!" https://x.com/AnuragSrivstava/status/1868314240181997598 https://x.com/HCI_PortLouis/status/1868354043346882768 Earlier on Friday, India's Acting High Commissioner in Mauritius, Vimarsh Aryan called on Mauritius Minister of Land Transport, Mahomed Osman Cassam Mahomed. The two leaders held discussions on the ongoing collaboration between India and Mauritius and possible avenues for future collaboration in the transport sector https://x.com/HCI_PortLouis/status/1867601323283427818 On the same day, Commodore V Singh Rana of the Indian Navy paid a courtesy call on India's acting envoy. "Partners in Indian Ocean! Cmde V. Singh Rana paid a courtesy call on Acting High Commissioner Vimarsh Aryan. Cmde Rana is conducting the Commando and Diver Refresher Course for Mauritius Police Force from 25 Nov to 14 Dec 2024. The visit highlights the strong India-Mauritius maritime cooperation," the High Commission stated in a post. Aryan also held a courtesy meeting with Anil Kumar Bachoo, the Mauritius Minister of Health and Wellness. "Strengthening ties through health diplomacy! Acting High Commissioner Vimarsh Aryan had a courtesy meeting with the Hon. Anil Kumar Bachoo, Minister of Health & Wellness, to exchange ideas for enhancing collaboration in the health sector. A step forward in the India-Mauritius partnership!" the High Commission stated. Last month, Aryan also interacted with students from the Indian Ocean Rim Association University Student Regional Short Course Programme at the High Commission. In a post on X, the High Commission said, "Deputy High Commissioner Vimarsh Aryan engaged in an interactive session with students from Annual IORA University Student Regional Short Course Programme at the High Commission. Discussions were focused on India-Mauritius bilateral ties and India's role in the Indian Ocean." (ANI) The Israeli cabinet on Sunday (local time) unanimously approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan, which aims to double the settler population in the Golan Heights, Times of Israel reported. Around 50,000 people live on the Israeli-controlled side of the heights, evenly split between Jews and Druze. The new plan worth 40 million Israeli New Shekel (NIS) (USD 11 million) plans to double it. Netanyahu's office said the government had "unanimously approved" the "demographic development" of the territory, which would seek to double the Israeli population there. The money will go toward education, renewable energy, the establishment of a student village and a plan for absorbing new residents, it added. "Strengthening the Golan is strengthening the State of Israel, and it is especially important at this time. We will continue to hold onto it, cause it to blossom, and settle in it," Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. Notably, Israel conquered the Golan from Syria in 1967 and annexed it in 1981. Though most of the world does not recognize Israeli control of the region, the US granted its recognition in 2019, according to Times of Israel. Since the rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) overthrew the over two-decades-long Bashar al-Assad regime on December 8, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes across Syria and carried out a land incursion that stretches past the occupied Golan Heights into a previously demilitarized buffer zone, as reported by The Washington Post. The Israeli army swiftly took control of the abandoned army positions, and air attacks have decimated most of Syria's military capabilities. Syria's de facto new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, denounced what he described as Israel's "uncalculated military adventures" on Saturday, ahile emphasising he was more interested in state-building than opening another conflict. "Syria's war-weary condition, after years of conflict and war, does not allow for new confrontations. The priority at this stage is reconstruction and stability, not being drawn into disputes that could lead to further destruction," The Washington Post quoted him as saying in an interview on Syria TV. Meanwhile, PM Netanyahu, in a post asserted that Israel "would change" the Middle East. https://x.com/netanyahu/status/1868345649806164101 "I said we would change the Middle East and this is what is happening. Syria is not the same Syria. Lebanon is not the same Lebanon. Gaza is not the same Gaza. Iran is not the same Iran," Netanyahu said in a post on X. (ANI) A recent discovery in Greece has archaeologists buzzing. Hidden within a heroon, a type of shrine dedicated to ancient heroes, a trove of exquisite gold jewelry has come to light. This exciting find occurred during a systematic excavation of the Trapeza plateau near Aigio, a town nestled on the western edge of the Peloponnese peninsula. A heroon was often built to commemorate legendary figures from Greek mythology, marking the spot where they might have died or achieved a heroic feat. While the identity of the hero honored at this particular site remains a mystery, the discovery offers a tantalizing glimpse into the past. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These structures varied considerably in form, ranging from simple altars to expansive complexes where ancient Greeks would gather for ceremonies and rituals. Newsweek reports that these gatherings might have included sacrifices and annual celebrations, adding a vibrant layer of social and religious life to the archaeological picture. While the exterior of the building, believed to have been constructed before 300 BC, features a wealth of reliefs and sculptural details, the true treasures were found inside. Along with intact tombs, archaeologists discovered priceless gold jewelry, indicating the prosperity and high social class of the buried. These discoveries, part of an ongoing archaeological project, are establishing the Trapeza plateau as a site of exceptional historical importance. Archaeologists strike gold jewelry This year, in the ancient city of Ripes, near Aigio in Greece's Peloponnese peninsula, archaeologists concentrated their efforts on a building located southeast of the temple terrace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Initially, "Building " (Gamma) was hidden beneath the limestone and conglomerate ruins of its superstructure. However, once excavated, the facade was revealed, featuring semi-columns in the Corinthian style and an undecorated cornice. Excavations unearthed priceless statues and reliefs, including depictions of crouching lions and a youthful male figure. These were sculpted from Pentelic marble, renowned for its quality and durability, the same marble used to construct the Acropolis in Athens. The significance of the remains increased as excavations progressed. The interior contains the earliest known complete Corinthian architectural composition within a monument directly associated with funerary practices. Moreover, the array of intact tombs, including a sarcophagus, yielded valuable offerings of particular artistic value, according to an official announcement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Archaeologists recovered, in excellent condition, remarkable gold jewelry of exquisite craftsmanship. These finds included a pair of gleaming gold earrings with a lion motif, a solid gold earring depicting a naked winged cupid, gold rings, funerary coins, and a gold necklace with lion-head terminals. All eyes are on Trapeza The abundance of gold suggests that the individuals buried here possessed significant wealth and status, highlighting the affluence of the region during the early historical period of Ancient Greece. An official release states that evidence of the site's long history, including architectural remains and pottery dating back to the 8th century BCE, was also discovered around the monument. Excavations are scheduled to continue for the next five years. This research sheds light on the architecture and funerary rites of ancient Achaea, a region known for its role in founding the colony of Croton in Magna Graecia. The extended duration of the project underscores the importance of the Trapeza region, which continues to yield treasures that provide new insights into its history. PROVIDENCE Private information belonging to hundreds of thousands of Rhode Islanders was stolen in the RIBridges cyberattack this month and could be sold or distributed as early as next week, Gov. Dan McKee said Saturday. A negotiator hired by RIBridges contractor Deloitte is holding ransom talks with the hackers, McKee said in a Saturday night news conference, and based on those talks the state believes personal data "could be exposed in the near future, as early as this coming week." What should you do if you are among those who have interacted with the state public benefit system with programs including Medicaid, SNAP, or health insurance brokered by the Healthsource RI exchange since 2016? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Mike Tetreault, cybersecurity advisor at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, anyone concerned about identity theft should engage credit monitoring and watch their bank accounts. Deloitte is supposed to be setting up free credit monitoring for Rhode Islanders affected by the breach. Tetreault advised residents to change their key online passwords to something with at least 10 characters and use multifactor identification, where an email or telephone is used to confirm a login in addition to a password. Tetreault said the holiday season "is the time cybercriminals are looking to prey on us." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Data breach: Call center is now open to answer questions about RIBridges cyberattack. What to know. More: RI computer network hit by major cyberattack, forcing public benefits system shutdown The state has changed the address of its website with information about the hack to a more "user-friendly" URL: cyberalert.ri.gov. McKee did not have much new information on how the RIBridges system was breached, how many households had data stolen or when the system might be restored. He said he did not know how much money the hackers demanded, because Deloitte was communicating with them. However, he said he would have the final say on the decision to pay a ransom. Additional guidance from the attorney general on data protection On Saturday morning, Attorney General Peter Neronha released his own advisory for anyone worried about identity theft, whether from this cyberattack or just in general. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His recommendations: Check your bank and credit card statements regularly for any unusual charges Report any unauthorized charges, no matter how small, to your bank or financial institution. Shred all credit card offers, bank and credit card statements, household bills, and all other mail or paperwork that includes personal identifying information before you toss it in the trash. Check your credit report once a year for any changes. You can get a free copy of your credit report every 12 months from the three main credit reporting agencies: Equifax, (800) 525-6285, equifax.com; Experian, (888) 397-3742, experian.com and TransUnion, (800) 680-7289, transunion.com. If you suspect you are the victim of fraud, in addition to the regular monitoring above, Neronha's office recommends: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Contact the fraud department of any one of the aforementioned credit bureaus and place a 90-day fraud alert on your credit file that requests creditors contact you before opening new accounts or making changes to existing accounts. Close the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with. File a police report. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at (877) 382-4357. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Cyberattack on RI computer system: Tips to prevent identity theft Representative Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, underwent hip replacement surgery today following a tumble she took while on an official trip to Luxembourg Friday. While details were scant yesterday when the incident occurred, details emerged today, in part from Pelosis spokesman. The Former House Speaker, 84, was in Luxembourg as part of a congressional delegation to commemorate the 80th anniversary of WWIIs Battle of the Bulge. Pelosi reportedly fell down marble stairs at the Grand Ducal Palace, fracturing a hip. More from Deadline Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Today, Pelosi spokesperson Ian Krager confirmed the surgery. Earlier this morning, Speaker Emerita Pelosi underwent a successful hip replacement and is well on the mend, Krager said in a statement to news media. Krager also noted that Pelosi is receiving excellent treatment from doctors and medical professionals in Luxembourg but looks forward to returning home to the U.S. soon. No time frame on her return to the States was forthcoming. Pelosis fall was the second this week for a congressional octogenarian: The 82-year-old Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell tripped in the Capitol, spraining his wrist and suffering a facial cut. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. A series of NATO air policing missions around Estonia has seen F-35 and Rafale jets called into action. French Rafale jets intercepted a Russian IL-18 aircraft off Estonia's coast on Friday. Dutch F-35s intercepted three Russian aircraft over the Baltic Sea last week. A series of recent NATO air policing missions around Estonia has seen Dutch and French fighter jets called into action to intercept Russian aircraft. Two French Rafale jets intercepted a Russian Ilyushin Il-18 airliner off the coast of Estonia on Friday, the General Staff of the French Armed Forces said in a post on X. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NATO Air Command said the mission was the Rafale's first scramble since it began an air policing mission based out of Siauliai, Lithuania. It comes after Dutch F-35 fighter jets intercepted a number of Russian aircraft over the Baltic Sea last week. The Dutch defense ministry said two F-35s stationed in Estonia were scrambled after three Russian planes an Antonov An-72, a Su-24, and an Ilyushin Il-20 were identified in the region. Dutch F-35s have been keeping a watch over NATO airspace on the alliance's eastern flank since the start of December, the ministry said. It's not the first time such an incident has occurred in recent months. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Norwegian F-35s were called into action in November in response to Russian aircraft "not adhering to international norms" off the coast of Norway, NATO's Air Command said at the time. Italy's air force also intercepted a Russian Coot-A plane flying over the Baltic Sea on the same day. Rafales scrambled yesterday to intercept a IL-18 aircraft off the coast of , the first scramble since they began their #NATO Air Policing mission in Siauliai Allies and are combining their efforts in protecting the airspace in the region pic.twitter.com/K8XVY77knZ NATO Air Command (@NATO_AIRCOM) December 14, 2024 The Rafale The Dassault Rafale is a French twin-jet fighter aircraft that can operate from both an aircraft carrier and a land base. It entered service with the French Navy in 2004 and with the French Air Force in 2006. It is used to carry out a variety of missions, including air policing, deep strikes, and reconnaissance, according to the manufacturer. The F-35 The F-35, which is billed as the "most advanced fighter jet in the world" by manufacturer Lockheed Martin, has faced criticism from Elon Musk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Tesla CEO said on X in late November that the jet's design "was broken at the requirements level, because it was required to be too many things to too many people." "This made it an expensive & complex jack of all trades, master of none. Success was never in the set of possible outcomes," Musk wrote, adding: "And manned fighter jets are obsolete in the age of drones anyway. Will just get pilots killed." Some reports have suggested that Musk may be eyeing the F-35 program, and possibly other fighter jets, for potential spending cuts through his role in the Department of Government Efficiency. Although he would likely face an uphill battle to do so, as Business Insider previously reported. Read the original article on Business Insider AUSTIN (KXAN) A man wanted on a Travis County arrest warrant for the continuous sexual abuse of a young child was apprehended Wednesday by U.S. Marshals. According to the U.S. Marshals Office, 60-year-old Henry Torres, of Bastrop, was arrested in connection with a May 2023 warrant. According to the office, U.S. Marshals extradited Torres after he was intercepted by foreign officials in Panama. Torres was indicted by a grand jury in Travis County on Oct. 31, 2023 on 11 counts that included sexual abuse of a child continuous, indecency with a child sexual contact, aggravated sexual assault of a child, and indecency with a child sexual contact. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After arriving at the Austin Bergstrom International Airport, Torres was taken and booked into the Travis County Jail. His bond was set at $100,000 while he awaits further judicial proceedings. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Gov. Kristi Noem presents her annual budget address to lawmakers in the South Dakota State Capitol on Dec. 3, 2024. Behind her, from left, are House Speaker nominee Jon Hansen and Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) A cut to the South Dakota State Librarys budget would be devastating to local libraries and the citizens who rely on them including homeschool families local librarians and library advocates say. Republican Gov. Kristi Noem proposed a $1 million cut to the State Library during her budget address on Dec. 3, among other cuts in response to the depletion of federal pandemic relief funding and declining sales tax revenue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trimming the State Librarys budget would eliminate the vast majority of funding for the organization, which is an arm of the state Department of Education. The library currently has 21 employees; the budget cut would lay off a dozen of them, according to the governors proposal. Nancy Van Der Weide, spokesperson for the department, said via email that the cuts will reduce database access and interlibrary loan support. The office will continue to support South Dakota Accessible Library Services (Braille and Talking Books) and professional development programming for public and school libraries with the remaining nine employees, she wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Seven State Library employees work in accessibility services. The budget cut would keep them but leave just two people to handle everything else. Opponents doubt the state will be able to afford to continue training or professional development if only two people remain on staff to service the entire state. One program, for example, allows librarians and staff to earn a certificate of public library management through a four-year course whose students meet once a month all year and meet in-person for a full week of training once a year. Van Der Weide did not respond to a message asking if that program specifically would remain if Noems proposal goes through. Elizabeth Fox, president of the South Dakota Library Association and librarian for the H.M. Briggs Library at South Dakota State University, cannot envision the state offering anything that intensive with a dozen fewer people. With two people, they cannot do the training, Fox said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fox and others in the library community say Noems proposal endangers public access to information and could leave local librarians floundering as they work to serve their communities without an adequately funded State Library to guide them. Id say it would be like chopping them off at the knees, but its not even that, said Jane Norling, vice president of the State Library Board and director of the Beresford Public Library. Its chopping off at the head, because three-fourths of the staff will be gone. Librarians: State Library benefits all South Dakotans The state Library Association recently updated its homepage with a link to talking points on how to advocate for the State Library. Librarians are concerned not just by the proposed $1 million state funding cut, but by the loss of another $1.3 million in grant funding through the federal Institute for Museum and Library Sciences. States are expected to match their grant funding at a 34% rate. Noems proposed budget wouldnt leave enough money to do that, and notes that the budget cuts include a $1.3 million loss of federal funding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The State Library uses grants to pay for a wide range of educational databases and resources like study guides and practice tests for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Other databases accessible through the State Library include ancestry.com and Swank K-12 Streaming, which allows schools to stream films for educational purposes without paying licensing fees. Without this statewide subscription, schools would need to pursue individual licenses in order to legally stream movies, Doris Ann Mertz, library coordinator at Custer School District, wrote in an email to Searchlight. This is so cost-prohibitive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Norling noted that homeschooling families in the Beresford area rely heavily on local libraries, ordering books through interlibrary loans and using the databases funded by the State Library. We do borrow books for them, so thats an impact to them, Norling said. The State Library offers a courier service for interlibrary loan materials. The professionally curated databases and information sources like World Book Encyclopedia for general information or PubMed for scholarly publications are important for students and the public, Fox said. There are other options like Wikipedia or Google Scholar, the library association president said, but those free resources can be manipulated and dont have the reliability of an encyclopedia. Anyone can edit Wikipedia entries, she said, and Google Scholar ingests scientific research without filtering out questionably sourced materials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its unclear what database resources might remain if the State Library were to be stripped to a bare bones budget. A single three-year state contract with a company called ProQuest that pays for citizen access to databases like the ProQuest Research Library, U.S. Newstream and Heritage Quest has a $512,000 price tag. Van Der Weide did not reply to a question asking her to elaborate on what database resources would remain available if Noems cut takes effect. Training, coordination Custer County Librarian Sarah Myers earned her public library certificate through the State Librarys Public Library Training Institute. Myers said the four-year training offered her the kind of education that would otherwise require a masters degree. No school in South Dakota offers an accredited masters in library science degree, according to the American Library Associations database of accredited programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Myers sees the opportunity for librarians like her to train without moving out of state, paying tuition and leaving their local libraries in the process as invaluable to a state where few counties or cities can afford to attract a degreed librarian. Librarians need training. They need to know how to do their jobs, Myers said. One way to get that is to get a masters in library science, but thats not always affordable to everyone. The national associations president told Searchlight that state librarians all 50 states have one coordinate a host of services for local libraries, and do so with an eye to meeting local needs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beresfords Norling and others pointed out that the State Library coordinates summer reading programs and trains librarians as each summer approaches. American Library Association President Cindy Hohl said thats a common role for state libraries. Beyond state-level help with program set-up, there are nationwide summer reading resources available each year, and local librarians connect with them through their state libraries. Educators are always interested in how we can decrease the summer slide, Hohl said, referring to the tendency of kids to lose ground in literacy in the summer months if they arent reading. Hohl said state libraries are in the best position to make sure citizens have access to the most valuable information to local audiences, through database subscriptions or otherwise offering guidance to locals on content curation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whether its helping a small business owner research the market or helping our homeschool parents find resources that are designed for children and their special learning needs, thats what a state library does, Hohl said. Cut could present difficulties for digital content The State Library acts as facilitator for a consortium of local libraries that offer e-books and other materials through an app called Libby. Local libraries pay a population-based fee to join the South Dakota Titles To Go consortium, with the state librarian facilitating the program and serving as the contact point for OverDrive, the company that owns Libby. Thats a big concern for Ashia Gustafson, director of the Brookings Public Library. Libby has grown incredibly popular since 2020, she said. It got a lot of people through the pandemic, because we couldnt physically be open, Gustafson said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Fox, who works across town at SDSU, suspects the Libby consortium will ultimately survive, but she also expects itll take a few messy years for the group to find its bearings without a state-level coordinator. The State Library has the expertise to negotiate contracts and to run the sort of behind-the-scenes, techie stuff that many of the librarians involved in this dont have that expertise in, Fox said. Tom Nelson, president of the State Library Board and a former legislator, told South Dakota Searchlight theres going to be a fight, or at least a very, very good discussion on the State Library cut. The personnel at the library now do more for the state than most citizens realize, he said. Each one of those employees has a face, name and a job to do, Nelson said. I just think that the people who made these recommendations to the governor either didnt do the research, or they ignored it. Examining Noems budget cuts South Dakota Searchlight coverage of Gov. Kristi Noems proposed budget: In Houston, families of different faiths have carved out a space to worship at home, whether that means lighting shabbat candles or meditating in front of a shrine. These holy places down the hall existed before the COVID-19. But during the pandemic, they become more significant. Now, even as the world continues to reopen, the importance of these sacred spaces at home for comfort, solace and refuge remains. Hinduism Arpita Chatterjee When Arpita Chatterjee was growing up in India, everyone she knew had a place for prayer at home, called a pooja, which translates to a Gods room. Advertisement Article continues below this ad We always had a Gods room, she said. Traditionally, when your house is being built, you plan a room in your house. Arpita and her husband Partha Chatterjee, board member of Hindus of Greater Houston and volunteer priest of the Houston Durga Bari Society, recently moved into a new house in the Energy Corridor. While house-hunting, she searched for just the right space for a shrine and found a place with a bedroom ripe for transformation. When I looked at it, I knew it would be perfect, she said. Partha and Arpita Chatterjee stand in the doorway to their prayer room in their home Sunday, May 22, 2022, in Houston, Texas. (Justin Rex/Contributor) Each day, Arpita brings an offering to the deities in her sacred space. She burns incense, lights a lamp and blows a conch shell. She prays and meditates. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The first thing, when you wake up, you pray and thank God, she said. Its a blessing to move forward. During the pandemic, when the temple was closed, Arpita took comfort in having a dedicated sacred space at home. Even when I cant go to a temple, I can spend that time here, she said. It makes me refreshed. Its a good thing to have. Quakerism Lynn Lane Lynn Lane, photographer, documentarian, designer, visual and sound artist and founder of the Transitory Sound and Movement Collective, has been a Quaker for more than two decades. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Ive practiced various faiths, he said. But I found myself really drawn to the Quaker path. Its an open path, rooted around silence. But often, when Lane sits in silence, his mind wanders. He found that for him, adding sound to his practice helps keep him focused. So he created a space in his living room, where he sits on a meditation cushion. Nearby he keeps three large gongs, wind chimes, crystal bowls, metal bowls, hand chimes and drums. Lynn Lane, has prepared a space in his home reserved for meditation and sound practice, Tuesday, May 31, 2022, in Houston. (Marie D. De Jesus/Staff photographer) Lynn Lane, has prepared a space in his home reserved for meditation and sound practice, Tuesday, May 31, 2022, in Houston. (Marie D. De Jesus/Staff photographer) Theres always sound, Lane said. Within silence, there is still sound, unless youre in a vacuum. During meditation, he explained, sound can become a tool to harness the wandering mind. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In Quaker meetings, congregations sit in silence as a practice, Lane said. Youre listening for God, he added. And youre listening within yourself. During the pandemic, that all moved online. Being able to practice with sound at home helped Lane stay centered. I believe sound gives you a way to refocus, he said. When he needs solace, he turns to the sacred space in his home. I can come in, recenter and reflect, listen, slow down and just be present in the silence, he said. Then I use sound to stay in that place. Judaism Rabbi Gideon Estes Rabbi Gideon Estes of Congregation Or Ami said that a number of Jewish rituals are meant to be observed at home, especially around the dinner table, the setting of the Passover seder and weekly shabbat dinner. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Thats a sacred space, he said. Another is the study, he said, where Jewish people are called to examine religious texts. Even in our daily liturgy, there is a section reserved for Torah study, he said. In our tradition, reading our texts is not meant to be a once-through. You go over it again and again. Estes devotes an area of his home office this holy pursuit: a shelf contains his prayer books; on a desk rests his shtender, a prominent piece of furniture in a Jewish home, which is like a book holder. Rabbi Gideon Estes, of Congregation Or Ami, prays in his home prayer space and office, Tuesday, June 21, 2022, in Houston. (Mark Mulligan/Staff photographer) Rabbi Gideon Estes, of Congregation Or Ami, prays in his home prayer space and office, Tuesday, June 21, 2022, in Houston. (Mark Mulligan/Staff photographer) In the same spot, Estes also keeps his tallit, a fringed garment worn as a prayer shawl, and tefillin, a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls inscribed with verses from the Torah. Advertisement Article continues below this ad I have these things that help me focus on the divine, he said. He comes to the space to pray and during the pandemic, even used it as a setting for Zoom services. In the midst of COVID, Estes said a number of Jewish families created a space at home that could serve as their sanctuary for Friday night services. That way, even when you were Zooming in to services, you could make it special, Estes said. Jainism Nikhil Jain Nikhil Jain poses a rhetorical question: Why do you need temples, mosques and churches if God is everywhere? Think of a fan, he explained. Air is everywhere. But you need a fan to move it, he said. Its the same way. You need a space that helps you get that feeling. A corner of his home acts as a mini temple, complete with sacred texts displayed. As you change homes, it moves with you, Nikhil said. Ritu Jain, her husband, Nikhil, and Nikhils father, Virendra, inside the familys kitchen where they keep a sacred space, a small temple in their home, Tuesday, May 31, 2022, in Katy. (Mark Mulligan/Staff photographer) Ritu Jain, her husband, Nikhil, and Nikhils father, Virendra, inside the familys kitchen where they keep a sacred space, a small temple in their home, Tuesday, May 31, 2022, in Katy. (Mark Mulligan/Staff photographer) Just like we have furniture, this is one of our necessities, his wife Ritu Jain added. The couple practice Jainism, an ancient religion from India. Ritu spends every morning in their sacred space at home, chants mantras and recites prayers. After I do prayers, my day starts out good, she said. I have positive feelings. When youre in that space you feel good, and you pray for everyones well-being. Islam Maqsood Farid Maqsood Farid runs Royal Travel, a Houston agency that specializes in Islamic pilgrimages to Mecca. Years ago, during a trip to Saudi Arabia, he found the perfect carpet for his prayer room back home. Farid took the measurements of the room. We converted inches to centimeters, he said. Then, they shipped it back to the U.S. The carpet was just right and set the stage for daily Muslim prayers, Farid said. In 2008, when he moved to a new home in Richmond, he cut out the carpet and installed it into a new prayer room. Maqsood Farid prays and holds one of his Qurans in his familys prayer room in his home Saturday, July 2, 2022, in Richmond, Texas. (Justin Rex/Contributor) Maqsood Farid prays and holds one of his Qurans in his familys prayer room in his home Saturday, July 2, 2022, in Richmond, Texas. (Justin Rex/Contributor) Having a designated space at home was important to him, especially when his children were younger. You have to get them in the habit and help them learn religious values, he said. You get them to pray with you. Then, when they get older, they continue to practice. Even though his children are now grown, the prayer room remains central to the Farid home. Guests often join in prayer, as well. Its a very comforting room to have, Farid said. We all pray to God, and theres no disturbance in the room at all. Catholicism Claudia Cossio When Claudia Cossio was house hunting, she found a property completely-in-need of a remodel. And an opportunity to create a perfect sacred space. The Realtor pointed to a small, corner room with a lot of windows and said, I dont know what that was for. But Cossio knew. This was the prayer room, she said. And as soon as I saw it, I wanted stained glass in here. She thought about buying an adhesive design that would look like stained glass when attached to the glass. She even tried to take a class and learn the craft herself. Claudia Cossios home prayer room is photographed Monday, June 20, 2022, in Houston. The room has three custom stained glass windows that Cossio had made in Mexico and personally brought home in her truck in 2016. (Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer) Claudia Cossios home prayer room is photographed Monday, June 20, 2022, in Houston. The room has three custom stained glass windows that Cossio had made in Mexico and personally brought home in her truck in 2016. (Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer) Finally, Cossio drove to her parents home in Mexico and had the stained glass custom-made. Then, she very gingerly drove back to Texas with the windows in the bed of her truck. In addition to installing the stained glass, Cossio painted the room, installed new flooring, hung paintings and framed prayers for the space. Now, she spends an hour in the room each day, in prayer and contemplation. Your life improves so much when you are in-tune spiritually, she said. During COVID, she often went to the room to listen to services on YouTube. It was really nice, she said. Cossio explained that the concept of having space at home dedicated to worship is more common in Mexico. If the house is large, its an entire room, while a smaller home may still have an altar and candles for the saints. Having in your house, room for God, thats something I think we all need, she said. Its putting God first. Buddhism Judy Wang Judy Wangs living room has been transformed into a shrine to Buddha. She prays there in the morning and evening, before meals. She dresses up for the occasion, burns incense and provides offerings to Buddha, like fruit and flowers. Its also a place for meditation and to study Buddhism. Sometimes, Wang pulls up a program about Buddhism on YouTube to enjoy in the room. At the end of the evening, Wang has homework, which includes sitting meditation and chanting. Wang has always dedicated a space to Buddha in all of her homes. Judy Wang in a part of her home her family uses to worship Buddhism Friday, July 1, 2022, in Missouri City, Texas. (Justin Rex/Contributor) Judy Wang in a part of her home her family uses to worship Buddhism Friday, July 1, 2022, in Missouri City, Texas. (Justin Rex/Contributor) No matter where we are, we have a special worship area, she said. Buddha is someone who reached enlightenment and told us everyone can be like him. That requires creating a practice. Im so glad to have a shrine at home, she said. Wang was especially grateful in 2020, when most temples closed. I still had my place to worship, she said, and that was very nice. Sikhism Hardeep Singh In Sikhism, the 10th guru Gobind Singh proclaimed there would be no further successors of human gurus. Instead, the Sikh scripture itself, the Guru Granth Sahib, would serve as a living guru and guide. That holy text usually occupies a sacred space in a Sikh home, explained Hardeep Singh, president of the Sikh Center of the Gulf Coast Area. In her house in Champion Forest, a custom-built canopy bed with a small podium holds the scripture. She also has harmonium and drums in the room. In addition, on display is the symbol Ik Onkar, which means God is one. Hardeep Singh in her home gurdwara on Friday, July 8, 2022 in Spring. Singh serves as president of the Sikh Center of the Gulf Coast Area. (Elizabeth Conley/Staff photographer) Hardeep Singh in her home gurdwara on Friday, July 8, 2022 in Spring. Singh serves as president of the Sikh Center of the Gulf Coast Area. (Elizabeth Conley/Staff photographer) In the morning, Singh explained, she opens the scripture and recites a hymn, also called a Hukamnama. Whatever that couplet is, it becomes our commandment for the day, she said. In the evening, she chants two more couplets, then she carefully folds the book, wraps it in cloth and tucks it away for the night. Singh enjoys her daily routine, built on faith. Sometimes the couplets are so beautiful that you remember them the whole day, she said. Undersea cables between Finland-Germany and Lithuania-Sweden were cut, potentially sabotaged. The incident is one of a number of similar incidents in recent years, highlighting the vulnerability of these lines. NATO is enhancing surveillance and coordination to protect critical underwater infrastructure. Last month, an underwater data cable between Finland and Germany and another between Lithuania and Sweden were discovered cut within a day of each other. The damage to the cables, which European officials said appeared deliberate, highlights just how vulnerable these critical undersea lines are. Yi Peng 3, a Chinese-flagged cargo ship that had departed from Russia's Ust-Luga port in the Gulf of Finland three days before and was tracked loitering near the two locations, is suspected in connection with the incident. It is said to have dragged an anchor over 100 miles, damaging the cables. China's Yi Peng 3 cargo ship. Mikkel Berg Pedersen / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP "No one believes that these cables were accidentally cut," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in November. "We have to assume it is sabotage," he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a joint statement with his Finnish counterpart, Pistorius said the damage comes at a time when "our European security is not only under threat from Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine but also from hybrid warfare by malicious actors." As Russia received added scrutiny, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Russian involvement in the incident, saying that "it is quite absurd to continue to blame Russia for everything without any reason." Critical but vulnerable In recent years, a string of incidents involving damage to underwater infrastructure has occurred, many of them in the same region. Last year, Newnew Polar Bear, another Chinese cargo ship, damaged a gas pipeline running between Estonia and Finland. China's investigation concluded the damage was accidental; however, Estonia and Finland's investigation is still ongoing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2022, a Norwegian underwater data cable was damaged, and there were indications of human involvement in that incident. In 2021, a 2.5-mile-long section of another data cable disappeared from waters north of Norway. The incident that received the most attention, though, was the sabotage of the Nord Steam gas pipelines between Russia and Germany in September 2022. There have been indications that Ukrainian elements might have been behind the sabotage, but this has not been confirmed. The Nord Stream pipeline leak. Danish Defence Command Underwater infrastructure is increasingly critical to modern life. The vast majority of internet traffic passes through underwater fiber-optics cables, and underwater energy pipelines are common in many regions. But protecting this infrastructure, which can stretch for hundreds or thousands of miles, is difficult. "There's no way that we can have NATO presence alone all these thousands of kilometers of undersea, offshore infrastructure," then-NATO leader Jens Stoltenberg said in 2023. Yet, NATO can be better at collecting and sharing information and intelligence "and connecting the dots," he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Indeed, NATO and the European Union are trying to do that. In May this year, NATO held its first Critical Undersea Infrastructure Network meeting and launched its Maritime Centre for the Security of Critical Undersea Infrastructure to better coordinate the capabilities of its members and increase collaboration between them. Further, the EU is funding several initiatives to develop uncrewed surface and underwater systems to surveil critical areas and detect threats early. But there are also legal difficulties to protecting underwater infrastructure, as it usually traverses the territorial waters of several countries and can also pass through international waters. The usual suspects Although it can often be difficult to establish a culprit whenever such infrastructure is damaged, officials have pointed out that Russian activity near underwater cables has intensified. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2017, the US admiral in charge of NATO's submarine forces said the alliance was "seeing Russian underwater activity in the vicinity of undersea cables that I don't believe we have ever seen." The war in Ukraine has added another dimension to this matter. "There are heightened concerns that Russia may target undersea cables and other critical infrastructure in an effort to disrupt Western life, to gain leverage against those nations that are providing security to Ukraine," David Cattler, NATO's intelligence chief, said last year. British Royal Navy warship HMS Diamond shadowing the Russian spy ship Yantar. LPhot Kyle Heller/UK MOD Russia has developed a number of underwater capabilities and has a specialized unit, the Main Directorate for Deep Sea Research, committed to the task. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement GUGI, as the outfit is also known, is an elite Russian unit that employs specialized surface and underwater vessels capable of underwater sabotage and surveillance. Yantar, one of GUGI's special-purpose spy vessels, which nominally acts as a survey vessel, has often been spotted near underwater cables. Furthermore, a joint investigation released in 2023 by the public broadcasters of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland discovered that Russia, over the past decade, employed a fleet of 50 boats masking as research or commercial vessels to gather intelligence on allied underwater cables and wind farms in the Nordic region. "When you look at the evidence of their activities now, the places they are doing surveys, overlaid with this critical undersea infrastructure you can see that they are at least signaling that they have the intent and the capability to take action in this domain if they choose," Cattler said. Read the original article on Business Insider Granite Staters should have complete faith in the process and outcomes of New Hampshires electoral process. As both winners and losers of elections, we know what its like to be both elated and frustrated by election results. However, we also knew that when the final votes were counted, the integrity, transparency and security of our election system in New Hampshire delivered results that the voters intended no matter the outcome. Just like our elections, the Granite States 2024 general election was protected by strong, fair election laws and procedures that resulted in trusted, verifiable results that have been universally accepted and respected. We must not take this outcome for granted and continue to support election integrity in New Hampshire while raising our elections as a model for other states to consider as they secure their own elections. Our duty to instill faith in the democratic process by protecting the vote remains an essential task. Richard Swett, left, a former U.S. representative and ambassador, and John E. Sununu, a former U.S. senator and representative. It is no coincidence that New Hampshires 2024 election was a record-breaker, with turnout among eligible voters as high as 75%, according to the secretary of state, and many polling locations reporting 90% or higher turnout the highest ever recorded turnout in the states history. Our states efforts to provide a secure and accurate election process has succeeded in increasing public faith and confidence in voting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Hampshire election law is based on common sense, transparency and accountability. That is why we came together as bipartisan former elected officials to advance the work of the Democracy Defense Project (DDP), a bipartisan organization dedicated to strengthening democracy by reestablishing faith in the transparency, safety, security, and validity of our elections process. There is no better state than New Hampshire to serve as an example of how to run a fair election, which we hope will inspire other jurisdictions to follow. We require voters to provide identification and our state officials use a multi-state database to check for duplicate voter registrations in multiple states. State law considers voter fraud a very serious crime and provides for a prison sentence of up to seven years and fines for convicted offenders. Additionally, fraudsters are typically barred from voting in the state for life. All votes are cast by paper ballot in New Hampshire and are either counted by hand or tabulated by vote counting machines which are legally prevented from being connected to the internet, preventing any attempt to access or hack votes online. Paper ballots are kept in case of a recount, in which case all votes must be recounted by hand. Independent inspections and audits of the machines are conducted before and after elections in case of any irregularity, the state authorizes a full recount. Locally elected, nonpartisan moderators administer elections at polling places across the state and ensure that the election process is fair and is conducted in accordance with state law. This decentralized system makes any coordinated effort to tamper with election results nearly impossible. Vote counting is monitored by bipartisan observers from the local community who affirm the results were counted accurately and transparently. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ballot security law mandates strict chain-of-custody procedures that require monitoring, supervision, and surveillance of casted paper ballots as they are processed through the tabulation and storage system. New Hampshire usually delivers election results to the public on the eve of the vote. Secretary of State David Scanlan has said he expects polling places to announce results the night of the election or into the early hours of the following morning. This standard ensures a swift settlement to the electoral process that voters deserve, while minimizing opportunity for any false claims of victory unsupported by evidence. It is no wonder why New Hampshire broke its own voter turnout record this year by 2.5%. The election security and transparency regulations that our state continues to lead with have bolstered the publics trust that their vote will be counted with the same value and accuracy as their neighbors vote. It is time for other states to adopt these commonsense election practices so that our countrys faith in election fairness is as strong as it has proven itself to be in New Hampshire. Richard Swett is a former Democratic congressman from New Hampshire (1991-1995 in U.S. House) who served as U.S. ambassador to Denmark (1998-2001). John E. Sununu served as a Republican representing New Hampshire in the U.S. House (1997-2003) and U.S. Senate (2003-2009). This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Swett and Sununu: NHs 2024 election should set national standard For over half a century, Nagasaki Prefecture has waged a relentless battle against biker gangs, groups known for their reckless, illegal street racing that disturbed public order and endangered lives. Now, after years of intensified crackdowns, Nagasaki police have announced the virtual eradication of biker gangs, culminating in the recent disbandment of the last remaining group in January 2025. FUKUOKA, Dec 16 (News On Japan) - Two junior high school students returning from cram school were stabbed at a McDonalds in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture on Saturday night. One of the students, a 15-year-old girl, was killed. The suspect, a man in his 40s, fled the scene. At the Scene: This is the location where the incident occurreda McDonalds along a main road in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, reported announcer Kazuki Kusanagi. Flowers have been placed at the entrance in memory of the victim. At around 8:30 p.m., a man believed to be in his 40s suddenly attacked two junior high school studentsa boy and a girlwho were waiting at the counter. The girl, Sakiya Nakajima, suffered fatal injuries to her abdomen and died of blood loss. The male student was stabbed near his waist but is expected to survive. A nearby resident expressed shock: The sound of sirens was overwhelmingit was terrifying. Its unthinkable for something like this to happen around here. I just hope they catch the suspect soon. Another local said, Its hard to believe something like this could happen at a fast-food restaurant. A 30-Second Attack: The two students were returning home from cram school and were standing in line at the counter when it happened, Kusanagi continued. The two were at the end of the queue when the man entered, walked directly toward them without speaking, and attacked them. The entire assault lasted only about 30 seconds. The male student reportedly told police, I was stabbed by a stranger. After the attack, the man fled northward. Residents remain on edge: I was so surprised. I never thought something like this could happen nearby. This is supposed to be a safe areaI often take walks around here without worry. Theres no history of this neighborhood being unsafe, added another. When asked about the ongoing search for the suspect, one parent expressed concern: Its worrying as a parent with children. The fugitive is described as a man in his 40s, around 170 cm tall, wearing a gray jacket, black pants, and yellowish footwear. Additional Details: Authorities received a report of a suspicious individual seen several hundred meters from the restaurant on the premises of a nearby car dealership. Investigators were seen collecting cigarette butts at the site, though the knife used in the attack has not yet been recovered, and the suspects whereabouts remain unknown. In response to the incident, Kitakyushus Board of Education announced that the junior high school attended by the victims will be closed for all grades on December 16th. Officials urged students to rest at home and prioritize their mental well-being during this difficult time. Source: ANN CHIBA, Dec 16 (News On Japan) - A 50-year-old woman has been arrested for allegedly killing a male acquaintance by driving a vehicle into the sea at a port in Funabashi City, Chiba Prefecture. At around 1:30 p.m. on October 14th, a small cargo vehicle plunged into the sea at a port in Hamacho, Funabashi City. The man in the passenger seat, Masayuki Mizushima, 80, was later pronounced dead. On the morning of October 15th, police arrested Miyuki Harada, a 54-year-old unemployed resident of Funabashi City, on suspicion of murder for driving the vehicle. According to the police, Harada had met Mizushima through work and had been confiding in him about her personal troubles. In questioning, Harada stated, "While driving, my mind went into a panic, and I felt like I just wanted to die, which led to the car falling into the sea," partially denying the charges against her. Source: ANN Dec 16 (News On Japan) - Nara Prefecture is under fire for allocating 270 million yen ($1.75 million) in taxpayer money to host a free K-Pop concert at Nara Park next October. The event, expected to attract 9,000 attendees, will feature South Korean artists, with their fees and travel expenses covered by the Korean side. However, Nara will shoulder the operational costs. The plan has sparked criticism online, with many calling the expenditure a waste of public funds. Comments like "Outrageous misuse of taxpayer money" and demands to prioritize traditional cultural events over foreign pop concerts have gained traction. Local assembly member Ogita Yoshio questioned the move, stating, "Can this truly gain the approval of our residents? A one-day event like this feels transient, with no lasting impact for the community." Governor Makoto Yamashita defended the concert, emphasizing its cultural value. He argued that the event provides Japanese youth with a rare chance to see their favorite artists live, fostering goodwill and cultural exchange between Japan and South Korea. Amid backlash, Yamashita apologized for a controversial phrasing in his earlier statements, clarifying that his intent was to highlight affordability, not imply financial struggles among Japanese youth. Despite the correction, public opinion remains divided over the use of prefectural funds. Source: ANN TOKYO, Dec 16 (News On Japan) - Tourists are flocking to a park in Fujiyoshida City, Yamanashi Prefecture, where the snow-capped Mt. Fuji can be viewed alongside a five-story pagoda. The park, Arakurayama Sengen Park, has become a hotspot for foreign visitors due to its picturesque scenery, with approximately 150,000 people visiting last month, marking a record high. However, this surge in tourism has led to severe overtourism issues, including traffic congestion and trespassing on private property. Residents in the area are raising concerns about the disruptions. Chronic traffic jams in the residential neighborhoods around the park have become common, with tourists entering private yards, sometimes to clean their shoes. Noise pollution, littering, and even traffic accidents involving rental cars are frequent. Some residents report being unable to return home due to the traffic caused by tourists. The city has increased security and opened additional parking lots but remains overwhelmed by the volume of visitors. In response, the mayor has proposed introducing an entrance fee for the park to manage the situation better. The problems are not confined to the park. Nearby streets and intersections in the shopping district, known for their retro aesthetic with Mt. Fuji in the background, are also drawing large crowds. These areas, popular for photography, often see 30 to 40 tourists crammed into small spaces. Some even travel from overseas to take wedding photos against the iconic scenery. However, unsafe behaviors, such as jaywalking during red lights for photo opportunities, are rampant despite warnings from security personnel. Local residents have expressed frustration, highlighting safety concerns and the impact on their daily lives. They urge the authorities to find a balance between promoting tourism and preserving the quality of life for residents. As overtourism challenges grow, stricter measures may become inevitable to maintain harmony between visitors and the local community. Source: ANN TOKYO, Dec 16 (News On Japan) - Japans aerospace ambitions have faced a turbulent journey, with the MRJ (Mitsubishi Regional Jet) project standing as a stark reminder of the challenges in the competitive global aviation industry. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) launched the MRJ in 2008 as the first domestic jet passenger aircraft in half a century. Despite high hopes and over 1 trillion yen in investment, the project was canceled in 2023 after six delivery delays, leaving the nations technological credibility under scrutiny. The MRJ aimed to revolutionize regional air travel with a 90-seat aircraft, but the project was plagued by delays in securing type certification, particularly in the United States, its primary market. Certification requirements, involving over 400 rigorous safety and operational checks, overwhelmed the project team. While MHI brought in experienced engineers from Boeing to address the gaps, the lack of early preparation led to costly setbacks. Key stakeholders reflected on missed opportunities, acknowledging that the team underestimated the complexities of global regulatory standards. By the time issues were resolved, market conditions had shifted, making the project unviable. The MRJs collapse marked a significant blow to Japans efforts to establish itself as a leader in the aviation industry. In March this year, Japans Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced a new strategy to reignite domestic aircraft development by 2035, incorporating lessons from the MRJ. Framed as a "game-changing opportunity," the plan seeks to bolster Japans technological capabilities and forge international partnerships to meet future demand in the aerospace sector. While the MRJs failure remains a cautionary tale, it has also provided valuable insights. Japans leaders are determined to transform the setback into a stepping stone, using the experience to build a stronger foundation for the nations aviation ambitions. Source: BIZ DART Victim Advocate Lucia Salas, a licensed master social worker, tries to coordinate a shelter stay for a woman, her child and her friend after her intimate partner kicked in her door and strangled her Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, at an apartment complex in west Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer DART Victim Advocate Lucia Salas, a licensed master social worker, tries to coordinate a shelter stay for a woman, her child and her friend after her intimate partner kicked in her door and strangled her Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, at an apartment complex in west Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer DART Victim Advocate Jeanne Aladin speaks with a man who called police Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in the Midtown neighborhood in Houston. The man said his wife changed the locks on their home after assaulting him earlier in the day. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer A 2023 University of Houston report documenting the growing issue of domestic violence in Harris County, combined with years of lobbying from local groups, led to county leaders approving up to $4 million to battle it. The commissioners court this week approved a $1 million grant, renewable for a total of four years, that will provide the Houston Area Womens Center with additional funding for groups providing shelter and resources to victims of domestic violence, officials said. In cooperation with our sister agencies, we look forward to addressing this alarming public health crisis which results in horrific rates of femicide, said Emilee Whitehurst, president and CEO of the womens center. Harris County can and will do better. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Elizabeth Gregory in 2023 led a team of researchers at the University of Houston in authoring a report that found, between 2019 and 2022, the number of domestic violence-related homicides increased from 32 up to 64. And, in the months since then, investigators with the Houston Police Department have found that even as the overall number of homicides has declined, the percentage of those linked to family violence have increased. There is a deep and growing need for expanded services in Harris County, Gregory said. Its long been clear that (domestic violence) is not a personal issue, its systemic. The 2023 report found it was hard to reduce the issue to a single cause, but recommended providing an additional $1 million per year for five years to local agencies to foster better communication and additional staff to address domestic violence-related issues. Syan Rhodes, spokeswoman for Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones, said the decision to increase funding came out of that University of Houston report. Advertisement Article continues below this ad County leaders said the funding would go toward reducing the 75% turn-away rate for shelter, expand staffing at local agencies and improve outreach efforts to address the problem. Houston and Harris County have 10 times fewer shelter beds overall and five times fewer per capita than New York City, Gregory said. The countys new investment, which will utilize federal funds, comes as a city panel recommended the Houston Police Departments special victims division partner with the Houston Area Womens Center and victims services to conduct better outreach in sexual assault cases. That came in the wake of a scandal in which 264,000 cases were suspended using an internal code citing a lack of personnel, including more than 9,100 from the special victims division. TOKYO, Dec 16 (News On Japan) - Japans cafe industry is witnessing a surge in competition as diversification and the arrival of international chains reshape the market. In response, several leading domestic cafe chains have adopted unique strategies to distinguish themselves, with their top executives sharing insights in a recent roundtable discussion. The panel included Yokokawa, founder of Skylark and creator of Takakuramachi Coffee, a roadside cafe brand; Suzuki, CEO of Saza Coffee, known for its specialty brews and his reputation as a coffee expert; Sugano, Vice President of Tsubakiya Coffee, which combines Taisho-era aesthetics with quality offerings; and Abe, CEO of Konas Coffee, a rising brand built on a Hawaiian theme. Economic journalist Takai, an expert in the cafe sector, moderated the discussion. The leaders highlighted the growing importance of intangible value in the cafe experience. "Selling coffee is just part of the equation," one executive noted. "Its about creating an enjoyable and uplifting environment that customers cant see but can feel." This focus on invisible value is helping these chains differentiate themselves in an increasingly crowded market. Expansion strategies were another focal point. While many businesses are drawn to high-traffic roadside locations, some executives prefer to avoid such areas to sidestep direct competition. If we set up shop there, well either have to defeat the competition or withdraw. Its not worth the risk, one leader explained, underscoring the need for careful site selection to ensure sustainable growth. The discussion also revealed the challenges that accompany success. From managing interpersonal dynamics to overcoming hesitation in decision-making, the leaders shared candid reflections on lessons learned. When in doubt, its always a mistake, one executive admitted, emphasizing the importance of decisiveness in management. Global ambitions also came into focus, with Abe expressing interest in expanding Konas Coffee internationally while preserving its Hawaiian essence. Yokokawa offered his perspective, stressing the importance of maintaining core values while navigating new markets. As Japans cafe landscape continues to evolve, these leaders insights offer a glimpse into the strategies driving some of the countrys most innovative and resilient brands. Their focus on customer experience, strategic expansion, and adaptability highlights the ingenuity required to thrive in this competitive industry. Source: BIZ OSAKA, Dec 16 (News On Japan) - In the bustling Umeda district of Osaka, women believed to be engaging in prostitution are often seen standing on the streets, waiting for customers. This activity, known as "standing prostitution," has reportedly been rampant in the area for over a decade. When interviewed, some women explained that they were doing this "to cover living expenses." However, concerns over the deterioration of public safety in the region prompted the police to take action. The measures involved painting the road where these women often stand in bright yellow and adding illustrations to make the area conspicuous. The strategy leverages the psychological tendency to avoid highly noticeable locations. Initially, the approach seemed effective, as the number of women visible in the area significantly decreased. However, the improvement was short-lived. Women were later spotted gathering in nearby streets, suggesting that the measures might lead to a game of cat and mouse. Kitagawa Ryu, head of the Community Safety Division at the Sonezaki Police Station, commented: "If they move to adjacent streets, we will collaborate with local communities to address the issue." Source: FNN KYOTO, Dec 16 (News On Japan) - The Japanese giant salamander, one of the worlds largest amphibians and often referred to as a 'living fossil,' is facing a conservation crisis. Hybrid offspring, born from breeding between native Japanese giant salamanders and non-native species brought from China several decades ago, have been discovered in large numbers. This issue is raising significant concerns among researchers and environmentalists. Accompanying a team of researchers conducting conservation surveys in the Kamo River system in Kyoto revealed the extent of the problem. These surveys aim to understand the impact of hybridization on the native population and to develop measures to protect the species. Experts warn that the continued spread of hybrid individuals could threaten the genetic purity of Japans endemic giant salamander. This iconic species has long been a symbol of Japans natural heritage, and its preservation has become a growing priority for environmental conservation efforts. The introduction of non-native species into Japan, whether intentional or accidental, has often led to ecological challenges. In the case of the giant salamander, the hybridization issue underscores the delicate balance required to protect native ecosystems while addressing the consequences of human activity. Research teams plan to expand their surveys and collaborate with local governments to implement measures that safeguard the habitat and ensure the survival of this unique amphibian species. The findings from the ongoing conservation efforts will play a crucial role in shaping future policies to protect Japan's giant salamanders. Source: Kyodo How a fire starts Let's walk through a common scenario. You have a repetitive task which you want to automate with minimal effort. Naturally, you decide to whip up a quick Python script. With a few handy libraries you pip installed, you can write the logic in fewer than 100 lines of code. Everything goes well. The sun is shining. With all the time you saved with your automation efforts, you decide to go camping and enjoy a bonfire. After some time you realize you can re-use functionality in your script to solve other problems. Your script evolves into multiple scripts, modules, and eventually a library. All the while, you continue to install new dependencies with pip and your system package manager. Everything goes well. The sky is clear and the stars are bright. Some embers from your bonfire were blown into a patch of dry grass by the wind. It begins to smoulder. Others are interested in using your library. You happily share your code. Unfortunately, they can't get it to work on their computer. They have to set up an environment like the one on your machine. But how can they do that? You don't remember. After days of trial and error, they manage to get something to run, but there are still obscure bugs which you can't reproduce on your machine. There's a thick white smoke in the air. The trees are on fire. Eventually you install a few innocuous packages in your own environment and everything breaks. You don't know what caused the breakage, and you don't know how to go back to a working environment. If you did not use a virtual environment: congratulations, you now bricked your system's Python installation. Critical system packages don't work anymore. The sky is red. The inferno encroaches on your house. You decide to re-install your operating system and vow to go back to doing everything in Excel. The earth is scorched. All your possessions are in ashes. You have to start over. Dependencies are like a bonfire: comfortable as long as you take proper precautions. Unfortunately, Python has two problems when it comes to dependencies: you will need them to write any useful program. Python is mostly a "glue" language that provides convenient wrappers for libraries written in more performant languages like C, C++, Fortran, Java or Rust. If you don't want to write your own C extensions, you will rely on libraries written and published by other people. the standard tooling makes it almost guaranteed you do the wrong thing. "Pip install package" and you are off to the races, right? This is especially problematic given that Python is advertised as a "beginner friendly" programming language. Managing Python dependencies well is all but simple and intuitive. In short, venturing into the Python ecosystem is like camping in a dry forest full of dry grass and dead trees on a cold night. You'll need to light a bonfire and there's a very good chance it will turn into a full scale forest fire. This article is all about fire safety techniques and tools. It's about how you should think about dependency management, which tools you should consider for different scenarios, and what trade offs you'll have to make. Finally, it exposes the complexity and lingering problems in the ecosystem. What are dependencies? Let's begin by defining terms. What is a dependency? You might propose it's another package or library you use in your code. It's what you pip install. Unfortunately, this is only a subset of all dependencies. Ultimately, a dependency is anything external to your own code that is required to get your code to run as expected. We can divide these up into a number of layers: Project specific packages. These are your typical Python libraries you would install with your Python package manager. System packages. These are global packages or libraries (e.g. .so or .dll files) installed system wide, using your system package manager (e.g. homebrew, apt, pacman, ). These are shared among all users and all projects. Operating system. You might think that Python runs on any operating system. This is only true because Python itself and libraries written in C are compiled for different platforms. Packages that are only compiled for Linux will not work on Windows. More subtly, any operation that makes low level system calls, e.g. allocating memory or writing a file to disk, underneath the hood may behave slightly differently depending on which operating system you run the code on. Hardware. CPUs have different architectures, like X86, amd64, or arm64. Code that is compiled for one architecture will not run on another. Your Python code does not need to be compiled, but the underlying libraries and Python itself do. Additionally, your code may depend on the availability of hardware accelerators like GPUs. The environment. This is everything outside your computer and relates to network access. Maybe your code needs to fetch information from a database, from a website or an API. Those external resources can also be considered dependencies. The point here is to recognize that your "simple" script or Jupyter notebook often relies on a tall and complex stack of systems, libraries, and environmental conditions in order to function. When you develop some code on your machine you rarely think of this complexity. But it becomes essential once you want to run your code on other machines or work together on the code with others. Why should we "manage dependencies" and what does that even mean? The key reason for adopting good dependency management practices is reproducibility. Reproducibility means we can follow a set of steps and always get exactly the same result. Reproducibility makes the behavior of the code deterministic: everyone that interacts with the code sees the same behavior and finds the same bugs. As soon as a single step in the chain of instructions is not reproducible, the behavior of code becomes non-deterministic. There are three stages in which reproducibility is important: The development stage: while you develop, you want to ensure you can always easily re-create the environment needed for your code to run. This is important even if you develop by yourself. If you accidentally break your environment, you always have the ability to start over. It is critical when you develop as part of a team. Ideally everyone develops in identical environments. The development stage may require additional development dependencies that are not required at run time, for example linting and formatting tools. The build stage: when you want to publish your code or deploy your application, you may have to perform some additional steps. If you are publishing a pure Python library, maybe that is simply putting your code in a zip-file or tarball and uploading it somewhere. If you have written extensions in other languages, you may need to compile them. If you are deploying a web service, you may have to build a Docker container. The end result of a build stage is one or more artifacts. Reproducibility means that you can always produce identical artifacts by re-running the build i.e. you guarantee that there is a one-to-one correspondence between your code and whatever it is you publish. The build stage may also require additional dependencies, for example a compiler, a container build tool-chain, or even just a zip-file creation tool. The deployment stage / run time: when your code or application is running out there in the wild, you want to guarantee predictable behavior. You don't want the behavior of your code to change because you were not carefully tracking your dependencies. Ideally, your code behaves the same as during the development stage. Good dependency management means that: all dependencies for the development, build and deployment stages are explicitly declared and tracked together with the code in version control. This is simply reflects the fact that your application = your code + all your dependencies. dependencies for the development, build and deployment stages are This is simply reflects the fact that there is an automated process that is able to turn these declared dependencies into a working environment. that is able to turn these declared dependencies into a working environment. it is possible to safely evolve and update your environment when new versions of dependencies become available. In most circumstances, this is possible to do up to the "operating system" dependency layer. If you work in the cloud or on a hypervisor, where hardware can be declared in code, it is possible to expand your control over the dependency stack even further. In most cases you must handle assumptions about the environment, like availability of hardware or network connections, in the application code. In the rest of this article, we will mainly deal with software dependencies up to the operating system level. What is the best way to manage dependencies? There are two prerequisites before we can even begin to talk about managing dependencies: Version control Environment isolation You should be tracking your code with a version control system. There are no exceptions. The industry standard is git. At the most basic level, a version control system ensures that you can always roll your code back to any recorded point in history (i.e. a "commit"), so you can make changes fearlessly. We require the version control system to also track the files in which we declare our dependencies. Secondly, you should have a mechanism of isolating the environment for developing and running your project from the host machine. Otherwise, the dependencies required for the project could break the host environment or other projects on the same machine. Depending on the level of isolation, the host environment can still influence the behavior of all projects. The optimal level of isolation is achieved by using a separate machine per project; practical examples of this approach include virtual machines or development containers. These options are not always convenient, so many developers opt for a more lightweight form of isolation: the virtual environment. There are multiple kinds of virtual environments for Python projects, and depending on their implementation they either only isolate pip-installable Python packages, or they also include some system level dependencies. We will compare these options when we discuss specific tooling. The downside of virtual environments is that there may be implicit dependencies, i.e. extra requirements on the host, that live outside the isolated environment. In practice, virtual environments usually offer sufficient isolation from the host for many Python projects. There is also a more niche and exotic option that sits between virtual environments and virtual machines: Nix. Nix tries to take the virtual environment idea to the extreme and applies it to all software on the system, to guarantee that your environment does not leak to the host and vice versa. We will touch on the benefits and drawbacks of Nix near the end of this article. Once you have version control and environment isolation figured out, good dependency management boils down to a few steps: Creating a definition file Generating a lock file Syncing your environment with the lock file your environment with the lock file Tracking both the definition file and the lock file in version control Why? Let's break it down. A definition file is a file where you state the dependencies you need and the minimal version constraints. It's all the packages you directly use in your code (check the import statements). For example, you need pandas, at least version 1.5, but less than 2.0. The idea is that if someone else creates an environment based on your definition file, the code should work. However, in practice, it's impossible to guarantee that the code will work for all possible valid combinations of package versions. Suppose you have defined n packages. These packages don't depend on each other and don't have dependencies of their own. For each package you provide a range of acceptable versions that span m releases. In this scenario, there are m valid environments. With only a handful of packages and versions, it becomes entirely infeasible to test all possible environments. There's a good chance your code will not work for at least some combination of packages. In reality, the situation is even worse: most packages require their own dependencies, which count towards the exponent n. These transitive dependencies are implicit and not declared anywhere in your project. The projects you depend on have exactly the same problem as you: their definition file can produce a broken environment. Therefore, it's possible that some version of some transitive dependency breaks your environment. Sounds unlikely, but I have seen it happen. What does this mean? It means that if I create an environment from a definition file, and you create an environment from exactly the same file at some other point in time, we could end up with different environments. Mine could work fine, while yours could be broken. And this could be caused by a broken release from some transitive dependency we did not even know we needed. Consider the following illustration: We have a definition file that requires package A with at least version 2. Package A requires package B. When Bob creates his environment he installs package A version 2 and package B version 7. A bit later, package B releases version 8, but it contains a massive bug. Alice happens to create her environment just after this release and she gets package A version 2 and package B version 8. Her environment is broken. The bug in package B is fixed after some time and version 9 is released. Also package A releases a new version. Dave creates his environment and gets package A version 3 and package B version 9. His environment works fine. Nothing changed in the definition file, yet environments went from working to broken and back to working. The point of the example is that environments created from the definition file are a function of time. With hundreds of implicit and explicit dependencies, it is impossible to track the release schedules and change logs of all these projects. Consequently, you are playing Russian roulette every time you set up an environment. While it is impossible to guarantee that environments are not broken, it IS possible to remove time as a variable and guarantee that we can always re-create exactly the same environment. This requires pinning both our required dependencies and our transitive dependencies. This is what the lock file is for. Instead of creating an environment directly from the definition file, we allow our dependency resolver (typically embedded in our package manager) to figure out what packages and versions it would install if we were to create an environment at that moment in time. Instead of creating this environment, we write all the packages and fixed versions to a file - the lock file. Good lock files also include hashes, so that we are absolutely sure everyone is downloading the same artifacts. In this way, we have inserted the explicit step of "locking" our dependencies into the process. The lock file represents a fully reproducible environment (as long as packages and versions remain available on repositories). What happens to our example when Bob, Alice and Dave used a lock file? Suppose Bob is first. He first creates a lock file, which will look like his environment in the original example. He then creates his environment based on the lock file. For Bob nothing changes except that he had an additional intermediate step. Bob commits the lock file to version control. In the revised scenario, Alice, can install exactly the same environment as Bob because she gets the lock file. Since Bob's environment works, she decides to create her environment from the lock file. She does not suffer the issues associated with installing v8 of package B. Dave could also install exactly the same environment. However, he read somewhere that a new version of package A came out, and he would like to use some of the new features. He refreshes the lock file and creates his environment. He experiences no issues, so he commits the new lock file to version control. The next time Bob and Alice work on the project, they update their environment to reflect the new lock file. With the lock file we guarantee that the environment evolves deterministically together with the code. What's more: if our environment ever breaks, for example if Alice had refreshed the lock file, we can always go back to an earlier working environment because it is saved in version control. It's a quite simple and yet ingenious idea to give you some grip on the uncountable number of possible environments. Of course, this approach doesn't solve all problems related to dependencies. You might commit a lock file which you thought was working, but only much later discover the environment is in fact broken. By that time your code has evolved so much it may not be so easy to turn back the clock. You may still have difficult troubleshooting sessions to figure out where exactly in your dependency stack issues arise. If you pinpoint the issue, you may have to perform a manual hacky patch until things get fixed upstream. All these reasons and many more is why some in the industry suggest projects should avoid dependencies altogether. Unfortunately it is nearly impossible to avoid dependencies with Python. We must deal with them. What makes this extra frustrating is that the process is made unnecessarily difficult. Why is managing dependencies in Python hard? Default tooling does not encourage best practices For many modern programming languages, the associated tooling has the lock-file based dependency management mechanism baked in. For a great example, consider Rust's Cargo. Not so with Python. The default package manager for Python is pip. The default instruction to install a package is to run pip install package . Unfortunately, this imperative approach for creating your environment is entirely divorced from the versioning of your code. You very quickly end up in a situation where you have 100's of packages installed. You no longer know which packages you explicitly asked to install, and which packages got installed because they were a transitive dependency. You no longer know which version of the code worked in which environment, and there is no way to roll back to an earlier version of your environment. Installing any new package could break your environment. Even worse is that if you run pip from your system's Python, you can break apps that all users on the system rely on. You can mitigate this danger by running pip install --user package , which installs the package only for your user in the ~/.local directory, or by using virtual environments. Unfortunately virtual environments are not often taught to beginning Python programmers as it's often deemed an advanced topic. Additionally, default virtual environments come with limitations, which we will discuss. The system software and project package problem Because Python is mostly a "glue" language, you often end up in a situation where you need non-Python dependencies in your environment. Unfortunately, those are usually not installable through pip, so you need additional tooling to bootstrap your environment. The non-Python-package dependency that everyone has to deal with is the Python interpreter itself. You can use the system package manager to install it, but then you are stuck with one version of Python for all other projects on your machine. As a consequence, all kinds of tooling has been developed specifically to manage multiple Python versions on the same system. The more tools you need to declare and create an environment, the more difficult it is to automate the setup and guarantee reproducibility. Ecosystem fragmentation Because Python's default tooling is somewhat lackluster, a plethora of third party tools have been developed to patch the gaps. Each of these tools are developed with particular use cases in mind, and none are appropriate to deal with all possible project cases nor the entire development lifecycle. When tools are mutually compatible, interoperable and synergistic, a large number of options to choose from isn't a problem. Unfortunately, in the case of Python, the landscape is split between two ecosystems: Pypi.org + pip and anaconda.org + Conda (more on this later). These tools can be made to work together, but this can cause issues down the line. The end result is that you have to make an informed decision on which of the many tools you need for your specific project. In this process, you must deal with the noise of people on the internet who vouch for whatever tool they like as the end-all-be-all tool. Third party tooling is often written in Python The ultimate irony is that many of the Python developer tools are themselves written in Python. That means, to install them, you first need to have a Python installation and an environment. If you install these tools inside the same environment as your project, the dependencies of your tools can start to conflict with the dependencies you need for your application. Very soon you reach toolception: you will need tools, to manage dependencies for tools that manage the dependencies of your application. Fortunately, there has been a recent paradigm shift, where many of the new tools for Python are now written in Rust and distributed as statically linked binaries. Available tooling for Python Now that we have an appreciation for the concepts, let's survey the tooling landscape for Python environment and dependency management. Specifically, let's look at the capabilities, advantages and drawbacks of different tools. I meanly focus on breadth rather than depth. I'm not an expert user for ALL these tools, so if I write something about your favorite tool that is not true please point this out in the comments. This section is about getting informed and making up your own mind. In the next section, I'll give you my personal advice on what tools I would use in different situations. pip Pip is the default package manager that comes with Python. This is a big advantage: you don't need to install anything else. By default it installs packages from the Pypi.org repository where a huge number of packages are available (500K+). It can also be configured to install from other (private) package repositories or directly from git repositories that follow a specific structure. Since wheels have become an accepted distribution format in 2013, pip is fast and simple to use. Before wheels, Python packages were distributed strictly as zipped source files. For pure Python packages this doesn't matter very much: you just unzip the archive and use the code. But for packages with extension modules in other languages, these need to be compiled on the system of the user. This requires build dependencies, like a build system and a compiler. This could get complicated, error prone, and slow for packages that are mainly written in C or C++ like scientific libraries. Instead, wheels are binary distributions; extension modules are compiled beforehand by the publisher. Compiled extension modules are platform specific, so it is up to the publisher for making wheels for multiple platforms. Until quite recently (2020), pip did not have a robust dependency resolution algorithm, meaning that you could very easily break an environment. Depending on the order in which you installed packages, you could get a different and even inconsistent environment. This is no longer the case, as long as you use pip v20.3 or higher. The downside of pip is that it's a Python tool. You first need a Python installation in order to use it, and pip is confined to that Python installation. Pip can not manage Python itself, nor any other non-Python package. For that you need separate tooling. However, non-Python code can still be packaged as if it were a Python package and made available on Pypi: consider many of the packages in the science or data space. Additionally, pip encourages imperative use, which is not great for reproducibility. Essentially, you run pip install commands until you have the environment that you want. You can declare your dependencies in a requirements.txt file (your definition file) and create your environments from this. However, there is no lock file. You could manually generate a kind of lock file using something like pip freeze >> environment.lock , as this will look at all the packages currently installed in your environment and write them to a file. However, such a manual process is error prone and most people prefer to use a dedicated tool to manage lock files. So, to summarize pip: Capabilities: Install Python packages Advantages: Included in Python since Python 3.4 Fast installs since the wheel packaging format introduction in 2013 Since pip 20.3 decent and fast dependency resolution algorithm Disadvantages: It's a Python tool No installation of non-Python packages No lock files venv One could say that venv is the pip equivalent for virtual environments. It's a built-in tool that serves to create virtual environments. Inside the virtual environment you can install packages with pip. The way it works is that it creates a folder, typically within your project directory, which contains the packages you need in your environment. A small shell script inside this folder "activates" the environment by setting the PYTHONHOME and PATH environment variable, which tells Python where to look for packages and executables. A potential downside of this virtual environment approach is that if you have a lot of packages with similar dependencies, you will have to duplicate them for each project. In principle you don't have to redownload them, since pip implements caching. Just like with pip, it's a Python tool, so you need a Python installation. There is a hard link from the venv to the Python version you used to create the virtual environment; you can not change the Python interpreter. Venv also does not modify the shared library paths, and does not deal with non pip-installable packages, so a lot of system dependencies and other ways to install non-python packages may still be required for your environment to work. So, to summarize venv: Capabilities: Manage virtual environments for Python packages Advantages: Included in Python since Python 3.3 Disadvantages: It's a Python tool All environments must use the same Python interpreter No installation of non-Python packages virtualenv Virtualenv is the O.G. venv. Before venv became part of Python, virtualenv could be used to create virtual environments. It must be installed through pip. The main differences between venv and virtualenv is that with virtualenv you have the option to point to a different Python interpreter to create the virtual environment. So you might have a Python 3.9 install with virtualenv. If you also have Python 3.12 installed, you can use this virtualenv to create a virtual environment that uses Python 3.12. This is not possible with venv. Capabilities: Manage virtual environments for Python packages Advantages: Can point to a different Python interpreter Disadvantages: All the same ones as venv It's a third party package that must be pip installed pip-tools pip-tools is a light-weight tool that introduces the lock file mechanism to Python. Instead of directly writing your requirements.txt , you write a requirements.in file, which is your definition file. You then use the pip-compile command to generate the requirements.txt file, which functions as the lock file. You can then use requirements.txt with pip to set up your environment, or if you already have an environment you can use the pip-sync command provided by pip-tools to sync your environment with what is defined in the lock file. It's lightweight, simple, and it's the only thing you need besides the default tooling. You can have an arbitrary number of requirements.in files, which can be useful if you have different types of environments you'd like to be able to create. For example, it's common that for development, you might need some additional dependencies for testing and linting. These can go in the dev-requirements.in . For each definition file, you must maintain a lock file. The downside is that it is again a Python tool, so you need to install it into your own environment. It might not be compatible with the Python version you need or its dependencies might conflict with the ones you need in your project. A small inconvenience is that you have to manually maintain the requirements.in files. More advanced tools provide users with CLI utilities to facilitate this process. Capabilities: Manage lock files Advantages: Light weight, simple, interoperable with basic pip/venv tooling Disadvantages: It's a Python tool Only able to deal with packages that can be installed with pip Managing the definition files is a manual process Pipenv Pipenv is as if pip + virtualenv + pip-tools were combined into one tool. It essentially provides a command line tool that wraps pip and virtualenv , and implements its own locking mechanism. Instead of a requirements.in and requirements.txt , pipenv maintains a Pipfile and Pipfile.lock . The idea behind these files is similar, but the format is completely different. Using the pipenv command, you can install packages and create and maintain virtual environments. The Pipfile and Pipfile.lock will be updated automatically based on the commands you run. Again, it's a third party tool written in Python with all the associated drawbacks. Another minor drawback is that the tool only supports normal dependencies and "dev" dependencies, so it's not possible to define environments in a more granular way. As it just wraps pip and virtualenv, all the same limitations are inherited. Capabilities: Install packages Manage virtual environments Manage definition files Manage lock files Advantages: Light weight, simple, wraps basic pip/venv tooling Disadvantages: It's a Python tool Has its own format for definition and lock files Only able to deal with packages that can be installed with pip Only able to distinguish between dev and non-dev dependencies Poetry Poetry is the first tool on our list so far that aims to capture the entire development flow for a Python project, from project bootstrapping, virtual environments, to dependency management, to even building and publishing packages. Poetry is often praised in the blogosphere as the final evolution in Python tooling. Unfortunately, it also has its drawbacks, especially when you deal with more complex packages. Concerning the development aspect (virtual environments and dependency management) poetry could be seen as a competitor to pipenv. For Poetry, the definition file is the pyproject.toml file. You can use the Poetry CLI to install new dependencies ( poetry add ), which automatically adds them to pyproject.toml and installs them in your environment. Poetry maintains a poetry.lock file for reproducibility. Poetry manages virtual environments for you, and has a feature that it automatically installs the current project into the environment in "editable mode" (pip supports this with pip install -e . ). If you use Conda environments (see later), Poetry can detect this and use this environment as virtual environment. Besides managing the development workflow, Poetry also handles the build and deploy workflow. Basically, it provides similar functionality as setuptools + twine out of the box, without using those packages as dependencies. However, the build back-end of Poetry seems quite basic as the documentation states it supports building only pure Python wheels. That means it does not natively support building extension modules in other languages like C, which setuptools does support. Of course there exist workarounds. A nice feature of Poetry is that it supports grouping dependencies, which allows you to have more control over which dependencies you want to install in your environment. This is similar to having multiple definition files, except everything is organized nicely in the pyproject.toml file. The downside of the single file approach is that all dependencies you declare must be mutually compatible. So if want to manage a set of environments that are not compatible, poetry becomes problematic. For example, I recently worked on an NLP project, where I wanted to be able to create an environment with GPU enabled pytorch (for training) and another environment with only CPU enabled pytorch (for deployment and inference). CPU pytorch and GPU pytorch can not be simultaneously declared in the pyproject.toml . Hence, I had to create all kinds of hackyness to work around the problem of maintaining different incompatible environments with poetry. Poetry does not wrap pip. It has its own dependency resolution algorithm, which online seems to receive mixed reviews with some complaining it can be rather slow. Poetry is again a tool written in Python, with all the associated drawbacks. Compared to pipenv, it is more heavyweight with more dependencies (41 versus only 6). This means it can become extremely problematic to install directly inside your development environment. In summary, Poetry is great for simple pure Python projects that only require pip-installable dependencies. The fact that it is an all in one tool is simultaneously its greatest benefit as its greatest drawback. Capabilities: Install packages Manage virtual environments Manage definition files Manage lock files Build packages Publish packages Advantages: All-in-one opinionated tool for the entire development lifecycle of a Python project Convenient CLI Dependency grouping Disadvantages: It's a Python tool More heavy tool, more dependencies Less interoperable with other tooling, no support for other build backends No support for maintaining mutually incompatible environments Has its own format for dependency definition and lock files Only able to deal with packages that can be installed with pip Does not support complex package builds PDM (Edit 14/12/2024) When I shared this article online, I was asked why I did not mention PDM. The honest reason was because I had not heard of it. I also have not used PDM. PDM seems to be in many ways like Poetry, but better. Being newer, it does not carry the baggage of Poetry. It adheres to PEP standards with regards to the pyproject.toml file. But it is still a tool written in Python with quite some dependencies, which comes with some drawbacks. For completeness I mention it here, please let me know in the comments if I've missed something critical about PDM. Capabilities: Mostly the same as Poetry Advantages: Adheres to PEP standards Can use uv (see later) for dependency resolution and installation (see later) for dependency resolution and installation You can use the PDM build back-end independently from PDM Disadvantages: Mostly the same as Poetry pyenv Until now, all of our tooling assumed Python was already installed on the system. All these tools used the virtual environment as isolation level. The virtual environment includes pip- or poetry-installed python packages and a symlink to a Python interpreter. But how do we install these Python interpreters and ideally manage multiple python versions on our system? None of the previously mentioned tools provide a solution. This is what pyenv does. Pyenv is a simple shell utility that can be used to install different versions of Python, and "activate" them globally or at a project level. That means that the python command in the shell can be easily configured to point to the right executable. Pyenv is the first tool that does NOT require a Python installation up front. The default installation method is through a system package manager like homebrew, which can be annoying for users that do not have admin/sudo access on a system. However, it can be also be installed at a user level through other means with a bit more effort. Initial set-up may also require modification of the shell configuration file. Despite what the name might suggest, pyenv does not manage virtual environments. It only manages python versions. This is a good thing, as pyenv can be used in combination with all the previously mentioned tools. Something which many users may find a drawback is that pyenv installs Python from source. Each time you install a new Python version you will have to wait 515 min, depending on what kind of hardware you are working with, for Python to compile and install. Compiling from source also means that your system must have a C compiler installed and a few other system dependencies. If you don't have those and don't have admin/sudo access to your system you are back at square one. In either case, setting this up the first time can be a hassle depending on your operating system. Finally, pyenv only works on Unix-like operating systems. It can not be installed on Windows. There is a separate project called pyenv-win which aims to port pyenv to the OS. Installing all the relevant dependencies on Windows, like a C compiler, can be quite a nightmare. Capabilities: Install and manage different Python versions Advantages: Pure shell scripts, no Python dependency Follows Unix philosophy: does one thing well Disadvantages: Installing a new Python version requires downloading and compiling the source code Can require a bit of set-up the first time to get it to work. Quite a few build dependencies must be installed. No Windows support. Edit 14/12/2024 The reddit user AndydeCleyre informed me of mise. Mise does everything pyenv does and more. You can use it to install different versions of not only Python, but also other language runtimes like Node. In addition, it's a task runner like Make and allows you to set environment variables automatically based on your current directory like direnv. I have not used the tool myself, but it seems like a worthwhile tool to mention here. pipx Most of the tools we have discussed previously suffered from being written in Python themselves. In order to install them you need a Python installation first. Then where do you install the tools? If you install it inside your project's virtual environment, the tool's dependencies may conflict with the ones you require for your code. If you install it with pip at the user level, every project you work on must use the same version of the tool. Worse, all tools will share the same environment. You could try to create separate virtual environments inside your project for your tools, but you may have to perform some magic to get the tools to install packages in the right environment. pipx is a tool that installs pip packages at the user level, each in a separate virtual environment, and symlinks the entrypoints to locations on the PATH like ~/.local/bin . In this way, poetry, pipenv, and other tools can be installed at the user level without conflicting with each other. All of the packages can be independently updated using the pipx CLI. This is a much better approach than just pip installing the tools at the user level, since all of the tools are isolated and don't have to share dependencies. Unfortunately, it seems it is not possible to install multiple versions of the same tool and switch dynamically between them. For example, one project may be working with Poetry v1.5 while another uses v1.8. It is possible to use pipx to temporarily use a specific version of a tool using pipx run , but it seems it's not possible to keep all versions permanently and switch between them. Additionally, somewhat ironically, pipx is also written in Python, and must be installed at the user or system level. The virtual environments that it provisions links to a Python version, which by default is the same Python that is used to run pipx. Fortunately this can be overridden using the --python flag. pyenv should be used in tandem to install the different Python interpreters. Capabilities: Install pip packages as executables in isolated virtual environments Advantages: Better than pip installing a tool directly at the user level isolated dependencies and can use different Python interpreters Disadvantages: It is a tool written in Python No installing of multiple versions of the same tool, so the tool version must be shared among all projects uv uv is relatively new tooling, developed by the same people who created ruff, that aims to be the all-in-one python project and package manager. As it says in the README: A single tool to replace pip , pip-tools , pipx , poetry , pyenv , virtualenv , and more. It indeed delivers on this promise and more. uv feels very much like a tool that aims to do everything, and manages to do it better. Let's dive in. Firstly, it's written in Rust and is distributed as a single binary without external dependencies. Just download it and you can use uv. That is a whole lot less hassle than installing and using the previously mentioned python-based tools. A binary is available in the GitHub releases for all the most common platforms. Secondly, it's fast. 10100x faster than pip for resolving dependencies. Just like Poetry, uv handles the entire development flow: installing of packages, managing virtual environments, building and publishing. It does dependency management correctly, with dependency definitions in the pyproject.toml and a lock file in uv.lock . But it does many things better. uv follows Python standards (PEP 508 and PEP 621) for defining dependencies, while Poetry does not. uv allows you to choose any package build back-end; Poetry does not. uv maintains a global package cache which is useful when dependencies are duplicated across projects and environments. In addition, Poetry does not manage the Python version in your environment. For that you have to rely on pyenv. With uv, you no longer need pyenv either; uv installs and manages Python interpreters. While pyenv installs Python from source, uv downloads and installs binaries from their own repositories. Much more convenient and no build dependencies required on the host. The only potential downside is that the Python interpreter may be less optimized for your specific CPU. Furthermore, uv also does what pipx does: you can install a pip package as an executable in its own isolated environment. So you can use it to manage Python tools. uv can also create isolated environments for simple scripts. uv explicitly aims to be compatible with existing and default tooling as much as possible, especially pip and pip-tools. It has a pip interface and a built-in mechanism to convert its lock file to a requirements.txt format. Until very recently, uv did not support arbitrary grouping of dependencies. There were only normal dependencies and dev dependencies. This was a slight edge Poetry had over uv. However, since version 4.2.7 this is now also supported in uv. There are a few limitations to be aware of. Firstly, just like Poetry, there seems to be no simple built-in way to manage mutually incompatible environments for the same project. There is only one pyproject.toml and one lock file; all dependencies need to be consistent. Secondly, while it's already a great step forward to be able to manage both Python interpreters and pip packages with one tool, this doesn't cut it for some projects. Of course this is a limitation not only of uv, but also all the previously mentioned tooling. Capabilities: Install packages Install pip packages as executables in isolated environments ("tools") Manage Python versions Manage virtual environments Manage definition files Manage lock files Build packages (provided there is a build backend) Publish packages Advantages: Written in Rust: blazingly fast, single small binary, no external dependencies Multi-platform support (most CPU architectures + all major OS's: Linux, MacOS, Windows) All-in-one opinionated tool for the entire development lifecycle of a Python project Convenient CLI Global package cache Downloads Python interpreter binaries Interoperable with PEP and Python standards, e.g. standard format for dependency definition in pyproject.toml Can select any build back-end for complex builds Arbitrary dependency grouping Disadvantages: No support for maintaining multiple mutually incompatible environments Only able to deal with packages that can be installed with pip (and Python interpreters) Conda With Conda, we come to the bifurcation in the Python ecosystem. The "main" Python ecosystem centers around pip-installable packages from pypi.org. All the previously mentioned tooling orbited in this system. Conda is a completely different package manager developed by Anaconda, a private company. It primarily serves to install packages from anaconda.org, a repository that has no link with pypi.org. Unlike pip, Conda is also able to create virtual environments. So why have this parallel ecosystem of packages? The main reason Conda was developed, was to solve the problems faced by the fields of scientific research and data science. Most of the packages in these fields are Python wrappers over libraries written in C, C++ and Fortran. Back when Python packages were distributed as sources (up until 2013), the burden was on the user to compile these extension modules. The process to do this is encoded in the setup.py script, but builds still rely on external dependencies (like a compiler) being available on the user's system. Configuring a system to get a build to work can be a painful process. Complex packages like Matplotlib can take ages to build, depending on what hardware you are working with. Additionally, while Python code works on any OS (because the CPython interpreter is compiled for all platforms), extension modules may not. Different operating systems have different C/C++ compiler toolchains, and C++ code that compiles with g++ may not compile with clang or Visual Studio C++. Packages may also have to be compiled against specific versions of shared libraries that need to exist on the user's system. Many developers of scientific Python packages work on Linux or Unix-like, but a majority of the users may work on Windows. If the developer did not consider all possible platforms their code may run on, users could be left stranded. The Conda ecosystem places the burden of building and compiling code on developers and package maintainers. Packages need to be distributed to users as binaries (i.e. all code that needs to be compiled is already compiled), so installation is fast, easy and reproducible for users. No undeclared build dependencies required for compiling stuff on the side of the user. You might think that, with the introduction of wheels as distribution format on Pypi, Conda is entirely obsolete. For installing most Python packages or statically linked binaries (e.g. DuckDB) this is mostly true. However, for anything else, Conda remains far superior, which is why it still shines in the data science and scientific Python space. Compared to pip, Conda has a much broader definition of what constitutes "a package". It can be a Python package, but also a shared library, header files, or an executable. In this sense, Conda is much more similar to a system package manager like apt or homebrew. That means that Conda can, for example, be used to install a specific version of NVIDIA's CUDA Toolkit in a Conda environment. This resource is shared among the packages in the environment. This is not possible with wheels. Wheels expect that all non-Python dependencies, like shared libraries, are packaged with the wheel or are available at the system level. If you install numpy with pip, the wheel ships with almost everything it needs, but very low level libraries may still be expected to be present on the user's system. With Conda, almost all these libraries can be installed as separate packages. Conda virtual environments are therefore much more like a mini isolated machine. Your Python interpreter lives inside the environment, because this is just another package you can install with Conda. All the packages you would otherwise have to install system wide can live there. Of course your Python packages can live there as well, and you can even use pip inside the environment to install Python packages from Pypi.org (though this is not recommended if some of your Python packages come from anaconda.org). There are advantages and disadvantages to both the wheel and the Conda approach. Wheels are isolated from each other, so Matplotlib and Numpy can live in the same virtual environment while being built against and shipped with different shared libraries. This is not possible in a Conda environment, where Numpy and Matplotlib have to use the same shared libraries, like BLAS and LAPACK, that are distributed as separate packages. On the other hand, being able to share dependencies is in some cases practical or even essential. Packaging the CUDA Toolkit into each wheel that runs code on an NVIDIA GPU would balloon their size to a ridiculous extent. The consequence is that wheels still have implicit dependencies on things installed at the system level. This can be mostly avoided with Conda. Still, Conda expects some packages at the system level, mainly very low level libraries like libc and libm. Because packages tend to be more granular, packages in the Conda ecosystem have more dependencies, and dependency resolution becomes a lot harder and more time consuming. Conda ships with a much more robust algorithm than pip, a very important point in favor of Conda before pip's algorithm was improved in version 20.3. However, Conda is implemented in Python so it is excruciatingly slow. Some other noteworthy design differences between the Conda and pypi ecosystems: Conda environments are typically "global" and designed to be shared among multiple projects. You can "activate" them in your shell from any location on your system. This often leads to situations where Conda environments are even shared among multiple users. Normal virtual environments typically exist at the project level, and should only be activated when you are in the project directory. pypi.org has a single namespace for packages. Once a name is taken, you can no longer use that name to publish a package. Anaconda.org is split into different "channels" so everyone can publish their own version of numpy on their own channel. Mixing and matching packages from different channels is usually a bad idea as dependencies may not be compatible. The conda-forge channel is a community maintained channel that aims to make most software available using a consistent set of build tools. A few years ago, I made a long video on how you can contribute packages to conda-forge, you can check it out here. Edit 14/12/2024: on Reddit, Peter Wang from Anaconda shared a relevant talk with regards to Python packaging underneath a thread where this article was shared, which relates to this paragraph and which I can highly recommend: < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA7NVwmx3gw>. Capabilities: Install any type of software and libraries at the user level Manage Python versions Manage conda environments Advantages: Multi-platform support Global package cache Packages are distributed as compiled binaries Robust dependency resolution algorithm Can also use pip inside Conda environments Option for global and shared environments Disadvantages: Slow, written in Python (should no longer be true since 2022, version 22.11, as pointed out by Kevin Markham, see this post) Serial downloads of packages (should no longer be true since 2022, version 22.11, as pointed out by Kevin Markham, see this post) Somewhat intrusive installation process (modifies shell config) Limited interoperability with the "main" Python ecosystem No lock file Building and distributing packages for Conda is painful (but this is also the case for wheels with extension modules) Mamba Mamba is a strictly better Conda. It's a tool that aims to be a near drop-in replacement for Conda, but solve its biggest pain points: slow dependency resolution and parallel downloads. To speed up dependency resolution, it is implemented in C++ and uses a different algorithm. The way to install Mamba used to be dodgy and has evolved significantly since its introduction. It used to be you first needed Conda, then you could install mamba into an environment with Conda from the conda-forge channel. The recommended approach is now to entirely sidestep Conda and install miniforge, or alternatively use micromamba. Capabilities: Same as Conda Advantages: Fast (dependency resolution + parallel downloads) Micromamba is distributed as single statically linked executable Disadvantages: Same as Conda except it is fast (if you use conda >= 22.11, then it uses the mamba resolver) conda-lock conda-lock is the pip-tools of the Conda ecosystem. It introduces the much needed lock file mechanism to Conda environments. It can use both the Conda and Mamba resolvers to generate the lock file. A very nice feature is that pip installable packages, defined in the environment.yml , are also included in the lock file. For this it uses the Poetry resolver. A downside: it's written in Python, so again you need a good strategy for installing it. Luckily it is pip-installable, so you could use pipx or uv to install it as a stand-alone "tool" for your user. A second minor downside: maintenance of the definition file is manual. There are no CLI facilities to manage your environment.yml file. Capabilities: Manage lock files Advantages: Simple, interoperable with Conda/Mamba Can handle multiple mutually exclusive environments Can also handle pip-installable packages in environment.yml Disadvantages: It's a Python tool Managing the definition files is a manual process Pixi Pixi can be regarded as the uv of the Conda ecosystem. It's written in Rust and is distributed as a statically linked binary executable. Because the Conda ecosystem is in principle language agnostic, Pixi can even be used to manage dependencies for C++ projects, as long as dependencies are available on Anaconda.org. Pixi does fast dependency resolution and has a built-in lock-file mechanism. You can specify all your configuration and dependencies in the pyproject.toml (if you are building a Python project) or the custom pixi.toml (if you are building another project). It has a convenient CLI to manage your environment (add, remove, update packages). Unlike Conda or Mamba, Pixi favors the "per project" environment approach. There is no base environment, but there is a global package cache. A cool concept is that your project can have multiple environments with different sets of dependencies, for example a default and a dev environment. In this way you can run your code against different environments. Of course on one machine you are constrained to a single operating system. Still, the configuration allows you to specify for which operating systems all dependencies should be resolved. You can even specify OS specific dependencies. It's also possible to specify python dependencies from pypi.org in your pyproject.toml , in exactly the same way as uv expects them, and these are also taken up in the lock file. Another nice feature of Pixi is that it allows you to specify system dependencies expected by your package, for example glibc or Linux kernel versions. You won't be able to install those with Pixi, but at least it's explicit about these additional dependencies, and will refuse to create your environment if the system dependencies don't match. Instead of being able to install Python packages as tools or run them as scripts like uv , Pixi has a concept of "tasks", which are similar to what you might define in a Makefile . Unfortunately, Pixi does not help you build packages; it would be cool if Pixi could somehow facilitated building packages for conda-forge. If you are building a Python package, you can rely on typical build back-ends like setuptools or hatchling. Capabilities: Install packages Manage Python versions Manage (multiple) virtual environments Manage definition files Manage lock files Makefile-like project automation with "tasks" Advantages: Written in Rust: blazingly fast, single binary, no external dependencies Multi-platform support (most CPU architectures + all major OS's: Linux, MacOS, Windows) Convenient CLI Global package cache Downloads Python binaries and any non-Python package available on anaconda.org (or private repositories) Can use pyproject.toml but also pixi.toml to configure Pixi and define dependencies but also to configure Pixi and define dependencies Can select any build back-end Disadvantages: Limited compatibility with other tooling, though import and export of environment.yml is supported is supported No global environments which deviates from Conda's philosophy Meta-issue of most tools: self-versions An issue with most tools is that they do not a priori consider compatibility issues between older and newer versions of themselves. It would seem that tool developers assume that their configuration language will never change, but this is almost never the case. New versions of tools may deprecate some configuration and/or add new configuration syntax. The trouble is that the configuration is not labeled with any version, so a user has no idea which versions of the tool should be used to manage the project. I have personally experienced issues that stem from this flaw when using Poetry. The pyproject.toml could not be parsed with the version of Poetry I was using because some configuration had been deprecated and removed. The pyproject.toml file itself does not indicate which versions of Poetry it is compatible with. Hence, quite some trial and error was required to find a suitable older Poetry version with which I could parse the file. This is not meant to be a knock on Poetry. It is a systematic issue presented in most tools. Tool developers should consider labeling all configuration and lock files with schema versions. An example is the apiVersion which is a part of every Kubernetes manifest. With the schema version declared, a tool can check whether it is compatible. If it is not, it can report to the user which older versions are compatible, or whether a newer version is required. Tooling beyond the Python ecosystem We've talked about Python specific tooling for managing a project, but here I want to mention some additional tooling that is language agnostic and can be employed within a Python project. Containers (e.g. Docker) At my previous place of employment, Conda was a dirty word. Instead, the preferred tooling for managing system dependencies and isolating environments were containers. Inside the container, basic Python tooling like pip, venv and pip-tools were used, although some teams also used Poetry. Containers have become the industry standard for deploying services. Very crudely, it's a mini virtual machine that ships applications with all their dependencies in a single artifact. The only required dependencies are a Linux kernel and a container runtime. Once you have a container image, running it is a breeze and fully reproducible. Properly managed virtual environments can come close to reproducibility, but will always fall short due to undeclared dependencies outside the environment. The main downsides of containers are the chore of building images and shipping them around (push/pull). Containers are built based on a file with build instructions, e.g. a Dockerfile for Docker containers. Writing this file so that a container builds quickly, correctly and in a reproducible way is an art. I've written at length about some of the limitations of containers here. While containers primarily serve as a deployment mechanism, some people also advocate for its use as a tool for development. By isolating all dependencies from the host and developing in a container, we can guarantee that all devs see exactly the same environment. In this way, dev containers can serve as a replacement for virtual environments or Conda environments. Personally, I was never really sold on development containers, mainly because rebuilding containers to add a single package can be a pain. Maybe a matter of personal taste. While containers are fully reproducible at runtime, building them is often not reproducible. The build steps are imperative commands and often include apt install steps; this installs "system dependencies" with versions that depend on when the container is built. Capabilities: Run or develop software in isolation from the host. A lightweight VM. Advantages: Fully self-contained Fully reproducible at runtime Standardized High industry adoption and large amount of available tooling No external dependencies except for a container runtime Disadvantages: Building containers can be a pain You may need root access to the host to build and/or run containers Selecting the right base image for your project can get you stuck between a rock and a hard place Container images take up a lot of disk space Shipping images around can take up a lot of bandwidth Linux only inside containers (yes, Docker containers on Windows or Mac actually run on a hidden Linux virtual machine) Making containers interact with things outside the container is a pain It is very hard to make container builds reproducible Nix As promised, I also briefly touch on Nix. Nix can be seen as a somewhat exotic alternative to all other tooling. It's hard to describe in only a few paragraphs what Nix is. Nix was originally created as part of a PhD project, and the PhD thesis manuscript gives the best overview of what problems Nix aims to address. Essentially, it is all the issues that have been mentioned throughout this article. Nix was created with the specific aim of reproducible, declarative software builds and deployments. For our purposes, Nix can be viewed like a package manager unlike any other. Installing packages imperatively with Nix is impossible; there is no nix install command. Instead, you must declare the "state" you wish to achieve using the Nix language, a domain specific functional programming language. The "state" can refer to some output of a build process, an environment, but can also be your entire operating system. The later is actually the idea behind NixOS, a Linux distribution that uses the Nix package manager. Your "state" code then describes your settings and which packages you want to have installed. All this may sound weird, but it is a powerful idea. By describing your desired state in a declarative way and explicitly declaring all inputs, "build" output reproducibility is guaranteed. In this way, you can track your state in version control, always rebuild everything from scratch, and easily roll back to any point in history. When everyone on the project uses Nix, you don't need any other package managers or project management tools. You maintain the dependencies, environment and build process all in Nix code, which is tracked together with the project code in version control. With this approach, everyone is guaranteed to have the exact same environment. You can use Nix with a project in any programming language. Nix does not distinguish between Python packages or system packages: everything is just software. There are no more implicit dependencies. The main downside is that most other people don't use Nix for their projects. The Nix language is arcane and somewhat difficult. Since Nix is build on the core idea of reproducibility, it expects things to be done a certain way. That means it is probably the least interoperable with any other tool. To install a Python package that is not available on nixpkgs, you must first create a Nix expression for that packages. Documentation is scattered and often not up to date. Despite all these drawbacks, Nix is a very interesting idea that puts reproducibility and dependency management front and center. Here is a very nice read on the revolutionary ideas behind Nix and also some of the challenges it faces. Practically, you can use Nix in multiple ways to manage a Python project. If you've got an existing Python project that uses poetry or Conda, you can give conda-shell or poetry2nix a try. At this moment I would not advise Nix to the average Python developer, but it is certainly something to keep an eye on. Capabilities: Create fully isolated and reproducible environments with any software Create fully reproducible builds of artifacts Advantages: Laser focus on reproducibility of built artifacts Declarative approach to building packages and environments Lock-file mechanism for any project when using flakes Much more enjoyable dev experience for reproducible environments than dev containers Disadvantages: An ecosystem on its own, very poor interoperability Small community, poor documentation Arcane domain specific functional language to write configuration Edit 14/12/2024 Brandon Maier reached out to me via e-mail and pointed out that an important downside of Nix is that you must first be root to set it up. This is because the /nix/store needs to be initialized. He also informed me of two interesting projects in the Nix ecosystem: Nix-portable which aims to make Nix work without admin privileges, and devenv which aims to make Nix more accessible for managing a project lifecycle. What should you use? Ok, but can't I just tell you what you should use? That's what these types of articles are all about right? Unfortunately, I have to remain flaky: it depends. More specifically, it depends on: what tools are already in use in existing projects? There is value in standardization and familiarity, even if another tool might be objectively better for specific cases. There is value in standardization and familiarity, even if another tool might be objectively better for specific cases. what are you allowed to do on your computer? Are you root/admin? Can you install arbitrary software at the system level? Do you have privileges to run and build containers on your system? Are you root/admin? Can you install arbitrary software at the system level? Do you have privileges to run and build containers on your system? what is your operating system, Windows or Unix-like? what you are building? Do you need non-Python dependencies? Do you need complex or niche packages? What domain are you developing for: data science, sysadmin scripting, web development, back-end, research software, ? Based on these considerations, this would be my advice in the following scenarios, as of the time of writing (November 2024): Admin on system, only require Python dependencies You can do anything on your system. You can install packages at the system level with homebrew, apt, and you can run and build Docker containers. You are building a web app, an API, a basic data science project, a data pipeline. All your dependencies are available on pypi.org - or a compatible artifact repository - and can be pip installed. This scenario covers a large majority of Python projects. For 95% of these types of projects I would recommend uv as an all in one tool to deal with the entire project lifecycle In the 5% case, if you have the very specific requirement of being able to maintain multiple mutually incompatible environments which can not be expressed in a single pyproject.toml file using environment markers, I would instead recommend pip + venv + pip-tools to manage dependencies and environments, and pyenv/pyenv-win to manage Python versions. On Windows, conda, mamba or pixi may be the easier alternative to creating virtual environments and managing the Python version. You can develop directly on your system using a virtual environment, or if you prefer a higher level of isolation leverage a dev container. Your deployment target will likely be a container. Non admin on system, only require Python dependencies You are trying to build the same type of project but in a more constrained environment. In this scenario, I would recommend using uv or Pixi. Both uv and Pixi can be downloaded as a binary, are available for most platforms, and don't require admin/root privileges to run them. I would pick uv if you are absolutely sure you don't have to install any system dependencies with a different package manager. Otherwise, I would recommend Pixi but with all python package dependencies declared in the project.dependencies table of the pyproject.toml file. Basically, this gets you a Conda virtual environment but with all packages installed from pypi.org. The benefit is that, as long as you have defined your dependencies in the standard way in pyproject.toml , you should still be able to switch to uv to manage your project. Pixi gives you the escape hatch of tapping into the Conda ecosystem for installing "system dependencies" at a user level, without any requirement for privilege escalation. Additionally, by installing from pypi.org, you are guaranteed to have the latest versions and widest selection of packages. The Pixi documentation does state that resolving the environment becomes much slower if you declare "pip" dependencies, so do some testing to see whether this is a bottleneck. Again, if you need to maintain mutually incompatible environments, you may instead look into the more basic tools: pip + venv + pip-tools + pyenv or Mamba + conda-lock. If you do not wish to use the conda ecosystem, you can also explore uv + dev containers. This of course requires that you can build and run containers on your system. Admin on system, require complex dependencies You can do anything on your system. You are building an application that requires niche dependencies that can not be pip-installed. You are working in scientific research, deep learning and/or are using GPUs and require the CUDA Toolkit. In this situation I would advise either uv or Pixi. You can either go with uv to manage Python dependencies, and install the other dependencies with the system package manager or inside a dev container (prefered), or you can use Pixi to manage almost all dependencies (including CUDA but excluding the NVIDIA driver). My personal preference would be to use Pixi, as I then don't need to deal with building containers, I don't need to rely on the system package manager, and more of my dependencies are explicit. It's very likely all dependencies are available on conda-forge. If packages are not available on conda-forge and if I would have to compile them from source, only then would I favor dev containers. Non admin on system, require complex dependencies In this case, I would highly recommend Pixi for all the aforementioned reasons. The conda ecosystem allows you to install everything you would need without needing priviledged access to the system. Wrapping up and looking ahead It's been a long journey. If you've read this far, congrats! I hope you now appreciate the nuance and complexity behind managing "a simple Python project". I hope I gave you a reasonable overview of tools you can look at, and you now understand which tools will serve you under which circumstances. Tooling for managing Python projects has come very far, and I think tools like uv and Pixi will mostly replace all other tooling for almost every new project. In choosing between the two, the main choice that has to be made is whether one uses the Conda package ecosystem or the pypi ecosystem. Each has their reasons for existing. There are still a few cases where simpler tools that do fewer things are preferred, like if you have to maintain multiple mutually incompatible environments. We also discussed Nix and containers, both of which aim to provide a framework for creating reproducible and isolated environments. However, both these tools can also be part of the deployment process. Containers are at this date far more popular and mature than Nix, and they are more interoperable with other tooling. However, I find that Nix provides a much more integrated and less frustrating development experience. In this article, I did not discuss packaging, build systems and deployment of Python projects. I may cover this in another post. Leader of the United Kingdom (UK) Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has disclosed that she has stop believing in God. The controversial politician made this known recently while featuring on a podcast hosted by Free Press editor, Bari Weiss. Kemi Badenoch, however, clarified that she is not an atheist, adding that she identifies as agnostic. While opening up about her faith, she emphasised that she is now a cultural Christian. Badenoch said, I dont believe in God anymore. But I am not an atheist, I am agnostic. I used to believe in God very much but now I describe myself as a cultural Christian. I dont think it matters if people believe in God or not. What matters is what they do with the belief or the lack of it. Recall that Badenoch accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them. Asked her if she trusted the UK police, she responded: I do. My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive. The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because Im black, I say well I remember the police stole my brothers shoe and his watch. By Nurudeen Shotayo An Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Zyad Ibn Isah, has fired back at the United Kingdom Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, over her latest comments about the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). The British politician of Nigerian origin has developed a penchant for spotlighting the flaws in the Nigerian system, a rhetoric she explored during her campaigns for her current political position. Badenoch has so much irked many Nigerians with her perceived negative remarks about the country where she spent most of her childhood. In a trending interview with a US media outfit, The Free Press, she was asked whether she trusted the British Police. In her response, the UK opposition leader said while the British Police officers were professionals, the same could not be said of their Nigerian counterparts. She went on to recall how police officers allegedly stole her brother's shoes and watch during her stay in Nigeria. I do. My experience with the police in Nigeria was very negative, and coming to the UK, my first experience with the police was very positive. The police in Nigeria would rob us. I remember the police stealing my brothers shoes and his watch. Its a very poor country, so people do all sorts of things. They took his shoe and his watch? the interviewer exclaimed in shock. Badenoch continued: Its a very poor country. People do all sorts of things. So, giving people a gun is just a license to intimidate. But thats not just the problem. That is not the bar we should use for the British Police. When I was burgled, for example, the police were there. They were helpful before they eventually caught the person. This was in 2004, that was 20 years ago. ASP fires back at Badenoch Responding in a social media post, Isah reminded the British politician what the London Metropolitan Police used to be before certain reforms were implemented to get them to their current level. The ASP, who is a media aide to the chairman, Police Service Commission, said while the NPF was far from being perfect, reforms such as the ones introduced in Britain could bring them to the top level. I would recommend David Roses In the Name of the Law to Kemi Badenoch. The truth is, the London Metropolitan Police was a mess in the 1960s, 1970s, and even the 1980s. It was through various reforms and even a change of name that they became what they are today. "If the questioner had asked a British citizen in the 1960s or 1970s whether they trusted the British police, I doubt they would have said yes. The situation was that bad. "Nigeria and its police force are not perfectwe know that. But we will rise from the ashes, just like the UK and its police force. Aunty Kemi should enjoy her new pastime of denigrating her fatherland while it lasts, he wrote. Some 30 militants of the Algeria-backed Polisario front have been reportedly captured by Syrian opposition forces in Aleppo. The militants were arrested last week after they were abandoned by Syrian regime forces during fighting with the Syrian opposition. According to security sources speaking to multiple news outlets, they were found in a camp in rural Aleppo, where they had been transported by Algeria with Iranian support. Former Iraqi deputy Omar Abdul Sattar was reported as explaining that the Polisario militants were connected to Iranian military advisors and that they had been under the supervision of Iranian advisor Borhashmi, who was killed. According to Abdul Sattar, they had been undergoing military training before their planned return to Tindouf, wherefrom they intended to carry out operations against Moroccan territories. A Moroccan security source confirmed to the news outlet Morocco World News that the militants had entered Syria months earlier, using Algerian passports, and that they had earlier received special training under Iranian advisors in Tindouf. Their mission in Syria was meant to support Bashar al-Assads regime against opposition forces. Following the militants arrest, the Algerian diplomatic apparatus was set in motion in an attempt to promptly release their proteges. Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf reportedly contacted his Syrian counterpart, and Algerias Ambassador to Syria, to downplay the presence of the militants, claiming they were part of the 500 Algerians residing in Aleppo. Algeria also reportedly sought Turkeys mediation for the militants release due to its influence over Syrian opposition groups. Head of Syrias National Salvation Front, Fahad Almasri, revealed more details about Irans involvement in the presence of the Polisario fighters in Syria, disclosing that Irans Revolutionary Guard had sent around 200 Polisario militants to southern Syria, with support from both Algeria and Iran, reported MWN. These forces were stationed at key locations such as the Thaala military airport and the air defense battalion in Sweida. Almasri also stated that Iran had been training Polisario militants at Syrian army bases in rural Daraa for the past three years. The Polisario Front has long been involved in regional conflicts, including fighting alongside Gaddafis forces in Libya in 2011. Morocco severed diplomatic ties with Iran in 2018 over Tehrans support for the Polisario, including providing arms and training through Hezbollah. Algeria has been a key facilitator in this alliance, supporting operational links between the Polisario, Hezbollah, and Iran. The capture of the Polisario militants in Syria, its documented ties to Iran, and its militant activities have fueled calls for the international community to designate the separatist group as a terrorist organization. Security experts argue that the Polisario Front not only threatens Moroccos territorial integrity but also destabilizes the broader region. The situation calls for decisive action to eliminate the group and hold its supporters accountable. A large economic delegation from Malawi visited the Saharan city of Laayoune to explore business opportunities in the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region and examine ways of strengthening bilateral cooperation in various fields. The visit comes as part of Malawis economic promotion week in Morocco (December 09-13), which aims to promote the countrys economic potential in the Kingdom in various sectors of activity and foster win-win business partnerships between Moroccan and Malawian operators. It is also part of the actions undertaken to bolster the Kingdoms economic diplomacy on a continental scale, through the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI) and its partners. The Malawian economic delegation was led by Senior Presidential Advisor for Investment and Business Benjamin Casey Wandawanda, and included several senior officials from Malawis public and private sectors. The Libyan Government of National Unity has called on Moscow to provide an urgent explanation regarding the Russian Embassys recent travel warning for Libya. Issued on Thursday, December 12, the advisory discourages Russian citizens from traveling to Libya, citing risks to safety, and comes in the wake of the arrest of a Russian citizen in the country. In an official statement on the same day, Libyas Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its concern over Russian authorities announcement and emphasized the importance of mutual respect and transparency in bilateral relations. The ministry requested detailed clarification about the reasons behind the warning, underlining the need for open communication between the two nations. The Libyan Foreign Ministry also addressed the arrest of the Russian citizen, stating that the measures taken were fully compliant with Libyan laws and conducted in coordination with the Office of the Attorney General. The operation was supervised by the Deterrence Agency for Combating Terrorism and Organized Crime. According to the ministry, initial investigations revealed that the detained individual was allegedly involved in activities that jeopardized public order, targeted Libyan youth, and maintained ties with foreign armed groups operating in Africa. These actions were framed as efforts to preserve national security and counter threats to Libyas stability. Earlier Thursday, the Russian embassy in Tripoli issued a public warning advising Russian citizens against traveling to Libya for personal or tourist purposes, citing significant dangers to life and health, particularly in western Libya. The advisory also discouraged using Libya as a transit route for travel by buses, cars, motorcycles, or bicycles, reiterating that the country is a non-tourist destination. The embassy attributed the warning to the ongoing tense military and political situation in Libya, underscoring the risks posed by unofficial travel to the region. Libyas Government of National Unity stressed its commitment to ensuring national security and maintaining the stability it has worked diligently to achieve in recent years, while seeking to resolve the matter diplomatically with Moscow. Brian Jackson, 48, on Feb. 28, 2024, to assaulting law enforcement during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Courtesy/U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia A Katy man who threw an American flag at police while he was at the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced Tuesday to more than three years in prison, months after pleading guilty to assault charges in federal court, according to court records. At the time of his sentencing, Jackson had already spent 26 months in prison, according to court documents Advertisement Article continues below this ad Who is Brian Scott Jackson? Jackson, 48, is an electrician from Katy, and is described as a father and husband in court documents. Prosecutors said Jackson had a criminal history dating back 30 years that includes convictions of terroristic threat, deadly conduct, burglary and aggravated robbery. Prosecutors also wrote that Jackson "associated himself with white supremacism" and had tattoos of Adolph Hitler's signature and of a swastika. Jackson's lawyers wrote he got the tattoos while serving time in a Texas prison and wanted to get the tattoos removed. Jackson's lawyers also wrote his best friend is a Black man. What did Jackson do on Jan. 6? Jackson and his younger brother, Adam Lejay Jackson, traveled to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 to attend former President Donald Trumps Stop the Steal rally. During the riot that sprang out of the rally, the Jacksons confronted police officers who had lined up in tactical gear to stop people from storming the Capitol building. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Brian Jackson was accused of throwing a long flag pole, with an attached American flag, at the officers. His brother was accused of taking a riot shield from the officers and then ramming them with it. The brothers then posted about their actions on Facebook. Before Jan. 6, Jackson texted his fiance about being excited about "civil unrest." "Goin down with my boots on," Jackson wrote. In court documents, Jackson's defense attorney said he was drunk on the day of the rally and chose to join people at the Capitol after seeing people entering the grounds on TV. "Brian Jackson went to the Capitol out of curiosity," attorney Carolyn Stewart wrote. Stewart called Jackson's action "a panicked, drunken act" to get to his brother who he thought had been taken by police. They returned to Texas on Jan. 7, 2021. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Brian Jackson is shown yelling at police officers at the Jan. 6, 2021 riot in Washington, D.C. Courtesy/Department of Justice What did Jackson tell other people after the rally? Brian Jackson later texted people saying he was proud of what he did, according to prosecutors. He also sent text messages that included racial slurs and boasted about chasing Black people off the street, according to prosecutors. He later deleted the messages, and asked other people to delete messages he had sent them. The brothers were arrested in June 2022. Jackson initially charged with multiple crimes, including obstructing law enforcement, entering a restricted building, impeding government business and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building. As part of his plea, all but the assault charge against Jackson was dropped. What happened to Jackson's brother? Adam Jackson pleaded guilty to assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers in September 2023. In March, he was sentenced to spend 52 weekends in jail and serve another 36 months probation. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In a sentencing memo, prosecutors said Brian Jackson warranted a longer sentence than his brother, because he didn't show remorse, in spite of his guilty plea. Among other things, Brian Jackson called himself a political prisoner and solicited donations on a fundraising website to benefit from his arrest. How many Houston-area people have been charged and convicted in connection to Jan. 6? The brothers are two of 19 Houston-area people who have been arrested and charged with crimes related to Jan. 6. Of those, 15 people have been convicted and received some sort of punishment. The punishments ranged between 7 years in prison for a man smashing Capitol windows with a tomahawk and throwing projectiles at police, and one year probation and a $500 fine for a man accused of taking selfies of himself inside the Capitol, which he entered during the riots. Advertisement Article continues below this ad One of the people charged died before being tried in court. The European Union has announced plans to bolster the operational capabilities of the Mauritanian and Chadian armies by providing advanced drone systems for reconnaissance and surveillance. This initiative aims to enhance the two African countries capacity to address regional security challenges effectively. According to a report by Africa Intelligence, Expertise France, the operational arm of the French Development Agency (AFD), has issued a call for proposals to supply the Mauritanian military with two state-of-the-art surveillance drone systems. Additionally, a similar system will be provided to the Chadian armed forces as part of the same initiative. This support will be funded through a significant aid package originally allocated seven years ago for the G5 Sahel countries. However, the funds were frozen due to various challenges in the region. Following recent geopolitical shifts, including the withdrawal of Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali from the G5 Sahel organization, the aid has been redirected to Mauritania and Chad. Valued at approximately 40 million euros, the funding is earmarked for the procurement of advanced military equipment. These resources are intended to strengthen the defense capabilities of both the Mauritanian and Chadian armies, enabling them to address cross-border threats and maintain regional stability. The provision of drones is expected to significantly improve the Mauritanian armys ability to monitor vast, remote areas prone to militant activity. For Chad, the advanced surveillance technology will enhance its role as a key security player in the Sahel, especially as instability persists in neighboring regions. This initiative underscores the European Unions commitment to supporting the security architecture of Sahel countries amidst evolving regional dynamics, aiming to promote peace and stability in the region. The Arab Parliament has lauded the leading role and sustained efforts of King Mohammed VI, Chairman of Al-Quds Committee, in defending the Palestinian cause. In a resolution on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories issued, on Saturday in Cairo, at a plenary session, the Arab Parliament also highlighted the work of Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency, an offshoot of the Al-Quds Committee, and its efforts to preserve the identity of the Holy City and its legal status, and to support the resistance of its inhabitants. The Arab Parliament also reiterated that resolving the Palestinian issue is the appropriate pathway towards establishing security and stability in the region and in the world. The Arab institution also called for joint efforts to support the admission of the State of Palestine as a full UN member and to implement the two-state solution, in line with internationally agreed benchmarks for the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state, with Al-Quds as its capital. The institution also welcomed Arab and international efforts calling for an immediate and urgent halt to the aggression in Gaza and a ceasefire, and for a settlement of the conflict in the region in accordance with the relevant international conventions. The plenary session of the Arab Parliament, chaired by Mohamed Ahmed Al Yamahi, Speaker of the Arab Parliament, discussed the latest developments in various political, security, social, legal, and human rights fields in the Arab region. It also examined the report of the first meeting of the Palestine Committee, as part of the Arab Parliaments focus on the Palestinian issue. House Speaker Mike Johnson listens as Trump outlines his presidential plans. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images Unlike in his first term, Donald Trump seems determined to hit the ground running when he takes office again on January 20, 2025. He clearly believes his narrow win over Kamala Harris and the congressional trifecta the Republican Party won by the smallest possible margin give him an unconditional popular mandate to do whatever he wants. And so far, Republican lawmakers have demonstrated little interest in pushing back on the president-elects extreme policy plans and rogue gallery of Cabinet nominees. But theres only so much that can be done in a day, even when youre president, and Congress has its own priorities. So how quickly can Trump and his Republican allies enact his agenda? Heres a look at the likely timetable for 2025. . The key to implementing Trumps legislative agenda will be the budget-reconciliation process that enables Congress to bypass the Senate filibuster and enact a big package of new laws on an up-or-down party-line vote. This is how Trump got his tax cuts in 2017 and how he tried to repeal Obamacare. Items in a budget-reconciliation bill must be focused on fiscal matters, but its still a huge asset to a party that controls the White House and both chambers of Congress. Its beginning to look like Team Trump wants two budget-reconciliation bills, one focused on authorizing the huge buildup in border-security resources necessary for Trumps mass deportation of undocumented immigrants and another aimed at extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts. Theres increasing talk of a very quick start on the first bill. Since the 119th Congress will be sworn in on January 3, Congress could get moving on a budget resolution setting up this bill even before Trump takes office. . Moving with unusual haste, Trump has announced 52 picks for high-ranking positions that will require Senate confirmation but he cant make any official nominations until hes sworn in on January 20. Confirmation hearings will need to be scheduled, along with committee and floor votes. According to Ballotpedia, the average time for confirmation of Trump nominees after they were submitted to the GOP-controlled Senate in 2017 was 37 days. Thats probably about as fast as the Senate can process Trumps picks even if there are no major holdups or controversies. Once hes sworn in, Trump can take action on a wide variety of promises without any help from Congress. This includes pardoning at least some of the January 6 insurrectionists, imposing emergency tariffs, and canceling or reversing executive orders issued by Joe Biden. When Trump declared that he would be a dictator on day one, he said hed prioritize reversing Bidens policies on border security and fossil-fuel use. Were closing the border and were drilling, drilling, drilling, Trump told Sean Hannity. After that, Im not a dictator. Okay? Several of Trumps proposed day-one actions will undoubtedly face immediate legal challenges, as they raise major constitutional questions. These include his desire to revive the Nixonesque practice of presidential impoundment of appropriations and to eliminate birthright citizenship via executive order. You can expect the upcoming regime to churn out as many new policies as possible, then determine which to prioritize in the courts or by way of congressional authorizations. . The first budget-reconciliation bill could wind up on Trumps desk very quickly, perhaps within a month of the inauguration. At that point, there will have to be a reckoning about how to handle the Trump-administration priorities that didnt get included in the initial blitz. . Congress is currently putting the final touches on a stopgap spending bill to keep the federal government functioning past December 20, when a previous continuing resolution expires. The consensus is that the new bill will extend current spending levels until mid-March 2025. At that point, the new Republican-controlled Congress can scrap spending compromises they made with Democrats during the past two years of divided government. Thanks to the fiscal math implied in Trumps priorities, along with pent-up conservative demands for massive domestic spending cuts, the odds are high that final spending levels will include increased defense spending and major reductions in the discretionary programs not protected by Trump as sacred cows (e.g., Social Security and Medicare). If Congress fails to act by mid-March there could theoretically be a government shutdown, but unified GOP control of Congress makes that unlikely. . Another decision point for the new regime will be the end of a national debt-limit suspension set by a bipartisan deal in mid-2023. Technically, the suspension ends on January 1, 2025, but the U.S. Treasury will be able to paper over it with a temporary measure to pay Uncle Sams bills for a few months. The current calculation is that Congress will need to either increase or suspend the debt limit by June to avoid a default on government obligations and a financial crisis. Members of Congress in both parties (but especially Republicans) are traditionally reluctant to vote for debt-limit measures; some flatly refuse regardless of the circumstances. But Wall Street will insist on it happening, which likely means a debt-limit increase or suspension will be nestled in some other must-pass legislation. If Republicans pursue the two-reconciliation-bill strategy for enacting Trumps legislative agenda, including the debt limit in the second one would make a lot of sense. . The 2017 Trump tax cuts expire at the end of 2025, so Republicans have an additional incentive to get a second budget reconciliation passed by then. This will be Wall Streets and K Streets reward for supporting the rest of the Trump agenda. But the dessert of tax cuts may involve first identifying the broccoli of offsetting spending cuts, or perhaps relaying on tariffs to raise federal revenues. All in all, triumphant Republicans have a lot on their plate right now. From a historical perspective, its very likely Democrats will flip the House in the 2026 midterms, so theyll have to move fast to enact everything on Trumps wish list. Donald Trump is back, and so is the maximum pressure campaign against Iran to drastically throttle Tehrans oil sales. But 2025 is not 2018. Although Iran was on the ropes then, things are different now. Americas support for Israels campaigns against the Palestinian and Lebanese people has eroded local support for U.S. moves, as many Middle East capitals are doubtful about maximum pressure and feel it will increase regional tensions. Saudi Arabia and Iran are drawing closer since 2023, when they agreed to resume ties. The Saudi crown prince recently spoke to Irans new president. Their military chiefs held defense talks last month, and the countries are increasing economic ties. The presidents of the United Arab Emirates and Iran held their first face-to-face talks in October, and UAE-Iran trade is on the upswing. In addition, Qatar (which shares a natural gas field with Iran) and Iran are trying to broaden their economic ties. The oil market has changed since 2018 as well. According to Argus Media, Irans oil exports, which were below 500,000 barrels per day through the second half of 2019 and 2020 due to Trump-era sanctions, began increasing in 2021 and have increased every year since. Iran has expanded its network to bypass sanctions, and has expanded its tanker fleet so if the U.S. again sanctions Iran, it will find the remaining buyers are those who do not necessarily fear sanctions. Related: Top 5 Best-Performing Energy Stocks This Year After his election, President Masoud Pezeshkian announced his program in My Message to the New World and declared his intent to strengthen relations with Irans neighbors. He emphasized the need for a strong region, said he hoped for constructive dialogue with Europe, criticized the Obama administrations nuclear deal with Iran, and urged Washington come to terms with reality. In October, then-candidate Trump declared, I would like to see Iran be very successful. The only thing is, they cant have a nuclear weapon. His running mate, JD Vance, agreed: Our interest very much is in not going to war with Iran, he said. It would be a huge distraction of resources. It would be massively expensive to our country. These are hopeful signs of a desire to reach a negotiated solution, but the U.S. has a habit of abandoning inconvenient commitments, such as its first nuclear deal with Iran. Irans stronger relations with Russia and China have also added to its resilience. In March 2021, China and Iran signed a 25-year Comprehensive Strategic Partnership agreement that enhances bilateral relations and includes $400 billion investments in Irans oil, gas, petrochemicals, transportation and manufacturing sectors. In return, China will receive a steady and discounted supply of Iranian oil. Russia has supplied Iran with Su-35 fighter jets, Mi-28 attack helicopters and Yak-130 pilot training aircraft; Iran has sent Russia drones and ballistic missiles. Non-military trade is also increasing. The Moscow Times reports, Russian exports to Iran rose 27% last year, and Russian imports from Iran increased 10%. Both sides have agreed to scale up trade in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, while Russia has pledged to invest an unprecedented $40 billion in Irans oil and gas sector. Despite its economic problems, Iran increased its military budget. It is signaling it is willing to negotiate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) but not under pressure. Irans foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, clarified that when he told state television, There is still an opportunity for diplomacy, although this opportunity is not much. It is a limited opportunity. In November, the IAEA reported Iran was implementing measures aimed at stopping the increase of its stockpile [of near bomb-grade uranium] though IAEA also noted Iran increased its inventory of 60 percent enriched uranium by 60 percent since August 2024. But the IAEA board is determined to test Tehrans patience as, two days after the IAEA report, it passed a resolution censuring Iran for insufficient cooperation with the agency. Irans President Pezeshkian says he is open to U.S. engagement: Whether we like it or not, we will face the United States in regional and international arenas, and its better that we manage this arena ourselves. Shargh, the reformist daily newspaper, editorialized that Pezeshkian must avoid past mistakes and assume a pragmatic and multidimensional policy, though others are skeptical anything will change under Trump. Trump ally Elon Musk reportedly met Irans permanent representative to the United Nations in November, and addressed how to defuse tensions between the two countries. The meeting would not have happened without Trumps approval. Trump will not want to start a war with Iran, as he will be sensitive to the impact on the U.S. economy, so sanctions (and the occasional Israeli attack) may be his only options. If so, and if Irans economy and oil export scheme is resilient enough, and Russia and China remain constant, we may be looking at years of low-level conflict, to the delight of the American and Israeli hard-liners. Each side lacks empathy for the other the result of years of successful propagandizing. All the while, the hard-liners in each capital see conflict as key to their continued influence, and reap economic rewards from the status quo. There is a deadline for negotiations with Iran: Oct. 18, 2025, sees the end of the sanctions snapback mechanism, the last opportunity for world powers to return to all the sanctions that were lifted in the [Iran nuclear] agreement. If the U.S. wants to expand a new nuclear deal to include ballistic missiles or Irans foreign policy, Iran may suggest similar limits on other countries in the region, and then demand the deal be a treaty to bind future U.S. administrations. The American political class and its media acolytes have only one strategy more sanctions and are ill-equipped for peaceable dealings with Iran. If both sides are realistic, throttle the hard-liners, and Iran offers Trump a deal he feels only he could have made, we may see peace, stability and more economic opportunity for the youth of the Middle East. Maximum pressure is a slogan, not a strategy. If Iran says yes, what will Washington do? By James Durso for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Adam Jackson (circled in yellow) pictured rushing law enforcement officers with a riot shield during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Courtesy Justice Department A 43-year-old Katy man admitted Friday to hurling a cone-like object at law enforcement officers and using a stolen police riot shield during the Jan. 6 breach on the Capitol building. Adam Lejay Jackson pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia to a felony offense of assaulting a federal officer. Jackson was charged in June 2022, along with his co-defendant and brother, Brian Jackson. The Jacksons flew with a friend to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, 2021, to protest Congress certification of the Electoral College after the 2020 U.S. presidential election, according to court documents. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Katy brothers Brian (circled in red) and Adam Jackson (circled in yellow flashing a white supremacist hand signal), allegedly pictured participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. The brothers were charged with assaulting police officers. Courtesy Justice Department Before marching to the Capitol, Jackson attended the Stop the Steal rally on the National Mall, court documents said. After the rally, Jackson went to the West Plaza of the Capitol and spoke to fellow rioters. During the banter, court documents said Jackson asked the rioters, Are we going in? He also told them We got your back, If one goes, we all go and What are we doing standing here? Lets go! As rioters began aggressively interacting with law enforcement, Jackson climbed a ladder around 4:15 p.m. and pulled out his cellphone to record what was happening at the Capitol building, court records show. Jackson rejoined the rioters at 4:57 p.m. at the Lower West Terrace. As law enforcement tried fending off the rioters, Jackson hurled a large red and orange cone-like object at them and then charged at officers by ramming them with the stolen police riot shield, according to court documents. Days later, on Jan. 10, Jackson began messaging someone back and forth on Facebook, court records said. During the online conversation, the unknown individual told Jackson that it looked like they were all up in it, to which Jackson replied, We were. Im f****** pissed at what is happening and the things that are being covered up. Jackson also told the unknown user that he would do his best to attend President Joe Bidens inauguration and that hes working on it. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Jacksons sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 9, according to a Justice Department news release. Brian Jackson has not pleaded yet after being accused of throwing a flagpole at law enforcement during the breach. 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 A startup aiming to become Japan's first private firm to put a satellite into orbit postponed a rocket launch for the second day running on Sunday, after its first try ended in a mid-air explosion. Tokyo-based Space One had initially scheduled liftoff for its Kairos rocket for 11:00 am (0200 GMT) on Saturday, but pushed the launch back 24 hours because of high wind speeds. It postponed the launch again on Sunday because of similar weather conditions, Space One executive Kozo Abe told reporters. "As it was the case yesterday, we assessed that the condition of high-altitude wind above the launch pad was not desirable. We made the decision to postpone the launch," he told a press conference. He said the firm was in talks with authorities to set a new launch time, with Space One hoping it will be 11:00 am on Wednesday. In March, the solid-fuel Kairos, carrying a small government test satellite, lifted off for the first time from the Space One launch pad, dubbed Spaceport Kii. But seconds later, technical problems were detected and a self-destruct order was sent to the 18-meter (60-foot) rocket. It erupted in flames, sending white smoke billowing around the remote mountainous area. Hundreds of spectators, gathered at public viewing areas including a nearby waterfront, witnessed the dramatic scene. In the second launch attempt, the rocket was supposed to carry five satellites, including one from the Taiwan Space Agency and others designed by Japanese students and corporate ventures. Space One was founded in 2018 by major businesses including Canon Electronics, IHI Aerospace, construction firm Shimizu, and the government-run Development Bank of Japan. The company is hoping to establish itself in a competitive international field by launching small rockets, quickly, for businesses seeking to put satellites into space. 2024 AFP This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: CC0 Public Domain There's a universe of possible outcomes if the Supreme Court takes up the TikTok case, a Northeastern University legal scholar says, including a ruling that signals a "slippery slope" toward more restrictions on constitutional freedoms of speech. The stakes are high, says Sahar Abi-Hassan, assistant professor of political science on Northeastern's Oakland campus. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit earlier this month upheld a bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden in April that ordered the video app to either divest from its Chinese-based owner or be banned from the U.S. app market. If the high court agrees to hear TikTok's appeal, it may consider the scope of freedom of speech through the "novel issue" of social media, Abi-Hassan says. "(It would) resolve some of these questions about whether social media can operate as freely as the press," she says. If the Supreme Court upholds the lower court's Dec. 6 ruling, the decision would "change the framework in how we interpret the First Amendment and open a door for further restrictions by the government on freedom of speech and freedom of the press," Abi-Hassan says. Upholding the law and enforcing any eventual ban would prevent 170 million users in the U.S. from being able to express themselves and to associate with each other, she says, "which are pretty much the fundamentals under the First Amendment." TikTok is also how millions of people get their news, Abi-Hassan says. Yet historically, the Supreme Court has been reluctant to put restrictions on speech, she says. And in spite of the court's conservative majority, it is not split on freedom of speech, Abi-Hassan says. "This is not really an ideological case," she says. "I doubt that they would actually think that we should put further restrictions on freedom of speech." TikTok, and its Chinese owner ByteDance, fell under investigation in the U.S. almost as soon as the video app was created in 2016. But scrutiny intensified during Donald Trump's first presidency when he issued an executive order requiring the company to sell its U.S.-based assets to an American company. That order unraveled, but in the spring, Congress passed a bipartisan bill to force TikTok to sell to a U.S. company. The high court may decide to take the case out of deference to the other two branches of government, Abi-Hassan says. The recent law passed with bipartisan support and, in the past, the president-elect has supported reining in TikTok. If the Supreme Court were to take the case, one possible outcome is a "plurality decision," where the majority opinion is signed by less than the five justices required to set precedent, Abi-Hassan says. If the court rules in favor of the government, the lower court's ruling would stand, TikTok would have to sell or be banned but no precedent would be set. If the court rules in favor of TikTok in a "plurality opinion," the lower court's decision would be overturned but the case wouldn't set precedent. "It gives the government a win without necessarily changing the interpretation of the First Amendment in the long run," Abi-Hassan says. But lack of precedent doesn't mean the ruling wouldn't have an impact on future cases. Legal advocates could still use the logic of the arguments in future litigation. Whatever the outcome, she adds, the impact would be on all businesses that collect user data. "What the government is trying to stop is not unique to TikTok," Abi-Hassan says. "That's how all platforms work, not just social media platforms but even shopping platforms." This story is republished courtesy of Northeastern Global News news.northeastern.edu. ***YEAR IN REVIEW*** WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 06: Pro-Trump protesters gather in front of the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. A pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol, breaking windows and clashing with police officers. Trump supporters gathered in the nation's capital today to protest the ratification of President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory over President Trump in the 2020 election. (Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images) Jon Cherry, Stringer / Getty Images Twice this week, President Elect Donald Trump said he intends to pardon people prosecuted or convicted in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the Capitol to attempt to overturn the presidential election. In an interview with Time Magazine published Thursday, Trump said the pardons could come within the first nine minutes of his presidency. But Trump has so far been vague how many of the more than 1,500 people charged with crimes related to insurrection will be pardoned. Advertisement Article continues below this ad MORE ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Three Texans among those pardoned by Biden, in largest single day act of clemency in history Trump told Time that his decision would be on a case-by-case basis, but also said a majority of should not be in jail. Trump said that his pardons would be given to nonviolent people. On an earlier appearance on NBC's Meet the Press, Trump said he might withhold a pardon if somebody was radical, crazy, What Trump ultimately decides could have implications for a handful of Houston area people who been convicted of Jan. 6 related crimes, or who have yet to be sentenced. Nineteen people from Harris County or surrounding counties have been charged in connection to Jan. 6. Most have been convicted and already completed their prison sentences, if they were sentenced to prison at all. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The people who remain in prison were convicted after being accused of bringing weapons to the Capitol and using them to attack police officers. How many Houston-area people remain in prison over their Jan.6 convictions? There are three local men currently being held in federal prison following their convictions. Shane Jenkins, 45, of Houston, was caught on videos posted to social media wielding a tomahawk axe that he used to smash a window during the Jan. 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol. FBI Shane Jenkins, 47, of Houston, was sentenced to 84 months in prison in October 2023. Jenkins brought a tomahawk to the rally and used it to smash a Capitol window, which allowed him and other rioters to enter a conference room. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Once inside, the rioters broke furniture to make improvised weapons, which they used to attack police in an entrance tunnel to the Capitol He was convicted by a jury. While Jenkins told a judge that he regretted his actions, he also attempted to profit from them. After being arrested, Jenkins sold T-shirts and other merchandise identifying himself as a political prisoner. Jenkins prison sentence is scheduled to end in February 2027. Houston man Andrew Quentin Taake was recently arrested for allegedly pepper spraying and whipping police officers during the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection after someone he matched with on a dating site reported him to authorities, according to the FBI. FBI Andrew Taake, 36, of Houston, was sentenced to spend more than 6 years in prison after being convicted of assaulting Capitol officers. Taake attacked police officers with bear spray and struck officers with a metal whip. He later bragged about his participation in the riot on a dating app. The woman he was speaking to on the app turned him into the FBI. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Taake is scheduled to be released from prison in October 2026. Brian Jackson, 48, on Feb. 28, 2024, to assaulting law enforcement during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Courtesy/U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Brian Jackson, 50, of Katy, was convicted of assault and other charges in August. He was sentenced to spend 37 months in prison. Jackson was accused of using a flagpole to attack Capitol officers who were guarding a tunnel. Jackson used the flagpole like a spear and eventually threw it at the officers. Prosecutors said he later bragged how proud he was to attend the riot. Jackson is scheduled to be released from prison on Jan. 21, 2025, the day after the inauguration. Jacksons brother, Adam Jackson, was also convicted of assaulting police officers during the riot. Adam Jackson received a shorter sentence, which included 36 months probation and a court order to spend 52 consecutive weekends in jail. Those orders end in April. Advertisement Article continues below this ad How many people from Houston were charged with January 6 crimes? At least 19 people from the Houston area have been charged with crimes related to Jan. 6, and 18 have been convicted. The only person not convicted after being charged was William Mellors, who died in October 2023. Of those people who have been convicted, 12 were sentenced to spend time in prison. The punishment ranges varied, from as few as 14 days to more than 6 years. Fifteen of the local people convicted were also ordered to remain on probation or supervised release after their release from prison. Those sentences were scheduled to last between 1 and 3 years, according to court records. Two of the people convicted hadnt been sentenced as of Friday. One of them, Nathan Mackie, of Magnolia, is scheduled to be sentenced Monday. Mackie is accused of unlawfully entering the Capitol and spending about two minutes inside. In September, he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. According to court documents, Mackie could be sentenced to up to a year in prison. What does a pardon do? The President of the United States has the power to issue two forms of clemency: a commutation or a pardon. A commutation can reduce a sentence, but it doesnt change that a person was convicted and doesnt remove other civil penalties that come with being a convicted felon. For instance, people convicted of a federal crime are barred from buying or owning guns, and from serving on federal juries. A pardon is more expansive than a commutation, and wipes out both a conviction and any civil penalties that come with it. How will Trump hand out pardons? While Trump said in his interviews that he would review Jan. 6 cases on a case-by-case basis, sources within his transition team have said they are considering a blanket pardon for people charged with certain offenses. Agreement reached: Free beach access to Tulum Jaguar Park Tulum, Q.R. UPDATED: An agreement has been reached with the federal government to allow free beach access to the Jaguar Park of Tulum. Municipal Mayor Diego Castanon Trejo said the agreement was reached December 14 and effective immediately. Mayor Diego Castanon Trejo says an agreement has been reached with the federal government to allow free beach access. According to Castanon Trejo, as of December 14, 2024, local residents with an INE voter card can access the beaches of the Jaguar Park free of charge. Citizens of Tulum! From now on, you have free access to the beautiful beaches of Jaguar Park by presenting your INE. Lets enjoy the natural beauty of our municipality at no cost, he said on his social media Saturday. The agreement was reached after a public protest Saturday where locals voiced their anger at being charged to enter a municipal beach area. Protestors vowed to return again Sunday to voice their frustration at being shut out of the newly developed area unless they pay. A second march was scheduled for December 15 to demand free access to what is supposed to be a public beach. One of the Saturday protestors, Vicente O, said he believes the beaches are being privatized under the pretext of conservation. He said the group Saturday were demanding the elimination of access fees and the reestablishment of free entry to the federal beaches. Tulum protestors met Saturday. Photo: December 14, 2024. The beaches belong to all Mexicans by decree, but now they are charging us and putting up filters as if they were private property , he said. He says the restrictions not only affect local residents, but also make access difficult for tourists. The worst thing is that local people are no longer coming and the most affected are those from nearby communities who have the right to enjoy what is theirs without having to pay for it, he said. Vicente O claims the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas (Conanp) and the parks management company are controlling beach access under pretenses, something that is affecting everyone. The group protested beach access fees outside the main gate of the Tulum Jaguar Park. Photo: December 14, 2024. According to Conanp, the fee to have full access to the park is 365.00 pesos for national visitors and is broken down: Base entrance (CONANP): $80 MXN Additional fee (Jaguar Park): $195 MXN Access to the archaeological zone: $90 MXN Total: $365 MXN The recent changes to the area were made after nearly 3,000 hectares was deemed a Natural Protected Area by the federal government in 2023. The Government of Mexico labeled the new Jaguar Park as an ecological-recreational park, a space that promotes cultural, creative and natural tourism. Photo: Secretaria de la Defensa Nacional The Jaguar Park emerged as a project aimed at the preservation and conservation of the Jaguar, which in turn, seeks to regulate, manage, organize and integrate existing activities in the park, promoting the care of nature, through cultural, recreational and tourist attractions with low environmental impact, inclusive and accessible to all visitors, the government stated. Photo: Secretaria de la Defensa Nacional The Parque del Jaguar is an area of approximately 2,913 hectares and is made up of the Tulum National Park (Parque Nacional Tulum) and the Jaguar Flora and Fauna Protection Area (Area de Proteccion de Flora y Fauna Jaguar) located in the municipality of Tulum. UPDATE December 26, 2024: Governor Mara Lezama has confirmed that all Tulum residents have free access to the Jaguar Park, as well as all nationals and foreigners who prove their residency. All aboard! Entire 1,554 kilometers of Mexicos Maya Train circuit open for travel Chetumal, Q.R. All seven routes for the 1,554 kilometers of Tren Maya are up and running. On December 15, 2024 President Claudia Sheinbaum inaugurated the remaining two circuits in the states capital city of Chetumal. President Sheinbaum inaugurated the last two routes that complete the Maya Train circuit. Photo: Govt Mexico December 15, 2024. On Sunday, President Sheinbaum, along with dignitaries including state governor Mara Lezama, inaugurated sections 6 and 7. With the inauguration, all 1,554 kilometers of the circuit is now open. The Tren Maya project, which was started by former president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, took four years to complete. The Sunday inauguration took place in front of Chetumal Bay and was attended by the governors through which the Maya Train runs. Thus, we can firmly and clearly assure that we continue in a process of profound transformation, which comes with the loading stations of the Maya train, in that political institutional transformation, but also above all in a moral transformation, in a way of governing that I have decided to call the New Agreement for the Well-being and Development of Quintana Roo, Lezama emphasized during her speech Sunday. The entire Tren Maya route is now connected. President Sheinbaum reiterated that the Maya Train does social justice and is with and for the communities of the southeastern region of the country. The Chetumal. station for sections 6 and 7 are open. Photo: Govt Mexico December 15, 2024. Sheinbaum announced the construction of the Mexico Nuevo Laredo and Mexico Nogales trains. The Maya Train is a symbol of the Fourth Transformation of public life in Mexico and starting October 1st, we are building the second stage. We will expand it with the cargo train and we will connect it with the interoceanic train. The Tren Maya circuit offers archaeological, cultural and natural reserve attractions in Mexicos southeastern regions. The Maya train tells the world, so it can be heard clearly and far away, that Mexicans come from far away, but we also go far with hope in our hearts and the pride of the cultural greatness that gives us identity that sustains Mexican humanism, she said. Lezama and Sheinbaum arrive at the Chetumal Tren Maya station Sunday. Photo: Govt Mexico December 15, 2024. The Maya Train is today and always will be the pride of our nation with the recognition of the indigenous peoples who forged our past and are the great guardians of the future. Long live the feat of the Maya Train, she said Sunday. Archaeological sites of Kohunlich, Dzibanche, El Meco and Chacchoben reopen in Quintana Roo Riviera Maya, Q.R. The archaeological sites of Kohunlich, Dzibanche, El Meco and Chacchoben have reopened in Quintana Roo. According to the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), the sites now feature new infrastructure. Photo: CINAH Quintana Roo The Ministry of Culture of the Government of Mexico, through the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), announces the reopening of four archaeological sites in Quintana Roo. The General Director of the INAH, Diego Prieto Hernandez, says the sites feature new infrastructure in their service units, trails, parking lots and signage. Also, the pre-Hispanic monuments of some sites were the subject of various restoration actions within the framework of the Program for the Improvement of Archaeological Zones (Promeza). El Meco in Cancun was also updated with a new pedestrian walkway to the beach, which will complement the experience of its visitors. Photo: CINAH Quintana Roo The anthropologist explained that after the work of the Promeza project, the archaeological sites have transformed their image and functionality with new bus stops and modern facilities, and updated information sheets based on new data derived from research work. Photo: CINAH Quintana Roo Prieto Hernandez says these improvements will allow for a more meaningful experience for tourists, both those already familiar with Quintana Roos heritage, as well as those who are visiting it for the first time. Local group participates in sargablock building Puerto Morelos, Q.R. A group of locals participated in an environmental awareness day to learn about sargablocks. The group of around two dozen locals learned about the BlueGreen Mexico sargassum project in a nursery in Puerto Morelos. Interested volunteers participated in learning about the sustainable project that focuses on addressing the problem of sargassum in the Mexican Caribbean. Omar Vazquez, Project Director and owner of BlueGreen Mexico, shared biological information about sargassum, how the project came about and the impact it has had at a national and international level. The group toured the first house Vazquez made with his sargablocks, Casa Angelita, which required more than 2,000 blocks. According to Vazquez, the first studies carried out on the sargassum block maintain that a piece contains between 40 percent and 60 percent sargassum. Casa Angelita was the first house constructed from the sargassum-based building blocks. Photo: Omar Vazquez A finished sargablock has characteristics similar to adobe and makes the spaces cooler. Volunteers were able to make a sargablock by hand to experience the complete process. Once mixed, the sargassum block was left in the sun for six hours to dry. Jossy Zamora, the Director of Ecocaribe who also participated, said to date, seven houses made from sargablocks have been donated in Quintana Roo for older adults and single women. Zamora said the sargablocks made during the one-day class will be set aside for the next house that is donated. Roadside breathalyzers will return to all Quintana Roo municipalities this holiday season Riviera Maya, Q.R. After a four year lapse in roadside screening, state officials say the breathalyzer will return to Quintana Roo. Julio Cesar Gomez Torres, the Secretario de Seguridad Ciudadana (SSC) of the state says all 11 municipalities will participate this holiday season. Julio Cesar Gomez Torres Gomez Torres says historically, it is during the month of December that there is an increase in alcoholic beverage consumption. He says the goal is to discourage alcohol consumption among drivers or to prevent those who consume alcohol from driving under the influence. This Christmas season we will implement the breathalyzer operation on different days and times. According to the analysis and capabilities, we have to cover the entire state, he reported. The head of the SCC says the roadside testing will consist of blowing into a device that measure the percentage of alcohol in a drivers breath. That result provides an indicator of the degree of alcohol intoxication of the person. He says the test is considered positive when the level of alcohol in the blood is higher than 0.8 grams per liter (g/lt) of blood or 0.4 milligrams per liter of exhaled air. Roadside testing will be across the state this holiday season. Photo: Govt Quintana Roo Gomez Torres commented that in the past, the testing was a form of corruption, however, this year, all tests will be given in the presence of personnel from the Comptrollers Office of the State of Quintana Roo. Gomez Torres says driving while intoxicated will result in an arrest, jail time and a fine as well as a towed vehicle. Shane Jenkins, 45, of Houston, was found guilty Wednesday of smashing a window with a tomahawk axe during the Jan. 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol. United States District Court for the District of Columbia A Houston man is facing seven years in prison and other penalties for felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol siege, federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., said. Shane Jenkins, 45, was convicted of assaulting a law enforcement officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon and destruction of government property along with five other felonies and two misdemeanors, prosecutors said in a statement. Jenkins was also sentenced on Friday to 36 months of supervised release and must pay more than $5,000 in restitution. Jenkins struck a Capitol window with a metal tomahawk six times while riling up the crowd around him. Other rioters joined in to destroy the window and get into the building, prosecutors said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad MORE ON THIS: Houston man found guilty of smashing window with tomahawk axe during Jan. 6 US Capitol siege Shane Jenkins, 45, of Houston, was caught on videos posted to social media wielding a tomahawk axe that he used to smash a window during the Jan. 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol. FBI Jenkins told rioters, "Bro, we're going in that f building one way or another" and "We paid for it; it's our f building," according to the news release. Jenkins and other rioters disassembled the furniture inside to use as weapons against officers trying to block an entryway into a Capitol tunnel. Later, he would hurl a solid wooden desk drawer, a broken wooden spearlike pole at police and seven other objects before leaving the Capitol, the release said. Jenkins publicly posted about the insurrection on social media before and after to brag about his involvement and say that he wanted to interfere with the election. In one post cited by prosecutors he wrote, "I have murder in my heart and head." Advertisement Article continues below this ad Houston resident Shane Jenkins can be seen in video posted on Twitter, video captured by police bodycams and on Capitol security footage during the riot throwing multiple items at officers, including a pole, a desk drawer, some type of metal rod and a flagpole, according to charging documents. Courtesy U.S. Department of Justice According to the release, Jenkins traveled from Houston to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5 to participate in the insurrection. He was arrested on March 5, 2021, in Houston and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. A website touts Jenkins as the founder of a group that seeks to shed light on the January 6th defendants and the treatment they have faced from the government. The website sells T-shirts, hoodies, hats, tote bags and other merchandise with Jan. 6-themed slogans, including Free the J6 political prisoners and Want my vote? Help the J6ers. Another shirt for sale features former President Donald Trump's mugshot over the words Indicted we stand. The website also commemorates Jenkins' own role in the riot. It displays a cartoon avatar of Jenkins, nicknamed Skullet, and a logo depicting crossed tomahawks below a silhouette of the Capitol building. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Prosecutors don't know how much money Jenkins has generated from the website's merchandise sales. But they said he has used another fundraising site to collect more than $118,000 in donations. More than 1,100 people across the country have been charged with crimes tied to Jan. 6, and more than one-third have been charged with the felony of assaulting or impeding law enforcement. Around 80% of the people indicted for involvement with the insurrection were caught via social media, according to data from the George Washington University Program on Extremism. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. In many ways, 2024 felt like one big victory lap for Sydney Sweeney. Since her romantic comedy Anyone but You became the surprise hit of the winter, the 27-year-old has been making the most of her moment: She hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time in March. She secured a $7.5 million paycheck for an upcoming role, making her one of the best-paid actresses of her cohort. Just weeks ago, she landed a coveted spot on the cover of Vanity Fairs Hollywood issue. Amid all this success, it would have been easy to miss one of the other things Sweeney did during her annus mirabilis: She promoted a very ugly pair of shoes. In August, HeyDude, a brand best known for its boat shoes, named Sweeney its global spokeswoman, or director of Dude. At the time, I was just one of many people who scratched their head over why one of the hottest actresses around was lending her star power to these boxy monstrosities. Sweeney said nothing, letting the photos she posted on Instagram of her showing off her tush while her feet were ensconced in HeyDudes do the talking. I probably would have forgotten all about the mystery of the hot girl and the hideous shoes if it didnt essentially repeat itself a month and change later, when Sweeney reemerged with another out-of-left-field product to sell: This time, it was Dr. Squatch mens body wash, and the shamelessness was part of the pitch. Hello, you dirty little boys, she said in one video, sitting in a bathtub, her decolletage peeking out from under copious bubbles. Are you interested in my body wash? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I couldnt make sense of these two wildly embarrassing ads right in a row. After years of steady work, Sweeney finally got a toehold on the A-list this year. Was it really worth risking it all for the quick buck appearing in these ads would generate? Its not that I was taken aback by the thought of a celebrity shilling for something; its more that theres a hierarchy to these things, and youd expect someone like Sweeney to have her own brand, as so many celebs do these daysor at the very least to hold out for a Skims campaign. Shouldnt she and her team be being more thoughtful about curating her image than the average mercenary influencer who takes any deal that comes their way? Advertisement At some point, I made my way to Sweeneys Instagram account and discovered that HeyDude and Dr. Squatch arent the half of it. She also has deals with a skin care line, a hair care line, a beverage, a phonethe list goes on. Is there anything she wont sell? Hence those cheeky Dr. Squatch ads. Its almost a joke at this point. Shes alluded to it in interviews: Shes got money on her mind, and shes strategic about her career. And it seems to be working for her, with no discernible impact on her ability to book roles and win over fans. What if I was the one being old-fashioned about this? Could we all stand to embrace Sweeneys hustler mindset? Advertisement There was an easy shortcut to doing so: I could buy everything shes selling. So I did. I ordered a pair of the ugly shoes and a bottle of the mens body wash. At Sephora, I bought products from brands I would normally be lucky enough to encounter only via free sample. I looked at, like, five different supermarkets for the drink she plugs. My superiors warned me not to go too crazy, so I stopped after I spent about $250, meaning I didnt get any Miu Miu clothes or Jimmy Choo shoes out of this experiment, to name two of the more high-end brands Sweeney has worked with (though I do wonder how Jimmy Choo feels about Sweeneys other footwear sponsorship). Advertisement Advertisement How did it go? Lets start with what I regard as Sweeneys original sin: the HeyDudes. Browsing the companys website for a pair, I remember aiming to find the most inconspicuous-seeming ones I could. If I had to wear these shoes that people online likened to wearing a loaf of bread on each foot, I at least would not be wearing Mean Girlsthemed loaves. This is how I settled on the Wendy Stretch Sox in navy, which retail for $59.99. It didnt matter, though: They were ugly however you sliced them. I thought the problem was the enormous toe box, but others couldnt stop talking about the laces, which one person in my life insisted protrude out of the shoes in a startingly similar manner to the way Shreks ears stick out of his head. (Good thing I didnt get them in green.) Advertisement Advertisement I felt embarrassed every time I put them on. I wore them to the office only once, on a day when I didnt have any plans afterward, so it would matter less that the theme of my ensemble was I give up. This plan backfired when an invitation to see a movie with a friend materialized: I said yes, but first I felt the need to warn her about what my feet would look like. Who doesnt love a shoe that requires an advance apology? In truth, they were also just not practical for meIm walking city streets most of the time. My feet get cold. Advertisement Sweeney, in contrast, seems like someone who might have a reason to wear boat shoes. On the HeyDude website, theres a little section where she talks about her work as director of Dude, and she mentions that she recently tried wakesurfing. She writes: Being the Director of Dude is truly just embracing the power of being a woman, and being able to do absolutely anything I set my mind to, and showing others that you can do anything too if you just want to try it out. That doesnt mean a whole lot to me, but you could argue that saying yes to seemingly every single brand that approaches her is an example of Sweeney living out this philosophy. And in all seriousness, these are far from the first ugly shoes to catch on. New silhouettes in fashion always look weird and ugly until they dont. HeyDudes corporate parent is actually the grandfather of ugly shoe brands, Crocs, which acquired the company in 2022 for $2.5 billion. Sales have been down since Sweeney signed on, but Crocs recently installed the marketing executive whos widely credited with making Stanley Cups and the infamous clogs themselves cool. He told the Wall Street Journal that he believes getting young women on board will be key to the brands success. Given his track record, I wouldnt bet against him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dr. Squatchs products are technically even more not for me than boat shoes, given that theyre aimed exclusively at men, but I didnt let that stop me. Sweeney signed on with the decade-old grooming brand to hawk its new body wash, which is described on its website as the natural liquid soap so epic itll instantly become your main squeeze. Its available in the scents Wood Barrel Bourbon, Pine Tar, Fresh Falls, and Coconut Castaway. My natural inclination was to choose Coconut Castaway, but feeling as if I should make a more masculine choice to really commune with the purpose of the product, I opted for the Pine Tar ($15). Its been completely serviceable. I sometimes notice the little beads from it stuck under my bathroom mat, but apart from that, no complaints. Body wash seems like one of those things that really dont vary that strongly from brand to brand, in my experience. Which is, I suppose, why you hire someone like Sydney Sweeney to star in ridiculous ads when youre looking to promote a new one. That much made sense to me. I was still less clear on why Sweeney said yes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A couple of years ago, as Sweeneys star was rising, she got what may have been her first taste of mainstream backlash for the way she spoke about money in a Hollywood Reporter interview. She worked so much, she said at the time, because she couldnt afford not to. She doesnt have generational wealth, and being a Hollywood star in Los Angelesmultimillion-dollar home and allis expensive. This prompted an online pile-on (you are rich, lady!), then somewhat convincing defenses. Everyone moved on, and Sweeney got bigger and bigger. That is partly why I embarked on my projectdont the bigger paychecks obviate the need for all of the piddly brand deals? Isnt a certain air of exclusivity part of the A-list package? Advertisement Not anymore, Allen Adamson, co-founder of Metaforce, a branding consultancy, told me. Its become less frowned upon in Hollywood. It used to be, if you were a hot actor or performer and you started to do this, youre selling out. Now theres barely any such thing as selling out. The media landscape has become so fragmented that celebrities can do multiple ads secure in the knowledge that most people will never see them. It used to be, if you did a celebrity endorsement, you were on one of the networks, mass exposure, Adamson said. Now lots of the stuff that certainly Sweeney is doing is really hypertargeted. I think you are seeing all these things, but I think the average consumer is not seeing her holistically; theyre seeing bits and pieces of her in their little segment, in their category. Advertisement Advertisement My sense is her activity has gone up dramatically in the last eight or 12 months as her career has taken off a little bit, Adamson went on. Its not surprising that the companies are going after her. Theres such pressure from these marketers to get noticed that if they are somebody as hot as she is with this audience, theyd rather get in early. He estimated that Sweeney is getting paid six-figure sums for each of these sorts of deals. If Sweeney were going to hypertarget me, it would be with her brand partnerships that dont feel so random. In the fashion and beauty space, I had an easier time seeing where they made sense and seemed mutually beneficial. Of course Armani wants to be associated with Sweeney, and Sweeney with Armani. Sweeney frequently credits Armani Beauty for her red-carpet makeup on Instagram, but because getting enough $42 concealer and $39 blush and so on to do my whole face would add up to something untenable, I opted for just one product, the $38 Prisma Glass lip gloss, which Sweeney has specifically done ads for and shouted out in the shade Cherry Glaze. Its probably the most expensive lip product Ive ever owned, and maybe ever will own, and while I do think its nicer than my e.l.f. lip oil, Im not sure its a full $30 nicer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sweeney also serves as the global ambassador for Laneige, a Korean skin care brand. Her presence in ads for its Bouncy & Firm line earlier this year compelled me to buy a set (for $34) of the three products in said line: a mini plumping lip treatment, a mini radiance-boosting mask, and an eye brightening sleeping mask. I tried them a bunch of times before bed, and I cant say they had any perceptible effect on my skin. (This partnership might make more sense than most, but at least mens body wash does what it says its going to.) I felt slightly more positively about the Kerastase products I tried, Kerastase being another company for which Sweeney is a brand ambassador. Heres an ad Sweeney filmed for the companys Premiere line (for damaged hair) this year; boy, does she say the word calcium weirdly in it. If Im not a skin care girl, Im kind of a hair girl after starting to do a curly-hair routine a few years ago, so I bought both the hair oil ($30 for a mini) and a sampler set of the Premiere line ($54) containing a preshampoo treatment, shampoo, and a hair mask. The instructions were Byzantine; I spent an hour on the Sephora site, much of it soaking wet, trying to decipher them. Does Sweeney know what emulsify means, in a hair product context? Does anyone? Advertisement Advertisement What had I learned about Sydney Sweeney so far? Perilously little. And thats part of whats unusual about her empire. In a piece for Eater, Erin A. Meyers, a professor at Oakland University who has studied celebrity image-making, pointed out that historically, with endorsements, brands got to take advantage of a celebritys popularity, but the other side of it was that celebrities got to shore up their own images. Jennifer Aniston, for example, used Smartwater and Aveeno as paintbrushes in the work of art that is Jennifer Anistons reputation as down-to-earth and into nature. Overall, people still tend to choose things that seem fairly consistent with their brand, Meyers told me when I spoke to her. Is there any such through line in Sweeneys deals? Not one that the two of us could articulate. But increasingly, thats not a problem. Youre in it to get those deals and get those connections and get that money, and people kind of respect that as part of the hustle of stardom, as opposed to something that tarnishes your image, Meyers said. Advertisement Related From Slate Why the Far Right Thinks Sydney Sweeney "Killed Wokeness" Read More This would certainly help explain why Sweeney is also happy to be associated with a beverage most people have never heard of called Bai. The company sells a drink called WonderWater, and I have no idea what it is, even though there are three bottles of it sitting in my fridge. According to the Bai website, its drinks are antioxidant-infused beverages with exotic flavors and no artificial sweeteners, but you can see how that doesnt really clear anything up. Sweeney is the head of wonder at Bai, and this year she and the company partnered to create a raspberry lemon-lime flavor. I didnt get that one at the store, but I did pick up Brasilia Blueberry, Kula Watermelon, and Zambia Bing Cherry. I tried them, along with a couple of friends, and we werent sure what to make of them. Did they actually taste weird, or were we just thrown off by their dark colors? Was it something about their artificial sweeteners? Was the watermelon one actually kind of OK? And most importantly: Does Sydney Sweeney really drink these? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the final throes of my Sweeney immersion, I went to a Verizon store. I wasnt going to actually switch to a Samsung Galaxy flip phone, but I did want to check one out. As with many of the things Sweeney endorses, it seems fine, and Im sure Samsung appreciates that she seems to actually use the phoneor at least puts effort into not being caught using an iPhone in public. I also ordered a hat from the workwear collaboration Sweeney did last year with Dickies and Ford. It seemed like more of a limited-edition affair than an ongoing thing, as with some of the other products Sweeney works with, but I felt it was important to have the hat, to let Sweeney commerce fully hit me over the head. Wearing the hat was trying. I now think of it, along with my HeyDudes, as part of my Hope I dont run into anyone I know while wearing this repertoire. As I wound down, I thought back to what Adamson told me about the changing landscape for stars and how maybe none of this matters. It might be hard to imagine Julia Roberts doing this sort of thing in her heyday, but if Sweeney is on her way to the modern equivalent of Roberts-level stardomimagine the Erin Brockovich remake!maybe this is just what that looks like right now. You could even argue that its a more honest version of what Reese Witherspoon and her commerce cohort do; at least Sweeney isnt pretending she isnt peddling a bunch of random stuff. In the Vanity Fair spread, Sweeney threw up her hands when asked questions about her image. Were going to have a conversation, well talk for 30 minutes, its condensed, then people dont understand the context behind the conversation, and its all clickbait. Unfortunately I dont get to control my imagemy image is in your guys hands, she said, referring to the press. From that vantage, a certain dose of YOLO makes sense. These endorsements no longer need to add up to any kind of coherent story, or anything at all. Its not a coincidence that so many of them rolled in right after Sweeney had a big hit: That was her striking while the iron is hot. Maybe Sweeney is a new brand of capitalist actress with skillslike appreciating a good pair of boat shoesthat cant be taught. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. It is a fact, strange but true, that Santa Claus corpse was stolen from its tomb. Though Christmas carols and Claymation specials have for some reason neglected the heist of St. Nicks dead body, the details of that theft actually can tell us a lot about mythmaking and the power of stories, however bizarre, to shape reality. Plus, its just a good tale to tell at holiday parties. The gist of it is this: In 1087 two Italian cities, Venice and Bari, raced to be the first to steal the bones of St. Nicholasknown to us as Santa Clausfrom a basilica in what is now southern Turkey. Why? Because the corpse supposedly wept a magical liquor that would cure all ills if you drank it or rubbed it on your body. Slate receives a commission when you purchase items using the links on this page. Thank you for your support. St. Nicholas was a real catch. Forget everything you know about Santa Claus. Almost everything we associate him withthe North Pole, the sled, the reindeeris a 19th-century confection laid on top of a much older and sterner figure. The historical Nicholas was bishop of Myra, a merchant city on the Turquoise Coast at the edge of the Mediterranean and Aegean seas. He was supposedly imprisoned and tortured during the Great Persecution of the Emperor Diocletian. After his death, stories accumulated around him. He had fought demons. He had sniffed out a serial killer who was pickling boys in his meat locker. He had saved three girls from prostitution by throwing bags of gold through their window late at nighta legend that is the origin of his role as a gift giver to children. And he had saved many sailors by flying through the sky to their aid during storms, calming the waves, trimming the sails, grasping the drowning by their hair and teleporting them to land. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For Venice and Bari, coastal cities on the eastern side of the boot in the north and south, respectively, and dependent on merchant ships arriving and departing from all over the known world, it would be invaluable to have a shrine devoted to St. Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors. Businessmen from all over Europe would choose your port to set out from if they knew they could kneel at the altar of this champion of mariners. It was the best of good luck, a guarantee of calm seas and a prosperous voyage. Advertisement That was the thinking of a group of grain merchants on a routine run between Bari and the Syrian city of Antioch. Sitting around one blustery day as they crossed the Mediterranean on their three ships, they discussed the idea of stealing the saints bones when they passed Myra, where he was buried. It was a good time to do it: the Christian city, located in present-day Turkey, had just been invaded by the Seljuk Turks. The whole region was in turmoil. This was the time to slip in and steal the body. Advertisement Advertisement It turned out, however, that they were not the only ones with this bright idea. As they discussed it in the seaside taverns of Antioch, where they were loading their return cargo, some Venetian sailors overheard and boasted that they, in fact, were about to plunder the tomb. They had all the equipment at the ready: crowbars, shovels, and mallets. They were heading there on their way home to Italy. Advertisement The Bari sailors had been a little anxious about stealing the corpse. He was a holy man, after all, and saints were supposed to hover around their relics. If you steal relics and the saint doesnt want to go with you, its not a theft: Its technically a kidnapping. The fury of a maritime saint could lead to storms, maelstroms, krakensall sorts of disasters. But now that the Venetians had thrown down the gauntlet, all their reservations disappeared. Venice and Bari were great economic rivals, and Venice had been getting the upper hand with sweet trade deals and a powerful navy. Bari, the scrappy underdog, was determined to get its own back. So the three Barese grain ships set out for Myra immediately, hoping to steal the body before the Venetians knew what was happening. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It must have been an eerie sight when they anchored at Myra. Turkish and Turkmen raiders had swept down out of the mountains a couple of years before. The city itself was now deserted, all its population huddled in a fortress up on a nearby hill, surrounded by the tombs of their ancestors. They were probably paying tribute to the Turks, some kind of protection money, but the truce was uneasy, and they rarely ventured out of the fortress. This meant, however, that only four monks guarded the tomb of St. Nicholas, down in the city, carrying on their ancient duties, filling decorative glass vials with the ooze that drizzled from his corpse. Cautiously, the Bari sailors assembled a task force of 47 who would march on the church, armed with swords for protection and sledgehammers for breaking into the tomb. A skeleton crew of 20-odd would stay behind and guard the three ships in case the Turks noticed them and got hostile. The Turks, according to one source, also worshipped at the tomb of Nicholasthey had been Islamized for only a few decades, and apparently felt that a holy man was a holy man, regardless of his precise sect. For both Christians and the newly converted Turkish Muslims in the period, there was an almost shamanic, magical property to the holy dead that went far beyond doctrine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the Barese thieves reached the walled compound that included the Nicholas church and its abandoned monastery, they posted guards to watch the crossroads and make sure no one was coming to stop them. When the sailors went into the church, the four guardians assumed they were pilgrims stopping off in the middle of a trade route to ask for a prosperous voyage and buy a vial of the Nick liquor. After all, there were a couple of priests with them. It seemed likely enough that they were on pilgrimage. It only took a few minutes, however, before the sailors questions about where the body was stashed started to seem a little too pointed. Suspicious, one of the guardians demanded, Why do you ask all these questions? Can it be that you want to take the body? Dont you know that we cannot possibly agree to such a thingin fact, we would rather die than permit him to be taken? At first, the Bari crew tried liesthey claimed theyd actually been sent by the pope to seize the bodyand they tried bribery100 gold pieces for the bones. The guardians were horrified. St. Nicholas body had lain under the floor of their church for 700 years. It defined the city of Myra. They werent about to give it up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So the thieves decided it was time to use force. This was a big step. They were in a holy place. They were worried about curses. Nonetheless, they grabbed the four guardians and tied them up. They sent men out into the courtyard to watch for resistance. And then, in superstitious fear, they asked their own priests to sing a few chants, asking Nicholas for permission to steal himto translate him, in the term of art used by relic hunters everywhere. Advertisement A young hothead named Matteo was sick of playing nice. He walked to the point in the floor where there was apparently a hole for drawing out the sacred oil, and he started battering it with his hammer. Soon, other sailors were feeling bolder, and they all joined in. They bashed apart the marble floor of the basilica and found, under it, a sarcophagus. (There is some possibility that Nicholas sarcophagus survives to this day, with holes drilled in its scalloped lid to draw the oil outand, tellingly, to pour holy oil in. It appears that this was the method by which the oil was renewed: The guardians of the body were pressing their own olive oil in the compound, infusing it with local myrrh, and pouring it through a siphon into the sarcophagus, where it would be irradiated by the holiness of the sacred bones, and could then be packaged for resale.) Advertisement Matteo smashed the lid of the sarcophagus. The sailors found that the whole box was welling with dark oil. Unfazed, Matteo dunked his arms into the oil and felt around for the bones. He was frustrated; he couldnt find the skull, which was obviously the real get. To the horror of everyone who looked on, he lowered himself into the bath of oil, drenching his clothes in sacred ichor, and fumbled around, feeling for the saints head. Modern investigation of the bones suggests that in the process, he almost certainly shattered the ribs and pelvis, which he must have been kneeling on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whenaha!Matteo found the skull, he handed it up, and the two priests connected to the heist carefully lay it on a cloak to be folded up with the other long bones. As quickly as possible, the crew wrapped up their ill-gotten gains and made for the exit as the four guardians wailed pleas and threats and curses behind them. The armed band walked back through the deserted city of Myra toward their ships. They would have gotten there without incidentexcept, of course, there is no honor among thieves: They stopped to argue about whose ship should actually carry the corpse. While they argued, one of the guardians somehow made his way up to the fortress where the Christian population of Myra hid and sounded the alarm. The people of Myra had suffered enough. Their city had been overrun. Theyd been locked up in their fortress for a year, maybe longer, paying tribute so they could at least go out in the day to tend to their fields and whatever livestock was left. And now their saint, their citys one claim to fame, was being carried off by some hooligans from the heel of the Italian boot. They poured out of their fortress and charged down through the streets of the city, screaming in rage. Advertisement Advertisement At this, the Bari sailors picked up the pace, trotting toward their ships, which were pulled up on shore to the south of the city. The bones, wrapped up in a bundle like Santa Claus bag of toys, slapped up and down on the back of the priest who carried them, drizzling grease down his back. The townspeople reached the ships too late. The crew had already scampered aboard. The people of Myra demanded the bones back. They wailed in sorrow that their citys saint was about to sail away to foreign lands. Some even cursed Nicholas himself, the father of the city, for abandoning his children. But nothing would persuade the thieves: They pushed off and started to row toward open waters. Advertisement Men and women plunged into the sea behind them, grabbing at the ships oars. Back on shore, they found one of the holy guardians and blamed him for letting the Italians snatch the saint. They began to beat him to death on the shore. But the ships were getting farther away. The Bari sailors were almost mocking as they pulled away from Myra. They would not have an easy voyage homesome of the sailors themselves would steal joints and fragments of the saint, a transgression that, as they believed, caused them to suffer through storms and almost capsize. But the saint was theirs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related From Slate I Cant Stop Thinking About the Guys Who Dropped Plymouth Rock Read More They drove a hard bargain when they got home to Bari. All of them were to get a cut of the pilgrim income from those who came to pray to the saint. This is one of the reasons we know about this heist: Not only do we have a couple of narratives, written a few weeks or months after they got back to Bari, but we have a full financial account of the annual payments still being made to their families 80 years later. Baris bid for pilgrim traffic worked. A decade after the heist, in the mid-1090s, the emperor of Byzantium, frustrated at the Turkish invasion of his lands to the east, including the region around Myra, asked the kings of Western Europe to send armies to assist him in pushing back the Seljuk Turks. The barbarian monarchs of the West sent hordes easta counterinvasion we call the First Crusade. It was the beginning of two centuries of senseless bloodshed in the Middle East that forever tainted MuslimChristian relations, a series of disastrous massacres and incompetent defeats that still swells the hearts of contemporary white supremacists with pride. And many of the expeditions set out from Bari, where the soldiers could pray to Nicholas for calm seas and a prosperous voyage. The city thrived as invasion forces supplied themselves at the merchant stalls of the port of St. Nicholas and set forth on their mission of destruction. And what about the Venetians, the citys great rivals? What happened when they got to Myra and demanded the bones? Well, thats a story for another Christmas. https://sputnikglobe.com/20241215/acting-south-korean-president-pledges-unwavering-us-alliance-at-first-opportunity-1121173073.html Acting South Korean President Pledges Unwavering US Alliance at First Opportunity Acting South Korean President Pledges Unwavering US Alliance at First Opportunity Sputnik International Acting South Korean President Han Deok-soo held a 16-minute phone conversation with US President Joe Biden on Sunday and promised to maintain and develop the alliance between the two countries. 2024-12-15T06:53+0000 2024-12-15T06:53+0000 2024-12-15T08:06+0000 south korea us asian version of nato joe biden us hegemony https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/0c/0f/1121173228_0:0:3072:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_ba6f796213a955191dce40037c438fcf.jpg Prime Minister Han became acting president after the South Korean parliament had impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol on Saturday over the short-term imposition of martial law on December 3-4. He stressed the importance of strengthening the joint defense strategy of South Korea and the United States, including against the backdrop of cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang. He also explained that all South Korean state affairs would be conducted in strict accordance with the Constitution and the law. Biden thanked Han for the clarification and noted the resilience of South Korea's democracy. He said that the strong alliance between South Korea and the United States remained unchanged, and that he would continue to work with the South Korean side to develop and strengthen it, as well as on cooperation between the United States, South Korea and Japan. In connection with the approval of the impeachment by the parliament, Yoon Suk-yeol's powers are temporarily suspended, the Constitutional Court will consider the issue of removing the president from office. The court will have 180 days to do this, with Prime Minister Han Deok-soo becoming acting head of state until the final verdict is issued. The Constitutional Court will begin considering the issue of removing Yoon Suk-yeol from the post of president next Monday. However, according to Sputnik's experts, the court will need almost all six months allotted by law to make a decision on removing or reinstating Yoon as president of South Korea. https://sputnikglobe.com/20241204/south-koreas-martial-law-turmoil-north-korea-will-watch-this-drama-play-out-1121086612.html south korea Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International asian version of nato, asian nato, us-south korea alliance, han deok-soo biden talks, han deok-soo us https://sputnikglobe.com/20241215/kurds-urge-international-community-to-prevent-is-buildup-of-in-northeastern-syria---sdf-1121171413.html Kurdish Forces Call for International Support Amid Rising ISIS* Threat in Syria Kurdish Forces Call for International Support Amid Rising ISIS* Threat in Syria Sputnik International The Kurdish Autonomous Administration calls on the international community to provide support to the Kurdish armed groups in connection with the activation of the Islamic State in Syria, Abdelsalam Ahmad, a spokesman for the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northeastern Syria and Lebanon, told Sputnik. 2024-12-15T05:26+0000 2024-12-15T05:26+0000 2024-12-15T09:07+0000 world turmoil in syria syrian democratic forces (sdf) bashar assad damascus middle east islamic state islamic state in iraq and the levant isis lebanon https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/104262/49/1042624920_0:160:3072:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_76b531391ecb382d80efbd570381ac1e.jpg "The SDF forces are part of the international coalition to fight terrorism. IS took advantage of the state of chaos and the overthrow of the regime and expanded the territories under their control," Ahmad said. "It is in the interests of the international community to support the SDF as a force that played one of the decisive roles in the fight against terrorism." The Kurdish SDF formations, supported by US forces in northeastern Syria, announced the creation of their own autonomous administration in the territories under their control in the provinces of Aleppo, Al-Hasakah, Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor after the start of the Syrian crisis in 2011. The Kurdish formations did not engage in hostilities with the government forces of Syria under the leadership of former President Bashar Assad and maintained their military potential. They are supported by the armed forces of the US-led international coalition present in northeastern Syria under the pretext of fighting the Islamic State terrorist group. This same coalition also controls key oil and gas fields in Syria. Fears Over Libyan Scenario in SyriaThe Kurdish autonomous administration fears a repeat of the Libyan scenario in Syria after the armed opposition came to power, the spokesman added.According to the SDF spokesman, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is managing the political process in Damascus through a transitional government for a period of three months. At the same time, a number of paramilitary forces have agreed to overthrow the regime, but have not reached a common agreement on what the future political governance will be.* Terrorist organization banned in Russia andmany other countries https://sputnikglobe.com/20241211/what-is-the-strategic-importance-of-deir-ez-zor-and-could-it-cause-new-kurdish-syrian-conflict-1121150295.html damascus lebanon aleppo syria Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International syrian turmoil, syrian collapse, syrian crisis, syria isis, syrian conflict, mideast crisis, mideast war https://sputnikglobe.com/20241215/many-germans-would-like-to-move-to-russia-due-to-economic-reasons--german-politician-1121177906.html Many Germans Would Like to Move to Russia Due to Economic Reasons German Politician Many Germans Would Like to Move to Russia Due to Economic Reasons German Politician Sputnik International Many German nationals are interested in moving to Russia due to the economic stability and reasonable migration policy in the country, chairman of the German Council for Constitution and Sovereignty Ralph Niemeyer told Ria Novosti. 2024-12-15T10:41+0000 2024-12-15T10:41+0000 2024-12-15T11:09+0000 world russian economy under sanctions russia germany migration https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/103149/71/1031497150_0:160:3072:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_367fed08b7fa28dd7866c1cc678bc4d1.jpg "There is stability [in Russia] and there is employment. We now see full employment in the country, which means that anyone who is looking for work can find it. The issue of migration is also being handled better than in Europe, so migration is not uncontrolled. There are many foreign workers in Russia, but they are all working and contributing to society in some way. They are not just waiting for accommodation to be provided," Niemeyer said. The politician has compared the Russian migration policy to the European one, noting that many migrants who come to Germany do not contribute to the country's well-being. "That is why many people in Germany start to think, 'Perhaps there is a bright future for us in Russia and we would like to relocate there.' And I see that the Russian government is open to this idea, as they have made the process of moving, obtaining a work permit and settling in the country relatively easy. This is a very attractive prospect," Niemeyer said. At the same time, he believes that Russia could consider reducing the requirements for Russian language proficiency to attract migrants from Germany. Currently, foreigners need to have a fairly good command of the language in order to legally relocate, and the current requirement to study the language so thoroughly could alienate many Germans, Niemeyer argued. In early September, the German Interior Ministry said that the country would tighten controls at all of its land borders starting from September 16 to tackle irregular migration. https://sputnikglobe.com/20241204/investments-in-russia-rising-for-3rd-year-in-row-despite-external-challenges--putin-1121089772.html russia germany Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International russian economy under sanctions, russian economic prospects, russian migration policy, russia job market, russia employment https://sputnikglobe.com/20241215/netanyahu-pushes-golan-heights-expansion-plan-amid-regional-tensions-1121179944.html Netanyahu Pushes Golan Heights Expansion Plan Amid Regional Tensions Netanyahu Pushes Golan Heights Expansion Plan Amid Regional Tensions Sputnik International Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government has unanimously approved a plan for the development of the Golan Heights, including strengthening local settlements and doubling the population in the region, the prime minister's office said on Sunday. 2024-12-15T14:37+0000 2024-12-15T14:37+0000 2024-12-15T14:44+0000 world middle east israel benjamin netanyahu golan heights syria turmoil https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/106479/49/1064794961_0:300:5760:3540_1920x0_80_0_0_253e8fb50ae65c0dedcd088a212d79a9.jpg "The government unanimously approved prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to promote demographic growth in the settlements in the Golan Heights and Katzrin, with a total budget of more than 40 million shekels [$11 million]," the statement read. The office also said that in light of the ongoing conflict and the recent opening of a new front in Syria, Netanyahu had submitted the first amendment to his plan to promote demographic growth in the Golan due to the "desire to double the population of the Golan Heights." The plan to develop the Golan Heights includes initiatives in the areas of education, renewable energy, and the establishment of a student village. It also includes an organizational development program designed to assist the Golan Regional Council in welcoming new residents. "The strengthening of the Golan Heights is essential for the security and stability of the State of Israel. It is especially important in the current situation. We will continue to maintain, develop, and settle the area," Netanyahu said, as quoted by the office.Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the Golan Heights will forever remain an integral part of Israel.Israel is actively strengthening its defenses on the Golan Heights amid the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the capture of a significant part of the country by armed opposition forces. On Sunday, Netanyahu said the agreement reached shortly after the 1973 Yom Kippur War (also known as the Ramadan War) was no longer valid because the Syrian forces had left their positions. Netanyahu ordered the Israel Defense Forces to occupy the buffer zone.The fall of al-Assad in Syria was a direct result of Israeli strikes against Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah and Iran, the Israeli prime minister added.The fall of al-Assad in Syria was a direct result of Israeli strikes against Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah and Iran, the Israeli prime minister added. https://sputnikglobe.com/20241209/what-makes-the-golan-heights-crucial-for-israel-1121132234.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20241215/greater-israel-fact-fiction-or-regional-power-play-1121178836.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20241208/why-are-israel-and-the-us-salivating-over-syrias-break-up-1121126981.html israel golan heights syria Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International israel, golan heights, benjamin netanyahu https://sputnikglobe.com/20241215/no-taurus-missiles-spd-backs-scholzs-approach-to-ukraine-and-natos-limits-1121181296.html No Taurus Missiles: SPD Backs Scholzs Approach to Ukraine and NATO's Limits No Taurus Missiles: SPD Backs Scholzs Approach to Ukraine and NATO's Limits Sputnik International German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD) plans to include a ban on supplying Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles in its election program, but will support other ways to provide military assistance to Kiev, the Funke media group reported on Sunday, citing a draft document it had seen. 2024-12-15T18:21+0000 2024-12-15T18:21+0000 2024-12-15T18:21+0000 military olaf scholz ukraine nato europe ukraine crisis taurus cruise missile https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/0c/0f/1121181277_1:0:3640:2047_1920x0_80_0_0_0c7fd4715e0763b8e82522cc98aa77da.jpg The SPD's election program stresses that neither Germany nor NATO should get involved in the Ukrainian conflict. However, the party supports military training for Ukrainian soldiers to protect Ukraine and "ensure peace in Europe," and advocates arms and equipment supplies to Kiev provided that they are carried out with "prudence and a sense of proportion." The SPD also reaffirms its commitment to providing diplomatic, military, financial and humanitarian support to Ukraine. "Ukraine should be able to conduct possible negotiations with Russia on equal terms," the document read. Scholz has repeatedly said that he will not change his decision to deny Taurus missiles to Ukraine or allow Kiev to use German-supplied weapons to strike Russia's internationally recognized territories. At the same time, the head of the opposition Christian Democratic Union, Friedrich Merz, said that if elected chancellor, he would call on Russia to stop striking Ukrainian infrastructure within 24 hours, otherwise Berlin would supply Kiev with Taurus missiles. Scholz's three-party government imploded in early November after he fired Finance Minister Christian Lindner, the Free Democratic Party leader, citing his unwillingness to greenlight an increase in the aid to Ukraine simultaneously with an increase in domestic spending. https://sputnikglobe.com/20241013/germany-snubbed-ukraines-demands-for-taurus-missiles-expedited-nato-membership---report---1120530020.html ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International olaf scholz, germany, ukraine, ukrainian crisis, ukrainian conflict, war in ukraine, social democratic party (spd), taurus cruise missiles Professor Igor Marjanovic talks about the new architecture building Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, at Rice University's School of Architecture in Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Professor Igor Marjanovic talks about the new architecture building Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, at Rice University's School of Architecture in Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer A hand-drawn note adorns a window Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, at Rice University's School of Architecture in Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Juliet Hollister, a graduate student, works on a bookcase Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, at Rice University's School of Architecture in Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer A students model is illuminated by window light Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, at Rice University's School of Architecture in Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer A students model is illuminated by window light Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, at Rice University's School of Architecture in Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer A students model is illuminated by window light Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, at Rice University's School of Architecture in Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Professor Igor Marjanovic talks about student work Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, at Rice University's School of Architecture in Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Theodore Vadot, an undergrad, photographs his the model of his semester project Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, at Rice University's School of Architecture in Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Associate Professor Andrew Colopy watches people work Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, at Rice University's School of Architecture in Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Roy Allen, a graduate studnet, polishes his chair with linseed oil Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, at Rice University's School of Architecture in Houston. I like the mix of creativity and problem solving and math and science, he said. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Paige Frost, a graduate student, works on a set of nesting tables for a furniture-making class Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, at Rice University's School of Architecture in Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Juliet Hollister, a graduate student, works on a bookcase Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, at Rice University's School of Architecture in Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer A man walks past the workshop Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, at Rice University's School of Architecture in Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Rice Universitys architecture students worked in the shop this fall under a new roof a sawtooth roof. It stood to reason that associate professor Andrew Colopy noticed more of the jagged coverings than usual in this semesters design projects. Inspiration is everywhere in the William T. Cannady Hall for Architecture, a 22,000 square foot building that connects to the 1947 MD Anderson Hall and its 1981 addition by famed architect James Stirling. The high-ceilinged space is more contemporary than its neighbors, putting its interior in full view with glass walls, unconcealed steel frames and HVAC systems, and ample use of natural light. That's an important part of the design, compared to the old building, Colopy said. Those elements are all hidden. Here they are all exposed. Advertisement Article continues below this ad HIGHER ED: Rice University adds to global footprint with new center in India Rice officially dedicated Cannady Hall last week for the namesake professor emeritus who provided the lead gift. His portfolio includes Wortham Fountain, the Houston Area Womens Center and scores of buildings and apartments around the city, but he is best known at the university for his 50 years of teaching. Its appropriate, then, that Cannadys building would provide students learning opportunities, even when hes no longer in the classroom. Its about as wonderful as it can be, especially if you can teach for fifty years, he said. You get into this campus and its hard to get away from it. Cannady Hall is now a showpiece at Rice, located at the northwestern corner of one of the most universitys most iconic spots, the recently renovated academic quadrangle. The architecture complex is a campus within a campus, and students have made its inner courtyard a popular route to class. At the center is a 100-year-old live oak, and to one side, passersby can see their peers constructing models in the new buildings fabrication shop. For the schools 180 architecture students, a larger workspace is the most exciting part about Cannady, enabling them to build bigger and better than in previous years. In the old shop now turned into a welcome center after renovations to MD Anderson Hall some models couldnt fit out the door, Colopy said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Graduate student Olga Sobkiv built a bookshelf for her furniture design class Wednesday. I wouldnt have been able to do a big bookshelf if it was in the old wood shop, she said. And just the natural light is quite incredible. The Swiss company Karamuk Kuo made a sustainable design for Cannady Hall, using an exposed, bolted steel frame that can be disassembled and reused if the building were ever to be replaced. The terra cotta exterior is recyclable and self-cleaning, and north-facing windows offer energy efficiency, school officials said. Designers had to find a way to integrate the building with the universitys classic brick architecture, and the terra cotta, which resembles brick, provided some of the connection. One of the really interesting things about Rice campus is, it is very cohesive, Dean Igor Marjanovic said. We tried to make a building that's contextual, that respects the existing spaces like the courtyard or the views of the treetops that's also contemporary at the same time. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Faculty, who will also use the new space while conducting their own research, sat on a steering committee to influence some of the design, the dean said. And students got a first-hand look at the construction process after builders broke ground on Cannady in 2022. There, they got to encounter some of the challenges that designers faced up close. "It also gives the students a very different sense of the scale of time," said Colopy, the associate professor. "Buildings are complicated. They take a long time to work together. The students see the actual impact, hear the noise of construction, and actually experience what that's like." Rice, a private university, did not publicly disclose Cannady's gift or the overall building cost. The project involved a renovation of MD Anderson Hall, with architecture practice Kwong Von Glinow leading the effort to design new gathering spaces and the welcome center. Next door in Cannady, research areas and gallery spaces sit on the upper floor, able to accommodate small collaborative projects or large-scale exhibitions, university officials said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The showcasing of student and faculty work is another key part of the building, as students can display their models in larger spaces with better light. Faculty members' publications are prominently featured in a separate space. A new series of events, Exhibitions at Rice, will also begin for the public to engage with the schools projects. As for the building itself, students are taking note of its intricacies every day. https://sputnikglobe.com/20241215/number-of-syrian-refugees-returning-to-homeland-from-turkiye-rises-to-1847-1121173480.html Over 1,800 Refugees Return From Turkiye to Syria Over 1,800 Refugees Return From Turkiye to Syria Sputnik International Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has said that the number of Syrian refugees, who returned to their homeland from Turkiye since December 8, has increased to 1,847 people. 2024-12-15T07:19+0000 2024-12-15T07:19+0000 2024-12-15T08:08+0000 world turmoil in syria recep tayyip erdogan bashar assad turkiye damascus hayat tahrir al-sham middle east https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/0c/09/1121130142_0:0:3072:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_54bc2f08fdd923f7942bbc35df80e9c9.jpg "Currently, there are 2,938,261 Syrians in our country. The number of Syrians, who voluntarily returned to their country, stood at 240 people as of December 8, when the regime [of former Syrian President Bashar Assad] fell in Damascus, but after the liberation of Syria, this number increased to 1,847 people as of yesterday," Yerlikaya was quoted as saying by media. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has previously vowed to simplify the procedures for the voluntary return of Syrians to their homeland. As of early December, over 2.9 million Syrian refugees resided in Turkiye, including over 1.5 million minors. Mohammed al-Bashir, who ran an Idlib-based administration formed by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and other opposition groups, was named interim prime minister on December 10. He announced later that the interim government had been formed and would remain in place until March 2025. https://sputnikglobe.com/20241214/participants-of-syria-talks-in-jordan-urge-to-pave-way-for-syrian-refugees-to-return-home-1121168776.html turkiye damascus Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International syrian turmoil, turmoil in syria, conflict in syria, refugees syria, erdogan refugees https://sputnikglobe.com/20241215/one-in-five-germans-want-afd-candidate-alice-weidel-to-become-chancellor---poll-1121179587.html One in Five Germans Want AfD Candidate Alice Weidel to Become Chancellor - Poll One in Five Germans Want AfD Candidate Alice Weidel to Become Chancellor - Poll Sputnik International Twenty-one percent of Germans want Alice Weidel, a candidate from the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, to become the country's federal chancellor, while another 21% support opposition CDU/CSU bloc candidate Friedrich Merz, a survey conducted by the INSA pollster for the Bild newspaper showed on Sunday. 2024-12-15T13:49+0000 2024-12-15T13:49+0000 2024-12-15T13:49+0000 world germany olaf scholz alice weidel poll sociology sociological survey https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/106399/83/1063998347_0:0:3659:2058_1920x0_80_0_0_a317f9322600f7a6cd00d2bed5359691.jpg Only 16% support incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), and 13% said they would be happy to see incumbent Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck of The Greens as the head of the German government. Furthermore, 63% of the respondents added that they did not trust Scholz, while 66% said they were unhappy with his performance. The poll was conducted from December 12-13 among 1,001 Germans. The margin of error was not provided. Scholz's three-party government imploded in early November after he fired Finance Minister Christian Lindner, the Free Democratic Party leader, citing his unwillingness to greenlight an increase in the aid to Ukraine simultaneously with an increase in domestic spending. https://sputnikglobe.com/20241215/scholz-rules-out-coalition-with-wagenknecht-at-federal-level-1121172495.html germany Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International german politics, political turmoil in germany, afd political party, alternative for germany, german political cleavages https://sputnikglobe.com/20241215/russian-intelligence-chief-calls-trumps-nominee-for-cia-head-professional-1121178108.html Russian Intelligence Chief Calls Trump's Nominee for CIA Head 'Professional' Russian Intelligence Chief Calls Trump's Nominee for CIA Head 'Professional' Sputnik International Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergei Naryshkin has told Sputnik that he has not personally met former Director of US National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, but knows of him as of a professional. 2024-12-15T11:02+0000 2024-12-15T11:02+0000 2024-12-15T11:02+0000 world us sergei naryshkin donald trump john ratcliffe central intelligence agency (cia) cia russian foreign intelligence service https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/08/1b/1100063034_0:0:3073:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_526295dce14c24a02161c0cb31efe858.jpg "No, I do not know him, but I know that he is a professional person. So, we are waiting for a decision," Naryshkin said.Earlier John Ratcliffe was picked by US President-elect Donald Trump to head the Central Intelligence Agency. https://sputnikglobe.com/20241215/trump-picks-grenell-as-special-envoy-for-hottest-spots-like-venezuela-north-korea-1121172951.html Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International trump cia chief, russian intel chief about american, cia boss trump pick https://sputnikglobe.com/20241215/scholz-rules-out-coalition-with-wagenknecht-at-federal-level-1121172495.html Scholz Rules Out Coalition With Wagenknecht at Federal Level Scholz Rules Out Coalition With Wagenknecht at Federal Level Sputnik International German Chancellor Olaf Scholz ruled out the possibility of entering into a coalition after the parliamentary elections with the recently created Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance Reason and Justice (BSW) party. 2024-12-15T05:55+0000 2024-12-15T05:55+0000 2024-12-15T08:09+0000 world germany sahra wagenknecht ukrainian crisis olaf scholz europe european parliament bundestag european union (eu) https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/03/03/1117096587_0:160:3072:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_50e54b6ff3ee70bea5e1ff8b3a26565d.jpg "This is hardly imaginable given the topics that BSW calls for," Scholz said at the SPD congress, as quoted by media. In particular, the chancellor pointed out the differences in their positions on the issue of supporting Ukraine. The BSW was founded in January of this year. In the Bundestag, the party is represented by ten members who left The Left (Die Linke) party. In the European Parliament elections last summer, the BSW won 6.2% of the vote, and the party also came in third in elections in three federal states in the east of the country. Party leader Sahra Wagenknecht regularly calls for a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian conflict and an end to arms supplies to Kiev. https://sputnikglobe.com/20241212/merkel-testing-public-opinion-with-recent-praise-of-russian-gas-german-politician-suggests-1121152916.html germany Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International scholz wagenknecht alliance, germany government collapse, germany political crisis, germany turmoi https://sputnikglobe.com/20241215/south-korean-official-calls-for-new-consultative-body-between-parliament-government---reports-1121174378.html Opposition Proposes Consultative Body to Stabilize South Korea After Impeachment Opposition Proposes Consultative Body to Stabilize South Korea After Impeachment Sputnik International The leader of the South Korean opposition Democratic Party (DP), Lee Jae-myung, has proposed to form a consultative body between the countrys parliament and the government to stabilize state affairs 2024-12-15T08:11+0000 2024-12-15T08:11+0000 2024-12-15T09:10+0000 asia south korea koreas impeachment https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/0c/0f/1121174556_0:161:3071:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_0cbdbe40687a923bbfc811c93a71f182.jpg "The normalization of the Republic of Korea is urgent," Lee told a news conference, as quoted by the news agency. The official also said that the Democratic Party would actively cooperate with all political parties "for the stabilization of state affairs and to recover international trust," as quoted by Yonhap. At the same time, the opposition party decided not to take impeachment steps against South Korean Prime Minister Han Deok-soo, who had assumed duties as acting president, Lee added. On Saturday, the parliament supported the impeachment of the president after 204 lawmakers voted in favor of the top official's removal from office, while 85 opposed. The first parliamentary vote to impeach Yoon was held on December 7, but failed after the ruling party boycotted the vote. Shortly after, Yoon lifted martial law and apologized to the nation. He was banned from leaving the country pending the results of an investigation, while former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun was arrested on suspicion of treason. https://sputnikglobe.com/20241215/acting-south-korean-president-pledges-unwavering-us-alliance-at-first-opportunity-1121173073.html south korea koreas Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International south korea turmoil, south korea crisis, south korea impeachment, political crisis in south korea https://sputnikglobe.com/20241215/trump-picks-grenell-as-special-envoy-for-hottest-spots-like-venezuela-north-korea-1121172951.html Trump Picks Grenell as Special Envoy for 'Hottest Spots' Like Venezuela, North Korea Trump Picks Grenell as Special Envoy for 'Hottest Spots' Like Venezuela, North Korea Sputnik International US President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Richard Grenell as his envoy for special missions, who will oversee work in the world's "hottest spots," including Venezuela and North Korea, Trump said in a statement on Saturday. 2024-12-15T06:36+0000 2024-12-15T06:36+0000 2024-12-15T08:08+0000 americas donald trump north korea venezuela richard grenell us https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/107941/73/1079417395_0:0:2048:1153_1920x0_80_0_0_24d65978eeb4da4d65227dbc3e2fb5d5.jpg US President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Richard Grenell as his envoy for special missions, who will oversee work in the world's "hottest spots," including Venezuela and North Korea, Trump said in a statement on Saturday. Trump stressed that Grenell will continue to pursue a policy of "peace through strength" and be guided by the principle of "America first." https://sputnikglobe.com/20241201/who-is-kash-patel-trumps-pick-to-head-the-fbi-1121060602.html americas north korea venezuela Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International trump envoy, trump picks, trump grenell, trump envoy hottest spots, trump special envoy https://sputnikglobe.com/20241215/turkiye-to-discuss-purchasing-f-35s-with-new-us-govt--defense-ministry-1121179750.html Turkiye to Discuss Purchasing F-35s With New US Govt Defense Ministry Turkiye to Discuss Purchasing F-35s With New US Govt Defense Ministry Sputnik International Turkiye expects to discuss the procurement of F-35 fighter jets with the new US administration, but Ankara's stance on Russian S-400s has not changed, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler said. 2024-12-15T14:00+0000 2024-12-15T14:00+0000 2024-12-15T14:00+0000 military turkiye f-35 eurofighter caatsa s-400 yasar guler ankara https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/09/0c/1120116063_61:0:1115:593_1920x0_80_0_0_3e32dab16eba589eab7aee161adc63cd.png "We have already indicated our willingness to acquire F-35s. We believe that the positive atmosphere of F-16s acquisition will also influence the process of purchasing F-35s. We will also negotiate with the incoming US administration the possibility of lifting the CAATSA sanctions, which go against the spirit of our alliance. Our stance on S-400s remains unchanged," Guler was quoted as saying by the media. The minister also stated that Turkish officers were set out to inspect two Eurofighter destroyers that would arrive in Ankara this coming week. "The process and technical negotiations for purchasing 40 F-16 fighter jets are ongoing. Discussions regarding Eurofighter jets are also progressing positively. Two UK-owned Eurofighter fighters are taking part in military exercises in Qatar and will arrive in Ankara on December 18. We will then have the opportunity to inspect them," Guler said. Turkiye intends to buy 40 Typhoon jets from Eurofighter. It first negotiated the purchase with the UK and Spain last year, and then reportedly sought London's help in convincing Germany. In 2017, Turkiye signed a contract with Russia for the supply of a regimental set of S-400 air defense system, which it received in 2019. The US demanded that Turkiye abandon Russian systems in favor of US-made Patriots, and when Ankara refused, Washington excluded it from the program for the supply of the latest F-35 fighters and imposed sanctions on Turkish defense officials under the CAATSA Act (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions). The United States canceled the joint memorandum on the F-35 with Turkiye, signing it with the seven remaining partners in the F-35 project the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, Canada and Norway. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240513/russian-military-industrial-complex-worlds-most-powerful--acting-deputy-prime-minister-1118406506.html turkiye ankara Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International turkiye defense ministry, turkiye f-35, turkie russian military, us turkiye sanctions, us turkiye military procurement Ervin Hanover stayed hot off of the 28-day layoff as he returned with yet another speed display for his fourth straight victory at Mohawk in Saturday's (Dec. 14) $36,000 Preferred Pace. Sent away as the 1-9 favourite from post four, Ervin Hanover and driver Louis-Philippe Roy worked to the outside of Poseidon Seelster (Bob McClure) to grab command of the field of six through an opening quarter of :28.3. Clearing on the backstretch, the field showed their respect to the streaking speedster to the half in :57.4. With the stage set for a second-half sprint, Ervin Hanover countered and quickened on the lead as Powertrain (James MacDonald) was the first to move first-over from third at three-quarters in 1:25.4. Powertrain moved into second and briefly to the leader's wheel at the top of the lane before Ervin Hanover shifted into gear off the soft fractions. Rocketing home with a :25.1 kick in the stretch, Ervin Hanover powered clear by 3-1/2 lengths on the line over Powertrain to stop the timer in 1:51. Poseidon Seelster held for the show spot, five lengths back of the winner. After a perfect month of November with three sub-1:50 scores, Roy has guided Ervin Hanover to each victory of the streak for trainer David Menary. Owned by Pollack Racing, the four-year-old Captaintreacherous stallion has won eight of 25 starts in 2025, banking $146,866 on the year. Ervin Hanover went over a half-million in career earnings following the 16th victory of his career. The victory was one of four on the evening for driver Louis-Philippe Roy to lead all drivers on the 12-race card. Earlier in the evening, Brudon rebounded from being nosed out in leg one to take the first $17,000 second leg of the Valedictory for sophomore pacing colts that are non-winners of $60,000 lifetime as of Oct. 31. Leaving from post seven with James MacDonald aboard, Brudon sprinted quickly off the wings to lead the field of seven to the quarter pole in :27. Unchallenged to the half in :57.1, the 1-2 favourite paced loose on the lead to three-quarters, opening up by 3-3/4 lengths to reach that station first in 1:25.1. Pressure came to Brudon in the lane in the form of Fast Louie (Roy), charging first-up alongside of the leader midway through the lane. Brudon responded gamely to the challenger, posting a :27.4 final quarter to reach the wire first by a half-length in 1:53. A Class Yankee (Michael Whelan) closed in :25.4 from the backfield to beat out Fast Louie for the place position. Trained by Carmen Auciello, Brudon has won four of his last five after a clean sweep of the Harvest Series in November. Owned by Frank Lamacchia, Tony Miceli and Deanmar Sons Stable, the gelded son of Mcwicked has won four of 21 on the year, banking $54,240. The second split saw Wallace Hartley take advantage of an aggressive steer from driver Tyler Borth to score for trainer Chantal Mitchell. Wallace Hartley got away third from post five on the first turn while Gandalf The Bay (Trevor Henry) laid down a :26.3 first quarter up front. Borth Hustled Wallace Hartley first-over and to the lead at the half in 2-1 favourite Southwind Infusion (Jody Jamieson) surged past on the far turn to reach three-quarters first in 1:24.3. Southwind Fusion appeared strong on the lead at the top of the lane, putting two lengths on Wallace Hartley who looked to rally once more from the pocket. Tipping out late, Wallace Hartley surged in the nick of time to nail Southwind Infusion by a head on the wire in 1:52.3. Gandalf The Bay held for the show position. Scoring at 3-1, the three-year-old rookie son of Lazarus N is a four-time winner in 24 outings this year, earning $67,890 for owner Dale Towle. The $30,000 Final for the Valedictory series is slated for Thursday, Dec. 26 at Woodbine Mohawk Park. To view Saturday's harness racing results, click the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park. (Standardbred Canada) The Buc-ees store is photographed after the solar eclipse Monday, April 8, 2024 in Bastrop. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer A new pit stop for travelers going through Louisiana will be coming to Lafayette in 2026: Buc-ee's. The Texas institution that has expanded out of the Lone Star State in recent years will start construction on a new convenience store in 2025 and open in 2026, the Lafayette Economic Development Authority announced Friday. There are currently no Buc-ee's in the state of Louisiana. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "Louisiana has been on our minds for a while now, and we are proud to have Lafayette as our first partner in the southern half of the Pelican State," said Stan Beard, Buc-ee's Director of Real Estate and Development. "We have some preliminary work to get done before the fun part of the construction can begin, but we are excited to be an official community partner in Lafayette." Buc-ee's has also agreed to open a location in Ruston, Louisiana. Excitement appears to be high with outlets such as the Shreveport Times running headlines such as "Will Ruston or Lafayette win unofficial race for first Buc-ee's in Louisiana?" KNOE 8, a television station based in Monroe, Louisiana, reported in November that the Buc-ee's in Ruston will be completed in mid-2026. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "We are beyond excited to close and begin construction of Buc-ee's in Lafayette," Buc-ee's founder Arch Aplin, III said in a statement. "Now the fun begins: groundbreaking, construction, and then opening Buc-ee's Lafayette." The Lafayette location will be located along I-10, making it a potentially perfect pit stop for Houstonians making the trip east on the highway. It will be more than 74,000 square feet with 120 gas pumps, the economic authority said. Buc-ee's will spend at least $82 million on the project. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Southern-inspired comfort-food restaurant Flying Biscuit will open its newest location in Richmond on Monday, Feb. 26. Flying Biscuit A popular Atlanta-based southern brunch inspired restaurant continues its Texas expansion with a new Cypress location. Flying Biscuit Cafe plans to open its doors in Cypress on Dec. 16 at 12020 FM 1960 Rd. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The restaurant will offer customers grand opening specials from Dec. 16- 20, which include a new $1 special each day, such a Flying Biscuit breakfast Monday, stuffed French toast breakfast Tuesday, hangover hash Wednesday, Mr. Big Burger Thursday and shrimp & creamy dreamy Grits Friday. As Flying Biscuit Cafe continues its expansion, this new location will be the restaurants six location in the Houston area and 36th overall. Earlier this year, Flying Biscuit opened another location at 10310 W Grand Parkway S, Richmond. Our Southern-inspired menu with a twist of fun has an option for everyone in Houston, including gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options, said Andrew Guise, regional manager at Flying Biscuit Cafe in a statement. Also on the menu is a large selection of biscuits, omelets, waffles, sandwiches, burgers, salads and more. Our team is ready to satisfy Houstons cravings. WORD OF THE YEAR: Merriam-Webster's 2024 Word of the Year is here - and was fueled by a heated presidential election Advertisement Article continues below this ad Woodlands Hills Community Church is currently building a 22,000-square-foot facility that will establish roots in the Woodlands Hills community, a master-planned community from The Howard Hughes Corp. Woodland Hills Community Church Bear Creek Baptist Church plans to add 3,000 square-feet of space to its Katy church to accommodate its growing Spanish-speaking ministry. Courtesy rendering/Bear Creek Baptist Church Houston's faith-based communities are making room to meet growing demand. Whether its the launch of a new church in a master-planned development, a multicultural worship center establishing roots, congregations expanding to meet their growing communities, or opening doors to embrace changing demographics, people in Houston and its surrounding cities have many more choices when it comes to where they worship. Here are some of Houston's diverse religious communities expanding for the future with new construction projects. Advertisement Article continues below this ad ARTEMIS DELAYED: NASA delays Artemis moon missions to 2026 and 2027 Woodlands Hills Community Church: Conroe Address: 10069 FM 830, Willis The church is currently meeting for worship at Meador Elementary School, but the 9 acres across the street will be the foundation for Woodlands Hills Community Church to establish in the growing Woodlands area. The church will serve the Woodlands Hills neighborhood, a master-planned community from The Howard Hughes Corp. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The construction of a 22,000-square foot building is expected to start by summer 2025 with plans to open the new church in 2026. This is literally what a believer is supposed to do, said lead pastor Susan Kent. "Were supposed to share the love of Christ and it's exciting. Part of the First Methodist Conroe church family and under the Global Methodist umbrella, Woodlands Hills Community Church was launched in February 2024. We are reaching a whole new community, said Kent, who was a pastor at the Woodlands Methodist Church for 12 years. I was called by John Wayne McMann (lead pastor at First Methodist in Conroe) and asked if I would want to plant a new church campus. The congregation has just over 100 members and room to grow, and the church is a seven-day-a-week full-service church with several ministries, including a day school for young members, said Kent. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Hope City Houston Address: 5300 W. Sam Houston Parkway, Houston. In September, Hope City Houston broke ground on a new 140,000 square-foot campus, according to the church. According to the non-denominational churchs website, the construction is the first phase of the expansion for one of Houston's 200-plus mega churches. The new building will include a 1,900-seat worship center, a 7,100-foot Lobby and Broadcast Coffee Cafe, and a 26,000 square-foot childrens facility. Phase 2 will consist of a 25,000 square-foot youth and young adult space and cafe. Advertisement Article continues below this ad IslamInSpanish Centro Islamico Address: 12703 Brant Rock Dr., Houston Centro Islamico officially opened in November and highlights the link between Spanish speakers and Islam, the first Latino-led Islamic center in the U.S, according to the Centro Islamico website. The 10,200 square-foot center features a prayer room, a graffiti room for teens, media walls, a cafe and a 3,600 square-foot audiovisual production studio and event center, according to the Centro Islamico website. The mosque and community center was designed to honor the architectural traditions of Muslim Spain, according to a video posted earlier this year. Advertisement Article continues below this ad St. Luke The Evangelist Catholic Church Address: 1750 Riverstone Ranch Dr. Building 2, Pearland. The church is expected to begin construction in January on a 26,000 square-foot multipurpose building that would house a fellowship hall, meeting rooms, administrative offices and ministry spaces, according to a listing the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation website. The new building is projected to be completed in January 2026, the listing states. TDLR tracks filings that are required for Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, and all dates in listings are estimates. Bear Creek Baptist Church: Katy Address: 901 N Fry Rd, Katy. Bear Creek Baptist Church plans to add 3,000 square-feet of space to its Katy facilities to accommodate its Spanish-speaking ministry, said Lead Pastor David Welch in an email to the Chronicle. "This expansion does reflect the growing Spanish speaking community in Katy," he said. For the last six years, Bear Creeks Spanish-speaking services led by Pastor Ivan Garcia have been held in an auditorium. The facility is a converted gym that seats up to around 400 people. The congregations membership has outgrown its current space, and the new facility will double the seating capacity. The church's Spanish language services is attended by 19 different Spanish speaking cultures from surrounding the Houston area, Welch said. Welch said construction on the new addition is expected to begin soon and should be completed in 2025. Iglesia Intimidad con Dios: Spring Address: 2931 FM 2920, Spring. This church is building a 2,400-seat multipurpose facility to include a recording studio, childrens center, coffee shop and more. The multi-cultural, non-denomination church is currently located at 3131 FM 2920, and the new construction will accommodate the membership growth, according to the church website. The church serves as a support center for the community and includes services for those suffering from addiction and distributes clothing, food and other items in times of crisis. Indian Pentecostal Church Hebron Address: 4660 S. Sam Houston Parkway East 4660 This Pentecostal church, which marked its 50th anniversary in 2024, is expanding with a 24,000 square-foot facility that expands its fellowship hall, and houses classrooms and a gymnasium, according to the TDLR website and a social media post by the church. The Christian-based church holds regular worship services in Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil and English. Sojourn Montrose Address: 3708 Newhouse St., Houston In October, the non-denominational church completed the renovation of its new worship space. The church, currently located on Taft Street near downtown in the Montrose district, purchased the site of the former Nazarene Baptist Church that had been a worship fixture for more than 50 years, according to the church's website. The renovation included work on the buildings interior to expand the space and modernized the exterior. The renovation will incorporate a modern minimalists aesthetic with the church's 1950s foundation to honor its history, according to a video update on the project. The project also included updating the existing restroom amenities to comply with ADA regulations. Impact Church of the Woodlands Address: 5401 Shadowbend Place, The Woodlands. The non-denomination church is building a $6 million learning center, the Chronicle previously reported. Construction currently underway on the 38,255 square-foot facility in the Woodlands is expected to be completed by September 2025. Hana Ikramuddin is a Hearst Fellow in Connecticut. She spent the first part of her fellowship at the Houston Chronicle. Raised in the Twin Cities, Hana majored in journalism and political science at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. She has held internships with the Star Tribune, APM Reports and Sahan Journal. In her free time, she loves to cook, make chai and take care of her houseplants. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. (Ashley Landis/Dallas Morning News/TNS) Ashley Landis/TNS Harris Countys second version of a guaranteed income program has been blocked as it awaits a final appeal after a recent court order stopped the county from distributing funds under the revamped cash assistance program. The move is the latest in Attorney General Ken Paxtons battle against what he has called a guaranteed income "scheme," and a struggle between Harris County leaders goal to support low-income households amidst the murky constitutionality of cash assistance programs and Republican leaders criticism of handouts. Harris County is not above the law and cannot ignore the Texas Constitution, said Attorney General Paxton. They made a blatant attempt to end-run a Texas Supreme Court ruling by duplicating their unlawful handout program, and we have successfully blocked them yet again. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Paxton first sued Harris County in April over the first version of a cash assistance program, Uplift Harris, which resulted in the Texas State Supreme Court halting the program in June for violating the state constitutions rule against any county, city, town to grant public money or thing of value in aid of, or to any individual. By April, nearly 2,000 residents had signed up to receive $500 monthly payments for the program that Paxton called the Harris Handout. County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, who led the initiative on the program, said in June the potential recipients had "been robbed of a critical hand-up." In his original petition in April, Paxtons office called the first-version of Harris Countys guaranteed income program a socialist experiment at the hands of Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. While the litigation for the $20.5 million Uplift Harris program was still ongoing, the clock was ticking to use the necessary funding from American Rescue Plan Act, which must be allocated by the end of 2024. So, Harris County launched a second version of the program called the Community Prosperity Program in August. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Local military supporters carried on Grand Islands strong Wreaths Across America tradition, honoring the legacy of 1,400 veterans on a foggy Saturday morning. This years event had to be moved to the southwest corner of the Nebraska Veterans Cemetery because of the cemetery expansion taking place nearby. LaVonne Catron of VFW Auxiliary 1347 singled out the efforts of cemetery manager Randy Lonowski. We worked through some adversity because of the construction, Catron said. But Randy, the cemetery manager, was so good about working with us and making sure that this happened. He said no matter what, its going to happen, and he made it happen. The local Wreaths Across America ceremony is a team effort, with key roles played by the VFW Auxiliary, Grand Island Express, the United Veterans Club Honor Guard, members of the military, Boy Scouts and Patriot Riders. Area residents help to pay for the wreaths. Today was really special, Catron said. Its important that we remember these veterans who gave their lives for us. I want to thank everybody that came out. I want to thank all the families that came together to lay wreaths, Catron said. For the second year in a row, students from Walnut Middle School were out in force. Forty-two members of the Walnut Diplomats helped unload the semi carrying boxes of wreaths to the cemetery. They also held flags during the ceremony. We had a great bunch of kids here that helped us today, Catron said. The four Walnut faculty members on hand were Benjamin Marten, Faviola Canfield and Kim and Tyler Madison. The school is preparing to send Walnut students to Washington, D.C., and the teachers want to make it more than just a vacation trip. Were trying to help them understand what our country was built on, and this is a huge part of that, Marten said. Its good for the students to honor and respect the veterans, feel whats its like to be here and see the wreaths atop the graves. I think this is a great opportunity for them, Marten said. The ceremony lets the students be a part of something here in the community, Canfield said. Watching videos, its hard for the students to be immersed in the past. But as they took part in the ceremony, they saw what was going on. They feel that theyre a part of the history, Canfield said. In whatever town the students wind up living, the teachers want them to be involved in events like Wreaths Across America. We dont want them to just read about it in the paper. We want them to go out and participate in their community, Marten said. Five service men presented the nine ceremonial wreaths, honoring those who served or are still serving in the Army, the Marine Corps, the Navy, the Air Force, the Space Force, Coast Guard and the Merchant Marines. Wreaths also honored those who were prisoners of war, missing in action, killed in action and wounded in action. During the ceremony, emcee Ed Miedel pointed out that Wreaths Across America events occurred Saturday at more than 3,100 locations. We are all proud to be Americans that live in a free society made up of many people, from many walks of life, Miedel said. The freedoms we enjoy today have not come without a price, Miedel said. Lying before us and in cemeteries throughout this nation are men and women who gave their lives so that we can live in freedom and without fear. We can worship as we see fit. We can raise our children to believe as we do. We are free to vote for leaders of our choosing and have the right to pursue any endeavor we choose. Singing the national anthem was Renae Swanson. Grand Island Express transports the wreaths from Maine at no cost. This year, driver David Hamblin brought the wreaths to Grand Island, and Charles Tockey delivered wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery. Miedel gave thanks to Jim Pirnie, president of Grand Island Express, as well as Tammie Dimmitt and other members of the staff. Gia vang the gioi sang nay ap sat moc 3.000 USD/ounce muc ky luc chua tung co trong lich su. Trong nuoc cung khong ngoai le, khi lan luot tang tu 700 en 1 trieu ong/luong. "Vang ang trong thi truong tang gia dai han. Chung toi du bao gia se giao dich trong khoang 3.000-3.200 USD trong nam nay", Alex Ebkarian, giam oc ieu hanh tai Allegiance Gold cho biet. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo tours Benavidez Elementary School ahead of the districts $4.4 billion bond election, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Houston. Jason Fochtman/Staff photographer Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo fired back on Saturday at suggestions that the judge's personal struggles with depression would be a factor in her decision not to run, a claim Hidalgo deflected this week. Its behind the times to insinuate that a well-managed (mental or physical) medical diagnosis makes someone unfit to lead. Too many people fail to seek treatment for mental and certain physical conditions out of shame. As leaders, lets not continue to perpetuate harmful stigmas, Hidalgo wrote on X Saturday. My statement regarding Mayor Whitmires recent comments: Its behind the times to insinuate that a well-managed (mental or physical) medical diagnosis makes someone unfit to lead. Too many people fail to seek treatment for mental and certain physical conditions out of shame. As Lina Hidalgo (@LinaHidalgoTX) December 14, 2024 In an interview with the Chronicle, Houston Mayor John Whitmire claimed he had heard Hidalgo was fixing to announce that shes not going to run, and then hinted at the judges battle with depression and the stress of the county judge job. Advertisement Article continues below this ad While Hidalgo did not confirm or deny whether Whitmires comments were accurate about her decision to run again, she told the Chronicle in a statement she is fully focused on serving the people of Harris County. "At this time, we have no announcement to make regarding future elections," her office said. Shes not enjoying her work, Whitmire previously told the Chronicle. And shes happy now. I saw on social media she got back this weekend from her wedding destination. Shes obviously documented some of her emotional issues, which, this is a terrible profession to be in if youre struggling with pressure, Whitmire said, noting that politics was a tough job on any level. Hidalgo has been open in the past about her mental health. The judge discussed her decision to seek treatment for her depression, despite not being open to the idea at first due to stigma and shame. Advertisement Article continues below this ad I was holding myself back, just because I was too prideful and biased to not recognize that I needed that kind of care, Hidalgo said in an interview with the Chronicle last year. I don't want that for anybody else in the community. Hidalgo has been a strong advocate of mental health treatment and transparency about her own, while still standing firm on the position that her personal struggles were not exclusive to her profession, or a deterrent from her ability to do her job. Whitmire and Hidalgo have long held a rocky relationship. At a joint press conference in May about severe thunderstorms, Hidalgo said all county precincts were impacted, not just Precinct 4 Commisioner Lesley Briones after Whitmire invited Briones to speak. "I'm glad I made the approval list," Whitmire told Hidalgo. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Esterad Bank, a Shari'ah-compliant investment bank based in Bahrain and a fully owned subsidiary of Esterad Ventures today (December 15) announced the appointment of Hana Al Murran as Head of Compliance and Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO). An industry veteran with over 21 years of experience in regulatory banking, compliance, governance, and anti-money laundering (AML), Hana will lead the Banks efforts to maintain the highest standards of regulatory compliance and integrity across its operations. In her role, she will oversee compliance and AML frameworks, ensuring alignment with the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) regulations, as well as international standards. She will focus on developing and implementing robust compliance strategies, enhancing compliance risk frameworks, and ensuring the Bank meets its commitment to the highest levels of compliance and governance standards. Lauding the appointment, Ahmed Abdulrahman, the Acting CEO of Esterad Bank, said this underscores its dedication to maintaining a strong compliance culture and upholding the trust of its stakeholders. "Hanas extensive regulatory experience and her deep expertise in anti-money laundering oversight and governance will be instrumental in supporting our strategic objectives and ensuring that the Bank continues to operate with excellence and integrity," he added. Prior to joining Esterad Bank, she had held senior leadership roles at financial institutions in Bahrain and the region. She served as Head of Compliance, Governance, and MLRO at Sayacorp (formerly known as First Energy Bank) and previously held other key senior roles at Ithmaar Bank and CBB. Hana holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Strathclyde Business School, UK, and a Bachelor of Science in Banking and Finance from the University of Bahrain. She is also a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist from the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists.-TradeArabia News Service The 45th edition of Big 5 Global, co-located with LiveableCitiesX, Future FM, and GeoWorld, ended on a successful note at the Dubai World Trade Centre from November 26 to 29. Under the support of the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, the event welcomed 85,000 attendees from across the globe, marking a significant milestone in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region's construction and urban development landscape. The events remarkable 75% year-on-year increase in international attendance solidified its reputation as the ultimate meeting point for the construction and urban development sectors. Speaking on the successful 45th edition, Josine Heijmans, Senior Vice President at dmg events, said: "The phenomenal growth in international participation underscores the value Big 5 Global delivers to stakeholders from over 165 countries. This incredible achievement and the successful wrap up of our inaugural events, LiveableCitiesX, Future FM and GeoWorld, highlights the events critical role in driving collaboration at a time when the MEASA region is witnessing an unparalleled construction boom." This year Big 5 Global welcomed over 25 country pavilions, offering a rich showcase of innovation, technology and expertise from around the world. These included pavilions from Germany, India, Italy, US, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and China which highlighted global innovation and expertise, promoting collaboration, knowledge exchange and business growth to drive impactful partnerships. At the event, Khalid Al Bayat, the Chief Growth Officer at Bahrain's Labour Fund Tamkeen, emphasized the impact on its local businesses, stating: "The Bahraini companies participation at Big 5 Global exhibition was a great success with the degree of exposure, networking, knowledge sharing and partnerships signed within the growing construction industry." "This is a testament to the quality and potential of Bahraini businesses to grow and expand, competing not only locally but also on a regional and global scale," he noted. Highlighting Greeces significant presence Kostas Fragkogiannis, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Diplomacy and Openness, said: "I had the opportunity to tour Big 5 Global where more than 40 of Greece's most important construction companies and eight startup businesses were present, showcasing innovative solutions and services for key stages of construction." "The exhibitors expressed their enthusiasm for Big 5 Global, viewing it as a gateway between East and West and a fertile ground for creating synergies, expanding businesses, and achieving success. I want to extend warm congratulations to Enterprise Greece and the Embassy of Greece in the UAE for their excellent organization of the Greek participation in the event," he stated. On his first visit to Big 5 Global, Fragkogiannis was accompanied by Antonis Alexandridis, Ambassador of Greece in the UAE. Similarly, Axel Baroux, the Managing Director of Business France Middle East, reiterated the importance of the event for French companies. "The Middle Easts unprecedented construction boom, driven by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, presents a unique opportunity for collaboration between French and regional stakeholders. At Big 5 Global, the French Pavilion highlighted groundbreaking technologies and eco-friendly materials designed to support the MENA regions dynamic growth," noted Baroux. Additionally, strategic summits at Big 5 Global, LiveableCitiesX, Future FM and GeoWorld hosted over 400 speakers from 28 countries, with over 85% being new voices this year, providing fresh insights and perspectives on critical issues shaping the urban development and construction sector. Spotlight on innovation at Start-up City Innovation took centre stage at Big 5 Global with the Start-Up City Pitch Competition, supported by the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, one of the three chambers operating under the umbrella of Dubai Chambers. Showcasing groundbreaking solutions that reshape the construction industry, the pitch competition crowned winners for their role in reshaping traditional practices in the construction sector. The competition winners, awarded by the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, included Vecros securing first place and a prize of AED50,000 for its Spatial-AI-powered drones designed for construction and other industries. In second place, Ailytics earned AED30,000 for its AI-powered video surveillance systems (VSS) that enhance safety and boost productivity. Nirwana claimed third place with a prize of AED 20,000 for its generative AI tool that personalises interior spaces. Simultaneously, Vecros was also awarded Big 5 Global prize, which included a bespoke marketing package valued at $25,000. The success of the competition underscores the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economys commitment to unlocking the full potential of digital sectors and advancing Dubais journey towards its ambitious future as a leading global hub for technology and innovation, in line with the objectives of the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33). Industry highlights and partnerships Big 5 Global witnessed significant industry milestones and partnerships as exhibitors showcased groundbreaking innovations, signed strategic agreements and introduced cutting-edge technologies. At the event, Liebherr Middle East held a landmark handover ceremony, delivering the HS 8130.1 Heavy Duty Cycle crane to NMDC Group. Known for its versatility, the crane is ideal for dynamic soil compaction and dredging projects, highlighting its role in large-scale infrastructure development. Meanwhile, Falcon Motors secured the exclusive UAE dealership for XCMG, the worlds third-largest construction machinery company. XCMGs cutting-edge fleet, including the worlds heaviest wheeled crane and electric mining trucks, represents a leap forward in sustainable construction technology. Another exhibitor, Wurth Group, a global leader in fastening and assembly materials launched its new division Wurth Construction Gulf at the event. Through this initiative the company aims to revolutionize the construction sector in the Middle East with innovative, efficient and sustainable solutions, aligned with Dubais 2040 vision for urban development. These achievements demonstrate how Big 5 Global continues to bridge the gap between global expertise and regional ambitions, driving progress in the construction and urban development sectors. Looking ahead to 2025 As Big 5 Global expands its footprint, anticipation builds for next years edition, scheduled from November 24 to 27 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. Commenting on the future, Heijmans said: "Were excited to build on this years success by facilitating even greater business activities and partnerships. Stay tuned for some exciting announcements as we prepare for another extraordinary edition of Big 5 Global."-TradeArabia News Service Abu Dhabi Fund for Development's (ADFD) partnership with Government of Bahrain represents a model collaboration for sustainable development. Since 1974, this strategic relationship has supported Bahrains economic vision and contributed to its comprehensive development goals, said a statement from ADFD. To date, the Abu Dhabi Fund has financed 33 development projects in the country, totalling AED23 billion ($6.3 billion), it stated. These initiatives span critical sectors such as housing, energy, transport and health, helping to meet financial needs and support Bahrains fiscal balance programme for 2023 and 2024, boosting the economy. Impact of Projects The Fund continues with its development initiatives aligned with Bahrains Economic Vision 2030, reinforcing strong ties between the two nations. The projects financed by ADFD have improved the quality of life, supported sustainable development goals, and helped the government meet the various needs of its citizens, it stated. Commending the Bahraini government, leadership and people on the countrys National Day and for its sustainable development, Mohamed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of ADFD, said: "The strategic relationship with the Government of Bahrain is a unique model of development cooperation that has endured for more than 50 years." "This partnership has resulted in significant achievements in many economic sectors, contributing to achieving comprehensive development that benefits Bahraini society," he stated. Al Suwaidi said the Gulf Development Fund programme for the Kingdom of Bahrain, which was approved in 2013, represented one of the most prominent aspects of this cooperation. "The programme exemplifies the support the UAE provides on sustainable development through ADFD, strengthening infrastructure and vital sectors in alignment with the Kingdoms development goals," he added. Partners in Sustainable Development The partnership between ADFD and the Bahraini government highlights the strength of Gulf cooperation in achieving sustainable development goals. The Funds financial and technical support boosts Bahrains ability to implement key national projects, creating jobs and improving services for citizens. This collaboration reflects the shared vision and strong ties between the two countries. The ADFD-funded projects in Bahrain demonstrate the Funds commitment to supporting Bahrains growth, aligning with national priorities and contributing to economic development while preserving natural resources, said the statement. The diversity of sectors addressed by the Fund highlights a deep understanding of Bahrains needs and priorities, it added. Some of the prominent ADFD-funded projects in Bahrain include: Housing Sector Salman City Housing Project: An AED1.9 billion project, it aims to directly address citizens housing needs by constructing 2,400 units with modern infrastructure, promoting community stability and helping reduce the housing demand gap. The first phase, opened in December this year, includes 1,382 housing units designed to meet contemporary requirements. The second phase will be completed according to the agreed plan. East Sitra Land Reclamation Project: An AED914 million project, it reflects a vision to expand the residential area through land reclamation, with the goal of constructing 4,500 housing units. Its completion is a positive step towards achieving development goals and providing new housing options for residents. Health Sector Mohammed Bin Khalifa Specialized Cardiac Center Project: An AED937 million project, it marks a significant improvement in health services by offering specialized heart disease care, reducing the need for treatment abroad. It strengthens the countrys health sector by providing advanced services that meet societal needs. Transport Sector Bahrain International Airport Development: An AED3.7 billion project, it strengthens Bahrains position as a regional air transport hub by increasing capacity to 14 million passengers annually, supporting the growing travel and tourism sector, and sustainably boosting the national economy.-TradeArabia News Service The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has granted CAR 145 approval to Falcon Technic for launching its maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) operations in UAE. This milestone was unveiled at the Middle East and North Africa Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) Show 2024, reinforcing the UAE's standing as a global leader in aviation innovation and excellence. Falcon Technics new 13,705 sq.m. MRO facility, located at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Aerospace Hub in Dubai, is equipped with cutting-edge technology designed to service a wide range of aircraft, including models as large as the Airbus A380, said the company in a statement. The facility also offers tailored services for VIP aircraft owners and operators, featuring private lounges, advanced workshops, an in-house design studio, and premium maintenance capabilities, it stated. Saif Mohamed Al Suwaidi, Director General of the GCAA, commended Falcon Technics achievement: "This CAR 145 approval is a testament to Falcon Technic's dedication to excellence in aviation maintenance. The GCAA is proud to support initiatives that advance the UAE's aviation ecosystem, positioning the nation at the forefront of global aviation standards and services." "This milestone reflects our shared commitment to fostering innovation, operational excellence, and sustainable growth within the sector," he noted. Falcon Technics CAR 145 approval includes servicing its Falcon Luxe fleet of Bombardier Global Express series aircraft, with further approvals for additional aircraft types - including Bombardier Challengers, Embraers, and Falcon 2000 Ex Easy models - on the horizon. The company is also pursuing CAR 145 Base Maintenance approval and EASA PART 145 certification by 2025. Aqeel Ahmed Al Zarouni, Assistant Director General of the GCAA, emphasising the significance of this achievement, said: "Falcon Technics approval under CAR 145 underscores the UAE's commitment to maintaining world-class aviation standards. This achievement not only enhances Dubais reputation as a global aviation hub but also strengthens the UAEs role in advancing the aviation sector regionally and internationally." In addition to expanding its approvals, Falcon Technic is enhancing its services with specialized shops for interiors, wheels and brakes, non-destructive testing (NDT), batteries, and aircraft painting. These facilities aim to provide comprehensive MRO solutions for both Falcon Luxes fleet and third-party operators, he added.-TradeArabia News Service Tradeling Holding, the B2B e-commerce entity of the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ), has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) distribution business of Axiom Telecom. Serving over 50,000 customers, Tradeling has successfully grown its order volumes fourfold since 2023. This year, it successfully shipped 3.3 million units, with expectations to surpass 3.5 million units by year-end. As a subsidiary of DIEZ, Tradeling leverages the authoritys strategic vision, fostering innovation and driving economic growth in Dubai and beyond. The signing, witnessed by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of DIEZ, marks a landmark transaction that positions Tradeling as a key technology partner for global brands, with a projected annual revenue exceeding AED2 billion. Further to the agreement, signed by Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni, Executive Chairman of DIEZ, and Abdul Aziz AlBannai, the Chairman of Axiom Telecom, Tradeling Holding will acquire 100% of A&T Holding FZCO, which owns Axioms key distribution businesses. These include Axiom Distribution (UAE), which specialises in technology distribution within the UAE and manages experience stores for leading mobile handset manufacturers; Axiom International Distribution FZCO (UAE), responsible for technology distribution in UAE free zones and global exports; and Axiom Telecom Saudi Arabia Co (KSA), which provides technology distribution services across Saudi Arabia and international markets. On the acquisition, Dr Mohammed Al Zarooni said: "This acquisition is a milestone in Tradelings journey to redefine the B2B e-commerce landscape in the Middle East. Through Tradelings robust digital capabilities and Axioms established distribution networks, we are creating a powerhouse that will deliver unmatched value to businesses across the region." "This landmark transaction aligns with the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, which aims to double the size of the emirates economy by 2033. Moreover, Tradeling is set to continue driving significant growth and attracting global businesses seeking to establish a presence in the Middle East," he added. Tradeling, headquartered in Dubai Airport Freezone (DAFZ), operates the Mena regions largest B2B e-commerce platform. Axiom Telecom CEO Fahad AlBannai said: "For over two decades, Axiom has been a trusted name in technology distribution across the GCC. This transaction represents an exciting new chapter, allowing Tradeling to leverage our established infrastructure and market expertise to elevate its business offering. We are proud to see our legacy continue as part of Tradelings ambitious growth strategy." Tradeling CEO Alastair Croker said: "By integrating Axiom Telecoms distribution business into our operations, we are not only scaling our capabilities but also reshaping the technology distribution landscape across the Mena region." "This strategic move enables us to provide access to global brands while leveraging our platform to empower businesses of all sizes to succeed in an increasingly competitive market. At Tradeling, we are dedicated to positioning Dubai as a hub for advanced trade and commerce while fostering a stronger, more connected ecosystem that enables businesses to thrive," he added.-TradeArabia News Service Dusit Hotels and Resorts under Dusit International, one of Thailand's leading hotel and property development companies, has announced the soft opening of its first hotel in Malaysia, Dusit Princess Melaka, on December 7. Strategically located in the heart of Melaka, a UNESCO World Heritage City renowned for its vibrant culture and history, Dusit Princess Melaka marks a significant milestone for Dusit as it enters the Malaysian market. Melaka's reputation as a global tourist destination continues to grow, thanks to its unique blend of heritage and health tourism. By September 2024, the state welcomed approximately 10 million visitors, surpassing its annual target of 8.7 million. With a significant number of travellers arriving from key markets such as China and Singapore, Dusit Princess Melaka is ideally positioned to meet the needs of this expanding international audience. Blending Dusit's signature Thai-inspired gracious hospitality with a contemporary design tailored for both business and leisure travellers, Dusit Princess Melaka occupies the former Ramada Plaza Melaka building, which has undergone a refurbishment and complete rebranding to reflect the distinctive essence of the upper-midscale Dusit Princess brand. From spacious and elegantly appointed Deluxe rooms with city views to the expansive Presidential Suite, every room in the 296-key property is thoughtfully designed with modern comforts and attentive details, ensuring a relaxing and enjoyable stay for families, solo travellers, and visiting executives alike. For relaxation and rejuvenation, the hotel features a fully equipped gym and a large swimming pool. Guests can also enjoy a variety of dining experiences, including Zest, an all-day dining destination offering sumptuous buffet spreads, and Long Feng, a beloved local favourite renowned for its authentic Chinese cuisine and signature dim sum. The hotel is also well-equipped for conferences and social gatherings, with state-of-the-art meeting facilities and a grand ballroom capable of hosting up to 1,000 guests, delivering a seamless and sophisticated setting for events of any scale. For those seeking an immersive journey, the hotel's central location is a standout feature, offering unparalleled convenience for exploring Melaka's rich cultural heritage and historical attractions. The bustling business district and popular landmarks such as Dutch Square, St. Paul's Hill and Church, A'Famosa Fort, and Jonker Street Market are all within easy reach. Malacca International Airport is just a 17-minute drive away, while Kuala Lumpur International Airport can be reached in approximately one hour and 45 minutes by car. "We are delighted and honoured to unveil Dusit Princess Melaka, bringing our unique brand of Thai-inspired gracious hospitality to Malaysia for the first time," said Gilles Cretallaz, Chief Operating Officer, Dusit International. "This opening represents a significant milestone in the ongoing expansion of Dusit Hotels and Resorts. With its distinctive blend of comfort, convenience, and heartfelt service, we are confident the hotel will not only become a preferred destination for travellers but also provide an enriching gateway for guests to connect deeply with Melaka's vibrant history and culture." -TradeArabia News Service Kerzner International has announced two significant leadership appointments as part of a new brand management structure that is designed to position Kerzner for continued growth and success. This evolution establishes three distinct brand verticals, each reporting directly to Kerzner International CEO Philippe Zuber, as the company continues to advance as an organisation and expand its global footprint. Brand Verticals Kerzner is renowned for creating pioneering brands, from Atlantis, to the ultra-luxury One&Only Resorts, and recently an industry-first with the launch of SIRO, the ultimate fitness and recovery hotel. The new structure will see an enhanced focus on brand verticals, with One&Only, Atlantis and SIRO/Rare Finds being led by a divisional head, dedicated to delivering an outstanding guest experience, rooted in the identity and values of each unique brand. This focused, brand-led approach ensures that each one-of-a-kind brand within the Kerzner group is protected and enhanced, it allows greater agility in responding to industry changes, and facilitates continued creativity and innovation. The appointment of Mark Kirby, promotion of Mattheos Georgiou, and welcoming of Paul Baker, to lead each of the divisions, also underscores Kerzners commitment to strong leadership, as their extensive experience and proven track records will be invaluable in steering their teams towards achieving the companys strategic objectives. "We are focused on fostering exceptional leadership that drives our brands forward, said Zuber. The appointments of Mark Kirby as President of One&Only and Mattheos Georgiou as Senior Vice President of SIRO and Rare Finds, as well as Paul Bakers role as President of Atlantis, are pivotal to our vision for Kerzner Internationals future growth, creating a corporate structure primed for the strategic expansion of our portfolio and the ongoing pursuit of excellence. Kerzner is renowned for creating trailblazing hospitality experiences that disrupt the sector, and these strategic appointments underscore our commitment to protect and enhance our innovative brands, demonstrating our dedication to nurturing talent and driving sustainable growth, positioning Kerzner for continued success in the dynamic hospitality landscape." Mark Kirby appointed as President of One&Only Kirby will join Kerzner International as President of One&Only, reporting directly to Zuber effective January 6, 2025. Kirby brings over 25 years of exceptional leadership experience in the hospitality industry, with a proven track record of operational excellence, strategic growth, and delivering transformative guest experiences. Most recently, he served as Chief Operating Officer and Head of Hospitality at Emaar Hospitality Group, where he oversaw a diverse portfolio of over 30 hotels, residences, and leisure clubs across the UAE, GCC, and international markets. His tenure was marked by the successful development and opening of multiple hotels and the expansion of the groups international footprint, including flagship properties under renowned brands such as Armani Hotels & Resorts, Address Hotels + Resorts, Palace Hotels + Resorts, and Vida Hotels & Resorts. As President of One&Only, Kirby will oversee the brands global portfolio, spearheading its expansion into both established and emerging markets, and enhancing its reputation for unmatched, one-of-a-kind experiences. Mattheos Georgiou promoted Last month, Georgiou was promoted to Senior Vice President, SIRO and Rare Finds. Since joining Kerzner International as Global Vice President of Operations, Georgiou has played a pivotal role in enhancing global operational standards, positioning Kerzner for sustained success. Georgious collaborative nature and unwavering commitment to quality have been instrumental in elevating the guest experience and supporting internal growth. His leadership has led to the promotion of several Resort Managers to General Managers, reflecting his outstanding performance and ability to shape the future of SIRO and Rare Finds. Under his guidance, both brands will continue to expand their global footprint while maintaining their unique identities. Paul Baker at the helm of Atlantis Baker, a hospitality leader, joined Kerzner in August, to spearhead the iconic Atlantis brand. With nearly 20 years of international experience, he brings an abundance of knowledge and expertise to Atlantis Resorts. His impressive career in hospitality and entertainment, including key markets such as Las Vegas, USA, Malaysia and Macau, China, is a testament to his leadership skills. Baker's extensive knowledge of managing and leading teams in diverse cultural and complex operational landscapes uniquely positions him to grow the Atlantis brand to even greater heights. TradeArabia News Service Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund PIF has announced the launch of Adeera, a new hospitality management company that will operate and manage hotels, combining the highest industry standards with timeless authentic Saudi hospitality. Through Adeera PIF it aims to build new world-class Saudi hotel brands and enhance the capacity of the local sector by launching programmes for training and skills development, in co-operation with international hospitality specialists. At a time when Saudi Arabia is cementing its place as a major tourism destination, the company seeks to introduce a portfolio of distinctive Saudi hotel brands, serving various segments from mid-range to ultra-luxury, for different categories of visitor, said PIF in a statement. It will unlock new business opportunities, focusing on the Saudi hospitality experience, working with hotel developers to maximize the contribution from the local private sector, it stated. Adeera will be a national champion, leading the Saudi hospitality sector and enhancing local talent and expertise, it added. Khalid Johar, the co-head of Local Real Estate Portfolio at PIF, said: "The launch of Adeera comes at a pivotal time when Saudi Arabia is expanding its hospitality and tourism offerings. The company has the opportunity to grow the sector by introducing new hotel brands as the country is establishing itself as a major tourism destination." "Adeeras unique focus on Saudi culture and traditions will provide a distinctive edge," he noted. According to Johar, the establishment of Adeera underlines PIF's role as an industry enabler in developing Saudi Arabia's strategic sectors, driving economic growth and diversification. It follows a series of significant investments by PIF in both the tourism and real estate sectors. This includes investments such as the hospitality company Boutique Group - which specializes in developing historic and cultural palaces into luxury boutique hotels - the agri-tourism company Dan and the tourism investment company Asfar, he stated. Saudi Arabias National Tourism Strategy aims to attract 150 million visitors and have tourism contribute 10% of the nations GDP by 2030, he added.-TradeArabia News Service Movenpick Hotels & Resorts, a leader in hospitality since 1948, has announced the opening of its new property - Movenpick Waad Al Shamal - in Saudi Arabias northern region. Movenpick Waad Al Shamal features 245 rooms and suites, including two Presidential Suites that offer an exceptional blend of comfort and modern design. The hotel also offers 18 state-of-the-art meeting rooms and expansive banqueting facilities, creating the ideal destination for conferences, corporate gatherings, and special celebrations, said the hospitality group in a statement. Whether for business or leisure, guests will find a setting crafted to inspire and connect, it added. Paul Stevens, Chief Operating Officer, Premium, Midscale & Economy Division for Middle East, Africa & Turkiye at Accor, said: "We are delighted to unveil Movenpick Waad Al Shamal, a property that reflects our brand's ethos of meaningful connections and uplifting guest experiences." "With its strategic location and alignment to Vision 2030, this hotel sets the stage for future growth while showcasing the best of Saudi hospitality," he noted. Dining at Movenpick Waad Al Shamal offers a culinary journey through five distinct experiences. "Yasmeen Restaurant offers a vibrant selection of Saudi and international cuisines, celebrating the flavors of the region with a contemporary twist. Zafaran Restaurant immerses guests in the rich culinary traditions of Turkiye, providing a truly authentic dining journey," stated Stevens. "For a refreshing retreat, the Oasis Pool Bar serves signature drinks and light bites in a relaxed poolside setting," he added. The Flora Lobby Lounge provides a welcoming space for guests to unwind with Movenpicks signature coffee blends and pastries and invites guests to indulge in the celebrated Movenpick Chocolate Hour, a daily immersive chocolate tasting experience that delights visitors of all ages.-TradeArabia News Service This story includes discussions of suicide and depression. If you or someone you know has thoughts of harming themselves, call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org to chat with someone at the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said she spent years fighting depression and suicidal thoughts but felt too ashamed to ask for help because of the stigma associated with seeking mental health treatment. She said she resisted the idea of seeing a psychiatrist despite experiencing these symptoms of depression for nearly a decade. Even when she finally decided to check into an inpatient mental health treatment facility this summer, she said she told a friend that she was scared it would forever be part of her resume. I was holding myself back, just because I was too prideful and biased to not recognize that I needed that kind of care, Hidalgo, 32, said in a wide-ranging interview Thursday. I don't want that for anybody else in the community. Advertisement Article continues below this ad After spending seven weeks in treatment at the Lindner Center for HOPE in Cincinnati, Hidalgo said she wishes she had sought treatment sooner. I was so ignorant about mental health, and now Ive been sort of on a crash course about it, Hidalgo said. I recognize that there's such a lack of knowledge in the community. I feel like if there's a little bit that I can do by sharing my experience and it will help other people, then I have a responsibility to do that. Hidalgo has returned to an intensely demanding job that is layered with political battles and legal fights. Reelected in 2022, Hidalgo is chief executive of the states largest county and presiding officer of the Commissioners Court meetings. She emerged as a rising star in Democratic politics and has drawn steady and at times sharp criticism from Republicans. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo talks about being diagnosed with clinical depression and her decision to seek mental health treatment during an interview. Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Nothing seemed to help before treatment Hidalgo said her symptoms have come in waves over the years but that she always thought they were a normal part of life. She tried to improve her mood by adopting a cat, buying a bicycle and taking vacations. Nothing seemed to work, she said. The first half of this year, even though I was in Thailand scuba diving with these incredible fish, I was really feeling empty and sad, she said. I was trapped. Hidalgo saw a psychiatrist in summer 2022, and he diagnosed her with anxiety, she said. She was skeptical of the diagnosis, especially after she had a recurrence of suicidal thoughts this past spring. Advertisement Article continues below this ad She explained her symptoms again when she saw her primary care doctor this summer. He referred her to a different psychiatrist, who quickly recognized that Hidalgo is among the approximately 18.4% of U.S. adults who have been diagnosed with depression. Depression does more than just affect how a person feels; it can also affect how they think and interfere with day-to-day activities such as sleeping, eating and working, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. The psychiatrist referred Hidalgo to the Lindner Center in part because he believed she needed to leave the Houston area, where she is a recognizable public figure, to receive the type of treatment a typical patient would receive, she said. She traveled to Ohio in late July, initially believing she would be there for only 10 days. She soon learned that was merely how long it would take for doctors to evaluate her to determine the best course of treatment. Her treatment included medication, group therapy and one-on-one sessions. She said it cost about $88,000 and that her boyfriend paid for most of the treatment out of pocket. Hidalgo said she could have returned to Houston at any time if there had been an emergency situation, but she acknowledged that she would have been operating at less than 100% without completing her treatment. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Hidalgo: This is not job-related stress While in treatment, her staff sent her letters from supporters who offered words of encouragement and sympathized with her job being stressful. But Hidalgo said Thursday that she believes she would have needed treatment regardless of her profession. I appreciate the sentiment and I know they mean well, but I don't want the takeaway to be that you only are depressed or deserve treatment if you are in a tough job, she said. I would have driven myself to severe depression no matter what I did because my personality is this way. Hidalgo left the Lindner Center after seven weeks. She then went to New York City as she underwent step-down care, a transition period between inpatient treatment and returning to work. She met with her staff via Zoom for about one hour per day while she was in New York, she said. Hidalgo returned to Houston on Sept. 27. She was working just 20 hours last week but said she plans to increase her workload moving forward. Her annual salary is $190,860. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Her return to work came three days after five people filed a lawsuit in state District Court in Harris County to remove her from office. The suit, which Harris County Judges Office spokesperson Brandon Marshall called "meritless and an absolute joke, claims that Hidalgo is unable to do her job due to her health concerns. READ MORE: Lawsuit calls for Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo's removal from office during mental health leave Hidalgo said Thursday that she is used to criticism but that she worries that calls for her resignation might deter someone from seeking mental health treatment. The message that is being sent is if you have a mental illness and you decide to treat it, you're going to lose your job, she said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo talks about being diagnosed with clinical depression and her decision to seek mental health treatment during an interview on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023 in Houston. Hidalgo returned to work Monday after an extended leave of absence to receive mental health treatment. Hidalgo announced Aug. 7 that she had checked into an inpatient facility in late July for treatment for clinical depression. She said in a letter that she had been experiencing symptoms for some time but was not diagnosed until July. Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo talks about being diagnosed with clinical depression and her decision to seek mental health treatment during an interview on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023 in Houston. Hidalgo returned to work Monday after an extended leave of absence to receive mental health treatment. Hidalgo announced Aug. 7 that she had checked into an inpatient facility in late July for treatment for clinical depression. She said in a letter that she had been experiencing symptoms for some time but was not diagnosed until July. Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo talks about being diagnosed with clinical depression and her decision to seek mental health treatment during an interview on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023 in Houston. Hidalgo returned to work Monday after an extended leave of absence to receive mental health treatment. Hidalgo announced Aug. 7 that she had checked into an inpatient facility in late July for treatment for clinical depression. She said in a letter that she had been experiencing symptoms for some time but was not diagnosed until July. Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo talks about being diagnosed with clinical depression and her decision to seek mental health treatment during an interview on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023 in Houston. Hidalgo returned to work Monday after an extended leave of absence to receive mental health treatment. Hidalgo announced Aug. 7 that she had checked into an inpatient facility in late July for treatment for clinical depression. She said in a letter that she had been experiencing symptoms for some time but was not diagnosed until July. Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo talks about being diagnosed with clinical depression and her decision to seek mental health treatment during an interview on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023 in Houston. Hidalgo returned to work Monday after an extended leave of absence to receive mental health treatment. Hidalgo announced Aug. 7 that she had checked into an inpatient facility in late July for treatment for clinical depression. She said in a letter that she had been experiencing symptoms for some time but was not diagnosed until July. Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo talks about being diagnosed with clinical depression and her decision to seek mental health treatment during an interview on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023 in Houston. Hidalgo returned to work Monday after an extended leave of absence to receive mental health treatment. Hidalgo announced Aug. 7 that she had checked into an inpatient facility in late July for treatment for clinical depression. She said in a letter that she had been experiencing symptoms for some time but was not diagnosed until July. Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Finding inspiration from Sen. John Fetterman Hidalgo said Thursday that she is detailing her experience in treatment because she wants to bring more attention to mental health. She noted that U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, inspired her to seek treatment by talking about his own treatment for depression. Moving forward, Hidalgo said she'll continue to attend group therapy via Zoom. She's also taking medication but said she is not experiencing any side effects. Her care team will continue to evaluate her to determine how long she needs to be taking the medication, she said. Hidalgo also said her experience has inspired her to work to reduce barriers to mental health treatment in Harris County. Studies have shown that more than half of U.S. adults with mental illness do not receive treatment because of factors such as a lack of availability and the high cost of treatment. A Mental Health America study this year ranked Texas last in the United States for access to mental health services. Its really brought to light, for me, so much more that needs to change, Hidalgo said. PNM Tobago Council leader Ancil Dennis has claimed the wicked Tobago House of Assembly (THA) administration has continued to deny Tobagonian contractors while other businesses have also suffered. The former THA chief secretary was responding to a hearing on Wednesday which saw the THA fail in its attempt to have the High Court overturn a default judgment in which it was directed to pay more than $18 million to construction company Nazvic Contractors Ltd for breach of contract. Perhaps it is because there is no consequence for the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) that it continues to disconnect the electricity supply of its customers without warning. Regulated Industries Commission (RIC) executive director Dr Michelle Salandy confirmed to a parliamentary Joint Select Committee (JSC) on Local Authorities, Service Commissions and Statutory Authorities (including THA) that T&TEC faces no repercussions for the failure to adhere to its code of practice that gives specific step-by-step guidance on disconnection, reconnection, and theft of electricity, among other things. Now that information is in the public sphere, the public will no doubt hold the commission to account. U.S. lawmakers are intensifying pressure on Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores as part of the nationwide ban targeting the Chinese social media platform. The reminder comes amid growing scrutiny over TikTok's refusal to sever ties with its parent company, ByteDance, despite legal and legislative efforts. The Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), led by Chairman John Moolenaar and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi, recently issued a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. The letter reiterated the need for Big Tech to comply with the ban mandated under the Foreign Adversary Act, signed into law in April 2024. Lawmakers emphasized that TikTok's continued presence on app marketplaces violates the act's requirements. TikTok's Resistance and Legal Battles TikTok has staunchly resisted the U.S. government's demands to divest ByteDance, arguing that such a move would compromise its operational structure. Instead, the company pursued legal action, invoking the First Amendment to argue for its right to free speech and platform operations. Despite these efforts, the U.S. Circuit Court unanimously ruled against TikTok, leaving the social media giant with no legal recourse to maintain its ByteDance affiliation. The lawmakers' letter highlighted that TikTok has had ample timeover 233 daysto comply with the law. However, the company has remained defiant, fueling bipartisan concerns over national security risks tied to its Chinese ownership. Implementation of the TikTok Ban The nationwide ban, set to take effect in January 2025, prohibits TikTok from operating in the United States unless it cuts ties with ByteDance. Lawmakers argue that the app's continued affiliation with its parent company significantly threatens user data privacy and national security. The Foreign Adversary Act provides a framework for addressing perceived threats from entities linked to foreign governments. While not explicitly targeting TikTok, the legislation's provisions require compliance by divestiture. TikTok's refusal to comply has placed Apple and Google under heightened scrutiny, as both companies must ensure their platforms align with federal mandates. Big Tech's Role in Enforcement As the January deadline approaches, Apple and Google face pressure to act decisively. The lawmakers' letter underscored the legal obligation of these tech giants to remove TikTok from their app stores to uphold the Foreign Adversary Act. Failure to comply could invite further legislative and legal actions against the platforms. While TikTok has yet to announce plans to appeal the Circuit Court's decision, its future in the United States remains uncertain. The looming ban underscores the escalating tensions between the U.S. government and Chinese-owned tech entities, with TikTok at the center of this geopolitical conflict. Someone took too long shaving, and the nation was never the same again In the 1960s, scientists discovered a substance that they dubbed polywater. It had the power to convert pure water into more polywater, which meant that if it escaped containment, it had could easily spread and end all life on Earth. Later, they realized that polywater was just normal water with some sweat dissolved in it. It posed no danger at all. Of course, youre too smart to fall for that sort of thing. Thats because you know stuff. And youre about to know even more stuff, including facts about space magic, drunk murderers and secret money stashes. Advertisement 15 Like and Sub A British submarine, the HMS Poseidon, sank and was abandoned in 1931. Then China secretly salvaged it and put it back into operations. Wed never know about this, except China let a local magazine called Modern Ships write all about it, and this issue of the magazine leaked to the West. Advertisement 14 Never Going Back The 1993 music video for Runaway Train by Soul Asylum featured photos of missing children, and popular lore says this led to 21 kids getting found and saved. Reporters checked on these kids decades later and discovered that, actually, those who ran away had good reasons for running away. None really had been rescued, and those who chose to reconnect with their parents always had the ability to. 13 Itchy and Scratchy Scratch an itch, and the itchy feeling goes away. You might assume this is because youve addressed whatever it is that caused the itching. Actually, youve just fooled your body into ignoring signals from your itch receptor nerves, by adding new stimuli to touch and pain receptor nerves. 12 Maintenance Millionaire A Vermont man died in 2014, having spent the previous 17 years working as a janitor at JCPenneys. People were surprised to learn he left behind $8 million. Hed made it all by working and making smart investments in reliable stocks. Advertisement Advertisement 11 Cure for All Ills Ancient Romans used butter as medicine and in cosmetics. They never ate it, however. Its possible that this was because its impossible to understand how good butter tastes unless you add a little salt. via Wiki Commons They also didnt need butter, since they had so much olive oil. 10 See the Flowing Bowl The most giggle-worthy line in the Christmas song Deck the Halls is Don we now our gay apparel. This was a late addition. The original lyric was Fill the meadcup, drain the barrel. The whole song is about being jolly, with an emphasis on alcohol. Advertisement 9 The Water Must Flow The small town of Salisbury, Massachusetts, spent half a million dollars this year to truck in 14,000 tons of sand to form artificial dunes. A couple days later, a storm struck, and it washed the entirety of those dunes out to sea. Advertisement 8 Whos Your Daddy? Its possible to extract sperm from a body after the man has died, for fathering children. The first time this resulted in a successful birth was 1998, and some countries have since made it illegal without the mans permission, but it remains legal in America. Advertisement 7 Mere Players Men used to play every female role onstage in the 16th century. But in 1662, King Charles II issued orders saying the leading theater companies could cast women in those parts. Earlier, he had come to a performance, which was delayed because the actors playing women were taking too long shaving their faces. 6 A Face for Radio There was a ventriloquist named Peter Brough, who had a radio show in the 1940s and 1950s. Then he made the move to TV, at which point people realized his lips moved whenever he made the puppet talk, making him an utterly unimpressive ventriloquist. via Wiki Commons His puppet was named Archie Andrews and predated the comic character of the same name. Advertisement 5 No Ones Laughing Now Back when Samuel Colt was looking to raise funds to produce his pistol, he toured the country showing off laughing gas. He called himself The Celebrated Dr. Coult of New York, London and Calcutta, and he claimed to be able to use the gas to cure cholera. Advertisement 4 Dun Dun Dun DUN One of the most famous opening riffs in rock belongs to Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple. One of the most famous opening motifs in classical music belongs to Beethovens 5th Symphony. The Smoke on the Water riff was actually deliberately based on the Beethoven one, inverting it. Advertisement 3 Come Back Wrong CPR is able to revive only a small fraction of those its tried on. Perhaps more surprisingly, 30 to 50 percent of those who are revived later say they wish they hadnt been. 2 Water, Water Everywhere Water forms on the surface of the Moon almost constantly. The Moon doesnt have a water cycle, as it has almost no atmosphere. But solar wind brings in hydrogen ions, which react with oxygen content in minerals and produces water. Advertisement Advertisement PHOENIX He was fired last month by Gov. Katie Hobbs. But David Duncan still intends to complete his report about what he has learned about the execution process in Arizona and make it public, he told told Capitol Media Services. Duncan said there are several conclusions from the research he already had done that he believes need to be shared. And it starts with the one method for legally executing inmates in Arizona that he was asked to review. I dont think lethal injection can be workable, he said. Duncan said there are too many things that can and have gone wrong as the state has used this procedure on condemned inmates. But thats not all. I am concerned about the continued absence of transparency, Duncan said. That includes not just in the execution process but also what he said is the peril of obtaining lethal drugs in these back-channel ways, something the Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry itself tried to do before the chemicals it had ordered from India were seized at Sky Harbor Airport by Customs and Border Protection. I have spoken to one former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration who believes its very dangerous, he said. In fact, these compounded drugs that the states have procured in these back channels have ended up in hospitals, Duncan said. And they are completely outside the regulatory that exists that protects us all. And he said theres a political cautionary tale to be told about his dismissal because his draft report didnt reach the conclusions he says the governor wanted. I worry about what happened to me on any future effort by a governor or similarly situated officer to turn to an independent review person and to be able to find somebody of stature and qualification who would look at my experience and think, Well, I really dont want to engage in that fools errand, Duncan said. Hobbs hired Duncan, a former federal magistrate, last year after saying she wanted a new Death Penalty Review Commissioner. The task, the governor said, was to conduct a full review of the process, ranging from how and where the state gets its execution chemicals to transparency and media access and the procedures and protocols used by the Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry used to put condemned inmates to death, including the training of those prison officials involved. The death penalty is a controversial issue to begin with, Hobbs explained. We just want to make sure the practices are sound and that we dont end up with botched executions like weve seen recently. In the interim, Attorney General Kris Mayes agreed not to seek any warrants to execute anyone until the report was done. Duncan told Capitol Media Services he took the job under the premise that nothing would be off the table. I had no red flags at the beginning that there was any reason to suspect that the governor and her staff were not fully embracing the idea of an independent review commissioner and that they were hands-off, allowing me to come to my own conclusions, Duncan said. It was only later, he said, that it became clear that was not the case. At one point, the governors lawyer, Bo Dul, told me, No, youre not independent of the governor, you are independent of the Department of Corrections, Duncan related. That he said, was not the original idea. But gubernatorial press aide Christian Slater called Duncans description of the conversation with Dul a gross mischaracterization of what Bo said. She was merely reiterating that the scope and purpose of the review is defined by, and not independent of, the governor, he said. And that, said Slater, was to come up with recommendations under existing laws, not to recommend the firing squad executions or other changes to the laws. That account is backed up by Dan Barr, the chief deputy attorney general whose office was part of the oversight of the report. He said Dul never told Duncan what to say in the report. Barr said Dul told Duncan the study was to look at the death penalty law as it is and determine, within those constraints, whether there is a better way to conduct the executions. And that, by definition, meant lethal injection which is what the law provides. That, said Barr, made Duncans suggestion of a firing squad as a more humane alternative not only irrelevant but beyond what he was asked to do. But Duncan defended his controversial comments in the draft report about the firing squad being more humane than the current process. He said that idea fits squarely within what he was asked to do. Duncan said Hobbs asked him to review the death penalty procedures including the experience of the staff at the Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry to conduct executions. And what he said he found were mistakes and problems that have led to multiple reports of inmates, strapped the the gurney, suffering as staffers had problems administering the fatal drugs. The the whole point of mentioning the firing squad, Duncan said, was to get to what he said he believed to be the heart of the issue: determine if there is a way for Arizona to conduct executions in a way that is not just humane but, specifically, does not result in botched procedures. And he said that, in turn, goes to issues he did find at the corrections department and were in his outline, like staff doing Wikipedia searches about lethal drugs. He also mentioned not just the 2014 execution of Joseph Wood who took almost two hours to die after 15 injections. And even after executions were restarted in 2022, Duncan said in all three incidents there were issues with the execution team, which does not include medical professionals, having issues inserting the intravenous needles. Duncans decision to finish his report on his own is occurring against some backlash against Hobbs for firing Duncan. At a news conference last week Nicholas Sarwark, executive director of the Libertarian Party Institute, said Hobbs did the right thing last year in seeking an outside review. She asked a respected, retired federal jurist to look into the problems that we have had in Arizona, he said. But she didnt like the answers and she ran from the truth, Sarwark continued. If the governor wants to start killing people again with our money, she must first allow the report to be completed and release it to the public. Thats not going to happen, with Hobbs pulling the plug and paying Duncan $36,000 for the work he had already done. In his draft report the one that resulted in Hobbs firing him Duncan also said he was denied face-to-face interviews with the agencys new medical/IV team and watch them actually rehearse an execution but instead was offered only the opportunity for written questions. Agency officials cited issues of confidentiality. But Duncan, in an introduction to that draft, suggested that granting him that access could have made a significant difference in his ultimate findings. These interviews and observation of the rehearsal could affect my present conclusion that lethal injection while theoretically achievable is, in actual practice, fundamentally unreliable, unworkable and unacceptably prone to errors, he said. And Duncan said there may be another reason Hobbs dismissed him based on what she saw in his draft. I dont know whether she just wants to make sure shes on the right side of the capital punishment issue for the election, he said, with Hobbs seeking a second four-year term in 2026. I dont know, because it sort of looks like that. Hobbs has sidestepped questions about not only her own views on the death penalty but also whether she believes it actually is possible to kill someone with a lethal injection in a humane way. All this comes as Rep. Patty Contreras, D-Phoenix, has introduced HCR 2001. It seeks to put the question of repeal of the death penalty on the 2026 ballot. But the chances of that happening are virtually nil: Contreras had identical proposal in each of the past two sessions but could not get a hearing in the Republican-controlled legislature. Meanwhile, Mayes has moved forward with pursuing the death penalty against Aaron Gunches. Duncan said a public debate and vote might be appropriate. My kind of report is something that people could consider, he said. If theyre uncomfortable with the firing squad and lethal injection doesnt work to a satisfactory level, then maybe youre left with it just doesnt work, Duncan said. The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs has awarded two Vietnamese schools in Ho Chi Minh City the Label FrancEducation accreditation, in recognition of the high quality of their French bilingual education. French Ambassador to Vietnam Olivier Brochet on Friday awarded the accreditation to Luong Dinh Cua Elementary School and Colette Secondary School, both located in District 3. Founded in 2012, Label FranceEducation, which promotes French bilingual education worldwide, is a seal of quality awarded by the ministry to foreign schools that offer French bilingual programs. Luong Dinh Cua is the first educational institution in Ho Chi Minh City to launch a French bilingual program since 1994. In the 2024-25 school year, the school has 165 students engaged in five French bilingual classes, said Nguyen Van Loi, the schools principal. At Colette Secondary School, there are about 300 students studying the French bilingual curricula in this school year. French Ambassador to Vietnam Olivier Brochet (C) poses for a photo with students at Colette Secondary School in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, southern Vietnam, December 13, 2024. Photo: My Dung / Tuoi Tre The city has so far had four schools awarded with the Label FrancEducation quality seal, including the two mentioned schools and two others that got the honor in 2018, namely Le Hong Phong High School for Gifted Students and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School. Nationwide, 21 schools have received the recognition from the ministry. According to the French Embassy in Vietnam, there are currently 600 schools in the world awarded with the quality seal. Speaking at the award ceremony, Ambassador Brochet emphasized that the Label FrancEducation is a special brand that reflects the high education quality at schools in the French education system. He underscored that the Label FrancEducation was recognized by the Vietnamese State during the official visit by Party General Secretary To Lam to France in October, as well as in the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between the two countries. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Read what is in the news in Vietnam today: Society -- Vietnam needs nearly US$14 billion to develop a network of charging stations in a bid to build a green transport system, the Vietnam News Agency reported. -- Authorities in Quang Nam Province in central Vietnam on Saturday afternoon successfully rescued four residents trapped in a hillock amid a river by floodwaters from Friday, a local official reported. -- Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hoang Long suggested opening direct air routes between Vietnam and Malta to boost the two countries' bilateral tourism cooperation at a ceremony to celebrate 50 years of their diplomatic relations in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday. -- A dump truck hit a truck and four cars stopping at a red light on Vo Nguyen Giap Boulevard in Thu Duc City, a district-level unit under Ho Chi Minh City, damaging the vehicles and causing severe congestion on Saturday. -- Authorities on Saturday evening found the body of a 22-year-old woman and her seven-seater car in the Dong Nai River in the namesake province in southern Vietnam after the car reportedly fell from a bridge. Lifestyle -- Delegations from 16 cities and provinces across Vietnam gathered in north-central Quang Tri Province to participate in a culture festival of Vietnamese ethnic groups taking place from Saturday this week to Monday next week. -- Saudi Arabian people were fond of Vietnams dishes and traditional culture and art at the Vietnam Day in Saudi Arabia which will last until Sunday. -- More than 3,000 runners, including 40 foreigners, joined the first night-time running event in Nha Trang City of south-central Khanh Hoa Province on Saturday. World News -- A retired California highway patrolman has stumbled into possession of a trove of unreleased Michael Jackson songs -- which the world may never have a chance to hear, according to AFP. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hoang Long suggested launching charter flights between Vietnam and Malta to boost the two countries' bilateral tourism and trade cooperation at a ceremony to celebrate 50 years of their diplomatic relations in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday. With an area of 316 square kilometers and a population of some 563,400 people, the island country welcomed up to three million tourists last year. The country has emerged as a leading destination for Vietnamese travelers to explore Europe, Deputy Minister Long added. Malta is attractive to tourists with its 300 sunny days per year, UNESCO-recognized heritage cities, and beautiful beaches. Christopher Cutajar, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade, claimed that the Vietnam-Malta relations had boasted remarkable achievements thanks to their mutual trust and respect. Malta and Vietnam established diplomatic relations on January 14, 1974, making Malta one of the first western European countries to set up relationships with the Southeast Asian country, proving Maltas strong support of the Vietnamese peoples struggle for national independence and reunification, Cutajar shared. Vietnam, an important member of ASEAN, and Malta, a prosperous center of the European Union, have developed a strong relationship in various sectors, including trade, tourism, and education. Of which, their tourism cooperation potential is huge. Nguyen Van Dung, vice-chairman of the administration in Ho Chi Minh City, expected the city and Malta would make breakthroughs in their relations in the coming time thanks to their political trust and mutual understanding. Malta, with its strategic location in the Mediterranean and its role as a bridge between Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East, holds high potential to cooperate with Ho Chi Minh City--an economic, cultural and innovative hub in Vietnam, Dung noted. He also affirmed that there were many untapped opportunities and areas for both sides to explore and develop. During the Malta Week in Vietnam from December 11 to 15, there were the Experience Malta photo exhibition which introduced Maltas culture and history and a workshop to discuss Malta-Vietnam cooperation opportunities in finance, investment, tourism, fintech and blockchain. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Police in Ho Chi Minh City have searched for the legal representative of Saigon Star International School (SGSIS) in Thu Duc City, whose sudden closure and relocation due to a land dispute confused parents and students. The criminal police unit of the Ho Chi Minh City Public Security Department has been looking for Vo Thi Phuong Thao, born in 1981 and residing at 243 L2 Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street, Ward 13, District 5, for fraudulent appropriation of property since January, prior to the public uproar surrounding SGSIS-related issues. According to the wanted notice, the police have called on anyone with information about Thaos whereabouts to report to Team 4 of the criminal police unit at 459 Tran Hung Dao Street, Cau Kho Ward, District 1. The contact person is investigator Vo Thanh Tuan, who can be reached at phone number 0764.964.214. Up until now, Ms. Thao has not made contact to resolve the case, a source close to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reported. According to the business registration certificate for SGSIS, updated on December 5, Thao is the legal representative of the school and also serves as its general director. Thao owns 90.9 percent of the SGSIS capital, while the remainder is held by her husband, Tran Van Thuc, an Australian citizen. The certificate also shows that the SGSIS head office has been moved to 577 National Highway 13, Hiep Binh Phuoc Ward, Thu Duc City. This new address, also communicated to its 300 students parents via email, will replace the current facility on Land Plot No. 94, 811 in Thanh My Loi Ward, Thu Duc, which is subject to a court-ordered land handover. According to the schools announcement, repairs and renovations at the new facility began on December 7. The school plans to temporarily relocate to the new site at 577 National Highway 13 starting Friday, and expects to welcome students back on February 12, 2025. The school also aims to continue renovations and expansions throughout the 2025-26 school year, including building new classrooms, functional rooms, and outdoor playgrounds. The land plot at 577 National Highway 13, Hiep Binh Phuoc Ward, Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City, where Saigon Star International School announced it will relocate to. Photo: Trong Nhan / Tuoi Tre However, many parents have expressed concerns that this plan is unrealistic, given the currently empty state of the new facility. As a result, many parents have demanded a refund of their tuition fees but have yet to receive a response from the school. SGSIS, established in 2005 by an Indian businessman residing and working in Vietnam, caters to children aged 2-11, according to its website. According to Tuoi Tres research, Land Plot No. 94, 811 in Thanh My Loi Ward, Thu Duc is owned by ACB Asset Management Company Limited (ACBA). In 2016, ACBA and SGSIS signed a land lease agreement, which was followed by a land sale and purchase contract in 2018. However, SGSIS failed to make payments as agreed, prompting ACBA to file a lawsuit to annul the contract and reclaim the land. In 2020, the court ruled in favor of ACBA, ordering SGSIS to return the land and pay overdue rent. Despite SGSIS request for a review, the High Peoples Court of Ho Chi Minh City upheld the judgment in 2021. Earlier this year, the Thu Duc City Civil Judgment Judgment Execution Sub-Department issued a final decision for compulsory land handover, instructing SGSIS to inform its employees, students, and parents about the relocation and cease operations during the 2024-25 school year. The forced land handover was set for this month. Like us on Facebook or follow us on X to get the latest news about Vietnam! People in Ho Chi Minh City, southern Vietnam, are excitingly using free water from drinking water fountains installed recently by state-owned Saigon Water Corporation (Sawaco) at public places. As noted by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspapers reporters, Sawaco on Saturday morning installed drinking water fountains at various public places in downtown areas in District 3, including the city Children's House, the War Remnants Museum, Quoc Te Square, District 3 Health Center, Southern Women's Museum and Ho Chi Minh City Eye Hospital. The firm, the citys largest tap water provider, said it has installed nine water bubblers in the district and will continue the installation in days to come. Many residents told Tuoi Tre that they felt very happy to drink free water amid the hot weather. Nguyen Thuy Duong, a student at the University of Industry and Trade, said the drinking water fountain installed in front of the War Remnants Museum is very useful. People now can drink tap water or use it for a face wash, she added. Nguyen Thuy Duong, a student at the University of Industry and Trade, fills up a bottle with tap water from a drinking water fountain installed in front of the War Remnants Museum in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, southern Vietnam on December 14, 2024. Photo: Bui Nhi / Tuoi Tre Nguyen Thanh Hoang, a traditional taxi motorbike driver, said that free drinkable tap water is very meaningful for those who work outdoors amid the hot weather. According to Sawaco, all drinking water fountains are managed by software. Water quality information will be updated and announced via QR codes attached to the fountains. The company will monitor microbiological indicators monthly or quarterly and check all quality targets every year according to prevailing standards. Sawaco will also assign staff to clean the drinking water fountains and the surrounding areas at least twice a day, and weekly check the status of the fountains and make repairs or replacements if necessary. Fountain filter cartridges will be replaced periodically as per the manufacturer's recommendations or immediately in case the quality of the drinkable water fails to meet standards, the firm stated. Sawaco said it will coordinate with local authorities to manage and control all the drinking water bubblers. The municipal Peoples Committee on Friday directed relevant units to continue supporting Sawaco in installing drinking water fountains at other public places in the city. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Transition to a carbon-neutral electricity system by 2050 could help Vietnam save about 26 billion euros per year, according to Finnish technology group Wartsila, a global leader in innovative technologies and lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. In a recent talk with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, the Wartsila representative made the projection and highlighted the use of renewable energy sources in Vietnam towards realizing Vietnams international commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions by prioritizing the development of renewable energy and storage systems, it is necessary to develop flexible power plants that can quickly change capacity to help balance the power supply. By applying this way from now until 2050, Vietnam will likely save about 26 billion euros per year. In order to respond to the possible instability of renewable energy sources, the Vietnamese power system needs to use about 150 MW of flexible power sources alongside every GW of renewable energy capacity. In its recent report Crossroads to Net Zero, Wartsila suggests and evaluates two pathways to achieve net-zero emissions in the power sector by 2050. In pathway 1 (the Renewables and storage pathway), renewables and storage relies solely on the expansion of variable renewable energy, namely solar and wind, and energy storage systems. Meanwhile, pathway 2 (the Balanced pathway), incorporates balancing power plants, for example flexible engine power plants, alongside renewable energy and energy storage systems. The findings show that the Balanced pathway achieves net zero faster and more cost-effectively, with projected savings of over 42 percent (65 trillion euros), 21 percent lower emissions, and with half the land use for renewables from 2025 to 2050 compared to the Renewables and storage pathway, the report said. This significant cost reduction is mainly thanks to minimized curtailment and reduced renewable energy overcapacity, which are enabled by using balancing power plants, providing additional flexibility, and optimizing the overall system. Wartsila noted that Vietnams Power Development Plan 8 has shown positive intent by raising the renewable power targets compared to prior plans. Its clear that to realize net zero, Vietnam has to transform its use of energy, beginning with the power sector, the group stated. According to the plan, flexible power sources in the total power structure in Vietnam will reach 300 MW by 2030 and the figure will sharply soar to 46,200 MW by 2050. Pham Minh Thanh, Wartsila country director for Vietnam, recommended that Vietnam should create conditions for rapid expansion of renewable energy by upgrading the power transmission systems, and streamlining procedures for investing in inter-regional power grid infrastructure nationwide. It is necessary to quickly apply flexible technologies to balance power sources and maintain the grids stable and sustainable operation, while restructuring the electricity market by raising the proportion of renewable energy, among other solutions. As Vietnam is on its way to realize its commitment of net zero emissions by 2050, it is important now to ensure that the national power plan is implemented on schedule, the country director underscored. According to a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency, Vietnam has a solid foundation in renewable energy with a total installed capacity of over 46,000 MW by 2023, the highest in Southeast Asia. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The Hundred with Andy Lees very own Mike Goldstein has been getting ready for the festive season with a little Slow Horses & 90 Day Fiance. What shows are on your must-see TV list lately? MG: Late to the party, but just finished Season 1 of Slow Horses. A British spy show led by a never better Gary Oldman insulting everyone in his path. Funny, tense and action packed. Nathan For You remains one of the funniest shows ever produced. Host, Nathan Fielder, tries to help struggling businesses by implementing insane ideas and regularly interacts with some of the strangest people in America. Its great and very re-watchable. Cant wait for Season 2 of Severance as well. Which guilty pleasure show are you reluctant to admit watching? MG: My wife got me into 90 Day Fiance and Im now addicted. I dont watch any other reality shows except this one. Its Americans who have 90 days to decide if they want to marry a person they have a relationship with from another country. The fish out of water aspect makes it compelling viewing and the amount of cultural cringe moments are through the roof. When you settle down for a night on the couch what are your must-haves? MG: Comfy clothes. Sweatpants and a t-shirt generally. Anyone who wears jeans while on their own couch is a sociopath. Usually one of my two overweight cats will settle in on my lap and not leave until I cant feel my legs as well. What show would you secretly love to appear on? MG: Id love to be a judge on X Factor or Australian Idol. Ruthlessly crushing dreams seems fun! How will you spend Christmas and what can we expect to see on The Hundred: Christmas Special? MG: Ill be spending Christmas in Perth with my Wifes family. Lots of long days on the beach and recovering from sunstroke at night. The Hundred Xmas Special has one of my favourite comedians on the panel, Lloyd Langford, and also a special guest drop in from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (played by another famous comedian trapped in the suit and very uncomfortable). The Hundred with Andy Lee Christmas Special screens 7:30pm Tuesday on Nine. Staff correspondent, TwoCircles.net New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Congress party during a debate on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament). Support TwoCircles Modi discussed a range of issues, from Article 370 to the Uniform Civil Code. Without naming anyone specifically, he targeted the Gandhi family, A family from the Congress party has left no stone unturned in harming the Constitution, he said. Earlier, Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, in his speech, referred to a piece written by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and criticised the Modi government. He also raised issues regarding caste-based census and the expansion of reservations. Following Rahul Gandhis address, BJP leaders responded sharply. Parliamentary Affairs Minister and BJP leader Kiren Rijiju called Gandhis statements on Savarkar incorrect and shared a document on social media. BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, who is also deputy speaker, reminded that Gandhi had torn up a bill (Land Acquisition Bill of the Manmohan Singh government) passed by his own government in Parliament, implying that it was at that moment that he had disrespected the Constitution. The debate on the Constitution marked the 75th anniversary of its adoption, with discussions taking place on both Friday and Saturday. On Friday, Priyanka Gandhi, Congress MP from Wayanad, also raised concerns about the government during the debate. PM Modis Address The prime minister addressed several issues, targeting the Congress while also listing his governments achievements, including the abrogation of Article 370. While Modi did not name the Gandhi family, he pointed out that one particular family within Congress had posed challenges to the country at every level. In the last 75 years, a single family ruled for 55 years. It is only right that people have the right to know what happened in those years, he remarked. He highlighted that from 1947 to 1952, there was no elected government in the country and that the Constitution had been changed even before elections were held. In 1951, when there was no elected government, they altered the Constitution, attacking freedom of expression. This was an insult to the framers of the Constitution, he added. Modi also criticised former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi for making multiple amendments to the Constitution over the years. He said, In nearly six decades, the Constitution was changed 75 times. The seeds sown by our first prime minister were nurtured by another prime minister. Attacks on Indira, Rajiv Gandhi Modi also took aim at Indira and Rajiv Gandhi, saying, Indira Gandhis election was declared invalid by the court because of malpractices. To save her seat, she imposed the Emergency. In 1975, she passed the 39th Amendment, which barred any legal challenge to the election of the president, the vice president, the prime minister and the Lok Sabha speaker. He recalled the Shah Bano case, where the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi overruled the Supreme Courts judgment on behalf of the Muslim community. Instead of siding with a woman seeking justice, Rajiv Gandhi supported extremists and overturned the Supreme Courts verdict by passing a law in Parliament. Uniform Civil Code Prime Minister Modi reaffirmed his governments intention to introduce a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in India. The UCC was discussed in the Constituent Assembly. After debate, it was decided that any government that comes to power will decide on its implementation, he said. He quoted K.M. Munshi, a prominent member of the Constituent Assembly, who said that bringing a UCC was essential for national unity and integrity. The Supreme Court has also stated several times that a Uniform Civil Code should be implemented as soon as possible. Keeping in mind the sentiments of the Constitutions framers, we are working tirelessly towards it, Modi added. Rahul Gandhi on Savarkar In his speech, Rahul Gandhi invoked Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, quoting his views on the Constitution. Gandhi said, Savarkar wrote that the worst thing about Indias Constitution is that it is not truly Indian. According to him, the Manu smriti, not the Constitution, should guide our nation. Gandhi clarified that these were Savarkars words, and asked, I want to ask the ruling party, do you support Savarkars views? Because when you speak in favour of the Constitution in Parliament, you are mocking and dishonouring Savarkar. Rahul on Other Issues In his address, Gandhi also spoke on various other issues, including the Agniveer scheme, paper leaks, farmers protests and Uttar Pradesh. You praise leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Periyar, but in reality, you want to run India the same way it was run in the past, he said. He drew an analogy with the Mahabharatas character Eklavya. Like Eklavya, Indias youth prepares for exams every day. But with the Agniveer scheme, you cut their fingers. When paper leaks happen, you cut their thumbs, he said. He also criticised the governments handling of the farmers protests at the borders of Delhi. You used tear gas on farmers demanding MSP, while you benefit corporates like Adani and Ambani. He also raised concerns about the Hathras gang-rape case, stating that the culprits were free while the victims family had been silenced. The family couldnt even perform their daughters last rites. The UP government lied about this, he claimed. BJPs Counterattack Following Rahul Gandhis speech, BJP leaders fired back. BJP MP Jagdambika Pal reminded that Gandhi had once torn up a bill passed by his own government, thereby disrespecting the Constitution. Anurag Thakur, the saffron party MP from Himachal, mocked the Opposition, showing a book by senior Supreme Court lawyer Gopal Shankar Narayan and quoting it, The Constitution was created by the nations brightest minds. Thankfully, it was not influenced by Nehruvian thought. BJP MP Giriraj Singh accused Rahul Gandhi of lacking knowledge of history and stated that his family had repeatedly undermined the Constitution. Whenever the Congress has invoked the Constitution, it has done so for the sake of dictatorship, he said. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju dismissed Gandhis statements on Savarkar, sharing a document on social media in which former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had praised Savarkar as a son of India in 1980, just a day before his 100th birth anniversary. Staff correspondent, TwoCircles.net New Delhi: The controversial One Nation, One Election (ONOE) sparked intense debate at the Lit For Life Dialogue 2025 in Hyderabad, where eminent journalists Neerja Chowdhury, Rajdeep Sardesai, and Telangana Congress chief B. Mahesh Goud shared their views. The panel discussion was moderated by Swathi Vadlamudi of The Hindu. Support TwoCircles Chowdhury acknowledged that while ONOE was not a bad idea, it required significant thought and debate. She pointed out that while the middle class may support the concept, the rural electorate values direct engagement with political leaders, believing such interactions are essential for holding leaders accountable for local issues. For five years, they will not show their face to us? she said, as reported by The Hindu. The veteran journalist emphasised that ONOE needs serious national discourse before it becomes a rushed decision, like demonetisation. She further stressed that the problem of big money dominating elections must be tackled for the process to be truly free and fair. India Today Consulting Editor Rajdeep Sardesai took a critical view of the ONOE. He suggested that Prime Minister Narendra Modis push for it was an attempt to create a more presidential-style system in India. He tried it in 2024, but the public rejected it, Sardesai said and cited the countrys diversity and regional differences. He proposed that true electoral reform would involve proportional representation and the right to recall. He implied that the ONOE might be a distraction from pressing issues like the rising costs of elections, which skew fairness and equity. Representing the Congress party, B. Mahesh Goud opposed the ONOE and called it impractical, undemocratic and a threat to federalism. He argued that each state should retain the right to decide when to hold its elections and be allowed for more local control and autonomy. Sardesai, throughout the conversation, highlighted the evolving nature of communication in politics. He pointed out that since Rajiv Gandhis time, the electorate has come to expect a certain level of meritocracy. While dynastic politics persists across party lines, he credited Prime Minister Modi with mastering communication in a way that resonates with Indias growing aspirational class. Mushtaque Rahamat It is indeed perplexing how swiftly Syrias Assad regime collapsed, forcing the dictator to flee. Understanding and unpacking the incident and its implications for regional and global politics will take time. From the information I could gather (no small feat in an age rife with misinformation and whataboutism), the United States and its allies leveraged a Sunni alliance. It armed and united rebel factions opposed to Bashar al-Assad. This coalition, which can be likened to ISIS 2.0, was supported by Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar. These nations, despite their conflicting interests, played a significant role in toppling Assad, while the U.S. and its allies provided strategic backing. Support TwoCircles The Gulf monarchies, which are mostly Sunni, and Turkiye sought to counter Shia Irans growing influence and military prominence, which had portrayed itself as the defender of the faith. Overthrowing the Alawite rulers in Syria temporarily unified a fragmented Sunni bloc, revitalising their image of power and accomplishment. This was a crucial step for Gulf nations and Turkiye to project strength and assert their positions as powerhouses in the Muslim world. Western Strategy and Its Regional Effects For Western allies, particularly the U.S., this situation presented an opportunity to diminish Russias regional influence, sever Irans supply routes to Hezbollah and weaken its grip over Iraq and Lebanon. With Iran unable to support its proxies, the West aimed to neutralise groups aligned with Tehran. Turkiye, meanwhile, harboured dreams of reclaiming its Ottoman legacy as a leader in the Muslim world. The immediate benefit for Turkiye was curbing Kurdish separatist movements and boosting President Erdogans prestige among Sunnis, a much-needed reprieve given domestic criticism of his policies, especially regarding Turkish-Israeli relations. A symbolic gesture, such as Erdogan leading prayers in Homs, could bolster his image as a caliph-like figure. Challenges for Turkiye However, Turkiye, under Erdogans leadership, has struggled to reconcile its historical ambitions with its modern role as a secular nation-state. While Erdogan employs various tactics to retain power, his vision of melding Islamic principles with a modern nation-state remains contentious. Once Iran and Sunni insurgents are weakened, Turkiye may face challenges from its Western collaborators. The Gulf monarchies, in particular, oppose any model of governance with a popular mandate, fearing it could threaten their dynastic rule. This resistance is evident in their actions in Egypt, Sudan and Pakistan. Irans Calculated Moves, Regional Dynamics Irans strategic actions, including its unwavering support for Palestine and military responses to Israeli aggression, have significantly shifted the regional balance of power. Unlike other Middle Eastern nations, which have historically refrained from direct military retaliation against Israel, Iran has positioned itself as a formidable military power in the region. This not only challenges Israels dominance but also instils apprehension among Gulf monarchies, whose defence relies heavily on the U.S. support. Irans assertive stance has earned it widespread respect across the Muslim world, enhancing its influence both militarily and politically. However, this emerging dynamic is intolerable to Gulf monarchies, which view Irans rise as a direct threat to their authority and regional interests. Consequently, these monarchies are determined to weaken Irans proxies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and allied groups in Iraq and Yemen. Ironically, this agenda aligns with the objectives of Western powers, particularly the U.S., which prioritise maintaining Israels regional dominance often at the expense of Palestinian aspirations. This confluence of interests underscores the complex and often contradictory alliances shaping the Middle East. Russia, Iran, and the Wests Next Steps As Russias role in the Middle East diminishes, the focus will likely shift to Iran. One can expect attempts to destabilise Iran through Kurdish or Sunni/Shia factions, drying up its regional support. The goal is to isolate Iran, potentially leading to a regime change akin to Egypts Hosni Mubarak. With the Trump administrations return, there could be increased European pressure on Iran, reflecting broader NATO interests. The U.S. might also aim to involve China in a conflict, as military engagement is one arena China has avoided. With Russia mired in Ukraine, this strategy would further consolidate Western dominance. However, the Western alliances treatment of Ukraine highlights that it is merely a pawn in this broader power struggle. Israel: The Ultimate Beneficiary Among all actors, Israel emerges as the least affected and most opportunistic. The chaos in Syria has allowed it to expand its territory, divert attention from Gaza and deepen divisions between Sunni and Shia factions. Israel benefits from a weakened Turkiye and Iran, a fragmented Syria and Lebanon, and Gulf states aligning with its objectives. While I do not support Bashar al-Assad or any form of dictatorship, the unfolding events in Syria highlight the intricate web of power struggles, betrayals and ambitions shaping the regions future. Each actor is playing a dangerous game with no regard for the suffering of ordinary people an ominous harbinger of tumultuous times ahead. (The views expressed are personal) Ahead of the appearance of Allahabad High Court Judge, Shekhar Kumar Yadav, before the Supreme Court Collegium that is likely to happen soon for allegedly making controversial remarks against Muslims at Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) function, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has come out in his strong defense. Support TwoCircles Justice Yadav is facing calls for impeachment following his December 8 speech at the VHPs legal cell event where he discussed controversial topics, including the idea that the law should cater to the majority. At one instance, he went on to refer Muslims as mullah a derogatory term often used by Right wing for the Muslim minority in India. These comments quickly sparked widespread backlash, particularly from Opposition leaders, who condemned his remarks as hate speech. Speaking at the World Hindu Economic Forum on December 14, CM Adityanath condemned the Oppositions efforts to move impeachment motions against the judge, labelling the action as part of a broader strategy to silence those who speak the truth. The Opposition cannot tolerate anyone who speaks the truth. This is the same group that presses for impeachment motions whenever anyone challenges their narrative, said Adityanath. He also accused the Congress of practicing double standards, questioning the partys consistency when it comes to upholding the Constitution. Reacting to the growing calls for action against the judge, the chief minister argued, What is the crime of a person who speaks about the need for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), which is essential to end discrimination between majority and minority communities? Why should such a person be threatened with impeachment? He also added that in many countries around the world, the laws are shaped by the majority community, and there is no reason why India should not adopt a similar approach. As the Supreme Court took note of the controversy, it requested a report from the Allahabad High Court on the matter. Sources suggest that Justice Yadav may soon be called upon to explain his statements before the Supreme Court Collegium. As a purported video clip of Justice Yadavs controversial speech went viral, several individuals and organisations raised concerns over the judges comments, including Senior SC lawyer, Prashant Bhushan, who called for an in-house inquiry into Yadavs conduct. Bhushan argued that the judges statements breached judicial ethics and violated the constitutional principles of impartiality and secularism. Similarly, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat and the Bar Association of India have demanded that Yadav retract his statements and issue an apology. Karat called the judges speech a violation of his oath of office, saying that such a person has no place in a court of justice. As the controversy continues to unfold, it remains to be seen whether the Supreme Court will take any further action against Justice Yadav, or whether the calls for impeachment will gain traction. Sumit Singh and Syed Abubakr, TwoCircles.net New Delhi: Five years after the horrific events of December 15, 2019, when the Delhi Police, along with paramilitary forces, barged into Jamia Millia Islamias library and brutally thrashed students, the haunting memories of that day still linger for many. For Md Minhajuddin, a PhD law scholar, the scars are both physical and emotional. The 100% blindness in his left eye, the result of alleged police brutality that day, has made it difficult for him to concentrate on his studies. I have to take continuous breaks and it has impacted my studies badly. More than anybody, I blame the Jamia administration for my sufferings, he says, his voice tinged with frustration. Support TwoCircles The violence erupted when Jamia students, protesting against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), were subjected to a violent crackdown by the Delhi Police. The cops barged into the campus, attacking unarmed students with lathis and tear gas. Eyewitnesses claimed that even students who were not part of the protest were targeted, particularly in the universitys central library. Delhi Polices Terrifying Impunity Inside Jamia Minhajuddin, who was a second-year LLM student in 2019, recounts the terror that unfolded within the walls of his university. I was inside the MPhil section on the first floor of Ibn Sina block in the library. We were studying when we heard that the police had broken into the building, he recalls. As panic set in, Minhajuddin and his friends locked themselves inside, but the police soon reached their floor, breaking open the door and indiscriminately lashing out at anyone in sight. The lathis came down blindly. Without warning. Students were dragged and beaten mercilessly, he remembers. As he tried to flee, a lathi strike hit his left eye. My eye started bleeding. I ran downstairs and hid in the bathroom, where the police even came looking for more students. They saw me bleeding and moved on, he says. Eventually, he was helped to safety by a fellow student, Maqsood, who escorted him to the Alham-e-Iqbal Hostel. From there, Minhajuddin was taken to the Alshifa Hospital and later referred to All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) due to the severity of his injuries. The damage to his left eye, which led to permanent blindness, shattered his life, leaving his right eye vulnerable to further infection. Back home in Bihar, Minhajuddins family was in shock. My family had no expectations from the system. They told me, Jo ho gaya ho gaya, ab wapas aao hamare paas (whatever happened, happened; now come back to us), he says, his voice breaking. Horror of the Day Still Haunts Me The images and videos from that night are still etched in the minds of many. A viral video showed students being paraded out of the campus by the police, hands raised, humiliated and traumatised. Speaking on condition of anonymity, one of the students recalls, I can never forget that night. We were made to feel like criminals. The cops were inside our campus, asking us to leave. The horror of that day still haunts me. Another student, who was outside the campus during the protests, describes the atmosphere as one of fear. As soon as the police entered, panic spread. It was chaos. Dahshat phail gayi, poora dar ka mahual tha (panic spread, there was complete chaos), he says. Why Jamia Failed to Stand Up for Its Students? The very next day, December 16, 2019, Jamia Millia Islamia filed a complaint with the local police, as well as higher authorities, demanding action against the police. But despite the gravity of the situation, the police refused to register a first information report (FIR). In January 2020, under mounting pressure from students, the university administration vowed to take the matter to court. But even this effort was unsuccessful. The Saket District Court dismissed the plea in February 2021, citing Section 197 of the CrPC, which grants police officers immunity from prosecution for acts done during the discharge of official duty. When asked why Jamia did not challenge the courts decision in higher courts, Dr. Quamrul Hassan, chief media coordinator at Jamia, said, I am not apprised of the information in this particular matter. The Hopeless Hearing in the Delhi High Court As the legal battle dragged on, students, residents of Okhla and local activists took the matter to the Delhi High Court, seeking an independent investigation, compensation and action against the guilty police officers. Over 45 hearings have taken place since December 2019, but the case remains unresolved. In the latest hearing in November 2024, senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, representing Jamia students, highlighted that 93 individuals had filed complaints against police attacks. However, not a single FIR had been registered. It is only in our country that the police can be seen pelting stones and destroying public property, he alleged. Minhajuddin, who is among the petitioners, says the delay has eroded his trust in the judicial system. This delay is highly disappointing. Justice delayed is justice denied, he adds, expressing his frustration with the prolonged legal process. NHRC Report: Petitioners Vs Police The report of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on the violence was also cited in the Delhi High Court Additional Solicitor Aman Lekhi argued that the polices actions were justified due to the law-and-order situation. He claimed that protesters had hurled stones at the police and damaged public property, thus necessitating police intervention. However, petitioners have disputed the NHRCs findings, with Gonsalves arguing that the investigation was poor and dismissed significant evidence. The court, noting that the police action was not professional, has yet to pass judgment on the case. No Heads Rolled? Despite the severity of the violence, no disciplinary action has been taken against the police officers involved. Delhi Polices Public Relations Officer Suman Nalwa did not respond to questions about whether any officers were held accountable. Similarly, Jamias administration has not provided any updates on what steps it has taken to ensure the safety of students post-2019. The Wait for Justice Cant Go On For Minhajuddin, the wait for justice is an agonising one. He is hopeful that the court will eventually rule in favour of the petitioners, but he is weary of the delay. I believe in the due process of law, but the wait for justice cannot go on, he says. Frustrated with the lack of support from the Jamia administration, Minhajuddin adds, The university has never been cooperative. Even in court, when Jamia is made a party, their lawyers appear, but we get no cooperation. Campus Clampdown Continues As the fifth anniversary of the Jamia violence approached, the university once again found itself in the spotlight. On the eve of the commemoration, students were angered by a circular from the administration that shut down libraries, reading rooms and canteens for maintenance work despite exams being underway. Student organisations, including the Student Federation of India (SFI), accused the administration of trying to prevent the event. In response, the campus saw a heavy police presence, including riot control vehicles and paramilitary forces stationed at the gates. SFI-Jamia claimed that students were being restricted from entering the campus, as part of the administrations attempt to stifle commemorations of the violence. The delay in justice has only added to the sense of abandonment felt by students. As they continue to wait for answers, one thing remains clear: the battle for justice is far from over. Ly Ly Cao HA NOI The European Union (EU) continues to solidify its position as a key partner in Viet Nams transition to renewable energy, with recent collaboration efforts bringing promising developments to the forefront, particularly in Can Tho City and Tra Vinh Province. These regions represent the potential for sustainable energy growth, supported by EU-backed initiatives under the Viet Nam - EU Sustainable Energy Transition Programme (SETP). On December 12 and 13, delegations from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the EU, led by Ambassador Julien Guerrier, met with local officials to assess progress in energy transition projects. In Can Tho, efforts have already provided electricity to over 99.97 per cent of households, with rural electrification projects, such as the EU-funded 2018 2020 rural grid expansion, delivering energy access to over 1,400 households. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Nguyen Hoang Long, praised these efforts. The EUs support has not only improved electricity access in rural areas but has also laid a foundation for sustainable economic growth. Electrification empowers communities and drives local development, he said. Tra Vinh Province has also made significant strides. Over the past decade, it has connected more than 40,000 households to the national grid through investments exceeding VN700 billion (US$27.6 million). Renewable energy projects, including wind and solar, have significantly contributed to these advancements. As of 2024, the provinces renewable energy capacity stands at 505 MW, with several projects under development to increase this capacity further. Renewable energy potential Ambassador Guerrier emphasised Viet Nams geographic advantages, particularly in wind and solar energy. The geography of Viet Nam is a very favourable environment to develop such wind farms near shore and also offshore, Guerrier told Viet Nam News during a site visit in Tra Vinh Province. There is a very large continental shelf and very strong winds, so there is a huge potential to produce electricity here not only for the needs of Viet Nam but also for the needs of surrounding countries in Southeast Asia. The provinces coastal location makes it a prime candidate for offshore wind projects, with plans to develop over 800 MW of wind power by 2030. In Can Tho City, rooftop solar energy is gaining traction. Over 2,000 households and businesses have adopted solar installations, producing over 80 MW of electricity. Ambassador Guerrier highlighted the need to optimise these systems through policies enabling the sale of excess electricity to nearby industries or the national grid. Such measures can maximise the utility of rooftop solar across the country, he said. Nguyen Hoang Long further stressed the importance of renewable energy for industrial zones, stating that: "Our industrial parks are expanding rapidly. Green energy is essential not only to meet the demand but also to fulfil the stringent green standards of international markets. Lisa Nguyen, Sales Manager at CN Green Roof Asia, a company co-funded by the European Union and a specialist in renewable energy for the industrial and Commercial (C&I) sector, said that the companys clients had saved over 5,600 tonnes of CO2 through rooftop installations during 2022 - 2023. These CO2 savings were eligible for carbon credit trading, but solely within the domestic market and at a cheap price, she said, adding that last year, the credits were sold to LG in Hai Phong City for less than $1. Long-term vision The EUs financial and technical assistance underlines its commitment to Viet Nams energy transition. The SETP programme has allocated 142 million in grants for the period 2022 - 2027 to support clean energy initiatives. The EU also champions cross-border energy interconnections in Southeast Asia, which could position Viet Nam as a regional leader in clean energy exports. Given the promising prospects, EU has already been investing in the grid interconnections between Southeast Asian countries. I believe that projects like Tra Vinh can be replicated and multiplied not just in Tra Vinh but across many provinces on the coast of the East Sea, Ambassador Guerrier said. The EUs partnership extends beyond funding. It includes knowledge-sharing, technical expertise and pilot projects, such as rooftop solar at Can Thos De Heus facility. This installation is projected to reduce CO2 emissions by 470 tonnes annually, underscoring the tangible benefits of renewable energy solutions. Ambassador Guerrier noted that projects like these demonstrated the potential for scaling up renewable energy solutions in Viet Nam. The EU was committed to supporting such initiatives that align with Viet Nams net zero ambitions. Challenges remain Despite these advances, there are challenges to address. Tra Vinh leaders called for expedited legal frameworks to facilitate offshore wind and direct power purchase agreements, while Can Tho officials sought additional funding for solar and biomass projects. Both regions highlighted the need for cohesive policies to attract private investments and ensure the integration of renewable energy into the national grid. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Long acknowledged these challenges but expressed optimism: The governments recent policies, such as those encouraging rooftop solar and offshore wind development, pave the way for greater investment. With international support, we can overcome these obstacles. Ambassador Guerrier also reiterated the EUs support that with favourable policies, Viet Nams renewable energy projects could accelerate, drawing in investments from the EU and other international stakeholders. As Viet Nam strives toward its ambitious net zero by 2050 goal, partnerships like the one with the EU play a pivotal role. Projects in Can Tho City and Tra Vinh Province serve as models of how international cooperation can unlock the potential of renewable energy, transforming these regions into hubs of sustainable development. With ongoing investments and strategic planning, the future of clean energy in Viet Nam looks brighter than ever. VNS HA NOI Coconut has been recognised as one of Viet Nam's six key industrial crops (alongside coffee, rubber, tea, cashews, and pepper) under the Master Plan for Developing Key Industrial Crops by 2030. The coconut industry has seen remarkable growth, with export turnover increasing from $180 million in 2010 to over $900 million in 2023, and it is projected to surpass the $1 billion milestone this year. By 2030, the nationwide coconut cultivation area is expected to stabilise between 195,000 and 210,000 hectares, primarily concentrated in the Mekong Delta (170,000175,000 hectares), with the remainder distributed across the south-central coast, north-central coast and southeast regions. Speaking at the 'Connecting Production and Consumption for Coconut Products' forum on December 13, Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, Director of the Department of Science, Technology and Environment under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), said that according to Decision 431/2024/Q-BNN-TT, the target for 2030 would be to maintain the coconut cultivation area at 200,000 hectares. Since this target had already been met, future development efforts should focus on improving product quality and leveraging coconut by-products to create a variety of high-value-added goods. The acceptance of Vietnamese coconuts in the US and European markets, along with ongoing negotiations for official export channels to China, presented significant growth opportunities for the sector. Thuy highlighted that 30 per cent of the current coconut cultivation area met VietGAP standards, with 30 per cent of growing areas granted traceability codes. These advancements had increased product value and farmers' incomes, while processed coconut products held significant potential as high-value exports. China, with an annual demand of approximately four billion coconuts 2.6 billion of which are fresh coconuts is emerging as a crucial market, according to MARD. A recently signed protocol between MARD and Chinas General Administration of Customs allows the official export of fresh Vietnamese coconuts to China. Strict compliance with phytosanitary standards, food safety, and registration of cultivation and packaging facilities are key to sustaining a stable supply to this market. Ngo Xuan Nam, Deputy Director of the SPS Viet Nam Office, estimated that fresh coconut exports to China could generate $250 million in 2024, accounting for 25 per cent of the sector's total export value. However, he cautioned that enterprises must address increasingly stringent pesticide residue limits (MRLs) not only in China but also in the European Union. According to Huynh Quang uc, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Ben Tre, the province accounts for over 88 per cent of the Mekong Deltas coconut area and nearly 42 per cent of the nations total, contributing more than $350 million annually in export value. Ben Tre has developed 133 cultivation areas with traceability codes covering over 8,300 hectares and expanded organic coconut farming to more than 20,700 hectares. These efforts have positioned the province as a major supplier of high-quality raw materials to markets such as the US, EU, Japan, China, Canada and South Korea. Nguyen Phong Phu, Technical Director at Vina T&T Group, emphasised that while China was a lucrative market, it was highly competitive. Vietnamese businesses must improve product quality, offer competitive pricing and ensure food safety. Meeting Chinas rigorous phytosanitary and safety standards, as well as those of the EU, necessitated the development of robust quality management systems, good agricultural practices, traceability and pre-export sample testing. Le Thanh Hoa, Deputy Director of the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development under MARD, stressed that the inclusion of coconut in the list of key industrial crops marked a turning point for the industry. While tariff reductions under free trade agreements created opportunities, they also posed challenges. Enterprises and local governments must devise specific strategies to elevate the value and reputation of Vietnamese coconut products and support farmers in enhancing production. Hoa concluded: "Vietnamese businesses need strategies to increase export prices, ensuring the added value benefits farmers through higher purchasing prices. This is the sustainable path for the coconut industry in an increasingly globalised market." VNS CAN THO Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Sunday met with voters in Co o District in the Mekong Delta province of Can Tho during his working visit to the area. He updated the voters on the results of the eighth session of the 15th National Assembly including legislative tasks, task groups related to socio-economy, State budget, supervision and other important issues. The deputies approved 18 laws, 21 resolutions and the North-South high-speed railway project in the form of public investment with a preliminary total investment of over VN1.7 quadrillion (US$67 billion), he said. At the meeting, voters submitted recommendations to the National Assembly and the Government on many issues of concern related to the North-South high-speed railway and solutions to attract corporations and enterprises to invest in the industrial parks of Can Tho City. The voters also proposed policies on vocational training to shift labour from agriculture to industry and services. They hope the Government will implement specific and practical policies to support farmers to participate in the project of 1 million hectares of high-quality and low-emission rice cultivation associated with green growth in the Mekong Delta by 2030. They also expect the Government to promote the project to ensure water security for the western Hau River and prevent flooding and landslides in Can Tho City. Responding to voters comments, PM Chinh said the Government had directed ministries and sectors to review and develop a comprehensive project to prevent landslides, saltwater intrusion, droughts and climate change in the entire Mekong Delta region, and requested Can Tho to actively engage in. PM Chinh said the Government would continue to step up the implementation of major projects on rapid and sustainable development of the Mekong Delta region such as the project to prevent landslides, subsidence, and saltwater intrusion; the project to develop one million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice; human resource training. Regarding developing transport infrastructure, including expressways, airports, large seaports, inland waterways and railways, he said along with the North-South high-speed railway from Ha Noi to HCM City, the Government and relevant agencies were studying to implement the HCM City - Can Tho railway line and extending it down to the southernmost province of Ca Mau. He affirmed that the Government always listened to voters comments, aspirations and expected to receive more feedback. On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Viet Nam People's Army and Christmas for Catholics, PM Chinh presented 20 gifts to 20 families of war invalids, martyrs, and exemplary Catholic families in Co o District. He also presented 30 great solidarity houses to poor and near-poor households in Thoi Lai, O Mon, Thot Not districts. Earlier, in the morning, the leader offered incense and flowers to commemorate revolutionary predecessors, heroes and martyrs, and planted a memorial tree at the relic site of the An Nam Communist Party Cell at the Co o plantation - the first Communist Party organisation in Can Tho. VNS MOSCOW The Vietnamese Association in Russia has been developed into the Union of Vietnamese Organisations in Russia, reflecting the diversity and size of the 100,000-strong Vietnamese community in Russia. The decision was made during the fourth congress of the Vietnamese Association in Russia held in Moscow on Saturday (local time). At the first congress of the union organised right after its formation, members elected o Xuan Hoang as the President of the union in the 2024-29 tenure. The event also marked the 20th anniversary of the Vietnamese Association in Russia and anticipated the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and Russia in 2025. Reviewing the association's operations in the past five years, Hoang said that despite difficulties, the association maintained active operations, earning recognition as a model for overseas Vietnamese communities worldwide. Its efforts focused on three core areas - uniting and developing the community, fostering ties with the homeland, and engaging in people-to-people diplomacy. Through initiatives such as the Tradition and Friendship Fund, which supports Viet Nam Russia cooperation, and the Enlightenment Fund, chaired by Ambassador ang Minh Khoi, the association has encouraged outstanding academic and cultural achievements among Vietnamese students in Russia. Hoang called on the community to continue to tighten bonds with the homeland and integrate more deeply into the host country. Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Khoi praised the association's role in uniting Vietnamese people in Russia and building a solidarity bloc among the community, and protecting their rights and interest, as well as connecting the community and the home country. The diplomat expressed his hope that the newly established union would develop innovative programmes, becoming a robust centre of community cohesion and a reliable bridge between the Vietnamese diaspora and the embassy. On this occasion, the Vietnamese Association in Russia and two key leaders from the third term, President o Xuan Hoang and Vice President Tran Phu Thuan, were awarded the third-class Labour Order by the State President of Viet Nam. VNS CAN THO Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Sunday inspected the construction of the Can ThoCa Mau Expressway, during which he encouraged workers at the site and directed measures to speed up the project's progress. The Can ThoCa Mau Expressway forms part of the eastern section of the NorthSouth Expressway for the 202125 period. Spanning nearly 111km, the expressway traverses the localities of Can Tho, Hau Giang, Bac Lieu, and Ca Mau. The project is overseen by the My Thuan Project Management Board under the Ministry of Transport, with a total investment of approximately VN27.5 trillion (US$1.08 billion). Its construction began on January 1, 2023 and is set for completion by December 2025. To date, 53 per cent of the projects workload has been completed. Local authorities have handed over 100 per cent of the main route's land and 99 per cent of the connector roads. Visiting the construction site in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang's Phung Hiep and Vi Thuy districts, PM Chinh praised the efforts of local authorities, contractors, and workers for their efforts despite challenges. Highlighting infrastructure and workforce shortages as critical barriers to development in the Mekong Delta, he stressed the Governments commitment to resolving these issues, with expressway projects like Can ThoCa Mau being a top priority. Recognising all challenges facing the project, the PM instructed all sides to accelerate progress without compromising quality, safety, or environmental standards. He called for stricter oversight to avoid cost overrun or corruption, urging all stakeholders - from local authorities to the wider public - to actively support the project. The Government leader underlined the need to care for those affected by the project, ensuring that the resettlement place is better than the old place. He requested Can Tho City to deal with the relocation of the local landfill to hand over all the ground to the project in this month. The Ministry of Transport and relevant agencies must speed up progress of procedures allowing the mining of materials like sand and stone, ensuring adequate supply in December, he asked. Tien Giang, An Giang, ong Nai, Binh Duong, ong Thap and Vinh Long provinces were tasked with increasing output to meet demands. He requested relevant ministries, sectors to work with Ca Mau province on the lengthening of the Can Tho-Ca Mau Expressway to meet travel demand, promoting socio-economic development and ensuring security-defence of the province and the whole country. This project is expected to start in 2026. The PM noted that the completion of the NorthSouth Expressway by 2025 - spanning from Lang Son in the north to Ca Mau in the south, is an important political imperative. The project will contribute to Viet Nams goal of 3,000km of expressways by 2025, commemorating significant national anniversaries and paving the way for further economic growth, he added, asking for close coordination among all parties, especially localities hosting the project, to speed up the project's progress. VNS Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (PANA) - In a landmark decision, COP16 parties that concluded their meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday requested the creation of a caucus for Indigenous Peoples with the goal of ensuring that their unique perspectives and priorities are represented in the work of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Computing inside an AI What would it mean to treat AI as a tool instead of a person? Since the launch of ChatGPT, explorations in two directions kicked into high gear. The first direction is about technical capabilities. How big a model can we train? How well can it answer SAT questions? How efficiently can we serve it? The second direction is about interaction design. How do we communicate with a model? How can we use it for useful work? What metaphor do we use to reason about it? The first direction is widely followed and hugely invested in, and for good reason: progress on technical capabilities underlies every possible application. But the second is just as crucial to the field, and it has tremendous lingering unknowns. We are now only a couple of years into the large model age. What are the odds weve already figured out the best ways to use them? I propose a new mode of interaction, where models play the role of computer (e.g. phone) applications: providing a graphical interface, interpreting user inputs, and updating their state. In this mode, instead of being an agent that uses a computer on behalf of the human, AI can provide a richer and more powerful computing environment for us to use. Metaphors for interaction At the core of an interaction is a metaphor which guides a users expectations about a system. The early days of computing took metaphors like desktops and typewriters and spreadsheets and letters and turned them into digital equivalents, which let a user reason about their behavior. You can leave something on your desktop and come back to it; you need an address to send a letter. As we developed a cultural knowledge of these devices, the need for these particular metaphors disappeared, and with them the skeumorphic interface designs that reinforced them. Like a trash can or a pencil, a computer is now a metaphor for itself. The dominant metaphor for large models today is model-as-person. This is an effective metaphor because people have extensive capabilities that we have strong intuitions about. It implies that we can hold a conversation with a model and ask it questions; that the model can collaborate with us on a document or a piece of code; that we can give it a task to do on its own and it will come back when its finished. However, treating a model as a person profoundly limits how we think to interact with it. Human interactions are inherently slow and linear, limited by the bandwidth and turn-taking nature of speech. As weve all experienced, communicating complex ideas in conversation is hard and lossy. When we want precision, we turn to tools instead, using direct manipulation and high-bandwidth visual interfaces to make diagrams and write code and design CAD models. Because we conceptualize models as people, we use them via slow conversation, even though theyre perfectly capable of accepting fast direct inputs and producing visual results. The metaphors we use constrain the experiences that we build, and model-as-person is keeping us from exploring the full potential of large models. For many use cases, and especially for productive work, I believe that the future lies in a different metaphor: model-as-computer. Using an AI as a computer Under the model-as-computer metaphor, we will interact with large models according to the intuitions we have about computer applications (whether desktop, tablet, phone). Note that this does not mean that the model will be a traditional app any more than the Windows desktop was a literal desk. Computer application will be a way for a model to represent itself to us. Instead of acting like a person, the model will act like a computer. Acting like a computer means producing a graphical interface. In place of the charmingly teletype linear stream of text provided by ChatGPT, a model-as-computer system will generate something which resembles the interface of a modern application: buttons, sliders, tabs, images, plots, and all the rest. This addresses key limitations of the standard model-as-person chat interface: Discoverability . A good tool suggests uses for itself. When the only interface is an empty text box, the onus is on the user to figure out what to do and understand the boundaries of the system. The Edit sidebar in Lightroom is a great way to learn about photo editing because it doesnt just tell you what this application can do to a photo, but what you might want to do. Similarly, a model-as-computer interface for DALL-E could surface new possibilities for your image generations. If you asked for an image in the style of a sketch, it could generate radio buttons for the drawing medium (pencil, marker, pastels, ), a slider for the level of detail in the sketch, a toggle between color and B&W, and some illustrated buttons to select a perspective (2D, isomorphic, two-point perspective). . A good tool suggests uses for itself. When the only interface is an empty text box, the onus is on the user to figure out what to do and understand the boundaries of the system. The Edit sidebar in Lightroom is a great way to learn about photo editing because it doesnt just tell you what this application can do to a photo, but what you might want to do. Similarly, a model-as-computer interface for DALL-E could surface new possibilities for your image generations. If you asked for an image in the style of a sketch, it could generate radio buttons for the drawing medium (pencil, marker, pastels, ), a slider for the level of detail in the sketch, a toggle between color and B&W, and some illustrated buttons to select a perspective (2D, isomorphic, two-point perspective). Efficiency. Direct manipulation is quicker than writing a request in words. To continue the Lightroom example, it would be unthinkable to edit a photo by telling a person which sliders to move and how much. Youd be there all day asking for a little lower exposure and a little higher vibrance, just to see what it would look like. In the model-as-computer metaphor, the model can create tools that let you communicate what you want more efficiently and thus get things done faster. In the DALL-E example, clicking through those options and dragging those sliders would let you explore a space of generated sketches in real time. Unlike in a traditional application, this graphical interface is generated by the model on demand. This means that every part of the interface you see is relevant to what youre doing right now, including the specific contents of your work (the subject of this picture, the tone of this paragraph). It also means that if you would like more or different interface, you can just ask for it. You might ask DALL-E to produce some editable presets for its settings that are inspired by famous sketch artists. When you click on the Leonardo da Vinci preset, it sets the sliders for highly detailed perspective drawings in black ink. If you click Charles Schulz, it selects low detail technicolor 2D comics instead. A Protean bicycle of the mind Model-as-person has a curious tendency to create distance between the user and the model, mirroring the communication gap between two people that can be narrowed but never quite closed. Because of the difficulty and expense of communicating in words, people tend to break up tasks amongst themselves into large chunks that are as independent as possible. Model-as-person interfaces follow this pattern: its not worth telling a model to add a return statement to your function when its quicker to write it yourself. With the overhead of communicating, model-as-person systems are most helpful when they can do an entire block of work on their own. They do things for you. This stands in contrast to how we interact with computers or other tools. Tools produce visual feedback in real time and are controlled through direct manipulation. They have so little communication overhead that there is no need to spec out an independent block of work. It makes more sense to keep the human in the loop and directing the tool from moment to moment. Like seven league boots, tools let you go farther with each step, but you are still the one doing the work. They let you do things faster. Consider the task of building a website using a large model. With todays interfaces, you might treat the model as a contractor or a collaborator. You would try to write down in words as much as possible about how you want the site to look, and what you want it to say, and what features you want it to have. The model would generate a first draft, you would run it, and then you would have some feedback. Make the logo a little bigger, you would say, and center that first hero image, and there should be a login button in the header. To get things exactly the way you want, you will send a very long list of increasingly nitpicky requests. An alternative model-as-computer interaction would look different: instead of building the website, the model would generate an interface for you to build it, where every user input to that interface queries the large model under the hood. Perhaps when you describe your needs it would make an interface with a sidebar and a preview window. At first the sidebar contains only a few layout sketches that you can choose as a starting point. You can click on each one, and the model writes the HTML for a web page using that layout and displays it in the preview window. Now that you have a page to work with, the sidebar gains additional options that affect the page globally, like font pairings and color schemes. The preview acts as a WYSIWYG editor, allowing you to grab elements and move them around, edit their contents, etc. Powering all of this is the model, which sees these user actions and rewrites the page to match the changes they make. Because the model can generate an interface to help the two of you communicate more efficiently, you get to exercise more control over the final product in less time. Model-as-computer encourages us to think of the model as a tool to interact with in real time rather than a collaborator to give assignments to. Instead of replacing an intern or a tutor, it can be a sort of shape-shifting bicycle for the mind, one which is always custom-built exactly for you and the terrain you plan to cross. A new paradigm for computing? Models that can generate interfaces on demand are a brand new frontier in computing. They may be a new paradigm entirely, with the way they short-circuit the existing application model. Giving end users the power to create and modify apps on the fly fundamentally changes the way we interact with computers. In place of a single static application built by a developer, a model will generate a bespoke application for the user and their immediate needs. In place of business logic implemented in code, the model will interpret the users inputs and update the UI. Its even possible that this sort of generative UI will replace the operating system entirely, generating and managing interfaces and windows on the fly as needed. At first, generative UI will be a toy, only really useful for creative exploration and a few other niche applications. After all, nobody would want an email app that occasionally sends emails to your ex and lies about your inbox. But gradually the models will get better. Even as they push further into the space of brand new experiences, they will slowly become reliable enough to use for real work. Little pieces of this future already exist. Years ago Jonas Degrave showed that ChatGPT could do a decent simulation of a Linux command line. In a similar vein, websim.ai uses an LLM to generate web sites on demand as you navigate to them. Oasis, GameNGen and DIAMOND train action-conditioned video models on single video games, letting you play e.g. Doom inside a large model. And Genie 2 generates playable video games from text prompts. Generative UI may still be a crazy idea, but its not that crazy. There are huge open questions about what this will look like. Where will generative UI first be useful? How will we share and distribute the experiences that we make by collaborating with the model, if they only exist as a large models context? Will we even want to? What new kinds of experiences will be possible? How will any of this actually work? Should models generate UI as code, or generate raw pixels directly? I dont know these answers yet. Well have to experiment and find out! Discuss on Bluesky or Twitter. https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/12/politics/biden-admin-says-it-is-surging-deliveries-to-ukraine-as-trump-criticizes-decision-to-allow-weapons-to-strike-russia/index.html CNN The Biden administration is working to surge deliveries of weapons to Ukraine in its final days in office in a concerted effort to put Kyiv on a strong footing going into 2025, according to a senior administration official. The push is in stark contrast to that of the incoming Trump administration, with President-elect Donald Trump sharply criticizing a recent US move to allow Ukraine to use US-provided weapons to strike inside Russia in an interview with Time Magazine published Thursday. In the latest show of support for Ukraine, the Biden administration on Thursday evening announced a $500 million aid package that will pull equipment out of the US militarys stocks. The senior administration official told CNN that the administration is pouring resources into getting previously announced weapons for Ukraine into Kyivs hands before Biden leaves office. DoD is undertaking a historic effort to move massive quantities of weapons into Ukraine in the next five weeks, the senior administration official said. Between now and mid-January, we will deliver to Ukraine hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, thousands of rockets, hundreds of armored vehicles, and other critical capabilities. An interagency effort to deliver the weapons is being led by national security adviser Jake Sullivan, the senior official said. In November, Sullivan told Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on behalf of the president to accelerate the deliveries of armored vehicles, rockets, artillery and more to Ukraine. The Pentagon is now conducting sealifts and airlifts to meet the delivery deadline. Sullivan just briefed Andriy Yermak, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, about the sealifts and airlifts last week, a source familiar with the matter said. David Shimer, the National Security Councils Ukraine director, has been coordinating with the Pentagon on their efforts specifically. The renewed push for delivery to Ukraine hasnt changed the situation that there are no US boots on the ground in Ukraine, the source familiar said, and the weapons are being moved through Europe the way they have been throughout the war. But the source said that the surge in deliveries is involving a significant number of flights and sea vessels. Meanwhile, in the interview with Time which was conducted in late November but published Thursday with Trumps selection as the 2024 Person of the Year Trump was pushed on how he will support Ukraine after taking office. He said in the interview that he vehemently disagreed with the decision by the Biden administration to allow Ukraine to strike inside Russia with US-provided weapons. Were just escalating this war and making it worse, Trump said. That should not have been allowed to be done. Now theyre doing not only missiles, but theyre doing other types of weapons. And I think thats a very big mistake, very big mistake. Mike Waltz, Trumps pick to be the next national security adviser, has been weighing proposals for ending the war, including one from retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg whom Trump announced as his special envoy to Ukraine and Russia that would make continued US aid to Ukraine contingent on Ukraines participation in peace talks with Russia. Another proposal would allow Russia to keep the territory it currently holds in exchange for giving Ukraine NATO membership. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he wants to work directly with Trump and that he believes the war will end fasterwhen he is president. Trump and Zelensky met just last week in Paris, along with French President Emmanuel Macron. CNN has reported that the Pentagon is unlikely to use all of the nearly $7 billion left in funding that was authorized by Congress to arm Ukraine by the time Biden leaves office, largely due to limitations in the militarys ability to refill its own stocks. The source familiar, though, said the administration is confident that theyll use the appropriated funding for Ukraine, drawing a distinction from what was authorized. But still, the biggest challenge facing Ukraine is not its weapons stocks, the senior administration official said its manpower. The source familiar with the matter said that the Biden administrations emphasis on Kyivs need to address its manning issue is part of the larger push to ensure Ukraine is in as good a position as possible going into 2025. Ukraine is not currently mobilizing or training enough soldiers to staff its front-line units, the official said. The US stands ready to help train newly mobilized soldiers: If Ukraine mobilizes additional soldiers and sends them to training sites outside of Ukraine, we will train them. But first, Ukraine needs to make the decision to mobilize more soldiers. This story has been updated with additional reporting. 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Penyffordd councillor Alasdair Ibbotson told Flintshire County Councils Corporate Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee that they should instead focus on promoting local businesses within Flintshire. Despite Cllr Ibbotson, a member of Flintshire Peoples Voice, claiming the 160m proposal to create a zone would not benefit local people however, the committee supported the investment zone plans. The proposed investment zone covers three sites The Deeside Gateway comprising of former RAF Sealand land around Deeside Industrial Park, Wrexham Industrial Estate and Warren Hall near Broughton, strategic land currently owned by the Welsh Government. It will offer tax benefits to advanced manufacturing businesses who establish their presence within it and create employment and training opportunities for highly skilled roles. There is no mention of improved wages and no mention of improved working conditions for working people in Flintshire, argued Cllr Ibbotson. There are significant tax handouts for businesses. Who benefits? Flintshire has an employment rate far below the Wales average and even further below the UK average. Who is going to fill these jobs? The kind of companies who are going here at those who are happy to move around when theres tax incentives, they will disappear as soon as those tax incentives disappear. Small local businesses who make up the core of the local economy will suffer if we pass this. Big multinationals, owned by millionaires and billionaires who do not live in Flintshire, will benefit. Deputy leader of Flintshire County Council, Independent Cllr Richard Jones refuted his claims however, highlighting Flintshires history of skilled manufacturing. Investment of 160m over 10 years, the creation of 6,000 jobs, whats not to like? he said. Those are additional jobs, not displaced jobs as Cllr Ibbotson might have thought. They are high skilled jobs in manufacturing which this area has a history of. The education side through schools and colleges is important. Companies that move into the investment zone need to know that theres a source of employees that they can tap into. But Im wholly supportive of this, why wouldnt you be? Under the proposals Flintshire and Wrexham will also be able to specify two areas within the zone where they can retain 50% of the business rates generated to re-invest in local services. Cllr Ibbotson remained unconvinced. If we want to build our local economy, we need to focus on promoting genuinely local businesses. Businesses that operate in Flintshire, that pay their taxes in Flintshire, that employ local people and in turn are owned by local people so that any profits stay within our local economy. That is how we build a brighter future for Flintshire. Its already being done by trailblazing local councils including the Labour council in Preston. We can do the same here. Committee chairman Cllr Bill Crease, also deputy leader of the Independent group on Flintshire County Council, summed up his hopes for the project before the committee voted. The former teacher, originally from Scotland, said: I saw the Highlands and Islands Development Board almost half a century ago. I grew up in the desolation of the west of Scotland and the Highlands there. I saw what happened over a sustained period of time with the development of workforce, increasing skills, increasing disposable pay over an area that has historically been rural and disadvantaged. The idea of something similar potentially happening across North East Wales is quite exciting for me. Overall the committee carried the recommendations to support the investment zone plans by majority. By Alec Doyle BBC Local Democracy Reporter North Wales business urged to take part in online surgery with PCC This article is old - Published: Sunday, Dec 15th, 2024 The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for North Wales Andy Dunbobbin is inviting business owners across the region to participate in his first online advice surgery. The virtual event will take place on 15 January 2025 via Microsoft Teams, between 6:30pm and 7:30pm. It aims to give local business owners and operators the chance to discuss policing in their communities and to raise any concerns they might have with the Commissioner. The online advice surgery will take place ahead of the launch of the commissioners Police and Crime Plan for North Wales, which will outline support for victims, communities and businesses across the region. Mr Dunbobbin said he is keen to hear the thoughts of local business owners on what changes or improvements they feel could be made to how policing engages with, and serves, the business community in North Wales whether from retail, hospitality, manufacturing or any other commercial enterprise. This upcoming online surgery for the North Wales business community marks a significant step forward in our efforts to strengthen the bond between me and the communities we serve across North Wales, said Mr Dunbobbin. By embracing this digital format, were making it easier than ever for busy business owners to have their voices heard, regardless of their location. We have seen the rise in recent years of shoplifting, violence towards staff, increased instances of making off without payment, and vandalism against business premises. I am determined to work with business owners, North Wales Police and other agencies to help reduce this and am looking forward to speaking to the regions business community to hear their thoughts, discuss their problems and to act on their concerns. The surgery will take the form of an open, online forum and will see the commissioner joined online by representatives from his office and North Wales Police. Participants are asked to submit questions in advance, however they can also be asked on the day. How it will work The PCC will be accompanied by staff from his team during the online event, who will help to facilitate the meetings and take notes if needed. Attendance on the call is by booking only to ensure that numbers are managed effectively, the issues being raised relate to policing, crime or community safety, and to ensure the PCC is briefed on the issues to be discussed prior to the meeting. While the Commissioner is unable to intervene directly in operational matters, he welcomes residents feedback on how North Wales is policed. The PCC will not be able to consider complaints about police officers, members of police staff, police community support officers or special constables as this has to go through the existing and established channels. Further advice on the complaints system is on the OPCC website here. How to book a place If you would like to book to attend the online business community surgery with Andy Dunbobbin, please contact the PCCs office with your name, contact information and what you would like to discuss during the meeting, by: Email: opcc@northwales.police.uk Phone: 01492 805486 Post: Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner North Wales, Police Headquarters. Glan y Don, Colwyn Bay, LL29 8AW Surgery slots are limited and work on a first come, first served basis and a slot cannot be guaranteed for everyone. If the session is full, residents will be given the details of alternative events. Booked attendees will be sent joining details closer to the date of the event. Soup kitchen providing a vital lifeline to residents in Cefn Mawr this winter This article is old - Published: Sunday, Dec 15th, 2024 A soup kitchen in the heart of a Wrexham community is helping to provide a vital lifeline to residents this winter. Launched by Community Councillor Sonia Benbow-Jones, Tesco Community Champion David Roden, Cefn Community Councils Donna Thornley, CRNCA Chairlady Kristyna Morrison and volunteer Kathy Eyrethe Cefn Mawr Soup Kitchen operates every Tuesday from 12 pm to 3 pm at the CRNCA, on Bro Gwyilm Lane. In addition to providing a hot meal, the initiative also aims to create a supportive space for those experiencing loneliness or financial hardship. Mary, one service user, has described the Cefn Soup Kitchen as a lifeline. Its not just about the soup; its about having somewhere to go, people to talk to, and feeling like Im part of something. Id be lost without it, she said. Councillor Sonia Benbow-Jones called the initiative a vital community resource She said: The Cefn Soup Kitchen is more than just a place for a warm meal its a welcoming space for people to come together, socialise, and support one another. In these colder months, its so important that no one feels isolated or left out in the cold. We invite everyone to pop along, enjoy some warmth, good company, and a delicious bowl of soup. Lets make sure no one feels lonely this winter. Looking ahead there are plans to further grow and sustain the services provided by the Cefn Mawr Soup Kitchen. The Cefn Soup Kitchen is open every Tuesday from 12 pm to 3 pm at the CRNCA in Cefn Mawr on Bro Gwyilm Lane next to the Premier Shop. Extremely active New Year exploration program will focus on the Ovals Copper-Gold Targets, the Sumo Niobium Target, and the Juggernaut VHMS Copper-Gold Targets Great Western Set for Pivotal Drilling Programs in 2025 Perth, Dec 16, 2024 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Great Western Exploration ( ASX:GTE ) is pleased to report on its current exploration programmes, and the Company's preparations for what will be an extremely exciting and active New Year. The Company commenced a planned downhole electro-magnetic (DHEM) survey at the Oval Copper-Gold Target, which is within the Company's Yerrida North Project, located on the northern and western portions of the Yerrida Basin. The DHEM survey started earlier this month, but due to localised heavy rain the programme has been suspended until mid-January 2025. The DHEM survey data is now expected to be interpreted and modelled by consultants Newexco in conjunction with drill assays in February 2025. In addition to further exploration activities at the Ovals, preparations are progressing for the commencement of company making drilling programmes at the Sumo Niobium Target, and at the Juggernaut VHMS Copper-Gold Targets. Great Western Managing Director Shane Pike said: "We are set for a very exciting new year and will be continuing exploration at the Ovals, and commencement of drilling the Sumo and Juggernaut targets which also have the potential to be company makers. We are fully funded and well advanced in our preparations.". Great Western looks forward to updating the market with results and further details from these exciting and potentially company making exploration programmes. *To view tables and figures, please visit: https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/32Q2F2E0 About Great Western Exploration Limited Great Western Exploration (ASX:GTE) is an explorer with a world class, large land position in prolific regions of Western Australia. Great Western's tenements have been under or virtually unexplored. Numerous work programmes across multiple projects are underway and the Company is well-funded with a tight capital structure, providing leverage to exploration success. Related Companies Known continuous mineralised area of Niagara discovery now doubled to >10km2 Exceptional High Grade Bauxite Intercepts, Increasing Scale Perth, Dec 16, 2024 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Arrow Minerals Limited ( ASX:AMD ) is pleased to report more outstanding assays from its maiden drilling program at the Niagara Bauxite Project1 in Guinea. The project is located within trucking distance (~100km) of the multi-user Trans-Guinean Railway (refer Figure 1*). Highlights - Latest assays from 32 holes include; o BS000100, 11 metres at 55.8% Al2O3, 1.2% SiO2 from 3 metres, - including 7 metres at 57.9% Al2O3 and 1.2% SiO2 from 7 metres o BS000104, 13 metres at 53.8% Al2O3, 4.3% SiO2 from surface, - including 8 metres at 57.2% Al2O3 and 1.4% SiO2 from surface o BS000068, 12 metres at 46.2% Al2O3, 2.6% SiO2 from surface o BS000054, 5 metres at 51.0% Al2O3, 1.6% SiO2 from surface o BS000044, 4 metres at 48.7% Al2O3, 1.5% SiO2 from surface o BS000052, 8 metres at 47.5% Al2O3, 0.6% SiO2 from 2 metres o BS000045, 5 metres at 48.1% Al2O3, 0.8% SiO2 from surface o BS000102, 5 metres at 48.3% Al2O3, 3.2% SiO2 from surface o BS000049, 8 metres at 46.3% Al2O3, 0.8% SiO2 from surface o BS000051, 7 metres at 46.9% Al2O3, 1.3% SiO2 from surface o BS000055, 8 metres at 45.5% Al2O3, 0.5% SiO2 from surface o BS000048, 3 metres at 52.3% Al2O3, 1.7% SiO2 from surface - Results from first 105 holes now define high-grade bauxite over >10km2, within trucking distance of multi-user rail - Results from a further 79 holes testing further extensions are due in coming weeks - Guinea is the world's largest producer of bauxite, typically attracting a premium for high-grade and low silica content - Following the drilling of 180 holes (on 800 by 800 metres spacings) by Vale in 2007, Arrow has defined nine priority bauxite exploration target areas; The 10km2 high-grade bauxite area sits within three of these target areas - Discussions with potential bauxite customers are ongoing, generating significant interest - Record high bauxite prices $US112/t for Guinea bauxite at 45% Al2O3 and 3% SiO2 - Resource modelling and estimation work on track to commence in January 2025 Arrow has already completed first pass baseline environmental studies, community engagement, and commenced recruitment of people from local communities to support the current operations. Managing Director, David Flanagan, said: "These latest assays provide more firm evidence that Niagara is a major discovery. We have defined high-grade mineralisation over 10km2. The mineralisation is open, we have assays pending from another 79 holes and numerous more targets to test." "This is all within trucking distance of the Simandou multi-user railway at a time of record alumina and bauxite prices." "Guinea is the world's largest and most important supplier of high-quality bauxite. These results compare favourably with the product that has made Guinea the world's number one bauxite producer." "Guinea bauxite is in high demand, contributing approximately 30% of global supply with a premium product specification at 45% Al2O3 and 3% SiO2 attracting prices that are currently at all-time record highs, up to US$112/t CIF China." "With SRK's site visit scheduled for January 2025, the plan is to estimate a maiden Mineral Resource to form the basis for our planned Scoping Study to follow in the first half of 2025." Niagara Bauxite Project and Bauxite Background Arrow is exploring the Niagara Bauxite Project with the benefit of work done on this project by various mining companies from the 1960's, including geology and assays from 180 holes drilled by Vale in 2007. This announcement includes new results for 32 drill holes on 300 by 300 metre spacings, completed and assayed as part of a program of 184 holes targeting high-grade mineralisation intercepted in historical drilling. The Company had previously reported results from 73 drill holes. With the guidance of Independent Resource Consultants, SRK Consulting (UK) Ltd (SRK), the Company has designed the current program with the intention of estimating sufficient Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources required to underpin a Scoping Study. Drilling includes twinning previous Vale holes, a program of shallow pitting in areas of mineralisation as well as all the required quality control sampling and value in use ore characterisation studies required to comply with modern resource reporting standards. A typical commercially viable Guinea plateau bauxite deposit is flat with a thickness that varies from 1 to 10 metres, on average, will have 44 to 46% alumina and silica levels typically averaging 3%. Mineralisation is typically thickest along the edges of plateaus coinciding with subtle changes in gradient of 1 to 3 degrees, where meteoric waters, over geological time have enhanced grade and removed deleterious elements. For reference the Company has included a drill hole location plan as well as a cross section and long section for each prospect to demonstrate strong horizontal continuity (Figure 2* to Figure 6* inclusive). The application of surface miners to bauxite mining is now common throughout the industry, negating the need for drill and blast, and crushing and screening. The ability to excavate consolidated material (i.e. no drill and blast) and mine a minimum mining thickness of approximately 300mm using high precision GPS machine guidance makes the surface miner well suited to plateau bauxite mining in Guinea. The Company has visited bauxite mining operations, inspected various mining equipment and met with several contractors with current operating experience in bauxite mines in Guinea. The information collected during these visits, combined with the results from the current drilling campaign, allows the Company to start to define important operating parameters that will ultimately be fed into a planned Scoping Study, subject to the estimation of sufficient Mineral Resources. Arrow has also commenced and completed preliminary baseline social and environmental impact studies. The Company remains committed to progressing this work and continuing to engage with all relevant stakeholders through the permitting processes to conclude them in a timely manner. No impediments to exploration or mining have been identified and the Company has established productive relationships with key community and government stakeholders. There are several existing rural and national roads which can be leveraged to link the project to the Trans-Guinean Railway (TGR) which is currently under construction (Figure 1*). The TGR is being commissioned and funded by a large consortium in a joint venture which includes the Government of Guinea as a 15% part owner. Members of the consortium include Baosteel, Chinalco, Winning, Rio Tinto, Hongqiao and the Government of Guinea. The TGR will be operated by a management company that will provide ore haulage services to the developers of the two large mines at Simandou and other third parties (Figure 1*, Figure 7*). Arrow has previously signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Baosteel. This MOU, subject to the Company delivering a fully permitted mining project, contemplates concluding a binding mine gate sale agreement for iron ore from Arrow's Simandou North Iron Project to Baosteel. The railway is due for commissioning in late 2025. The Company intends to take full advantage of the multi-user obligations of the TGR to underpin the development of the Niagara Bauxite Project for the benefit of shareholders and the people of Guinea. The TGR is a critical piece of infrastructure, and without it the project would likely remain undeveloped for many years. It's also important to recognise that the historical absence of infrastructure has contributed to the preservation of this high-quality project. Against a backdrop of currently record high bauxite prices, the drilling results at Niagara have so far delivered high-grade intercepts from surface in several drill holes across substantial lateral extent. Given the location is within trucking distance of the TGR, the Company is very encouraged by the drilling results received to date. Geological Results Analysis from the 32 drill holes (the subject of this announcement) for a total of 341 metres of drilling have been received from ALS Global, all of which are from the Boussoura North area, and include holes BS000044 to BS000064, BS000066 to BS000068, BS000077 to BS000078 and BS000100 to BS000105. Results are reported in Table 1* using a 1m minimum intercept, nil dilution for intervals less than 4m, 1m dilution for intervals greater than 4m, and a cut-off grade of 40% Al2O3. Drill holes that return assays below cut-off grade are omitted from reporting but may subsequently be reported subject to the results of metallurgical testwork. The locations of all drill intercepts are shown in plan form in Figure 2*, with cross sections for Boussoura North shown in Figure 3* and Figure 4*. Cross sections are also shown in Figure 5 and Figure 6 for the Central area of Boussoura, with results previously reported 25 November 20242 and 9 December 2024. Cross sections use a sixfold vertical exaggeration, which is required to show adequate vertical granularity of resolution of drill holes that are comparatively widely spaced, and with modest depths in the range of 10-15m. The reader is therefore encouraged to consider both vertical and horizontal coordinate graticules in reviewing cross sections in this report. Details of drill collar locations, analytical results, and simplified geology for drill holes reported in this announcement, and for Boussoura Central reported 9 December 20244 are given in Appendix I*. Samples for XRF analysis are processed and reported by ALS Global in batches of approximately 200 samples. The results reported in this announcement represents the final 425 analyses in the Company's second consignment of 874 samples. Results reported herein continue to confirm the presence of bauxites with grades in the range of 40 - 60% total alumina across the Boussoura North plateau. Elevated thicknesses of bauxite most notably in drill hole BS000100 (11m grading 55.8% Al2O3) and is also noted in drill holes BS000104 (13m grading 53.8% Al2O3), BS000068 (12m grading 46.2% Al2O3), BS000054 (5m grading 51.0% Al2O3), and BS000052 (8m grading 47.5% Al2O3). The thickening is generally associated with the plateau flanks, where weathering and associated bauxitisation is most concentrated. In addition to appealing Al2O3 grades, intercepts given in this report feature appealingly low silica grades, with most reported intercepts in Table 1* having silica grades below 3% SiO2, and over 50% with silica grades falling below 1.5% SiO2. Silica (usually present in clay minerals) is the principal contaminant in bauxite ores for the production of alumina using the Bayer process and causes excessive consumption of caustic soda. Ores with very low silica are therefore favoured by alumina refineries due to their appealing hydrometallurgical characteristics. Lesser accumulations of lower grade bauxite that fall below the nominal cut-off grade but in the grade range of 35% to 40% Al2O3 are encountered typically at the upper and lower limits of the higher grade bauxite, as shown in Figure 3* to Figure 6*. The Company will continue to appraise the commercial significance of all bauxites encountered within the current drill program upon receipt of all drill results, and the results of metallurgical testwork from pitting and drill hole composites. Cautionary Statement: Beyond the analyses for the 105 holes reported to date (including this announcement), the Company is highly encouraged by the geology identified in drilling completed to date, but notes that chemical analyses are yet to be completed for the outstanding holes by independent assay laboratory, ALS Global. The identification of bauxite by geological logging of drill cuttings, and subsequent estimates of bauxite thickness does not imply bauxite mineralisation that is of potential economic significance for all or part of any lithological intercept until it is confirmed by chemical assay. Widths reported are downhole, which given the tabular nature of residual bauxite deposits, are considered as true widths of logged geological units. Exploration Following the drilling of 180 holes (on 800 by 800 metres spacings) by Vale in 2007, Arrow has defined nine bauxite resource targets, three of which have been tested in the current campaign. Arrow has completed the programme comprising 184 drill holes for a total of 2,166m of drilling. Of this, 2,163m of drilling have been logged and sampled, however 3m were not sampled due to void or wet ground conditions encountered during drilling (BS000083, 2m, and BS000015, 1m). All samples for the 2024 campaign have been submitted for analysis on a priority basis to ALS Global's analytical laboratory in Loughrea, Ireland. A total of 2,721 samples have been processed, including 2,163 drill samples from 2,166m for 184 drill holes, and a further 558 Quality Assurance & Quality Control (QAQC) samples comprised of field and pulp duplicates, blanks, and Certified Reference Materials. The final 425 chemical analyses from the second batch of 874 samples for 32 drill holes are reported herein. Analyses for the remaining 1,218 samples from the third and final consignment, are expected to be received through December 2024. With results for the 2024 drilling campaign all due for delivery during 2024, the Company's Independent Consultants SRK are booked to conduct the prerequisite site visit to Niagara in preparation for the commencement of the estimation of Mineral Resources. The Company expects to report the outcomes of the estimation during the first Quarter 2025. *To view tables and figures, please visit: https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/O480AB62 About Arrow Minerals Ltd Arrow Minerals Ltd (ASX:AMD) is an exploration and development company focused on delivering long-term shareholder value through the discovery of economic mineral deposits in West Africa. The Company has implemented a systematic science-based exploration philosophy whilst remaining commercially nimble to ensure we capture and retain value. Related Companies Atul Subhash suicide: Accused sent to 14-day judicial custody Three accused in Atul Subhash's suicide case - his wife, her mother and brother -- who were arrested by Bengaluru Police, have been sent to 14-day judicial custody, officials said here on Sunday. A senior police officer said Atul Subhashs wife Nikita Singhania was arrested from Haryanas Gurugram and her mother Nisha Singhania and brother Anurag Singhania were nabbed in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. The accused persons were produced before the court and were sent to judicial custody for 14 days. After nabbing the accused persons, the Karnataka Police brought them to Bengaluru on Saturday late at night. More details are yet to emerge in the case. Preliminary investigations have revealed that Atul Subhash had planned to commit suicide 15 days before taking the extreme step. He had written the death note three days ago and searched legal matters on Google. The police registered an FIR against the accused persons under Sections 108, 3 (5) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) on December 9. Bikas Kumar, the deceased Atuls younger brother had lodged a police complaint alleging abetment to suicide with the Marathahalli police in Bengaluru. The FIR was lodged against Subhashs wife Nikita Singhania, mother-in-law Nisha Singhania, brother-in-law Anurag Singhania and relative Sushil Singhania. The police are yet to arrest the fourth accused, Sushil, in the case. Bikas Kumar alleged in the complaint that false cases were lodged against his brother Atul Subhash by the accused and had demanded Rs 3 crore to settle the case. He had also alleged that his brother Atul Subhash was taunted in the court during the proceedings that he had to either give Rs 3 crore or commit suicide. Nikitas family had alleged that the deceased Atul Subhash demanded a hefty dowry from her family which resulted in the death of her father. Subhash, who was working with an automobile company in Bengaluru, allegedly committed suicide as a demand of Rs 3 crore was made for a divorce settlement. He ended his life at his apartment in the early hours of December 9, leaving behind a 90-minute video and a 40-page death note, explaining how harassment by his wife Nikita Singhania and her family compelled him to take the extreme step. The note left by him read: "If the court decides that the corrupt judge and my wife and other harassers are not guilty, then pour my ashes into some gutter outside the court. Don't do my 'asthi visarjan' till my harassers get punished." However, the family collected the 'asthis' from the Bengaluru crematorium where Subhashs final rites were conducted. The family stated that the ashes would be taken to Patna, from where the family originally hails from and it will be immersed into the river as per the traditions. The suicide note, under the headline "Justice is Due", addressed to his 2-year-old child, read: "Now with me gone, there will not be any money to loot and I hope that they might start to look at the facts of the cases. Someday, you shall know the real face of your mother and her greedy family. "I pray that they dont devour you and your soul. I often laugh when I remember that I started saving money for a car when you go to college. Silly me. Remember this always that you don't owe anything to anyone. Dont trust the system." Subhash further listed out his last wishes in the note. "All my case hearings should happen live and people of this country should know about my case and learn the terrible state of the legal system and misuse of law these women are doing." He also requested to allow the suicide note and videos as his statement and evidence. "I fear that the judge might tamper with the documents, put pressure on witnesses and can adversely affect other cases. Based on my experience, the Bengaluru courts are relatively more law-abiding than Uttar Pradesh courts. I request to run the cases in Karnataka in the interest of justice and keep her in the judicial and police custody in Bengaluru till the trial goes on," the note read. He further wrote: "Give the custody of my child to my parents who can raise him with better values. Dont let my wife or her family come near my dead body. Give maximum punishment to my harassers though I dont trust our legal system too much. If people like my wife are not put behind jail, they would be more emboldened and will put more false cases on other sons of society in the future. "To wake up the judiciary and urge them to stop harassment of my parents and my brother in false cases. There shall be no negotiations, settlements and mediation with these evil people and the culprits must be punished," the letter read. Saturday was the 205th anniversary of Alabama becoming a state and as a birthday gift SNLs Weekend Update took a shot at Mississippi. Today marks the 205th anniversary of Alabama becoming a state, Michael Che said on this weeks episode of Saturday Night Live. To find out what life was like in Alabama 205 years ago, go to Mississippi, Che said. Alabama officials throughout the day posted tributes on social media to the anniversary of Alabama becoming the 22nd state admitted to the union on Dec. 14, 1819. Truly, Alabama is a place like no other, and our best days are still ahead! Gov. Kay Ivey posted on X. Alabama is the best state in the greatest nation the world has ever known. Its the best place to live, work, worship, and raise a family because we fiercely embrace our God-given rights, liberties, and freedoms, Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth tweeted. The joke was not the first Alabama connection during SNLs 50th season. Cast member Chloe Fineman has made multiple appearances impersonating CNN anchor and Prattville native Kaitlan Collins. The woman who accused Jay-Z of raping her along with Sean Diddy Combs when she was 13 has come forward and acknowledged inconsistencies in her story. The 38-year-old, identified only in her lawsuit as Jane Doe, maintains the rape occurred in 2000 at an after-party for the MTV Music Video Awards, but admitted to NBC News that shes made some mistakes in recalling the night in question. Doe, who now lives in Alabama, says she was living in Rochester at the time of the alleged assault. She recalls she snuck out a window and got a friend to drive her to New York City, in hopes of attending the VMAs at Radio City Music Hall. Though she didnt have a ticket to the awards show, she says she was able to get into an after-party after a limo driver outside the venue told her she fit was Diddy was looking for. Once at the party held, she says, at a large white residence with a gated U-shaped driveway a drink she was given allegedly made her feel funny. She claims she found a bedroom to lie down, only to be raped there by Diddy and Jay-Z. Jay-Z comes over, holds me down, she reportedly said in her lawsuit. I start trying to push away. He puts his hand over my mouth, tells me to stop it, to cut the st, and then he rapes me like he had me overpowered. After the alleged assault, Doe says she managed to flee the home and ran to a gas station, where she called her father to pick her up. But her dad told NBC News he doesnt remember any of the 11-hour roundtrip drive that his daughter insists did happen. We agree he states he doesnt remember, Does attorney, Tony Buzbee, told the outlet. His daughter explains that he was in no state to remember during that point in time due to personal issues he was having then. We are talking about a time frame more than 20 years ago. Neither Buzbee nor NBC News has been able to confirm the exact location of the after-party Doe says she attended. Both Jay-Z and Diddy were photographed that night at a party at the since-closed Lotus nightclub, but the house Doe described does not fit the description of the building in which Lotus was located. We have never suggested the location [of the assault] was the Lotus club, Buzbee said. We wont speculate on whether there was an after-after party, because again, she doesnt know that. Its unclear whether the rappers attended any other parties that night. Does story of being taken to New York City could also not be corroborated by the friend she says drove her, as that person appears to have since died. NBC News was unable to reach their relatives. Another inconsistency lies in Does recollection of who she spoke to at the after-party. She tells NBC News she chatted with Benji Madden, of Good Charlotte fame, though neither he nor his twin brother, Joel, were in New York at the time. Their rep confirmed to the outlet they were touring in the Midwest. Honestly, what is the clearest is what happened to me and [the] route that I took to what happened to me. Not all of the faces there are as clear, Doe says. So I have made some mistakes. I may have made a mistake in identifying. Still, she stands by her allegations of rape. Does lawsuit was initially filed against Combs in October, and accused an unidentified celebrity of also being involved. The suit was refiled on Sunday to name Jay-Z, who promptly denied the heinous allegations. In light of the Does inconsistencies, Jay-Zs attorney is asking the court to dismiss the frivolous case and discipline Does legal team for filing such a serious complaint without proper vetting. Buzbee insists the case was vetted by another firm which then referred it to him. He says his team will continue to vet Does claims. Buzbee is currently representing over 100 Diddy accusers and has filed more than 20 lawsuits against him thus far. 2024 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Ahead of the final weekend of the year, Airbnb is rolling out anti-party technology across the United States, including Birmingham, to help reduce unauthorized and disruptive parties over New Years Eve. The anti-party defenses, active over the weekend before New Years Eve and through the holiday, use machine learning to help identify potentially higher-risk bookings in entire homes. If a booking is identified as higher risk, the guest will either be blocked from booking or redirected to alternative accommodations on the platform. Earlier this year, the Zoning Advisory Committee of the Birmingham Planning Commission began working to limit short-term rental properties in residential neighborhoods to deter shootings and other violent crimes. In Birmingham, Ive had the pleasure of talking to quite a few hosts there and hosts generally dont want parties at their listing. Oftentimes, its their own personal home, and so in general, across our community, parties are just not welcome on the platform, Jackie McGraw, communications manager at Airbnb said. The number of short-term rentals has increased in Birmingham over the past few years. Some parties booked through Airbnb have resulted in shootings including a shootout that killed Phong Nguyen , 21, at an Airbnb party in the North Pratt community. Since the anti-party measures were launched in 2020, the rate of parties reported to Airbnb over New Years Eve decreased by over 60% in the countries where measures were in place. Last year, Airbnb activated the anti-party defenses over New Years Eve, reducing the number of short term rental parties, and deterring approximately 33,000 people across the United States and 74,000 people globally from booking. In Birmingham, about 100 people were deterred from booking an entire home listing on Airbnb last New Years Eve due to those defenses, according to Airbnb. And across the state of Alabama, approximately 350 people were deterred from booking. I know in Birmingham, the city is looking at this because of concerns around trust and safety. I think one thing thats really important to emphasize is just that what we see on our platform is that instances of parties and even noise and nuisance concerns are relatively rare, McGraw said. In 2023, fewer than 0.035% of reservations on Airbnb resulted in an allegation of a party, according to Airbnb. While issues are rare, we want to do our part to help reduce the risk of unauthorized and disruptive parties. Airbnb is committed to supporting hosts and the communities they live in, and we hope these defenses allow guests, hosts and neighbors to celebrate the holiday with added reassurance, Tara Bunch, global head of operations at Airbnb, said in a press release. To help determine the potential risk for a disruptive, unauthorized party, Airbnb will be looking into the guests length of the trip, the type of listing, how far the listing is from the guests location, and when the reservation is being made. For guests looking to book an entire home listing on Airbnb for New Years Eve, there will be restrictions on one to three night reservations. And guests who host a disruptive and unauthorized party will face suspension or removal from Airbnb. The former bingo hall that once sustained the town now sits darkened along the highway. Even the bingo portion of the Jays Charity Bingo sign is conspicuously missing from the buildings rooftop.Joseph D. Bryant As the legal battle over bingo comes to an end, leaders in a tiny west Jefferson County town are turning their attention to other ways to survive. The city of Lipscomb has used revenue from bingo to prop up the citys operation. That ended last month with a state raid and forfeiture of bingo money in city accounts. The city must now find a way to make up the difference if it is to remain solvent, said Mayor Tonja Baldwin. I dont see us surviving without having any more businesses in here, she said. The issue of the bingo halls is currently a moot point and the cash it generated is quickly evaporating. Lipscomb is home to about 2,000 people just outside Bessemer. The former bingo hall that once sustained the town providing its largest source of revenue now sits darkened along the highway. Even the bingo portion of the Jays Charity Bingo sign is conspicuously missing from the buildings rooftop. The business was shut down amid a bingo crackdown by Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall. State agents in November raided Jays Charity Bingo, the same bingo operation that Marshalls office previously shut down in August. In conjunction with the latest raid, Marshall also sued to freeze the business assets and named the town of Lipscomb as a defendant. The dispute initially deepened a divide among Lipscomb city leaders, with most council members blaming the mayor, and the mayor blaming the council, for the chaos. The city had approved an ordinance allowing electronic bingo, but council members accused Baldwin of acting on her own when she approved businesses to operate. Some had even urged Marshall to intervene to solve the bingo controversy. Both the mayor and council leaders agree that now is the time to end the bitter conflict that has divided the city government and to sit down at a table to discuss plans to save their town. Mayor pro tem and council president Barbara Moore said she and the council are willing to discuss solutions with the mayor. We need to come together like the mayor said, be open minded about our jobs, and we want the city to thrive with the mayors cooperation and our involvement in city affairs, Moore told AL.com. I think that we can do it as a city. I am optimistic, and I want it to work. Moore and others have stressed that additional policies and procedures are needed when it comes to city finances and how to legally operate any games if permitted at all. We will go back to the table and look at the bingo ordinance to be sure that it is in compliance with the law, Moore told AL.com. In the meantime, the city is struggling to make payroll and keep services going. The state attorney general agreed to release about $107,000 of the citys money, while about $71,000 remains withheld, Baldwin said. We need all of our money. We need every dime that we have to pay bills and payroll, Baldwin said. Charles Ball, executive director of the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham, said the controversy illustrates the risks of relying on gaming as an economic engine. Youre not creating wealth, youre just splitting the slices thinner, said Ball, whose agency provides planning, economic development services and multiple initiatives for six counties and 84 communities throughout central Alabama. Closed businesses and broken signs illustrate the plight of the tiny west Jefferson County town of Lipscomb.Joseph D. Bryant Ball suggested that Lipscomb city leaders focus on collaborating with other entities to create a landbank to promote development, in addition to examining new uses for old buildings. For example, Ball cited Mainstreet Alabama, a nonprofit organization specializing in public-private partnerships to create jobs, generate new investment and attract visitors to communities. Mainstreet Alabama is not just for larger cities with big downtowns or medium downtowns, Ball said. They provide a service by working with older commercial corridors. It should be something worth exploring to have that entire stretch of Bessemer Road included in a revitalization area. Ball said such a designation would require the collaboration of neighboring cities along the highway including Fairfield, Midfield, Brighton and Lipscomb. That would be working together on an even higher level, he said. Ball called regional and local collaboration a lifeline for struggling towns such as Lipscomb. These communities are too small to just do their own thing, he said. Its absolutely essential that they collaborate, because without collaboration they are just spinning their wheels. In spite of the setbacks, the investigations and the friction, Baldwin said there is still hope for Lipscomb. Lipscomb Ala. Mayor Tonja Baldwin. The small town is just outside Bessemer in western Jefferson County.Joseph D. Bryant She cites a recently opened convenience store and a downtown cafe along with plans by others to open a bakery and laundromat. Additionally, Baldwin said two organizations are interested in bringing affordable homes to the town. If we close one chapter, then I can move and get to the other things, Baldwin said. Ive got to keep moving forward and keep reaching out to bring business to the city. We need to learn to stand together. But when you keep bringing negativity, its not a good look for the city. Regarding bingo, Baldwin still holds out hope that the city could retool its bingo ordinance to comply with state law. The city needs that revenue, she said. That actually took care of most of our payroll. Baldwin said she is ready to put conflicts with the council in the past to collectively find solutions to the citys crises. Its time to do something positive for the city, she said. I want to move forward. Without that revenue, we dont have time to fight each other. I welcome them to bring some businesses into the city. Theres enough work to be done. Image: The Triumph of Civilization, Jacques Reattu, public domain. As the true scale of German war crimes committed during the 1940s eventually became known, the public response across the West was one of outrage and disbelief. That the native country of such master spirits as Immanuel Kant, Johann W. von Goethe, and Ludwig van Beethoven could also have bred the vile Nazi mob looked like a mystery. It was such a long way from the creation of philosophy, poetry, and symphonic music, respectively, to the implementation of fake-scientific, inhumane eugenics after the seizure of power by Adolf Hitler. And the distance between good and evil became infinitely long as soon as the Nazis indulged wholesale in their emblem atrocities of the Holocaust, industrializing the sadistic orgy of genocide in the vast territories occupied by their troops. Of course, there is no real contradiction, unless you insist on an unduly innocent (misguided) view of human nature. Since the foundation of civilization, scientific and literary masters, whose brilliant works continue to amaze and inspire us, have trodden the same places as the worst scum under the sun. The rendition of life in antiquity by artists has, as a rule, omitted the boringly prosaic in favor of romantic idealization. And as long as we are busy perfecting the institutions of civilized society, we are likely to be blinded by our own ideals and forget that perfection is impossible in this world. The truth is that barbarism our base instinct as humans always survives in the shadows. Neither the common self-understanding (i.e. the total body of institutions, rites, and habits) nor the philosophical conscience of a nation is seriously compromised until the scum assumes absolute power. Thus, a tyrant commanding a guard of loyal followers, a conceited brute presiding over life and death, may destroy everything in his path, burning the defining thoughtworks of the past and killing the intrepid truth seekers dedicated to freedom of thought. British author George Orwell put it like this in his novel 1984: Who controls the past, controls the future: who controls the present, controls the past. However, there was much more to Nazi atrocities than the sadistic, depraved excesses of socially maladapted individuals acting in concert, say, as members of the so-called Einsatzgruppen or security guards in concentration/extermination camps. Obviously, it carried the risk of a violent death to oppose the Nazi regime, whatever your standing in society. That is a trivial implication of political gangsterism. However, it seemed as if many academics (e.g. doctors, lawyers, and scientists), supposed to be cultural carriers, as it were, actively approved of the Nazi ideology and helped it penetrate every corner of society. If anything, that treachery should be an occasion for deeper reflection. The very people, who should have withstood barbarism, those with cultural literacy, insisting on human decency and the rule of law, failed completely. The painful experiences of the twentieth century make you wonder how thick the veneer of civilization actually is. In particular, how fragile is it to the perversities of totalitarianism? And what does it take to preserve it from decay? How should we prepare our institutions for the active preservation of civilization? In the intellectual mists of the affluent society, where history drowns in social media nonsense, some might ask if the evil that ravaged Europe during World War II could ever return? Well, have a look around; it has been there all along. It ravaged the Balkans in the 1990s when Yugoslavia disintegrated. And since 2022, it has ravaged Ukraine after the Russian invasion. The atrocities continue on a varying scale. Unlike Trofim D. Lysenko, Joseph Stalins favorite scientist, appointed director of the Moscow Institute of Genetics in 1941, genuine scientists have failed to find any evidence for the inheritance of acquired characteristics. Accordingly, every child born into this world is, in other words, a Stone Age child. It falls to us as parents (and caregivers) to introduce it to the modern world and help it adapt socially and integrate culturally. What separates modern man from Stone Age man as a fellow human being is not his DNA, but the contingent layout of institutions determined by the cultural history of his society. From cradle to grave, they help shape his state of mind and behavior. Most of us manage to find a meaningful place in the world, wherever we are born, intent on entering into binding relationships with others. That some instead of conforming to the norms of society turn out to be bestial deviants is not so much due to the failure of the overarching patterns of culture as the random occurrence of developmental, personality, and psychotic disorders. On the occasion of the trial against the American cannibal Jeffrey L. Dahmer in 1992, a judge said something to the effect that he was appalled that such heinous crimes could take place in the middle of a civilized society. That was silly of him. He clearly did not recognize the difference between the brute force of neural hardwiring as implied in autistic spectrum disorders and the dynamics of neurotypical efforts at socialization, if you like, as determinants of human behavior. (Judged on both his actions and statements, revolting as they truly are, the so-called Milwaukee Cannibal was an autistic freak working like a piece of machinery from outer space, behaviorally speaking. His various and conflicting diagnoses of schizotypal, borderline, and antisocial personality disorder, as made by psychiatrists recruited by the district attorney, simply do not stand up to closer scrutiny, the particular psychopathological pattern taken into account.) In search of credible traces of civilization outside the West, you look in vain throughout the Muslim world. Not a single country with a Muslim majority can claim to be a liberal democracy under the rule of law. Not that professed Muslims are necessarily savages. By nature, they are like all other people who populate the world. However, the culture to which they belong their ideology is inherently barbaric, expressly advocating oppression (and enslavement), if not extermination, of those of different faiths. Dating back to its origins in the Arabian Peninsula, Islam has been an intolerant, aggressive warrior religion constantly striving for expansion and dominance. As a result of holy war, it has succeeded in wiping out (a) Christianity from the Middle East, Anatolia, and North Africa, (b) Manichaeism and Zoroastrianism from Persia, and (c) Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism from Afghanistan and Pakistan. With the emergence of the Western welfare society, which denies its own traditions, including Christian spirituality, and has opened itself to the peoples of the world, the Islamic war of conquest has moved westward for the first time since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Where Lebanon and half of Cyprus have fallen in battle, the conquest of the European heartland is insidious, yet an inevitable consequence of unbroken migrations. The Nuremberg Trials allowed those in the free world with an urge to understand evil to view barbarism at close range. Unfortunately, we never had the opportunity to indict and judge the guilty after the fall of Bolshevism. However, researchers had short-lived access to the gigantic Soviet archives in the 1990s, piecing together the evidence of nationwide oppression and suffering. As it turned out, freedom of the press and free elections also became a fleeting phenomenon. Since then, wars on the fringes of the old empire have consolidated the impression of civilizational regression. In the West, the progressive elite has forbidden citizens to problematize the barbaric practices of Islam (e.g. blunt violence, mutilation, and homicide as variably legitimized by Sharia in the context of petty crime, perceived blasphemy, and gender discrimination). Any criticism of the invasive ideology, whose dogmas conflict openly with the traditions of freedom in the West, is met with the implacable accusation of Islamophobia (i.e. a politically charged term on a par with racism). Utterly corrupted by secular relativism yet, a seeming paradox, full of awe of the moral absolutists from outside champions of the chattering class refuse to distinguish between good and evil, thereby denying the sacrifices of previous generations for liberty, equality, and fraternity. Without a doubt, the survival of Western civilization is in the balance. When I served as a judicial officer, I leaned into the originalist philosophy championed by Justice Antonin Scalia. His wisdom that judges must adhere to the Constitution and the law as written, not as they wish it to be served as a lodestar. As Scalia famously remarked, The Constitution is not a living document it is a legal document. This sharp declaration underscores a vital truth: the Constitution is not a chameleon, changing with the political winds or cultural trends. It is a fixed, enduring framework meant to safeguard liberty and ensure the rule of law. Judges are bound by its text and original meaning, not free to reinterpret it to suit their preferences or the moments fashionable ideologies. To treat it otherwise is to abandon constitutional governance altogether. This principle could not be more relevant in the wake of the Hawaii Supreme Courts defiance of U.S. Supreme Court precedent in State v. Wilson. The procedural posture of the case is important: Christopher Wilson, a Hawaii resident, was charged in 2017 with carrying a pistol without a license while hiking. Wilson argued that his actions were protected by the Second Amendment, particularly after the U.S. Supreme Courts landmark decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen (2022), which affirmed the right to carry a firearm in public for self-defense. The Hawaii Supreme Court, however, reinstated charges against Wilson, effectively ignoring Bruen. In a particularly audacious move, the court criticized the U.S. Supreme Court for cherry-pick[ing] historical evidence and engaging in fuzzy reasoning, dismissing the Bruen decision as backward-looking. The Hawaii court even invoked the states so-called spirit of aloha as justification for rejecting the plain guarantees of the Second Amendment. This was more than a bad legal ruling it was a brazen act of judicial nullification. When the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, the justices denied certiorari on procedural grounds, noting that this was an interlocutory matter that had not yet fully played out in Hawaiis courts. However, Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, issued a statement that should serve as a warning to all who care about constitutional governance. Justice Thomas sharply criticized the Hawaii Supreme Court for not giving the Second Amendment its proper weight, observing that the lower courts analysis failed to give the Second Amendment its due regard. He further noted that Hawaiis defiance of Bruen was deeply troubling and a signal of broader disregard for the rights of Americans. While the denial of certiorari means the Supreme Court will not review State v. Wilson at this stage, the issue is far from resolved. Cases like this underscore a troubling trend among progressives to sidestep federal law and Supreme Court precedent whenever it clashes with their ideological preferences. From sanctuary cities refusing to enforce federal immigration law to local governments enacting gun control measures that openly defy the Second Amendment, these actions bear the hallmarks of a modern-day form of nullification. Nullification the doctrine whereby states or localities can disregard a federal law the state deems unconstitutional was discredited long ago, most notably during the Civil War and the desegregation era. A related concept, interposition, involves a state asserting that a federal law is unconstitutional and stepping in to interpose itself between the federal government and its citizens. These doctrines were historically invoked to resist federal authority, often to disastrous effect. What makes the Hawaii Supreme Courts actions in State v. Wilson even more concerning is that this is not a case of a state challenging the constitutionality of federal law. Instead, Hawaii has effectively declared that the Second Amendment, as interpreted in Bruen, does not apply within its borders. By reinstating charges against a citizen exercising what the U.S. Supreme Court has unequivocally affirmed as a fundamental right, the Hawaii court has treated the Constitution not as the supreme law of the land, but as an inconvenience to be disregarded. This is not interposition in the historical sense it is an outright dismissal of federal authority and a refusal to acknowledge the Second Amendments binding force. Such defiance signals a dangerous precedent, where states or localities decide unilaterally which parts of the Constitution they will honor. It is a direct challenge to constitutional governance and the principle that the rights enshrined in the Constitution apply equally across all states. By invoking doctrines like nullification and interposition whether explicitly or implicitly progressive activists undermine the structure of our Republic. The Constitution is not a patchwork quilt of negotiable rights. It is a unified legal framework, and its protections do not cease to exist when they conflict with the political preferences of a state or locality. What Hawaii has done is more than defiance; it is a rejection of constitutional order, one that endangers the rights of all Americans. The Hawaii Supreme Courts invocation of the spirit of aloha is particularly galling. Although cultural values and local traditions are important, they do not trump federal constitutional rights. The Second Amendment is not subject to the whims of a state courts cultural preferences. It is self-executing; binding on all states and localities; and, as Justice Thomass statement makes clear, deserving of full respect from every level of government. The implications of Hawaiis defiance are far-reaching. We risk a fragmented legal landscape, where liberties are dictated not by the Constitution, but by the whims of local authorities. Even worse, we risk a Republic where fundamental rights are stripped away entirely depending on where one happens to stand. Liberty is not a negotiable commodity. Freedom stolen from a fellow citizen in another state is freedom stolen from us all, for the erosion of one persons rights diminishes the rights of every American. Justice Scalia warned us of this danger: The Constitution is not meant to facilitate change. It is meant to impede change to make it difficult to change. This deliberate rigidity protects our freedoms from the shifting sands of political trends. When judges treat the Constitution as a living document, they usurp the role of legislators and threaten the rule of law itself. The Hawaii Supreme Courts actions are not an isolated incident, but part of a broader progressive effort to rewrite the Constitution by ignoring it. Whether through judicial activism, selective enforcement of federal law, or outright defiance of Supreme Court precedent, this trend is a grave threat to constitutional governance. Advocates for liberty must remain vigilant. As a former judicial officer, I adhered to Scalias principle that the law must guide you, even when you disagree with where it leads. That discipline is essential to preserving the Constitution and protecting the rights of all Americans. The Hawaii Supreme Courts decision in State v. Wilson is a stark reminder of the stakes. The Second Amendment is not a suggestion. It is not contingent on the spirit of aloha or any other subjective interpretation. It is the law. And the law must be followed. This case should serve as a clarion call: when courts abandon their duty to uphold the Constitution, they undermine the very liberties that define our nation. The Second Amendment, like every provision of the Constitution, is not up for debate. It is the law of the land, and no amount of judicial activism can change that. Charlton Allen is an attorney and former chief executive officer and chief judicial officer of the North Carolina Industrial Commission. He is the founder and editor of The American Salient and the host of the Modern Federalist podcast. Image via Pexels. Last month, in November 2024, Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) narrowly approved an optional curriculum that would allow stories from the Bible to be taught to K-5 elementary school children. Even though three Republicans joined the boards four Democratic members to reject the course of study, the SBOE accepted the Bluebonnet reading curriculum in an 8-7 vote. According to a May 2024 Texas Education Agency (TEA) press release, the reading lessons use a classical education model and include not only Bible-infused courses, but also teach students about art, history, culture, science, and technology. School districts who decide to use the material will receive up to $60 per student as an incentive to adopt the proposal. The curriculum is part of the states Bluebonnet resource, an optional tool to use free of charge, and the proposal was one of dozens that the state board reviewed to consider adding to its approved list. The Bluebonnet curriculums approval revives an age-old discussion about the constitutionality of including religious teachings in the public school system. Historically, the primary method of determining the programs constitutionality is by testing whether the program violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment that states, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The language in the Establishment Clause reflects the idea that public schools cannot impose a religion on students and cannot prevent individuals from expressing their own religious beliefs within the public school system. This is a fine distinction to make because what one person sees as a right to free expression, another might perceive as an imposition of religious beliefs. In 2009, in the Croft vs. Perry case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit upheld a Texas law mandating a moment of silence in the daily school schedule. David and Shannon Croft, parents of three minor children, sued the governor of Texas, arguing that Texas Education Code 25.082 violated the Constitution. The 5th Circuit rejected that claim, determining instead that the state legislature had sufficiently articulated secular ways for the students to use that minute as the student chooses, reflect, pray, meditate or engage in any other silent activity that is not likely to interfere or distract another student. The court of appeals rationale for upholding the moment of silence creates a misleading impression that for every perceived religious inclusion in the school system, there must be an equally weighty secular way to use that time. This is simply not the case, and the new curriculum reflects the reality that the Bible can be taught in public schools if it is taught in an academic way and not to inculcate students into the Christian belief system. This distinction was first recognized by the courts in 1963, in Abington School District vs. Schempp, when the Supreme Court decided that teaching about religion is constitutionally permissible and educationally appropriate. The justices went even further to say that knowledge about religions place within civilization constitutes an important element of a well-rounded education: In addition, it might well be said that ones education is not complete without a study of comparative religion or the history of religion and its relationship to the advancement of civilization. It certainly may be said that the Bible is worthy of study for its literary and historical qualities. Nothing we have said here indicates that such study of the Bible or of religion, when presented objectively as part of a secular program of education, may not be effected consistently with the First Amendment. Texas will be one of a handful of states to include the Bible as part of its K-12 curriculum. Eight states -- Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas -- require that a Bible course be offered as an elective in the public schools. Still, Texas is the first state to include Bible teachings as part of its reading curriculum, and it will need to use this curriculum in a way consistent with the First Amendment. The instruction cannot, for example, include prayers, chants, or faith-based Bible study. This was a lesson that the California Department of Education (DoE) learned in 2022 when they agreed to remove instructional materials that included two chants, one to an Aztec god, Tezkalipoka, once honored with human sacrifice, and another to a Yoruba deity called Ashe. The Thomas More society successfully sued the California DoE to have that curriculum removed because of its unconstitutionality. The chanting was recognized as a violation of the rights of students to attend public school without one religion being promoted over another. Currently, one aspect of the Bluebonnet curriculum that helps to align it with the Establishment Clause is that the proposed courses are not compulsory. If a school district (ISD) does not want the headache, that ISD will choose one of many other available curricula. As an optional course of study, the state of Texas has also avoided being at loggerheads with that part of the Establishment Clause that prohibits public schools from promoting one religion over another. The second part of the curriculums constitutionality depends in large part on how these reading courses are taught. The content-area teachers cannot be antagonistic towards the viewpoints of the non-religious. Judging the instructors impartiality will be difficult, especially in the context of elementary school learning. The teacher will need to teach the material as part history, part literature course, not an impossible feat, but one that requires training. To be constitutional, the Blue Bonnet curriculum cannot inhibit the students free speech or impose Christianity on students of other faiths. In terms of the constitutionality of the $60 student incentive, in a May 2024 report, Texas Education Agency reported that the average state expenditure per student in Texas was $13,124 in the 2023 fiscal year. The $60 increase represents a relatively small .5% increase in that amount. Considering the challenges of teaching the curriculum in a constitutional way, that $60 will likely be used for training those teachers willing to pilot the program. The K-5 courses must improve elementary school students reading abilities and, to a lesser extent, expose students to the history and culture that played a central role in the making of the Western world. The $60 incentive will likely need to be applied to training these teachers to make sure they instruct with the curriculums constitutionality in mind. Image: Wohnai In the case of Winterbottom v. Wright in 1842, Judge Robert Rolf said, Hard cases, it has frequently been observed, are apt to introduce bad law. By that he meant that laws are better drafted under ordinary cases as difficult ones can lead to legislation for exceptions. Such is the position in which we find ourselves with respect to end-of-life care. Advances in nutrition, exercise, medicine, and quality of life have led to increasing life spans. Normally thats a good thing and while no one wants to die young, neither does anyone wish to live with crippling, painful infirmities requiring costly and elaborate care. I had a friend who contracted MS when he was thirty years old. By the time he was forty he was paralyzed from the neck down, and he lived until he was sixty five. My uncle contracted Alzheimers and was rendered completely catatonic inside of two years, but lived for another four. In the former case my friends mind was unaffected but he was trapped for over twenty five years in a non-responsive body. In the latter, only my uncles body was unaffected. Between these two polar extremes are vast numbers of elderly, infirm, and handicapped who suffer with incurable, albeit non-fatal conditions. In 1990 Dr. Jack Kevorkian assisted 54-year-old Janet Adkins of Portland, Oregon who was suffering from Alzheimers to end her life. Over the next 8 years he similarly assisted others, and was eventually sentenced to prison. After his release he vowed to work solely on changing the laws against assisted suicide. Also in 1990, 26 year old Terri Schiavo suffered cardio-respiratory arrest and was then diagnosed with hypoxic encephalopathy, a neurological injury caused by lack of oxygen to the brain. She lingered in a semi-vegetative state for 15 years with a feeding tube providing food and hydration. Under the order of Judge George W. Greer of the Pinellas-Pascos Sixth Judicial Court, the tube was removed and she died of dehydration after 13 days. Terris husband approved this action despite the wishes of Terris biological family. In April of 2022 in the U.K., the parents of 12-year-old Archie Battersbee found him unconscious after what they believed was a social media challenge gone wrong. Like Schiavo, he suffered brain damage. Following numerous court hearings and appeals, the U.K. Supreme Court ordered the cessation of care stating that, even if life-sustaining treatment were to be maintained, Archie would die in the course of the next few weeks through organ failure and then heart failure. Despite the pleas of his parents and supporters in the general public the ventilator was removed and young Archie passed away. In response the president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia said, When the life of someone is decided by a court, humanity is defeated. Opponents of euthanasia warn us of situations just like Archies governments and medical personnel intervening and dictating medical care and when a patient dies against the wishes of the individual or legal guardians, otherwise known as euthanasia. While the literature uses the terms interchangeably, its important to distinguish between euthanasia and assisted suicide. Both terms refer to the act of ending a persons life to put an end to suffering, as long as the patient agrees. In the case of euthanasia, a doctor administers the pharmaceutical that ends the persons life, while in assisted suicide a physician oversees the process by which the patient administers the substance himself. Euthanasia and assisted suicide, now referred to as Medical Assistance In Dying (MAID), were once considered unthinkable but are now entering the mainstream. As mentioned above, Dr. Kevorkian brought assisted suicide to public awareness here in the U.S. in the 1990s while the Netherlands and Belgium began the practice in 2002. Thankfully, governments are putting some guardrails in place. In order to qualify in Belgium, patients must have an incurable disease and experience constant, intolerable pain or mental suffering that does not respond to medication. How is mental suffering quantified? The British Parliament recently voted in favor of legalizing assisted dying in England and Wales. The requirements of the proposal appear to cover all the bases to ensure safety: patients must be residents of England and Wales, be under a doctors care, must possess sufficient mental capacity, and so on. Other countries are following suit. So far in 2024 over two dozen countries have enacted laws regarding assisted suicide. The Catholic Church has published ethical guidelines on the subject: Discontinuing medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous, extraordinary, or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be legitimate; and, Even if death is thought imminent, the ordinary care owed to a sick person cannot be legitimately interrupted. The use of painkillers to alleviate the sufferings of the dying, even at the risk of shortening their days, can be morally in conformity with human dignity if death is not willed as either an end or a means, but only foreseen and tolerated as inevitable Palliative care is a special form of disinterested charity. As such it should be encouraged. At a minimum, food and hydration are necessary to sustain life and withholding these is tantamount to murder. In 2004 Pope John Paul II stated that, [T]he administration of water and food, even when provided by artificial means, always represents a natural means of preserving life, not a medical act. Its use...consists in providing nourishment to the patient and alleviation of his suffering. The legal restrictions put in place on this practice in Belgium, England, and Wales, as well as the moral ones provided by the Catholic Church, seem to provide adequate guidance on the issue. This is important because the number of people availing themselves of the procedure is growing. In Canada, for example, 1,018 people requested MAID in 2016 while in 2022, the last year for which data are available the number was over 13,241. Canadian military veteran Christine Gauthier was not one of those 13,241. In 2019 she contacted Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) asking for a home wheelchair lift. A VAC employee offered her MAID as a solution to her suffering. Outraged, Gauthier wrote to PM Trudeau who, to his credit, responded with this statement: [A]s soon as we heard about this we took action. We are following up with investigations and we are changing protocols to ensure what should seem obvious to all of us: that it is not the place of Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), who are there to support those people who stepped up to serve their country, to offer them medical assistance in dying. Anthropologist Margaret Meade is sometimes cited as saying that the first sign of civilization in the fossil record is a healed femur. A primordial human who broke his thigh bone would certainly die unless cared for by someone who risked his own survival to bring food and water to the invalid. Modern society is entering dangerous and confusing territory as it is targeting the helpless at both ends of life through abortion and MAID. Declining fertility rates coupled with an aging population can create hard cases and bad laws. While abortion never improves the life of the unborn, MAID can eliminate needless suffering. The question is, are we taking the life of someone else to help them, or to save ourselves the trouble and expense of caring for them? Image: Free image, Pixabay license. Theres been a lot of buzz this week about the appearance of SUV-sized drones over the Atlantic Coast states, particularly New Jersey. They exhibit some characteristics not previously observed, and speculation is rampant. The most commonly voiced of these is that they were launched by Iran from a ship parked off our coast, but that doesnt seem true. Im inclined to accept the speculation of Scott Adams, Dilberts creator and a man who has spent a great deal of time exploring psychological tools of persuasion: This is a good week to practice your lie detection skills because we know the government is lying about drones. For example, Mayorkas says, ". . . no evidence of anomalous activity." Right. It's not "anomalous" to Mayorkas because he knows what the truth. (I assume is our military.) John Kirby says the sightings they could confirm were all regular airplanes. That's pure weasel. The government also says they are investigating, with the FBI, etc. That's also probably true, but only because whatever is happening is not being shared to every part of the government. Watch for overly specific answers. That's how normies (non-psychopaths) lie. On the other hand, it could be outgoing SEC chair Gary Gensler pretending to launch a fleet of spaceships at us to foil Musks plan of transporting people to Mars -- just in case his lawfare against Musk fails. In the Middle East, autocracy and butchery seem to be meeting a match in the IDF and IAF. In 11 days, the Israelis erased a barbaric Assad regime that had lingered after a civil war for 13 years. Unlike the Biden administration, which left in the hands of the Taliban billions of dollars worth of weapons and military supplies, or the Obama administration, which left Libyas war stocks untouched, the Israelis systematically destroyed most of the Assad arsenal. Theyve now opened a clear corridor to Iran and its nuclear facilities: Open Corridor to Iran: Israeli Air Force Summarizes Operation to Decimate Assads Army According to estimates, 86% of Syrias air defense systems (SAM) have been destroyed. This marks a significant shift, as Syria, once a major threat to Israeli Air Force (IAF) planes due to its dense anti-aircraft missile systems, now poses far less of an aerial threat, making Syrian airspace considerably safer and more accessible for flights. Strategic Opportunity Against Iran In light of recent developments in the Middle East, the IDF believes there is now an opportunity to strike Irans nuclear facilities. Various security organizations, including the IDF, are currently engaged in comprehensive inter-organizational preparations involving intelligence and operational planning. These efforts aim to present the political leadership with the military capabilities and options for executing such an attack. Syrian Air Defense Devastated The IAF focused on Syrias most advanced air defense systems, which had successfully intercepted numerous missiles during recent years: SA-17 system: 80% destroyed. SA-22 system: 86% destroyed. Additionally, 90% of Syrias MiG-29 aircraft and approximately 80% of its Sukhoi-24 planes have also been destroyed, resulting in an overall 61% reduction in the Syrian Air Forces operational capacity. Missile and Firepower Capabilities The results in Assads missile and firepower systems were more varied. Some missile systems suffered 80-90% destruction, while others were only 20-30% affected. The IDF assesses that advanced weapons, missiles, and other military capabilities may now fall into the hands of rebel factions, some of which Israel may not yet be aware of. Targets were selected based on prioritization. Scale of the Operation. The IAF conducted approximately 500 strikes during the operation, employing 1,800 munitions. While theres some press coverage portraying the Syrian rebels and suggesting there will be substantial improvement in the areas under their control, I believe that is far-fetched. The HTS -- aka rebel forces led by Al-Joulani -- are only minimally an improvement over Assad. The terrorists responsible for forcing Assad out are called HTS, or Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Roughly translated to Levant Liberation Committee. Meaning that they want to control the entire Levant. This includes Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, and Turkey. The country seems, in fact, to be divided along ethnic lines, with the Kurds in the North, the Alawites along the coast, the Al-Joulani forces in the middle, and the Druzes (and many Christians) in the south. To my mind, it is altogether possible that Syria may divide up on ethnic lines. At least one analyst seems to agree with this: #Iran, the master of the evil ring of fire around Israel, as well as #Hamas and #Hezbollah, underestimated Israel's ability to sustain the losses and keep fighting for 14 months. Hamas was minimized to the area of Khan Yunis. Hezbollah teased Israel for 11 months, then was struck with plagues it never imagined. And only a week ago did we witness the collapse of the Iranian-supporting regime in #Syria. A years civil war that lingered for 13 years ended with a blitz that took 11 days only, and old Syria was gone. [snip] All eyes on Syria now. On the range between losers and winners, #Turkey is certainly on the winning side. Turkey aided and supported the rebels and now Syria is hers. It can keep annexing the huge "buffer zone" that it created inside Syria along their shared border, by that have better access to the Kurds that it hates so much. The Syrian people on the other hand are facing very challenging times. The Alawites are trying to escape into Lebanon or flee to other countries. What will be the fate of those who can't run away? The rebels, now the government, are hunting people from Assad's regime. [snip] Executions in the streets and fields, just like that. These are Israel's new neighbors. The rebels, lest you forgot, are former Al-Qaeda or ISIS. Who knows what religious fanaticism they'll bring with them? The #Kurds are holding the eastern side of Syria, after retreating from other, central, areas, but it's still quite a large portion of the country. The Kurds are supported by the US and under the radar they are in close ties with Israel. Can Syria be run in peace and harmony as a single state with these groups working together singing Kumbaya? I highly doubt it, certainly when one of the groups is led by radical Islam. The best solution (which should have been enforced right after WWI) is to create 3 states or cantons - Muslim, Kurdish and Druze. Let each have an autonomy in his area, and Israel could finally enjoy a friendly non-Arab neighbor on its border for the first time in 76 years. Just imagine. An amazing story came out today from the #Druze villages along the #Golan border. Druze leaders of 6 villages near the Israeli border, joined together and called Israel to annex them to the Golan. They'd rather live as Israelis than put their faith in the hands of the rebels. As I said earlier, we are seeing tectonic plates moving in the Middle East, all thanks to Israel's insistence to keep fighting till victory. Joe Biden seems determined to grant many, many more pardons than any of his predecessors. Saturday's Washington Post, as you might imagine, featured a pardoned man who represents one of the most sympathetic, someone who, as a teen, was convicted and jailed decades ago for being a passenger in a stolen car and who, after his release, had led a law-abiding life. Less sympathetic commutations abound, among them two Chinese spies, a Chinese citizen who admitted to possessing infant rape videos, and former Pennsylvania Judge Michael Conahan, who took kickbacks from for-profit detention centers in exchange for wrongly sending juveniles to their facilities. And theres more than a hint that at least one was a payoff for a bribe. Will incoming President Trump pardon all those convicted in connection with the January 6 riot at the Capitol? Theres lots of speculation about whether he will or should pardon them all or just those whose actions included claims of property damage or violence. I think Bill Shipley makes the best argument for pardoning them all. ...it is based on the refusal of the Biden DOJ to consider moving the trials outside DC, and for no one being willing to acknowledge that all DC residents, including those working in the Courthouse, were quasi-victims of the events of Jan. 6. In 30+ years doing federal criminal trial practice -- including 21 as a federal prosecutor -- I never handled a bench trial. But because of the overt bias of the DC juror pool, and the inability of normal voir dire to screen out biased jurors, defense attorneys -- including me -- have abandoned jury trials for our clients. They are pointless. There has been only one jury that acquitted a Jan. 6 defendant on all the felonies the Govt charged him with -- my client Michael Greene, a 34 year old black combat veteran who came to DC on Jan 6 for work -- and was paid -- performing a task for the Oath Keeper organization. He testified he didn't vote, has never voted, does not care about politics at all, doesn't like Trump, doesn't like Biden, he was only in DC because it was a job -- something the Oath Keepers had paid him to do in the past at other events. If that is the only guy where a jury in DC can find reasonable doubt, then there is no jury trial right in DC because there is no way to find 12 unbiased jurors in a city of only 400,000+ registered voters. You begin with the problem that 93% didn't want Trump for a second term. Then you add the layer that 60% either work for or have jobs linked directly to activities of the federal government. I have had 3 jury trials -- I've had attorneys with DOJ and family of attorneys with DOJ on my juries. They were better than other jurors I had to strike before them. It is not a question of getting "good jurors" -- it is a question of keeping only the "least bad" jurors. You are hearing this from a guy who reviewed probably close to 600 lengthy juror questionnaires in the three Oath Keeper trials. To be a defendan[t] reading through those and thinking "These are the people who are going to judge me knowing I came here to support Trump" is a nightmare. Almost everyone consumes news from the WaPo, NYT, NPR and MSNBC. So, if J6 defendants -- all J6 defendants -- did not have a basic right to a fair jury trial in DC, how can anyone be said to have had a trial process that comported with due process? Your "no blanket pardon" position assumes the opposite to be true. It is not -- 100+ bench trials proves my point. While we wait to see what happens, Nancy Pelosi, who played a major role in elevating the incident into the media and public (mis)perception that this was an effort to overthrow the government, lies in a hospital in Luxemburg with a fractured hip after she tumbled down some marble steps on an official visit. Donald Trumps re-election is more than a political outcome. Its a signal that national security from the southern border to shorelines will once again be given top priority. And with that, one of the most critical pieces of legislation to domestic security, the Jones Act, which is also a long-standing protector of American, will continue to be safeguarded. For over a century, the Jones Act has required that goods transported between U.S. ports are carried on ships that are American-built, American-owned, and American-crewed. While that might sound like a small regulatory detail, its impact is huge, touching everything from U.S. job creation to national security to our growing offshore wind industry. During the campaign, Trump was only candidate who stood firmly in support of the Jones Act, recognizing its value to American workers and industries. In contrast, Democrats, including Kamala Harris, have often been quick to marginalize it, seemingly using every opportunity to pierce it in the name of globalizing yet another critical American industry, while Chase Oliver, a minor candidate for the ideologically inconsistent Libertarian Party, openly opposed it. The truth is, a victory by anyone other than Trump would have potentially jeopardized Americas maritime industry and security. With Trump back in the White House, Americas workers and industries that rely on the Jones Act can breathe a sigh of relief. Imagine a shipyard worker in a small coastal town like Gulf Shores, AL. This worker, whos probably been in the industry for years, likely relies his employers steady stream of contracts to build and maintain Jones Act-compliant vessels. If the Jones Act were suddenly repealed or weakened, those contracts might dry up as foreign companies swoop in with cheaper, foreign-built ships, sending this workers steady job, which helps him support his family and contribute to the local economy, overseas. But with Trumps support of the Jones Act, this scenario is avoided. This policy protects nearly 650,000 American jobs and generates around $150 billion in economic activity. That means paychecks for families, stability for communities, and the preservation of vital middle-class jobs in industries that could easily be outsourced. Trumps stance ensures that the Jones Act remains a protective barrier against such outsourcing, supporting well-paying jobs from coastal towns to the Midwest. The Jones Act doesnt just protect traditional shipping; its also fueling Americas entry into the offshore wind industry. Offshore wind farms are complex, requiring specialized vessels to transport and install massive turbine components, often under challenging conditions. The Jones Act mandates that these vessels and their crews be American, keeping this work -- and the jobs it brings -- in U.S. hands. Take the example of Patriot Offshore Maritime Services, a U.S.-based company that recently secured a 10-year contract to provide Jones Act-compliant crew transfer vessels for offshore wind projects. These projects are emerging as a major job creator, and the Jones Act guarantees that these jobs stay with American workers. With Trumps re-election, were likely to see more of these kinds of contracts go to American companies, fueling both the maritime and renewable energy sectors. Even the BargeRack concept by Friede & Goldman -- a system designed to transport and install turbine parts for offshore wind -- shows how the Jones Act is inspiring American innovation. This technology was specifically developed to comply with Jones Act standards, driving U.S.-based solutions for this new green energy sector. Had Harris, Oliver, or any other candidates opposed to the Jones Act gained traction, this work could have ended up in foreign hands, undermining a nascent industry just as its beginning to grow on American shores. The Jones Act isnt just about economics; its also a cornerstone of national security. By requiring U.S.-flagged, American-crewed vessels to operate in American waters, it limits foreign influence in critical shipping lanes. Imagine a scenario where foreign-flagged ships were moving goods between U.S. ports. Not only would that create a reliance on foreign companies to transport essential goods, but it could also expose the country to security risks. If, for instance, those vessels were controlled by foreign interests that might not align with U.S. priorities, this could compromise American safety and sovereignty in key waterways. Trump understands that the Jones Act is a safeguard against these threats. In times of crisis -- whether natural disasters or military conflicts -- a fleet of U.S.-controlled vessels is invaluable. This was proven during recent hurricane seasons, when American ships, governed by the Jones Act, mobilized quickly to deliver food, fuel, and medical supplies to affected areas. Without these American ships, the U.S. would have faced delays and potential risks by relying on foreign crews. Democrats have often questioned the necessity of the Jones Act, framing it as an outdated protectionist policy. But the truth is, weakening the Jones Act would not only expose the U.S. to economic risks but also put national security at risk. Trumps re-election keeps this crucial law intact, ensuring that the U.S. retains control over its domestic shipping lanes and maintains a robust, skilled maritime workforce ready to respond in times of need. Critics argue that the Jones Act drives up shipping costs and limits competition. But this free market argument misses the bigger picture. The supposed cost of the Jones Act is a small price to pay for the security and stability it brings to American jobs, innovation, and national defense. Imagine if the Jones Act were repealed in favor of cheaper, foreign options. The short-term savings would likely come at a long-term cost, as American shipbuilding capacity and jobs dwindle. Once those skills and industries are lost, theyre incredibly difficult -- and costly -- to rebuild. The Jones Act keeps these industries alive, so were not forced to rely on foreign shipbuilders or crews to meet our shipping needs. Trumps approach to the Jones Act isnt about stifling competition; its about making sure the U.S. can stand on its own, without over-relying on foreign countries to sustain our maritime workforce and industry. In a world thats becoming increasingly unpredictable, this stance isnt just wise -- its essential. The re-election of Trump signals a continued commitment to the Jones Act, supporting a uniquely American industry that spans jobs, innovation, and security. In choosing Trump, the American people voted for a leader who recognizes that policies like the Jones Act arent outdated relics but vital pillars of U.S. prosperity and safety. For American workers, communities reliant on the maritime industry, and anyone invested in a strong, secure America, this election outcome is a win -- plain and simple. Julio Rivera is a business and political strategist, cybersecurity researcher, founder of ItFunk.Org, and a political commentator and columnist. His writing, which is focused on cybersecurity and politics, is regularly published by many of the largest news organizations in the world. Image: PickPik San Francisco SantaCon participants pose for a group photo. Benjamin Fanjoy/Special to the Chronicle Noel Thornton attends San Francisco SantaCon, hours after the citys first tornado warning. Benjamin Fanjoy/Special to the Chronicle San Francisco SantaCon participants huddle under umbrellas during Saturdays rain. Benjamin Fanjoy/Special to the Chronicle A group walks near Union Square during San Francisco SantaCon. Benjamin Fanjoy/Special to the Chronicle A group gathers for San Francisco SantaCon, which begins with a toy drive and culminates with a pub crawl. Benjamin Fanjoy/Special to the Chronicle San Francisco SantaCon participants skate at Union Square. Benjamin Fanjoy/Special to the Chronicle San Francisco SantaCon participants sit in a bus near Union Square. Benjamin Fanjoy/Special to the Chronicle San Francisco SantaCon participants are reflected in the wet sidewalk at Union Square. Benjamin Fanjoy/Special to the Chronicle Aspiring Santa Clauses of all ages wouldnt have been remiss to think that the Grinch who stole Christmas was responsible for the torrential rain that deluged the annual San Francisco SantaCon on Saturday morning. After all, the Grinch, who showed up in classic Santa regalia worn over his lurid green fur, rejoiced when the brief, noontime blue skies gave way to fat, cold raindrops over Union Square, sending about 400 Santa Clauses running for cover under the few umbrellas, awnings and tents available. Here comes the rain! the Grinch, whose real name is Scott Levkoff, said as he strode into the downpour, fists pumped. Yes! The rain! We love it. Advertisement Article continues below this ad San Francisco SantaCon participants take shelter from the rain, which eventually cleared. Benjamin Fanjoy/Special to the Chronicle Despite a major storm that pounded the Bay Area with heavy rain and strong winds Saturday, hundreds of red-dressed revelers, the Nutcracker, the gingerbread man, and at least two elves flocked to Union Square to prove they still believe in SantaCon. The annual sea of Santas, where admission is free but participants are encouraged to bring an unwrapped gift for the San Francisco Fire Departments toy drive, came hours after San Franciscos first tornado warning ever, though some opted to start the pub crawl early to escape the elements. Regarding the tornado warning, the Grinch said, That was delightful. The wind was howling. I love it. I love spooky weather. Its like on Mount Crumpit. Thats where I live. Levkoff, a professional character actor who has played the Grinch for the past 20 years, said he loves the origins and meaning of SantaCon people being creative and connecting joyfully, he said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The rain put a damper on San Francisco SantaCon, which morning attracts thousands of participants. Benjamin Fanjoy/Special to the Chronicle San Francisco SantaCon, part of an international celebration with events throughout December, bills itself as a family-friendly gathering early on and discourages drinking before the pub crawl. The crowd gets looser by the end of the day, with Santas fanning out around the citys neighborhoods and jamming local bars. For many pubs, particularly those around Union Square, SantaCon is the busiest day of the year. SantaCon organizers warned this year about scammers trying to sell tickets to the free event. Among the guidelines for SantaCon: A Santa hat is not enough, dress to maximize merriment, bring nice gifts for children and naughty or nice items for adults, tip your servers generously to build goodwill, dont get drunk in public or drink and drive, and dont make children cry. Alyssa Rito and Mai Dismeuke, both 22, huddled under an umbrella, trying to avoid the dripping water, wearing thick red hoodies they bought the day before at Target when they saw how cold it would be Saturday. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Kathryn Witthoft, right, sits with a group toting umbrellas during San Francisco SantaCon at Union Square. Benjamin Fanjoy/Special to the Chronicle Undeterred by the weather, the friends were determined to attend their first SantaCon as they were celebrating their first Christmas season of legal drinking age. But theyre not so adult that they wouldnt have Alyssas mom, Diane Rito, tag along to be their photographer, Diane said, laughing. Its nice that everybody comes together with camaraderie for the holidays, Diane said. Longtime friends Jakob Miller and Marc McClure decided to go to SantaCon while on a phone call recently, after seeing how cheap Santa Claus outfits were on Amazon. Miller woke at 8 a.m. to drive to San Francisco from Sacramento, where he lives. A little tornado warning isnt going to stop us from going to SantaCon, McClure said as he sipped a White Claw under an umbrella. Even a fashion emergency couldnt stop him: McClures $15 red pants ripped right down the middle on his way to the event. Thankfully, he was wearing another pair of pants underneath. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A group takes shelter from the rain during San Francisco SantaCon at Union Square, which drew hundreds of people hours after the citys first tornado warning. Benjamin Fanjoy/Special to the Chronicle Patrick Kelleher, who donned an Elvis Santa outfit, complete with green felt sideburns, said he thrifted his outfit only Friday in San Jose. He and his wife, Sharon, attended at the recommendation of their friend, a SantaCon regular. The rain was so heavy that the white cuffs of Sharons inexpensive ensemble had turned light pink from dye running down the crimson sleeves. Were here to sleigh, Sharon said, reading out the text on red SantaCon badges that attendees wore, as her group sheltered from the rain under a narrow eave. Noel Javier, a 61-year-old retiree, has been attending SantaCon for 12 years. He drove up on his own Saturday from San Jose, wearing the same fluffy white and red outfit he has had for more than a decade. He said Union Square has seen better days, having experienced many store closures, car burglaries and other crimes since the pandemic. Hopefully its on the upswing, he said. With more events like this. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, tasked with defining obscenity, said: I cant define it, but I know it when I see it. Current Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson cant manage even that. Asked to define woman during her confirmation hearing, she infamously intoned: Im not a biologist. Unfortunately, her congressional questioner didnt ask obvious follow ups, like are you a woman? Or how do you know? Graphic: Twitter Screenshot Brown-Jackson, like most Democrats/socialists/communists (D/s/cs), rejects biological reality, screaming trust the science! Should one distrust D/s/c science theyre immediately branded a science denier, which puts them in the very good company of climate deniers, trans deniers, race deniers, and D/s/c deniers in general. As do her fellow travelers, Brown-Jackson must ignore genuine women, because biological realityactual sciencehas no room for people who identify as women regardless of their male appendages, DNA and innate physiology. Equally infamously, Brown-Jacksons place on the Supreme Court is due to Joe Bidens handlers, who determined that seat belonged to a black woman whatever that might be. Let us travel back to 1970, when President Nixon nominated G. Harold Carswell to the Supreme Court. Panned as a mediocre jurist, Nebraska Senator Roman Hruska defended him with faint praise: "Even if he [Carswell] were mediocre, there are a lot of mediocre judges and people and lawyers. They are entitled to a little representation, aren't they? We can't have all Brandeises and Frankfurters and Cardozos." But of course! Its only the Supreme Court, the court that interprets the Constitution, that defines the limits of our liberties, that constrains unlimited governmental growth and usurpation of those liberties. Why not seat people among Americas most mediocre? Why not, like the FAA, hire the severely intellectually and psychiatrically disabled? Isnt DEI what the Supreme Courtwhat Americais all about? According to the American Bar Association (ABA), about 5% of American lawyers are black. Interestingly, the ABA doesnt provide gender breakdowns, but even if women represented half of that total, black female lawyers could only comprise 2.5% of Americas lawyers. Thats not a lot. Are we to believe Ketanji Brown-Jackson, of that 2.5%, is the single most qualified and experienced black female judge in America? The most qualified jurist, or are we working from the Hruska standard? The New York Post provides an illuminating answer: Graphic: Twitter Screenshot On Thursday, the Court held its oral argument in United States v. Skrmetti. At stake was the constitutional viability of a Tennessee law barring minors from receiving so-called gender affirming care, i.e., puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and sex-reassignment surgeries. The argument of those seeking to see it invalidated was that the provision violated the Equal Protection Clauses prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex. Its proponents, meanwhile, submitted that it discriminated based on medical purpose rather than sex. Justice Jackson thought she had undone the latter argument on Thursday when she interrupted Tennessee Solicitor General Matthew Rice as he tried to explain that a childs desire not to grow breasts is not a legitimate medical purpose for such treatments, be it for a boy or a girl. Its the same medical purpose, she insisted about the hypothetical, this time with more than a hint of irritation. Im trying to stop the development of breasts. Rice was taken aback. Tennessee law doesnt just allow doctors to prescribe drugs without a medical purpose, he explained patiently. A girl who doesnt want to grow grow breasts for whatever reason could could could or could not get it? she followed-up. Does not want to grow breasts? he asked quizzically. Yes, she replied agitatedly. Without a medical reason? Could not get it, he confirmed. According to the single most qualified black, female jurist in America, doctors should do whatever mentally compromised children demand they do to their bodies and legitimate medical reasons for that treatment dont enter into it. Should the Tennessee law be upheld, as questioning from a majority of the other justices suggests it might, well probably have the opportunity to experience Brown-Jacksons erudite legal reasoning for that stance in the minoritys dissent. If thats the case, at least in Tennessee, confused children and in some cases their equally confused parents, will have to content themselves with only medically necessary procedures that cause no harm. The harm caused to all Americans by Supreme Court Justices seated for reasons other than experience, judicial temperament and excellence is another story. Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor. In the heart of Boston, a city steeped in history where the legacy of the American Revolution whispers through its cobblestone streets, the city's current leadership under Mayor Michelle Wu seems to echo a different kind of revolution one of progressive excess and ideological pandering that threatens to undermine the foundational values of equality, transparency, and effective governance. From the outset, Wu's tenure has been marked by a series of decisions and policies that, when viewed through a conservative lens, reveal not just a departure from traditional governance but a troubling tilt towards divisiveness and impractical idealism. Let's start with the now-infamous "Electeds of Color Holiday Party." In creating an exclusive gathering based on race, Wu not only endorsed a form of reverse discrimination but also fueled the very divisions she claims to combat. This was not about celebrating diversity but about drawing lines where none should exist. Imagine if this were reversed; the outcry would be deafening, and rightly so. Yet, here, it's presented under the guise of progressivism, a term increasingly synonymous with hypocrisy. Next, consider Wu's approach to public safety and her relationship with law enforcement. Her initial opposition to funding the Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC) was hailed by some as progressive, but her later support for the same program as mayor reveals a political opportunism rather than a principled stand. This flip-flop on public safety measures, especially in a time when crime rates in parts of Boston are climbing, illustrates a lack of commitment to the city's security, prioritizing ideological purity over practicality. It's as if the mayor is more concerned with the optics of reform than with ensuring the safety of Bostonians, particularly in neighborhoods where crime is not just a statistic but a daily reality. On the economic front, Wu's fiscal policies have been a parade of missteps. Her push for changes in commercial tax rates, executed with what many see as a lack of transparency, undermines business confidence in a city already grappling with post-pandemic recovery. The narrative of "bullying" from the business sector isn't just rhetoric; it's a reflection of a governance style that seems to treat the economic engines of our city with disdain. Her environmental policies, while laudable to some in intent, often lack the economic realism necessary for sustainable implementation, potentially stymying growth and development under the weight of well-intentioned but poorly conceived regulations. Moreover, Mayor Wu's handling of Boston's sanctuary city status and her approach to immigration enforcement is emblematic of a broader disconnect with public safety and fiscal responsibility. Out of all the stories Ive covered with ICE, Massachusetts is the most disturbing. Weekly arrests of child rapists by ICEs Boston office, including four in a single morning when we embedded with them & several child rapists in a single operation on Nantucket. Almost always https://t.co/yH4K1QbdAb Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) November 10, 2024 By refusing to cooperate with federal deportation efforts, Wu places ideology above the law, potentially straining city resources and creating tensions within communities where trust in local law enforcement is crucial. This stance has not only invited criticism for its perceived negligence but also for the potential fiscal burden it places on local taxpayers, who are left to fund the consequences of such policies. Her environmental and housing policies further illustrate a pattern of ideological overreach. The push for rent control, for instance, while attractive in theory, could lead to reduced housing construction and maintenance, exacerbating rather than solving the affordability crisis. It's a classic case of progressive policy clashing with economic realities, where the pursuit of social justice fails to account for market dynamics, potentially leading to long-term economic and social stagnation. Public interaction and transparency under Wu have been equally contentious. Her claims of facing sexism and racism in criticism, while perhaps valid in some instances, often serve as a shield against legitimate policy critique. This approach not only trivializes the real issues of discrimination but also stifles open debate, a cornerstone of democratic governance. It's a strategy that might win points in progressive circles but alienates those seeking substantive discourse on city management. What's perhaps most concerning is how Wu's leadership style has contributed to a broader narrative where governance in Boston seems more about symbolism than substance. From swatting incidents to public safety concerns, the administration's response often feels more about managing the "image" of progressive governance than addressing the gritty, complex needs of a city that demands more from its leaders. So while Boston has historically been a beacon of progressive thought, Mayor Wu's administration might well be remembered as a cautionary tale of how far progressive idealism can veer from pragmatic governance. Her policies and actions, when critiqued through a conservative lens, reveal not just a disconnect from traditional values but also from the practical governance that Bostonians, regardless of political stripe, expect and deserve. As we move forward, it's crucial for the city's leadership to recalibrate, focusing on unity, transparency, and a governance model that respects the diverse needs of all Bostonians, not just those who align with a particular ideological agenda. Boston deserves better than the divisive, often impractical governance we've seen. It's time for a return to the principles that made this city great: equality for all, not just for some; fiscal responsibility over fiscal fancy; and a commitment to public safety and economic prosperity over ideological posturing. Only then can Boston truly reclaim its status as a city of progress, not just in name but in deed. Ronald Beaty lives in Massachusetts. Image: Screen shot from X video More than a month after the 2024 national elections, the lamentations from many who voted for the losing side continue unabated. For some reason, I cannot dance to their tears. I see a mirror. Ironically, some of their words seem to be echoes from an alternate universe, one in which it is I who am lamenting a world in which there is a President Kamala. (It aches me even to put those words adjacent to each other.) Some of the people decrying the Trump victory were, not so long ago, genuine conservatives, both economic and cultural. They kept blogs that said so. They all but idolized Sarah Palin. (I made online friends among them on the Team Sarah website.) They staunchly opposed Hillary Clinton, until she opposed Trump and then something happened. Whatever it was, it is unfathomable to me that people I felt close to (even if only online) could morph so quickly into NeverTrumps. Whatever may be the faults and flaws of President Trump, how does a recently conservative ideologue prefer the alternative? Are they in favor of Biden-style open borders? Do they view elective abortion as a good? Do they send their schoolchildren to attend drag queen exhibitions? Do they celebrate the castration of temporarily gender-confused children? Are those the policies of a lesser of two evils president? It occurs to me that we live in an America where far-left radical views saturate the airwaves and the internet. Therefore, we on the right are accustomed to hearing and evaluating opposing viewpoints. On the other hand, it is easily possible to never, or at least rarely, hear the case for Trump and his policies. People may know nothing of the Biden crime family, nothing of Chloe Cole and others like her, whose lives were ruined by so-called gender-affirming care. One person actually denied to me that Biden pulled us out of Afghanistan, without warning, stranding American civilians and allied military personnel. The entire list of government malfeasances under Biden are to them nothing but propaganda, whereas every anonymous accusation against Trump is taken as undeniable truth. Worse yet, the Kamala-supporters regard those of us who voted for Trump as a horde of Nazis, misogynists, racists, and at best deluded fools who have not observed and honestly evaluated the two most recent presidential terms. Some of them have even disavowed their parents or children, and marriages have been broken over dinner-table disagreements about politics. If people can seriously and sincerely believe that more than half their fellow Americans are monsters, then that is a sad testament to the effectiveness of the propaganda of the Soros machine. Worse yet, it is a scary portent of what awaits us as a nation, as the forces of division become ever more desperate to prevent a successful Trump second presidency. For Soros, the worst nightmare is an America that is just and prosperous for all, a nation of laws fairly applied, by a government that is no larger than needed to fulfill its duties under the Constitution. Image via Raw Pixel. It was May 1, 2023, at roughly 2:00 p.m. in New York City. Just before the train was about to depart, a 30-year-old homeless man, Jordan Neely, burst into the train and began shouting. Daniel Penny, a 24-year-old United States Marine Corps veteran, had embarked on a train at the Second Avenue station heading to the Broadway-Lafayette Street station.Just before the train was about to depart, a 30-year-old homeless man, Jordan Neely, burst into the train and began shouting. The memory of a Back to 2023. One witness, Juan Alberto Vazquez, a freelance journalist, said Neely started screaming, "I don't have food, I don't have a drink, I'm fed up. I don't mind going to jail and getting life in prison. I'm ready to die."The memory of a 2022 subway shooting was most likely fresh in the passengers' minds. This was when a masked Black supremacist, 62-year-old Frank James, threw smoke grenades and fired his handgun in the New York City subway. The act of terrorism caused 29 people to be injured, and this included victims who were hit by direct gunfire, while others were affected due to smoke inhalation.Back to 2023. Journalist Vazquez also The situation inside the train was volatile, and perhaps Neely would have engaged in acts of terrorism like Frank James did.Journalist Vazquez also revealed that Neely took off his jacket and threw it to the floor, causing other passengers to move away from him fearing for their well-being. Other witnesses said that Neely made "half-lunge movements" at other passengers and was within "half a foot of people." Witnesses said Neely tossed garbage at other passengers and even began approaching people in a threatening manner. A mother with a child testified that Neely charged at passengers, and she shielded herself and her child behind a stroller, believing she might die. Another witness heard Neely say, "Someone is going to die today." BREAKING: bombshell bodycam reveals that police detected a pulse on Jordan Neely after he was put in a chokehold by Daniel Penny. At the behest of BLM who called it a racist killing, Soros-funded D.A. Alvin Bragg is falsely prosecuting Penny for manslaughter. Penny is innocent. pic.twitter.com/0fxy5xtZ9x Dapper Detective (@Dapper_Det) November 1, 2024 Moments later, Daniel Penny approached Neely from behind and placed him in a chokehold. Penny restrained the miscreant after the train had reached its next stop, Broadway-Lafayette Street. Other passengers held the doors open to prevent it from moving. Penny released Neely only after the New York City Police (NYPD) officers arrived on the scene by which time Neely was unconscious; it was reported that his pulse was still felt. The NYPD attempted to resuscitate Neely, and an NYPD Sergeant at the scene revealed that none of his team performed mouth-to-mouth on Neely because he was a 'drug user' and they feared contracting hepatitis. Eventually, the New York City Fire Department took Neely to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Penny was taken for questioning by the NYPD and released without charge several hours later. It was revealed that Neely was intoxicated on synthetic marijuana known as K2. Experts opined that the cause of Neelys death wasnt Penny's chokehold but the combined effects of drugs, struggle, and schizophrenia. NEW: Jordan Neely had a pulse after being put in a chokehold by Marine veteran Daniel Penny but NYPD declined mouth-to-mouth because they were afraid of getting hepatitis. Neely was so dirty that officers didn't feel safe performing CPR. Penny is charged with mansl*ughter and pic.twitter.com/kNMCoaPaU7 Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 2, 2024 Make no mistake, this was an act of unmitigated heroism on Penny's part. Penny placed himself in peril when he approached the miscreant who could have been armed, and his behavior made him seem very dangerous. There will be those, even people who are not Penny's detractors, who say he could have acted differently, perhaps not held Neely for so long, or not applied a chokehold. But those people weren't at the crime scene where adrenalin was running high and Penny had to make a split-second decision. Make no mistake, this was an act of unmitigated heroism on Penny's part. Penny placed himself in peril when he approached the miscreant who could have been armed, and his behavior made him seem very dangerous.There will be those, even people who are not Penny's detractors, who say he could have acted differently, perhaps not held Neely for so long, or not applied a chokehold. But those people weren't at the crime scene where adrenalin was running high and Penny had to make a split-second decision. Alas for vultures in the judiciary, the media, politics, and beyond looking to bake their bread on the figurative funeral pyres of others, the incident became about race. The potential terrorist was painted as the It is very easy for armchair experts to prescribe how Penny should have reacted days, months, and a year after the incident. But Penny was there and he did the best he could. It must be said that Penny didn't engage in an act of violence - i.e., he didn't strike or kick Neely, he merely restrained a potential terrorist until the police arrived. One witness revealed that Penny relaxed his grip minutes after placing the chokehold on Neel.Alas for vultures in the judiciary, the media, politics, and beyond looking to bake their bread on the figurative funeral pyres of others, the incident became about race.The potential terrorist was painted as the victim of his mental illness issues, drug addiction and homelessness. The fact that he was a Michael Jackson impersonator was mentioned to humanize him. The hero became the victim of a relentless demonization campaign. Daniel Penny is a racist, classist, ableist murderer. He should face ignominy forever regardless of what a court does or doesnt do to him. Tim Wise (@timjacobwise) December 7, 2024 Penny was not only branded a racist but also a classist, ableist, and murderer. You would be forgiven for thinking these pejorative epithets were part of a satirical setup. Fortunately, common sense prevailed in the courts, which seems like a rarity these days, especially in liberal precincts. The charge of second-degree manslaughter, which carried a maximum 15-year sentence, was dismissed by Penny was acquitted. Legal experts said that the case should not have been brought to court, especially since the NYPD had let Penny go after questioning. The villain behind this one is notorious New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who also targeted President Trump. As expected, the acquittal incurred the unhinged Black Lives Matter called it 'the racist killing of a mentally ill black man by an overzealous white military faithful.'Fortunately, common sense prevailed in the courts, which seems like a rarity these days, especially in liberal precincts.The charge of second-degree manslaughter, which carried a maximum 15-year sentence, was dismissed by Judge Maxwell Wiley while a Manhattan jury found Penny not guilty of criminally negligent homicide, which carried a four-year maximum sentence.Penny was acquitted.Legal experts said that the case should not have been brought to court, especially since the NYPD had let Penny go after questioning. The villain behind this one is notorious New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who also targeted President Trump.As expected, the acquittal incurred the unhinged wrath of leftists, who are still in shock following President Trump's landslide victory last month. While Penny's acquittal is celebrated, it must be remembered he was subjected to needless hardships and humiliation for more than a year and a half due to his legal hassles. The process became the equivalent of hard punishment, and Bragg knew this. The man accused of killing Jordan Neely, a homeless Black man, will sit beside the future president and vice president at the Army-Navy game. https://t.co/6CVhQpQ6n9 HuffPost (@HuffPost) December 13, 2024 Despite being acquitted, Penny will continue to be in danger from unhinged leftwing zealots. The articles reporting his acquittal continue to cite the race of the miscreant as if to imply Penny's actions were motivated by race. So it was great to see President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance publicly support Penny by inviting him to an Army-Navy game in Landover, Maryland. Daniel Penny joined President Donald J. Trump and VP-elect JD Vance at the @ArmyNavyGame today in Landover, Maryland. pic.twitter.com/RCpxDQqcQn Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) December 14, 2024 The smear and hate campaign against Penny could scare potential bravehearts in the future. After all, nobody wants to be subjected to smears and vilification. However, being invited by a popular president such as Donald Trump could reduce the impact of the demonization campaign and potentially encourage similar acts of heroism. Hopefully, Penny will be given suitable employment in the future and perhaps even a Presidential Medal of Honor. Hopefully, his legal bills will be recompensed. It is important to remember that such heroism is not just about being tough and adept in combat. Heroism begins from a place of selflessness -- the hero places the interests of others before his own when his fellow humans are in peril. In this age of vanity, egocentricity, and narcissism, it is nice to see a display of compassion and morality. Penny and others like him must be celebrated as humanitarians as much as heroes; hopefully, this celebration will cause people to forget the demonization campaign and will create a climate that encourages similar acts. The justice system and law enforcement must ensure that such heroes are honored and above all treated with dignity and respect during every interaction. Perhaps Congress should pass laws that mandate a pension or some handsome reward for bravery. The coverage across all media needs to be more extensive and commemorative, and these heroes deserve to become household names and aspirational figures. The author of the book of Genesis describes how God responded after the serpent beguiled Adam and Eve, convincing them to trust in themselves rather than in God. So the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this ... I will put enmity ... between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. The image of a serpent striking the heel demonstrates cowardice as he attacks the foundation upon which we navigate the world. Many of the ancients were polytheistic, with vain and cruel gods. The ancient world was ruled by the strong, who abused, enslaved, and oppressed the weak and the poor. Unwanted children, especially girls and those born with defects, were routinely murdered or abandoned in the wilderness. The sick, the elderly, and orphans were typically reduced to begging for survival. It was the advent of Judaism and Christianity that stabilized society by bringing to the fore the virtues of charity and compassion. It was Christians who organized the first hospitals and orphanages. Christianity demanded that men confine their sexual urges within marriage and so elevated women. Ironically, Christianity is now mocked for this same standard. Similarly, the number and impact of the scientific, artistic, and philosophical contributions made to humankind by Christians and Jews is incalculable. As a matter of fact, 22% of all Nobel Prize winners from 1901 to 2024 have been Jewish. Not to make a contest out of it, but Christians were awarded approximately 65% of Nobel Prizes, whereas those claiming no religion tallied 10.5% of all laureates and 35% in literature. Note that many Christian and Jewish recipients were non-practicing. While Christians have been targets of derision, contempt, and lawfare, the recent rise of anti-Semitism has been startling. Israels response to October 7 has transformed many leftists into violent agitators who specifically target Jews. The left has publicized its campaign against both Christians and Jews by erecting statues of Baphomet in state capitols, organizing after-school Satan clubs, arresting people praying outside abortion facilities, conducting lawfare against Christian bakers, and terrorizing Jewish students on college campuses. If youve spent much time on social media, you have noticed how leftists and atheists respond to people who express their faith in God with laughing emojis and derisive comments. They mock Judaism and Christianity as being ancient systems of superstitious beliefs that have no place in the modern world. A common theme from the left is that the source of all the worlds ills can be traced to religion. The moral relativism inherent in that statement is itself another failing, as all religions are not the same. Some espouse caring for the helpless, the infirm, and the needy, regardless of race or creed, whereas others encourage their followers to murder anyone who doesnt adhere to their teachings. The lifestyle and ideology of radical Islamists seem not to have evolved very much past the 9th century, yet these are never commented on or criticized by leftists. I have yet to see a Muslim baker, Halal grocer, or restaurateur sued for refusing to bake a pride cake or serve a BLT. Perhaps well see an explanation of this phenomenon one day in Charlie Hebdo magazine. While speaking to the National Religious Broadcasters International Christian Media Convention last February, Donald Trump said, How any Christian can vote for a Democrat, Christian or person of faith, how you can vote for a Democrat is crazy. Awkward phrasing aside, he makes a good point. A Venn diagram displaying the tenets of Judaism and Christianity and the planks of the Democrat platform might show a small oval of intersection at best, representing the lefts concern for the poor. We know that leftists care for the poor because they remind us like clockwork every election season. Their insistence that we place our trust in a secular government rather than in human virtues inspired by religious faith rings hollow when study history. The record of human rights violations and war crimes committed by the atheist governments of the former Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, North Korea, and Communist China, as well as Cuba, North Vietnam, and Cambodia, speaks for itself. Why is the left showing more concern for illegal aliens than for homeless U.S. citizens? What are leftists doing for the victims of the wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii; the chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio; or the six states ravaged by Hurricanes Milton and Helene? Their failure to act is a cowardly strike at the foundation of our society. Image via Pixabay. In the statement accompanying the recent pardon of his son, Hunter, President Biden stated that he believed that his son was being improperly prosecuted by the Department of Justice because of their familial relationship. Essentially, the Department of Justice was prosecuting Americans in a manner inconsistent with American values. It is behaving as a rogue entity. While I disagree with the presidents view of the propriety of the pardon, it does raise an interesting question: if the president sincerely believes that the Department of Justice is acting improperly and out of control, then why does he allow those members of his administration, especially Attorney General Garland, to continue to serve in his office? Shouldnt he be fired immediately for incompetence or improper behavior? How can he reasonably be allowed to continue in office, given the presidents view? He serves at the pleasure of the chief executive. If Bidens view is to be taken seriously, Garlands immediate firing is required, even if only a few days are left in the administration. The fact that Garland continues in his position tells you that the presidents comments are simply words without sincerity. The White House Press Corps knows this and demonstrates another example of the longstanding cover-up of the corruption in the Oval Office. Image: Louise Parker via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped). Several days ago, I planned to write about the likelihood that Israel would bomb Irans nuclear facilities, but something always intervened. As the days went by, I assumed that, rather than writing that Israel probably will drop the bombs, I would be writing that Israel did drop the bombs. But here it is, the Ides of December, and no bombs. However, those bombs may still fall because Trump, the acting president-elect, just indicated that he believes that bombing those sites is a realistic option. Back in October, when Iran launched a giant missile barrage against Israel, I thought Israel would destroy Irans oil fields and nuclear sites. Instead, Israel did something different: It took out Irans air defenses, leaving it a sitting duck in the event that Israel decided to launch more attacks. A lot has happened since then. Israel has militarily destroyed Irans proxiesHamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. Additionally, Turkey has wiped out the Bashar al-Assad government in Syria, which was another Iranian proxy. Israel followed that up by destroying Syrias entire military infrastructure, which was also part of Irans air defense. Irans mullahs are on the ropes. Image by Andrea Widburg, using AI. Just as significantly, on November 5, American voters gave the boot to Joe Biden, Irans proxy in the White House. Obama was the original D.C. Iranian proxy, effectively greenlighting Irans nuclear program and flooding it with money. Thankfully, when Trump came into office, he changed that. Trump recognized that the mullahs are extraordinarily dangerous and that, aside from 9/11 itself, they have been behind most of the worlds Islamic terrorism, whether indirectly, through funding, or directly, by having their IRGC generals and other government officials on the ground, directing terrorism. To that end, he shut down the flow of money heading their way and took out their terrorist leader, Qasem Soleimani. The moment he came into office, Biden reinstated Obamas pro-Iran policies, once again flooding Iran with cash. Indeed, it just emerged that, two days after the election, the Biden administration gave Iran yet another sanctions waiver, this time for $10 billion. This was the 23rd time hed done so since entering office. In other words, Biden has kept the mullahs afloat, effectively helping to fund their war on Israel and other terrorist attacks. In sum, Biden funded an enemy to wage war on an ally. Those glory days are over. But the mullahs arent nice guys who will shrug their shoulders and ride off peacefully into the sunset. They are Shia ideologues who thought they had it all: Iranian dominance and the joy of ushering in the dawn of the Hidden Imam by destroying Israel and the West. What happens, though, when the first part of that dream dies, that is, when their dominance is over? Does anyone seriously believe that this is the moment when the mullahs give up their other dream? I certainly dont, and its doubtful that Israel does either. Michael Oren, who was the former Israeli ambassador to America, thinks that the mullahs having lost Syria will drive them to extreme acts of violence. After writing about how Israel has been moving swiftly to counter threats in Syria and Lebanon from the ISIS/Al Qaeda/Turkey takeover, Oren notes that another threat remains: Lastly and most dangerously, a humiliated and vulnerable Iran may decide to break out and produce a nuclear weapon. It certainly has enough enriched uranium, a ballistic delivery system, and perhaps even a workable warhead. The process of making a bomb could be completed before Donald Trumps inauguration on January 20. Again, Israel must watch this situation very carefully but watching may not be enough. Together with our American allies or, if necessary, alone, Israel must be ready to preempt. Israel fully understands the existential risk that an Iran with nothing left to lose poses and is preparing to strike Irans nuclear facilities: Israels Army Radio reported Thursday that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began preparing plans for Israel to attack Irans nuclear sites after destroying nearly 90% of Syrias air defense capabilities, which had formerly protected Iran. Army Radio military correspondent Doron Kadosh reported on air that Israel had destroyed 86% of Syrias surface-to-air missile capability, among 500 other sites that the IDF had targeted since the fall of the Assad regime Sunday. [snip] Now, he said, with a clear axis to Iran, Israels military and intelligence officials were preparing operational plans for an attack on the regimes nuclear facilities. The decision to launch a strike would be left to elected political leaders. However, Israel may have been hesitating to act because of one more risk it faces, and thats the United States. As noted above, while Biden pays lip service to Israel being an ally and, when forced, slow-walked to Israel the weapons Israel purchased, his heart is with Israels enemies. And indeed, its not just Bidens heart. His entire administration despises Israel. Just look at whats been going on at the FBI: DISGUSTING: Chris Wray, the FBI Director, handed an FBI National Academy diploma to a foreign student in the Quantico program. Wray announces the student is from Ramallah, the State of Palestine. January 20th could not come sooner. pic.twitter.com/XQOEHG26XQ Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) December 12, 2024 It doesnt stop there, though. Its not just Wray; its the entire FBI: The man at the table is Husham Abu-Aisha, he's a member of the Palestinian Authority forces The PA forces are essentially terrorists in the past he has liked a video praising Saddam Hussein and his father appears to have been an associate of Arafat going by the 'kunya' Abu pic.twitter.com/Gvd7pcA98N Daniel Greenfield - "Hang Together or Separately" (@Sultanknish) December 15, 2024 Israel currently cannot count on America to have its back if it destroys Irans nuclear facilities (although that act will be seen as a blessing across the Muslim Middle East). But help is on the way because Donald Trump, the man all realize is already effectively the president of the United States, has spoken, and he, unlike the fading Biden administration, has got Israels back: President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly weighing different options, including military options, for how to confront and destroy the threat of nuclear weapons being produced by the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Wall Street Journal reported that military strikes against nuclear facilities are now under serious consideration by the incoming president. [snip] Trump has reportedly signaled to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he wants to take care of the problem, but he does not want to ignite an all-out war. Trumps incoming national security team is devising a new maximum pressure 2.0 campaign against Iran that would impose even tougher sanctions on Iran and potentially add in a military component. In other words, while Trump would prefer a solution that does not involve bombing Irans nuclear sites, hes willing to recognize that its an option and may well back that option if Netanyahu gives him evidence that theres no other choice. Israel just needs to hold out for another 37 days... And a reminder: If you subscribe to American Thinker, your subscription won't just include an ad-free experience and the ability to leave comments. Instead, you'll receive a weekly newsletter with original essays for subscribers only. One of the most controversial moves in recent years in the tech industry is OpenAIs attempt to change its financial model. The artificial intelligence-focused company, which was born as a non-profit organization, wants to move to a for-profit model. Some prominent voices, such as Elon Musk, have spoken out against it. Now, Meta joins Musk and is even asking the US government to block the OpenAI switch to a for-profit company. Meta sends letter to US government urging block of OpenAI switching to for-profit OpenAI began its developments with donations from important figures, including Musk himself. Recently, the owner of X said that Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO, lied to him. Musk claims that he donated to the company with the idea that it would remain a non-profit organization. He has even attempted to file lawsuits against ChatGPTs parent company. On the other hand, OpenAI claims that Musk had agreed with the change in financial model. This week, Meta joined Musks cause by sending a letter to Bontas office. The document includes a mention of Musk, saying he is someone qualified and well positioned to represent the interests of Californians in this matter. According to Meta, the US government should act on OpenAIs financial model change. The letter says that OpenAI should not be allowed to flout the law by taking and reappropriating assets it built as a charity and using them for potentially enormous private gains. The movement could lead to the birth of false non-profit organizations to get funds The main argument of Mark Zuckerbergs company is in the potentially seismic implications for Silicon Valley. Meta believes that, if OpenAI is successful, a wave of new companies will emerge trying to repeat the same movement. In other words, these companies could collect donations as non-profit entities, with the intention of transitioning into for-profit entities soon. The movement could lead to investors to launch organizations as non-profits, collect hundreds of millions of dollars in tax-free donations to support research and development, and then assume for-profit status as its technology becomes commercially viable, the letter states. OpenAI defends the financial model switch as necessary Bret Taylor, OpenAI board chair, responded to the letter defending the model change. While our work remains ongoing as we continue to consult independent financial and legal advisors, any potential restructuring would ensure the nonprofit continues to exist and thrive, and receives full value for its current stake in the OpenAI for-profit with an enhanced ability to pursue its mission. Becoming a for-profit company will ensure that the company is well-positioned to continue advancing its mission of ensuring AGI benefits all of humanity, Taylor says. OpenAI began raising funds this year by promising that it will successfully change its financial model within two years. In fact, if the firm doesnt manage to do so, it will have to pay it back, with interest. Were talking about billions of dollars in funding. Meta launched its Llama 3.3 70B AI model this month On the other hand, Meta has its own interests in this matter. The company is among the main names in the artificial intelligence segment. Meta AI is present on multiple of its social and messaging platforms. This month, Meta announced Llama 3.3 70B as its most advanced AI model to date. ByteDance is exhausting every resource to try to stop the implementation of the anti-TikTok law in the US. The companys latest move was an emergency pause request before the appeals court. However, in a new development, the US rejects the TikTok request. US court rejects ByteDances emergency pause request to TikTok ban ByteDance filed the emergency pause request alleging the short period of time left before its implementation. The company claimed that it would not have enough time to even file its appeal before the US Supreme Court. Furthermore, the April bills current deadline will not allow Donald Trump, the incoming US president, to take action. The law will go into effect on January 19, while the upcoming administration will take the White House a day later, on January 20. Unfortunately for the fate of TikTok, the appeals court has unanimously rejected the request filed by ByteDance. The judges said on Friday that TikTok and ByteDance had not identified a previous case in which a court, after rejecting a constitutional challenge to an Act of Congress, has joined the Act from going into effect while review is sought in the Supreme Court as their primary motivation. The Supreme Court is ByteDances last resort In its emergency injunction, ByteDance claimed that banning the platform in the US would inflict extreme and irreparable harm. The freedom of expression of petitioners and the 170 million Americans who use the platform each month would be affected, the company claimed. However, the justices also rejected these arguments. ByteDances next step should be to go to the Supreme Court. This will serve as the companys final attempt to thwart TikToks increasingly likely US ban. The firm says that the court has established an historical record of protecting Americans right to free speech. Joe Biden could still extend the laws deadline by 90 days, but it doesnt seem like that will happen. Meanwhile, ByteDance is not willing to sell TikToks North American operations, as required by the bill. DOJ maintains a strict position against TikTok The US DOJ has been especially insistent that the US ban of TikTok is necessary. The agency recently asked the appeals court to deny ByteDances request for an emergency pause on the law. The short video platform represents a continuing threat to national security, officials said. On the other hand, ByteDance claims that decisions are being made on flawed grounds. The DOJ claims that China has the power to influence the platform. However, the company says that everything related to TikTok moderation and recommendations is handled in the US. In addition, the data of American users is stored on Oracle servers, not in China. Several cars were flipped in Saturdays tornado in Scotts Valley (Santa Cruz County). The tornado began hurtling down the center of the towns commercial district at 1:39 p.m., peaking with winds at 90 mph. Scotts Valley Police Department Crews inspect the damage from Saturdays tornado in Scotts Valley (Santa Cruz County). Scotts Valley Police Department Crews inspect damage at a Target parking lot from Saturdays tornado in Scotts Valley (Santa Cruz County). Scotts Valley Police Department The Santa Cruz County community of Scotts Valley is quickly recovering from a surprise tornado that struck this weekend and left fallen trees and power lines, flipped vehicles and at least five injuries in its wake. Everythings all cleaned up. It looks like some of the crews are still across the street doing repairs, Target employee Debie Nervina said Sunday morning. But the trees have been picked up. The whole highway is empty from it. Nervina was at work when the tornado struck Saturday afternoon and said she witnessed it moving through the stores parking lot. Advertisement Article continues below this ad We didnt realize what was going on, she said. It went so fast. Nervina said one of the stores security guards ran outside to pull a woman from her car during the scary scene, and a tree fell onto the car of one of her co-workers. We all went outside, and cars were turned over on top of themselves, carts were turned over, one of our lampposts got knocked right off of its steel post onto the ground and trees had broken off, she said. A light pole was toppled by a tornado in Scotts Valley (Santa Cruz County) on Saturday. Courtesy of Steven Robins Wind gusts across the Bay Area were nothing short of remarkable Saturday morning as a series of potent storms swept through the region. The first line of storms rolled into San Francisco during the predawn hours, marking a historic moment: the citys first tornado warning. This initial burst delivered an 83 mph gust at San Francisco International Airport the second-strongest ever recorded there along with a 78 mph gust in Monterey, a 69 mph gust in Point Richmond, and a 55 mph gust on the Golden Gate Bridge. Across the Peninsula and East Bay, gusts ranged 40-50 mph. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Heavy rain and strong winds persisted for hours, but by late morning and early afternoon, the activity began shifting south. A surface low-pressure system trailing behind the initial cold front responsible for the early storms made landfall just before noon. As the low pushed farther inland, a powerful line of storms formed over the Santa Cruz Mountains, forming the brief but intense tornado near Scotts Valley. The tornado began hurling down Mount Hermon Road, the center of the towns commercial district, at 1:39 p.m., peaking with winds at 90 mph. It traveled just over a quarter-mile and left a trail of destruction that measured up to 30 yards wide before fizzling out five minutes later, according to the National Weather Services preliminary damage survey results. The weather service rated the twister EF-1 based on wind speed. The rating system goes from EF-0 for weak tornadoes starting at 65 mph to EF-5 for violent twisters exceeding 200 mph. A Cal Fire battalion chief who was in his work truck when it flipped on its side was among the three people taken to a hospital with tornado-induced injuries. Cal Fire told the Chronicle that he was released Saturday evening and is expected to make a full recovery. Another person was released that evening, while one person is receiving continued treatment for fractured ribs and a punctured lung but is expected to survive, Scotts Valley police Capt. Scott Garner said in a statement Sunday. Workers removed a large tree that toppled onto the roof of Scotts Valley Middle School in Santa Cruz County as a result of Saturdays tornado. Randy Johnson Mount Hermon Road remained closed overnight so that Pacific Gas and Electric Co. could replace damaged power poles and the city could clean up the destruction. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The suns shining out today, so it seems like very opposite of what the experience was yesterday, said Erin Buonocore, who lives less than a mile away from Mount Hermon Road. The traffic lights are still out, theyre just flashing red, but people are out and about, and it just seems like theyre kind of trying to continue on (with) life. Were missing a bunch of trees, but other than that, theres not a lot of damage. Buonocore was at home when the tornado struck and had first mistaken the noise for a thunderclap. She said she planned to take her 4-year-old to a birthday party, and when her power went out, she decided to follow through in case the hosts had a generator. A rare Northern California tornado touched down in Scotts Valley (Santa Cruz County) on Saturday afternoon, knocking over power lines, felling trees, flipping vehicles and injuring at least five people. Courtesy of Steven Robins All these parents showed up who had just actually been in the Target parking lot and had witnessed the tornado flipping cars, so they were just kind of like chugging Champagne, she said. We all came together with our kids and just kind of like hunkered down until we had more information. Buonocore said it was difficult to find information about road closures online, which caused chaos when she went to pick up her husband from work later that day. A 5-mile drive down the road ended up taking a little more than an hour. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Having experienced similar inconveniences Saturday, Peets Coffee employee Chris Lawrence was surprised at how quickly things began returning back to normal Sunday. Theres a good amount of debris like branches and foam and random trash, he said. I didnt expect to have power back because the power lines were down, but we all had power back this morning. Crews inspect a vehicle that was flipped on its side during Saturdays tornado in Scotts Valley (Santa Cruz County). Scotts Valley Police Department Lawrence was working at the cafe, which sits just down the road from Target, when the tornado struck and said he laughed it off at first before realizing the gravity of the situation. It began with crazy rain blowing sideways, he said. A customer shouted that there was a tornado, and at first I thought he was full of it because no way. But it was pretty clear immediately that there was one. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Lawrence said Peets outdoor furniture was blowing around, and a tree outside was damaged by the winds. It was crazy, he added. I was shouting for people to get in the back because its safe back there, but most of the people honestly just wanted to stand by the windows and watch. Though no major updates were expected as of Monday afternoon, the weather service is still waiting to collect more damage reports from west of Scotts Valley and plans to make additional reports as needed. Israel has said it will close its Dublin embassy, accusing Ireland of crossing every red line. Foreign minister Gideon Saar announced the closure in a statement due to the extreme anti-Israel policies of the Irish Government. Irish premier Simon Harris said he was deeply disappointed by the move, with deputy premier Micheal Martin stating there are no plans to close the Irish embassy in Israel. Mr Harris also said he utterly rejected the assertion that Ireland is anti-Israel. Taoiseach Simon Harris rejected the assertion Ireland is anti-Israel (Brian Lawless/PA) Earlier this year, the Irish Government officially recognised the Palestinian state and, this week, it emerged that Ireland will formally intervene in South Africas genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Israels ambassador to Dublin was recalled in May following the Palestinian state recognition. Mr Saar said: The actions and antisemitic rhetoric used by Ireland against Israel are rooted in the de-legitimisation and demonisation of the Jewish state, along with double standards. Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with Israel. Israel will invest its resources in advancing bilateral relations with countries worldwide according to priorities that also take into account the attitudes and actions of these states towards Israel. Mr Harris responded: I am deeply disappointed by the Israeli governments decision to close its embassy in Dublin. Irelands foreign policy is founded on our deep commitment to dialogue and to the peaceful resolution of disputes. Resident embassies play a very important role in that regard. Keeping channels open has never been more important so that we can better understand each others positions, even when we disagree. Ireland wants a two state solution and for Israel and Palestine to live in peace and security. Ireland will always speak up for human rights and international law. Nothing will distract from that. Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) December 15, 2024 He continued: I utterly reject the assertion that Ireland is anti-Israel. Ireland is pro-peace, pro-human rights and pro-international law. Ireland wants a two-state solution and for Israel and Palestine to live in peace and security. Ireland will always speak up for human rights and international law. Nothing will distract from that. Tanaiste Micheal Martin said Ireland would not be closing its embassy in Israel (Brian Lawless/PA) Tanaiste Mr Martin said he believed in the importance of maintaining diplomatic channels of communication. He said: Irelands position on the conflict in the Middle East has always been guided by the principles of international law and the obligation on all states to adhere to international humanitarian law. This has been the case with regard to our response to the terrorist attack by Hamas in Israel on October 7 2023, and to the conduct by Israel of its military operations since then. The continuation of the war in Gaza and the loss of innocent lives is simply unacceptable and contravenes international law. It represents the collective punishment of the Palestinian people in Gaza. We need an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Mr Martin said Ireland and Israel will continue to maintain diplomatic relations, adding: Inherent in that is the right to agree and disagree on fundamental points. There are no plans to close Irelands embassy in Israel, which is carrying out important work. The UK has had diplomatic contact with the rebel group that toppled Bashar Assads regime, David Lammy said as he announced 50 million of humanitarian aid for vulnerable Syrians across the Middle East. The Foreign Secretary said Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) remains proscribed in Britain but as you would expect the Government has spoken to the organisation. It comes as the Foreign Office announced emergency support will be delivered through the UN and NGO agencies to people in Syria, as well as to Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan. The Foreign Secretary said diplomatic contact has been made with the rebel group HTS (PA) Speaking on Sunday, Mr Lammy said: We want to see a representative government, an inclusive government. We want to see chemical weapons stockpiles secured, and not used, and we want to ensure that there is not continuing violence. For all of those reasons, using all the channels that we have available, and those are diplomatic and of course intelligence-led channels, we seek to deal with HTS where we have to. He added: Yes, HTS remains a proscribed organisation but we can have diplomatic contact and so we do have diplomatic contact as you would expect. It comes after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed Washington officials had been in direct contact with the group, which has been designated a foreign terrorist organisation by the State Department since 2018. Britain on Saturday joined talks in Aqaba, hosted by Jordan and attended by ministers and delegates from the US, France, Germany, the Arab Contact Group, Bahrain, Qatar, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the EU and UN. They agreed on the importance of a non-sectarian and representative government, protecting human rights, unfettered access for humanitarian aid, the safe destruction of chemical weapons, and combating terrorism. The UK urges the transitional government to adhere to these principles to build a more hopeful, secure and peaceful Syria, the Foreign Office said on Sunday. Some 120,000 of UK funding has also been made available to the Organisation of the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the department said. Another 30 million will be channelled within Syria for food, shelter and emergency healthcare, while 10 million will go to the World Food Programme (WFP) in Lebanon and 10 million to WFP and the UNs refugee agency, UNHCR, in Jordan. The intervention comes a week after the collapse of the Assad regime following a lightning offensive by HTS. Since then, Western governments have debated how to deal with HTS, which is a proscribed organisation in the UK because of its closeness to al Qaida. Its current leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, who used the alias Mohammed al-Golani before taking power, has attempted to distance his movement from the terrorist group. There is also concern that a power vacuum in Syria could exacerbate regional tensions and create conditions for the so-called Islamic State group to regain ground. Mr Lammy said: The fall of the horrific Assad regime provides a once-in-a-generation chance for the people of Syria. Were committed to supporting the Syrian people as they chart a new course, first by providing 50 million in new food, healthcare and aid to support the humanitarian needs of vulnerable Syrians. Second, by working diplomatically to help secure better governance in Syrias future. This weekend the UK and its partners came together to agree the principles required to support a Syrian-led transitional political process. It is vital that the future Syrian government brings together all groups to establish the stability and respect the Syrian people deserve. Sir Keir Starmer on Friday told a virtual meeting of the G7 leaders that the fall of (Bashar) Assads brutal regime should be welcomed but we must be cautious about what comes next. In a statement on Thursday, the leaders said they were committed to work with and fully support a future Syrian government that agreed to ensure respect for the rule of law, universal human rights, including womens rights, the protection of all Syrians, including religious and ethnic minorities, transparency and accountability. Forecasters have issued a warning of persistent rain that could make travel conditions difficult in parts of Scotland over the next three days. The Met Office yellow warning, which covers parts of the Highlands, Argyll and Bute, Perthshire and the Stirling area, comes into force at 6pm on Sunday and runs until midday on Tuesday. It predicts that persistent rain will lead to difficult travel conditions and possible flooding in some places. There may also be some interruption to power supplies and other services. (PA Graphics) Police have advised people to travel with caution. The Met Office warning states: Rain will become persistent across parts of western Scotland during Sunday, continuing throughout Monday before easing later on Tuesday. 70-100 mm of rain is likely to fall widely during this period, but possibly over 150 mm for some exposed hills and mountains. Rapid melting of lying snow will also contribute to any potential impacts. The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for rain from 6pm today, Sunday, 15 December, until 12pm on Monday, 16 December. #PlanAhead road, rail, air and ferry services may be affected. For more information on the weather warnings, visit @metoffice pic.twitter.com/vHpfHArXAI Police Scotland Tayside (@PSOSTayside) December 15, 2024 Further south the Met Office has issued a yellow warning of wind for Yorkshire which is in force until 5pm on Sunday. It warns that strong westerly winds may cause some difficult travel conditions on Sunday afternoon, while some short term loss of power and other services is possible. Gusts of 45-55 mph are expected across parts of Yorkshire during the afternoon while a few places may experience gusts of up to 65mph. Winds will ease into Sunday evening, forecasters said. More than eight million viewers watched the 2024 final of Strictly Come Dancing live. An average of 8.6 million people tuned in on Saturday between 6pm and 8.35pm to watch Chris McCausland become the first blind winner in the BBC One shows 20-year history. The BBCs overnight viewing figures revealed a peak audience of 9.6 million people as the 47-year-old comedian and his professional dance partner Dianne Buswell lifted the glitterball trophy. Dianne Buswell and Chris McCausland with the glitterball trophy (Guy Levy/BBC/PA) It marks a small change, compared with last year when Coronation Street star Ellie Leach won the final with Italian dancer Vito Coppola, which had an average of 8.8 million viewers for the live show, with a peak audience of 9.7 million. Full viewing figures, including playback on BBC iPlayer, will be revealed next year. McCausland, who was tearful following his final dance of the series, was praised by judge Motsi Mabuse for not just being an inspiration for the blind community, but a role model for each and every one of us, while her fellow judge Craig Revel Horwood described the winner as a light that shines for all to see. McCausland dedicated his trophy to Buswell and for everyone out there that thought and got told they couldnt do something. He added: It just shows with opportunity and support and determination, anything can happen. The Liverpool-born star lost his sight completely by the age of 22 due to retinitis pigmentosa a hereditary eye disease which causes gradual degeneration of the retina. It was the first win for Australian-born dancer Buswell, 35, who reached Strictly finals with social media star Joe Sugg in 2018 and the Eastenders actor and model Bobby Brazier in 2023. The success of the final came after a year of controversy for Strictly with some past contestants criticising the duty of care shown to then amid allegations of bullying during rehearsals. A number of welfare measures including chaperones in rehearsal rooms have since been introduced. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has refused to set herself a deadline to bring illegal migration to heel despite admitting that the rate of illegal Channel crossings is far too high. Nearly 13,500 migrants have been removed from Britain since the election, the Government has said, as the Home Secretary promised a step change in tackling illegal working. Labour previously pledged to return more people who do not have a right to stay in the UK halfway through their first year in office than any other six-month period since 2018. (PA Graphics) The announcement comes amid a continued rise in Channel crossings, with more than 21,000 migrants having arrived in Britain by small boat alone since July. Ms Cooper told the BBCs Laura Kuenssberg that, while the number of asylum seekers entering Britain via boat is too high, she is wary of giving herself a deadline to solve the problem. She said: These levels are far too high, this is dangerous whats happening. Of course we want to continue to progress, of course we want to see the boat crossings come down as rapidly as possible. She added that she is also wary of adding herself to the list of home secretaries that make pledges on migration that they invariably fail to keep. The Home Secretary also pushed back on claims that migration has fallen down the Governments list of priorities. She said: We have made clear border security is one of the foundations. We have made it clear we need to reduce both legal migration and illegal migration, it is a clear priority for the government in terms of tackling these dangerous boat crossings. Calais Group meeting Home Secretary Yvette Cooper (second left) during a Calais Group meeting, co-chaired by the UK and Germany, in London (Henry Nicholls/PA)The Home Office on Sunday said almost 13,460 people had been removed since the country went to the polls on July 4, which is the highest rate since 2019. It claimed the Government was on track to deliver on its returns pledge, which would need to be met by early January. The Conservatives highlighted that the number of Channel crossings is higher than the same period last year, saying Sir Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper were failing to control our borders and should hang their heads in shame. Some 21,306 people have come to the UK via small boat since July 5, with 609 arrivals on Thursday making it the busiest December day for crossings on record. Another 298 migrants made the journey on Friday, according to provisional Government figures. Some 34,880 people have arrived in Britain on small boats so far this year, up 20% on this time last year but down 22% on 2022. Ms Cooper, who visited Rome on Saturday for talks with her Italian counterpart on people-smuggling, insisted the Labour administration had intensified border security measures since coming to office. She pledged a crackdown on exploitative illegal working to address the promise of illegal jobs that are used by criminal smuggling gangs to sell spaces in small boats. A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, from a Border Force vessel following a small boat incident in the Channel (Gareth Fuller/PA) New technology including body-worn cameras and fingerprint kits will be rolled out next year to more than 1,200 immigration enforcement officers in a bid to strengthen evidence that can be collected in raids, the Government said. A new upstream communications campaign aimed at debunking lies about job prospects in the UK told by people-smuggling gangs to encourage small boat crossings has also been launched, it said. It will include warnings to potential migrants about the exploitative practices of employers and the inhumane living conditions faced by workers, based on real testimonies, the department said. Ms Cooper said: Illegal working is a blight on our economy. It is deeply exploitative and undercuts those employers who do the right thing and play by the rules. Since the election, we have intensified our efforts to crackdown on exploitation and illegal working the number of operations and arrests are up, and we are on track to meet our target of increasing removals to the highest level for five years. I am boosting the capabilities of our immigration enforcement officers to make sure they have the tools they need to further crack down on illegal working and shine a light on the hidden economy and false promises that criminal smuggling gangs are using to encourage people to cross the Channel in small boats. If you employ people illegally, you will face consequences. The rules must be respected and enforced. Between July 5 and December 7, a total of 13,460 returns were recorded, of which 3,690 were enforced for people with no legal right to remain in the UK, according to Government statistics. The remaining 9,770 are understood to be voluntary returns and foreign national offenders, though it is unclear how many of either category are represented in the combined figure. This compares with 2,960 enforced returns over the same period in 2023, an increase of 25%. Home Office data published last month showed the number of enforced returns had jumped to the highest level in nearly six years. Some 2,061 took place in July to September 2024, up 12% on the previous quarter and an increase of 29% on the same period in 2023. It is the highest quarterly total since October to December 2018 when the figure was 2,087, according to Home Office data published on Thursday. The latest figure covers the period that saw Labour win the general election on July 4. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: These return figures just continue the upward trajectory we have been on under the previous government. In their first three months, returns of people crossing by small boat amounted to under 5% of the arrivals in that period and small boat returns were actually lower than the period before the election. Mr Philp said that an increase of more than 6,000 in the number of asylum seekers being temporarily housed in hotels since the end of June was also making a mockery of Labours pledge to end hotel use. Starmer and Cooper are completely failing to control our borders and should hang their heads in shame, the shadow minister said. A company run by the alleged spy, who became a close confidant of the Duke of York, signed a multi-year partnership with the elite school A businessman suspected of being a Chinese spy helped broker a top British private schools expansion plans in China, The Telegraph can reveal. A company run by the alleged spy, who became a close confidant of the Duke of York, signed a multi-year partnership with the elite school to open several branches on Chinas mainland. The businessman currently the subject of a court anonymity order and referred to only as H6 helped broker the deal at a summit in the UK. The Telegraph has seen evidence, including photographs and online announcements, linking the British school with the company and spanning several years. One Chinese media report claimed the deal would pump hundreds of millions of pounds into the district around the schools first overseas campus. Employees of the Chinese-run company have also visited the UK private school, while staff at the school made a recent trip to Beijing, pictures seen by The Telegraph confirm. The suspected Chinese spy who heads the company has been banned from Britain on national security grounds. It will raise serious concerns over Beijings attempt to wield influence through British education, and its wider penetration of the UK establishment. The suspected agent also met David Cameron, the former prime minister As well as his links to Prince Andrew, the suspected agent also met former prime ministers David Cameron and Theresa May on separate occasions. He kept pictures of the encounters on the desk of his London office. It is unclear whether they were in power when he met them, but other employees of the business have been pictured outside No 10. Fresh details of the suspected agents links to the heart of British society will prompt further calls for the anonymity order to be lifted. MPs are also threatening to name the alleged spy under parliamentary privilege. There are thought to be around 66 private schools in China, with links to 29 UK schools, according to a recent study by ISC Research, an educational consultancy. Many more are considering opening campuses in the country. However, some have pulled the plug on their Chinese operations amid concerns over tough new education laws that control what is taught in classrooms. Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, banned foreign textbooks in 2021 and introduced a new requirement that school board members must be Chinese. Laws that came into force in January this year also say that private schools in China must promote patriotic education. Beijing has also been accused of using links with British universities to exert its influence in the UK. The Telegraph can reveal that senior employees at the company run by H6 have been invited to deliver lectures at Confucius Institutes at British universities. There are 30 Confucius Institutes active across British campuses. They were set up to deliver culture and language classes to international students, but there have been accusations that the bodies are acting as a front for the Chinese Communist Party. Last year, Parliaments intelligence and security committee said Confucius Institutes were run and part-funded by the Hanban, an educational organisation that is ultimately controlled by the CCPs central propaganda department. The Home Office excluded H6 from the UK last year after MI5 deemed him to be an agent engaged in covert and deceptive activity on behalf of the CCP. The alleged agent brought an appeal against his initial ban, but the decision was upheld by a specialist tribunal. H6 is a former junior civil servant in China who is accused of working for the United Front Work Department, an arm of the Chinese state used to gather intelligence, recruit agents and buy influence abroad. The businessman is connected to the Chinese operation of Prince Andrews Pitch@Palace initiative supporting entrepreneurs, and he has given interviews in which he has spoken about working alongside him. He was invited to hs birthday party in 2020 and was described by the judges overseeing the case as a close confidant of the Duke. Prince Andrew was seen in public on Monday for the first time since he became embroiled in the scandal. He was photographed leaving Royal Lodge, his Windsor home, with a member of his protection team. It is thought he was going horse-riding. Prince Andrew seen leaving Royal Lodge on Monday - Jim Bennett The scandal has created a fresh headache for the Duke, with royal insiders hoping he will do the decent thing and opt not to join the Royal family at Christmas events in order to save the Kings blushes. The King had been expected to be joined by the Duke and the wider Royal family at this weeks private Christmas lunch, as well as the traditional church service at Sandringham on Christmas Day. Families are increasingly drawn to the states newest city, Mountain House (San Joaquin County), which has Northern California's fastest-growing home values. Don Feria/Special to the Chronicle 2023 Mountain House, the newest city in California, has the fastest-growing home values in the northern part of the state. The Central Valley citys sole ZIP code of 95391 saw typical home values surge by a staggering 70% since the pandemic began, from less than $600,000 in February 2020 to more than $1 million in November 2024. Thats the biggest jump of any Northern California ZIP code, according to data from real estate brokerage site Zillow. Mountain House homes, which in Zillows data include condos and small multifamily buildings, are still generally worth less than in many San Francisco ZIP codes. But the surge reflects another shift in what has proved to be a whirlwind saga for the San Joaquin County community, which incorporated as a city in July. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Starting as a planned community in the 1990s, Mountain House found itself a hot commodity among Bay Area commuters looking for more affordable housing than they could find closer to the coast. But when the 2007-08 recession hit, homeowners found themselves in a deluge of debt. The New York Times reported at the time that the community was the most underwater ZIP code in the country, with nearly 90% of mortgages higher than their homes value. Those values plummeted, Zillow data shows, from about $550,000 in mid-2007 to a low of $285,000 in 2009. Loading... As the effects of the recession abated, home values in Mountain House gradually increased again, as they did throughout the U.S. But it was during the pandemic that values exploded, nearly doubling from less than $600,000 at the beginning of 2020 to a peak of $1.1 million in mid-2022. One four-bedroom, three-bathroom home in Mountain House sold for about $610,000 in 2004, according to its Zillow listing. In 2024, a buyer paid twice that sum for the same house. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Values have cooled somewhat since 2022, thanks to higher mortgage rates slowing the housing market. But their nearly five-year increase surpasses that of any ZIP code in the Bay Area. Homes in San Ramons 94582 ZIP code grew by an astonishing 64%, but thats still less than the rate seen in Mountain House. And both reflect a sharp contrast from ZIP codes in San Francisco and Oakland, many of which have seen home values drop since the pandemic started. Loading... Mountain House, like other cities in the Central Valley, has grown rapidly in recent years, thanks to an influx of new housing and residents including many who work in the Bay Area with the money to buy them. Its population has more than doubled in the past decade, though it has relatively few jobs and the average commute time is nearly an hour, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. Homes there are still more affordable compared with much of the Bay Area, and real estate brokers previously told the Chronicle that many new residents are tech workers. Thats contributed to a median family income of about $170,000, more than double the $77,000 of nearby Stockton, Census Bureau data shows. The remaining members of the Bali Nine who have now returned to Australia: from left, Martin Stephens, Scott Rush, Michael Czugaj, Si-Yi Chen and Matthew Norman. Composite: AAP Andrew Chan The then 21-year-old was described as a ringleader and organiser of the smuggling plot along with Myuran Sukumaran. He was arrested at Denpasar airport. Chan became a committed Christian in prison and married his fiancee, Febyanti Herewila, days before his death. He was executed by firing squad as he sang songs of praise in 2015. Myuran Sukumaran Sukumaran was the alleged ringleader of the plot with Chan. He was sentenced to death in 2006 and numerous appeals to have it commuted were rejected. He became a prolific painter in prison, giving lessons to other prisoners. He painted striking self-portraits and an image of the Indonesian flag dripping in blood. He was executed, alongside Chan, by firing squad in 2015. Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen Nguyen was arrested at a Kuta hotel. Originally given a life sentence, it was reduced to 20 years on appeal before, on cross-appeal, being sentenced to death. His original life sentence was then re-imposed. He died of kidney cancer in 2018, aged 34. Renae Lawrence The only woman in the group, Lawrence was arrested at Denpasar airport with 2.7kg of heroin strapped to her body. She was sentenced to life imprisonment, subsequently reduced to 20 years, with further years then taken off for good behaviour. She was released in 2018 after serving 13 years and returned to Australia. In 2020, she made a public plea for the remaining members of the Bali Nine to have their sentences reduced. Si-Yi Chen Chen, then 20, was arrested at a hotel at Kuta Beach. He was originally sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole, subsequently reduced to 20 years. This was appealed by prosecutors, and he was sentenced to death, subsequently reduced to life in prison. Chen ran a silversmith workshop in Balis Kerobokan prison, teaching other prisoners to make jewellery. He returned to Australia on Sunday. Michael Czugaj Czugaj, then 19, was arrested at Denpasar airport with 1.75kg of heroin strapped to his body. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with no chance of release. His sentence was briefly reduced to 20 years before his life sentence was reimposed. He was later transferred to a prison in Java. He returned to Australia on Sunday. Matthew Norman Norman the youngest member of the Bali Nine was 18 when he was arrested at a Kuta hotel. He was sentenced to life in prison, a term that was reduced to 20 years, then increased to execution, before being reinstated as life without chance of parole. He remained in Balis Kerobokan prison, where he ran English and computer classes for fellow prisoners. He returned to Australia on Sunday. Scott Rush Rush was arrested at Denpasar airport with 1.3kg of heroin taped to his body. He was 19. Rush was sentenced to life imprisonment, subsequently increased to execution, before his life sentence was reinstated. He returned to Australia on Sunday. Martin Stephens Stephens the oldest of the group was on his first trip to Bali at 29. He was arrested at Denpasar airport with 3.3kg of heroin strapped to his body. He was sentenced to life in prison without chance of parole. Numerous appeals for commutation were rejected. Stephens was in prison in Java. He is married and has a daughter. He returned to Australia on Sunday. This article was amended on 17 December 2024. A previous version said Andrew Chan was 22 when arrested but he was 21. Qardaha, the birthplace of the late Hafez al-Assad, has long been associated with Syrias fallen regime. Photograph: Aaref Watad/AFP/Getty Images To prepare khubeiza, the leaves of the kale-like plant must be roughly chopped and sauteed with onions, garlic and a dash of salt. Folklore says that the recipe originated among the Alawite communities who lived in Syrias mountainous coastline where the fibrous, wild-growing plant can be found in abundance. So poor were the Alawites during Ottoman times, the story goes, that the only food they could find to eat was khubeiza, which sprouts like a stubborn weed every spring. When Hafez al-Assad, a member of the minority Islamic Alawite sect, seized the reins of power in 1971, he promised to lift the neglected community out of its poverty and end its hunger. Fifty-four years later, the streets of the town of Qardaha, the birthplace of Assad, tell a story of a promise unfulfilled. The town is dotted with shabby blocks of flats, where families huddled around diesel-fed stoves complain of constant blackouts and how the municipal water supply only comes for half an hour, once a week. The only section of the Alawites who were enriched were those who cooperated with the [Assad] regime. The rest of us are the lowest of all the Syrian people, said Mazen al-Kheir, an anaesthetist from Qardaha. He said the religious minority was among the poorest in Syria and, contrary to the Assads regimes rhetoric, received no favours from Alawite rule. Instead, he said the space for dissent under the despotic Syrian regime was even more narrow for Alawites. Al-Kheir had been arrested for expressing opposition views. Threats that come from within the family are much more dangerous than those outside it, he said. Last week, however, days after the sudden fall of the Syrian president Assads son, Bashar al-Assad criticism of the regime flowed freely in Qardaha. The statue of the late Assad had been torn down from its place in the centre of the town and fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist rebels who led the offensive against the Assad regime, roamed the streets. Overlooking the town was a mausoleum for Hafez al-Assad, the ornate marble floor scorched black after people stormed the tomb the day before. HTS fighters shot rifles into the tomb and posed for pictures standing on the burnt-out husk of Assads casket, while a man driving an SUV did doughnuts on the once-manicured grounds outside. While fighters celebrated victory, most Alawites were staying home, afraid of what was to come. They are celebrating the unknown, Olga, a 35-year-old Alawite using a pseudonym, said on Wednesday from her home in Tartos, commenting on the sound of men driving by and cheering Allahu Akbar under her window. As rebels approached Damascus last Saturday night, Olgas family were fleeing in the opposite direction, heading towards Tartus on the Mediterranean coast. They were afraid rebels would retaliate against Alawites for their perceived association with the Assad regime. The trip, which usually lasts three hours, took 20 hours as they had to pass through HTS checkpoints. At each they would wait, vulnerable and afraid. One fighter asked if they were Alawite, questioning whether they supported the soon-to-be deposed president before waving them through. There is happiness that we ended the oppression, but now were fearful of a new type of oppression, Olga said, making a motion with her hand to mimic the long beards associated with devout Salafi Muslims. Olga, a judge, returned to work for the first time on Wednesday. When she arrived at her office, she found her name placard shattered and a Quran placed on her desk. Her office was the only one to have been damaged and she feared it was because she was the only female judge working there. For years, Bashar al-Assad has presented a stark choice to Alawites: me or Islamic State. Regime messaging to the religious minority community focused on the extremist elements of the opposition. A video published by extremist rebels during the Syrian civil war where they sang We are coming to slaughter you, [Alawites] sent fear through the community. Though there was no love lost for Assad among the vast majority of Alwaites, many in the community believed that the opposition also wanted to harm them. When the protests started in the mosque, rather than the university, we became afraid, a woman in Qardaha said. Olga, and more than a dozen other Alawite people with whom the Guardian spoke, said HTSs behaviour and statements so far had been encouraging. Early on, the rebel group had published statements including one issued directly to the Alawite community that said religious minorities rights would be respected. Senior HTS officials have held meetings with Alawite community notables to allay their fears, and the groups leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, has said that the only form of revenge will be the pursuit through court of those suspected of war crimes. Olga said she feared HTS was waiting for the world to stop paying attention to Syria before imposing religious dogma on the country. The first televised meeting of the new transitional, civilian government placed the Syrian flag next to one with an Islamic creed on it, seemingly confirming Olgas fears. Olga has preemptively deleted all of her Facebook photos and locked down her social media profiles, for fear of attracting attention online from conservative users. I am scared for my career and my personal beliefs. Will I be able to swim in a bikini now? I doubt it, she said. The Alawite towns and villages which dot the coastline are filled with martyr posters, depicting young men who were killed after being conscripted into the Syrian army. The Alwaite provinces were used as a labour pool for the beleaguered army throughout the civil war. Ali, a 31-year-old engineer in Tartus, said he had been in hiding for years as he was wanted by the state for avoiding conscription. He did not have the money to pay the $8,000 (6,300) fee to avoid military service. Though the official conscription period in the Syrian army was a year-and-a-half, many of his friends had been unable to leave the army for more than a decade, as the state retained them under exceptional circumstances. If you were an Alawite and you didnt go to the army, they would call you a traitor. But soon it became clear to people that they only saw us as pawns, Ali said. He wanted to celebrate the downfall of the regime like other Syrians, but decided to stay home instead, fearful of running into trouble. We hope that after everything weve been through, they will respect the rights of people. We hope that by dealing with us, they will get a more accurate picture of who we are, Ali said. Islamophobic graffiti at Chester Hill in Sydneys west. Photograph: Supplied New South Wales police are investigating a potential hate crime after Islamophobic graffiti was painted on a busy underpass in Sydneys west, with the premier labelling it disgusting. The graffiti was spotted on Hector Street in Chester Hill overnight. Police cordoned off the road and launched an investigation on Sunday morning. Fuck Islam was graffitied on each side of the underpass, with the word Islam highlighted in yellow. Cancel Islam was also painted on to an ad in the underpass. NSW police said if someone was arrested they would likely be charged with a hate crime. Chester Hill has one of the largest Muslim populations in the state, with nearly 40% of residents identifying as Muslim, according to census figures. The graffiti was near a busy shopping area that includes numerous halal restaurants and grocers. The NSW premier, Chris Minns, called the graffiti disgusting. Vandalism like this that is aimed at particular religions is designed to incite hatred and is completely abhorrent, he said. This racism and Islamophobia is disgusting and corrosive to the very fabric of the successful multicultural state that we have built here in NSW. Related: Jim Chalmers says Coalitions nuclear plan represents $4tn hit to economy by 2050 The federal minister for home affairs, Tony Burke, labelled the graffiti an act of hatred and bigotry. Like other forms of dehumanising abuse, Islamophobia has no place in Australia, the minister said. Jason Clare, a fellow federal minister and the local MP for Blaxland, called the vandalism a gutless attack on our community. This is disgusting, Clare said. People in my community are hurting because of the conflict in the Middle East. There is no place in Australia for Islamophobia. A spokesperson for the Australian National Imams Council called for immediate and decisive action from federal and state governments to address what it described as a surge in Islamophobic incidents. This rise in hate crimes and discriminatory behaviour highlights a critical failure to address systemic Islamophobia effectively, the council said on Sunday. Governments at all levels must recognise this escalating crisis and implement robust measures to combat it to ensure the safety and well-being of all communities in Australia. The organisation called on governments to strengthen anti-racism policies and police to prioritise hate crime investigations. The Islamophobia register which has documented Islamophobic incidents across Australia since 2014 has said it receives daily reports of intimidation, discrimination, verbal abuse, physical assaults and online hate targeting Muslims. Last week, the register criticised Liberal senator Dave Sharmas claim that Islamophobia was fictitious. The register said there had been a 600% increase in reported incidents of Islamophobia over the past year and that lived experiences demonstrate that Islamophobia is not only real but also escalating to unprecedented levels, posing a serious threat to the safety of Muslims. The prime minister and the NSW premier last week condemned anti-Israel graffiti in Sydneys east, which came days after an arson attack at the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne. Minns on Wednesday described the graffiti in Woollahra as shocking antisemitism. A special federal police taskforce is investigating antisemitism across Australia after the terrorist attack on the Adass synagogue. In late November the Executive Council of Australian Jewry said there had been a 316% increase in the number of antisemitic incidents in the 12 months to October. Airport sources said the problem had not been caused by a cyber attack - Nirian/iStock Flights at Edinburgh Airport were grounded on Sunday after an IT problem within air traffic control. It was the latest problem to hit the airport, with fuel tanker drivers based there planning to strike for almost three weeks in the run-up to the festive period over a pay dispute. Airport sources said the problem was caused by Air Navigation Solutions, a private company on which the airport relies for its air traffic control. They said it had not been a cyber attack. At just before 7pm, the airport said the IT problem had been fixed, and flights had resumed. A spokesman said: Passengers should continue to check their flight status with their airline before travelling to the airport. We would like to thank passengers for their patience and understanding. We regret the inconvenience Air Navigation Solutions said: A technical issue affected one of our systems at Edinburgh Airport earlier this afternoon. Our engineers have restored the system to operation, and flight operations at the Airport re-commenced at 18.25. We regret the inconvenience that has been caused. Several outbound flights were cancelled on Sunday evening, with others delayed for hours and passengers uncertain as to whether they would take off. Services to Belfast, London City and Luton were among those axed. Some incoming flights were diverted to Glasgow, including a British Airways flight from London and easyJet services from London and Madrid. A 3.30pm Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul and a 16:05 Ryanair flight from Gran Canaria were diverted to Manchester, a four-hour drive from Edinburgh. Andrea Racekova, an apprentice BBC News journalist, was among the passengers caught up in the turmoil. The 26-year-old had travelled from Shetland to Edinburgh to catch a flight to her native Slovakia for a blood test. She said she had been told about the problem by Ryanair staff as passengers queued for boarding.After waiting for more than an hour, she was told the flight had been cancelled. People around me are very frustrated, some of them have connecting flights to catch, so the general mood here is very tense, she said. Eton College will be giving fewer places to poorer students because of Labours Budget, it says - Mark Kerrison/In Pictures via Getty Images Eton College is considering slashing the number of bursaries on offer by a third because of changes made by the new Labour Government. The 63,000-a-year private school informed staff this week that it will cut its hardship budget from 9.7million to 8.65million, despite sitting on a 553million endowment fund. Eton said this may mean reducing the number of pupils awarded full fee waivers from more than 100 currently to 70 from the 2027/28 academic year. In an internal announcement, first reported by the Mail on Sunday, the school said senior employees were concerned about the exceptional drawdown from the endowment as well as the size of the deficit in light of the changes made by the new Labour Government. Private schools will be hit with 20 per cent VAT from Jan 1 when the Governments flagship education policy comes into force. Those with charitable status in England will also be stripped of their 80 per cent business rates relief from April. Eton is one of the few top boarding schools to announce it will pass the 20 per cent VAT charge onto parents in full. Fees will rise from 52,749-a-year to 63,000 when the tax raid begins in around two weeks time. It will raise questions over whether the school, which counts the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex among its alumni, is seizing on political changes to cut costs. A Government source accused Eton of using Labours VAT policy as a scapegoat for slashing bursaries. This is petty, spiteful behaviour from a school that has long since given up the pretence of supporting children from middle-class families, let alone the disadvantaged, the source told The Telegraph. Eton, like many wealthy private schools across the country, continues to jack-up its fees after year-on-year increases for over decade and is [sitting] on an ever-increasing pile of cash yet it shamelessly tries to make this Government a scapegoat for its cruel decisions. We are going to drive up standards across our state schools, to give life to the aspirations of middle-class and working-class families for their children, by delivering more funding for state schools. Staff at Eton College were informed this week that there is a need to find savings across the school. The internal memo also claimed schools deficit in the last financial year was 5.4million 0.9million higher than budget. Simon Henderson, the head of Eton College, saw his pay shoot up to between 370,000 and 380,000 in 2022/2023 an increase of about 100,000 from the previous year, according to the schools latest financial accounts. Staff salaries In total, 62 staff members are on salaries above 100,000. Mr Henderson announced in August that he would take time off on medical grounds until January, with former lower master Paul Williams stepping into his shoes temporarily. Eton is also in line to receive a 4.8million windfall from the Governments tax raid, which will allow private schools to recover historic VAT they paid on capital expenditure including buildings over the past 10 years. Analysis by The Telegraph of Etons annual financial statements over the past four years shows the school spent 42.5 million on capital expenditure. Mr Henderson warned last month that the college faces an additional bill of around 1million from the National Insurance hike announced by Rachel Reeves in the Budget. Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, has promised to reimburse state schools in full for increases to employers National Insurance contributions, but private schools have not been afforded the same. Eton College told The Telegraph its decision to slash bursaries should be seen in the context of its pledge to open three new sixth forms in Dudley, Teesside and Oldham. The plans are currently on ice after Ms Phillipson announced in October she has paused 44 free school projects set to open in the coming years to consider whether they meet a need for places in their local area and offer value for taxpayers money. In partnership with Star Academies, Etons co-curricular sixth forms were each set to admit around 240 pupils per year. A spokesman for the college in Windsor, Berkshire, said: Eton has eight separate bursary programmes of different kinds, with a record number of over 300 boys currently receiving financial support some at 110 per cent of fees, some 100 per cent, others 90 per cent or 70 per cent etc. Any reduction in the overall bursary and scholarships funding will not take effect until 2027/28 and forms part of a wider financial review by the college. We do not know exactly how many 100 per cent bursaries will be offered for 2027/28 as that depends on a number of variables between now and then. However, the College will continue to run a comprehensive bursary programme and has committed to preserving at least 70 free places, reflecting our founders intentions. The problem the royal family faces is what to do with Andrew, now and in the future. Photograph: Chris Radburn/Reuters The royal familys Christmas Day walk from Sandringham House to St Mary Magdalene church in Norfolk is a longstanding tradition. But it has also become a barometer of internal pressures. So, all eyes will be on whether the Duke of York is among family members walking alongside the king and queen this Christmas after the alleged Chinese spy controversy. Royal sources have reportedly revealed Charles is still considering the optics, and whether or not to ban his younger brother from this very public part of the royals festivities, which attracts crowds of wellwishers. After the Jeffrey Epstein scandal broke, though Andrew did not walk with the others to the 11am service in 2019, he was photographed walking side-by-side with Charles to a private 9am service. It was clear acknowledgment of his familys firm support after his catastrophic Newsnight interview, and that while no longer having a public profile he very much retained his position as a senior member of the family. He has been included since Charless 2022 accession. His exclusion this year, therefore, would be confirmation that the relationship between the two had soured, said Craig Prescott, author of Modern Monarchy, out in 2025, and a lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London. That would be a clear sign of Charles, at least, wanting to try and diminish the issue. News, released in court documents last week, that an alleged Chinese spy, now banned from the UK, formed links at the heart of the British establishment and previously became close to Andrew, has thrown the spotlight on the dukes two main vulnerabilities: judgment or lack of it and finances. In a rare statement, issued through his office, Andrew has insisted he ceased all contact with the alleged spy, known as H6, after concerns were raised, and that nothing of a sensitive nature was ever discussed. According to the court documents, H6 was told he could act on Andrews behalf when dealing with potential investors in China. The problem the institution faces is what to do with Andrew, now and in the future. Since the Epstein scandal, the dukes car-crash Newsnight interview, and his out-of-court settlement, despite his denial of any wrongdoing, to Virginia Giuffre, he has lost his HRH status, his patronages and, recently, financial support from the king. He no longer has the institutional support of the monarchy and its advisers although history shows he often ignores advice. He receives nothing from the sovereign grant. It is not known what he may have inherited from the late queen, or his father, the Duke of Edinburgh. His finances have always been a mystery in many ways, said Prescott. Just where does he get the money from to live in the manner to which he has become accustomed? This includes the estimated 3m annual security bill for his 30-room home, Royal Lodge, Windsor, which he leases from the crown estate, and its upkeep, having reportedly turned down a request from Charles to move to the five-bedroom Frogmore Cottage, the former marital home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Buckingham Palace insists it no longer speaks for Andrew, as he is a non-working royal. Indeed, the palace is reportedly unable to exert any control over how the duke funds his lifestyle. Officials are said to have concluded they have no authority or legal right to examine his financial affairs and must simply rely on his word that his income is from legitimate sources. Its very difficult to work out just what someone like Prince Andrew can do, said Prescott. Hell continue to have this need for money and will always be on the hunt of it, you would imagine. The king has tried. Hes offered him a soft landing of Frogmore Cottage, which would have reduced his security, reduced his running costs, reduced, you imagine, his need for money. Now virtually a prisoner at Royal Lodge, one solution Andrew may be contemplating is moving abroad, according to reports. Sources close to the government of the United Arab Emirates claim the duke is considering a permanent move to the Gulf, where his royal status would still confer a degree of respect, according to the Sunday Times. This would likely further alarm the royal family. One of Andrews blind spots appears to be his vulnerability. In a document, referred to in a court ruling, the unnamed Chinese business contact described the prince as being in a desperate situation and will grab on to anything. The alarm bells didnt ring for him, said Prescott. He could ultimately have been put in a very, very compromised position had MI5 not raised the alarm, ultimately. The five remaining members of the Bali Nine, (L-R) Martin Stephens, Michael Czugaj, Scott Rush, Matthew Norman and Si Yi Chen, look on as Indonesian and Australian officials sign handover documents returning them to Australia. Photograph: Indonesian Coordinating Ministry for Legal/AP The five remaining members of the Bali Nine jailed for life over a drug smuggling plot have returned to Australia under a deal negotiated with the Indonesian government, describing themselves as relieved and happy. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, confirmed that Scott Rush, Matthew Norman, Si-Yi Chen, Martin Stephens and Michael Czugaj returned to Australia from Indonesia on Sunday afternoon. Having served almost 20 years in jail in Indonesia, the men have had the rest of their life sentences commuted on humanitarian grounds on the condition that they continue rehabilitation in Australia. They are now free but are banned from returning to Indonesia. There was no diplomatic quid pro quo, Guardian Australia understands. In a statement released on behalf of the men and their families, the group said they were immensely grateful to Indonesias president, Prabowo Subianto, and his government as well as successive foreign ministers in Australia who had advocated for their release A special mention should be made of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Dfat, the statement continued. In both Australia and Indonesia, at both a senior level and in prison visits and personal assistance, over many years, Dfat have offered professional and enduring support. The men and their families will always be grateful. The men and their families thank all those who have assisted them to reach this point. In particular, they thank their Indonesian lawyers, friends in Indonesia, academics and others in Australia, and numerous friends in Australia. This support has been essential and invaluable. The statement said that the five men were relieved and happy to be back in Australia and that they looked forward to reintegrating back into and contributing to society. In a statement, Albanese said the government would like to convey our deep appreciation to the government of Indonesia for its cooperation to facilitate the mens return to Australia on humanitarian grounds, adding his thanks to the president, Prabowo Subianto, for his act of compassion. This reflects the strong bilateral relationship and mutual respect between Indonesia and Australia. These Australians served more than 19 years in prison in Indonesia. It was time for them to come home. Related: Bali Nine: who were they? They will now have the opportunity to continue their rehabilitation and reintegration here in Australia. The Bali Nine were charged and convicted with trying to smuggle 8.3kg of heroin out of Indonesia in April 2005. The ringleaders of the drug-smuggling operation, Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, were sentenced to death and executed by firing squad in Indonesia in 2015. Another member, Tan Duc Than Nguyen, died of cancer in 2018. The only female member of the group, Renae Lawrence, had her sentence commuted in 2018 and was returned to Australia. Albanese said on Sunday that Australia shared Indonesias concern about the serious problem illicit drugs represents and the two nations would continue to work together to combat it. Guardian Australia has been told the federal government would provide short-term accommodation for the five men who returned on Sunday. They would have access to medical and other support. Their life sentences were effectively converted to 20 years, meaning they are considered to have been completed. The Australian government hopes the agreement with Indonesia might serve as a model for future cases. Australias home affairs minister, Tony Burke, signed a ministerial agreement with his Indonesian counterpart to seal the arrangement, which was not a prisoner transfer because the countries respective legal systems did not allow for that. The deal was signed after to Burkes visit to Indonesia this month. Australian government officials declined to provide details of the mens location for privacy reasons. They are understood to have returned by commercial aircraft, accompanied by Australian consular officials, and have undertaken voluntarily to continue a rehabilitation program the details of which were unavailable. The Australian government consistently raised the case of the Bali Nine with Indonesia. In November Albanese discussed it with Subianto on the sidelines of the Apec summit in Lima. Since then there has been speculation that an agreement was imminent that would return the five men to Australia. The new payments will be seen as a victory for Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan - Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg Labour is to offer train drivers payments of 600 to work overtime in a deal signed off by the new Transport Secretary. Heidi Alexander last week approved plans for Aslef, the train drivers union, to offer the extra payments to hundreds of their members for working Saturday and Sunday shifts. Ms Alexander has been in post for just over a fortnight after Louise Haigh, her predecessor, quit following her admission that she pleaded guilty to misleading the police a decade ago. Train drivers on services running from London Euston to Birmingham and Liverpool are in line for 580 to work overtime shifts between Mondays and Fridays. Heidi Alexander has been in her post for just over a fortnight - Belinda Jiao/Belinda Jiao This will rise to 600 for overtime weekend shifts, The Sunday Times first reported, in what will be seen as a victory for Mick Whelan, the general secretary of Aslef. It is an increase of up to 75 per cent in overtime pay, which was previously 332 in the week, 359 on Saturdays and 431 on Sundays. A Department for Transport spokesman said: We are delivering the biggest overhaul to our railways in a generation, creating a publicly owned, passenger-focused Great British Railways. As part of these plans, were determined to move towards a seven-day working week and end the overreliance on rest day working, giving passengers the certainty and reliability they deserve. Rail strikes since 2022 are estimated to have cost taxpayers around 850 million. In August, Ms Haigh handed train drivers 135 million in pay rises in an attempt to end walkouts for good. But train managers at the RMT rail union had planned to strike over the Christmas period until last week, when they received an improved offer from Avanti West Coast. Cancellations on Britains railways have hit a record high despite the bumper pay deals, with more than one in 25 trains in summer being withdrawn before they ran. Some 78,000 services have been fully or partially cancelled this year, the highest figure logged by the Office for Rail and Road since records began in 2014. Cancellations have hit a record high - Alishia Abodunde/Getty Northern Rail, which is owned by the state, was the worst offender having cancelled 6.5 per cent of all its services. South Western Railway is to become the first rail company taken into public ownership by this Government as part of Sir Keir Starmer and Ms Alexanders plans to reverse privatisation. The nationalised network will ultimately be controlled by Great British Railways (GBR), which is not expected to be fully operational until the end of 2026. Kemi Badenoch appeared on The Camilla Tominey Show on GB News on Sunday Britain should follow Donald Trump and Elon Musks push to make the state more efficient and cut waste, Kemi Badenoch has said. The Conservative leader hailed the new US Department of Government Efficiency or Doge which will be introduced by Mr Trump when he returns to the White House next month. It will be run by Mr Musk, the billionaire owner of X, and Vivek Ramaswamy, a fellow entrepreneur, and will focus on slashing bureaucracy and restructuring government agencies. Speaking to The Camilla Tominey Show on GB News, Mrs Badenoch expressed hope that Mr Trump would succeed in his objectives because thats what I want to do. Im quite excited about what a Trump presidency will bring, she said. Im someone who has been writing endlessly about how we are becoming more bureaucratic as a country, rather than entrepreneurial. Ive written papers, Ive given speeches on this, and Doge is basically what I have been talking about. Javier Milei in Argentina also has this thesis that the Western world has just become bogged down in compliance and bureaucracy. So it will be interesting to see how President Trump gets on with Doge and with those plans. Its what Ive always wanted to do, even as business secretary when I put out papers on smarter regulation and I cut audit regulations. These are things that we can do in order to get our economy booming again. Doge will be run by Elon Musk and will focus on slashing bureaucracy and restructuring government agencies - Evan Vucci/AP Mrs Badenoch met JD Vance, the vice president-elect, in Washington this month as she sought to renew her links to the Republican Party, although she has yet to meet Mr Trump. The Tory leader urged Sir Keir Starmer to prioritise the big prize of a free trade deal with the US after Joe Biden shelved negotiations when he took office. Right now, with a new Trump presidency, what Keir Starmer should be doing is chasing that US free trade agreement, and we will certainly be pushing for that, she said. The key thing is to make sure you sign a deal that works for both countries, not one that is lopsided, and only the Conservatives would do that. Mrs Badenoch also appeared to dismiss members of Reform UK as a Nigel Farage fan club in a swipe at the insurgent Right-of-centre party. I am about the institution of the Conservative Party. Nigel Farage is an individual personality he doesnt even have a membership organisation, she said. When it was put to her that Reform had just passed 100,000 members, meaning it was closing in on the Toriess 130,000, Mrs Badenoch replied: They say that, but what can they do as members? My members have a say, theyre part of the organisation, I have to look after them. Theyre not my fan club. They are people I have a responsibility to. Kemi Badenoch with JD Vance, the US vice president-elect, in Washington earlier this month - X (formerly Twitter) Warning that it would take the full time in opposition before the next general election to rebuild trust in the Conservative brand, Mrs Badenoch said there was a long slog ahead . We need to remember that Ive been in charge for five weeks and we are talking about a party that has been in government for 14 years, she added. Its going to take time. The assumption that after 14 years, were just going to put a lick of paint on it and say ta-da, its not going to be like that. Its going to be a long slog. I am here for the long haul Im not here just to make a few quick speeches and throw gimmicks out. In her first few weeks as Tory leader, Mrs Badenoch has refused to make specific policy pledges and instead argued it was more important to start with first principles. On Sunday she once again refused to commit to a cap on net migration, although she said the Tories would eventually arrive at this figure after a detailed analysis of economic need. She also rejected the suggestion that leaving the European Convention on Human Rights would allow for immediate deportations, citing a personnel problem with the Home Office. Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina. Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images US senator Lindsey Graham has said officials who investigated Donald Trump supporters deadly attack on the US Capitol in 2021 should not be imprisoned despite what his fellow Republican has argued in advance of his second presidency. During an interview Sunday on NBCs Meet the Press, show host Kristen Welker asked Graham whether he agreed with Trumps assertion on the program seven days earlier that those involved in the investigation of the January 6 Capitol attack should go to jail. No, said Graham, South Carolinas senior senator as well as a ranking member of the chambers judiciary and budget committees. Welker directed the question at Graham during a segment meant to elicit quick answers, which she acknowledged by replying: OK that was very clear and concise. The exchange offered an example of Grahams occasional willingness to publicly disagree with Trump while still generally serving as a staunch ally and it came amid a broader political dialogue about who should receive pardons in connection with an attack on Congress that was linked to multiple deaths, including the suicides of traumatized law enforcement officers. Trump has promised to begin his second presidency in January 2025 by issuing pardons to those who carried out the attack, though there may be some exceptions. He spoke to Welker on 8 December about how supporters of his were pressured into accepting guilty pleas in connection with the violent, desperate attempt to keep him in the White House after losing the presidency to Joe Biden in 2020. Related: Donald Trump promises to pardon January 6 rioters on day one Having won the Oval Office back in November in his race against Vice-President Kamala Harris, Trump denied he would direct his second administration to arrest elected officials who investigated the Capitol attack, leading to federal criminal charges against him that have been dismissed. Nonetheless, he made it a point to tell Welker: Honestly, they should go to jail. Bernie Sanders, the liberal US senator, made a separate appearance on Sunday on Meet the Press and said Biden in turn should very seriously consider issuing pre-emptive pardons to those who investigated the Capitol attack, as others have suggested. Sanders didnt provide any names, but a week earlier Trump mentioned the names of Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney, once the chairperson and vice-chairperson respectively of the US House committee convened for that investigation. You do not arrest elected officials who undertake an investigation, Sanders said, adding that doing so is what authoritarianism [and] dictatorship is all about. Sanders also said: You just heard Lindsey Graham make that statement I think that idea of Trump is not going to very far. More than 1,250 people have pleaded guilty or otherwise been convicted in the January 6 attack. And at least 645 people have been sentenced to serve some time in prison, ranging from a few days to 22 years. During his 8 December interview with Welker, Trump blamed those convictions on a very corrupt system that he would hold in check with pardons, despite criticizing Bidens recent pardon of his son, Hunter, on convictions of lying on gun ownership application forms as well as tax evasion. I know the system, said Trump, himself convicted in May in New York state court on charges of criminally falsifying business records to conceal hush-money payments to the adult film actor Stormy Daniels. San Francisco Fire Department Station 39 on Portola Drive won the departments 2022 and 2023 holiday station decorating contest. Peter Hartlaub/The Chronicle San Francisco Fire Department Station 13 covered the building in lights for the departments 2023 holiday decoration contest. Peter Hartlaub/The Chronicle San Francisco Fire Department Station 12 in the Haight-Ashbury district included Grateful Dead themes in the 2023 fire station decorating contest. Peter Hartlaub/The Chronicle San Francisco Fire Department Station 38 covered a fence in lights for the departments 2023 holiday decoration contest. Peter Hartlaub/The Chronicle A wreath decorates a fire truck at Fire Station 13, which is decorated for the San Francisco Fire Departments firehouse decoration contest in 2022. The San Francisco Fire Department brought back its firehouse decoration contest, which was inspired by a Chronicle column about a contest from the 1940s during the COVID-19 pandemic. Salgu Wissmath / The Chronicle San Francisco Fire Department Station 35, the fireboat station along the Embarcadero, decorated its old and new floating station, while adding lights to fireboats. Courtesy San Francisco Fire Department San Francisco fire stations are putting wreaths on trucks, generating fake snow and challenging the city power grid all in the name of joy and bragging rights. The San Francisco Fire Departments community holiday decorations contest returns for a fifth year, culminating with block parties at participating stations on Dec. 23 and winners announced the next day. The contest is a nod to a 1948 to 1950 contest, where city fire departments wrapped stations like Christmas presents and, in one case, brought farm animals from a nearby slaughterhouse to make a nativity scene. The contest ended in 1950 when citizens voted against a firefighter cost-of-living raise. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A 2020 Chronicle column urged a return of the contest, so children under COVID-19 restrictions could enjoy the lights during distanced walks and from their cars. A dozen fire stations participated that year in the revived contest, and the competition has grown steadily since. San Francisco Fire Department Station 12 in the Haight-Ashbury district included Grateful Dead themes in the 2023 fire station decorating contest. Peter Hartlaub/The Chronicle Last years winner, Station 39 at the base of Mount Davidson, included a forest of lighted trees, snowmaking machines and a cartoonish fireman mascot with an animated face using technology similar to Disneylands Haunted Mansion. Second-place Station 12 in the Haight-Ashbury included a 15-foot live Christmas tree covered in lights, next to the stations Grateful Dead-themed logo illuminated on a wall. Prize money totaling $4,000 will be provided by the SF Fire Credit Union, going to the charity of the winning stations choice. This years judges include the SFFDs Los Bomberos employee group, San Francisco Fire Credit Union employees and grand judge traffic reporter Sal Castaneda of KTVU TV. Decorations are displayed at the expense of fire station staff. Winners will be announced on Dec. 24. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Department of Homeland Security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas. Photograph: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images Alejandro Mayorkas, the US homeland security secretary, has said federal authorities know of no foreign involvement in the apparent mass drone sightings across the nations north-east region, though social and political anxieties nonetheless continued to surge over the weekend amid a lack of official information. I want to assure the American public that we are on it, Mayorkas said. He called for extended and expanded authority to shoot down drones, beyond only those that pass over restricted military airspace. And the New York governor, Kathy Hochul, announced on Sunday that the federal government was prepared to deploy a high-tech drone detection system in response to the spate of sighting there, in New Jersey and Connecticut, where state and local officials are demanding more assertive federal action with one calling the drones a very considerable danger. The Democrat US Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, later added his name to the request for drone detection technology. And the congressman Mike Waltz of Florida, who has been chosen as the incoming White House national security adviser, said the drone issue points to gaps in security between federal agencies, and with local law enforcement. Americans are finding it hard to believe we cant figure out where these are coming from, he told CBSs Face the Nation. From the defense department standpoint, theyre focused on bombers and cruise missiles. Its pointing to gaps in our capabilities and in our ability to clamp down on whats going on here. Meanwhile, reports that an Iranian drone ship is patrolling off the US east coast were discarded as unfounded. The US domestic security chief told ABC News that there are thousands of drones flown every day in the United States, recreational drones, commercial drones. He also pointed out that in September 2023 aviation regulators enacted rules allowing drones to be flown at night, leading to more such activity. US authorities are anxious to avoid vigilantes responding to New Jerseys drone invasion, fearing that innocent bystanders could be hit by falling debris or that legitimate commercial aviation could be mistaken for unexplained drones. We want state and local authorities to also have the ability to counter drone activity under federal supervision, Mayorkas said. Hoping to counter the relative impotence of officials to quell the public anxiety stemming from the drone sightings, Mayorkas said some were drones and others manned aircraft mistaken for drones. Theres no question people are seeing drones, Mayorkas remarked. And I want to assure the American public that we, in the federal government, have deployed additional resources, personnel, technology, to assist in addressing the drone sightings. A Chinese national was arrested on 9 December in California, allegedly for flying a drone over Vandenberg air force base, used for space launches and missile testing. Other military bases have also reported drone over-flights. If we identify any foreign involvement or criminal activity, we will communicate with the American public accordingly, Mayorkas added. Meanwhile, as Donald Trump prepares to begin his second presidency, he has demanded greater official transparency around what he has called mystery drone sightings all over the country. Can this really be happening without our governments knowledge? I dont think so, Trump added. Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down. On Sunday, the former New Jersey governor, Chris Christie, was asked if the states residents were experiencing an outbreak of mass hysteria. To say that this is not unusual activity is just wrong, Christie said. Ive lived in New Jersey my whole life and this is the first time Ive noticed drones over my house. Christie said that a lack of official information had allowed conspiracy theories to overwhelm authorities officialese. If you dont fill that vacuum then all the conspiracy theories get filled in there, Christie added. So you get congressman Jeff Van Drew saying theres an Iranian mothership off the coast which is provably not true. Joe Bidens outgoing presidential administration and state authorities have to be more vocal and let people know what theyre doing, he added. Pointing to a newish technology used in conflict zones as weapons, Christie said it was understandable that people were concerned. Hochul on Saturday joined a chorus of other elected US officials pressuring the White House for a federal response after runways at Stewart international airport were temporarily closed due to what was described as drone activity in the airspace. Phil Murphy, the New Jersey governor, has also contacted Biden to voice growing concern about reports of unmanned aircraft systems. In Connecticut, another state with elevated drone sightings since mid-November, US senator Richard Blumenthal said the aircraft should be shot down if necessary. But the lack of a coherent response by officials has set residents off on their own search for answers. The director of the Rebovich institute at Rider university, Micah Rasmussen, told NJ.com that the Biden administrations response was a textbook case of exactly how misinformation happens and disinformation happens. When people dont know what to believe, they dont believe anything, Rasmussen said, and thats a dangerous position for us to be in. The federal response had achieved the near impossible by bring Republicans and Democrats in the state together over the issue, said the New Jersey Republican assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia. I dont know whos running crisis communication from the White House, but its embarrassing, Fantasia told the outlet. You know, were at the point now where I feel like Im watching Star Search from the 80s, and theyre just auditioning spokesmodels to say stupid things. Another New Jersey political figure, the Democratic congressman Josh Gottheimer, said that hundreds of reports of drones flying overhead in federally controlled airspace leaves a large vacuum of information. Since 13 November, when an unauthorized drone was spotted flying near Picatinny Arsenal, a US army research facility in New Jersey, hundreds more sightings of unidentified flying objects have been reported. Some have been described as SUV-sized. Some were reportedly flying in coordinated clusters. Domestic security agencies have consistently maintained they do not pose any national security or public safety threat. But military officials have confirmed 11 sightings over Picatinny base and multiple sightings over a naval weapons station, fueling anxiety. The done sightings come after the Biden administration sought to downplay a Chinese spy balloon crossing the US in early 2023 before it was ultimately shot down off the east coast. The White House national security spokesperson, John Kirby, has said: It appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully. But that hasnt satisfied New Jerseyans, Rasmussen told NJ.com. He said: You only get so many chances to explain something before people say, Ive heard enough from you. I dont believe what you have to say. Im done listening to you now, because clearly youre going to insult my intelligence. The Nutcracker Performed By English National Ballet - ALASTAIR MUIR English National Ballet has swapped Russian sweets in its production of the Nutcracker for Ukrainian treats in a confected ballet row, The Telegraph can reveal. Tchaikovskys 1892 ballet, which is being staged over Christmas, traditionally includes a Russian dance with a candy cane theme but the new English production has taken these out. Billing for the show makes no mention of the standard Russian candies, but provides a detailed list of delicacies that will feature. Unlike historical performances, these include Ukrainian poppy seed rolls called makivnyk. It follows a period of hand wringing in the arts world in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine in Feb 2022, which led to some classical ensembles boycotting Tchaikovskys music. Amid a rift in the classical world, the London Philharmonic announced a programme packed with Russian music, saying that cancelling the likes of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov fuels Putins propaganda. English National Ballet has not commented on its alterations to Tchaikovskys ballet. The company appears to have updated other confections which feature in The Nutcracker, which follows the lead, Clara, as she rescues an enchanted Nutcracker doll and travels to the Land Of Sweets. In this land, she is feted with dances from characters representing desirable treats from the 19th century. Bertie Bassett making a guest appearance at an English National Ballet performance of The Nutcracker - ADAM BUTLER/PA In the new product, instead of merely the traditional chocolate from Spain dancers will embody Spanish turron, a type of nougat. The Chinese dance historically revolving around tea instead involves tanghulu, candied hawthorn berries. There is also great cultural specificity in the dance which once sought to represent Arabian coffee, and in the new production dancers embody sahlab, Egyptian orchid root milk with cinnamon. There are also dances by marzipan-zwiebelfloten German marzipan sweets which are traditionally portrayed as French liquorice allsorts, buttercream roses, and the ballets famed sugar plums. This updated and more specific set of confections are one of a number of tweaks made to the ballet, which runs at the London Coliseum until Jan 12. Clara is shown dispatching villains herself, rather than with the help of the prince, and in an early scene is depicted taking inspiration from a group of Suffragettes. These alterations come following a series of changes made in the classical music world to accommodate modern sensibilities. In 2022, the Royal Operas House staged a new Madama Butterfly which was the result of a year-long consultation to ensure that Puccinis 1904 opera, about a Japanese geisha exploited by an American officer, was as inoffensive and non-stereotyping as possible. In 2021, the Royal Ballets own Nutcracker production reduced the number of female dancers in a dance of magical Arabian sweets, in order that the performance was less suggestive of a harem. The Duke of York is at the centre of another PR crisis that has caused further problems for the royal brand - Toby Melville/Reuters Prince Andrew should do the decent thing and opt not to join the Royal family at Christmas events to save the Kings blushes, royal insiders believe. The Duke of Yorks relationship with an alleged Chinese spy has plunged Buckingham Palace into yet another scandal, amid allegations that he was targeted and courted over a number of years. A security review is under way after the alleged agent, identified only as H6, was invited to Buckingham Palace twice and also to Windsor Castle and St Jamess Palace. While it is accepted that the apparent infiltration of the Royal family may not have been of the Dukes making, it has put him at the centre of another PR crisis that has caused further problems for the royal brand. As such, senior aides are hoping the Duke sees fit to withdraw from the two high-profile royal events due to take place over the next fortnight. The unfortunate timing of the scandal poses a conundrum for the King, who had expected to be joined by the Duke and the wider Royal family at this weeks private Christmas lunch, as well as at the traditional church service at Sandringham on Christmas Day. The Duke of York with the alleged spy, known as H6 The monarch, who has recently withdrawn all private funding from his younger brother, will be loath to sanction him further, recognising that there will always be a bond of blood. Yet such a move, despite being really hard for the King, remains a possibility, The Telegraph understands. It would be a bitter pill for the embattled Duke to swallow. There are fervent hopes behind the scenes that such action will not be necessary if the Duke acts on his conscience to prevent heaping further embarrassment on the King. Since his accession in 2022, Charles has allowed Andrew to join the family on the traditional stroll from Sandringham House to St Mary Magdalene church on Christmas Day. However, he was banned from taking part in 2019, weeks after his disastrous BBC Newsnight interview prompted him to step back from public duties. It emerged on Thursday that the alleged spy, described as a close confidant of the Duke in court documents, had been banned from the UK on national security grounds. The revelation was followed by calls for Prince Andrew to be punished by losing his membership of the Order of the Garter. George Foulkes, the Labour peer, said he did not believe his behaviour was compatible with membership of the ancient order of chivalry. However, the idea was dismissed by royal sources, who noted that the only people ever removed from the order had been found guilty of heresy or treason. The Duke has already been removed from all public aspects of the annual procession and service. However, the court case has again raised serious questions about how the Duke funds a lavish lifestyle that includes the upkeep of his palatial 30-room home, Royal Lodge at Windsor, which is in need of extensive repairs. The maintenance costs, as well as his private security bill, are thought to add up to millions of pounds a year. For months, the King has been urging his younger brother to move into Frogmore Cottage, the smaller property on the Windsor estate vacated by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The Telegraph revealed in January that the monarch was prepared to withdraw the private funding he ploughed into the security operation in what had become an increasingly bitter standoff. At the time, the Duke did not believe that his elder brother would do so. The King acted on his threat, removing all private financial support from his brother and forcing him to find his own private source of income. But the Duke has called his bluff, assuring Buckingham Palace that he has the funds to stay put. Royal sources admit they have no way of scrutinising the source of the monies and can only seek assurances that the Dukes money is legitimately earned. They fear the latest scandal only serves to underline the vulnerable financial situation in which the Duke finds himself. A potential move to Frogmore Cottage remains on the table. As well as bringing the Duke into the security cordon around Windsor Castle, it would remove the huge financial burden that a property such as Royal Lodge commands. Salcombe, the coastal Devon town, has been dubbed Chelsea-on-Sea for attracting well-heeled visitors - Matt Cardy/Getty A tourist parking tax is being planned for a Devon town, dubbed Chelsea-on-Sea, which is popular with holidaymakers for its beaches. Businesses in Salcombe warned the proposal to charge tourists more than locals to park in their town, and across the district of South Hams, could be detrimental to the areas economy. The council plans to raise the charge for a full day at Salcombe Creek car park from 6.50 to 10 for visitors, and 8 for locals, the first increase in four years. Residents will have to apply for their discount to pay less than holidaymakers. Jude Macintosh, manager of the Ship in Dock Inn, said parking in Salcombe and nearby Dartmouth was a constant headache and raising prices wouldnt attract guests. The car parks in Salcombe are often full in the summer months as visitors enjoy the beach - SWNS She said: Dartmouth and Salcombe is particularly challenging on parking and yes it does have a knock-on effect with people coming. Our bookings have gone down by a third because now we dont provide permits. We took it away because we cant afford to carry that cost. The councils are just trying to keep people away because they are not doing anything as in parking to entice them. She asked why locals should enjoy a cheaper rate. Roger Savin, 81, owner of the Little Elbow Room in Totnes, said he had customers from all over the country and the world. He wondered how the council would police the discount for residents. He asked: How are they going to know if the car is not local? It can have a car plate from London but the person being from here. Another business owner in Totnes said: If parking is raised [by] an amount which is unreasonable, I am afraid that people might not buy from the High Street. I think that the footfall decreases because of the lack of spaces and the pricing. Salcombe is popular with second-home owners - Matt Cardy/Getty A spokesman said the council was regretfully considering increasing charges from April 1 2025, adding: We checked car parks in similar locations across Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset to compare our current charges and our proposed new charges. Following this review of charges across the South West, it is clear that car parking charges in the South Hams are lower than most. He said the residents discount would be applied to all our council-owned car parks via the cashless parking app, adding: Those who dont have a smartphone will receive an extra half hour parking time instead. A consultation period on the proposal sends on Jan 5, with a decision to be made in the same month. Sinking Russian oil tanker - X Telegram / allkrim Russia mounted a rescue effort on Sunday after two oil tankers were wrecked in rough seas off Moscow-annexed Crimea, with one spilling oil into the Kerch Strait. At least one person was killed when the 136-metre Volgoneft 212 tanker, with 15 people on board, split in half with its bow sinking, with waves washing over its deck. The Russian-flagged vessel, built in 1969, was damaged and had run aground, officials said. There was a spill of petroleum products, said Russias water transport agency, Rosmorrechflot. A second Russian-flagged ship, the 132-metre Volgoneft 239, was left drifting after sustaining damage, the emergency ministry said. It has a crew of 14 people and was built in 1973. The Kerch Strait is a global shipping route separating the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula from the mainland - REUTERS Both tankers have a loading capacity of about 4,200 tonnes of oil products. Official statements did not provide details on the extent of the spill or why one of the tankers sustained such serious damage. President Vladimir Putin ordered the government to set up a working group to deal with the rescue operation and mitigate the impact of the fuel spill, news agencies cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying, after Putin met with the ministers for emergencies and environment. The vessels were in the Kerch Strait between mainland Russia and Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 when they issued distress signals. Russia said more than 50 people and equipment, including Mi-8 helicopters and rescue tugboats, had been deployed to the area. Svetlana Radionova, head of Russias natural resources watchdog Rosprirodnadzor, said specialists were assessing the damage at the site of the incident. Russias Kommersant newspaper reported that the Volgoneft 212 tanker was carrying about 4,300 tonnes of fuel oil. An unverified video posted on Telegram showed some blackened water on stormy seas and a half-submerged tanker. Ukraine has been known to attack Russian military targets in the area using sophisticated home-made drone boats. Kyiv has not commented. Sandi Toksvig admits the frightening ordeal has made her anxious about returning to Sydney - Andrew Crowley Sandi Toksvig has revealed that doctors thought she had caught a sexually transmitted disease from cuddling a koala bear in Australia after she was hospitalised with pneumonia. The 66-year-old recalled lying in her hospital bed two years ago thinking she was dying before crying with laughter at hearing the medical professionals thought she had contracted chlamydia from the animal. The Danish-British broadcaster said fortunately she just had pneumonia, but admitted the frightening ordeal has made her anxious about returning to Sydney. Toksvig told The Travel Diaries podcast: In 2022, I was on tour in Australia and I became extremely ill. Sandi Toksvig recalls thinking she had contracted a sexually transmitted disease when she found out all koalas have got chlamydia - REDA/Universal Images Group Editorial Toksvig added: Inexplicably, I collapsed and then was taken to the Sydney Eye Hospital. Nothing wrong with my eyes, but it was frightening, and my poor wife was terrified. Toksvig said her lung collapsed and nobody was quite sure what was wrong. I could hear the other side of the curtain when youre lying there, youve got masks and stuff, everything all covered, and I was scared, she continued. I could hear the doctor saying to my wife, Has Sandi been in touch with any koalas?. [She] said, Oh, yes, we went to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane and had our photograph done with a koala. It was very hard to get home Toksvig said: Well, it turns out that all koalas have got chlamydia. And it is possible for a human whos been cuddling a koala to catch koala chlamydia pneumonia. And for a brief while, they thought thats what I had. And even though I thought I was dying, I was crying with laughter. Toksvig continued: It was very hard to get home. It was very tough for my wife. It was in Sydney with nothing to do apart from visit me in the hospital. Im anxious about returning because it was a frightening experience. Im sure its not Sydneys fault. Just gonna put it out there. A vigil was held for Sara Sarif on Sunday night outside her home in Woking. Photograph: Surrey Police/PA Sara Sharifs grandfather said he will fight to keep her siblings in Pakistan, calling it the safest place for them, as a vigil was held for the murdered 10-year-old in Surrey. Muhammad Sharif said he would appeal to the high court in Pakistan to stop Saras five siblings from being returned to the UK. It comes as Will Forster, Liberal Democrat MP for Woking, where Sara lived, said hundreds of people attended a very moving vigil in her memory on Sunday evening. The event, called Remembering an Angel Sara Sharif, was held outside her house, on Hammond Road, with attenders encouraged to light a candle or lay a rose. Forster wrote on X: So many are heartbroken by her loss. Saras siblings, whose identities are protected by a court order, remain in the city of Jhelum in north-eastern Pakistan, with efforts to return them to the UK continuing. They were taken by Urfan Sharif, Saras stepmother Beinash Batool and her uncle Faisal Malik on 9 August last year, a day before Saras body was discovered at the family home in Woking. On arrival, they were left with their paternal grandfather but were taken into state care after being discovered by Pakistani police during efforts to locate Sharif, Batool and Malik. The children are now back in the care of their grandfather. Muhammad Sharif told The Sunday Times: The legal proceedings concerning the custody of the children are ongoing in the Lahore high court. They are enrolled in a reputable school, and we ensure their safety by personally transporting them to and from school. I am their guardian and this is the safest place for them to live in; they have an association with me and they are not willing to leave me. We will win the case. The 69-year-olds son, Urfan, and Batool were convicted of Saras murder at the Old Bailey on Wednesday. Malik was found guilty of causing or allowing her death. Last September, her five siblings were made wards of court by Mr Justice Hayden, meaning they needed to be returned to the country because they cannot be removed from the country without approval. Surrey county council has applied to the high court in Lahore to begin efforts to bring the children back to the UK. It remains unclear whether a court in Pakistan would authorise their return. The Sunday Times reported that the high court in Lahore last week adjourned the latest hearing in the custody case until mid-January while the children remain in the care of their grandfather. A Surrey county council spokesperson said: We are continuing to work our way through this highly complex situation, sensitively and carefully, working closely with all of the agencies concerned. Our overriding priority remains the wellbeing of the children and we request that their privacy is respected. Sharif, 43, Batool, 30, and Malik, 29, will be sentenced on Tuesday. The Northumberland Line between Newcastle and Ashington has reopened after 60 years - Northumberland Line YouTube / RichardMWCA When the 08.36 to Newcastle pulls out of Ashington station on Sunday, heralding the first passenger train on the Northumberland Line in more than 60 years, the people of north-east England would be forgiven for rubbing their eyes in disbelief. Even very recently, when they could actually see the line being built, residents were telling me oh, its never going to happen, says Richard Wearmouth, deputy leader of Northumberland County Council. And you can excuse their cynicism. The reopening of this line to passengers, a victim of the Beeching cuts in the 1960s, was first mooted in the 1990s. When plans were finally put into motion five years ago, it was supposed to be an 160 million project ready in spring 2023. After delay upon delay, its now opening on Sunday at an estimated 298 million, with only two of its six stations ready. And yet the Northumberland Line is no HS2 mega project. There werent hundreds of miles of cuttings, embankments, expensive bridges (well, there was one of those, but more of that later) or tunnels to contend with: the journey from Ashington to Newcastle is just 18 miles and 34 minutes long. Forget the idea of a disused railway line with saplings growing through the points too; the Northumberland Line has remained in use for freight trains all this time. Pop some stations in, upgrade the track a bit how hard could it be? Turns out, with this countrys labyrinthine planning, funding, construction and transport ecosystems, it is incredibly hard. Its exasperating, says transport commentator Christian Wolmar. It is actually possible to do these things quickly just look at France and Germany but the political, technical and financial processes you have to go through in this country make everything both very expensive and very slow. Wearmouth adds: We found Iron Age settlements in the build stage. Any suggestions there were Iron Age residents still awaiting the railway reopening are a little wide of the mark. Dr Richard Beeching holding a copy of the pamphlet The Reshaping of British Railways in 1963 - PA He jests, but for the people of this area, the Northumberland Line is an age-old story. And it begins way back in 1996, when Northumberland County Council and its partners commissioned a study recommending the reintroduction of rail services. Nothing happened then, or in 2002, when a major scheme bid was launched. Even a train chartered for a day on the line by the South East Northumberland Rail User Group in 2008, carrying both politicians and passengers, had little effect, though it did lead to Northumberland County Council floating the idea of reopening the Ashington Blyth & Tyne Line (as it was then called) in its Public Transport Strategy 2011-2016. They also had to admit the funding was not available to do so. It would take another eight years for something more concrete to materialise. 2019 With the Conservatives becoming Northumberland County Councils largest party in 2017, it became much easier to attract the attention of the government to this project. One of the first things I wanted to do was to get a demonstrator train on the track, get the secretary of state here, and show them the platforms existed, the trains were already running, remembers Wearmouth. We just needed passenger trains, and we needed them to stop at stations. Oh, and someone to fund it. Interestingly, Wearmouth says the council had to chance their arm a bit, paying 3.46 million themselves for an outline business report by the end of 2019. It proposed a scheme that would cost 162 million and place six stations along a renewed 18-mile track and be ready for service in March 2023. From the moment we got [then transport secretary] Chris Grayling on that train, it caught light in the imaginations of the government of the day, says Wearmouth. They were champions. And from then on, we were flying in some regards. In some regards As of this weekend, passengers are now finally able to travel by train along the Northumberland Line - Northumberland Line 2020 In January, some of Northumberland County Councils measured gambles paid off the then minister for railways, Chris Heaton-Harris, granted 1.5 million to develop the plan for the line still further. The prime minister has basically given the secretary of state for transport and me a message that he wants to get some of these Beeching cut lines reversed, he said at the time. Boris Johnson, promised Heaton-Harris, was very, very keen to see delivery very, very quickly. And yet. It took 10 million of additional funding from Northumberland County Council and a further nine months just for the exploratory ground investigation work to begin. They might have said they were keen to see delivery very quickly, but theres nobody actually able to push these schemes through, says Wolmar. Nobody really owns it, nobody has the power to say right, were going to do this now. January 2021 A full year after Heaton-Harriss promise of quick delivery, there were more headlines trumpeting 800 million in government funding to open two railway lines the small print being that only 34 million of that was for the Northumberland Line, to cover initial work aimed at reintroducing passenger lines. That effectively meant yet more preparatory works and land acquisition, given there were plans for new stations at Ashington itself, Bedlington, Blyth Bebside, Newsham, Seaton Delaval and Northumberland Park in North Tyneside. Theyve rebuilt Ashington, and they didnt really need to do that there was a perfectly good station there, says Wolmar. With projects like this you start getting mission creep; people start throwing in other bits of improvement and the specification gets complicated. It all boils down to the fact there isnt a guiding mind or single organisation making this happen. Construction work at Newsham station - Alamy November 2021 Because any new rail scheme is subject to a Transport and Works Act Order, a three-week public inquiry began into the reinstatement of the Northumberland Line for passenger trains, despite planning permission already having been granted for three of the six new stations. June 2022 It took another seven months for the government to grant the Transport and Works Act Order, authorising the closure of level crossings and purchase of land. So nearly two years after the initial groundworks, work on the line could finally begin. The intention now was to have it open at the end of 2023, which was already feeling ambitious. March 2023 Transport secretary Mark Harper admitted engineering challenges caused by the areas coal mining past had caused a delay to summer 2024. The first indications that all was not going to budget came to light: in April it was revealed that construction costs for a road bridge had tripled to 30.6 million. Northumberland County Council commissioned an urgent report on a new funding package to ensure the line could open on schedule in August 2024. We need to press the button on a number of parts of this scheme to reach the opening, said council leader Glen Sanderson. This is the most fantastic project, one that has been talked about for a long time - but nothing much has happened until now. Quite. Transport secretary Mark Harper admitted that engineering challenges caused delays - Owen Humphreys/PA December 2023 In December, just a month after the council had promised that the project remained on track to open in summer 2024, Sanderson said the council was hoping to have the line running by this time next year, but might not have all the stations finished by then. A prophecy that, for once in this project, was actually correct. To be honest, it is out of our hands, he said. We have waited 70 years to get this line running, another few months is nothing. January 2024 A few weeks later, Sanderson hinted that there would be a partial reopening of the line in the summer of 2024 after all, with three stations in operation. I always under-promise, he said. I said by the end of the year, but if our contractors are happy it will be open a few months before, then great. As with any project under construction, challenges and issues have arisen, but we cant let that overshadow the fact that the service will be up and running this year. He was right about that, sort of but guess what happened in August August 2024 Northumberland County Council revealed the opening would now be pushed back to December again due to weather-related impact to construction. The local authority also confirmed the final cost of the line would be 298.5 million. While well be waiting a few more months, Im very much looking forward to travelling on the first passenger train when it does finally run, said South East Northumberland Rail User Groups Dennis Fancett, with finally appearing to do a lot of heavy lifting in that statement. December 2024 Services between Ashington and Newcastle finally commence, with Seaton Delaval station also open. Newsham station will open early in the new year, with the remaining three stations at Bedlington, Blyth Bebside and Northumberland Park scheduled to open later in 2025. So a bit like giving birth or moving house, time will heal. Everyone connected with the Northumberland Line is confident that once its all up and running, the obvious benefits will mitigate the sheer length of time and money all this has taken. And, though its no comfort to the eager passengers of Northumberland, theres a sense that the same mistakes wont be made elsewhere, again. There is so much to be done in the railway industry to make it more streamlined and cheaper; some of the processes weve had to go through have been ridiculous, given its a railway line that already exists, says Wearmouth. So I do hope we can help create some lessons learned. Because, ultimately, 300 million to connect several major communities in South East Northumberland to the rail network and create a real confidence in the area. Thats bang for your buck in my view. Isak Andic died after falling while on a hike near Barcelona. Photograph: Thibault Camus/AP Tributes have been paid to Isak Andic, the billionaire founder of the Spanish high-street fashion chain Mango, after his death in a hiking accident in Catalonia on Saturday. According to media reports, Andic, who was 71, died after slipping and falling 100 metres down a ravine while hiking in the Montserrat caves near Barcelona with several family members. Mango confirmed his death in a statement on Saturday, describing Andic as an example to us all and a committed and inspiring leader. His legacy reflects the achievements of a business project marked by success, and also by his human quality, his proximity, and the care and affection that he always had and at all times conveyed to the entire organisation, the statement said. His departure leaves a huge void, but all of us are, in some way, his legacy and the testimony of his achievements. It is up to us, and this is the best tribute we can make to Isak and which we will fulfil, to ensure that Mango continues to be the project that Isak aspired to and of which he would feel proud. Born to a Sephardic Jewish family in Istanbul in 1953, Andic emigrated to Catalonia with his relatives in the late 1960s, where he started selling T-shirts to fellow students at Barcelonas American high school. The young entrepreneur subsequently progressed to running a wholesale business, selling clothes in Barcelonas street markets, but realised there was more money in retail and opened the first Mango store in the Catalan capital in 1984 as Spain was still emerging from the shadow of the Franco dictatorship. He saw that we needed colour, style, the companys global retail director, Cesar de Vicente, said in an interview with Agence France-Presse in March 2024. Andic quickly opened dozens of more stores in Spain and then abroad, starting in neighbouring Portugal and France, all under the name Mango. He realised that having the same name, having the same brand in all the shops, would make the concept much stronger, said De Vicente. Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish prime minister, led the tributes after Andics death was announced on Saturday afternoon. My condolences to the family of Isak Andic, the founder of Mango, after his tragic death in an accident, Sanchez wrote on X, adding that Andics great work and entrepreneurial vision had made the company he had left behind a global fashion leader. Salvador Illa, the Catalan president, hailed a a committed businessman who, with his leadership, has contributed to making Catalonia great and projecting it to the world. Alberto Nunez Feijoo, the leader of Spains conservative Peoples party, said Andic had built a Spanish business that was a world leader in the textile and fashion sector. The Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain said it had been deeply saddened to hear of the unexpected death of one of the bulwarks of the Spanish Jewish community. In a statement, it said: He was a man of the finest human qualities, generous and always ready to help those most in need. His many contributions have brought about huge advances for Spanish Judaism. The gap he leaves cannot be filled. Writing in La Vanguardia on Sunday, the journalist Joana Bonet recalled an audacious and creative man who had travelled an enormous distance from his humble beginnings and first forays into the markets of Barcelona. If Tommy Hilfiger started out selling jeans from the boot of his car, Andic, a Turkish immigrant who was still a child when he and his family arrived in Barcelona in the 60s took his first steps in the hippie flea markets, she wrote. Andic was a visionary who also possessed a gift: he could go into a shop and know which item would sell out. He never got it wrong. Forbes put the entrepreneurs net worth at $4.5bn (3.6bn), and he was non-executive chair of the company when he died. Mango had a turnover of 3.1bn (2.6bn) in 2023, with 33% of its business online and a presence in more than 120 countries. The brands first UK store opened in 1999 and there are now more than 60 branches across the country. Rebel fighters look on as students rally near the campus of Damascus University, in the Syrian capital, on Sunday - Omar Haj Kadour/AFP The Government has made diplomatic contact with the rebel group that toppled the Assad regime in Syria. It comes after the US said overnight that it had also made direct contact with the rebels, following earlier reports that Joe Biden had sent messages to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) via Turkey. David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, said the UK had made contact as he announced 50 million of humanitarian aid for Syria. He said that HTS, which now runs most of Syria, remained a banned terrorist organisation, but that Britain can have diplomatic contact and so we do have diplomatic contact, as you would expect. Part of the new UK aid would go to chemical weapons inspectors working in Syria, Mr Lammy said. Israel has been bombing depots to prevent the weapons from falling into the hands of rebels. Mr Lammy said: We want to see a representative government, an inclusive government. We want to see chemical weapons stockpiles secured, and not used, and we want to ensure that there is not continuing violence. For all of those reasons, using all the channels that we have available, and those are diplomatic and of course intelligence-led channels, we seek to deal with HTS where we have to. France, meanwhile, announced on Sunday that it would send a diplomatic mission to Syria to make first contact with the rebels. The French mission would be the first from a Western power as allies contemplate lifting sanctions and engaging. On Sunday, Turkey also offered to give military training to the Islamist-led rebels governing Syria the latest move by Ankara to position itself to take a major role in the countrys future. Yasar Guler, the Turkish defence minister, said his country would give the support if the new administration requests it. He added that the rebel government should be given a chance after assurances that it would respect governmental institutions and international organisations, such as the UN. Turkey, a Nato member, backed some of the Syrian rebels who toppled Bashar al-Assads regime last weekend, ending almost 14 years of civil war. Ibrahim Kalin, Ankaras intelligence chief, then visited Damascus on Thursday for talks with the new rebel leadership, according to the Syrian information ministry. Yasar Guler, the Turkish defence minister, said his country would give military training if the new administration requests it - Johanna Geron/Reuters Turkeys engagement with the new Syrian authorities comes amid uncertainty over Russias future there, and as Western countries consider working with the rebels. HTS, which led the rebels who seized Damascus last week, is attempting to transition from a militant insurgency to a more legitimate governing authority, but is still designated as a terrorist organisation by countries including the US and the UK. Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said over the weekend that Washington had made direct contact with the rebels, following earlier reports that Joe Biden sent messages to HTS via Turkey. Britain last week suggested that it would reconsider HTSs proscribed status, as it is currently legally impossible for the Government to work with the group. US contact with HTS also underscores international efforts to support Syrias transition and stabilise the country. Russia, meanwhile, a key backer of the Assad regime, has been withdrawing troops from parts of northern Syria in recent days. Sources told Reuters, however, that Moscow did not intend to abandon its two major bases in the country. The Kremlin claims it is in discussions with Syrias new government over the Tartus naval port, Russias only Mediterranean repair and resupply hub, and the Hmeimim air base, a major staging post for military and mercenary activity in Africa. Video reportedly shows Russian troops pouring into Khmeimim airbase in Syria | Credit: SameralAtrush/X The growing relationship between Ankara and the new Syrian government will be a cause for concern in Aanes, the Kurdish-led autonomous region in the north-east of the country, where Turkish-backed rebels have been carrying out an offensive against Kurdish-led forces since early December. Mr Guler said on Sunday that the aim of this operation was to dismantle the Peoples Defense Units (YPG). Turkey sees both the YPG and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) it is part of as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party, which has fought a decades-long insurgency against Ankara. Aanes political leadership has said it was keenly seeking negotiations with the new Syrian government. Critics of the Turkish-backed operation against Kurdish-led forces say it could further destabilise Syria, with the Turkish-led rebels already seizing control of the city of Manbij and advancing towards Kobani on the Turkish border. Kurdish channels reported on Saturday that US armoured vehicles had entered Kobani, with videos circulating on social media. The SDF warned of an imminent rebel offensive against the city after a four-day ceasefire was agreed on Thursday. Iran, a vital backer of the previous regime, has been dealt a significant blow as the rebel takeover means it can no longer supply Hezbollah, its Lebanese proxy, with routes through Syria. Assads government had provided a land corridor for weapons and materiel to be sent from Iran to Lebanon, but Naim Qassem, the Hezbollah leader, acknowledged on Saturday that it had been lost. The group will now look for alternative supply routes or see whether the Syria route could be re-established under a new regime, Qassem said in a televised speech. Naim Qassem, the Hezbollah leader, said the land corridor to Iran had been lost - Al Manar TV/Reuters Israel, meanwhile, has launched dozens of overnight airstrikes on Syria, firing 61 missiles at former Assad regime military sites in less than five hours on Saturday evening, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. However, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the HTS leader, has said the new government is not interested in a conflict with Israel, telling Syrian state media that there are no excuses for any foreign intervention in Syria now after the Iranians have left. We are not in the process of engaging in a conflict with Israel, he said, adding that diplomatic solutions were the only way to ensure stability. That is despite a statement by Israel Katz, Israels defence minister, saying that Israeli troops would remain for the winter on Mount Hermon after seizing the Golan Heights buffer zone last week. On Friday, Israel conducted secret talks over Syria with Jordan, according to Axios, with officials reportedly discussing engagement with the new rebel government. Workers clear a fallen tree at 13th and Mission streets in San Francisco during Saturdays storm. Crews returned to the citys streets early Sunday to remove fallen trees and branches. Benjamin Fanjoy/Special to the Chronicle Water from the San Francisco Bay spills onto the Embarcadero during Saturdays high tides and storm-driven waves. Noah Berger/Associated Press A large barge drifted toward the shore in Berkeley during Saturdays storm. U.S. Coast Guard A day after a powerful storm hit the Bay Area, San Francisco crews continued to clean up downed trees and large branches. Crews fielded about 250 reports of downed trees and branches on San Franciscos streets Saturday, though some of the reports were related to the same storm-related damage, said San Francisco Public Works spokesperson Rachel Gordon. She added that the crews worked into the night Saturday and started up again at 5 a.m. Sunday. We had an all-hands-on-deck (response) yesterday and again this morning to get the city back to shape, Gordon said Sunday afternoon. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The storm pummeled the region with powerful winds and rain and even triggered the citys first-ever tornado warning. Although a tornado never struck San Francisco, the storm toppled trees and knocked out power for thousands of customers across the city. City crews, some equipped with bulldozers and other heavy machinery, removed fallen and badly damaged trees and branches that blocked roads, fell on power lines and otherwise posed safety hazards all across the city, Gordon said. Ficus trees were among the common casualties, she said. The wind did not topple as many trees as in past storms, but the damage was substantial nevertheless, Gordon said. Theres still a lot of work to do, she said. The cleanup efforts were expected to last several more days. Gordon urged residents to report downed trees and branches to 311. A large barge drifted toward the shore in Berkeley during Saturdays storm. U.S. Coast Guard Elsewhere in the Bay Area, a 150-foot commercial barge was towed away from Berkeleys waterfront Sunday, a day after the anchor apparently failed during the storm, causing the vessel to drift and run aground along West Frontage Road near Interstate 80. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The U.S. Coast Guard inspected the water for signs of pollution, but found no immediate concerns, Petty Officer 1st Class Adam Stanton said. The vessel was identified as a mud scow, which is used to transport mud from a dredger. A UN delegation visits a refugee camp in northern Syria, after tens of thousands of Syrians have been displaced in recent fighting between rebels and the government. Photograph: Bilal Al Hammoud/EPA The UK has announced 50m of humanitarian aid for vulnerable Syrians across the Middle East after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assads regime. The emergency support will be delivered through the UN and NGOs to people in the country, in addition to refugees in Lebanon and Jordan, the Foreign Office said on Sunday. On Saturday, the UK joined talks in Aqaba, hosted by Jordan and attended by ministers and delegates from the US, France, Germany, the Arab Contact Group, Bahrain, Qatar, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the EU and UN. The countries agreed on the importance of a non-sectarian and representative government, protecting human rights, unfettered access for humanitarian aid, the safe destruction of chemical weapons, and combating terrorism. The UK urges the transitional government to adhere to these principles to build a more hopeful, secure and peaceful Syria, the Foreign Office said. David Lammy, the foreign secretary, said: The fall of the horrific Assad regime provides a once-in-a-generation chance for the people of Syria. Were committed to supporting the Syrian people as they chart a new course, first by providing 50m in new food, healthcare and aid to support the humanitarian needs of vulnerable Syrians. Second, by working diplomatically to help secure better governance in Syrias future. This weekend, the UK and its partners came together to agree the principles required to support a Syrian-led transitional political process. It is vital that the future Syrian government brings together all groups to establish the stability and respect the Syrian people deserve. About 120,000 of UK funding has also been made available to the Organisation of the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the department said. Another 30m will be channelled within Syria for food, shelter and emergency healthcare, while 10m will go to the World Food Programme (WFP) in Lebanon and 10m to WFP and the UNs refugee agency, UNHCR, in Jordan. The intervention comes a week after the collapse of the Assad regime after an offensive by rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), ending five decades of dynastic rule as the dictator fled to Moscow. Western governments have subsequently debated how to deal with HTS, which is a proscribed organisation in the UK because of its closeness to al-Qaida. Its current leader, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani who since taking power has started using his real name, Ahmad al-Sharaa has attempted to distance his movement from the terrorist group. There is also concern that a power vacuum in Syria could exacerbate regional tensions and create conditions for Islamic State to regain ground. On Friday, Keir Starmer told a virtual meeting of the G7 leaders that the fall of Assads brutal regime should be welcomed but we must be cautious about what comes next. Boris Johnson has claimed Sir Keir Starmer is taking Britain in the wrong direction Sir Keir Starmers new unit to deepen ties with the EU proves that the Prime Minister took Brexit voters for fools during the election, Boris Johnson has said. The former prime minister claimed Labour had taken power by deception by not saying that it wanted closer ties with the EU. Mr Johnson said Sir Keir had no mandate to set up the new team, which he described as a Whitehall surrender squad, and claimed the Prime Minister had lied during the campaign. Writing for The Daily Mail, he said: At a time when Starmer and Rachel Reeves have already managed to kill economic growth with their disastrous tax-hiking budget, this EU renegotiation is taking Britain in completely the wrong direction. Above all, Starmer has no mandate to do it. He has no mandate to set up the Whitehall surrender squad, and no mandate for these talks, any more than he had a mandate for tax rises. He lied about both. Labour has taken power by deception. We must, of course, respect the law and the constitution. But I call on everyone who cares about democracy and the economic salvation of this country to fight, fight and fight again for the freedoms the people voted for in 2016, and which they believed were secure. Sir Keir Starmer met Antonio Costa, the European Council president, at Downing Street last week - Chris Ratcliffe/Shutterstock The Government has set up a special unit with 100 staff to renegotiate relations with the EU. Brussels is expected to demand free movement for young people, access to British fishing waters and closer alignment with EU rules in return for closer trade ties, according to leaked negotiating papers revealed by The Telegraph. Ministers are expected to discuss the initial negotiating document at a meeting in Brussels on Tuesday. It is a preparation for what will be two set piece meetings between Sir Keir and EU leaders early next year to officially open negotiations to ease trade restrictions and broker a security and foreign policy agreement. Mr Johnson said it would turn Britain into a colony, a vassal state, the orange ball-chewing gimp of Brussels, and claimed it would lead to the UK handing back control over its fishing industries. There are plenty of reasons to be appalled by the news that Keir Starmer is about to break his word to the people, and take this country back into the clammy grip of the EU, he said. There is the sheer duplicity of the man, the bare-faced lies he told us all at the time of the election in July. He said that he was going to respect the voters and that there would be no going back on the Brexit referendum. He was categorical about what this meant: no going back into the single market or customs union, and no return to free movement for nationals from the EU.Perhaps we were mad to believe him. Two police officers behind crime scene tape. Photograph: kali9/Getty Images A 16-year-old boy in New Mexico allegedly killed four members of his family and then drunkenly turned himself in Saturday, investigators said. The New Mexico state police said in a Facebook post that the teen was arrested in Belen, a small city in Valencia county, after he called authorities late at night and informed them he killed his family. When the police arrived, the boy identified as Diego Leyva walked out of his home with his hands in the air and in an extremely intoxicated state, according to a statement from investigators. Inside the home, officers said they found a gun on the kitchen table and the bodies of the deceased family members. New Mexico state police said they arrested Levya and booked him as an adult on four counts of murder. He was also brought to a hospital to undergo detoxification while investigators and crime scene technicians prepared to interview him, police added. Members of the Valencia county community expressed a sense of disbelief on Sunday after learning the identity of the accused killer. One of his former teachers said she was in disbelief that one of her students could have allegedly carried out such a horrendous act. I would never have thought that something like this would happen and that Diego would be capable of doing something like this, Vanessa LaGrange told the Guardian. Everyones in shock. The identities of the victims were not immediately released on Sunday. However, according to LaGrange, one of the victims is believed to be a student at a middle school where other students are planning to wear black and bring balloons to mourn. Meanwhile, the fire chief for the Valencia county fire department, Matt Propp, said: We have every reason to believe that one of the victims is a volunteer firefighter. The killings that unfolded on Saturday were consistent with the type of crime that since the 1980s has been referred to as a family annihilation. Saturdays killings were the 29th mass murder in the US so far this year, according to statistics from the non-partisan Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass murder as one in which four or more victims are killed. There is no centralized database for family annihilations that could provide insights into that kind of crimes characteristics or prevalence. But the overwhelming majority of such cases involve a male killer armed with a gun who kills himself after murdering multiple close family members. Local communities typically treat such cases as isolated tragedies, though a 2023 Indianapolis Star investigation found they had occurred across the US on average once every five days. Annually high rates of mass shootings and mass murders in the US have prompted some in the country to call for more substantial federal gun control. But Congress has been unable or unwilling to implement such measures. Fathers4Justice protester Chris Todd in Trafalgar Square - Matthew Chattle / Alamy Live News X / F4JOfficial A Fathers4Justice protester dressed as Father Christmas has scaled the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square. The campaign group claimed one of its supporters had climbed the tree in central London on Sunday morning. The protester, who has been named as Chris Todd by Fathers4Justice, staged the protest on the Norwegian spruce at around 9.30am on Sunday morning. Along with his red and white costume, Mr Todd was brandishing a poster with the face of Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, on the front. Perching on one of the trees branches, he held out the poster which read: Put the father back into Xmas. Fathers4Justice, which often uses stunts to fight for changes in legislation on fathers rights, said that Mr Todd scaled the tree after being denied access to his daughter since August 2024 despite there being a court order. They claimed that the 35 year-old, who also held up a photo of himself and his daughter, will be staying in the tree until Christmas Day. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: At approximately 9.35am on Sunday police were informed that a man had climbed up a Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square. He remains up the tree and officers are on scene monitoring the situation. Blood on his hands LBC News, the radio station, reported that the protester was shouting: Keir Starmer has blood on his hands. In other footage circling on social media, two police officers can be seen trying to get the protester to come down from the tree. The Trafalgar Square Christmas tree is one of Londons biggest festive attractions. It has been gifted by Norway every year since 1947. This years edition is a 60-year-old tree from Grefsenkleiva, in Oslos Forest, and stands at 20 metres high. Mr Todd had to climb over fencing protecting the tree in order to gain access to it. Fathers4Justice protesters often carry out stunts dressed in costumes to make their demands. The campaign group was founded by Matt OConnor in 2001 after he was denied access to his children following his divorce. In the past, protesters have scaled the Houses of Parliament and chained themselves to statues. Some 20 years ago, four protesters each dressed as Father Christmas closed the Second Severn Crossing bridge between England and Wales with one of their stunts. Prince Andrew. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters The UK home secretary, Yvette Cooper, has admitted the government has a complex arrangement with China because of the need for economic cooperation, against the backdrop of the exclusion of an alleged Chinese spy with links to Prince Andrew. The man who was banned from Britain by the government on national security grounds was invited to Andrews birthday party and visited Buckingham Palace twice as well as St Jamess Palace and Windsor Castle at the invitation of the prince, according to the Times. It was reported by the Sunday Times that the man also met David Cameron and Theresa May and kept pictures of his meetings with the two prime ministers on the desk in his office. Both said they did not recall meeting him. Cooper was asked on the BBC Ones Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme what her message was to China. Well, we will continue to take a very strong approach to our national security, that includes to any challenge to our national security including to our economic security from China, from other countries around the world, that will always be the approach that we will take. Of course, with China we also need to make sure we have that economic interaction, economic cooperation in place as well. So its a complex arrangement. The former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith has said he will raise an urgent question about the man in the Commons on Monday, raising the possibility he could be named under parliamentary privilege. On Friday, the Duke of York said he had ceased all contact with the businessman when concerns were first raised about him. A statement from the princes office said Andrew met the individual through official channels, with nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed. The businessman, referred to as H6, brought his case to the special immigration appeals commission (Siac), which upheld a ruling that he should be excluded from the UK. The shadow home secretary, Chris Philp, said proven instances of Chinese interference needed to be publicly exposed in order to keep the public and government vigilant. This question of Chinese influence is not a new one. Its been around for years, or even decades, he told the BBC. Theyve been systematically trying to infiltrate universities, to steal intellectual property businesses for the same reason, and also influence government institutions. We need to be super-vigilant and publicly expose Chinese infiltration where it happens. Everybody in academia, in business, in government needs to be alert. If anyone has the slightest concern, they should contact the security services immediately. In the letter from the home secretary excluding the businessman in July last year, it said: We have reason to believe you are engaging, or have previously engaged, in covert and deceptive activity on behalf of the United Front Work Department (UFWD) which is an arm of the Chinese Communist party (CCP) state apparatus. The alleged spy was initially stopped at an airport in November 2021 where his phone was seized. Communication on the phone, which is set out in the hand down from Siac, suggests there was high-level contact between the businessman and the prince. In a message from the dukes adviser, Dominic Hampshire, it said: Outside of his closest internal confidants, you sit at the very top of a tree that many, many people would like to be on. It also contained a message from the dukes adviser to the businessman, which said that since their first meeting we have wisely navigated our way around former private secretaries and we have found a way to carefully remove those people who we dont completely trust we found away to get the relevant people unnoticed in and out of the house in Windsor. Yvette Cooper being interviewed on the BBCs Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg - BBC Yvette Cooper has refused to set a timetable for reducing small boat arrivals despite admitting current levels are far too high. The Home Secretary declined to say when Channel crossings would start going down after last week saw the busiest December day on record. A total of 609 people reached Britain in nine dinghies on December 12, also marking the highest daily total since October 18. More than 34,000 migrants have now arrived by small boats this year and the scale of last weeks arrivals raised fresh questions about Sir Keir Starmers vow to smash the gangs. On being asked about the figures, Ms Cooper told the BBCs Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: You are right that these levels are far too high. This is dangerous whats happening so, of course, we want to continue to see progress. Of course, we want to see the boat crossings come down as rapidly as possible. What were not going to do is deal with this by slogans. Rishi Sunak said hed stop the boats in a year. Mr Sunak, Sir Keirs predecessor, made an ill-fated pledge to stop the boats in January 2023 when he announced his five priorities in government. No set targets The Labour Government has refused to set any targets to reduce either legal or illegal migration despite putting numbers on commitments in other policy areas such as housing. Asked whether this meant immigration was less of a priority, Ms Cooper replied: Quite the opposite. Weve made clear that border security is one of the foundational issues, before you even get to any of the missions. We have made it clear we need to reduce both legal and illegal migration. It is a clear priority for this Government in terms of tackling these dangerous boat crossings. On Sunday, Ms Cooper announced 8 million in funding for body-worn cameras and fingerprint technology that would help to ramp up immigration enforcement operations. It came as Angela Eagle, the Minister for Border Security, also refused to say when Channel crossings would start to fall. Asked how long it would be before the public started to see the numbers coming down, Ms Eagle told Skys Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: Its a priority to get the numbers down. Pressed on how long people should have to wait, she said: Weve got to get a handle on all of these operational things, so Im not going to sit here and give you a date. Weve had governments that have given dates and figures about getting immigration down to the tens of thousands and then quadrupled it. So I dont think people want a date snatched out of the air that nobody is confident they can meet. What they want to see is steady, regular progress, and thats what were going to give them. Ms Eagle insisted Labour had made a good start in five months, adding: We are returning people who are here illegally, 13,500 more than at any time since 2018. So we are doing the job, but Im not going to pretend that I know when itll get down to zero. We are going to reduce it, we will do it steadily. The immigration minister also rejected fresh calls from Sir Tony Blair, a former prime minister, to introduce ID cards as part of the push to solve the Channel crisis. No, it wasnt in our manifesto, Ms Eagle said. It is, by the way, wise to remember that actually you cant get a job, its illegal to get a job, without showing your documentation. Thats the enforcement were doing in the labour market with the increasing number of arrests. Meanwhile, Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, called on Labour to do more to deport Channel migrants, saying the current five per cent figure was far too low. In an interview with GB News, Mr Philp also said it was a massive mistake by Sir Keir and Ms Cooper to cancel the Rwanda deportation scheme before it had started. Syrians waiting to return to the country from Turkey on Thursday. While some are choosing to return, others have expressed fears about what will happen next in Syria. Photograph: Kazim Kizil/EPA Syrian asylum seekers left in limbo after the home secretary said the government was pausing their claims have called the decision cruel and urged officials to resume processing their cases. More than 700 refugee organisations, including Care4Calais and Refugee Action along with many UK-based Syrian groups, have expressed deep concern and opposition to the pause on the 6,500 claims currently in the system, the Independent has reported. Last week, the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, told MPs: Lets be clear, most of the claims, many of the claims that have been made, have been made against the Assad regime for asylum, which is clearly not in place. It would therefore not be appropriate to be granting asylum decisions on those cases in the current circumstances. She added that the situation was very unstable at the moment and said the government was monitoring it. The Guardian spoke to two Syrian asylum seekers who were dismayed by the governments decision and fearful of finding themselves forcibly returned to Syria at a time of enormous instability. Both said that after one day of euphoria following Assads fall, fear set in about what would happen next in their country. Sara (not her real name), a 27-year-old journalist, claimed asylum in the UK earlier this year after she was targeted by the Syrian regime for making critical comments about it. My father works for a humanitarian NGO in Syria and has seen a lot of terrible things. My country has probably experienced one of the most brutal dictatorships in the world. Now that regime has been toppled it has been replaced by a lot of uncertainty. Im very wary of what will happen next in Syria. The situation continues to be very dangerous. Sara was called for her asylum interview at the Home Offices headquarters in Croydon a couple of months ago but, after waiting for more than half an hour, was told the interview was no longer happening. It was rescheduled for a few days after the Assad regime fell and then cancelled for a second time. Sara said: As asylum seekers, the Home Office speaks to us in a very harsh tone. Between night and day, your life can change and suddenly be in danger. I have a good support network in the UK but the whole thing gave me a panic attack. Im having nightmares about being sent back to Syria. The Home Office is treating us in a cruel way at a time when we are in a very vulnerable situation. My family in Syria are very traumatised. There is a lot of shooting in the air at the moment, which makes everyone very scared. They were driving in their car a few days ago and one of these bullets grazed their car. We are asking the government to grant us leave to remain during this very intense period so that we have some certainty and are not forced to continue to live in limbo. Related: UK would like to facilitate return of refugees to Syria, says minister Muhamed (not his real name), 24, has been in the UK since May 2022. After a difficult journey through Europe, he crossed the Channel in a small boat and claimed asylum. His familys house was destroyed in bombing. His sister and brother were incarcerated in one of Syrias notorious prisons and, since the Assad regime fell, his family have been unable to locate them so do not know if they are dead or alive. He arrived in the UK shortly after the former home secretary Priti Patel announced the Rwanda scheme, although news of this did not reach him before he claimed asylum. Muhamed was one of the asylum seekers on the list for Rwanda and spent a few weeks in a detention centre after Home Office officials told him he would be sent to the east African country. My asylum claim was not processed because of Rwanda. I finally did my interview with the Home Office a month ago but received no decision. Now Im waiting again because the government has paused decisions. I have been waiting for more than two-and-a-half years. Syria continues to be an unsafe country for people like me. I dont know what will happen to me tomorrow. This decision not to process our claims is an injustice. The Home Office has been approached for comment. The UK has announced 50 million of humanitarian aid for vulnerable Syrians across the Middle East after the overthrow of Bashar Assads regime. The emergency support will be delivered through the UN and NGO agencies to people in the country, as well as to refugees in Lebanon and Jordan, the Foreign Office said. Britain on Saturday joined talks in Aqaba, hosted by Jordan and attended by ministers and delegates from the US, France, Germany, the Arab Contact Group, Bahrain, Qatar, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the EU and UN. They agreed on the importance of a non-sectarian and representative government, protecting human rights, unfettered access for humanitarian aid, the safe destruction of chemical weapons, and combatting terrorism. The UK urges the transitional government to adhere to these principles to build a more hopeful, secure and peaceful Syria, the Foreign Office said on Sunday. Some 120,000 of UK funding has also been made available to the Organisation of the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the department said. Another 30 million will be channelled within Syria for food, shelter and emergency healthcare, while 10 million will go to the World Food Programme (WFP) in Lebanon and 10 million to WFP and the UNs refugee agency, UNHCR in Jordan. The intervention comes a week after the collapse of the Assad regime following a lightning offensive by rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Since then, Western governments have debated how to deal with HTS, which is a proscribed organisation in the UK because of its closeness to al Qaida. Its current leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, who had used the alias Mohammed al-Golani before taking power, has attempted to distance his movement from the terrorist group. There is also concern that a power vacuum in Syria could exacerbate regional tensions and create conditions for the so-called Islamic State group to regain ground. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: The fall of the horrific Assad regime provides a once-in-a-generation chance for the people of Syria. Were committed to supporting the Syrian people as they chart a new course, first by providing 50 million in new food, healthcare and aid to support the humanitarian needs of vulnerable Syrians. Second, by working diplomatically to help secure better governance in Syrias future. This weekend the UK and its partners came together to agree the principles required to support a Syrian-led transitional political process. It is vital that the future Syrian government brings together all groups to establish the stability and respect the Syrian people deserve. Sir Keir Starmer on Friday told a virtual meeting of the G7 leaders that the fall of (Bashar) Assads brutal regime should be welcomed but we must be cautious about what comes next. In a statement on Thursday, the leaders said they were committed to work with and fully support a future Syrian government that agreed to ensure respect for the rule of law, universal human rights, including womens rights, the protection of all Syrians, including religious and ethnic minorities, transparency and accountability. Britain still needs economic co-operation with China but will take strong action against any national security challenge, Yvette Cooper said, after it emerged an alleged spy formed links at the heart of the British establishment. The Home Secretary said the UK has a complex relationship with Beijing as she was questioned about concerns over a businessman who is now banned from the country but previously became close with the Duke of York. The alleged agent, known only as H6, also met former prime ministers Lord David Cameron and Baroness Theresa May and kept pictures of them in his London office, according to reports. Reform leader Nigel Farage has said his party is prepared to name the man in the Commons (Ben Birchall/PA) Asked what her message would be to the Chinese state following the case, Ms Cooper told the BBCs Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: We will continue to take a very strong approach to our national security, that includes to any challenge to our national security including to our economic security from China, from other countries around the world, that will always be the approach that we will take. Of course, with China we also need to make sure we have that economic interaction, economic co-operation in place as well. So its a complex arrangement. The alleged spy, known only as H6, was described in court as having formed an unusual degree of trust with the duke. Reports suggest he met Lord Cameron at a Downing Street reception and Lady May at a black-tie event. The alleged spy was excluded from Britain in 2023 by then-home secretary Suella Braverman, with the Home Office saying he was believed to have carried out covert and deceptive activity for the Chinese Communist Party. Judges at a specialist tribunal in London on Thursday ruled Ms Braverman had been entitled to conclude that he represented a risk to the national security after he challenged the decision. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp described alleged activities carried out by Beijing in the UK were deeply concerning and need looking at very carefully. He urged everyone in public life, academia and business to be alert to the risks of infiltration. If anyone has the slightest concern, they should contact the security services immediately, he said. Home Office minister Dame Angela Eagle said the man had been thought to pose a threat especially in his relationship with Prince Andrew which is why he was barred from coming to the UK. But she downplayed the significance of the suspect being pictured with former prime ministers, telling Sky News Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that photographs arent necessarily any more meaningful than photographs. Asked whether the revelations about the alleged spys relationship with Andrew were an embarrassment for the UK, Dame Angela said: Im not going to comment on the internal issues with the royal family. I dont think thats appropriate. Everybody knows whats happened. They know the actions thats been taken and they can come to their own judgment. MPs have raised concerns about the level of access the businessman was apparently able to gain at the heart of the British establishment. The Duke of York (Joe Giddens/PA) Nigel Farage has said his Reform UK party is prepared to use parliamentary privilege to name the individual, whose identity is protected by a court order, in the Commons chamber. Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a prominent China hawk who has himself been sanctioned by Beijing, said the duke needs to be clear and honest about what happened and called for a full, proper investigation by the security services. Baroness Harriet Harman said the Government, parliamentarians, the royal family and society more widely need to up our game in spotting the potential threats in relation to China. The former Labour minister told Sky Newss Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme: We seem to have a bit of a sort of ignorant spot in relation to China, both what the opportunities are and what the threats might be. And I think thats something, generally speaking, amongst parliamentarians, amongst Government, amongst ordinary people as well as the royal family we need to up our game on and be more understanding of whats going on in China and what their objectives might be, and what that might mean for us, for good or ill. Labour peer Baroness Harriet Harman said the Government, parliamentarians, the royal family and society more widely need to up our game in spotting the potential threats in relation to China. We seem to have a bit of a sort of ignorant spot in relation to China, both what the opportunities are and what the threats might be, she said. The businessman had brought a case to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) after his initial exclusion in 2023, but his appeal was dismissed on Thursday. At a hearing in July, the tribunal was told that an adviser to Andrew had said he could act on the dukes behalf when dealing with potential investors in China, and that H6 had been invited to the dukes birthday party in 2020. A letter referencing the event from the aide, Dominic Hampshire, was discovered on H6s devices when he was stopped at a port in November 2021. The letter also said: I also hope that it is clear to you where you sit with my principal and indeed his family. You should never underestimate the strength of that relationship Outside of his closest internal confidants, you sit at the very top of a tree that many, many people would like to be on. On Friday, a statement from the dukes office said: The Duke of York followed advice from His Majestys Government and ceased all contact with the individual after concerns were raised. The duke met the individual through official channels with nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed. He is unable to comment further on matters relating to national security. A spokesman for Lady May said: Baroness May and her husband, Sir Philip, are photographed at numerous events in any given year; as such, she doesnt remember when or where this particular photograph was taken or the man in question. A representative for Lord Cameron has been contacted for comment. This image taken from video and provided by the Houston Police Department shows Luis Menendez-Sierra, the assistant police chief, speaking during a news conference in Houston, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024.. (Houston Police Department via AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) HOUSTON (AP) Two teens were killed and four were injured including a 13-year-old girl in a shooting at a makeshift club in Houston, police said Sunday. Officers arriving at the site of the shooting late Saturday night found a very hectic scene a large crowd of people running out of a makeshift club, Assistant Chief Luis Menendez-Sierra said at a news conference. Police have not yet identified a suspect and have asked those who were at the event to call police with any information. Police said some witnesses told detectives that they saw a man wearing all black, including a hooded sweatshirt and a black mask covering his face, shoot a pistol into a crowd of people at the venue. Police said a 16-year-old male died at the scene and a 14-year-old female died at the hospital. Their identifies are pending verification by the medical examiner. The four who were injured, all females, were hospitalized. The injured 13-year-old was in critical condition, while an 18-year-old was in serious condition and a 17-year-old and 19-year-old were both in stable condition, police said. Menendez-Sierra said most of those attending the event, which appeared to be organized on social media, were juveniles. He said they were gathered in an empty business. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said in a post on X that makeshift, unsanctioned pop-up parties can quickly lead to chaos and violence. Pop-up parties raise public safety concerns and teens need to stay away for their own safety, he said. ___ This story corrects the age of the female who was killed to 14, not 16, per Houston police. GiorgioMagini / iStick The most famous Italian foods that will give you a taste of life in Italy When youre planning a trip or an extended stay in Italy, you should include a serious plan for the food, which plays a big part in the life of Italians. Locals around the country are passionate about their meals, and youll often overhear the words mangia and mangiare (to eat) in conversations between Italians, as they are constantly making plans for their next meals. You should also consider it a great privilege to experience authentic Italian cuisine, its endless variety of seasonal flavors, and regional nuances. Once you get to eat the pizza and pasta served in Italy, you might finally start to understand why Italians dont get fat in spite of consuming so many carbs on a daily basis. Food in Italy equals tradition. Italians are opinionated about how their dishes are made, with the majority of trattorias and osterias relying on generations-old recipes passed down from father to son, mother to daughter, and grandmother to grandson. Food is among the top benefits of living in Italy. Well take you through the most famous Italian foods you may have heard of and some you probably havent, for a rich culinary experience while in Italy. bhofack2/Istockphoto 1. Pasta Predictably, we have to start with the most famous Italian food: pasta. The greatness of the pasta served in Italy lies in its simple, homemade, melt-in-your-mouth quality. After a few months in Italy, you might feel youll tire of eating pasta, and you will be wrong. There are such a wide variety of pasta dishes throughout the country, youll always have a unique dish to enjoy. Well cover just a handful of the best to get you started, and hopefully youll discover many other delicious regional recipes on your own. NataBene/Istockphoto Pasta Carbonara Originating from Rome in the 1940s and 50s, this dish was named after Carbonari, or coal miners, to whom many attribute the dish. Romans like to keep pasta dishes simple, so there are only four ingredients in a traditional Carbonara: guanciale (cured pork jowl), Pecorino romano cheese, black pepper, and fresh eggs. The salty crunchiness of the guanciale, cut into small bits, balances perfectly with the fresh mix of egg and cheese. Vladislav Chusov/Istockphoto Pasta Cacio e Pepe This is another simple pasta dish whose main ingredients are in the name, cacio, or cheese, and pepe, or pepper. Chefs have mastered this dish by boiling spaghetti or tubular pasta al dente and saving some of the hot, starchy, salty pasta water. This is mixed back in with the pasta while the pecorino and parmesan cheeses are quickly stirred in, slowly melting into a delicious sauce. Lastly, or sometime in the mixing process, the pepper is added to give the dish a bit more kick. Cook Shoots Food/Istockphoto Seasonal and Local Pastas There are so many different pasta dishes based on both the time of year and location. From Pasta Frutti di Mare (seafood pasta) anywhere along the coast, Tortellini in Brodo (tortellini pasta in broth) in Bologna, to Cappellacci di Zucca (pumpkin-stuffed Cappellacci pasta) in the Emilia-Romagna region, there are so many unique flavors of pasta you can find in this country. Al Gonzalez/Istockphoto 2. Pizza Napoletana e Romana Besides pasta, pizza has to be the second most popular Italian food. But the pizza in Italy is very different from American pizza. The dough is light, and the ingredients are often very simple, with two to three toppings at the most. You wont feel overly full after enjoying actual Italian pizza. There are two types of pizza youll find in most Italian restaurants: Napoletana or Romana. Neither is better than the other, it all depends on the thickness of the crust. Napoletana pizza originates in Napoli and it has a thicker, crunchier crust, while Romana, pizza from Rome, is usually very thin and light. Additionally, there is also pinsa, which Italians will tell you its completely different from pizza, but for the most part, it comes with the same toppings as the two listed above. Pinsa dough is quite thick and rectangular, almost like a lighter focaccia. IriGri8/Istockphoto 3. Risotto alla Milanese It may come as a surprise that rice is one of the most-grown crops in northern Italy and Risotto alla Milanese is a perfect representation of the city of Milan. Its rich flavor, gold color, and aromatic spices might easily be connected to the citys reputation as Italys economic powerhouse and history of trade. Risotto alla Milanese is a must if you travel or live in the north, a creamy, velvety risotto made with rice from the region, either Arborio or Carnaroli. The dish starts with sauteing diced onions in butter or olive oil, adding in rice to lightly toast, allowing it to soak up the flavors and fat of the onions and butter. Saffron is what makes this risotto dish unique, an historically expensive spice that gives this dish its luxurious golden color and amazing aroma. When done right, chefs will take saffron threads and steep them in warm broth or white wine. This is then slowly stirred into the rice, giving the dish its creamy texture. Finally, the dish is garnished with grated parmesan and served, giving you a comforting, deliciously rich dish. Yereum Kim/Istockphoto 4. Bistecca alla Fiorentina Bistecca alla Fiorentina is a dish renowned in Tuscany Italy and, surprise, surprise, takes its name from the city of its birth, Florence. Like many Italian dishes, its known for its simplicity and flavor. This dish is typically sourced from Chianina cattle, a breed of cows native to Tuscany famous for their high quality. The steak is a thick-cut and served bone-in, and comes with the tenderloin on one side and strip steak on the other. Usually, the preparation is quite minimalistic, allowing the natural flavors of the meat to shine. The steak is seasoned with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil, then cooked over a hot grill or open flame. The result is a seared, crunchy exterior with a tender and juicy interior. Youll find the best Steak Fiorentina in Tuscany, more specifically in Florence, but the dish will certainly pop up in trattorias around the country. But bring a friend, because this is a massive cut of meat. RodicaCiorba/Istockphoto 5. Bistecca Tagliata con Funghi Tartufo It would be a crime for tartufo, or truffles, not to make a list of the most famous Italian food. The unique mushroom is found all over Italian forests, and is often incorporated in some rich, amazing pasta dishes. But some of the most delicious pairings youll find Italians create is truffles and red meat, in particular steak. The steak is grilled or seared to perfection, achieving a mouthwatering crust on the outside while retaining its tender qualities inside. The cooking method creates a delicious contrast between the caramelized, slightly crunchy exterior and the juicy interior. Once the steak is cooked to the desired temperature, it is rested and then sliced (literal translation of tagliata) into thin strips. The steak is then topped with a generous serving of truffle mushrooms, known for their earthy and distinctive flavor. Before topping, the truffle mushrooms are typically sauteed with butter or olive oil, garlic, and sometimes a splash of white wine or truffle oil to further enhance the aroma and flavor. This dish has a delicate balance, combining the richness of a perfectly cooked steak with the earthy and aromatic allure of truffle mushrooms. Its textures, flavors, and elegant presentation makes Bistecca Tagliata con Funghi Tartufo a standout Italian dish wherever it is served. Pan Gu/Istockphoto 6. Gelato There arent many people who are moving or visiting Italy who havent heard of gelato, but well do our best to pitch it to you nonetheless. Gelato is often called Italian ice cream despite the distinct differences between the two desserts. Both share similar ingredients like cream, milk, eggs, and sugar, along with any flavors they want to add, the process is quite different. Gelato has a much lower fat content because it uses mostly milk rather than cream, and the mixing process is much slower. Because of these two elements, gelato has much less air incorporated. This means the end result is much more dense, allowing a more concentrated flavor profile. If youre wandering the streets of an Italian city looking for gelato, find the Gelateria that serves theirs in metal trays with smooth, flattened tops. This usually indicates the gelato is made in-house daily. If you notice the ice cream is stacked, puffy and doesnt melt (youll see this in touristy areas), that could mean the gelato overly relies on preservatives, signifying that it is not freshly made or it is not gelato at all. samael334/istockphoto 7. Tiramisu Translated to pick me up or cheer me up in Italian, tiramisu is one of the lightest, most refreshing desserts on the menu. This dessert is a beautiful combination of ladyfingers soaked in espresso stacked between layers of a smooth and creamy mixture of mascarpone cheese, eggs, and sugar with a splash of Marsala wine or brandy. On top, the pastry chef dusts either cocoa powder or grated chocolate. Each spoonful of tiramisu offers a delightful combination of textures and tastes, a harmonious blend of the flavors of coffee, creamy mascarpone, sweetness, and a hint of bitterness. Olga Mazyarkina/Istockphoto 8. Ribollita Like so many of the best dishes (including some on this list), Ribollita was invented by peasants that were looking to stretch their food as far as possible. Translated as reboiled, peasants would collect leftover bread which was soaked in meat, add it to a broth seasoned with salt and pepper, and boiled with cabbage and cannellini beans. After, it would be topped up with whatever leftovers they had, making it last as long as they possibly could. Ribollita is typically served hot and garnished with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, grated Parmesan cheese, and a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper. The soup is often enjoyed as a complete meal on its own, thanks to its hearty nature and the inclusion of beans and bread. This beloved Tuscan dish embodies the rustic and resourceful spirit of Italian cooking. Its combination of wholesome vegetables, beans, bread, and aromatic flavors makes Ribollita a satisfying and nourishing soup that brings warmth and comfort to the table. fpwing/Istockphoto 9. Fritto Misto Another simple dish, fritto misto, or fried mix, is a snack youll find in every region of Italy, providing a sample of local food. Inland, youll find everything from vegetables, meat, cookies, olives, cheese, and more, while along the Italian coast (which is thousands of miles long), youll be able to sample the abundant variety of seafood like calamari, shrimp, squid, clams, mussels and tiny fish. Whatever ingredients are chosen for your fried mix, they are usually coated in a light batter which combines flour, eggs, and sometimes beer or sparkling water that creates a crispy texture. Then, the ingredients are lightly fried to a golden color, keeping the ingredients tender and succulent. Fritto misto is a refreshing snack that can get you through a long travel day or that you can enjoy as an appetizer before your main dish. Whether youre a picky eater or have food intolerances, youll be able to find a dish in Italy to suit your needs. From pasta, pizza, and gelato to rich red meat, hearty soups, and fried regional specialties, you wont tire of Italian dishes. Though weve given you nine of the most famous Italian dishes, there are so many more culinary delights to discover in each region of the country, so be sure to ask the locals what food they are famous for. This article originally appeared on Mydolcecasa.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org Wat Suan Mokkh International Dharma Hermitage More from MediaFeed (Reuters) -ABC News has agreed to give $15 million to U.S. President-elect Donald Trumps presidential library to settle a lawsuit over comments that anchor George Stephanopoulos made on air involving the civil case brought against Trump by writer E. Jean Carroll, a court document filed on Saturday showed. The lawsuit, filed on March 19 in U.S. District Court in Southern Florida, accused Stephanopoulos of making the statements with malice and a disregard for the truth. It said the statements were distributed widely to third parties and repeated. We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing, an ABC News spokesperson said in a statement. The lawsuit cites a March 10 interview with U.S. Representative Nancy Mace, a Republican who has spoken publicly about being raped as a teenager. During the interview, Stephanopoulos said Trump was found liable for rape and asked her how she could endorse the candidate. According to the settlement, ABC News must publish by Sunday a statement at the bottom of a March 10 online article that accompanied the interview. "ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC's This Week on March 10, 2024," the statement must say, according to the court document. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; editing by Susan Heavey and David Gregorio) Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday that the U.S. has made direct contact with Syrias Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) rebels as they transition from a militant insurgency toward a more legitimate governing authority. Weve been in contact with HTS and with other parties, Blinken said after talks in Aqaba, Jordan, with diplomats and representatives from several Arab nations. The U.S. designates HTS a terrorist organization, making it legally impossible to work with the group, but contact underscores ongoing efforts to change that designation as the U.S. and its allies look to support Syria's transition from Bashar al-Assad's rule. In a joint statement after the meeting, the governments of the U.S. and Turkey, the E.U., and Arab countries called for a more hopeful, secure and peaceful future in Syria, stressing respect for women and minorities and preventing the reemergence of all terrorist groups. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jordan on Saturday. The statement stressed that "the transitional political process must be Syrian-led and Syrian-owned [and] produce an inclusive, non-sectarian and representative government." No representatives from Syria were at the meeting. The talks reflect cautious optimism over HTS evolving role in governing Syria, with early signs of efforts to establish stability after 13 years of civil war, and within the nation's many factions. Front of mind for Washington is the return of American journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared in Syria over a decade ago. Blinken said in Jordan that he had emphasized the importance of finding Tice in talks with Syria's new parties. Tice is thought to have been taken captive near Damascus in August 2012 while he was covering the countrys civil war. But while thousands of prisoners were released when HTS took control of Damascus, Tices whereabouts remain unknown. Obaida Al-Arnaot, an official spokesperson, said Syrias interim government had tried to find Tice, who is 43, to reunite him with his family but had so far had no luck. President Joe Biden told reporters last week that efforts to pinpoint his location in Syria were ongoing. In another sign of the shifting dynamics, Turkey announced Sunday that it has reopened its embassy in Damascus after 12 years, while schools and universities have also resumed operations in areas formerly controlled by Assad. Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler has said his country is ready to offer military training to Syria "if the new administration requests it. In comments authorized for publication Sunday and translated by Reuters, Guler said Turkey saw no signs of a complete Russian withdrawal after satellite images appeared to show Russian forces packing up and dismantling military equipment at one of their key bases in Syria. I dont think the Russians are going to leave," he said. "Theyll do everything they can to stay. As the transition continues, there is concern for Syrias minority groups. Kurdish communities, in particular, have expressed wariness about HTS, given the groups past association with Al Qaeda and the uncertain future of ethnic and religious minorities under its control. In a message to the Kurds, HTS leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa, formerly known by the nom de guerre, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, sought to ease fears with a statement Saturday, stating that Kurds are part of the homeland and that there will be no injustice against them. The coming Syria will have the Kurds as its foundations, and we will live together in it, and everyone will take their rights, he said. Women pose for a photograph with rebel fighters in Damascus last week. The message is part of HTS ongoing efforts to project a more moderate image and distance itself from its Al Qaeda past, even as the U.S. continues to view the group as a terrorist organization. In 2018, the U.S. placed a $10 million bounty on Al-Sharaa's head. Israel remains deeply concerned about extremists' gaining power in neighboring Syria, and it carried out multiple airstrikes on Syrian weapons depots and air defenses overnight into Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The attack appears to be the latest in a series of airstrikes that Israel says are aimed at preventing Assads arsenal from falling into the hands of militants. But U.S. engagement with HTS may signal a potential shift in Washington's approach, sparking hopes that it may eventually remove the strict sanctions, which it has imposed on the country for decades and intensified at the start of the civil war in 2011. We can hopefully see a quick end to the sanctions so that we can see, really, a rallying around building of Syria, United Nations envoy Geir Pedersen told reporters during a visit to Damascus to meet the new interim government. Biden has already outlined continued U.S. involvement in Syria, without commenting on whether Washington would remove or reconsider the designation. We will engage with all Syrian groups, including within the process led by the United Nations, to establish a transition away from the Assad regime, toward independent, sovereign and independent, he said last week. Syria with a new constitution, new government that serves all Syrians. At the Sheephaven Bay pub in London, tucked just behind Camden High Street, Guinness accounts for more than 50% of draft beer sales. Owner Pat Logue told CNN that this year hes already sold double the amount of Guinness that he did two years ago. The Irish stout, known for its distinctive warm brown color, creamy foam head and unique method of being poured (a proper pint of Guinness takes 119.5 seconds to pour), has long been known as the drink of choice for rugby lads and men at the pub. Yet in the past two years, Guinness has skyrocketed in popularity, especially among young people and women. From July to October, sales of beer decreased 0.5% in the UK, according to CGA, a data insights firm for food and drink businesses. Yet across the same period, sales of beer increased by 23.2% for Diageo, which owns the Guinness brand. Specifically, sales of Guinness in kegs grew by 20.9%. By the end of October, Guinness was the top-selling beer in the UK by volume across 2024, according to Nielsen data that was shared with CNN. Social media influencers and marketing campaigns have helped to dispel notions that Guinness is a drink for older men. Logue credited influencers on TikTok for making the beer trendy and showcasing different pubs through video reviews that rank and compare the best-poured pints around London. He said its no surprise to see a group of six young people three guys and three girls walk up to the bar at the Sheephaven Bay and order a round of Guinness something that he said was unheard of years ago. It used to be portrayed as an older mans drink, but now its for everybody, Logue said. Now its a cool drink. With the sudden increase in demand, Diageo has told some pub owners that it would set allocation limits on Guinness to ensure distribution can last through the holiday season. Over the past month we have seen exceptional consumer demand for Guinness in (Great Britain), a Diageo spokesperson said in a statement. We have maximized supply and we are working proactively with our customers to manage the distribution to trade as efficiently as possible. The allocation limits have not affected all pubs. But pub owners told CNN that they are weary about having enough supply to meet demand, especially during the holiday season, which is often the busiest time of the year and crucial for weekly profit margins. Logue, who goes through 40 to 50 kegs of Guinness in a week, secured an order of 60 kegs on Friday. He said he was nervous up until the delivery arrived, and hes relieved he has enough stocked up for this week. People drink Guinness beer at the Devonshire pub in London on October 10. - Hollie Adams/Reuters A bright spot for Diageo While growth has slowed for distillers and brewers in the past year, Diageos Guinness has gone against the trend, noted Verushka Shetty, an equity analyst at Morningstar. In March, Diageo rolled out a popular marketing campaign with actor Jason Momoa, which Shetty said helped contribute to the brands growth. The brand (is) rising in popularity, especially among women and Gen Z, she said. On Diageos fiscal year-end earnings call in July, CEO Debra Crew said Guinness had a 15% increase in global net sales across fiscal year 2024. Crew said that Diageo recruited more Guinness consumers through marketing campaigns like the one with Momoa and by partnering with influencers to co-create content and shape the brand. In Great Britain, Guinness consumption among women increased by 27% from fiscal years 2022 to 2023, according to Crew. In addition to working with content creators, Diageos Crew said the company expects its business partnership with sporting events like the Premier League and Six Nations Rugby to continue to contribute to demand. At The Auld Shillelagh in Londons Stoke Newington neighborhood, which has been a Guinness house since 1991, deliveries of kegs of the Irish stout arrive two to three times a week. Aonghus Leydon, co-owner of the pub alongside his brother, told CNN that while theyve always been known for their Guinness, he has noticed an uptick in popularity in recent years. Guinness has always been a pretty high-volume product for us. But yes, I would say in the last couple of years, Guinness sales are up, he said. The Irish stout currently accounts for up to 70% of the pubs sales. Leydon, who is from Roscommon, Ireland, said that compared to 10 years ago, the number of young people drinking Guinness has noticeably increased. Our clientele are mostly early 20s to early 30s and the majority would be Guinness drinkers, Leydon said. It is pretty mixed gender-wise. While drinking at a pub in Londons Shoreditch neighborhood, Harry Evans, 26, told CNN that he loves Guinness because its smooth, drinkable and less gassy than other beer. I drink it all year round, he said. Leydon said that in his 37 years in the trade, hes never experienced any difficulty with Guinness supply. This explains why some pub owners are worried that there might be allocation limits. Leydon has not been notified yet about any allocation limits, but he said they have been on edge about receiving deliveries. The Guinness craze isnt just in Great Britain While Diageo cited exceptional demand in Great Britain, the stout has also grown in popularity in the US. Guinness was the top-imported beer in the US across the past 12 months ending in October, according to Nielsen. In Europe, Guinness 0.0, a nonalcoholic version of stout, saw net sales double in fiscal year 2024, according to Diageo. At The Dead Rabbit in Manhattan, co-founder and managing partner Jack McGarry said hed sold as much Guinness in the first 10 months of 2024 as he had sold in the entirety of 2023. A pint of Guinness is poured at a pub in central London on November 22, 2023. - Daniel Leal/AFP/Getty Images McGarry, who is from Belfast, Northern Ireland, said he thinks Irish culture is having a moment in the public eye, which bodes well for Guinness. Additionally, he said he thinks young people are becoming more aware that Guinness is a light, low-calorie beer. A 20-ounce pint of Guinness has about 210 calories, comparable to a lager like Stella Artois that has about 224 calories in a 20-ounce pint. And Guinness is only 4.2% ABV, comparable to a light beer like Michelob Ultra. All of our bars are outselling what we did last year, McGarry said. The Dead Rabbit also has an outpost in Austin, Texas. Victor Boyd, the owner of Iona Bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is originally from Dublin. His bar has been pouring Guinness for 25 years, he said, and hes also noticed the recent surge in popularity. Its not just among young people, though, according to Boyd. He said reviews on social media about the best-poured pints of Guinness in New York have helped boost the profile of his bar for many people. Others have discovered the joys of a stout thats lower alcohol and calories than many other beers, Boyd said. CNNs Maisie Linford contributed to reporting For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com A police chief in a small North Dakota city says he and his officers were abandoned by the feds and left to fend for themselves when suspected Tren de Aragua members showed up in town. North Dakota is the latest state to report that the brutal Venezuelan migrant gang is operating there after alleged member Henry Theis, 25, was busted last month for hacking and ripping off ATMs in West Fargo to the tune of $100,000, according to authorities. And hes not the only suspected TdA member to now have been identified in the city of 40,000. West Fargo Police Chief Pete Nielsen says his office is tracking individuals in the area who are suspected Tren de Aragua members. The City of West Fargo West Fargo Police Chief Pete Nielsen told The Post his department is doing its best to address the threat of such foreign gang activity but its resources are limited, a situation that has been made only more difficult and frustrating without federal help. If you dont have federal help on these crimes crossing all these different state lines, its difficult for local police to enforce some of this, he said. We havent had a lot of federal partners knocking on our door here to assist with this crime, Nielsen said of the latest suspected TdA bust. The top cop said his officers are meanwhile monitoring the activity of multiple other suspected Tren de Aragua members in the area. Being the police chief of this community, I think I would be looking to make sure that anybody thats committing any crime in the community is accountable for that action. As local authorities, we want to make sure we have the ability to remove these people that are committing crimes from the community, Nielsen said. Theis crossed the border illegally into El Paso, Texas, last year and was released into the US by border agents with a future court date, Homeland Security sources told The Post. Then in August 2024, Theis was arrested in Lewisville, Texas, for a DWI but was later let go for an unknown reason. He was busted again Nov. 1 for the ATM crime after he was allegedly caught with $24,000 in bank cash and facemasks and black latex gloves in his car. Suspected Tren gang member Henry Theis, 25, was caught illegally entering the US, freed, nabbed over an alleged DWI, released again and then recently busted in an ATM heist. Cass County Jail I think its concerning to any police chief of any community throughout the United States when these individuals are here illegally, number one, Nielsen said. Number two, theyre getting arrested for a crime. And then we release [them back] into the country theyre not even supposed to be in. ICE recently lodged a detainer with the Cass County jail to take Theis into its custody. Suspected Tren de Aragua gang members emptied an ATM in West Fargo, North Dakota, which is one of the most remote areas of the country. Valley News Live The suspects bust in North Dakota one of the most remote and least populated states confirmed TdAs infiltration in now 17 states. Nielsen said he hopes the situation changes once President-elect Donald Trump comes into office in January. The police chief said that if he is asked to help with mass deportations, which Trump has promised, he will do all he can to assist. I think if there was an order from Tom Homan to assist the federal government in, you know, making arrests of people that are here within the communities illegally, we would entertain that order, and we would assist the federal government on any thing that they needed us to do, he said, referring to Trumps border czar. USA TODAY and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article. Pricing and availability subject to change. A crowd of community members gathered under gray skies Sunday afternoon outside the Maryland Cracker Barrel where a group of special needs and autistic children were denied dine-in service earlier this month. The demonstrators held signs reading treat us equally and inclusion is a right not a privilege. A couple wore shirts and sweatshirts with rainbow puzzle pieces, a symbol of autism awareness. God loves and accepts everyone! Why cant Cracker Barrel? another sign read. Earlier in December, a group of 11 students and seven staff members from the Charles County Public Schools District were denied dine-in service at the Cracker Barrel in Waldorf, Maryland, Superintendent Maria Navarro said in a statement. The field trip was a part of community-based instruction for students in special education programs, allowing them to perform practical skills and socialize with the public. People protest outside of Cracker Barrel where a group of 11 special education students and seven staff members from Maryland's Charles County Public Schools District were "refused service." The students attend Dr. James Craik Elementary School and belong to the district's ACHIEVE program, for students with "significant cognitive disabilities" and SOAR program, for students with autism. Cracker Barrel, in a statement, pushed back on the notion that the restaurant refused service to the group, adding that "operational breakdowns caused by staffing shortages and poor communication on our part led us to fall well short of our service standards that day." In response, the company said, it completed an internal investigation, let go of three store employees, including the general manager, and moved forward with "specialized training" for all employees and the Waldorf location. "We apologize for not meeting our standards and failing to provide these students and teachers with the hospitality for which Cracker Barrel is known," the statement read. Protest begins: 'Can we eat now?' A chant rang out among the protesters one man with a bullhorn called out can we eat, while others responded, now. The group broke into other chant soon after: Treat us equally, and our kids matter. Less than a half hour after the protest began, dozens more people had joined, some with their children, covering the block next to the restaurants entrance. 'Treated as human beings' Dustin Reed, father of 7-year-old Madelynn, who was one of 11 special needs students who were turned away from dine-in service at the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Waldorf, Maryland during a field trip on Dec. 3, leads people protesting outside of Cracker Barrel where a group of 11 special education students and seven staff members from Maryland's Charles County Public Schools District were "refused service" at the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Waldorf, Maryland. When Johnna Penrod found out about Cracker Barrels treatment of her daughter, who is nonverbal, and 10 of her classmates, it confirmed her already-existing fears that her daughter would struggle to be accepted out in the world. We should be treated as human beings, not as less than because we're different than the average person, said Penrod, 29, at the protest outside the restaurant on Sunday. Penrod wore a sweatshirt reading, #CanWeEatNow, which she said she had made for the protest. Penrods husband, Dustin Reed, organized the protest when she was left dissatisfied after a meeting with Cracker Barrel executives about the incident. They didnt support anything that we said, she said. They even called our teachers liars during the meeting. Penrod, of nearby White Plains, said the demonstrators were a mix of friends, family, strangers and community members. I'm very happy that it's gotten the light that it has, she said. For the most part, things like this don't come to light. It just gets ignored. We are here to let the world know that everyone should be created equally, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. Cracker Barrel declined to comment on the details of the meeting. Dad says Cracker Barrel staff called his daughter 'this' People protest outside of Cracker Barrel in Waldorf, MD where a group of eleven special education students and seven staff members from Maryland's Charles County Public Schools District were "refused service". Andrew Blumhardt joined the protest alongside his 7-year-old daughter Mary, one of the children denied dine-in service at the restaurant on Dec. 3. Blumhardt, 36, said Marys server told her aide, Can you move this, referring to his daughter, who uses an electric wheelchair, as this. Then, one of the servers kept bumping into her chair. Once the kids left their seats, Blumhardt said, they had to wait in the gift shop, prompting a customer to complain. Cracker Barrel declined to comment on the incident. Not everyone knows what kids who have disabilities like this go through, he said. Obviously, the staff at Cracker Barrel didnt know. Blumhardt said his family was overwhelmed by support from the community in the wake of the incident. We got a lot of compassion, understanding, caring, he said. Other businesses reached out too, very genuinely and sincerely saying, We want you to come visit our business, he said. Blumhardt said going on trips to public places is a high point for Mary. She lights up around people, he said. You can tell its different for her. Cracker Barrel diner: 'They should have been able to get something to eat' People protest outside of Cracker Barrel on Dec. 15, 2024, where a group of 11 special education students and seven staff members from Maryland's Charles County Public Schools District were "refused service" at the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Waldorf, Maryland earlier in the week. Kurt Yancy Williams, 52, dining at the Maryland Cracker Barrel, said he hadn't heard of the protest, but he believes no one in the U.S. should face discrimination at businesses. "If they came in looking for something to eat, they should have been able to get something to eat," he said. A Cracker Barrel representative declined comment to USA TODAY and prevented USA TODAY from continuing the interview with Yancy Williams. Protesters block traffic Dozens of demonstrators marched across the road outside the Cracker Barrel, blocking traffic as they chanted, Treat us equally and our kids matter. Several cars honked in unison and support. Theres only two sidesequality and the other side, one woman shouted. Cups of hot chocolate left by Cracker Barrel, protesters say A tray of cups of hot chocolate was left outside for protesters by Cracker Barrel employees, protesters said. Dustin Reed, a father of one of the special needs children refused dine-in service at the restaurant, moved the cups away from the demonstration. The cups were untouched. That right there speaks volumes of their company, said Dyotha Swat, president of the Charles County NAACP, who also joined the protest, pointing to the cups. I dont have words for that. Nearby, protesters chanted, Shut it down. Protester once worked at Maryland Cracker Barrel After college, Jeremiah Smith, 35, briefly worked at the Waldorf, Maryland, Cracker Barrel where 11 children with disabilities were refused dine-in service earlier this month. Now a chef at the Department of Justice and the father of two children with autism, two and three years old, Smith said hearing about the incident hit him hard. "There's no excuse for not serving people," he said. "I was in there every morning 48 bags of pancake mix, eggs you crack in there, you throw the bacon on the grill. There's nothing hard about that." He came to the protest in part to support local teachers. "They sacrificed so much for my kids," he said. Smith's son is slowly becoming verbal, while his daughter is still non-verbal. But she has other ways to express herself, he said. "I wake up every day waiting to get to see my daughter smile," he said. "She gives me a kiss, and I know she's loved." Cracker Barrel's meeting with parents was 'superficial' Cracker Barrel's response to the incident was "superficial," said Kisa Lee, 43, whose son was among the 11 children denied dine-in service at the Maryland Cracker Barrel. Lee's husband attended the meeting company executives held with the children's parents. But the meeting was geared toward asking parents to share their feelings, not concrete actions, Lee said. "I was expecting sensitivity training," she said. "But instead, the meeting was more like, 'Oh, yeah, we understand you're hurt.'" "They're even disputing some of the accounts" of teachers about the incident, Lee added. "To me, I just want genuine reactions and genuine action, and the demonstration that they care about the community," she said. What happened at the Cracker Barrel? According to Navarro, ahead of the school group's visit, Charles County Public Schools staff notified the Waldorf Cracker Barrel of the group's size and purpose of its visit. But they were assured reservations were unnecessary. Upon arrival, the Cracker Barrel general manager told teaching staff the restaurant couldn't accommodate the group and asked for the location to be removed from an approved list of restaurants for community-based instruction field trips, Charles County Public Schools special education teacher Katie Schneider said in an email to parents. Though the group did not dine in, the restaurant permitted the students and staff to place a to-go order. Schneider said as the group waiting inside the restaurant for the food, "servers were blatantly rude to our staff and ignored all of our students." After about an hour of waiting, Schneider said the students moved to wait inside the school bus outside. Ultimately, the group ate its lunch back at the elementary school. Cracker Barrel dismisses 3 employees, opens investigation In a statement, Cracker Barrel pushed back on Navarro's claim that the group was refused service, adding that a staffing shortage led to the closure of the restaurant's second dining room. In response to the events with the school group, the restaurant's general manager and two employees were let go, Cracker Barrel told USA TODAY. The franchise also opened an internal investigation, interviewing guests and other employees. On Dec. 9, Cracker Barrel executives met with Charles County Public Schools staff and parents to discuss how the group was treated at the restaurant, with some parents expressing disappointment about the emotional meeting. More: Parents upset by meeting with Cracker Barrel execs over treatment of special ed. students "We strive to create a welcoming environment and great experience for guests of all abilities, and we have a zero-tolerance policy against any form of discrimination," Cracker Barrel said in a statement on Tuesday. "We apologize for not meeting our standards and failing to provide these students and teachers with the hospitality for which Cracker Barrel is known." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crowds protest Cracker Barrel after special ed. students denied service NEW WINDSOR, N.Y. -- Drone activity forced runways at New York's Stewart Airfield to shut down Friday night, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul. "Last night, the runways at Stewart Airfield were shut down for approximately one hour due to drone activity in the airspace. This has gone too far," Hochul said in a statement released Saturday morning. On Sunday, the governor said the federal government would be deploying a "state-of-the-art drone detection system" to New York to support investigations into the reported sightings. Hochul's original statement echoes a growing frustration among Tri-State Area lawmakers demanding answers from the federal government about the drones' origins amid numerous reports of them flying over New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Growing frustration with drones in New York White House officials have deemed suspected threats from the drones to be "not credible" and said many sightings are likely just of planes. The FBI says they've received about 5,000 leads since mid-November, but only about 100 have led to action, and a representative from the Department of Homeland Security says they are confident many of the sightings are manned aircraft that are being misidentified as drones. Local officials have expressed angst over the federal response, especially after drones were reported over New York City. "The people of Staten Island deserve answers, and the people of this city and state and region deserve answers of what the heck is going on," Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella said. Hochul's statement Saturday also called on federal lawmakers to pass a law strengthening the Federal Aviation Administration's oversight of drones: "In mid-November, I directed the New York State Intelligence Center to actively investigate drone sightings and coordinate with federal law enforcement to address this issue, and those efforts are ongoing. But in order to allow state law enforcement to work on this issue, I am now calling on Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act. This bill would reform legal authorities to counter-UAS and strengthen the FAA's oversight of drones, and would extend counter-UAS activities to select state and local law enforcement agencies." "Extending these powers to New York State and our peers is essential. Until those powers are granted to state and local officials, the Biden Administration must step in by directing additional federal law enforcement to New York and the surrounding region to ensure the safety of our critical infrastructure and our people." The FAA says it is legal to fly a drone during the day or at night as long as the operator is flying below 400 feet and isn't causing a hazard, but restricting airspace is a problem and that is what happened at Stewart Airfield. New Jersey congressman wants to allow state police to track, take down flying objects New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith is proposing legislation that empowers state police to take action as quickly as possible against the drones. The Ocean County sheriff's office said with its own tethered drone, which can travel about 40 mph, it was able to spot what it considers to be mysterious drones, which they say were traveling at about 60 mph. "This is the wake-up call. We've got a month of non-action," Smith said. "For Washington to just shun off those type of issues and say it's all planes, right, is not good enough," Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden said. "Tell us. Stop hiding everything," Smith said. Smith plans to introduce legislation that would authorize state police across the country to be trained in tracking and even taking down flying objects. For now, only federal agencies can. "Probably a designated unit could be established. You know, have real experts ... They'd learn exactly what to do ... How do you bring one down and how do you do that safely," Smith said. For now, the Monmouth County sheriff's office tells the public not to call 911 if they believe they spot drones. Golden says they should, however, call the non-emergency line if they see "five or six, weaving in and out, at a low altitude." "That would be the time to notify us locally and at the county level so we can investigate a little bit further," he continued. Smith plans on introducing his bill as soon as possible, potentially as early as next week. It comes after New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy sent a letter to President Biden, asking for the federal government's help addressing the drones. "While I am sincerely grateful for your administration's leadership in addressing this concerning issue, it has become apparent that more resources are needed to fully understand what is behind this activity," Murphy wrote. Drone sightings have also been reported in Pennsylvania and other cities along the East Coast. 2024 holiday gift ideas from Techno Claus Jim Gaffigan on the gifts no one should give for the holidays Singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers Spectee via Reuters Connect Dozens of unidentified aircraft have been spotted over military bases, airports, and cities in the US. The Pentagon said Monday that DoD has "no evidence" the drone sightings pose a threat. A White House spokesperson said the sightings include a mix of commercial, hobbyist, and law enforcement drones. US officials said on Monday that the mystery drones flying over US military bases, airports, and cities don't pose a threat. On Monday, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said that more than 5,000 drone sightings have been reported in recent weeks, but only about 100 required further investigation. He said the sightings have included a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as some crewed aircraft and stars mistaken for drones. The House Intelligence Committee was expected to receive a classified briefing on Tuesday over the issue, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. The drones have been seen flying at night over New Jersey and other East Coast states since mid-November, sparking concern and speculation from officials and citizens. Kirby told reporters that "our assessment at this stage is that the activity is lawful and legal." The federal government has sent advanced technology and additional personnel to assist local authorities and state officials investigating the sightings, Kirby said. He stressed that the government does not believe the drones represent a threat to national security. "There are more than one million drones lawfully registered with the FAA here in the US and there are thousands of commercial hobbyists and law enforcement drones that are lawfully in the sky on any given day," Kirby said. Kirby spoke to reporters on Monday after the Pentagon indicated, drawing an analogy to vehicles that approach the base, it wouldn't shoot at something unless it presented as a "clear and present danger." The Department of Homeland Security echoed Kirby's statement in a post to X late on Monday. DHS, @FBI, @FAANews, and the @DeptofDefense released the following joint statement on the ongoing response to reported drone sightings. pic.twitter.com/ihGcGbjOEy Homeland Security (@DHSgov) December 17, 2024 Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the Defense Department has "no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus." "We'll continue to do everything possible to investigate reports of concerning activity," he told reporters Monday. "But given how many drones are lawfully in our skies every day, we need to be careful to avoid assuming malintent or malicious behavior." President-elect Donald Trump accused the US government on Monday of withholding information about the drones. "The government knows what is happening," he said during public remarks at Mar-a-Lago. "And for some reason, they don't want to comment. I think they'd be better off saying what it is. Our military knows, and our president knows, and for some reason, they want to keep people in suspense." "Something strange is going on," Trump said of the recent developments. "For some reason, they don't want to tell the people." Mayors of 21 towns in New Jersey sent a letter Monday to the state's governor, Phil Murphy, demanding more transparency. "Despite inquiries made to relevant authorities, we have yet to receive satisfactory answers about the purpose, operators, or safety protocols governing these flights," the letter says. The sign for Picatinny Arsenal. US Army Where have residents reported seeing drones and unidentified aircraft? Residents and officials have reported spotting unidentified aircraft, believed to be drones, flying above New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Ohio in recent weeks. Murphy, the New Jersey governor, said late Monday that he had received a briefing from FBI Newark on their investigation. "We are ready to assist the federal government in getting to the bottom of this," he added. Murphy told reporters on Monday that some of the suspected drones spotted over his state are "very sophisticated" and can "go dark" the "minute you get eyes on them." Others have described the flying objects as bigger than normal hobby-style drones and able to avoid detection. "This is something we're taking deadly seriously and we've gotten good cooperation out of the feds, but we need more," Murphy said. Drones have been spotted near Picatinny Arsenal and Naval Weapons Station Earle, both military bases in New Jersey, and an airport in New York serving the public and the military. However, officials have stressed such sightings are not necessarily unusual. "This is not a new issue for us. We've had to deal with drone incursions over our bases for quite a time now," the spokesperson for the Joint Staff said Saturday. "It's something that we routinely respond to in each and every case when reporting is cited." There have also been reports of suspected drones following a US Coast Guard vessel, as well as local police statements on the presence of unidentified aircraft near critical infrastructure. US Northern Command, which is responsible for overseeing the protection of the US homeland, said over the weekend it was "aware and monitoring the reports of unauthorized drone flights in the vicinity of military installations in New Jersey." Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio acknowledged that drone activity near the base led officials there to close its airspace for several hours late Friday night and into Saturday. A recording of a controller from the Wright-Patterson air traffic control tower that was shared by The War Zone, which first reported the incursions, urges an aircraft to "use extreme caution for heavy UAS movement on the base." White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said there is no evidence the drones are of foreign origin. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images What are officials saying about these mystery drones? Trump said Friday on Truth Social that there are mystery drones being sighted all over the country. "Can this really be happening without our government's knowledge," he wrote. "I don't think so!" He suggested that they be shot down. Other officials have expressed concern about shooting them down due to the threat to local populations of falling debris. Neither kinetic nor electronic warfare methods are particularly ideal near civilian areas. New Jersey State Assemblyman Brian Bergen told CNN News Central's Sara Sidner on Monday that "we shouldn't be shooting things down right now." "Look, I was an attack helicopter pilot in the US Army. I flew overseas. I have seen bullets fly through the sky. It's not a great idea to do over the United States," he said. "Things should not be shot out of the sky. That is a very dangerous thing to do." The FBI and New Jersey State Police issued a joint statement on Monday warning of "a concern with people possibly firing weapons at what they believe to be a UAS," as well as increased incidences of pilots being dazzled by lasers. There could be "deadly consequences" of these actions, they said. Amid the confusion on the drones, there has been a lot of speculation, including from officials. Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey said on Fox News last Wednesday that the drones came from an Iranian "mothership" off the East Coast of the United States, citing "very high sources." Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh rejected the congressman's claim in a press conference later that day, saying "there is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States, and there's no so-called mothership launching drones toward the United States." Singh said that the Pentagon has no evidence that the reported drone sightings are the work of a foreign adversary. While Iran does have vessels that can carry drones, they were spotted off its southern coast as recently as Thursday debunking Van Drew's claims. He doubled down on Thursday, saying the government isn't telling the truth. The congressman said it could be another ship belonging to another foe. A Department of Homeland Security official said Saturday that there is no evidence of any foreign-based involvement in sending drones ashore from vessels in the area. "We're doing our best to find the origin of those drone activities," an FBI official told reporters Saturday. "But I think there has been a slight overreaction." Local officials, meanwhile, have been calling for additional information. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Saturday called for increased federal oversight of drones and said runways at Stewart International Airport in Orange County were shut down for an hour due to unidentified drone activity. "This has gone too far," she said. Hochul called on Congress to strengthen the Federal Aviation Administration's oversight of drones and provide counter-unmanned aircraft equipment to local law enforcement. On Sunday, she posted to social media that the federal government was sending a "drone detection system" to her state. A view of Joint Base Langley-Eustis, which includes Langley Air Force Base. US Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Kaylee Dubois Previous unidentified flying objects and drone sightings There have been a number of sightings of suspected drones and other unusual flying objects over or around military installations in recent years. In February 2023, for example, the United States shot down three unidentified objects flying over American airspace over the course of three days. The incidents were part of a saga that followed the US takedown of a spy balloon off the coast of North Carolina the government said came from China. As for drone activity, The Wall Street Journal reported in October that drones had been spotted over a military base in Virginia and the Energy Department's Nevada National Security Site the year prior. Retired US Air Force Gen. Mark Kelly, until March of this year the head of Air Combat Command, said that he learned about the sightings in December 2023, when officials at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia reported seeing dozens of drones flying over the base at night. It's unclear who was behind those incidents. While the federal government says that the latest sightings are not the work of adversaries or a public security threat, multiple recent incidents near bases have raised national security concerns. For instance, federal authorities on Monday charged a Chinese citizen residing in California, Yinpiao Zhou, with failure to register a non-transportation aircraft and violation of national defense airspace. The Justice Department accused Zhou of using a drone to photograph Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County on November 30. Police arrested Zhou at the San Francisco International Airport before he boarded a China-bound flight. And another man, Fengyun Shi, a Chinese national, was sentenced to six months in federal prison in October for photographing US Navy ships with a drone in Virginia. Fengyun, a student at the University of Minnesota, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of unauthorized use of aircraft for the unlawful photographing of a designated installation. The FBI official who spoke to reporters on Saturday said of the most recent sightings: "We are doing everything we can, alongside our partners, to understand what is happening and whether or not there is more nefarious activity that we need to explore." Read the original article on Business Insider TEL AVIV Israel has appealed the arrest warrants the International Criminal Court issued for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant as the official death toll in Gaza nears 45,000, according to Palestinian health authorities. The enclave was pushed closer to the grim milestone by Israeli airstrikes that killed at least 26 people Sunday, including 16 at a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in northern Gaza. Oren Marmorstein, a spokesperson for Israels Foreign Affairs Ministry, confirmed to NBC News on Sunday that Israel had filed the appeal against the ICC warrants. The warrants were related to crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October, 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, including the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts. A woman touches the cheek of a child killed by an Israeli airstrike Saturday. Marmorstein said Israel, which is not a member of the ICC, categorically rejects the baseless accusations and is determined to defend the justice of its positions and to strongly oppose the miscarriage of justice. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also said he ordered the closure of Irelands embassy in the country because of the extreme anti-Israel policies of the Irish government. The Irish government said last week it would ask the International Court of Justice to broaden its definition of genocide, claiming Israel has engaged in the collective punishment of people in Gaza. While the closure is another step in Israels growing isolation from the international community, Netanyahus spokesperson, Omer Dostri, has confirmed that Netanyahu spoke with President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday about regional developments in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza and the threat posed by Iran. Netanyahu's office said Sunday his government has approved plans to expand settlements in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, allocating over $11 million to a plan aimed at "doubling" its population, currently around 20,000. In 2019, Trump signed an order recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the area, which was seized from Syria in 1967. Meanwhile in Gaza, Israel bombed clusters of houses and set some ablaze in three towns, also attacking Khalil Aweida, a school-turned-shelter, before it stormed it and ordered displaced families to head toward Gaza City, according to Reuters, citing medics and residents. Mohammed Abu Afash, director of Palestinian Medical Relief, a nongovernment organization, warned Sunday of an "environmental disaster" in the north due to the accumulation of bodies in the streets and their devouring by stray dogs and cats, adding that the World Health Organization had delivered limited fuel and medical supplies amid the siege. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Palestinian man carries a child killed by an Israeli airstrike through a cemetery in Deir el-Balah on Sunday. Israel attacked the school-turned-shelter after it launched a wave of airstrikes Saturday, which killed at least 49 people, seven of them during an attack on another school sheltering displaced Palestinians, health officials said. They said women and children were among the dead, including a girl who was only 2 days old. The Israeli military has been operating in northern Gaza for over two months, though the siege of the Gaza Strip has lasted for 15 months, a response to the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack in which roughly 1,200 people were killed in Israel and around 250 people were taken hostage. Since then, nearly 45,000 people have been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, while over 105,000 people have been injured, and many victims remain buried under rubble. Meanwhile, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, tensions have escalated after at least one person was killed following violent clashes between Palestinian Authority forces and Palestinian militants in the city of Jenin. Western-backed PA forces have set up checkpoints in the city and claimed their forces were undertaking security operations to restore law and order in the refugee camp suburb, a stronghold of militants alienated from Palestinian leadership. Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, said Saturday that it had suspended services in Jenin Camp for another day following the violence, with children unable to attend school and residents cut off from health care and other essential services. All sides of these internal confrontations need to uphold the basic principles of international law that guarantee the safety of civilians & their access to basic services in all situations, Lazzarini said on X. Freddie Clayton reported from London and Omer Bekin from Tel Aviv. A few years ago, it would have been unimaginable that Italy would be home to one of the most stable governments in Europe. Italian coalition administrations tended to last just over a year before collapsing, making Italy predictably unpredictable. But a series of factors, including government crises in relatively stable countries like France and Germany, and the roaring popularity of Italys current coalition led by far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, in power since 2022, have made Rome the key player in Europes relationship with the US under Donald Trumps second presidency. During his last term Trump called Europe a foe of the US. This time, Meloni has the potential to turn that around thanks in part to their mutual friend Elon Musk. Musk, Trump and Meloni dined together at French President Emmanuel Macrons 60-person dinner after the official reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris last weekend, an experience Trump later told The New York Post was positive. We got along great, he said, adding that he and Meloni had spent a lot of time together. Describing the diminutive figure (Meloni herself has often joked about her 5 2 height) as a live wire, he predicted that they could straighten out the world a little bit. The two leaders, while politically similar, dont necessarily align on all the worlds most pressing conflicts. Meloni has been one of Ukraines strongest backers, having met with President Volodymyr Zelensky a dozen times since Russias invasion. Whether she can in any way affect what Trump might do, however, is hard to know, but she will have first dibs to try in Europe. Before there is a new government in Germany and with the current situation in France, when Trump comes into the White House, Italy will have a kind of monopoly, as the only country with a stable government, Giovanni Orsina, director of the department of Political Science at Luiss University in Rome, told CNN. Meloni and Musk have a very good ongoing relationship, and Musk can be a kind of best friend to both, as long as the Trump-Musk honeymoon lasts at least. Musk and Meloni forged their very strong friendship in the summer of 2023, and the Tesla founder headlined Melonis Brothers of Italy political convention, Atreju, in December last year. Elon Musk attends the political festival Atreju organised by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, in Rome on December 16, 2023. - Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters He is rumored to be making a surprise appearance at the same convention this weekend in Rome, which is being headlined by Argentinian President Javier Milei, another of Trumps populist bedfellows. So close is their relationship that Meloni and Musk had to take to social media earlier this year to dispel rumors of a romance, after he gushed about her beauty when he presented her with a Global Citizens Award on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. A photo of them locked in a gaze went viral, to which Musk tweeted that he was there with his mother and that there is no romantic relationship whatsoever with PM Meloni. Orsina believes that Musk can make it easier for the Italian prime minister to get in touch with Trump whenever she feels the need. There is an opportunity for Meloni to take the initiative and be a bridge between the Trump administration and Europe, he said. Meloni claims to have already started that bridging process in Paris, posting a thumbs-up shot of herself with Trump on X with the headline, There is already an alliance. The USA-EU axis passes through Italy. Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon (L) arrives with Giorgia Meloni (R) to attend a congress of the party in Rome on September 22, 2018. - Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images This is not the first time Meloni has been in the good graces of the MAGA elite. Steve Bannon was her American supporter before Musk, headlining her Atreju political convention back in 2018, telling CNN at the time that he believed she would be one of the most important politicians in Europe. Once she was elected in 2022 and became more moderate, Bannon, no longer wielding the power he once did as Trumps chief strategist, grew cold, telling Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera last week that she has been a disappointment. Meloni has almost turned into a Nikki Haley, he told the Italian daily, referring to Trumps opponent in the Republican primaries. Citing her support for Ukraine, and what he describes as Italys lack of work on trade, he predicts that it wont be Meloni who influences Trump, but the other way around. I think her attitude will change with the arrival of President Trump, who will convince her, Bannon said. And that NATO countries will get on board quite quickly. Otherwise, if she really believes what she has said in recent years, she should be ready with others in Europe to put money into it, to write checks as big as the speeches. We in the MAGA movement are adamant, we want to cut funding for Ukraine in the Chamber by 100%. For the moment, Meloni appears to be on Musks, and as a result, Trumps right sides. She is a day after politician, much more than a day before politician, Orsina says, referring to the likelihood she will be reactive rather than proactive when it comes to Trumps approach to Europe. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Mysterious flying objects overhead. Concern and confusion. And calls for military intervention. This isnt the plot of War of the Worlds, but rather the result of numerous possible drone sightings in recent weeks. The flying objects have been spotted over residential neighborhoods, restricted sites and critical infrastructure. The sightings have put intense pressure on federal agencies to provide more information about the aircraft, as officials have urged calm and emphasized there is no evidence suggesting the sightings pose a security threat. The Biden administration has not identified anything anomalous or any national security or public safety risks over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the Northeast, White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Monday. We assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircrafts, helicopters, and even stars that were mistakenly reported as drones, Kirby said. While the FBI is still checking out 100 or so tips, none of them appear nefarious, he said. I cant rule out the fact that we might find some sort of illegal or criminal activity, some nefarious activity, (but) all I can do is tell you that right now we see none of that, Kirby said. The US is sending drone detection and tracking systems to two military facilities in New Jersey, according to three defense officials Monday. The systems are in the process of moving to Picatinny Arsenal, a US military research facility, in northern New Jersey and Naval Weapons Station Earle in central New Jersey, the officials said. Drones have been spotted near Picatinny Arsenal and over President-elect Donald Trumps golf course in Bedminster, according to military officials and state lawmakers. The sightings prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to issue temporary flight restrictions over the properties. Several instances of unidentified drones entering the airspace were also reported above Naval Weapons Station Earle, a US Navy base south of Middletown, although no direct threats were identified. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy received a briefing from the FBI on Sunday night regarding the drone sighting investigation around Naval Weapons Station Earle, he said in a post on X. We are ready to assist the federal government in getting to the bottom of this, said Murphy. Reported drone activity prompted at least one airport New Yorks Stewart International Airport to temporarily close its runways for about an hour on Friday night. At around the same time, airspace above Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio was restricted because of drone activity while authorities monitored the situation, base spokesperson Bob Purtiman told CNN affiliate WHIO. The base closed its air space for several hours over the weekend, but the Pentagon says it is not necessarily seeing any connection to the drone sightings in New Jersey and elsewhere. There are thousands of drones flown around the US on a daily basis, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Monday. So as a result, its not that unusual to see drones in the sky, nor is it an indication of malicious activity or any public safety threat. And so the same applies to drones flown near US military installations. Wright-Patterson includes operations dedicated to monitoring cyber threats and the 655th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group, which oversees 14 intelligence squadrons around the country. CNN reached out to the Air Force for comment. The House Intelligence Committee is expected to receive a classified briefing about the mysterious drones over New Jersey on Tuesday afternoon, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. The FBI and DHS said in a joint statement Thursday there is no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus. Despite reassurances from federal officials, local politicians continue to press for more information and resources to investigate the sightings. In Morris County, New Jersey, officials have called for the federal government to marshal all federal resources at its disposal, including the military, to end the unauthorized flight of drones over our county and other parts of New Jersey. Trump raised his own questions about the drone sightings during a wide-ranging news conference at Mar-a-Lago on Monday. The government knows what is happening. Look, our military knows where they took off from, said Trump. If its a garage, they can go right into that garage. They know where it came from and where it went, and for some reason they dont want to comment. When asked whether he had been briefed on the governments intelligence regarding drones, Trump responded, I dont want to comment on that. Kirby said Monday that the administration has and will continue to make a very good faith effort to be as open and direct as possible. What were not going to do is speculate, and were not going to hypothesize were not going to, were not going to provide content that we cant be sure is accurate, he said. The FBI and New Jersey State Police urged the public in a joint statement Monday not to shoot at suspected drones, warning of potentially deadly consequences if manned aircraft are mistakenly targeted. Pilots of manned aircraft are being hit in the eyes with lasers pointed by individuals on the ground mistaking them for drones, the statement said. Drones, a broad term for unmanned aerial vehicles, are widely owned across the United States. Around 792,000 drones are registered with the FAA, nearly evenly divided between commercial and recreational use. They are used in various industries, including photography, agriculture and law enforcement. There remains significant confusion about the exact nature of the sightings and how many are cases of mistaken identity, as suggested by Mayorkas and Kirby. Heres more on what we know and dont know about the reported sightings. Where have the drones been seen? Drone sightings have been reported in at least six states New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Ohio while arrests have been made in connection with drone operation near restricted areas in Massachusetts and California. The sightings began November 18 near Morris County, New Jersey, according to the FAA. There had been drone sightings every night since then, Republican New Jersey Assembly member Paul Kanitra told CNNs Sara Sidner on Friday. Unnerved residents have frequently reported seeing drones hovering overhead, sometimes traveling in clusters. Democratic Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey posted videos to his X account showing what appeared to be a cluster of drones flying over the Round Valley Reservoir on Thursday night. But Saturday, he acknowledged most of the aircraft he initially thought were drones were almost certainly planes, he posted on X. Representatives from the federal agencies investigating the sightings have briefed local officials behind closed doors, stating the possible drones sometimes appear to fly in a coordinated pattern and can remain in flight for up to six hours, according to Montvale, New Jersey, Mayor Mike Ghassali. This has gone too far, said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Saturday, adding last month she directed the New York State Intelligence Center to actively investigate drone sightings and coordinate with federal law enforcement to address this issue. Hochul announced Sunday that federal authorities are deploying a new state-of-the-art drone detection system to the state. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said hes asking the DHS to deploy special detection systems that use 360-degree technology to detect drones. New York State Police said Friday afternoon in a post on X they had received numerous reports of drone sightings over the past 24 hours and they were investigating the reports. We have no evidence at this time that any of the reported sightings pose a public safety threat. Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella said the drones, often seen flying at night, have been spotted hovering over critical infrastructure, including Port Liberty New York near the Goethals Bridge, the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and Fort Wadsworth, one of the oldest military installations in the country. Connecticut State Police announced Friday they have deployed a drone detection system to assist in the investigation of unauthorized drone sightings reported over Fairfield County. Multiple drones appear to fly over Bernardsville, New Jersey, on December 5, 2024. - Brian Glenn/TMX/AP The governors of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Virginia said they were aware of the sightings and that state police were involved. Two men were arrested Saturday night on trespassing charges after a drone came dangerously close to Logan International Airport in Boston, police said in a statement. Last week, a Chinese citizen who is a legal permanent resident of the US was criminally charged after allegedly taking unauthorized drone footage at Vandenburg Space Force Base in California as SpaceX was launching a National Reconnaissance Office payload, according to a criminal complaint. Yinpiao Zhou was arrested December 9 at San Francisco International Airport, preparing to board a flight to China, the US Attorneys Office for the Central District of California said. He was charged with failure to register his drone and violation of national defense airspace. CNN reached out to Zhous assigned public defender for comment Monday. He has not entered a plea and is held at the Santa Rita Jail without bond, according to records from the Alameda County Sheriffs Office. When asked by CNN whether they believed the Vandenburg incident was connected to the Northeast US drone sightings, a spokesperson for the prosecutors office said, We dont allege that in our complaint. What are the aircraft? The FBI and DHS have said they believe most of the drone sightings are cases of mistaken identity, with members of the public misidentifying small, legally operating manned aircraft as drones. Some of the sightings may also be commercial drones, Mayorkas told CNNs Wolf Blitzer Friday. We know of no threat or nefarious activity, Mayorkas said. If we learn of any cause for concern, we will be transparent in our communication of it. Some of the more recent sightings might be due to copycats flying their drones as the phenomena get more news coverage, former FBI supervisory special agent Tom Adams told CNN Friday. He said there are often innocent explanations for the sightings as well. I can tell you from my firsthand experience conducting operations for the FBI, as well as investigations into the suspected sighting of drones at critical infrastructure, it was fairly common for planets, crewed aircraft and even low Earth orbit satellites to be misidentified as drones at night, Adams said. At a news briefing on Saturday, an FBI official reiterated the sightings were largely manned aircraft mistaken for drones. The official noted similar flight approach patterns from nearby airports matched the visual sightings reported to tip lines. The FBI official said the tip line has received 5,000 tips, but fewer than 100 have led to leads deemed worthy of further investigative activity. No evidence supporting large-scale UAS activity has been found, the official said, using the acronym for unmanned aircraft system. Theres been a slight overreaction to the reports, the FBI official said. Still, we cant ignore the sightings that have been there, and we are concerned about those just as much as anybody else is, the official added. An official with the Department of Defense, however, was less confident about the nature of the sightings. We dont know if its malicious, if it is criminal. But I will tell you that it is it is irresponsible, the official said. Here on the military side, we are just as frustrated with the irresponsible nature of this activity. The Pentagon shut down speculation the drones may originate from a foreign entity or adversary on Wednesday, hours after US Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a New Jersey Republican, told Fox News the drones were from a mothership from Iran that is off the East Coast of the United States of America. There is not any truth to that, deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said Wednesday. There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States, and theres no so-called mothership launching drones towards the United States. The FBI is leading the investigation into the sightings alongside the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, while the US Coast Guard is assessing jurisdictional responses. On Sunday, US Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said the US government needs to be more transparent about the reported sightings. One, we need a briefing for the members of the Senate to figure out whats going on here, the Democrat said during an appearance on CBS Face the Nation. Two, we need more transparency. Despite federal officials assurances the drones dont pose a public safety threat, Belleville, New Jersey, Mayor Michael Melham has said he has received guidance police should call the county bomb squad and local fire departments should wear hazmat suits if they encounter a downed drone. We just dont know what these things are, so we are being cautious, Melham said. Why shooting at drones may not be the answer In contrast to federal officials pleas for calm regarding the sightings, Trump has urged the Biden administration to either release any information it has about the mysterious sightings or shoot the drones out of the sky. Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country. Can this really be happening without our governments knowledge. I dont think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!! Trump posted on Truth Social. US Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who sits on the Senates Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, similarly said Thursday the aircraft should be shot down, if necessary, because theyre flying over sensitive areas. Blumenthal clarified Monday in a CNN interview that he believed most drones could be forced down with electronic jamming rather than destroying them in the air. But shooting down unidentified aircraft poses its own problems. Its not as though anyone can just take down a drone in the sky. That in and of itself would be dangerous, Mayorkas told CNNs Wolf Blitzer. Similarly, a source familiar with the national investigation into the aircraft told CNN shooting them out of the sky would be beyond risky, posing an unnecessary risk to people on the ground and legal challenges. The source noted the government has various strategies that can be deployed if a drone poses an imminent threat, but so far, the mysterious flights have not been deemed threatening. Blowing it out of the sky is the last resort, the source said. Who regulates drones? Part of the challenge in monitoring drone activity stems from the fact regulation of the skies is almost entirely under federal jurisdiction, according to the chief executive of a company tracking unauthorized drone flights. The laws that regulate aircraft are not built to empower police to deal with the drones, Axon CEO Rick Smith told CNN News Central Friday, so if your local state fair has a drone coming towards it that police believe might be dangerous, right now theres nothing they can do about it. FAA regulations allow operators of recreational drones to fly up to 400 feet above the ground in airspace not controlled by FAA air traffic controllers. The FAA does grant waivers on a case-by-case basis to those wanting to operate drones in more congested airspace or at higher altitudes. Missy Cummings, one of the Navys first female fighter pilots, thinks there would be a different level of action from authorities if people were in danger from the possible drone sightings. I think if this were a legitimate threat, we would be seeing different kinds of action, Cummings, a professor at George Mason University, told CNNs Fredricka Whitfield Sunday. People dont want to hear this, but probably a significant number are manned aircraft, although I do think that they are legitimately seeing drones, Cummings said. CNNs Samantha Waldenberg, Sam Fossum, Betsy Klein, Annie Grayer, Edward-Isaac Dovere, Andy Rose, Hanna Park, Brad Lendon, Oren Liebermann and Travis Nichols contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Debra Tice, the mother of journalist Austin Tice, who has been missing since he was detained in Syria in 2012, said Sunday on NBC News' "Meet the Press" that seeing another missing American, Travis Timmerman, being found in Damascus was "almost like having a rehearsal ... of what its going to really feel like when it is Austin walking free." Despite initial reports Wednesday that the American found in Damascus might be Austin Tice, Debra Tice said, she knew instantly it wasn't her son. "My oldest daughter came into my room at 4:25 and said: 'Mom, you know, we have this video. You need to look at it. We don't think it's Austin, but a lot of people think it's Austin, so we want you to look and see if it's Austin,'" she recalled. She added, "I took a glance, and I said, 'No, that is not Austin.'" She described the number of people who reached out to the family that day with congratulatory messages, believing Timmerman was Austin Tice. "It's almost like having a rehearsal, you know? Just an inkling of what it's going to really feel like when it is Austin walking free," she told moderator Kristen Welker. Marc and Debra Tice, parents of journalist Austin Tice, who was kidnapped in Syria in 2012, hold portraits of him at a news conference in Beirut in 2017. Austin Tice disappeared in 2012, when he was in Syria reporting on the country's civil war. Shortly after he disappeared, the State Department State Department concluded that he was being held by the hostile Syrian government, which former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad denied for years. Since the Assad regime toppled, thousands of prisoners held captive have been freed, but it is still unclear where Tice was being held and whether he has been released. A former prisoner told NBC News that in the last few weeks he was held captive in a cell across the hall from Tice and saw him alive as recently as July 2022. NBC News can't independently verify the account, but Debra Tice said Sunday that "we were able to verify that he was" there in 2022. The new leadership of Syria's rebel government blamed Assad for the pain inflicted on Tice's family this month. A spokesperson for the government claimed that it was trying to locate Tice but had so far had no luck. "We tried as much as possible to find information about Austin and return him to his mother, but we have not reached any result," the spokesperson said. Even though her son hasnt been located yet, Debra Tice said that she remained hopeful he would be found and that her family shares joy with the Timmerman family. The way that Ive been feeling about the people that I see coming out and even Travis you know that feeling where, as humans, we share joy, right? We share suffering, too, but we share joy. And so just seeing these families reunited think about Travis family being reunited with him you know, what incredible joy, and we can share that, she told Welker. Last weekend, after he addressed reporters at the White House, President Joe Biden said: "We believe hes alive. We think we can get him back, but we have no direct evidence of that yet. And Assad should be held accountable. We want to get him out. We have to identify where he is, Biden said. AP Photo/David Scarborough Wanda Holloway It was an arrest that rocked the blue-collar town of Channelview, Texas, and gripped the nation in January 1991. Wanda Holloway, a 36-year-old devoted mother of two who served as an organist at the local Missionary Baptist Church, was charged with conspiring to kill the mother of her 14-year-old daughters cheerleading rival. Authorities alleged the so-called Pom-Pom Mom attempted to hire the hitman to bump off 38-year-old Verna Heath so her daughter Shanna could win a spot on the cheerleading squad. The murder was foiled when police learned of the plot and arrested her. More than thirty years later, the case is the subject of a documentary, The Texas Cheerleader Murder Plot, which premieres Wednesday, Dec. 18, at 9/8c on ID and streams on Max. (An exclusive clip is shown below.) The two-hour special includes an interview with Shanna, who sheds light on her mothers true motivations, how she coped with her mothers actions, and who was secretly pulling the strings behind the curtain to set Wanda Holloway up, according to an ID press release. The documentary will also unpack the impact the crime had on the nation, delving into the way in which broadcast news and popular culture ultimately got it wrong." The thrice married Holloway allegedly cooked up the scheme after Shanna twice failed to make the cheerleading squad and blamed Verna and her daughter Amber for ruining her chances. AP Photo/David Scarborough Shanna Harper Thats all she ever talked about, that cheerleading stuff, her former father-in-law, R.E. Harper previously told PEOPLE. Shed go on and on about it to anybody whod listen. Related: Murderous Intent Holloway allegedly got in contact with her former brother-in-law Terry Harper, who she'd run into months earlier and asked him if he could arrange a hit. Startled, he told her he could and then went to the Harris County sheriffs office. He agreed to wear a wire and gather evidence against Holloway. AP Photo/David Scarborough Amber and Verna Heath In one call, she gave him Vernas address and her daily routine. They also settled on a price. "$5,000 for the girl. $2,500 for the mother," he said. "The mother, she aint worth crap, is she?, Holloway said, laughing. Holloway met up with Harper in a parking lot two weeks later and settled on getting rid of only Verna. The mothers done more damage than the daughter, she said. The mother is the one that screwed me around. This guy, badass or what?, she asked about the purported hitman. Yeah, yeah, hes bad to the bone, baby," Harper replied. Hes gotta be, she said, this is the only way I could ever do it, is pay somebody. At the end of the meeting, Holloway gave Harper a pair of diamond earrings for a down payment. Holloway was later charged with solicitation of capital murder. She was found guilty during her first trial, but the conviction was overturned, ABC13 reported. She later pleaded no contest to avoid a second trial. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison but received probation after serving just six months, per ABC13. The Texas Cheerleader Murder Plot premieres Wednesday, Dec. 18, at 9/8c on ID and streams on Max. Read the original article on People Syrian rebel fighters stand guard as Muslim worshippers attend the first weekly Friday prayers in the old city of Damascus since the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad. DAMASCUS, Syria It had been less than two days since the fall of President Bashar al-Assads regime when two Islamist fighters knocked on the door of the Rev. Rafaat Abul Nassers Lady of Damascus Church, armed with assault rifles, pious beards and probing questions. Im telling you, I was not afraid, Nasser told NBC News on Wednesday. Because St. Paul says to be strong in the Lord. The soldiers strolled through the ornate sanctuary, snapped photos of the icons and asked about the meaning of the cross and the crucifix. Then they left. And that, Nasser said, was mercifully that. But the chilling visit is emblematic of the uneasy optimism that pervades this new Syria, where many are wondering whether the new regime will practice the inclusiveness and liberalism it preaches. The Rev. Rafaat Abul Nasser. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which led the charge on Damascus, was once closely linked with both Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, as were its leaders, and the U.S. and much of Europe still classify it as a terrorist organization. But the group disavowed its allegiances with the more extreme jihadist groups years before it actually conquered Damascus, taking the capital with little resistance and ending almost 14 years of civil war. Precisely because we are Islamic, we will guarantee the rights of all people and all sects in Syria, Mohammad al-Bashir, the newly installed transitional prime minister, told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in an interview. The groups leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, appears to have changed his clothes as well as his mind, sporting a trimmer beard, simple military uniforms and even sometimes business suits. He has also retired his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, and guaranteed rights for women, minority groups and supporters of the old regime. But anxiety around the new leadership remains, and while some rights groups have acknowledged HTS positive language, they have also highlighted the groups poor human rights record in regions it has governed in recent years, particularly in Idlib province in Syrias northwest. In a report last year on human rights practices in Syria, the U.S. State Department said HTS had reportedly permitted confessions obtained through torture and executed or forcibly disappeared perceived opponents and their families. HTS held detainees incommunicado in secret detention facilities referred to as security prisons, it added, citing another study by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry for Syria. Its rise is particularly vexing for Syrias religious minorities, who were often pitted against one another during the ironfisted rule of Assad and the years of civil war. While about three-quarters of Syrians are HTS Sunni Muslim co-religionists, the rest of the population is a kaleidoscope of Shiite Muslims and the Alawite minority sect, of which Assad was a member, which theologians consider an offshoot of that branch of Islam. Christians and the Druze, a small Middle Eastern sect that derives its beliefs from Islam while placing heavy emphasis on philosophy and spiritual purity, are much of the rest of the population. Last week, the road from Damascus to Lebanon was clogged with thousands of Syrians fleeing in the opposite direction, apparently uninterested in waiting to test the new regimes purported tolerance. Those who took over the government, their thoughts are terrorists thoughts, said Ammar Shahbander, 32, a Shiite philosophy professor from Aleppo who was waiting to cross the border with his wife and two small children. Maybe there will be a civil war. I have children. So of course I fear for them. Shahbander said he wasnt uniquely afraid of HTS and its leader. After nearly 14 years of nightmarish civil war fought by ordinary citizens, he said, his main concern is about the Syrian civilian population that is now addled by sectarianism, vengeance and easily accessible weapons. HTS maybe can control all these elements, he said. Today there is individual behavior. Maybe they will kill me or kill anyone. Can Jolani control this behavior? Jolani and his appointed prime minister, al-Bashir, have also said that welcoming Syrian refugees from abroad is among their top priorities. But despite their positive liberal signaling, some Syrians abroad are reluctant to return to a Syria that is not only destroyed but also dominated by fundamentalists. Khatab Shawi said he might go and fight in Gaza. Abdulwahed Danou, an Arabic instructor from Aleppo, said over text message last week that his asylum application in the Netherlands was put on hold after Assad was ousted. Several European governments have already announced plans to send Syrian refugees back. I am totally lost. My head is spinning, he wrote. I would not like to be ruled by jihadists or extremists. Even when HTS rank and file make all the right noises, their appearance and behavior betray a profound conservatism. At a traffic circle near Nassers church, a cluster of camouflage-clad fighters lounged on manicured grass. They spoke freely about their fight for freedom as well-wishers crossed the busy intersection to congratulate them and offer them snacks. One of the young militiamen insisted that Syrias minorities had nothing to fear under the new regime. I will stay in my path, the path of jihad, Khatab Shawi, 21, one of the soldiers, said when he was asked what he planned to do after the revolution. Or I will go to our brothers in Gaza, and we will be martyrs for the sake of God. Hopefully after this war we will go to Gaza. Rep. Nancy Mace has recently made headlines and faced protests for her rhetoric around the transgender community, particularly for her efforts to ban transgender women from using women's restrooms at the U.S. Capitol just as the first transgender representative has been elected to Congress. This month, Mace, R-S.C., used a slur against the transgender community in a video on social media. She used the term in reference to protesters who demonstrated in the halls of Congress against the trans bathroom ban. Now Mace is back in the headlines for accusing foster youth advocate James McIntyre of assault. According to court documents obtained by ABC News, McIntyre allegedly approached Mace to shake her hand after she spoke at an event to celebrate the 25th anniversary of legislation benefiting foster youth. Mace claimed to officials that the subject began to aggressively and in an exaggerated manner shake her arm up and down in a hand shaking motion. The effect of the motion was described as her arm flailing for about 3-5 seconds. McIntryre is said to have stated trans youth deserve advocacy during the interaction. Mace told police she had pain in her wrists, arm and armpits due to the incident, but refused assistance from paramedics. McIntyre was arrested and has pleaded not guilty to charges of assaulting a government official. In a post on X following the incident, Mace called McIntyre "a pro-tr*ns man." Mace's recent remarks appear to be a shift from her comments in years past, when she had referred to herself as pro-transgender and pro-LGBTQ. ABC News has reached out to Mace's office for comment. Prior to the legislation to ban transgender women from Capitol bathrooms, Mace supported the "Fairness for All Act," expressed support for socially transitioning youth and faced backlash for what critics called her pro-transgender support. 2021: Mace says she supports LGBTQ rights and equality In an interview with the Washington Examiner in 2021, Mace told a reporter: "I strongly support LGBTQ rights and equality ... no one should be discriminated against." In the interview, she discussed her opposition to the Equality Act, which would expand federal civil rights laws to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. She instead supported the Fairness for All Act, which was aimed at banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity but allowing certain exceptions for religious organizations. PHOTO: Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., arrives for a House Republican caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol, Nov. 19, 2024, in Washington. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) According to the outlet, Mace agreed that, for example, secular companies shouldnt be able to discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity but that religious organizations do not have to violate their moral or religious conscience, the outlet wrote. "It isnt a black-and-white issue," Mace said in the interview. "I do believe that religious liberty, the First Amendment, gay rights, and transgender equality can all coexist. Im also a constitutionalist, and we have to ensure anti-discrimination laws dont violate First Amendment rights or religious freedom." She told the outlet she has friends and family that identify as LGBTQ Understanding how they feel and how theyve been treated is important. Having been around gay, lesbian, and transgender people has informed my opinion over my lifetime." At the time, she said younger conservatives were becoming more supportive of LGBTQ rights: People dont want the government in their bedrooms or their board rooms." PHOTO: Nate, 14, left, and Bird, 9, right, whose parents asked not to use their last names, hold signs and transgender pride flags as supporters of transgender rights rally by the Supreme Court, Dec. 4, 2024, in Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP) 2022: Mace faces attack ads for her views In the 2022 primary race, Mace was the subject of political attack ads from the conservative American Principles PAC targeting her for her pro-transgender support. The ad claimed Mace supported men in girls locker rooms, men in womens prisons, and even men in battered womens shelters," referring to transgender women as men. 2023: Mace appears to support social transitioning for minors In a 2023 interview with CBS News, Mace said: I'm pro-transgender rights. I'm pro-LGBTQ. Just don't go to the extreme with our kids." She spoke about her support for bans on gender-affirming care for transgender youth, stating that "sex change surgery, the hormone blockers that sterilize our children. We shouldn't be doing that." Medical experts have said puberty blockers are reversible and do not permanently sterilize patients. However, Mace appeared to express support for youth who are socially transitioning: If they wanna take on a different pronoun or a different gender identity or grow their hair out, or wear a dress or wear pants, or do those things as a minorthose are all things that I think most people would support. Be who you want to be, but dont make permanent changes as a child, Mace said. 2024: Mace introduces bathroom ban amid rise in anti-LGBTQ sentiment In November, Mace introduced a measure to ban transgender women from using womens restrooms at the U.S. Capitol, targeting Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, the first transgender person elected to Congress. PHOTO: Representative-elect Sarah McBride attends an orientation for new members of Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 14, 2024. (Allison Robbert/AFP via Getty Images) "Yes, and absolutely. And then some," Mace told reporters at the Capitol when asked about whether the legislation was in response to McBride's election. "I'm not going to stand for a man, you know, someone with a penis, in the women's locker room," she said. Mace invoked her own experiences as a victim of rape as part of the reason she introduced the measure. "That's not OK. And I'm a victim of abuse myself. I'm a rape survivor," Mace said. "I have PTSD from the abuse I've suffered at the hands of a man, and I know how vulnerable women and girls are in private spaces, so I'm absolutely 100% going to stand in the way of any man who wants to be in a women's restroom, in our locker rooms, in our changing rooms. I will be there fighting you every step of the way," she said. McBride responded to the bill on X: "This is a blatant attempt from far right-wing extremists to distract from the fact they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing." After House Speaker Mike Johnson said transgender women cannot use women's restrooms in the Capitol and House office buildings, McBride responded to imposed rules: "Im not here to fight about bathrooms. Im here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families. Like all members, I will follow the rules as outlined by Speaker Johnson, even if I disagree with them." Each representative's office has a private restroom and unisex restrooms are also available throughout the Capitol. PHOTO: Rep. Nancy Mace speaks to reporters as she heads to a House Republican Caucus meeting on Capitol Hill, Nov. 19, 2024, in Washington. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) Opponents of the ban say that the narrative around "fear" and "personal safety" concerning transgender use of bathrooms is rooted in discrimination. They argue transgender people aren't inherently dangerous and are actually more likely to be victims of violence than cisgender people. Mace said she wanted to expand her efforts and push a measure that would ban transgender women from using women's bathrooms on all federal property: "This shouldn't be going on any federal property. If you're a school or an institution that gets government funding, this kind of thing should be banned," she said. Transgender people -- who make up less than 1% of Americans over the age of 13, according to UCLA's research organization, the Williams Institute -- have been the subjects of hundreds of Republican-backed bills across the country in recent years. When protesters entered the Capitol to protest efforts to restrict transgender bathroom use in early December, Mace responded with a video on X, where she called protesters a derogatory slur for transgender people. ABC News' Arthur Jones II and Beatrice Peterson contributed to this report. Rep. Nancy Mace's position on LGBTQ community appears to have changed originally appeared on abcnews.go.com USA TODAY and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article. Pricing and availability subject to change. The Satanic Temple of Iowa was supposed to throw a holiday celebration on Saturday exactly one year after a statue depicting the pagan idol Baphomet was destroyed in the display at the State Capitol building in Des Moines but the state opted to cancel the event. The Satanic Temple of Iowa alleges the Iowa Department of Administrative Services (DAS) "forcibly canceled" the event. "We have made every effort to work with them (Iowa DAS) to ensure a successful event, but after over two months on the official Capitol events calendar we have been informed that our event will no longer be allowed," the Satanic Temple of Iowa announced on the event's page on Facebook Friday night. Members of the Satanic Temple of Iowa planned to sing Satanic carols and hold a Krampus costume contest and a Satanic ritual. Satanic Temple of Iowa display at the Iowa State Capitol. "Our goal was to promote tolerance and acceptance of diverse religious beliefs, with a theme of finding a light in the darkness and welcoming the darkest nights of the year with joy and camaraderie," the post said. "We are no stranger to obstacles in advocating for religious pluralism and freedom of speech, and we will continue to fight for the rights of Satanic Temple members and our local community." The Satanic Temple of Iowa did not respond to the Des Moines Register's request for comment Saturday. More: Dozens gather at Iowa Capitol for closing ceremony of controversial Satanic display Iowa State Capitol stewards confirmed the Capitol was open Saturday despite the ice storm and that the event was removed from the scheduled events calendar in the days before the event. "After careful consideration of administrative rule and DAS policy, I determined the totality of the event request to include elements that are harmful to minors and therefore denied the request," Adam Steen, the director of the Iowa DAS, said in a statement to the Register. What happened to the Satanic display in 2023? Who destroyed it? Satanic Temple of Iowa display at the Iowa State Capitol. The installation, permitted under state rules governing religious displays in the building, has come under debate and criticism by politicians in Iowa and nationwide. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was among the politicians who joined a chorus of Republicans calling for its removal last year, while others in the GOP said that, though it is offensive, it is a protected form of free speech. Michael Cassidy, a former congressional candidate from Mississippi, was charged the following day with fourth-degree criminal mischief, a misdemeanor, after he vandalized the display. The Lauderdale, Mississippi, man told the conservative website The Sentinel that, My conscience is held captive to the word of God, not to bureaucratic decree. And so I acted. Michael Cassidy "Evidence shows the defendant made statements to law enforcement and the public indicating he destroyed the property because of the victims religion," triggering the violation of individual rights enhancement, said Lynn Hicks, a spokesman for the Polk County Attorney's Office. Hicks said in a statement last year that based on information from the Satanic Temple, the cost to replace or repair the statue would be between $750 and $1,500, making its destruction an aggravated misdemeanor. The Temple later filed a damage estimate putting the cost to replace the statute at $3,000. The state's hate-crime statute made the charge a felony, Hicks said. The satanic display at the Iowa State Capitol, after being vandalized. Cassidy was placed on low-level probation in May, according to court documents, and was discharged on Nov. 22. He paid an $855 civil penalty and restitution and met all probation requirements, the documents said. Jose Mendiola and William Morris contributed to this story. Kyle Werner is a reporter for the Register. Reach him at kwerner@dmreg.com. This story was updated to add a video. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Satanic holiday celebration in Iowa canceled by state, group says Ahmed Sheikh al-Ghanama, who lived in the Rukban camp with his wife and child, returns to Damascus (Bel Trew) Living in mud-brick huts in the middle of the desert, under the toughest siege of Syrias civil war, the 8,000 displaced people left to rot in the isolated Rukban camp thought they would never make it out alive. For nine years, the Assad regime strangled supplies of food, water and medicines into the camp, closing even smuggling routes, earning it the moniker the forgotten no mans land. This is despite the fact it is located just a few kilometres from a US military base and the Jordanian border and in territory that the US had de facto control over. Families who lived there had fled chemical weapons attacks and besiegement in other parts of the country, hoping to escape via the Jordanian border which was all but sealed in 2015, leaving them stranded. For nearly a decade, they survived on rotten bread and bits of rice, watched their children die from preventable diseases, and prayed for survival in the wastelands where they lived. The last UN convoy allowed into the camp was in September 2019. The only lifeline was a small grassroots US-based NGO the Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF) which begged the American military to allow it to ferry supplies from US bases and smuggle them into the camp. It was by far the toughest siege of the whole war, says Ahmed Sheikh al-Ghanama, 27, originally from an eastern suburb of Damascus, in tears as he entered his home city for the first time in over a decade. A teenager at the start of the 2011 revolution, which quickly descended into civil war, Ahmed joined the rebels and fled to Rukban after surviving an August 2013 sarin gas weapons attack on Ghouta, an eastern suburb of the capital, that is thought to have killed as many as 1,700 people. The Rukban camp was established in 2012 because it was at the intersection of the Jordanian and Iraqi borders, allowing families fleeing the war to transit through the camp en route to seeking asylum in Jordan (AP) He lived in Rukban with his wife and surviving child until this week, when he learnt that Bashar al-Assad had fled the country. I almost fainted from crying so much when I heard that the Assad regime had fallen. We went out to the checkpoint and liberated it. This was a dream, to be free. Within hours, they said Assad is done, he told The Independent after entering Damascus. The hardest thing was that we didnt have doctors. My wife gave birth, and the baby died because the surgery was too late. My daughter died, he adds, in tears. There were people who suffocated and died from illnesses, a fever like Covid-19. We didnt even know what they had. You couldnt even find paracetamol. If you had a headache, you couldnt afford it. The only lifeline was the SETF, which negotiated with the US military to allow food to be transferred along a complex string of bases in the region starting at bases in Iraq and Jordan, and ending at the Tanf garrison in Syria, just 16km from the camp. From there, the organisation had to smuggle supplies past regime controls. Mouaz Moustafa, its founder who had worked on Capitol Hill as a staffer for congressman Vic Snyder and senator Blanche Lincoln, was with Ahmed as he entered the city. He said his organisation risked bankruptcy trying to get supplies to the 8,000 desperate inhabitants and had worried, in the months before Assads ejection, about how long they could keep going. Some people in Rukban would risk their lives to go back to regime-held areas for the one per cent chance that their kid could get treatment, but theyd end up being interrogated and tortured, which is almost worse than death, he told The Independent, in tears himself. Syrian refugees attempt to enter Jordan from the Rukban camp in 2016 (AFP) There were no doctors. Sometimes people would call me and say, My kid died. I have no idea why. Can someone just diagnose it so I can know if my other children will die too? This tiny, isolated patch of desert rose to global infamy during the siege because it was so intense, despite being close to a US military base and the Jordanian border. In July, Laura Dix, the UKs deputy political coordinator, raised the plight of the trapped population at the UN Security Council, calling on the Syrian regime to immediately permit commercial and humanitarian access to the camp. If we had just given up and said, This is unsustainable, these people would have died. So many people have called me since, saying, Thanks for feeding us long enough for us to go home Mouaz Moustafa, Syrian Emergency Task Force founder In September, Amnesty International reported that Jordan continued to unlawfully deport Syrians to Rukban despite the camps unliveable conditions. It accused the US of making little visible effort to improve the desperate situation despite having the ability to do so, and called the situation unfathomable. The camp was established in 2012 because it was at the intersection of the Jordanian and Iraqi borders, allowing families fleeing the war to transit through the camp en route to seeking asylum in Jordan. That all but stopped in 2015, when Jordan, overwhelmed by hundreds of thousands of refugees, stopped receiving Syrians unless they had Jordanian residency permits or fell into a limited number of special exceptions. A year later, Jordan declared its border regions with Syria and Iraq to be closed military zones after a suicide bombing in the area killed six of its soldiers. Around the same time, the Syrian government tightened its siege, setting up checkpoints that blocked informal smuggling routes the camps residents relied on for essential supplies. A Syrian woman with a child in the Rukban camp near the Jordanian border in 2017 (AFP) In 2018, the camps residents started building huts out of makeshift mud bricks using soil, pebbles, straw, and water, which they baked in the sun. This followed a tragedy in which a six-month-old baby girl drowned after heavy rains destroyed one of their tents. They lived like this until this week. I kept saying, I dont know how we are going to keep up. Were a small organisation no United Nations, no international community, borders closed, complete besiegement. I didnt know how sustainable it was. I said, even if the organisation is completely bankrupt, we are the only ones getting in, Moustafa, head of the SETF, told The Independent. If we had just given up and said, This is unsustainable, these people would have died. So many people have called me since, saying, Thanks for feeding us long enough for us to go home. Otherwise, it would have been over. For Ahmed, it was the first time entering his hometown, Damascus, in 15 years. He still hasnt seen his mother, who fled to neighbouring Lebanon. He learnt that three of his friends who disappeared into the slaughterhouse prison of Saydnaya were missing, possibly executed. For 13 years, our only hope was in God. Now we have hope for the future, for what weve achieved ourselves, he said. I wish that the people who died through these 14 years could be with us to see this day. Thank God we achieved their goal, their hope, and their dreams. U.S. Rep. Devin Nunese stifies during a Republican-led forum on the origins of the COVID-19 virus at the U.S. Capitol on June 29, 2021 President-elect Trump picked Devin Nunes, the chief executive of his social media platform Truth Social, to head the presidents Intelligence Advisory Board, he announced Saturday. Nunes, a former California Republican congressman, will chair the body that offers the president advice on the effectiveness of the nations intelligence community and is made up of distinguished citizens from outside of the Federal Government, Trump wrote on Truth Social. President-elect Trump tapped Devin Nunes as chair of the presidents Intelligence Advisory Board. Getty Images In addition to his new role, Nunes will continue to lead the Trump Media & Technology Group, Trump said. Prior to his role as the CEO of Trump Media & Technology Group, Nunes served in the US House of Representatives for nearly two decades. During the first Trump administration, when Republicans controlled the chamber, Nunes chaired the House Intelligence Committee, where he and other Trump allies assailed the FBIs Russia investigation and the special counsel Robert Muellers probe. Nunes also was a stalwart defender of Trump during his first impeachment, and Trump awarded him with the Medal of Freedom in January 2021. Devin will draw on his experience as former Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and his key role in exposing the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, to provide me with independent assessments of the effectiveness and propriety of the U.S. Intelligence Communitys activities, he wrote. Trump selected Nunes for the position on Saturday. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Other appointments announced Saturday include businessman and former Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum president Bill White, who was tapped to serve as the US ambassador to Belgium. IBM executive and former Department of Homeland Security official Troy Edgar, meanwhile, got the nod to serve as DHS deputy secretary. A Ukrainian crew member stands on a Leopard 1A5 tank near Pokrovsk in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region on December 13. (Roman Pilipey/AFP/Getty Images) The commander of Ukraines eastern Donetsk group of forces has been replaced following Russian advances in the region, a military official said Saturday. General Oleksandr Tarnavskiy would take over as head of the operational and tactical group, replacing General Oleksandr Lutsenko, the official told CNN. The move comes after Lutsenko faced heavy criticism for failing to stop recent Russian advances on the key city of Pokrovsk. Russian forces have been spotted just three kilometers (1.9 miles) from the city, according to Ukrainian mapping service DeepState. Pokrovsk has been the site of some of the fiercest battles on the eastern front for months, as Russia attempts to close in on the city. Lying around 11 miles from Ukraines Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions, it is a strategic target for Moscow. Nearby, Russia claims to be making progress toward this goal. The countrys defense ministry said Sunday that its troops had successfully captured two villages in the Donetsk region, as they advance towards Pokrovsk. The settlements of Veseliy Hai and Pushkino were liberated as a result of active offensive action, the ministry said. The Ukrainian name for the village of Pushkino is Chumatske. Ukrainian authorities have not commented on Russias claims. The fall of Pokrovsk to Russian forces would mark the largest setback for Ukraine in months and compound Ukraines struggles to get off the backfoot while Russian troops pile severe pressure on the eastern front lines. Losing it would also add to the anxiety Ukraines military faces over the looming Donald Trump presidency in the United States, which has raised the risk that military aid from Kyivs largest source could dry up as the grinding conflict approaches its fourth year. Elsewhere in the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that Moscows forces had begun to deploy a significant number of North Korean soldiers in its effort to drive Ukraines army out of Russias Kursk region. Ukraine launched an incursion into Kursk in August and still retains some settlements there. Today, there is already preliminary evidence that the Russians have begun to use soldiers from North Korea in assaults a significant number of them, Zelensky said. The Russians include them in combined units and use them in operations in the Kursk region, Zelensky said, adding there had already been noticeable losses among these soldiers. He added that Ukraine had information that North Korean soldiers may be being used along other parts of the front line. CNNs Billy Stockwell contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com December 14, 2024: In Poland civilian military police and intelligence services have been hunting down Russian operatives based in Belarus responsible for trying to organize a sabotage campaign in NATO nations in Eastern Europe, notably Poland. This is an ongoing Russian effort that is part of a larger intelligence, subversion and assignation effort throughout Europe. Closer to Russia and Ukraine the situation was different. Nations bordering Russia or Ukraine made an extraordinary, in terms of financial cost, effort to assist Ukraine during the first six weeks of the war. For example, tiny Estonia with a population 1.3 million spent about .8 percent of its annual GDP to support Ukraine during those six weeks. Most of the aid went to processing and hosting Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian attacks on their homes. Estonia also contributed some weapons. Estonia has only 6,000 active-duty troops but can mobilize trained reserves for a wartime strength of 60,000. The other two Baltic States, especially southern neighbor Latvia and below that Lithuania, which borders Poland and Belarus, have similar defense policies. Estonia and Latvia border Russia. Poland shares long borders, and history, with Ukraine and Belarus. Poland has a population six times larger than all three Baltic states and spent five times more during those six weeks on Ukrainian aid than all three Baltic states. Poland and the Baltic States know they are next if Russia succeeds in Ukraine. All four of these nations share a distrust of Russia and a long history of Russian aggression and occupation. Before Russia began attacking Ukraine in 2014 Russia had a per capita GDP half that of the Baltic states and Poland, whose economic success after 1991 inspired Ukraine to look to the EU/European Union and NATO rather than domination by Russia. Since the 2022 Russian invasion, the unprecedented economic sanctions have reduced Russian per-capita GDP even further. Ukraine has also suffered economically but knows that if they survive the war with Russia, they can rebuild and achieve a GDP similar to their neighbor Poland, which has about the same population. Every NATO member has somewhat different defense plans but the one thing all have in common is the ancient threat from the Russian Empire. While the larger NATO members, U.S. Britain and France, have nuclear weapons, the smaller ones have to be more creative in dealing with the Russian threat. The smallest and most exposed members of NATO are the three Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Together these three nations have a combined population of only six million. Russia has over 140 million and an increasingly open desire to regain its valuable Baltic territories and other lost, in 1991, portions of the Soviet Union. The Baltic States have long been fought over because, like most coastal areas, the Baltic States were always more prosperous than inland areas because of seaborne trade and fishing, in addition to farms inland. Poland, Sweden and Germany were a threat to what is now the Baltic States over the last thousand years, but since the 1700s another threat has been Russia, and still is. After the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991, many Russian neighbors feared a revival of the traditional Russian aggression and empire building. Poland joined NATO in 1999 and in 2004 Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia did the same, putting parts of the former Soviet Union like Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania within NATO and on Russias border. Many Russians did not like this, for Russian policy since 1945 has been to establish a buffer of subservient and preferably Russian occupied countries between Russia itself and the rest of Western Europe. This attitude is obsolete in a practical sense but old habits die hard. In the 1990s the new post-communist Russian government said it was willing to work with NATO in areas of mutual benefit but that did not work out. Now there is a state of undeclared war between Russia and NATO. These new NATO members are more worried about renewed Russian aggression than the original NATO members like the U.S. and Western Europe. The nations of eastern NATO are asking for more presence by troops from western NATO. Some of the eastern members, especially Poland and the Baltic States, have called for the permanent basing of U.S. troops on their territory. The smaller states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania believe Russia could overrun them in two days and senior NATO military commanders openly agree. Russia considers such talk more evidence of NATO aggression against Russia. The Baltic States have heard this kind of talk from Russia before and want to avoid the usual outcome. All three Baltic States have adopted similar defense plans based on those long used by Switzerland and later Sweden and Israel. This total war mobilization system expects every citizen to be prepared to resist an invader. In the last century this has meant conscription of all able males and even some females for a year or so of training followed by decades of service in a reserve. The Baltic States have eliminated conscription and depend on fear of the Russians to obtain enough volunteers for their active-duty forces and much larger reserve. Beyond that all citizens are constantly reminded of how they can all resist an invader. Russia is the only likely attacker as the Germans, Poles and Swedes have abandoned imperial ambitions. Initially Russia thought they could exploit the Russian minorities in the Baltic State. After independence in 1991 many nations formerly part of the Soviet Union found they had large Russian minorities that they had accumulated during years of Russian occupation. In many of those nations the Russians were not welcome and many went back to Russia. In the Baltic States, Belarus and Ukraine these Russian minorities noted the chaos in Russia and most adapted to their new homeland by learning the local language. This was difficult in Estonia, which was ethnically related to Finland and natives, like those in Hungary, spoke a distinct Central Asian language. Many Russians in Estonia, Finland and Hungary never bothered to do that when Russia was in charge. After 1991 most Russian speakers in these new nations realized learning this difficult language was worth the effort, and Russia found they could not rely on these Russian minorities to support Russian efforts during another attack and occupation. Russia tried to use this angle in Ukraine, but most of the Ukrainian Russians resisted and still do. This often meant leaving Russian occupied portions of Ukraine and later taking up arms to fight the 2022 invasion. A similar thing happened in Belarus, which prevented Russia from persuading Belarus to send troops in Ukraine. Worse, many Belarussians supported Ukraine and sabotaged the Russian war effort. Meanwhile, Poland had become a rear area support base for the Ukrainian military. Before deciding to invade and annex all or portions of these former Soviet territories, Russia tried Cyber War against the more prosperous and affluent former Soviet territories. At the top of this list was Estonia, which was hit by a massive Russian Cyber War attack in 2007. The Estonians withstood the attack despite the temporary damage it did to their economy. This was something a NATO member had never faced before and Estonia pointed out that if there was no NATO response to the Russian attack on Estonia, the Russians would be tempted to try it on other new NATO members in East Europe. This led to a 2010 agreement with NATO to facilitate cooperation between NATO and Estonia if Estonia is hit by another Internet based attack. In 2008, NATO established a Cyber Defense Center in Estonia. This, and the 2010 agreement, was a result of being called on by Estonia, in 2007, to declare Cyber War on Russia. That was because Russia was accused of causing great financial harm to Estonia via Cyber War attacks, and Estonia wanted this sort of thing declared terrorism, and dealt with. NATO agreed to discuss the issue, but never took any action against Russia. The new agreement creates a legal framework for striking back, or at least to defend Estonia more vigorously if there is another attack. Since the 2010 agreement the internet war between NATO and Russia continues quietly, in the shadows. Its mainly about espionage and intelligence collection. Unless someone carries out a spectacular operation, like the ones Estonia endured, the general public never notices. Besides, since 2007 their have been substantial improvements in internet security. Most NATO members, especially the ones farther away from Russia, did not believe Russia would risk invading a NATO member. The attitude began to change in 2014 when Russia suddenly seized and annexed Crimea, which was part of Ukraine but contained many non-Ukrainians. Months later Russia tried to do the same to two provinces in eastern Ukraine called the Donbas, but that was only partially successful because of a prompt and unexpected Ukrainian response. Russia justified these actions to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and the EU/European Union. The new NATO members pointed out Russia was not quitting and their military threat was going to escalate. The original NATO members were not convinced and thought Russia would be deterred by some economic sanctions. That was proved wrong in 2022 when Russia attempted to take all of Ukraine by force. Suddenly the fears of the new NATO members were recognized as prophetic rather than alarmist. The Baltic States prepared for war and former neutral nations Finland and Sweden, applied for NATO membership. Ukraine became an informal NATO member and received substantial military, economic and diplomatic support in their fight against Russia. Israel wasted no time after Bashar al-Assads fall to bomb all the Syrian military assets it wanted to keep out of the rebels hands striking nearly 500 targets, destroying the navy, and taking out, it claims, 90% of Syrias known surface-to-air missiles. But it is Israels capture of Syrias highest peak, the Mount Hermon summit, that may prove among the most lasting prizes though officials have insisted that its occupation is temporary. This is the highest place in the region, looking upon Lebanon, upon Syria, Israel, said Efraim Inbar, director of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS). Its strategically extremely important. There is no substitute for mountains. The summit of Mount Hermon lies in Syria, in a buffer zone that separated Israeli and Syrian forces for fifty years until last weekend, when Israeli troops took control of it. Until Sunday, the summit was demilitarized and patrolled by UN peacekeepers their highest permanent position in the world. Israels defense minister, Israel Katz, on Friday ordered the military to prepare for the harsh conditions of winter deployment. Due to developments in Syria, it is of immense security importance to maintain our control over the summit of Mount Hermon, he said in a statement. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has advanced beyond the summit, as far as Beqaasem, about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) from the Syrian capital, according to Voice of the Capital, a Syrian activist group. CNN could not independently confirm that claim. An Israeli military spokesperson this week denied that forces were advancing toward Damascus. Israeli artillery on Mount Hermon in 1974. - Alain Dejean/Sygma/Getty Images Israel captured the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau in southwestern Syria that abuts Mount Hermon, in the 1967 war and has occupied it since. Syria attempted to retake the territory in a surprise attack in 1973, but failed, and Israel annexed it in 1981. The occupation is illegal under international law, but the United States recognized Israels claim on the Golan during the Trump administration. Israel has for decades held some lower slopes of Mount Hermon, and even operates a ski resort there, but the peak remained in Syria proper. We have no intention to intervene in Syrias internal affairs, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video days after Israel bombed hundreds of Syrian targets and seized the demilitarized buffer zone. But we certainly intend to do everything necessary to take care of our security. Mount Hermons summit is a tremendous asset under Israels control. At 9,232 feet (2,814 meters), it is higher than any point in Syria or Israel, and second to only one peak in Lebanon. People sometimes say in the age of missiles, land is not important its simply untrue, Inbar said. In an academic paper published in 2011, he wrote of the many advantages presented by Mount Hermon. It enables the use of electronic surveillance deep into Syrian territory, giving Israel early-warning capacity in case of an impending attack, he wrote. Advanced technological alternatives like airborne surveillance, he argued, was simply not comparable. In contrast to an installation on a mountain, these cannot carry heavy equipment such as big antennas, and they can be shot down by anti-air missiles. Israeli military forces on Mount Hermon on Sunday. - Social Media The peak is just over 35 kilometers (about 22 miles) from Damascus, which means that control of its Syrian foothills also now in IDF hands put the Syrian capital within range for artillery cannons. The Syrian rebel leader Mohammad al-Jolani on Saturday accused Israel of crossing the lines of engagement with its actions in Syria, while a group of the countrys neighbors called on Israel to withdraw its forces from all Syrian territories. After meeting in Aqaba with officials from Turkey, Iraq, Egypt, and the European Commission, Jordans Deputy Prime Minister Ayman Safadi accused Israel of trying to exploit a power vacuum in Syria. Safadi warned that the countrys stability was a pillar of the regions security and that if Israel did not respect Syrian sovereignty it risked an explosion of the situation. Israels Netanyahu, meanwhile, has insisted his hand is extended to the new government in Syria. But in the post-October 7 world, he and other national security heavyweights have made clear they are not going to take any chances. Mostly, its a comfort for us, retired Brigadier General Israel Ziv said of Israels operations in Syria. We have learned what happened in other countries when you have a terror organization that captures military equipment. Netanyahu has also insisted that the occupation is temporary. Israel will not permit jihadi groups to fill that vacuum and threaten Israeli communities on the Golan Heights with October 7 style attacks, he said. His criteria for withdrawing, he said, was a Syrian force that is committed to the 1974 agreement can be established and security on our border can be guaranteed. It is unclear when that may be achieved. Whether the military withdraws is a political decision, Inbar said. The military would love to stay there. Mike Schwartz and Tim Lister contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Buy bank stocks! That's the overwhelming consensus among strategists heading into 2025. Notable names including Bank of Americas Savita Subramanian, BMOs Brian Belski, and Wells Fargos Chris Harvey are among the bulls for financial stocks. The catalysts are clear: a strong economy, expectations of deregulation under President-elect Donald Trump, attractive valuations, and lower interest rates. Harvey recently emphasized the sectors attractive pricing in a note to clients, writing that money managers finally need to pay attention to the space, while Belski wrote in his 2025 outlook that financials remain "drastically unloved despite strong earnings growth expectations and compelling valuations. The market is already starting to reflect that optimism. The financials sector fund (XLF) has soared following President-elect Donald Trumps victory last month. Its among the top-performing sectors, climbing nearly 7% since Nov. 5 outperforming the broader S&P 500 benchmark. There's about $7 trillion sitting in cash money market funds thats starting to make its way into the market. It's starting in fixed income and it may extend into equities," Alex Blostein, senior analyst for Goldman Sachss Global Investment Research, told me on Yahoo Finances Catalyst earlier this week. All of these things seem to be really bullish for financials into 2025. The upbeat sentiment isnt limited to strategists and analysts were hearing it from big bank leaders too. Bank of America (BAC) CEO Brian Moynihan told Yahoo Finances Brian Sozzi at last months Invest conference that hes confident in the US economy under Trumps leadership and expects the administration to "hit the ground running." StockStory aims to help individual investors beat the market. Executives from JPMorgan (JPM) and Goldman Sachs (GS) expressed similar optimism at Goldman Sachs Financial Services conference this past week. Goldman Sachs CFO Denis Coleman said hes seeing elevated levels of optimism heading into 2025, while JPMorgans Consumer & Community Banking CEO Marianne Lake projected a surge in investment banking fees. The intensity of our client dialogues is accelerating. There is certainly elevated confidence with CEOs and clients that there could be more by way of larger-scale transactions, more strategic activity that could take place, Coleman said at the event. The gradual recovery in the IPO market is viewed as another tailwind. While activity remains well below peak 2021 levels, the pace of public debuts is picking up. Since the start of the year, 158 companies have gone public in the US via a traditional IPO a 35% jump compared to 2023, according to Dealogic data. Its a trend thats expected to pick up pace next year, as a better economy and lower-rate environment are expected to lure companies off the sidelines. This weeks strong public debut for software company ServiceTitan (TTAN), whose shares soared over 40% in its first day of trade, adds to the bullish sentiment. Theres legs to financials, Wall Street Alliance Groups Aadil Zaman told me on Morning Brief. Fed terminal rate will drop, and banks will benefit from greater investment banking activity. Jake Manoukian, US Head of Investment Strategy for JPMorgan Private Bank, told me his team is looking toward the financials sector and asset management industry for their 2025 portfolio. There's a clear sense that this will be a friendlier administration to Wall Street and to dealmaking activity, Manoukian said. There's precedence for the sky-high enthusiasm. Financials have long been viewed as a top trade under Republican administrations due to expectations for looser regulation creating a more favorable environment for banks and dealmaking. Seana Smith is an anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Smith on Twitter @SeanaNSmith. Tips on deals, mergers, activist situations, or anything else? Email seanasmith@yahooinc.com. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Champion local news. Join our community of readers who value daily beat reporting and in-depth stories alike. Your membership allows us to continue the legacy of local, independent journalism in the Roaring Fork Valley. With your support, we can remain a free and accessible source of news for everyone, always without paywalls or corporate influence. Together, we can ensure that vital local stories are told. 15 December 2024 14:05 (UTC+04:00) As a result of a joint operation, the National Police and the Security Service of Ukraine detained Ruben Voskanian, an Armenian national who committed a terrorist act in the city of Dnipro. As reported by Azernews, citing Ukrainian media sources, Ruben Voskanian, who was accused of spying for Russia, was found to be the author of the terrorist act committed at the military commissariats. It should be noted that one person was killed and two others, including two police officers, were injured in the explosion. 15 December 2024 15:14 (UTC+04:00) Elnur Enveroglu Read more In recent days, the Biden administration, in addition to making serious political blunders, has also begun to take inadequate steps regarding Azerbaijan. The fact that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized Azerbaijan in his latest statement in a biased manner and went so far as to damage relations between the two states generally indicates the wrong policy of the Democrats. It is no coincidence that all this has not gone unnoticed by experts observing the region from abroad. Many experts state in their comments that the Democrats, who are living their last days in the United States, are taking such steps to spoil all relations. In general, the Biden administration is marking the culmination of its failure over the past four years. "The recent statement issued by outgoing feckless Secretary of State Antony Blinken accusing Azerbaijan of a crackdown on media and civil society is the perfect illustration of how confrontational Bidens Foreign Policy has been in the past four years. It is unlike any other previous US administration - democrats have demonstrated how biased, confrontational belligerent, and immoral they have become in defending Americas interests abroad." Peter Tase, the American political commentator and independent analyst said in an interview with Azernews following US State Secretary Antony Blinkens recent biased statement against Azerbaijan. He added that under Blinkens leadership, Americas credibility and image have rapidly descended into abysmal levels. Joe Bidens four brutal years of weaponizing the Department of Justice (turning it into a genuine Cheka) to ruthlessly punish (without any evidence whatsoever) the presidential candidate Donald J. Trump is nothing short of a disgrace and shameful. Peter Tase said progress in US-Azerbaijan relations is much more promising under Trumps leadership as this might bring a fresh atmosphere to the South Caucasus and beyond. The strategic partnership between the Republic of Turkiye and the United States is the bedrock of successful bilateral cooperation between Baku and Washington. The incoming Trump - Vance administration will particularly focus on strengthening its partnership and economic dialogue with Ankara and Baku. The nomination by President Donald Trump of Marco Rubio as the 72nd United States Secretary of State is a historic moment in the execution of American foreign policy in Eurasia. There are some like Richard Haass who argue, Turkey may be an ally, but it is not a partner; the truth of the matter is that Turkiye is Washingtons most important partner in Eurasia and within the NATO. After taking the oath of office, Marco Rubio will embark on his first official visit abroad as Secretary of State to Turkiye and is expected to conduct an official visit to Baku during his first year in office, the analyst said. According to Tase, contrary to the deeply polarized Biden-Harris administration that has left profound blunders and a hostile environment in Washington, Mr. Rubio and his right hand, Christopher Landau, will particularly focus on strengthening the alliances with Baku - Azerbaijan, and with Turkiye, Eurasias main source of balance of power. Besides, Washington will further improve its bilateral partnership with Ankara, as other stakeholders with massive geopolitical gambits, are jeopardizing regional security and maritime commercial corridors. As regards the outgoing Biden administrations recent stance towards Baku, and claims about political prisoners Peter Tase emphasised that the administration wants to harm the long-time existing relations between Baku and Washington. Blinkens inflammatory remarks against Azerbaijan and calling for the release of criminals: Rufat Safarov and Sevinj Vagifgizi, is a futile attempt to divert the public attention from the dirty business dealings conducted by Bidens henchmen with warmongering actors in Europe. The administration wants to cover the recent flagrant pardon of Hunter Biden (a dangerous individual addicted to prostitution and drug use) by his own father who happens to be the President of the United States. According to him, Washington must establish a great level of dialogue and political cooperation with Baku and Ankara, in order to ensure a more peaceful and prosperous environment in the highly competitive, sensitive, and fragile Transatlantic community and geopolitical landscape. 15 December 2024 13:04 (UTC+04:00) The next meeting of the Public Council under the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan was held, Azernews reports. The meeting of the Council, which was held at the Republican Youth Library named after Jafar Jabbarli, was also attended by Deputy Minister of Culture Farid Jafarov and Deputy Director of the Ministry's Scientific-Methodological and Advanced Training Center for Culture Seymur Huseynov. The Chairman of the Public Council, Academician Nizami Jafarov, provided information on the activities carried out over the past period, the preparation of the annual report, and other current issues ahead. In their speeches, Deputy Chairmen of the Public Council, Akbar Goshali and Vugar Gadirov, emphasized the importance of organizing public hearings in all regions where public hearings have not been held so far, and also expressed their views on a number of issues that need to be resolved. At the meeting, Council members - Honored Art Worker Ayaz Salayev, Khanoglan Ahmadov, and Samira Mustafayeva - spoke about the appeals made to the Council, the problems raised, initiatives, and proposals. Deputy Minister Farid Jafarov spoke at the end of the meeting and expressed his views on the issues touched upon in the speeches, the problems raised, and the proposals put forward. 15 December 2024 17:26 (UTC+04:00) Today, the Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Board (CMB), Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazadeh, met with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary of the Holy See for Relations with States and International Organizations, Azernews reports. During the meeting, the Sheikh-ul-Islam spoke about Azerbaijan-Vatican relations and said that these relations, founded by Heydar Aliyev, are gradually deepening. "The high level of Azerbaijan-Vatican relations, founded by Great Leader Heydar Aliyev, continued by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and developed through the efforts of First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva, makes us extremely pleased. The apostolic visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to Azerbaijan in 2016, the sincere meeting with religious denominations in the Heydar Mosque, our visit to the Vatican in 2022, and the reception by His Holiness the Pope are also of great value for the leaders of religious denominations in Azerbaijan," the Chairman of the CMB emphasized. Drawing attention to the religious activity of our country in the post-war period, the Chairman of the CMB noted that the restoration of mosques and churches destroyed during the enemy occupation is currently being carried out by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, headed by First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva: "If you have the opportunity to visit Free Karabakh, you can get acquainted with the work carried out by our state on the restoration and protection of religious and spiritual heritage in our territories that have been subjected to culturicide. For example, along with all other temples, in the central part of the capital Baku, as well as in Karabakh, in the city of Shusha, along with mosques and other temples, the repair and protection of the Armenian church, as well as the ancient Albanian Apostolic churches, is being carried out by our state." Then, Paul Richard Gallagher spoke about the growing Azerbaijan-Vatican relations as a result of targeted measures implemented under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, and expressed his satisfaction with these relations, speaking about the tolerance of the Azerbaijani people towards different religions. The meeting continued with an official reception. 15 December 2024 11:07 (UTC+04:00) The United Nations General Assembly passed two key resolutions yesterday with majority support, reaffirming the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Azernews reports, citing middleeastmonitor that the resolution titled Supporting the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East garnered 159 votes in favour, with nine countries opposing and 11 abstaining. Meanwhile, the resolution Demand for ceasefire in Gaza was backed by 158 countries, with nine objections and 13 abstentions. Argentina, Israel and the US were among the countries that voted against both resolutions. In response, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates expressed gratitude to the nations that sponsored, supported and voted for the resolutions. It emphasised that this support underscores a commitment to the United Nations Charter, principles of justice, human rights and international law. The ministry highlighted that the renewed backing for UNRWA sends a strong message about the agencys critical role in delivering essential services to Palestinian refugees, safeguarding their rights, and promoting regional stability. That resolution demands that Israel respect UNRWAs mandate and calls on the Israeli government to abide by its international obligations, respect the privileges and immunities of UNRWA and uphold its responsibility to allow and facilitate full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance in all its forms into and throughout the entire Gaza Strip. The votes followed two days of speeches at the United Nations, where speakers called for an end to Israels ongoing military onslaught in Gaza, which has killed over 44,800 people, mostly women and children, and now faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its war on Gaza, which has claimed the lives of more than 44,800 Palestinians, predominantly women and children, and injured over 106,200 others. 15 December 2024 13:33 (UTC+04:00) The fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria has evoked deep concern in India, prompting India to respond cautiously to the rapidly changing events in the region. In its first statement after Assads ouster, Indias Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) called on all parties to work towards preserving the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria and for a peaceful and inclusive Syrian-led political process respecting the interests and aspirations of all sections of Syrian society. New Delhi refrained from taking sides in the unfolding situation in Syria. Indias immediate concern is the safety of its nationals in the country. According to the MEA, there are around 90 Indians in Syria. We are closely following the situation, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, adding that the Indian mission remains in close contact with our nationals for their safety and security. Besides, for India, the upheaval in Syria marks the loss of what analysts call a crucial Islamic voice of support on one of its thorniest issues: Kashmir. While New Delhi has long maintained that the Kashmir dispute is a bilateral matter between itself and Pakistan, Syrias consistent backing at the United Nations and elsewhere was seen as a quiet but significant win. This voice of support from within the Arab Islamic world was important, said Kabir Taneja, a Middle East expert and deputy director at the Observer Research Foundation think tank in Delhi. Under Bashar al-Assad, Syria had repeatedly affirmed that Kashmir was an internal matter for India to settle itself without outside interference. Now, with Assad gone, the future of that support is uncertain. Opposition forces seized the Syrian capital last weekend, forcing Assad to flee and ending his familys decades-long rule over a country that had been torn apart by a civil war that killed over half a million people and displaced millions more. The dramatic turn of events took Delhi by surprise, according to Indian media reports. India had hosted a delegation of Syrian officials just weeks before. December 15, 2024: South Korea is currently undergoing a political crisis that involves President Yoon Suk Yeolan, an unpopular president who tried to impose martial law to deal with protests against him. Trying to use martial law failed, made South Koreans even angrier at their president, and they now want to impeach him. Yoons nickname is gyong, which translates as tough guy or manager. Yoons former profession was that of criminal prosecutor, and he played a role in removing two other South Korean presidents. South Korea has had 13 presidents since the end of the Korean War in 1953, of whom nine have been forced out of office by impeachment or threats of impeachment, assassination and military coup. In December the current president was threatened with impeachment. South Korea is not a particularly corrupt or tumultuous country. The annual Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index rates as the 32nd least corrupt nation among the 180 countries examined. A distinctive feature if South Korean culture is intolerance of bad behavior by presidents, though some actions that would get a South Korean president kicked out of office would not even happen in most other industrialized democratic nations. Most other democracies are more tolerant of presidents or prime ministers who are found to have kin or friends that are engaged in corruption. Such corruption is embarrassing and generally criticized but South Korea is one of the few nations that demands their president be removed from office. Meanwhile, South Korea has other thigs to worry about. For example, the dictatorship in North Korea is selling Cold War era weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine. South Korea is selling quantities of modern weapons to a growing number of export customers who want, and can afford, the best. Export sales in 2021 were $7.3 billion but the Ukraine War caused that to spike to $17 billion in 2022 and $20 billion in 2023. Sales have expanded so quickly that South Korea had to obtain additional financing because import-export banks hit mandatory limits on how much they could do to facilitate arms exports from one country in a single year. South Korea has profited from this because NATO nations bordering Ukraine or Russia have dramatically increased defense spending and purchased nearly $15 billion worth of South Korea weapons and munitions so far. South Korea produces a lot more military weapons and equipment than the North and it is of the highest quality. South Korea based its weapons on what the Americans were offering but added additional features that made their weapons more attractive to export customers. This included lower prices. One side effect is that, once Poland receives all the South Korean tanks, mobile artillery and guided or unguided rocket launchers from South Korea, they will have the most powerful army in European NATO. This is to discourage any Russian attacks on Poland or any other NATO nation in the area. Because of all these new export customers, South Korea is on track to depose China from its current position as the fourth largest arms exporter. While South Korea is relatively lacking when it comes to corruption, such is not the case in North Korea, where such misbehavior is becoming more common and flagrant. Even government officials are stealing from the government with a sense of impunity, which is not quite justified. Thieving officials who are flagrant or defiant are sometimes arrested and executed. Most of the time they can bribe their way out or call on more powerful officials to protect them. That is changing as the bribes demanded are increasing, often to levels the guilty officials cannot pay. Senior officials willing to bail out a subordinate are less likely to do so. The cost of everything is going up, including how much it costs for corrupt officials to stay alive. The Chinese government has become more aggressive in detecting and disrupting this smuggling. This is not just to reduce gangster activity in China, but also to assist Chinese foreign policy. Chinese diplomats can let it be known that they can do something about halting or providing smuggling capabilities to other nations. Then there is the issue of South Korean attitudes. South Korea has become an economic powerhouse and one of the top ten economies in the world. Because of that South Korea has more friends and trading partners in East Asia than Russia does. South Korea has the wealth and technical skill to build nuclear weapons and reliable ones at that. Russia believes that offending South Korea is a bad idea while disappointing North Korea creates no new problems. Then there are the earlier South Korea efforts to keep nuclear weapons out of the Korean peninsula. The Americans have already taken the lead in this. In 1991 the United States withdrew all its nuclear warheads from South Korea and managed to get the two Koreas to agree not to develop and deploy nuclear weapons. This included both Koreas signing the NPT/Non-Proliferation Treaty. North Korea went ahead and developed nuclear weapons anyway, even though it was obvious that South Korea could do the same and produce more reliable nuclear warheads and more effective submarines to launch them from. When North Korea violated the agreement, South Korea went ahead and produced SLBMs/Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles with conventional warheads launched from South Korean designed and built submarines. Since 2014 South Korea has been building nine 3,300-ton KSS-III submarines, each able to carry six or ten locally developed SLBM ballistic or cruise missiles with a range of up to 3,000 kilometers. North Korea realized they could not develop and build anything similar. South Korea now has a growing fleet of locally built submarines that can carry ballistic or cruise missiles. Most South Koreans now approve of building nuclear warheads, just in case North Korea foolishly makes a serious threat to use such missiles against South Korea or any other country. This made North Korea realize that the economically more powerful and technically more accomplished south not only can outproduce the north when it comes to any type of weapon, but has actually done so many times and is now a major producer and exporter of modern weapons. South Korea is not impressed with North Korean threats to attack them with devastating effect. The north can attack, but the south can retaliate with far greater destructive force. That is why the north continues to issue threats that South Korea ignores. The South Korean economy continues to grow while the North Korea economic growth is stalled. In terms of GDP per capita, the South Korean economy is 20 times the size of North Koreas. North Korea insists it has no economic problems, but quietly accepts any opportunities to change that. Selling weapons to Russia for their war in Ukraine is one of those opportunities and North Korea is making the most of it. Recent arms exports to Russia were considered newsworthy because of the War in Ukraine where Russian troops desperately need additional weapons. That brought attention to the fact that North Korea exports a lot of weapons to countries all over the world. These are usually weapons for outlaw nations or rebels. North Korea will sell to whoever can pay. There are no guarantees that the weapons will work. Often they dont, as Russia has learned. Major clients include countries under sanctions or simply seeking weapons from a supplier who does not question what the weapons will be used for. This includes nations like Iran, Syria, Egypt and Qatar. Egypt and Qatar are banned from obtaining certain types of weapons. North Korea does not ban anyone who can pay, including the costs of smuggling in the weapons. This includes what North Korea must pay to Chinese smugglers who can hide the weapons shipments in legitimate ship cargoes and get most of these concealed weapons delivered. Some shipments have been discovered, which is why so much is known about the Chinese involvement. North Korea has not been hiding its increased trade with Russia. North Korea is sending weapons and Russia is paying for it with food shipments that are now arriving by train. The government wants the North Korean people to know that the chronic food shortage problem is being addressed because of increased weapons exports to Russia. This also means more work for some North Korean factories that produce weapons. What is not mentioned is that Russia is losing their war in Ukraine and the severe economic sanctions imposed on Russia are having an impact on the Russian economy. This means that buying weapons from North Korea is a temporary measure. The food imports from Russia have not yet had an impact on North Korean food prices, which are still rising. 15 December 2024 18:32 (UTC+04:00) Top Israeli Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef has called for unemployed Israelis not to join the army amid anger over the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews, according to Anadolu. "Even an idle person should not join the army," Yosef, the spiritual leader of the Shas Party, a key ally in the Israeli government, said in statements carried by Israeli Channel 13. He said that religious school students went to the army and were ruined. They all became secular. The Shas and United Torah Judaism parties, which represent religious Jews in the government, have long pushed for exemptions from military service for the ultra-Orthodox Jews, or Haredi. The Haredi say that their primary role in life is to study the Torah and reject military service, despite a ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court in June that mandated conscription for them, similar to other Israelis. 15 December 2024 20:33 (UTC+04:00) Turkiye is ready to provide military support to Syrias new government set up by rebels who overthrew Bashar al-Assad if it requests it, Defence Minister Yasar Guler said on Sunday. He said the new leadership should be given a chance and that Turkiye was ready to provide the necessary support if needed, in remarks reported by state news agency Anadolu and other Turkish media outlets. It is necessary to see what the new administration will do. We think it is necessary to give them a chance, Guler said of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebel alliance, which is rooted in Al-Qaedas Syria branch and designated a terrorist organisation by many Western governments. HTS has sought to moderate its rhetoric and its transitional government has insisted the rights of all Syrians would be protected along with the rule of law. We have military training and cooperation agreements with many countries. We are ready to provide the necessary support if the new administration requests it, the Turkish defence minister said, without specifying what might be provided. 15 December 2024 23:42 (UTC+04:00) A senior UN aid official called Friday for inclusive governance, the rule of law, and robust humanitarian measures to steer Syria toward a stable transition. Adam Abdelmoula, the UN Assistant Secretary-General and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria emphasized the critical need for unity, humanitarian assistance, and reconstruction in the wake of the Assad regimes fall. He urged the global community to support Syria as it takes its first steps toward political transition and stressed its importance in shaping the countrys future. Abdelmoula emphasized the importance of preserving evidence and respecting fundamental legal standards in the pursuit of justice and reconciliation. He expressed particular concern for the fate of documents and possible mass graves linked to the former regimes suspected crimes against humanity. Preserving these sites is crucial, he noted, for any future transitional justice mechanisms that will likely involve both domestic and international legal frameworks. He added, Im very, very, very worried that many of these places will be ransacked by the rebel forces. Abdelmoula cautioned that unchecked humanitarian suffering could lead to renewed instability, creating fertile ground for extremist groups, including ISIL, to re-establish footholds. Restoring public order and ensuring basic services, he argued, are not only urgent humanitarian priorities but also legal and ethical imperatives that align with international standards. Appealing to foreign governments and the international community to support a comprehensive reconstruction strategy, Abdelmoula made the point that reconstruction efforts must balance humanitarian needs, compliance with human rights obligations, and the pursuit of future accountability processes. The stability of Syria will benefit everyone not only the sub-region but the entire world, said Abdelmoula. While acknowledging ongoing security incidents such as the Israeli air strikes, inter-factional clashes, and instability in border areas, Abdelmoula remained hopeful adding, that now is an opportunity for all of those external actors to contribute towards the stability of Syria that will benefit everyone. By Ned Barrett in The American Thinker Here is an unintentional consequence of Luigi Mangiones assassination murder of the CEO of United Healthcare in the streets of Manhattan. There will be a quick rush of CEOs demanding and getting teams of bodyguards. They will think not without a certain logic as the fan base of Mangione groupies will likely spawn at least a few other Mangione clones. These sick sycophants will seek their own brand of justice against some aggrieved corporation. If it can happen to a health insurance CEO the others in that industry will swiftly move to get the best security guards money can buy. They will rightly see themselves as targets, because a lot of people hate insurance companies. But soon it will spread. Having security guards will be justified as a necessary perk for CEOs, not just at health insurance companies, but at all companies including those who dont normally attract a lot of hatred. But where do you draw the line? And, with the example of Mangione, who can say that, no, our CEO isnt a target. What Board would take the risk, since even an expensive security team is barely a rounding error on major corporations balance sheets? But soon and amazingly soon having a security team will be seen as a status symbol for CEOs, starting with massive companies like United Healthcare, then very large corporations, then just large corporations. How far down this will go is anybodys guess, but it will happen, and quickly. It may have already begun, though if so, its not happening enough to be seen as a trend. Not yet, but soon. Then this process will be repeated for really large non-for-profit organizations. You may recall that, after 911, the Red Cross was found to be taking all the many donations they received to channel on to families who lost someone when the twin towers fell. All Americans or so it seemed wanted to help. I saw groups of young people holding bake sales in the Kroger parking lot, raising money to send to the families, but who would know them but the Red Cross. Right. Well, it turned out that the Red Cross had a massive slush fund already in place for massive disasters, so their CEO decided to direct the donations into building up an even larger organizational slush fund. CEO Dr. Bernadine Healy, president since 1999, appealed nationally for donations to help survivors and the families of those killed. In short order, they raised $543 million. The Red Cross had promised that all of those funds would be go to the victims families. However, the Red Cross a Congressional hearing later uncovered held back two thirds of those funds for other Red Cross needs. Healy was forced to resign once Congress had uncovered such a massive cover-up. Her replacement, not wanting to be tarred with that same brush, made good on the $543 million donated to the families years before. Does a day late and a dollar short mean anything? As someone who was horrified by 9/11, I assumed that the funds raised by kids bake sales and church collections and thousands other ways that people contributed to the Red Cross, confident that the funds would get to the victims and fast, when theyd need it most. And like those millions of people who did their part, when I heard what the Red Cross did, I felt betrayed and never gave to them again, even though I worked in the healthcare field and knew that they managed the nations largest blood bank. Some of those betrayed people, Mangione-style, might feel that the Red Cross president, twenty-five years after 9/11, might make a good target. So they will or should be among the first non-profit to get a security guard team for their CEO. This or something like it, will lead to the same process in the non-profit world as I predict will happen in the for-profit world. For some like the Red Cross they have real sins that might only be exonerated by death, at least in the whacked-out mind of Mangione-clones. There are many unsavory non-profits which spawn anger, but what can you do? Now the nut-cases know they have a role model. But they wont be the only ones who will soon get security guards. The next group will do so at government expense. Some, such as Kamala Harris in her days as a California Senator, already have, having illegally dragooned the Los Angeles Police Department into that role for prestige purposes. In our heated election cycle, with Trump supporters being cast out of liberal families, and I imagine, the reverse happening as well, though the media hasnt covered it will soon suggest to members of Congress that they arent all that well-respected by large sections of the public. Including, to be sure, some proto-Mangiones out there. However, unable to go to the Board Chair for relief, they can just vote themselves tidy personal security programs, and by paying top dollar, they could assume to get the best in the market. They wouldnt be wrong. But heres where a supply-and-demand problem will arise. There are only so many professional bodyguards currently working in America presumably enough to meet the demand, with perhaps a few extra who are between positions. However, suddenly, almost overnight, the demand for professional bodyguards will vastly outdistance the supply. Salaries will law of supply and demand skyrocket. The highest bidders Congress, the very largest corporations, and a few of the largest and most unpopular non-profits, like the Red Cross will pay whatever it takes to get the best. At some point, fairly early into this radical transformation of a fairly small industry, the supply will be exhausted. But with demand growing, not stabilizing, the rest of the security guards will be large men pug-uglies who look intimidating in suits while not having a clue what it takes to be a real security guard. Would such a guard deter Mangione? Unlikely, and since he struck from behind, while amateur security guards will almost certainly look toward where theyre going instead of where theyve been, very unlikely. Other motivated proto-Mangiones will mostly get through, ironically creating an even greater demand for security guards, driving up prices for not just the best, but with all the rest, too. I am not a Nostradamus, but my career has been largely focused on identifying trends ahead of the completion, and because I worked in the hospital field, anyone with an unsatisfactory outcome might decide he now knows how he can complain to about a bad outcome or an outrageous hospital bill. So yes, I think this can, and most likely will, happen, and quickly. If I was the CEO of another very large insurance company and arent they all? Id have already started the process. I dont want to die just because someone had a grudge against my company. Would you? Ned Barnett, a frequent contributor to American Thinker dating back to 2006, spent his career in the hospital side of healthcare for more than 25 years, and used that experience to write his first ten books. He now works with other authors, helping them to write their books as a ghostwriter, or helping them to market, promote and sell their books. His next book for authors is Write Now! How to Market, Promote and Sell Your Book. Its scheduled to come out in 2025. Ned can be reached at nedbarnett51@gmail.com or 702-561-1167. Reader Comments: Martha Troyer I agree with the author. I lay the blame on Democrat Policies, like the Affordable Care Act. I discussed the sorry plight of Health Care with a young Nurse raised during the catastrophic aftermath of the AFA. She hopes for a Health Care system similar to Canada's. I stopped discussing her opinions and sharing my opinions. The Nurse had "researched" health care after WWii. She never mentioned the AFA and how it made health care so expensive and less attractive to private doctors. It is the AFA that brought about the murder of the United Health Care CEO. Insurance leaders/lobbyists supported the AFA. It was a cash cow and limited competition in the medical/insurance playing field. The author is correct. Government bureaucracies create simmering hatred by uninformed citizens. Media stirs the pot. Nutherguy You are correct. The ACA dramatically accelerated the trend to 'somebody else pays' routine care and provided the first essential dose of 'but somebody else decides what care you can have' at the same time. We are getting exactly what our Congress voted for. And if your nurse acquaintance gets what she wants we will go on to even more expensive care and to 'free' assisted suicide and euthanasia ... just this morning I think one of the headlines is that's now the cause of 5% of deaths in Canada. If it's free and to a great extent even if there's no competition then euthanasia is the only answer because individual health consumers have no incentive (and often almost no way) to economize on care. John The Deplorable And if your nurse acquaintance gets what she wants we will go on to even more expensive care . . . And long waiting lines. There's a reason that Canadians who can afford it come to the USA for medical services. Diana Connan Forgy Yesterday's Babylon Bee had a piece featuring a worried-looking Obama saying, "'Now Now, Let's Not Be So Hasty To Find And Assassinate Everyone Responsible For The Healthcare Crisis,' Says Nervous Obama". He would be very nervous about this if he had the slightest amount of self-awareness, but he would probably never realize that the face he sees in the mirror is the man most responsible for our struggling healthcare system. chuck As more and more comes out about Mangione and the murder, there doesn't seem to be any connection between him and the CEO that caused his misery other than being a prominent figure. Totally useless waste of a human life that only a leftist could love. Diana Connan Forgy Mangione looks quite mad, in addition to arrogant and obnoxious. One has to wonder if he suffers from some mental illness -- or rather, if everyone around him suffers from it. He'll probably get off with a sentence to a hospital for the criminally insane and will talk his way out of it in no time. Nutherguy Well, he made a ton of money while he was alive so I'm sure his family thought he was useful. chuck After reading my paragraph I was totally unclear. My point was only a leftist would love the useless murder of the CEO. John The Deplorablecchuck I saw your original meaning. Bob Wilson Well, simple solution to the bodyguard shortage...hire all those illegal aliens...the Left will tell Trump that there are not enough Americans available to do the job. Diana Connan Forgy Things never change. In ancient Rome people of some but not great prominence -- businesses men, for example -- would hire gladiators to escort them around. Were the gladiators competent as bodyguards? Not if you compare them with the Emperor's praetorian guard, but they were probably intimidating to the average street thug, at least. DAVID J CASTELLI I can see more BS lies from wall st coming next Quarter. We missed our bottom line because our security costs went up 50 million $......... Nutherguy I'd bet on the CEOs of the NGOs that have been supporting, flying in and distributing the illegal migrants. These companies have been under the radar but they are known and they make very good money from our tax dollars. John The Deplorable The Left, with its Defund the Police movement wants to go to various community services. Plenty of people there. What could go wrong? Patricia Kunz Let the left focus on services. Defund the Police policies could spur trained police officers to join the private sector, as bodyguards. Soon those cities won't have a police department at all. And the former officers will be well-paid in their new field. John The Deplorable Especially if the departing are eligible for a pension. Nutherguy Yep ... That's the downstream from dramatic increases in the demand for private security services. donald b welch subway riders also as they begin to realize that men aren't as stupid as they have been lead to believe. buck up ladies. gafferguy Hey Ned, yeah, youse gonna need a bodyguard. Lotsa folks out there can't stand blather. Keep it up. Many conservatives have already fgured out that Google is not our friend and to always use Google alternatives. Its search engine is censored of much conservative content. It's advertising arm is noted for failing to run conservative ads it has accepted payment for. Since it bought YouTube, censorship there has been appalling. It's email service is notorious for blocking emails from conservatives. And on top of that it invades your privacy by selling your data. Now "woke" Google has gone full Bud Lite in a woke ad featuring a man pretending to be a woman. https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/12/google-goes-fully-woke-new-christmas-ad-sparking/ It is easy enough to avoid Google. There are lots of other email providers. There are other search engines which don't censor and are privacy based where they do not sell your data like BraveSearch and DuckDuckGo. Even Microsoft's Bing is a step above Google on censorship and privacy in its search engine. Want an Android phone? There are at least five alternative operating systems that delete all the Google functions and replace then with privacy-oriented providers. Go on eBay and search for "de-Googled smart phone" and you will find lots available. If you already have an Android phone, you can also find new operating systems you can install on your existing phone. https://www.reddit.com/r/degoogle/comments/x9f766/is_degoogling_possible_on_an_android_phone/?rdt=51759 It is way past time for all conservatives to "Just say NO to Google". David Lubarsky, MD, is set to join Valhalla, N.Y.-based Westchester Medical Center Health Network as CEO in February. He currently serves as vice chancellor of human health sciences and CEO of UC Davis Health in Sacramento, Calif. Dr. Lubarsky has led UC Davis Health since 2018, according to a Dec. 11 news release from WMCHealth. He will retire from his current role Feb. 15 and take over as CEO of WMCHealth on Feb. 17. The New York system includes more than 1,700 beds across eight counties in the Hudson Valley region and employs more than 13,000 people. Its flagship campus is Westchester Medical Center, a 415-bed academic hospital. "Dr. Lubarksy is a visionary leader with demonstrated success managing complex healthcare organizations, driving financial and operational excellence with an emphasis on quality of care, expanding community access to care and improving the patient experience," Zubeen Shroff, chairman of the Westchester County Health Care Corp., said in the release. During Dr. Lubarsky's tenure at UC Davis Health, patient volumes across the system grew by more than 60%. He spearheaded several community-based initiatives aimed at improving access to care for underserved populations in the region, including Medi-Cal patients and people experiencing homelessness. He succeeds Michael Israel, who announced plans to retire as president and CEO of WMCHealth in April after nearly two decades in the role. UC Davis Health plans to announce Dr. Lubarsky's interim successor in late January. I have flown under the radar for... 30 years?: Irish actress Victoria Smurfit on being thrust into limelight by Rivals role The actress on Rivals success, her first year of marriage and feeling comfortable in her skin Irish actress Victoria Smurfit stars in 'Rivals'. Photo: Getty Barry Egan Sun 15 Dec 2024 at 14:21 The barman in the pub on the banks of the Thames near where Victoria Smurfit lives says the actress is at the back, around the corner, by the Christmas tree. Following the directions, I cant find her. December 15, 2024: Once more war has broken out in the northeast African nations of Sudan and South Sudan. Since October 2023 there has been fighting between the Sudanese government and major portions of the country that violently disagree with government policies. The SNC/Sovereign National Council was created by civilian and military groups to negotiate a peace deal. That effort has ended as a stalemate in the effort to restore democracy. The coup was supposed to be a temporary condition to speed things up. That backfired as a lot of the pro-reform civilians declared the military government another effort to restore dictatorship. Thats how Omar al Bashir, the dictator from 1989-to-2019, got his start. What form post-Bashir Sudan will take is still unknown. The situation in South Sudan, one of the results of Bashirs misrule, is more settled. Before the April 2023 outbreak of fighting between the RSF/Rapid Support Forces and the army, Sudan was planning a long period of peace, reconciliation, reform and rebuilding. By late 2024 the death toll, including civilians, is approaching 70,000. Many more people have been driven from their homes and lost their jobs. This has turned into an economic disaster and food shortages are growing. Foreign aid is often stolen by gangsters, the RSF or soldiers. Instability and violence are becoming Sudans normal state of affairs. The two Sudans had become quieter since 2019 when the long-lasting Bashir dictatorship was removed by determined popular resistance. South Sudan ended its post-independence civil war when everyone realized that they were destroying what they were allegedly fighting over and maybe a shouting-match was preferable to a death match. That has brought peace to both Sudans for the first time since the 1989 coup where then general Bashir took power and led Sudan on a downward trajectory. The peace did not last and the fighting between government forces and those of the RSF that has been around since 1988, when they appeared as the Janjaweed Arab Sudanese militia in the west Sudan region of Darfur. Before 1988 the Janjaweed were involved with violence going on in neighboring Chad and Libya but after 1988 the Janjaweed concentrated its activities in Darfur. In 2013 the Janjaweed rebranded themselves as the RSF and evolved into paid Sudanese government enforcers in Darfur. In 2023 the Sudan government suggested that the RSF become part of the Sudanese Army. RSF refused and in April 2023 the fighting between government forces and the RSF began. At this point the RSF was powerful enough to take on the army. Currently that struggle continues. Between then and now there were some other interesting developments. For example the slavery problem continues in Sudan, The slaving continues and sometimes gets into the news. This happened a lot in Sudan since the 1990s as the government encouraged Arabized tribes to raid non-Moslem black African tribes and take slaves. In northern Mali retreating al Qaeda men sometimes took newly enslaved blacks with them. This tolerance of slaving is one of the many reasons Sudan is one of the five most corrupt nations in the world. These five outlaw states are, according to the annual Transparency International Corruption Perception Index North Korea, Yemen, Syria, South Sudan and Somalia. Sudan is considered a bit less corrupt than South Sudan and ranks 162 out of 180 nations. South Sudan ranks closer to the bottom at 177th place. Sudan has been behaving in other ways and in October 2020 was removed from the U.S.s State Sponsor of Terrorism/SST list. Sudan agreed to pay compensation to American victims of terror attacks, with the attack on the 2000 USS Cole in Yemen and the 1998 attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania the most important. Sudan was on the SST list for 27 years. Sudans 2020 transitional government agreed to peaceful relations with Israel. That eventually happened and since late 202, Israeli governments and security forces have cooperated with their Sudanese equivalents. Recognizing Israel was a divisive issue in Sudan. Even some pro-democracy groups opposed it. As for the SST, escaping the list means Sudan now had better access to international financial and investment organizations. It will also make it much easier and legal for Sudanese to import western technology like computers, smart phones and software. Sudan now had easier access to foreign aid of all types, including life-saving medical. The aid was a major consideration, for Sudans governments were always facing an extended economic crisis and shortages of food and medical supplies. Bizarre and personal photos of ousted Syrian president Bashar Assad have surfaced from his abandoned residences, sparking ridicule among Syrians who until recently were persecuted for criticising his leadership. The images, reportedly discovered in photo albums from Mr Assads mansions in the hills of Damascus and Aleppo, painted an unflattering portrait of Bashar and his father, Hafez Assad, who had ruled Syria with an iron grip for decades. They stripped away the carefully constructed image that the Assad family had cultivated for decades. One photo featured Hafez Assad in his underwear, striking a bodybuilder-like pose. A man shows old pictures of the late Syrian president Hafez Assad as civilians ransack the private residence of overthrown President Bashar Assad in Damascus (Ghaith Alsayed/AP) Other images showed Bashar Assad in a Speedo flexing his biceps; astride a yellow motorcycle in his briefs; perched on a handcycle, also in his briefs; and staring blankly in a kitchen, wearing only white underwear and a sleeveless undershirt. Social media footage showed Syrians touring the Assads opulent estates, revealing extravagant decor, jacuzzis and other lavish possessions out of the reach of ordinary people living amid civil war since 2011. Fuelled by decades of persecution and a desire for vengeance, people stripped the mansions of valuables and exposed Assads private world, including some of his photo collections. The intimate images of Mr Assad in various states of undress and odd scenarios quickly went viral, turning into an object of mockery. For many Syrians, who had endured forced imprisonment, displacement and oppression under the Assad dynasty, these photos served as both a spectacle and a moment of catharsis. What is it with the Assad family and being photographed in their underwear? Highly interested in knowing the fantasy behind, journalist Hussam Hammoud wrote on X. One particularly peculiar shot showed Bashar Assad in Speedos aboard a boat, surrounded by other people. Another depicted him on a balcony overlooking the sea, teasing a girl sitting on his shoulders. In one photo, taken in a mountainous setting, Bashar Assad is pictured with a group of people, including his reportedly maternal cousin, Ihab Makhlouf, who is wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with an image of Hitler. One video on social media showed a man flipping through hundreds of photos in an album, featuring images from family occasions. One photo showed a young Bashar Assad in a suit and his wife Asmaa in a white dress, reportedly from their engagement ceremony, as he places a ring on her finger. Another image captured a topless Bashar posing with a camera, as if taking a picture. Pope Francis urged people to make children as he made his first papal visit to the French island of Corsica on Sunday. Francis also called for a dynamic form of laicism, promoting the kind of popular piety that distinguishes the Mediterranean island from secular France as a bridge between religious and civic society. Francis appeared relaxed and energised during the one-day visit, just two days before his 88th birthday, still displaying a faded bruise from a fall a week ago. He frequently deviated from his prepared homily during Mass at the outdoor La Place dAusterlitz, remarking at one point that he had never seen so many children as in Corsica except, he added, in East Timor on his recent Asian tour. Make children, he implored. They will be your joy and your consolation in the future. Pope Francis is presented with flowers by a child as he arrives outside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption (Alessandra Tarantino/AP) Earlier, at the close of a Mediterranean conference on popular piety, Papa Francescu, as he is called in Corsican, described a concept of secularity that is not static and fixed, but evolving and dynamic, that can adapt to unforeseen situations and promote co-operation between civil and ecclesial authorities. The pontiff said that expressions of popular piety, including processions and communal prayer of the Holy Rosary can nurture constructive citizenship on the part of Christians. At the same time, he warned against such manifestations being seen only in terms of folklore, or even superstition. The visit to Corsicas capital Ajaccio, the birthplace of Napoleon, is one of the briefest of his papacy beyond Italys borders, just about nine hours on the ground, including a 40-minute visit with French President Emmanuel Macron. Members of catholic local brotherhoods arrive for Mass in Ajaccio (Thibault Camus/AP) Francis was joined on the dais by the bishop of Ajaccio, Cardinal Francois-Xavier Bustillo, who organised the conference that brought together some 400 participants from Spain, Sicily, Sardinia and southern France. The two-day meeting examined expressions of faith that often occur outside formal liturgies, such as processions and pilgrimages. Often specific to the places where they are practised, popular piety in Corsica includes the cult of the Virgin Mary, known locally as the Madunnuccia. Corsica stands out from the rest of secularised France as a particularly devout region, with 92 confraternities, or lay associations dedicated to works of charity or piety, with more than 4,000 members. It means that there is a beautiful, mature, adult and responsible collaboration between civil authorities, mayors, deputies, senators, officials and religious authorities, Bishop Bustillo told The Associated Press ahead of the visit. There is no hostility between the two. And that is a very positive aspect because in Corsica there is no ideological hostility. Pope Francis shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron in Ajaccio (Tiziana Fabi, Pool Via AP) The pope was greeted by children in traditional outfits and was serenaded by bands, choruses and singing troupes that are central to Corsican culture from the airport, to the motorcade route, convention centre and cathedral. Thousands stood along the roadside to greet the pontiff and more waved from windows. The island, which Genoa ceded to France in 1768, is located closer to the Italian mainland than France. From the conference, the pope travelled to the 17th-century cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta to meet clergy, stopping along the way at the statue of the Madunnuccia where he lit a devotional candle. The pope celebrated Mass beneath a statue of Napoleon Bonaparte, the French emperor whose armies in 1808 annexed the papal states and imprisoned two of Francis predecessors Popes Pius VI and VII before being excommunicated and eventually defeated on the battlefield. Thousands packed the esplanade where Napoleon is said to have played as a child. Francis met privately with Mr Macron at the airport before leaving for the 50-minute flight back to Rome. They discussed Russias war in Ukraine, the Middle East and security issues in Africas Sahel and Great Lakes regions, Haiti and Sudan, Mr Macrons office said in a statement. Mr Macron welcomed the popes calls for peace, non-violence and respect for human rights, the statement said. Both Mr Macron and Francis expressed their deep concern regarding the situation in Gaza and called for an immediate and lasting ceasefire and the massive delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid, according to Mr Macrons office. On Syria, they reiterated their wish to see a fair and inclusive political transition, the statement said. Mr Macron presented the pope with two books about Notre Dame cathedral. The pontiff pointedly did not make the trip to Paris earlier this month for the reopening of Notre Dame following the devastating 2019 fire. It is Franciss third trip to France, each time avoiding Paris and the protocols that a state visit entails. He visited the port of Marseille in 2023, on an overnight visit to participate in an annual summit of Mediterranean bishops, and went to Strasbourg in 2014 to address the European Parliament and Council of Europe. Corsica is home to more than 340,000 people and has been part of France since 1768. But the island has also seen pro-independence violence and has an influential nationalist movement. Last year, Mr Macron proposed granting it limited autonomy. Given the short flight back to Rome, Francis did not hold an airborne press conference en route home, the first time he has skipped the traditional briefing in 47 foreign trips as pope. Francis did come to the back of the plane, however, to greet reporters and receive a pretend birthday cake. Exclusive | I was so scared I just wanted him to kill me: Harrowing story of domestic monster who made partners life a living hell Mum-of-three feels abandoned by authorities who refuse to divulge whereabouts of her tormentor after his release Jason Veitch Christopher Woodhouse Sun 15 Dec 2024 at 08:39 The victim of a sadistic domestic abuser has said she just wanted him to kill me to end the cycle of physical and psychological torture at the hands of the heartless brute. Exclusive | Jungle taught me so much: Im A Celebs NI star Dean McCullough returns to reality after life Down Under Newtownabbey DJ reflects on the highs and lows of his jungle experience, and what he learned about himself Dean with his campmates Maureen Coleman Sun 15 Dec 2024 at 08:49 Im A Celebritys Dean McCullough has told how his jungle soul family helped teach him the importance of friendship and finding strength in other people. Rising Bangor indie star on his debt of gratitude to Gary Lightbody David C Clements launches new album with show at Belfasts Ulster Hall David C Clements David O'Dornan Sun 15 Dec 2024 at 11:00 Local indie rock star David C Clements has paid tribute to the support and generosity of Snow Patrols Gary Lightbody in giving him a leg-up in the music industry. REVEALED | The former Sinn Fein official accused over cross-border cocaine racket Ex-Irish League player also among four arrested as watches and cars seized Stephen McCormick Sunday Life Investigations Sun 15 Dec 2024 at 08:45 This is the former Sinn Fein official at the centre of a cross-border investigation into multi-million-pound cocaine smuggling. The Lenox school district, like others, is tackling chronic absenteeism in the post-pandemic era, as well as the challenges posed by artificial intelligence and the need to instill a feeling of belonging for all students. Massachusetts is lagging behind most of the U.S. in that its laws are protecting sexual predators and not shielding children. The state's age of consent is 16 and is considered a loophole for predators to avoid prosecution. MBABANE Following the discovery that around E100 million invested by emaSwati in Status Capital Building Society was allegedly siphoned out of the country, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is hot on the heels of certain persons of interests in the matter. The Times SUNDAY has established that the ACC has 11warrants of arrests in relation to the case. Two of them, it has been gathered, are based locally, while the rest are believed to be in neighbouring South Africa. The individuals, and the positions they hold or once held at the entity, cannot be named as they have not been charged and the ACC is still continuing with its investigations. Inter-linked It has been gathered that this part of investigation is inter-linked with that of Ecsponent, whereby over 1 000 emaSwati lost E340 million. The link is based on the fact that among the 11 persons of interest, are those who have also been implicated in the Ecsponent saga. Worth noting is that the Parliament Select Committee elected to investigate how emaSwati lost their investments after investing in Ecsponent became aware of the Status Capital issue. As contained in the final report with recommendations, the Parliament Select Committee got the news through a submission that was made by the Investor Relations Committee (IRC) appointed by ESWIG, the former Ecsponent Eswatini. Havoc According to the Parliament Select Committees report, the IRC raised that the unfortunate reality is that whilst the Ecsponent matter was receiving the attention of emaSwati, including Parliament, the same people who were at the helm of the Ecsponent saga wreaked havoc at Status Capital Building Society, where around E100 million has reportedly been lost in the same manner as it happened at Ecsponent. Some emaSwati either had investments in both companies or resigned from Ecsponent and invested their money in Status Capital Building Society (SCBS), the IRC reportedly told the Parliament Select Committee. Also, it is contained in the Parliament Committees report that a submission was made that an urgent investigation into Status Capital must be commissioned to establish linkages with the Ecsponent saga and to ensure that intervention into addressing this matter is timeously implemented. Worth noting is that it has been reported that the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) has received authorisation to examine more than five bank accounts linked to prominent individuals in the investigation into missing funds invested by over 1 000 emaSwati and institutions in Ecsponent. Investments This was after the Attorney General, Chief Sifiso Mashampu Khumalo, told Parliament that there is a warrant of arrest against individual/s allegedly associated with the missing E335 million Ecsponent investments.However, as reported by our sister publication the Times of Eswatini, REPS has neither confirmed nor denied the existence of the warrants. The issue of the around E100 million in Status Capital became public knowledge when the SCBS took the legal route last year after discovering that the money had allegedly been siphoned out of the country without neither approval nor active involvement of the societys management. The ACC is said to have been investigating the matter for months, after which it made an application to obtain the warrants of arrests. When called for comment regarding the warrants, the Director of the ACC, Jabu Phakathi, explained that the entity operated within the ambit of the law, which prohibited the disclosure of information or details of any person who was the subject of an enquiry or investigation. Phakathi cited Section 18 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2006 and then said: In terms of the law, we do not talk about what we are doing. Therefore, we can neither confirm nor deny if we are investigating or have warrants against the persons you are referring to. Arrests The issue of the around E100 million became public knowledge when the SCBS took the legal route last year, after discovering that the money had allegedly been siphoned out of the country without neither approval nor active involvement of the societys management.The ACC has a three-pronged legal mandate of prevention, whereby it is supposed to examine practices and procedures and advice on ways of preventing corruption. It also has an education role of empowering the public and private bodies and the general public on the forms and dangers of corruption. Furthermore, the ACC has the function of investigation, which is to receive and investigate complaints of alleged or suspected corrupt practices made against any person, and refer appropriate cases to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Meanwhile, in July this year, it was reported that Status Capital had suspended payments of monthly interest to its members. The members were informed about the latest developments during a meeting that was held at Bethel Court in Ezulwini. At the time, it was said that there were over 121 investment account holders, who were receiving monthly interest from Status Capital. Following the meeting, the members relayed their unhappiness. Suspension Our sister publication, the Times of Eswatini, reported that the members claimed that they were told that the organisations coffers were dry and had to at least wait for three months and take it from there. The members noted that following the suspension of the payment of the interest earned, they no longer trusted anything and were doubtful they would ever get back their invested monies. Interestingly, they stated that some of them had invested in Ecsponent and such news was a double tragedy to them. Asked how much they had invested in Status Capital, the members said it was E50 000 and upwards, depending on how much a person received as an exit package from their various areas of employment. They stated that they were warned by officers at Status Capital not to tell or give the information to anyone, but due to their disappointment, they could not keep quiet. According to the members, most of them are pensioners and need the money to survive. The management also made it known that Status Capital had faced challenges due to the alleged misappropriation of the around E100 million of investor funds by some co-directors. The management said the alleged diversion of funds had led to substantial delays in the disbursement of monthly interest payments to investment account holders, provoking significant distress among the members. Despite the turbulence, the management said the organisation was committed to navigating through with the utmost determination to recoup the members investments. Critical This, the management said, had led to ongoing legal proceedings, which impacted critical resources essential for the continuation and survival of the institution, placing the livelihoods of their investors in jeopardy. As a result of attempts to recover these funds, the management stated that they were currently experiencing a period of substantial delays in disbursing the monthly and matured interest payments to their account holders. Also, the management said they fully recognised and profoundly understood the hardships the situation had caused to their investors and were earnestly asking for continued patience and support as they navigate through the complex period. However, in September, it was reported that Status Capital had made partial payments to all members with matured investments up to June 2024. The payments amounted to 6.2 per cent of each members investment capital. This was according to a letter that was issued by the members on August 28, 2024. The management started by acknowledging and further apologising to members for the inconvenience the delays in the processing of their matured payments may have caused and reassured them of their commitment to ensuring a resolution that aligns with their mutual interests. Authorisation It should be noted that the company once moved an application in court after learning that over E82 million invested through Status Capital Building Society had been purportedly diverted out of the country, without authorisation, by another local company. In terms of its operation, Status Capital invites members of the public to invest their hard-earned earnings and retirement savings in exchange for earning relatively high-interest rates on their investments. The society offers high rates of return on safe and secure investments at minimum risk. It generates its income from lending the invested funds to other members of the public at more favourable interest rates. Its profit is the difference between the investment and lending interest rates. BillOReilly.com is not available in this country. We apologize for any inconvenience. An Post is guaranteeing delivery of almost 50,000 parcels in time for Christmas, despite the closure of the Holyhead route. There has been huge concern for companies and postal services as the backlog of shipping poses a big challenge in the run-up to Christmas following the damages caused at Holyhead during Storm Darragh. Advertisement Head of corporate communications at An Post, Anna McHugh, said everything An Post receives to its hubs will be delivered . However, she said it is important customers check their UK delivery date with the retailer. "Many of the UK retailers have now found ways into Ireland and are still going to be able to deliver on time for Christmas," she said. "Shoppers really need to check with each individual retailer to see what kind of delivery date they are promising. Advertisement "Everything that we receive by the 21st of December, we will be able to delivery in time for Christmas." Explained Explained: What does the Holyhead Port closure mea... Read More Minister of State at the Department of Transport James Lawless said he had a constructive meeting on Sunday evening with Welsh Government, Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales Ken Skates, and Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Energy and Planning Rebecca Evans on the difficulties with Holyhead Port following Storm Darragh. The ministers agreed that they would work in full cooperation over the coming 10 days in the immediate term to ensure that freight and people can be transported as efficiently as possible across the Irish Sea using a range of alternative ports to Holyhead. The ministers agreed that this issue is a priority for both governments, with officials and ministers set to engage on a daily basis over the coming week. The ministers are also in agreement on the importance of the Holyhead Port operator providing reliable and up-to-date information to the public and the logistics sector as work to re-open the port continues. Sunday's front pages focus on a range of stories from the Government looking to buy the Citywest Hotel to help accommodate asylum seekers to Fianna Fail being split over key Government roles. The Business Post report that the Government is interested in buying the Citywest Hotel to help deal with the current accommodation crisis around asylum seekers. Advertisement Our front page today. Pick up a copy in stores or subscribe at https://t.co/LyVcHklEWC for these stories plus: State to buy Citywest Hotel to confront migrant crisis Murphys takes on Guinness in the UK Simon Harris eyes move to Foreign Affairs role pic.twitter.com/IoZtiEVEGD Business Post (@businessposthq) December 15, 2024 The Sunday Independent lead with Tanaiste Micheal Martin coming under pressure to convince his parliamentary party to support Independent TD Verona Murphys candidacy for the prestigious ceann comhairle role in the new Dail. The Irish Mail on Sunday report a coalition between Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Regional Independents is all but a done deal and will be sealed by a seat at the Cabinet table for an Independent. Morning, readers. Here's a look at today's front page of the Sunday Life.https://t.co/xu3HhdtoaD pic.twitter.com/LomHOjw23x Sunday Life (@TheSundayLife) December 15, 2024 In the UK, secret agent scandals, Britains building crisis, and the truth behind some of the UKs most haunted homes are just a few of the headlines that feature on newsstands this Sunday. The Sunday Express runs with a quote by Boris Johnson, who claims Keir Starmer poses a grave threat to Brexit and must be stopped from reshackling Britain to Brussels. Sunday Express: Boris warns of Keir Brexit threat #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/wvjZmoS5BV George Mann (@sgfmann) December 14, 2024 The Sun on Sunday shares some good news from TV presenter Eamonn Holmes, who seems to be preparing to propose to girlfriend Katie Alexander. People reports the woman who murdered 10-year-old Sara Sharif in 2023 has made a new friend behind bars at Belmarsh: Fellow child killer Lucy Letby. Sunday People: Sara killer is friends with Letby #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/yIoadee6ef George Mann (@sgfmann) December 14, 2024 The Observers headline tells of accusations against Labour, accusing the UK Government of making way for a new era of slum housing by converting office spaces into flats, without any planning permission. The Observer: PM condemned for allowing a new wave of slum housing #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/uMM1PSSR9q George Mann (@sgfmann) December 14, 2024 The Sunday Times leads with a piece on the Duke of Yorks supposed ties to an alleged Chinese spy for the third day running. The Sunday Times: Andrews Chinese spy confidant met two former prime ministers #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/yEaCOphySf George Mann (@sgfmann) December 14, 2024 The Sunday Telegraph leads with a piece on a longtime Foreign Office staffer, accused of fostering ties with a global propaganda network that spruiks Chinese Communist Party ideologies. Advertisement The Sunday Telegraph: Chinese influencer at heart of Whitehall #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/4G9MvDhEpq George Mann (@sgfmann) December 14, 2024 The Sunday Mirror reports more than 1,000 women have been declared homeless by charity workers, which is almost double the Governments reported figure. The paper has dubbed the discrepancy Britains hidden scandal. Sunday Mirror: Hidden scandal of homeless woman #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/35QONgjzNS George Mann (@sgfmann) December 14, 2024 Lastly, the Daily Star Sunday splashes on Homes Under The Hammer host Martin Roberts and his visits to haunted homes for the sake of television, with one house bulldozed by the new owner in the wake of one hair-raising incident. Australias supermarkets have rolled out their 2024 Christmas campaigns, leaning into timeless themes of magic moments and family joy as allegations of price-gouging cast an ugly shadow over the holiday season. Australians are nearing Christmas with tighter budgets than usual, and its no surprise that many are feeling the pinch. In the nations cost-of-living crisis, Woolworths and Coles have found themselves mired in legal battles, accused of misleading customers with what the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission called illusory discounts. Both supermarket giants are also facing class action lawsuits over dodgy discount claims, and potentially hefty fines that could go into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Amid these controversies, they have had to tread carefully in their Christmas advertising. Struggling to get themselves off the naughty list, Woolworths and Coles have opted to play it safe in ads to the point of creating wallpaper, says consumer psychologist and founder of Thinkerbell advertising agency Adam Ferrier. MBABANE - The Eswatini Sugar Association (ESA) has confirmed that the disruptions in the supply chains and exports which have been caused by the political unrest in Mozambique are becoming a serious concern. As a result of the political unrest, Eswatini, together with other countries such as South Africa, have had to find alternative routes for its products. It is a known fact that one of the key driver of Eswatinis export growth is sugar and sugar-related products and the country depends heavily on a terminal at the port of Maputo, Mozambique, to send its raw sugar to the European Union and the United States. This terminal, jointly owned by Eswatini, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, has been vital for the countrys sugar industry since the mid-1990s. ESA Chief Executive Officer Banele Nyamane shared correspondence they received from their partners in Mozambique, which details the latest update. The correspondence, which was shared on Thursday states that the situation remains highly volatile. The Ressano Garcia Border is closed, and access through Matola is blocked by protestors. These disruptions have affected the movement of goods and personnel, adding to our operational challenges, reads part of the correspondence. It also states that the lack of foreign exchange (forex) continues and international transactions are extremely limited. Staff availability is also a concern, as many employees are struggling to travel to and from work. The port facilities remain operational and are guarded by military and police to ensure security. We currently have a vessel to be loaded and are preparing staff and equipment to complement the operation. Unfortunately we do not expect any improvements of the situation, quite the opposite we expect the unrest to continue and with intensity, it was mentioned. Expanding on the correspondence, Nyamane said the issue of lack of foreign exchange is now a concern as spares for the plant in Maputo are procured outside of the country. Meanwhile, South African media platform, News24 reported yesterday that the unrest has prompted Tesla supplier Syrah Resources to declare force majeure, while hitting output at sub-Saharan Africas biggest aluminium smelter and disrupting South Africas chrome exports. Contraction It was stated that the unrest is causing domestic economic wreckage, with Standard Bank predicting the first quarterly economic contraction since 2020. There is no sign of tensions cooling, with fears of further delays to a US$20 billion (E360 billion) natural gas export plan led by TotalEnergies. It has been reported that Venancio Mondlane, the opposition leader commanding the demonstrations via livestream, plans to announce a fresh round of protests on December 16. Already, lives have been lost, reportedly in the hands of security forces. The unrest started out as a protest against claims of rigging in the October 9 ballot has exploded into an outcry among marginalised youth. Mondlane is said to have ordered that all mines in Mozambique to be closed until January 15, when he said hed be inaugurated as president. Also reported by News24 is that Mozambiques biggest brewery paused production on December 11 after people raided the facility, according to a statement from Anheuser-Busch InBev SAs local unit, among the countrys top corporate taxpayers. The ESA integrated report for 2023/24 indicated that despite poor yields and the quality of sugar challenges, the organisations revenue was up by 13 per cent to reach E7.4 billion, when compared to the E6.44 billion recorded in 2023. This was mainly due to the high world market sugar prices supported by a favourable forex rate. The organisation reported that the cost of sales increased from E6.10 billion to E7.04 billion, in line with an increase in distributable proceeds. Profits that are made by the association are distributed in full to millers and growers and form part of the cost of sales. Distribution costs incurred during the year were E69.31 million (2023:E 24.67 million), increasing mainly because of an increase in freight rates from the previous year. We need to talk about the problems of race, identity and racism and stop being afraid to have complex, nuanced conversations, says Louise Adler, head of Adelaide Writers Week. Louise Adler. Credit: Eddie Jim In her third event, to be held in March, Adler addresses these issues head-on, enlisting TV host and journalist Waleed Aly and academic Susan Carland, his wife, to talk about Islamophobia, as well as professor of history at Columbia Simon Schama on antisemitism. Also on the bill is African-American writer Wesley Lowery on racism in America, Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen on Russia, Trump and Gaza, and Indian essayist Pankaj Mishra, who has written about the legacy of the Holocaust. Writers Week is bound to be controversial. Adler says she has brought together writers who have thought more deeply than most of us can in our ordinary lives about issues, be they personal or public and she hopes the audience goes away inspired. I would hope that as citizens of Australia and of the world we would care deeply about the horrors we are witnessing internationally, that our collective and individual voices would in fact would be loud and clear in defence of humanity, Adler says. Advertisement Eating outComing soon Star chef Tom Sarafian to open his first restaurant on a happening northside street The chef intended to open his dream restaurant in the heart of the city with a well-known restaurant group. Now, he has announced a new plan and it involves the northside. Emma Breheny December 16, 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 was the year that Hummus Prince Tom Sarafians first restaurant was supposed to open in the city, but the universe had other plans. Instead, the former Bar Saracen chefs debut venue, Zareh, will open on Smith Street, Collingwood, in late March or early April next year. Tom Sarafians debut restaurant Zareh will open on Smith Street, Collingwood, next year. Kristoffer Paulsen Named after his grandfather, the restaurant underpinned by Armenian, Middle Eastern and Eastern European cuisines was originally a joint venture between Sarafian and The Mulberry Group, which owns venues including Hazel and Lilac Wine. There was also a deli planned, selling imported Lebanese condiments and spices, as well as breakfast and lunch. But Sarafian announced on Monday that he would go it alone. He and the Mulberry Group considered at least five sites for the project, but none was suitable. It just didnt feel right, says Sarafian. Advertisement The Smith Street site hes taken on is a ground-floor heritage space beneath luxury apartments. It was originally slated to become Indian fine-diner Aanya. Designer Min Tseng (Toddy Shop, Kolkata Cricket Club) will use timber and pastel tones to create the welcoming setting Sarafian seeks for the 40-seater. Ive always dreamed of creating a place that feels like home, and shares the generous and rich hospitality of the Middle East for everyone who walks through the door, he said in a statement. The chefs original plan for a contemporary restaurant complemented by an all-day deli (named Sarafian) has been scaled down. Zareh will now span restaurant and retail, with the deli plans shelved. It will open initially as a breakfast and lunch venue, with dinners added later. Copper trim will frame large windows that catch afternoon light. A top-tier sound system and record player will have pride of place, along with the charcoal grill. Fridges will display house-cured bastourma, freshly made yoghurt, olives, and more for sale. The menu will include signature dishes that the chef showcased while at Bar Saracen (part-owned by Rumis Joseph Abboud), such as hummus topped with prawn and spanner crab, and trout fatteh. New dishes will be heavily influenced by Sarafians Armenian and Egyptian heritage, as well as the cooking of North Africa, Lebanon, Egypt and beyond, with most things cooked over a large charcoal barbecue and wood oven. Advertisement Expect Egyptian-style falafel made with fava beans, eggs cooked in the Lebanese claypots fakhar, and generous spreads of meze and salads at lunch. This will be Sarafians first permanent chef gig since Bar Saracen closed in 2021. Since then, hes launched an eponymous retail line that includes handmade hummus, as well as running frequent events and pop-ups. 368 Smith Street, Collingwood, instagram.com/zareh.melbourne 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 Teenagers file into rows of uncomfortable black plastic chairs. Some are laughing and swearing. Others are quiet and pensive. Not all have their parents with them. A boy walks through the eighth level of the Brisbane Magistrates Court with his mother, sitting down quietly before hes asked if he has any questions about court. Not really, he replies. This is the first court for all young people charged by police in Brisbane. Even those charged with murder go through here first. A girl walks in with her father, telling him she wants to sit near the hallway to see her friend when she arrives. He shakes his head in the way only a father can, and sits a row back from her. Another boy arrives alone, takeaway in hand, dressed in a hoodie with fur. This is a quiet morning for the Childrens Court. A group of girls are appearing before Magistrate Megan Power, accused of stealing alcohol from a Toowong Vintage Cellars bottle shop. Advertisement The prosecutor explains that the first girl entered the store with the others, took alcohol off the shelves, and didnt pay. The defendant sits quietly at the bar table beside her lawyer: an ordinary girl, hair tied back in a low ponytail, wearing a white T-shirt. Every time you come here, youre taking another step on the wrong path. Magistrate Megan Power But her lawyer says she has had significant issues. Now aged 14, shes been to 12 primary schools, and three high schools. Domestic violence between her parents made life at home difficult. The tone of the court shifts. It hears that her mother had to move repeatedly to escape the violence. The girl sits just an arms length from the defendant dock. Behind it, theres a doorway for officers to move prisoners from the court to their cells. Power is gentle but firm, telling the girl nothing is made better by the thrill of alcohol. Advertisement Nothing good happens in these buildings, courtrooms, courthouses, she says. And every time you come here, youre taking another step on the wrong path. Youve already had so much to deal with, changing schools ... and being exposed to domestic violence that is horrible. The charge is dismissed as a caution. Some kids arrive at court with their parents; some see friends in the waiting room. Others come on their own. Credit: Matt Davidson The boy and his mother from the waiting room are here for another case. The mother sits behind him, this time, and he sits at the bar. Power hears that the 16-year-old was picked up at Fortitude Valley during police wanding for weapons, and charged for possessing a knife. The prosecutor describes it as a metal stick; his lawyer says it was a pimple popper. He was saying he had it for protection, his lawyer adds. About the time his client was wanded, there were reports of a stabbing in Fortitude Valley. Advertisement The boy hasnt been to school since last year, but wants to work in hospitality. Hes also been affected by his fathers death a few years ago. Power refers the teenager to restorative justice conferencing, taking into account his guilty plea, and that he was honest with police. What is equally as important is that you realise the more knives in the community, the more risk there is, she says. The boy is one of many young people found in recent months to be carrying a weapon. Police recently expanded their wanding powers from transport hubs to include shopping centres and other venues in a bid to reduce knife crime. In recent years, the stabbings most of them fatal of Vyleen White, Emma Lovell, Jack Beasley, Angus Beaumont, Toutai Kefu and others remain at the forefront of public attention. Those attacks, each committed by juvenile offenders, prompted the then-Labor government to quickly announce a 10-point youth crime plan a strategy rejected by experts as kneejerk. The legislative changes included removing the requirement for police to consider alternatives to arresting a child and expanding breach offence provisions. Advertisement Although the legislation has been in force for a short period of time, this seems to have resulted in an increase in the number of children in detention on remand, Childrens Court president Deborah Richards wrote in her 2022-23 report. It has not, as yet, resulted in a decrease in offending. The girl we saw in the waiting room walks in with her dad. Shes wearing a Calvin Klein T-shirt, and spins slightly in her chair beside the lawyer. She used to be involved in music and sport, but has stopped since moving schools and hanging out with a not-so-great crowd. She was in the same group of girls caught stealing alcohol as the 14-year-old who was cautioned earlier. But the court hears this teenager spent about an hour in a cell while she waited for her parents. We accept people make mistakes, we dont write them off, we give them another chance, Power says, confirming a caution is appropriate. But be aware that those chances are potentially running out. And youll go down that side door and down to literally a dungeon in the bottom of this court. Another girl, 13, walks in, and Power calls her mother to be on the phone for support. Advertisement Labor councillors have criticised Brisbane City Councils decision to drop one of two remaining green bridge projects following the opening of the Kangaroo Point Bridge yesterday. Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner revealed yesterday that the council had abandoned its St Lucia to West End green bridge, but would continue with a bridge to connect Toowong and West End, amid budget constraints. Loading Council opposition leader Jared Cassidy said the LNP-led council had the wrong priorities, criticising its spending on lavish parties a reference to an event for the trial of the Brisbane Metro bus service in October. Yet again, this LNP council is trying to use expensive opening parties and media ops as a distraction from whats really going on under the surface, he said of yesterdays bridge opening. I hope the napkin the green bridge policy was scribbled on has been kept for posterity. It can be wheeled out as a reminder of the complete failure of this lord mayor and the rest of his regime to actually do anything they commit to, let alone on time, or on budget. Schrinner said the decision to axe the St Lucia to West End crossing was in line with the councils promise to keep costs down. By not building this bridge, we can invest more in critical projects in the future, Schrinner said. Brisbanes newest bridge, from Kangaroo Point to the CBD, opened on Sunday morning after three years of construction. But in a bittersweet twist, the city council revealed it would build just one more green bridge from its initial five-strong lineup. Originally announced in 2019 as one of five green bridges for Brisbane, the Kangaroo Point Bridge is the second to open after the Breakfast Creek, or Yowoggera, bridge in February. Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said Brisbane City Council had asked for federal funding to open a business case into its Toowong-West End bridge early next year, but had abandoned plans for the St Lucia-West End bridge. Transport Chair Ryan Murphy, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King at Sundays opening. Credit: Neesha Sinnya Were keen to progress the Toowong to West End Bridge next, in partnership with other levels of government, before the 2032 Games, he said. Loading Fitz: In that case, you must know Kings Cross and our once-famous Bourbon & Beefsteak bar? OS: [Pause.] Yes. I had a whole story at that bar with a charming hostess later claiming she was having my child. I sent some support. She never really followed up, and I assumed it wasnt true. Thirty years went by, and one fine day in Sydney, it was quite some shock for me to answer the door to my hotel and see an attractive, young, tall woman saying, Hello, Im your daughter. In the end, it wasnt. But I loved the story. The subject matter that got the biggest reaction was the efficacy or otherwise of nuclear energy as an option for Australia, and the biggest hit was Professor Ty Christopher, of the University of Wollongong, whom I talked to in June. He pulled no punches when I asked him what he made of Opposition Leader Peter Duttons plans. Loading TC: [With some agitation.] If the Coalition is all in on nuclear and thinks its the best thing since sliced bread, why did they say nothing and do nothing about it for the last decade that they were in power? Ive asked opposition energy spokesperson Ted OBrien that question many times, and Im yet to receive an answer When people ask me, am I anti-nuclear, I look them in the eye and I say no, Im anti-bullshit. And what were hearing at the moment from the Coalition in terms of the timing and the costs of nuclear and where it fits into the energy grid it is largely bullshit. We need to pull back from all of this. Renewables are the cheapest. They are reliable enough for what we need, they are the best way to bring down customer bills and they are the best way for us to decarbonise our economy, which is what we have committed to do. A personal favourite to interview was Sally McManus, the boss of the ACTU, because she is so powerful and yet we know so little about her. Fitz: I love, on the story of your rise, the Alan Jones angle! Tell all ... SM: It was a bit over a decade ago, and Jones was going on about how Julia Gillard should be put into a chaff bag and sunk at sea, and how women were destroying the joint. And there was a whole lot of us who asked when are we going to fight back about this? So I set up a Facebook page called Destroy the Joint and started recruiting people, like Jenna Price. We ran a big campaign targeting sponsors of Alan Jones show, calling on people not to buy their products if they continued advertising with him. Loading Fitz: Was it a bitter satisfaction for you to see Jones sponsors run screaming for the hills, or joyous? SM: Absolutely joyous. The best thing of all was the CEO of Mercedes-Benz in Germany writing a letter to Jones, which became public, broadly saying, These arent our values, and we want our Mercedes back from you! He had to give it back. Jones then reached out to some people in the union movement and said what can be done to stop Sally McManus? and they reported back to me that theyd never heard him scared before. Equally enjoyable to chat to was the iconic Ita Buttrose in her final days as chair of the ABC. Fitz: Are you a monarchist or a republican? Loading IB: Thats very sneaky. Ultimately, Australia will become a republic, but Im constantly surprised how loyal our nation is to the royal family. I suppose theyve all grown up with the royal family and think of them as being a part of their own family. Fitz: Yes, but you, Ita? Will you say now, what I begged you to say when I was chair of the Australian Republic Movement, that you are a republican? IB: [Laughing, then deadpan.] I am the chair of the ABC and have no view. Ask me in a week. I did, but she was gone for dust! Fitz: I dont know if this story is true, but I have a scrap of memory that [when you were famously editing Cleo], Kerry Packers father, Sir Frank, once gave you a lesson about mens bodies. IB: Yes. [Laughs.] Cleo had done a piece on how mens erogenous zones included their armpits. Sir Frank saw the draft and called me down to his office. He was trying desperately to understand the new progressive woman, but this went too far for him. And he said where did you get this information? A mans armpit is not sexy! The story did not run. Still on the ABC and it was wonderful to hear David Marr on why he left one of his own most iconic roles. Fitz: Beyond newspapers, you also had a huge presence on the ABCs once-mighty Insiders, and the nation really would lean in. How long since youve been on that show? DM: I sort of drifted off with the new regime. David Speers wanted actual insiders on Insiders, and I was never a Canberra reporter. I was rather afraid of getting down to Canberra and becoming friends with power. The distance between Sydney and Canberra is good for people like me. So Im not an insider in that sense, and the show has taken a different path. But yes, there is, for some reason, still a public appetite for David Marr having a stoush with Gerard Henderson. Loading Fitz: Do you miss Gerard Henderson? DM: God no! In the history of this column, I have never received so many commendations from readers as I have for the interview I did with the outgoing principal of Wenona, Dr Briony Scott, just a few weeks ago. Fitz: OK, so to the nub of it. What do you see in 2024 as the greatest challenges in being a teenage girl? Loading BS: One of the biggest challenges is that people are so quick to pathologise adolescence for them Fitz: In what sense pathologise? BS: In the sense that we can never let a child just be sad; theyre depressed. They can never just be worried; they have anxiety. There is a fear when a girl goes through a very normal and healthy range of emotions. We are so quick to move in when, in fact, part of life is that it actually sucks, right? Tough things happen, and the key thing all young ones need is to learn how to be able to grapple with them. With this tendency to assume that girls are all struggling with daily life, we can miss or overlook a child who is genuinely struggling and out of their depth. Fitz: Go on. BS: Theres the old story about the caterpillar struggling to get out of a cocoon, and your instinct is to want to help it out, so you cut open the cocoon. But now the butterfly that was inside cant fly because the way it was strengthening its wings was by pushing against the cocoon and being able to build up that strength. We want our young people to have the strength to fly. Our job is not to make people happy, and our job is not to entertain children. When a young one is upset or hurt, it is not automatically a reason for 10 adults to come rushing in. The first job is to walk alongside them and help strengthen them so that they can deal with whatever life throws their way. Theres this beautiful Ram Dass quote that just goes were all just walking each other home. Its a good reminder that its not our job to solve everyones problems. And, in fact, most of us cant solve each others problems; its just about bearing witness to what is going on in other peoples lives, about being there. Fitz: Of the many conversations you and I have had, one of the ones that has most fascinated me is your end-of-year chat to year 12 Wenona students, where you talk to them about such things as sex, and have a frank chat about what they might be facing. BS: Yes, its part of a subject called renaissance studies, and its all about life beyond school, and ... its important. Because we are in the age of porn, I also talk to them about unreal expectations they might face [in their sex lives] as to what is normal, what is expected of them. And I provide a counterpoint. Many young women and young men find themselves in positions where they are so incredibly uncomfortable engaging in various acts that they think theyre the problem because they dont want to do it, or that theyre not ready for it, right? Everyone goes yeah, this is normal. Like giving oral sex is a really normal expectation, right? And if that gives you joy, then great. But if they dont hear a counterpoint to the argument that everyone does it, so you must do it, too a non-judgmental counterpoint then how on earth are they meant to steer? So ask yourselves ... is this actually what you want? Or are you doing it because youre afraid that if you dont do it, theres something wrong with you? So Im very happy to talk about it. And I was very happy to talk to her, and to many of you via emails and social media. I wish you all a great break. If you need me, you shall find me between the flags on the beach, thinking what a strange but wonderful thing it is to be a professional gadfly. Almost 20 years since they were caught trying to smuggle heroin out of Indonesia, the five remaining members of the Bali Nine have touched down on Australian soil. Australians Matthew Norman, Michael Czugaj, Scott Rush, Martin Stephens and Si Yi Chen will live freely in the community after the federal government secured a deal for their release with Indonesia. This is what we know about the five men, the crimes that landed them in prison, their friends who didnt make it home and the sensitive negotiations that finally got them here. The five remaining members of the Bali Nine (from left) Martin Stephens, Si-Yi Chen, Michael Czugaj, Matthew Norman and Scott Rush. Credit: Composite: Nathan Perri Who were the Bali Nine? MBABANE In yet another revelation, government officials have been caught fuelling decommissioned vehicles at the Central Transport Administration (CTA). This situation continues to raise serious concerns about corruption and mismanagement. These non-functional and decommissioned vehicles are still listed in the ministrys weekly fuel allocations, despite being unfit for use. Investigations by the Times Sunday have shown that these vehicles, which include ambulances and double-cab vans, have been stationary and defective for long periods. However, they are strangely getting fuel from the CTA. Examples of such vehicles include those registered as GSD 148 UN, GSD 153 UN, GSD 147 UN, and GSD 049 HE, all assigned to the Ministry of Health Blood Bank Unit. Many of these vehicles, including ambulances, have been parked at the Mbabane Government Hospital for over two years. Another vehicle, an Isuzu bakkie registered as GSD 148 UN, has been parked at the Manzini branch of the blood bank since 2023, after it overheated due to a minor accident. Reporters who visited the site found the vehicle in a deteriorating condition, with loose body parts and visible signs of neglect. An inspection of the documents used to authorise fuel for the vehicles led to Mthobisi Mamba, the transport officer for the Ministry of Health. Mamba is responsible for overseeing the fleet of vehicles and approving daily fuel allocations. During an interview, Mamba expressed surprise when presented with evidence, including signed documents bearing his signature, which authorised fuel for decommissioned vehicles. He denied knowledge of the illegal fuelling and stated: I do not have the facts yet. Mamba then acknowledged that he had recently been informed about cases involving decommissioned vehicles from the Blood Bank Unit being used to illegally obtain fuel. I am yet to meet with the officers responsible to understand why and how they did it, he said. However, he admitted that the current system poses challenges in verifying fuel requests. Drivers come to my office with requests for fuel from their departments. I rely on trust and the logbooks they submit. Unfortunately, this exposes my office to false claims, which lead to significant government losses, he explained. Mamba highlighted a broader challenge, citing the daily rationing of fuel at CTA, of 40 litres per vehicle. Departments like the Blood Bank, which frequently travel across the country to deliver services, struggle to meet their operational needs within this limit. When fuel runs out, it limits their work, and that might push some drivers to find ways to bypass the system, he said. Mamba condemned the use of decommissioned vehicles to obtain fuel, calling it unprocedural and promising to investigate further. Investigation This revelation comes in the wake of a broader investigation by Times SUNDAY reporters, who went undercover to expose a larger fuel theft scheme at CTA. Reporters discovered that some government officers were selling stolen fuel to the public at half price. Reporters bought 25 litres of petrol for E250, a fee significantly discounted from the normal rate of about E500 for the same amount of fuel. The scheme has already led to arrests, including that of a civil servant in Piggs Peak, who was recently charged with fuel theft. The scandal has sparked outrage among citizens, with many demanding tighter controls and accountability for government resources. The CTA and other stakeholders are now under pressure to implement more robust systems to prevent further abuse and ensure the efficient use of public funds. As investigations continue, the public will watch closely to see whether meaningful reforms are introduced and justice is served. This comes at a time when the government is grappling with critically low fuel reserves at its depots, raising serious concerns about the management of national resources. Eyewitnesses and insiders allege that this underground operation has been ongoing for weeks, with buyers ranging from local motorists to small-scale transport operators. They are exploiting the current shortages for personal gain, said a whistle-blower who works at the facility. Fuel shortages have gripped the nation as the government struggles to replenish its reserves, leading to disruptions in essential services and transport systems. The revelation of this scheme has sparked outrage among citizens, who are questioning the integrity of those tasked with safeguarding public resources. The illicit fuel sales raise critical questions about the enforcement of regulations at government facilities and the broader issue of corruption within public institutions. Analysts warn that if left unchecked, such activities could further erode public confidence in governments ability to manage the fuel crisis effectively. As the investigation unfolds, the public is calling for swift action to not only identify and punish those responsible, but also to implement stronger oversight mechanisms to prevent similar scandals in the future. While the Matsapha operation highlights localised corruption, it is only a part of a much larger problem plaguing CTA. Recent investigations revealed that fuel worth over E10 million has been siphoned from the government entity through fraudulent orders and inflated invoices. Four civil servants were recently arrested by the Hhohho Fraud and Commercial Crimes Unit. The suspects include three women employed as assistant accountants and a male store man. The employees, who worked in the revenue section of CTAs Accounts Department, allegedly facilitated the theft by placing duplicate orders for fuel deliveries to the same depots. The scheme came to light when a supervisor noticed discrepancies during routine bookkeeping. The CTA has faced more corruption allegations in the past. In 2007, E3 million was allocated to fight corruption at the entity, yet incidents of mismanagement persist. Recently, there were media reports of missing Toyota Quantum engine that mysteriously disappeared from CTA premises, further fuelling concerns about accountability. As investigations proceed, there are growing demands for reform and tighter controls at CTA facilities. Analysts warn that unchecked corruption could further erode public confidence and exacerbate governments financial strain during a time of economic hardship. Misconduct The Matsapha scandal and the E10 million fuel theft underscore the need for systemic changes within the CTA and broader public institutions to prevent similar misconduct in the future. Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Public Works and Transport Thulani Mkhaliphi said he was shocked that fuel was being stolen and sold to the public at the CTA depot. He said it was unbelievable that officers sold fuel when government was at sixes trying to resolve fuel shortage in the government depots. They are criminals. They should be reported to the police, he said. The PS said his ministry will investigate the matter further and get to the bottom of it. The ministry is deeply concerned by the allegations of corruption and fuel theft at the CTA. We are committed to ensuring that those responsible are held accountable and that systems are put in place to prevent such incidents in the future, he said. He said the ministry will investigate this issue and will root out the criminals and would ensure that all employees and intermediaries implicated in the scandal are investigated. The quick answer is that Chinese phones are as safe as any other Android phone if you use them carefully, but there are particular risks. There has been evidence to show that built-in apps on some of these phones have been used to collect data on Chinese citizens, or that software pre-installed on the phones has been used to censor topics the Chinese government has mandated. ZTE are among the Chinese brands of phones now available in Australia. Credit: AP But then many of the brands sold here do comply with Europes pro-privacy General Data Protection Regulation laws, and run different software to those sold in China. Many phones these days come pre-installed with dodgy software that links out to gambling services or data-poaching games and apps, and your best bet is to remove or disable these and make sure only apps you trust have access to your information. Chinese phones are often filled with pre-installed apps from Chinese companies. Android in general is relatively strong privacy-wise in terms of your ability to deny apps access to your information. In Australia, most people have no need to use app stores other than Google Play. On Huawei phones, access to Google services may be difficult, but theyre pre-installed on most others. If youre a politician or prominent business person, there have been enough security concerns thrown around that you may want to stick with Apple, but there is no hard evidence of Chinese phone brands misusing users data in the West. Three of the latest Loading Oppo Find X8 Pro To start with one of the most expensive options, and one of the most familiar if youre coming from an American or South Korean phone, the $1800 Find X8 Pro is an absolute powerhouse. From its powerful MediaTek chip to its four 50MP cameras from Swedish firm Hasselblad with two periscope zoom lenses (one at x3, one at x6), and from an impressive IP69 water protection to a big 120Hz display, this phone is essentially competing with next years offerings from the big brands and leaves most 2024 phones in the dust. Hardware-wise, its tough to find a fault, and the cameras perform amazingly well in most light, provided youre not trying to zoom in the dark. That zoom, by the way, is quite incredible and can provide some viewable AI-assisted x60 results, while a macro lens works well and low-light video is impressive. The 80W charger makes for very fast top-ups. With software, you get Oppos take on the same text summary and image-generation AI the other brands are pushing, which seems to work as well and is easy to ignore if youre not into it. Im not a fan of ColorOS, the bright and bubbly iOS-like take on Android that Oppo uses, but the phone comes with a guaranteed five years of updates, which is not bad. Nubia RedMagic 10 Pro For a game-forward phone, this one has a very sleek look. The least expensive model (around $1000) has a geometric pattern on the rear glass, while the others have a transparent panel that exposes some screws and a suggestion of the metal frame and cooling structure beneath. The only difference between the models is the amount of RAM (starting at 12GB). The RedMagic 10 Pro is a gamer phone with serious power. Just dont let it near water. Inside is the phenomenally powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, and this is one of the least expensive devices youll find right now to house one. Nubia has included a cutting edge silicon-carbon battery with a huge 7050 mAh capacity, with an 80W charger in the box. Since its designed for gaming, you can also shut the battery off and power direct from USB-C to reduce heat. Speaking of which, theres also a built-in cooling fan with open vents that probably makes this one of the least waterproof phones you can get. Other gaming-centric touches range from the useful (touch-sensitive index finger triggers) to the bizarre (a cartoon AI girlfriend / assistant who addresses you in heavily accented English as captain), and the 144Hz OLED with under display selfie camera makes for a clean looking device. AI smarts come via Google, but as usual with gaming phones, youre getting the best performance possible at the expense of the cameras, which are ordinary. Xiaomi 14T Pro For a slightly less expensive option, this one can be found under $800 but compares very well to the likes of the Pixel 9 and Galaxy S24, which cost more. It has a bigger and sharper screen with a higher refresh rate, a higher capacity battery with a ridiculous 120W charge that theoretically will get you from flat to 100 per cent in 20 minutes and a trio of rear cameras from Leica. The Xiaomi 14T Pro stacks up to its almost-flagship rivals but comes in at a lower price. Spasming lights, screaming music, a claustrophobic crush: it felt less pub, more physical pummelling. But I had to concede that, up to that point the point my organs began to jangle inside my skin Id had a good evening. It was the last night of a solo trip around Switzerland, and Id joined the weekly Zurich Pub Crawl. As a middle-aged woman who hadnt packed party clothes (when alone, its best to travel light), Id been unsure if it was for me. Dont worry, the organisers had said: the group would be big, the average age 35, pensioners not uncommon. Women make up as much as 80 per cent of all solo travellers. Credit: iStock So, I signed up. And while the last stop was definitely not my scene, Id spent an interesting few hours mingling in bars with a mixed bunch, including two lovely Germans, a soulful Indian businessman, some Zurich natives, an Ecuadorian-Swiss and a guy from Swindon, UK. A nice change from another night alone. Theres been a 56 per cent increase in Google searches for solo holidays since 2020. In particular, more women are travelling alone its reckoned over 80 per cent of those who go solo are female; some are single, but many have partners who dont share the same interests. Bali: Scott Rush, Matthew Norman, Michael Czugaj, Martin Stephens and Si-Yi Chen are free men after almost 20 years in jails on the islands of Bali and Java. Fair-minded Australians will take this as fair enough. Two decades in foreign jails is a severe punishment for a stupid mistake of youth. But there are questions that still deserve answers. Martin Stephens (left), Michael Czugaj, Scott Rush, Matthew Norman and Si Yi Chen look on as Australia and Indonesia sign an agreement for their return home. Indonesia has been proud to show its new forgiving face under its recently inaugurated president, Prabowo Subianto, and the tight lips surrounding the deal, this masthead has been told, have been at the request of the Australians. We are told the transfer of the men to Australia they have not been pardoned by Indonesia was an act of humanitarianism from a new president putting his best diplomatic foot forward. Is Indonesia really asking for nothing in return? In the 1960s and 70s, a radical leftist group that called itself the Red Army Faction but now is more commonly referred to by the names of its leaders, Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof, committed acts of terrorism. The Baader-Meinhof Gang kidnapped and assassinated political and business figures, planted bombs and committed arson attacks. Its objective was to model and provoke an anti-capitalist revolution, of which it considered itself the vanguard. Groups such as this have cemented the idea that revolution is an activity of the left which is why the terms left and progressive are often conflated. Revolution, which seeks to radically remake society, is the opposite of the conservatism traditionally associated with the right, which by definition seeks to conserve. Ulrike Meinhof (left) and Andreas Baader: In 1975, terrorists raided the West German embassy in Stockholm to demand their freedom. Credit: AP Wirephoto But then Donald Trump is also anything but a conservative. Trumpism is a revolutionary movement that aims to tear down institutions people no longer trust. Both of the elections Trump won have represented revolutions. The first was a disorganised yell of pain from parts of society that felt left behind. The second, this year, was a much more calculated choice by voters to empower a known quantity to dismantle whatever corporate interests and bureaucracies might be holding them back. The catch-cry of the first Trump candidacy was drain the swamp. This time around, that barely needed to be said. Voters have lived through the chaos of a Trump presidency and enough decided that chaos is preferable to the stasis of establishment self-interest that prevailed under Joe Biden. Kenneth Fox The Taoiseach, Tanaiste and Minister for Justice have all condemned an attack on two off-duty gardai in Dublin city centre on Saturday morning. Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee says the attack 'was appalling', and Simon Harris says his thoughts are with the gardai and their families. In a statement on X, the Taoiseach said "My thoughts are with the off duty gardai who were victims of an alarming & egregious attack in Temple Bar last night, one of who remains in hospital. "The perpetrators of this attack will face the full rigours of the law. Anyone with information, please contact An Garda Siochana." My thoughts are with the off duty Gardai who were victims of an alarming & agregious attack in Temple Bar last night, one of who remains in hospital. The perpetrators of this attack will face the full rigours of the law. Anyone with information, please contact An Garda Siochana Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) December 14, 2024 The President of the Garda Representative Association, Mark O'Meara says their thoughts and prayers are with their injured colleagues and their loved ones. It comes as gardai are continuing to question a man who was arrested in connection with the assault of two off-duty gardai in Dublin city centre on Saturday morning. An investigation is ongoing into the assault which happened at the junction of Dame Street and Eustace Street at around 1.30am on Saturday morning. Both gardai sustained injuries during the attack. A garda in his 40s remains in a critical condition in Beaumont Hospital on Sunday morning. MBABANE Following the discovery that around E100 million invested by emaSwati in Status Capital Building Society was allegedly siphoned out of the country, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is hot on the heels of certain persons of interests in the matter. The Times SUNDAY has established that the ACC has 11warrants of arrests in relation to the case. Two of them, it has been gathered, are based locally, while the rest are believed to be in neighbouring South Africa. The individuals, and the positions they hold or once held at the entity, cannot be named as they have not been charged and the ACC is still continuing with its investigations. Inter-linked It has been gathered that this part of investigation is inter-linked with that of Ecsponent, whereby over 1 000 emaSwati lost E340 million. The link is based on the fact that among the 11 persons of interest, are those who have also been implicated in the Ecsponent saga. Worth noting is that the Parliament Select Committee elected to investigate how emaSwati lost their investments after investing in Ecsponent became aware of the Status Capital issue. As contained in the final report with recommendations, the Parliament Select Committee got the news through a submission that was made by the Investor Relations Committee (IRC) appointed by ESWIG, the former Ecsponent Eswatini. Havoc According to the Parliament Select Committees report, the IRC raised that the unfortunate reality is that whilst the Ecsponent matter was receiving the attention of emaSwati, including Parliament, the same people who were at the helm of the Ecsponent saga wreaked havoc at Status Capital Building Society, where around E100 million has reportedly been lost in the same manner as it happened at Ecsponent. Some emaSwati either had investments in both companies or resigned from Ecsponent and invested their money in Status Capital Building Society (SCBS), the IRC reportedly told the Parliament Select Committee. Also, it is contained in the Parliament Committees report that a submission was made that an urgent investigation into Status Capital must be commissioned to establish linkages with the Ecsponent saga and to ensure that intervention into addressing this matter is timeously implemented. Worth noting is that it has been reported that the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) has received authorisation to examine more than five bank accounts linked to prominent individuals in the investigation into missing funds invested by over 1 000 emaSwati and institutions in Ecsponent. Investments This was after the Attorney General, Chief Sifiso Mashampu Khumalo, told Parliament that there is a warrant of arrest against individual/s allegedly associated with the missing E335 million Ecsponent investments. However, as reported by our sister publication the Times of Eswatini, REPS has neither confirmed nor denied the existence of the warrants. The issue of the around E100 million in Status Capital became public knowledge when the SCBS took the legal route last year after discovering that the money had allegedly been siphoned out of the country without neither approval nor active involvement of the societys management. The ACC is said to have been investigating the matter for months, after which it made an application to obtain the warrants of arrests. When called for comment regarding the warrants, the Director of the ACC, Jabu Phakathi, explained that the entity operated within the ambit of the law, which prohibited the disclosure of information or details of any person who was the subject of an enquiry or investigation. Phakathi cited Section 18 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2006 and then said: In terms of the law, we do not talk about what we are doing. Therefore, we can neither confirm nor deny if we are investigating or have warrants against the persons you are referring to. Arrests The issue of the around E100 million became public knowledge when the SCBS took the legal route last year, after discovering that the money had allegedly been siphoned out of the country without neither approval nor active involvement of the societys management. The ACC has a three-pronged legal mandate of prevention, whereby it is supposed to examine practices and procedures and advice on ways of preventing corruption. It also has an education role of empowering the public and private bodies and the general public on the forms and dangers of corruption. Furthermore, the ACC has the function of investigation, which is to receive and investigate complaints of alleged or suspected corrupt practices made against any person, and refer appropriate cases to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Meanwhile, in July this year, it was reported that Status Capital had suspended payments of monthly interest to its members.The members were informed about the latest developments during a meeting that was held at Bethel Court in Ezulwini. At the time, it was said that there were over 121 investment account holders, who were receiving monthly interest from Status Capital. Following the meeting, the members relayed their unhappiness. Suspension Our sister publication, the Times of Eswatini, reported that the members claimed that they were told that the organisations coffers were dry and had to at least wait for three months and take it from there. The members noted that following the suspension of the payment of the interest earned, they no longer trusted anything and were doubtful they would ever get back their invested monies. Interestingly, they stated that some of them had invested in Ecsponent and such news was a double tragedy to them. Asked how much they had invested in Status Capital, the members said it was E50 000 and upwards, depending on how much a person received as an exit package from their various areas of employment. They stated that they were warned by officers at Status Capital not to tell or give the information to anyone, but due to their disappointment, they could not keep quiet. According to the members, most of them are pensioners and need the money to survive. The management also made it known that Status Capital had faced challenges due to the alleged misappropriation of the around E100 million of investor funds by some co-directors. The management said the alleged diversion of funds had led to substantial delays in the disbursement of monthly interest payments to investment account holders, provoking significant distress among the members. Despite the turbulence, the management said the organisation was committed to navigating through with the utmost determination to recoup the members investments. Critical This, the management said, had led to ongoing legal proceedings, which impacted critical resources essential for the continuation and survival of the institution, placing the livelihoods of their investors in jeopardy. As a result of attempts to recover these funds, the management stated that they were currently experiencing a period of substantial delays in disbursing the monthly and matured interest payments to their account holders. Also, the management said they fully recognised and profoundly understood the hardships the situation had caused to their investors and were earnestly asking for continued patience and support as they navigate through the complex period. However, in September, it was reported that Status Capital had made partial payments to all members with matured investments up to June 2024. The payments amounted to 6.2 per cent of each members investment capital. This was according to a letter that was issued by the members on August 28, 2024. The management started by acknowledging and further apologising to members for the inconvenience the delays in the processing of their matured payments may have caused and reassured them of their commitment to ensuring a resolution that aligns with their mutual interests. Authorisation It should be noted that the company once moved an application in court after learning that over E82 million invested through Status Capital Building Society had been purportedly diverted out of the country, without authorisation, by another local company. In terms of its operation, Status Capital invites members of the public to invest their hard-earned earnings and retirement savings in exchange for earning relatively high-interest rates on their investments. The society offers high rates of return on safe and secure investments at minimum risk. It generates its income from lending the invested funds to other members of the public at more favourable interest rates. Its profit is the difference between the investment and lending interest rates. Veterans of Radio Wars started in the late 80s when David Carroll and the late Garry Mac invited a few friends in December to join them for lunch. Organizer Carroll said the annual luncheon grew, some years attracting 50 or 60 seasoned radio folks. Mr. Carroll said, We gather mostly to share radio stories of the past; some stories have been told and re-told. Past luncheons were held at the Loft, Rib N Lion, Wallys East Ridge, and this year in the new Food City meeting room on S. Broad Street. This years luncheon honored some ladies of radio. They include Patti Sanders, Susie Q Luther, Melissa McDonald, Natalie Gard, and Christy Clark. Combined, the ladies have nearly 150 years experience on the radio. At 29, Natalie, as she is known on WGOW FM, is one of the youngest ladies in Chattanooga radio. Natalie began her radio career 12 years ago at Brewer Broadcasting in Chattanooga. The luncheon began with Art Sanner remembering those who have died during the year. Mr. Sanner noted, We lost Bill Miller, who worked for WFLI, Randy Black, DJ known as a champion of the local music scene, Rick Sharpe, WFLI, WDOD and WDEF radio, and Ed Aslinger, WFLI Radio. Mr. Carroll noted other famous radio Chattanooga radio personalities who have passed on include Luther Masingill, Tommy Jett, Garry Mac, Big Jon Anthony, and Ron Arnold, among others. In attendance at Saturday's luncheon were several Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame inductees: Gene Lovin, J.R. Jim Reynolds, Johnny Eagle, Larry Ward and Earl Freudenberg. Mr. Eagle, who was the longtime general manager of WFLI radio, recently celebrated his 86th birthday. Special guests were Doug Combs and Melissa McDonald who worked mostly in Nashville radio, including WSM and WLAC. The couple has been married 41 years and now lives in neighboring Winchester, Tn. As is the tradition each year, the group goes around the room and gives each radio person a few minutes to share a story or two. Veterans of Radio Wars hold their traditional luncheon the second Saturday of December. There are no dues for those in attendance, just enjoy some good food and lots of laughs. Organizer Carroll now serves as a television news anchor but started at WEPG radio, later working for WFLI and WSKZ KZ 106. Mr. Carroll said, Radio is special to me and thats why I enjoy these annual luncheons. Home News Number of colleges with heavy restrictions on free speech rises The number of colleges and universities that have significant restrictions on free speech has increased, according to a new report from a free speech advocacy group. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, formerly the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, has released a new report on the state of free speech on college campuses, titled Spotlight on Speech Codes 2023. The organization ranked nearly 500 U.S. colleges on the basis of a light system, with green light colleges having policies that do not seriously imperil free expression, yellow light colleges having vague regulations on expression, and red light colleges having policies that clearly and substantially restrict free speech. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe According to the FIRE report, for the first time in 15 years, the number of colleges with the worst free speech rating has increased, as 12 colleges went from having a yellow light status to a red light status. Laura Beltz, director of policy reform for FIRE and author of the report, told The Christian Post that the increase in red light college campuses came for a variety of reasons. Five schools in Minnesota were downgraded because the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system adopted a new, restrictive harassment policy. A few other schools adopted policies with restrictions on subjectively hateful or biased expression, said Beltz. Overall, it seems like policies that regulate how students express themselves, like protest policies, are improving, but regulations on what they are saying the content or viewpoint of that expression are worsening, she added. Although this years report showed an increase in college campuses with greater restrictions on speech, Beltz noted that there were still many positive developments that have occurred in recent years. A few factors contributed here efforts of free speech groups like FIRE have exposed these policies, so the schools with those most obviously clear and substantial restrictions on speech faced public pressure to revise them, Beltz told CP. In the past decade, about half of states across the country have explicitly banned free speech zone policies that restrict expressive activities to small, out-of-the-way areas on campus, resulting in improved policies across the board. Further, litigation from groups like FIRE has resulted in improved policies. For its report, FIRE examined the official free speech policies of 486 schools, divided between 375 four-year public colleges and 111 private colleges. The report found that 324 schools received a yellow light status, while 94 earned a red light status, an all-time high of 60 earned a green light status and eight schools received a warning, which meant that they do not promise students free speech rights at all. The report also revealed that private schools tended to rank worse than public schools, with 37.8% of private institutions getting a red light designation versus 13.9% of public institutions. Additionally, while 14.9% of public institutions got a green light designation, only 3.6% of private institutions were ranked the same. Private schools arent bound by the First Amendment like public schools are, but the vast majority of private schools across the country do promise their students free speech rights in their official written materials, so they must be held to those promises, Beltz told CP. Too many private schools want to have it both ways they make lofty statements about protecting free speech, inquiry, and debate in their handbooks and in speeches from leadership, but they infringe on free speech rights in policy and in practice. Debates over free speech on college campuses have been the subject of much controversy and litigation in recent years, with courts often ruling against strict campus speech codes. In April, for example, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit issued a unanimous ruling against the University of Central Floridas policy of banning the broadly defined discriminatory harassment. Circuit Judge Kevin Newsom authored the panel opinion, concluding that the discriminatory-harassment policy likely violates the First Amendment on the grounds that it is an overbroad and content- and viewpoint-based regulation of constitutionally protected expression. Home News Students seeking retribution for professors' speech is on the rise amid cancel culture: report Attempts to get college professors fired for their views have increased dramatically in recent years with the ascent of cancel culture, according to a new report. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), formerly known as the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, released a report Thursday titled Scholars Under Fire: Attempts to Sanction Scholars from 2000 to 2022 that examines more than 1,000 attempts to sanction professors over the past quarter century. The report found that efforts to censor college professors have increased dramatically in recent years. While just four professors faced such actions in 2000, that number exploded to a record high of 213 in 2021. The number of sanction attempts in the past three years, from 2020 to 2022, accounted for nearly half (47%) of all censorship efforts since 2000. By contrast, the total number of calls for censorship between 2010 and 2019 only accounted for 43% of all efforts since 2000, while the first decade of the century accounted for just 10%. Overall, FIRE discovered 1,080 attempts to sanction scholars from 2000 to 2022. An analysis of the origins of the censorship attempts reveals that 52% of calls for scholars to face retribution for their views or statements came from the political left, while 44% came from the political right. The predominant political affiliation of those calling for sanctions against professors differed based on the category that the source of the censorship demands fall into. Among sanction attempts that originated from graduate and undergraduate students as well as scholars, the overwhelming majority came from the left side of the political spectrum. Meanwhile, a slightly higher share of complaints arising from administrators came from those on the right. A significantly higher percentage of sanction attempts among both the general public and politicians originated from the right than the left. In a statement, FIRE Director of Faculty Outreach, Komi Frey, attributed the rise in calls for termination or punishment of college faculty members to cancel culture, where individuals or groups seek to punish those with dissenting opinions. Cancel culture is particularly pernicious when it targets people charged with discovering and disseminating knowledge, Frey said. Vocal, dogmatic minorities on the left and the right are trying to restrict the range of acceptable ideas in institutions of higher education, and this should alarm us all. You do not need to agree with a scholars teaching, research, or extramural speech to recognize that censorship is not the answer. FIREs director of Polling and Analytics, Sean Stevens, added: Even one attempted sanction is too many. Over a thousand tells us there are serious problems on American campuses when it comes to free expression and academic freedom. Schools need to recommit to implementing policies fostering campus environments that reject attempts to punish protected speech. The report provides specific examples of events in U.S. history that contributed to a rise in sanction attempts, including the election of Donald Trump as president in 2016 and the #MeToo movement designed to raise awareness for sexual harassment and misconduct in the workplace that first emerged the following year. Additionally, FIRE identified the death of George Floyd in police custody in May 2020 as the source of a tsunami of sanction attempts. An individuals views on controversial sociopolitical issues frequently led to sanction attempts, with a professors views on race the most common source of calls for censorship. Additional topics that led to pushes for retribution include, in descending order from most frequent to least frequent: gender, religion, sexuality, police and military protests, the conflict between Israel and Palestine, COVID-19, economic inequality, terrorism, health, free speech, elections, foreign affairs, court and trial-related matters, immigration, abortion, election, climate and environmental concerns, the Second Amendment and the Russia-Ukraine war. Calls for censorship based on a professors views on race were far more likely to originate from the left than the right, as was the case with gender, free speech and immigration. On the other hand, those on the right were more likely to call for sanctions over a scholars view on Israel and Palestine, economic inequality and terrorism. As for what happens after the calls for censorship, 698 of the 1,080 censorship attempts resulted in some sort of sanction, specifically the investigation or termination of the professor in question. More than 200 sanction attempts resulted in the termination of a targeted professor, while an additional 162 resulted in a suspension. While FIREs database documenting incidents of attempts to get professors fired will continue to be updated, the data included in this report only covers sanction attempts prior to March 8 of this year. As of April 21, the total number of professors who have faced calls for censorship since 2000 has risen to 1,094, meaning that 14 additional scholars were added to the database since the reports completion. Home News This week in Christian history: John Emory dies, John Paul II apologizes for Jan Hus, William Temple becomes deacon Throughout the extensive history of the Church, there have been numerous events of lasting significance. Each week marks anniversaries of impressive milestones, unforgettable tragedies, amazing triumphs, memorable births and notable deaths. Some of the events, drawn from over 2,000 years of history, might be familiar, while others might be unknown to many. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe The following pages highlight anniversaries of memorable events that occurred this week in Christian history. They include the death of John Emory, Pope John Paul II apologizing for the execution of Jan Hus, and William Temple becoming a deacon. Home Opinion 10 ways to pray for Syria's surviving Christian minority In the past few days, Syria has faced an unprecedented escalation in its ongoing crisis. Reports emerged Monday morning that President Bashar al-Assad who has ruled Syria for more than 20 years has fled the country amidst escalating violence and political turmoil. Russian state media now reports that Assad is in Moscow. Key infrastructure, including power stations and communication networks, has been targeted in coordinated attacks, further plunging parts of the country into chaos. Civilians are being displaced at an alarming rate, while minority communities, including Christians, are bracing for an uncertain future. The situation is volatile. However, Christian leaders remain committed to serving their communities, even as they face unprecedented challenges and uncertainty as they navigate the new reality. Alongside their fellow Syrians, the Christian community there was stunned by this rapid change in Syrias political reality, according to our global head of content at Open Doors. He said that in this kind of situation, uncertainty is always present no one knows how the new leadership in Syria will treat minorities, including Christians. Believers there have endured so much already, and many likely remember the worst treatment under some groups at the height of the civil war. We at Open Doors are calling upon the global community to uphold the people of Syria especially the Christian minority in prayer and to advocate for peace and stability in the region. Syrian Christians have asked us to pray for peace, for wisdom, and for the new leadership of the country to be committed to reconciliation for all Syrians. In addition, the Syrian believers have asked us to pray that they will be lights of hope and peace amid a chaotic time in Syrias history. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe Here are 10 ways you can pray: Pray for unity among leaders, and that they keep the Syrian peoples interest as a first priority. Urgently pray for peace in Syria, that the cycle of violence would cease, that there would be no spirit of vengeance against anyone and that Gods justice and mercy would prevail in this land that has been troubled for more than a decade. Pray for the leaders of all factions to be moved towards reconciliation and for the protection of innocent civilians. Lift up Christian communities in prayer, asking for strength and courage. Pray for the Church to remain a beacon of hope and love, even as it faces immense challenges. Pray for church leaders, that they (re)commit to their calling to serve the Church and their society at large. Ask God to grant wisdom to church leaders as they guide their communities. Pray for safety and resilience for families forced to make impossible choices about whether to stay or to leave. Pray for the other minorities (Alawites and others), that they will be protected to avoid more bloodshed. Finally, pray for healing for Syria as a nation, that broken relationships would be restored, and that the hope of Christ would shine, bringing comfort to the weary and a future to those who feel forgotten. May the global Church stand in unity, interceding for our brothers and sisters in Syria and for all those longing for peace and justice. The Voluntary Organisations Disability Group Disability charities are set to face an estimated 266m shortfall next year due to increases in employer national insurance contributions (NICs) and minimum wage rates, according to a new survey. The Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG) commissioned a survey of its over 130 disability charity members, which found that one in three are poised to hand back local government contracts and a quarter are considering redundancies. Most disability charities (over 60%) that responded to the survey, conducted by consultancy firm Cordis Bright, expect a financial deficit by March 2025. Many charities will be forced to make redundancies, cut hours or implement a pay freeze for staff, the survey stated, unless the government fully funds or exempts charities from the NICs rise. Some 24% of charities said that staff cuts were inevitable with 18% considering a pay freeze or reduction in the hourly pay rate for their staff. Charity umbrella bodies have warned that the NICs rise will cost the sector overall an extra 1.4bn a year but chancellor Rachel Reeves has ruled out any exemptions for voluntary organisations. Rises set to push charities to the brink Rhidian Hughes, VODG chief executive, said: The recent budget announcements on increased employer national insurance contributions and national living wage present significant challenges for disability services. Third-sector providers of frontline services have faced years of underfunding, and these changes are set to push charities to the brink. In the next few months, many local authorities will be finalising their proposed funding settlements with providers. Increasingly it is looking as if the level of uplift in funding will fall well short of the resources that are needed to ensure that the organisations providing the services do not lose money. Disability charities do not want to hand contracts back to local authorities but equally they cannot take on the financial consequences of services which are not adequately funded. The government is seeking to stabilise the social care sector in advance of moving forward towards a National Care Service. Unfortunately, the results of this survey show that these unfunded and substantial increases in costs will have precisely the reverse effect. Given the fragile state of the social care sector both private and not-for-profit, it is hard to see how this will not compound challenges already prevalent within the system. We cannot let this happen Lisa Hopkins, charity SeeAbility chief executive, said: As a charity we employ close to 1000 staff, so you can imagine the financial impact this national insurance change will have. As providers we cannot absorb these costs and as a result, disabled people will go without support, with devastating consequences. We cannot let this happen. Social care is not a problem, an inconvenience, or a financial drain. It provides a brilliant opportunity to support people to have ambitious lives. It is a lifeline for so many people, now we need the government to throw people with disabilities a financial lifeline, rethink, and realise the true value and cost of social care. 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, ORANGE, Ohio Sexual imposition: Park Avenue Police responded to the Silverspot Cinema in Pinecrest at 9:46 p.m. Dec. 6 for a report of a sexual assault allegedly involving offensive contact with another person. The initial report indicated that police made an arrest, with no further information available as the investigation continued. Sexual imposition involving contact that is offensive to the other person is listed in the Ohio Revised Code as a third-degree misdemeanor, unless the offender has a prior conviction, which would elevate the offense to a first-degree misdemeanor. Theft: Harvard Road Police were called to Coopers Hawk Winery at 7:45 p.m. Dec. 7 on a report of a theft -- described as a purse-snatching -- that had just occurred to a patron at the bar. No further details were immediately available as the active investigation continued. Car crash, impaired driving, failure to control: Chagrin Boulevard, Orange Place Police were dispatched to the area of the Shell True North gas station at 2:49 p.m. Dec. 8 on a report of a car crash and a possibly impaired driver. Upon arrival, an officer spoke with the driver of a Mazda CX30 who said he was pulling out of the gas station lot when he was hit by another car. As he was explaining, the officer smelled an odor of alcohol on his breath, with bystanders stating they felt that driver might be intoxicated. This led to unsuccessful field sobriety tests and his arrest on suspicion of drunk driving. Orange Fire Department medics were dispatched to the scene to check all parties involved in the crash and all refused treatment. The Cleveland-area man was taken to the Solon jail, where a Breathalyzer indicated a blood-alcohol content (BAC) of .196 percent, more than double Ohios legal limit of .08 percent BAC. He was also cited for failure to maintain reasonable control. Get police blotters by email every weekday for free with our new Police Blotter newsletter. Sign up at cleveland.com/newsletters Read more from the Chagrin Solon Sun. If Statehouse history is any guide, the 132 members of the Ohio General Assembly may try this week likely the last week of its 2023-24 session to give its members and other elected Ohio officials a pay raise, hoping voters will forget that in the two years before the General Assembly will again face them in an election. This is not to say that a legislative pay increase isnt deserved. General Assembly members last gave themselves a pay raise in December 2018, before the pandemic. But as is often typical of lame-duck action, which is when legislative pay increases generally appear, the pay raise was shoe-horned into that sessions Senate Bill 296, which started out as an impossible-to-oppose measure to increase death benefits paid to survivors of law enforcement officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty. Then-Gov. John R. Kasich, a Westerville Republican who was about to leave office, vetoed the raises, but the General Assembly -- then, as now, run by Republicans -- overrode Kasich just after Christmas. Why is the lame-duck so popular for the pay-raise order of business -- for General Assembly pay and that of many other elected officials? A key reason, apart from the hope voters will forget before the next state legislative elections, is that, except for most judges, the Ohio Constitution forbids in-term pay-raises for elected officials. That means that, unless a pay-raise bill passes before Jan. 1, when new terms begin for House members and half the Senate (and for many other elected officials, typically county officeholders), all those officials must be re-elected before getting a raise. The base pay for an Ohio state representative or state senator today is $71,099. (According to the Census, median household income in Ohio from 2018 to 2022 was $66,990 -- which means half all Ohio households made less than $66,990, and half more.) The legislative pay in Ohio is currently less than in at least two of our neighbors. Base pay for members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, recently raised, is $106,422; for members of the Michigan Legislature, its $71,685. That said, despite sleight-of-hand Statehouse debates, many Ohio General Assembly members are paid far more than this years $71,099 legislative base pay. Examples: The House speaker and Senate president are paid $110,827 each this year. And General Assembly members who chair committees plums personally handed out by the speaker and president are each paid $9,000 extra this year, boosting their 2024 salaries to more than $80,000. (Chairs of the Senate and Houses budget-writing Finance committees are each paid an extra $13,500). Beyond pay, General Assembly members are eligible to enroll in Ohios state employee health insurance plan and the Public Employees Retirement System. Its unclear whether these salary supplements, as well as General Assembly reimbursements for legislators Columbus lodging costs, violate the Ohio Constitutions strict limits on legislative pay. (In a ruling in the 1930s, for example, the Ohio Supreme Court, citing that language, forbade paying state legislators a $4 per day living allowance for attending special legislative sessions.) It would be easy, and in some respects justified, to cheap-shot the General Assemblys pay-raise maneuvers. As noted, after six years, pay increases seem due. Still, passing legislative raises at the tail end of a legislative session -- when many of those voting on the pay raises will be leaving the legislature, either because of defeat at the polls, or term limits, or retirements -- means that many of the General Assembly members voting yes to any pay-raise bill this month may never again face Ohio taxpayers, the people wholl have to cover the costs of any pay raises approved in this lame-duck session. Perhaps its expecting too much from a General Assembly that increasingly wastes its time on fringe issues, but theres no reason why a bipartisan group of next sessions General Assembly members cant fashion a better way to set elected officials pay. One way might be proposing to voters a constitutional amendment creating an expert, nonpartisan body to periodically recommend legislative pay raises, which the General Assembly -- before the next statewide general election could accept or reject. There are surely many other possible mechanisms the General Assembly (or voters) could devise. At the very least, a nonpartisan committee made of compensation experts could study the issue and make a fair recommendation. Meanwhile, the status quo -- pay raises rammed through the General Assembly during its frantic lame-duck session -- needs to change. About our editorials: Editorials express the view of the editorial board of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer -- the senior leadership and editorial-writing staff. As is traditional, editorials are unsigned and intended to be seen as the voice of the news organization. Have something to say about this topic? * Send a letter to the editor, which will be considered for print publication. * Email general questions about our editorial board or comments or corrections on this editorial to Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, at esullivan@cleveland.com. Nothing better shows how Ohio gets sold to the highest bidder all nice and legal than the antics of the states Oil and Gas Land Management Commission. The panel, despite overwhelming public opposition, but with the General Assemblys lobby-lubricated support, lets oil-and-gas drillers frack under Ohios state parks and wildlife areas. True, the drillers have to pay the state money for the right to do so. But its hard to imagine those payments could cover potentially costly environmental damages, if they occur, to Ohioans public property their state lands. Gov. Mike DeWine, a Cedarville Republican, appoints the commission, whose operating philosophy seems to echo 19th-century railroad mogul William H. Vanderbilts take on popular opinion The public be damned. The Oil and Gas Land Management Commissions exploitation of what is, legally speaking, the property of all Ohioans has been eloquently reported by cleveland.coms Jake Zuckerman. An Ohioan has to wonder what public-relations alibi DeWine, who leaves office in two years, and Ohios dysfunctional legislature, will improvise when, as could happen, commission-approved fracking pollutes a state park or natural area. DeWines predecessor, fellow Republican John R. Kasich, of Westerville, blocked fracking in state parks and natural areas. Kasich also tried boosting the severance tax on minerals and oil and gas produced in Ohio, but Republican legislators balked. Ohios laughably light severance tax on gas production is 2.5 cents per thousand cubic feet, and, on oil, 10 cents per barrel. Fracking of state lands, and the accompanying risks, runs counter to the pro-conservation tradition that Ohio Republicans long embraced. Then-ex-President Theodore Roosevelt, addressing Ohios 1912 constitutional convention, said this: This country, as Lincoln said, belongs to the people. So do the natural resources which make it rich. Ohio voters OKd a convention-proposed constitutional amendment empowering the General Assembly to promote conservation. Convention Delegate Frederick G. Leete, an Ironton Republican and a civil engineer, described by regional historian Daniel Webster Williams, a Jackson editor and state senator, as one of the acknowledged leaders of the [conventions] conservation forces, warned fellow delegates that they needed to protect Ohios forests and waters: Capital is now seeking to acquire rights on a number of streams in the state, Leete said, and the people in the vicinity where such rights have been secured will wake up some day to the fact that they are at the mercy of some corporation. Especially sickening is that this story has played out before -- of Appalachian Ohio being ravished by corporate interests, who, after gorging on Ohio-gleaned profits, leave the region to languish. People who traverse Ohios Appalachian counties today sometimes wonder how the state could, say, let coal companies, transform fields and forests into strip-mined moonscapes. Easy: Coal barons donated bigtime to pals at the Statehouse. (In that connection, its believed that not until 1959 was anyone prosecuted for violating Ohios original 1913 lobbying law. The target: a lawyer-lobbyist whose client was Ohios coal industry. Big surprise.) The economic benefits of such resource-exporting regions of Ohio are with us yet. The Center for Community Solutions in Cleveland reported last year that, while the highest rates of poverty may be in Ohios cities, Appalachia accounts for the largest swaths, geographically, of the state living in high rates of poverty. And while the center didnt say so, thats very likely a major consequence of the slash-and-burn economics of natural-resource extraction: Thomas Suddes Go in; drill, scrape or mine; return to New York, Dallas, wherever. It was coal yesterday. Its gas, today risking lands reserved for all Ohioans enjoyment, including those who fish and hunt, that may be marred in the relentless search for private gain (and Statehouse donations). As if the status quo werent bad enough, the Senate and House voted last week to pass initially innocuous Substitute House Bill 308 that as rewritten by a Senate committee requires the Land Management Commission to lengthen the term of leases that let frackers exploit state-owned lands. The bills headed to DeWines desk. To ask whether the governor will sign it is like asking if the sun will come up tomorrow. Is this really the Ohio that voters want to bequeath their daughters and sons at least those who arent already so discouraged that theyre leaving? Thomas Suddes, a member of the editorial board, writes from Athens. To reach Thomas Suddes: tsuddes@cleveland.com, 216-408-9474 Have something to say about this topic? * Send a letter to the editor, which will be considered for print publication. * Email general questions, comments or corrections regarding this opinion article to Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, at esullivan@cleveland.com. by Malcolm Murray The world does not lend itself well to steady states. Rather, there is always a constant balancing act between opposing forces. We see this now play out forcefully in AI. To take a step back, the balancing act is present whether we look at the micro or the macro level. On the micro level, in our personal lives, we have seen how almost everything is good in moderation, but excess of anything can be fatal. When it comes to countries economic system, history has provided enough examples for us to be fairly certain that capitalism leads to prosperity and communism leads to stagnation. However, we have also seen how unconstrained capitalism leads to a race to the lowest common denominator and can lead to decrease in quality of life on non-GDP measures for the majority of people. When it comes to political system, we can admire China in the short term, in awe of how autocracies get more things done than democracies, but we have also seen how unchecked power inevitably leads to human rights degradations for the majority of people. It is the same at the meso level, with new technologies. The two big technology trends of the 2010s followed this pattern. Social media started out being a force for freedom, overturning dictators and connecting old friends, but left unchecked and unregulated, it deteriorated into a click-baiting attention maximizer, driving children to suicide. The gig economy started as an environmentalist utopia, with collaborative consumption of idle resources, but quickly deteriorated into the creation of a new proletariat, living on below-subsistence earnings. So it is no surprise that we now face the same challenge with AI. As a society, we need to balance the opportunities with the risks. We need some AI regulation, but at the same time, not too much so that it stifles innovation. We know that AI offers the promise of tremendous upside as well as downside. On the upside, we have seen recent examples such as the release of the new GenCast AI model from Google DeepMind for weather prediction. This could help foresee extreme weather events better than existing models, saving lives in the process. But on the flipside, we keep seeing examples of AI used indiscriminately leading to severely negative outcomes. The recent shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO seems to have been partly motivated by AI-driven processes, and Amazon recently reported a huge uptick in cyber threats due to AI. The tricky part is that the needle is always moving. At any given point in time, we may be either under-controlling or over-controlling a given risk. This means either letting AI developers and deployers run rampant with the risks, or drowning them in red tape. Either allowing for too many adverse outcomes in society, or conversely, depriving society of large potential benefits. At this point in time, my best guess is that we are still under-controlling the risks from AI. For a technology with such potentially large transformative powers and such wide-ranging risks, there is very little regulation yet and AI developers can still largely do as they please. Although neither risks not benefits really are widely at display in society yet, we actually at the moment arguably have a better sense of the risks than the benefits. The CEOs of the AI developers tout potential benefits in their manifestos. In a recent blog post, Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, painted a rosy picture of the future AI-enabled world, for example, but the benefits are often presented quite hazily (AI will cure cancer). For the risks, as mentioned, we are already seeing the harms on low levels, and we are starting to have quite precise threat models for how AI could inflict large-scale harm. It is notable that at a recent conference, I was asked why I was advocating for more quantitative measuring in AI risk management. The questioner argued that since we dont know the benefits, how can we start to discuss the risks. My reply was obviously that if we dont know the benefits, and we do know the risks, then why on earth are we in gung-ho deployment mode. There is of course the danger that we will over-adjust when regulations do start kicking in and AI will then become overcontrolled. Nick Bostrom, one of the first to bring the idea of the risks of advanced AI to the attention of policymakers with his book Superintelligence in 2014, has started warning of the risks with the pendulum swinging too far in the other direction. However, so far, the signs are promising. SB1047, for example, the California AI regulation that was eventually vetoed by Governor Newsom, was the subject of heated debate and much hyperbole. However, it was actually a quite reasonable piece of legislation. It would only have inflicted a regulatory burden on the developers or fine-tuners of very large models (10^26 FLOPS or >$100 million) (although noting that it had some less ideal vagueness in its language). In relation to the large training costs these developers incur, the relative costs of regulatory compliance are trivial. Similarly, the process in the EU also seems to be proceeding in quite a balanced fashion. While there were many complaints of the EU AI Act itself being too restrictive, the recent release of the first draft of the Code of Practice that will guide companies compliance with the Act was quite positive. This is being drafted by a wide range of very experienced external experts, with input from a large number of stakeholders. As one of those stakeholders, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the first draft. While still high-level, it seems to reflect the severity of some of the potential risks from AI from the most advanced models, while still being very conscious of not inflicting a regulatory burden on companies that are developing less advanced models, that pose less risks to society. However, given how little we currently can specify the exact benefits and risks of AI, the truth is we simply dont know whether we are over- or under-controlling the risk. In an ideal world, we would be able to measure both the risks and the benefits, and know when we are straying too far either in the direction of over-controlling the risk, or under-controlling it. But we are of course still far from that. The key imperative for the near term is therefore the need to better understand the risks and benefits of AI and start on the journey of making them more measurable, more quantifiable and more comparable with each other. Enjoying the content on 3QD? Help keep us going by donating now. Investor confidence in Chinese earnings' growth remains the missing ingredient to drive a sustained stock market rally in the world's second-largest economy, already barraged by government stimulus measures and the overhang of U.S. tensions. "For Chinese equities to meaningfully outperform, we need to see the policy announcements result in an actual easing of deflationary pressures and a rebound in corporate earnings, both of which will take time," Aaron Costello, head of Asia at Cambridge Associates, said in an email Thursday. The CSI 300 index dipped 1% last week, tumbling 2.4% on Friday alone, after Beijing reaffirmed plans for increasing the deficit next year and expanding economic support , but didn't reveal details. China typically announces its GDP target and fiscal plans at a parliamentary meeting in March. Stocks are now almost 12% below the 52-week high reached in early October. "It is clear that China is setting the stage to increase stimulus in 2025, potentially to counteract any adverse trade policies from the incoming Trump administration," Costello said. Cambridge Associates is neutral on Chinese stocks, wanting to see more evidence of a pickup in growth. Improving earnings Yet despite the broad pressure on the economy, earnings in specific industries are forecast to improve. Chinese medical device companies can see earnings widen next year, especially after the Ministry of Finance earlier this month set a draft of plans that would make it 20% cheaper for local governments to buy domestically produced products versus foreign ones, HSBC analysts said in a Dec. 10 report. While the public comment period closes in early January, implementation is unclear. "With recovery of China's hospital procurement for medical equipment from September, we foresee a growth rebound for the China medical device sector in 2025," the HSBC analysts said. Shanghai-traded United Imaging can see earnings grow 46% in 2025, reversing this year's losses, they predict. Snibe, traded in the Shenzhen market, can see 19% earnings growth, with Mindray profits expected to climb 15%. HSBC rates all three stocks a buy. The new policy favoring domestic brands underscores China's desire to reduce its reliance on exports to the U.S. and American-made high-tech products. The Biden administration has restricted Chinese companies from buying advanced semiconductors made in the U.S., while President-elect Donald Trump has vowed across-the-board, 10% tariffs on Chinese imports . But the exact nature of the next administration's policy toward China is unclear. After ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, Trump also told CNBC's Jim Cramer that "we're going to have a lot of talks with China. We have a good relationship with China." Trump cast his previous position on China as overly harsh, while noting how talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping could help address U.S. concerns. Separately on Thursday, Trump's incoming press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that the President-elect has invited Xi to the Jan. 20 inauguration. Beijing has yet to publicly respond. Limited upside Upside for the MSCI China Index is limited until foreign investors know the scale of Trump's tariffs and sanctions, and see profit growth across China's economy, the Macro Research Board said in a note Wednesday. For now, foreign investors are only interested in trading around potential China policy shifts, but ignoring improving fundamentals, such as how large internet platform companies are seeing "significant" improvement in future earnings, the report said. "The key signal for upgrading positions in Chinese stocks [from neutral] will be found in an improvement in bank earnings," the MRB report said, noting that "the single most important indicator for upgrading China would therefore be a pickup in credit volumes." Credit data for November released Friday missed the expectations of economists polled by Reuters, and Citigroup analysts pointed out that lower corporate demand was largely responsible. Official figures on November retail sales, industrial production and investment are due out on Monday. "As much as Beijing wants to stimulate more employment, home buying and consumer spending, [policymakers] also want to avoid encouraging high-debt sectors to take on more debt," Paul Christopher, head of global investment strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, said in an email. "This dilemma is likely to mean more limited support than in the past." "2024 provides a good example of what we think is to come," Christopher said, referring to how Chinese stocks have whipsawed this year as forecasts of policy support rose and fell. Looking ahead to next year, Christopher said he still favors U.S. large-cap stocks over other asset classes. Those include smaller U.S. stocks and names listed overseas, he said, noting Wells Fargo "would use any bump higher in emerging market equities to reallocate to U.S. large-caps." The S & P 500 is almost 27% higher in 2024, on pace for its second consecutive gain of more than 20%. In contrast, this year's rally in Chinese stocks could snap multiple years of declines. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index is on track to break a four-year losing streak, posting a gain of more than 17% for the year so far. The Shanghai composite is up 14% year-to-date, after two straight years of losses. The MSCI China Index, which tracks stocks traded in both Hong Kong and the mainland, has held onto more than half of its gains since a surge of more than 35% fromthe lows in September to the October highs. Costello at Cambridge Associates pointed out in a 2025 outlook that a "market collapse is unlikely." "Downside risks to China seem contained as monetary easing and actions taken to control local government debt risks should help to prevent further stress," Costello said. CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report. China faces a tall order in its efforts to catch up to Elon Musk's SpaceX satellite service. SpaceX's Starlink already has nearly 7,000 operational satellites in orbit and serves around 5 million customers in more than 100 countries, according to SpaceX. The service is meant to offer high-speed internet to customers in remote and underserved areas. SpaceX hopes to expand its megaconstellation to as many as 42,000 satellites. China is aiming for a similar scale and hopes to have around 38,000 satellites across three of its low earth orbit internet projects, known as Qianfan, Guo Wang and Honghu-3. Aside from Starlink, European-based Eutelsat OneWeb has also launched more than 630 low earth orbit, or LEO, internet satellites. Amazon also has plans for a large LEO constellation, currently called Project Kuiper, made up of more than 3,000 satellites, though the company has launched only two prototype satellites so far. With so much competition, why would China even bother pouring money and effort into such megaconstellations? "Starlink has really shown that it is able to bring internet access to individuals and citizens in remote corners and provide an ability for citizens to access the internet and whatever websites, whatever apps they would like," said Steve Feldstein, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "For China, a big push has been to censor what citizens can access," Feldstein said. "And so for them, they say, 'Well, this presents a real threat. If Starlink can provide uncensored content either to our citizens or to individuals of countries that are allied with us, that is something that could really pierce through our censorship regime. And so we need to come up with an alternative.'" Blaine Curcio, founder of Orbital Gateway Consulting, agrees. "In certain countries, China could see this as almost like a differentiator. It's like: 'Well, maybe we're not as quick to market, but hey, we will censor the heck out of your internet if you'd like us to, and we'll do it with a smile on our faces.'" Experts say that while Chinese constellations won't be the choice internet provider for places such as the U.S., Western Europe, Canada and other U.S. allies, plenty of other regions could be open to a Chinese service. "There's a couple of geographic areas in particular that might be attractive for a Starlink-like competitor, specifically one made by China, including China itself," said Juliana Suess, an associate at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. "Russia, for example, but also Afghanistan and Syria are not yet covered by Starlink. And there's also large parts of Africa that aren't yet covered." "We've seen that 70% of 4G infrastructures in the continent of Africa are already built by Huawei," Suess added. "And so having a space-based perspective to that might sort of further build inroads there." Aside from being a tool for geopolitical influence, having a proprietary satellite internet constellation is increasingly becoming a national security necessity, especially when ground internet infrastructure is crippled during war. "When it comes to the difference that Starlink technology has played in the Ukraine battlefield, one of the big leaps we've seen has been the emergence of drone warfare and the connected battlefield," Feldstein said. "Having satellite-based weaponry is something that's viewed as a crucial military advantage. And so I think China sees all that and says investing in this is absolutely critical for our national security goals." Watch the video to find out more about why China is building out these megaconstellations and the challenges the country will face. Think twice before sending your next text message. Or better yet, make sure you are using an end-to-end encryption method. Consumers regularly use different types of messaging technology from the biggest technology companies including Apple , Alphabet and Meta Platforms , including iMessage, Google Messages, WhatsApp and SMS, but the level of protection varies. Now, the U.S. government is expressing greater concern after a recent massive hack of the nation's largest telecom companies. Last month, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed a campaign by hackers associated with China, Salt Typhoon, that compromised AT&T and Verizon , and others, and was one of the largest hacks of U.S. infrastructure in history. Following that warning, CISA, the National Security Agency, the FBI and international partners published a joint guide to help protect Americans. One suggestion is to use end-to-end encryption, a method that makes communications more secure. End-to-end encryption helps ensure that only the intended recipients can read your messages as they travel between your phone and another person's phone. Secure messaging apps use end-to-end encryption to protect communications from hackers, surveillance and unauthorized access, so even messaging app providers can't read your messages. "All things being equal, if you have the opportunity to use a platform that's end-to-end encrypted, you should," said Michael Hughes, chief business officer of Duality Technologies, which allows organizations to share and analyze sensitive data using encryption. Many consumers don't know their options for communicating securely over messaging apps. Here are the basics. WhatsApp, Signal among best end-to-end options Consumers use different messaging apps for various purposes, often without giving a second thought to security. However, there are notable differences among platforms that people need to be aware of. From a security perspective, free messaging apps like Meta's WhatsApp and Signal whose co-founder was one of the creators of WhatsApp are considered the best because end-to-end encryption is built in. That makes these apps highly preferable to SMS and MMS, two older methods of messaging that don't offer end-to-end encryption, said Trevor Horwitz, founder of TrustNet, a cybersecurity and compliance services provider. Even platforms considered the best for end-to-end encryption have downsides. Signal is a favorite among many privacy enthusiasts because its mission emphasizes not collecting or storing sensitive information. This can be especially compelling for people who are wary of WhatsApp's parent Facebook and its privacy practices. The downside to Signal is it's not as widely used as WhatsApp and if your contacts aren't on it, you can't communicate, said Roger Grimes, an analyst at KnowBe4, a security platform provider. There are also paid messaging apps that are end-to-end encrypted, such as Threema. It's privacy by design and no phone number or email address is required, but it costs a few dollars, and getting your friends and family to join when there are free options that are already popular might be a challenge. Most people will use encryption "if it's default and they don't have the slightest inconvenience," Grimes said. RCS and iMessage Many messaging platforms now use RCS, which stands for Rich Communication Services. It's a successor to SMS and MMS that has enhanced features and also offers the ability for end-to-end encryption, though not by default on all devices. For example, RCS messages using Google Messages are automatically upgraded to end-to-end encryption, but Apple's implementation of RCS on iPhones is not end-to-end encrypted, Horwitz said. For any Apple device user, the company's proprietary iMessage app is end-to-end encrypted, but for users sending RCS messages through other text plans, such as a mobile carrier text option, end-to-end encryption isn't offered. As Apple explains itself of sending messages through non-iMessage RCS options: "They're not protected from a third-party reading them while they're sent between devices." Additionally, not all devices are compatible with RCS and it's not universally supported by carriers. Plus, there are compatibility issues between some iPhone and Android devices that are still being worked out, Horwitz said. Facebook Messenger gaps in encryption It's even more complicated because technology companies have multiple messaging products and not every application from a particular provider supports end-to-end encryption in the same way. For example, Facebook Messenger offers end-to-end encrypted messages, but not in all cases. According to Facebook, some products don't currently support end-to-end encryption, such as community chats for Facebook groups, chats with businesses or accounts using business messaging tools, Marketplace chats and others. Consumers should try to dig deeper into the apps they are using to understand how end-to-end encryption works for a particular app, said Deirdre Connolly, cryptography standardization research engineer at SandboxAQ, an AI applications developer. This information is often available in the support or privacy section of a provider's website. But even then, it can be hard to find and decipher. "You have to go into the fine print," Connolly said. Google vs. Apple Google Messages is the default messaging app on many devices running the Android operating system and many people use it to communicate, but consumers need to understand that not all messages sent or received using the app are end-to-end encrypted. The app supports end-to-end encryption when messaging other users using Google Messages over RCS, according to the company. But messages aren't end-to-end encrypted when communicating with an iPhone user, for example. Text messages appear dark blue in the RCS state and light blue in the SMS/MMS state. Users will also see a lock symbol when end-to-end encryption is active in a conversation. In Apple's case, communications between two iMessage users are end-to-end encrypted, but iMessage is an Apple-specific platform. That means, at present, communications between iMessage users and Android device users aren't end-to-end encrypted. A green message bubble instead of a blue one indicates the message was sent using MMS/SMS instead of iMessage. In fact, a Department of Justice antitrust case against Apple harps on the failure to offer end-to-end encryption outside its iOS messaging app as a monopoly concern. Protocols are being developed to allow end-to-end encryption between different communication platforms using RCS, but that's still a work in progress. "Work with key industry stakeholders is progressing well and we look forward to updating the market in the coming months," said a spokesperson for GSMA, an industry organization spearheading this effort. Phone settings and ongoing risk of hacks One thing people should do is check the settings on their phones. Many consumers have older phones and those who don't have auto updates enabled may miss critical security updates, which could include messaging apps that allow for end-for-end encryption, said Chris Henderson, senior director of threat operations at Huntress, a cybersecurity company. Also, with a new phone, settings on transferred apps might not migrate. If you have enabled end-to-end encryption for apps on your prior phone, it's also a good idea to check that the settings are enabled on the new phone as well, Henderson said. End-to-end encryption is not foolproof because hackers can intercept users' communications in other ways, such as if the device itself is compromised, Horwitz said. For security purposes, it's also important to keep your devices healthy by installing all software updates, avoiding sketchy downloads, and performing periodic reboots. Even so, using end-to-end encryption is a good practice, when available. "Threat actors go where the masses go," said Kory Daniels, global CISO for Trustwave, a cybersecurity and managed security services provider. "If the masses are still using unencrypted communication methods, [bad actors] will continue to exploit the opportunity until users begin to evolve their digital behaviors." These days, late-night talk show hosts tend to be extremely chummy. Exhibit A: The time Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, and Jimmy Fallon broke into James Cordens bedroom to bid him farewell. This pop-cultural shift is perhaps most evident in the warm relationship between CBS The Late Show and NBCs The Tonight Show. Once bitter rivals for the 11:35 p.m. time slot, nowadays, the respective hosts will casually chat over Zoom during the show, like its no big deal. Play Things were clearly way more competitive back in the days when David Letterman and Jay Leno were still on TV. After all, the only reason that Letterman even had a competing show to begin with is because he was passed over for the Tonight Show gig in favor of Leno. It wasnt just business, it was personal. Which made everything a lot more exciting. Advertisement The Late Night Wars were fought over peoples eyeballs, and that attention was measured in TV ratings. While Letterman beat Leno in the ratings initially, Leno eventually overtook him, following his famous what the hell were you thinking? interview with Hugh Grant. According to The Los Angeles Times, after that moment, Lenos show routinely beat Letterman in the ratings for the vast majority of the time they went head-to-head. Play So how did Letterman feel about losing out to Leno in the ratings department? The host recently spoke with GQ and was asked about this very issue. Advertisement Advertisement Letterman acknowledged that he and Leno were two very different types of hosts. While he was more acerbic and ironic, Leno was, as Letterman put it, an everyman, and the type of guy youd want to have a beer with (just long as the place where youre getting a beer isnt at the bottom of a 60-foot hill). And Lenos ratings dominance really did seem to mess with Lettermans head. In the beginning its a huge assault and insult to your ego, because you think, Well, no Im the show, Im the guy Americas been waiting on, Letterman explained. And for a while I was, and then Jay overtakes me and continues to overtake me for the duration of (our) runs. So I had to figure out what that was. And I just think it was that simple. Letterman ultimately found peace of mind on this front when he conjured an explanation for why Lenos show was, on paper, more popular than The Late Show. I know for a fact that certain elemental mistakes were made on my part, but at the end of the day, his show was more likable than the show I was doing. Advertisement Play Of course, theres a big difference between likable and good. As the popularity of his YouTube channel and recent FAST Channel deal illustrate, a lot of Lettermans bits still stand the test of time. Jaywalking and The Dancing Itos, not so much. When this series began, I wrote on these pages of the astonishing entry of Chris McCausland. Astonishing because he was the first blind person to take on this enormous challenge. Back then, he was considered an interesting choice but hardly a contender for the glitterball. But, in a remarkable achievement, he has won the competition. If I had a hat, I would lift it to him. As someone who has faced the same challenges that Chris has, since he lost his sight aged 22, I know what it must have taken for him to have the courage, confidence and it must be said the dexterity to take on and succeed, so amazingly. Chris has gone the extra mile and, in front of a television audience of millions, shown that anyone can compete on equal terms with the best. In my political career, Ive been proud of many things. but I hope I have set an example for not only young, disabled people looking to their future, but also to their parents and, of course, employers who are crucial to giving them independence and self-reliance. That is what Chris is doing for a new generation. Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell during the Strictly live show final In a remarkable achievement, Chris and Dianna (pictured) won the competition As someone who has faced the same challenges that Chris has, since he lost his sight aged 22, I know what it must have taken for him to have the courage, confidence and the dexterity to take on and succeed, writes David Blunkett (pictured) He has demonstrated that you can take on something which would be daunting for anyone and turn it into a success. Not by being patronised, which no one with a disability or a challenge wants. No, what Chris has demonstrated is ability lets not forget that he earned a score of 37 out of 40 for his American Smooth in Blackpool. A keen Liverpool FC fan, Chriss final waltz to Youll Never Walk Alone the teams anthem by Gerry and the Pacemakers held a particular poignancy, because for many people with visual impairments, life at times can be lonely. But Chris has broadened a horizon of opportunity, demonstrating that by setting aside adversity, barriers can be surmounted against the odds. With his good humour and refusal to take no for an answer, Chris has shown how, if you are committed and ready to learn and have the right partner you can sometimes make the impossible commonplace. Sir Keir Starmer cant really hide his abiding love affair with the European Union. His desire for office eventually forced him to pretend to have accepted Brexit. But his political record always made it clear he did not really mean it. Indeed, as a metropolitan lawyer and lifelong Leftist radical, why should he have anything against the EU? In 2019 Sir Keir, then Shadow Brexit Secretary, said there are many in the Labour Party who feel we need to be very clear about a second referendum and about making the case for Remain. Thats certainly what Im advocating. The following election result a smashing Tory victory spared him from having to try to keep this promise. Supporters of this plan at the time had the nerve to call the second referendum they wanted a Peoples Vote, a breathtaking dismissal of the actual people who had voted clearly for Brexit in 2016. In July 2022, with a Labour election victory at last in prospect, Sir Keir pulled back from this position, or at least appeared to, saying: So let me be very clear: with Labour, Britain will not go back into the EU. We will not be joining the single market. We will not be joining a customs union. Well, since then, other pledges made by Sir Keir and senior members of his front bench have turned out to be less than wholly reliable, so why should we assume that the visceral opinions of the North London Leftists who run Labour have been forever silenced? Sir Keir Starmer cant really hide his abiding love affair with the European Union. He may have pretended to accept Brexit to gain office, but his political record always made clear he did not really mean it Millions of British people may see the EU as interfering, as stealing our sovereignty and abolishing our borders. They may see the EU as economically sclerotic and politically hopeless, with almost every major EU country now menaced by far-Right movements scoring high in the polls. Its two leading nations, Germany and France, are both deep in apparently insoluble political crises. But the Blairite faction which Sir Keir keeps alive still sees Brussels as a shining city set upon a hill, an example of the sort of progress they wish to bring to the UK. So it is shocking and dismaying but not surprising to learn a specially recruited battalion of more than 100 civil servants has been given the task of detailed negotiations with the EU. What for? The new unit is plainly central to the purposes of the PM, as other senior officials have been evicted from privileged positions so that the Brussels squad can be as close as possible to No 10. The timing is also clearly important. Sir Keir is getting ready for a reset of relations with the EUs 27 members. A key meeting on this is planned as soon as February, the first such encounter since Brexit. With Donald Trump moving into the White House in January with momentous implications for transatlantic trade Brussels would no doubt like to bind the UK by offering looser trade barriers. But it will also want a backdoor revival of the single market by imposing EU rules on our goods and services. It is shocking and dismaying to learn a specially recruited battalion of more than 100 civil servants has been given the task of detailed negotiations with the EU (file photo) No doubt the issue of free movement the reopening of borders to EU citizens will also be raised. Lord Frost, our former Brexit negotiator who knows more about bargaining with the EU than almost anyone else, says this is clear evidence of a Labour plan to rejoin the EU. He should know. We are once again in danger of being a rule-taker but not a rule-maker, and of throwing away all our recently gained freedoms and opportunities and in return for what? All we can expect from such a deal is a future chained to a wheezing political and economic invalid. The bugle is sounding the retreat across Whitehall. The white flag is being unfurled in Downing Street. Under the guise of negotiating a so-called reset in Britains relations with the European Union, the Labour Government looks like it is preparing to undo Brexit and drag our country once more into the suffocating embrace of the Brussels empire. Having crashed our economy, Sir Keir Starmer and his Cabinet are plotting to trash our independence. Central to this mission is the creation of a powerful new civil service team to oversee the negotiations, based in the Cabinet Office and staffed by more than 100 officials. The mandarin in charge, who carries the grandiose title of Second Permanent Secretary for the European Union and International Affairs, will be paid up to 200,000 a year and enjoy a gold-plated pension contribution of 44,324 a much bigger package than even the Prime Minister receives. As Lord Frost, Boris Johnsons former Brexit negotiator, points out, the new unit is also far larger than the team at his disposal in handling Britains departure. Indeed, its ambitious size is an indicator of Labours enthusiasm for allowing the EU to take back control. Given the purpose of its work, this heavyweight addition to central bureaucracy has rightly been nicknamed the Surrender Squad. Even before talks have begun, the lines of early capitulation are clear. The EU is insisting that no reset agreement will be possible unless Britain allows European fishing trawlers continued access to our waters. Brussels also wants a youth experience scheme whereby free movement would be granted to anyone aged 18 to 30, including the right to subsidised education and free healthcare. Ready to reset? Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen At a time when levels of immigration are utterly unsustainable, the last thing Britain needs is another influx of foreign arrivals. But fisheries and students will just be the first stages in a co-ordinated drive to overturn the 2016 referendum verdict. In the name of protecting the environment and removing barriers to trade, Britain already accepts a host of EU rules, such as the requirements that caps be attached to plastic bottles, or that car interiors are equipped with an arsenal of warning signals. But the new talks will take dynamic realignment to use one of Brussels favourite phrases to new depths. With the Labour Government adopting a submissive stance, it is likely that Britain will soon accept the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, as well as EU rules on professional standards, carbon taxes, agricultural exports and veterinary checks on live animals and foodstuffs. Emboldened by its ascendancy, the EU will accelerate the pace of Britains reintegration. Membership of the single market and the customs union will follow as Brexit becomes an irrelevance. For the Eurocrats, this will be a sweet moment of revenge. Their dream of ever closer union, built on the destruction of national identities, will be dramatically reawakened. They will have proved that, in the end, no one can escape the clutches of their officialdom, like the Hotel California in the famous song by the Eagles where you can check out, but you can never leave. But such an outcome would be a disaster for British democracy. The unaccountable progressive Blob would have triumphed over the clearly expressed will of the people. In effect, without any vote, a counter-revolutionary coup would have been executed against the electorate. The gentleman in Whitehall really does know best, Douglas Jay, the Labour Cabinet minister said at the height of post-war socialist rule. It is the same condescending attitude that today shines through the refusal of the metropolitan elite to implement Brexit. Surrendering to the EU would be an economic catastrophe. Acceptance of Brussels control will rob Britain of the chance to forge a new path to prosperity, based on low taxes, light regulation, reduced debts and personal responsibility. But the EU is moving in exactly the opposite direction. While the US and parts of Asia roar forward through freedoms to innovate and invest, the EU remains mired in its sclerotic culture of dependency, living beyond its means. It is a fascinating but depressing fact that Europe accounts for only 8 per cent of the worlds population, just 25 per cent of its economic output but more than 50 per cent of global welfare spending. Sir Keir with European Council president Antonio Costa at No 10 last week The Labour Government strongly denies that its proposed reset of EU relations will hollow out Brexit. Ministers declare that their aim is to boost trade, not political unification. But the entire history of Britains relations with Brussels has been marked by the impulse to deceive the British public and conceal the systematic erosion of our national freedoms. In the early 1970s, for instance, the Tory prime minister Ted Heath was determined to make Britain a member of the European Community, but he was profoundly dishonest about the impact of membership. There is no question of the loss of essential sovereignty, stated a government white paper in 1971 with brazen disdain for the truth. The current Cabinet are equally wedded to the European project. Sir Keir Starmer was the Remainer-in-Chief during the bitter struggles over Brexit in Parliament after the referendum, who campaigned vigorously for a second referendum and who voted 48 times against legislation to enact Britains withdrawal. Many of his ministers are just as fervent in their Europhilia, such as the Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who notoriously compared members of the Conservative European Reform Group to Nazis and defenders of apartheid South Africa. But if Labour could drop their blinkered faith in the EU, they would see that Britain could have a rich democratic future without the shackles of Brussels. Today, Britain will formally join the Pacific Trade Rim Partnership known as CPTPP. An exciting new era of trade beckons, with Britain unfettered by red tape to sell more whisky to Vietnam or pharmaceuticals to Japan. This deal should be the focus of celebrations in Whitehall and business circles, not least because it could open the way to new trade talks with the US. But because of the myopic obsession with Europe, the Pacific triumph has been met by silence while the habitually glum Chancellor Rachel Reeves plays down the chances of a breakthrough with Trumps America. So under Starmer, Britain could end up with the worst of all worlds, our democratic liberties lost and our economy dragged down by the EU, unable to exploit the global opportunities for which the public voted. There are plenty of reasons to be appalled by the news that Keir Starmer is about to break his word to the people, and take this country back into the clammy grip of the EU. There is the sheer duplicity of the man, the bare-faced lies he told us all at the time of the election in July. He said that he was going to respect the voters, and that there would be no going back on the Brexit referendum. He was categorical about what this meant: no going back into the single market or customs union, and no return to free movement for nationals from the EU. Perhaps we were mad to believe him. Perhaps we should have recalled the dozens of times he tried to stop Brexit in parliament, or demanded a second referendum. Perhaps we should have denounced him last July, and said he was lying just to get elected. But somehow he seemed so po-faced, so prissily indignant about any challenge to his rectitude, that we gave him the benefit of the doubt. European Council president Antonio Costa and Keir Starmer meeting at No10 this week Millions of people went to the polls honestly believing that Brexit was safe under Labour. It is clear that Starmer was taking them for fools. As The Mail on Sunday has revealed, he has set up a giant negotiating team in the Cabinet Office bigger than the team of civil servants who originally delivered Brexit. Their mission is plain: to haul us slowly back into the orbit of the EU to the point where Britain is effectively a colony, a vassal state, the orange-ball-chewing gimp of Brussels. The talks with the EU are to begin in February, and the demands of the other side are horrific. This is no reset. This is not about improving the atmosphere in discussions with our friends and partners. If Britain accepts any one of these suggestions, our feet will be skidding desperately on the sloping waterlogged deck, and soon we will be back in the jaws of the EU machine. We already know of three key EU proposals. First, they want to seize back UK fisheries at the very moment when, under the terms of the Brexit deal, the entire spectacular marine wealth of the UK will revert to this country. From 2026 we and we alone will decide who will fish our waters, and for what fish. We, and not the EU, will decide our quotas, and how to manage our stocks. We will decide whether or not to allow foreign supertrawlers to hoover the bottom of the Channel or the North Sea. We will finally atone for the betrayal of 1973, when the Heath negotiations abandoned the rights of UK fishing communities; and of course the EU has been dreading this moment. They want the legal and perpetual right to grab our fish especially the French and it is vital that we do not surrender. Remember what is really at stake here. It is only partly about fish. It is fundamentally about legal authority; it is about control; it is about power. When Britain left the EU, we restored complete national independence and so the strategy of Starmer and Labour is clear. They must get us back into the EU, bit by bit, by destroying that principle, eroding that independence, handing back control. That is why the next EU demand is for a return to free movement of people. This is presented as a modest step, a youth mobility scheme for all aged 18 to 30. But have you counted the EU nationals who belong to that age group? It is about 70million people. If we agree to this, we will be saying to 70million people on the continent that they can come to live and work in this country, without let or hindrance, and to make use of our hospitals, welfare services and all the rest. Is that any way to deal with the problem of mass immigration? Just throwing wide the doors again? Of course not. Its madness; and it would be madness to agree to the EUs final demand that we should become rule-takers, accepting the great and sometimes bonkers corpus of EU food and agricultural law, with no say in making that law. In fact, the EU goes further. They want us be in dynamic alignment with the EU, so that we are continually clicking our heels and bowing respectfully to new EU rules, no matter how maddening, just as we have been somehow forced to accept EU rules on tethered bottle tops. The PM at an anti-Brexit rally with Camden Council leader Georgia Gould in 2019 With European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in October Of the three EU requests, this is the real nightmare, because it drags us a long way back into the single market. By forfeiting our control over agriculture, we lose much of our freedom to do good free trade deals such as with the United States. By agreeing to the adjudication of the European court without even having a judge on the court! we have junked one of the fundamental principles of Brexit. And to what end? What the hell is Starmer actually trying to achieve, in lashing this economy closer to the EU, at the very moment when the EU model is so manifestly failing? It seems to be an article of faith with Labour that being in the EU is somehow the nicer, kinder, more idealistic future for Britain. But has Starmer stopped to look at what the Brussels system is actually achieving? France and Germany have both just recorded negative growth; the euro is under pressure; and across the continent we are seeing such dissatisfaction with the EUs record of stagnant morosity that the far-Right is starting to make real inroads, for the first time since the 1930s. In Romania, a Right-wing pro-Putin thug was on the point of winning the presidential election so the Romanian court abruptly cancelled the vote, while Brussels coughed and looked the other way. No, you could not say that the EU was working. As I have pointed out many times in this column, the US is the country to learn from, because it is opening up a truly astonishing gap over Europe in wealth and productivity. France is now poorer than Arkansas, the poorest state in the US. If things go on as they are then in 2035 only ten years away the relative poverty gap between America and Europe will be as big as the current gap between Europe and India. We need to learn from the US, with its culture of innovation and enterprise, and low taxation not the EU, with its Brussels-driven culture of welfarism and regulatory sclerosis. At a time when Starmer and Rachel Reeves have already managed to kill economic growth with their disastrous tax-hiking budget, this EU renegotiation is taking Britain in completely the wrong direction. Above all, Starmer has no mandate to do it. He has no mandate to set up the Whitehall Surrender Squad, and no mandate for these talks, any more than he had a mandate for tax rises. He lied about both. Labour has taken power by deception. We must of course respect the law and the constitution. But I call on everyone who cares about democracy and the economic salvation of this country to fight, fight, and fight again for the freedoms the people voted for in 2016, and which they believed were secure. Earlier this month, I was at a meeting of my local Womens Institute when the talk turned to grandchildren. Most of my friends admitted they have a favourite grandchild, but swore blind they would never reveal such a guilty secret to their adult children. Personally, I cant see what the fuss is about. After all, my entire family knows perfectly well that my eldest granddaughter, Elise, is at the top of my pecking order. I have five granddaughters in total: Elise, 16, Isabella, 13, Scarlett, 11, Lucy, eight, and Ivy, six. I love all of them, yet Elise can do no wrong in my eyes. She is beautiful, bossy and belligerent, but so loving. I cant help adoring her more. And I dont hide it, either. Were a close family and my only daughter Hannah lives a five-minute drive from my home in Cardiff, with her children and husband Scott. As a retired civil servant, Ive got plenty of free time now, so if Im bored or Elise is down in the dumps, I love nothing more than texting her and taking her out shopping. We laugh at the same things, and the same things infuriate us. Emma Parsons-Reid with her favourite grandchild Elise, aged 16 I get unbearably sad and cross when people are disloyal and Elise is the only one who doesnt think Im being overly dramatic. I get it, Gran, I really do, shell say. In other words, were like two peas in a pod. We are so alike, Hannah has been known to say: Its as though I gave birth to my own mother. Elise has got me wrapped around her finger, too. When were out, she always manipulates me into buying something, and Im only too happy to do so. In return, no area of Elises life is off-limits to me. Ive met her friends from school, all her boy pals think Im cool and Im friends on Facebook with her female social circle. I need to know who she is mixing with. This isnt something I do with my other granddaughters, though. I love them dearly, but that same spark just isnt there. In my defence, I think a lot of women would say their eldest grandchild is their favourite. Think about it, they are the ones we have spent the most time with. Weve been a constant in their lives as unpaid babyminders from when their parents werent that clued-up with a newborn. Hannah split with Elises father when she was a toddler and even though Elise has a stepfather, I justify the preference, telling myself Im being that person who gives her boundaries. Hannah tries to be strict but Elise walks all over her. While its obvious to the world that I dote on her, Elise likes to ask me whether she is still my favourite. I have no problem reassuring her, and I often tell her she is. In fact, she could do almost anything, even commit murder, and Id defend her. Were so physically close, she loves nothing more than lying across my lap and letting me stroke her hair. But, according to Hannah, there are limits with my overt favouritism. We recently went shopping and Elises younger sister Isabella came along. Elise wanted a new feather duvet and I paid the 70 price tag without blinking. Painfully aware I needed to treat Isabella, too, I coaxed her into choosing a 5 lipstick. Hannah has a rule about spending equal amounts on my grandchildren, but I vetoed that notion, as its an awful lot to spend every time I want to spoil Elise. Yet her mum was furious. She wouldnt speak to me and refused to let Elise use the duvet until Isabella got one, too. So, of course, Muggins here had to fork out. Elise has been precious to me since the day she was born. I made it my business to be at the birth, and in the delivery suite I asked the midwives if I could catch her. So I was the first to hold her and the bond was created there and then. I cried for three days straight, I felt so emotional. There is all this love and yet, as a grandparent, you have no real say over how that child is brought up. As one of lifes guilty-as-charged control freaks, that has been a hard lesson for me. When Hannah was single again, I was only too happy to look after my granddaughter while she went out with friends and on dates. I dropped down to four days at work so I could have Elise from Tuesday until Wednesday evening. She never slept! Wed watch television and go to the park. She never wanted to leave. Elise had her own room at my home, with specially made curtains, although she would end up in bed with me most nights. She was still slipping in for a cuddle when she was five, and my partner Kevin didnt mind, as he worshipped her, too. 'We are like two peas in a pod,' says Emma (left) of Elise, who she admits has her grandmother 'wrapped around her finger' So similar are they in temperament, that Emma's daughter (and Elise's mum) Hannah says: 'Its as though I gave birth to my own mother' When Hannah got together with Scott, Elises little sister Isabella arrived when she was three. Of course, I was happy to welcome another granddaughter, but Im proud to say nothing changed in our relationship. If anything, I took Elise out more often. There is a downside, though. Because we are mirrors of one another, I can see in her behaviour just how annoying I can be. Weve had some spectacular fallouts over the years. On one occasion, pushed to my limit, I blurted that she was a disappointment to me and would never amount to anything. We both ended up in tears that night. But Im the only person who will stand up to Elise. And, simply put, Im the only one for whom she has any respect. I do think about what will happen if my blatant favouritism backfires on me when the others are older. I wouldnt blame them for judging me negatively for being so open about it. I try not to say it in front of them, but Elise does almost flaunts it, really. Isabella just raises her eyebrows and laughs; I suspect she thinks shes dodged a bullet by being spared all the special attention. But Scarletts started making me feel guilty. Her rationale is that if I dont do something for her, then shell use the fact that Elise is my favourite against me. And, yes, I usually cave in. But when they ask me why I have a favourite, I am honest. Its a good lesson for them to learn early: life isnt always fair. For now, though, I justify the imbalance by saying Elise needs me more than them they have a mum and a dad in their life, whereas Elise only has her mum. On the odd occasion when I do treat or spoil her sisters, I have to do it behind Elises back or the green-eyed monster kicks in. I dont see it as pandering to her, though. Elise is at a very difficult age and needs the reassurance of knowing that someone on this planet loves her unconditionally. No matter how tough life gets, or how awful she can be, I will always be her number one fan. As told to Samantha Brick. Supernanny Jo Frost has revealed that she was assaulted while filming her show. Jo, now 54, became a household name in the noughties when she went into homes of unruly children across the UK for Channel 4's Supernanny, offering desperate parents some relief for dealing temper tantrums. But, 20 years on from launching the show the childcare expert has shared how a parent 'grabbed by the throat and pinned her against the wall' when he didn't like something she said. Appearing on the Parenting Tools Podcast, Jo explained to hosts Jason Heron and Jordan Piano that she had been attacked while filming an episode filmed in Florida in 2007 for the US version of the show. The television personality was visiting the Nitti family in West Melbourne, Florida, where she met Lisa, 28, her four sons, Darren, 10, Matthew, eight, Devin, six and Jared, five, as well as her boyfriend of two years, John, 44. The mischievous boys were frequently getting into trouble for their unruly and uncontrollable behaviour, despite efforts from Lisa and John - who even dubbed their home 'The Crazy House'. The episode, which was eighth in the third season, proved difficult for Jo, who battled not only rowdy children, by the 'intimidation and aggression' from their stepfather, John. 'I helped a family called the Nitti family in Florida and there was a gentleman, a man, who was living with his girlfriend at the time and they had four children,' she said. Appearing on The Parenting Tools Podcast, the Channel 4 's childcare empress spoke for the first time about the petrifying incident in which she was 'grabbed by the throat and pinned to the wall' by a disgruntled parent In a new episode of The Parenting Tools Podcast - hosted by Jason Heron and Jordan Piano - Jo gave the shocking admission that she had been assaulted during an episode filmed in Florida in 2007. Pictured John from the Nitti episode 'During my observation, the man was very aggressive. He was a complex man for sure. But he was very intimidating and had the care of these four young boys. 'He was in this blended family, right? His girlfriend had four children and he came into the relationship with four boys. 'And you could see with the boys that a lot of the behaviour was mimic behaviour from the intimidation and the aggressiveness from John. 'I observed, I gave my comments on what I observed with the family. The children and their behaviour. 'During teaching, he didn't like what I said and he grabbed me by the throat and he pushed me up against the wall. 'That was a crazy moment because I've had families be very defensive or be hotheaded, tell me "I don't like what you're saying" or "that's not true" or "that's not okay". The mischevious boys were frequently getting into trouble for their unruly and uncontrollable behaviour, despite efforts from Lisa and john - who even dubbed their home 'The Crazy House' Revealing the bombshell moment in the podcast, Jo recalled the shocking moment the step-father to four boys 'didn't like' something she said and so had pinned her to a wall 'But he didn't like what I had to say which was the truth of a situation of him being very intimidated and he tried to intimidate me by pushing me up against the wall and he has his hands round my throat. Despite being scared, Jo said she resisted attempts from cameramen to assist her and insisted she deal with the situation alone. 'One of the camera men went to drop the camera and I just kind of put my arm out as if to signal I didn't want them to diffuse the situation with the father. 'I knew that those boys were being subjected to that aggression and intimidation as well. 'I would say that was pretty crazy for me at that moment. I was used to parents not agreeing, but not the physicality from the parents.' Jo went on the explain that as far as she is aware, the stepfather of the Nitti family has now passed away. 'Which I'm very sorry about to hear that he's passed away,' she said. She went to say: 'I think I had heard they had split up and maybe the wife had remarried. 'I would say that was pretty crazy for me at that moment. I was used to parents not agreeing, that's fine but not the physicality from the parents.' Jo said The episode, which was eighth in the third season, proved difficult for Jo, who battled not only rowdy children, by the 'intimidation and aggression' from their stepfather, John (pictured right) 'But at some point those young boys were in her care. And he has a daughter as well, I believe from another relationship but he passed away which is obviously very unfortunate.' She went on the say that a lot of what is filmed does not always make the final cut. 'A lot of things happen and I don't share. I choose not to or I choose to do so if the moment comes up like it has here.' 'You hope that helping the family, and in that moment it's being filmed and I'm very particular about it being, it is what it is. 'It's real, it's not scripted. If there's a technical fault and the cameraman didn't get what I said? Oh well. Didn't get what I said. 'I'm in the moment and once I arrive, a process happens and I don't stop. I'm there and we have a journey together. A transformative experience together to hopefully bring a family to a different space.' She said all she can do is bring the best she can and 'hope that they are going to continue'. 'And some families do an I get photos and emails and some families haven't. 'Sometimes it's been the mirror that's made partners realise that they they don't want this and they're not as committed as they thought they were. 'When I show up, I'm definitely a mirror in being able to bring the truth to a situation and how I can champion them in working through that. But I understand that that's really my limit and you just hope that they continue that when you're not there.' Femail reveals the most popular tweakments available on the UK high street With Christmas around the corner, revellers across the UK are scrambling to secure beauty appointments to look their best during the festive season. It was once a two-step process, with women stopping off at the hairdressers and nail salon in preparation for 25 December. However, a rise in 'tweakments' has meant many have added a third destination - the high street aesthetician. The boom has seen celebrity aesthetics practitioner Luci Bruce from Bromley, a favourite of Love Island's Cara Delahoyde-Massey, TOWIE star Cara Kilby and influencer Lydia Fowler, fully booked for weeks. When Luci started eleven years ago, she often delivered clients their first-ever filler experience after they pondered over it for weeks, but 'now, it's like something you get done in your lunch break,' she said. 'It's not easy and has become quite controversial at times, some people like these treatments to balance and enhance their features yet some can become preoccupied with an imagined defect in their physical appearance that isn't there, this has been exacerbated by social media over the years, so it has to be monitored.' 'That said, if the treatments are done properly by a professional that has qualifications and experience in this area, I think the results can be amazing.' So, what's the best treatment to secure that festive glow? Here, Femail reveals the most popular on the market, what they do, and how much they'll set you back. High street tweakments are on the rise in the UK, and Bromley-based celebrity aesthetics practitioner Luci Bruce (pictured) has been fully booked for weeks as her clients prepare for the festive season LIP FILLER Kylie Jenner popularised the procedure in 2015, and now it seems like most women in showbusiness have received a boost to their lips. For Luci, clients seek lip fillers for 'volume, symmetry, contour, a more youthful appearance, or [to get] less dehydrated looking lips'. While the procedure, costing 240 at Luci's clinic, can cause a sting, the results last from 12 to 18 months. Since she first started, lip filler has been a popular choice, but advancements in the industry mean she can now deliver a higher-quality product. 'I like to use purer fillers now, that don't have BDDE (1,4-Butanediol diglycidyl ether), it's something a lot of fillers used to have.' Present in some fillers, BDDE is added to the hyaluronic acid molecule, modifying it from its natural structure into a synthetic one, according to Bohus BioTech. Lip filler has always been a popular treatment for Luci (a client is pictured before receiving the treatment) Lip filler can create increased volume and symmetry (a client is pictured after receiving the treatment) Luci said: 'It can cause lumps and excessive swelling, whereas a lot of the fillers I use now tend to contain more hyaluronic acid and less crosslinked properties, it gives a more natural result with less complications'. While the age group for lip filler varies across the board, the majority of Luci's clients are over the age of 25 and her results are always natural. CHIN FILLER It's a popular treatment recommended for people who crave a better side profile, which is why Luci offers it as part of her 'side profile balancing package'. 'It helps restore the jawline, so for people...with a chin that's quite set back or receding, it can bring that forward and give the illusion of a jaw, which is quite popular,' Luci said. Writing on Instagram , Luci explained her procedure: 'Chin filler comprises a small number of injections around the pre jowl and mentalis area to elongate and create an improved side profile.' Chin filler can create a more defined jaw line, making it a popular choice (pictured before and after) The transformative procedure, which varies in time for each customer but shouldn't take longer than an hour, will set customers back 250 at Luci's Bromley clinic. Like lip filler, chin fillers last between 12 to 18 months and will only cause a 'slight discomfort'. MORPEHUS8 The Morpheus8 technique is a combination of micro needling and radio frequency, which sees 24 4mm needles inserted into the skin to 'create a controlled trauma'. Popular with celebrities such as Victoria Beckham, Bella Thorne, and Kim Kardashian, the Morpheus8 technique aims to tighten the skin and stimulate collagen. Starting the treatment before the appearance of fine line can also work as preventative measure, to build and bank new collagen and elastin. But it's not for the fainthearted, as it has been dubbed the world's most painful non-invasive cosmetic procedure and can set you back around 500. But those who swear by it say it should result in an improvement in the appearance of lax jowls, wrinkles and skin texture. FEMAIL reporter Ellen Coughlan put the Morpheus8 treatment to the test during three sessions over a few months (left, before, right, after) After Ellen's third treatment she noticed her skin appeared tighter around her jawline and chin (left, before, right after) The Morpheus8 treatment is a combination of micro needling and radio frequency, which sees 24 4mm needles inserted into the skin to 'create a controlled trauma' Morpheus8 uses radiofrequency and micro-needling to go 8mm deep in the skin. FEMAIL journalist Ellen Coughlan tried it out in October 2023 with Susan Vaughan from SV Aesthetics in London and said she was impressed overall. She said her face was slightly red afterwards, but no more than if she had 'just left a spin class in the gym.' The redness calmed down within 30 minutes and her skin felt tight on the second day. Ellen said: 'There were a few little blood spots dotted around my face, however they wouldn't have been noticeable with makeup (which you can wear 24 hours after the treatment). 'Small bumps appeared on my skin the day after the treatment, however they disappeared after a few days.' She said that her skin went back to normal about three days after the treatment, but she noticed results after about 14 days. Ellen said: 'My skin looked more plump and appeared more dewy. I really started noticing results after my second treatment and people started complimenting my skin. 'After my third treatment I noticed my skin appeared tighter around my jawline and chin. 'I wanted the Morpheus8 treatment to slow down the aging process and to remove the need for fillers and Botox so I am delighted with the results.' NOSE FILLER If a client longs for a more contoured nose but fears going under the knife, nose filler at their high street aesthetician might be the answer. 'You can lift the nose and straighten the tip,' Luci Bruce, who regularly carries out the treatment, said. While a nose job can cost thousands, nose filler, known as a non-surgical rhinoplasty, costs 350 at the Bromley clinic. Unlike the high costs of rhinoplasty, Luci charges 350 for nose filler at her Bromley clinic (pictured before) The 30-minute treatment, which can cause slight discomfort, lifts and straighten the nose (pictured after) Like the other fillers, results last around 12 to 18 months and according to Luci, the procedure is 'not really painful, [there's a] slight discomfort... but they numb as they're injected'. However, the 30-minute treatment may require a top-up four weeks after the first treatment. SKIN BOOSTERS Luci's favourite treatment is a Skin Boosters called Jalupro Super Hydro, an injectable skincare treatment. 'It's hyaluronic acid, amino acid, and peptides, which plumps the skin, gives a glow, restores fine lines, and tightens the skin,' she said. She compared the treatment, which takes half an hour and requires two sessions repeated every three to six months, to 'an instant injectable moisturiser that hydrates and gives an amazing glow.' The treatment at Luci's clinic costs 250 and is injected superficially, but Luci considers it to cause 'minimal discomfort, like a sting'. Luci wrote on Instagram: 'Jalupro Super Hydro improves skin tone, texture, hydration and overall radiance, HA is hydrophilic, meaning it draws and holds water from your body, so skin boosters such as Jalupro and Profhilo, act as a hydrator rather than a filler. 'This makes it fantastic for those with tired, dull-looking skin, transforming it into firm and luminous skin. Luci's favourite treatment at the moment is a Skin Boosters called Julipro, an injectable skincare treatment (results pictured) 'It's a reabsorbable injectable solution which acts as dermal biorevitalizer, which can be used for the treatment of skin defects and depressions caused by wrinkles and scars. 'It has been studied to provide a biorevitalizing action in areas where the skin is very marked (depressions and deep wrinkles).' Luci also offers a second Skin Booster called Profhilo Structura for 350, an injectable skincare treatment with long-lasting results. 'The treatment is carried out using a cannula contains a high amount of hyaluronic acid and is ideal for clients who lack facial volume and wish to restore adipose tissue, it really is wonderful and recommended for ''sinkers or saggers'',' Luci said. 'It's an amazing treatment for people who don't want filler, but want a bit more to their skin booster, so it restores volume loss in older clients, I'd say over 35'. LIP BLUSHING In a bid to achieve rosy lips without applying makeup, a growing number of women are turning to 'lip blushing'. The cosmetic procedure, which can last up to three years, is classed as semi-permanent makeup, designed to deepen the colour of your pout for a fuller, healthier look. The procedure takes 60 to 90 minutes and costs on average 300, but prices can vary depending on the artist and location. While Luci doesn't offer the treatment herself, her colleague at her business does, because 'it is very popular; a lot of people are getting it at the moment.' The concept was created by Atlanta-based cosmetic tattoo artist Gabrielle Rainbow, who is also the mastermind behind the faux freckle technique. According to Byrdie, the process involves artistic shading, lining and texturing to achieve a natural-looking lip tint and subtly plumped effect. Lip blushing is a semi-permanent makeup which deepens the colour of your pout for a fuller, healthier look (pictured before) The process involves artistic shading, lining and texturing to achieve a natural-looking lip tint and subtly plumped effect (pictured after) Healing takes approximately five days and the effects of lip blushing last for up to two years without any need for retouching. The treatment is performed over topical numbing cream which creates a light tingling sensation as the pigment is applied. Each shade is professionally customised to match your natural lip colour. Professional makeup artist Christopher Drummond from New York-based PFrankMD Skin Salon said lip blushing is like a 'daily wash of lipstick that never wipes off'. 'Traditional permanent makeup uses a strong machine, synthetic pigments and is embedded deep in the dermiswe use organic pigments and modern, digital tools the results are much more natural looking,' he told Byrdie. The treatment is being touted as a long term, cost-effective alternative to getting lip fillers. TEMPLE FILLER It's a subtle yet transformative anti-ageing treatment designed to create a full and balanced appearance. Alison Telfer, the Founder & Aesthetic Director at The Glasshouse aesthetic clinic in London, explained that as we age, the temples can hollow, creating an unbalanced or sunken appearance. Alison listed three reasons why the temples change with time in the first place: natural ageing, illness, and overfilling of the cheeks. When it comes to facial aesthetics, the shape of the temples plays an important role and sex makes a difference. Alison explained that, for women, the ideal temple is slightly concave or flat, similar to supermodel Bella Hadid's sculpted look. Alison Telfer (pictured), the Founder & Aesthetic Director at The Glasshouse aesthetic clinic in London, explained the results temple filler produces The London-based aesthetic expert explained that the temples look different on males and female For men, it's all about flat or slightly convex temples, a feature that Alison believes British actor Lucien Laviscount showcases. Alison highlighted the importance of maintaining natural contours for a harmonious, youthful appearance. How can you tell if temple filler is right for you? 'Look in the mirror,' Alison said. She continued: 'Can you see your full brow, or does part of your brow disappear around the corner?' If you notice the latter, you might be a candidate for temple filler, as a fuller temple area can restore the eyebrow's natural definition. While the clinician will use a numbing cream during the, on average, 60 minute appointment, the procedure can cause discomfort. Prices depend on the skill of the clinician, but one can expect to pay approximately between 300 and 500 per appointment. She stressed that individuals seeking temple filler must go to an experienced clinician. CHEEK AND MID FACE FILLER For individuals looking to enhance their cheek bones, aesthetician Luci Bruce may recommend cheek filler. 'It [enhances] cheek projection, and it gives you contour around the bones as well as improving the [appearance of] makeup,' she said. Meanwhile, mid face filler 'restores volume loss in the mid face', and the ideal client for this treatment is aged 40 or above. Using dermal fillers, Luci concentrated on the mid cheek area to lift the lower face in the above client The appointment will take 30 minutes, and like most fillers, numbing pain is used to reduce pain. 'I wouldn't say it's painful, you can get swelling and a little bit of bruising, but that depends on the individual, not everyone does.' At Luci's Bromley salon, the procedure varies in cost from 250 to 600, depending on how much the individual requires. POLYNUCLEOTIDES It's known as the salmon sperm facial because the treatment is often derived from purified, sterile, salmon DNA, given its close resemblance to human DNA. While you can get polynucleotides in multiple places, many choose to receive the treatment around the eye area. The treatment, which delivers instant results, is non-invasive and non-surgical and aims to improve the appearance of skin around the eyes, helping with fine lines, wrinkles, dark circles, and puffiness. 'Polynucleotides are an injectable bio-stimulator,' Luci explained. She added: 'The molecules are derived from fragments of fish sperm which mirror human DNA. Polynucleotides are a non-invasive, non-surgical treatment to improve the appearance of the skin around the eyes (pictured before) The treatment can help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles (pictured after one session) 'This is an amazing treatment for the scalp, under eyes and skin, promoting hair growth, targeting dark circles, and boosting collagen, elastin, and also regulating the fibroblast cells, which improves tissue generation, skin tone, and elasticity'. Luci advises two to three 20 minute sessions four weeks apart for optimal results, each costing 250 at Luci's salon. She added: 'If it's for anti-aging... I'd say [the best age range is] from 30 to 85...but if it's for scar repair, hair loss, or anything that someone's having a personal problem with, then from 18. 'It's an amazing treatment to have, it's not going to volumize anything or give you any augmentation in that area, it's just repair,' she concluded. PLATLET RICH PLASMA (VAMPIRE FACIAL) The Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) treatment is dubbed 'the vampire facial' because it involves withdrawing a small amount of blood from skin and placing it into a machine called a spinning machine centrifuge, according to London Real Skin. It then separates the platelet-rich plasma (PRP) from the red and white blood cells. It is then re-injected back into the patient's face. The idea is that it produces brighter, smoother skin, with some celebrities claiming it's better than facelift. One 20-year-old woman, who goes by the name Zoowee on TikTok , had the vampire facial and documented her journey. Above: Before (L) and after (R) Kim Kardashian popularised it in 2013 but has since said that the vampire facial, which can cost up to 1,000 ($1,370), is as painful as it looks and previously admitted on her website that she'd 'never do it again'. One 20-year-old woman, who goes by the name Zoowee on TikTok, had the vampire facial and documented her journey. She went to a clinic in Bolton, greater Manchester, but said she did not find it to be too painful, ranking the sensation a three out of ten. The content creator admitted she still had a few spots but added: 'If you look under my eyes, I've not got the darkness anymore.' MESOTHERAPY Mesotherapy was originally used to relieve pain and was developed in 1952 by a French doctor, Michel Pistor, according to Dr Sophie Shotter, an aesthetic doctor. The procedure includes a series of vitamin injections into the middle layer of skin using very fine needles in a bid to reverse environmental damage from sun exposure, pollution and stress, and even cellulite. It costs around 200 to 400 for a single session, but around six sessions can easily put you back around 1,200 at some clinics. Mail Journalist Frances Child decided to undergo a Dermaroller Micro-Mesotherapy treatment after seeing a picture of a Jennifer Aniston's youthful face in a magazine. Mail Journalist Frances Child decided to undergo a Dermaroller Micro-Mesotherapy treatment treatment after seeing a picture of a Jennifer Aniston's youthful face in a magazine. Above: Frances before (L) and after (R) She said the three-in-one 'facial' is designed to make people look youthful, with a smooth unlined face and the effects should last a year. The mesotherapy, a combination of minerals vitamins and hyaluronic acid, that Frances had was designed to plump up her skin. The aesthetician dropped the liquid on to her face with a syringe, before massaging it in with a small electronic device. She wrote: 'I love my new face. I look like me, but better. Yes, it hurt. Yes, I was terrified my face was about to fall off. But yes, it was definitely worth it.' FRAXEL LASER A fraxel laser treatment uses a 1927nm wavelength of light, which is absorbed by the outer layer of skin, and penetrates to the depth of 0.2mm, according to Dr H Consult. The laser helps refresh the outer layer of skin, called the epidermis, battling previous damage from sun exposure. Used on the face, decollate, and backs of the hands, it delivers pinpricks of laser energy into the skin, but leaves a network of undamaged skin in between, and is credited with doing everything from zapping pigmentation to boosting collagen and plumping skin. While the effects are appealing, it can cost up to a staggering 4,000 for a full-face treatment. Journalist Kay Goddard is pictured before (left) and after (right) receiving a fraxel laser treatment You can get the fraxel laser treatment once you are over the age of 18, but it is recommended for those aged 30 plus in some clinics. It not suitable for those who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Journalist Kay Goddard had the treatment done when she was 50 and reported on how she found the experience. She was warned by Dr Aamer Khan from the Harley Street Skin Clinic in London that the procedure would be painful. However, she was also told that her complexion would look 'fresh, plump and luminous' a week later after the 3,000 treatment. After 45 minutes into the treatment Kay begins to feel pain and described it like having 'hot fat splattered on to my face. 'Just as I think I can't bear it any more, it's over. I arrive home. My sister comes round to look after my 13-year-old son Joe while I convalesce,' she added. 'They have been pre-warned but when they see me, both seem very upset. I feel befuddled, go straight to bed and fall sound asleep.' A week later, Kay said she looked 'half-decent' and reported that the shade of pink on her face has gone down. Around three months later, Kay said that her skin had tightened and her fine lines had disappeared. She added: 'My pigmentation marks are gone and my skin looks plumper. I don't look as if I've been through a wind tunnel. I am thrilled, and despite it being an ordeal, I'd do it all over again.' The best beauty gifts are rarely the biggest beauty gifts. They are the thoughtful little somethings, mind-over-materialism options; stocking fillers that arent merely filler. What we want at Christmas is to feel seen, as the young people put it. Below are my favourite ways of doing this. Concoct a cosmetic The best beauty present I gave myself in 2024 was to take my favourite discontinued lipstick along to British beauty stalwarts Cosmetics a la Carte and ask them to replicate it. Or maybe you or your friend have never found The One. One of C a la Cs make-up artists can help you discover it. The brand also offers bespoke concealer, foundation, palettes and application lessons. An e-voucher for The Bespoke Lipstick Blending Experience costs 80 (cosmeticsalacarte.com, last orders noon on the 24th), including the finished product, refills 70. The joy factor? Priceless. Beauty expert Hannah Betts says the best beauty gifts are rarely the biggest beauty gifts (stock image) Proffer a Beauty Pie subscription For 59 you can give a loved one a Beauty Pie membership that will allow them brilliant deals all year, on bestsellers such as its YouthBomb 360 Radiance Concentrate (members 44, non-members, 185, beautypie.com), or Brazilian Lime, Fig Leaves & Tea Eau De Parfum (members 28, non-members 60, beautypie.com). Small, but perfectly-formed objects Andrea Garland has just released a fresh array of her glorious Vintage Lip Balms (from 18, andreagarland.co.uk). I am no less passionate about the Gallic brand Officine Universelle Buly. Alas, its Selfridges counter is all out of its exquisite engravable lip-balms (43, Selfridges, Oxford Street), however, combs can still be personalised (from 27, both at buly1803.com). Or console yourself with the Alabaster kit in the woody Sumi Hinoki scent (70), a porcelain box, stone and flacon of perfume essence. The loveliest beauty bibelot this Christmas is the Chanel Eau de Parfum Refillable Purse Spray (165), a sleek atomiser on a chain to be sported as a bracelet or bag charm The jet version boasts No 5 (still available at flannels.com); the white No 5 LEau (chanel.com). In my fantasies all my womenfolk will receive one. Bijou beauty treats Chanel and Dior produce the most thrilling lip and nail fillips. Present me with a Chanel Nail Colour in Storyteller (29, chanel.com) a magnificent, deep purple, and a Dior Addict Lip Glow in Pink Lilac (33, Boots.com) on the 25th and Id be an extremely happy woman. I gifted myself a By Terry Ombre Blackstar Travel Stick in Bronze Moon (17, sephora.co.uk) last December, and this suits-everyone eye crayon is an absolute winner. Women rightly go mad for Victoria Beckham Satin Kajal Liners (32, victoriabeckhambeauty.com), while no one has ever been disappointed by a Lancome mascara (from 14, Boots.com). Hannah (pictured) believes what everyone wants at Christmas is to feel seen Beautiful body gifts Im praying some kind soul presents me with a 250ml-size Olverum Bath Oil (78, ukolverum.com), enough for 50 soaks, plus the Aromatherapy Associates Rebalancing Heroes Collection (100, aromatherapyassociates.com), jam-packed with tranquillity restorers. Oh, and a This Works Sleep Plus Massage Relief Roll-on (currently reduced from 38 to 15.20, thisworkscbd.com) to grind into my neck. Gift sets that keep giving The gift sets I most desire are ones that feel more considered, more unique. Escentric Molecules M+ Discovery Set (55, for eight 8.5ml sprays, escentric.com) is the perfect introduction to this brilliant and beautiful perfume label. A box from the Michael Van Clarke Luxury LifeSaver Cracker Collection (now 75 for eight, vanclarke.com) plus a mini No 1 Brush(28.50), could turn someones hair around. Nails Inc gift sets are sensational (from 8, nailsinc.com): its Thermochromic Colour-changing Nail Polish Set (now 20) will delight children of all ages. While Diptyques jewel-coloured Sapin, Friandise & Etoile (Pine, Sweet Treat & Star) set of holiday candles (120, diptyqueparis.com) is an utter, swooning delight. RACE YOU TO IT TYPEBEA G1 Overnight Boosting Peptide Serum TYPEBEA G1 Overnight Boosting Peptide Serum (43, sephora.co.uk) has sold out at Boots following vast virtual excitement. Powered by clinically-proven Baicapil, this non-greasy formula harnesses peptides to address hormonal hair loss, rejuvenating locks from the roots while you sleep. Improvements should be witnessed within weeks. Shop SHEER BERRY LIP TINTS ICON OF THE WEEK Emily Mortimer Paddington star Emily Mortimer, 53 The Paddington star, 53, had her skin prepped for the premiere via the Kichi Beauty Youth Bomb Method (450, kitchi.studio), claiming to restore three years worth of collagen. Her essentials are Batiste Original Dry Shampoo (4.99, Boots.com). She also loves Ponds Cold Cream (from 9.98, amazon.co.uk) as a cleanser, and LOreal mascara (from 5). COSMETIC CRAVING The subject of marriage first came up when I was 19 or 20, when my mother sat me down at our home in Oldham and said ominously: 'I need to talk to you.' She told me that my late grandmother had always wanted me to marry her nephew back in Kashmir. I had met him once or twice on a family visit to my grandparents' village, though our conversations had been barely more than an exchange of pleasantries. He had seemed decent and respectful. But did I want to marry my second cousin? Absolutely not! The proposition was revolting. He was much older and didn't speak English. He'd lived his life in a rural village while I had been born in the UK and was studying at university. What would we have in common? I was amazed Mum had even suggested it. Marriage was also a means for him to get a spousal visa to England, to get a job and send money back home. How romantic. Indeed, I remember Pakistani girls from my school who, not long after they completed their GCSEs, were married to a cousin from 'back home' for that reason. Naturally, I refused, and nothing more was said. But I was reminded of the conversation shocking then, amusing now last week when Tory MP Richard Holden called for a ban on marriages between first cousins. Isn't it banned already? No. While marriage and sexual activity between siblings, parents and children is illegal, it is allowed between first cousins. Holden argued that cousin marriages have been linked to a higher rate of birth defects and can also 'reinforce negative structures and control women'. Iram Ramzan argues against cousin marriages and is surprised they are not already banned Last week Tory MP Richard Holden, bottom left, called for a ban on marriages between first cousins But opposing Holden's proposal was Iqbal Mohamed, the independent MP for Dewsbury and Batley, who said that while 'freedom of women must be protected at all times', he did not believe outlawing cousin marriages would be 'effective or enforceable'. He said the practice 'extremely common' in the Middle East and south Asia is 'something very positive' because it 'helps build family bonds and put families on a more secure financial foothold'. Mohamed stressed that cousin marriages shouldn't be stigmatised. Well, actually, yes they should be stigmatised. I find it depressing in the 21st century that this is even up for debate. Where was this conversation decades ago, when more than half of British Pakistanis were marrying their first or second cousins? In tiptoeing around the subject for so long no doubt through a fear of trampling over cultural sensitivities we've condemned scores of children to birth defects having been born of two blood- related parents. This must not continue. Of course, I'm not blind to the fact that coming from a family where cousin marriages were the norm, half of us wouldn't exist! Nor do I believe in general that the State should interfere in people's relationships. However, on this issue, the Government does need to step in. There are many cultural imports to Britain from Pakistan that can be applauded, but cousin marriage is not one. In Pakistan, 62 per cent of unions are 'consanguineous' (between blood relatives) the highest proportion in the world as the practice thrives in tribal societies where people identify more with their clan than country. While marrying within the family undoubtedly strengthens tribal bonds, it creates cultural siloes where thought for the nation is relegated in favour of what's best for your tribe. These societies are largely conservative where interaction between the two genders is limited. Western-style dating is not encouraged and marriages are arranged by parents. Sadly, I've witnessed in my own wider family both men and women forced to stay in unhappy marriages lest they be accused of causing a rift. There's also a religious element, as Islam doesn't ban the practice. The Prophet Muhammad's daughter, Fatima, married Ali, her father's cousin. It's why many supporters of such marriages are reluctant to shun the practice; they would see it as 'un-Islamic'. Furthermore, as Holden alluded, cousin marriages can be a way of exercising coercive control. Too many women from the Subcontinent have been married off to British men of Pakistani heritage only to find themselves as glorified maids left to look after their ageing in-laws. A ban could potentially protect more vulnerable women. Iqbal Mohamed, the independent MP for Dewsbury and Batley, does not believe outlawing cousin marriages would be 'effective or enforceable' But the biggest objection to cousin marriages and why they make the headlines is because of the health risks. For every 100 babies born to related couples, six have a genetic ailment, while the figure is three in 100 for those born to unrelated parents. Problems include blindness, deafness, blood disorders, heart or kidney failure, lung and liver problems and complex neurological disorders, all of which cost the NHS millions of pounds. Aisha Ali-Khan was one of seven children born to Pakistani parents in the former mill town of Keighley, West Yorkshire. Sadly, three of her siblings died young: her twin brother was just two, another aged four and the third had cerebral palsy and did not live to see his 18th birthday. The boys were all born with serious health problems, including hearing impairments and epilepsy, and needed mobility aides, such as wheelchairs or strollers. Why? Her parents were first cousins. Aisha credits the Born In Bradford (BIB) research study in highlighting the scale of the problem in Britain. It set out to discover why so many children born in the Yorkshire city died young or had profound disabilities. A total of 12,453 pregnant women were recruited to the project between 2007 and 2010. Researchers discovered that while 1.7 per cent of babies in England and Wales are born with a birth defect, the figure in Bradford was 3 per cent. Within the Pakistani sub-group, 77 per cent of those with birth defects were born to parents in consanguineous marriages. The bigger problem arises when generation after generation continues marrying cousins, which can lead to more severe illnesses. In 2021, Birmingham City Council announced an emergency taskforce to investigate high levels of infant mortality after it emerged deaths of newborns were twice the national average. Its report found a fifth of infant deaths were a result of consanguineous marriages. Babies of Pakistani and South Asian heritage were disproportionately affected, with one in 188 stillborn compared to one in every 295 white babies. There is, however, hope that this abhorrent practice is ebbing away, as younger Muslims eschew the dated traditions of their parents, and the health issues become more widely known. In 2023, a follow-up study to the BIB project found 46 per cent of babies born in Bradford had related parents (down from 62 per cent a decade before). The fall was steeper in a sub-group of mothers born in the UK from 60 per cent to 36 per cent. Still, too many babies are being exposed to a greater risk of congenital defect. It is only by making cousin marriages a criminal offence that we will rid Britain of this pernicious practice. It will give vulnerable young daughters of overbearing parents the confidence to say no. If that incurs the wrath of the hand-wringing keyboard warriors who feel that it is culturally insensitive or even racist to do so, then so be it. Would they marry their own cousins or allow their children to do so? Somehow, I doubt it. While I am not one of the truly deranged women who lust after Luigi Mangione, the alleged hot killer of an American health insurance boss, the story of the attack in New York struck a chord with me after a frustrating experience with my insurance firm. Last Wednesday morning, a water pipe in the under-stairs cupboard sprang a leak. Luckily, my son heard a hissing sound and when we opened the door we discovered a jet spraying out from a pipe, pooling on the floor and beginning to seep dangerously into the hall. Our regular plumber was not picking up his phone so, in a total panic, I googled Emergency Plumber and came up with Swift Plumber. They told me their call-out charge, and that they would get someone to us within 30 minutes. But they did not tell me, and nor did I ask, because my brain was frozen with terror that the house was going to flood just before Christmas, was what the hourly rate would be. It turned out to be a staggering 289. The total cost for what was a smallish job was astronomical but I consoled myself with the thought that this surely was something my building insurance would pay for. Where did I get that silly idea? As anyone who has ever tried to get some money out of insurers knows, they will always find good reason why the problem doesnt qualify. A flood in my home landed me with a staggering 289 bill for an emergency plumber, writes ALEXANDRA SHULMAN Last Wednesday morning, a water pipe in the under-stairs cupboard sprang a leak. But our insurance wouldn't cover the costs (file photo) In this case, Aviva explained it doesnt insure for repair work but only for damage. Also, it wouldnt cover pipework that was 18 years old because the problem would be general wear and tear. Im not living in a rotting old pile that hasnt been checked out over many decades. What world are they living in where everyone gets their pipes replaced every few years? Naively, I had assumed I was pretty well set up with an Aviva policy. But it seems that refusing payment for remedial work is common practice in the insurance industry. Will Daniel pass the gay hero test? The new screen hero isnt bulging with testosterone and making out with a conveyor belt of beautiful women, but is, instead, a tormented, openly gay guy. Homosexual relationships have been a long time coming as acceptable movie fodder, while in the real world gay stars have for decades been forced to stay in the closet. No longer. One of the most touching films of the year was All Of Us Strangers, the story of the love affair between two men, played by Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott. In the new Netflix series Black Doves, Ben Whishaw plays a lethal trigger man, who is having a tough time juggling his skill at the kill with his desire to get back together with his boyfriend, now a father. Now Queer has been released with Daniel Craig, who in real life is heterosexual, swapping Bond for the lead as a gay American expat cruising the streets. Daniel Craig attends the 'Queer' Gala Screening at The Curzon Mayfair on December 10 Whishaw has questioned whether straight guys can accurately portray gay characters, claiming in a Guardian interview that a small moment of hesitation or inauthenticity can stop him believing in the characters. Will Craig pass his test? This is a long-running debate in the LGBTQ+ community. Surely the time will soon come when the question is whether a gay man can accurately portray a straight one? Lunch should never be al desko, Kemi Kemi Badenoch says she doesnt have lunch. Or to be accurate, she might have lunch of some kind but it will be at her desk. She just doesnt have the time. How wrong. Everybody should have time for lunch. One of the most successful politicians of the age, Labours Roy Jenkins, always made time for a lunch, accompanied by a bottle of good claret. Lunches with others are one of the most valuable ways to spend your time. Some of the most important things in my life began over lunch a job offer, a love affair, a book deal, a long-lasting friendship. That doesnt happen when you are sitting at your desk making phone calls or doing your paperwork. And some of the most interesting information I have ever gleaned has taken place over lunch. People let things slip at the lunch table that they will never bring up in a meeting room. Lunch is a curious kind of safe space. Not as dangerous or big a commitment as dinner. Perhaps, as time goes by, Kemi with discover that lunch is a secret weapon, not a waste of time. Make time for this gem of an exhibition Time is the subject of the small gem of an exhibition at Londons Wallace Collection displaying an astonishing collection of clocks created by Andre-Charles Boulle, Louis XIVs cabinet-maker. After the discovery of the weighted pendulum, which led to greater accuracy, timepieces needed to be housed with their heavy pendulums in a structure, hence these magnificent examples. Its a beautiful exhibition which, in its display of such craftsmanship, sadly shows up how tragic it is that beautiful, intricate clocks are no longer designed, and that the passing of time is now monitored by most of us on thoroughly unexceptional looking smartphones. I was wrong about Chanels new man Hands up. I was wrong. Ive been telling anyone who was interested and some who werent that Matthieu Blazy would not be joining Chanel as its creative director. Yet that appointment has just been announced. In his previous role at Bottega Veneta, the 40-year-old French-Belgian has designed some delicious clothes and accessories but I didnt think he had the big personality Chanel were looking for to head up this billion-dollar brand. My apologies to him and many congratulations. The Duchess of York, 65, gave an interview prior to the spy controversy Sarah Ferguson has revealed she is looking after her 'sad' ex-husband Prince Andrew and 'won't let him down'. The Duchess of York, 65, and the disgraced royal divorced in 1996 but have remained close and even live together at the Royal Lodge on the Windsor Estate. Sarah - or 'Fergie' - as she is affectionately known was speaking in a new interview with The Sunday Times, published today but given before recent allegations regarding Andrew and his links to a Chinese spy came to light. Earlier this week, it was revealed that a 'close confidant' of the Duke, 64, was an alleged Chinese spy who had been banned from entering the UK after an investigation by MI5, with King Charles said to be 'furious'. The alleged agent was so close to Andrew that he visited Buckingham Palace twice, and entered St Jamess Palace and Windsor Castle. He was even authorised to act on Andrews behalf to seek investors in China. It is another humiliation for the Duke of York, who has already been forced to step back from palace duties due to the Jeffrey Epstein pedophile scandal. Speaking prior to the latest allegations, Fergie professed her undying support for her ex-husband, revealing that she is currently looking after him and 'won't let him down'. In the joint interview given with her sister Jane, she confessed: 'When Jane left for Australia, I became a carer for Dad. I was left to look after a sad man, which is sort of what Im doing now.' Sarah Ferguson has revealed she is looking after her 'sad' ex-husband Prince Andrew and 'won't let him down'. Pictured speaking on Lorraine on September 4 And speaking about their wedding day at Westminster Abbey in 1986, she added: 'I gave up my anonymity that day. I was able to because love conquers all. Its still with us today. I wont let him down. 'He supports me as much as I support him. Hes supported me through thick and thin, not just marriage or divorce. We agree on the three Cs communication, compromise, compassion.' The Duchess reflected on how she first met Prince Andrew at the age of 12 and knew she was going to marry him. In 1985, Princess Diana invited her to Ascot and she and Andrew were reunited. Six months later they were engaged. During their marriage, they welcomed daughters Princess Beatrice, 36, and Princess Eugenie, 34, before their divorce ten years later. Now, Fergie is said to be 'divorced to' her husband, and previously said they were the 'happiest divorced couple in the world'. She added in her interview that she 'hopes' Andrew still 'loves her' like she loves him. In 2018, Sarah told the Daily Mail: 'We're the happiest divorced couple in the world. We're divorced to each other, not from each other [...] My duty is to him. I am so proud of him. I stand by him and always will. The way we are is our fairytale.' It comes after MI5 discovered that the businessman, 50, was a member of the Chinese Communist Party and was working for its shadowy United Front Work Department, which gathers intelligence. Fergie has previously said she and her ex-husband are the 'happiest divorced couple'. Pictured in 2019 Earlier this week, it was revealed that a 'close confidant' of the Duke, 64, was an alleged Chinese spy Sarah still lives with Andrew. For years, her ex-husband would take their daughters (pictured all together) to Royal Family celebrations without Sarah When police stopped him at the UK border in 2021 it was discovered that he had a briefing document in which Andrew appeared to be described as being in a desperate situation and will grab onto anything. The alleged spy, who is a businessman, has previously attended a meeting of the powerful Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing. In a sign of his importance to Chinas Communist Party, he was pictured on the front row of the meeting in the vast Great Hall of the People. The businessman lost an appeal over a decision to bar him from entering the UK on national security grounds. He brought a case to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) after then-home secretary Suella Braverman said he should be excluded from the UK in March 2023. Judges were told that in a briefing for the home secretary in July 2023, officials claimed H6 had been in a position to generate relationships between prominent UK figures and senior Chinese officials 'that could be leveraged for political interference purposes'. They also said that H6 had downplayed his relationship with the Chinese state, which combined with his relationship with Prince Andrew represented a threat to national security. A statement from Prince Andrew's office said: 'The Duke of York followed advice from His Majesty's Government and ceased all contact with the individual after concerns were raised. 'The Duke met the individual through official channels with nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed. Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson arriving at the memorial service for the late King Constantine of Greece at Windsor Castle in February The Duke could find himself barred from the annual Christmas Day walk (pictured the Royal Family on their annual walk in December 2023) Prince Andrew leaves after attending the Christmas day service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham in December 2022 'He is unable to comment further on matters relating to national security.' In a ruling on Thursday, Mr Justice Bourne, Judge Stephen Smith and Sir Stewart Eldon, upheld a ban on H6 from entering the country and said the Prince Andrew's troubles had left him 'vulnerable' to exploitation. It is the latest humiliation for Prince Andrew who is already a royal pariah after being forced to step back from palace duties following the Jeffrey Epstein paedophile scandal. The Duke withdrew from frontline royal duties in late 2019 after public outrage over a BBC television interview in which he defended his friendship with Epstein. In February 2022, the former Royal Navy helicopter pilot settled a US civil case brought by Virginia Giuffre, who claimed he sexually assaulted her when she was 17. Andrew denied all allegations of wrongdoing. Queen Elizabeth II stripped him of his honorary military titles and patronages soon afterwards, effectively shutting him out of royal life. It has even been reported that Andrew 'could be barred from walking to church with the Royal Family on Christmas morning in the wake of the spy allegations. The Duke of York (pictured) has said he 'ceased all contact' with the businessman accused of being a Chinese spy when concerns were first raised about him Prince Andrew, Duke of York and Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh leave the Christmas Morning Service at Sandringham Church in December 2023 Last month, Fergie jetted off for a Christmas trip without Prince Andrew The Duke of York's appearance at the family's annual Christmas Day walk from the church is thought to have been thrown into doubt over the latest scandal around his alleged links to the man, who can be named only as H6, according to The Mirror. Prince Andrew, 64, has joined the rest of the family on the Christmas morning walk for the last two years since the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, despite other controversies including his friendship with Jeffery Epstein. But things could be different this year amid rumours that the King is furious that his brother has plunged the monarchy into a major scandal with the alleged relationship tarnishing the reputation of the entire Royal Family. A source, however, said that, despite his frustration with the Duke of York, Charles has accepted that he cant divorce or sack his younger brother, as there will always be a bond of blood. Royal expert Jennie Bond told the Mirror that for 'the sake of the monarchy' the Duke 'should spend [Christmas] away from Sandringham, out of the public eye'. The disgraced duke (pictured), 64, was urged to 'be clear and honest' amid calls for an inquiry into how the alleged Chinese agent had infiltrated the Royal Family She added that he has 'become a recurring embarrassment to the Royal Family'. Last month, Fergie jetted off for a Christmas trip without Prince Andrew. The Duchess of York told her TikTok followers: 'It's Monday and I decided that we need to get the Christmas spirit going. 'Heathrow Airport on my way to Vienna. And what am I doing in Vienna? I am going to see (the) Christmas fair'. Attempting to drum up some festive cheer, Fergie continued: 'The airports are just so exciting. It's a new adventure, new day, new journey. Let's go'. MailOnline has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment. A mother who flew to Turkey for a 5,300 'mummy makeover' surgery has revealed how she was left with just one breast after infection set in. Jade Tyler 31, from Tottenham, was left unhappy with her body after having five children and wanted a makeover. She booked the boob job, tummy tuck, Brazilian butt lift, and liposuction at a clinic in Istanbul, Turkey for just over 5,000 - around 15,000 less than it would have cost in the UK. She went under the knife for the nine-hour surgery, but later was still in agony and bleeding. However the mother-of-five claimed she was reassured it was normal and returned to the UK. Once back to her home in Essex, infection set in, leaving her with a 50p-sized hole in her breast and at risk of developing sepsis. No medication or treatment helped, and eventually doctors said their last move was to remove the implant - along with almost all of her right breast tissue. Jade spent four months with just one breast, having to stuff her bra with a 'fake breast', before she could get a new set of smaller, lower-risk implants. Jade Tyler, 31, from Tottenham, got a 5,300 Turkey 'mummy makeover' surgery and was left with just one breast after an infection left her with a 50p-sized hole. Pictured before her surgery She has now ended up with the same size C-cup size breasts she started with - but has been left needing therapy and regrets ever going under the knife. The stay-at-home mother said: 'After my last child, I was overweight, had a "mummy pouch" and had saggy boobs. 'I decided I wanted to go to Turkey to get my old body back. 'But the whole thing was one big, agonising nightmare and I'm still not happy with how my body looks. 'I wish I'd never done it. It felt so important at the time but I look at old photos and feel sad now. 'I see now that having a perfect body isn't important - my message is to love yourself the way you are.' Jade decided to head out to Istanbul to splash 5,300 on the treatments - which could have cost more than 20,000 in the UK. Jade was left unhappy with her body after having five children and wanted a makeover but now regrets going under the knife (pictured after recovering from surgery) She went under the knife for the nine-hour surgery, but later was still in agony and bleeding. Jade is pictured following her surgery She booked the boob job, tummy tuck, Brazilian butt lift, and liposuction at a clinic in Istanbul, Turkey Once back to her home in Essex, her right nipple began to turn black before a gaping hole developed in the breast which leaked fluid and smelled (pictured: Jade's breasts immediately after after her boob job in Turkey) Jade spent four months with just one breast before she could get a new set of smaller, lower-risk implants (pictured: Jade recently) She wanted to tackle her 'saggy boobs' and 'mummy pouch' on her stomach and booked her operations, plus flights and a hotel for January 2024. Excited to get her 'brand new body', Jade flew out on January 4 with her teen nephew for company, and went under the knife the very next day. But days on, her wounds from her breast implantation began to bleed and her right breast swelled up. Regardless, she was discharged and flew home - and Jade got in touch with a local UK breast clinic seeking help. She was put onto a drainage pump to remove the building fluid, but things took a turn - culminating in her full breast being removed. She said: 'I was going to get my wounds re-dressed every week but it got worse.' Jade decided to head out to Istanbul to splash 5,300 on the treatments - which could have cost more than 20,000 in the UK Jade said UK clinics refused to touch her because of the work that had already been in Turkey Jade admitted that she now mourns her pre surgery body and regrets going under the knife 'The skin began to split and then my breast tissue was literally falling out of the bottom. It was hell. 'The smell was the most awful thing - like rotting meat - and nothing seemed to help. 'Several appointments later, they said there was a risk of sepsis and the implant needed to come out - along with almost all my breast tissue.' Instead of getting back her pre-pregnancy body and a full, perky bust, she was left with just one boob. Jade said UK clinics refused to touch her because of the work that had already been in Turkey. She was left so embarrassed that she spent months stuffing her bra on one side with a fake breast, and wearing baggy clothes to hide it. She said: 'The effect on my mental health was terrible - I felt so depressed. 'Even doing the school run - I'd have to remember my keys, phone and fake boob.' She was left so embarrassed that she spent months stuffing her bra on one side with a fake breast, and wearing baggy clothes to hide it Jade now wants to use her experience to warn other women not to go under the knife - and instead to 'love yourself' But it left Jade feeling so insecure she ran out of options - besides going back a clinic run by the same company that did her surgery - to go under the knife for a new corrective pair of implants. She said: 'I desperately didn't want to go back - but I looked down at my chest and thought 'I can't live like this'.' After travelling back to Istanbul on October 21, she had a surgery to remove her existing implant and get a new set. She was warned larger implants would cause issues again - so she had to get C-cup implants - leaving her the same size as she started. Jade now wants to use her experience to warn other women not to go under the knife - and instead to 'love yourself'. She said: 'I was worried I would die at points throughout this journey. I knew there were risks but I thought it wouldn't happen to me, until it did. 'The whole thing is one massive regret, I look back at my before photos and cry because I miss my old body. 'My message is just love yourself the way you are - I look back and realise getting the work done wasn't important. 'I have my children and I need to be there for them - and I nearly wasn't! I wish I had never gone in the first place - now I'm just happy to be alive.' The scene could come straight from a romance novel. Dressed in a Zara suit, which amazingly emphasised my figure, our 20-something flame-haired heroine walks into a conference hall filled with Russian oligarchs, catching the eye of every man there. Scooping up the billionaires business cards faster than a JCB digger, she casts come-hither glances as she works the room. When I entered the main hall, everyone simultaneously turned in my direction. I knew that I looked great, she later recalled. No, not an extract from a Jilly Cooper page-turner, though, arguably, it is a bonk-buster. Rather, its a description of events which purportedly took place at Londons Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre during the 2003 Russian Economic Forum attended by Prince Andrew. It comes from the autobiography of notorious Russian spy Anna Chapman, which has been published in her native Russia and to which the Mail has gained exclusive access. Notorious Russian spy Anna Chapman pictured back in Moscow Chapman, now 42, became infamous in 2010 when she was unveiled as an undercover agent after a sting operation by the FBI in the US. Unceremoniously booted back to Moscow with her tail between her shapely legs, she reinvented herself as an influencer, a TV presenter and, now, an author. For Chapman, born Anna Vasilyevna Kushchenko, has written a tell-all memoir about how she was recruited as an undercover agent in Putins foreign intelligence service the SVR. A story which, by her bizarre admission, is five per cent fiction, it includes an account of five years she spent in the UK and the marriage that handed her a coveted British passport and surname. Jaw-dropping to say the least, To Russia With Love is for the most part a boastful, sickly-sweet account of Chapmans own brilliance. While much is impossible to verify, the years she spent in London before she became a spy were, she says, filled with wealthy Arab sheikhs, suitcases stuffed with cash, diamond necklaces, shopping trips via private jet to Paris and Geneva and magnums of Dom Perignon champagne slurped at Londons swankiest nightspots. But in the midst of this pulp faction, written with a ghostwriter, lie devastating allegations about her British husband Alex Chapman, who she met in 2001 in a London Docklands nightclub. He died, aged 36, in May 2015 of a drugs overdose and so is not here to defend himself. But his ex-wife ruthlessly paints him as a violent alcoholic and drug addict. In one shocking chapter she accuses him of trying to kill her with a power drill an hour before she trotted off to Westminster to make that memorable entrance at the Russian Economic Forum. A sharp pain, the drill twisting the skin, splashes of blood on the snow white linen, she writes describing how she locked herself in the bathroom at the couples flat in Stoke Newington, North London, to get away from her husband after he attacked her in bed. The drill pierced the thin wood and the shiny tip popped out right in front of my nose, she adds in a scene which conjures up images of Jack Nicholson in The Shining. She apparently escaped after Alex passed out on the floor. Anna pictured with her husband Alex Chapman who she claims attacked her When she returned to their flat months later, she claims he raped her: You wont get away b****! Youre mine for ever! she recalls him saying before recounting the cracking sound of tearing lace. That alleged rape, she says, resulted in a pregnancy, which she claims she told Alexs mother Jane on the phone was probably a boy. I need to make a decision about keeping the child. For that, I need to ask if you can help raise the baby, she recalls telling Mrs Chapman, living in the New Forest, Hampshire. Cruelly, she claims her mother-in-laws refusal to take care of the child helped me make my final decision. I will not give birth. The abortion was not successful and the most stomach-churning of her claims is that, days after the procedure, she delivered the foetus at home, put it in the fridge and later buried it in a shoe box somewhere in Hyde Park. Her former mother-in-law told the Mail last week that she was unaware of the book and didnt want to even hear about the allegations so its impossible to prove their veracity. But written to bolster her fame in Russia, readers there will care little if Chapman traduces the reputation of her dead husband. What is known is that the Volgograd-born daughter of a former KGB agent turned Russian diplomat arrived in London in 2001 aged 19 after meeting Brighton-based DJ Marcus Read in a bar in Zimbabwe, where her father was posted at the time. After he picked her up at Heathrow, the pair embarked on a six-week fling. Read recalled: The sex was brilliant, we were getting on great, and then she was off. She dumped him after meeting trainee psychiatrist Alex who became her husband six months later. Despite the horrors she claims to have suffered at his hands, she says they were also like two magnets, striving to unite. She says they separated in 2003 though before his death Alex claimed they continued to see each other till their divorce in 2006. Alex, who was interviewed by British security services after his ex-wifes 2010 arrest in New York, always believed that Chapman was conditioned after her arrival in the UK and that her personality changed after she began having secretive meetings with Russians. He told the Telegraph in 2010: She was transformed into someone with access to a lot of money, boasting about all the influential people she was meeting. Indeed, with elements of the films Pretty Woman and Fifty Shades Of Grey and a dash of a Bond movie the tales Chapman tells might have been ripped straight from a Netflix script. Take the end of the first day of the Russian Economic Forum in April 2003 when, after that alleged attack by her husband with a power drill and having bewitched a room of oligarchs, our heroine has nowhere to sleep and so heads to Waterloo Bridge to spend the night with the homeless. Anna Chapman was sent back to Moscow after being exposed by the FBI She describes warming herself next to their brazier, then beds down on a urine-stained blanket and rests her head on her white Chloe handbag. When the bag, bulging with oligarchs business cards she had collected during the day, is snatched in the night, she apparently takes off her heels, runs after the thief and retrieves it, later washing her feet in the Thames. It is a scene, she admits, just like the movies. Next day, a kindly shop assistant lends her money later repaid for a new outfit so Chapman can return for day two of the forum. This time she claims a billionaire oligarch, given the pseudonym Victor, invites her to join him and his friends for drinks at Mayfair hotel Claridges. Readers are told that her companions, three super-rich men and a sex worker, all nod approvingly or listen with interest when she speaks. Like a fairy godfather, the mysterious Victor then leaves a key for her at Claridges reception. The Presidential Suite, no less! A porter hands her a piece of paper with four numbers. It doesnt take clever Anna long to work out Victor has left her the code to the safe in the room. The heavy door swung open lazily. At the bottom of the safe lay a hundred thousand dollars, she writes. She rents a flat in upmarket South Kensington and gets a job at private jet firm JetSales after showing its Swedish director her impressive haul of business cards. So does it have any relationship to the truth? In real life, economics graduate Chapman worked for NetJets Europe as a sales assistant but didnt get the job until more than a year after the 2003 forum and was only employed from May to July 2004, when she was sacked. None of this is mentioned. Instead, in her memoir, she is hanging out in Londons celebrity hotspots. One of them is The Cow, a Notting Hill restaurant fraternised by Tom Cruise, David Beckham, Kate Moss and Stella McCartney. Another time, she describes walking alone into Mayfair restaurant Cipriani, knowing there was always someone willing to treat a charming lady to a drink. She adds: Dozens of eyes turned towards me. I knew how to make an entrance. I walked through the hall with a signature sway of my hips. According to her book, she later went off with two wealthy businessmen to a Kensington apartment and played strip poker. After losing the first hand, she says she removed her knickers much to the mens delight. She went on to win the second hand. Her prize, she writes, was a job working for hedge fund boss Nicholas who phoned her in the morning and told her to get your beautiful arse up and come to the office. In 2010, after she was unveiled as a spy, Nicholas Camilleri, chief executive of Mayfair-based hedge fund Navigator Asset Management Advisers, admitted meeting Chapman at Cipriani in 2005 and says she almost immediately asked for a job. She was a PA for a matter of months and Camilleri, who took his life in Malta in 2022, described her as a green, wet behind the ears girl who failed to impress. Chapmans claim that she moved to an apartment in Mayfair is true but its unclear how she paid the rent. Her flatmate was Lena Savitskaya, a Belarusian waitress at the Berkeley Hotel. For two years, the women partied together, seeking the company of rich and powerful men. They were pictured with plunging necklines at a War and Peace costume ball at the Dorchester, standing by Grand Duke George Mikhailovich Romanov, descendant of the Tsars and heir apparent to the Imperial Russian throne, and Prince Guillaume, heir to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The pair also went on to befriend exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, who admitted knowing Chapman before he took his life at his Surrey home in 2013. Lena told the Mail in 2010 that her former flatmate had only married Alex Chapman to get a passport and had ruined her life after stealing a wealthy Arab boyfriend she had hoped to marry. Chapman covers this in chapter 33 of her 461-page tome, saying the sheikh boyfriend was visibly impressed by her dreams of going to Harvard to study for an MBE. She says his assistant turned up next day with $80,000 in a suitcase. Then, en route to Paris with the sheikh on his Gulfstream jet, Chapman says she was given a diamond necklace. But during their stay at the five-star Hotel George V, she insists they had separate suites, hinting she did not sleep with him, saying: The life of a gold-digger didnt appeal to me. She also claims to have turned down a proposal from a billionaire oligarch who pampered her. Nevertheless, she admits pawning the jewels given by benefactors before returning in 2005 to Moscow where, finally she says, she was approached by the SVR, who had been watching her for months, and recruited as an agent. She claims she was only recruited because an SVR agent, referred to as Kirill, spotted her in the VIP box at Chelsea FC beside owner Roman Abramovich in 2003 and was immediately struck by her presence. Who is this? Someones wife, mistress, daughter or secretary? she writes. Kirill almost got up from his seat to better examine the facial features, figure and gaze of the mysterious girl. She actively participated in the conversations and the others top managers, politicians and businessmen listened attentively, nodding from time to time, agreeing. What was special about her? He promised himself that he would definitely find out. While the book ends with her recruitment, what happened next is well documented. Having used her British passport to get to the US, Chapman set herself up in New York as CEO of a website selling real estate while continuing to rub shoulders with the super-wealthy. She is said to have passed information to Russian agents from locations such as coffee shops and book stores across the city. There has never been any evidence any of it was of great use but after her arrest by the FBI in 2010, she was among ten Russian sleeper agents deported to Moscow as part of the swap that saw Sergei Skripal who in 2018 survived the poisoning attempt in Salisbury sent to the UK. The ensuing publicity brought Chapman the fame she has craved for much of her life. She has spent the past 15 years desperately clawing after celebrity in her homeland. Such efforts have largely involved stripping off for photographers, a brief and somewhat disastrous turn as a fashion designer and a short stint hosting a TV chat show. She remains one of Vladimir Putins most faithful cheerleaders and has thrown her voice behind Russias invasion of Ukraine. Now she appears to crave literary stardom, as well as the TV series it might inspire. Chapman ends her book by thanking her ghostwriter and promising readers a second thrilling instalment. But its hard, given the tall tales she has already cranked out, to imagine what on Earth there is left worth saying. Additional reporting: Will Stewart Zookeepers from around the world have shared their funniest and cutest animal pictures of 2024. The adorable snaps were shared by keepers from across the globe, with entries from zoos and wildlife centres in the UK, Denmark, the USA and more. The informal competition is run by Facebook page Zoo Keepers Europe, which has amassed nearly 16,000 members since its creation in 2014. One of the top-rated pictures by judges this year included a snap of a Gelada monkey grabbing her baby by the tail as he attempts to dive from a rock, snapped by Chloe Stamper at Yorkshire Wildlife Park. Another highly rated shot was the work of Terri-May Cook at the New Forest Wildlife Park in Hampshire, who captured the moment two smooth coated otters checked out their own reflection in the glass of their exhibit. Across the pond, Bryan Kao of the Bronx Zoo, New York City, caught a snap of a two-toed otter scratching its chin. Meanwhile in Denmark, Christina Christensen of Copenhagen Zoo snapped a photo of Chin, the baby Asian elephant, attempting to smash a pumpkin. Some of the UK's best entries include a photo of Lumi the black rhino, chasing starlings at Yorkshire Zoo, taken by keeper Zoe Brown. Zookeepers from around the world have shared their funniest and cutest animal pictures of 2024. Pictured: A Gelada monkey grabbing her baby by the tail by Chloe Stamper Al Capone the Brazilian tapir smiles for the camera at Newquay Zoo photo taken by Tracey Twomey Elsewhere, Tracey Twomey's shot of Al Capone, the smiling Brazilian tapir at Newquay Zoo. Craig Holmes, who runs the Zoo Keepers Europe Facebook page, has been running the competition since 2021, and said they received 'several hundred' entries this year. 'We run a competition at the end of the year for the photos that zookeepers have taken over the course of the year,' he said. 'They get access behind the scenes while they're working, and generally get quite good photos. 'We had a good few entries this year - a couple of hundred. We go through them and pick out the best. 'My two favourites are probably the smooth coated otters at Newforest Wildlife Park where you can see their reflection in the window, and a spotted laughing thrush at the Newquay Zoo, where it's almost like he's looking into the camera.' A hippo at Copenhagen Zoo, Denmark, enjoying his dinner, in a picture taken by Christina Christensen Giraffe sticking out its tongue at Copenhagen Zoo, Denmark, picture taken by Christina Christensen Another highly rated shot was the work of Terri-May Cook at the New Forest Wildlife Park in Hampshire, who captured the moment two smooth coated otters checked out their own reflection in the glass of their exhibit Alice the red panda looks shocked at Yorkshire Wildlife Park picture taken by Jess Greenwood Grevy's Zebra stallion doing the Flehmen response towards guests at Zoo Miami photo taken by Bryan Kao Chin, an Asian elephant at Copenhagen Zoo, Denmark is pictured crushing pumpkin with his head, taken by Christina Christensen Some of the UK's best entries include a photo of Lumi the black rhino, chasing starlings at Yorkshire Zoo, taken by keeper Zoe Brown Wildebeest chasing curious giraffe calf getting too close at Knuthenborg Safari Park, Denmark, picture taken by Christina Christensen Across the pond, Bryan Kao of the Bronx Zoo, New York City , caught a snap of a two-toed otter scratching its chin Arctic wolves at Zoo du bois d'attilly, France, the photo was taken by Chloe Stamper Meanwhile an adorable Rusty spotted cat at Bridlington animal park, was snapped by Chloe Stamper Stanley the Californian Sea Lion at Yorkshire Wildlife Park 'always enjoys helping with cleaning duties, especially when the hosepipe is involved' says Charlotte Pywell who took the photograph Inquisitive spotted laughingthrush at Newquay Zoo, photo taken by Tracey Twomey Scottish Wildcat at Axe Valley Wildlife Park in East Devon picture taken by Medea Armstrong Rocky the raccoon at Askham Bryan Wildlife Conservation Park, York, photo taken by Ryan Colman A primeval-looking Lesser Adjutant Stork at Bronx Zoo, photo taken by Bryan Kao Eland mother and calf at Knuthenborg Safari Park, Denmark picture taken by Christina Christensen For Christmas this year, I would like an impregnable set of headphones. I use the word advisedly: these ear defenders are the only way Ill be sure to avoid the sound of my young adult children having sex with their partners in our small semi-detached house, and I have no desire for grandchildren just yet. Daniel is 23 and Elizabeth is 20. She is in her second year at university and hes back home after graduating. This is the first year that both my children are partnered up and if experience is anything to go by, I have some serious noise-blocking to do. The evidence that my son was having sex was first presented to me earlier this year. I was sitting at my desk in the spare room writing a tricky article when I heard a rhythmic tapping on the wall. At first, I thought it was something to do with the plumbing odd at the start of September, I thought. Then, it dawned on me. My stomach plunged down several storeys, I went cold all over and leapt to my feet as if stung by a jellyfish. Daniel was . . . entertaining his girlfriend in his room. His bed is placed up against the adjoining wall. It didnt take a genius to work out the rest. Fighting the images that had flooded my mind, I raced down to the kitchen and demanded that Alexa play Roll With It at top volume as I walked in small circles, trying to process this new information. At some point we parents are going to have to accept that our adult children have become intimate with their partners When I thought it was safe half an hour would suffice, surely? I crept upstairs to go to the loo. The noise had stopped, thank God. But now the bathroom was inaccessible to me, because the happy couple had decided to shower together. I went downstairs, yanked open the front door, slammed it behind me and went out to a coffee shop to use the loo and expunge the pictures from my brain. If that wasnt bad enough, my daughter will be bringing a young man home over the festive period. Ive known that Elizabeth has a boyfriend a student on her course for some time. Last week, she called and asked whether he could stay at ours for New Year. It didnt cross my mind to refuse. But how on earth will I cope with being assaulted by this symphony from two angles? There are many blessings involved in watching our children flourish but one of the curses is navigating their entry into a grown-up sex life. We can put our fingers in our ears and sing la la la both literally and metaphorically but whether we want to admit it or not, at some point we are going to have to accept that our adult children have become intimate with their partners. These tiny beings for whom we pureed carrots, wiped noses and bandaged knees are now having properly adult relationships. And, of course, we want them to be happy and to find lasting love, but do we really need to hear the evidence? Sitting in the cafe, I thought harder about my visceral response. What did I do when I was the same age as Dan and Elizabeth? From memory, I was either in my university digs, or I waited till my parents went out. After university I didnt go home. By my early 20s in common with all my now fiftysomething friends I moved straight into rented accommodation. When I was my childrens age, my meagre starting salary at least afforded me a house share. Things are very different now. The cost-of-living crisis means that many can no longer afford to live independently after graduation. If they even leave in the first place, that is. According to a 2023 survey by Statista, 42 per cent of young adults aged 15 to 34 live with their parents, either because theyve never left or theyve come boomeranging back. Hence your late teen or early twentysomething child bringing that first proper relationship home, too, when we kept it well away from parental ears. Do you suffer in silence or do you let them know that they've been disturbing you? Even if your house is large enough not to hear them or your offspring tend to the discreet the time will come when youll know theyve been at it. Which is, quite frankly, queasy-making for you and embarrassing for everyone. Do you suffer in silence or let them know that you know? I did a straw poll of my friends. I dont know what goes on and I dont want to know, said Julia, pulling a face. Most of my acquaintances felt the same, though a lot of them were blessed with bigger houses than my own. I think Joshua and his girlfriend wait until we go out, says Helen. Sally told me about the time her husband had suspicions about what their 18-year-old daughter was doing, and rooted through her bedroom drawers, where he found a pack of condoms. Im not quite sure what Jim was expecting, says Sally. Of course, he couldnt bring this up in conversation because he shouldnt have been looking in the first place. I tried to console him with the fact that at least Laura was having safe sex, which didnt seem to make him feel much better. The fact remains that, like it or not, our becoming-adult children are going to become sexually active at some point. As regards my own offspring, its possible I have been too liberal, that Ive cultivated a permissive attitude in my house. In contrast, some of my friends have firm ground rules. When Hannahs daughter Sian brought her first boyfriend home at 17, Hannah sat her down to discuss the situation. We talked a lot about her boyfriend, especially because, at 21, he was quite a bit older than she was, says Hannah. We discussed my hope that they wouldnt sleep together before Sian was 18, because I felt it would allow her more of a chance to be in control. I also made my husband meet the parents before he was allowed to stay over. Sian is now 24 and the relationship is still going strong. I am lucky because actually, he is a sensitive boy, says Hannah. I have never heard them in bed because I suspect hes had a strict upbringing and they are respectful of the fact that she has younger siblings around. My friend Janice (who is, admittedly, a therapist) doesnt get the fuss. Why are you so freaked out by this? she asked. The fact your children are having serious relationships in their early 20s is a great sign. It shows they are normal, that theyre psychologically healthy. They can listen, compromise and connect with another person in an adult way. It shows that youve done a great job of bringing them up. As my former colleague Louise says of her 25-year old son: I love seeing Finn being such a lovely boyfriend to Poppy, and it makes me feel very proud of him. I just feel sad he has less time to talk to me. Even so, I wouldnt want to hear them having sex, thank you very much. But before I get too defensive and self-pitying, there is a sting in the tale and possibly some revenge to be had. Its been three years since my divorce from Dan and Elizabeths father. Earlier this year, I finally met a new man of my own, Nathan, who lives in Manchester. He will be spending Christmas and New Year at ours. Hes already stayed over once when the children were here, and there was much sh-shhing and giggling, and moving the bed away from the wall so it didnt make a sound. But after a brandy or two, who knows what Christmas night might bring? Maybe my children should invest in some headphones of their own . . . Some names have been changed. Four ways to deal with it, according to experts Realise its inevitable Acknowledge it your family roles are starting to change. As your children grow up, your role as their parent changes, and you need to accept this, says Susan Quilliam, a psychologist and relationship expert. Thats not to say this will be an easy transition, but there are ways to make it less challenging. You are moving from a parent/young child relationship into a friendship; your power-dynamic is shifting and youre embarking on a relationship thats more one of equals. Accept societys changed Social mores have changed, we are less bound by religious strictures, and its probably less shocking than it used to be for an adult child to share a bed under your roof, says psychotherapist Sheri Jacobson. ...But dont be afraid to put down boundaries Ideally, says Jacobson, your children would spend some time elsewhere share time out between the other set of parents, for example. But if there really isnt a choice, you may need to compromise, she says. If you forbid them to sleep together, you risk a rupture in your relationship your child could go elsewhere, and possibly even put themselves in danger. And let them know if theyre disturbing you! The situation may feel embarrassing, but you may find your child is not as embarrassed as you are, says Quilliam. Enlist their help in solving the problem. Say: If you were in my situation, what would you do? Separate the emotional from the practical. Accepting your child is now your equal is a difficult thing to do, but its also the loving thing to do. Lauren Sanchez donned a shocking see-through outfit while she visited a children's bookstore in California. The 54-year-old businesswoman - who is engaged to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos - posted a throwback clip of her walking around Godmothers bookstore in Montecito on Sunday morning. Sanchez sported baggy maroon pants, a thin black belt, bright white sneakers, and a burgundy mesh turtleneck top that showed off her bust as she made her way around the 'unbelievable store' filled with shelves of children' books. At the time, Sanchez said she was there to speak about her new children's book The Fly Who Flew to Space, which hit shelves on September 10. 'I'm doing a talk later tonight, I'm so excited, a little nervous, but I just wanted to give you a little view of what this bookstore is all about,' Sanchez said. 'It's, I have to say, a little piece of magic. You can bring your kids here, and they have authors that come and talk about their books for kids,' she continued as she pointed at another book on a small table and said: 'I mean look at this, what do you do with an idea?' Sanchez added that the bookstore is 'such a calming space,' just before she got distracted by other celebrity children's books on the shelves. 'Oh my gosh! There's Jennifer Aniston's book right here,' she said as she ran over to the shelf. Lauren Sanchez, 54, posted a video to Instagram on Sunday documenting her recent visit to Godmothers bookstore in Montecito, as she donned a see-through burgundy turtleneck shirt that showed off her bust She paired the revealing top with baggy maroon pants, a thin black belt and bright white sneakers She crouched down and pointed to the actress's book and said: 'I've heard all about this book! This is supposed to be amazing!' Sanchez soon spotted another hit book created by Eva Mendez, as she added: 'Ugh, like I said, it's like magic!' She captioned the post: 'Throwing it back to my magical day in Montecito where I shared the story behind The Fly Who Flew. Before my talk, I wandered through their shelves and stumbled on two incredible finds @jenniferaniston & @evamendes latest childrens books. 'Loved every page and amazing gifts for the holidays. If you havent been go check this magical bookstore out.' Soon after her book hit the shelves, Sanchez shared an emotional moment with a surprise guest who 'changed her life' at one of her signings. In September, the raven-haired beauty was stunned to see her El Camino Community College teacher, Lori, in the crowd. Sanchez brought her former professor up to the front of the room and shared footage of their heartwarming reunion on Instagram. Sanchez said she was at the bookstore, which she referred to as a 'little piece of magic,' to promote her new children's book The Fly Who Flew to Space During the clip, Sanchez quickly ran over to a shelf that displayed Jennifer Aniston and Eva Mendez's children's books The former journalist - who previously opened up about her battle with dyslexia -gushed about the 'immeasurable' impact Lori had on her life and how she led her to get tested for the learning disability. In a slew of videos shared to social media, Sanchez hugged her teacher - whom she hasn't seen in years - tightly and thanked her for always believing in her. After bringing Lori up, she said: 'She completely changed my world. I have so much gratitude for you, thank you so much for showing up today.' In a clip shared to her Instagram story, she hugged Lori and said that she was 'never letting her go.' Lori also said a few touching words about the former journalist. The college teacher said: 'I just want to say that all I did was show you a door. You walked through it and you were the one that changed your life. 'I just gave you an avenue to walk through and I'm so glad that I was able to do that for you.' Lauren burst into tears and hugged her former professor as she thanked her for all her help. The former TV star explained that she was inspired to write the tome in order to uplift children who are currently experiencing the same struggles she once faced with dyslexia. (Pictured: Sanchez in New York City in September) In September, the raven-haired beauty was stunned to see her El Camino Community College teacher, Lori, in the crowd as she invited her on stage and gave her an emotional embrace The former TV star explained that she was inspired to write the tome in order to uplift children who are currently experiencing the same struggles she once faced with dyslexia. She then admitted that her son Evan Whitesell, 18, has also been diagnosed with the learning disorder, which causes problems with reading and writing correctly. While speaking on Good Morning America, she made a moving appearance as she looked back on the moment her teacher helped her with her learning challenges. 'I really, really wanted to be a journalist, it's all I wanted to be, and I thought, I can't write, it was horrible,' she said. The glamorous star then became overwhelmed with emotion as she recalled the moment when she was able to better pursue her dream job thanks to the help of a teacher who asked her to write for the school paper. Sanchez - who is engaged to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos - also revealed her son Evan Whitesell, 18, has been diagnosed with the learning disorder, which causes problems with reading and writing correctly 'I said, "I can't really write,"' the brunette beauty recalled. '[The teacher] said, "Just write without thinking about spelling or punctuation."' Lauren became teary eyed and had to pause to get control of her emotions before she continued: 'Every time I talk about this, I get emotional.' The former journalist added: 'I don't remember what the story was about. She literally looked at me after I turned it in, and she was like, "You are not dumb, you just can't spell," and she got me tested for dyslexia. 'This was a community college teacher who took an interest in me. I went from a 2.0-[GPA] student who was barely making it to a 3.8, got into USC and became a journalist.' Lauren revealed that some of the proceeds from the book would go to the International Dyslexia Association, which helps diagnose children at a younger age. Earlier this month Sanchez stepped out in a revealing outfit, paired with a black, latex cat costume, a whip, diamond-encrusted 'B' pendant necklace, black elbow length gloves and a latex cat face mask This is not the first time Sanchez has stepped out in a revealing outfit, as she was seen earlier this month in a BDSM-inspired ensemble which she accessorized with a nod to her fiance. She stunned in a black, latex cat costume complete with whip and a diamond-encrusted 'B' pendant necklace. The jewelry is thought to be a nod to her forthcoming status change to Mrs. Bezos. Sanchez showed plenty of skin in the outfit, with her ample curves barely contained by a lacy, bow-tied bralette. The daring ensemble also featured black elbow length gloves and a latex cat face mask, complete with ears and whip. Her trademark raven locks were left loose and flowing as she channeled Catwoman and posed up alongside a man in a Batman outfit who was just visible in the shot. Picture the scene. It is the late 1990s and I am a senior executive within a national newspaper group. This means I attend the weekly board meeting I am the only woman who does and one day, I get there early to find the room empty. A minute or so later, another senior editorial figure within the group appears and takes the seat next to me, whereupon he proceeds to casually as if he were merely straightening his pen on the table or reading the very newspaper we produce slip his hand up my skirt and grope my thigh. I just wanted to check if youre wearing stockings, he said. I never trust a woman in tights. How can a man have sex on his office desk if youre wearing tights? Frankly I was mortified. I should have felt proud, rightly taking my place at the board table, but instead he left me feeling grubby, humiliated and incandescent with rage. I replied: I have your wifes phone number. Touch me ever again and shes the first person I will report you to. I was outraged, yes, and baffled by the mans assumption that this was in any way acceptable behaviour for Gods sake, did he think Id think it was sexy? but I wasnt shocked. Amanda Platell says some of the harassment she experienced was so beyond the pale, the incidents have stayed with her for years To be honest, this sort of incident had been happening to me at the hands, literally, of various men for years and to many (most?), other women, too. What brought it back to me was the Gregg Wallace scandal, and the idea that an entitled man could pose such an obstacle to womens ability not just to thrive in the workplace, but to exist in it at all. Indeed, sparked by the alleged sexual antics of Wallace at work (at work!), a horrid kaleidoscope of buried memories have come flooding back. Some, its true, I dismissed as workplace horseplay, but others were so beyond the pale, they have stayed with me all these years later. It left me more furious than ever, wondering why we women had to learn to cope with the office lech, the amorous colleague and the downright manipulative boss, who felt it was their right to take advantage of us. I was lucky in one way. I grew up in Australia and my dad Frank, also a journalist, both warned and prepared me for unwanted attention at work. The first time it happened, I was a 21-year-old newly graduated apprentice journalist on a provincial evening newspaper in Perth. Part of my job was to type up the headlines from the 5am radio news, sitting at a desk in a tiny windowless office long before most of the staff arrived. One day, in walked a much older colleague who what a nice surprise appeared to have a cup of coffee for me. I can remember it now can almost smell the stale Old Spice aftershave as he reached over my shoulder, too close for comfort, to put the coffee down in front of me. Then shoved his hand down my shirt, squeezed my breast hard and tried to creep his gnarled old hand inside my bra. I followed Dads advice and ripped his hand from my blouse, stood up and bent his arm hard behind his back saying: Try that again and Ill break your arm. I was young and strong, but inside I was shaking. Months later I discovered he had regularly molested a much younger female apprentice, who was so traumatised she quit her job. Sadly for so many working women, they didnt have dads like mine. He taught me a few more good tricks: if someone is trying to stick his tongue down your throat, bite the top of his ear hard and hell back off. If hes mauling you, bend back sharply his little finger if he doesnt stop, you can snap it like a pretzel. Amanda Platell, pictured in 2001, has kept a detailed diary of her more than 40 years in journalism Yet my dads advice did not prepare me for the more subtle sexual predators I was to encounter later in my career. An early incident in London springs too readily to mind. As a junior executive on a national newspaper, my boss the editor asked me out for dinner to discuss my future. Of course, I was flattered that this might be a step up on the career ladder, especially as he had booked supper at The Savoy River Room, overlooking the Thames. On my salary, Id never been able to afford to go there. It wasnt just dinner, it turned out, it was dancing, too. And when my married boss, more than 30 years older than me (I was in my late 20s) gripped me rather too tightly on the dancefloor, I realised with horror that, as Mae West said, he was very pleased to see me. We sat down again. There was some chat about what a promising journalist I was, how far I could go, and then the waiter delivered the bill along with a set of room keys. Ill never forget those keys, a large brass bauble and an elaborate flourish of tassels, and him whispering: Ive booked a suite for us for the night. Call me naive, call me anything, but I did not expect a dinner to discuss my career would, in his mind, end on a casting couch. He was a married father, old enough to be my own dad, and I too was (just) married. Im glad to say that before I made my hasty exit, I reminded him of it. Ive never been to The Savoy again. It left such a horrible impression on me, I couldnt bring myself to. That he wasnt there to give me a foot up on my career ladder but to get his leg over. That I wouldnt advance in my job without seriously compromising myself; that what mattered most was not how good a journalist I was but how far I would go to satisfy his middle-aged male fantasies. In the end I climbed the ladder, as women will do if they are allowed to, through hard work and being really good at the job. More terrible memories tumble out. Having just arrived back from Australia, where Id been for my brother Michaels funeral he was 40, I was 37 my bosses insisted I attend a Park Lane media awards event representing my newspaper. I recall I held back the tears during the excruciatingly long ceremony. I was wearing an Amanda Wakeley cross-grained midnight blue cowl-neck dress funny how these images stay with you, as though your memory buries the bad stuff and recalls the minutiae. I stayed for the awards then ordered a cab, and was sitting in the foyer sobbing, when the married editor of another national newspaper came and sat down beside me. Seeing I was in some distress and knowing I had lost my brother I had of course written about his death he hugged me, at first in a friendly, comforting way. And then, out of nowhere, he attempted a full-throttle kiss, shoving his tongue down my throat and leaving me gagging. Dont let people see you like this, come up to my suite. Ill look after you, he said, and tried to drag me upstairs. I fled into the night paralysed with disgust. My time in politics as William Hagues spin doctor was marked by it, too. I recall one party conference, when a colleague insisted he needed a late-night debriefing in my hotel room before the next days expected tumultuous events. I should have got the hint he wanted a debriefing in every sense of the word no sooner had he entered my room than he sprung, lunging at me, trying to rip off the Nicole Farhi off-the-shoulder dress Id worn for the evenings formal dinner. I removed myself to the other side of the room and told him there were armed Met Police officers throughout the hotel and CCTV cameras in every corridor. How would he explain sneaking dishevelled out of my bedroom in the small hours of the morning? How would he explain the headlines to his wife and three kids? I escaped, or so I thought, to the bar at the conference hotel where a happily married senior Member of Her Majestys Opposition constantly placed his hand on my bottom, squeezing it, until I whispered in his ear a threat to reveal gossip about him that I cannot repeat here without compromising his identity. Then, perhaps most surprisingly of all, when working in politics, I asked for a meeting with a Left-wing media executive to discuss the hostile coverage we felt we were receiving. It was business as usual for me, I was head-to-toe in black Issey Miyake those minute details again and to be fair to him he was indeed concerned about allegations of bias. He invited me out to lunch to talk about the issue, but en route suggested a detour. Could I help him buy a winter coat? It was a curiously intimate request, I thought, and hardly pertinent to the problem at hand, but I agreed, hoping wed talk as we shopped. Thinking back now Im astonished at my naivety that I went along with it. What kind of man thought it was appropriate to ask me help him buy a coat during a work meeting? Isnt that a job for his wife, or his lover? So no lunch, but much stroking of cashmere coats and then the text messages started arriving. He imagined, he told me, placing his hand high up on the inside of your left thigh, very high. It was so totally inappropriate for any working relationship with a professional woman and I shudder to remember it now. People think women like me have been toughened at the coalface of what is still the mainly male-dominated profession of journalism, and that were somehow impervious to it all. We are not. The reason we might seem that way is that women of my age, 67, in my industry, have had no choice but to construct a carapace against it to weather what might have been career-ending or career-advancing proposals. And yet recalling those bad old days makes me feel very sad. And knowing it still goes on in celebrity kitchens allegedly, as well as ordinary offices up and down the land makes me sadder still. So many women having to fight off sexual predators and casual sexism in the workplace, while managing to keep our dignity and our careers. If I were the crying kind, it would make me weep. Finally, a footnote to my rambling kaleidoscope reminiscences. Its not for the mens sake that Ive not identified any of those who tried to compromise me and make my life a misery, however briefly, but for the sake of their families. A few of the guilty are now dead, but some are still powerful names and they know who they are. I have spared their blushes, yet as a journalist of more than 40 years I have, of course, kept a detailed diary. I have also kept every mobile phone I have ever had, with their grim sex texts intact on them. They are in a locked drawer. For now. When I write my autobiography, Ill decide whether I can stand to read them again and tell you who sent them. A decades-old beauty trend of injecting mysterious substances under the eyes is making a dangerous comeback. Called mesotherapy, it is a cosmetic procedure in which a technician uses small needles to inject a liquid mixture of vitamins and minerals under the skin to smooth and tighten wrinkles and decrease fat, all in an effort to banish under-eye bags. It's been around for decades in other countries, but has grown in popularity in recent years in the US. It can be performed anywhere there is skin, and is also popular on hands and the stomach. But before you'll see any potential benefits, the procedure leaves small raised bumps underneath the skin immediately after injection, giving it a honeycomb-like appearance before it settles. Some even say it makes people look 'reptilian' immediately after the injections. But this is a temporary side effect. Doctors say mesotherapy - which is billed as a painless procedure with little recovery time - comes with serious risks and may not have the desired effect. Dr Viktoryia Kazlouskaya, a New York based dermatologist told DailyMail.com: 'The risks of under-eye mesotherapy go beyond minor side effects, especially when people go to inexperienced technicians or do this at home. 'Patients may experience long-lasting bruising, severe allergic reactions, skin necrosis due to product placement in blood vessels, or even permanent eye damage.' In addition, each practitioner has their own unique mixture of fluids that they use in mesotherapy, so patients don't know what they're getting in their dose, as the substance isn't regulated or tested like Botox. The small bumps that appear during mesotherapy will dissipate with time if the procedure is performed correctly, Dr Tripathi said. However, the thin skin under the eye is easily damaged, and if a practitioner isn't experienced or skilled, they run the risk of creating scar tissue under the eye Your browser does not support iframes. Dr Kazlouskaya added: 'While mesotherapy may be legal in some other countries, the absence of US regulatory oversight means patients could be exposed to counterfeit or unverified products.' Mesotherapy was developed in 1952 in France to treat blood vessel and immune system disorders, and has since been suggested as a treatment for everything from hair loss to psoriasis, according to DermNet. The injections combine vitamins, enzymes, hormones and other nutrients. Some blends include prescription medications like antibiotics or drugs that relax blood vessels, according to Heathline Today it's most commonly sold as a way to remove fat in the stomach, erase wrinkles and tighten skin. Influencers have been sharing photos of the procedure online, and there has been speculation that celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, 55, have used some form of the injections on various parts on their body. The FDA has not approved any mesotherapy blends for treatment in the face, but the ingredients used in the blends are supposed to be FDA approved. There is no way to confirm this, however, Dr Tripathi, a plastic surgeon based in California, told this website. He said: 'Just like the multi-billion dollar supplement industry, it's not regulated, so you sometimes may not know what you're getting.' Companies sell their unique brand of mesotherapy fluid online - ranging in price from $45 to $349. Dr Tripathi explained the technique spread largely because it's cheap, easy to do and takes little training to perform - and many TikTok videos show people performing the procedure on themselves. But inexperience can be a problem that creates unsightly results, Dr Tripathi said. This includes risks of developing granulomas - small collections of blood cells and tissues that form when your body's immune system reacts to a foreign substance. Additionally, as with any sort of medical procedure, there is a risk of infection, which could cause long term tissue death or damage, Dr Kazlouskaya said. Some people may also have allergic reactions to the products, which can cause scarring. Some people online say the procedure makes them look reptilian immediately after injections Jennifer Aniston is widely praised for her youthful appearance, and has been open about getting peptide injections, which may be considered a form of mesotherapy, in her face. She's also shared she has gotten a salmon sperm facial and has a rigorous skin care routine The concept of treating under eyes is complicated because there are many different causes for under eye bags - including migration of fat under the skin, pigmentation and loss of skin elasticity or fat. This is mainly a symptom of aging, but could also be exacerbated by long term sun damage or dehydration. If someone wants a solution for their under eyes, the treatment has to be tailored based on their particular anatomy. Not all eyebags are created equal, Dr Tripathi said. For some, the darkness under the eyes might be caused by a high amount of pigment. In this case, using skin care to balance discoloration or plasma injections can help, Dr Tripathi said. For others, the eye bags could be more visible because the skin has become thin, wrinkled and crepe-like, which Dr Tripathi said laser treatment can be useful in some patients. In others, fat pads that sit under the eye can migrate forward on the face, giving a more puffy, drooped appearance. This can be solved with a surgery known as a blepharoplasty. In theory, Dr Tripathi said, mesotherapy could work for people with hollowing under the eyes, but studies have not supported it works. So while in the right circumstances, it might provide some benefit, Dr Hannah Kopelman, a dermatologist based in New York, recommends making sure it's the right path before you insist on the treatment. Dr Kopelman said: 'As a dermatologist, I always emphasize the importance of a tailored approach to addressing dark circles, starting with identifying the underlying cause and exploring evidence-based options that provide safe and predictable results.' There is a disturbing sex trend that, while it has been around for decades, is re emerging as more people raise alarm over the dangerous act. Dubbed 'stealthing', the act involves a man removing his condom mid-intercourse without his partner's knowledge or consent. Two 2019 studies found 12 percent of women have ever been a victim of stealthing and 10 percent of men admitted to having 'stealthed' a partner. Dozens of posts are popping up on social media from women who have experienced it and even men admitting to doing it themselves. So, DailyMail.com took to the streets of New York City to ask passersby if they, or anyone they knew, had fallen victim to or committed stealthing, which is considered sexual assault in several states. Frankie, 20, told this website: This happened to my friend last week. It happens to a lot of people. And 18-year-old student Aiko added: It happened to me. I found out at one point that [the condom] was no longer on. It just disappeared. A third student said she knew it happened occasionally, but had no idea how common it was. Experts say stealthing isn't just practiced because men prefer the feeling of sex without a condom, adding it usually stems from a man's desire for control and dominance. Stealthing is the act of a man removing a condom during sexual intercourse without the knowledge or consent of his partner Frankie (right) told us her friend had been stealthed recently. She said: This happened to my friend last week. It happens to a lot of people. Rhiannon John, a sexologist at Bedbible.com, previously told DailyMail.com: 'Some people may seek to assert dominance or disregard their partner's autonomy, driven by a sense of entitlement or toxic beliefs about masculinity. 'Others might prioritize their own pleasure or the thrill of risk over the boundaries set within the relationship. 'In other cases, it can even stem from malicious intent, such as sabotage or reproductive control, where the act is used for manipulation or harm.' Most New Yorkers who spoke with DailyMail.com vehemently slammed the behavior. Aiko, an NYU student, shared her personal experience of temporarily living abroad and engaging in sex with someone she didnt know well but had strong feelings for. She said: When I lost my virginity in France, the guy took off the condom in the middle and like, wow, just left it inside. It wasnt a traumatic experience for Aiko, but she was more confused, grappling with the realization that men actually do this. It probably should have been [traumatic]. It was weird. It was definitely weird, Aiko said. She added: And like, I don't f*** with that if people are doing that to girls, but like, it happened to me and I feel like it didn't really affect me. Her friend, Jay, echoed this sentiment, adding the question of whether to use a condom should be discussed before sex is initiated and if one partner refuses to use protection despite the others wishes, they simply should not move forward. Two 2019 studies found that 12 percent of women have been victims of stealthing, and 10 percent of men admitted to doing it Paul, who is in his 80s, told DailyMail.com he did something similar: I just didn't put it on. That must have been 50 years ago' Your browser does not support iframes. Also an NYU student, Jay, 18, said: I get not wanting to wear a condom, but... ask, right? If they say no, then no. Meanwhile, Frankie, whose friend it happened to, said: She was really upset.' This is common, she added. Stealthing, also called nonconsensual condom removal, is not a new phenomenon, but researchers have only begun investigating it in recent years. The 2019 research on stealthing among men found those with a greater hostility toward women and a more severe sexual aggression history had 'significantly higher odds of engaging in nonconsensual condom removal behavior.' Additionally, men who stealthed were also significantly more likely to have ever had a sexually transmitted infection diagnosis or have a partner who experienced an unplanned pregnancy. In 2022, rapper Joe Budden publicly admitted on his podcast to having sex with partners who did not know he wasn't wearing a condom, saying he 'faked like I was putting a condom on before.' He was hit with an onslaught of outrage and the clip raised awareness of the insidious practice and its myriad of harms to the victim. This could include STDs and unwanted pregnancies to emotional trauma, including feelings of shame, violation, loss of dignity, and autonomy, according to a 2018 article in the Penn State Law Review. Intense feelings of violation are also extremely common in people who fall victim to this behavior. One New Yorker, Paul, said he had done the same: I just didn't put it on. That must have been 50 years ago.' Rapper and podcaster Joe Budden admitted to faking putting on a condom during sex and not informing his partner Ms John said: 'Victims may grapple with intense feelings of violation and betrayal, as their trust has been disregarded. 'This can manifest as shame and guilt, even though the victim is not at fault, as well as anger and rage toward the perpetrator, the situation, or even themselves. Over the last several years, people have been calling for stealthing to be classified as sexual assault or rape. In 2021, California became the first state to prohibit stealthing, classifying it as sexual battery and making it a civil offense. Bills in Vermont, Maine and Washington make it possible for stealthing victims to pursue civil action against perpetrators, but stop short of criminalizing the act. And Canada made stealthing a criminal offense in 2022. In the UK, stealthing is considered rape. Arjun, 20, visiting from Toronto, said: That's terrifying that even New York doesn't have that law and it's just California. That's really surprising to me, honestly. Other states everywhere need to criminalize this. Because I'm shocked to know this, for real. While there are many reasons a man may secretly remove his condom during sex, one commonly posited is selfishness and need for control. Jamie Wright, a trial attorney and founder of the Wright Law Firm in California, told DailyMail.com stealthing 'is usually born out of selfish desires, control, dominance, or lack of respect for ones partner.' Ms John told DailyMail.com: 'Some people may seek to assert dominance or disregard their partner's autonomy, driven by a sense of entitlement or toxic beliefs about masculinity.' New Yorkers of all ages echoed those points. Andrea, 48, said the behavior was likely linked to selfishness. She said: I think it's somebody that is into a power position and wants to control and wants to kind of almost make the other person subservient. Meanwhile, Frankie said perpetrators are likely immature men. She said: I think its mostly men that think they're, like, alpha and cool, and they love American Psycho and like Tyler Durden. Doctors have warned Americans they could soon face a 'quad-demic' of viral illnesses this winter. Experts say a combination of Covid, flu, the cold-like virus RSV and the stomach bug norovirus could all hit at once. A mixture of people staying indoors more to beat the cold and mixing over the Christmas and New Year period makes the infections more common. And because fewer people have received the Covid and flu boosters this year, they fear more could be hospitalized putting extra pressure on the health system. Dr Joe Bresee, an infectious diseases expert who spent two decades at the CDC, including its flu division, said: 'We know these viruses are coming, we see them increase every year. 'We are in store for increases in circulation in these four over the next couple of months and that would cause what we call epidemics [outbreaks].' Doctors are issuing the warning because vaccination rates are lower than in previous years, particularly for flu - rates are almost half the protective level of 70 percent of people over 18. Doctors are warning that the US could be in for a 'quad-demic' this year. The above is a stock image from an NHS hospital in England FLU OUTBREAK: The above shows flu illnesses in each state. Only two, Louisiana and Georgia, are currently experiencing high levels of the disease COVID: Experts say cases of this disease are not yet rising, although they expect them to incrase over the holiday period and into January Dr Bresee, who is also a member of the nonprofit Task Force for Global Health, added: 'We are seeing increases in three of the main infectious diseases. 'Right now, RSV is ticking up but it hasn't peaked yet, flu is increasing but still low, we would expect that to peak around January to March, and norovirus is increasing, with infections expected to peak around January. 'Covid is also starting to increase now but is at pretty low levels, each year it goes up as well around January.' He added: 'These will go up as people get back on planes and travel for this holiday season. Any airplane right now certainly has people with viruses on board. 'And we do tend to see big peaks just after the winter holidays as people have traveled, got infected, and then gone back to school.' Latest surveillance shows 3.9 percent of Covid tests detected the virus in the week to November 6, the latest available, with preliminary data for the week to December 7 suggesting this has now risen to 5.4 percent. Hospitalizations for flu-like illness are also rising, up 14 percent to 3.3 percent of patient admissions in the week to December 7 compared to 2.9 percent two weeks beforehand. RSV surveillance showed 1.2 per 100,000 people were being hospitalized with the disease in the week to November 30, more than double the level of 0.5 at the beginning of the month. HOSPITALIZED WITH FLU: The above shows hospital admissions for people with a flu-like illness by year And for norovirus, surveillance suggested that 40 outbreaks were reported in the week to October 24, the latest available, a rise on before and above the levels in every year since 2012. Dr Bresee and Dr Bill Schaffner, an infectious diseases expert in Tennessee, urged people to get the new flu and Covid vaccines to boost their body's immune responses to the diseases this year. Only 38.6 percent of adults over 18 years old had got the flu vaccine by the week to November 30, below the nearly 40 percent who had got the shot this time last year. Covid booster uptake was also lagging, with just 17.9 percent of adults having received the shot by the week to November 9 4.7 percent below the levels last year. Your browser does not support iframes. Adults over 75 years old were also urged to get the RSV vaccine, which is up to 98 percent effective at preventing severe illness from the virus. But data suggests only 43.1 percent of adults in the age group have received the one-time shot. Dr Schaffner also urged those who were older or had underlying immune system problems to start wearing face masks, saying these added an 'extra layer of protection' against the diseases. There is some debate over whether face masks work, with a major study by the Cochrane Institute previously finding they did not prevent disease. Hospital systems in California and New York City brought back calls for people to wear face masks in early November, which quickly prompted uproar. This week, New York City has again advised residents to wear a face mask, while in mid-November Sonoma County in California which includes Santa Rosa asked health workers to start wearing the coverings again. Flu, Covid and RSV are spread mostly via droplets that become airborne when someone coughs or sneezes, and are a seasonal menace. Norovirus is spread via contact with surfaces, such as toilet handles, that have also been touched by an infected person. All the viruses rise over the winter as colder temperatures force people to spend more time indoors, leading to more people breathing the same air or touching the same surfaces. RSV: The above shows the RSV hospitalization rate across the US by week NOROVIRUS: The above shows the number of norovirus outbreaks in 2024 compared to every year since 2012 Flu, Covid and RSV can cause symptoms including a fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat or fatigue. The main symptoms of norovirus include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps or pains. Estimates currently suggest that 12,000 to 52,000 Americans die from the flu every year, while Covid was behind 44,000 deaths so far this year. About 900 people die from norovirus every year, and 6,000 to 10,000 from RSV. Across the US, only two states Louisiana and Georgia are currently recording 'high' levels of flu-like illness. Eight states Alabama, Arizona, California, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Tennessee and Texas are recording moderate levels. Dr Schaffner told DailyMail.com that the wave appeared to be coming slightly later than in recent years, which was more in line with a 'traditional' flu season. He added that in the years following the main Covid surge infectious disease surges tended to arrive earlier. Dr Barry Hahn, an emergency medicine physician at Staten Island University Hospital in New York City, said he had been 'surprised' this year that he hadn't seen a surge in infections compared to previous years. Anecdotally, he said that he was currently seeing a surge in RSV infections at his unit. Bungling doctors left scissors inside a female patient's abdomen for years after cancer surgery. Kamla Bai, 44 years old from India, underwent abdominal surgery to treat ovarian cancer in February 2022. All went according to plan, and her tumor was removed. But for two and a half years after the operation, she suffered extreme abdominal pain and insisted doctors run tests to find the cause. After tests did not find anything conclusive and a long list of medications failed to alleviate her pain, doctors finally performed a CT scan on November 29, 2024. The scan revealed a pair of surgical scissors lodged next to her colon. Surgeons believe they were left inside during her surgery and went unnoticed when doctors stitched her up. Ms Bai underwent a second operation, and the scissors were promptly removed. The mother-of-two is one of the estimated 1,000 people worldwide who undergo abdominal and chest surgery and subsequently have sharp, dirty surgical tools like scissors left behind. Ms Bai and her family are now seeking accountability from the medical team and are considering pursuing legal action. Kamla Bai (pictured here), 44, underwent surgery in 2022 for her ovarian cancer. Last month, doctors discovered they left a pair of scissors in her abdomen The above CT scan shows the scissors in Ms Bai's left paracolic gutter, a narrow space in the abdomen running alongside the descending colon. She suffered no complications once they were removed Your browser does not support iframes. According to a report from the hospital, the scissors were lodged in the woman's left paracolic gutter, a narrow space in the abdomen running alongside the descending colon, which stores food waste before it moves to the rectum. While Ms Bai only suffered from pain, sharp objects like scissors left in a body can lead to serious complications like internal bleeding, necrosis, infections, sepsis, and death. Scissors are typically used during surgery to cut and dissect tissues and remove sutures and bandages. Nurses and technicians count all tools before and after an operation, as well as during critical points. But Ms Bai is far from the only patient to leave the hospital with a tool inside. Last year, Brazilian politician Mato Groso had a pair of scissors left in his abdomen after he had a tumor removed from his intestine. And in 2011, Carolyn Boerste of Kentucky had a sponge sewn into her leg during surgery. She eventually had to have her leg amputated due to complications. While hospitals are required to check for foreign objects before stitching patients up, thousands of patients leave the operating room with something left inside them. In the US alone, about 6,000 Americans have scissors, sponges, clamps, and gauze, among other objects, left behind after surgery. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggested this is more likely to happen during emergency surgeries like appendectomies or traumas, as doctors are more rushed, than routine surgeries. The above images show additional views of Ms Bai's abdomen before the scissors were removed Recent research is working to reduce the amount of incidents like this. One 2021 study, for example, developed an AI software that was nearly 100 percent effective in finding surgical sponges in x-rays of dummies before doctors closed them up. It also had a 90 percent success rate in interpreting scans of cadavers with sponges in them before the body was stitched up. It's unclear if this tool would be used specifically during or after a surgery. Ms Bai's family said her intense abdominal pain did not subside until the scissors were removed. However, she suffered no complications from the bizarre incident, aside from internal scarring where the scissors were stuck, which could cause surfaces to stick together, potentially resulting in blockages. Officials from the Kamla Raja Hospital in Gwalior, India, said a detailed report will be prepared and submitted to the authorities for further action. Ms Bai is also now cancer free, though she undergoes routine checkups. Experts have identified a form of alcohol abuse more dangerous than binge drinking as Christmas approaches and it's particularly common among the middle-aged. Doctors have long warned patients about binge drinking which is defined as consuming more than five drinks in two hours because it raises the risk of life-threatening alcohol issues. But research suggests women who consume eight drinks or men who have ten across one night are doing more damage to their bodies than alcohol bingers. Those who drink this much known as high-intensity drinking are more likely to black out, be hospitalised with alcohol poisoning and develop an addiction. And there is a higher chance people aged over 30 partake in high-intensity drinking compared with younger generations. Experts say the dangerous drinking pattern is more common during the Christmas period and are urging Britons to limit the alcohol they consume in one night as festive parties come around. 'We know that the run-up to Christmas is a period when people tend to drink more,' says Dr Richard Piper, chief executive of Alcohol Change UK. 'And whatever arbitrary boundaries we set, the simple truth is the less you drink the healthier you'll be.' The NHS recommends men and women do not consume more than 14 units of alcohol each week. That amount is equal to six pints of average-strength beer or ten small glasses of lower-strength wine. Experts have identified a form of alcohol abuse more dangerous than binge drinking as Christmas approaches and it's particularly common among the middle-aged Research suggests women who consume eight drinks or men who have ten across one night are doing more damage to their bodies than alcohol bingers It also suggests those who regularly have as much as 14 units spread their drinking over three or more days to reduce the impact on the body. Consuming more than this may raise the risk of long-term health problems such as cancer, heart disease and dementia. Experts have long argued regular binge drinking significantly increases the chances of developing immediate health problems, including alcohol poisoning and liver disease. Some 16 per cent of British adults reported binge drinking at least once every week with the highest percentage of those aged between 55 and 64. Yet University of Michigan scientists argue that high-intensity drinking is a more accurate indicator of those most at risk of alcohol-related issues. Drinking eight or more alcoholic drinks in a night is equal to consuming more than the NHS weekly recommendation in one go. It takes the body, on average, an hour to process a unit of alcohol. Drinking eight units or more in one night therefore means the body does not have enough time to filter out the alcohol. This leads to dangerously high levels of booze in the body. Binge drinking can trigger a blood-alcohol concentration of around 0.08 per cent while high-intensity drinking raises this to 0.2 per cent, research suggests. Even if high-intensity drinkers avoid short-term issues such as blackouts and alcohol poisoning, they risk developing deadly diseases later in life. Even if high-intensity drinkers avoid short-term issues such as blackouts and alcohol poisoning, they risk developing deadly diseases later in life 'There are nearly 200 medical conditions directly caused by alcohol, compared to 40 caused by cigarettes,' says Dr Piper. 'And the risks of developing some of these conditions such as breast cancer have been shown to increase with every drink you have.' Yet experts say the research does not mean binge drinking is at all safe. 'Having five alcoholic drinks in one sitting is already dangerous,' adds Dr Piper, 'but drinking eight is even worse.' Experts say over-30s being more prone to high-intensity drinking is unsurprising. Research suggests Generation X those currently aged between 44 and 59 are the heaviest-drinking age group and most likely to be addicted. Lockdowns during the pandemic also caused drinking in this age bracket to spike. A 2020 study by addiction charity We Are With You suggested nearly a quarter of over-50s were alcohol-dependent. Meanwhile Generation Z aged between 18 and 27 are the least likely to drink above the NHS-recommended amount of units. A survey found almost half of adults aged below 28 plan to drink no alcohol this Christmas. 'The vast majority around 80 per cent of alcoholics that we treat across our rehab facilities are Gen X,' said Lee Fernandes, lead therapist at UK Addiction Treatment Centres. 'Growing up, alcohol was more prevalent for them, whereas nowadays there is a lot more open conversation around sobriety than ever before. 'This [change] will hopefully lead to a reduction in high-intensity drinking for today's university students.' The country's economy may not yet be in growth mode, as the latest GDP figures confirmed, but Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves was in ebullient mood on Friday as she opened the country's 100th banking hub. The Chancellor was in Darwen, Lancashire, a town bordering the rugged West Pennine Moors, which boomed in the 19th century on the back of the thriving cotton industry, but has since faced tough times despite its continued reputation for its paint and paper industries. Like many towns up and down the country, Darwen has lost all its banks Barclays, Lloyds, NatWest and Santander have all fled its nest in the past eight years. But the new hub, providing banking services to customers (personal and business) of all the main high-street banks, is seen by 'Darreners' (the town's locals) as a big boost to the community. 'Bloody marvellous,' said an emphatic and chirpy Tracy Fisher, who works nearby at the Number 1 Coffee Shop. Serving me up a delightful bacon sarnie and double espresso, 52-year-old Tracy said: 'This town is heavily cash-dependent. It's awash with small shops and has an indoor market where many businesses are cash only. So the hub, where people can deposit cash and do basic banking, is a welcome Christmas present. It's time we had some good news around here.' Commitment: Jeff Prestridge with Chancellor Rachel Reeves in Darwen It's a view shared by the Chancellor, as I grabbed five minutes with her in the hub's small back room. 'Big supporter of hubs?' I asked, refusing the kind offer of a croissant. The response from the smiling Reeves was instantaneous. 'A massive supporter,' she said. 'I am really delighted to be [officially] opening the 100th banking hub today. Five hubs have opened just this week and we wanted to get them open before Christmas.' She continued: 'This is the most important time for the high street and people not being able to access cash and businesses not being able to cash up. Over the last few years, the only news about our high streets has been bad news their hollowing out, high-street names disappearing, banks leaving, problems with crime and antisocial behaviour. 'So it's really good to be announcing and doing something that is positive. Not just talking about it, but rolling it out.' The Darwen hub is indeed rather impressive. Located in a shop that had been vacant for more than a year, it's bright, modern and welcoming. It's open Monday to Friday, run by the Post Office, with representatives of Barclays, Halifax, Lloyds, NatWest and Santander on hand on separate days to help their own customers with any banking problems they may have. Like all hubs, it's there because the town is bankless. Asif Patel, the hub's boss, also runs the local post office. Although it's early days, he has had loads of people coming in. 'It's great for some of the town's more elderly customers,' he told me. 'If they've got a problem, they can come in here and see a representative from their bank and get it sorted. It saves them a bus journey to Blackburn.' In its Election manifesto, Labour said it was committed to having 350 banking hubs up and running by 2029. It's a pledge the Chancellor has no intention of breaking. Pointing in the direction of nearby Tulip Siddiq, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, the Government's driving force on hubs, she said: 'Tulip is having lots of MPs coming up to her asking her questions about the hubs. Whether in the Commons or at her surgeries, they are all saying: 'What can I do to get a banking hub?' MPs from all parties.' Impressed: Jeff with Tracy Fisher from the Number 1 Coffee Shop With 80 more hubs in the pipeline, Reeves said she was 'determined to deliver on the 350-hub commitment. 'I'm keen to be at the 200th and 350th bank openings to cut those ribbons,' she added. Tulip is pleased with the advance of hubs, confident that by this time next year there could be 230 up and running. She told me: 'In opposition, we did this paper called Financing Growth and everyone we talked to spoke about face-to-face banking hubs. The importance of having banking services that you could physically go into. 'I know there's a perception that everyone banks online, but actually there are lots of people, especially vulnerable people older people and those from lower socio- economic backgrounds that find it difficult. Banking hubs are a solution for these people.' Although the official opening of the 100th banking hub was dominated by the Chancellor's presence, it was also good to see representatives from those organisations that have made hubs happen: Cash Access UK (the organisation set up to find suitable sites and funded by the banks), UK Finance (the banking trade group which got the first hubs up and running), and cash machine network Link (which determines which towns should get a hub). It was also good to see Natalie Ceeney there. She was integral to getting the hub snowball rolling with her 2019 Access to Cash Review. She even found time to pat me on the back. 'Without your support for hubs,' she said, 'we wouldn't be where we are today, celebrating the 100th hub.' Kind words. The last words go to John Howells, chief executive of Link. He believes that 350 hubs is too low a bar. As banks continue to shut their branches, leaving towns bankless, he argues that 1,000 is a more realistic target. The English Channel is the busiest shipping route in the world. More than 500 ships pass through the Channel every day, from cruise liners and ferries to fishing boats, oil tankers and military vessels. With so much traffic, safety is paramount. Under international maritime rules, ships need to ensure they have a 'transceiver' on board, a black box which shows where they are, where they are heading and where other vessels are in relation to them. SRT Marine Systems, a small, Somerset-based firm, pioneered the technology some 15 years ago and it is now used on hundreds of thousands of boats worldwide. The group has just gone one stage further, with a new piece of kit, Nexus, which links up to users' mobile phones. That allows them to see what's ahead and talk to coastguards, other vessels or even crew members wherever they are on their boat. Launched just a few weeks ago, Nexus has already attracted considerable interest. Traditionally, ship captains can only communicate with the outside world via an old-fashioned radio, fixed to the cockpit and of often dubious quality. Nexus changes all that and orders are streaming in, with sales expected to gather steam from early next year. So far, so good. But SRT chief executive Simon Tucker has another arm to his business, offering full-service surveillance at sea via Maritime Domain Awareness Systems. Oceans can be dangerous places. Pirates can seize vessels, smugglers can bring in drugs, weapons and migrants, terrorists can jeopardise ships en route. Profit trail: SRT technology is in demand tracking ships at sea Yet, integrated surveillance is thin on the ground. Air traffic systems are mandated worldwide. Maritime surveillance is piecemeal. Ten years ago Tucker and his team began to develop sophisticated systems that allow national coastguards and security services to monitor movements at sea and act swiftly if they detect suspicious activity. The Philippines were an early adopter, as was Saudi Arabia. A 165 million deal was signed with Kuwait just last month and others are coming down the track, creating a series of projects worth more than 320 million over the next two years with a longer-term pipeline in excess of 1 billion. SRT also has two deep-pocketed investors: David Brierwood, who developed the fabulously successful MSCI financial index series, and Ocean Infinity, controlled by billionaire hedge fund manager Anthony Clake. Brierwood invests in SRT because he thinks it is a good business. Ocean Infinity is not just a shareholder but a commercial partner too. The company specialises in autonomous underwater surveys, used by governments, defence contractors, researchers and major industries. A partnership between Ocean and SRT allows both companies to offer more to their customers. Midas verdict: SRT has risen 10 per cent to 41p since Midas recommended the firm two years ago but there should be further to go. Not one for the faint-hearted but potentially rewarding for the adventurous mariner. Traded on: Aim Ticker: SRT Contact: srt-marine.com Nationwide has had to pump 650 million into Virgin Money's Clydesdale Bank unit to maintain the lender's financial strength, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. The huge capital injection follows the building society's 2.8 billion takeover of Virgin Money, which will create Britain's second largest savings and loans group. Nationwide booked a larger-than-expected 2.3 billion gain on the deal the biggest in banking since the financial crisis fuelling criticism that Virgin Money's board had sold out on the cheap. The price tag was so low that Nationwide paid a lot less for Virgin's assets than they are now deemed to be worth. But it has now emerged that Nationwide injected fresh equity into Virgin Money to stop Clydesdale Bank's capital ratios from falling as a result of the buyout. The bulk of the 650 million infusion was made to bring Clydesdale's accounting methods into line with the more conservative approach used by Nationwide. Cheerleader: Debbie Crosbie The rest of the injection covered a 250 million payment that tycoon Sir Richard Branson is set to receive for the continued use of the Virgin name over the next four years. Details of the financial support are contained in footnotes to Nationwide's recent half-year results. The building society's chief executive Debbie Crosbie has hailed the Virgin Money deal as a 'unique opportunity', which would take the mutual into business banking, diversify funding and 'strengthen us financially'. It has promised a 'gradual' and 'measured approach' to integrating Virgin Money. Nationwide has yet to say how much it will cost to merge Virgin Money's IT systems and improve its customer service. Clydesdale's capital ratios a key measure of financial strength are among the lowest in the banking sector, whereas Nationwide's are among the highest. The combined group is now the UK's second biggest provider of home loans, accounting for 1 in every 6 of mortgage balances, and 1 in 8 of retail deposits. Nationwide confirmed the 650 million support package. Larger-than-life Lance Forman is a consummate entertainer as he shows me around his East End salmon smoking factory. Cracking jokes as we put on overalls, rubber gloves and hair nets, he points to two large fish-drying facilities made by the German firm Reich. 'If I'd bought another one it'd be the third Reich,' the 62-year-old quips, with his trademark edgy humour. His business, H Forman and Son, has been in London's Docklands since 1905, and clients include Fortnum & Mason, Harrods, the Ivy and the Orient Express. Mark Hix, who was chef director at the restaurant group Caprice, said the fish was the best in the business and he wouldn't buy from anybody else. It is a staple on many a Christmas table. Forman is passionate about the family firm and talks me through its history as we tour the factory floor weaving between women and men holding very sharp knives. The walls are littered with pictures of the East End from the turn of the 20th Century, when the Docklands saw a wave of Jewish immigrants, many escaping Tsarist Russia and later Germany. His great-grandfather, Aaron 'Harry' Forman and his brother Louis were part of that journey, having fled pogroms in Odesa before starting the firm that would last for more than a century. The business is in Lance's blood. 'I remember my dad would take me in at the weekends,' he says. 'He taught me to carve smoked salmon at the age of six.' Troubled waters: Lance on the factory floor at H Forman and Son, which was hit in the Budget The smell of the fresh fish is sharp and immediately wakes the senses. The temperature inside the factory is near zero and entrails are strewn on the floor. It's a buzzy place with local workers, as well as from Eastern Europe Cockneys and Poles hollering to each other as fish is carved, smoked, dried and packaged for the genteel customers. The salmon comes from Scotland, and is salted and air-dried to give its smoky, delicate texture. Each worker has one role and the work is hard, efficient and fast. 'Salmon became a gourmet food in this country at the start of the 20th Century because of the way people like my granddad smoked it,' he says. 'The London cure is something the East European Jews who settled in the East End brought over with them. Smoking fish was something they knew.' Christmas is the busiest time of year for Forman and it is crucial he hits sales targets over the next few weeks half the annual online turnover is done during the period. Wholesale Christmas sales are double those of a typical month. I ask him what kind of revenue he pulls in over the period. 'How much money have you got in your bank account?' he shoots back. 'We don't publicly disclose the figures but the business isn't as big as you think.' That may be so, but the factory is large: thousands of square feet straddling the bank on Fish Island near the Olympic stadium. The company employs 60 staff. The original factory burnt down in 1998 and the firm had to move in 2007 after the old site was developed for the Olympics in 2012. 'You learn how to deal with that. I always tell business students, have a plan but be flexible for unexpected events,' he says. No fan of the Labour Government or Chancellor Rachel Reeves, he thinks Keir Starmer and his cohorts have made a terrible start. He says: 'People were hoping they'd be different but they've got no clue. It has quickly and totally unravelled.' He is genuinely fearful that businesses like his might have to close after the Chancellor's Budget two months ago left UK plc down in the dumps about the future. He says farmers are stealing the headlines at the moment because of Jeremy Clarkson and their tractors rolling through London. However, he says the biggest threat is to family firms like his. Business relief, which was introduced by a Labour Government almost 50 years ago, allows company shareholders to leave business assets to loved ones without paying inheritance tax. But, in a sweeping change that will take effect in April 2026, full business relief will only apply to the first 1 million of a business's assets upon a shareholder's death, with everything above this subject to 20 per cent tax. The relief is crucial especially for firms that already have big overheads. Forman's has an electricity bill of 400,000 a year, up from 100,000 before the Russia-Ukraine war started. 'I feel threatened by it,' he says of Labour's changes. 'The number one reason why family businesses decide to give it all up is because the owners decide they don't need the hassle any more.' For now, none of his three children look like taking over the firm one works in media, the other is a rabbi, his daughter is an actress. He says: 'Who knows? Maybe like salmon they'll come back.' He himself had a career before taking over the family firm, training as an accountant at PwC after Cambridge University. His first job was valuing the Polish car industry. He says: 'It was the first ever privatisation in the whole of Eastern Europe. I was the first ever accountant to translate Polish accounts into an international format. That's my claim to fame.' After that he had a brief spell in 1991 as a special advisor to Business Secretary Peter Lilley. His big hatred other than rising taxes is red tape. His blood is boiling as he tells me about the hoops he has to jump through to run his salmon empire from the East End. 'We had this customer come around and he said, 'Can we see your floor cleaning schedules?' Forman replied: 'We don't have schedules.' So he asked: 'How do we know you cleaned the floor?' 'Well look at the floor,' Forman told him. 'We wonder why our productivity is out the window. It's because we are doing all this stuff that adds no value.' He is a big believer that if Britain freed itself from endless regulation the country would be more productive and companies could save on labour costs. He lives in North London with his wife Rene Anisfeld and tells me how he was banned from driving two years ago. He now takes public transport to work even though his ban has ended. 'I was banned because of too many times doing 23mph in a 20mph zone. Driving in London now is absolutely miserable.' He calls Elon Musk's appointment as an anti-red tape guru in the US 'interesting'. The hatred of bureaucracy helps explain his pro-Brexit standpoint and very public backing of the Reform Party and Nigel Farage although he has some harsh words for the now MP for Clacton. 'Farage is not a team player. Throughout his history he wants to take people on board, but when they come on board he feels threatened by them. And it never works out. It's a big issue for him and Reform UK.' And with that he's off again on his mission to get business done, one smoked salmon at a time. Melonie Eaton was just 14 years old when her pregnant mother was found brutally murdered in July 1988. Sharon Johnson, 37, had been stabbed 14 times and strangled. The engineer's body was then dumped in a wooded, rural construction site in Bedford, New Hampshire, 20 minutes from Bedford Mall where she was last seen shopping for baby clothes. Her unborn baby - another girl to be named Amanda Jean - also perished. Speaking to DailyMail.com just weeks ahead of what would have been Sharon's 73rd birthday, Melonie, now 50, says: 'My mom was everything to me - my best friend. She was such a kind soul. It doesnt matter how long it's been, the pain doesnt go away. But Melonie is now facing fresh agony as the case is thrust back into the spotlight in the wake of two popular podcasts and a bombshell legal update. Today, the only person convicted of Johnson's murder, Jason Carroll, insists he is innocent and has been wrongly imprisoned for decades. After years of back and forth, the state has now given the go ahead for new DNA testing on boxes of gruesome evidence recovered from the crime scene - which Carroll hopes will finally clear his name. Melonie Eaton was just 14 when her pregnant mother Sharon Johnson, 37, was found brutally murdered in July 1988 Jason Carroll was convicted of Sharon Johnson's murder. He insists he is innocent and has been wrongly imprisoned for decades Sharon Johnson had been stabbed 14 times and strangled The murder has been thoroughly investigated in two gripping true crime podcasts. The State vs. Jason Carroll by Undisclosed from 2021 and Bear Brook: A True Crime Story by New Hampshire Public Radio turned up staggering amounts of new details that, between them, have turned the case on its head. Jason Carroll was a skinny 19-year-old high school dropout when he was arrested on November 28, 1989 - 18 months after the killing. He claimed he could not remember where he was when it happened and didnt have an alibi. But under intense police interrogation, he later admitted to the murder. Detectives had subjected Carroll, who never had an attorney present, to a 13-hour barrage of questioning over four days. Over the course of several interviews led by Sgt. Roland Lamy, Carroll repeatedly changed his story. At times he said he knew nothing about the attack, then said he had stabbed Johnson - before flip-flopping again to say he had just witnessed the murder. Yet Carroll's interrogation was different to any other because one of the officers demanding he confess to the brutal slaying was his own mother. Karen Carroll, a patrol officer with the Bedford Police Department, was invited into the interrogation room by colleagues - and began screaming at her son: If you put a knife in that woman, I wanna know. At one point he was on his knees weeping and wailing with his arms wrapped around his mothers legs. Under intense pressure he eventually broke. Karen Carroll: You stabbed her didnt you! How many times did you stab her? Carroll, sobbing and shaking: I stabbed her three times! Karen Carroll: Do you think Im going to love any less? Carroll: I dont know. Speaking to DailyMail.com, Melonie, 50, says: 'My mom was everything to me - my best friend. She was such a kind soul. It doesnt matter how long it's been, the pain doesnt go away Johnson's body was dumped in a wooded, rural construction site in Bedford, New Hampshire Johnson's remains were found 20 minutes from Bedford Mall where she was last seen shopping for baby clothes Melonie pictured (bottom right) with her stepfather Ken Johnson, mother Sharon Johnson and half sister Lynn He later recanted his confession and pled not guilty. But in 1992 a jury found him guilty of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. He was sentenced to 46 years to life in prison. Inmate number 66655 at the New Hampshire State Prison for Men in Concord, the state capital, he will be eligible for parole in 2029. Yet, the only evidence of his guilt were his own words and for the decades since he has steadfastly maintained his innocence. Now 54, Carroll and his attorney insist his confession was given under extreme emotional duress and coercion and should have been thrown out. Carroll's advocates include his remorseful 72-year-old mother who had - bizarrely - helped to convict him. She claims lead detective Sgt. Lamy - who likened himself to TV detective Kojak played by Telly Savalas - had promised her immunity for her son if he confessed and pointed the finger at two other suspects, which included Johnsons husband. Prime suspect Ken Johnson, Eatons then step-father, was suspected of a plot to kill his wife for her life insurance money and her pension fund in order to pay off gambling debts. Prosecutors said they didnt have enough evidence to go to trial and charges against him were dropped in 1991. At one point during Carrolls interrogation he was told to pick out an image of Ken Johnson from a photo lineup - but he picked the wrong person due to the fact he did not know him. A third suspect, Tony Pfaff, 19, was also charged with conspiracy to murder. Police said Johnson had paid Pfaff and Carroll $5,000 each to assist with the murder although there was never any evidence to back this up. Pfaff similarly confessed after a grueling interrogation and like Carroll, recanted to plead not guilty. But he was acquitted after a 16-day trial. Carroll and Pfaff, who had dated Ken Johnsons 17-year-old adopted daughter Lisa from a previous marriage, were co-workers at an industrial kitchen cleaning business. Pfaff died of an overdose in 2019. Meanwhile, Ken Johnson had died years earlier of a brain aneurysm after falling down stairs, according to a source. Today, attorney Cynthia Mousseau of the New England Innocence Project is leading the quest to help Carroll, now muscular from daily prison workouts and bald, win his freedom. She insists her client was coerced into giving a false confession. Investigators, Mousseau says, used methods now known to increase the likelihood of false confessions, including repeatedly asserting certainty in a suspects guilt, and implying leniency in return for a confession - a ploy younger suspects are particularly susceptible to. Police commonly use an interrogation technique called maximization in which the interrogator exaggerates the strength of the evidence and the magnitude of the charges, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. Jason Carroll was a skinny 19-year-old high school dropout when he was arrested on November 28, 1989 - 18 months after the killing Carroll and his attorney insist his confession was given under extreme emotional duress and coercion and should have been thrown out Carroll's mother claims lead detective Sgt. Lamy had promised her immunity for her son if he confessed and pointed the finger at two other suspects, which included Johnsons husband Attorney Cynthia Mousseau of the New England Innocence Project is leading the quest to help Carroll, now muscular from daily prison workouts and bald, win his freedom In the last two years, several boxes of evidence from the original murder investigation have since been recovered. While DNA technology was in its infancy during the original investigation, Carroll and his attorney say samples contained inside will ultimately clear his name. The evidence includes Johnsons fingernail clippings that may contain DNA belonging to her attacker, several knives and a stained white long sleeve shirt found near the crime scene. Assistant Attorney General Charles Bucca had fought for 18 months against allowing DNA testing, saying in a written motion there is no scenario where testing these items will exonerate the defendant. But in April this year he reversed his opinion in a new motion. He wrote that the state arrived at its new position upon a review of the evidentiary items and reports of the expert witnesses. Since April, the parties have met with experts in the state lab and have developed an agreed-upon testing plan, Mousseau wrote in a court motion. Quantification is now underway and parties are awaiting results. New Hampshire has a conservative legal system and a post-conviction exoneration in a murder case would be a first for the Granite State. Across the country, more than 1,000 people found guilty of murder have been exonerated since 1989. More than 250 of those cases involved false confessions. Approximately 375 exonerations due to DNA evidence since 1989 and in 29 percent of those cases, the exoneree had given a false confession. Mousseau and other lawyers for the NEIP also argue that Carrolls good behavior behind bars, strong family ties, plans for post-release employment and the length of time he has already served make him an ideal candidate for early parole. In the last two years, several boxes of evidence from the original murder investigation have since been recovered While DNA technology was in its infancy during the original investigation, Carroll and his attorney say samples contained inside will ultimately clear his name Meanwhile, Melonie's grief remains raw and she weeps while sharing her story. He hasnt even said hes sorry for what my family has gone through, she told DailyMail.com. He could say Im really sorry that the family has gone through so much but I didnt do it. He cant even do that. Today she remains convinced of Carrolls guilt. Oh, hell, yes I believe hes guilty. Everybody in my family believes hes guilty. Hes even admitted to it,' she says. 'He must be guilty because he doesnt have an ounce of remorse in his body. He cant show an ounce of remorse or pitynothing. A normal human being would have empathy. If you cant show any empathy then youre guilty. In fact, Melonie is convinced Ken Johnson, Pfaff and Carroll were all guilty. She recalls having an intense dream that began two months after her mothers murder before any arrests were made. It was a very vivid dream of my mom. She would warn me against Ken, to stay away from him, says Melonie. She said hes a bad, bad guy. I asked why and she said please stay away from him. Speaking to DailyMail.com of her anger, Melonie says: My mothers never had justice. Ive not had justice. 'My mother always told me that everyone deserves a second chance or third chance. 'But I dont believe Carroll does, I really dont. I have not wiped the slate clean for him and I never will. I dont need to be hurt any more than I already have been. Im tired of him being what matters most - its not right. Somebody needs to be the voice for my mom. Wheres her voice? Wheres how she feels? She wasnt there for my 16th, 18th, 21st birthday. Carroll took that from me. She never got to meet my four beautiful children. Melonie recently celebrated her youngest daughters 18th birthday. She has two more daughters aged 21 and 23, as well as a son, 32 Speaking to DailyMail.com of her anger, Melonie says: My mothers never had justice. Ive not had justice. Im tired of him being what matters most - its not right. Somebody needs to be the voice for my mom. Wheres her voice? Wheres how she feels?' Melonie recently celebrated her youngest daughters 18th birthday. She has two more daughters aged 21 and 23, as well as a son, 32. Ive spoken to them about my mom, she says. They wish they could have met her. They say she would have spoiled them.' Carroll has previously asked for an early release under a state law that allows inmates to petition the court after serving two-thirds of their sentence. According to a report by New Hampshire Public Radio in November 2022, Superior Court Judge William Delker denied Carrolls request, saying: Your failure to accept responsibility and to cooperate when you had the opportunity to do so meant that your co-conspirators have escaped justice for this brutal, brutal murder. As she recalls reading her own witness statement in court pleading for Carroll to remain behind bars, Melonie says: 'He never had any expression on his face when I spoke. His face was stone cold. 'Thats not normal. This guy is guilty. Hes right where he needs to be.' A Labour council leader who Sir Keir Starmer urged voters to support has bizarrely claimed Essex schools are empty because people are 'not breeding' enough. Basildon Council's leader Gavin Callaghan told MailOnline locals in Billericay, Essex, were 'not breeding' and the council was 'five years away from closing schools'. Despite Starmer's backing during Callaghan's re-election campaign, he even accused the PM's government of limiting the NHS's ability to build state-of-the-art GP and dentist surgeries in Essex, which the Department of Health, NHS and local integrated care system said was not true. Callaghan approached a MailOnline reporter on social media after this site revealed how locals were furious at Basildon Council's controversial plan to build 27,000 new homes across the borough, 17,000 of which will be on green belt land. Asked whether he was worried the government would force extra services to be provided for the 27,000-home development, he said: 'In Billericay we are five years away from closing schools. I know the public don't want to hear it but they're not breeding in the town. 'There isn't a shortage of schools in Billericay and there will be new ones if these homes are built.' For the last three years on record, Basildon's fertility rate has decreased by 0.14 but remains higher than the national average and the third highest in Essex, and all 11 schools in Billericay are oversubscribed. Keir Starmer supported Basildon Council leader Gavin Callaghan (right) in his successful bid to be re-elected to Basildon Council Councillor Callaghan has been caught making a series of seemingly misleading and false claims, including about Starmer's government Your browser does not support iframes. Parents in Billericay were baffled by his comments about 'breeding' and the potential closure of schools in the area. They said finding a school for their kids was a 'nightmare' and the suggestion they needed to 'breed' more children was 'mad'. Of the 11 schools in Billericay, Quilters Infant school is the most oversubscribed. There is a rounded ratio of five applicants for one space with 318 applications for just 60 places in the first year. It is closely followed by The Billericay School, which saw 1,026 applications for just 280 spaces, a rounded ratio of four to one. Mother-of-one Nicola Robinson, 32, said getting a school place for her five-year-old son was 'insanely stressful'. The receptionist told MailOnline: 'Oh my god, it's terrible. There's not enough. We live in the catchment and have been local for years but it was like going through hoops. They absolutely need to build more. Father-of-one Callaghan then claimed Billericay residents were 'not breeding' and schools were 'five years away from closing'. All of Billericay's 11 schools are actually oversubscribed and Basildon's fertility rate is higher than the national average The Labour council chief then accused Keir Starmer's government of preventing the building of GP surgeries in Essex by setting a price limit for property purchases, which the Department of Health and NHS England denied was true Cllr Callaghan is a father of one and a career politician who became the youngest leader of a UK council in 2017 He posts prolifically on social media. He approached a MailOnline reporter on X/Twitter to launch a series of dubious claims 'The idea that parents need to breed more children is mad. Why would you think that? That's mad. It makes no sense when the area is so full already.' Vicki Tomey, 48, a cleaner, said: 'Whoever said that about breeding, well that's just crazy. 'The area is totally overrun. There's absolutely not enough schools.' Meanwhile, stay-at-home mother Jade Cox, 34, said getting school places locally was a 'nightmare'. She said: 'I couldn't get my son in his first choice around here. It was really difficult and very stressful. 'I was on edge for months. Thankfully he is okay now and enjoys school. There is absolutely a need for more places.' Billericay mother-of-one Erika Poole, 49, spoke to MailOnline just before she went to pick up her son from school. She said: 'One primary school now has three reception classes. It grew and grew to encapsulate the new people in the area. 'How much more can they grow? I don't think they can.' Brian Davis, 72, said: 'It's madness at the moment. Billericay has always been a little oasis and that is under threat by thousands and thousands of new people turning up. 'There's not enough schools. It's chaos. Trying to get places for children around here is a nightmare. 'It's the way of the world that places are getting bigger but those in charge never keep up with the infrastructure.' Answering the claims from local families Cllr Callaghan said: 'If we continue to build homes at the pitiful rate we have, schools will close. This is a really simple equation: we need the homes to keep the schools open.' Cllr Callaghan is a career politician and became the youngest ever leader of a UK council when he was elected in 2017. He describes himself as a 'sucker for punishment' in his X/Twitter bio. Despite getting Keir Starmer's support on the campaign trail as he bid for re-election to Basildon Borough Council this year, which he won, Callaghan criticised the Labour government with another seemingly false claim. Asked whether he was worried the government would force services to be provided for the 27,000-home development, he said: 'We need a tweak to the NHS rules. At the moment the NHS can't take on property for new GP surgeries or outpatient services if the cost to rent or buy exceeds 250 per sq metre. Billericay cleaner Vicki Tomey, 48, (pictured) said: 'Whoever said that about breeding, well that's just crazy. The area is totally overrun. There's absolutely not enough schools' Mother-of-one Erika Poole, 49, (pictured) said schools were getting bigger and bigger as they accommodated an influx of pupils Cllr Callaghan sent the comments after MailOnline revealed locals' fury at his plan to build 27,000 homes in Basildon, 17,000 of which would be on countryside such as this stunning green belt land Multiple sites have been confirmed as sites to build more than 27,000 homes over the next 20 years However, 62 per cent of the homes will be built on green belt land, which covers vast swathes of the area Pictured: Planned areas of housing around Billericay, where thousands of houses could be built 'In my part of the world that means that they can't ever rent or build anything new at the scale needed. 'If the government allowed them to double that, we'd have new state of the art GP surgeries and dentists everywhere in Essex.' However, the Department of Health and Social Care confirmed to MailOnline that the government had not set any such limit. NHS England also confirmed it had set no such limit per square metre and that if a purchase had been blocked, it would suggest the price was way above the market value. The Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System, which evaluates projects in the area, said: 'All projects relating to primary care premises are evaluated by NHS Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board for value for money on a case-by-case basis and in line with the NHS 2024 Premises Cost Directions. 'As such, revenue for GP premises is determined by the District Value and NHS Mid and South Essex budgets for overall affordability of a specific scheme.' Cllr Callaghan went on for so long that he also managed to disprove one of his own claims. Talking about his council's plan to build 27,000 new homes in the borough, 17,000 of which will be on the green belt, he initially said there was a 'fully costed infrastructure plan' for the development. However, Callaghan later admitted there was no such published plan, although he claimed one would be released in January 2025. The Prime Minister and the Labour Party did not respond to requests for comment. The top earner at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's charity Archewell has been revealed as a former actress who quit her career to brush shoulders with celebrities in California. Shauna Nep, 38, from Canada, appeared in Survival on the Mountain and The New Addams Family as a child actress before turning her hand to philanthropy and now advises stars on how to splash their cash in the charity sector. Meghan also found fame as an actress, with her largest role in Suits, before she married into the Royal Family. Nep, who has experience putting celebrities' charity ideas into action, holds the position of co-executive director, treasurer and secretary at Archewell, bringing her total earnings to almost $300,000, the equivalent of more than five per cent of the charity's revenue last year. Her huge salary was revealed when Archewell released its tax return for 2023 after months of speculation over $4million that had not yet been declared. The $4million donation was included in this latest return, called a 990 form, owing to Archewell's tax year differing from that of its donors, which MailOnline repeatedly pointed out was to be expected. At the same time as Archewell released its hotly anticipated tax return, it published its latest impact report, with a foreword from Nep and her co-executive James Holt that reaffirmed the charity's grammatically questionable slogan 'to show up, do good'. The pair said they were 'building a future of purpose, belonging, and joy' and at Archewell this year had 'witnessed the transformative power of human connection'. Former actress Shauna Nep, 38, (pictured) has been revealed as the highest earner at Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's charity Archewell Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's charity Archewell pay the former child actress almost $300,000 Archewell's latest tax return, for 2023, revealed Nep has a salary of $272,241 with $26,356 added on, totalling $298,597 Nep earns $51,669 more than Holt even though he is Archwell's president. She has salary of $272,241 and made $26,356 added earnings in 2023 from her health insurance plan, meaning she raked in a whopping total of $298,597. Holt is on $246,928. He received a 1.6 per cent pay rise of $3,878, increasing his earnings from $243,050 to $246,928. That is despite Holt being one of Prince Harry's longest-serving team members, having led communications for the Royal Foundation from October 2017, when it was run by Harry along with Prince William and Kate Middleton. Nep is a relatively new addition to the team, having joined in 2022. The mother-of-two's older sister Elana, 43, was an actress as well, who is most well known for her role as Erin Woodbridge in Canadian high school drama Edgemont. After Shauna gave up on her dreams to be a successful actress at the turn of the century, she went to the University of British Columbia to study history and the philosophy of science and went on a year abroad to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She then studied for a Master's in bioethics at New York University, where she wrote about the 'the moral right to healthful foods and the duty to re-vamp the American food system'. She also works for Hailey Bieber, who is married to Canadian popstar Justin Bieber (pictured together) Shauna Nep appeared as Mary in the 1998 TV series The New Addams Family when she was 12 (pictured) Meghan Markle's biggest role was as Rachel Zane (pictured) in American TV series Suits She left the popular American legal drama after marrying Prince Harry in 2018. Pictured: Meghan on the show Meghan was seen alone at an awards ceremony in Beverly Hills, California, on December 4 For the past decade, she has found success as a philanthropic advisor and executive at a series of charities, helping turn bosses' ideas into projects on the ground. Her former colleagues said she was especially gifted at using social media to drive projects forward. As well as raking in hundreds of thousands at Archewell, she is currently employed by three other organisations, including as the Vice President of philanthropy at music mogul and Taylor Swift enemy Scooter Braun's SB Projects and the head of Hailey Bieber's Rhode Futures Foundation. She has been vocal about her desire for greater gun control and is passionate about 'economic empowerment' and 'poverty alleviation'. She regularly shares snaps of her jetset charity lifestyle with her 18,700 Instagram followers - recently travelling to Deia in Mallorca, where English poet Robert Graves spent his final days. Outside of work, she lives in Los Angeles with her award-winning film director husband Jacob Medjuck, 48, who she married in April 2011, and the couple's two children. Shauna Nep and Chandni Sharma-Modi attend a fundraiser lunch on June 13, 2024 in Los Angeles, California Shauna Nep and journalist Emily Ramshaw speak onstage during the Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On and Off the Screen panel during the 2024 SXSW Conference and Festival at Austin Convention Center on March 8, 2024 in Austin, Texas Nep has had two children with her award-winning film director husband Jacob Medjuck, 48, who she married in April 2011 The well-paid charity worker also advises music mogul Scooter Braun (pictured) about philanthropy Another of her four jobs is as the head of Hailey Bieber's Rhode Futures Foundation. Pictured: Justin and Hailey Bieber Fellow Archewell employee James Holt has worked for Prince Harry for seven years since 2017, but only received a 1.6 per cent pay rise of $3,878, increasing his earnings from $243,050 to $246,928 - more than $50,000 less than what Nep makes In addition to Nep's huge pay package, Archewell's tax return also showed Harry and Meghan are directors but do not get paid a salary and work a nominal one-hour-per-week. The return showed communications manager Deesha Tank was paid $140,000 plus $7,100 in 'other compensation'. Archewell also dished out $155,000 to Herlihy Loughran. The consultancy is run by Beth Herlihy, a former actress who once played a stripper in UK teen soap opera Hollyoaks and has been a loyal worker for the Sussexes after she was laid off by Kensington Palace following Megxit. The mother-of-two's older sister Elana, 43, (pictured on the show) was an actress as well, who is most well known for her role as Erin Woodbridge in Canadian high school drama Edgemont She appeared in all 70 episodes of the show, which aired between 2000 and 2005 The charity additionally revealed last week a $250,000 partnership with Joe Biden's daughter Ashley. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have spent recent months focussing on more solo charity and business ventures, rarely appearing together since their joint tour to Colombia over the summer. But despite reports of a 'professional separation', they are front and centre of a new behind-the-scenes video of Archewell's major moments of the past 12 months with Coldplay's Sky Full of Stars as the soundtrack to the near-two minute film. Nep's Instagram profile includes videos of her time in Colombia when she joined Harry and Meghan on their quasi-royal tour in August this year Meghan gave a speech at an Afro Women and Power forum, at the Municipal Theatre in Cali, Colombia, on August 18, 2024 Since their tour to Colombia this summer, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have rarely appeared together It showed the couple together at a number of events as well as Meghan cooking with women plus footage of their trips across the US and abroad mainly together and sometimes apart. At the end Harry declared: 'Every single one of you inspire me and you inspire us every single day. So please continue to be there to support each other'. The Sussexes have partnered with US President Joe Biden's daughter Ashley to create a wellness hub for women impacted by trauma in Philadelphia which pioneers a radical new type of therapy, giving a $250,000 donation. The charity's tax return for 2023 also showed its revenue of $5.7million last year was mainly thanks to a mystery benefactor who gave $5million in a single donation, as well as $335,000 from five other individuals. The Archewell Foundation handed out $1.3million in grants to good causes in the US and other parts of the world. Expenditure on other costs such as salaries, event costs, legal fees and travel was just under $2million in 2023. MailOnline has contacted Archewell for comment. With weeks until 2025 and a new resident ready to move into the White House, the global diplomatic situation seems at its most fragile in decades. Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to unleash the lethal Oreshnik missile on Ukraine and has claimed it is so powerful it would make nuclear weapons 'obsolete'. He has also continuously warned the West of a powerful response if it keeps arming Ukraine, while the U.S. has promised $1 billion in new security aid. The Middle East appears to be on the cusp of a wider conflict as the war between Israel and Hamas drags into its second year and China is becoming increasingly belligerent towards Taiwan. With each of these scenarios, the prospect of World War III is not the distant reality that it may have seemed in recent years. While the majority of Americans still believe the chances are slim, the grim prospects aren't lost on many. A DailyMail.com poll reveals that almost four in 10 voters fear that a global conflict is on the horizon. DailyMail.com's pollsters J.L. Partners asked 1,006 voters if they think the world is moving closer or further away from the Ukraine war escalating into a full global conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to unleash the lethal Oreshnik missile on Ukraine and has claimed it is so powerful it would make nuclear weapons 'obsolete' Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Thirty-eight percent of respondents said we are 'moving closer' to an all-out war, while 26 percent said there has been 'no change' and 20 percent said we were 'moving further away'. Seventeen percent said they were 'unsure'. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to bring the war in Ukraine in the end and talks of peace talks have been more promising since his election win. The poll also asked who would be to blame if Putin were to launch nuclear missiles. Only half of Americans (51 percent) said the Russian leader would be solely to blame while 27 percent said they would blame Joe Biden. A handout video made available by the Russian Defence Ministry press service shows a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile being launched as part of nuclear deterrence forces drills from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, in Arkhangelsk Oblast, northwestern Russia, 29 October 2024 Despite the controversy, voters in the poll narrowly support the U.S. giving Ukraine permission to use American missiles for longer range attacks In mid-November, the commander-in-chief authorized Ukraine to use Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, that could strike deep into Russia. The move was seen as a response to the thousands of North Korean troops who joined Russia's ground forces to bolster Putin's invasion. It sparked accusations he was trying to escalate the war before he left office, and Putin responded a few days later by launching a hypersonic missile into Ukraine. Despite the controversy, voters in the poll narrowly support the U.S. giving Ukraine permission to use American missiles for longer range attacks. An infographic titled "Russia's new missile Orehsnik" created in Ankara, Turkiye on November 29, 2024 A DailyMail.com poll reveals that almost four in 10 voters fear that a global conflict is on the horizon It comes as experts have slammed Biden's handling of Russian aggression. Heino Klinck the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia under Trump told DailyMail.com: 'I think the survey results reflect a growing recognition that deterrence has failed during the Biden Administration. 'The failure of deterrence will be President Biden's signature foreign policy legacy. Starting with the precipitous and calamitous US withdrawal from Afghanistan to the wars in Europe and the Middle East, the current administration has not been able to deter aggression and provide for a stable international environment. 'This also extends to North Korean missile tests and an unprecedented combat deployment to Europe as well as daily Chinese adventurism against US treaty allies and security partners. National security expert Mark Toth and former US intelligence officer Col. Jonathan Sweet are among those arguing that World War III is already upon us. 'This third global conflagration doesn't look or feel like what Hollywood envisioned,' they told DailyMail.com earlier this month. 'No mushroom clouds or apocalyptic wastelands. Rather, it is war by a thousand cuts, conducted across multi-regional and multi-domain battlefields. Alois Brunner, Franz Stangl, Gustav Wagner, Aribert Heim - all of them Nazi monsters who deserved the worst of punishments. But these men were just four of the many war criminals of the Holocaust who found refuge in Syria and Egypt after escaping justice following the Second World War. Whether it was aiding the missile programme of Egypt's leader Gamal Abdel Nasser, or advising the Syria's Assad regime on torture, many proved to be useful. But there were many other, less talented, apparatchiks who simply benefited from the Middle East's dictatorial regimes' willingness to give them a new home. 'These people helped the regimes in Syria and Egypt to build their capacities for torture, for surveillance, but we shouldn't exaggerate their contributions,' Israeli historian Professor Danny Orbach told MailOnline. He added: 'All sorts of charlatans could pretend to be experts when they were not. Very few were actually helpful. Most of them were third or fourth grade experts.' Among those who proved less useful was 'murderous' former concentration camp doctor Hans Eisele, who became a 'wreck' of a drug addict in Cairo. But, regardless of whether or not they were helpful to their new benefactors, dozens of Nazis - many of them war criminals - found refuge in the Middle East. Your browser does not support iframes. NAZIS WHO FLED TO SYRIA Alois Brunner As deputy to Holocaust architect Adolf Eichmann, Brunner had overseen the deportations of Jews from countries including France and Austria. He carried out interrogations and torture of inmates which reputedly left blood stains and bullet holes on the walls of his office. Brunner is thought to have sent 47,000 Jews in Austria, 44,000 in Greece, 23,500 in France and 14,000 in Slovakia to camps. Most were murdered. The war criminal is believed to have advised the Syrian dictatorship on torture methods he had learned in roles that included commandant of the Drancy internment camp outside Paris. Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal wrote in his memoirs in 1989: 'Among Third Reich criminals still alive, Alois Brunner is undoubtedly the worst. In my eyes, he was the worst ever. 'While Adolf Eichmann drew up the general staff plan for the extermination of the Jews, Alois Brunner implemented it.' In return, he was protected from extradition by Hafez al-Assad, the father of ousted Syrian president Bashar, who has fled to Russia after the collapse of his regime. But it was under Hafez - who ruled until his death in 2000 - that Brunner's fortunes turned after he defied orders not to give interviews and so, by the 1990s, had been locked up. Alois Brunner, once the world's most wanted Nazi, spent his final years in a cell in Damascus, where he was given the choice of an egg or a tomato to eat each day. He was jailed after initially proving his worth to the Syrian regime by imparting his knowledge of SS torture methods He advised the Syrian dictatorship on torture methods he had learned in roles that included commandant of the Drancy internment camp outside Paris. Above: Inmates at the Drancy camp He would spend his final years in a cell in Damascus. He may have survived until as late as 2010, but others believe he died in 2001. After the end of the Second World War in 1945, Brunner had initially lived in West Germany under the name of Alois Schmaldienst. Incredibly, Brunner made a living as a truck driver for the American army. He made it that far in large part because another, more minor, former Nazi employee who was arrested had a very similar name to him and the pair were mixed up. Anton Brunner - who had only worked for Alois - was executed by the Soviet authorities in May 1946. He had been accused of sending nearly 50,000 Jews to their deaths. Witnesses had backed up the claims, but only because they confused him with Alois Brunner. According to Professor Orbach in his 2022 book Fugitives: A History of Nazi Mercenaries during the Cold War, as late as 1961 even some analysts in the CIA believed Alois Brunner was already dead. Brunner was protected from extradition by Hafez al-Assad (left) and then his son Bashar, who was deposed earlier this month Instead, the real war criminal got a passport in the name of a fellow former SS officer, Georg Fischer. He used that to go to Amsterdam, and then flew to Rome. From Italy, he flew to Cairo in 1954 on a Tourist visa. He had a small apartment in the Egyptian capital but proved to be an unwelcome presence. So he moved on to Damascus. Although he was initially arrested, Brunner was welcomed with open arms when he confessed his true identity. From 1957, he lived in a two-room apartment on Rue George Haddad 22, in the affluent Abu Rammaneh district of the Syrian capital. It was the same street on which Franz Stangl, the murderous commandant of Treblinka extermination camp, had lived before he moved on to Brazil. And a regular visitor to Brunner's home was his fellow war criminal Franz Rademacher, who lived in Damascus under the false name of Bartolomeo Rossello. As well as working as a weapons dealer, Brunner came to be valuable to the Assad regime after Hafez took power in 1971. Brunner was in charge of Drancy internment camp (pictured) outside Paris But it was his refusal to keep quiet that proved to be his downfall. In a 1987 phone interview with the Chicago Sun Times, Brunner stated that he did not regret his part in the Holocaust. 'All of them deserved to die because they were the devil's agents and human garbage. I have no regrets and I would do it again,' he said. In 1996, Assad ordered for him to be jailed indefinitely. One guard said that the 'door was closed and never opened again'. A Syrian commander is said to have instructed the jailers: 'Don't kill this pig, but don't try to keep him alive as well'. But Brunner outlived Hafez himself, who died in 2000. Franz Stangl Franz Stangl had been in charge of Treblinka concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. There, one million Jews were murdered on his watch Stangl had been in charge of Sobibor and then Treblinka, the notorious concentration camps in Nazi-occupied Poland. At the two camps, more than one million Jews were murdered. After the collapse of the Nazi regime, the Austrian first fled to his home country, where he was held by American forces. But he escaped in May 1948 and made his way to Rome, where he was helped to get to Syria. In Damascus, he forged a new identity as a textile worker. His wife and family later joined him in the city. But Stangl moved with his loved ones after a local police chief made advances on his 14-year-old daughter. Stangl later moved to Brazil, where he worked in the Volkswagen factory in Sao Paolo. However, he was tracked down by Wiesenthal in the mid 1960s and he was arrested before being extradited to West Germany in 1967. He claimed that he had had nothing to do with the murder of Jews, despite admitting that he had been commandant at Treblinka. At his trial in 1970, he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. He died in jail in Dusseldorf in June 1971 of a heart attack. Gustav Wagner Gustav Wagner handled day-to-day operations at Sobibor, where around 250,000 Jews were murdered Wagner handled day-to-day operations at Sobibor, where around 250,000 Jews were murdered. Known as the 'Angel of Death', Wagner was regarded as the most hated man at the camp. Survivors told of how he 'couldn't eat his lunch unless he killed two or three Jews daily'. He was particularly close to his boss Franz Stangl and fled with him to Damascus before moving to Brazil too. Shortly after Stangl's death, Wagner visited his widow in Sao Paulo and asked her to marry him. Wiesenthal said the proposal 'made it easier' to track him down. In 1978, Wagner was finally apprehended. However, the Brazilian authorities repeatedly refused extradition requests. In 1979, he told the BBC's panorama programme: 'We were under oath. We had to obey. One saw people exterminated who were innocent. 'But after a time I had no feelings. It became just another job.' He also claimed: 'Even today I am not an anti-Semite. We knew it was wrong. But what was one to do? It was the Fuhrer's orders.' In October 1980, Wagner killed himself. Known as the 'Angel of Death', Wagner was regarded as the most hated man at Sobibor (pictured above in 1943) Franz Rademacher During the war, Rademacher - who had been the head of the 'Jewish Affairs' office in the German foreign ministry - was directly involved in the execution of 1,300 Serbian Jews. He also had a role in the liquidation of the Belgrade ghetto in 1941 and the deportation of 1,500 Belgian Jews in 1942. According to author Uki Goni in his book The Real Odessa: How Nazi War Criminals Escaped Europe, Rademacher wrote 'liquidation of the Jews' when he claimed travel expenses for his trip to Belgrade. During the war, Franz Rademacher (pictured above in 1968) - who had been the head of the 'Jewish Affairs' office in the German foreign ministry - was directly involved in the execution of 1,300 Serbian Jews At his trial in Nuremberg in March 1952, he was given just three years and five months in prison. After being released on bail pending an appeal, he fled to Syria. In Damascus, he was a frequent guest at the home of German businessman Karl-Heinz Spath, where he played bridge with people including Alois Brunner. In August 1957, he was a co-founder of an arms trading racket which also counted Brunner and other fugitive Nazis among its members. Israeli spy Eli Cohen attempted to assassinate Rademacher with a letter bomb in 1962. The following year, he was arrested on spying charges and spent more than two years in prison before being released on health grounds. After returning voluntarily to West Germany in 1966, he was convicted again of war crimes and sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison. But, because of the time he had already served, he did not spend any more time in prison. He died in March 1973, before another war crimes trial had begun. Walter Rauff Rauff was the inventor of mobile gas vans, which were used to murder Jews, Communists, Roma people and the disabled. He is said to have sold intelligence to countries including the US, Syria, Egypt and even Israel, both during and after the war. By the end of the conflict, Rauff was in northern Iraly, where he oversaw the execution of both Jews and partisans. Walter Rauff (right) was the inventor of mobile gas vans, which were used to murder Jews, Communists, Roma people and the disabled Although he was arrested by the Allies, he escaped in 1947 and hid in Italian convents before fleeing to Damascus. There, he was recruited as a military advisor. He later moved to Argentina and then settled permanently in Chile. The country rejected extradition requests from Germany in 1962, 1973 and 1984, according to author Uki Goni. Rauff later suffered from lung cancer and died of a heart attack in Santiago in May 1984. Goni recounted how cries of 'Heil Hitler' and 'Heil Rauff' were heard at his funeral. NAZIS WHO FLED TO EGYPT Aribert Heim Known as the 'Butcher of Mauthausen' and 'Dr Death', Aribert Heim was known for his sadistic penchant for inflicting suffering on his victims Known as the 'Butcher of Mauthausen' and 'Dr Death', Heim was known for his sadistic penchant for inflicting suffering on his victims. As the doctor at Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, Heim murdered hundreds of inmates. According to survivors, he performed operations - including amputations - without anaesthetic. When he was 'bored', he would time victims' death with a stopwatch. Another survivor claimed that Heim cut off the head of a murdered Jewish prisoner and then boiled it to remove the flesh, so the skull could be used as an exhibit. Wiesenthal recounted in his 1989 book, Justice, Not Vengeance how one 12-year-old victim realised after being put on the operating table that Heim was about to kill him. He told how he 'prayed aloud and in his prayer said goodbye to his parents'. Wiesenthal added: 'Dr Heim listened to him attentively and then, as if convincing a child of the need for a tonsillectomy, he began to explain to him in a friendly voice why the Jews must die: they were the cause of all misfortune in the world and, above all, of this war. 'Having thus lectured his victim on the moral justification for his execution he killed the boy by injecting poison into his heart.' Liberated prisoners in the Mauthausen concentration camp cheer U.S. soldiers, May 6, 1945 Emaciated prisoners sit outside the hospital barrack at Mauthausen during the Second World War After the war, Heim practised medicine in the German town of Baden-Baden until 1962, when he was indicted as a war criminal. But he fled the country. After travelling through France, Spain and Morocco, Heim eventually settled in Egypt, where he is said to have worked as a doctor for the country's police force. According to evidence published in 2009, Heim converted to Islam and changed his name to Taek Hussein Farid. Known as 'Uncle Tarek', he played ping-pong with local children. Heim was the subject of a huge international manhunt but was never caught. In his later life, he was visited by his son, Rudiger. He died in Cairo in 1992. Hans Eisele A doctor at Buchenwald, Hans Eisele was held responsible for murdering at least 200 Jews In his 2022 book, Professor Orbach describes Hans Eisele as 'murderous'. A doctor at Buchenwald, Eisele was held responsible for murdering at least 200 Jews and was known to some as 'The Butcher'. After the war, he was twice condemned to death after being convicted of war crimes, but was never executed. Instead, he served time in prison before opening a medical practice in Munich. But, in 1958, he fled to Cairo after new allegations were made against him. Professor Orbach tells how, whilst some officials in Israel believed Eisele was 'busy developing microbes for biological warheads' for the Egyptian government, he was in fact an 'ailing wreck' who was addicted to drugs. German courts did ask for his extradition, but these requests were refused by the Egyptian government. He died in Cairo in 1967. Johann von Leers Rabidly anti-Semitic propagandist Johann von Leers worked closely with Nazi propaganda chief Josef Goebbels. He produced several books that propagated Nazi ideology to the masses and heralded fanatical figures such as Julius Streicher, the founder of the anti-Semitic newspaper Der Sturmer. After the war, von Leers escaped to Argentina via Italy and then settled in Egypt. There, von Leers became a Muslim and lived under the name of Amin ben Omar. Rabidly anti-Semitic propagandist Johann von Leers worked closely with Nazi propaganda chief Josef Goebbels In Cairo, he put his previous talents to good use, working for the Egyptian propaganda ministry and serving as an advisor to the country's leader, Gamal Abdel Nasser. In Egypt, von Leers met cavorted with Alois Brunner. At a conference in Cairo in 1960, the pair helped come up with the idea of blackmailing Jews who had allegedly collaborated with the SS during the Holocaust. He also hosted a wild drinking party at his home in Cairo. The jamboree was attended by Israeli spy Wolfgang Lotz, who told in his memoirs how German scientists working for the Egyptian government joined their host in singing Nazi songs. Von Leers died in Egypt in 1965, aged 63. Otto Remer Otto Remer had served as an infantry officer and was most famous for foiling the 1944 attempt on the life of Adolf Hitler, which was known as the 20 July Plot Remer had served as an infantry officer and was most famous for foiling the 1944 attempt on the life of Adolf Hitler, which was known as the 20 July Plot. The Nazi was captured by the US Army towards the end of the war and remained a prisoner until 1947. He later became involved in West German politics, setting up the Socialist Reich Party. After an arrest warrant was issued against him, he fled to Egypt. There, he had close ties with Alois Brunner. Remer also remained a fervent supporter of Nazism. Until 1989, he headed up the far-right German Freedom Movement. He fled to Spain in 1994 to escape a 22-month jail sentence for inciting hatred, violence and racism. Remer died in Marbella in 1997. The fiance of a teacher who was found dead with 20 stab wounds in what was controversially ruled a suicide sent her a slew of texts minutes before her death. Ellen Greenberg, 27, was found dead on the kitchen floor of her apartment in Philadelphia in the middle of a blizzard on January 26, 2011. She had 10 stab wounds to her neck and the back of the head, and 10 to her stomach, abdomen and chest - with a 10-inch knife still plunged into her heart. The knife went through her chest and pierced her liver, slashed her aorta and severed the dura mater, the membrane surrounding her spinal column. Another wound was more than three inches deep, near the base of her skull, and caused a bleeding stroke. Greenberg's fiance Samuel Goldberg called 911 saying he found her in a pool of blood after forcing his way inside the apartment when she wouldn't answer. He has spent the past decade as a target of suspicion by those convinced Greenberg was murdered. Assistant Philadelphia Medical Examiner Marlon Osbourne initially ruled her death a homicide, but changed it to suicide after a meeting with police and prosecutors. Ellen Greenberg, 27, was found dead on the kitchen floor of her apartment in Philadelphia in the middle of a blizzard on January 26, 2011 Greenberg's fiance Samuel Goldberg, seen here with her, called 911 saying he found her in a pool of blood after forcing his way inside the apartment when she wouldn't answer For the last 13 years Goldberg has always stuck to his story that he returned from the gym in the building and realized he had locked himself out. Over the course of 22 minutes he sent her nine messages while his fiancee lay dead on their kitchen floor. In order, he texted her: 'Hello', 'open the door', 'what r u doin', 'I'm getting p*****', 'hello', 'you better have an excuse', 'what the f***', 'ahhh', and 'u have no idea'. Greenberg earlier texted her friend Alycia Young about 3:40pm and mentioned ongoing trouble in her work as a teacher, which according to friends was causing her stress, a CNN Investigation reported. Those were the last outgoing text messages sent from her mobile phone, with Goldberg's cell also going silent around then, according to records. His phone data also showed frequent and regular call activity in the day before her death, other than a gap between 4pm and 7pm. The routine of call-making continued the next morning and afternoon, but he was radio silent from 3:40pm until 5:30pm on the day she died. Surveillance footage showed him getting off the elevator and walking towards the gym in the building at 4:50pm where he told cops he used the elliptical for a half hour. Over the course of 22 minutes he sent her a total of nine messages while his fiance lay dead on their kitchen floor. Goldberg is seen here pacing the halls outside of the apartment At 5:26pm he was then seen walking towards the concierge desk to check his mail before he then returned to his apartment and realized he was locked out. When asked by detectives why he didn't force the door right away, he said: 'I thought she was in the shower, doing her hair, or doing work with her headphones on, or even taking a nap.' As 5:32pm came around, his text messages started to gather up on Ellen's unanswered mobile. He then resorted to calling her mother Sandee. Neighbors recalled to officers that they heard him in the hallway banging on the door. He even went downstairs to ask for a tool to undo the latch on the door. In the hour before he managed to gain entry, he also spoke with his cousin Kamian Schwartzman and his uncle James Schwartzman. The two men are attorneys, and years later, through their own attorney Geoffrey Johnson provided an account of the phone calls. They said that they had been on the phone with Goldberg as he forced the door of his apartment - which doesn't stack up with surveillance footage and his phone records. Goldberg told officers he forced the door at 6:29pm. At 6:26pm, phone records indicate that he got a call from James Schwartzman which lasted one minute and 12 seconds. Sam was seen on video near the elevator in the building talking on a cellphone at 6:27pm and by 6:29pm, when he actually got on the elevator, his call with Schwartzman had been over for 2 minutes. He then called 911 at 6:30pm. Assistant Philadelphia Medical Examiner Marlon Osbourne initially ruled her death a homicide, but changed it to suicide after a meeting with police and prosecutors In his 911 call Goldberg can be heard telling the operator, who had to urge him to perform CPR: 'She fell on a knife. Oh no, her knife's sticking out.' Goldberg is increasingly in the minority in his insistence that Greenberg killed herself, particularly given the number and location of her stab wounds. Her parents Joshua and Sandee have spent the decade since, and hundreds of thousands of dollars, trying to reverse the suicide ruling and in July had a major victory in that effort. They said Greenberg began feeling nervous and anxious in the months before her death. Friends told her parents that they too noticed a change, and that she increasingly deferred to Goldberg on decisions she would once have made for herself. Joshua earlier explained to DailyMail.com that his daughter wanted to quit her job, leave Goldberg and move back to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with her parents. Her parents made her a deal that she could come home if she saw a psychiatrist about what was troubling her, and she agreed. Psychiatrist Ellen Berman saw Greenberg three times, diagnosed her with anxiety, and prescribed her Ambien and Klonopin - but was very clear that she wasn't suicidal. Greenberg's parents Joshua and Sandee have spent the 13 years since, and hundreds of thousands of dollars, trying to reverse the death certificate change to suicide She had 10 stab wounds to her neck and the back of the head, and 10 to her stomach, abdomen and chest with a 10-inch knife still plunged into her heart Another graphic show's Ellen's spinal cord had actually been severed and her brain pierced in two forceful stabs to the neck Greenberg's parents have fought for years to get her manner of death in the autopsy report and death certificate changed from suicide to homicide or undetermined. After amassing a wealth of evidence pointing to homicide, they sued the ME's office and Osborne in 2019 but were rejected by the Commonwealth Court last September. But the Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted their request in July to hear an appeal as a 'matter of statewide importance'. The couple filed a second lawsuit in October 2022 claiming a coverup by police and the medical examiner's office amounted to intentional infliction of emotional distress. They claimed police committed major blunders in the first days after Greenberg's death that 'embarrassingly botched their investigation'. Instead of continuing with the homicide investigation, they instead conspired to cover it up by having her death ruled a suicide, the lawsuit claimed. The lawsuit accused the defendants of asking the court to 'whitewash their conduct and perpetuate the concealment of their criminal misdeeds without taking responsibility for their abhorrent wrongdoing or the severe harm attributable to their unspeakable criminal actions' by dismissing the case. The alleged cover-up was 'orchestrated' by Sam Gulino, Philadelphia's then-Chief Medical Examiner, and police including Sergeant Tim Cooney and Detective John McNamee. Then-assistant ME Marlon Osbourne, who performed the autopsy, and pathologist Lyndsey Emery were 'drawn willingly into the conspiracy', the document claimed. In his 911 call Goldberg can be heard telling the operator, who had to urge him to perform CPR: 'She fell on a knife. Oh no, her knife's sticking out'. The knife is seen here A crime scene analyst hired by the family noted that Ellen had been moved. She was found seated on the floor, propped up against kitchen cabinets, yet a streak of coagulated blood ran in a horizontal line from her nose to her ear The documents accused them of 'heinous acts' and 'unforgivable misconduct', and claimed the case had cost Greenberg's parents $600,000 and counting. The lawsuit explained how police failed to properly secure the crime scene, and did not take Goldberg's clothes or photograph him despite the blood on his hands. On January 27, police let Goldberg's family into the apartment unsupervised to take property, and had a crime scene cleanup crew sanitize it before they arrived. Soon after Osborne called Greenberg's death a homicide, police 'spread misinformation' in the press to 'perpetuate the myth of Ellen's death as a suicide'. The documents claimed this was to 'deflect attention away from PPD's grossly substandard work, which they never disclosed'. The Greenberg's also hired outside forensic pathologists to analyze the scene photos and the autopsy, and a crime-scene expert to interpret the bloodstains. They also worked with a retired state police investigator who gathered documents and tracked down potential witnesses. CNN spoke with Dr. Wayne Ross, an outside pathologist who told them that he believes he found evidence of strangulation. Having viewed her case on behalf of her parents, he believes that investigators in the case had never managed to successfully rule out homicide. This graphic shows knife wounds Ellen suffered to her neck and chest, that pierced her brain and severed her spinal cord The door had a swing lock that Greenberg's family said was barely damaged and not in the right way for it being kicked in She did not have any sign of cuts on her hands that victims often suffer when trying to fend off a knife-wielding attacker, Ross said. He believes that due to a lack of defensive marks it is a possibility that she was first rendered unconscious before being stabbed. Ross also points to bruising and a hemorrhage found on her neck that he says could have been caused by hand strangulation. This was not brought up in the initial report by Osbourne, although he had been asked to comment on it during a deposition. He told an attorney for the Greenberg's that it could have been caused by blunt trauma but didn't think it indicated strangulation. Osbourne was also asked by the family attorney if he had been handed any written reprimands or warnings while working at the Medical Examiner's Office. After telling him that he hadn't, under oath, attorneys for the family showed documents that say he had been reprimanded in two memos from 2012. Those incidents had stretched over multiple cases from 2009 until 2011, the year Ellen died. Dr. Gary Collins had cited 'errors and discrepancies' in Osbourne's reports, writing that some were 'very severe and could have grave consequences for the family'. Collins added: 'Serious and dangerous flaws in your work were evidenced in case 12-0316, which has been pending since January 2012. 'Review of the photographs and circumstances clearly shows that there is evidence of strangulation and that the manner of death is a Homicide. 'The autopsy photographs clearly show a ligature mark around the neck and petechiae of the eyes. Your report reads: The conjunctiva has no petechiae'. His memo made it clear that if Osbourne had missed evidence in Ellen being strangled, it wouldn't have been the first time. Goldberg has never been charged, and moved on with Caroline Fay Shnay, the daughter of well-off real estate agents The couple filed a second lawsuit in October 2022 claiming a coverup by police and the medical examiner's office amounted to intentional infliction of emotional distress Ross also believes that the crime scene had been staged. Ellen was found with a line of dried blood on her cheek and was found propped up against a cabinet. He said that it seemed inconsistent with gravity, as the blood wouldn't have flowed that way long enough for it to have dried. 'She's obviously been moved', he said. Ross also worked with a firm to reconstruct her injuries and show how hard it would have been for her to inflict all the knife wounds on herself. 'Now remember, shes not using her left hand. Thered be blood on itTheres no blood on that left hand. 'So how do you even do that? How do you get your arm back there?', he said. 'We got an exemplar police officer, of a similar build, height, arm length. And we had her try to reconstruct. 'We gave her the knife, and see if she could actually contort herself in these positions. And she couldn't.' Goldberg has never been charged, and moved on with Caroline Fay Shnay, the daughter of well-off real estate agents, whom he married at the Plaza in New York City on January 11, 2014, almost exactly three years after Greenberg's death. Speaking for the first time about the death of Ellen, he told CNN: 'When Ellen took her own life it left me bewildered. 'She was a wonderful and a kind person who had everything to live for. When she died a part of me died with her. 'Unimaginably, in the years that have passed I have had to endure the unimaginable passing of my future wife and the pathetic and despicable attempts to desecrate my reputation and her privacy by creating a narrative that embraces lies, distortions, and falsehoods in order to avoid the truth. 'Mental illness is very real and has many victims. I hope and pray that you never lose someone you love like I did to a terrible disease and then be accused by ignorant and misinformed people of causing her death.' The world of cryptocurrency has long been a mystery to many people but now a new trend is taking over: memecoins. Memecoins are cryptocurrency named after supposedly humorous character, individuals, artwork or trends. Examples include Dogecoin (DOGE), which was set up as a satirical payment system to make fun of cryptocurrencies, and features a cartoon version of a cute Japanese Shiba dog called Kabosu that internet users found funny and cute. Others include memecoins based on cartoon frog Pepe (PEPE), Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT), an orphaned squirrel euthanized by New York officials and MOO DENG, which is based on a pygmy hippo from Thailand that went viral because of her cheeky energy. Yet while these are incredibly risky investments, their creators could make millions. The market cap for memecoins is in the billions. At the time of writing, DOGE's market cap alone is $61bn. PEPE's is $16.9bn. PNUT is $1.2bn. Their value and popularity has shot up since the election of Donald Trump - but now a leading cryptocurrency lawyer has warned against the dangers of buying into the peculiar trend. James Ramsden KC, a leading voice on crypto and digital asset litigation and a founding partner at law firm Astraea, called memecoins a 'dangerous illusion' and a 'complete con'. He told MailOnline: 'I wouldn't go anywhere near them. It's an illusion that's quite dangerous. Memecoins have seen a surge in popularity since Donald Trump won the US election Memecoins are cryptocurrency named after supposedly humorous character, individuals, artwork or trends, such as this Shiba dog that inspired the Doge meme Two-month-old baby hippo Moo Deng (pictured) has also inspired a memecoin 'They can be hugely popular for a while, I get that. 'It's just a very speculative financial punt which is almost completely at the mercy of the people who have put it out there. 'I think this is a complete con. It has no value or purpose. I'm as worried of those as any digital asset. 'I don't think you can call them that at all. It depends on algorithmic social media interaction. 'It's a very flimsy way of approaching value to anything. 'It's not the memecoins that attract people to a site, it's what is funny, what is interesting. 'Memecoins just measure the number of hits [a site or idea] gets.' Anyone can create a memecoin and unlike more traditional cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, they cannot be mined. Instead, a finite number are released with the owner keeping a certain amount. James Ramsden KC (pictured), a leading voices on crypto and digital asset litigation and a founding partner at law firm Astraea, called memecoins a 'dangerous illusion' and a 'complete con' There was a surge in the number of people buying memecoins since the announcement of the creation of the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Elon Musk (pictured) This is what the Dogecoin looks like, as inspired by the real-life Shiba dog from Japan Pepe the frog is a cartoon character that has inspired a memecoin which has a market cap in the billions This squirrel, which was euthanized by New York officials, also spared a memecoin If they surge in popularity by going viral, then the owner can sell their memecoins, generating income for themself - although this in turn could wipe out the value for investors. One of the most recent social media stars to suggest starting a memecoin is Hawk Tuah Girl Hailey Welch, who went viral after a making a very risque gesture during an interview on a night out. As well as discussing bringing out merchandise, this could be a way for her to make money. Ramsden added: 'The people who think this is a good thing will say, ''If you have millions of people following, then it's inconceivable that someone would take it down''. But look at [Elon] Musk. 'It's difficult to see where things go. Either someone stops publishing [content] or they sell [their stake in their own memecoin].' Ramsden also suggested there could be an issue with who actually owns the idea behind the memecoin. He said: 'The intellectual property is highly dubious. A lot of them are derived from other sources. One of the most recent social media stars to suggest starting a memecoin is Hawk Tuah Girl Hailey Welch (pictured), who went viral after a making a very risque gesture during an interview on a night out '[The creators] will run at the first sign of anyone challenging their right to publish it.' Meanwhile, digital finance guru Nawab Hussain, the director of Crypto Consultants UK, told MailOnline memecoins were 'emotionally driven' and that '80 to 90 per cent are just liquidity grabs - people trying to make a quick buck'. He added: 'Memecoins are probably the most speculative in terms of crypto. You need to be careful as an investor.' Even so, the current trend has seen a huge surge in the number of people buying memecoins, especially since the election of Donald Trump and the announcement of the creation of the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Elon Musk. And while many may see hints of the speculative buys ahead of the NFT market collapse in 2022, the memecoin market is, for the moment, thriving. An American living in the UK has revealed the five things they wish they knew about British culture before relocating. Taking to TikTok, where he has over 21.5 million likes across various different videos posted on his account, Kobie shared his first thought, stating: 'Cops do not patrol the same way they do in the US. 'They're always sitting at different points or have speed cameras, here I have not seen one cop stop someone for speeding.' Kobie also claimed you should decline food if offered it by a Brit, particularly if it is their last piece. He remarked: 'I know they're offering it to you but they don't actually want to give it to you, they're just trying to be nice.' The American gave an example of a friend offering him his last piece of halloumi at Nando's, which Kobie ate as he did not know how much this would irk his friend. Moving on to point number three, he said: 'If you're going out in public somewhere in central (London) you cannot bum it. Here in the UK everyone has a little bit of a sense of style. 'I remember when I first got here I put on some slides and my pyjama bottoms and people looked at me like I'm crazy.' An American living in the UK has revealed the five things they wish they knew about British culture before relocating His penultimate observation saw him British people appeared to 'slowly start changing their accent' because there are 'so many different accents around the UK'. He said that, as a result, British peoples' ears were 'so susceptible' to a number of different accents Addressing his final point about cultural shocks in the UK he witnessed as an American, Kobie added: 'Being someone who is pretty tall, do not expect to have big cars here. 'Most of the cars are compact or just normal sized cars. There are no F1 50s. There's no lifted cars, no lifted trucks. It's because everything is so small.' Reacting to Kobie's TikTok video, one person said: 'The first person I've seen analyse the UK so perfectly all the time'. Another added: 'The accent change is real. We're just finding a common ground.' A third commented: 'Pjs in central is brave.' It comes after Kobie uploaded another video in August, in which he documented the varying differences he found between British and American supermarkets. Taking to TikTok , where he has over 21.5 million likes across various different videos posted on his account, Kobie shared his first thought, stating: 'Cops do not patrol the same way they do in the US' The first thing that caught Jordan off guard was the sight of unrefrigerated eggs, as he panned his camera to dozens of cartons stacked neatly on shelves. He said: 'One of the first things that threw me off: the eggs are not refrigerated. 'Funny enough, I found the eggs last way longer than when I used to refrigerate them. For me, I put them on top of the microwave.' Next, Jordan noted that UK supermarkets appear to sell food in much smaller portions compared to their American counterparts, adding: 'The UK, you shop way more often, but you buy in smaller quantities.' Fresh produce in the UK also puzzled Jordan, as he showed bags of potatoes, radish and pre-prepared lettuce as examples with expiration dates just days away. While displaying the items' "best before" dates of August 11 and August 8, he explained: 'Fresh produce expires more quickly than back home. At the time of filming this, it's August 7th.' 'Most of them won't last more than three days - but back home, our produce is pumped with so many preservatives.' A 'concerning' loophole in the government's new puberty blockers ban will allow scientists to use children as 'guinea pigs' to test 'harmful' gender drugs that are actually just 'chemical castration agents', critics of the plan have warned. A mother whose son said he was transgender and was given hormones to become a woman, a former Tavistock and Portman trust doctor and the Family Education Trust have all spoken out against Labour's plan. On Wednesday, Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced an indefinite ban on puberty blockers for children after the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) said they presented 'an unacceptable safety risk for children and young people under 18 years without significant additional safeguards'. However, this is not a blanket ban. Despite acknowledging there will be some who oppose it, Streeting said plans for a clinical trial would go ahead, meaning children can sign up to have puberty blockers for research purposes. After the Health Secretary's announcement, the Government said the CHM recommended that 'the planned puberty suppressing hormone trial will recruit children and young people under 18 years who have not had previous exposure to GnRH agonists [another term for puberty blockers].' The Government concluded that while 'there is evidence of persistent unsafe prescribing practices regarding these medicines', a clinical trial would offer a chance to safely monitor the effects of puberty blockers and 'give government and the NHS the evidence needed to decide whether they can be used as a safe and effective treatment.' Jane - not her real name - spoke to MailOnline on the condition of anonymity because she fears her son, now 20, might cut her out of his life if he knew how she truly felt. She said the loophole amounted to using children as guinea pigs. She said: 'It's all making the right noises while not doing very much. Haven't enough children already been damaged, lives ruined? Do they really need that further evidence? Jane (pictured) - not her real name - spoke to MailOnline on the condition of anonymity because she fears her son, now 20, might cut her out of his life if he knew how she truly felt Former Tavistock Trust Dr Az Hakeem (pictured) said the loophole to allow children to sign up for a clinical trial researching puberty blockers was concerning Dr Az Hakeem worked at the Tavistock and Portman Foundation Trust (pictured) for 12 years 'There are so many horror stories. It's a dark and sinister world out there and this generation is totally messed up. 'The NHS has a lot to answer for. Anyone who doesn't want their child as a trophy trans child will worry about this. 'Children should be cherished and cared for. You don't get them to sign up to see what works and what doesn't. 'I'm done with weeping. Now I'm really, really angry. Any parent who lets their child sign up for that trial is totally crazy. 'My child has been damaged. Who benefits from children growing up who haven't gone through puberty? 'It's absolutely bonkers. These people who have corrupted my family and damaged my child should face criminal charges. 'I'm never stopping until I get justice for what they have done to my child.' Her son was given hormones rather than puberty blockers as he was too old, meaning even with the government's ban, he would not have been protected. Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting (pictured) announced an indefinite ban on puberty blockers on Wednesday Dr Hilary Cass (pictured), who wrote the Cass Review into children's gender care and published her final report in April, described puberty blockers as 'powerful drugs with unproven benefits and significant risks' Jane said her child had been damaged and she wouldn't stop fighting until she got justice. She said the puberty blocker loophole amounted to using children as guinea pigs Yet even with the ban, children are already getting advice on getting around it. On its website, sexual health charity Brook has already advised that young people can still get puberty blockers 'if they agree to be part of a research study that will assess the risks and benefits of these medicines for trans and gender questioning children'. The Family Education trust's Lucy Marsh told MailOnline children were also being used by scientists. She said: 'Puberty blockers harm children. They are using them like guinea pigs. 'What happens to the children who sign up for trials and are harmed? 'Are they putting aside a compensation pot for a drug they know is harmful? 'I don't see how they can do a clinical trial, how they can get it past a board of ethics. 'It's difficult to understand how any board could approve it. 'What are they wanting to find, how much harm they cause? 'They should go to the Tavistock and follow up on kids who were on puberty blockers there.' The ban applies to new patients only, with NHS and private patients already receiving these medicines for gender dysphoria continuing to have access. Puberty blockers will also still be available in cases of young people experiencing early puberty, with Mr Streeting saying they are 'safe and proven for use' in this way. Dr Az Hakeem worked at the Tavistock and Portman Foundation Trust for 12 years and is the author of Detrans: When Transition Is Not The Solution. He said: 'Puberty blockers is a sanitised reference to chemical castration agents in order to make them sound more palatable. 'I welcome this much needed ban on what is essentially chemical castration on confused children. After Jane's son left school aged 18, he went to a GP, who referred him to scandal-ridden children's clinic the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) at the Tavistock (pictured) 'That's what they essentially are: confused children who have for some other underlying reason such as autism or trauma come to the proxy understating that they should be something different to what or who they are. 'There is no such thing as a trans child just children whose bodies are not wrong but need psychological help to address the confusion or unhappiness they have about themselves. 'The caveat that children may still be able to access chemical castration agents as part of future clinical trials is a concern however. 'We know that one potential adverse outcome can be the loss of future adult sexual functioning such as ability to achieve sexual orgasm and also infertility. 'I am of the opinion that no prepubertal child is able to give informed consent to the possible of never having a normal sex life as this is something they have no experience of at that stage.' An NHS England spokesman said: 'Any trial will be subject to the usual stringent safeguards, follow best practice, be developed by experts and all overseen by National Institute for Health and Care Research, as well as having to secure the usual ethical and study design approvals. 'Dr Hillary Cass recommended that there is not enough evidence to support use of puberty suppressing hormones for the treatment of gender dysphoria outside of a clinical trial.' A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: 'These claims are not true. The indefinite ban will ensure no child is prescribed puberty blockers in an unsafe environment. 'Clinical trials provide vital evidence on the effects of medicines and are conducted to the highest scientific and ethical standards. 'This evidence-based approach will put children's safety first and is in line with recommendations of both the Cass Review and the independent Commission on Human Medicines - this approach is also considerably safer than the previous approach, which did not require any safeguards.' Brook declined to comment. Fed up locals in one of Britain's most historic cities have backed calls to tax tourists - with rowdy throngs of stag and hen parties causing 'carnage' and their streets rapidly being clogged up by Harry Potter shops. York is planning to introduce a European-style tourist tax that could see visitors pay a nightly extra fee on hotel rooms. The extra cash could be used by the Labour-run council towards maintaining the city and preserving its historic attractions. No amount has been suggested, but York had nine million visitors last year, including 1.7million who stayed overnight - so even a 1-a-night charge could raise significant funds to help upkeep sites such as the Roman walls and Shambles shopping area. It comes as London Mayor Sadiq Khan considers a tourist tax on the capital's hotels - with his team now looking at the evidence from Manchester and Liverpool, which have already brought in similar charges, as well as other cities around Europe. In England, there are no powers held by the central government, local councils or mayors to introduce a tourist tax, unlike in some European cities - but Manchester and Liverpool both introduced one in April last year through a legal workaround. The city councils brought in tourism-based Business Improvement Districts (BID) to collect additional business rates payments from firms operating in specified areas. York could copy this model in an attempt to help pay for maintenance of its historic sites and public spaces amid concerns from council leaders about a lack of funding. Fed up York locals have backed calls to tax tourists who want to visit the historic city They say that since visitors discovered the town it has become filled with Harry Potter shops and tourist tat A tourist tax in York could help upkeep popular sites such as the Shambles shopping area Maintenance of the famous Roman walls in York could also be funded by the tourist tax Your browser does not support iframes. Locals told MailOnline this week how they backed the plan - while revealing how they had stopped entering the city centre at weekends because of raucous crowds. Cleaner Shane Sayner, 47, said: 'York has changed beyond belief. You'd use to get the bus in, explore the markets and see people you know but now its unrecognisable. 'Its absolutely dreadful now with all the hen parties and racegoers. 'There aren't enough toilets so people urinate in doorways and you can smell it in the mornings. 'It gets chaotic from around 1pm on a Saturday. Parents will take their kids into town and there will be people screaming drunk, waving inflatable genitalia. 'There's a foghorn of noise, vomiting, urinating - it's horrible. 'A lot of people who live here think 'why are we paying for all this to be cleaned up?' 'Weve had four years of near 5% council tax increases. With the tourists using services as well, residents feel that it's fair that they should help to pay for things.' The ancient city - famous for its iconic Minster, Roman city walls and cobbled streets - has become one of the UKs most popular visitor destinations. More than nine million people visited York last year, including 1.7million who stayed overnight. Shane, who was born and raised in the city, said even a token 1-a-night charge would help raise vital public funds. The ancient city - famous for its cobbled streets - has become one of the UKs most popular visitor destinations Shane, who was born and raised in the city, said even a token 1-a-night charge would help raise vital public funds Yoga instructor Chloe Markham, 34, hoped the proposed tax might reduce visitor numbers to more manageable levels Which UK cities already have a tourist tax? ENGLAND Neither local authorities nor central government in England have the power to introduce a tourist tax, but Manchester and Liverpool city councils each launched one in April 2023 in through a legal workaround. They brought in tourism-based Business Improvement Districts (BID) which collect additional business rates payments from firms operating in specified areas. Manchester introduced an 'accommodation BID' which is payable by hotels and serviced apartments with a rateable value of 75,000 or more, in an area within Manchester city centre and a small adjoining part of Salford. The levy is expected to raise up to 3.8million per year between 2023 and 2028 and raised 2.8million in the first year. In Liverpool, the BID levy covers the whole city and is payable for accommodation properties with a rateable value of 45,000 or more, with a cap of 50,000 per property. The levy is 1.6 per cent of a property's rateable value, rising to 4.5 per cent in 2024/25 and 2025/26. It is expected to raise 939,000 per year in the latter two years. In London, Mayor Sadiq Khan is now considering a tourist tax on the capital's hotels, with his team looking at the evidence from other cities. The UK's first so-called coastal tourist tax across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in Dorset was approved in May following a ballot of hoteliers. It would have required guests staying in larger hotels to pay an extra 2 per room, per night - but this was then put on hold in July following opposition from more than 40 hotels who lodged an appeal with the government over how the ballot was conducted. The tax has also previously been consider by councils in Birmingham, Bath, Cambridge, Cornwall and Thanet in Kent - but has not been implemented in any of those areas. Advertisement He added 'Weve seen massive decline in York. The city walls are in a bad state, some of the parks have got rats, and the green spaces aren't being maintained as they used to. 'We are playing for the streets to be cleaned when the races are on. Its carnage and theres rubbish everywhere, and its so unfair that we keep getting these rising bills for council tax yet tourists dont have to pay a penny. 'Many residents dont go into York city centre any more- theres nothing in York for them. It's all Harry Potter shops and tourist tat.' Tourist taxes are common in Europe, with a surcharge added to hotel stays at a flat rate such as 2 per bed per night, or as a percentage of the price of the stay. While there are no powers held by councils to introduce a direct tourist tax, Manchester and Liverpool introduced one last year through a legal workaround. Business Improvement Districts (BID) collect additional business rates payments from firms operating in specified areas. Yoga instructor Chloe Markham, 34, hoped the proposed tax might reduce visitor numbers to more manageable levels. She said: 'Yorks become a total disaster area with stag and hen parties and tourists in general, especially on race days. 'Its the drinking culture of tourists thats the worst part of it. General tourists get in your way, make places busy, all the normal things, but its daytime drinkers, big parties of drinkers, and how drunk they get that actually make York feel too much. 'The Shambles is one of the most beautiful lanes in York - old as they come, plenty of interesting history, and very Harry Potter-like. 'But it's a tourist hot-spot because of it. Walking down there on a Saturday before Christmas is almost impossible. It's narrow anyway, with uneven cobbles and it becomes impossible to actually see any of the history, let alone get in any of the shops. 'As a local, I'd almost always avoid going down there.' Chloe said she hoped money raised from the tax would support local businesses or reduce rates on central buildings. She added: 'The tax could have the potential to support a higher diversity of businesses, if used in the right way. 'York is getting oversaturated with bars, cafes, and restaurants, not to mention the Harry Potter-type shops aimed solely at the tourist trade. 'It would be nice to see a more diverse offering of local businesses, and maybe there's scope for a tax to encourage local businesses back into the centre. 'If it did reduce tourists, that would be brilliant for locals who might feel like theyd get their city back.' Tourist taxes are common in Europe, with a surcharge added to hotel stays at a flat rate such as 2 per bed per night The impact of tourism on York has also lead to an abundance of housing used as holiday lets and Airbnb accommodation. The number of short-term holiday lets in the city has rose rom 937 in January 2018 to 2,055 by July 2022, mostly in the city centre. Sophia Cheng, 37, has seen her rent rise from 850 to 1,200 a month, with prices driven by a lack of a supply. On her road, two houses - including next door - operate as holiday lets on Airbnb. Sophie, who runs biodiversity education business With Many Roots, said: 'Tourist tax is an interesting idea for York. 'Where we are now, there's a holiday let next door and we know of another on the same street. 'I'm sure York and many of its people depend on tourism but I wouldn't be against a modest tourist tax that reflected the true cost of the high influx of visitors. 'York does have a residents weekend in January annually with discounts to all the attractions for locals. It's a nice gesture but probably doesn't go far enough.' Katie Lomas, a Labour York city council member with oversight of the citys budget, is considering how a tourist tax could be implemented and that visitors to Europe had already grown accustomed to the taxes on hotel stays. When MailOnline visited busy York this week, there was widespread support for the scheme, though some voiced their concern. Working on a jewellery stall near to the Christmas markets, Wren Parsons, 24, said: 'There are fewer people visiting York now than a few years ago because of the cost of living and because there are a lot of shops that have shut down. 'I worry that taxing tourists would potentially stop them from coming, which is the last thing we need. Another popular attraction for millions of visitors to the North Yorkshire city is York Minster The Jorvik Viking Centre is another of the city's popular attractions for tourists 'But I agree that it's horrendous when the race days are on, or it's the height of the stag do season. 'Perhaps the best thing to do is to implement a tax in certain times of the year, or when York Races are on. 'We shouldn't be putting off couples coming to York for a night away, who spend their money in the shops and restaurants.' Victoria Clark, 49, from York, also warned the proposed tourist tax could put off visitors. She said: 'We need cities like York to thrive, not put up a barrier to people visiting. 'Why implement something that subconsciously says youre not welcome or 'you are an inconvenience? 'We should be welcoming visitors, tourists and locals at all times. The city needs a balanced offer to cater for everyone. 'Going ahead with a European style tax will result in locals complaining the city centre is dying in five to ten years time. And it will be.' Victoria, who runs online firm Frenchsoaps.co.uk, added: 'In the day time, York is buzzing. Yes, that can be inconvenient for locals but how many town and city centres are this busy? 'There are a lot of hen and stage dos, but so what - its helping the hospitality and hotel industry.' Are other UK destinations considering a tax on tourists? The Institute for Fiscal Studies previously estimated that a tourist tax in England with a charge of 1 per person per night would raise approximately 420million per year. York councillors will also be keeping an eye on developments in London, where Mr Khan is considering a tourist tax on the capital's hotels despite warnings from hospitality bosses that it would be 'extremely damaging' for businesses. The idea was discussed by politicians at the Centre for London think tank's conference last month - and the Mayor was asked whether he would support such a charge, although no figure has yet been suggested. According to The Standard, Mr Khan said: 'I'm happy to look into where it's worked, what the issues are in relation to that particular policy... We'll be looking at what cities are doing not just across Europe, but in the UK as well.' Pressed on whether he supported the idea in principle, Mr Khan said: 'Let's wait and see what the evidence is. I'm somebody who believes in following the evidence.' But Kate Nicholls, chief executive of the UKHospitality group, told MailOnline that hospitality businesses are 'already burdened with increasing costs in every part of their operations, with an additional 3.4billion in employment costs and business rates hitting in April, so further taxes on the sector would be extremely damaging to the sector'. And Alessandro Georgiou AM, the City Hall Conservatives' economy spokesman, said the tax 'would be another revenue stream for Sadiq Khan to waste on frivolous projects and giveaways to his union mates, let's be very clear'. Tourist taxes, which are common in cities across Europe and in Canada, are a levy on the occupation of short-stay accommodation in a local authority area. They a normally a charge per occupied bed or room and are set at a flat rate such as 2 per bed per night, or as a percentage of the price of the bed or room. Manchester's BID levy, known as the 'City Visitor Charge', is payable by hotels and serviced apartments with a rateable value of 75,000 or more, in an area within Manchester city centre and a small adjoining part of Salford. LONDON could bring in a tourist tax under proposals being considered by Mayor Sadiq Khan MANCHESTER brought in a form of tourist tax through a legal workaround in April 2023 LIVERPOOL has also brought in a type of tourist tax which covers the whole city The levy is expected to raise up to 3.8million per year between 2023 and 2028 and a report from the BBC in April 2024 found it had raised 2.8million in the first year. In Liverpool, the BID levy covers the whole city and is payable for accommodation properties with a rateable value of 45,000 or more, with a cap of 50,000 per property. The levy is 1.6 per cent of a property's rateable value, rising to 4.5 per cent in 2024/25 and 2025/26. It is expected to raise 939,000 per year in the latter two years. In Scotland, Edinburgh City Council is now drafting a scheme for a tourist tax and hopes to launch it from April 2026 while Aberdeen, Highland and Argyll and Bute councils are also planning to consult on a levy. In Wales, proposals for a tourist tax began going through the Welsh Parliament last month but have prompted fury from the Welsh Association of Visitor Attractions which has urged its members to shut for one day in protest. The bill will now be considered by the Senedd, with a final decision not expected to be made until next year. The UK's first so-called coastal tourist tax across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in Dorset was approved in May following a ballot of hoteliers. It would have required guests staying in larger hotels to pay an extra 2 per room, per night - but this was then put on hold in July following opposition from more than 40 hotels who lodged an appeal with the government over how the ballot was conducted. This week, it was revealed that the appeal was being considered by Housing Secretary Angela Rayner. Thanet District Council in Kent had also been considering a tourist tax, but dropped the plans in April after concluding it does not have the power to implement them. The idea had also been discussed by Cornwall Council, but officials decided against it in July amid concerns over the impact on the tourism sector. Birmingham has been considering plans for a 1 charge since 2020, when it was put forward before the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Bath Council has also been discussing a proposal. But in Cambridge, hoteliers rejected a proposal in July to introduce a nightly 2 tourist tax. BOURNEMOUTH had a tourist tax approved in May but this has since been put on hold EDINBURGH is now drafting a scheme for a tourist tax and hopes to launch it from April 2026 The idea of a tourist tax in London was previously floated in January 2017 when the Greater London Authority published a working paper on the topic. It cited three arguments for a tourist tax - one being that foreign tourists are able to 'free ride' by enjoying London attractions with free entry because they do not bear the same costs as UK and London taxpayers who support their funding. A second is that tourists can also enjoy the benefits of many public goods in London such as parks, policing or elements of the transport network without having to pay the full social costs. And thirdly, it was suggested that tourists impose costs on society such as pollution and congestion from use of the transport network, which affect London residents and other tourists. The Institute for Fiscal Studies previously estimated that a tourist tax in England with a charge of 1 per person per night would raise approximately 420million per year. The Northern Powerhouse Partnership estimated that 428million could be raised. In comparison, council tax raises about 30billion and business rates about 25 billion per year in England, according to Government figures. Residents in a quiet town are up in arms after a massive housing development for more than 400 homes was approved despite the council rejecting it. Locals in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire have claimed their community has become a 'dumping ground for newbuilds'. They are furious at the plans for 416 new homes on a 43-acre site and say the scheme will cause havoc on local roads and put further strain on already busy doctors' surgeries. The plans, put forward by Hallam Land Management, were rejected by Central Bedfordshire Council in August last year. However, they were later given the greenlight as part of Labour's plan to build 1.5million new homes across Britain over the next five years. Fuming resident Nicola Haynes said other towns need to be targeted for development. She told MailOnline: 'The mother of two said: 'I do think that other towns and villages should take their fair quota because we can't get appointments or dentists, and the schools are full to the brim. 'I'm not one of these Nimby (Not in my backyard) protestors but I just think we've had so much of the new estates being built in the last six to seven years, it's been continuous and it's just too much. 'It just seems like Biggleswade is the dumping ground for new builds.' The plans put forward by Hallam Land Management which have been fought by councillors will see up to 416 homes on the 43-acre site in Biggleswade, Beds Neighbours have cited concerns over the scheme's impact on local infrastructure and said the town already lacks doctors at GP's The plans will see see up to 416 homes on the 43-acre site in Biggleswade, Beds After the scheme was initially rejected the developer appealed the plans which saw them being approved subject to several conditions imposed by a planning inspector. The company submitted a second planning application before the appeal was determined, which attempts to address issues raised in its original project, according to the town council. Residents have now told MailOnline they blamed the new government in their plans to bypass local councils to get plans approved. It comes as the Prime Minister unveiled a radical overhaul to planning system rules saying he would prioritise 'human beings wanting to have a house' over the environment. The changes for England - designed to prevent so-called 'Nimbys' blocking development - could see hundreds of thousands of acres of Green Belt land redesignated as low-value 'grey belt' land. The new framework also imposes mandatory housing numbers on local authorities across the country - many of which have already been condemned as unachievable. Neighbours in this Bedfordshire town are not happy as they say infrastructure has not kept up. Ms Haynes, a resident for over 20 years, said the community have been fighting the plans for years as there has been a barrage of newbuilds around the town and neighbours are saying they have had enough. The 52-year-old said: 'I'm also going to go from having a view of the field to getting homes staring at me. 'I must admit I don't go out into the town because we've had people move here from all walks of life, some of them from Luton and they were thrown out of their housing estate - maybe through no fault of their own. David Ford, 74, said: 'I was at the council meeting when the public was allowed to attend and [the planners] got absolutely hammered by the councillors and by residents' Ms Haynes added: 'The roads are gridlocked so building more houses is not going to help the situation. We keep on being told that will be dealt with but it's just not.' Mother-of-two Nicola Haynes, pictured, a resident for over 20 years, said there has been a barrage of newbuilds around the town and neighbours are saying they have had enough 'But the crime rate has got really bad. I've met locals who were born and bred here and even they're not happy and they don't want to live here. 'The roads are gridlocked so building more houses is not going to help the situation. We keep on being told that will be dealt with but it's just not.' 'We get people coming from Luton who can't get houses there, so they come live here. We get drug dealers who move in and then wreck the houses. That happened to a house near me. And we've never had this before.' Louisa Baker, 75, said: 'There's a lot of pressure to build more houses, and it's only logical that the government are pressuring councils to get building. 'That's the only logical reason for them to be told to build because the council said 'No''. Pensioner Janice Holben-Smith, 74, said: 'The amount of traffic we get up and down the road next to where the houses will be built is horrible. It is busy enough as it is, you ought to come here at night the way they're parked, it's disgusting because they don't have space to park around here. 'A lot of the houses here don't have driveways so there isn't enough space for people to park.' Former carer Pat Stevens, 80, who has lived in the area for 60 years said: 'The thing is there's not enough doctors or dentists. 'You can't get appointments now so another 400 houses will just cause even more chaos. The plans were rejected by Central Bedfordshire Council in August last year but were later by appeal Meanwhile, neighbour Andrea Martin said: 'With all of the trucks coming in and out of Biggleswade because of the construction, it's just going to make matters worse. I'm completely against these plans.' A resident of 50 years in the town, David Ford, 74, said: 'I was at the council meeting when the public was allowed to attend and [the planners] got absolutely hammered by the councillors and by residents. 'The developers stood up without any real argument and everybody came away with the feeling that it had been rejected.' His wife Janet added: 'It's going to totally overload at peak times those roads at school time and the traffic will stretch from one end of the town to the other.' Hallam Land Management has been contacted for comment. Central Bedfordshire Council have been contacted for comment. Bedfordshire Police has been contacted for comment. A British millionaire couple who are turning a Swiss castle into their dream family home allegedly owe their builders 664,000 for work on the 13th-century pile, local media reports. Steinegg Castle in Huttwilen, northern Switzerland, was bought in 2006 by Yvonne Thom and James Rennie, who are both reported to work in the financial sector. Work on the castle, which was valued at around 4million at the time, is set to cost around 12 million Swiss francs, or 10million, and has reportedly taken years to complete. Updates reportedly include the building of an underground car park beneath the former luxury hotel and spa. 'We have been working up there for ten years,' construction company director Christian Hagen told a local newspaper. He claimed that the couple had recently failed to pay several bills, and that his firm had spoken with them to reach an agreement. They acknowledged the amount they owed the firm, he said, but the payment has still not arrived months later. 'We have had to wait for the money for around a year and a half now and manage without it,' Mr Hagen said. Works are said to include the building of an underground car park beneath the former hotel Steinegg Castle in Huttwilen, northern Switzerland, was bought by financier Yvonne Thom and her husband James Rennie The firm's contact with the long-term clients had been 'pleasant', Mr Hagen said, and they had met with them regularly on the construction site prior to the dispute. He said they had made payments on time for years before the latest invoice, he said, adding that the amount is 'a large sum' for his family-run company to go without. The couple, who previously lived in the castle and whose children attended a nearby private school, according to Mr Hagen, are now based abroad. He said the situation was made more difficult due to the pair being out of the country. They had last been in touch with the construction company in September, with an attempt to contact them in October reportedly going unanswered. 'The path to finding a joint solution for the outstanding bill did not work out as we had hoped,' Mr Hagen said, while adding that he has no ill will towards the clients. Christian Hagen, who is the director of family-run construction firm H.Hagen AG While his company is not at an immediate loss due to the unpaid sum, he said, it has meant they have been unable to invest in other areas and securing the payment has been 'time-consuming'. Mr Hagen said his firm has engaged a lawyer and has decided to file for enforcement proceedings to secure the sum. 'Of course we want the money that we are entitled to, that would be the case for everyone,' he said. 'We just have to be patient.' Ms Thom and Mr Rennie could not be reached for comment. Villagers living close to the site of Labour's touted 'super-prison' fear their skies will soon be swamped by 'drug drones' and say it will soon be worse than when they lived in the shadow of Victorian gaol. Deputy PM Angela Rayner recently pushed through plans for a third prison near Ulnes Walton - with the 1,700 incarcerated soon to outnumber the population of local villages. Chorley Council dismissed the plan for a site, which is close to HMP Garth and HMP Wymott prisons, in 2021 but the Government has now given the go-ahead to build on green-belt land. Ms Rayner overruled objections saying harms including the loss of green belt would 'clearly be outweighed by the benefits' and that 'very special circumstances exist which justify approval', the BBC reported. Now concerned locals fear their new neighbours will bring all too familiar problems. Speaking to the MailOnline, Andrea Hallows, 49, a caterer, said: 'Why they want to build another prison here when they are struggling to run the other two they already have is beyond me. 'They can't get enough staff to work there as it is and the ones who do can't control the inmates properly because they are understaffed. 'I believe there is a massive drugs problem and I quite often see drones flying close to the prison. Are they trying to smuggle drugs and other illegal items into prison? Villagers living close to the site of Labour's touted 'super-prison' fear their skies will soon be swamped by 'drug drones' The Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary has approved the building of a jail holding 1,700 lags near Chorley in Lancashire, despite fears inmates would outnumber the population of local villages. Chorley Council dismissed the plan for a site in Ulnes Walton in 2021. 'I don't have any proof but if I had to bet on it, that's what I would say is happening.' Engineer Mark Stuttard, 47, said: 'They are always flying drones over the prison to smuggle drugs in. 'They can fly the drones from a fair distance away, so they think they are safe from getting caught. 'I know about at least two incidents this year when drugs have been attempted to be smuggled in. 'One ended up in a police car chase and the suspects crashed their car not too far from here. 'The police arrested them but they could have easily killed someone when they were being chased by the police. 'One more prison is just going to make things worse, with more attempts to smuggle in drugs. 'The prison has already been rejected a couple of times, so the government needs to have a re-think.' Trevor and Pat Symonds' former home was close to HM Parkhurst Prison, Newport, Isle of Wight, but they insist HMP Garth and HMP Wymott is already far worse. Pat said: 'We are used to living close to prisons and lived on Parkhurst Road, and never had any trouble. 'But the prison here is worse. 'The area just can't accommodate a third prison. The roads just can't cope. 'The traffic is already bad enough with the two prisons. 'No one seems to have consulted the residents and taken their opinions into consideration. 'I realise prisons need to be built somewhere but I just don't think this is a suitable place.' Trevor and Pat Symonds say the prospect of a third prison has them fearing the worst It is close to two current prisons, HMP Garth and HMP Wymott (pictured top and plans above) In a letter announcing the decision, the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government said Ms Rayner was over-ruling a planning inspector who said the rejection by Choley Council should not be challenged. 'The Secretary of State concludes that, on the evidence before her, the harm to the Green Belt and the other harms she has identified are clearly outweighed by the benefits... 'As such she concludes that very special circumstances exist which justify approval.' Pat, 71, who worked in the NHS, added: 'The village will just become even busier. 'I also like to hope it doesn't affect house prices.' Trevor, 80, a retired head chef, said: 'There seems to be a lot more trouble there at the weekends. 'You see police vans and fire engines driving down the lane and I can't imagine they will be going anywhere else but the prison. 'The road is already like a racetrack as it is and will only get worse. 'There will also be all the wagons and trucks going to the prison when it is being built.' 'If the prison is built, the prison population will be bigger than the village. Trevor added: 'There is also the extra pressure that it will put on the NHS. Has this been considered? 'If a prisoner needs hospital treatment, they will be treated immediately and don't have to wait. 'More prisoners will just add to the pressure.' Gary Mellis, 42, who works in sales, said: 'I have always been against it because the road is always very busy. 'In the mornings, it is really hard to pull out of my driveway because the traffic is so bad. 'It is the traffic which is my main concern, not living close to a prison. That doesn't really concern me. Residents like Mark Gilson believe they are being taken advantage of But despite heavy local opposition the new prison has been pushed through Mark Gilson said: 'It was always going to happen with two prisons already there. 'I believe they had already bought the field at the road junction to the prison to create a roundabout to help with the traffic flow. 'The one negative is the number of people visiting the prison will increase.' Jay Patel, 71, said: 'It personally doesn't bother me. 'I understand people's concerns but for me is it not an issue. 'There are already two prisons and prisons have to be built somewhere. 'There is no danger from living close to a prison and I would much rather have prisons than not.' Julie Moorehouse, 40, said: 'For people born and bred in the village, having a prison close by is all they have known. 'The road can get busy at change over and visiting times but I'm sure traffic measures will be introduced to help this. 'As far as I am aware, the original plans were for three prisons, so building a third should hardly come as a surprise.' Jennifer Mitchell, 31, a teaching assistant, said: 'I always know when it is visiting time. 'The roads are twice as busy and there are lots of unfamiliar faces around. 'The wives and girlfriends are easy to spot. They all have immaculate hair, big lips and are done up to the nines. 'They all arrive in big fancy cars, usually Range Rovers or something similar. They all seem to be well off. 'Who says crime doesn't pay?' Residents have campaigned tirelessly to block any further development Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Paul Parker, from the Ulnes Walton Action Group, said: 'At the second inquiry, the planning inspector has had a look at the renewed plans and decided [he was going] to recommend dismissal on road safety [grounds]. 'I don't know what the [Secretary of State's] understanding is of planning or road safety matters she has obviously got advisors but she can then completely go against the independent view of the planning inspector. 'Now she has that right as a minister but who would you trust?' he added. He also questioned the wisdom of putting a category C prison some of whose inmates could be eligible for day release in the run-up to the end of their sentence in such a rural area. 'It's being built in the wrong place it'd be better to put [the prisoners] into a local environment where they could get to work easily. 'There are alternative sites that the inspector agreed with us about, such as [the existing] HMP Kirkham and Stakehill Industrial Estate near Oldham.' Since September the Government has been freeing thousands of inmates early in a bid to cut jail overcrowding by temporarily reducing the proportion of sentences which some prisoners must serve behind bars in England and Wales from 50 per cent to 40 per cent. But prisons are still expected to reach critical capacity again by July. MoJ figures show there were 86,059 adult prisoners behind bars in England and Wales on Monday, slightly higher than the 86,038 recorded at the beginning of last week. The so-called operational capacity for English and Welsh men and women's prisons is 88,852, indicating there is now cell space for 2,793 criminals. The latest data means the prison population is only 2.8 per cent lower than when the number of inmates being held hit a new record high of 88,521 on September 6, PA news agency analysis shows. An additional 1,350 cell spaces tend to always be kept free above the overall operational capacity of the prison estate in England and Wales as a contingency measure so jails can cope with a sudden influx of inmates or change in the make-up of the prison population, according to the MoJ. Customers of McDonald's were equally split between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris when they cast their votes in the 2024 election, according to an exclusive poll. It came after Harris was hit by questions in the campaign over her assertion that she once worked at McDonald's in California. Trump subsequently went to a McDonald's in Pennsylvania and served bags of takeout to people in the drive-thru lane. A poll by J.L. Partners for DailyMail.com found both candidates were backed by 42 percent of McDonald's diners. The poll also found Trump easily won fans of Pizza Hut by 15 points, Jimmy John's by 19 points, and Chick-fil-A by 13 points. Harris won those who like Domino's pizza by three points. Your browser does not support iframes. Donald Trump works behind the counter during a visit to McDonalds in Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania, U.S. October 20, 2024 Meanwhile, on social media, regular users of X voted overwhelmingly for Trump Some 55 percent of them supported Trump while only 36 percent backed Harris. Trump also had big leads of 23 percent among users of Twitch and 15 percent for Snapchat. He had narrower leads of 3 points among regular users of both Facebook and TikTok, and 2 percent for YouTube. Harris eked out a one point lead among users of Instagram. The results showed how the Harris campaign failed in its bid to use influencers to raise support on social media. Kamala Harris got little support from customers of Pizza Hut and Jimmy John's Your browser does not support iframes. Users of Elon Musk's X voted overwhelmingly for Trump An analysis of voters' grocery shopping habits showed Trump winning across the board. The results were perhaps a reflection of voter anger at high food prices under Joe Biden. Trump won among shoppers at Whole Foods, known for its natural and organic produce, by 5 points. At the other end of the shopping spectrum he also won among Dollar General customers by 12 points. He won among Walmart grocery shoppers by 8 points and and Costco ones by 5 points. Harris was more popular by 7 points with Aldi shoppers and by 3 points with those at Price Rite. Among smokers of cigarettes and cigars 43 percent backed Trump and 39 percent Harris. Your browser does not support iframes. Whole Foods shoppers backed Trump over Harris Vapers backed the Republican by more, with 49 percent supporting Trump and only 35 percent Harris. Vegetarians backed Harris by four points, and meat eaters sided with Trump by 3 points. Among vegans 45 percent supported Harris and only 19 percent Trump Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Vapers voted heavily for Donald Trump For voters who do mostly cardio at the gym 46 percent backed Harris and 45 percent Trump. However, for those who mostly do weights 48 percent backed Trump and 40 percent Harris. The poll showed Harris won 63 percent of gay voters and Trump won 24 percent. Among bisexual voters 43 percent supported Harris and 27 percent Trump. For heterosexual voters the race was closer, with 45 percent supporting Trump and 39 percent Harris. The heartbroken mother of Jim Carrey's tragic fiancee Cathriona White has reignited her bitter feud with the Hollywood star who she blames for her daughter's suicide. Brigid Sweetman hit out at the actor as he stepped back into the limelight to promote his latest blockbuster movie Sonic the Hedgehog 3. She told how she was enraged after Carrey, 62, joked he was making a return to the big screen because he 'needed the money' as he appeared on the red carpet during the movie's premiere in London this week. Speaking exclusively to MailOnline from her home in Ireland, Brigid said she was full of contempt for the actor who was once one of the highest paid stars in Hollywood. She said: 'I have nothing good to say about him and do not even want to say his name. My heart is still broken over Cathriona.' Make-up artist Cathriona - who was also a celebrity stylist - had been in a tempestuous three-year relationship with Carrey when she took her own life nine years ago. They began their on-off romance in 2012 when Cathriona was 27 and Carrey was 50. Cathriona, 30, died on September 28 2015, after overdosing on a cocktail of prescription pills at her home in Los Angeles. The heartbroken mother of Cathriona White has slammed actor Jim Carrey as he steps back into the limelight to promote his new film - Sonic The Hedgehog 3 The make-up artist had been in a three-year relationship with the actor when she took her own life in September 2015 The 30-year-old died on September 28, 2015, after overdosing in her Los Angeles home (Pictured: Cathriona and Carrey in Newy York on May 18, 2015) What followed was a bitter falling out between the star and Cathriona's family in Ireland who accused him of being abusive towards her, introducing her to drugs and debauchery and giving her a sexually transmitted disease. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Carrey stepped back from his high-flying career limiting his screen appearances and announced two years ago that he was retiring from showbusiness. At the time he said he would only return to acting if 'angels bring some sort of script that's written in gold ink.' While his career appears to be back on track Brigid, who is in her 70s, revealed her family had faced further heartbreak since their lives were shattered following the death of her daughter. She said: 'I have heard what he said about needing the money, and I do not care. If he is broke, I don't care one bit. 'I have never spoken to him and never want to speak to him. Since Cathriona's death it has been the worst years.' Brigid returned to Ireland two years ago and set up home with her husband Brian in the village of Doon in County Limerick after previously living in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. Her husband died soon after relocating to Ireland and Brigid has also been diagnosed with cancer. Jim Carrey attends the Sonic The Hedgehog 3 UK Premiere, where he said that he'd come out of retirement because he 'needs the money' 'I have nothing good to say about him and do not even want to say his name. My heart is still broken over Cathriona,' grieving mother Brigid Sweetman said In October 2015 Carrey was a pallbearer at Cathriona's funeral in nearby Cappawhite, County Tipperary. She was buried alongside her father Pat, who lost a 20-year battle with brain cancer in 2012, in a family plot that remains well tended with flowers and mini memorial plaques. Carrey became embroiled in a bitter lawsuit with Brigid and Cathriona's estranged cameraman husband Mark Burton who accused the actor of being responsible for her death. Almost exactly a year after Cathriona's death the pair filed a lawsuit in the US on the grounds of wrongful death and violation of the drug dealer liability act - accusing Carrey of abusing his 'wealth and celebrity status'. They claimed the Canadian actor illegally obtained the prescription drugs which led to Cathriona's death, using a false name before supplying them to her. And they accused the star of causing mental distress to Cathriona which contributed to her suicide. Following the tragedy, lurid details about the couple's relationship began to emerge including notes in which Cathriona accused the actor - who was 25 years her senior - of introducing her to a debauched life of sex and drugs and 'giving her' herpes. Charges against Jim Carrey were dismissed in wrongful death lawsuit launched by Irish family of his ex girlfriend after his attorney claimed her 'STD results were forged' Cathriona White as a child with her father, Pat, who lost a 20-year battle with brain cancer in 2012. She was buried alongside him in her hometown Brigit, who is in her 70s, has only faced further heartbreak since her daughter's death, being diagnosed with cancer and losing her husband in the wake of the tragedy One note Cathriona wrote two years before her death gave a damning description of how she felt the actor treated her. She wrote on her iPad: 'You did good things for me but being with you broke me down as a person, Jim. I was promised Jekyll and instead I got Hyde. 'Because I love you I would have stuck out Hyde all year and done everything he wanted to be with Jekyll for five of those, but you threw me away when you absorbed anything worthwhile that was left of me.' She spoke of the shame she felt over having STDs, which she claimed she'd contracted from Carrey. Cathriona wrote: 'You have not thought about the stigma I have to live with for the rest of my life, you have not apologised or once asked is there something you can do to make it better or even felt bad for it. 'You gave me HSV and HPV, I want you to apologise for it because you care enough to. I want you to understand that however little a thing seems to you, it ruins a girl's life. 'I want you to take care when you are with other girls and pay attention to your body your actions effect people.' Cathriona also said: 'Before you, I might not have had very much but I had respect, I was a happy person. Jim Carrey at Cathriona White's funeral in Cappawhite, Co Tipperary carrying her coffin Jim Carrey at funeral of Cathriona White at her funeral in Ireland as he hugs Cathriona's sister Lisa 'I loved life, I was confident, and I felt good in my skin and was proud of most decisions I made, I met you, you introduced me to cocaine, prostitutes, mental abuse and disease. 'You did good things for me but being with you broke me down as a person, Jim.' Texts between the pair showed how Cathriona became concerned she had an STD in 2013, and texted Carrey telling him that she had tested before they got together so she couldn't have caught an STD from anyone else. In response, Carrey texted back and ended their relationship saying: 'Don't want to talk anymore... I'm done. You have become too much drama.' In response to her family's legal action, Carrey launched a counter lawsuit, dropping the bombshell that he had already paid Cathriona an undisclosed sum of money in 2013 to settle her STD claims, while demanding her mother and husband pay him back three times the original settlement. He described Cathriona as a 'beautiful but immature and emotionally damaged woman' at the start of their relationship and alleged that her former attorney took advantage of her 'warm and exciting' romance with the star to profit. The actor also said that Cathriona had blackmailed him by threatening to go public with what he said were false claims that he had given her sexually transmitted diseases unless he paid her millions of dollars. Carrey was later cleared after his attorney found that Cathriona had edited the information on a friend's STD test to make it look like it had belonged to her so that she could prove she was clean before entering into a relationship with Carrey. After Cathriona questioned Carrey about STD symptoms, he abruptly broke up with her and said he didn't want to talk anymore Despite their earlier legal battle, the pair got back together in 2015. The actor said he forgave her and that the couple continued building a future and started working on a co-habitation agreement so that she could permanently move in with him. Cathriona was upset, he said, by his insistence that she sign a non-disclosure confidentiality agreement but that she otherwise seemed 'happy' until her 30th birthday on September 14. He claimed her mother sent her an upsetting message on Facebook, saying she was 'worthless' and would 'never amount to anything'. It was this and her apparent guilt over 'extorting' him two years earlier which prompted her suicide, according to Carrey. Cathriona, who according to loved ones had depressive tendencies, wrote several suicide notes before she took her own life. One, written in 2012, describes Carrey as a 'strong and wonderful human being'. She 'wrote: 'I love Jim and I'm sorry I brought turmoil into his life.' In May 2013, another note, written to her attorney, told a different story. It demanded that the world know he was responsible for her death. She wrote: 'I want you to get together and release to the press about all the physical abuse, mental abuse and diseases that Jim gave me. 'Unfortunately, I don't have the words to put to paper I am too numb.' Her final suicide note, which was discovered near her body in 2015, was addressed to the actor. It showed no signs that she was angry with him but hinted that their relationship had come into trouble. Despite their previous legal battle regarding STD allegations, Cathriona and Carrey got back together in 2015 It said: 'Jim, I thought we had chosen each other. I believed it meant something and I let myself relax in your arms in the safety of being sure of one thing... us. 'If everything went sideways we had each other. I've spent three days now in disbelief that you're not here. 'I thought when I saw you it would be OK again and it's not.' She signed it off: 'I love you, please forgive me I'm just not for this world. Peace and love to all your hearts.' Before her body was found, Carrey had sent a text message asking where his missing prescription painkillers were. The LA Coroner's report - obtained by Daily Mail Online - showed that Cathriona had taken the actor's anti-inflammatory pills along with a cocktail of other drugs to end her life. Her body was found by friends who had gone to her residence after a third party told them she had broken up with Carrey the week before. After his appearance at her funeral, Carrey took a long break from the limelight. Settled in the hills in his 25 million Los Angeles mansion - which he sold last year - he took up a new career. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2018, the actor said during his break from showbusiness he had taken up a career as a visual artist, with paintings, drawings and sculptures. And in 2017 he explored his love for art in the 2017 documentary I Needed Colour. Speaking on his fame during the interview he said: 'You can dream about it all you want, but until you get it, you don't realise that it's really not a place that's very comfortable for very long.' Announcing his retirement in 2022, Carrey said: 'I really like my quiet life and I really like putting paint on canvas and I really love my spiritual life and I feel like - and this is something you might never hear another celebrity say as long as time exists - I have enough. I've done enough. I am enough.' While Carrey is set to wow audiences in his reprised role as Sonic's arch-nemesis Doctor Robotnik, not everyone in Cathriona's hometown is so impressed. Friends in the small village that has a convenience store, two pubs, a fish and chip shop called Nico's and a pharmacy, said the re-emergence of the actor will bring back painful memories of the tragedy. While Carrey is set to wow audiences in his reprised role as Sonic's arch-nemesis Doctor Robotnik, not everyone in Cathriona's hometown is so impressed Locals said Carrey has never been seen back to the village of 400 people since the funeral and many have mixed feelings about the star. One said: 'It was very tragic what took place and you can understand the anger that the family feel. No one would want to lose a daughter in that way. 'It was almost a decade ago but I know it will still feel very raw for the family.' Another local added:' Carey was here for the funeral. Lots of people from the village attended, but he has never been seen back here since. 'You can understand the grief of the family to lose someone so young and under such tragic circumstances. 'I don't think he would want to show his face here again. I do remember the funeral and lots of people came out to pay their respects. 'I'm not a fan so will not be bothering to go and see his new film.' Cathriona's brother Jim, who lives in a neighbouring town of Annacarty, declined to comment about Carrey's comeback when contacted by Mail Online. Walk 800 yards from the court where the verdicts in the rape trial that has shocked the world will be announced later this week, and you will find the Rue Four de la Terre. On one end of this narrow side street in the centre of Avignon stands a drab building with blanked-out windows and a peephole cut into its heavily barred door. A small sign embossed in gold reveals this to be the Club Aphrodite the fleshpot that caters for the perversions of the town's swingers. Or, as they rather grandly describe themselves, 'libertines'. If we believe the French commentariat, the prosecution of Dominique Pelicot, and the 50 wretched men he enlisted to abuse his drugged wife, will be remembered as a brave new dawn for Gallic gender equality. It has been hailed as the case that will finally drag an outdatedly patriarchal nation, no doubt kicking and screaming in some quarters, into line with countries where women and their rights are better respected. A long overdue change, we might think, given that President Macron last year championed actor Gerard Depardieu charged with 13 counts of sexual assault as the sort of man who 'makes France proud'. It was partly with the aim of ending this kind of machismo attitude that, with extraordinary courage, Gisele Pelicot decided that her identity, and harrowing details of her ordeal, must be made public. Quite how this moral sea change can come about when sleazy dives such as the Club Aphrodite continue to be acceptable accoutrements to French society, however, is yet to be explained. Gisele Pelicot, who has bravely waived her right to anonymity, pictured with her lawyer And, as we will see, the age-old French penchant for libertinism a philosophy that rejects every tenet of conventional sexual morality goes to the very heart of the Pelicot case. Under questioning, at least nine of the accused preposterously claimed to have had sex with the drugged Gisele in the belief that she was pretending to be asleep as she and her husband indulged their libertine fantasies. We will come back to them. First, though, steel yourself as a male undercover Mail on Sunday reporter describes the debauchery he witnessed behind that barred door in Avignon. By long-held tradition, Thursday night is 'Gang Bang Night' at the Club Aphrodite, a phrase still being bandied in English on its website, despite its horrifically brutal overtones. When a female reporter phoned to enquire exactly what this entailed, a woman assistant assured us that, should she attend, she would be afforded 'maximum respect'. Men and women were treated entirely equally, she said. The club's rules told a different story. Whereas the dress code for men was merely smart-casual, women were required to wear 'sexy' outfits and stiletto heels. The entry fee for single men was 70 euros (including a drink); single women, presumably being much in demand, paid just ten. And, of course, the star turn in the 'gang bang', at least as advertised on the website, was to be a woman: a masked young 'libertine' who goes by the name of Lisa Coquines (the French word for 'naughty'). The exterior of the Club Aphrodite in Avignon 'Gentlemen, Lisa is waiting for you for a Night of Madness!' declared the internet tease. 'Be a player! Be in shape! Be enduring! To all the skills of plurality, dare your fantasies!' But when our reporter arrived, Lisa wasn't there. Instead, he found five older, less alluring women, two of whom were dressed in lingerie and carried whips, like dominatrices in some Belle Epoque boudoir, as they bantered with punters. The male clients outnumbered them by at least five to one: 'Monsieur les Ordinaires' ('Mr Ordinaries') of early to late middle age and different social backgrounds, just like the 50 men accused of raping Gisele. This is not to suggest they were in any way behaving aggressively or otherwise comparable. What they were about to do was perfectly legal, and the women were there of their own accord though there was a suspicion that at least three of the five had been employed by the club. The Aphrodite's website presents it as a glamorous establishment with a young clientele cavorting beneath strobe lights. Perhaps on other nights it looks like that. Our reporter saw a gloomy, three-floor knocking shop whose several darkened rooms were nauseatingly redolent of sex. In one, on the second floor, a man invited allcomers to take his wife as she lay naked on a circular bed. 'Who wants to **** her?' he leered. Three of the eight men who surrounded her took up the invitation. From the groans emanating from other chambers and alcoves, it was evident that similarly grim scenarios were being acted out. The mantra about women being respected had been trotted out to our reporter again as he arrived. Nobody was to be touched without their consent, he was told. However, he left with the impression that at least on Thursdays Club Aphrodite was a 'sordid, smelly' place where 'a bunch of horny men engaged in sex with women who may well have been paid to pretend they were liking it'. An internet advertisement for the 'Gnag Bang' event at the club Since the club is so close to the court which has become a feminist shrine that attracts women's rights campaigners from all over France and beyond surely it should have been shut down, at least for the duration of the trial. However, when we put this to the mayor of Avignon, a supposed bastion of Christianity with a 14th century papal palace, we got no response. Libertinism dates back to Roman times, with the emperor Caligula among early participants. However, it enjoyed a revival in 16th century France and has been espoused (and enthusiastically practised) by French intellectuals and the upper classes ever since. There are estimated to be more than 500 libertine clubs in France, and they are to be found in almost every small and medium-sized town, operating openly alongside the local tabac and boulangerie. While group sex with submissive strangers might be an accepted pastime enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of French men and women, it becomes altogether more sinister in the context of the Pelicot case. In the dossier compiled by the investigating magistrate in the Pelicot case, the word 'libertinism' features more than 50 times, for under interrogation the defendants repeatedly trotted it out to mitigate their behaviour. Among those who claimed to have believed that the Pelicots were 'a libertine couple' when he visited their home at dead of night and crept upon the sleeping Gisele was serving soldier Joan Kawai, at 23 the youngest defendant. He insists that he believed it was all a game in which she was complicit an excuse repeated by the oldest of the accused, retiree Jacques Cubeau, aged 72. Then there was Mahdi Daoudi, who told the court he wasn't shocked when Gisele 'appeared' to be unconscious because he was accustomed to libertine encounters where couples acted out somnambulant fantasies. At least six others gave similar explanations. Pelicot dismissed these claims, insisting all the men were fully aware he had drugged his wife. A courtroom sketch of Dominique Pelicot Yet the spectre of libertinism surfaced again when he attempted to explain what drove him to betray Gisele. He told investigators his sexual demands grew stronger in his 60s, when he retired and moved with his wife from Paris to Mazan the Provencal town whose chateau was, surely by macabre coincidence, once the ancestral seat of the Marquis de Sade, an arch-exponent of libertinism in its most brutal, misogynistic form. Pelicot claimed he had persuaded his wife to join him at a swingers' club with another couple, but to his frustration she had 'got stuck' and they had left without taking part. Since Mazan is only 30 minutes' drive from Avignon, we might wonder whether the Aphrodite was the club to which he took Gisele. Whatever the truth, Elisa Labouret, of the French group Dare To Be A Feminist, says the accuseds' lawyers are cynically using libertinism as a defence strategy. 'The concept, the word itself, it's French... and they have tried to make out that this was all just a game: 'Oh, this is the French thing. You French, you are libertines, you have more sex. You have more infidelity.' 'But that is just a cliche. Violence against women is not uniquely French. When you look at it, it's just them trying to find excuses in our culture.' Their ploy is unlikely to hold sway with the judges. Nonetheless libertinism remains surprisingly commonplace in France, particularly among older generations. In provincial towns such as Avignon, 'les echangistes' (swingers) may include prominent local politicians and businessmen; in Paris libertine clubs are a chic establishment stop-off after the opera and dinner. The decor may be classier and the champagne of a better vintage in the capital, but they are no less seedy. A few years ago, when investigating the clandestine decadence of disgraced International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, I descended into his favourite swinging haunt, Les Chandelles, accompanied by a female reporter. After being issued with sequinned masks, we stood at the bar sipping fizz as my colleague brushed off the pawing advances of middle-aged sleazes trying to lure her in to a side room. The sickening spectacle we saw as we passed its open door while making our exit still haunts me: on what looked like an altar a young woman sacrificing herself to countless grunting, out-of-shape old men. The owners of these clubs will always vouch that their female clients participate with equal enthusiasm, and in many instances that may be true. However, in another recent French sex scandal I reported on, a former mistress of champagne magnate Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger claimed he took her to Les Chandelles, and the Paris libertine club 2plus2 against her will. The glamorous accountant, Samira, alleged in court that Taittinger got his kicks by seeing her having sex with multiple men and that, desperate to please him, she at first agreed. But she called a halt when he persuaded her to allow 20 men to make love to her in a single night, choreographing the proceedings 'like a film director' as she was passed between them 'like a piece of meat'. In statements to police, the club owners refuted her allegations, claiming she was an enthusiastic participant. The saga unfolded after the vengeful Samira received a suspended prison sentence for taking a knife to Taittinger's mansion in Reims and threatening to cut off his 'zizi'. Such sordid stories haven't stalled the French appetite for libertinism. According to recent estimates, Britain may now have as many as 50 swingers' clubs, though they are so anonymous that people living nearby wouldn't know they existed. France has more than ten times that number. The most recent survey taken eight years ago suggested that two million French people (the great majority of them men) also visit libertine websites. The swinging industry was then reckoned to be worth 1billion, but it has since grown. The French seem largely sanguine about this, though last month, when the latest 'gang-bang club' opened in a residential building in Paris, female residents complained of feeling threatened by the 'endless procession' of men. Many French people will no doubt shrug in Gallic fashion on reading this article, dismissing it as British prudery. They may reject any link between the self-declared libertines who raped Gisele and the everyday licentiousness nonchalantly woven into the fabric of French life. But a word of warning comes from Professor Daniel Welzer-Lang, an expert in masculine sexuality and domination at the University of Toulouse-Le-Mirail. 'At these clubs, they'll say, 'Women are the queens here. We need to revere them and protect them.' [But] these places are controlled by men and mostly frequented by men. 'Plus, they come with a cost. For women these clubs are often free but they are paying in a different way.' Indeed, they are. And if this shameful case really is to bring about the societal changes that the admirable Gisele Pelicot is fighting for, France should surely wake up to the realisation that, in 2024, there can be no place for 'Gang Bang Nights'. MAGA warriors have sounded the alarm over plans by Congress to push through a huge round of health spending before Donald Trump takes office. The year-end spending bill would reportedly reauthorize a slew of health care programs and add regulation for pharmacy benefit managers. But with Trump building an administration intent on upending the status quo, allies are warning House Speaker Mike Johnson against anything that would undermine their efforts to overhaul the sector. Rogan O'Handley, who posts as DC Draino, an influential rightwing account, posted: 'Hey @SpeakerJohnson. Did you see this? Asking for 77 million Trump voters!' Trump has signaled his intent to shake up health care by appointing environmental lawyer and vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr to the portfolio. At the same time, the new Department of Government Efficiency is believed to have plans to slash trillions in spending from Medicare and Medicaid. Yet, a new round of healthcare spending is one of the bargaining chips in play as Congress tries to find a compromise resolution that would keep government funded beyond a December 20 deadline and into March. The result is a string of influential Trump world voices warning Johnson that it cannot be 'business as usual' before the president-elect is sworn in. Trump allies warn House Speaker Mike Johnson not to allow Congress to push through billions in new health care spending before the president elect takes office MAGA world expressed its outrage about reports suggesting new health care spending 'Why is Johnson considering giving Joe Biden a legislative victory or a Christmas present right before Trump takes over?' asked a Republican strategist. 'The speaker has rightly said that Republicans are better off waiting until President Trump is in office to gain leverage on any negotiations. What changed? 'We should be focused on giving President Trump a clear runway to make America healthy again and do away with this business as usual, big government nonsense.' Trump has yet to weigh in on the issue. But with pressure building, it suggests there could be a fight to keep the government open beyond the deadline at the end of the week. Critics see the plans as a big win for the Biden administration and Big Pharma. Among the plans are an extension of rules allowing employers to cover telehealth for patients in certain plans, plus another five years of allowing patients to receive hospital care in their homes. Reporting by Politico said the text of the deal was not final and could still change. Trump has promised that it won't be business as usual in Washington D.C. Sean Davis is cofounder of The Federalist, a conservative website Yet the content of the package is much broader and more expensive than many people expected at the start of negotiations. 'How much does this monstrosity cost? asked Joe Grogan, who chaired the Domestic Policy Council in Trump's first administration. 'Trump was elected overwhelmingly to stop DC's insane business as usual swamp crapola which has bankrupted this country and screwed up healthcare enough to make a Kremlin basement bureaucrat blush.' Natalie Winters, a reporter for Steve Bannon's War Room, made a direct appeal to Johnson to stop 'We voted to drain the swamp, not increase big pharma hegemony and embolden lobbyists,' she posted. 'Help stop this.' Victorian premier Jacinta Allan has no plans to reinstate Melbourne's Australia Day parade and is making other moves to downgrade the date's importance. Victorian public servants will be given the option to work on January 26 and take a different day off while a popular Australia Day Ambassadors program is losing most of its state government support. While the parade, which was scrapped by former premier Dan Andrews four years ago during the Covid pandemic, remains off the table the Allan Labor government will mark the national day in other ways. These include the annual 21-gun salute at the Shrine of Remembrance, a RAAF flyover and the Flag Raising Ceremony and Open Day at Government House. First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria Co-Chair Ngarra Murray told the Herald Sun it was right to scrap the parade permanently. 'The Aboriginal community has a range of views on January 26, but whichever way you look at it, it's a day of mourning for a lot of our people,' he said. 'So, it's not a date to celebrate.' Thousands of government employees working for Victoria's Department of Premier and Cabinet will get the option of taking another day off if they feel uncomfortable about the date. Victorian premier Jacinta Allan has no plans to reinstate Melbourne 's Australia Day parade and is making other moves to downgrade the date's importance (stock image) 'We also recognise that January 26 means different things to different people,' a spokesperson said. 'On this day, we encourage conversation and reflection on the different meanings of the day for all Victorians.' Industry groups have expressed concern that this will set a precedent for the private sector. The state government is also withdrawing most of its support from the long-running Victorian Australian Day Ambassadors Program. The program, where outstanding community members are appointed as Australia Day Ambassadors, will no longer be primarily managed by the Department of Premier and Cabinet. Ambassadors were sent emails in November informing them it would be up to local councils and communities to organise events featuring them. Comedian Lawrence Mooney, who has been an Australia Day ambassador for more than two decades, said he was not surprised by the decision as Dan Andrews had previously shunned all events. He said the move was a shame because ambassador events particularly in more remote regions always demonstrated 'huge community spirit, great joy and happiness'. A government spokesman said the change was to create local ambassadors that 'reflect and resonate' with their communities. They said a trial of the decentralised program had received good feedback. If councils or towns could not find a local ambassador they could still contact the Department of Premier and Cabinet for help. Previous ambassadors included Christine Nixon, David Mann, Dr Sally Cockburn, George Donikian, Greg Evans, Lisa Edwards, Brendan Nottle, Nathaniel Diong, Robert Dipper DiPierdomenico and Sue Stanley. The National Australia Day Council has approved Victorian government's changes to the Ambassador Program. Influencer Arielle Charnas has been roundly mocked online after appearing outside a posh New York hotel while appearing to wear what looks like a bellhop uniform. Charnas, who was once the power behind the failed clothing brand Something Navy, still shares her costly daily outfits with her 1.3million Instagram followers. But in one of her recent Instagram Stories, the mom of three appeared outside the pricey St. Regis Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, known for its old-world luxury and charm. The hotel is famous for offering 'butler service' to its guests, but Charnas' choice of uniform made some online believe she might be mistaken for being a worker at the hotel than one of its well-heeled guests. 'I would've handed her my luggage and 10 bucks,' wrote one snarky critic online. 'How do you have a sister who's one of the most sought-after stylists (and rightfully so) at your disposal and you are popping up like this??' they asked, referring to Charnas fashion designer sibling, Danielle Goldberg, who has dressed stars such as Olivia Rodrigo, Greta Lee and Saoirse Ronan. 'Did she get a job at FAO Schwartz?!' quipped another joker online, referring to uniform worn by doormen staffing the famous toy store. 'This horrid outfit shows (for the 1000th) time that this woman has 0 style and only buys things because of the designer label on them. Idk why anyone looks to her for fashion ideas,' stated another blunt troll online. Influencer Arielle Charnas has been roundly mocked online after appearing outside a posh New York hotel while appearing to wear what looks like a bellhop uniform Charnas was one of the most successful examples of the first wave of fashion bloggers after she started Something Navy on Blogspot in 2009. She is pictured in Florida in November 'Looks like she's going to fight for the Union army!' added another critical of her fashion. 'What's up with influencers dressing like flight attendants lately?' wrote one critic. Another joked 'Michael Jackson wore it better', Charnas was one of the most successful examples of the first wave of fashion bloggers after she started Something Navy on Blogspot in 2009. Over the following decade she built a loyal audience of more than 1 million Instagram followers who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the leggings and sweaters she recommended. In 2018, she broke into the bigtime as she switched from promoting other brands to selling her own and became one of the first influencers to launch a licensed clothing collection with Nordstrom before breaking out on its own. But all was not well with the brand and there were rumors the company was burning through cash fast. In 2023, Something Navy closed stores, laying off staff. Charnas then stopped wearing the clothes on Instagram. Charnas wearing of the outfit appeared to draw widespread mocking from online trolls Another joked 'Michael Jackson wore it better', comparing Charnas' outfit with that worn by the King of Pop in this shot from 1983 The fashion faux pas drew surprise from those commenting who thought Charnas might have solicited the advice of her fashion designer sister Danielle Goldberg, who has dressed the stars The brand finally shut down in August with Charnas describing it as a 'mini-hiatus' while she looks for new partners. Earlier this year, Charnas' husband, Brandon Charnas, was placed under criminal investigation by the DOJ for his alleged involvement in an insider-trading scheme, according to Bloomberg. Brandon Charnas infamously refused to cooperate with an insider-trading probe previously opened by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which had been probing a $385,000 gain he made using potentially non-public information in early 2021. The Justice Department originally opened a criminal investigation into the same matter, according to unnamed law enforcement officials. Charnas and nine other people were caught up in the probe that revolved around speculation that home office giant Staples was going to make a bid for Office Depot. The investigation dated back to late December of 2020, when Charnas met up with friends for lunch in Miami. Later in the afternoon, he invested $31,000 in Office Depot call options, on the apparent assumption that the stock would rise, the SEC alleged. In the subsequent days, Charnas and his lunch meeting partners bought options and shares of ODP Corp., Office Depot's parent company. Brandon Charnas, husband Arielle, had been under criminal investigation by the DOJ for his alleged involvement in an insider-trading scheme Brandon was under investigation by the SEC and DOJ for alleged insider trading that occurred in late 2020 and early 2021 but the case was dismissed in February 2024 Some two weeks later, Staples announced its offer and the Office Depot stock popped from less than $30 a share in December 2020 to nearly $43 a share in January 2021. One of the traders texted the group chat, 'You're welcome boyz,' to which another responded: 'U the man.' One day after Staples announced its $40 per share bid for ODP in mid-January of 2021, Charnas was alleged to have offloaded 50 percent of his call options, walking away with a 635% profit. The following month, there was news that there was 'unusual trading activity' in Office Depot ahead of earnings. Because of his wife's notoriety, and previous bouts with scandal, the SEC's probe had been widely documented in traditional and on social media. David Axelrod, an attorney for Charnas, said in a statement: 'Brandon did not engage in insider trading.' Despite not being widely reported, the SEC case to compel Brandon was terminated in February 2024. Furthermore, the SEC ultimately chose not to bring a case against Brandon for insider trading and did not appeal the decision and the investigation is no longer active. A council is facing a backlash after objecting to a menorah in a town centre over the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, saying it may be 'insensitive to other religious groups'. Local Jewish groups had expressed interest in erecting the traditional nine-branched candelabra near a M&S store in Epping over the eight-day holiday at the end of this month. But Epping Town Council has written to Essex County Council, which will decide whether to grant the licensing application, saying the proposed location for the menorah would interfere with the weekly market and could be 'insensitive to other religious groups'. A petition backing the religious symbol and opposing the council's stance has collected more than 3,000 signatures. Hanukkah celebrates the victory of a group of Jewish rebels known as the Maccabees over the ancient Greeks. The menorah was erected in a different location in previous years, but this time the community hoped to place the candelabra in a more prominent location where it could be powered by electricity. Now some are concerned that, with permission yet to be granted for either site, the menorah may not go up at all. Councillor Holly Whitbread, who sits as a Conservative on Epping Forest District Council, said: 'The Town Council's actions at this late stage could block the application, meaning Epping may not have a menorah this year, which would be deeply disappointing and upsetting to the hundreds of residents in our local Jewish community.' Epping Town Council have objected to a Hanukkah menorah in the town centre over fears it could be 'insensitive to other religious groups' (file photo) Rather than directly consulting residents, the decision to object was made by a 'market committee' without consulting the full council. In its letter to the District Council, the committee expressed 'disappointment' that 'good practice has not been followed' with regards to the application, including a lack of 'open conversation'. It said it was objecting on the grounds of disruption and 'disrespect' to the Charter Market and risks to the safety of customers and traders, saying there were chances the menorah could be 'damaged or sabotaged' in such a busy location with high footfall. The letter added: 'Committee are further concerned that this may be insensitive to other religious groups, further affecting the safety of our Charter Market.' In a statement the Town Council insisted its concerns were over the location and public safety. It said: 'Epping Town Council were made aware that an application had been submitted from Epping Forest District Council to Essex County Council for a Menorah to be placed outside Marks & Spencer in Epping. The town council were not consulted about this. 'Epping Town Council have always supported the Menorah and its location on the green outside Argus Lighting, where it has been enjoyed by many and would support appropriate positioning. 'Epping Town Council's Market Committee submitted an objection to the application based on the limited information we were subsequently provided with. 'The Menorah would be sited where the market was operating and was next to the public highway. 'The Town Council will not be withdrawing the objection they have made to the location and concerns about public safety. 'Epping Town Council have always supported the Menorah and would continue to do so in a safe and appropriate place.' Campaign Against Antisemitism called the decision to object to the menorah 'shameful'. A public menorah in Islington, London. The nine-branched candelabra is lit over the eight-day festival of Hanukkah The group wrote in an online post: 'Over the past year, antisemitic hate crime has quadrupled, and Jews are now the most targeted faith minority in the country, despite our minuscule numbers. 'You dont fight antisemitism by cancelling Jewish events. More the opposite, actually.' Last year a London council performed a U-turn after originally deciding Chanukah candles would not be installed amid 'escalating tensions from the conflict in the Middle East'. Havering Council said it had been concerned about possible vandalism against the installation, before deciding that it would go ahead following a public backlash. And in Islington Green, hooligans tore down and smashed a menorah which had been put up by the local Chabad organisation. The move comes amid a backdrop of a record number of antisemitic incidents being reported. The Community Security Trust [CST], an antisemitism awareness charity, recorded 325 university-related antisemitic incidents across British universities in the last two academic years. MailOnline has contacted Essex County Council for comment. The King is understood to be furious that Prince Andrew has plunged the monarchy into a major scandal with his relationship with an alleged Chinese spy tarnishing the reputation of the entire Royal Family. A source, however, said that, despite his frustration with the Duke of York, Charles has accepted that he cant divorce or sack his younger brother, as there will always be a bond of blood. It came as this newspaper learnt that, astonishingly, the Palace is unable to rule out that the Duke is using money from Chinese donors to support his stay in the 30-room Royal Lodge in Windsor Park. Officials have concluded they have no authority or legal right to probe Andrews financial affairs and must simply rely on his word that his income is from legitimate sources. The Palace has behaved the best it possibly can with a difficult relation, the source said last night. Every sanction that can be imposed has been, but you cant divorce or sack your brother from being your brother. 'There will always be a bond of blood and all families often have difficult relatives to deal with. 'Of course it is understood that it looks bad for the entire family but that is because of one individual. King Charles (right) is understood to be furious over his brother, Prince Andrew's (left) links to an alleged Chinese spy, which risks tarnishing the reputation of the Royal Family Prince Andrew with the alleged Chinese spy in 2019. Officials have concluded they have no authority or legal right to probe Andrews financial affairs and were unable to rule out that he had used Chinese donors to support his stay at Royal Lodge in Windsor The latest scandal erupted on Thursday when it was revealed that a close confidant of the Duke of York was an alleged Chinese spy who has been banned from entering the UK after an investigation by MI5. In what appears to be an extraordinary breach of national security, the alleged agent, who can be named only as H6, was so close to Andrew that he visited Buckingham Palace twice, and entered St Jamess Palace and Windsor Castle. He was even authorised to act on Andrews behalf to seek investors in China. MI5 discovered that the businessman, 50, was a member of the Chinese Communist Party and was working for its shadowy United Front Work Department, which gathers intelligence. When police stopped him at the UK border in 2021 it was discovered that he had a briefing document in which Andrew appeared to be described as being in a desperate situation and will grab onto anything. The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the alleged spy has previously attended a meeting of the powerful Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing. In a sign of his importance to Chinas Communist Party, he was pictured on the front row of the meeting in the vast Great Hall of the People. Royal sources are concerned the mounting controversy threatens to overshadow the good work of the King and Queen Camilla as well as the Prince and Princess of Wales. It also comes less than two weeks before the Kings Christmas message. Earlier this year, the King stopped paying his brothers 3 million-a-year security bill at Royal Lodge and urged him to move into more modest accommodation. Earlier this year, the King stopped paying his brothers 3 million-a-year security bill at Royal Lodge (pictured) and urged him to move into more modest accommodation. But it emerged in November the Duke had been allowed to stay after securing enough funds to support himself But in November, it emerged that the Duke had been allowed to stay at the property after convincing Palace authorities that he had secured enough funds to support himself. The Keeper of the Privy Purse, Sir Michael Stevens, reportedly approved the financing as coming from legitimate sources. Last weeks revelations, however, raise fresh questions about where exactly Andrew has found the money to bankroll his stay at the Windsor mansion. The MoS understands that because his leasehold agreement is with the Crown Estate, and not the Royal Household, he has the same rights and responsibilities as any private tenant. Indeed, the Palace has concluded that it does not have the power to conduct due diligence investigations into the Dukes private income any more than they could demand the right to examine the financial records of any private individual. Officials are said to have repeatedly asked the Duke whether his income is from legitimate sources and he has insisted that it is. But last night former minister and expert in royal finances Norman Baker said: Its extraordinary the Palace does not know where the money is coming from. They need to find out urgently and tell us. Prince Andrew stepped away from royal duties in 2019 amid the scandal over his links to billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Mysterious drones terrorizing residents from coast to coast have now been spotted in California, Massachusetts, Florida, Wyoming, Maryland, New York and New Jersey - as a former CIA staffer has waded in on what may be causing them. Now, the inexplicable issue has reached a boiling point as President Joe Biden remains silent - refusing to address the mounting crisis, fueling country-wide fear and confusion. Terrified residents on the West Coast, specifically in Riverside County, California, are the latest to have spotted the flying objects in the sky after questions were first raised about drones in New Jersey airspace. This comes as former CIA operations officer Laura Ballman revealed her chilling theory that the drones lighting up multi-state skies may be a 'classified exercise.' She told Fox News Live that the drone sightings are 'extremely unsettling,' and shared her theory that they may be part of a technology 'test,' orchestrated by the Biden Administration. Ballman said: 'Now in terms of who is behind this, seeing the statements that have been made by John Kirby, who has said that these objects are not operating illegally. 'Coupled with the several op-eds that have been out there in the last 24 hours about the need to look at our detection systems, [it] makes me think perhaps this is actually a classified exercise to test either evasion technology or detection technology in urban areas.' Damon Angel, who lives in Temecula, California, told NBC LA that he has seen drones flying in the sky above his home on three nights this week - describing them as 'the size of a car.' Realtor Jessica Blank Gerson (pictured) sparked concern after she posted a video from her Miami Beach balcony of a mysterious bright object MIAMI, FLORIDA: Realtor Jessica Blank Gerson posted a video from her Miami Beach balcony of a mysterious bright object, asking: 'What is this? Is this the same kind of drone they're seeing in New Jersey?' Angel revealed the concerning flying objects are 'dead silent' and unlike any amateur drones he's come across before. He said: 'It's kind of crazy. It's something that not a lot of people can believe because it's so outlandish. It's the size of a car. 'I've played with drones as a kid and I've had the little, tiny square ones or whatever. But these ones aren't like that, and so they're just giant triangles with lights on them that are dead silent.' Another West Coast local said that he saw 'several' drones in the airspace on November 29, which he described as being eerily similar to those seen in New Jersey this week. The unnerving sightings are causing mass hysteria - and witnesses have taken to social media to share the peculiar sightings, after Trump demanded the 'SUV-sized' drones be shot down. And in Miami, Florida, locals have reported seeing the unidentified flying objects too. Realtor Jessica Blank Gerson posted a video from her Miami Beach balcony of a mysterious bright object, asking: 'What is this? Is this the same kind of drone they're seeing in New Jersey?' She said on Wednesday: 'It was really bright lights. I thought it was a helicopter with searchlight lights, which sometimes if they're looking for someone or something, sometimes that does happen.' The shocking footage Gerson posted online stunned onlookers, one of whom said: 'Okay this is the craziest one yet! I was like sure, and then it went past the building and I physically gasped.' One concerned Massachusetts resident exclaimed 'We've got drones!' after seeing five drones fly over her home on Friday. 'When I came out he was filming probably five of them, and it was freezing cold, we just stood there in awe.' Lindsay Muto, from Harwich Massachusetts, also recalled seeing blinking lights in the night sky on Friday - describing the bizarre movement patterns of the drone. She told Boston 25: 'I looked outside, and I saw all these blinking lights, and I thought wait a second. I called over my husband and I asked, do you think those are the drones they're talking about in, like, New Jersey? 'We tried to chase it down, but somehow the connection got lost and it crashed about 50 feet from the house. They looked like they were far away, but they kept coming down, then going back up then slowly going left and right. 'Are we safe? I mean, what's going on? I have little kids, so it makes us nervous.' This comes as former CIA operations officer Laura Ballman (pictured) revealed her chilling theory that the drones lighting up multi-state skies may be a 'classified exercise' MASSACHUSETTS: Multiple drones can be seen hovering in skies over Massachusetts as US residents have seen an increase in drone prevalence across the country Damon Angel (pictured) who lives in Temecula, said that he has seen drones flying in the sky above his home on three nights this week - describing them as 'the size of a car' NEW JERSEY: Mysterious drones are terrorizing US cities from coast to coast as the eerie objects have now been spotted in California, Massachusetts, Florida, Wyoming, Maryland, New York and New Jersey. Pictured: A New Jersey resident saw what appears to be multiple drones flying over their Bernardsville home CALIFORNIA: Mysterious objects are seen lighting the sky in California Retired US Army Col. Joe Buccino also provided his opinion on the ongoing crisis - slamming the Pentagon for allegedly not informing the public of the full truth. He told Fox Report on Saturday: 'It's clear here that the Pentagon has some information. 'And I think maybe we just keep in mind here that this is the same Pentagon that back in January lied about the location and condition of the U.S. Secretary of Defense, that lied about the conditions on the ground in Ukraine, that lied about this Chinese spy balloon for about a week. 'So I think that we can't really be comfortable with the information we're receiving here.' Meanwhile, floods of people from multiple states have taken to social media to voice their concerns in recent days. 'Drones have been flying over my house every single night all night in the Bay Area in California for weeks!! I didn't think anything until it was out all over the place! I have so many videos! WTF is going on??!,' one user on X wrote. 'Over 100 drones are flying over New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The drones are the size of SUV'S and came from the Atlantic Ocean and are flying over critical infrastructure and military bases,' wrote another. 'Just random, multiple drones flying around, roughly 45 minutes to an hour every night,' Wyoming's Niobrara County Sheriff Randy Starkey, recalled as he watched some of the flights himself. 'Not really sure where they're from, what they were doing or why they were doing it. We watched them go straight up and do some maneuvers and disappear,' Starkey added. The increased airspace activity, believed to be occupied by the peculiar drones, has even forced airports to temporarily shut down. 'Last night, the runways at Stewart Airfield were shut down for approximately one hour due to drone activity in the airspace. This has gone too far,' New York's Governor, Kathy Hochul said in a statement on Saturday. Earlier this week, both the governor of New York and the former governor of Maryland took to social media demanding transparency and clarity on who is controlling the mysterious roaming objects. Hochul also called upon Congress and President Biden to pass a bill that would reform legal authorities to strengthen the FAA's oversight of drones and would extend counter-UAS activities to select state and local law enforcement agencies. 'Extending these powers to New York State and our peers is essential. Until those powers are granted to state and local officials, the Biden Administration must step in by directing additional federal law enforcement to New York and the surrounding region to ensure the safety of our critical infrastructure and our people,' she said. NEW JERSEY: Unsure of their origin, Americans from all over are posting drone sightings to social media causing countrywide hysteria and speculation. Pictured: A green-lit drone can be seen hovering over New Jersey skies NEW JERSEY: Several drones can be seen flying over Randolph, New Jersey Meanwhile, Larry Hogan, the former governor of Maryland, posted on social media on Friday that he had seen 'what appeared to be dozens of large drones in the sky' above his home. 'The public is growing increasingly concerned and frustrated with the complete lack of transparency and the dismissive attitude of the federal government,' Hogan said in a post on X that included a video of shining lights in the sky. President-elect Donald Trump echoed their sentiments, demanding the aircrafts be shot down until the government can inform the public. 'Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country. Can this really be happening without our government's knowledge. I don't think so!' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!' However, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security has since issued a statement claiming there is no national security or public safety threat posed by the drone sightings, many of which are 'manned aircraft, operating lawfully.' Over the last few weeks, federal officials have received nearly 5,000 tips, regarding the suspicious drones, however, the FBI has said only 100 of the tips have been 'worthy of further investigation.' Using interviews with witnesses and the copious footage, investigators have determined that at least some of the roaming objects were misidentified as drones, according to officials from the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and Federal Aviation Administration. Federal officials have since confirmed drone sightings over military bases in New Jersey, including Picatinny Arsenal, but have no evidence the devices were operated by a foreign government or authority. Local governments can however impose their own restrictions on drone use, thought it is generally not illegal to fly drones in most locations, with the exception of restricted zones like some military sites. According to a statement released earlier this week by President Biden's national executory spokesperson, John F. Kirby, the investigation had not yet turned up any illegal activity. 'To the contrary, upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully,' Kirby said on Thursday. A science enthusiast is facing 10 years' jail for importing nuclear material even though it was found to be harmless. Emmanuel Steven Lidden, 24, was arrested in August 2023 when officers in full hazmat suits swooped on his parents' Arncliffe unit in southern Sydney, blocking off the street and evacuating neighbours. They confiscated plutonium and depleted uranium in decorative vials and polymer cubes that Lidden kept by his bedside after buying from a US science collectables website to complete a real-life periodic table. Scientists found the samples were harmless, but Lidden pleaded guilty to importing nuclear material into Australia and possessing nuclear material without permission, which could land him in prison for over 10 years. Lidden's lawyer John Sutton said the anti-terror laws were clearly not aimed at people like Lidden. 'These laws were created to protect society from terrorists and people who intend to cause mass destruction, not naive young science fans,' he told the Daily Telegraph. The laws were created in 1987 and Lidden is the only person to have been prosecuted under them. Asked about the appropriateness of pursuing Lidden, a Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions spokeswoman said it 'conducts all prosecutions in accordance with the Prosecution Policy of the Commonwealth'. Officers in hazmat suits arrested Emmanuel Steven Lidden for importing and having nuclear materials without permission (stock image pictured) Lidden, who works in a fast food outlet, made 10 orders for the nuclear material from US website Luciteria Science beginning in May 2022. The website states: 'Collecting elements is a fun way to learn about chemistry'. Lidden did not disguise the orders or any of his contact details. Authorities became aware of the imports after Lidden's 11th order in June 2023. Australian Border Force blocked the order, which contained a sample of mercury and thorium, because it posed a potential radiation threat, However, United Postal Service still mistakenly delivered the shipment to Lidden, court documents said. After a UPS employee contacted Lidden and asked for the samples to be returned he readily agreed '(Lidden) replied he was happy to return it if UPS would come and collect it,' the court documents said. Lidden had ordered plutonium and depleted uranium from a US website to make a periodic table of actual elements (stock image pictured) 'He also asked how it was delivered if it was prohibited in Australia. 'UPS explained they made an error in releasing it,' the documents said. Lidden showed investigators invoices and packing slips for his 10 earlier purchases. Following the raid, Lidden and his family were rushed to hospital and were cleared of radiation poisoning. Fire and Rescue NSW conducted a 'safety sweep' before determining radiation emanations 'were at a level safe for human occupancy'. While levels of 'uranium and mercury' were detected in Lidden's bedroom investigators found Lidden's table of elements was 'safe to be seized'. A 'gamma-ray spectroscopy' was used to scan the cubes for radioactive material. The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation confirmed positive results for plutonium, depleted uranium and other substances. Luciteria Science has stopped selling plutonium. Lidden will be sentenced on March 21. A disability pensioner is facing homelessness after being scammed out of $40,000 over nearly two years. Tracey Skeates, from Caboolture in Queensland, struck up a relationship with a person he believed was an American woman named 'Charlotte' in October 2023. But the 63-year-old told The Courier Mail he has ended up selling his car and pawning his cherished guitars to keep up with her relentless requests for money. Mr Skeates said he had sent $40,000, which he had received through an inheritance, to 'Charlotte' before realising his relationship was a scam. He said when 'Charlotte' first contacted him, she said she was living in the United States and asked if he lived alone. 'She had recently broken up with her boyfriend, she was looking for someone to talk to,' Mr Skeates said. The relationship progressed quickly and within just one week the trusting pensioner had sent $500 to Charlotte so she could fix her phone. Within a month, Charlotte told Mr Skeates she wanted to move to Brisbane to live with him - and become his wife. The pensioner 'vividly' remembers her wanting to spend Christmas in Australia, but Charlotte said she didn't have enough money to relocate - so Mr Skeates started sending larger payments of $3,000 and $4,000. The disability pensioner was being scammed by a person who had used photos of Colombian bikini model Yisela Avendano (pictured), who was not involved in the scam. The scammer said they wanted to marry the Aussie and move to Brisbane, prompting him to send tens of thousands of dollars He said Charlotte tried to fly into Australia 'five separate times' to be with the disability pensioner, but there was always something that got in the way. 'The first time she tried to fly over she said she got assaulted on the way to the airport and was in a coma,' he said. The excuses kept coming - another time she told Mr Skeates someone had 'planted two grams of heroin' in her luggage. Charlotte also told Mr Skeates throughout their relationship that her phone camera was broken, so all their communication was carried out through Instagram and WhatsApp calls. Every time something went wrong, Mr Skeates sent more money so he could get Charlotte to Brisbane. 'I was sending her 80 per cent of my disability pension every two weeks. I was hardly eating, all in the name of love,' he said. Mr Skeates, who dreamt of travelling around Australia with the American, said because of his 'stupidity' he has gone from 'having a dream' and enjoying his last few years to 'having no f***king hope'. He warned others that Charlotte always insisted that any payment was sent through Apple gift cards or cryptocurrency Bitcoin - which made the payments almost impossible to chase. The scammer, called 'Charlotte', said the camera on their phone was broken and they only messaged in Instagram and called on WhatsApp (pictured messages between Mr Skeates and his scammer pretending to be 'Charlotte') The pensioner is embarrassed he was scammed out of such a large amount of money - and only realised 'Charlotte' was fake after he did a reverse image search on her social media profile photo. His search revealed Charlotte's profile had stolen images of Yisela Avendano, a Colombian bikini model who has nearly one million followers on Instagram. Incredibly, despite discovering he had been scammed, the grandfather kept sending money. 'I dont know why. They get so in your head that youre at boiling point all the time and you lose the ability to think straight,' he said. Apart from losing money, the scam also strained his relationship with his daughter Tamika who had told him immediately that Charlotte wasn't real. His daughter said she became 'less tolerant' once she discovered he was selling his car and said the whole ordeal has 'damaged' their relationship. The Queensland grandfather said he is now 'a few weeks away' from living in a tent and he is being forced to give away his beloved pet parrot. The pensioner wants people to ask for help 'even if they're ashamed' and hopes because he is talking about what happened, it will help others. Nationally, more than 27,000 people have been tricked in romance scams losing close to $20 million in 2024, according to ScamWatch. In the Sunshine State, 656 have been caught in romance scams and have lost $3 million. ScamWatch has warned Aussies that the festive season can see a spike in cases because scammers target vulnerable and lonely people. Angela Rayner sparked outrage last week by setting out plans to carpet the green belt with housing estates but she won't have to set up home among the new-builds herself. The Deputy Prime Minister has been discreetly granted the use of a taxpayer-funded apartment in the heart of Whitehall that used to be home to Winston Churchill. It is also where another Labour Deputy PM, John 'Two Jags' Prescott, conducted secret assignations with his lover Tracey Temple. A source told The Mail on Sunday that the idea had been to move Ms Rayner into the property 'quietly over Christmas', But No 10 was forced to announce the plan this weekend after the MoS made inquiries. Ms Rayner known as 'Two Homes Rayner' after this newspaper revealed she shuttled between two Right to Buy council properties early in her marriage will move into a grace-and-favour flat in Admiralty House. The four-storey, Grade 1-listed building was constructed in the 1780s at the request of Admiral of the Fleet Viscount Howe when he was First Lord of the Admiralty. It was occupied by Mr Churchill when he held the same post from 1911 to 1915 and 1939 to 1940. Ms Rayner's move, made at the discretion of the Prime Minister, comes after the Dorneywood country estate in Berkshire where Mr Prescott famously played croquet when Tony Blair's deputy was allocated to Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Angela Rayner (pictured) is set to stop paying rent in London - by moving into a grace and favour home on Whitehall that is free of charge Admiralty House is where John 'Two Jags' Prescott (left) conducted secret assignations with his lover Tracey Temple (right) Admiralty House is part of the Admiralty Buildings complex on Whitehall that includes the Old Admiralty Building (pictured) Last night an ally of Ms Rayner, 44, denied that Admiralty House was 'compensation' for not being granted Dorneywood or Chevening, the Kent mansion which has previously been shared between the Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister. The ally said: 'Dorneywood is traditionally used by the Chancellor and Angela did not have any interest in pursuing access to Chevening.' Lord Prescott, who died last month at 86, formed a relationship with his diary manager Ms Temple while living in Admiralty House. She later said that the relationship changed when she first went to his flat in May 2002 with ministerial boxes. 'He leaned forward and cupped my face in his hands,' she told the MoS. 'I froze. He said: '"I probably shouldn't have done that." I said, "No, you shouldn't." ' Ms Temple added that in the weeks that followed the couple became 'closer and closer'. Ms Rayner, who is also the Housing Secretary, announced last week that councils will be forced to surrender large parts of the green belt in order to hit her target of 1.5 million new homes by 2029. The plans would give priority for house-building to an area of the green belt larger than Surrey. She has also been accused of hypocrisy for cutting back on Right to Buy perks which benefited her. Admiralty House can be seen on the right of this image in yellow brick. It is still used for functions and has a number of ministerial flats The interior of Admiralty House - set to become Angela Rayner's new governmental residence in London Winston Churchill lived in the house twice while serving as the political head of the Royal Navy in the 1910s and from 1939 until 1940 She bought her council house in Stockport in 2007 just after passing the eligibility criterion of three years' tenancy. Her department is now consulting on extending that period to ten years. After receiving a discount of 25 per cent from the house's 79,000 asking price, she sold it eight years later for a profit of 48,500. During much of that time, neighbours say she was living with her husband in his Right to Buy house. A source close to Ms Rayner whose family home is in her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency said she would be giving up the London flat she rents. The source added: 'She'll miss that flat and she's been renting it for years for her work in Westminster because her home is in Greater Manchester. But it's become increasingly unsustainable not to have a government base in London now she's the Deputy Prime Minister. ' Labour will seek on Monday to counter illegal migration at source by telling potential migrants the grim 'risks and realities' of working with evil people smugglers. The Home Office will tomorrow launch an international campaign of social media advertisements to 'debunk' the smugglers' lies using the 'real stories of their victims' who had tried to enter the UK illegally. The campaign will start in Vietnam and expand into the Kurdistan region of Iraq in the New Year. Home Office officials say Vietnamese and Iraqi nationals are among the top ten nationality groups crossing the Channel illegally. The campaign comes with Sir Keir Starmer's government under pressure to show it was making a real difference to illegal immigration amid Tory claims that scrapping the option of processing illegal migrants in Rwanda had removed a real deterrent. But last night, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper boasted of making a huge increase in returning illegal immigrants, with almost 13,500 removed from the UK since Labour came of office in July and putting the Government on track to deliver the highest number of returns for five years. She also pledged a step change in tackling exploitative and illegal working in the UK, with 5 million allocated to roll out body-worn cameras to 1,200 frontline Immigration Enforcement officers next year. Labour will seek on Monday to counter illegal migration at source by telling potential migrants the grim 'risks and realities' Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has boasted of making a huge increase in returning illegal immigrants The moves came as the Home Secretary, who was in Rome yesterday to meet her Italian counterpart Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi as part of plans to co-operative on a joint drive action against people smuggling gangs. That will include looking at anti-mafia style tactics to take down the money networks being used by organised immigration crime. She told the Sun on Sunday said last night: 'Italy is a world leader in taking down the highest harm criminals and disrupting its own mafia-style gangs. Our new joint taskforce sends a clear message to the gangs we are coming for your money.' Just two months before the July general election, then Tory Home Secretary James Cleverly also unveiled plans to expand a campaign to expose the lies of organised smuggler gangs, following a social media drive in Albania which led to a 90 per cent in small boat arrivals linked to that country. But last night, the Home Office said the new international campaign would seek to inform prospective migrants at every stage of their journey about the risks and realities of trying to enter the UK illegally. Border Security Minister Angela Eagle said: 'This campaign hits people smugglers where it hurts, exposing their lies and cutting off their supply of victims. 'By sharing the experiences of real victims of these gangs, we will warn migrants at every stage of the journey about the dangers of coming to the UK illegally. 'Working hand in hand with our international partners, we are breaking the smugglers' business model, securing our borders and delivering on our Plan for Change.' Border Security Minister Angela Eagle (pictured) said the campaign will hit people smugglers 'where it hurts' Dame Angela added: 'Too many people have died in the English Channel at the hands of these criminals, and we will stop at nothing to bring them to justice.' Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt vowed to 'dismantle and bring to justice' the criminal gangs 'who abuse our borders are responsible for the deaths of scores of vulnerable, innocent people.' Quynh Nguyen, founder and CEO of the Vietnamese Family Partnership, said: 'As representatives of the Vietnamese community in the UK, we support these crucial efforts to prevent irregular migration. 'Our community understands the importance of legal routes, and we are committed to sharing this message with families in Vietnam.' Announcing her crackdown on immigration, Home Secretary Ms Cooper condemned illegal working as 'a blight on our economy' which was 'deeply exploitative and undercuts those employers who do the right thing and play by the rules'. She added: 'Since the election, we have intensified our efforts to crackdown on exploitation and illegal working the number of operations and arrests are up, and we are on track to meet our target of increasing removals to the highest level for five years. 'I am boosting the capabilities of our immigration enforcement officers to make sure they have the tools they need to further crack down on illegal working and shine a light on the hidden economy and false promises that criminal smuggling gangs are using to encourage people to cross the Channel in small boats. 'If you employ people illegally, you will face consequences. The rules must be respected and enforced.' British Border Force officials escort migrants on Defender into Dover Docks in Kent on December 14 But last night, the Tories accused Labour of failing to 'control our borders' and said both the Prime Minister and Ms Cooper 'should hang their heads in shame'. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp MP said: 'These return figures just continue the upward trajectory we have been on under the previous Government.' Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice said: 'Labour claim they are getting tough on illegal immigration when the reality is they are making it easier for illegals to claim asylum in the UK, and still allowing record levels of small boat crossings.' Prison bosses have freed a record number of prisoners by mistake, new data has revealed. The new figures revealed the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) released 87 people too early last year. And in one case, HMP Grendon in Buckinghamshire let the wrong prisoner out for a hospital visit because he and another inmate shared the same surname. A total of 308 people over the last five years have accidentally been freed too soon, the Telegraph reported. Of this number, at least 41 were serving sentences for violent crimes, while another seven were sex offenders and 21 were in prison on drugs charges. While the majority of accidental early releases are due to paperwork errors, at least seven people over the last five years have been released because guards were confused over the identities of prisoners. Kevin Moore, a retired detective chief superintendent, told the newspaper: 'This issue is worryingly becoming more and more frequent. 'I have a view that with anything that once is a mistake, more than once is downright carelessness. There should be fail safe checks put in place to ensure that these occurrences just don't happen. Prison bosses have freed a record number of prisoners by mistake, new data has revealed (File image of HMP Wandsworth) Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood (pictured) admitted that the prison estate would be full within three years even if ministers met their targets to create 14,000 extra places by 2031 'Such errors are putting the public at unnecessary risk and this is totally unacceptable when such incidents are completely avoidable.' It comes amid warnings that Britain's prison system could still run out of space despite a 10billion plan to build more prisons, alongside measures to hand out more community sentences. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood admitted that the estate would be full within three years even if ministers met their targets to create 14,000 extra places by 2031. She insisted 'building alone is not enough' and that demand was 'rising faster than any supply could possibly catch up with'. Prisons will run out of space despite the Government's building scheme, Shabana Mahmood has said. In a round of interviews, she was repeatedly asked whether she could guarantee there would be no more early releases. Ms Mahmood told Sky News that she was 'straining every sinew' to avoid making the controversial move again. But she said other operational measures, such as more people on home detention curfew, could be used to stabilise the prison system. Ms Mahmood also dodged on fears that new prisons could be sited on Green Belt land, regardless of local objections. The extra capacity would bring the total number of spaces in England and Wales to just under 103,000. But forecasts published last week said the jail population will hit 100,800 in March 2029. It is understood there will be a shortfall of 5,400 jail spaces by November 2027 - less than three years from now. It remains unclear when the 14,000 spaces - a combination of four new prisons and additional houseblocks in existing jails - will be complete. The shortfall will be met by the government's sentencing review, which will mean wider use of community punishments for criminals - including house arrest. Families should book their flu jabs this week to avoid the real risk of vulnerable relatives getting sick over Christmas, the Health Secretary has said. The NHS has been battling a tidal wave of winter bugs, with doctors complaining patients are already having to be treated in corridors amid low capacity. Wes Streeting last night launched an urgent appeal to the public to come forward and get a jab amid a flumageddon surge. He told the MoS: The tidal wave of flu weve seen so far this year is crashing against an already broken NHS. More than four times as many patients have been hospitalised compared to last year, and admissions are rising fast. No one wants to be separated from their family and stuck in hospital at Christmas. Theres a real risk that people take flu home to their loved ones this year. Im appealing to Mail on Sunday readers to protect yourself, your family and the NHS, by getting vaccinated. Time is running out, so make sure you book your appointment before Thursday, so you can safely enjoy Christmas with your family. There has been an early start to the flu season, with the number in hospital with the virus four times higher than at this time last year. Wes Streeting last night launched an urgent appeal to the public to come forward and get a jab Families should book their flu jabs this week to avoid the real risk of vulnerable relatives getting sick over Christmas. File image Thursday marks the last day people can book flu vaccination appointments on the NHS online booking system, NHS App or 119 phone service. NHS data shows almost 1,900 patients were hospitalised with flu every day last week in England on average. This is up from an average of 1,100 in the previous week and is 3.5 times more patients than the same time last year. Flu jab catch-up clinics are being held in schools to stop the spread. The UK Health Security Agency has urged families in the West Midlands to take up the vaccines as data shows many children are still unprotected. Conservative health spokesman Edward Argar last night called for immediate steps to boost bed capacity over this winter. Health service chiefs warned of a potential quad-demic, with rising cases of flu, Covid, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and the stomach bug norovirus. Those who do develop symptoms have been urged to minimise contact with high-risk groups, including people over the age of 65 and pregnant women. Dr Alexander Allen, consultant epidemiologist at the UK Health Security Agency, said: If you are showing symptoms of flu or Covid-19 such as a high temperature, cough and feeling tired and achy, try to limit your contact with others, especially those who are vulnerable. Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, who chairs the health and social care committee, said: The high number of flu cases is bad news both for patients and the NHS. Winter flu, and other seasonal viruses, increase the pressure on the already stretched NHS. There has been an early start to the flu season, with the number in hospital with the virus four times higher than at this time last year. File image Flu, or influenza, is responsible for about 40,000 hospitalisations and more than 10,000 deaths in the UK every year. Mr Streeting said: We are doing everything we can to make sure patients are cared for this winter. Weve ended the strikes so that NHS staff are on the front line not the picket line for the first winter in three years, and weve already delivered almost 28million vaccinations. The flu jab does not provide complete protection against the virus, but reduces the risk of dangerous symptoms and infection. Penny Ward, visiting professor in pharmaceutical medicine at Kings College, London, said: Looking at the numbers of people being hospitalised, its clear the kick-off rate is much steeper this year. A well matched flu vaccine should provide around 60 to 70 per cent protection from hospitalisation. San Francisco was hit with its first-ever tornado warning after a devastating storm tore through northern California, flipping cars and leaving multiple people injured. Around one million people woke up to an alert urging them to 'take shelter' early Saturday, after the warning was extended into parts of neighboring San Mateo County. Forecasters have since confirmed that a tornado ripped through Scotts Valley, located an hour and a half south of San Francisco. Several people were treated for minor injuries after cars were flipped over on Mount Hermon Road, KION reports. Terrifying video showed motorists struggling to maintain control of their cars amid the heavy winds and trees downed in the middle of the road. Another clip taken in Scotts Valley showed the powerful funnel of wind whipping up branches and detritus as it rampaged through a Target parking lot. Gusts of up to 80mph also toppled power lines and plunged around 221,000 people into blackouts, with tens of thousands still to regain power. The stormy conditions are the result of a powerful atmospheric river which battered the West Coast. San Francisco was hit with its first ever tornado warning after a devastating storm tore through northern California , flipping cars and downing power lines A tornado has since been confirmed in Scott Valley, an hour and a half south of San Francisco San Francisco has not seen a tornado since 2005, according to the Weather Service which is now investigating if one actually occurred, however it was the first time an alert was issued in advance In San Francisco, roofs were left damaged and trees were uprooted amid gale force winds. The area has not seen a tornado since 2005, according to the Weather Service which is now investigating if one actually occurred. 'This was the first ever warning for a possible tornado in San Francisco. I would guess there wasnt a clear signature on radar for a warning in 2005,' said Roger Gass, a meteorologist in the Weather Service's Monterey, California. The fast-moving storm prompted warnings for residents to take shelter, but few people have basements in the area. 'The biggest thing that we tell people in the city is to put as many walls between you and the outside as possible,' Meteorologist Dalton Behringer said. The tornado warning was issued at 5.51am and also included an alert for possible pea-sized hail. The warning expired at around 6.15am, however winds of 83mph were recorded at San Francisco International Airport at 2.09pm. There were reports of several injuries in Scotts Valley where a confirmed tornado hit on Saturday More than 221,000 people were left without power following the violent storms San Francisco residents have been warned to avoid coastal areas until Monday due to a heightened flood risk A powerful atmospheric river is responsible for the stormy conditions which wrought havoc across part of northern California California records an average of 11 tornadoes per year, according to the National Weather Service. San Francisco residents are still being urged to avoid coastal areas until Monday morning due to an increased flood risk. It comes just days after the City by the Bay was issued its first ever tsunami warning. A monster earthquake off the coast of Northern California triggered the alert. At least 5.3 million people in California were under a tsunami warning after the earthquake struck, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was felt as far south as San Francisco, where residents felt a rolling motion for several seconds. It was followed by smaller aftershocks. There were no immediate reports of major damage or injury. Antiques Roadshow legend Michael Aspel says Gregg Wallace will bounce back from misconduct allegations and can have a television career as long as he apologises and doesnt do it again. Throwing his support behind Gregg, the broadcasting veteran said he would be very sorry to see the 60-year-old host of MasterChef permanently cancelled from the small screen, as he finds him a very talented and very warm personality and thinks every show that he does is well run. Gregg stepped down from hosting MasterChef last month while an investigation into his alleged misconduct is carried out. After initially facing accusations of inappropriate behaviour from 13 people, including Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark, he has since been hit by an onslaught of more claims which include groping, pressing his crotch against a colleague and allegedly flashing another woman in his dressing room. Several women have come forward about his behaviour, prompting the review. The television star reportedly told friends he expects to be fired following the investigation into his alleged sexual harassment and groping. The BBC1 shows production firm Banijay UK launched an inquiry last month into the complaints. Chat show host Michael, 91, who was once one of the biggest faces of primetime television, presenting shows such as This Is Your Life, told the Mail on Sunday: 'I have been interested in the way the reaction has swerved from one to another. Gregg Wallace will bounce back from allegations over his conduct 'as long as he apologises', Antiques Roadshow legend Michael Aspel has said Mr Aspel said he would be sorry to see Wallace axed from the screen, calling him a very talented and very warm personality I listen to Women's Hour when I do the washing up and I heard a message from some woman who said I worked with a lot of men and I gave as good as I got and she went it stopped and it is not good enough for people to say nothing and then suddenly it is 15 years later and the man is a monster. I have never talked to women like that. But if I had I am sure somebody would have said that is enough from you and I would have stopped. Speaking at the Television and Radio Industries Club Christmas lunch at the Londoner Hotel, Michael asked: So why didn't they say it? Or maybe they did, and the BBC had it hidden for a while. Obviously, what he did was not nice, but I am very sorry if we lose him, and I don't think we will actually. 'I think he will (have a television career) and I hope he does; as long as he apologises and doesn't do it again.' Michael attended the festive lunch alongside stars including GB News Breakfast host Eamonn Holmes, Lady Victoria Hervey, Angela Rippon, and Chris Tarrant. Meanwhile, Gregg who strongly denied any wrongdoing is reported to have stopped using his legal team as he resigns himself to being axed and turned down crisis-publicity teams. Wallace with MasterChef co-presenter John Torode. Despite denying any wrongdoing, the TV host has reportedly stopped using his legal team The presenter is reported to understand his position on MasterChef is no longer tenable and has told people, Im f***ed. A source told the Sun: He came out swinging, but he has quietly conceded that he knows his time on MasterChef is over and that he will be stepping aside. The BBC and Banijay UK have now spoken to a number of different individuals, and they know they must be seen to take action. Co-host John Torode, 59, is said to be keeping his role. Unmanned drones that have been spotted flying over New York, New Jersey, and multiple other states in recent weeks are likely the result of foreign powers spying on the United States, an expert has claimed. Gordon Chang, a senior fellow at conservative think tank the Gatestone Institute and an expert on Chinese affairs, said the drones appeared to be highly sophisticated and are not being controlled by amateurs. 'These activities are too large and well-organized to be the work of hobbyists,' Chang told Fox Business. 'That leaves foreign powers. It could be Iran in connection with China, but clearly, somebody is trying to divert our attention.' Chang suggested that while the drones themselves are unsettling, he was more troubled by the fact that they could be a distraction for a far greater threat. 'What really worries me is what they might be doing elsewhere. We could very well get hit,' he told Fox. The presence of the drones has raised both alarm and confusion with few answers forthcoming. The crisis deepened last night, after DC locals claimed to have spotted drones floating in the sky around the US Capitol, as other videos purported to show objects on flight paths heading towards LaGuardia Airport. The Biden administration and the Pentagon have failed to provide clarity on the origin or purpose of the drones with frustration mounting and critics questioning how such incidents can remain unresolved in an era of advanced surveillance. Gordon Chang, a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute and an expert on Chinese affairs, believes the drones to possibly be the work of adversaries from overseas Photos allegedly show an identified object in the sky over DC on Friday night A wave of footage has emerged of the drones since they were first spotted last month including this footage from Bernardsville, New Jersey 'How is it possible that the Pentagon doesn't know? I'm not buying it,' remarked Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo, voicing the skepticism felt by many Americans. The surge in mysterious drone activity has drawn comparisons to the infamous series of Chinese spy balloons that brazenly floated across the United States last year, capturing headlines and igniting fears about foreign surveillance. Now, with local officials remaining tight-lipped, theories abound, ranging from espionage to advanced reconnaissance efforts by foreign adversaries. Chang expressed frustration over the handling of cases involving foreign nationals implicated in surveillance activities, emphasizing that they should not be processed through civilian courts. 'I don't think that Chinese nationals should be put through the civilian justice system. 'This is a military violation,' Chang said. 'The person should be in a military brig because clearly the civilian system cannot process these people properly and quickly enough. We need to take them off the streets.' Chang then made observations about President Xi Jinping: 'This is the Xi Jinping who deliberately spread Covid-19 beyond China's borders, killing 1.2 million Americans. 'This is the Xi Jinping who each year with malice and forethought, kills 70,000 Americans with fentanyl. This is the Xi Jinping who runs a regime that steals half a trillion of US intellectual property each year. 'This is the Xi Jinping who flew that spy balloon over our nuclear weapon sites. The question I'd like to ask is, regardless of what Trump's strategy is, why should we invite such an individual to the inauguration?' Speaking about the way that foreign and US businesses run in China, he said: 'China is determined to destroy their businesses.' A wave of footage has emerged of the drones since they were first spotted last month, with some of the clearest video yet coming this week in New Jersey. Video captured in Somerset County shows three 'mystery drones in the air' as two move extremely close as if they are interacting with each other. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said that the drones are 'very sophisticated', explaining: 'The minute we get eyes on them [the drones], they go dark.' 'I don't blame people for being frustrated,' Gov. Murphy continued, adding that he had spent most of last Sunday coordinating on the issue with both the White House and the US Department of Homeland Security in the hope of getting answers. Saw one tonight. This is not a joke. about ten minutes before arrival at LaGuardia. This seems a little close to the flight path, no?? pic.twitter.com/ASKg5Qq5Ao kyle (@Ky1eLong) December 15, 2024 Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo voiced the skepticism felt by many Americans Swarms of drones have been spotted in the skies of New Jersey for weeks, sparking officials to call for a 'limited state of emergency' A New Jersey realtor shared a shocking video a bright dot floating through the sky towards a high-end Condominium on South Beach The surge in mysterious drone activity has drawn comparisons to the infamous series of Chinese spy balloons that brazenly floated across the United States last year New York Governor Kathy Hochul also slammed the Biden administration bumbling response to the crisis, telling the White House the bizarre episode 'has gone too far.' The Biden administration has maintained that the drones are not a public safety risk and pose no threat to the nation's security. The FBI has received more than 3,000 tips since the first sighting on November 18, with reports of varying levels of credibility cropping up in at least 12 counties throughout New Jersey, as well as eastern Pennsylvania and Orange County, New York. As the drone mystery deepens, Fox anchor Bartiromo continued to echo widespread concerns about the lack of transparency from government agencies. 'It's been weeks,' she said. 'At this point, it's really not right that the Pentagon has not given us more information. Of course, everyone will speculate, but we need real answers to understand what's going on.' Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions with China continue to cast a long shadow. Bartiromo highlighted the ongoing surveillance efforts near U.S. military bases, noting that 'the fact that China is surveilling America is not a secret. Everyone knows their surveillance program is in place.' One TikToker spotted a drone coming in off the Atlantic Ocean further sparking fears In an unexpected twist, it has been reported that President-elect Donald Trump has extended an invitation to Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration. The move has drawn scrutiny, given China's contentious relationship with the United States. 'Why should we invite such an individual to the inauguration?' Chang asked pointedly, referencing Xi's track record of aggression toward the U.S. The timing of Trump's invitation coincides with China's ramped-up efforts to challenge the United States on multiple fronts. In addition to its surveillance activities, China has reportedly targeted American companies like NVIDIA with antitrust probes, which many view as retaliation for U.S. semiconductor export restrictions. Prince Andrew 'could be barred from walking to church with the Royal Family on Christmas morning as controversy rages over his alleged links to a 'Chinese spy'. The Duke of York's appearance at the family's annual Christmas Day walk from the church is thought to have been thrown into doubt over the latest scandal around his alleged links to the man, who can be named only as H6, according to The Mirror. Prince Andrew, 64, has joined the rest of the family on the Christmas morning walk for the last two years since the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, despite other controversies including his friendship with Jeffery Epstein. But things could be different this year amid rumours that the King is furious that his brother has plunged the monarchy into a major scandal with the alleged relationship tarnishing the reputation of the entire Royal Family. A source, however, said that, despite his frustration with the Duke of York, Charles has accepted that he cant divorce or sack his younger brother, as there will always be a bond of blood. Royal expert Jennie Bond told the Mirror that for 'the sake of the monarchy' the Duke 'should spend [Christmas] away from Sandringham, out of the public eye'. She added that he has 'become a recurring embarrassment to the Royal Family'. Earlier this week, it was revealed that a 'close confidant' of the Duke was an alleged Chinese spy who had been banned from entering the UK after an investigation by MI5. Prince Andrew leaves after attending the Christmas day service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham in December 2022 Prince Andrew with the alleged Chinese spy who has been banned from the United Kingdom The Duke could find himself barred from the annual Christmas Day walk (pictured the Royal Family on their annual walk in December 2023) The Duke of York (pictured) has said he 'ceased all contact' with the businessman accused of being a Chinese spy when concerns were first raised about him The alleged agent was so close to Andrew that he visited Buckingham Palace twice, and entered St Jamess Palace and Windsor Castle. He was even authorised to act on Andrews behalf to seek investors in China. MI5 discovered that the businessman, 50, was a member of the Chinese Communist Party and was working for its shadowy United Front Work Department, which gathers intelligence. When police stopped him at the UK border in 2021 it was discovered that he had a briefing document in which Andrew appeared to be described as being in a desperate situation and will grab onto anything. The alleged spy, who is a businessman, has previously attended a meeting of the powerful Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing. In a sign of his importance to Chinas Communist Party, he was pictured on the front row of the meeting in the vast Great Hall of the People. The businessman lost an appeal over a decision to bar him from entering the UK on national security grounds. He brought a case to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) after then-home secretary Suella Braverman said he should be excluded from the UK in March 2023. Judges were told that in a briefing for the home secretary in July 2023, officials claimed H6 had been in a position to generate relationships between prominent UK figures and senior Chinese officials 'that could be leveraged for political interference purposes'. They also said that H6 had downplayed his relationship with the Chinese state, which combined with his relationship with Prince Andrew represented a threat to national security. Prince Andrew, Duke of York and Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh leave the Christmas Morning Service at Sandringham Church in December 2023 Known only as H6 for legal reasons, the 50-year-old businessman became a 'close confidant' to the eighth in line to the throne The disgraced duke (pictured), 64, was urged to 'be clear and honest' amid calls for an inquiry into how the alleged Chinese agent had infiltrated the Royal Family A statement from Prince Andrew's office said: 'The Duke of York followed advice from His Majesty's Government and ceased all contact with the individual after concerns were raised. 'The Duke met the individual through official channels with nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed. 'He is unable to comment further on matters relating to national security.' In a ruling on Thursday, Mr Justice Bourne, Judge Stephen Smith and Sir Stewart Eldon, upheld a ban on H6 from entering the country and said the Prince Andrew's troubles had left him 'vulnerable' to exploitation. It is the latest humiliation for Prince Andrew who is already a royal pariah after being forced to step back from palace duties following the Jeffrey Epstein paedophile scandal. The Duke withdrew from frontline royal duties in late 2019 after public outrage over a BBC television interview in which he defended his friendship with Epstein. In February 2022, the former Royal Navy helicopter pilot settled a US civil case brought by Virginia Giuffre, who claimed he sexually assaulted her when she was 17. Andrew denied all allegations of wrongdoing. Queen Elizabeth II stripped him of his honorary military titles and patronages soon afterwards, effectively shutting him out of royal life. MailOnline has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment. Angela Rayners plans to build 1.5 million more homes by 2029 will leave Britain at risk of drought, experts said last night. The extra households will create demand for an extra half a billion litres of water every day. Yet the Environment Agency says the UK is already heading for a shortage of more than a billion litres a day by the end of the decade. The agency says that every part of England apart from the West Country faces a shortage of water by 2030, due to a failure to invest in infrastructure. Water companies accuse regulator Ofwat, saying it has failed to permit investment required to replace the creaking Victorian infrastructure. Later this week Ofwat will set levels of investment for the next five years. Environment Secretary Steve Reed recently admitted: Unless we take action to increase water supply then demand for drinking water will start to outstrip supply in a way that happens in Mediterranean countries. Angela Rayners (pictured) plans to build 1.5 million more homes by 2029 will leave Britain at risk of drought, experts said last night The extra households will create demand for an extra half a billion litres of water every day An industry source said: This country hasnt built a reservoir in 30 years despite the population surging. 'Ofwat and the Government have got to step up this week if the country is to avoid this catastrophe. Fox host Martha MacCallum was shocked at how little National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby could provide when asked about the mounting drone crisis. In a tense interview, the Fox News host grilled the White House official as she sought answers to the mass amount of drones recently spotted flying over New Jersey. Yet, Kirby, a 61-year-old retired Navy admiral, struggled to provide clear responses to the bizarre and alarming sightings ravaging the country. MacCallum boldly opened the interview referencing a shocking claim the 61-year-old official made during an earlier White House briefing that saw him dismiss more than 3,000 reports of 'car-sized' drones as 'misidentifications'. 'A lot of people were unhappy with that comment you made yesterday and felt like you were telling people they were nuts or that they didnt know what they were seeing with their own eyes,' MacCallum said. Kirby stumbled over his response, seemingly avoiding providing a direct answer as he claimed 'thats the farthest thing that I would ever do.' 'I was simply reiterating what the FBI and what the Department of Homeland Security have relayed to us about what theyve been able to corroborate. We havent been able to corroborate everything. I said many of the corroborated sightings have turned out to be piloted aircrafts. I didnt say all of them,' Kirby said. He then added: 'Theres certainly ones that we have not been able to, and we dont know the answer to it.' Fox host Martha MacCallum was shocked at how little National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby could provide when asked about the mounting drone crisis MacCallum then pivoted, showing Kirby footage of a drone sighting captured by a New Jersey resident, yet he couldn't even look at the photographic evidence claiming he turned off the monitor to 'avoid distractions.' Pictured: Drone sightings in New Jersey MacCallum then pivoted, showing Kirby footage of a drone sighting captured by a New Jersey resident, yet he couldn't even look at the photographic evidence claiming he turned off the monitor to 'avoid distractions.' MacCallum called out the absurdity of the situation, asking how a former admiral and current top White House official could dismiss clear visuals of the peculiar flying objects. Instead, MacCallum described the image to Kirby who continued to claim ignorance. 'I can describe it to you. It is large. It has a white bar that goes through the middle. The right-hand side is half-lit up white on the top and red on the bottom. The other side is green,' she said. 'Youre a former military person yourself. Youre an admiral. Youre the White House National Security Communications Advisor. Im sure youve seen some of these images. What is it that were looking at?' she pointedly asked. Kirby replied: 'Its difficult for me to tell you, Martha. We dont really know.' Later in the interview, MacCallum cleverly revisited last year's Chinese spy balloon sighting, which President Biden allowed to float across the entire country before ultimately shooting it down. MacCallum stated that Biden's administration was aware of the balloon's intrusion into US airspace before the widespread news coverage, yet they ignored the threat. 'Why dont we know, John? Thats the point. Why doesnt the United States government know? It seems silly. It feels a lot like the Chinese spy balloon,' she asked Kirby. 'I wish I could tell you exactly why we dont have an answer for you here in the afternoon on the 13th of December,' Kirby said. He continued explaining that the administration is 'working very hard' without providing any detail on how they are 'corroborating' the content. 'I can tell you that we are working on it very, very hard to know because we want to answer those questions the same as those folks in New Jersey want answers to them,' Kirby replied. The brazen Fox host then criticized Kirby on how Presidential administration could have a whopping $824 billion defense budget yet could not provide simple answers to presumed threats to American airspace. A New Jersey resident saw what appears to be multiple drones flying over their Bernardsville home 'We spend $824 billion on defense. We have the greatest intelligent capability in the world. How can you stand there and say to the country right now, "Gosh, darn, we just dont know what these are,"' she asked. Again claiming ignorance, Kirby replied: 'Im not going to lie to you or to the American people, and Im not going to say we know something when we dont.' Kirby continued insisting that National Security does not have all the answers but is trying to corroborate 'every single sighting.' 'Why not just take one down and figure out whats going on?' MacCallum straightly asked. Kirby claimed national security did not have enough conclusions to take down any of the reported drones, he also cited fears for public safety. 'Well, okay, the idea of taking something down, again, you want to worry about public safety,' Kirby replied. 'First of all, we dont have enough conclusions to take that a policy action. But lets just assume for a minute, Martha, that we did. I mean, youre not going to want to shoot something down where it could hit somebodys house or hurt somebody.' Kirby later assured MacCallum that the President has 'tasked the team' to investigate the drones. In a statement issued on Thursday, Kirby stated that the investigation had not yet turned up any illegal activity. 'To the contrary, upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully,' Kirby said. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have also issued a statement claiming there is no national security or public safety threat posed by the drone sightings, many of which are 'manned aircraft, operating lawfully.' The British Medical Association is investigating its own president over complaints she reposted messages from anti-Semitic social media accounts. The body representing 190,000 doctors has asked external investigators to probe Dr Mary McCarthy, who has posted hundreds of tweets on the Gaza conflict since Hamas attacked Israel last year. The investigation was ordered after Labour Against Anti-Semitism (LAAS) complained to the BMA earlier this month. In a letter seen by the MoS, the group's co-director Alex Hearn said: 'The function of the BMA is to represent British doctors, but instead your president appears more interested in a conflict thousands of miles away.' He said Dr McCarthy 'quoted an anti-Semitic account' and also posted 'someone's description of the war as a 'Holocaust'.' Analysis of her X account reveals that she reposted a tweet by Susan Abulhawa which said: 'We need teams of lawyers now to go after complicit world leaders and... corporations and 'non-profits' profiting from this Holocaust.' The LAAS complaint alleged that Dr McCarthy also retweeted 'incendiary' posts by Sarah Wilkinson, an activist for the hardline group Palestine Action. The BMA has launched an investigation into tweets sent by its own president on the Gaza conflict Dr Mary McCarthy reposted a tweet describing the war as a Holocaust. Pictured: Pro-Palestinian protesters at Parliament Square on Saturday Earlier this month, Shropshire-based GP Dr McCarthy compared the alleged food blockade of Gaza by Israel to apartheid in South Africa. The BMA confirmed it was investigating the complaint against Dr McCarthy. In a statement, it said: 'We have received a complaint from LAAS, and in accordance with BMA processes the concerns raised in their letter are being investigated by our external and independent investigators. We take complaints of this nature extremely seriously. The BMA stands firmly against all forms of discrimination and prejudice.' Dr McCarthy declined to comment on the matter directly. The Irish woman hit out at the national postal service after failing to receive a package at her home. The Irish woman living in Sydney has taken aim at Australia Post. Source: TikTok/caz_w_ and Getty Many things take some getting used to when moving abroad, and for one expat living Down Under it's the Australia Post delivery system. Caz, an Irish woman living in Sydney, recently shared her major gripe with the national postal service after failing to receive a package sent from home. And she's not the only one frustrated by a rule our posties must follow. "The Australia Post system is absolutely bizarre," Caz said in a video on TikTok this week. "If they attempt to deliver a parcel but you're not there, they don't leave you a slip and they just drop it into the local post office and expect to know that it's there." She said it's "madness" that such a system even exists. ADVERTISEMENT Australia Post confirmed the change with Yahoo News last year, saying customers will soon stop receiving handwritten 'sorry, we missed you' cards. At the time, it was only applicable to those with MyPost accounts. Now, it seems, the cards have been phased out almost entirely. Caz said she was only aware because "this happened last year when my mum was sending me over a package". At the time, someone had told her "to check the post office" when it hadn't arrived in three weeks. "I went up and just gave my address and it was there," she said admitting the same thing happened recently. "This year, when she sent it again, she was like, 'just go check the post office' and lo and behold, it was there". Caz finished by urging others to always check the post office if they suspect a parcel should have arrived, even if they've received no message or card. According to Australia Post, customers must collect the items within three weeks before it's returned to the sender. Customers slam Australia Post change after failed deliveries The swap to digital alerts is aimed at providing a better customer experience, reducing paper waste, and improving efficiency and convenience, the company explained last year. However, some Aussies have argued it's not convenient at all. ADVERTISEMENT "I just had a rant about this, they dont bother trying to deliver and then you have to queue for ages to get it," one person said in response to the video. Caz replied saying she too had to queue for so long". "Probably cos everyone is the same," she added. Others claim they're often home when a parcel is expected, but that it's sent to the nearest post office without warning. "Was at home all day today and they didnt even try to deliver my package. Got a text to say it was dropped into the post office," one shared. "I'm convinced my postman just drops all the packages at the post office and doesn't bother knocking at all," another said. "Also my package from home was in the post office for a month and when I went up to ask it said final warning to collect". ADVERTISEMENT Some however suggested she and others download the Australia Post app which will help customers keep track of their deliveries. "They havent left me slips in a long time its all through the app," one said. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. RAF chiefs have been shot down for using 'Gen Z' slang to lure the young in one of its worst recruiting crises in recent history. An RAF video on Instagram to promote Cosford airshow in Shropshire describes it as 'very mindful, very considerate, very demure' a reference to a post on social media which has become an internet catchphrase. The video, which has thousands of likes, features Squadron Leader Chris Wilson of RAF Cosford reading a script written by a 'Gen Z marketing expert' born between 1997 and 2012. He calls the airshow 'the dopest event of 2025' which is 'giving main character energy'. He adds: 'Tired of cheugy Air Shows with no rizz? Aight bet. Cosford hits different.' He closes the film with, 'Slay. Feeling boujee?' The slang evokes TV's The Armstrong And Miller Show in which RAF pilots from World War Two speak in upper class accents but use modern teenage slang such as 'blud' and pepper speech with 'like' and 'innit'. One former RAF member said on Instagram of its new video: 'It isn't clever, it's sad. Is this the standard the RAF wishes to set? 'Please reflect on your traditions and history, you are a combat arm of the nation's military, not selling trainers to sixth formers.' Another wrote: 'The Battle of Britain to this, just makes everyone who serves embarrassed.' An RAF video on Instagram to promote Cosford airshow in Shropshire describes it as 'very mindful, very considerate, very demure' Last month Defence Secretary John Healey warned that for the past year, the Armed Forces have been losing 300 more full-time personnel each month than they have been recruiting Colonel Philip Ingram, a former Army Intelligence officer, said: 'Whoever is advising them of communications strategy, never mind who signed this video off for release, needs to be removed from post immediately.' The furore comes as instructors at the Royal Navy's HMS Raleigh training centre in Torpoint, Cornwall, have been given a glossary of Gen Z terms so they can talk to young people. The leaflet asks: 'Are you able to communicate with everyone: English? Jack Speak (slang used by the Royal Navy)? Gen Z?' It lists dozens of words they may need to know including 'cheugy', which describes 'uncool things that are either out of style or trying too hard to be in style'. Other key words are 'slay', which means 'succeeding or looking great' and 'swag', which translates as 'confidence or charm'. If someone is 'boujee', it means they love the 'luxury and comforts of a fancy lifestyle', it adds. The Royal Navy, Army and RAF are understrength and have failed to meet their recruiting targets every year for the last ten years. Last month Defence Secretary John Healey warned that for the past year, the Armed Forces have been losing 300 more full-time personnel each month than they have been recruiting. 'In the last year, service morale fell to record lows,' he added. The California Department of Motor Vehicles has apologized for allowing someone in the state to register a license plate mocking the October 7 attacks on Israel. The apology comes after activist group StopAntisemitism flagged a Tesla Cybertruck seen around Los Angeles sporting a plate that read 'LOLOCT7,' which it said celebrated 'terrorism against the Jewish people.' The plate used the letters LOL - a common abbreviation for 'laugh out loud.' California's DMV said on social media that it would be acting to rescind the plate, which fell foul of its own rules. 'This is unacceptable and disturbing,' the agency wrote on X. 'The DMV is taking swift action to recall these shocking plates, and we will immediately strengthen our internal review process to ensure such an egregious oversight never happens again. 'We sincerely apologize that these personalized plates were not properly rejected during our review process.' There are more than 30 million vehicles in California, the vast majority of which have regular license plates. But for an extra fee the DMV allows drivers to personalize plates, provided the resulting message does not 'carry connotations offensive to good taste and decency,' according to its website. The California Department of Motor Vehicles has apologized for allowing someone in the state to register a license plate mocking the October 7 attacks on Israel The plate was found on a Tesla Cybertruck seen around Los Angeles Examples of banned plates include swear words, and racially or ethnically degrading terms. A spokesperson for the DMV told the Los Angeles Times that the license plate should have never been able to pass the review process and the owner will be notified before it's recalled - which the driver has the right to appeal. 'StopAntisemitism was appalled to discover a vehicle with a license plate glorifying the 10/7 massacre of innocent Israelis,' Liora Rez, the executive director of the organization, told the Times. 'With the swift action of thousands of emails from our committed supporters, the California DMV has now recalled the plate,' she added. 'StopAntisemitism is appalled by the sickening display on a Cyber Truck plate in California, celebrating terrorism against the Jewish people,' the original post read. The post - which has accumulated more than 2,000 likes - was flooded with comments from viewers expressing their anger toward the tone-deaf customization. 'Antisemitism is terrorism. Vile and disgusting. It must be rid of and those responsible held accountable,' one comment read. Another tweet read: 'This mother f***** needs some real karma.' The California DMV has issued an apology and has promised to rescind the plate 'Shameful and disgusting,' another user added. 'Rear end them!' A separate tweeter remarked: 'Recall the plate and fire the idiot that approved it.' Islamist militants abducted 251 hostages during the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping roughly 250 mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official figures. This count includes hostages who died or were killed while held in Gaza. As of December, seven Americans are still being held as hostages inside Gaza by the terrorists, but three of those seven are believed to be dead. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 44,805 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable. The license plate sleight is one of several anti-Semitic insults and harassment that have been aimed at the Jewish community across the country in recent months. A woman breaks down at the memorial to Yulia Waxer Daunov as family members and friends of the lost and kidnapped gather at the site of the Nova Festival to mark the one year anniversary of the attacks by Hamas Hundreds of Pro-Palestinian protestors took over the campus at Columbia University on the one-year anniversary of the October 7 attack on Israel Hundreds of Pro-Palestinian protestors took over the campus at Columbia University and surrounded two Jewish students who were holding a vigil this past October to mark the one-year anniversary of the attack. Raging students - some wearing keffiyehs and others masked - chanted 'Resistance is Glorious!,' 'Shut it Down,' and 'Israel Go To Hell,' as loud Arabic music drowned out the sound of Israeli music that was playing for the vigil. Two young woman wearing an Israeli flag draped over their shoulders stood in the middle of the protest stone-faced as mobs of demonstrators waved Palestinian flags and held up signs: 'No Peace. Resist By Any Means Necessary,' and 'No Pride in Genocide. Free Palestine.' President Joe Biden bowed his head as a rabbi chanted a Hebrew prayer during somber ceremony in the White House on the one-year anniversary - but he left the event without uttering a single word. On the anniversary of the attack, Biden failed to name any of the US citizens that still remain captured by Hamas for more than 400 days now during the ceremony, but his administration did release a statement after the fact. It recognized that 46 American citizens were among the 1,200 innocent people murdered by Hamas that day and that another 12 were taken hostage. In Israel, more than 1,200 people - 800 civilians, 346 IDF soldiers and 66 police officers - were killed when the extremist militant group Hamas infiltrated Israel in the unprovoked October 7 attack, according to the Israeli Ministry of Affairs, ABC News reported. Approximately, 8,700 people have been injured, Israeli officials said. President Joe Biden bowed his head as a rabbi chanted a Hebrew prayer during a somber ceremony in the White House on the one-year anniversary. He left without saying a word about US citizens who are still being held hostage in Gaza During the unprecedented attack, 250 hostages - including women, children and the elderly, were kidnapped and taken to Gaza. A total of 112 hostages were released during a prisoner swap. The largest took place during a ceasefire on November 24, 2023, as per Israeli officials. The Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health reported this week that more than 44,700 people in Gaza have been killed and more than 100,000 people have been injured, Aljazeera reported. The World Health Organization reported on October 25, 2024, that some 1,000 unidentified bodies are still buried under the rubble in Gaza , which are not yet included in death tolls. Eton College is slashing its bursaries budget by more than 1 million because of fears over Labour's impending VAT on fees tax raid. More than a third of its free places will be cut by 2027 as aid is cut from 9.7 million to 8.65 million despite the college sitting on a 553 million endowment fund. Staff have also been told that 'there is a need to find savings across the school'. The college has already confirmed it will be imposing the full VAT charge on parents. This will see fees rise to more than 63,000 a year, while other private schools have sought to offset some of the rise. In an internal announcement seen by The Mail on Sunday, staff were told this week that Provost Sir Nicholas Coleridge and the college's Fellows 'were concerned about the exceptional drawdown from the endowment as well as the size of the deficit in light of the changes made by the new Labour Government'. Staff at the school once attended by Prince William and Prince Harry were told that the cut would be made by the 2027/2028 academic year when only 70 boys out of more than 1,300 at the school would remain on free places. The school website reports that 105 boys had free places in the 2022/3 academic year. The memo also reported that the school deficit in the last financial year was 5.4 million '0.9 million higher than budget'. Eton College is slashing its bursaries budget by more than 1 million because of fears over Labour's impending VAT Staff at the school once attended by Prince William and Prince Harry were told that the cut would be made by the 2027/2028 academic year The school website reports that 105 boys had free places in the 2022/3 academic year It follows the MoS's revelations a month ago that Sir Nicholas had defended Eton's decision to levy the full VAT burden on parents and not reduce school fees. At the time, the former president of Vogue publisher Conde Nast International told parents the school could not afford to absorb the VAT themselves or reduce fees because it had so many financial commitments. He also warned the college was facing an additional bill of around 1 million from the Budget rise in employers' National Insurance, as well as a bill for 1 million in lost business-rate relief. He admitted Eton had been deluged with requests from current parents for financial aid but said funds from its endowment were already earmarked. The Provost and Fellows were said to have undertaken a 'lengthy discussion' before 'it was agreed that the amount spent on financial aid would be decreased'. A separate letter was issued to staff in advance about the need to 'find savings'. An Eton spokesperson confirmed it would 'preserve at least 70 free places' following budget cuts and would continue to run a 'comprehensive bursary programme', adding. 'Eton has eight separate bursary programmes of different kinds, with a record number of over 300 boys currently receiving financial support some at 110 per cent of fees, some 100 per cent, others 90 per cent or 70 per cent etc. 'Any reduction in the overall bursary and scholarships funding will not take effect until 2027/28 and forms part of a wider financial review by the College. It should also be seen in the context of Eton's extensive partnerships programme and our commitment to opening 3 new Sixth Forms in Dudley, Middlesbrough and Oldham, in conjunction with Star Academies.' The US held direct talks yesterday with the Syrian rebels who brought down the Assad regime and insisted the new government must destroy the country's chemical weapons. Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, spoke with the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group headed by Abu Mohammed al-Jolani after a crunch summit involving Middle Eastern nations in Jordan. Mr Blinken refused to discuss details of the talks with HTS, which spearheaded the overthrowing of president Bashar al-Assad a week ago, although he said Syria's new government must reject terrorism and destroy the former dictator's chemical weapons stockpiles. It must also respect women and minority rights. He told a news conference in Aqaba, Jordan, that 'the US and our partners in the region have agreed on a set of shared principles to guide our support for Syria and its people'. It came as Israeli air strikes continue to destroy much of the Syrian army's assets. There were fresh attacks on Lebanon, while a mother and her five-year-old daughter were among the dead after a municipal meeting in central Gaza was apparently targeted. The Israel Defence Forces said the air strike killed a key Hamas member. Naim Qassem, the head of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group, urged the new Syrian regime not to normalise relations with Israel. He also said the Lebanese armed group had lost its supply route through Syria after the toppling of Assad. The foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan demanded that Israel pull out of a demilitarised zone along the border with Syria. The US held direct talks yesterday with the Syrian rebels who brought down the Assad regime Syrians waving flags gather at Umayyad Square to celebrate the collapse of the 61-year Baath regime Secretary of State Antony Blinken answers questions during a press conference at the US Embassy in China And there were reports that Russian forces were vacating some front lines in northern Syria, while Assad and his family remain in Russia having been granted asylum. Last night Mr Blinken said his message to the Syrian people was that 'we want them to succeed and we're prepared to help them do so'. He said: 'Syrians know they are going to need support from their neighbours and the international community to meet these challenges. 'We've seen how the fall of an oppressive regime can swiftly give way to more conflict and chaos, how the shoes of one dictator can be filled by another. That's why it's so important that we and our partners came together today to agree on principles that will guide our efforts to help the Syrian people meet these challenges.' HTS, which was once an affiliate of Al Qaeda, has been designated a foreign terrorist organisation by the state department since 2018. But insurgent leaders say the group has broken with its extremist past. Al-Jolani last night said it was not about to enter into conflict with Israel, but said 'the Israelis have crossed the rules of engagement' in an interview with Syrian TV, although it did not broadcast details of any conversations with the US. Party-goers dressed in Santa costumers have been out painting the town red on the last-but-one Saturday night before Christmas. People in Leeds enjoyed one last festive booze-up before the Christmas celebrations begin in earnest in under two weeks time, with images capturing a fun and drunken night out on the town. Images captured people clad in their best red and white Santa gear enjoying themselves on the penultimate weekend before Christmas. On Saturday, festive revellers were warned not to urinate in the street, litter or 'be stupid' as they don Father Christmas outfits for the annual Santacon pub crawl in London. Hundreds of people descended on the capital dressed up in their finest festive attire and took to the streets on Saturday evening for pre-Christmas revels. Inspired by the event which originated in San Francisco, Santacon is described as a 'non-profit, non-political, non-religious and non-sensical' Christmas parade which traditionally takes place in London one Saturday every December. Revellers were pictured enjoying a night out on the town in Leeds on Saturday night People turned up to paint the town red and white on the penultimate Saturday before Christmas People were more than happy to be photographed as they enjoyed the festivities Some also dressed up as elves as they celebrated their night out on the town in Leeds Some came prepared with red hats as they enjoyed a tipple or two Images show people dressed up in their best festive gear taking part in London's pub crawl People gathered in pubs and bars across the capital as they welcomed in the festive season The festivities kicked off in style at 11am on Saturday morning as people descended on London Some came prepared with red hats as they enjoyed a tipple o Despite the cold weather, one man felt brave enough to take his top off as he enjoyed a drink These party-goers were seen having fun on Leeds's 'Otley Run' pub crawl stretch People have been donning festive gear and taking to the capital for more than 10 years One woman had an impressive hairdo on display as she celebrated the festive season Some people came prepared with their own supply of drinks for London's Santacon event People donned the festive gear as they headed into the capital for a booze-up The festivities began at 11am on Saturday morning. Revellers were warned not to be 'that' Santa, and to not 'pee in the street', 'litter' or 'be stupid'. On the event's Facebook page, organisers wrote: 'Put on your best Santa suit and get ready to spread holiday cheer as we sing carols and enjoy some festive drinks throughout the day. 'Remember to keep it festive and fun by not being 'that' Santa. Do make an effort with your outfit, don't come dressed in just a festive jumper and jeans. Do give out gifts and treats, don't pee in the street. Do sing carols loud for everyone to hear, don't be stupid and litter'. Images show people fully embracing the Christmas spirit with a variety of weird and wonderful costumes on display. People can be seen wearing Santa outfits and taking part in drinking activities to welcome in the festive season ahead of Christmas in under two weeks time. Santacon dates back to 1994 in San Francisco, where it began as a chance for people to dress up as Father Christmas and celebrate the festive holiday. It was never intended to become an annual event, but it took place again in San Francisco in 1995 with 100 participants turning out to take part. Since then, it has spread across the globe, going to Portland in 1996, Seattle in 1997 and Los Angeles and New York in 1998, before emerging as an annual event in another 44 countries with varying versions and interpretations. In 2013, events were scheduled in 300 cities for the first time including New York, Vancouver, Belfast, Moscow and London, where it has become an annual event. The New York Santacon remains the largest, with an estimated 30,000 people taking to the streets in 2012. Some people gathered at the Floating Pocket Park in London to celebrate the festive season One woman went all out with her costume, which included a full outfit and matching face paint People fully embraced the festive spirit for the event and documented their costumes In central London, a man dressed up as an elf poured 'Santa' a beer through a funnel One man had a unique take on his outfit, donning his head with bushels of holly People embraced the festivities, with one woman drinking directly from a wine bottle One man came dressed to the nines in a festive red suit which he paired with a Santa hat A group of women had to adjust their costumes before the headed to their next stop One reveller took a unique approach, combining his Santa outfit with US President elect Donald Trump People have gathered across London to take part in the annual festivities Some even came prepared with their own festive cups to match their Christmas creations Thousands of hospital beds could be freed up if Health Secretary Wes Streeting delivers on his promise to fund screening clinics for a bone-thinning disease, a study has shown. During the General Election campaign, Mr Streeting told this newspaper that one of his first acts in Government would be to task NHS England with a 'rollout plan'. This would give every part of the country access to Fracture Liaison Services (FLS), the gold standard in early diagnosis of osteoporosis. Now analysis by the Royal Osteoporosis Society shows 36,000 hospital beds could be available every winter by fulfilling the pledge. Research suggests this would be enough to deliver an extra 7,000 surgeries and slash waiting lists. Osteoporosis affects more than 3.5 million in the UK but many do not realise they have it until they break a bone, by which time it is too late for preventative treatment. FLS aims to predict bone breaks earlier in patients' lives with a bone-density test called a DEXA scan. If signs of osteoporosis are spotted, patients can be given bone-preserving drugs sooner, leading to fewer fractures. However, only half of hospital trusts offer the service, meaning millions miss out on screening. Thousands of hospital beds could be freed up if Health Secretary Wes Streeting delivers on his promise to fund screening clinics for osteoporosis, a study has shown (Stock image) Mr Streeting (pictured) previously told this newspaper that one of his first acts in Government would be to task NHS England with a 'rollout plan' The Mail on Sunday launched a campaign last year to expand FLS to every part of England, backed by the Royal Osteoporosis Society. It was spearheaded by the Mail's Business Editor Ruth Sunderland after her osteoporosis diagnosis. Studies show without Government action, people with osteoporosis will suffer 74,000 preventable fractures by 2030, including 31,000 life-threatening hip fractures. This will take up 750,000 bed days, hitting hopes of reducing waiting lists. Universal FLS will save the NHS 440 million over five years. 'Throughout winter, thousands will end up in hospital with fractures which could have been prevented, including life-threatening hip fractures,' says Craig Jones, chief executive of the Royal Osteoporosis Society. 'The earlier we start the rollout, the more bed days will be released and the greater the reduction in waiting lists.' A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'We will expand access to Fracture Liaison Services, deliver 40,000 more appointments a week, and boost the capacity of diagnostic scanners as part of 1.5 billion of capital investment announced at the October Budget.' A huge block of land that was claimed by the owner's grandchildren 75 years after he died will be sold at auction by council after it fell into arrears. The 1.8hectare block at Currumbin Valley, in South East Queensland, has sat mostly idle since its owner George Bertram McClymont died in 1940. Mr McClymont bought it in 1923 and planned to use it as a banana farm, however the land has occasionally used by neighbours to run horses and animals. Descendents of Mr McClymont only came forward to claim the property when it was reported in local press the site was being resumed for parkland in 2014. At the time it was reported Gold Coast councillor Chris Robbins had been told there were nine surviving grandchildren of Mr McClymont. His two children have been long deceased. City finance boss William Owen-Jones said at the time the council would discuss the land's future with the McClymont family. 'If we follow due process and can match the property with the rightful owners then this is what we want to do,' he said. A huge block of land left largely idle for 75 years after it was forgotten by heirs is set be auctioned off Neighbours had assumed the land must be publicly owned as it sat idle from many decades 'However, the people would need to prove that they have a rightful and legitimate claim on the land. 'If multiple claimants ultimately come forward, the city will need to assess which way is the best to proceed but may need to go to public advertisement.' With the property considered unrateable since the end of the 20th century, the family members were not charged council levies for all the years up to 2014. The rates have since been piling up and the family is now $9,589.60 in arrears. Gold Coast City Council acting chief executive Paul Callander said the property would be put up for auction in early 2025 unless the arrears are cleared. 'At this stage we anticipate holding an auction in the first quarter of next year,' a Gold Coast council statement said. A council statement said they'd 'resolved to sell land because overdue rates and charges have remained unpaid for a period longer than the period allowed under section 140(1)(c) of the Local Government Regulation 2012'. The property, which is about 35km south of Surfers Paradise, sits between Currumbin Creek Road and several privately owned properties. Business owners fear one of Australia's most iconic nightlife strips could be ruined forever as ongoing construction projects threaten to force them out of the area. A number of storefronts along Sydney's Oxford Street have been left gutted and covered in graffiti while those still trading are struggling to stay afloat. It's a far cry from the street's renowned history as one of the crown jewels of Sydney's nightlife and the premier location for the annual Mardi Gras parade. A number of business owners along the street have blamed cost of living pressures and constant construction projects for reducing foot traffic and sales. One of those projects includes a massive renovation of three blocks to create the new 'Oxford & Foley' precinct which was tipped to be completed last year. But pedestrians are still being impacted by scaffolding over footpaths after the construction timetable blew out with projects now expected to finish in July. The other project impacting businesses is a new cycle path being built along Oxford Street after a concerted campaign by Lord Mayor Clover Moore. Ken Holmes, who owns underwear and swimwear store Aussie Boys, said the business was now trading '40 to 45 per cent' below its expected amount. A number of storefronts along Sydney 's Oxford Street have been left gutted and covered in graffiti while those still trading are struggling to stay afloat Mr Holmes said he now faces closing his store after it was opened more than 40 years ago while it's flanked by construction sites. Lockout laws, the Covid pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis has battered the region with bar owners also struggling to keep their doors open. 'The problem is nobodys coming here because everyones saying "dont go to Oxford Street, theres nothing there",' he told NCA NewsWire. 'Were trying to turn that around a bit, but it seems to be stuck in peoples minds that theres nothing here so they dont come here.' He added the reduced foot traffic along the iconic street meant there are days where the business records no sales. Barriers and fences now cover the front of Aussie Boys for the cycle path while construction on the Oxford & Foley precinct continues just doors down. Investment firm AsheMorgan started the process toward building the precinct in 2019 by signing a 99-year lease on the three council-owned properties alongside developer, Toga Group. The AsheMorgan website describes the project as a 'prominent collection of character buildings providing a mixture of basement and ground floor retail and upper floors of commercial accommodation, within a renowned urban village'. Another project on Oxford Street's famed Taylor Square has led to beloved bar Cafe Freda's announcing it will call last drinks after Mardi Gras on March 1 (pictured, Mardi Gras in March, 2024) But the extended construction time has led to award-winning bar and restaurant Big Poppas, located at the centre of the development, to close its doors. A statement from restaurants management said the delays compounded the 'impact on our business'. 'As you would have noticed, for the past 21 months the block we live in has been undergoing redevelopment,' the statement reads. 'We are hoping that the construction is completed as quickly as possible and we can reopen our doors with some exciting new neighbours.' A TOGA spokesperson said they have 'worked diligently to minimise disruptions and communicate regularly with neighbours and tenants, ensuring that the final development reflects the communitys passion for this iconic precinct'. Another project on Oxford Street's famed Taylor Square has led to beloved bar Cafe Freda's announcing it will call last drinks after Mardi Gras on March 1. Co-owner David Abram initially relocated the bar from Chippendale in 2020 without knowing 'how long we would be at this iconic location'. The building it currently sits in will be redeveloped into a $14.6million boutique hotel. A City of Sydney spokesman said it is still encouraging locals to support businesses despite the ongoing transformation. 'The City of Sydney continues to support local businesses with marketing across a range of online and outdoor channels encouraging residents and visitors to visit the strip during the improvement works,' the spokesperson told Newswire. 'Our long-term vision is for a greener Oxford Street with slowed traffic, improved pedestrian activity and cycling, and more and better public spaces. 'We want the strip to be a celebration of LGBTIQA+ culture and community and a destination and workplace for culture and creatives, with more businesses and local services in the street's heritage buildings.' The spokesperson added that the new precinct will add 'more than 12,000 square metres of floor space for a diverse range of uses' Daily Mail Australia approached TOGA and AsheMorgan for comment. Black-footed ferrets have been reintroduced to Arizona for the first time in nearly 30 years. The creatures had been all but wiped out by a disease known as the sylvatic plague which scientists have now managed to get under control - so experts have given the predators another stab at survival in the Grand Canyon State. The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) bred ten of the ferrets in captivity before releasing them in the Aubrey Valley area, an hour west of Flagstaff. They learned how to hunt and survive at a Colorado facility before they were given vaccinations and released into the wild. The Arizona agency worked with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to figure out what was driving the ferrets to extinction before finding a solution. Black-footed ferrets have been nicknamed 'little vampires' by wildlife workers for their protruding fangs and ability to hunt at night, like the mythical creatures. 'We couldn't begin to re-establish this population without understanding the ferret die-off,' explained senior small mammal management specialist Holly Hicks. Her team identified that sylvatic plague was also infecting ferrets' main prey, Gunnison's prairie dogs. Black-footed ferrets have been reintroduced to Arizona for the first time in nearly 30 years Senior small mammal management specialist Holly Hicks spearheaded the project The bacterial disease is transmitted by fleas and has resulted in the decline of more than 100 ferrets in Arizona since the early 2000s. While the prairie dogs survived year to year with the plague, the ferrets were extremely susceptible even to low levels of the disease. 'It was starting to become obvious that it was a prey base issue,' said Hicks. 'So in 2020, we switched to a disease treatment study of the prairie dogs.' Conservationists are combatting the disease using flea treatments with the same active ingredient as those used in dog and cat medicine. The ferrets have also been microchipped so that scientists can study them going forwards. Each was released with a 'little chunk of prairie dog snack to send them on their way', according to the AZGFD. Future controlled releases of ferrets have also been scheduled for the next three years. It comes after scientists managed to clone two black-footed ferrets using frozen genes from 1988 earlier this year. The ferrets - named Antonia and Noreen - could be the much-needed solution to the species' survival that has dwindled to just 300 in the wild. The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) bred ten of the ferrets in captivity before releasing them in the Aubrey Valley area, an hour west of Flagstaff The agency discovered a bacterial disease called sylvatic plague transmitted via fleas was killing ferrets which it has got under control by using flea treatments similar to those used on domestic pets Future controlled releases of ferrets have also been scheduled for the next three years The US Fish and Wildlife Service said it hopes to breed when they reach full maturity later this year. Black-footed ferrets are the only species native to North America and are one of the continent's most endangered mammals. According to the World Wildlife Forum, ferret numbers are indicative of the health of the grassland ecosystem. Thousands of protestors across the nation have called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for more action to combat anti-Semitism in Australia. More than 400 people, many brandishing the Star of David and placards, gathered at Martin Place, in Sydney's CBD, for the 'Enough is Enough' protest. Attendees heard from a number of speakers at the protest urging Mr Albanese to take on a zero-tolerance approach to anti-Semitic attacks across Australia. Signs being held by protestors read: 'Albo the world is watching' and 'stop the hate mate' while one replaced 'antisemite' on the iconic Vegemite logo. Another sign labelled Foreign Affairs minister Penny Wong, 'Penny Wrong', after her support of a UN motion for a pathway to Palestinian statehood. The protestors heard from Jewish leaders and politicians who declared recent anti-Semitic attacks had brought Australia was to a 'tipping point'. 'Terrorism lives among us and can even impact peaceful societies like ours here in Australia,' Zionist Council of NSW's former director of creative events and operations Hagit Ashual said. The event follows two incidents across Australia and was held at the scene of the Lindt Cafe siege which brought Sydney to a halt 10 years earlier. Hundreds of protestors have gathered in Sydney's Martin Place to call on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to take more action against Anti-Semitism (pictured) The 'Enough is Enough' event follows two recent anti-Semitic attacks across Australia and was held at the site of the Lindt Cafe siege on the terror attack's 10th anniversary Ms Ashual said Australia's Jewish community has been waiting '14 months for our government to take action'. 'We are here to demand that our government take strong measures to stop anti-Semitism and bring back peace to our streets,' she said. 'We live in a democratic society, and we cherish that, but I must ask, how is it acceptable that week after week for over a year, aggressive and violent demonstrations have taken over our cities?' One such incident occurred about 5km south-west of the protest in Woollahra on Wednesday where 'Kill Israiel' was found graffitied on a wall behind a burning car. The suburb is home to a prominent Jewish community and was promptly labelled an 'targeted attack' by NSW Premier Chris Minns. Another incident occurred the Friday prior when the Adass Israel synagogue at Ripponlea in Glen Eira, south-east Melbourne, was set alight. Rabbi Gabi Kaltmann said 'two thugs' had smashed the synagogue's windows, threw fuel on the floor and then set it alight as people were preparing morning prayers. 'This is no longer a threat, this is a reality in Australia in 2024,' Rabbi Benjamin Elton of the Great Synagogue told the protest. Attendees also labelled foreign affairs minister Penny Wong, 'Penny Wong', after she supported motions before the UN to provide Palestine a pathway to statehood Protestors also rallied under the Australian flag and used icon Aussie logos such as the Vegemite logo calling anti-Semitism 'unAustralian' (pictured) Ms Ashual also noted the 'massive cost to the Australian taxpayer' that recent pro-Palestine protests have accumulated for a police presence. 'This amounts to millions of community dollars that should be used for good and peaceful purposes,' she said. 'These hate filled rallies are hijacking our cities and bringing our transport system to a halt. 'It is evident now that the hate directed towards the Jewish people also intimidates Australian businesses and the wider Australian community.' A number of attendees rallied under Australian flags while others of seperate Christian sects showed their support. Liberal councillor for Hunters Hill, Carol Tannous-Sleiman, said recent tensions had resulted in actions she had 'never seen before in Australia'. Ms Tannous-Sleiman, of Lebanese Christian Maronite heritage, said she was regularly asked 'which side' of the Israeli-Gazan conflict because she was Arab. 'The disgraceful undertones in Australia have evolved progressively over the last 14 months,' she said. 'From the prime minister to the foreign minister your lack of action is a disgrace. These are not just attacks on Jews but an attack on Australian mateship.' Ecopark opening marks FPJ's 20th death anniversary Family and friends of the late National Artist Fernando Poe Jr. observed his 20th death anniversary on December 14 with a Holy Mass in Manila and the launch of an ecopark in his hometown in San Carlos City, Pangasinan. Senator Grace Poe and son Brian Poe Llamanzares, chairman of FPJ Panday Bayanihan, joined the Mass at the family mausoleum at Manila North Cemetery. Poe said giving genuine top-notch service to the people is a way of honoring the legacy of generosity and compassion of the King of Philippine Movies. "In his idealism and love for the Filipinos, we are reminded to stay the course because even simple deeds can have an impact in making our people's live's better," Poe said. "Lolo showed that everyone has the capacity to explore, imagine and give back to our country in the path we choose," added Brian, whose group has joined the party-list elections. After the mass, the Poe family motored to San Carlos for a Mass at the Minor Basilica of Saint Dominic. They proceeded to join local officials of the city at the opening of the FPJ Ecopark or the San Carlos City Esplanade in Barangay Bocboc. The newly opened facility named after FPJ aims to serve as a tourist attraction, offering an oasis in the city for relaxation and gathering of families. "We are grateful to the local government for naming this landmark after FPJ. Even if he is no longer with us, a place like this reminds us of FPJ's love for family bonding and enjoyment," Poe said. Joining the Poe family were San Carlos Mayor Julier Resuello, Vice Mayor Joseres Resuello, Representative Maria Rachel Arenas and other local officials. The senator's sister, actress Lovi Poe, also graced the occasion. FPJ or Roland Allan Kelley Poe was born on August 20, 1939. He passed away on December 14, 2004 at the age of 65. FPJ appeared in around 300 movies, some of which he directed and produced through his FPJ Production Inc. He has bagged numerous awards, including a FAMAS Hall of Fame Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Gawad Urian. He was conferred a posthumous National Artist Award, which his family formally accepted in 2012. Recently, FPJ Productions partnered with GMA Network to air in the first quarter of 2025 the collection of digitally-restored FPJ classics. Authorities in several states hope to inform the public of water safety in an effort to prevent further boating-related fatalities and injuries, including on jet skis. Queensland Police will join authorities in other states and crack down on unsafe boating behaviour this summer. Source: Queensland Police Authorities are cracking down on unruly boating behaviour this summer as more and more Aussies take to the water on personal watercrafts, including jet skis which have soared in popularity. In an effort to prevent further boating-related fatalities and injuries in Aussie waters, authorities in several states have launched a campaign aimed at alerting the public to water safety. Speeding, improper licencing and drink driving are among the offences being targeted. In New South Wales, jet skis have "soared in popularity" recently, according to NSW Maritime, a division of Transport for NSW (TfNSW). They said there are now some 90,000 owners and while "jet skis are fun" they can "still be dangerous". A spokesperson told Yahoo News this week that personal watercraft (PWC) incidents are usually "caused by poor judgement, no proper lookout and excessive speed". In the past 12 months, NSW has recorded 1700 jet ski infringements. ADVERTISEMENT In Queensland, there are currently more than one million recreation boat licence holders (including personal watercraft/jet ski licences), police revealed this week. They announced they'll be enforcing "the fatal five" starting from December 14, which include: Drink and drug taking Speeding Lifejacket and safety equipment compliance Keeping a proper lookout and distance off Trip Planning A group of young men were seen 'behaving badly' in Queensland waters by locals this week. Source: Facebook Locals hit out over 'bad behaviour' witnessed in Queensland river In Noosa this week, one concerned resident slammed a couple of mates who were travelling in an "out of control tinny". It appears two others in a separate boat had to be rescued from the water after "falling out" "Their tinny was full throttle, unoccupied, spinning in circles with a full tank of fuel," the woman said, sharing photos on Facebook. Others also noticed the young guys "behaving badly" and "racing each other". ADVERTISEMENT And it's situations like this authorities across the country are trying to avoid. Most common offences in Aussie waters Speeding continues to be the most common offence on the water, despite it being especially dangerous in congested waterways during peak holiday seasons, Queenland Police said. Authorities will be targeting known problem areas across the state and will be "coming down hard" on those putting other waterway users in danger. Meanwhile, drink and drug taking while operating a boat is also common, and is even more dangerous than a car and can have the same fatal outcomes, authorities warn. Brisbane Water Police patrols will be particularly focussing on these offences during the school holidays. ADVERTISEMENT Further south, Victorian authorities also warned about the dangers of jet skis. "Riding jet skis can be fun but cool your jets and make sure you're doing it safely," police said this week. They encouraged everyone to remember the rules around water safety, which include slower speeds and wearing "the correct lifejacket type at all times". A Sydney man recently vented over crowed and congested boat ramps as more boats and jet skis take to Aussie waters. Source: Facebook Boom in jet ski sales across Australia In 2022, jet ski sales hit a record high in the country after almost 10,000 were bought in the country, according to Watercraft Zone. Although there was a slump in sales last year, massive discounts from retailers and the already high number of jet skis owned and used by Aussies have contributed to congestion on boat ramps as the holidays near. Last month, a Sydney man expressed his frustration over congested boat ramps. He fears the problem will only worsen throughout summer. "You have no chance of launching the boat with the amount of jet skis there at the moment," he said Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. On a cold winter night in New Jersey, the skies are far from still. The state has become the eerie epicenter of mysterious drone activity in recent weeks, rocking the nation with tales of locals spotting brightly lit objects whizzing through the sky. Federal authorities are adamant there is not threat to the public. Joseph Micali, 38, a patent attorney from Westfield, New Jersey, stood in his frigid driveway on Saturday night, staring into the abyss that had been illuminated by drones over the last few days. Out of the starless December sky, one, two, three, then four drones suddenly started to appear out of thin air - sending a shiver down the spines of everyone watching. Staring in disbelief, the dad-of-two described how his neighborhood was being plagued by low-flying fixed-winged drones, that release a low humming noise and colored lights in the night sky. Like many experiencing the bizarre fixtures in the air, Micali has reached his wit's end with the radio silence from authorities on what the drones are - causing him and his neighbors to delve into terrifying conspiracy theories on who is behind them. The never-ending cycle of buzzing drones has made the father feel as if he's inside a thriller movie - with his wife left fearing to leave the house because of what may 'be coming off' of the menacing drones. Speaking outside his home on Saturday night, Micali told DailyMail.com: 'I ran inside grabbed my binoculars and caught a clear glimpse. It looked like a plane, but it is a fixed-wing drone. Joseph Micali, 38, a patent attorney from Westfield, New Jersey , stood in his driveway, staring at the drones that he had been seeing lighting up the sky over his home for days The dad-of-two described how his neighborhood was being plagued by low-flying fixed-winged drones, that release a low humming noise and colored lights in the night sky. Pictured: A colorful drone above his NJ home on Saturday night 'It was zig-zagging across the sky, making circles, but at any given time over Westfield there were probably at least 10, up to 15, going at the same time.' Micali described the drones as 'blinking red and green lights' and making a low noise - revealing that some nights, the illumination coming off the drones is just white. The New Jersey man said that the strange activity usually starts around 9pm and ends at 12pm - but that now it seems to be starting earlier. 'Today, I started seeing some activity around 6pm. It is a bit unsettling. My wife is probably more concerned than me,' he told DailyMail.com. He described the unnerving way the drones often feel like they are 'coming right at you' because of how low they are flying in the sky. Micali said: 'The low-flying drones you feel like they are coming right at you - like the Alfred Hitchcock movie when the planes are coming down and Carey Grant dodges the the aircraft. There are some nights you just see them come over the tree line and think "they are right on top of me.'" Speaking about the drone hysteria in New Jersey, he said: 'It is the buzz of the town. Everyone is trying to get footage, and send it around to friends. They are substantial in size. They are not drones you can buy off the shelf in Target.' The inexplicable drone issue reached boiling point over the weekend as President Joe Biden remained silent on the matter - refusing to address the mounting crisis, fueling country-wide fear and confusion. Pointing to the sky on Saturday night, the attorney showed how there were currently three drones above him, 'crisscrossing in different directions and altitudes.' 'Sometimes I see them coming over my house in this direction and other times in this direction, motioning the other way. At first, I wasn't so concerned. I thought that there would be an explanation coming out in a matter of hours, especially with the pressure building to get answers. But the fact that we still have no information is very unsettling. 'You can't deny what your eyes are seeing. I thought at first, it seems they were following the same pattern... but as the days go by, I see them coming every which way as they are scanning indiscriminately.' Micali added: 'There is no rhyme or reason.' Pictured: A drone seen flying over Joseph Micali's home in Westfield, New Jersey Pictured: A drone seen flying over Joseph Micali's home in Westfield, New Jersey Speaking about the drone hysteria in New Jersey, he said: 'It is the buzz of the town. Everyone is trying to get footage, and send it around to friends. They are substantial in size. They are not drones you can buy off the shelf in Target' Reporter Ruth Bashinsky points up at the night sky above the community in New Jersey, where locals have been plagued by the never-ending drone activity Unlike some experts who believe a foreign entity is behind the drones, Micali said that he thinks it may be the US military - but that is based on him 'hoping for the best.' He said: 'The drones feel very much focused on the ground below, and the question is, what are they doing flying around at night? 'Obviously if they are doing mapping, you would think they would want daylight, unless they are testing some type of capability in the night time,' Micali said. He added: 'Another theory is that they are testing some kind of self-driving auto-pilot feature to these drones, giving them a prompt to go exploring and collecting data. A third theory is that they are just testing to see how far these drones can travel.' The attorney, who said he has not discussed the drone ordeal with his children, aged nine and 11, said that the flying objects have often 'caught him off guard' as he's driving home in the dark. Micali added: 'I am much calmer than my wife. But as the days go on, I am getting her perspective and getting more concerned. Like, if I step outside, am I breathing in something? Is something coming off of these things? 'Another conspiracy is that it is a kind of PSYOP [psychological operations] event that we are getting subjected to. This is an experiment and they are going to fly drones overhead and get people ready for a world where drones will always fly. 'It's just nonstop. Every time you think one has passed over, you turn around and see a new one hanging overhead. That is how it has been most nights.' Joseph isn't the only person on his street who is fed up and confused about the drones. Lisa, another local, was walking her Chihuahua named Chance at 10:30pm on Saturday when she called the drone business annoying. She told DailyMail.com: Honestly, I cant tell the difference between a drone or a plane, but I feel like somebody knows what they are and they should be telling us. I am disturbed that whoever knows something is not telling the public and that is not right and not fair. While we were talking her dog was barking loudly and I asked her if her dog was sensing something unusual, she laughed: I wish I knew. I wish I could talk to him and ask him.' She added: He is more disturbed by cats than anything else. This comes as former CIA operations officer Laura Ballman revealed her chilling theory that the drones lighting up multi-state skies may be a 'classified exercise.' She told Fox News Live that the drone sightings are 'extremely unsettling,' and shared her theory that they may be part of a technology 'test,' orchestrated by the Biden Administration. Unlike some experts who believe a foreign entity is behind the drones, Micali said that he thinks it may be the US military - but that is based on him 'hoping for the best' The attorney, who said he has not discussed the drone ordeal with his children, aged nine and 11, said that the flying objects have often 'caught him off guard' as he's driving home in the dark Speaking about the drones above his home, Micali said: 'There is no rhyme or reason' Ballman said: 'Now in terms of who is behind this, seeing the statements that have been made by John Kirby, who has said that these objects are not operating illegally. 'Coupled with the several op-eds that have been out there in the last 24 hours about the need to look at our detection systems, [it] makes me think perhaps this is actually a classified exercise to test either evasion technology or detection technology in urban areas.' Gordon Chang, a senior fellow at conservative think tank the Gatestone Institute and an expert on Chinese affairs, said the drones appeared to be highly sophisticated and are not being controlled by amateurs. 'These activities are too large and well-organized to be the work of hobbyists,' Chang told Fox Business. 'That leaves foreign powers. It could be Iran in connection with China, but clearly, somebody is trying to divert our attention.' Chang suggested that while the drones themselves are unsettling, he was more troubled by the fact that they could be a distraction for a far greater threat. 'What really worries me is what they might be doing elsewhere. We could very well get hit,' he told Fox. As of Saturday night, drones have been spotted over the skies in California, Massachusetts, Florida, Wyoming, New York, and New Jersey. The unnerving sightings are causing mass hysteria - and witnesses have taken to social media to share the peculiar sightings, after Trump demanded the 'SUV-sized' drones be shot down. The grieving mother of a woman whose body was found wrapped in plastic near Sydney Airport almost a week ago has conducted the painstaking task of clearing out her daughter's marital home. The body of 33-year-old Greenacre woman Zhuojun 'Sally' Li was discovered in dense bushland by a jogger in Botany Bay's Sir Joseph Banks Park in Sydney's south on December 9, 18km from her home. The remains were wrapped in plastic and badly decomposed. The grim discovery was made one week after Ms Li's mother reported her missing. Ms Li's partner Jai-Bao 'Rex' Chen, 33, remains missing with police fearing he also may have been the victim of a violent crime. On Sunday, six days after her daughter's body was found, Ms Li's mother laid the couple's possessions on the front lawn of their rental property in Sydney's south-west. The distressed mother faced the task of clearing out the home after police scoured the property for potential clues on Friday. A neighbour told The Daily Telegraph, the mother spent Saturday clearing out the home, loading furniture into a removalist truck to put into storage and left unwanted items on the front lawn. 'I spoke to the mother, she was very upset, she said what had happened to her daughter ... just so shocking, I could not believe it,' the neighbour said. The body of 33-year-old Greenacre woman Zhuojun 'Sally' Li (pictured) was discovered in dense bushland by a jogger in Sir Joseph Banks Park on December 9 Ms Li's partner Jai-Bao 'Rex' Chen (pictured) remains missing with police fearing he also may have been the victim of a violent crime The couple were known for being very festive and decorated their home for Christmas, Halloween and Chinese New Year. 'Sally would always decorate the house ... Last year for Christmas, lights everywhere. For Halloween, even the doorbell played Halloween music,' the neighbour said. Tinsel, decorative lanterns and fairy lights were among the abandoned items on the front lawn. Forensic specialists spent hours searching the home on Friday, looking for any leads into Ms Li's murder and Mr Chen's disappearance. Every inch of the home was inspected and dusted for fingerprints, including the front fence. 'They were here for a very long time ... but they told me they don't think anything bad happened in the house,' the neighbour said. Ms Li's and Mr Chen's possessions were again picked over on Sunday morning with locals scavenging through the pile of belongings on the front lawn with torches as early as 1am. Police were seen patrolling the couple's home on Sunday, despite it being emptied the day prior. Ms Li's mother emptied the couple's home following the discovery of her daughter's body (pictured, police searching the Botany Bay park where the body was found) A silver Toyota Avensis, which does not belong to either of them, was seized by Homicide Squad officers as they believe it was used to transport Ms Li's body Homicide detectives are 'trying to identify the third party' involved in Mr Li's death and her husband's disappearance. 'A strong focus for us is mainly on Rex at the moment but we have to keep an open mind, we are looking at a strong possibility of a third party as well,' Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty told reporters on Saturday. A silver Toyota Avensis, which does not belong to either of them, was seized by Homicide Squad officers as they believe it was used to transport Ms Li's body. 'We are looking at associations and friends of Sally and Rex who may have been in a position to transport a body to Botany and then also to cover up the actual body at the crime scene,' Detective Superintendent Doherty said. 'There's a question mark as to whether Rex is a person of interest or a victim. We still don't know.' Detective Superintendent Doherty said Mr Chen was last seen alive in November and there was a 'strong investigative theory' that a third party could be involved. 'Not only in the suspected murder of Sally, but we also have to look at a third party being involved in the disappearance of Rex as well,' he said. 'At this stage we believe he (Rex) is in Australia but whether he is alive or dead we don't know.' Detective Superintendent Doherty said Mr Chen was last seen alive in November and there was a 'strong investigative theory' that a third party could be involved Supt Doherty said they were a 'normal couple' who had no known links to organised crime. The couple had recently been providing in-home care for disabled people under the National Disability Insurance Scheme, according to their neighbours. 'In a world that often overlooks the unique needs and capabilities of individuals with disabilities, we stand as a beacon of support and advocacy,' Ms Li wrote on their business website. She previously attended Riverside Girls High School and worked in early childhood, according to her social media accounts Are now back in Australia as free men Five members of Bali Nine have returned home in Australia after the federal government struck a deal with Indonesia Matthew Norman, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen, Scott Rush and Michael Czugaj flew back to Australia on a commercial flight on Sunday in a top secret mission following weeks of negotiations between the two nations. The five men won't be required to serve prison sentences in Australia and will be able to live freely in the community. The development comes after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese requested the transfer at a recent meeting with new Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto at the APEC Summit last month, who agreed to let the prisoners return home on humanitarian grounds. The five men are believed to be staying at Howard Springs near Darwin, Nine News reported. The Prime Minister has confirmed that the five men are home. 'I am pleased to confirm that Australian citizens, Si Yi Chen, Michael Czugaj, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush and Martin Stephens have returned to Australia this afternoon. I thank President Prabowo Subianto for his compassion,' he wrote on X. The five Aussies were arrested alongside Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumaran, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen and Renae Lawrence in Bali in April 2005 as they attempted to smuggle 8.3kg of heroin strapped to their bodies from the holiday island. Remaining members of the Bali Nine (L-R) Si-Yi Chen, Martin Stephens, Matthew Norman (top), Michael Czugaj (bottom) and Scott Rush returned home to Australia on Sunday The five men won't serve any prison time in Australia. Pictured are Bali 9 members Matthew Norman (L) and Si Yi Chen (right) Ringleaders Chan and Sukumaran were executed by firing squad in April 2015. Stephen's former cellmate Nguyen died from cancer in 2018, while Lawrence was released that year after her life sentence was reduced to 20 years on appeal. Mr Albanese later told reporters: 'These Australians served more than 19 years in prison in Indonesia. It was time for them to come home.' The five Aussies will continue their rehabilitation in Australia and will be provided with short-term accommodation, government support and medical care during their transition to living back in the community. 'We would like to convey our deep appreciation to the government of Indonesia for its cooperation to facilitate the men's return to Australia on humanitarian grounds, a joint statement from Mr Albanese, Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke read. 'This reflects the strong bilateral relationship and mutual respect between Indonesia and Australia.' 'The men will have the opportunity to continue their personal rehabilitation and reintegration in Australia. 'We ask that the media respect the privacy of the men and their families at this time.' Martin Stephens was among five Bali 9 members who returned home on Sunday Some of the men now have Indonesian families, who didn't travel to Australia with them. Stephens previously said that he would 'reject' a prisoner exchange so he could remain close to his stepdaughter and wife Christine Puspayanti, whom he married while behind bars in 2011. 'I'm much freer here than I would be in an Australian jail, though logically it would be better for my parents,' Stephens said in his last interview in 2020. 'I teach English and play the seruling (traditional bamboo flute) but I haven't learned Indonesian. I want to keep my Australian identity and avoid getting involved in faction fighting,' he told Indonesia Expat. Ten months after their arrests, Chan and Sukumaran were sentenced to death by the firing squad while the remaining seven were handed life sentences. A couple who were 'stalked' by a crocodile while stranded in floodwaters in the outback say they're lucky to be alive as they relived the terrifying ordeal. Tony and Lisa Fogg were finally whisked to safety by rescuers three days after their 4WD was swept away while travelling between Normanton and Kowanyama in the Gulf of Carpentaria in far north Queensland earlier this month. The Gold Coast couple were well-acquainted with the area having spent the last six-and-a-half years working in remote Aboriginal communities. So on December 5, the pair didn't think twice about driving through swallow waters while crossing Clarke Creek. 'It was at less than a foot of water - for us a very normal, innocuous crossing across a creek on the main road,' Mr Fogg told The Project on Sunday. However, that foot of water quickly rose over a metre of floodwater, trapping the couple and their two dogs, Charlie and Daisy inside. Mr and Mrs Fogg's submerged car began filling with water and they faced drowning before a passenger window popped open at the last moment allowing them to flee. Mrs Fogg escaped the flooded car and with what he thought would be his last breath, her husband grabbed the dogs as the vehicle went under. Tony and Lisa Fogg (pictured) were stranded in the Queensland outback for three days after floodwater swept their 4WD from a creek crossing The couple and their two dogs (pictured) were trapped in their flooded 4WD but escaped with moments to spare The group managed to swim to the bank where they were stranded for three days. They survived by building a makeshift shelter from branches and leaves and drinking the muddy floodwater. While their hunger and the swarms of mosquitoes attacking them would have been enough to send any bushman over the edge, the couple faced a much bigger threat. 'After we scrambled to the shore and realised we had nothing, I got Lisa and the dogs to go up to a shaded area up the bank,' Mr Fogg said. 'We're used to having crocs everywhere up here but when I went back down to grab some drinking water for us, I saw a crocodile looking straight at me. 'From then on, I think he was keen on taking the dogs as a meal and we had to keep him from coming out of the water towards us for the entire night and most of the next day.' When asked if at any point the couple believed they would die, Mrs Fogg said: 'Pretty much the whole time.' Mr Fogg added: 'We knew someone would eventually figure out where we were between the two arrival and departure points. 'We just basically had to keep our spirits up by making sure we had what we needed, which was water and shelter. We had nothing else.' The Foggs were attacked by swarms of mosquitoes and came face to face with a 'stalking' crocodile The couple survived by building makeshift shelter from branches and leaves and drinking muddy floodwaters The Foggs not only lost their 4WD currently under eight feet of crocodile infested waters but also their belongings inside. The couple are currently staying with friends in Cairns but plan return home to the Gold Coast. A GoFundMe for the couple has already raised more than $4,000. 'We desperately need help to get home to family, rebuild our shattered lives and return to our work,' Mr Fogg wrote. 'We only have the clothes we were wearing and our loyal red and blue heelers left. 'Asking for help is very difficult for us as we are used to trying to help others. Any help would be greatly appreciated.' LifeFlight pilot Michael Adair said the couple had all but given up of being found after two nights stranded in the outback. 'These people had resigned themselves to dying and seeing the look on their faces when they saw us and realised they weren't going to die that's the reason we do this,' he said. A LifeFlight crew scoured 500km of desert and eventually spotted an enormous SOS written in the dirt by the Foggs The LifeFlight crew scoured 500km of desert and eventually spotted an enormous SOS written in the dirt six hours into the flight last Saturday and the couple waving frantically from below. When the crew descended, the couple couldn't believe they were being saved. 'They said "thank God you're here, we didn't think anyone was coming",' Mr Adair said. 'The wife told us she had been hearing voices in the bush from exposure and had convinced herself that nobody was coming to help them, so she was very emotional when we hugged her,' he said. A Foreign Office interpreter has been accused of running a Chinese propaganda website from Britain as part of a 'veiled global network' of Communist Party sites. Chen Shirong acted as an interpreter for Chinese presidents coming to the UK on state visits as far back as 1999. Mr Shirong even sat two places away from President Xi Jinping at a lunch in Manchester in 2015, which former Prime Minister David Cameron was also present. The interpreter also worked for the BBC World Service as a journalist and commentator on Chinese affairs. However, a report due to be published next week by the UK-China Transparency charity accuses Mr Shirong of running a website that formed part of China's 'propaganda' network while he had access to the Foreign Office. He denies the claim. It comes amid heightened concerns over Chinese Communist Party penetration into Britain's government and Royal Family following allegations that an alleged Chinese spy formed a close relationship with Prince Andrew. Mr Shirong is the sole owner of Foremost4Media, which Microsoft flagged after alleging it forms part of a 'veiled global network of Chinese Communist Party news websites' in 2023. Microsoft's threat intelligence department included it in a report on 'digital threats from East Asia', The Telegraph reports. Chen Shirong (left) sat two places away from President Xi Jinping (centre) at a lunch in Manchester in 2015, which former Prime Minister David Cameron was also present Mr Shirong (pictured) has been accused of running a website that formed part of China's 'propaganda' network while he had access to the Foreign Office in Whitehall Mr Chen's website, which is no longer online but is still advertised on the interpreter's LinkedIn profile, was named by Microsoft as as one part of 'a network of more than 50 predominately Chinese-language news websites that support the CCP's stated goal of being the authoritative voice of all Chinese language media worldwide'. Microsoft said that the list of 50 websites raised concerns because they appeared to share the same IP addresses, HTML codes, web developer comments, application programming interfaces and 'content management system from a 'wholly-owned subsidiary' of China News Service'. According to The Telegraph, the report said: 'We assess with high confidence that these websites are affiliated with the CCP's United Front Work Department (UFWD).' The shadowy UFWD is used by the Chinese government to help increase the country's influence around the world and is sometimes described as the overseas arm of the CPP. Although Mr Chen has not been accused of any criminality, Sam Dunning, of UK-China Transparency, told The Telegraph that the study 'highlights the UK's urgent need for better understanding of the CCP and vigilance about its operations in the UK'. The charity also reportedly unearthed that Mr Chen was a 'consultant editor' in issues of China Report, a news outlet run by the UFWD and published by China News Service. Foremost4Media has been listed as the 'Marketing/Advertising/Subscription division of China Report, it is reported. Chen Shirong acted as an interpreter for Chinese presidents coming to the UK on state visits as far back as 1999. Pictured: The Foreign Office building in Whitehall And in 2019, Mr Chen attended the Global Chinese Language Media Forum, an event organised by the China News Service. Mr Chen admitted to having previously liaised with the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, a former arm of the Chinese state that attempted to influence expatriates. He denies having any contact with that office since it merged with the UFWD in 2018. Mr Chen told The Telegraph: 'I have not had any direct contact with anyone there since the restructuring. I have never had anything to do with them after they were absorbed into the United Front. 'I have lived in this country for more than 34 years. I came here in 1990 to learn about multimedia in education, then I was recruited by the BBC World Service. I take the UK as my second home.' He added: 'Whenever I do interpretation work for the Foreign Office, I work as a freelancer. I'm bound by the conduct of all translators. I started this work when I worked for the BBC. What I do as a language interpreter is separate from whatever else I do I perform the duty of the interpreter. 'I'm not aware of any Microsoft flagging of my website. I would totally dispute that. My organisation was registered in the UK and I am self-employed. It has nothing to do with any outside organisations or other countries.' MailOnline has also contacted Mr Chen and the Foreign Office for comment. It comes after it was revealed on Thursday that a 'close confidant' of the Duke of York was an alleged Chinese spy who has been banned from entering the UK after an investigation by MI5. In what appears to be an extraordinary breach of national security, the alleged agent, who can be named only as H6, was so close to Andrew that he visited Buckingham Palace twice, and entered St James's Palace and Windsor Castle. He was even authorised to act on Andrew's behalf to seek investors in China. MI5 discovered that the businessman, 50, was a member of the CPP and was working for the United Front Work Department. When police stopped him at the UK border in 2021 it was discovered that he had a briefing document in which Andrew appeared to be described as being in a 'desperate situation and will grab onto anything'. Last night, it also emerged that the alleged spy met former prime ministers Lord Cameron and Theresa May, even keeping photos of the encounters on his desk. A source close to Lord Cameron said he met 'thousands of people at hundreds of functions', adding: 'We don't have any further information about this individual.' A spokesman for Lady May said: 'She is photographed at numerous events in any given year; as such, she doesn't remember when or where this particular photograph was taken or the man in question.' Reform UK's finance chief is expected to meet Elon Musk amid rumours the world's richest man could donate $100million. Property tycoon Nick Candy, who declared he was joining Nigel Farage's outfit as Treasurer last week, said he believed Mr Musk 'would like to help'. Mr Candy has committed to giving the party 1million himself - but is also launching a push to raise tens of millions more from other wealthy business figures. Insiders in other parties admit funding on such a scale could 'shift the dial' and add fuel to Reform's rise in the polls. But there have also been complaints about influence on British politics from abroad, with Mr Musk having been a vocal critic of Keir Starmer. In an interview with the Sunday Times, Mr Candy - whose former pop star wife Holly Valance is also a fan of Mr Farage - claimed that Reform's membership would soon exceed that of the Tories. That stands at around 130,000. 'The oldest political party in this country... will be overtaken in members by the newest political party in this country - and that is mindblowing,' he said. Property tycoon Nick Candy (picture right with Nigel Farage) declared he was joining Reform as Treasurer last week Elon Musk pictured with Donald Trump, after they former a strong alliance during the US election campaign Mr Farage has repeatedly insisted he knows nothing about a potential contribution from Mr Musk, but said that if money were offered 'we will take it'. Mr Candy gave a broad hint that he is wooing the Space X and Tesla mogul - who has highlighted Reform's progress on the X social media site that he owns. 'Elon's managed to do an incredible job for President-elect Trump, and he's sort of changed the political spectrum in America,' Mr Candy said. 'He knows how to get things done. I want to understand how he got those people out in Pennsylvania. I want to learn from him.' Pressed on whether he would ask Musk directly for advice, Mr Candy said: 'You might be seeing something soon on that.' He refused to say explicitly whether that meant he would be heading to the US for a meeting. 'I don't want to go too much into the personal side of it. But he, I think, would like to help Nigel and Reform and myself,' Mr Candy said. The Reform Treasurer insisted any donation would need to be 'within the rules and regulations', but argued that Mr Musk is already 'legally allowed to donate through his companies that are registered in the UK... whether that's Tesla or whether that's X'. He added: 'We would like him to help... I would like him to help.' EXCLUSIVE Four Australian women aged betwen 18 and 56 are in a critical condition in hospital after a suspected mass alcohol poisoning in Fiji. Authorities said that seven guests were staying at the Warwick Resort on Fiji's Coral Coast allegedly fell ill after drinking cocktails at the venue bar on Saturday night. The group was rushed to nearby Sigatoka Hospital with nausea, vomiting and neurological symptoms with one victim's friend telling Daily Mail Australia that she was 'foaming at the mouth' and suffering seizures. He claimed another Australian woman was bleeding from her ears. All seven patients have since been transferred to Lautoka Hospital due to the severity of their conditions. The ABC reported of the four Australians, an 18-year-old and 49-year-old are still in a critical condition. A 19-year-old is 'experiencing serious medical episodes', while the 56-year-old 'has been under constant surveillance' in hospital. The Department of Foreign Affairs is assisting two Australian families who were reportedly at the resort for a wedding. Police and health inspectors are investigating the cause of the illness. Seven guests, including four Australian women, at Fiji's Warwick Resort (pictured) have been hospitalised following a suspected mass alcohol poisoning A resort guest, who requested to stay anonymous, told Daily Mail Australia his friend allegedly suffered seizures just hours after she was drinking at the resort bar. At about midday on Saturday, the group ordered five cocktails. 'The people who drank the pina colada became unwell,' the guest said. 'My friend was the worst of the lot. At 5pm we went to check on her and help her get ready for dinner. 'She wasn't responsive. She was having severe seizures and foaming at the mouth. 'All the victims were ladies. I could identify them as Warwick guests because they all had the resort armbands on. 'There was a young girl who had a sip of her mum's cocktail. They're both in a terrible state.' It's understood most of the victims were drinking from a bar by the adult-only pool. A guest and his friends allegedly ordered cocktails from the resort's bar (pictured) before one later suffered seizures A spokesperson from the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed it is aware of the incident. 'The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to two Australian families in Fiji,' they said. 'Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment.' Police officers visited the resort on Sunday, where they took samples of the alcohol which have been sent off for testing. Resort staff were shocked to learn about the incident. 'We are trying to get to the bottom of it right now,' an employee told the Daily Telegraph on Sunday night. 'We don't have any information, right now we can't disclose any information.' Warwick Resort is a five-star hotel located on the island's south coast, 92km west of Suva. It offers all-inclusive packages for adult visitors and families. Prices start from $300 per night in January and less than $250 outside the peak holiday season. Warwick Resort (pictured) is a five-star hotel located on Fiji's south coast, 92km west of Suva, the nation capital An Australian woman staying at the resort described her stay as 'great' but added she and her partner don't drink often. 'There are a few bars within the resort. The main restaurant where they have the hotel buffets for breakfast/lunch/dinner has a bar,' she said. 'Both the pools have bars - adult pool and main pool. 'Then there is a 'sunset bar' in the main lobby entrance with a balcony facing the beach. 'My partner and I don't drink much. We shared one drink while being here, that was from the sunset bar and we have been fine.' Neither of the Aussies had heard anything about the incident as of Sunday night. Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Warwick Resort for further comment. Australian government website Smartraveller updated its advice for Fiji on Sunday. 'We continue to advise exercise normal safety precautions,' the alert stated 'Be alert to the potential risks around drink spiking and methanol poisoning through consuming alcoholic drinks. 'Get urgent medical help if you suspect drink spiking.' An Australian guest at the Warwick Resort (pictured) said she hadn't heard about the alleged poisoning on Sunday night The news comes just weeks after six backpackers, including two Australians, were killed in a mass methanol poisoning. Melbourne teenagers Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both aged 19, were among six foreign tourists who died after falling ill while holidaying in Vang Vieng, a popular tourist town 129km north of Vientiane. They had all been staying at Nana Backpackers Hostel, where eight staff members were arrested by police. The best friends were evacuated to separate hospitals in Thailand on November 13. Ms Jones died surrounded by loved ones in Udon Thani hospital before Ms Bowles died in nearby Bangkok Hospital. British lawyer Simone White, 28, two Danish women Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, and Frela Vennervald Sorensen, 21, US man James Louis Hutson, 57, also died from after drinking contaminated drinks. A mysterious illness which has reportedly left patients shaking uncontrollably is spreading across Uganda in a case that is leaving doctors baffled. The disease which locals are referring to as Dinga Dinga, translating to 'shaking like dancing', has already affected around 300 people, mostly women and girls, according to health officials. The puzzling illness, confirmed in the Bundibugyo district in Uganda, causes fever and excessive body shaking which makes walking difficult to those that are suffering with Dinga Dinga. Doctor Kiyita Christopher, the district health officer, informed local media that no instances had been recorded in nearby areas outside of the Bundibugyo region and that samples had been submitted to the health ministry for analysis. The doctor also reassured that there has been no fatalities reported as a result of the disease, and that the illness is usually treatable with antibiotics. Many patients have tried herbal remedies in an attempt to counter their symptoms, but this has been strongly discouraged by the health professional. 'There is no scientific evidence that herbal medicine can treat this disease,' he said. 'We are using specific treatments, and patients usually recover within a week. The disease which locals are referring to as Dinga Dinga, translating to 'shaking like dancing', has already affected around 300 people It is mainly women and girls who have been affected with the puzzling disease The disease was first reported in 2023 and remains under investigation by health laboratories 'I urge locals to seek treatment from health facilities within the district,' he added. Christopher told Ugandan newspaper, Monitor, that the mysterious illness was first reported in early 2023 and remains under investigation by health laboratories. One patient, Patience Katusiime, recalled her experience with the illness, noting that her body kept shaking uncontrollably, despite feeling paralysed. 'I felt weak and got paralysed, with my body shaking uncontrollably whenever I tried to walk,' she said. It was very disturbing. I was taken to Bundibugyo Hospital for treatment, and thank God, I am now fine'. It comes just months after an outbreak of monkeypox was reported in Uganda and other East African states. The World Health Organisation (WHO) in August declared the ultra-deadly strain of the disease, also known as mpox, a global public health emergency. Officials said an outbreak of the virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its neighboring countries posed 'international concern' - the WHO's highest level of alert. The hope was to speed up research and roll out vaccines to contain the virus, which is more infectious and several times deadlier than the one that caused the global outbreak in 2022. A local Ugandan doctor reassured that there has been no fatalities reported as a result of the disease, and that the illness is usually treatable with antibiotics It comes just months after an outbreak of monkeypox was reported in Uganda and other East African states More than 17,000 suspected cases of monkeypox and over 517 deaths have been reported on the African continent this year alone, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. This is a 160 percent surge compared to the same period last year. Mpox caused an international epidemic in 2022 when it spread to more than 100 countries and killed hundreds of people - including 58 Americans. No deaths were recorded in the UK but several thousand Brits were infected. WHO recommends a vaccine within four days of contact with someone who has the virus or within up to 14 days if there are no symptoms. Healthcare workers and men who have sex with men are advised to receive a vaccine even if they have had no mpox exposure. Symptoms of mpox include a rash, skin lesions, fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain and swollen lymph nodes. It is spread through physical contact, such as kissing or sex, animals when cooking them, contaminated materials and pregnant women who can spread it to a fetus. There is no direct cure for mpox, but doctors aim to treat its symptoms, including clearing up the rash and managing pain. This is the moment rescue teams attempted to reach Mango's billionaire founder after he plummeted over 100 metres to his death in a tragic hiking accident. Isak Andic, the mastermind behind the Spanish clothing retailer was walking with his son Jonathan at around 1pm CET yesterday when the incident occurred. It is believed Jonathan tried to save his 71-year-old father, who fell down a ravine in the Salnitre de Collbato caves, quickly alerting emergency services. But when the responders arrived to the scene by both helicopter and ambulance, they confirmed that the businessman had died. Mr Andic, who was a fan of hiking and remained fit in later life, had been spending the day with his family whilst trailing the path near the Montserrat mountains. The Turkey-born founder and chair of the Spanish fashion chain fell more than 100 metres 'in an area of difficult access', sources told El Pais. Mr Andic, was the richest man in Catalonia as well as the fifth most wealthy in Spain, with a fortune of $4.5 billion dollars (3.56 billion), Forbes reports. He leaves behind three children who he shared with his ex-wife Neus Raig Tarrago, Judith, Sarah, and his son Jonathan - who is a Mango executive board member and the presumptive heir of the empire. Billionaire Isak Andic, mastermind behind the Spanish clothing retailer Mango - one of Europe's largest fashion groups - died on Saturday Rescue teams rallied in attempt to reach Mango's billionaire founder after he plummeted over 100 metres in the tragic accident Pedestrians walk by the entrance of a Mango shop on Passeig de Gracia street in Barcelona on February 28, 2024 (file image) Jonathan had previously been the chief executive of the clothing brand since 2014 for several years after being at the company for nearly a decade. He initially began his stint at Mango on the designs collection team, and had a hand in everything regarding the creative process, later leading the Mango's men's line. However his late father was forced to take back the company's reigns and put in place a new leader at Mango after Jonathan recorded losses during his time as chief executive, according to the FT. The heir to the Mango empire, Jonathan, studied at several prestigious schools, which includes Swiss boarding school - Beau Solei. He later studied audiovisual communication in the US, before specialising in accounting and finance at IESE business school, according to Semana. Similarly to the rest of the Mango clan, Jonathan has remained tight-lipped about his personal life. As of March 2024, local Spanish media outlets reported that he was in a relationship with Paula Navarro, also known by the alias of Paula Nata. Mr Andic, who was a fan of hiking and remained fit in later life, had been spending the day with his family whilst trailing the path near the Montserrat mountains when he fell down the ravine Isak Andic and Kate Moss attend the '4th Mango Fashion Awards' held at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in 2012 Isak Andic, Chief Executive of Spanish fashion label Mango, stands next to Queen Letizia of Spain, during her visit to Mango's factory in Palau-Solita i Plegamans, near Barcelona, April 7, 2011 A view of the Montserrat caves as well as the Collbrato village in Catalonia, Spain The Salnitre de Collbato caves near Montserrat in the region of Catalonia, Spain (Stock image) In her social media posts, the influencer who is the co-founder of All About Management and Mes Amies Atelier, referred to Jonathan as her fiance. In the wake of his father's tragic death, Mango which has nearly 2,800 stores worldwide, released the following statement. 'It is with deep regret that we announce the unexpected death of Isak Andic, our non-executive chairman and founder of Mango.' Mango CEO Toni Ruiz said: 'Isak has been an example for all of us. He dedicated his life to Mango, leaving an indelible mark thanks to his strategic vision, his inspiring leadership and his unwavering commitment to values that he himself imbued in our company.' 'It is up to us, and this is the best tribute we can make to Isak and which we will fulfil, to ensure that Mango continues to be the project that Isak aspired to and of which he would feel proud.' Mr Ruiz concluded: '[Mr Andic's] legacy reflects the achievements of a business project marked by success, and also by his human quality, his proximity and the care and affection that he always had and at all times conveyed to the entire organization. 'His departure leaves a huge void but all of us are, in some way, his legacy and the testimony of his achievements. 'It is up to us, and this is the best tribute we can make to Isak and which we will fulfill, to ensure that Mango continues to be the project that Isak aspired to and of which he would feel proud. His son Jonathan Andic, who is an executive board member at Mango, is the presumptive heir of his late father's empire He is thought to be engaged to influencer and businesswoman Paula Nata, who referenced him as her fiance in April of this year 'In these extremely difficult times we share the pain of the family as if it were our own.' Tributes flooded in for the business mogul, with the country's politicians among those leading the condolences. Catalan president Salvador Illa said: 'Devastated by the loss of Isak Andic, a committed businessman who with his leadership has contributed to making Catalonia great and projecting it to the world. 'He leaves an indelible mark on the Catalan and global fashion sector. My condolences and those of the entire Government to the family, friends, and the Mango team.' Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also weighed in on the tragedy, saying: 'All my love and recognition for your great work and business vision, which has turned this Spanish firm into a world leader in fashion.' Spain's opposition People's Party leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo added: 'I regret the death of Isak Andic, the founder of Mango which is a benchmark in the textile and fashion sector at an international level. 'My sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all the company's employees.' Mango traces its origins to 1984, when Andic, who is of Turkish origin, opened his first shop on the Paseo de Gracia, Barcelona's famous shopping street, with the help of his older brother Nahman. Isak Andic was friends with the likes of Kate Moss and Terry Richardson. Mango traces its origins to 1984, when Andic, who is of Turkish origin, opened his first shop on the Paseo de Gracia, Barcelona's famous shopping street It was met with huge success, coming to fruition after Spain had just emerged from a decades-long dictatorship that ended with the death of General Francisco Franco in 1975, with consumers hungry for more modern clothes. Mango has since consolidated its position as one of the leading international fashion groups, with a major presence in more than 120 markets and 15,500 employees worldwide. Mr Andic, who was awarded the Kingdom of Spain Entrepreneurial Career Award in 2024, leaves behind three children who he shares with his divorced wife Neus Raig Tarrago. Kate Moss was the face of Mango in 2011, boosting the brand's popularity in the UK with it now having hundreds of stores in more than 100 countries. And earlier this year Mango announced it was teaming up with former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham for a new collection to mark its 40th anniversary. Fears are continuing to grow in America over the mysterious nationwide drone sightings, as security officials are criticised for their 'lack of transparency' on the issue. Multiple sightings of unmanned drones flying across the sky have been reported in a number of US cities and bases in the last month - including New Jersey, New York and Washington DC. Their presence has raised both alarm and confusion with few answers forthcoming. This has led many people to offer numerous suggestions and conspiracy theories online, with some believing they are Government nuclear weapon detector drones or the result of foreign powers spying on the country. The FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration, White House and Pentagon released a joint statement on Saturday stating there was no evidence of large-scale or malicious drone activity. They also dismissed many of the sightings as manned aircraft such as aeroplanes. But this response was described as 'disturbing' by James Dodd, mayor of the town of Dover, New Jersey. Meanwhile, Larry Hogan, the former governor of Maryland, took to social media to vent his frustrations with the White House's 'dismissive attitude' to the situation. Mr Hogan said he had witnessed 'what appeared to be dozens of large drones in the sky' above his home for about 45 minutes on Thursday night. Multiple sightings of unmanned drones flying across the sky have been reported in a number of US cities and bases in the last month - including New Jersey, New York and Washington DC. (pictured ) A mysterious 'glowing orb' seen hovering in skies above New Jersey - where most of the drones have been documented Larry Hogan, the former governor of Maryland, took to social media to vent his frustrations with the White House's 'complete lack of transparency and the dismissive attitude' to the situation He said: 'Like many who have observed these drones, I do not know if this increasing activity over our skies is a threat to public safety or national security. But the public is growing increasingly concerned and frustrated with the complete lack of transparency and the dismissive attitude of the federal government.' Airing his grievances to the Financial Times, Mr Dodd said: 'We could shoot a missile down 5,000 miles away, but we can't determine where these drones are originating from?' Dodd said he was left 'frustrated' by the 'scant information on a serious issue', having attended a briefing on the matter hosted by New Jersey state police this week. The meeting was set up after the authorities in the state were flooded with reports of drones dotting the night sky, sometimes in groups and without any apparent purpose. A wave of footage has emerged of the drones since they were first spotted last month, with some of the clearest video yet coming this week in New Jersey. Video captured in Somerset County shows three 'mystery drones in the air' as two move extremely close as if they are interacting with each other. The FBI has received more than 3,000 tips since the first sighting on November 18, with reports of varying levels of credibility cropping up in at least 12 counties throughout New Jersey, as well as eastern Pennsylvania and Orange County, New York. Your browser does not support iframes. Swarms of drones have been spotted in the skies of New Jersey for weeks, sparking officials to call for a 'limited state of emergency' Mysterious drones are terrorizing US cities from coast to coast as the eerie objects have now been spotted in California, Massachusetts, Florida, Wyoming, Maryland, New York and New Jersey. Pictured: A New Jersey resident saw what appears to be multiple drones flying over their Bernardsville home And the crisis deepened last night, after DC locals claimed to have spotted drones floating in the sky around the US Capitol, as other videos purported to show objects on flight paths heading towards LaGuardia Airport. Charlie Kirk, 31, a conservative political activist and close confidant of president-elect Trump, took to X on Friday to claim America is 'f****d' as he suggested the recent mass drone sightings are part of Project Blue Beam. 'WE ARE F****D. THE DRONES ARE PROJECT BLUE BEAM,' Kirk posted on X. 'LOOK FOR VIDS OF THEM TRANSFORMING FROM BALLS OF LIGHT TO PLANES WHEN FILMED TO SEE FOR YOURSELF. THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT INVESTIGATING. THEY ARE DOING THIS. WHATEVER YOU SEE IN THE COMING DAYS IS NOT GOOD.' Project Blue Beam is a conspiracy theory dating to the 1990s that claims global elites, including government and military organizations, are planning to use advanced technology to stage celestial events in order to manipulate the world's population. The theory has recently found traction again online as commentators such as Kirk claim that the US government could stage an alien invasion as a pretext for imposing authoritarian rule. The outlandish theory is among many that have been amplified over the last week in the vacuum of information left in the wake of the Biden administration's failure to tell the public where the drones are coming from or who is behind them. And Donald Trump called for urgent action yesterday, taking to the Truth Social platform to say: 'Mystery drone sightings all over the country. Can this really be happening without our government's knowledge? I don't think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!' The sightings started mid-November with footage capturing 'car-sized' drones with flashing lights Charlie Kirk, 31, a close advisor to Donald Trump issued a grave warning to the American public as he claims the countrywide drone sightings may be linked to a spine-chilling conspiracy theory The lack of clarity on the situation has left critics questioning how such incidents can remain unresolved in an era of advanced surveillance. 'How is it possible that the Pentagon doesn't know? I'm not buying it,' remarked Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo, voicing the skepticism felt by many Americans. Gordon Chang, a senior fellow at conservative think tank the Gatestone Institute and an expert on Chinese affairs, said the drones appeared to be highly sophisticated and are not being controlled by amateurs. 'These activities are too large and well-organized to be the work of hobbyists,' Chang told Fox Business. 'That leaves foreign powers. It could be Iran in connection with China, but clearly, somebody is trying to divert our attention.' Chang suggested that while the drones themselves are unsettling, he was more troubled by the fact that they could be a distraction for a far greater threat. 'What really worries me is what they might be doing elsewhere. We could very well get hit,' he told Fox. New York Governor Kathy Hochul also slammed the Biden administration's bumbling response to the crisis, telling the White House the bizarre episode 'has gone too far.' The Biden administration has maintained that the drones are not a public safety risk and pose no threat to the nation's security. Yvette Cooper refused to set a target for cutting Channel crossings today after hundreds more migrants arrived. The Home Secretary insisted the problem was 'complex' and she would not resort to 'gimmicks'. The stance came as Ms Cooper was pressed on the lack of a 'yardstick' to judge the government by on illegal immigration. In an interview with the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg recorded as she visited Rome for talks on the issue yesterday, the Cabinet minister argued that Labour had 'intensified' border security measures since winning power. Channel crossings have continued to rise, with more than 21,000 migrants having made the perilous journey since July. There were 609 arrivals on Thursday making it the busiest December day for crossings on record. Another 298 were brought ashore on Friday, according to provisional figures. In an interview with the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg recorded as she visited Rome for talks on the issue yesterday, Yvette Cooper (pictured) argued that Labour had 'intensified' border security measures since winning power There were 609 Channel boat arrivals on Thursday (pictured, a group being brought to shore in Dover) making it the busiest December day for crossings on record Some 34,880 people have arrived in Britain on small boats so far this year, up 20 per cent on this time last year but down 22 per cent on 2022. Ms Cooper said: 'These levels are far too high, this is dangerous what's happening. 'Of course we want to continue to progress, of course we want to see the boat crossings come down as rapidly as possible.' However, she repeatedly declined to give any firm commitment on numbers. And she was forced to fend off claims that migration has fallen down the list of priorities - after not appearing among Keir Starmer's 'milestones' to be hit before the next election. 'We have made clear border security is one of the foundations,' Ms Cooper said. 'We have made it clear we need to reduce both legal migration and illegal migration, it is a clear priority for the government in terms of tackling these dangerous boat crossings.' Ms Cooper suggested she was open to use a third country to process asylum claims, saying she will look at 'whatever works'. That would be different from the Rwanda scheme, which would have seen migrants sent to live in the African nation permanently. Referencing an agreement where Albania will process claims for Italy, the Home Secretary said: 'We will look at whatever works. Clearly everything has to meet proper international standards, clearly it has to be effective and has to deliver results. 'The interesting thing about the Italy-Albania arrangement, and you're right that hasn't fully started yet, at the heart of this is a plan to effectively fast-track cases from predominantly safe countries. 'We are interested in doing that in the UK, to fast-track decisions for people arriving from countries that are predominantly safe, where we should be able to take those decisions swiftly and be able to return people swiftly. That hasn't happened in the past. So we are interested to develop that in the UK, we think that's an important principle.' Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said ministers 'have effectively given up on protecting our borders'. 'It is revealing that stopping illegal immigration isn't even one of Keir Starmer's six milestones, and their lack of a deterrent has led to small boat crossings going up by 18 per cent since the election,' he said. 'Shockingly Labour now can't even tell the public when these numbers will fall, and as they struggle to answer simple questions the British people are paying millions of pounds a day to house illegal asylum seekers in hotels and all because Labour scrapped our deterrent on day one.' Ms Cooper flagged that nearly 13,500 migrants have been removed from Britain since the election. Labour previously pledged to return more people who do not have a right to stay in the UK halfway through their first year in office than any other six-month period since 2018. The increase comes after the government reversed the Tory position of refusing to consider asylum claims from those who arrive on small boats. The Home Office said almost 13,460 people had been removed since the country went to the polls on July 4, the highest rate since 2019. It claimed the Government was 'on track' to deliver on its returns pledge, which would need to be met by early January. Ms Cooper pledged a crackdown on 'exploitative' illegal working to address 'the promise of illegal jobs that are used by criminal smuggling gangs to sell spaces in small boats'. New technology including body-worn cameras and fingerprint kits will be rolled out next year to more than 1,200 immigration enforcement officers in a bid to strengthen evidence that can be collected in raids, the Government said. A new 'upstream communications campaign' aimed at debunking lies about job prospects in the UK told by people-smuggling gangs to encourage small boat crossings has also been launched, it said. It will include warnings to potential migrants about the exploitative practices of employers and the inhumane living conditions faced by workers, based on real testimonies, the department said. Ms Cooper said: 'Illegal working is a blight on our economy. It is deeply exploitative and undercuts those employers who do the right thing and play by the rules. 'Since the election, we have intensified our efforts to crackdown on exploitation and illegal working the number of operations and arrests are up, and we are on track to meet our target of increasing removals to the highest level for five years. 'I am boosting the capabilities of our immigration enforcement officers to make sure they have the tools they need to further crack down on illegal working and shine a light on the hidden economy and false promises that criminal smuggling gangs are using to encourage people to cross the Channel in small boats. Some 34,880 people have arrived in Britain on small boats so far this year, up 20 per cent on this time last year but down 22 per cent on 2022 'If you employ people illegally, you will face consequences. The rules must be respected and enforced.' Between July 5 and December 7, a total of 13,460 returns were recorded, of which 3,690 were enforced for people with no legal right to remain in the UK, according to Government statistics. The remaining 9,770 are understood to be voluntary returns and foreign national offenders, though it is unclear how many of either category are represented in the combined figure. This compares with 2,960 enforced returns over the same period in 2023, an increase of 25 per cent. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: 'These return figures just continue the upward trajectory we have been on under the previous government. 'In their first three months, returns of people crossing by small boat amounted to under 5 per cent of the arrivals in that period and small boat returns were actually lower than the period before the election.' Mr Philp said that an increase of more than 6,000 in the number of asylum seekers being temporarily housed in hotels since the end of June was also 'making a mockery of Labour's pledge to end hotel use'. 'Starmer and Cooper are completely failing to control our borders and should hang their heads in shame,' the shadow minister said. This is the dramatic moment a Ukrainian aircraft-style drone explodes after flying into a Russian special forces base more than 700 miles from the front line. Several drones reportedly struck the OMON police unit in Grozny, and a base from where troops are sent to fight against Ukraine. Loud explosions were reported in the city, which is the capital of Chechnya, a region headed by Putin warlord Ramzan Kadyrov, who has sent tens of thousands of troops to the war. Shooting was heard in attempts to down the pilotless plane loaded with explosives, but there appeared a lack of air defences against the slow-moving incoming drones. It is the third strike on the city in just 11 days. The extent of damage and any toll was not immediately known. It came soon after Vladimir Putin, 72, had awarded Kadyrov, 48, a 'For Services to the Fatherland' honour in an unannounced but secretly-filmed Kremlin ceremony when other top officials loyal to the dictator also received gongs. Kadyrov - who holds the rank of colonel-general in the Russian national guard - had demanded better air defence protection for his capital. Several drones reportedly struck the OMON police unit in Grozny, and a base from where troops are sent to fight against Ukraine Shooting was heard in attempts to down the pilotless plane loaded with explosives The aircraft-style drone burst into flames after hitting the facility The incident took place in Grozny, more than 700 miles from the front line Vladimir Putin, 72, right, had awarded Ramzan Kadyrov, 48, left, a 'For Services to the Fatherland' honour in an unannounced but secretly-filmed Kremlin ceremony Kadyrov has been widely sanctioned by the West for human rights abuses as well as his support to Putin over the war. He previously threatened to place Ukrainian prisoners of war on rooftops of strategic buildings to discourage attacks by Volodymyr Zelensky's forces. A new investigation by Proekt independent media found that Kadyrov has tripled the size of what amounts to his own private army. No less than nine new paramilitary units have been established since the start of the war. No other regional leader in Russia is allowed to maintain their own private army. During the 2023 coup against the Kremlin regime attempted by once-loyal Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, Kadyrov's forces - known as 'Kadyrovtsy' - were mobilised to back Putin. There have been claims that in the event of Putin's death, or political demise, Kadyrov could seek to use his forces in a bid to declare landlocked Chechnya an independent state. The thuggish Chechen ruler - aka The Don - has packed the government in Grozny with his extended family, and other loyalists. A father of 15 from at least three polygamous wives, Kadyrov was earlier this year reported to be seriously ill when he weight ballooned but lately he has appeared in stronger health. The preside regional leader this weekend demanded the closure of beauty salons in Chechnya because their advertisements contained allegedly unacceptable images of women's bodies. 'Beauty salons are posting photos where female models are showing body parts that should not be shown,' he said. A French gunman has killed five people during a rampage near a local migrant camp after an alleged 'long-running' dispute. Bodies were left lying in the streets of Loon-Plage, close to Dunkirk, after the 22-year-old gunman, who was reportedly born in Dunkirk, went on a horrific shooting rampage on Saturday afternoon. The man, identified as Paul D., first 'assassinated' a 29-year-old manager of Eamus Cork Security (ECS) in Wormhout, near the Channel port city from where small boats regularly set off to Britain, French outlets report. He then drove towards Loon-Plage, where he shot dead two migrants who had been planning to head to the UK before also killing two security guards employed at ECS who were patrolling the area. A source familiar with the investigation added that all those killed received 'precise shots to the head, suggesting the killer had a lot of experience with firearms'. The gunman turned himself in to a police station in Ghyvelde just east of Dunkirk on Saturday and admitted to killing the five victims. He claimed to be a 'former colleague' of the dead security guards, who he killed following a 'long-running dispute with the security company', according to local media. Officials have been left 'stunned' by the events with a local mayor saying he 'cannot understand how this could have happened'. Bodies were left strewn in the streets of Loon-Plage, close to Dunkirk, after the 22-year-old French gunman went on a horrific shooting rampage on Saturday afternoon The area is popular with migrants due to being close to Dunkirk (file image of migrants in the Loon-Plage area) Police and the local ambulance service rushed to the scene near Dunkirk The local prefecture said an investigation had been opened into the deaths. It comes after special forces police were first called to the camp on the Mardyck Road soon after 4pm following reports of 'a lone gunman killing people'. The investigating source added that the gunman is first thought to have struck at around 4pm at Wormhout, some 15 miles inland from Dunkirk. They continued: 'His car pulled up outside a farmhouse, and then he went inside and shot a 29-year-old public transport manager dead in front of his family. 'The suspect then made his way to Loon-Plage in his car, where he targeted two Iraqi Kurd migrants he saw by the side of the road. 'He is thought to have got out of his car, to shoot them both in their heads, leaving them no chance of survival.' Two security guards working for ECS, which helps safeguard Dunkirk port, were then reportedly shot dead in the same way. They had been travelling in their own vehicle, but he reportedly persuaded them to get out, before killing them. There are frequent reports of gun and knife violence around the migrant camps in northern France. They often involve people smugglers who control the illegal trade in people travelling to Britain to claim asylum (file image of migrants in the Loon-Plage area) The man then drove some eight miles to the coastal town Ghyvelde, and turned himself into gendarmes at around 5pm, before confessing to all five murders. The migrants are said to be of Kurdish origin and to have died of gunshot wounds near an oil refinery. The first victim was 'killed in front of his relatives in what looked like a targeted assassination'. The gunman was described as being aged 22, and 'unknown to the authorities before today'. When his car was searched, four weapons were found in Paul D.'s car, and he was the legal owner of a Smith and Wesson 44 Remington rifle, said a gendarmerie spokesman. By 7pm, the area was flooded with police and emergency services vehicles, as roadblocks were set up. Soldiers also arrived due to fears that the killer might be working with accomplices. Identities of the victims were not immediately released, said Eric Rommel, the Mayor of Loon-Plage. A blood bath unfolded near the beach at Loon Plage, close to Dunkirk, where small boats regularly set off to Britain (file image of migrants in the Loon-Plage area) David Calcoen, the Mayor of Wormhout, said: 'I am stunned by what has happened. 'I cannot understand how this could have happened.' There are frequent reports of gun and knife violence around the migrant camps in northern France. They often involve people smugglers who control the illegal trade in people travelling to Britain to claim asylum. The Loon-Plage commune has a population of around 6300 while its refugee camp houses hundreds of migrants living in tents scattered among the groves. A woman in her 40s has been tragically killed and a man critically injured after a triple shooting. The shooting happened in Brent, north-west London on Saturday night, the Metropolitan Police said. Cops have launched a murder investigation following the 'truly shocking' incident and there is an ongoing manhunt for the gunman. Officers rushed to the scene on Gifford Road at 9.15pm, along with the London Ambulance Service. A woman in her 40s was found injured and despite the efforts of the emergency services, she was pronounced dead at the scene. Two other men, both aged in their 30s, were also hurt in what the police labelled a 'heinous act of violence'. One remains in hospital in a critical condition and the other's injuries are not life threatening. Witnesses told MailOnline today that they heard multiple gunshots and a woman 'screaming'. A woman in her 40s has been tragically killed and a man critically injured after a triple shooting, with police launching a manhunt for the gunman The shooting happened in Brent, north-west London on Saturday night, the Met Police said The scene on Gifford Road following the triple shooting on Saturday Your browser does not support iframes. One neighbour, a 40-year-old mother of five, said: 'Last night we were inside our house and we heard a woman screaming, crying and shouting around 9pm. 'And then all our neighbours ran out and then police and ambulance started coming and we could hear the sirens. 'Our neighbours said they heard gunshots and that the shooting happened outside. 'We've lived here for 17 years and never seen anything like this. 'It's really bad this is happening in our community. Our youngest, a nine-year-old, slept in our bed because he was so scared.' A woman who worked at a nearby church said she was in a service at around 8.30pm when she heard gunshots. 'The music was really loud so I heard "pow pow pow",' she said. 'I could hear crying and screaming and shouting. 'I went outside and saw that a woman in her 40s was injured. I wanted to perform CPR on her but I was so scared that the gunman would kill me. 'Then five or six minutes later the ambulance arrived but it was too late.' A resident of nearby Creukhorne Road, who did not wish to be named, said they heard five gunshots in a row. Meanwhile another man who lives near the scene of the fatal shooting described the incident as 'pandemonium'. He said: 'I was inside the church and someone came in and said there had been a shooting. I looked outside and it was pandemonium.' Police forensic officers at the scene on Gifford Road, Brent Police officers at the scene on Gifford Road, Brent, after a woman died Another neighbour, who has lived in the area since 2008, said her daughter had come home just 10 minutes before the shooting. The woman added the victim did not live in the area. She said: 'My daughter came though the door 10 minutes before it happened. 'My son thought there were fireworks, then I heard my neighbour screaming and I realised there was a shooting. 'It's crazy, it's sad. It's scary, it does not feel safe. A neighbour, who lives on a road in Brent where three people were shot on Saturday night said people had been at a wake in a nearby church. 'People came out of the church, they were at a wake and they saw the bodies on the ground. 'I heard a lot of crying and screaming.' Tom Joyce, 72, who lives less than 100 metres from where the shooting took place, said: 'Last night at around 9.30pm while I was watching television I heard loads of police sirens and saw a police car. I didn't hear any gun shots. 'I looked at my window and I saw maybe a dozen young people - teenagers - running up and down the street. 'I got up this morning at 7am and I was tidying the street and I saw all the police cars and saw it was all cordoned off. He added: 'We are well used to that [shootings] here. There was a shooting over there a few years ago. The problem round here is we have no police force.' Road closures remain in place around the scene today as police continue to gather evidence. There have been no arrests and enquiries into the circumstances continue. Superintendent Tony Josephs, from the North West Command Unit which covers Brent, said: 'This is a truly shocking incident that has left a woman dead and two others injured, and I understand the concern this will cause the local community and those across London. 'I want to reassure people that a team of experienced detectives are already working at pace to piece together the events of last night and identify whoever was responsible for this heinous act of violence. 'If you were in or around Gifford Close at the time of the shooting, or have any information about who was responsible, please get in contact with us. 'A family has been left devastated and we need to work together to provide them with answers.' Anyone with information that could assist police is asked to call 101 or 'X' @MetCC and quote CAD7137/14Dec. You can also provide information anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. The River of Life Elim Pentecostal Church on Gifford Road is behind the police cordon. Mass graves have reportedly been unearthed in Syria with human remains found in the streets of Damascus as the horrific crimes of Assad's regime are laid bare. The Tadamon district within the Syrian capital has been spotted littered with bones after what residents and human rights groups described as years of killings there under the rule of president Bashar al-Assad. Slaughterings took place in Tadamon until very recently, with residents claiming they had regularly seen Syrian security forces bring men to the area, heard bursts of gunshots and smelled burning flesh afterwards. Reporters on the ground in the Syrian district stumbled across bones piles with trash, scorched plastic and dirty clothes, and saw children playing with what appeared to be rib bones and femurs. Mohammad al-Darra, an elderly man from Tadamon, said that year after year, he saw cars driven by Syrian armed forces bring 'tied up people' to a tiny alley parallel to where the 2013 Tadamon massacre is thought to have taken place. 'At night you would hear it. Every shot fired went into a man,' he said, and referring to the filthy street and the gutted-out buildings alongside it, he added, 'and this was the graveyard for all the corpses.' Khaled Houriya, who runs a mechanic shop in the area, said he too had often heard gunshots and smelled burning flesh after returning to the neighborhood in 2019. 'This was known as execution street. Anyone who came to this street was considered lost,' he said, adding that security forces often asked his neighbours to help them dig mass graves. A Tadamon local walks by the site of a mass grave from the rule of Syria's Bashar al-Assad Children hold different shaped bones found in Tadamon district, littered with remains after what residents and rights groups described as years of killings there under the rule of Syria's Bashar al-Assad Old clothes and scorched plastic were also found among the remains in the Syrian buildings 'Those things won't leave our memory. Corpses all over the floor it became normal for people,' Houriya said. In 2023, the US State Department issued a travel ban against a Syrian security official and his immediate family over Assad's alleged killing of at least 41 civilians in 2013 in Tadamon, calling it a 'massacre.' The suspected location of the grave was identified by researchers at Human Rights Watch by matching satellite imagery with the scene in the video. While a full examination of the site has yet to take place, the group has already found many traces of killings. 'We found human remains, bones, part of a skull, fingers, ribs, strewn around the entire area surrounding the mass grave, which shows that really a lot more happened here than what we already knew,' Hiba Zayadin, the Syria researcher at advocacy group Human Rights Watch, said. Tadamon became infamous after a video emerged in 2022 showing a man in military fatigues leading unarmed, blindfolded men towards a large ditch, telling them to run and shooting them at point-blank range as they neared the edge or after they fell in. The incident took place in 2013, but the killings went on until very recently. Residents of Tadamon said they had not dared speak out during Assad's rule, when criticism of the authorities was severely repressed. 'We couldn't say anything, otherwise they would burn your house down, or kill your son. It was ugly, ugly, ugly,' one local said. Residents of Tadamon said they had not dared speak out during Assad's rule, when criticism of the authorities was severely repressed One local said he had often heard gunshots and smelled burning flesh after returning to the neighborhood in 2019 Destroyed buildings the town of in Qusayr in Syria's central Homs province on December 15, 2024 A Syrian child holds a human bone while playing in the Tadamon district Assad repeatedly denied carrying out violations and painted his detractors as terrorists Hundreds of thousands of Syrians are estimated to have been killed since 2011, when Assad's crackdown on protests against him spiralled into a full-scale war that drew in regional powers. Both Assad and his father Hafez, who preceded him as president and died in 2000, have been accused by rights groups and governments of widespread extrajudicial killings, including mass executions within the country's notorious prison system. Assad repeatedly denied carrying out violations and painted his detractors as terrorists. But now, less than a week after the president's ouster, residents and rights researchers hope the site can be cordoned off and those responsible for the killings held accountable. 'It is urgent that this location is secured, that the mass grave is exhumed, that international relevant bodies are allowed unhindered access to this area to be able to do this work carefully, cautiously and well,' said Zayadin said there was a risk that the mass grave had already been emptied by the forces of Assad's toppled government. 'Families deserve to know what happened here,' she said. Residents of Tadamon told Reuters the alley had been sealed off with metal barricades during years of heavy fighting between rebel fighters and Syrian government forces, including the National Defence Forces, a pro-Assad paramilitary force that was incorporated into the army in 2012. Several said that earlier this year, they saw Syria's then-government forces remove some bones from the area and feared the grave - and crucial evidence - had been dug up. The opening of Syria's prisons after Assad's ouster on Sunday led to similar fears, with activists and families searching for detained relatives saying they feared that fleeing troops had destroyed evidence of their fate. Wes Streeting takes his networking seriously to such a degree that the hard-partying Health Secretary has become known as all-night Wes. He does have a slight tendency to be swept up with the bottles at the end of parties, is how one wry Westminster observer puts it. At Labours party conference in Liverpool this year, the Health Secretary was still propping up hotel bars at 4am before reappearing as bright-eyed and puppy-doggish as ever on the breakfast circuit three hours later. That was not an isolated occasion; a daily audit of party attendances run by the Westminster website Politico is very Wes-heavy, with the 41-year-old Cabinet Minister frequently recorded as being at multiple, simultaneous events. And all this with a crisis-hit NHS to run. Streetings conspicuous energy contrasts with the weary-looking Prime Minister more than two decades older and in the throes of a steep decline in popularity. The optics, as Westminster likes to term it, are that Streeting long regarded as a future party leader smells blood. His public opposition to the assisted dying Bill last month did not exactly dispel this impression; nor did his intervention last week when he openly lamented the UKs failure in 2013 to take military action against Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad even though then Labour leader Ed Miliband had ordered his MPs to oppose it. Streetings allies dismiss any suggestion that he is on manoeuvres, pointing out the scale of the landslide achieved by Starmer just five months ago. They attribute his energy and high public profile to his brush with kidney cancer three years ago and a desire to carpe diem. His growing confidence comes in part from the calibre of his back team Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson are both long-standing supporters. This might help to explain why he looks so comfortable in Tory circles, such as last weeks Christmas drinks held by the Tory bible The Spectator now edited by Michael Gove where he was treated as the effective guest of honour. At the magazines parliamentary awards earlier this month, he prompted roars of laughter by joking about his Right-wing beliefs before launching a barrage of barbs against his colleagues: The Deputy Prime Minister is here, he said, in front of the official holder of that title, Angela Rayner, before adding: Good to see you, Pat. Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden is regarded by many as Starmers real deputy. And about Louise Haigh, who was forced to resign as Transport Secretary over a fraud conviction for a mobile phone she said was stolen, he said: For the record, I love Louise. She is a good friend. I genuinely want to see her back in the Government soon and Im going to phone her tomorrow on one of her numbers. All this showmanship comes as members of the Cabinet are now unguardedly describing Sir Keir as a dud, with growing talk that he will not last until the next Election. Ministers who complained that the PM was becoming never here Keir as a result of his frequent globetrotting had been reassured that he would switch focus to tackle his mounting domestic problems, spinning out from a disastrous Budget which has united taxed farmers and freezing pensioners in fury. However, he is off again tonight this time heading to Norway and Estonia to talk tough about Vladimir Putins Russia. Insiders grumble about the lack of a vision to sell to voters. One Downing Street official said: Keir is like Rishi Sunak in this respect. He doesnt see the importance of telling a story. He thinks it should be enough to work hard and focus on doing a good job. But thats not how politics works. It may seem trivial, but you need to have a narrative. Blair got that. Wes Streetings conspicuous energy contrasts with the weary-looking Prime Minister Few ministers are anywhere near the decision-making centre, which is being very tightly controlled by the Prime Minister, his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and a handful of confidants. One downcast senior Labour MP said: I dont even know who is in the tent, never mind get to speak to them. Streetings roots in the party are deeper than Sir Keir, who was parachuted in to Labour just before the 2015 Election as a pre-packed leader-in-waiting to take on the Left. The basic problem is that Starmer was never supposed to be PM in the first place, said one Labour insider. He was supposed to be our Moses to get us near as possible to the Promised Land but not actually into Government. Thats what Morgan McSweeney and the modernisers thought. They saw him as the man to clean up the mess left by Jeremy Corbyn and the Hard Left. In that scenario, Streeting was scripted to take over and lead Labour back into power. According to one seasoned Labour backbencher: The modernisers are frustrated. Their dilemma is that they are responsible for parachuting a second-rate politician into the leadership but he won a big majority for Labour. They are now impotent whisperers and gossipers on the sidelines as our polling numbers collapse. The parliamentary party is already in a state of deep despondency. Another MP says it was obvious as soon as Sir Keir became an MP that he was not really a politician. The MP said: Many of us worked that out straight away from his performance as Corbyns Brexit spokesman. He just doesnt get the politics. Morale is low across the party, with many Labour staffers threatening to quit. A Labour minister said: I wouldnt say this in public, but I have a new-found respect for the Tories. Government is hard. The minister said they recently saw their Shadow counterpart in the Commons and told them this. He replied I have a new-found respect for you too, I hadnt realised you have to do it all yourself in opposition, referring to the lack of staffing support. All of this has led to jitters among the huge intake of newbie MPs elected for the first time in July. A Labour MP says: We got 10 per cent less of the vote in 2024 than Blair did in 1997. Its a huge Commons majority, as in 1997, but built on very much less popular support. Despite the disillusionment, the split on the Right the battle between the Tories and Nigel Farages Reform could still give Starmer a second term. Theres a hell of a long way to before the next election but I wouldnt count on that, says one Labour backbencher. If we lose the Muslim vote [over the Gaza war] and Farage takes our white working-class vote, what happens then? A French security guard who killed five people during a rampage in Dunkirk had a 'grudge against migrants', an investigating source has claimed. Dunkirk-native Paul D. shot dead his former boss, transport company chief Paul Dekeister, 29, in front of his wife and other family members at nearby Wormhout on Saturday afternoon. He then went on to shoot two Iraqi Kurds from the migrant settlement at Loon-Plage, a suburb of the port city, and later two security guards working at the Eamus Cork Security security company, which assists the police in patrolling the coast. An investigating source said: 'The killer arrived at the Dekeister's farmhouse at around 3pm on Saturday and killed Mr Dekeister infront of his family. 'Mr Dekeister had employed the suspect in a security capacity, and was involved in a dispute. After the killing, the suspect got into his car and made his way to the area around the migrant camp at Loon-Plage. 'It is thought that he had a grudge against the migrants living along the coast, and wanted to settle some scores.' Paul D., a French national, saw the two Kurds standing by the side of a road, close to the camp, and shot them both at point-blank-range. A source identified the security guards as Marc, a father-of-two, 33, and Aurelien, who was 37 and also married with children and said the killer 'left them no chance of survival'. The first victim of the gun rampage migrant killer in France has been pictured. Paul Dekeister, 29, was gunned down in front of his wife and other family members Bodies were left strewn in the streets of Loon-Plage, close to Dunkirk, after the 22-year-old French gunman went on a horrific shooting rampage on Saturday afternoon They had a dog with them at the time, and the animal was unharmed. They had been travelling in their own vehicle, but he reportedly persuaded them to get out, before killing them. All those killed received 'precise shots to the head, suggesting the killer had a lot of experience with firearms,' the investigating source said. Special forces police were called to a camp on the Mardyck Road soon after 4pm on Saturday afternoon, following early reports of 'a lone gunman killing people,' said the source. All the shootings took place within less than an hour of each other, he added. The man then drove some eight miles to the coastal town Ghyvelde, and turned himself in to gendarmes at around 5pm, before confessing to all five murders. Four weapons were found in Paul D.'s car, and he was the legal owner of a Smith and Wesson 44 Remington rifle because he was registered as a hunter, a gendarmerie spokesman said. Confirming the arrest, a spokesman for Ghyvelde gendarmes said the man 'was not known to police,' suggesting he had no previous criminal record. On Sunday, the Dunkirk prosecutor opened an investigation into a quintuple murder, saying Paul D. faced life in prison. The area is popular with migrants due to being close to Dunkirk (file image of migrants in the Loon-Plage area) Police and the local ambulance service rushed to the scene near Dunkirk A blood bath unfolded near the beach at Loon Plage, close to Dunkirk, where small boats regularly set off to Britain (file image of migrants in the Loon-Plage area) David Calcoen, the Mayor of Wormhout, said: 'I am stunned by what has happened. 'I cannot understand how this could have happened.' Identities of the migrant victims were not immediately released, said Eric Rommel, the Mayor of Loon Plage. The gunman claimed to be a 'former colleague' of the dead security guards, who he killed following a 'long-running dispute with the security company', according to local media. Are now back in Australia as free men Five members of Bali Nine say they're 'relieved and happy' to be back in Australia as free men after spending almost two decades in prison. Matthew Norman, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen, Scott Rush and Michael Czugaj flew back to Australia on a Jetstar commercial flight on Sunday, in a top secret mission following weeks of negotiations between the Australian and Indonesian governments. The men aren't required to serve prison sentences in Australia and will be able to live freely in the community. Authorities won't confirm where they're staying but are believed to have been transported to short-term accommodation facility at Howard Springs near Darwin. As details of the secret operation emerged, the men thanked those who had worked to secure their release in a joint statement released by their lawyers on Sunday night. 'In both Australia and Indonesia, at both a senior level and in prison visits and personal assistance, over many years, DFAT have offered professional and enduring support. The men and their families will always be grateful,' the statement read. 'They look forward, in time, to reintegrating back into and contributing to society. 'The welfare of the men is a priority, they will need time and support, and we hope and trust our media and community will make allowance for this.' Indonesian official Erwedi Supriyatno (second from right) and the Australian Embassy Lauren Richardson (centre) hold documents during a handover process on the tarmac in Indonesia Martin Stephens, Michael Czugaj, Scott Rush, Matthew Norman and Si Yi Chen watch their releases be signed off by Australian and Indonesian officials before they were flown back to Australia on Sunday Norman, who at 18 was the youngest at the time of his arrest, spoke to media days before his release from Kerobokan Prison in Bali. He was seen smiling and said that he was feeling 'good'. The development comes after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese requested the transfer at a recent meeting with new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the APEC Summit last month, who agreed to let the prisoners return home on humanitarian grounds. The Aussies were arrested alongside Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumaran, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen and Renae Lawrence in Bali in April 2005 as they attempted to smuggle 8.3kg of heroin strapped to their bodies from the holiday island. Ringleaders Chan and Sukumaran were executed by firing squad in April 2015. Stephen's former cellmate Nguyen died from cancer in 2018, while Lawrence was released that year after her life sentence was reduced to 20 years on appeal. There were no emotional reunions or fanfare when the men touched down on a Jetstar flight in Darwin at 2.42pm on Sunday. Their loved ones were aware of their imminent return but were told by authorities that they couldn't be there to greet them, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. Instead, the men were whisked on a bus and transported to the Howard Springs facility, which was previously a quarantine hub during Covid. They will spend a short period of time here to continue their rehabilitation before reuniting with their families. The men are not permitted to return to Indonesia in the future. It was understood that the lack of fanfare to be a sign of respect to President Subianto, who made the final decision for the men to be freed. 'This was about compassion,' one Australian government source told the publication. 'It was not a transaction.' The five men won't serve any prison time in Australia. Pictured are Bali 9 members Matthew Norman (L) and Si Yi Chen (right) The Prime Minister confirmed on Sunday afternoon that the men were home. 'I am pleased to confirm that Australian citizens, Si Yi Chen, Michael Czugaj, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush and Martin Stephens have returned to Australia this afternoon. I thank President Prabowo Subianto for his compassion,' he wrote on X. He later told reporters: 'These Australians served more than 19 years in prison in Indonesia. It was time for them to come home.' The five Aussies will also be provided with government support and medical care during their transition to living back in the community. It's believed there was no prisoner swap or any 'quid pro quo' with Indonesia as part of the men's release. Remaining members of the Bali Nine (L-R) Si-Yi Chen, Martin Stephens, Matthew Norman (top), Michael Czugaj (bottom) and Scott Rush returned home to Australia on Sunday Martin Stephens was among five Bali 9 members who returned home on Sunday 'We would like to convey our deep appreciation to the government of Indonesia for its cooperation to facilitate the men's return to Australia on humanitarian grounds,' a joint statement from Mr Albanese, Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke read. 'This reflects the strong bilateral relationship and mutual respect between Indonesia and Australia. 'The men will have the opportunity to continue their personal rehabilitation and reintegration in Australia. 'We ask that the media respect the privacy of the men and their families at this time.' Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes was scathing of the men's release. 'I'm sure those Australians doing it really tough at the moment will be just thrilled to know that their taxpayer dollars are going to pay for this,' she told Sky News on Monday. 'I feel very badly for families who had children or loved ones lost to heroin addiction, which was what these drug smugglers were trying to bring back to our country. 'They would have wreaked death and destruction for a whole lot of families and I think that's been overlooked here.' Some of the men now have Indonesian families, who didn't travel to Australia with them. Stephens previously said that he would 'reject' a prisoner exchange so he could remain close to his stepdaughter and wife Christine Puspayanti, whom he married while behind bars in 2011. 'I'm much freer here than I would be in an Australian jail, though logically it would be better for my parents,' Stephens said in his last interview in 2020. 'I teach English and play the seruling (traditional bamboo flute) but I haven't learned Indonesian. I want to keep my Australian identity and avoid getting involved in faction fighting,' he told Indonesia Expat. Many of us look forward to Christmas but for Shannon Brown it is the most 'painful' time of the year after her mother was brutally killed by a university student she had befriended. Shannon, 30, was queuing with her one-year-old daughter Lexi so she could meet Santa, when she received a phone call from her brother telling her that her mother, Michelle Hanson, 47, had been brutally murdered. The doting grandmother had a tumultuous few years, following several abusive relationships where 'she lost herself completely' as well as mental health and financial struggles due to unemployment. Despite previous challenges, Michelle had managed to get her life back on track and was accepting the help of doctors, but this happy spell would be cruelly cut short after she became friends with Alexander Carr. The mature University of Sunderland student, 34, viciously took the life of the 'beautiful, kind, fun-loving' mother-of-four in her own home on December 1, 2022, stabbing her 29 times to the head and neck. The violent attack sparked a nationwide manhunt for Carr, who evaded police for 18 days before he was discovered hiding in a tent in an area of wasteland in north London. Carr admitted to murdering Michelle and was later sentenced to a life with a minimum term of 19 years and three months at Newcastle Crown Court in 2023. While Carr is behind jail for a few years, Shannon has lost her mother forever and is haunted by thoughts of her traumatic final moments - especially during the festive period. Shannon Brown (left) with her mother Michelle Hanson (right) who was violently murdered by Alexander Carr in her own home in Sunderland in 2022 The 'fun-loving' mother-of-four was stabbed 29 times to the head and neck by the mature University of Sunderland student Alexander Carr, 34, (Pictured) pleaded guilty to her murder and was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 19 years and three months The heartbroken daughter has been left reeling with grief after Carr 'stole' her mother's life whilst simultaneously robbing her daughter Lexi as well as her unborn baby of a relationship and memories with their grandmother. Whilst describing the mother-of-four's kind nature as her 'downfall', Shannon told The Sun: 'She saw the good in Alexander that day, but he took advantage of her kindness, attacking her in her own home before leaving her to die alone.' Recalling the life-altering moment one of her brother's informed her that Michelle had been brutally murdered, Shannon was left in a state of disbelief and quickly hurried to her mother's home where police cars lined the street. In a desperate pursuit for answers and unable to go inside her mother's home, she raced to her brother's house where she was told her mother had been viciously stabbed multiple times to the head and neck. 'I was sobbing, unable to comprehend who would hurt Mum. She had no abusive partners anymore and she'd just got her life back on track,' Shannon said. Her youngest brother Tommy was left 'traumatised' by the incident, according to Shannon, who revealed that Carr had visited Michelle whilst he was at her home a couple of days before her body was found. Prior to entering Michelle's home, Carr had only ever chatted with the grandmother on the street - but on this fateful day he had asked to pass the time inside Michelle's home. Tommy recalled Carr's behaviour was strange, as he spoke in several different accents whilst guzzling gold vodka directly from the bottle. Shannon and her family have been heartbroken following their mother's brutal murder, with her younger brother Tommy suffering from PTSD Shannon explained that her own daughter as well as her unborn child robbed of a relationship with their grandmother (Pictured) Staying true to her kind character, Michelle had offered to buy them a take-away despite Carr's 'nuts' conduct. Before her son left, the cruel killer smiled in his direction promising to take care of his mother. But when Tommy came back to check on Michelle a few days later, he found her dead in a living room covered in blood. Police were later able to match the DNA on the alcohol bottle to Carr's - thanks to Tommy's recollection - and found he had 29 previous violent convictions as well as drug and alcohol problems. Although the family were relieved when the brutal murderer was eventually taken into custody after an 18-day hunt, they were still left completely lost knowing they would never see Michelle again or hear her silly jokes. 'I didn't understand how a man with so many past convictions was able to just walk around a university campus,' her daughter said. 'Meanwhile, Tommy completely shut down. The guilt he felt for leaving that day ate him alive. The sight of Mum's lifeless body haunted him and he developed PTSD too.' Her grief-stricken brother is now receiving counselling for the trauma he endured in the aftermath of his mother's brutal murder. Shannon bravely faced off against her mother's killer when he appeared in court in May 2023, calling him an 'evil monster' as he cowardly stared at the floor. During the manhunt, police released pictures and CCTV of Carr featuring his distinctive walk The officers haul Carr to his feet before putting him in handcuffs. The red dot on his arm is from a Taser they were using 'How do you know I was here?' the killer asked after being detained by the Met Police officers in December 2022 Carr was diagnosed with personality disorders and the court was told it was somewhat 'remarkable' he secured a place at university. Psychiatrists agreed he was not suffering from a psychotic illness at the time of the murder but had been smoking 'high potency' skunk. Carr pleaded guilty to Michelle's murder and was handed a life sentence, with a minimum of 19 years and three months. However Shannon knows her mother's killer will be out 'earlier', whilst she has lost her loving mother forever. The grieving daughter explained that there wasn't a moment she did not think of Michelle before adding that whilst she may no longer be with her, her 'big heart' will continue to live on for eternity. An oil tanker split in half after the ship ran aground in stormy weather as a desperate rescue mission is launched to save the crew. Two Russian cargo ships carrying oil products were left severely damaged due to bad weather in the Kerch Strait between mainland Russia and annexed Crimea and have now requested assistance, the country's emergency services ministry said on Sunday. There were 13 people on board the Volgoneft 212 tanker which was destroyed and ran aground, and 14 people on a second ship, the Volgoneft 239, which was drifting after sustaining damage, the ministry added. The 212 is understood to have broken in half amid large waves close to the shores of Kerch, and according to Russian outlet Mash, the ship rapidly began sinking. Russia's Kommersant newspaper reported that the Volgoneft 212 tanker was carrying about 4,300 tonnes of fuel oil. The emergency services ministry said more than 50 people and equipment including an Mi-8 helicopter and a rescue tugboat had been deployed for the rescue mission. Rescuers on board the tugboat were reportedly attempting to lift the stranded crewmen from the sea. They had been waiting for rescue for up to four hours, said reports. 'There is a crew of 13 people onboard,' the Russian Emergencies Ministry for the disputed Republic of Crimea. Two Russian cargo ships carrying oil products were left severely damaged due to bad weather in the Kerch Strait between mainland Russia and annexed Crimea Russia's Kommersant newspaper reported that the Volgoneft 212 tanker was carrying about 4,300 tonnes of fuel oil A rescue operation was launched to save crewmembers who found themselves overboard The emergency services ministry said more than 50 people and equipment including an Mi-8 helicopter and a rescue tugboat had been deployed for the rescue mission 'There are also oil products on the vessel, information about the spill is being clarified.' Later Mash media outlet said ten sailors had been rescued but 13 were 'still at sea'. There are fears for the lives of four more who were 'in the hold' when one of the vessels broke up, said the report which expressed concerns they could have drowned. 'All those who cannot be found worked as mechanics.' The report said: 'Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 are new river-sea type ships. 'In the 1990s, they were cut in half and 'sewn together' to meet the standards of the class of such ships. 'All this time, they were not properly serviced. 'Today, during a storm, the waves hit them in the side and 'tore' the welded seam. 'Each had 4,000 tons of fuel oil in the tanks - some of it leaked out of the tanks, forming black spots in the sea.' Readovka media outlet reported: 'According to preliminary data, a hole was formed in the hull due to strong waves, after which the ship broke in half and began to sink.' One unconfirmed report stated: 'Volgoneft-212 was built 55 years ago. 'It was originally a regular tanker, and in the 1990s it was shortened to 'river-sea' standards [meaning it could operate in both rivers and the sea]. 'Everything was done in a hurry.they cut out the centre [of the vessel] and then welded the stern and bow, forming a huge seam in the middle. 'Today, this seam came apart after a powerful wave hit.' It comes after Ukraine's armed forces in February downed a 55million Russian warship using kamikaze attack drones in a formidable strike off the coastline of Crimea. Footage shared by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence showed how its unmanned seafaring vessels bore down on the Black Sea missile ship Ivanovets. The 184ft warship was hit by multiple drones off annexed Crimea and was reportedly sunk after suffering massive hull damage. At least 33 people were feared dead in the sinking. Tourists visit the Ruins of St. Paul's in south China's Macao, Dec. 12, 2024. The historic center of Macao, a UNESCO world heritage site, bears witness to one of the earliest and longest-lasting encounters between China and the West. The narrow and elongated area is dotted with historic buildings, from the A-Ma Temple dedicated to the sea-goddess Mazu, to the Mandarin's House -- the former residence of a prominent Chinese historical figure, and the landmark Ruins of St. Paul's, once among the largest Catholic churches in the Far East. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei) America's security chiefs have been caught off guard by the mysterious nationwide drone sightings and don't know what they are dealing with, a military expert has claimed. Fears are continuing to grow in the States over the mysterious objects that have been spotted flying across the sky in a number of cities and bases in the last month - including New Jersey , New York and Washington DC. Their presence has raised both alarm and confusion, with the Pentagon being criticised for their 'lack of transparency' on the issue. But Colonel Philip Ingram, a former officer in British intelligence, told MailOnline that officials have yet to comment because it allows 'the enemies of the USA to believe they know everything that is going on'. 'The Pentagon isn't this massive organisation that knows everything,' he said. 'They probably don't want people to know that they don't know because they like the myth that is out there.' The Government's silence on the issue has led many people to offer numerous suggestions and conspiracy theories online - which has been spearheaded by a close advisor to Donald Trump. Some believe they are Government nuclear weapon detector drones or the result of foreign powers spying on the country. Responding to these claims, Colonel Ingram said there was a 'possibility it could be nefarious activity', but also believed the drone hysteria could be a case of people putting 'two and two together and making seven'. A mysterious 'glowing orb' seen hovering in skies above New Jersey - where most of the drones have been documented Multiple sightings of unmanned drones flying across the sky have been reported in a number of US cities and bases in the last month - including New Jersey, New York and Washington DC (pictured ) Their presence has raised both alarm and confusion, with the Pentagon (pictured) being criticised for their 'lack of transparency' on the issue 'It's very difficult to tell. Drones are very difficult for the authorities to be able to identify and positively work out where they're coming from and what they're doing because they're small and tend to be plastic objects,' he said. 'They are very difficult, if not impossible, to pick up with normal radars that are used to control aircrafts. 'There aren't the sorts of sophisticated radar mechanisms around urban areas that would be needed to pick up drones like this. 'And the reason why there is it's difficult for sort of the normal air traffic control radars and things to pick them up is that they fly low, so they fly below what air traffic control radars would do. They fly slow, they fly in irregular patterns. 'What the algorithms do in all the different radars is they tune that sort of thing out because it's recognised as background clutter. And therefore these things are flying. 'Now, once you get in somewhere like the United States or over a big city, once you get one report of a drone going up and people not finding it. You're going to get lots of people with drones who are going to be idiots, and go "I'll fly mine for 2 mins" and get it down again.' Colonel Ingram did dismiss the notion that the drones could be being used by the Government to detect nuclear weapons or 'dirty bombs'. 'I know how they search for dirty bombs at ports. They don't need drones to do that. They all have drone capabilities - the FBI, the local police - but you are not going to use these larger drones which have been sighted,' he explained. Colonel Philip Ingram, a former officer in British intelligence, told MailOnline that officials have yet to comment because it allows 'the enemies of the USA to believe they know everything that is going on' Your browser does not support iframes. Swarms of drones have been spotted in the skies of New Jersey for weeks, sparking officials to call for a 'limited state of emergency' The FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration, White House and Pentagon released a joint statement on Saturday stating there was no evidence of large-scale or malicious drone activity. They also dismissed many of the sightings as manned aircraft such as aeroplanes. But this response was described as 'disturbing' by James Dodd, mayor of the town of Dover, New Jersey. Meanwhile, Larry Hogan, the former governor of Maryland , took to social media to vent his frustrations with the White House's 'dismissive attitude' to the situation. Mr Hogan said he had witnessed 'what appeared to be dozens of large drones in the sky' above his home for about 45 minutes on Thursday night. He said: 'Like many who have observed these drones, I do not know if this increasing activity over our skies is a threat to public safety or national security. But the public is growing increasingly concerned and frustrated with the complete lack of transparency and the dismissive attitude of the federal government.' Airing his grievances to the Financial Times, Mr Dodd said: 'We could shoot a missile down 5,000 miles away, but we can't determine where these drones are originating from?' Mysterious drones are terrorizing US cities from coast to coast as the eerie objects have now been spotted in California, Massachusetts, Florida, Wyoming, Maryland, New York and New Jersey. Pictured: A New Jersey resident saw what appears to be multiple drones flying over their Bernardsville home Dodd said he was left 'frustrated' by the 'scant information on a serious issue', having attended a briefing on the matter hosted by New Jersey state police this week. The meeting was set up after the authorities in the state were flooded with reports of drones dotting the night sky, sometimes in groups and without any apparent purpose. A wave of footage has emerged of the drones since they were first spotted last month, with some of the clearest video yet coming this week in New Jersey. Video captured in Somerset County shows three 'mystery drones in the air' as two move extremely close as if they are interacting with each other. The FBI has received more than 3,000 tips since the first sighting on November 18, with reports of varying levels of credibility cropping up in at least 12 counties throughout New Jersey, as well as eastern Pennsylvania and Orange County, New York. And the crisis deepened last night, after DC locals claimed to have spotted drones floating in the sky around the US Capitol, as other videos purported to show objects on flight paths heading towards LaGuardia Airport. Charlie Kirk, 31, a conservative political activist and close confidant of president-elect Trump, took to X on Friday to claim America is 'f****d' as he suggested the recent mass drone sightings are part of Project Blue Beam. 'WE ARE F****D. THE DRONES ARE PROJECT BLUE BEAM,' Kirk posted on X. 'LOOK FOR VIDS OF THEM TRANSFORMING FROM BALLS OF LIGHT TO PLANES WHEN FILMED TO SEE FOR YOURSELF. THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT INVESTIGATING. THEY ARE DOING THIS. WHATEVER YOU SEE IN THE COMING DAYS IS NOT GOOD.' Charlie Kirk, 31, a close advisor to Donald Trump issued a grave warning to the American public as he claims the countrywide drone sightings may be linked to a spine-chilling conspiracy theory The sightings started mid-November with footage capturing 'car-sized' drones with flashing lights Project Blue Beam is a conspiracy theory dating to the 1990s that claims global elites, including government and military organizations, are planning to use advanced technology to stage celestial events in order to manipulate the world's population. The theory has recently found traction again online as commentators such as Kirk claim that the US government could stage an alien invasion as a pretext for imposing authoritarian rule. The outlandish theory is among many that have been amplified over the last week in the vacuum of information left in the wake of the Biden administration's failure to tell the public where the drones are coming from or who is behind them. Donald Trump called for urgent action yesterday, taking to the Truth Social platform to say: 'Mystery drone sightings all over the country. Can this really be happening without our government's knowledge? I don't think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!' The lack of clarity on the situation has left critics questioning how such incidents can remain unresolved in an era of advanced surveillance. 'How is it possible that the Pentagon doesn't know? I'm not buying it,' remarked Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo, voicing the skepticism felt by many Americans. Gordon Chang, a senior fellow at conservative think tank the Gatestone Institute and an expert on Chinese affairs, said the drones appeared to be highly sophisticated and are not being controlled by amateurs. 'These activities are too large and well-organized to be the work of hobbyists,' Chang told Fox Business. 'That leaves foreign powers. It could be Iran in connection with China, but clearly, somebody is trying to divert our attention.' Chang suggested that while the drones themselves are unsettling, he was more troubled by the fact that they could be a distraction for a far greater threat. 'What really worries me is what they might be doing elsewhere. We could very well get hit,' he told Fox. New York Governor Kathy Hochul also slammed the Biden administration's bumbling response to the crisis, telling the White House the bizarre episode 'has gone too far.' The Biden administration has maintained that the drones are not a public safety risk and pose no threat to the nation's security. SNL's cold open took on the fan club that suspected United HealthCare CEO assassin Luigi Mangione has amassed since his arrest in a Pennsylvania McDonald's last week - with a mixed reception from fans. The show did so with a sketch that saw Sarah Sherman play an especially unforgiving, outlandish Nancy Grace, while spoofing the true crime talking head's Crime Stories in the process. 'The masked CEO shooter has been unmasked and guess what? Its game over, Luigi,' Sherman, as Grace, says in an amped-up Southern accent at the start of the skit. 'And of course, everyone online celebrated the hard work of law enforcement in apprehending this dangerous criminal,' she continues - before quickly shifting gears. 'Just kidding, yall suckas made him a sex symbol.' Sherman's Grace proceeds to lampoon the American public for their fascination - seen on social media since Mangione's mugshot was revealed to the public. 'Thats right, the healthcare assassin Luigi Mangione has got women and gay guys alike hot and bothered,' Sherman continued, creating a cartoonish version of Grace honed in on her Georgia roots that some disapproved of. 'I mean, seriously? This guy looks like Dave Franco with Eugene Levys eyebrows. I mean, what is going on in this country? 'Yall, this man is not a sex icon, OK? This man is, and I cannot say this any clearer - a MURDERER!' The last word, thanks to some stereotypical Southern drawl, is effectively indecipherable. Scroll down for video: SNL's cold open this week featured Sarah Sherman as an especially unforgiving Nancy Grace, reporting on suspected United Healthcare assassin Luigi Mangione Mangione, 26, was arrested Monday in Eastern Pennsylvania after a staffer spotted him in a local McDonald's. The show poked fun on the positive attention he's received since - whether it be for his perceived motive or good looks The court of public opinion seen on X, formerly Twitter, afterwards was somewhat split. 'Didnt care for the impression, to[sic] over the top for me,' wrote one X user of their disapproval. 'Trying a little to hard.' 'Sarah Sherman does a really good Nancy Grace,' said someone else, tickled by what could be a new recurring character from the cast. Another gushed: 'Sarah Sherman is a STAR.' Veteran cast member Kenan Thompson also joined in, appearing later on in as a man in the now infamous Altoona McDonald's where the alleged killer was caught. Sherman's Grace proceeds to ask Thompsons character: 'Can you believe people were attracted to this sexy slayer?' To which Thompson replies, 'Women love bad boys.' The Good Burger star goes on to reference the alleged manifesto said to have been seized off the suspect's person: 'Back in the day, you could impress women with a little poem. Now you have to write a manifesto.' The handwritten document reportedly contained lines critical of the US health care industry, including 'These parasites had it coming. I do apologize for any strife and trauma, but it had to be done.' Veteran cast member Kenan Thompson also joined in, appearing later on in as a man in the now infamous Altoona McDonald's where the alleged killer was caught The court of public opinion seen on X, formerly Twitter, afterwards was somewhat split Sporting a stereotypical Southern drawl, Sherman went to town on Grace's Crime Stories while using it as a lens to look at the strange reception the suspected killer is receiving Some praised Sherman's Grace, along with the fact the show appeared to making fun of those talking up the alleged killer in recent days He was picked up at this McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania following a tip from an employee The greater, grimmer connotations of that joke and others was not lost on some onlookers, one of whom tweeted: 'SNL glorifying cold-blooded murder. Gross. PS: not hot.' Another slammed the skit simply as 'flat', while another said it was just straight-up 'not good.' Someone else - seemingly not won over by the comedy but glad it was embraced the internet's recent fervor with the alleged killer - conceded: 'At least you didn't praise the guy'. Meanwhile, the skit framed as a segment on Grace's long-running show Crime Stories did not stop there. It continued with Graces final guest - a 'guy who looks like Luigi Mangione' - played by cast member Emil Wakim, whom many online had predicted would assume the likeness of the suspect. Showrunners appeared to shy away from going that far, while still giving Wakim the time to get in on the action - thanks to his startling resemblance to the alleged assasin. 'This whole things been a roller coaster for me, Wakim's Mangione lookalike - itself a gibe on a fan-held event held in New York after the murder - tells Grace ' On one hand, I keep getting tackled by bounty hunters - but on the other hand, Ive gotten some of the horniest DMs of my life. It continued with Graces final guest - a 'guy who looks like Luigi Mangione' - played by cast member Emil Wakim, whom many online had predicted would play the suspect. Showrunners appeared to shy away from going that far, while still giving Wakim time to shine Mangione was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania on Monday, after patrons and staff claimed they recognized him from the NYPD images Footage captured the moment a masked gunman believed to be Mangione gunning down Briand Thompson on December 4 'I mean, I havent paid for a meal in Brooklyn in days,' he jokes - as the skit also mocked True Crime YouTubers like Grace with an ad that abruptly played midsentence. Onlookers online, not swayed by the tongue and cheek delivery, tore into showrunners for joking about the murder of 50-year-old Brian Thompson - not to mention his suspected assassin. 'Normalizing the felon will never be funny,' wrote one viewer, remaking positively about Chris Rock's return to the show as host before showing overall disapproval. 'Please tell me why this is comedy? Murder is supposed to be funny?' another asked aloud. 'Emil as Luigi lookalike was everything,' added someone who approved of the skit. Sniped another: 'SNL is so over. This was whack.' Rock, meanwhile, also mentioned the high-profile murder during his monologue, before Jost brought it up again during the Weekend Update. 'We got Luigi. You know, and that's good,' Rock told the live audience toward the beginning of his spiel. 'I really feel sorry for the family. Everybody's fixated on how good-looking this guy looks.' 'If he looked like Jonah Hill, no one would care. They'd already given him the chair already he'd be dead.' Prodigal Chris Rock also mentioned the high-profile murder during his monologue - drawing gasps from some in the studio audience Chris Rock's monologue! pic.twitter.com/MedUMLCBqz Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) December 15, 2024 Rock continued, 'But he actually killed a man a man with a family, a man with kids. I have condolences. I have real condolences for healthcare CEO. This is a real person, you know?' The star added, 'But you also got to go, "You know, sometimes drug dealers get shot."' After a few immediate gasps from the audience, the crowd began to applaud and let out laughs following the savage joke. Mangione, meanwhile, is currently being held in Pennsylvania, and is awaiting extradition. A search will resume at dawn for a hiker who plunged down a secluded waterfall on a popular walking trail. Emergency services were called to Babinda Falls south of Cairns in far north Queensland on Sunday afternoon following reports a man fell into the water and failed to resurface. The man, 29, was hiking with three friends at the time. An extensive search was launched which included swift water crews, SES volunteers and an emergency helicopter which was later stood down due to technical issues. 'We received reports someone had fallen from the falls but there is extensive reception issues up there, so information is limited,' a Queensland fire department spokesman told the Cairns Post. A search will resume on Monday for a hiker who fell at Badinda Falls (pictured) on Sunday The search was suspended due to failing light on Sunday night but will resume on Monday morning, police confirmed. Located in Wooroonooran National Park 65km south of Cairns, the 7.4km trail into Babinda Falls involves several creek crossings. The spot is just 1km from the notorious Babinda Boulders, an famous rainforest rock pool where 21 people have lost their lives, including three since 2020. The secluded waterfall isn't far from the infamous Babinda Boulders (pictured) The undercurrent has been described as a 'washing machine' which sucks swimmers under and makes it almost impossible for them to scramble to safety. The region has seen heavy rain in recent days, including a 94mm downpour at nearby Mount Bartle Frere on Saturday. The latest incident comes after a 20-year old died after jumping off the top of Crystal Cascades waterfall near Cairns earlier this year. NHS staff who voice extremist views on Gaza could be struck off under a government crackdown on anti-Semitism. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has insisted the conflict in the Middle East must not be used as a 'pretext to attack communities here in Britain'. He instructed managers that there should be a 'zero tolerance' approach to such 'vile behaviour in our health service'. Jewish doctors warned of a rise in anti-Semitic abuse from colleagues after the Hamas terror attacks triggered the latest violence. Concerns have been raised about a backlash in the workplace, and social media posts celebrating terrorist attacks. Mr Streeting told the Sunday Telegraph: 'This government has been clear that we will use the full force of the law against anyone who uses the conflict in the Middle East as a pretext to attack communities here in Britain, and there is a strict zero-tolerance approach to this vile behaviour in our health service. 'No ifs, no buts I expect regulators to investigate any concerns suggesting patient safety is at risk due to discrimination or misconduct by a healthcare professional. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has insisted the conflict in the Middle East must not be used as a 'pretext to attack communities here in Britain' People pay tribute at the memorial site for the victims of the 07 October 2023 Supernova music festival attack in Israel Part of Gaza City seen on the anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks 'Any worker espousing racist or extremist views should know they could end up in front of a disciplinary panel. 'Regulators have powers to set conditions that a healthcare professional must work under, suspend them, or strike them entirely from the medical register. Patients and members of the public are also able to raise concerns about a professional directly with a regulator - and regulators have a statutory duty to investigate those complaints. 'Any patient racially or violently abusing NHS staff, who are simply trying to do their jobs and care for us, can and should be turned away. 'We will ensure everyone working in or using the health service feels safe and respected, and stamp out this wickedness.' Pope Francis has made his first appearance in the battery-powered G-Wagon Popemobile during a trip to Corsica. The specially-made vehicle was designed to have a rotating heated seat and handrail for the Holy Father, and was delivered to him last week, just in time for his first use on Sunday. Built by Mercedes-Benz, the white vehicle is the first fully electric popemobile and also has a special place for the Swiss Guards to stand to protect the pontiff - who turns 88 on Tuesday. Plus, the modified G-Wagon doesn't just look great, it's environmentally friendly - a cause close to the Pope's heart. As well as having heating compartments to keep His Holiness toasty whilst he greets Catholic pilgrims on chilly winter days in St Peter's Square, the new motor also has a retractable roof which will protect Pope Francis from the elements. And, of course, the seat is raised so that crowds will have a better chance of catching a glance at the pontiff as he drives by in his new set of wheels. Two white-and-yellow Vatican flags fly on either side of the Mercedes G-Class bonnet and its registration plate is SCV1 standing for Status Civitatis Vaticanae, Latin for Vatican City State. The pearl-white popemobile is powered by an electric motor that is 'adapted to the particularly low speeds required for public appearances' by the pope, Mercedes said. Pope Francis arrives to pay his respects to the small statue of the Madonuccia (Ajaccio's patron saint) in Ajaccio, as part of his trip on the French island of Corsica, on December 15, 2024 The modified G-Wagon doesn't just look great, it's environmentally friendly - a cause close to the Pope's heart The seat is raised so that crowds will have a better chance of catching a glance at the pontiff as he drives by in his new set of wheels The new motor comes with a new rotating heated seat and handrail Chief executive Ola Kallenius and engineers working on the special project presented Pope Francis with the custom-made vehicle in person at the Vatican. Producing cars for the papacy was a 'special honour for our company', Kallenius said. The Stuttgart-based automaker has supplied the Vatican with popemobiles for the past 45 years, according to the company. The switch to electric popemobiles was in keeping with Francis's move to make the environment one of the main themes of his papacy since becoming pontiff in 2013. Pope Francis used the white G-Wagon on Sunday during the first papal visit ever to the French island of Corsica. Speaking at the close of a Mediterranean conference on popular piety, Papa Francescu, as he is called in Corsican, described a concept of secularity 'that is not static and fixed, but evolving and dynamic,' that can adapt to 'unforeseen situations' and promote cooperation 'between civil and ecclesial authorities.' The pontiff said that expressions of popular piety, including processions, communal prayer of the Holy Rosary, 'can nurture `constructive citizenship' on the part of Christians. At the same time, he warned against such manifestations being seen only in terms of folklore, or even superstition. Pope Francis visits Corsica, a stronghold of the Catholic faith with locals hotly anticipating the first-ever trip by a pontiff to the French Mediterranean island During his first papal visit to Corsica, Pope Francis will attend a Conference on Popular Religiosity in the Mediterranean, meet with the clergy and religious of the island, and preside over Holy Mass The pearl-white popemobile is powered by an electric motor that is 'adapted to the particularly low speeds required for public appearances' by the pope, Mercedes said Chief executive Ola Kallenius and engineers working on the special project presented Pope Francis with the custom-made vehicle in person at the Vatican The Pope arrived in style in his new white G-Wagon Popemobile The Stuttgart-based automaker has supplied the Vatican with popemobiles for the past 45 years, according to the company During off-the-cuff remarks, the pope relayed his experience attending a festival in northern Argentina before his pontificate where he witnessed the importance of popular piety for the faithful 'that seeks a healthy complicity.' Following the Pope's arrival in his new eco-friendly wheels, many remembered when he made an urgent appeal for climate action in his 2015 encyclical 'Laudato Si', in which he urged global solidarity to act together to protect 'our common home'. Francis updated his landmark thesis in 2023 when he criticised slow climate action, and then became the first pope to attend the United Nations climate talks in person. Last month, his environmental credentials were called into question when it emerged that a 200-year-old pine growing in a forest in northern Italy was to be cut down and given as a Christmas tree to the Vatican. A petition calling for the 100ft-tall conifer, nicknamed The Green Giant, to be spared was signed by more than 53,000 people. The Mercedes popemobile is not the first electric vehicle to be used by the Vatican. French automaker Renault presented Francis's predecessor, Benedict XVI, with an electric people carrier in 2012. Earlier this year, the Pope was seen struggling to get on to his last popemobile after an audience at the Vatican, as lingering respiratory and mobility problems continued to affect the 87-year-old pontiff. A New York financial consultant went into a terrifying spiral of violence after brutally assaulting an unsuspecting optometrist, knocking him out cold. The suspect, Eric Moneyham - a former consultant at prestigious accounting giants KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers - allegedly unleashed a shocking series of attacks that have left multiple healthcare workers battered and traumatized. The violent spree began on October 17 when Moneyham brazenly bursted into Dr. Ron Goldstein's Upper East Side office, launching a savage sucker punch that left the 63-year-old eye doctor unconscious and bleeding. Goldstein, who was examining a senior citizen patient at the time, was struck from behind - captured chillingly on office surveillance, the New York Post reported. 'I would like this guy to be charged with the appropriate crime that he committed against me,' Goldstein told The Post. 'If someone's going to attack me, they should certainly have to face the consequences.' Staff immediately sprang into action, as the office manager and technician captured photos of the suspect as he calmly walked away, ear pods in and cell phone in hand. 'I never actually saw him,' Goldstein added. 'I was staring at a retinal image and had a patient in front of me. He came right behind me and hit me in the back of the head. The reason I know that is because I saw it on videotape afterwards.' A New York financial consultant went into a terrifying spiral of violence after brutally assaulting an unsuspecting optometrist, Dr. Ron Goldstein (pictured), knocking him out cold The suspect, Eric Moneyham (pictured) - a former consultant at prestigious accounting giants KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers - allegedly unleashed a shocking series of attacks that have left multiple healthcare workers battered and traumatized Moneyham, who is son of a Florida workers' compensation judge, reportedly visited Mr. Goldstein at least one time for an eye exam prior to the attack, as reported by the outlet. The doctor's 25-year-old daughter, Tai, took to TikTok pleading to her followers: 'We cannot let this disgusting human being roam the streets of New York freely!' 'We cannot let this disgusting human being roam the streets of New York freely,' she pleaded. Her social media appeal worked miraculously, generating an 'overwhelming response' that quickly identified Moneyham within just 24 hours. But Moneyham's violent spree wasn't over. After attacking Goldstein, Moneyham allegedly continued his rampage in Bergen County, New Jersey - breaking into a house in Wyckoff township and threatening residents just hours later. He posted on LinkedIn: 'I'd hit you in the head so hard you'd hit the concrete and be leaking blood,' according to a criminal complaint. After attacking Goldstein, Moneyham allegedly continued his rampage in Bergen County, New Jersey - breaking into a house and threatening residents before launching brutal attacks on medical staff at the county ja Goldstein, who was examining a senior citizen patient at the time, was struck from behind - captured chillingly on office surveillance Moneyham, who is son of a Florida workers compensation judge, reportedly visited Mr. Goldstein at least one time for an eye exam prior to the attack, as reported by the outlet Goldstein said: I want this guy to be charged with the appropriate crime that he committed against me. If someone's going to attack me, they should absolutely face the consequences!' On Oct. 20, Moneyham landed in Bergen County Jail when he allegedly 'sucker punched' a medical staffer - striking him more than 40 times - breaking his jaw and nose before reportedly attacking a female doctor. He was then charged with aggravated assault. Moneyham allegedly punched a female doctor in the face just five days later, and charged with another count of aggravated assault. The latest edition of Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update was well received on social media after it covered everything from Donald Trump being named Time Magazine's person of the year to Sabrina Carpenter's Christmas special. The segment kicked off with a series of rapid-fire jokes from hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che about the mysterious drones in New Jersey, former congressman Matt Gaetz getting his own show on One America News and much more. Che audibly laughed through many of Jost's line deliveries, most notably during a joke about Luigi Mangione, the man who was charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. 'This week, America continued the delicate, sensitive debate over who will play this guy in the Netflix mini series,' Jost said, likely a thinly-veiled reference to Mangione's army of fans who think he is attractive. However, the two sketches after the actual weekend update got the most attention on social media. The first one featured SNL writer Andrew Dismukes as a bald man, who was brought into the studio to comment on a UK judge ruling that calling a man 'bald' is sexual harassment. Electrician Tony Finn claimed he was sexually harassed in 2019 by his boss who allegedly called him a 'bald c***' during an argument. Finn sued his former employer after he was dismissed in 2021 and finally got a victory in October. Dismukes gave an energetic performance while wearing a bald cap. His various antics included applying lotion to his head before toweling it off, all of which was accompanied by loud sound effects. Andrew Dismukes, pictured, played a bald man in a Weekend Update sketch about a recent ruling from a UK judge that calling a man 'bald' is sexual harassment Tony Finn (pictured) has won claims of unfair and wrongful dismissal, while also being subjected to detriments and sex harassment relating to the baldness comment He also joked that three bald judges handed down the ruling that said using the word 'bald' against a man could breach equality laws because it is 'inherently related to sex'. A female British High Court judge actually oversaw the case. 'So I imagine you're pretty happy about this ruling?' Jost asked him. 'Of course, I'm sick and tired of all the bald jokes, Colin. And yeah, I've heard 'em all! When I take a shower I get brainwashed, give me a break. Lice scream when they see my head, give me a break again,' Dismukes responded. Throughout the segment, Dismukes pretended to get offended at Jost making light of his baldness. His parting line contained a facetious threat about taking Jost to court and a reference to Scarlett Johansson's 'Marvel money.' 'I dare you to laugh. I'd love to see your a** in court. My hairless little hands on some of your wife's Marvel money,' he said. The bald man segment got plenty of reactions online, with nearly everyone thinking it was hilarious. 'This might be an all-time top 10 SNL Weekend Update lmao,' one person wrote in a post on X. An actual bald man posted about the sketch and said: 'Thank you Weekend Update. I feel so seen.' Another person thought it also would have been funny to cast Larry David as the bald man in the sketch. One account declared the latest edition of SNL's Weekend Update to be in the top 10 of all time A man who appears to be bald based on his profile picture said he felt 'so seen' after watching the sketch with Dismukes The other comedy skit that got quite a bit of attention was one that featured SNL cast member Jane Wickline as pale imitation of Sabrina Carpenter. Wickline performed a song pretending to be the pop star as she bemoans that nobody makes up gay rumors about her The other comedy skit that got quite a bit of attention was one that featured SNL cast member Jane Wickline as a pale imitation of Sabrina Carpenter. Last week, the 25-year-old Espresso hitmaker released her highly anticipated holiday special on Netflix featuring special guest performing artists, comedic cameos and various other unexpected duets. Wickline, who admitted she 'can't look or sound like' Carpenter, then launched into a song about how no one spreads rumors that the pop star is gay like people on the internet tend to do for every other celebrity. 'A lot of people on the internet like to start these juicy rumors about whether pop stars are gay and this is a new song that I, Sabrina Carpenter, wrote called "When Will Even One Person Do That About Me,"' Wickline said. Among many references to Carpenter's love life, Wickline reminded the audience that Carpenter kissed Jenna Ortega in the music video for her song Taste. 'I make out with Jenna Ortega passionately,' she sang in a frustrated tone. 'Help me. Just tell me where I'm going wrong. Why am I the only straight pop star taken at their word. It's lonely, I do gay stuff and you don't get mad.' Her performance got mixed reviews, but there were plenty of people who found it to be funny. 'The Jane Wickline as Sabrina Carpenter on Weekend Update was a brilliant fun little simple commentary performed wonderfully,' one person wrote. 'Wait unsure about all of your snl opinions but just saw jane wickline and andrew dismukes were both on weekend update and that DID put a smile on my face,' another wrote. Much of the commentary online was also about how one girl could be heard screaming at the top of her lungs when Jost and Che were introduced. 'The girl screaming at the top of lungs and pitch at the weekend update is so me if I ever get to attend snl in person,' one person wrote. Colin Jost and Michael Che made jokes about the drones in New Jersey, Trump being Time Magazine's person of the year, and Mitch McConnell's recent fall during a GOP lunch As they always do, both men delved into jokes written about last week's major news events. Amid all the chaos in New Jersey with the unexplained drones flying overhead, Che talked about a drone that fell out of the sky and crashed into a homeowner's backyard. 'Tensions about drones flying above New Jersey continued to rise after a drone crashed into a persons backyard, but at least now we know whoevers flying them is the friggin women, right?' he said out of the side of his mouth. Later, Jost appeared to share some frustration about Trump being Time's person of the year but understood why the magazine made their choice, saying: 'Because no person on Earth has taken out more of our god damn time.' Che closed it out with a roast directed at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who recently suffered a fall and sprained his wrist. 'He suffered minor injuries after he fell during a Republican lunch but thankfully he landed on his hard shell back,' Che joked. The Met Office has issued a 42-hour weather warning as its map shows where up to six inches of rain could fall in the upcoming bad weather. The Yellow warning comes into force at 6pm on Sunday and runs until midday on Tuesday - with the forecaster saying 'half a month's worth of rain' could fall in parts. It predicts that persistent rain will lead to difficult travel conditions and possible flooding in some places. There may also be some interruption to power supplies and other services. In areas where snow has fallen, residents are being warned a rapid thaw will contribute to the risk of homes and businesses being flooded. The country has experienced almost a week of benign conditions ranging from sunshine and freezing temperatures in the north to gloomy and stubborn fog in the central belt, with temperatures plunging below 0C and as low as -11C. Forecasters warned of 'increasingly wet weather' over the coming days, and strong winds in the north east. OXFORDSHRIRE: Donkeys pictured in a field at dawn this morning in Dunsden BERKSHIRE: A gloomy day in Windsor on Thursday BERKSHIRE: A gaggle of swans pictured in Windsor on Thursday Pictured left are the Yellow warnings in place today, pictured right is Monday and Tuesday There is one flood warning and 28 flood alerts in place today. The Yellow weather warning - which ends at midday on Tuesday - covers parts of the Highlands, Argyll and Bute, Perthshire and the Stirling area of Scotland. Police have advised people to travel with caution. Further south, The Met Office issued another Yellow warning of wind for Yorkshire which is in force until 5pm on Sunday. It warns that strong westerly winds may cause some difficult travel conditions on Sunday afternoon, while some short term loss of power and other services is possible. Gusts of 45-55 mph are expected across parts of Yorkshire during the afternoon while a few places may experience gusts of up to 65mph. Winds will ease into Sunday evening, forecasters said. The Met Office warning states: 'Rain will become persistent across parts of western Scotland during Sunday, continuing throughout Monday before easing later on Tuesday. '70-100 mm of rain is likely to fall widely during this period, but possibly over 150 mm for some exposed hills and mountains. 'Rapid melting of lying snow will also contribute to any potential impacts.' OXFORDSHIRE: A donkey stares at the camera this morning in Dunsden OXFORDSHIRE: A field on a winter morning today in Dunsden SCOTLAND: Members of the Loch Insh Dippers wild swim group take part in a Christmas-themed swim in the frozen Loch Insh, Kingussie on Friday The Yellow warning comes into force at 6pm on Sunday and runs until midday on Tuesday - with the forecaster saying 'half a month's worth of rain' could fall in parts The Met Office has issued a 42-hour weather warning as its map shows where up to six inches of rain could fall in the upcoming bad weather and strong gusts of wind Today, many places remain dry but cloudy with some rain and drizzle, mainly on the western hills. Heavier rain is expected across northern and western Scotland later on. In northeast England and eastern Scotland the weather is mild but it is windy with some gales in the north. The most rain is expected on Tuesday, when downpours will spread from the southwest. On Thursday, it is meant to be a bit brighter but still showery and windy with much colder weather coming later on. The five victims of a local French gunmen dubbed the 'angel of death' who went on a rampage near a Dunkirk migrant camp have been pictured. Paul D., 22, killed his former boss, transport company chief Paul Dekeister, 29, in front of his wife and two children at his home in Wormhout, near Dunkirk, on Saturday afternoon in 'what looked like a targeted assassination', according to local media. An investigating source said: 'The killer arrived at the Dekeister's farmhouse at around 3pm on Saturday and killed Mr Dekeister in front of his family. Mr Dekeister had employed the suspect in a security capacity, and was involved in a dispute. 'After the killing, the suspect got into his car and made his way to the area around the migrant camp at Loon-Plage. It is thought that he had a grudge against the migrants living along the coast, and wanted to settle some scores.' Paul D. then saw two Kurds, reportedly Iranian and aged 19 and 30, standing by the side of a road, close to the migrant camp at Loon-Plage, and shot them both at point-blank-range. The killer 'left them no chance of survival', the source told local media. A 25-year-old Kurdish migrant named Matin who was with the two victims when the gunmen 'showered them with bullets' with a shotgun told Sky News: 'Initially, we thought he would fire in the air and then he loaded the gun and aimed at us. 'We saw Azrael [the Islamic Angel of Death]. We saw death with our own eyes. It was God's will that we survived. In one day, we saw death twice.' The alleged killer later shot dead two security guards - identified as father-of-two Marc Lehmus, 37, and Aurelien Cugny, 33, - working at the Eamus Cork Security company, which assists the police in patrolling the northern French coast. The first victim of the gun rampage migrant killer in France has been pictured. Paul Dekeister, 29, was gunned down in front of his wife and other family members The alleged killer then shot dead two security guards, one of whom was identified as father-of-two Marc Lehmus, 37, (pictured with one of his children) The other security guard was identified as Aurelien Cugny, 33, who worked at the Eamus Cork Security security company, which assists the police in patrolling the northern French coast The security guards had a dog with them at the time, and the animal was unharmed. They had been travelling in their own vehicle, but Paul D. reportedly persuaded them to get out, before killing them. The gunman claimed to be a 'former colleague' of the dead security guards, who he killed following a 'long-running dispute with the security company', according to local media. All those killed received 'precise shots to the head, suggesting the killer had a lot of experience with firearms,' the investigating source said. Special forces police were called to a camp on the Mardyck Road soon after 4pm on Saturday afternoon, following early reports of 'a lone gunman killing people.' A source said that all the shootings took place within less than an hour of each other. The gunman then drove some eight miles to the coastal town Ghyvelde, where he reportedly grew up, and turned himself in to gendarmes at around 5pm, before confessing to all five murders. His car, a dark grey Berlingo, was parked on Saturday evening in front of the police station gate, in a residential area, AFP noted. Paul D. then saw two Iraqi Kurds (pictured above in local media outlets), reportedly aged 19 and 30, standing by the side of a road, close to the migrant camp at Loon-Plage, and shot them both at point-blank-range Bodies were left strewn in the streets of Loon-Plage, close to Dunkirk, after the 22-year-old French gunman went on a horrific shooting rampage on Saturday afternoon Pictured above are makeshift huts migrants in Loon-Plage use for shelter Two men and a woman, relatives of the suspect, left the premises shortly before 10pm, without wishing to comment. Four weapons were found in Paul D.'s car, and he was the legal owner of a Smith and Wesson 44 Remington rifle because he was registered as a hunter, a gendarmerie spokesman said. Confirming the arrest, a spokesman for Ghyvelde gendarmes said the man 'was not known to police,' suggesting he had no previous criminal record. A neighbour told Le Parisien that she had known Paul D. for 18 years and that she cannot believe that he admitted to killing five people. 'He is the nicest guy you could ever know. He is a hunter by nature, but he is a nice guy, he is a truck driver,' she told the outlet. On Sunday, the Dunkirk prosecutor opened an investigation into a quintuple murder, saying Paul D. is facing life in prison. The alleged killer is currently being held in custody. 'Given the multiple victims and the multiple crime scenes, numerous investigations are underway,' prosecutor Charlotte Huet said. Police cordon off a migrant camp on a road between Mardyck and Loon Beach where two security guards and two migrants were shot dead, near Dunkirk, northern France, on December 14, 2024 The area is popular with migrants due to being close to Dunkirk (file image of migrants in the Loon-Plage area) The two migrants who were killed have not yet been named by authorities. Officials have been left 'stunned' by the events with Loon-Plage mayor Eric Rommel saying he 'cannot understand how this could have happened'. Mr Rommel added: 'Our thoughts are with the families of the victims in this terrible ordeal.' David Calcoen, the mayor of Wormhout, said the relatives of young father Mr Dekeister were feeling 'immeasurable pain'. He added: 'The town is stunned.' American Girl Doll fanatics have called out the company for a shocking mistake they made while trying to honor a Swedish tradition. The iconic toy company shared a video of their Kirsten Larson doll getting ready to celebrate Saint Lucia Day, wearing a traditional holiday outfit - a white dress with a red bow and a green wreath with candles on her head. The fan-favorite historical character was seen hanging garland and putting out Saint Lucia buns - a traditional treat for the Scandinavian holiday. 'Happy Saint Lucia Day!' American Girl wrote as the TikTok's caption. 'In her story, Kirsten surprises her family with a Saint Lucia celebration, keeping their cherished Swedish tradition alive.' Many commenters gushed over the fan-favorite historical doll, while others quickly pointed out an error the doll company made in the video. 'Its pronounced Lou-see-ah in most places that celebrate it,' one commenter explained. Another user chimed in to correct the pronunciation: 'Lu-see-uh. American Girl, What is this pronunciation? Did no one on the marketing team do any research?' Kirsten, a fan-favorite American Girl Doll, was featured in a video about Saint Lucia Day wearing her traditional holiday gown Daniela Owusu, 20, made history as Finland's first black Lucia at this year's Saint Lucia celebration 'Lusha,' one woman wrote, mocking the way the voice narrating as Kirsten pronounced the saint's name. 'It's pronounced Loo-SEE-ah in Swedish,' someone chimed in. A disappointed fan said: 'I want to show this to my Swedish sister-in-law and have her soul leave her body at how badly mispronounced this is.' 'Pronouncing Lucia that way is so wild,' another Kirsten-lover agreed. Viewers said that not only was the company's pronunciation of the saint's name incorrect, but Kirsten's accent was not accurate either. 'Why she got an American accent and pronouncing the holiday wrong?' someone asked, alluding to the fact that Kirsten's character is a Swedish immigrant. 'Wouldnt she have a swedish accent bc they immigrated?' someone else pondered. One user joked: 'I think missy lied on those immigration papers.' Saint Lucia Day was celebrated on December 13 to honor the Christian Martyr Owusu said she wanted to be the Lucia since she was in kindergarten 'They didnt even try to pronounce Lucia right,' someone declared. DailyMail.com has reached out to American Girl for comment. Kirsten is one of American Girl Doll's first three historical characters. She was created to represent a mid-1800s Swedish immigrant. In the original Kirsten book, her nine-year-old character likes to explore and is 'extremely curious,' but sometimes her inquisitiveness gets her into trouble, according to the doll's Fandom page. Her and her family immigrated to Minnesota, and the book chronicles their struggles as they get accustomed to their new lives. Saint Lucia Day was on Friday, December 13. In Sweden, Norway and Swedish-speaking parts of Finland, the holiday is a festival of lights to honor the Christian martyr Lucia of Syracuse, according to Visit Sweden. Based on legend about Saint Lucia, she brought food to Christians hiding in Roman Catacombs and used a candle-lit wreath on her head to light her way. Each year, one girl or young woman is chosen to dress as the Lucia, wearing the gown and candle-lit wreath, and others follow in the white gowns to celebrate the holiday. American Girl doll was criticized for mispronouncing the saint's name as 'Lusha' instead of 'Loo-see-uh' This year, Finland chose their first black Lucia, Daniela Owusu. The 20-year-old said she saw the ceremony when she was kindergarten and knew it was always something she wanted to be a part of. 'It would be important to have a Lucia who represents multiculturalism and to show that Lucia can look many different ways,' she told Yle news. Owusu shared her experience as this year's Lucia online, sparking waves of support. 'I'm so excited seeing you as the Lucia,' one user wrote under a TikTok of her in her white gown. In a TikTok posted about Owusu as 'Finland's First Brown Lucia,' the comments were flooded with discussions about how people have not been chosen to be the Lucia based on their appearance in the past. 'So happy to see this! I grew up in a small town in southern Sweden and I was told my whole life I could never be Lucia because Im not blonde (even though shes Italian). So this truly warms my heart,' someone wrote. Another person added: 'Even tho its not about looks, Lucia was a saint and she would be happy to see all available to represent her and her offerings.' Saint Lucia brought food to Christians hiding in Roman Catacombs and used a candle-lit wreath on her head to light her way. Girls dress like the saint to honor her on the holiday The Kirsten's Surprise Holiday Collector Doll and Book set retails for $230, according to the American Girl website. This specific holiday doll is already sold out for the holiday season and is backordered until January 10. The Kirsten doll in her holiday gown was originally introduced in 1986, but was retired in 2009, based on American Girl's Kirsten page. Kirsten in her Saint Lucia outfit was re-released this year as a part of the collector set. This photo taken on Jan 19, 2023 shows the US Capitol building in Washington, DC, the United States. [Photo/Xinhua] Global Times-A video circulating on X these days shows that US Marine Corps Commandant General Eric M. Smith claimed at the recent Reagan Defense Forum that the US military has built a "culture of warfighting" because of its participation in wars, such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan. In contrast, he suggested that China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) lacks warfighting experience, asserting that it "can only bluster." "The advantage lies with us because our last combat was captured on somebody's iPhone 14 The Chinese's last combat was captured on oil and canvas, and they should not forget that," he added. Not to mention how ignorant such remarks are of history, the fact that a US military commandant would use the US' frequent wars, particularly its experience in killing in Afghanistan and Iraq, to belittle the PLA shows his narrow vision. The US military officer's remarks are another manifestation of US' belligerent tradition. However, to wear warfighting records as "a badge of honor" and to brag about war records as an achievement is out of tune with a world yearning for peace. Since ancient times, the most fundamental wish of humanity has been for peace and development. Currently, the awareness among people in countries around the world of valuing peace and resisting war has significantly increased. Rather than recording US military's "glorious" battle achievements, what the iPhone 14 mentioned by Smith provides could be the most direct and firsthand evidence of US belligerence. The US' "culture of warfighting" is a culture of aggression, and its history of national development is one of plunder, exploitation and interference through wars. An old Chinese saying goes, "A warlike state, however big it may be, will eventually perish; the world in peace, if relaxing vigilance against war, will face danger." Since ancient times, China has promoted the idea of never relaxing vigilance against war. It attaches great importance to the development of national defense and raises awareness about possible conflicts. In addition, for decades, it has never provoked a war or conflict, let alone resorted to military means wantonly. On the contrary, the US' belligerence has already created a lasting and destructive impact on world peace and development. The country has never stopped clamoring for war and peddling its weapons and equipment. Its preference for using force to solve problem is often viewed by the international community as "expansionist" and "hegemonic." A symposium on the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu and his renowned work The Art of War was held in Beijing last week, with over 350 delegates from nearly 30 countries attending the event. The ideas in this book, written more than 2,500 years ago, still resonate widely around the world, largely because of its "peace gene." Amid the frequent conflicts in international hot spots and escalating militarism, Sun Tzu's ideas that emphasize the prevention of conflicts rather than resorting to war hold great significance for the maintenance of lasting global peace. What about the US' "culture of warfighting"? Can such a militaristic ideology that has already brought tragedies to the world have a vitality of more than 2,500 years? The answer is self-evident. Perhaps some US military officers should start reading Sun Tzu's Art of War, instead of living in their bubble and priding themselves on the blood-stained "badge of honor" of the US as the world's "No.1 warmonger." The lawyer of suspected assassin Luigi Mangione and Sean 'Diddy' Combs' attorney are married. Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a powerful New York attorney, was recently appointed to represent Mangione, who is accused of shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4 outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Meanwhile, her husband, Marc Agnifilo, has been representing the embattled rapper facing a slew of sex trafficking charges. Karen, 58, was previously a prosecutor who worked as the head of the sex crimes unit in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. In 2021 she decided to leave her longtime career as second in command to District Attorney Cyrus Vance to join her husband Marc, 60, at his private firm, Agnifilo Intrater LLP. The legal power couple previously experienced friction in their careers back in 2017 when Karen had no choice but to step down from Harvey Weinstein's case after it was revealed Marc was working with the disgraced movie mogul's defense attorney, according to the Daily Beast. Mangione, 26, chose to replace his initial representation Thomas Dickey with Karen, who has been described as someone who 'knows every corridor, every judge, every clerk in the courthouse' in the Big Apple, a source told CNN. 'She's got as much experience as any human being, especially in the state court,' they added. Luigi Mangione's new attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, is married to Diddy's lawyer Marc Agnifilo Marc, 60, has been representing the embattled rapper facing sex trafficking charges Karen was also previously employed by CNN as a legal analyst, and other than working with her husband, she also worked at Geragos & Geragos, the high-powered LA firm that currently represents the Menendez brothers. News about her being appointed Mangione's new attorney comes as multiple crowdfunding attempts have been made to raise money for his defense, according to ABC News. Mangione was arrested in Pennsylvania on firearms charges, and is due in court on Tuesday where he is expected to fight extradition to New York City for allegedly slaying Thompson, 50. While Mangione is working to extend his stay in the Keystone State, New York officials are hoping to get him back with a governor's warrant. The specific warrant is the type signed by the governor of a state where a fugitive flees after a crime. The governor in that state acts upon an official request from the governor of the state where the crime occurred. The legal power couple previously experienced friction in their careers back in 2017 when Karen had no choice but to step down from Harvey Weinstein's case after it was revealed he retained a member of her husband's legal firm. (Pictured: Karen and Marc in 2021) Mangione, 26, has been accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, on December 4 outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan In this case, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected to seek a governor's warrant from Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, but the process could take more than a month. On Wednesday, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said police have matched a gun found on Mangione with the shell casings recovered at the scene, along with his fingerprints on a water bottle and energy bar wrapper found nearby. Other evidence includes handwritten documents found in his possession casting his alleged crime as a legitimate response to what he viewed as corporate greed, some media outlets have reported. Mangione lashed out on Tuesday as he was led into a courthouse, shouting in part, '...completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people!' The former Ivy League student was apprehended with a 3D-printed pistol and black silencer, as well as a manifesto condemning the American healthcare system. Mangione also had a spiral notebook in which he wrote a 'to-do list,' ahead of the grizzly shooting, CNN reported. Diddy was arrested in September in Manhattan. He has been charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution, but has fiercely refuted all the allegations In it, he allegedly toyed with the idea of using a bomb to kill Thompson - but he decided against the prospect because it 'could kill innocents,' and determined a shooting would be more targeted. Authorities have said Mangione's three-page manifesto is currently being investigated, which they have labeled a 'claim of responsibility.' The document is a different piece of evidence from the notebook - where he flirted with the idea of bombing Midtown to kill the millionaire healthcare boss before ultimately deciding to go for a more targeted approach to avoid the loss of other lives. Meanwhile, Karen's partner Marc has continued to represent Diddy who has fiercely refuted all the allegations made against him so far. He was arrested in Manhattan in September, and has not only been charged with sex trafficking, but also racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. Diddy appeared before a federal judge in New York last month and was supported by his family in court. Marc recently penned a letter to the jurist to claim his client had not been receiving the same treatments as his prison-mates in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center. (Pictured: Sketch of Marc and Diddy in court on September 18) He was not shackled after his lawyers claimed that doing so offended the 'dignity' of the court. After being denied bail once again, Combs was granted access to a laptop to assist in his defense earlier this week, court documents have revealed. Currently behind bars for a litany of charges, the rapper will not be able to access the internet, officials said. 'The purpose of the Discovery Laptop is to review discovery, not to take or store notes,' Judge Subramanian wrote. 'It is the Court's understanding that the laptop has been pre-loaded with discovery materials but does not allow any functionality beyond reviewing those materials.' The demand for a laptop is only the latest from the disgraced producer's team, who have already asked that he be allowed to appear unshackled for all future court appearances. Marc recently penned a letter to the jurist to claim his client had not been receiving the same treatments as his prison-mates in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC). Last month his request for bail was denied a third time, as he will not remain behind bars until his May 2025 trial. The federal government does not have the authority to take out drones spotted over New York and New Jersey, according to the head of the Department of Homeland Security. Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says that authorities need to be expanded for DHS and its partners to 'incapacitate' these mystery drones. It comes after President-elect Donald Trump suggested that the unmanned aircraft be shot down. 'Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country. Can this really be happening without our government's knowledge,' Trump posted on Friday amid outcry over the ongoing mystery. 'I don't think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!' the former and future president wrote on his social media site Truth Social. Asked whether this was a possibility, Mayorkas told ABC News on Sunday that in order to be able to take more action, his agency needs to be given more powers. 'With respect of the ability to incapacitate those drones, we are limited in our authorities,' Mayorkas told This Week host George Stephanopoulos. 'We have certain agencies within the Department of Homeland Security that can do that and outside our department,' he added. 'But we need those authorities expanded, as well.' Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says the government needs more authorities to be able to incapacitate the uptick in mysterious drones spotted over various U.S. states in the last month After President-elect Trump suggests shooting down suspected drones reported on the East Coast, DHS Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas tells @GStephanopoulos, We are limited in our authorities. We need those authorities expanded. https://t.co/v1QBuzcCv3 pic.twitter.com/b7vc4qnZF4 This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 15, 2024 He divulged that there are more than 8,000 drones flown every day in the U.S., including civilian and government for both work and leisure activities. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said Sunday that on the congressional side, lawmakers are looking for more transparency on the issue of drones. 'This just can't be, no one knows why this huge drone is over their house,' she told CBS News' Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan. Klobuchar said that Congress needs a briefing on the matter, but assured the Biden administration 'has repeatedly assured people that they are safe.' Mayorkas claims a new law allowing for drones to be flown in the U.S. at night is likely what is leading to an uptick in reports of these spottings. There has been a massive outcry in New Jersey and New York over people seeing drones outside their homes at night. It appears so far that officials were caught off guard by the mysterious nationwide drone sightings and are working to identify them and address the concern. Fears are growing over the mysterious objects that have been spotted flying across the sky in a number of U.S. cities in the last month - specifically in New Jersey, New York and Washington D.C. Trump suggested on Truth Social that the government start shooting down mysterious drones Their presence has raised both alarm and confusion, with the Pentagon being criticised for their 'lack of transparency' on the issue. Mayorkas confirmed that the government is aware of the sightings and reports of drones, but did not expand on what is being done to fix the issue or reassure Americans that they are not a threat. Trump trolled reports of the drone sightings by making former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie the butt of the joke. He posted to X and Truth Social over the weekend an AI image of Christie chowing down on McDonalds with several drones delivering red to-go bags from the Golden Arches fast food chain to his 2024 primary election rival. Israel has closed its embassy in Dublin as it accuses Ireland of having 'extreme anti-Israel policies' and of crossing 'every red line'. Gideon Saar - Israel's foreign minister - declared the closure of the Irish residence of its ambassador whilst claiming Ireland had an 'anti-Semitic rhetoric'. Irish premier Simon Harris said he was 'deeply disappointed' by the move, whilst 'utterly rejecti[ng]' allegations that Ireland was against the Middle Eastern state. Despite Saar's most recent move, deputy premier Micheal Martin has made it clear there are no plans to close the Irish embassy in Israel. The closure of the embassy comes after the Irish government officially recognised Palestine as a state, with Israel's Dublin ambassador being recalled after in May. This week it also emerged that Ireland will formally intervene in South Africa's genocide case against the Jewish state at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In his announcement Mr Saar labelled Ireland as anti-Semitic, saying their recent actions 'demonis[ed]' the Middle Eastern country. 'The actions and anti-Semitic rhetoric used by Ireland against Israel are rooted in the de-legitimisation and demonisation of the Jewish state, along with double standards, he said. Israel has closed its embassy in Dublin as it accuses Ireland of having 'extreme anti-Israel policies' and for crossing 'every red line' Gideon Saar - Israel's foreign minister - declared the closure of the Irish residence of its ambassador whilst claiming Ireland had an 'anti-Semitic rhetoric' 'Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with Israel.' The Israeli foreign minister said Israel would invest its 'resources in advancing bilateral relations with countries worldwide according to priorities.' He said such 'priorities' would 'take into account the attitudes and actions of these states towards Israel.' Ireland's Taoiseach, Mr Harris, responded: 'I am deeply disappointed by the Israeli government's decision to close its embassy in Dublin. 'Ireland's foreign policy is founded on our deep commitment to dialogue and to the peaceful resolution of disputes. 'Resident embassies play a very important role in that regard. 'Keeping channels open has never been more important so that we can better understand each other's positions, even when we disagree.' He continued: 'I utterly reject the assertion that Ireland is anti-Israel. Ireland is pro-peace, pro-human rights and pro-international law. 'Ireland wants a two-state solution and for Israel and Palestine to live in peace and security. 'Ireland will always speak up for human rights and international law. Nothing will distract from that.' 'Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with Israel. Tanaiste Mr Martin said he believed in the importance of maintaining diplomatic channels of communication. Both Ireland's Taoiseach Simon Harris (left) and its Tanaiste Michael Martin (right) have vehemently rejected the claims, with Mr Harris stating he was 'deeply disappointed' by Israel's move He said: 'Ireland's position on the conflict in the Middle East has always been guided by the principles of international law and the obligation on all states to adhere to international humanitarian law. 'This has been the case with regard to our response to the terrorist attack by Hamas in Israel on October 7 2023, and to the conduct by Israel of its military operations since then. 'The continuation of the war in Gaza and the loss of innocent lives is simply unacceptable and contravenes international law. 'It represents the collective punishment of the Palestinian people in Gaza. We need an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza.' Mr Martin said Ireland and Israel will continue to maintain diplomatic relations, adding: 'Inherent in that is the right to agree and disagree on fundamental points. 'There are no plans to close Ireland's embassy in Israel, which is carrying out important work.' An Arkansas man is facing pushback over a children's book he penned about a beloved grizzly bear who died only a few weeks ago. Matthew Thomas's Queen of the Tetons-The Legacy of 399 follows a fictionalized version of the most famous and photographed grizzly in the world, who was struck and killed by a car in late October. Known only as #399, the 28-year-old female had lived in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park, commonly drawing crowds looking to catch a glimpse of her and her cubs over the years. Her legacy lives on in the form of her bear brood, but Thomas - just days after her she passed - sought to honor her in a different sense. Less than five days after the accident, on October 27, he took to Facebook to advertise his since-released tome - which is riddled with AI-generated images. 'My debut childrens book titled Queen of the Tetons-The legacy of 399 Will be available for purchase on December 1st,' it read, linking to a separate Facebook page. 'Click on the page, and like and follow for more information.' A little over two weeks after its release, the book is experiencing backlash - with some calling the rookie writer 'sick' for seeking to profit off something so tragic. 'Im not trying to capitalize on the death of the bear or anything like that,' Thomas, in turn, told Cowboy State Daily, refusing to take the book out of circulation. Queen of the Tetons-The Legacy of 399 follows a fictionalized version of the most famous and photographed grizzly in the world, who was struck and killed by a car in late October It was penned by Matthew Thomas, a Wyoming man who has never written a book before. He started advertising the AI-illustrated book five days after the bear's tragic passing He said he wrote 'Queen Of The Tetons: The Legacy of 399' to teach kids about the value of listening to their parents - after the 28-year-old bear was fatally struck on October 22 while crossing a road in Snake River Canyon with one of her four cubs. The unnamed driver afterward told park officials the bear appeared out of nowhere and that he could not veer out of the way, leaving her to her fate. 'Through the strictness and through the harshness youll find out it was actually done out of love,' Thomas told the paper of the lesson the book is meant to impart. 'Theres some morals in there about growing up and having a firm mother, but if you listen to your parents and the good outcomes that will come from it,' he said. Thomas added that the plot of the picture book - which has no human illustrator at all - centers around how 399 her earner her real-life nickname Queen of the Tetons, and the motherly care she gave to her collective 18 cubs over the decades. Clocking in at 36 pages, the book itself is self-published, and according to the author, is an avenue for younger Americans to venture down when it comes to getting acquainted with the legend that is 399. 'Im not trying to make a living off this book. I want it to be in Wyoming schools,' Thomas told the publication, pointing to his own, occasional encounters with the now disjoined bear pack. 'I want to see it in Wyoming libraries, I want to see it in Wyoming gift shops,' he continued. 'I want it to be a local book.' He said he wrote 'Queen Of The Tetons: The Legacy of 399' to teach kids about the value of listening to their parents - after the 28-year-old bear was fatally struck on October 22 while crossing a road in Snake River Canyon with one of her four cubs Bear #399 walks her three cubs through a clearing in Willow Flats of Grand Teton National Park, which had been her stomping ground for decades Grizzly 399 - also known as the most famous bear in the world - was killed in October after being stuck by a car. The driver will face no consequences for the accidental collision, officials said Meanwhile, onlookers privy to Thomas's plans on the new author's Facebook plans expressed disbelief about the concept, with on writing in response to the author's October advertisement, 'Is this for real Matthew?' The Arkansas resident who up until recently lived in a community located on the cusp of Yellowstone known as Cody assured her and others it was, and this month made good on his promise. 'She was strict, but she was a really good mom,' he said of his take on the bear's demeanor, immortalized in an array of media. 'She really did that because she really loved her kids, not because she was a jerk or anything like that,' he said, anthropomorphizing the animal. He said he came to know this personally during his routine drives while working as a concessionaire at Grand Teton National Park, where he would sometimes see 399 and her cubs. Thomas then revealed how he has since moved due to a medical condition, but recently felt the need to write a book about the animal and how it reminded him of his own mother and his upbringing with six brothers and sisters. After some painstaking research and a series interviews with wildlife photographers, he said he knew 399 had to be the book's focus. Recent advancements in artificial intelligence are what made it possible he said - pointing to how he did not have to fork over hefty fees to cover the cost of an illustrator. The 36 page tome is self-published - not to mention riddled with AI-generated images Thomas said allowed him to finally break into the industry 'They look almost now like a photograph more than an AI photo or an AI cartoon photo,' he said of the images, which range from cartoonish to strangely lifelike 'They look almost now like a photograph more than an AI photo or an AI cartoon photo,' he said of the images, which range from cartoonish to strangely lifelike. 'I hope it [gets more amateur childrens book authors like himself to publish books] honestly, because never in a million years I wouldve thought of doing this, and now I cant wait to write my third book.' Still fresh from his first book's release, Thomas is already touting how he is already at work on his second book, this one about a moose, thanks, in part, to the accessibly brought by AI artwork. Speaking to Cowboy State Daily, he said he plans to release the book - tentatively titled Hoback The Mischievous Moose - in the coming weeks. The paper, moreover, reported on some barbs the former park official has been faced with as a result - including one that slammed the amateur author as 'sick' for releasing such a book at such a sensitive time. As for 399, who had often been billed as 'the most famous bear in the world', died the night of October 22, after being hit at milepost 126 at around 10:30pm - an area officials afterwards revealed had no streetlights. 'It's pretty dark, it's not lit,' Lt. John Stetzenback of the Lincoln County Sheriff's office told Cowboy State Daily at the time, adding, 'It truly was an accident,' He said the mama bear - whose massive following spurred park officials to go out out of their way to keep her alive and safe - was struck and killed by a Subaru while with her youngest cub - prompting a since-finished investigation. Heartbroken fans called for authorities to hold the driver accountable, but evidence from the scene shows that the driver did nothing wrong and there was no foul-play involved Three bears typically are killed each year while visiting roads in the area, and grizzly 399 was the second death this year Still fresh from the release of his first book, Thomas is already touting how he is already at work on his second book, this one about a moose, thanks, in part, to the accessibly brought by AI By the time the driver got out of the car to inspect the condition of the grizzly, she was already dead. He waited at the scene of the collision for law enforcement to arrive before the car was later towed away. 'In a vehicle versus animal call, if upon investigation it's determined that, yes, the driver most likely was driving at the posted speed limit, we generally will not ticket on something like that,' Stetzenbach said. The driver, who was not identified, was later cleared of any wrongdoing. All that is known about him is that he was a Wyoming man who was traveling west toward Star Valley on the night of the crash, Cowboy State Daily reported. Officials have yet to offer an update on the fate of 399's four cubs. Stetzenbach did not blame the driver, saying at the time, 'The bear stepped right out into the road.' The driver, he added, 'was unable to brake in time to avoid the bear, and the collision occurred.' Labour has been accused of quietly dropping a law forcing 'woke' councils to get support from residents before changing street names. Legislation introduced by the Tories in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests would have obliged local authorities to secure two-thirds backing in a referendum before renaming landmarks. It was brought in after a series of examples of town halls trying to cut ties with figures accused of having links to the historic slave trade. However, a report by Policy Exchange highlighted that the regulations have not been implemented. Housing minister Matthew Pennycook admitted the legislation will not be brought forward as the Government does not consider there is a need for it. A 'compendium' compiled by the think-tank also highlighted more recent cases of authorities trying to rewrite their connections with the past. That included the City of London Corporation launching a project to identify historical officials who were tied to slavery. Legislation introduced by Boris Johnson's (pictured) Tories in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests would have obliged local authorities to secure two-thirds backing in a referendum before renaming landmarks Lara Brown, Policy Exchange Senior Research Fellow and author of the compendium, said: 'The Labour Government has quietly dropped legislation which would have prevented activist councils from renaming streets over the heads of local residents. 'They claim they wish to end the culture wars, and yet they are pursuing the politics of division, prioritising a minority of campaigners over the views of the public. 'Policy Exchange's History Matters Compendium shows that action continues to be taken widely and quickly to reframe how the past is presented.' Policy Exchange's History Matters project, chaired by broadcaster Sir Trevor Phillips, was established in June 2020 to 'address widespread national concern about the growing trend to alter public history and heritage without due process'. The City of London Corporation announced its 34,000 review last week. Chris Hayward, Policy Chairman, said at the time: 'In line with our commitment to equity, equality, diversity and inclusion, this project will help us to better understand the City Corporation's past, ensuring that we are transparent about our role in this shameful period of the UK's history.' Professor William Pettigrew said: 'Like many well-established British institutions, the City of London Corporation has connections to the transatlantic trade in enslaved African people. This commissioned research will seek to define those connections.' The BLM movement sparked a series of protests against the names of streets perceived as linked to the slave trade, including Penny Lane in Liverpool (file picture) Labour-run Haringey Council last year renamed Black Boy Lane as La Rose Lane after John La Rose, a poet and racial equality campaigner. In 2020, Ealing Council changed part of Havelock Road into Guru Nanak Road. It had been named after Sir Henry Havelock, who led the suppression of the Indian Mutiny in 1857. Watford Council announced plans in 2022 to let residents vote on changing street names including Imperial Way and Rhodes Way. Meanwhile, Plymouth City Council has been locked in a battle with residents since 2020 over its plans to rename Sir John Hawkins Square because of the 16th-century naval commanders involvement in the slave trade. A Government spokesman said: Street names can only be changed if local authorities have engaged with residents. Former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle were spotted enjoying an intimate dinner at a trendy Los Angeles restaurant on Saturday. Exclusive photos obtained by the DailyMail.com captured a relaxed-looking Barack and smiling Michelle as they exited the ultra-chic Mother Wolf restaurant, a celebrity hotspot that has become a magnet for Hollywood's elite, after a cozy dinner together. Michelle, beaming in a silk top and knit cardigan, flashed a wide smile as the couple emerged from the restaurant, surrounded by a protective detail of Secret Service agents. Barack, appearing calm and collected, walked closely beside his wife as waiting fans and admirers crowded around. The calm outing comes on the heels of a chaotic election season that has seen the Obamas face scathing criticism from unexpected quarters. Just last month, Barack's own biographer, Pulitzer Prize winner David Garrow, delivered a bold assessment of the couple's political missteps. In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, Garrow accused the former First Couple of 'talking down' to voters and delivering 'tone-deaf and clueless' messaging that potentially harmed Kamala Harris' presidential campaign. Former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle were spotted enjoying an intimate dinner at a Trendy Los Angeles restaurant on Saturday Exclusive photos obtained by the DailyMail.com captured a relaxed-looking Barack and smiling Michelle as they exited the ultra-chic Mother Wolf restaurant, a celebrity hotspot that has become a magnet for Hollywood's elite, after a cozy dinner together Michelle, beaming in a silk top and knit cardigan, flashed a wide smile as the couple emerged from the restaurant, surrounded by a protective detail of Secret Service agents The biographer went so far as to suggest the criticism could reduce Barack Obama's political relevance to 'Bill Clinton levels.' 'People do not want to be talked down to, no matter who they are,' the 71-year-old Pulitzer Prize winner said. 'I thought it was tone-deaf and clueless for them to preach as they did,' he told DailyMail.com. 'I would expect that perception will be shared by lots of people. If so, I think it reduces their relevance to Bill Clinton territory.' Garrow wrote the 2017 biography Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama. He won his Pulitzer for an earlier book on Martin Luther King. He predicted that the Obamas will now largely vanish from the political scene to hang out with celebrities on Martha's Vineyard'. Garrow said electoral rout has left Obama, 63, 'nervous' about the impact Trump could have on how he is seen by future generations. 'He has been and remains extremely concerned and nervous about his historical legacy,' he said. 'That has certainly taken a big hit with Trump once again triumphing.' Barack, appearing calm and collected, walked closely beside his wife as waiting fans and admirers crowded around One of the major pillars of Obama's political legacy is the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which brought health insurance to millions and outlawed denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions. Obama has been intensely aware of Trump's repeated attempts to repeal the law. Trump issued an executive order in 2017 aimed at rolling it back, but failed to push the plan through Congress. He called the act 'lousy' and said he was working to replace it during his presidential debate with Harris in September. President Joe Biden should be considering preemptive pardons for people that Donald Trump could target once he is back in the White House, Sen. Bernie Sanders insists. Speaking with NBC News on Sunday, the independent Senator from Vermont was critical of Biden's 'dangerous' pardon for his son Hunter. He feels, however, that more pardons are necessary before Biden leaves office next month. Earlier this month, Biden announced his decision to pardon his 54-year-old son despite claiming for years before that he would not take that action. Sanders did not mention any specific names in his Sunday interview, but he did suggest that the nine-member January 6 House Select Committee should be on the receiving end of any incoming pardons from the president. 'We know the White House is considering potential preemptive pardons of those who have clashed with President-elect Trump,' Meet the Press host Kristen Welker said. 'In light of what the president-elect said to me that, yes, he does think that members of the January 6th Committee should go to jail, do you think that Mr. Biden should issue preemptive pardons for the entire January 6th Committee?' 'Well, I think he might want to consider that very seriously,' the senator replied. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) thinks President Joe Biden should consider preemptive pardons for those Donald Trump has suggested he will target in a second term 'Look, that is an outrageous statement,' Sanders added. 'This is what authoritarianism is all about. It's what dictatorship is all about. You do not arrest elected officials who disagree with you, who undertake an investigation.' 'I think that idea of Trump is not going to go very far,' he predicted. 'It is so quite outrageous.' Biden's decision to pardon his son just over two months before the end of his single term was highly criticized by Democrats and Republicans. Some members of the president's own party claim the pardon was hypocritical and selfish and are worried it could lead to adverse acts from the incoming administration. And many feel it leaves the door wide open for Trump to issue pardons more generously in this go around including for his own children. Shortly after Biden posted about Hunter's pardon, Trump suggested that he would make it a day one act for him to pardon those prosecuted and given jail time for their involvement in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. Sanders also said President Biden set a 'dangerous' precedent by pardoning his son Hunter Sanders said on Sunday that it could have repercussions but was sympathetic to Biden's decision. 'When you have his opponents going after his family, as a father, as a parent, I think we can all understand Biden trying to protect his son and his family,' Sanders said in his interview. 'On the other hand, I think the precedent being set is kind of a dangerous one,' he added. 'It was a very a wide-open pardon, which could, under different circumstances, lead to problems in terms of future presidents.' He wouldn't say whether the pardon would taint the legacy of Biden's single-term presidency. Reeva Steenkamp's mother has warned Oscar Pistorius's new girlfriend that the disgraced Paralympian is still a 'danger to women'. Pistorius, 38, is said to have found new love just months after being released from prison on parole having served nine years for killing his girlfriend at his South African home in 2013. The double amputee dubbed 'Blade Runner' for the prosthetics he used to compete in the Olympics and Paralympics murdered Reeva in his bathroom. He still insists he killed the 29-year-old law graduate and model by mistake and has now found a new partner that eerily resembles his ex. Sources close to the former athlete say he has entered a romantic relationship with Rita Greyling, a business management consultant from Wakkerstroom in Mpumulanga. Upon hearing the news, Reeva's mother June warned the 33-year-old that her new boyfriend 'still has a problem with anger'. Speaking to The Sun, the 78-year-old said: 'I don't understand how she doesn't see a red flag about him because he has not lost his temper problem. 'He was supposed to be under anger management when he was in jail and at one stage I stopped him coming out because I was annoyed that he wasn't having treatment.' Pistorius, 38, is said to have found new love just months after being released from a tough prison on parole after serving nine years for killing his girlfriend at his South African home in 2013 He still insists he killed Reeva Steenkamp (left) by mistake and has now found a new partner that eerily resembles his ex (right) Upon hearing the news, Reeva's mother June warned Rita Greyling that her new boyfriend 'still has a problem with anger'. Pistorius claimed he woke in the early hours thinking a burglar was breaking in unaware his girlfriend Reeva was in the loo. He fired repeated shots through the door killing her instantly with special 'dum dum' bullets but Reeva's family have always claimed it was intentional. The horrific shooting on Valentine's Day 2013 shocked the world and led to him being jailed for culpable homicide which was later upgraded to murder. Pistorius was released into a media storm when he was granted parole on January 5, 2024 and has fallen in love again since returning to the normal world. Sources close to the couple have confirmed to Netwerk24 that Pistorius and Greyling are in a romantic relationship though details are being kept strictly private. June, who founded the Reeva Steenkamp Foundation Against The Abuse of Women and Children, said it was 'painful' to see her daughter's killer back in a relationship, adding that she was 'worried' for her. New love Rita's family have also made headlines when in late 2022 her brother Ghini was involved in a devastating incident at Henbase Lodge, Morgenzon. That November Willem Kruger, 29, drowned during a party and police in December 2023 said that his death had been shifted from accidental to a murder inquiry. South African model Reeva Steenkamp was killed by ex-Paralympian Pistorius more than a decade ago. Pictured in 2012 Oscar Pistorius leaves the Department of Correctional Services offices on April 22, 2024 in Pretoria, South Africa New love Rita's family have also made headlines when in late 2022 her brother Ghini was involved in a devastating incident at Henbase Lodge, Morgenzon Friends said that the tragedies surround both the Pistorius and Greyling families drew them together Attractive Rita has a successful career as business management consultant and Pistorius is trying to rebuild his life after his release into his rich uncle's care A source close to Pistorius said: 'He is trying to rebuild his life in a low-key way and avoids bars and restaurants and the general public and is flying under the radar Convicted killer Oscar Pistorius is said to have found new love with a stunning blonde just months after being released from a tough prison on parole. Rita is pictured Pistorius's new romance with Rita (pictured) comes more than ten years after the horrific Valentine's Day shooting Pistorius was granted parole and was released on January 5, 2024. Pictured in 2012 with Reeva Friends said that the tragedies that surround both the Pistorius and Greyling families drew them together and their reported romance marks a fresh start for both. Rita has a successful career as a business management consultant and Pistorius is trying to rebuild his life after his release into his rich uncle's care. A source close to Pistorius said: 'He is trying to rebuild his life in a low-key way and avoids bars and restaurants and the general public and is flying under the radar. 'He is slowly trying to reintegrate into society but that is being done through families that his family have been close to for decades and is slowly slowly. 'The word on the street for three months now is that he is dating again' she said. Pistorius is living in a cottage in the grounds of his multi-millionaire uncle Arnold's secure mansion and is doing volunteer work at a Dutch Reform Church nearby. His sentence ends in 2029 and as on parole is subject to checks from the Department of Corrections at any time of day to check his residence test for alcohol and drugs. He is not allowed out of the immediate area without informing the local police force and is not allowed a firearm or any contact with Reeva Steenkamp's mum or sister. Pistorius is said to have difficulty finding work with pals saying employers see him as 'toxic' so volunteers at the church used by his family cleaning and sweeping. A fatal shooting at a teen 'pop-up' party in north Houston, Texas has left two teens dead and three injured. Police responded to a shooting near the 10100 block of Jensen Drive on Saturday night after gunshots rang through a 'makeshift club' full of teenagers, according to the Houston Police Department. After arriving to the 'very hectic scene' at around 11:30 pm, police saw swarms of teens rushing out of an empty warehouse. They found a 16-year-old boy dead at the scene and a critically injured 16-year-old girl who later died from her injuries at the hospital. Three other teens - aged 13, 16 and 19 - were also shot and are being treated at Texas Children's Hospital. The 13-year-old girl is in critical condition, while the 16 and 19-year-old girls sustained non-fatal wounds, according to police. The suspect fled the scene by the time authorities arrived, the Houston Police Department wrote in a statement. Sheriff Ed Gonzalez warned on X: 'These makeshift, unsanctioned pop-up parties can quickly lead to chaos and violence. These parties quickly come together via social media. 'Pop-up parties raise public safety concerns and teens need to stay away for their own safety.' A fatal shooting at a teen 'pop-up' party in north Houston has left two teens dead and three injured Police said the shooter fled the scene of the unregulated party by the time they arrived on Saturday night Houston Mayor John Whitmire was on the scene after the shooting and noted that the security guards 'took off' and the party was totally unregulated. Police have launched a manhunt to uncover who is responsible for Saturday night's tragedy. Authorities have also asked for the community's help. 'We are going to put all our resources into finding out what happened tonight, and who did this so we can bring them to justice,' Assistant Chief Luis Menendez-Sierra said at a news conference after the shooting. 'If you were here tonight, we need your help. If you were a witness to what happened, we need you to call [the tip line]. We need you to give us information so we can bring these people to justice.' 'We lost some young people tonight, that was very preventable if they didn't come to locations such as this,' Whitmire said. In August, another a Texas teen died just weeks before his 18th birthday at a raging teenage party in a vacant newly-built home. Landon Reyes, 17, was found dead with gunshot wounds in the backyard of the empty property after being shot at the drug-fueled party in Brookmill in Bexar County. Assistant Chief Luis Menendez-Sierra asked for any community members or witnesses with any information to come forward He was one of more than 100 teens who were near the 3900 block of Rock Mill Dam for the late-night rager. Bexar Sheriff County Josie Salazaar described the event as a 'recipe for disaster.' The sheriff said the teens typically learn about these parties via social media and then show up to 'stage a takeover,' similar to Saturday night's incident in Houston. Salazaar added that deputies had broken up a party at the same property just two weeks earlier. Britain has reached out to the Syrian rebels who brought down Bashir-al Assads regime, David Lammy confirmed last night. The Foreign Secretary said the UK has had diplomatic contact with the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which spearheaded the overthrowing of the Syrian president this month. It comes following days of confusion about whether Britain can and should have meaningful contact with HTS while it remains a banned terrorist group. But speaking to Sky News last night, Mr Lammy said: HTS remains a proscribed organisation, but we can have diplomatic contact and so we do have diplomatic contact as you would expect. Regarding what should replace the Assad regime, he added: We want to see a representative, an inclusive [new] government. We want to see chemical weapons stockpiles secured and not used and we want to ensure that there is not continuing violence. And so for all of those reasons, using all the channels that we have available...we seek to deal with HTS where we have to. Asked whether the UK could soon remove them from the banned terror list, he said: This was an organisation that came out of Al-Qaeda. Syrians buy bread in the town of Douma on the outskirts of the capital Damascus on December 15, 2024 An aerial picture shows protesters dragging a toppled statue of late president Hafez al-Assad on the street during a student rally near the campus of the Damascus University in the Syrian capital on December 15, 2024 30 million will be channelled within Syria for food, shelter and emergency healthcare, while 10 million will go to the World Food Programme (WFP) in Lebanon and 10 million to WFP and the UN's refugee agency Since then, Western governments have debated how to deal with HTS, which is a proscribed organisation in the UK because of its closeness to al Qaida. Its current leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, who had used the alias Mohammed al-Golani before taking power, has attempted to distance his movement from the terrorist group. There is also concern that a power vacuum in Syria could exacerbate regional tensions and create conditions for the so-called Islamic State group to regain ground. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: 'The fall of the horrific Assad regime provides a once-in-a-generation chance for the people of Syria. 'We're committed to supporting the Syrian people as they chart a new course, first by providing 50 million in new food, healthcare and aid to support the humanitarian needs of vulnerable Syrians. Second, by working diplomatically to help secure better governance in Syria's future. 'This weekend the UK and its partners came together to agree the principles required to support a Syrian-led transitional political process. It is vital that the future Syrian government brings together all groups to establish the stability and respect the Syrian people deserve.' Sir Keir Starmer on Friday told a virtual meeting of the G7 leaders that 'the fall of (Bashar) Assad's brutal regime should be welcomed but we must be cautious about what comes next'. In a statement on Thursday, the leaders said they were committed to 'work with and fully support' a future Syrian government that agreed to ensure 'respect for the rule of law, universal human rights, including women's rights, the protection of all Syrians, including religious and ethnic minorities, transparency and accountability'. Al-Qaeda is responsible for a tremendous loss of life on British soil. We will judge them by their actions. I wont comment on future proscription but of course we recognise that this is an important moment for Syria. Syrian Air Force helicopter munitions (these boxes labelled warhead) and Russian-made rockets stored at the Mezzeh Military Airport near the capital remain untouched by more than 500 Israeli strikes against military targets across Syria since the fall of the Assad regime, on December 15, 2024 in Damascus, Syria Discarded old Syrian Air Force planes are left beside the tarmac at the Mezzeh Military Airport, as Israel mounts more than 500 Israeli strikes against military targets across Syria since the fall of the Assad regime, on December 15, 2024 in Damascus, Syria A view of Port of Latakia as removal of wreckage of Syrian navy vessels destroyed by Israeli airstrikes completed and port is set to reopened to operate in Latakia, Syria on December 15, 2024 Theres huge hope on the streets of Syria...we are signing up to an inclusive opportunity that is Syrian-led and Syrian-owned. It comes after it emerged that the US also held direct talks with HTS. Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, said at the weekend after the talks that Syrias new government must reject terrorism and destroy the former dictators chemical weapons stockpiles. It must also respect women and minority rights, he said, adding that his message to the Syrian people was that we want them to succeed and were prepared to help them do so. The insurgent leaders of HTS, which was once an affiliate of Al Qaeda, say the group has broken with its extremist past. It comes after the UK announced 50 million of humanitarian aid for vulnerable Syrians across the Middle East after the overthrow of Bashar Assad's regime. The emergency support will be delivered through the UN and NGO agencies to people in the country, as well as to refugees in Lebanon and Jordan, the Foreign Office said. Britain on Saturday joined talks in Aqaba, hosted by Jordan and attended by ministers and delegates from the US, France, Germany, the Arab Contact Group, Bahrain, Qatar, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the EU and UN. They agreed on the importance of a 'non-sectarian and representative government', protecting human rights, unfettered access for humanitarian aid, the safe destruction of chemical weapons, and combatting terrorism. 'The UK urges the transitional government to adhere to these principles to build a more hopeful, secure and peaceful Syria,' the Foreign Office said on Sunday. Some 120,000 of UK funding has also been made available to the Organisation of the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the department said. Another 30 million will be channelled within Syria for food, shelter and emergency healthcare, while 10 million will go to the World Food Programme (WFP) in Lebanon and 10 million to WFP and the UN's refugee agency, UNHCR in Jordan. The intervention comes a week after the collapse of the Assad regime following a lightning offensive by rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). All flights to and from Edinburgh Airport were grounded for around four hours following an IT issue affecting air traffic control. The issue appeared the start at around 3pm with flights from Gatwick, Dublin, Luton, Bratislava, London, Southampton and Amsterdam affected. Departing flights to Sumburgh, Dublin, Belfast, Amsterdam and Heathrow have been also affected. Airport bosses issued an update at around 6.55pm saying that the issue has been 'resolved and fights have now resumed'. Pictures showed passengers queuing inside the terminal after finding out that all flights at the airport have been grounded. At least 30 flights have been cancelled with many others being delayed. Diversions to other airports are also in place. More than 150 flights were scheduled to depart from and arrive at the airport this evening. It left many travellers frustrated with passengers taking to social media after being stranded in different airports. Pictures show passengers queuing inside the terminal after finding out that all flights at the airport have been grounded All flights to and from Edinburgh Airport have been grounded following an IT issue affecting air traffic control Posting on X (formerly Twitter ), a spokesperson for the airport said engineers are working on resolving the issue One user said: 'Is there an eta for when the system will be fixed? Does the airport have any advice for thousands of people in limbo waiting for flights that haven't been cancelled but haven't been rescheduled either?' Another added: 'Useless. Trapped in a Paris airport cos my plane is on the tarmac in Edinburgh.' A third wrote: 'Well according to our pilot (we've been diverted to land in Glasgow) the airport is closed until tomorrow morning 6am.' One passenger due to fly at 3pm from Geneva to Edinburgh told STV News: 'Once we were all onboard and doors shut, the pilot announced there was an issue. 'They have kept us updated back and forth. We have been stuck on the tarmac for three and a half hours. 'Some passengers have young babies who are quite rightly getting upset.' An initial statement from the airport read: 'Due to to an IT issue with Air Traffic Control no flights are currently taking off or landing. Engineers are working to resolve the issue. 'Passengers should check their flight status with their airline before travelling to the airport.' An update added: 'Engineers are continuing to work on the IT issue currently affecting Air Traffic Control. 'Passengers should continue to check their flight status with their airline before travelling to the airport.' Confirming the issue had been fixed, a statement said: 'The IT issue affecting Air Traffic Control has now been resolved and flights have now resumed. 'Passengers should continue to check their flight status with their airline before travelling to the airport. We would like to thank passengers for their patience and understanding.' A statement from Air Navigation Solutions said: A technical issue affected one of our systems at Edinburgh Airport earlier this afternoon. 'Our engineers have restored the system to operation, and flight operations at the Airport re-commenced at 6.25pm. 'We regret the inconvenience that has been caused.' The disruption comes before the planned strikes that are expected to start from Wednesday. North Air fuel tanker drivers will walk out for three weeks over the Christmas period over pay dispute. The strike led by unite will begin at 5am on December 18, lasting until January 6. MailOnline has approached Edinburgh Airport for an update. Police have launched a murder inquiry following the 'brutal and senseless' death of a nurse and mother-of-two in Northern Ireland. The victim, who suffered a head injury, has been named as 40-year-old Karen Cummings. A death notice has revealed she was a mother of two and had worked as a nurse. Two men have been arrested over her death at a house in Banbridge, County Down on Saturday. Police found her unconscious outside a house in the Laurel Heights area of the town, she died at the scene shortly afterwards. Members of the local community have spoken of their shock and raised concerns about the number of women killed in Northern Ireland in 2024. A PSNI spokesperson said: 'Police received a report at approximately 6.30pm on Saturday evening, December 14, of an unconscious woman with a serious head injury inside a house in the Laurel Heights area of the town. 'Officers attended, alongside colleagues from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, who provided medical treatment at the scene. 'Sadly the woman, who has been named as 40-year-old Karen Cummings, was pronounced deceased a short time later. 'A post-mortem examination will take place in due course.' The spokesperson said the investigation is at an early stage and police are working to 'establish the full circumstances that led to this brutal and senseless murder'. Karen Cummings, 40, was found dead at a house on Saturday after suffering a head injury She was found in at a house in Banbridge in County Down, Northern Ireland Police and forensics teams remain on the scene as a murder investigation has been launched They added: 'Two men have been arrested in connection with the investigation. 'A 42-year-old man was arrested at the scene on Saturday evening, December 14, on suspicion of murder and remains in police custody as inquiries continue. 'Meanwhile, a second man aged in his 30s, was arrested in the local area today also on suspicion of murder, and is in custody at present.' A death notice from Heaney Keenan Funeral Directors said: 'Karen's heartbroken family ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate the devastating and tragic loss of Karen.' District commander for Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon, Superintendent Brendan Green said: 'Our thoughts are with Ms Cummings' family and friends as they struggle to come to terms with what has happened, and they have our full sympathy at this time. 'Cordons remain in place today, Sunday December 15, and local residents will continue to see an increased visible police presence. 'Please be reassured that our officers will be doing everything in their power to conduct a thorough investigation into what has happened, and we would urge members of the public not to speculate. 'Local people will see our officers in and around the area. 'Should anyone have any concerns or want to ask for help or advice, please speak to us. We want to help.' Local representatives have told of their shock at the murder of Ms Cummings. Alliance Party deputy leader and Upper Bann MLA Eoin Tennyson said it was an 'absolutely shocking incident'. He added: 'Today is a dark day for the local community. 'My thoughts and condolences are with Karen's loved ones as they come to terms with this tragic loss. The scene at Laurel Heights in Banbridge, Co. Down, where police are investigating the sudden death of a woman News of Karen's death was described a s a 'dark day' for the community. Pictured: Police at the scene in Banbridge 'Karen is the seventh woman now to be killed in Northern Ireland just this year. This is a devastating statistic, and violence against women and girls is a sickening scourge on our society that must be eradicated.' Mr Tennyson added: 'We must all recommit ourselves to the Executive's recently launched framework to end violence against women and girls and do everything we can to put a stop to all forms of violence, harm and abuse in our society.' Sinn Fein councillor Kevin Savage said: 'My heartfelt thoughts are with this woman's loved ones as they come to terms with this tragic loss of life. 'The local community is shocked and saddened by the death of this woman and I would appeal to anyone with information to bring it forward to the PSNI.' Police in Northern Ireland have made tackling violence against women and girls a priority for the force following a series of murders in the region in recent years. In October, police said 24 women had been violently killed in Northern Ireland since 2020. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell publicly condemned Donald Trump cabinet pick Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for reported plans to revoke the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the polio vaccine. The 82-year-old polio survivor used personal experience to tear into Trump's preferred health secretary, after The New York Times reported Kennedy's lawyer had already petitioned fed to pull the vaccine from the market. 'Efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed - they're dangerous,' McConnell said of the bid from attorney Aaron Siri, while not singling out Kennedy by name. 'Anyone seeking the Senate's consent to serve in the incoming administration would do well to steer clear of even the appearance of association with such efforts.' he added, with plans to step down as his party's Senate leader next month. 'The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives and held out the promise of eradicating a terrible disease,' he added at another point, in a statement sent around Friday. It emerged hours after the Time report claimed one of his advisors filed a petition to revoke approval for the vaccine back in 2022, after it for decades protected millions from a virus that can cause paralysis or even death. As a toddler in 1944, McConnell's upper left leg was paralyzed by the disease. However, treatment available at the time likely saved him from being disabled for the rest of his life. About a decade later, the first successful vaccine was developed by US physician Jonas Salk. The disease is now commonly considered an afterthought, but has been brought back up as Kennedy continues to wage war on vaccines. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell publicly condemned Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over the weekend for reported plans to revoke the FDA's approval of the polio vaccine The 82-year-old polio survivor used personal experience to tear into Trump's preferred health secretary , after The New York Times reported Kennedy's lawyer has already petitioned federal regulators to withdraw the vaccine from the market 'Mr. Kennedy believes the Polio Vaccine should be available to the public and thoroughly and properly studied,' a Kennedy spokesperson said in response to McConnell's words Sunday, as they seemed to promise pushback from the GOP dominated Senate. Kennedy, meanwhile, has continued to claim such vaccines can contribute to higher rates of autism - an assertion that's been disproven by modern science. McConnell appeared all too aware of this with his statement, which was sent out three days after the aging Senate Minority Leader fell and broke his wrist during a senate lunch. It served as the latest in a string of health issues for the outgoing Senate leader - including multiple falls, several health scares, and a flurry of bizarre ,'freezing episodes' that further sparked concerns. As a result, he has faced calls to resign. The latest incident left him relegated to a wheelchair - a fate he avoided thanks to treatments to combat the debilitating disease while still young. 'Leader McConnell tripped following lunch,' his spokesperson told DailyMail.com following the incident Tuesday. 'He sustained a minor cut to the face and sprained his wrist. He has been cleared to resume his schedule.' Medical staff were called in to assist, and in addition to the broken wrist, the senator suffered cut on his face. As a toddler in 1944, McConnell's upper left leg was paralyzed by the disease. However, treatment available at the time likely saved him from being disabled for the rest of his life. McConnel is seen here with his parents in the mid 1940s at their home in Georgia About a decade later, The first successful vaccine was developed, and today. The disease is commonly considered a relic from the past It is being brought back up as Kennedy continues to wage war on vaccines, on the unfounded basis that some cause higher rates of autism The president at the time, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was a living reminder of how Polio could ravage the body if not treated, which the Salk vaccine made a thing of the past. He died a year after McConnel managed to beat the disease in 1944, after experiencing declining physical health due to the lack of treatments during his childhood. Siris work - including the polio petition reportedly filed in 2022 - appears to center around this point, electing to op for treatments once the disease surfaces rather than nipping it in the bud. The petition further criticizes the clinical trials done to license the polio vaccine, and argues it should not be administered until another trial is conducted. Siri represented Kennedy during his failed presidential bid. As of writing, Siri works as an advisor to JFK's 70-year-old nephew, whom, as it stands, is set to assume a role in Trump's looming administration as the US's new Secretary of Health and Human Services In his current role, Siri has helped select other health officials for the Trump administration, according to media reports. Siri posted a picture with Kennedy on his X feed days after he was appointed, last month. 'A new day is about to dawn for transparency, accountability and truth! the a litigation attorney who once clerked for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Israel wrote at the time. Kennedy's personal attorney, Aaron Siri, reportedly filed a petition in 2022 asking that federal regulators to withdraw the vaccine from the market, as some believe that opting for treatments early in life once the disease surfaces is essentially as good as nipping it in the bud with a jab Asked about Kennedy's vaccine views in an interview with Time magazine this week, Trump aired some skepticism of vaccines himself, while pointing to statistics that have not been substantiated Kennedy is already an outspoken vaccine skeptic - leading Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb to recently insist to CNBC last month: '[If he] follows through on his intentions, and I believe he will, and I believe he can, it will cost lives in this country' On his law firm's website, the lawyer lists litigation over 'vaccine injury' as one of his specialties - as Kennedy's spokesperson seemingly sought to distance her boss from his associate's 2022 filing. If appointed, Kennedy's department in the federal government will be tasked with preserving and improving the 'health and well-being of all Americans'. He is a vaccine skeptic - leading Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb to insist to CNBC last month: '[If he] follows through on his intentions, and I believe he will, and I believe he can, it will cost lives in this country.' Asked about Kennedy's vaccine views in an interview with Time magazine this week, Trump aired some skepticism of vaccines himself, while pointing to statistics that have not been substantiated. 'We're going to have a big discussion,' he told the magazine after being named its person of the year. Responding to inquiries about whether he would support Kennedy if he seeks to end child vaccinations, Trump said 'The autism rate is at a level that nobody ever believed possible. If you look at things that are happening, there's something causing it.' Asked whether he believes there is a connection between vaccines and autism, the president elect declined to fully double-down. 'I want to see the numbers,' he said. 'It's going to be the numbers.' The CDC, as of writing, has found no evidence of correlation between an increase in autism cases and vaccines given to children. The death toll in the French territory of Mayotte from Cyclone Chido is 'several hundred' and may be close to 1,000, the island's top government official told the local broadcaster today. Mayotte Prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville told TV station Mayotte la 1ere that 'I think there are some several hundred dead, maybe we'll get close to a thousand. Even thousands, given the violence of this event.' He said it was extremely difficult to get an exact number after the Indian Ocean island was pummeled by the intense tropical cyclone on Saturday, causing widespread destruction. The French Interior Ministry confirmed at least 11 deaths and more than 250 injuries in Mayotte earlier on Sunday but said that was expected to increase substantially. Mayotte in the southeastern Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa is France's poorest island and the poorest territory in the European Union. Mr Bieuville said the worst devastation had been seen in the slums of metal shacks and informal structures that mark much of Mayotte. Referring to the official death toll so far, he said: 'This figure is not plausible when you see the images of the slums.' Chido blew through the southeastern Indian Ocean on Friday and Saturday, also battering the nearby islands of Comoros and Madagascar, and has now made landfall in Mozambique on the African mainland. A photo taken on December 15, 2024 shows residents sitting by a road among piles of debris of metal sheets and wood after the cyclone Chido hit France's Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte This photo provided Sunday Dec.15, 2024 by the French Army shows a damaged house in the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean This photo provided Sunday Dec.15, 2024 by the French Army shows soldiers addressing the population in the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean Mayotte was directly in the cyclone's path and suffered extensive damage on Saturday, officials said. The local prefect said it was the worst cyclone to hit Mayotte in 90 years. French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said Saturday night after an emergency meeting in Paris that there were fears that the death toll in Mayotte 'will be high' and the island had been devastated. Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, who took office on Friday, said public infrastructure had been severely damaged or destroyed, including the main hospital and the airport. Chido brought winds in excess of 220 kph (136 mph), according to the French weather service, making it a category 4 cyclone, the second strongest on the scale. Mayotte has a population of just over 300,000 spread over two main islands. In some parts, entire neighborhoods of metal shacks and huts were flattened, while residents reported many trees had been uprooted, boats flipped or sunk and the electricity supply knocked out. Chad Youyou, a resident in Hamjago in the north of the island, posted videos on Facebook showing the extensive damage in his village and across the surrounding fields and hills, where almost every tree had been levelled. 'Mayotte is destroyed - we are destroyed,' he said. This photo provided Sunday Dec.15, 2024 by the French Army shows palm tress during strong winds in the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean This photo provided Sunday Dec.15, 2024 by the French Army shows soldiers patrolling in a military truck in the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, after Cyclone Chido caused extensive damage with reports of several fatalities Rescuers and firefighters were sent from France and the nearby French territory of Reunion and supplies were also rushed in on military aircraft and ships. Damage to the airport's control tower meant only military aircraft were able to fly in. Patrice Latron, the prefect of Reunion, said authorities aim to establish an air and sea bridge from Reunion to Mayotte. About 800 more rescuers were to be sent in the coming days and more than 80 tons of supplies had been flown in or were on their way by ship. Some of the priorities were restoring electricity and access to drinking water, Mr Latron said. The French Interior Ministry said 1,600 police and gendarmerie officers have been deployed to 'help the population and prevent potential looting.' French President Emmanuel Macron said he was closely monitoring the situation, while Pope Francis offered prayers for the victims of the cyclone while on a visit Sunday to the French Mediterranean island of Corsica. Chido continued its eastern trajectory and into northern Mozambique, while farther inland landlocked Malawi and Zimbabwe warned they might have to evacuate people because of flooding. In Mozambique, UNICEF said Cabo Delgado province, home to around 2 million people, was the first region to be hit and many homes, schools and health facilities have been partially or completely destroyed. UNICEF Mozambique spokesman Guy Taylor said that communities faced the prospect of being cut off from schools and health facilities for weeks and Mozambique authorities warned there was a high danger of landslides. A photo taken on December 15, 2024 shows a pile of debris of metal sheets, wood, furniture and belongings after the cyclone Chido hit France's Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte December through to March is cyclone season in the southeastern Indian Ocean and southern Africa has been pummeled by a series of strong ones in recent years. Cyclone Idai in 2019 killed more than 1,300 people in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Cyclone Freddy left more than 1,000 dead across several countries last year. The cyclones bring the risk of flooding and landslides, but also stagnant pools of water may later spark deadly outbreaks of the waterborne disease cholera as well as dengue fever and malaria. Studies say the cyclones are getting worse because of climate change. They can leave poor countries in southern Africa, which contribute a tiny amount to global warming, having to deal with large humanitarian crises, underlining their call for more help from rich nations to deal with the impact of climate change. A woman who claimed she is a Royal Caribbean customer said she had an allergic reaction to something she ate on the cruise ship but refused to pay for medication because it was too expensive. Frustrated with her experience, she posted a video to TikTok on Saturday and showed off her incredibly swollen face. 'So, I've been on the boat for ... not even the full 24 hours and my face is swollen,' she said as she took her sunglasses. She didn't reveal what she ate that caused her to have this reaction, but like most people would in a situation like this, she said she went to staff on the cruise to try to get medicine. She asked for Benadryl, which reduces swelling by blocking histamines, chemicals our body produces when an allergen is present. A box of 24 tablets of Benadryl can cost as little as $6 at CVS or $7 at Walgreens. The woman said she was presented with a price several dozen times higher than that. 'They do have it, but it costs $390 for them to give me Benadryl,' she said, without mentioning how many pills she was trying to buy. Royal Caribbean hasn't listed what it charges for over-the counter medications like Benadryl on its website. DailyMail.com approached the company for comment. This woman said she was on board a Royal Caribbean ship and ate something that gave her an allergic reaction. In the photos above she shows how swollen her face is Pictured: The woman's profile photo on TikTok, which shows how she normally looks There was a swift reaction to the woman's video, with most commenters either wishing her a speedy recovery or giving her advice. One of the top comments read: 'Girl i would have spent the $390.' Another commenter wrote: 'I take the whole medicine cabinet with me on a cruise because I refuse!' 'Im sorry. Also in the future honey take everything in the medicine cabinet when you cruise. I take EVERYTHING especially Benadryl,' a third person wrote. One other person appeared to have experience with exorbitant pricing for drugs on cruises. 'Oh no. I take all meds when we travel especially on a cruise because yesss they are so expensive. Next time you will be on top of it. Hopefully the swelling goes down,' they commented. The woman ended the video by saying she managed to meet someone on the ship that gave her Benadryl. There was a swift reaction to the woman's video, with most commenters either wishing her a speedy recovery or giving her advice This comes as Royal Caribbean is was left reeling from two major scandals from over the fall. In September, a 12-year-old boy plunged to his death from a 13th-floor balcony on the Harmony of the Seas, one of the company's larger ships in its fleet. Witnesses said the boy had been playing with a group of friends he had made on board shortly before falling over the cabin railing into the internal Central Park area of the ship, a plaza filled with bars, pubs and restaurants. Royal Caribbean staff attempted to resuscitate the boy, but he died before the ship docked in Galveston, Texas, wrapping up a seven-night cruise. Friends said the boy was on board with his family, including two sisters, for a birthday celebration. Shortly after this incident, the FBI said it was opening an investigation into how the boy fell. In October, news broke that more than 1,000 people may have been secretly filmed on hidden bathroom cameras onboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. The Harmony of the Seas is pictured in Miami in 2020. This is the boat where a boy fell off a balcony The boy is reported to have fallen five-stories from a cabin balcony to the Central Park atrium of the ship (pictured) Arvin Joseph Mirasol, 34, was arrested in February after a passenger onboard the Symphony of the Seas discovered a hidden camera he placed in her bathroom That's according to a class action lawsuit that seeks damages for passengers onboard the Symphony of the Seas who were unknowingly photographed and filmed by their stateroom attendant 'while undressed and engaged in private activities' during a February cruise. Before the lawsuit was filed, the former employee, Arvin Joseph Mirasol, 34, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to filming guests and producing child pornography. The suit claims Mirasol also transmitted and uploaded images of the passengers to the Internet - including to the so-called dark web - without guest's knowledge or consent. The unidentified passenger who filed the lawsuit said she suffered severe emotional distress - including insomnia, physical pain and dizziness - when she discovered she was photographed. A woman in her 40s was shot dead in a drive-by shooting while attending a wake at a church, it has been revealed. The shooting happened in Harlesden, north-west London on Saturday night, leaving one woman dead and two men, both in their 30s, injured. Metropolitan Police has launched a murder investigation following the 'truly shocking' incident and there is an ongoing manhunt for the gunman. Pastor Lawrence Larbie, of the River of Life Elim Pentecostal Church, said there was a wake going on inside the church which was due to finish at 10pm. But at around 9.15pm people began rushing into the building saying 'there's been a shooting'. He told the newspaper: 'The car just drove through. The victims were people attending the wake. They were probably on their way home.' Pastor Larbie said he was 'devestated' by the news, adding 'you are invited to attend the wake and you end up deceased. You're killed. You're gone. You're life is expired just like that.' Paying tribute to the woman, who has not been named, a friend described her as 'brilliant'. She told The Sun: 'She was a light in all of our lives. She adored her children and worked hard to give them a happy life.' Officers rushed to the scene on Gifford Road at 9.15pm, along with the London Ambulance Service. A woman in her 40s was found injured and despite the efforts of the emergency services, she was pronounced dead at the scene. Two other men, both aged in their 30s, were also hurt in what the police labelled a 'heinous act of violence'. One remains in hospital in a critical condition and the other's injuries are not life threatening. A woman in her 40s has been tragically killed and a man critically injured after a triple shooting, with police launching a manhunt for the gunman The shooting happened in Brent, north-west London on Saturday night, the Met Police said The scene on Gifford Road following the triple shooting on Saturday Your browser does not support iframes. Witnesses told MailOnline today that they heard multiple gunshots and a woman 'screaming'. One neighbour, a 40-year-old mother of five, said: 'Last night we were inside our house and we heard a woman screaming, crying and shouting around 9pm. 'And then all our neighbours ran out and then police and ambulance started coming and we could hear the sirens. 'Our neighbours said they heard gunshots and that the shooting happened outside. 'We've lived here for 17 years and never seen anything like this. 'It's really bad this is happening in our community. Our youngest, a nine-year-old, slept in our bed because he was so scared.' A woman who worked at a nearby church said she was in a service at around 8.30pm when she heard gunshots. 'The music was really loud so I heard "pow pow pow",' she said. 'I could hear crying and screaming and shouting. 'I went outside and saw that a woman in her 40s was injured. I wanted to perform CPR on her but I was so scared that the gunman would kill me. 'Then five or six minutes later the ambulance arrived but it was too late.' A resident of nearby Creukhorne Road, who did not wish to be named, said they heard five gunshots in a row. Meanwhile another man who lives near the scene of the fatal shooting described the incident as 'pandemonium'. He said: 'I was inside the church and someone came in and said there had been a shooting. I looked outside and it was pandemonium.' Police forensic officers at the scene on Gifford Road, Brent Police officers at the scene on Gifford Road, Brent, after a woman died Another neighbour, who has lived in the area since 2008, said her daughter had come home just 10 minutes before the shooting. The woman added the victim did not live in the area. She said: 'My daughter came though the door 10 minutes before it happened. 'My son thought there were fireworks, then I heard my neighbour screaming and I realised there was a shooting. 'It's crazy, it's sad. It's scary, it does not feel safe. A neighbour, who lives on a road in Brent where three people were shot on Saturday night said people had been at a wake in a nearby church. 'People came out of the church, they were at a wake and they saw the bodies on the ground. 'I heard a lot of crying and screaming.' Tom Joyce, 72, who lives less than 100 metres from where the shooting took place, said: 'Last night at around 9.30pm while I was watching television I heard loads of police sirens and saw a police car. I didn't hear any gun shots. 'I looked at my window and I saw maybe a dozen young people - teenagers - running up and down the street. 'I got up this morning at 7am and I was tidying the street and I saw all the police cars and saw it was all cordoned off. He added: 'We are well used to that [shootings] here. There was a shooting over there a few years ago. The problem round here is we have no police force.' Road closures remain in place around the scene today as police continue to gather evidence. There have been no arrests and enquiries into the circumstances continue. Superintendent Tony Josephs, from the North West Command Unit which covers Brent, said: 'This is a truly shocking incident that has left a woman dead and two others injured, and I understand the concern this will cause the local community and those across London. 'I want to reassure people that a team of experienced detectives are already working at pace to piece together the events of last night and identify whoever was responsible for this heinous act of violence. 'If you were in or around Gifford Close at the time of the shooting, or have any information about who was responsible, please get in contact with us. 'A family has been left devastated and we need to work together to provide them with answers.' Anyone with information that could assist police is asked to call 101 or 'X' @MetCC and quote CAD7137/14Dec. You can also provide information anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. The River of Life Elim Pentecostal Church on Gifford Road is behind the police cordon. Famed podcaster Alex Cooper is at war with a TikToker who blasted the media personality for her display of wealth. Ali Ambrose, who goes by geniusgirlalert on TikTok, shared a video this month claiming that a recent clip of Cooper's show 'Call Her Daddy' was 'the craziest recession indicator.' Ali said that as she watched the video, which featured Cooper and her fellow podcaster friend and New York City influencer Hallie Batchelder, she thought to herself 'Things are about to get real bad, I think. I think this is a sign.' In the episode, Cooper spoke to Hallie, 27, about an array of topics, but at one point they discussed how she uses her father's black card to make purchases. The conversation appeared to not sit well with Ali as she called out the podcasters for their money-related comments. 'And like making jokes about using your dad's black card in the same breath as talking about, laughing about p-i-m-p-i-n-g yourself out to men who are like economically lateral to you, as like a "well bred girl," as like a "society girl," I don't know y'all , yeah, I don't know,' Ali said in reaction to the episode. A few days later, Hallie had Alex on her podcast 'Extra Dirty', as the pair addressed the TikToker's comments, with Hallie saying that 'anyone who comments' on the way she spends her father's money is 'poor' as Alex laughed in response. Ali then hit back and said that the word 'poor' isn't offensive, but the fact that it came from someone 'born into wealth' is 'tacky' to her. Alex Cooper is embroiled in an online war after Ali Ambrose, who goes by geniusgirlalert on TikTok, commented on a episode the podcaster shared with her friend Hallie Batchelder While responding to Ali's claims, Hallie said that the TikTok only commented because she is 'poor' During the original clip, the influencer, who enjoyed dirty martinis with Alex, discussed that her father's 'black card hates to see me coming.' When asked by Alex if Hallie thinks she would ever be cut off from her father's card, she said no because her father 'really wants us [her and siblings] to be safe.' Alex then joked: 'Ok, so a new bag. Safety. New hair. Safety,' as the pair laughed. After watching the clip for herself, Ali said she's recently seen an 'uptick in influencers like this' who depict the 'leisure class, drunken, sardonic, callous kind of vibe' that resembles '1920s literature.' 'It's giving the great depression,' Ali said, adding that the video of Alex and Hallie told her 'to buckle up.' Alex and Hallie soon addressed Ali's comments, adding more fuel in the fire. 'Anyone who comments, "This girl sucks," "It's not a flex" - you're poor and I don't feel bad for you,' Hallie said in response to Ali's claims 'There was a financial conversation... I saw a TikTok, it was too much, I was too hammered, and they were talking about the renaissance,' Alex said, wrongly referring to Ali's mention of the recession. 'I think that they were a little perturbed about the conversation about your dad having money or something,' Alex told Hallie, who then responded, 'They're probably broke.' 'Anyone who comments, "This girl sucks," "It's not a flex" - you're poor and I don't feel bad for you,' Hallie added. After seeing the podcaster's response to her initial clip, Ali made her own video labeled 'Re: Alex Cooper calling me poor.' 'Yesterday Alex Cooper and Hallie Batchelder posted a clip onto the Extra Dirty podcast TikTok talking about my TikTok, and essentially calling me poor. 'Personally, I'm not offended by the word poor, I don't know why anyone would be. 'Hearing it especially from the mouth of someone who was born into wealth is a little tacky in my opinion,' she added, referring to Hallie, the daughter of Charles Batchelder, the founder of Wyman Street Advisors, a real estate agency based in Massachusetts. She then spoke of Alex directly and said: 'To tout yourself as a big bad boss babe for the last ten years, and you've been successful at it. 'You left Barstool, you made your own company, you cut Sofia out, and you interviewed the vice president like three weeks ago,' Ali continued. She then attacked Alex for saying she spoke about the 'renaissance' instead of the 'recession', and for admitting she was 'too hammered' to even understand her initial clip. Ali said that although Alex has made a name for herself and has become a successful business woman, she tended to 'mirror the person in front of her' 'Which makes sense because honestly, I wasn't bashing them at all. My TikTok was about something that I noticed in society, something I noticed about the general public kind of taking in these exorbitant displays of wealth,' Ali said. She added that many people are being introduced to 'debaucherous, hedonistic characters that are being pushed to us by influencers.' 'It reminded me of the 1920s - the roaring 20s,' she said, adding that she commented on the overall personal brands that she believes influencers adhere to. 'I'm commenting on the brand that you created for yourself. This is the brand that you present yourself on the internet - a rich girl who drinks a lot and parties a lot,' she said of Alex. 'I didn't think I was presuming anything by commenting on that, but hearing your name in that context and immediately jumping to "You're poor, you're poor, you're poor," I think that's very ugly,' Ali responded. The TikToker added that she originally wrote out what she wanted to say in response, but instead, she chose to speak freely. 'Alex Cooper, I am so disappointed. You know, whether you like her or not, she is a contemporary woman, she is educated, she is a business woman. 'I think she's smart, I think she knows obviously what a recession is, I think she mirrors the person in front of her, and if you're gonna be that way, you have to be careful about who you put in front of you,' Ali said. Democratic senators are not giving up on opposition to some of Donald Trump's picks for his second administration but they have little power to prevent them from taking their new posts. After the 2024 elections the Senate flipped red with 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats. Cabinet confirmations only require a simple majority in the 100-member Senate, meaning as long as Republicans ban together, Trump should have no issue putting together his team in the new year. The three most controversial invidious so far for Democrats are the president-elect's picks to lead the Defense Department, Pete Hegseth; FBI, Kash Patel; and to become his Director of National Intelligence (DNI), Tulsi Gabbard. But there are no signs so far that any Republicans in the upper chamber share the concerns Democrats have expressed. Hegseth specifically came to the center of discussion after Trump's favorite for Attorney General, former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, took his name out of consideration when even Republicans were concerned over misconduct and claims of sexual assault. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told CNN reporter Many Raju that it's not right to even consider Hegseth considering the multiple reports that have come out about him. Those include claims that Hegseth frequently got drunk at work and that women have outstanding sexual harassment claims against him. Democratic lawmakers are still concerned with Donald Trump's picks to round out his Cabinet and White House team in the New Year, though they will have little power to influence it The most controversial pick is Pete Hegseth, who Donald Trump intends to nominate to lead the Department of Defense 'We should not be talking about confirming people who have credibly been accused of rape, who have outstanding non-disclosure agreements that women can't talk about it, who have led workplaces that have had significant problems and accusations of sexual harassment to lead one of the biggest departments in out government,' the progressive senator said. Meanwhile, Sen.-elect Adam Schiff spoke out against Gabbard and Patel on Sunday. The current representative in the House for California said that Patel's only credentials to become FBI Director is his loyalty and 'blind obedience' to Trump. 'The president can find other people who are loyal to him and to his interests, but who are also loyal to the rule of law,' he told ABC News This Week host George Stephanopoulos. He added: 'Patel is not one of them.' Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) also said Patel is problematic. Speaking with CBS Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan on Sunday, the senator said she worried he's on a 'revenge mission' when he should be on a 'national security safety mission.' Democrats are also pushing back against Trump's pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel (left), and who he plans to be the next Director of National Intelligence (DNI), Tulsi Gabbard (right) Sen. Elizabeth Warren pointed to the claims of sexual harassment and rape against Pete Hegseth 'He says he wants to dismantle the FBI headquarters and turn it into a museum,' she added. 'To me, this is not the direction we need to go.' When it comes to Gabbard, Schiff also has 'concerns.' 'The first is a complete lack of experience, never worked in an intelligence agency, never even served on the intelligence committee,' he said of the former Hawaii congresswoman, who switched from Democrat to Republican affiliation. Schiff is one of the members of Congress most frequently attacked by Trump. The president-elect calls the California lawmaker 'pencil neck' and 'watermelon head.' Cops are on the hunt following the discovery of three women shot to death inside a single home in Ohio. The homicide probe was launched in the wake of the grim find Saturday night, at a home in Columbus where all three of the victims were pronounced dead. Shortly before 4pm, a call came in tipping off cops about a situation at the house, from a person who said they found the women in medical distress. 'We are working through the manner of death to determine what actually happened before we release any of that information,' said Columbus Police Department Sergeant Sgt. James Fuqua, as all three victims remained unnamed Sunday. 'It's unfortunate when someone loses their life, but particularly this time of year during the holidays,' the officer added, revealing it was not drugs that claimed the women's lives, and the department is treating all three deaths as homicide. He went on to brand the crime scene as 'very complex', conceding cops at the time were still working to determine the manner of death. He further revealed that the tipster is not a suspect, and admitted that, as it stands, there have been no arrests. 'It's going to take a little bit longer to make sure that we're very careful and going through the scene meticulously, so we do not miss any key piece of evidence,' the officer said, offering few details. 'It's very unusual to have so many victims in one incident,' he added, as the city's police force continues to attempt to identify a suspect. As of Sunday afternoon, none have been named. Scroll down for video: Cops are on the hunt following the discovery of three women shot to death inside a single home in Ohio Saturday. The cordoned off crime scene on the south side of the city is seen here The homicide probe was launched in the wake of the grim find, made at a home in Columbus where all three women were pronounced dead Footage from the scene Monday evening show cops descended on the unassuming residence, set in the south side of the city where it is more suburban. Perusal of the cordoned off crime scene continued well into the night, though the fruits of that segment of the investigation, for now, remain unknown. Initially, a Columbus public-safety dispatcher told CBS affiliate 10TV the emergency from the unidentified friend of the victims came in as a shooting report. However, cops quickly dismissed that narrative - saying in a statement that night they were still investigating other causes of death. On Sunday afternoon, investigators confirmed all three women had been shot and killed, but did not give an update as to their identities. The home in question is located on the 1300 block of South Ohio Avenue, near a popular park frequented by locals. In their statement Sunday, officers added how they were still working to learn what predated the incident, as reports reveal the incident is the second shooting on Columbus's South Side within a week. Another one occurred on Tuesday a few blocks way on East Moler Street, leaving a 45-year-old homeowner, Darrell Hambrick, suffering from a gunshot wound in his front yard. 'We are working through the manner of death to determine what actually happened before we release any of that information,' said Columbus Police Department Sergeant Sgt. James Fuqua, as all three victims remained unnamed Sunday He called the crime scene 'very complex,' conceding at the time that cops were still working to determine the trio's manner of death Members of the community like Jeff Frentz (pictured outside the cordoned off crime scene Saturday night said they have never seen this type of crime - a clear triple murder - before Fuqua added of the investigation: 'Theres so many moving parts because investigators obviously arent sure exactly of everything... they want to make sure they have a full picture in their head of what actually happened.... Thats what makes it so particularly complicated' He later died from his injuries, after being rushed to Grant Medical Center in critical condition. No suspects had been taken into custody in that case as well. Details on what led up to that shooting were not immediately provided. As for the more recent incident, members of the community like Jeff Frentz said they have never seen this type of crime - a clear triple murder - before. 'Other than car accidents, a couple of those out here, but nothing this traumatic. So, yeah, thats kind of a shocker,' Frentz told NBC-4 as cops scrutinized the area around him. 'Its unfortunate whoever got hurt or got killed, they got families, they got mothers and fathers.' Sgt. Fuqua added of the ongoing investigation: 'Theres so many moving parts because investigators obviously arent sure exactly of everything... they want to make sure they have a full picture in their head of what actually happened.' 'Thats what makes it so particularly complicated.' He added that investigators were interviewing witnesses and looking for any video evidence. DailyMail.com has reached out to the Columbus Police Department for more information. The relationship between the victims, and whether they all lived at the residence, remains unclear. A backlash against out-of-towners buying second homes in a British beauty spot has sparked proposals to ban anymore being built. Almost a dozen villages in the Yorkshire Dales are earmarked for planning regulations that would stop new builds that would not be permanently occupied. Drafted by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA), the plans would only allow homes to be built if they would be used as a main residency. In a report published this month by the YDNPA it said the ban would 'maximise the use of new housing and avoid loss to the holiday market'. It adds: 'All new planning permissions will be restricted to principal occupancy only to ensure that new homes are targeted at households that are going to live in the Park and will not simply feed demand for more second homes or holiday letting.' If the proposals were approved, the ban would apply to 11 villages across the Yorkshire Dales, a popular destinations that attracts more than six million visitors per year, contributing 485million to the local economy. It comes after North Yorkshire County Council doubled council tax for second home owners in April. Richard Foster, a local Conservative councillor and member of the YDNPA, said: 'These policies seek to support farm businesses, and cover housing, the rural economy, traditional buildings, landscape and wildlife, amongst other things.' Almost a dozen villages in the Yorkshire Dales are earmarked for planning regulations that would stop new builds that would not be permanently occupied Richard Foster, a local Conservative councillor and member of the YDNPA, said: 'A lot of the existing housing stock has already disappeared' Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. He told the Telegraph: 'We're very popular with the tourists and a lot of the existing housing stock has already disappeared, especially smaller housing that tends to be turned into holiday cottages.' 'We have ended up with a real reduction in the houses that we've got which people can live in. 'We are just proposing this on the new houses. We want to build homes because we don't have the staff to cater to the tourists when they do come and some of the pubs can't cater to the tourists.' He added that existing properties will still be able to be used as second holiday homes. Members of the YDNPA will meet next week to vote on the proposals before a public consolation is completed early next year. Last year North Yorkshire Dales County Council raised council taxes by 100pc on second home owners. It come following the previous Conservative government changing the law allowing stricter penalties on 'empty homes' saying that houses that are 'substantially furnished' but with no 'one resident' fall within this classification. The law allows local authorities to impose additional taxes after a property qualifies for one year, instead of two years as it was previously. The latest available figures for second homes in the Yorkshire Dales reveal that around one in 10 houses is a second home. As Donald Trump, Jr. moves on with his new love Bettina Anderson, he maintained that he and his longtime fiancee Kimberly Guilfoyle share 'a special bond.' He exclusively told Page Six on Friday that he and Guilfoyle will 'never stop caring for each other.' 'Kimberly and I will never stop caring for each other and will always keep a special bond,' Trump Jr., 46, said in a statement. He added a congratulations for Guilfoyle, who will serve as President-elect Donald Trump's US ambassador to Greece. 'I could not be more proud of her and the important role shell continue to play in my fathers administration,' Trump Jr. said. In his statement to Page Six, he also worked to defend her from some of the potentially damaging stories that have come out about Guilfoyle in the wake of her nomination, many of them focused on her failed relationship with the president's son. The most recent thing that could undermine her efforts to be confirmed by the Senate came in the form of a resurfaced story claiming she allegedly sexually harassed her female assistant while she was working at Fox News. As the story goes, that was the reason she was let go from Fox in 2018 but she has previously vehemently denied the allegation. 'Anyone taking baseless and petty fake news cheap shots at her in the tabloids are just embarrassing themselves,' Trump Jr. said. When Kimberly Guilfoyle's shock nomination as Ambassador to Greece was announced, the rush to congratulate her was led Donald Trump Jr. despite their relationship fizzling Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson left little doubt about where they stand during a dinner date at Mar-a-Lago just two days after they were seen leaving dinner in Palm Beach hand in hand in Palm Beach 'Shes been an undefeated prosecutor, national TV news star, a leader of the MAGA movement and close advisor to the president. The people of Greece are getting an absolute star and now the whole world will see it more than ever,' he added. His statement concluded: 'Since the very beginning, no one on Team Trump has worked harder than Kimberly to help elect and reelect my father - and no one deserves this ambassadorship more than she does.' This all comes as DailyMail.com photographed Trump Jr. and socialite Bettina Anderson walking hand in hand out of a swanky restaurant in Palm Beach, despite him still not confirming his split from Guilfoyle. The new couple spent nearly two hours at downtown hotspot Buccan, three miles from Anderson's West Palm Beach townhouse where they have been spending days and nights. Trump Jr. dressed in a smart blue suit and white shirt open at the neck, revealed no compunction about showing off his new flame as they emerged from the restaurant just before 10pm. Anderson wearing loose and flowing black pants with a black vest-like top and clutching a maroon purse with a gold clasp stayed close to her man as they approached his pickup truck parked directly opposite the restaurant, their fingers interlocked. DailyMail.com has previously reported that Anderson is likely to have run in the same social circles as the Trumps for years and has been previously seen attending events at Mar-a-Lago. And according to one source: 'Trump insiders have known about Bettina for months' and Don has been 'chomping at the bit to show her off at Mar-a-Lago.' Sources told DailyMail.com Friday that Don has been 'chomping at the bit to show off' his new girlfriend at Mar-a-Lago, after news broke of his split from Kimberly Guilfoyle 'She's been there before, of course, but he's been much more discreet about being together. And together they are,' the insider told DailyMail.com on Friday. 'He's bewitched by Bettina her looks, her smarts, her pedigree. Now that Kim is out of the picture the relationship is going to get even more serious.' Trump Jr. reportedly hard-launched his new girlfriend at dinner at his father's Mar-a-Lago club Wednesday night. Sources described the couple as 'clearly in love' and revealed the pair didn't try to hide it as 'they laughed and whispered to each other in the buffet line,' Page Six reported. Insiders also say Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle's relationship began to really falter in March, when she invited hundreds of guests to her 55th birthday party at their home in Jupiter, Florida. Trump Jr., it's been claimed, was nowhere to be seen for parts of the evening, apparently retreating to his bedroom. Others suggest Trump Jr. has found himself increasingly embarrassed by Guilfoyle's little-left-to-the-imagination wardrobe, colorful public displays and her taste for a party lifestyle that might sit awkwardly with a Trump family increasingly mindful of its presidential legacy. According to one former colleague at Fox News, the lawyer-turned-activist was known as 'the Margarita girl' thanks to her love of the popular cocktail and party lifestyle associated with it. Trump Jr. also reportedly has a problem with Guilfoyle's increasingly tight-fitting outfits (Guilfoyle is pictured at NYFW in 2019). A source close to the Trump family believes Trump Jr.'s new lover will be a 'better fit' While there is no suggestion that Guilfoyle routinely drinks to excess, alcohol is certainly a touchstone for the Trumps. Trump Jr., having drunk his way through college earlier in life, is known to take his sobriety very seriously. His sister, Ivanka, avoids alcohol. Their father, Donald, is famously a teetotaler a reaction to the alcoholism which claimed the life of his older brother, Fred Jr., at the age of just 42. According to People magazine, a source close to the family believes Trump Jr.'s new lover will be a 'better fit'. 'Don Jr. has always wanted to look good in his father's eyes,' said the source. 'Someone like Bettina, who is and has been a model, and is in Waspy circles of Palm Beach is something that would impress him.' Another source reportedly confirmed that Trump Jr. dislikes Guilfoyle's wardrobe: 'The tight dresses need to go, and she has been told that.' The heartbroken son of Jean Hanlon, who died in suspicious circumstances in Crete 15 years ago expects a key suspect to be charged by Greek police today. Michael Porter, who has always insisted his mother was murdered, said the development would be a massive turning point in his campaign for justice. He said he was disgusted it had taken so many years to come to this point saying a lot was riding on this. The 39-year-old said the family now might finally get closure to the long-running saga after hiring a private investigator to help with the case. The PI discovered a potential suspect and shared the discovery with police. Mr Porter said: We are in the best position weve ever been in our life. This is a massive turning point, something weve never seen been before. The investigator, Haris Veramon, compiled a 29-page file about Ms Hanlons last movements after she named a man in her diary she was planning to meet that night. She went missing in 2009 after moving to the holiday island from Dumfries to work in the coastal village of Kato Gouves. Jean Hanlon's body was found in the harbour of Heraklion on Crete in 2009 Jean Hanlon's sons, from left, Michael, Robert and David, believe she was murdered Ms Hanlon (pictured with son Michael) was 40 when she went to Crete on her first holiday abroad and fell in love with the lifestyle and the people The 53-year-old vanished after a night out after telling friends she was meeting a man in a cafe with a chilling last text message saying simply: Help. Four days later, her body was found in the water at the port of Heraklion, the islands capital, with police first believing she had drowned. At the demands of her distraught family, a second post-mortem examination was carried out which showed she had suffered a broken neck and ribs, a punctured lung and facial injuries, and probably died before she entered the water. In 2012, two men were questioned then released. Further probes in 2019 and 2021 also ended without providing answers for the family, although the police had acknowledged foul play was involved. However, detectives reopened the case again in June and now Mr Porter and his brothers, Robert, 49, and David, 45, have been assured by Greek police that the suspect will be questioned today and potentially charged. Mr Porter, of Bromley, said: Its weird, I dont how it would feel until it happens. When youve been fighting for justice this long... The port of Heraklion where Jean Hanlon's body was discovered Jean Hanlon with her young sons in Dumfries He continued: It would be a massive achievement to get mum the justice she deserves. It would be a massive relief in our life too. We know that mum is gone and not coming back but this would give her closure and would give us comfort and release too. Mr Porter said his family had also hired a separate criminologist who provided characteristics of a suspect that matched the investigation by the private eye. He added: There is a lot riding on this. Its unusual for cases in Greece to be reopened once or twice, let alone four times. There have been suspects before but never with so much evidence. If they dont charge this suspect then there is nowhere to go from here. They would likely close the case and that is not something we want. After Greek police announced they were re-investigating the cold case, he said: You get to a certain point like now where the case is reopened when you have got all new-found hope and strength and then you get chopped back down. However, the massive difference in this case is that we have hired the private investigator who has put in and filed this detailed report. In March 2009, after sending a friend a text that read 'HELP', Ms Hanlon's body was discovered in capital Heraklion's harbour without hair or eyes. Pictured: Jean Halon with her son Michael Mr Porter admitted it had been a slow process up until now but was grateful to the new magistrate and prosecutor on the case who have been incredibly supportive and wanted justice for mum. He added: It would be amazing to show people that work and determination does pay off. The amount of people who have told me to give up and live my life but when you go through something like this, you just cant. You have to fight for what you believe. A top university has been accused of 'defending hatred' after it dismissed a complaint against a professor who distributed Hamas propaganda in her seminar. An investigation by King's College London found that the lecturer who told students to read materials produced by the Hamas media office had committed 'no wrongdoing'. A Jewish student who secretly recorded the seminar and made a complaint against Dr Rana Baker was pressured on multiple occasions by the university to delete his audio. The professor in the history of the Middle East had assigned sections of Hamas propaganda called 'Our Narrative: Operation Al-Aqsa Flood' to her students. She then urged them to consider the terrorist group as a 'Islamic national liberation resistance movement' that is 'fighting Zionists not Jews'. In the recording of the seminar, passed to the Mail, she asked: 'What do we make of it [the reading given that] Hamas is recognised as a terrorist organisation by all the major powers?' Later Dr Baker, pictured below, claimed the Holocaust was used to prevent any 'criticisms of Israel'. She said: 'The deployment of the Holocaust as a justification to build an exclusive Jewish state ... if you look at the IHRA [International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance] definition of anti-Semitism, it does say criticising Israel can amount to anti-Semitism. An investigation by King's College London found that a lecturer who told students to read materials produced by the Hamas media office had committed 'no wrongdoing'. Pro-Palestine demonstrators at King's College in London. The professor in the history of the Middle East had assigned sections of Hamas propaganda called Our Narrative: Operation Al-Aqsa Flood to her students 'The collaboration between Zionism, Zionists and Zionist proxies and the Nazis is one well-documented fact in history.' Some 21 per cent of Israel's population is not Jewish. The IHRA definition of anti-Semitism says 'criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country' is not anti-Semitic. The student who recorded Dr Baker's seminar and reported her to the university said: 'By the end of this seminar I was visibly shaking. KCL's attempts to silence the affair were simply unforgivable.' In emails seen by the Mail, investigators urged the student to 'cease sharing the audio' and 'ensure the recording is deleted' plus threatened him with a misconduct probe. They told him they could not 'accept your recording as evidence' as it was made without the prior consent of the students and staff there. Two months after the spring term lecture, the university dismissed the complaint as the student had 'breached regulations' in recording the class without consent. In July, the case was reopened and it is now being investigated by an external third party. Lord Ian Austin said: 'This institution must take a zero tolerance approach to people who support terrorism and stop defending hatred.' Lord Ian Austin said: 'This institution must take a zero tolerance approach to people who support terrorism and stop defending hatred' Conservative justice spokesman Robert Jenrick added: 'This appalling episode shows just how widespread anti-Semitism is in our universities. The Education Secretary must intervene to restore some sanity.' The Union of Jewish Students criticised the university's 'lack of action and negligence'. In October the Daily Mail exposed tweets published by @RanaGaza, an account linked to Dr Baker's Guardian and Al-Monitor writer profiles calling for the destruction of Israel. These tweets have also been reported to KCL and the police. A university spokesman said: 'This individual complaint is ongoing and follows the same practice as we follow for any complaint, in line with our robust policies and procedures.' Dr Baker was contacted for comment. The Department for Education said: 'No Jewish student should feel unsafe at any time, let alone in education.' Boris Johnson today led a major backlash against Labour assembling a 'surrender squad' to reverse Brexit. The former prime minister, who won the 2019 election on a promise to 'get Brexit done', accused Sir Keir Starmer of preparing to betray that vote after it was revealed a Whitehall unit of 100 civil servants is being set up to work on negotiations with Brussels to achieve the PM's bid for a 'reset' of relations. Critics have warned it will amount to taking the EU back into the bloc by stealth if the UK gives up some of its hard-won freedoms. Lord Frost, Mr Johnson's former Brexit negotiator, told The Mail on Sunday that Labour was creating a 'surrender squad'. And writing in today's Mail, Mr Johnson accused Sir Keir of telling 'bare-faced lies' when he vowed not to take the UK back into the EU during the election campaign. Voters had given him the benefit of the doubt because he had been so 'po-faced, so prissily indignant about any challenge to his rectitude', Mr Johnson added. He accused the PM of taking millions 'for fools' and said he had no mandate for such a move. Aligning with EU rules would amount to 'clicking our heels and bowing respectfully', the former PM warned. His powerful words were echoed by another ex Tory leader, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who accused Labour of 'selling out' to the EU. Boris Johnson led a major backlash against Labour assembling a 'surrender squad' to reverse Brexit - he is pictured here at the Brexit trade deal signing in 2020 Keir Starmer meets European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels in October 'Europe will do nothing unless they get something back in return. What do they want? They want the UK back under their control. 'The only solution is the one thing this Government promised they would not do. Allowing us to be bound by rules in Brussels - that is a no no. That is the sell out. It will be a disaster.' And former Brexit minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg added: 'It is grandmother's footsteps, Labour wants to take us back in by stealth hoping no one will notice.' It came after former Tory leader Kemi Badenoch told the MoS: 'In every negotiation - from trade union pay deals to the Chagos islands - Keir Starmer has given away everything for nothing in return. 'The question now is what price we all pay for the Prime Minister to take us back to his EU comfort zone?' The unit, which will be situated in the Cabinet Office, will have more staff than originially negotiated the Brexit deal, Lord Frost revealed. He said: 'This huge unit is getting ready for a major renegotiation - it will have more people than I had for the original deal with the EU in 2020. 'Everyone in this Government really wants to rejoin the EU one day. Only public opinion is stopping them. 'Unless we can stop them, the reset will end with this country once again in the EU's orbit, gradually losing our ability to set our own rules and make our own laws.' Keir Starmer, walks with European Council President Charles Michel, at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels in October Sir Keir has said he wants to 'reset' relations with the EU ahead of formal talks on trade and economic ties which will begin next year. In return, the bloc will demand a youth movement scheme, an acceptance of EU laws and the continued right for the European nations to fish in British waters beyond 2026. The new team will be tasked with ensuring that any changes are permanent and cannot be undone by a future Tory government, according to insiders. A source told the MoS: 'The officials are being drawn from every government department, and they have been told that they will have full powers to demand whatever they need from any corner of Whitehall to make the reset work.' The unit will reportedly be placed close to the door to No10 and run by a 200,000 a year civil servant with the title of Second Permanent Secretary, European Union. They will report to Nick Thomas Symonds, the Minister for European Union Relations. Sir Keir will meet European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and EU leaders in February, while Chancellor Rachel Reeves joined a meeting of EU finance ministers last week. Brussels will make demands to align British rules to EU rules as the price for closer trade. The first phase is expected to be a security deal to be announced in February, and then a summit in the spring. A government spokesman said: 'This Government is resetting its relationship with the EU and wants to strengthen cooperation, to make people safer and tackle barriers to trade, to help drive economic growth. There will be no return to the customs union, single market or freedom of movement. The UK Government will always work to protect the interests of our fishers.' A Cabinet Office source said: 'The team includes members of the Windsor Framework taskforce, which was established to try to fix the huge holes left in Lord Frost's botched deal when it came to Northern Ireland.' They added that Lord Frost's assertion that Labour wanted to rejoin the EU was 'completely untrue'. Special Forces used a top-secret computer system to hide graphic child abuse images belonging to their soldiers. The sickening material was concealed in a 'cyber vault' on a network so highly classified that not even the Royal Military Police had clearance to view it. Its existence emerged only after it was discovered as part of enquiries into claims that SAS troops executed civilians in Afghanistan in cold blood. Primarily Sonata the IT system was used to store highly classified reports on SAS operations, but a 'hidden compartment' inside the server was reserved for indecent images. Sources said soldiers copied and distributed the disturbing material among themselves for their personal use, before it was intercepted by top brass and transferred on to the server. Tonight former UK military intelligence commander Philip Ingram said: 'No service person, whether Special Forces, service police or others should be above the law. It is vital that accusations are investigated diligently and without fear or favour. 'Police should have identified any material passed around inappropriately. Their failures mean today the truth will be difficult to ascertain and any criminal actions difficult to prove in a court of law.' The sickening material was concealed in a 'cyber vault' on a network so highly classified that not even the Royal Military Police had clearance to view it (stock image) Sources said soldiers copied and distributed the disturbing material among themselves for their personal use, before it was intercepted by top brass and transferred on to the server (stock image) Special Forces used a top-secret computer system to hide graphic child abuse images belonging to their soldiers High Court documents seen by the Mail refer to the failure of RMP to identify soldiers who copied and distributed the material. Top brass stand accused of deliberately obstructing their investigation by storing the worst images in a server detectives could not access, the Mail was told. The RMP were barred from searching Sonata on the grounds its function was to store highly classified operational reports. Crucially, RMP officers are not sufficiently security-cleared to access such files. They dropped their probe into the child abuse images, finding there was no evidence against any UK soldiers. The Mail understands they only saw pictures recovered from phones belonging to Afghans, found on electronic devices seized during house searches. Last night the Ministry of Defence said such material 'was routinely collected from local individuals, where it might be evidence'. In 2016, Sonata was wiped clean, erasing the operational reports and indecent images. A Special Forces contractor ran a program on the server designed to permanently erase previously deleted files. At the time the MoD was carrying out a probe Operation Northmoor into allegations of unlawful killings by the SAS. The Independent Inquiry Relating to Afghanistan, led by Lord Justice Haddon-Cave, is now considering whether Sonata was accidentally scrubbed or deliberately deleted to hamper Northmoor. Troops in Afghanistan. The existence emerged of the material only after it was discovered as part of enquiries into claims that SAS troops executed civilians in Afghanistan in cold blood Earlier this year some material was recovered and presented to the inquiry, which opened in October 2023 and was only supposed to last a year but will now likely conclude in 2026. It has heard disturbing accounts of how SAS soldiers 'murdered' as many as 80 Afghans in captivity from 2010 to 2013. A court file said: 'Disclosure contains alarming documents which point to a wider culture of lawlessness, operational misconduct, failure of leadership and disrespect for basic human dignity with the SAS unit in question.' It referred to the presence of indecent images of children on the server. Last night, the MoD said: 'During the Northmoor investigation material was identified that required a separate investigation. No evidence of any criminal offences by service personnel was found during this investigation.' Supermarket bosses have been branded Scrooges after banning customers from buying boozy Christmas puddings outside licensing hours. One shoppers tiramisu was rejected at a self-scanning till before 10am while another customer could not purchase a Christmas cake. Scotlands licensing laws prevent off-sales of alcohol from shops and supermarkets between 10pm and 10am. But that is for alcoholic drinks. Sweet treats containing booze such as Christmas pudding and brandy butter are not restricted, and shops do not need an alcohol licence to sell them. Despite this, some festive goodies have been flagged to checkout assistants with tills automatically refusing to accept them, leaving customers baffled. Stewart Meldrum, from Newton Mearns, Renfrewshire, said that on a recent trip to his local Waitrose, his wife Carol was told by a supermarket assistant that buying a decadent Italian pudding before 10am was unlawful. Some Christmas treats contain enough booze to fall foul of licensing laws (stock) Stewart Meldrum, from Newton Mearns, said that on a recent trip to his local Waitrose, his wife was told by a supermarket assistant that buying a Italian pudding before 10am was unlawful He said: At the self-service check-out she was notified assistance required. Baffled as to why, the assistant told her that the product she was trying to scan through contained alcohol and as it was before 10am the purchase was unlawful. A fellow shopper next to her was having the same issue with a Christmas cake. 'The assistant was full of apologies but my wife left without her tiramisu.' Mr Meldrum, 75 added: What next? Will they cordon off the tiramisu at night? Why do we in Scotland tolerate such ludicrous micro-governance? Im seething. Annie Wells, Scottish Tory spokesman on alcohol, said: Rather than infantilising adults and being Scrooge-ish, common sense should prevail Annie Wells, Scottish Tory spokesman on alcohol, said: Rather than infantilising adults and being Scrooge-ish, common sense should prevail to ensure that these restrictions are kept within the spirit of the law instead of depriving grown adults from purchasing quintessential Christmas delicacies. Some boozy puddings do have an alcohol content displayed on their packaging, such as Waitrose tiramisu made with Marsala wine. It has 1.2 per cent alcohol by volume (ABV), a tenth of the typical alcohol content of white wine. A spokesman for Waitrose said there'd been a 'temporary error' in their system and added: 'We're very sorry for the inconvenience Mr and Mrs Meldrum experienced - this was a temporary error with our system and will be resolved very soon.' Lucy Letbys appeal team is due to announce new evidence which they believe significantly undermines her convictions for murdering babies. Barrister Mark McDonald, representing the killer neonatal nurse - serving 15 whole life terms - said he would be giving details of fresh developments in the case. Mr McDonald said he will make his announcement tomorrow afternoon at the Royal Society of Medicine in London. Letby, 34, was convicted of murdering seven babies and six attempted murders of infants in her care at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016, following a trial last year. She was found guilty of a seventh attempted murder after a retrial in the summer. Mr McDonald said: There will be a press conference by the legal defence team for Lucy Letby to announce fresh developments on the case. At the conference we will also be announcing new evidence, which significantly undermines the convictions. The barrister declined to reveal further details in advance of the new evidence or which aspects of the prosecution he believes to be unsafe. Mr McDonald has revealed meeting more than 50 experts, covering neonatology, pathology and statistics, willing to assist in challenging Letbys convictions. Evidence cited by her supporters include flaws in door swipe data used to state the locations of various doctors and nurses when baby collapses and deaths occurred. Lucy Letby (pictured), 34, was convicted of murdering seven babies and six attempted murders of infants in her care at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016, following a trial last year Barrister Mark McDonald, representing the killer neonatal nurse - serving 15 whole life terms - said he would be giving details of fresh developments in the case. Mr McDonald said he will make his announcement tomorrow afternoon at the Royal Society of Medicine (pictured) in London The jury was also not told how internal and external reviews - carried out by the hospital, public bodies, medical experts and pathologists - failed to find any evidence of foul play, her supporters argue. Other grounds include how jurors were not told the neonatal unit had suffered an outbreak of a bug called pseudomonas, and had been criticised for being crowded and understaffed. Mr McDonald is a human rights barrister whose previous cases include an unsuccessful challenge by Michael Stone, given three life sentences for the murders of Lin Russell, 45, and her six-year-old daughter Megan, who were found bludgeoned to death in Chillenden, Kent, in July 1996. He also represents Ben Geen, convicted of murdering two of his patients and poisoning 15 others at Horton general hospital in Banbury, Oxfordshire. Geen, then 25, was given a life sentence with a minimum 30-year term in 2006. Previously discussing the Letby case, Mr McDonald said in September he plans to take her case to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), to apply for it to be sent back to the Court of Appeal. He said: I knew almost from the start, following this trial, that there is a strong case that she is innocent. Court artist drawing of Letby during her trail at Manchester Crown Court. Detectives have interviewed Letby under caution in prison over more deaths and incidents where babies suffered serious harm t the Countess and also Liverpool Womens Hospital The fact is juries get it wrong. And yes, so do the Court of Appeal, history teaches us that. The press conference is being held as the ongoing public inquiry into how Letby carried out her crimes - headed by Lady Justice Thirlwall - is taking a break to resume in the New Year. Last week, it was revealed detectives have interviewed Letby under caution in prison over more deaths and incidents where babies suffered serious harm at the Countess and also Liverpool Womens Hospital, where she spent time on placement in 2012 and early 2015. Police previously said they are reviewing the care of the more than 4,000 babies Letby looked after during her career. While the Princess of Wales is often seen wearing her Tiffany & Co necklace and earrings, she's not the only royal drawn to the iconic American jewellery brand. Flora Vesterberg, an art historian and granddaughter of Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy, recently brought her expertise to Tiffany & Co as the curator of their Windows of Wonder exhibit, which debuted at Selfridges on London's Oxford Street this past autumn. In this role, Flora led private tours for clients, highlighting the union between jewellery and fine art, and presented captivating video content - a natural fit for her. During her research, Flora uncovered a fascinating connection to her own heritage, learning of her great-grandmother, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent's link to the French jewellery designer Jean Schlumberger. In an Instagram post, she explained: 'I've enjoyed researching Jean Schlumberger. On my first morning, I learned that my great-grandmother HRH Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent had played a key role in the jewellery designer's early career. 'In 1937, the Italian couturier Elsa Schiaparelli had seen her wearing an exquisite pair of Schlumberger's earrings. She subsequently commissioned him to create buttons for her, which resembled fruit and insects. 'Most of his designs were inspired by the natural world and these brooches look incredible alongside the sculptures of the Japanese artist Mariko Kusumoto in our Windows of Wonder exhibition.' Flora Vesterberg, granddaughter of Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy, recently brought her expertise to Tiffany & Co as the curator of their Windows of Wonder exhibit Though not a frontline royal, Flora is most definitely part of the elite family circle. For Trooping the Colour 2023, King Charles invited six members of the extended Royal Family to enjoy the flypast from a second balcony situated in the inner quadrangle of Buckingham Palace. One of these guests was Flora, who stood alongside her husband, Swedish financier Timothy Vesterberg, and Lady Gabriella Kingston. Today, as she celebrates her 30th birthday, she reflects on an impressive career as an art historian, with a series of high-profile collaborations under her belt. The thrice great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Flora combines a commitment to education and philanthropy with a keen focus on the arts. She holds a master's degree from The Courtauld Institute of Art, where she recently joined the Campaign Board, a circle of prominent philanthropists and advisors tasked with raising 50million for the transformation of the Somerset House campus. Additionally, she co-chairs the Young Patrons' Circle of the Victoria and Albert Museum, demonstrating her commitment to education. Specialising in modern and contemporary art, Flora lectures at esteemed institutions, including Sotheby's Institute of Art, and brings a distinctive sense of style to her public appearances. She often gravitates towards Emilia Wickstead for important occasions, once telling Vogue: 'I often wear Emilia Wickstead's pieces to give lectures at The Sotheby's Institute of Art because they feel empowering.' Whether delivering a lecture or appearing on the Buckingham Palace balcony, Flora proudly represents British designers, from Self-Portrait - a favourite of Kate Middleton and Princess Eugenie - to The Deck. Last year Flora enjoyed the Trooping the Colour flypast from a second balcony situated in the inner quadrangle of Buckingham Palace In 2021, Flora's royal lineage was underscored by her marriage blessing to Timothy Vesterberg at The Chapel Royal of St James's Palace, the very venue where Queen Victoria wed Prince Albert in 1840 Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy, attended Flora and Timothy Vesterberg's marriage blessing at St James's Palace The royal showcased a stunning Phillipa Lepley dress at the 32nd Cartier Racing Awards held at The Dorchester Flora and her husband are regulars at Royal Ascot Flora wore a floral look by Emilia Wickstead to the V&A Summer Party and DIVA exhibition preview in 2023 In 2020, Flora's royal lineage was underscored by her marriage to Timothy Vesterberg at The Chapel Royal of St James's Palace, the very venue where Queen Victoria wed Prince Albert in 1840. Exactly one year later, the couple staged a more public marriage blessing at the chapel, with a host of royals in attendance. The bride wore an exquisite ivory Phillipa Lepley gown, featuring an A-line silhouette and delicate floral embroidery depicting magnolia, jasmine, starflowers and orchids. The design was inspired by the glinting tiara that Flora would wear, originally belonging to her grandmother, Princess Alexandra. The Ogilvy Tiara was formed in the 1960s from several pearl and diamond hair ornaments that already existed in Alexandra's collection. Flora's father, James, is the son of Princess Alexandra and Sir Angus Ogilvy. Born in Edinburgh, she and her younger brother, Alexander, grew up in a 1780s country house on the east coast of Scotland. Flora attended the co-educational Rugby School in Warwickshire, studying English, French and Fine Art at A-level, before graduating with a degree in Art History from the University of Bristol. It was a day to remember for Prince William and all of his loved ones were there to share it with him. Even his then-girlfriend of several years, Kate Middleton, had been invited to the young prince's passing-out parade on December 15, 2006, with her parents, Michael and Carole Middleton. Kate was seated along the front row, and, according to a lip reader used by ITV News, she later declared: 'I love the uniform, it's so sexy.' The 24-year-old sat next to William's best friend, Thomas van Straubenzee, and his godfathers, King Constantine II of Greece and Lord Romsey. It marked Kate's first official appearance with the Royal Family. She had recently graduated from the University of St Andrews and was working as an accessory buyer for High-Street store Jigsaw. 'Her arrival completely overshadowed that of Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Queen,' the Daily Mail's Rebecca English wrote at the time. Kate Middleton attending Prince William's passing-out parade at Sandhurst with her parents, Michael and Carole, on December 15, 2006 Queen Elizabeth inspecting the soldiers, including Prince William Royal author Tina Brown described Kate's attendance as a 'thrilling public show of commitment' in her book, The Palace Papers. The future princess wore a scarlet coat and a black hat by Philip Treacy, 'adorned by what looked like enormous heart-shaped broadcast antennae,' Ms Brown wrote. She accessorised the outfit with a pair of black leather gloves by the Serbian designer Evica Milovanov Penezic which featured an intricate cut-out detailing. Kate's mother 'made the rare gaffe of chewing nicotine gum throughout, and was hazed for it in the coverage', the royal author added. William stood at the end of his platoon and carried the Queen's banner during the parade. He wore a blue uniform, hat and white gloves with a scarlet-coloured sash. The 24-year-old was one of 233 cadets who were commissioned at the Royal Military Academy. As his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, inspected the soldiers she paused next to William to whisper hello. The prince reportedly smiled back. Kate, who was 24-years-old at the time, sitting with her mother at William's military ceremony William wearing a blue uniform, hat and white gloves with a scarlet-coloured sash at the parade He was wearing a Jubilee medal that the Queen gave to him to mark her 50 years on the throne. William became a Second Lieutenant and no longer had to salute his younger brother, Prince Harry, who had been commissioned earlier that year in April. Both princes joined the Blues and Royals regiment. Harry and his fellow soldiers had also been inspected by the Queen, who was commander-in-chief, and shared a sweet interaction with her. When she approached Harry, the late monarch reportedly said: 'Here's a face I recognise.' Harry, holding a sword, is said to have beamed back at his grandmother. After William's ceremony, Kate and her parents enjoyed lunch with the Royal Family for the first time. The prince reportedly fit in with his fellow cadets just like any ordinary person and was described as 'a normal guy' on the day of his passing-out parade. Angela Laycock, who was a Junior Under Officer in William's platoon at the time, previously said: 'I've not really noticed anything different to be honest. The first loaded march we had a bit of a detour to avoid some photographers. Kate pictured wearing a black hat by Philip Treacy that she went on to wear again in 2023 William at Prince Harry's passing-out parade in April 2006 The Princess of Wales watching her husband during the Remembrance Sunday service last year, wearing the same hat she previously donned at William's passing-out parade 'He's just a normal guy that gets stuck in like everybody else. 'The only difference is that sometimes we'll see his name in the paper and you didn't notice hed been off that evening doing a charity do. I don't know how he manages to fit that in.' Almost two decades later, Kate wore the same hat she donned at William's passing-out parade to last year's Remembrance Sunday service. Now married to William, Kate chose the timelessly elegant accessory again in a sweet nod to her husband's military service as she watched him lay a wreath at the Cenotaph. At the end of every day during her record-breaking 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth II would sit down at a desk and spend 15 minutes writing by hand in her diary. The treasure trove of information contained within the many volumes have, until now, remained private - but not for much longer. One lucky historian will soon be given access to them, alongside her private papers and letters, to write the late monarch's official biography. The person tasked with this epic job is expected to produce the longest-ever written account of a British monarch, to allow them to properly tell the tale of a woman who was never expected to rule but succeeded beyond all expectations. Although there are already hundreds of books about her life, the official biography will be the final authoritative tome of the monarch, who is seen by some to have led the most chronicled life in human history due to scrutiny since the day she was born. While her diaries are unlikely to ever be published for the public to read, the biographer will be able to use them to answer questions that have puzzled royal authors for years and reveal an unknown quantity of secrets. The Queen met an estimated four million people over her 96 years and played a crucial role at the head of the biggest empire the world has ever known as it came to an end. The biography could be an intimate exploration of the innermost thoughts towards her 15 Prime Ministers, the 13 US Presidents she dealt with, and perhaps even her thoughts on Brexit. As is tradition, the current monarch appoints an official biographer to write the life of the previous monarch, so it will fall to Charles III to handpick the right candidate. Here MailOnline looks at the runners and riders in the race for the biography of one of the most important sovereigns in British history - Queen Elizabeth II. Queen Elizabeth II waves from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on the day of her Coronation, June 2, 1953. She would go on to rule for 70 years - breaking the record for the longest reigning monarch in British history The Queen (pictured in 2022) met an estimated four million people over her 96 years What information will the biographer get to use? Before we look at the potential authors, it makes sense to look at what information they will be getting their hands on. The late Queen's diary will be the primary source, but it was famously a record of her activities, rather than laying out her thoughts and feelings. Its primary function was to jog her memory and keep a note of her working life for the archives. She once told the society diarist Kenneth Rose: 'I have no time to record conversations, only events.' Nevertheless, the series of accounts over the decades will be very valuable for the author to wade through. A former member of the royal household told The Sun back in 2019 that the Queen added to her journal 'no matter how late the hour or how weary she may be', with the ex-staffer adding 'it is an unmissable duty, and she writes at a desk, never in bed'. The evidence of the Queen's diligence can be seen in her last entry about her new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, recorded two days before she died in Balmoral in September 2022. The biography could be an intimate exploration of the innermost thoughts towards her 15 Prime Ministers. Pictured: The Queen shakes the hand of then-London mayor Boris Johnson in 2008 The Queen is seen grieving alone at the funeral for her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, at the Covid-secure event in 2021 The evidence of the Queen's diligence can be seen in her last diary entry which was about her new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, recorded two days before she died in Balmoral in September 2022 However, due to the sheer scale and personal nature of her papers and diaries, they are currently being sorted by her former page of 44 years, the loyal Paul Whybrew. Known as 'Tall Paul' due to his 6'4' stature, Whybrew has been given the trusted position of deciding what should and shouldn't be transferred to the archive. Academics have described the decision as 'deeply concerning', fearing that vital historical documents may be suppressed or destroyed without public knowledge. In the past, some of the papers from members of the Royal Family, including Princess Diana, were burnt by their family and friends to prevent embarrassment. Whybrew is reportedly working on the project two days a week as he is retired. A source told the Daily Mail in June 2023: 'For this task, King Charles needed someone he could trust, someone he could be sure would never breathe a word of whatever he came across. 'Tall Paul is the legacy man the keeper of the Queen's secrets. There is no one else that the King would have trusted with such a big job. This is the ultimate reward for his loyalty.' Some of the files will be made public, others will be held by the King, and the rest will be filed within the restricted archives at the Windsor Castle library. The loyal Paul Whybrew, who served the Queen for 44 years, has been trusted to sort through her papers and diaries due to the sheer scale and personal nature of them Known as 'Tall Paul' due to his 6'4' stature, Whybrew was seen introducing the Queen to Mr Bond (Daniel Craig) during the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games Whybrew (back left, as a younger man), who is in his early 60s, is responsible for all the notes left behind by the Queen Robert Hardman The frontrunner in the race, Robert Hardman, 59, has been an acclaimed royal expert for two decades. Educated at the elite private school Wellington College, he then went on to study at Cambridge University. He is a close friend of former conservative Prime Minister David Cameron and has written for the Daily Mail since 2001. Robert Hardman, 59, has been an acclaimed royal expert for two decades and is seen as the frontrunner in the race Hardman's 2024 book Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, revealed the King had finally cut off Andrew's '1million-a-year' allowance over the Royal Lodge row Hardman appearing on ITV's Loose Women in November 2024 Over the years, he has featured in a slew of documentaries on the Royal Family, but perhaps his biggest contribution has been his 2022 book Queen Of Our Times: The Life Of Elizabeth II. It was awarded The Sunday Times Biography of the Year and was presented to President Volodymr Zelensky of Ukraine as an official gift by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Hardman has stayed on top form recently, with his 2024 book Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, revealing the King had finally cut off Andrew's '1million-a-year' allowance over the Royal Lodge row. Andrew Roberts Andrew Roberts, known as Lord Roberts of Belgravia since 2022, has written or edited 20 books about history in his 61 year-long life. After graduating with a first-class honours degree in Modern History at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, he has went on to become one of the most prolific writers of British history. In 2011, American broadcaster NBC hired him to commentate on the Royal Wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton, the funerals of Princess Diana and the Queen Mother, and the wedding of Prince Charles to Camilla. Andrew Roberts, 61, has written or edited 20 books about history, as well as commentating for NBC on a number of royal events Roberts' work includes a biography of Elizabeth II's first Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill (left) and a biography of her ancestor George III He also commentated for NBC on The Queen's Diamond and Platinum Jubilees, the birth of Prince George and the funerals of Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II. His biography of Elizabeth II's first Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill was published in October 2018 and became a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller. And if he was selected as Elizabeth's official biographer, it wouldn't be his first attempt at telling the life story of a royal. In October 2021, he published George III: The Life And Reign Of Britain's Most Misunderstood Monarch, which won the History Reclaimed Book of the Year Prize and the Elizabeth Longford Historical Biography Award. Robert Lacey Another acclaimed royal author who deserves consideration is Robert Lacey, 80. He is an alumnus of Selwyn College, Cambridge, where he earned a BA in History in 1967. He has been writing books on the Royal Family since the 1970s, but he is best known for his work as the historical consultant to the Netflix award-winning drama The Crown. Lacey, 80, has been writing books on the Royal Family since the 1970s Lacey is best known for his work as the historical consultant to the Netflix award-winning drama The Crown His most recent work was the bestselling Battle Of Brothers: William Harry And The Inside Story Of A Family In Tumult His most recent work was the bestselling Battle Of Brothers: William Harry And The Inside Story Of A Family In Tumult. One of his insights came from his book Monarch: The Life And Reign Of Elizabeth II, where he shrewdly explained that the Queen respected emotion but couldn't fake it. Early in her reign, due to visit Kingston upon Hull, she read a speech prepared by aides that said she was 'very pleased' to be in the East Yorkshire town. HM crossed out 'very', explaining: 'I will be pleased to be in Kingston. But I will not be very pleased.' Simon Sebag Montefiore Although not a dedicated royal expert, Simon Sebag Montefiore has written several acclaimed and bestselling history books. The 59-year-old was educated at the elite private schools of Ludgrove and Harrow before he got a PhD from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. His books include a diverse range of topics, including Stalin: The Court Of The Red Tsar (2003), Jerusalem: The Biography (2011), The Romanovs 16131918 (2016), and The World: A Family History Of Humanity (2022). Simon Sebag Montefiore has been friends with the person who picks the biographer, King Charles, for 25 years, and has written several acclaimed and bestselling history books His books include a diverse range of topics, including The Romanovs 16131918 (2016) and The World: A Family History Of Humanity (2022) However, due to the King being the person who ultimately decides on the biographer, Montefiore may have an inside advantage. He told The Guardian in 2023: 'I've known the King for over 25 years, and was fortunate enough to be at his Coronation. 'He's erudite, warm and funny; a well-read and charming man. He's one of the most experienced public servants alive. We're lucky to have him.' Sir David Cannadine One of the most acclaimed authors of British modern history, David Cannadine, 74, is also seen as a possible contender for the job. He was educated at Clare College, Cambridge, where he took a double-first in history at St John's College, Oxford. His slew of books includes works on the British class system and the empire, Elizabeth's grandfather George V and Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. Sir David Cannadine, 74, is a well-respected historian who is also seen as a possible contender for the job His slew of books includes works on Elizabeth's grandfather George V and a biography of Margaret Thatcher On the 90th birthday of Elizabeth II, he produced a documentary for the BBC on the worldwide role and significance of the British monarchy. And following her death, he wrote a piece for The Guardian analysing seven dutiful decades of national transformation and imperial retreat. He claimed her achievement was to adapt the monarchy to sweeping change without ever letting on what she was doing. Jane Ridley A frontrunner in the race is the 71-year-old biographer and professor of modern history at the University of Buckingham, Jane Ridley. Due to the fact it is the King who will have the final say, it is thought he might prefer to hand the reins of the official biography to a female for the first time. Ridley was educated at the private boarding school Cranborne Chase School before studying history at Oxford. Jane Ridley, 71, could also be in the running as it is thought the King might prefer to hand the reins of the official biography to a female for the first time Her royal credentials come from the fact she has penned biographies of Edward VII and George V Her royal credentials come from the fact she has penned biographies of Edward VII and George V. Daily Mail writer A. N. Wilson wrote in a review of her 2012 book Bertie: A Life Of Edward VII, a 'profoundly learned and a cracking good read' and claimed 'after this irreverent new life of Edward VII, royal biography will never be the same again'. In an article on how history will see the Queen for Harper's Bazaar, she wrote: 'She had become the most popular monarch Britain had ever known almost a mythological figure.' Hugo Vickers An experienced royal biographer already, Hugo Vickers could be called in by the King for another one. Educated at Eton and then at Strasbourg University, the 73-year-old already has a royal role as he is one of the Deputy Lieutenants of Berkshire. His books include biographies on the Queen Mother, Gladys, Duchess of Marlborough, and the Private World Of The Duke And Duchess Of Windsor. Hugo Vickers, 73, is an experienced royal biographer already with a slew of books to his name Vickers' previous works include The Sphinx: The Life Of Gladys Deacon (2020) and Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (2006) He also wrote the biography of Princess Andrew of Greece which was authorised by her son, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and for this book he interviewed many members of the Royal Family. Vickers was chairman of the Jubilee Walkway Trust in October 2002, founded in 1977 as a lasting memory of the Queen's Silver Jubilee, and later refurbished and updated to commemorate her Golden Jubilee. During his time in this role, he welcomed Queen Elizabeth II and her consort, Prince Philip, to the Mall to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Queen's coronation in 2003 and again in 2007, when the royal couple unveiled the Diamond Wedding panoramic panel in Parliament Square. William Shawcross Another experienced royal biographer with their hat in the ring is William Shawcross. He has an advantage because he was chosen to write the Queen Mother's official biography some 16 months after her death in March 2002. The 1,000-page biography was eventually published in 2009. For it, Shawcross, 78, was able to use the secret tape-recorded interviews she spent the last decade of her life giving on a range of intimate subjects, from the abdication crisis of 1936 to politicians and other members of the Royal Family. William Shawcross, 78, is another experienced royal biographer with their hat in the ring For the Queen Mother's biography, Shawcross was able to use the secret tape-recorded interviews she spent the last decade of her life giving on a range of intimate subjects, from the abdication crisis of 1936 to politicians and other members of the Royal Family But her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, gave no such interviews, so it seems her biographer will have to rely on her personal diaries to shed light on her life. He was given full access to her personal papers and interviewed both the late Queen and the then Prince Charles for the book. Shawcross is also a pronounced royalist, who is frequently complimentary of the Royal Family. In 2020 he wrote the article 'Thank God For The Queen' for The Spectator following her famous 'we will meet again' public broadcast during the pandemic. When could the official biography be published? It is expected that King Charles will pick his mother's official biographer in the next year or two. And it is thought the chosen author will then need several years to complete the massive amount of work needed to complete a book covering almost three-quarters of a century. But, due to the fact that the last monarch George VI died in 1952, it has been a long time since an official biographer has been selected, and the process seems to be shrouded in mystery. It it usually the case that the biographer of the consort, in this case Prince Phillip, is announced before the monarch, so some authors believe Elizabeth's biographer will be announced after his. It is expected that King Charles will pick his mother's official biographer in the next year or two It it usually the case that the biographer of the consort, in this case Prince Phillip, is announced before the monarch, so some authors believe Elizabeth's biographer will be announced after his After his retirement in 2017 the late Duke of Edinburgh spend a lot of time at Sandringham's Wood Farm, sifting through notes and adding 'explanatory notes' from his formidable memory as he didn't keep a diary like his wife. However, according to the Daily Mail's Ephraim Hardcastle column, he requested a decent interval before historians began rifling through his archive. Traditionally, the biographies of royals have went to an established historian who understands the constraints within which they must work. But some have questioned if the book can be published in the lifetime of King Charles, 76, due to its sensitive nature. Potential biographer Robert Lacey told The Telegraph: 'The years of real crisis in the Queen's reign revolved around the break-up of Charles's marriage to Diana. 'There is the testimony of a private secretary that the Queen told Charles she wanted "nothing to do" with Camilla whom she described as "that wicked woman", and that Prince Charles himself was close to tears over this.' He continued: 'I can't see any way that the candid verdicts on Prince Charles among some very senior figures in the palace and No10 during the monarchy's dark days of the 1990s can possibly be published during his reign.' However, suggestions have been made that one possible way to get round the sensitive nature of the '90s is to release the book as a multi-volume series. However, some have questioned if the Queen's official biography can be published in the lifetime of King Charles due to the sensitive nature surrounding her thoughts on her son Charles' failed marriage to Princess Diana The book could cause a headache for Charles, following claims the Queen once told Charles she wanted 'nothing to do' with Camilla, describing her as 'that wicked woman'. Pictured: Charles and Camilla at their humble wedding in 2005 Some historians believe it could be divided by time period, with the earlier part of her 70-year reign syphoned off to be published first. However, the author chosen to complete the mammoth honour will be under no illusion of the fine line between adhering to royal sensitivities and the need to preserve their own professional reputation. Two official biographies were commissioned for George V. King George V: A Personal Memoir by John Gore was published in 1941, followed by Sir Harold Nicolson's George V in 1952. Sir Harold touched on the difficulties faced by authorised royal biographers in his diaries, writing his instructions from George VI's private secretary Sir Alan Lascelles: 'I should not be expected to say one word that was not true All I should be expected to do was to omit things and incidents which were discreditable.' Many dog owners like to think that they know their pooch better than anyone else. But that isn't always the case - as five dog owners have found out. The curious owners used DNA tests to find out their pet's true breeds and see what they could learn about their faithful companions. But from the not-so-pedigree cocker spaniel to the mystery of the lapdog who is two per cent wolf, several of the results were not what these owners expected. For 140, the Wisdom Panel DNA tests take a sample of DNA from your dog's cheek and compare it to a database of breed genetics. The company claims that this can reveal everything from your pooch's family to whether or not they are scared of water. However, vets have questioned whether these genetic testing kits are really a good way of getting to know your pet. To see if these pricey tests are really worth it, MailOnline's Wiliam Hunter spoke with four dog owners who had tried the test - and even put his own dog's DNA under the microscope. MailOnline spoke to five dog owners who used the Wisdom Panel doggy DNA test to learn their pets' real breeds. However, the results weren't always what they expected Mark Richardson's two-year-old schnauzer George proudly poses with his DNA test Mark Richardson and George Mark Richardson from Emsworth in Hampshire used the Wisdom Panel DNA test on his miniature schnauzer, George, two. He told MailOnline: 'When we lost our 14-year-old dog Jack to cancer, we said we could never replace him but our other dog Ringo, 10, was a bit lost without him. 'We wanted to adopt, but it was difficult to find a dog from a shelter that would have got on with Ringo, who is fairly territorial and quite anxious. 'So we got George through a friend whose dog had had a litter of puppies.' But the Richardson family weren't entirely convinced George was the pure breed schnauzer they'd been promised. Mark added: 'He's quite an odd dog! I'm convinced he's more spaniel...though he looks a bit like a goat.' The Richardsons said their two-year-old pet displays behaviour which differs from the schnauzers they had before - from scaling furniture to enjoying treats like strawberries and carrots. Beers with the lads: Mark Richardson with George the schnauzer cooling off after a hard walk along West Wittering beach George the miniature schnauzer turned out to be a pure breed - much to the surprise of his owners How do dog DNA tests work? Owners order a kit from one of the DNA testing companies. The kit contains a swab which owners use to take a sample of cells from their dog's cheeks. The cells are sent back to the lab which extracts and sequences their dog's DNA. Segments in the dog DNA are compared to a breed database. Matching sections and similar genetic mutations give an indication of what the dog's breed might be. Advertisement He is also permanently scruffy and seemingly incapable of growing a 'proper' beard - a trait synonymous with the breed. But Mark's daughter Connie carried out the DNA test - and much to the surprise of the family, it transpired George was indeed 100 per cent pedigree. Laura Parkin and Kevin Laura Parkin used the DNA test to take a sample from her three-year-old labrador, Kevin. Laura told MailOnline: 'Kevin didnt like having the stick in his mouth so we were worried that we might not have got a good enough sample at first. But it wasnt difficult to do.' While Laura was excited to see Kevin's results, she didn't expect to be shocked. Laura says: 'After meeting Kevins parents and having a copy of his family tree from the Kennel Club, we always knew that Kevin was a labrador.' And, as she had predicted, Kevin turned out to be 100 per cent purebred. Laura Parkin says she was always certain that her three-year-old dog Kevin was 100 per cent labrador As Kevin's pedigree suggested, the DNA test revealed that he was 100 per cent labrador retriever. Although Laura didn't learn anything new, she says it was good to know that Kevin's breeder had been honest 'We have Kevins family tree and hes Kennel Club registered so it wasnt a surprise,' Laura says. 'But it is good to know the test is accurate and it confirms that the breeder is good.' Likewise, Laura says she doesn't think the test helped her learn anything more about Kevin than she already knew. She says: 'I dont think it explained anything about his behaviour. He is a very typical Labrador!' However, despite not finding anything overly exciting, Laura says she would still recommend the test to other dog owners. She says: 'The test was good it was easy to use. I think it would be good for rescue dogs to find out more about them or to make sure that the breeder is genuine.' Louise Oliphant and Toby Louise Oliphant, from London, says that she had always been curious to know more about her six-year-old cocker spaniel, Toby. Louise Oliphant bought her six-year-old cocker spaniel Toby from a local farm which was breeding working gun dogs, but his behaviour wasn't quite what she expected 'I bought my cocker spaniel from a local farm breeding working gundogs,' Louise told MailOnline. 'I knew having a cocker spaniel wouldn't be easy, given their energetic temperament, but I also knew giving one enough exercise a day would be worth the reward of an intelligent, loyal dog. 'After having Toby for no longer than a year, I began to think he wasn't like other cocker spaniels - he needs way more walking than expected and simply struggles to calm down in almost any setting.' Unfortunately, that boundless energy also made getting a good DNA sample using the test kit quite the challenge. Louise says: 'The trickiest part was not being able to use treats as a distraction.' To avoid compromising the DNA, Wisdom Panel's instructions state that the test must be taken at least two hours after your dog last ate so there's no way to bribe your dog with snacks. 'I did have to have a family member help pin him down and distract him with a toy while I put the swab in between Toby's cheek and gum,' says Louise. Having managed to get a good sample from Toby, Louise sent off the test kit and, three weeks later, received some surprising results. Louise says that Toby was much more energetic than a cocker spaniel would be - making it hard to get the DNA testing swab into his mouth Toby's DNA test revealed that Toby was actually 30 per cent English springer spaniel, a much more energetic and excitable bread. Louise says that his 'crazy nature' now made much more sense Rather than being a purebred cocker spaniel as Louise expected, Toby's test revealed that he was actually 30 per cent springer spaniel. Louise says: 'Springer spaniels have higher energy than cocker spaniels and typically need a lot more attention.' 'His crazy nature and inability to settle now made so much sense.' Stephen Matthews and Pablo In addition to telling you about your dog's breed, Wisdom Panel also claims to predict some of your furry companion's personality traits. Those claims were something Stephen Matthews was keen to test out for his three-year-old golden cocker, Pablo. Stephen told MailOnline: 'Pablo is a nutter. I didn't need a test to tell me that. 'We knew Pablo wasn't 100 per cent Cocker Spaniel, but it was interesting to learn he was a quarter Springer Spaniel. It probably explains his unusual features. Stephen Matthews says that he didn't need a test to tell him that his four-year-old golden cocker, Pablo, was crazy. But the DNA test did confirm reveal the origin of some of his odd behaviour Stephen says he always knew that Pablo wasn't entirely Cocker Spaniel, but it was interesting to learn he was a quarter Springer Spaniel. The DNA test also predicted that he wouldn't avoid getting wet, something that Stephen says definitely isn't correct 'It was, however, fascinating to discover our golden cocker's aggressive panting is ingrained within his DNA. 'No longer can I call him lazy for suddenly getting out of breath while cuddled next to me on the sofa.' However, Wisdom Panel's DNA test also made some predictions that didn't quite reflect reality. Stephen says: 'The test itself also suggested that he loves the wet something everyone who has spent time with him knows to be untrue. 'Pablo cowers from the rain and holds his bladder overnight, should we dare to make him go for a wee on wet grass.' Wiliam Hunter and Freddy When I first met my family's new dog, the six-year-old Freddy, almost everything about him was a total mystery. Freddy had been rescued from the streets in Romania and brought to the UK for adoption by the animal charity SSRAI Rescue. As a rescue dog from the streets of Romania, no one ever knew what kind of dog the four-year-old Freddy was supposed to be. When Wiliam Hunter heard about Wisdom Panel's DNA test it sounded like an amazing way to find out So, while Freddy had found himself a new home, we knew almost nothing about him. With ears far too big for his head, tiny legs, and a long brown coat he looked like no dog I had ever seen before. So, when I heard about Wisdom Panel's DNA testing service I couldn't resist the chance to find out more. Freddy can be quite scared of people so it was a bit of a challenge getting the swab in his mouth - especially since he doesn't have many teeth left. But after some time we managed to get a good enough sample to send off for testing. When the results came back, it turned out that none of our guesses had even been close. Freddy's DNA contained 19 different breeds including 17 per cent central Asian Ovcharka, 15 per cent Chihuahua, nine per cent Segugio Italiano, six per cent Dachshund, and six per cent Fijian street dog. What was most surprising was that many of the dogs in Freddy's lineage are massive working dogs. The DNA test confirmed that Freddy was a mix of 19 different breeds. Oddly the breed which made up most of his DNA is the massive Central Asian Ovcharka which grew up to 54 kg Despite Freddy's massive ancestors, he barely comes up to his owners' knees. This could be because he carries two different genes which cause small legs and stature in dogs Worryingly the test found that Freddy was at risk for a condition which can cause spine troubles in some short-legged dogs. Wiliam will definitely be asking the vet for more information about this and are glad to have caught this early The central Asian Ovcharka, for example, grows to be between 40 and 54 kg and stands at 79cm tall while Freddy barely comes up to my knee. Even more strangely, Wisdom Panel found that our quiet little lap dog was two per cent wolf! However, his size might be explained by the presence of two separate genes which both cause dogs to have short legs. In addition to letting us know what we already suspected - that Freddy was a tiny mongrel - the test also revealed some important information. Freddy's DNA contained one copy of a gene which is associated with chondrodystrophy and Intervertebral Disc Disease. These conditions are common in dachshunds and cause short limbs and stature as well as early degeneration of the spinal disks. While Freddy hasn't shown any of the symptoms yet this is definitely something we'll be bringing up with the vet and I feel very fortunate to have been given an early warning. He was, without doubt, one of the most successful comic actors of his generation whose gags still make us roar with laughter today. So, it's perhaps unsurprising that Ronnie Barker is still Britain's favourite comedian nearly two decades after he died. Catapulted into legendary status thanks to his inimitable role in The Two Ronnies, Barker is viewed favourably by 69 per cent of Brits. His late co-star and fellow TV treasure Ronnie Corbett, famed for his comic timing, trademark thick-rimmed glasses and diminutive stature, ranks sixth. The iconic duo worked together for four decades and enjoyed huge success with The Two Ronnies, which attracted up to 18million viewers in its heyday. The league table of comedians comes from YouGov's ratings collection, described as the 'biggest and boldest attempt ever made to quantify what Britain thinks'. It is based on millions of responses from the public on topics ranging from opinions on David Attenborough to the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street, food and politics. Your browser does not support iframes. For this, pollsters asked the public what they thought of 82 comedians. Popularity was classified as the percentage of people who had a positive opinion. Barker comes joint-first alongside Bolton-born funnyman Peter Kay, who hailed the late comic as his 'hero'. Kay, mastermind of the early noughties comedy classic Phoenix Nights, is currently on a comeback stand-up tour across the UK. Dawn French, creator of The Vicar of Dibley and half of French and Saunders, ranks joint-third, with a popularity rating of 67 per cent. She ties with Bradley Walsh, whose frequent TV appearances from daytime quizzer The Chase to road trip adventures with his son Barney in Breaking Dad, have clearly warmed him to the hearts of the British public. Sir Billy Connolly, 81, known for his witty and bizarre stand-up comedy routines and his varied acting career, rounds out the top five. Favourite comics vary between generations, however. For millennials, American Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane is their favourite, with his 73 per cent popularity rating. Your browser does not support iframes. Kay, Walsh and Ricky Gervais all score 71 per cent among younger adults, with Eddie Izzard in fifth at 66 per cent. Generation Xers, on the other hand, put Barker first, with a rating of 84 per cent. He is followed by beloved comedy troupe Monty Python (74 per cent). Barker again tops the list for Baby Boomers, with a 95 per cent popularity. Kay ranks second. Porridge Star Richard Beckinsale comes third, with a popularity of 83 per cent. Royal Variety Performance viewers furiously branded new hosts Amanda Holden and Alan Carr 'dreadful' after they made their debut as hosts on Sunday evening. The TV personality, 53, and comedian, 48, opened the show with a string of woke jokes, which many branded 'awkward' as they demanded the return of Bradley Walsh, 64, who presented the show in 2023. The annual fundraising event saw a string of famous faces including Sir Elton John, Ted Lasso's Ellie Taylor, and Britain's Got Talent winner Sydnie Christmas perform in front of King Charles. Alan began the Royal Albert Hall show, which was filmed back in November, by poking fun Amanda's racy gown and declared it was 'just on the right side of an Ofcom complaint'. He continued: 'I feel a great sense of comfort and security sharing a stage with you, well it's a high profile event and if Just Stop Oil come at the stage, I can use you as my human shield.' While Amanda quipped: 'Well, good luck to them because I will end up being their first victim who ends up less orange.' Royal Variety Performance viewers furiously branded new hosts Amanda Holden, 53, and Alan Carr, 48, 'dreadful' after they made their debut as hosts on Sunday evening The duo opened the show with a string of jokes, which many branded 'awkward' as they demanded the return of Bradley Walsh , 64, who presented the show in 2023 (pictured) Racing to X fans fumed: 'Are Alan Carr and Amanda Holden ruining the Royal Variety for anyone else, or just me?': 'We have hit rock bottom I see @ITV with the Royal Variety Carr and Holden? Just not funny. Why are they presenting: 'Well Alan Carr and Amanda Holden are absolutely dreadful. This opening is so awkward'. While someone else wrote: 'Honestly, who thought Alan Carr and Amanda Holden were the right choice for this? They might be great at other things but the Royal Variety Performance needs presenters with the right balance of class and charisma. Bradley Walsh would have been perfect for the job'. However not everyone was so negative, with one gushing: 'Amanda Holden is so hot oh God!' Another chimed in: 'Talent on the Royal Variety Performance tonight is epic - Amanda Holden and Alan Carr, couldn't ask for better presenters.# While a third fawned: 'Alan Carr and Amanda Holden are really good together.' It comes after Amanda admitted that her daring outfit for the Royal Variety Performance could spark Ofcom complaints. Known for her risque fashion choices, she originally considered a Julien Macdonald dress with a plunging neckline and backless design for the glitzy evening, but ultimately opted for a metallic strapless gown with a winged neckline. The strapless Lurex dress from Khaled and Marwin couture which retails at over 3,000 boasted a fitted bodice, a long column skirt and a huge embellishment front and centre. Speaking to The Sun's TV Mag, Amanda poked fun at her outfit, saying: 'My outfit is definitely glamorous - hopefully nobody complains to Ofcom!' It wouldn't be the first time Amanda's bold style has sparked complaints, with one dress worn on Britain's Got Talent in 2017 leading to nearly 700 Ofcom reports. Talking about their excitement of the evening and being in the same room as a Royal, Alan teased about Amanda's curtsying plans and quipped that she might not be able to bend low 'in that outfit'. Alan began the Royal Albert Hall show, which was filmed back in November, by poking fun Amanda's racy gown and declared it was 'just on the right side of an Ofcom complaint' The annual fundraising event saw a string of famous faces perform in front of King Charles Sir Elton John (C) and husband David Furnish (R) introduced the cast of his new musical The Devil Wears Prada lead by Vanessa Williams (L) CBB and West End star Marisha Wallace also performed Racing to X fans fumed: 'Are Alan Carr and Amanda Holden ruining the Royal Variety for anyone else, or just me?' Amanda also shared an embarrassing wardrobe mishap from her theatre days, recalling a moment when her dress slipped during a conversation with former Conservative Party leader William Hague. She joked: 'He was chatting away, looking me straight in the eye, and one of my boobs was hanging out! But she reassured fans that: 'Nothing will be falling out at the Royal Variety!' Despite Amanda's wardrobe leading to some controversial moments in the past, she has defended her racy fashion choices in the past saying: 'Fashion is about taking risks. I encourage everyone to have a little fun and be a little daring. I'd be bored playing it safe.' She also admits that her 'sense of humour' helps her to deal with the backlash. Four years ago, the star explained that she has her own 'committee' of people that come down to check on her outfits before a show. Although being mindful of viewers' opinions, Amanda admitted that she 'can see what people think'. She made her return to TV last weekend as she launched the new game show You Bet! with Stephen Mulhern. But could Holly Willoughby's upcoming screen resurgence mark the return of her glitz and glam era? The former children's TV presenter was famously nicknamed Holly Willoughbooby when she started to work on primetime shows in the Noughties, and the mother-of-three admitted she was 'proud' of the cheeky nickname. She credited Keith Lemon for coining the term when she worked on his racy show Celebrity Juice, telling the Standard: 'In all seriousness, its very nice and Im proud that a mother who has breastfed children can have that accoladeif you can call it that.' Yet in more recent years Holly made herself known as quite the everywoman style icon - with her homely and conservative This Morning ensembles often selling out as viewers tried to emulate her style. However amid her return to the spotlight, Holly has debuted an array of eye-catching ensembles, from sparkly mini-dress to glitzy gowns in recent weeks. Holly Willoughby has bid farewell to her homely image and revived her sexy Noughties style for big TV comeback (left, in an Instagram post on Monday, right on the You Bet! revival) In recent years Holly made herself known as quite the everywoman style icon - with her homely and conservative This Morning ensembles often selling out (pictured with Phillip Schofield in 2023) The former children's TV presenter was famously nicknamed Holly Willoughbooby when she started to work on primetime shows in the Noughties (Pictured on Dancing On Ice in 2008) Back in September, Holly turned heads as she attended the NTA's in a 30,000 glitzy strapless silver and black dress from luxury couture brand Kolchagov Barba, which featured a high leg slit. More recently she stunned in a tiny mirror disc dress and rocked a set of hair extensions as she promoted her wellness range on Monday - and donned a pair of skimpy camo hot pants in first look snaps of Netflix's upcoming series Bear Hunt. And over the weekend she put on a leggy display in a halterneck LBD for You Bet!'s launch episode. Speaking to MailOnline about Holly's style switch-up, brand and culture expert Nick Ede said: 'Holly Willoughby has always been a style icon but now that she has stepped away from daytime her fashion choices have become more stylish, vibrant and sexy. 'She has a great eye for fashion and with her new show on Netflix coming soon all eyes will be on her in the UK - but also worldwide too.' He added: 'With such a big reach this could be her moment to become an international star. 'Her style is a major seller and when she's posted about the looks she wears they sell out fast. 'And with her new found glamorous lease of life after a difficult time previously its time for Holly to shine event brighter and be a winner in the style stakes and beyond.' From prim and proper to soft summer pastels, experts over the years suggested Holly was moving to a more conservative and regal style. Holly donned a pair of camouflage print hotpants to promote her upcoming Netflix show Celebrity Bear Hunt with Bear Grylls From prim and proper to soft summer pastels, experts over the years suggested Holly was moving to a more conservative and regal style (Pictured in 2023) Holly (Pictured in 2022) has been spotted in dresses previously worn by members of the actual Royal Family - particularly the Princess of Wales - on multiple occasions Joining King Charles at the Palace to congratulate the winners of the Prince's Trust Awards last summer, Holly chose a delightful 720 lemon yellow dress by Beulah (pictured) Holly has been spotted in dresses previously worn by members of the actual Royal Family - particularly the Princess of Wales - on multiple occasions. Joining King Charles at the Palace to congratulate the winners of the Prince's Trust Awards last summer, Holly chose a delightful 720 lemon yellow dress by Beulah. The capped-sleeve button-up dress had also been worn by Kate Middleton and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark. As her move into conservative ensembles continued, brands expressed their delight when Holly wore their designs. After being pictured wearing a pale yellow Albaray sundress last summer, it quickly sold out, with Karen Peacock, the brand's founder and creative director, saying: 'We're always thrilled when Holly chooses to wear Albaray. 'The yellow dress was a great style and ideal summer shade that quickly sold out when she wore it.' But in recent months Holly appears to have ditched her homely ensembles in favour of a sexier style - harping back to her younger years on screen. Holly 'Willough-booby' coined the name thanks to her impressive cleavage, and beat off stiff competition from the likes of Beyonce and Scarlett Johansson to be honoured with the title of Best Celebrity Cleavage by Wonderbra in 2013. The cheeky TV star previously joked that she doesn't mind the attention surrounding her ample chest at all, and placed the blame on Celebrity Juice host Keith Lemon. She told the Daily Mirror: 'I don't mind people fixating on my cleavage and I mainly blame Keith Lemon for bringing it into the main arena so people feel the need to talk about it all the time. But in recent months Holly appears to have ditched her homely ensembles in favour of a sexier style - harping back to her younger years on screen (Pictured in 2008) The cheeky TV star previously joked that she doesn't mind the attention surrounding her ample chest at all, and placed the blame on Celebrity Juice host Keith Lemon (Pictured in 2012) She told the Daily Mirror: 'I don't mind people fixating on my cleavage and I mainly blame Keith Lemon for bringing it into the main arena so people feel the need to talk about it all the time' (Pictured in 2010) 'It's fine theyre only boobs.' For September's National Television Awards, Holly looked incredible in a glistening strapless dark silver dress with a high split and a extra-long train. And over the weekend, Holly looked sensational as she showed off her incredible figure for her glamorous television comeback. Holly wowed in sneak peek snaps from series You Bet! as she opted for a stylish little black mini dress. Putting on a leggy display in the dress, she completed the look with simple black strappy heels while Stephen looked rather dapper in a black suit. Meanwhile on Monday, she popped champagne and danced around in a silver sparkly mini-dress as she plugged her wellness brand Wylde Moon. Holly donned a metallic silver disc mini-dress, complete with a chain fabric and thin straps - which she paired with silver barely-there heels and added length to her bright blonde bobbed locks with a set of extensions, in a harp back to how fans remember her in years gone. Back in September, Holly turned heads as she attended the NTA's in a 30,000 glitzy strapless black dress which featured a high leg slit And over the weekend, Holly looked sensational as she showed off her incredible figure for her glamorous television comeback Popping a bottle of champagne, Holly playfully danced around and balanced on one-leg as she posed for the cameras while a crew member sprinkled confetti over her Attending the European premiere of Better Man last month, Holly oozed sophistication as she donned a plunging black midi-dress. She stunned for the premiere of the film - which tells Robbie Williams' life story - in a black velvet figure-hugging dress, complete with diamante lining and a plunging neckline. The presenter is also set to make thrilling comeback with Netflix series Bear Hunt - and she smouldered in camo hot pants in a first look. Holly looked nothing short of sensational as she donned a pair of camouflage hot pants as she posed for the camera alongside the British adventurer. Attending the European premiere of Better Man last month, Holly oozed sophistication as she donned a plunging black midi-dress Chris Pratt paid a loving tribute to his wife Katherine Schwarzenegger on Friday in honor of her 35th birthday. The actor, who along with Schwarzenegger recently welcomed their third child, shared photos from their every day life to describe what makes her so special. 'Happy Birthday, Katherine!' the loving hubby wrote, before listing out the traits he loves. He continued: 'Thank you for all of the joy youve brought all of us through the years. To see the way you care for our family. To see the way you run the house. To see the way you communicate.' 'Your wisdom and mindfulness are a blessing I thank God for every day,' the Marvel star concluded. 'Im so grateful to have married you. We all feel so well taken care of and loved. Through the ups and downs, I got you Chief. Love you.' After reading her son-in-law's post, Maria Shriver left a sweet comment. Chris Pratt, 45, paid a loving tribute to his wife Katherine Schwarzenegger on Friday for her 35th birthday, sharing some recent photos including this snap from just before they welcomed their third child in November 'So sweet I love the line. Ive got you. Everybody wants to feel that somebody has them such a beautiful post Chris happy birthday Catherine youre an angel on earth,' the proud mom wrote. Warm birthday wishes flowed in from friends and fans. 'happy happy birthday!!!! love you!!' wrote Lauren Scruggs Kennedy. 'We love this woman HBD,' added her husband, Jason Kennedy. Back in 2023, Pratt opened up about spotting his future wife in church when he was at a low point in his life on The Drew Barrymore Show. 'You kind of don't want to be like, 'Whoa, who is that?' at church, you know what I mean,' he said. 'But I was kind of sneaking some glances and I was like, "Who is that? Any way, what am I doing? Come on, I'm broken, help me."' The couple did not begin dating at that time, but eventually met and began seeing each other in 2018. The Guardians of the Galaxy star listed some of the things he loved most about his wife. Thank you for all of the joy youve brought all of us through the years. To see the way you care for our family. To see the way you run the house. To see the way you communicate' he wrote The loving post received the approval of Pratt's mother-in-law Maria Shriver, who added her oldest daughter was 'an angel on earth' They tied the knot in 2019 and now are parents to Lyla, four, Eloise, two-and-a-half, and little brother Ford, who was born November 8. The Guardians of the Galaxy star is also dad to son Jack, 12, whom he shares with with ex-wife Anna Faris. In addition to juggling three kids, Schwarzenegger is a children's book author and an influencer. She is also the host of the podcast Before, During, and After Baby where she talks with experts and celebrities about birthing and raising children. More information has come forward about the alleged incident that lead to Vanderpump Rules alum James Kennedy's arrest on a domestic violence charge Tuesday night. The Burbank Police Daily Arrest Log reported that an officer spoke with both Kennedy and a woman that night inside a residence after receiving a 9-1-1 call, according to TMZ. While there, the woman, whose name was not revealed, told investigators she had been picked up by her boyfriend and that he threw her to the ground. Police on the scene said they did not see any visible injuries on the alleged victim, but arrested Kennedy for misdemeanor domestic battery upon spouse/co-habitant. Officers were initially summoned to the residence on reports Kennedy had gotten into an argument with the woman and grabbed. Kennedy and his live-in girlfriend, Ally Lewber, who was not named in the police records, attended a party hosted by Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kathy Hilton at her home earlier that night. More information has come to light regarding James Kennedy's arrest on a domestic violence charge on Tuesday. Burbank Police officers say they were told Kennedy had picked up the reported victim and threw her to the ground per TMZ (pictured in Los Angeles on December 10) At this time, there has been no confirmation Lewber was the reported victim. He was released after paying a $20,000 bail, according to police records. Kennedy's attorney, Scott Leeman, tried to downplay the severity of the incident, telling the outlet, 'We understand that there were no injuries and we are hoping that, after careful review, the city's attorney will decide not to file formal charges.' On Thursday, attorneys for Kennedy's ex-fiancee Rachel Leviss, 30, issued a statement blaming Bravo, NBC and Evolution, the companies that produce and distribute Vanderpump Rules for turning a blind eye to the DJ's behavior. 'We are aware of James Kennedys recent arrest for domestic violence,' the statement read according to Variety. 'This news is, unfortunately, not surprising. Rachels lawsuit (against former VPR stars Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix) describes, in significant detail, Mr. Kennedys long history of erratic, violent behavior and substance abuse.' 'Just as troubling, however, is that NBC and Evolution (the Vanderpump Rules production company), who have known about Mr. Kennedys troubling behavior all along, have been engaged in a multi-year cover-up on his behalf. They, too, bear responsibility.' In her 2020 book Hes Making You Crazy: How to Get the Guy, Get Even, and Get Over It, Kennedy's former girlfriend Kristen Doute, 41, wrote about a former relationship without naming the partner. The Valley star described the troubled relationship as verbally abusive, adding 'And then it escalated. Broken furniture, shattered picture frames, doors slamming and holes punched in my wall. Once that line had been crossed, it was only a matter of time before he put his hands on me: shoving, pushing, and physical restraint.' Kennedy, 32, a popular DJ, was released on $20,000 bail (Pictured in Beverly Hills in September 2023) The woman was not named in the report, but Kennedy had been seen with his girlfriend attending Kathy Hilton's Christmas party earlier that night (Pictured in West Hollywood December 3) Attorneys for Rachel Leviss, 30, Kennedy's former fiancee, issued a statement blaming Vanderpump Rules producers 'who have known about Mr. Kennedys troubling behavior all along, have been engaged in a multi-year cover-up on his behalf' (Pictured In Los Angeles in August 2021) Kristen Doute, 41, who dated previously dated Kennedy wrote about an unnamed partner whose anger resulted in 'Broken furniture, shattered picture frames, doors slamming and holes punched in my wall' in her book, Hes Making You Crazy On Thursday, after news of Kennedy's arrest went public, the reality star, who is expecting her first child with boyfriend Luke Broderick, 33, posted a screenshot of the TMZ article and wrote 'FINALLY' on it. Real Housewives stars Teddi Mellencamp and Tamra Judge reported a fight they had witnessed in a limousine between Kennedy and Lewber earlier this year on their Popping Off podcast, alleging the argument had gotten physical. However, Lewber went on Scheana Shay's Scheananigans podcast and denied there was any physical altercation during the heated exchange. 'For the record, James has never physically hurt me or assaulted me. And were good. Were happy,' she claimed at the time. Blake Lively and her newest company celebrated a big win this week and announced the victory to the world in a grateful social media post on Friday. The actress, 37, who donned a bright yellow ensemble for the 2024 Beauty Inc Awards in New York City on Wednesday, celebrated with her team following their winning of the Newcomer Award. In August, the National Board of Review Award winner launched her hair care line, Blake Brown Beauty. Of her experience beating out the competitors, Lively wrote, 'To be in that room, being honored alongside so many people whove paved the way, and more who are forging new paths, hearing their stories was surreal for me and the entire @blakebrownbeauty team.' 'Were a newborn company, but the gestation was long, the entrepreneur wrote. 'We worked for 7 years before going to market. We didnt stop until we got the best possible product, the best results, the best packaging, the best fragrance, the cleanest and most sustainable available, all at a mass price point for @target.' Blake Lively and her newest company celebrated a big win this week and announced the victory to the world in a grateful social media post on Friday; seen earlier this week She thanked her customers for making 'us the highest haircare launch in @target history. You sold us out instantly.' The Age of Adeline star added that 'To be honored now by the [Women's Wear Daily] beauty editors, and to be in a room of industry trail blazers was just so cool.' Some of those trailblazers included WWD beauty editor Jenny B. Fine and Jones Road creator and celebrity makeup artist Bobbie Brown who posed with lively for a photograph. She also rubbed shoulders with Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing. She also offered her thanks 'to every single person whos worked tirelessly' getting the product market. 'Were just getting started' she advised, offering her congratulations to the other winners. The actress, whose birth name was Blake Brown, created eight products for her line. They reflect Lively's philosophy of using alternating shampoos and hair masks instead of conditioners. She and her team won the Newcomer Award for their new haircare line, Blake Brown Beauty. 'We worked for 7 years before going to market,' she wrote on social media about effort to created the popular line which is sold at Target The line reflect Lively's philosophy of using alternating shampoos and hair masks instead of conditioners. It sold $16 million worth of products in the first week and has continued to be a bestseller The actress, who rubbed shoulders with beauty legends such as Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing said 'to be in a room of industry trail blazers was just so cool,' adding, ''Were just getting started' Fans did not let the rumors of behind-the-scenes drama on the set of her film It Ends With Us that reportedly had Lively fearing for the future of her career, dampen their enthusiasm for Lively or her new endeavor. The new line sold $16 million worth of products in the first week and has continued to be a bestseller, according to Launchmetrics, as per WWD.com. Friends and fans offered their best wishes, including Queer Eye star Jonathan Van Ness, who wrote, 'Congratulations queen!!' 'She came out of left field winning awards!! I cant wait to try these products,' wrote a fan. Dermot O'Leary is said to be following in James Corden's footsteps as he attempts to crack the US as host of a brand new game show. The This Morning presenter, 51, reportedly has had long held ambitions to jump the pond and has already filmed a pilot for the new show. According to The Mirror, the show is similar to Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? but with seven contestants facing fewer questions. And while the pilot for Five Questions to a Million was filmed at Elstree Studios in London, all the hopefuls that took part were American. A source told the publication: 'Dermot has long had ambitions of cracking America and this could finally be his chance.' MailOnline have contacted Dermot's representative for comment. Dermot O'Leary (pictured) is said to be following in James Corden 's footsteps as he attempts to crack the US as host of a brand new game show Gavin and Stacey star James was catapulted to superstardom in the US after landing hosting duties of The Late Late Late Show in 2015, before quitting and returning to the UK last year Gavin and Stacey star James, 46, was catapulted to superstardom in the US after landing hosting duties of The Late Late Late Show in 2015, before quitting and returning to the UK with his family last year. Dermot's This Morning colleague Cat Deeley ,48, has also found fame stateside as host of So You Think You Can Dance?. Last year the dance competition has been renewed for season 18 and will return on March 4 with new judges Alison Holker - who first met her late husband Stephen 'tWitch' Boss when they were all-stars on season 7 of the Fox show - and Maksim Chmerkovskiy. In September, Dermot surprised fans by sharing an emotional tribute to his wife Dee Koppang on Instagram as he celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary. The presenter took to his Instagram page on Saturday with a rare snap from their wedding day as they danced the night away together. Dermot, who is usually fairly private about his family life, gave a rare insight by sharing the sweet shot of himself and Dee. Alongside the photograph, he wrote: '12 years!' The couple met when they were both working for the same television corporation and started dating in 2002 when they began a nine-year relationship. According to reports the show is similar to Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? but with seven contestants facing fewer questions And while the pilot for Five Questions to a Million was filmed at Elstree Studios in London, all the hopefuls that took part were American (pictured on This Morning with Cat Deeley) Dermot's This Morning colleague Cat Deeley ,48, has also found fame stateside as host of So You Think You Can Dance? (pictured on the show) Dermot got down on one knee during a trip in New York in 2011. Despite keeping the news quiet themselves, Caroline Flack announced on the Xtra Factor that the couple had become engaged. Dermot and the film producer eventually tied the knot a year later at St Mary's Church in Chiddingstone in September 2012. Dermot has previously opened up about being a father to a toddler and how becoming a parent has changed his priorities. The television presenter lives in London with his wife Dee and their son Kasper, three. Speaking to The Times last year, he explained how much energy is required to keep up with his young son, saying it can be 'full-on'. Dermot said: 'I turned 50 this year and being a dad to a three-year-old can be full-on. A mate who had twins just before Kasper arrived told me, Dont worry about how old you are, just make sure you stay in shape. And hes right. I took Kasper to the RAF Museum the other week and it was like an Olympic sprint, dashing from one exhibit to the next. As soon as we came out he said: Can we go round again?' It comes after Dermot surprised fans by sharing an emotional tribute to his wife Dee on Instagram as he celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary He went on to describe his love of family time, saying that the daily tasks of changing nappies or playing silly games were the best part. He explained: 'Dees work means that were not always together but, those evenings when we are, we make the most of spending proper time together as a family. I cant understand those parents who dont enjoy changing nappies or crawling around on the carpet pretending to be a racing car. Isnt that the absolute joy of being a parent?' Dermot added that his priorities in life had shifted with the birth of his son, from his material needs to how he wants to spend his spare time. He said: 'Having a child has changed what I want from life and what makes me happy. Do I need another car? The latest gadget? A bit of vintage Van Morrison vinyl? No, forget the material stuff. What I want is to be with the people I love. Being a dad puts the world in perspective.' Popular podcast Darling, Shine! has announced a major change to its hosting lineup. The program, hosted by Ellidy Pullin and Chloe Fisher, revealed that the show would look quite different in 2025. Chloe announced on the latest episode that she'll be stepping back from the podcast, which courted controversy earlier this year when co-host Ellidy was slammed for complaining about scheduling and recording. 'I'm very emotional and I don't want to say it, but I will be taking a break from the podcast next year as Ellidy's co-host,' Chloe said on last week's episode. 'I just want to like properly explain the reasons why I will be taking a step back and it's just that I will be taking a step back from co-hosting because I will be doing all the admin that comes with Darling, Shine!' While Chloe said she was stepping back from the front facing role, she expressed her commitment to the podcast and its fanbase. Popular podcast Darling, Shine! has announced a major change to its hosting lineup. Pictured hosts Ellidy Pullin and Chloe Fisher Chloe announced on the latest episode that she'll be stepping back from the podcast 'It's such a hard pill to swallow because I f***ing love this podcast so much and I love our community so much,' she said. Earlier this year, Chloe's co-host Ellidy, whose story of becoming pregnant with the sperm of her late partner Alex 'Chumpy' Pullin inspired millions of Aussies, copped flak for her blunt assessment of her podcast. The model was asked by a listener about her friendship with her friend and co-host Fisher on an episode of Darling, Shine! in July. Her blunt response - which saw her whinge about having to record the podcast and make time for friends who live interstate - was criticised by some listeners as 'mean'. 'We've never had a fight. The only fights we have are f***ing to do with the dumba*** podcast, which stresses us the f*** out,' she said of her relationship with Chloe. '[Because] I have other s**t going on, so does Coco.' One fan claimed in a Facebook group that Ellidy's comments were a 'kick in the gut' to long-time listeners. During the same episode, Ellidy also said she did not have time to call friends who live interstate because she is 'busy and doesn't like sitting on the phone'. Earlier this year, Ellidy (pictured) copped flak for her blunt assessment of her own podcast after she complained about having to record the podcast and make time for friends who live interstate 'My friends should know I'm a bit of a long-distance person,' she said. 'I love you all so much. I make an effort. I go to Sydney all the time. You name it, even if your guinea pig is having its birthday, I'm hopping on a plane and I'm going to be there. 'I make an effort, but if I'm not down there, I'm not talking to you all the time. I hope you're well.' She went on to say some of her friends become 'devastated' when she doesn't respond to their text messages or call them back. 'I sometimes get people being, like, devastated [that] I'm not responding or calling them back. But I've been busy and please don't take this personally but I can't sit on the phone,' Ellidy said. 'Don't base our friendship on how many minutes I speak on the phone to you and all that s**t.' Kris Jenner was a proud grandmother as she celebrated her daughter Kourtney Kardashian's sons Mason and Reign's shared birthday on Saturday, December 14. The 69-year-old Kar-Jenner matriarch took to Instagram to share a carousel of sweet throwback photos of her grandsons over the years. Kourtney shares 15-year-old Mason and 10-year-old Reign with her ex-boyfriend Scott Disick. 'Happy birthday to my two incredible grandsons, Mason and Reign! Our birthday twins! I still cant believe the two of you share the exact same birthday. What a special blessing that connects you forever,' Kris began in the lengthy caption. 'You are both so deeply loved, and I am endlessly grateful to God for choosing me to be your grandma. 'Mason, you are so kind, creative, smart, talented, and the best brother, son, grandson, cousin and friend. Watching you grow up and become such a caring and wonderful young man is pure magicyou make us all so proud,' she wrote of the 15-year-old. Kris Jenner was a proud grandmother as she celebrated her daughter Kourtney Kardashian's sons Mason and Reign's shared birthday on Saturday, December 14; Mason and Kris seen The 69-year-old Kar-Jenner matriarch took to Instagram to share a carousel of sweet throwback photos of her grandsons over the years Then, the self-proclaimed 'mom-ager' reflected on her relationship with 10-year-old Reign and his 'vibrant' personality. 'Reign, you bring so much energy, laughter, and joy wherever you go. Your inquisitive mind and vibrant personality light up every room. Youre smart, funny, and full of so much love, and I feel blessed to witness the amazing little person youre becoming,' she said. Jenner wrapped the post: 'You fill my life with so much pride and happiness, and I love you both with every bit of my heart and soul. Im so proud of the incredible boys you are and excited for the amazing futures you both have ahead of you! Underneath the plethora of throwback images, she tagged Mason's profile as well as Kourtney and Scott's. 'My birthday boys ,' the 45-year-old mother-of-four penned in the comments. Kourtney welcomed Mason Dash back in 2009 and Reign Aston in 2014. She and Scott also share 12-year-old Penelope Scotland. In July 2015, the high-profile pair went their separate ways amid cheating rumors after photos of Scott with ex-girlfriend Chloe Bartoli emerged. Kourtney shares 15-year-old Mason and 10-year-old Reign with her ex-boyfriend Scott Disick; Reign, Corey Gamble and Kris pictured 'You are both so deeply loved, and I am endlessly grateful to God for choosing me to be your grandma,' Kris penned Then, the self-proclaimed 'mom-ager' reflected on her relationship with 10-year-old Reign and his 'vibrant' personality; Kris and Reign pictured 'Mason, you are so kind, creative, smart, talented, and the best brother, son, grandson, cousin and friend,' she penned; Mason pictured 'My birthday boys ,' Kourtney wrote Kourtney welcomed Mason Dash back in 2009 and Reign Aston in 2014; Mason and Reignpictured 'What a special blessing that connects you forever,' the doting grandmother wrote; Mason and Kris pictured Jenner wrapped the post: 'You fill my life with so much pride and happiness, and I love you both with every bit of my heart and soul Kourtney dated the the 41-year-old Talentless CEO on and off for nine years since 2007, making various appearance of Keeping Up With The Kardashians together. However, Kourtney moved onto to Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, 49, in early 2021. Travis first proposed to the Los Angeles native back in October of 2021 and kept their plans lowkey before their April 2022 spur-of-the-moment wedding in Sin City. On May 15, the pair married legally via a courthouse in Santa Barbara, California. Just days later on May 20 the pair had a lavish wedding on the Italian Riviera with family and close friends bearing witness. When she's not busy being a doting wife, the multihyphenate is a successful entrepreneur pouring into her health and lifestyle brands Poosh and Lemme. She founded the successful luxury supplement company back in September of 2022, telling PEOPLE at the time she feels 'really passionate about the ingredients and the combinations.' According to the Lemme site, the supplements are 'Gummies that give you life, literally. Lemme is a new vitamin and supplement line developed by Kourtney Kardashian to become a divine, feel good part of your everyday life.' It offers a variety of products that claim to enhance metabolism, mood, energy, sleep, beauty and health. Kourtney also jumped to her main Instagram page on Saturday to celebrate Mason and Reign's birthday. In the caption, she penned, 'My birthday boys. So special to me it hurts my heart.' Kourtney also jumped to her main Instagram page on Saturday to celebrate Mason and Reign's birthday In the caption, she penned, 'My birthday boys. So special to me it hurts my heart' The TV personality added a throwback photo of Mason with his little brother as they sat on a comfy rug Kardashian uploaded another picture that was taken in the past when her sons were younger as they lounged on a couch The star also included a photo of her son Reign sitting on grass while surrounded by adorable dogs in what appeared to be a backyard She also shared an assortment of snaps, including one as her sons strolled along a sandy shore at night as fireworks lit up the sky in the distance. The TV personality added a throwback photo of Mason with his little brother as they sat on a comfy rug. Kardashian uploaded another picture that was taken in the past when her sons were younger as they lounged on a couch. The star also included a photo of her son Reign sitting on grass while surrounded by adorable dogs in what appeared to be a backyard. News / Local by Staff reporter Zimbabwean-born CEO Donovan Chimhandamba of South Africa-based Nyanza Light Metals has unveiled ambitious plans to establish a beneficiation and value addition industry for titanium minerals in Africa. The company, a manufacturer of titanium dioxide pigment and other chemicals, aims to address the continent's longstanding challenge of exporting raw materials with minimal value addition.Speaking at the Africa Investment Forum in Rabat, Chimhandamba emphasized Africa's vast untapped potential in titanium beneficiation, particularly in South Africa, which is the world's second-largest producer of titanium-bearing minerals after Australia."South Africa has an abundance of titanium minerals, yet very little value addition is done on the continent," Chimhandamba said in an interview with CNBC Africa's Godfrey Mutizwa.South Africa accounts for 22% of the global titanium-bearing mineral output, with 6.1 million tonnes produced globally. The country's ilmenite and rutile reserves, primarily extracted from beach placer deposits along its eastern, southern, and northeastern coasts, remain largely unprocessed locally.Titanium minerals are recovered at three major operations: Richards Bay Minerals' Tisand mine, Exxaro's Hillendale mine, and Namakwa Sands mine. Despite these extensive deposits, beneficiation efforts have lagged, leaving Africa reliant on imports for value-added titanium products such as pigments.Chimhandamba's project seeks to close this gap by establishing a titanium pigment plant requiring US$860 million in funding.Nyanza Light Metals' initiative goes beyond titanium pigment production. Chimhandamba outlined the company's broader vision, including the construction of a lithium-ion phosphate plant. This aligns with the company's strategy to drive industrialisation across the continent."Beyond the titanium pigment project, we are strategically planning for the future with a broader vision that includes the construction of a lithium-ion phosphate plant," Chimhandamba said. "This long-term strategy is designed to not only advance the titanium pigment project but also to pave the way for further industrial projects in Africa."The project is expected to reduce Africa's export-import imbalance, create quality jobs, and unlock additional industrial projects. By fostering local beneficiation and manufacturing, Nyanza Light Metals aims to spur economic growth and transform Africa's raw materials into high-value products.Chimhandamba's vision exemplifies a shift towards sustainable industrialisation on the continent, leveraging Africa's abundant natural resources to drive economic empowerment and self-reliance.As the project gains momentum, it signals a new era of value addition and industrialisation, ensuring Africa reaps the full economic benefits of its vast mineral wealth. Influencer and fashion designer Sammy Robinson stole the spotlight at the launch of Patron Tequila's El Alto on Friday. The exclusive event celebrated the launch at Sydney hot spot Gitano with a bevy of influencers stepping out for the occasion. Sammy, 28, turned heads in a chic black-and-white ensemble that accentuated her bronzed glow. She opted for a sporty yet stylish crop top with bold monochrome panels, perfectly showcasing her toned figure. Paired with high-waisted black trousers that elongated her silhouette, the look struck the perfect balance between casual elegance and party glam. She accessorised minimally, with a sleek black handbag and a delicate gold bracelet, letting her radiant tan do most of the talking. Influencer and fashion designer Sammy Robinson stole the spotlight at the launch of Patron Tequila's El Alto on Friday The exclusive event celebrated the launch at Sydney hot spot Gitano with a bevy of Sydney influencers stepping out for the occasion. (Pictured: Imogen Anthony, right, with friend) Her golden locks were styled in loose effortless waves, framing her glowing complexion. Sammy's makeup was kept fresh and luminous, featuring bronzed cheeks, a soft nude lip, and perfectly defined brows, further highlighting her enviable post-holiday glow. In one hand, Sammy held a refreshing cocktail made with Patron El Alto, the star of the evening, while mingling with fellow influencers and industry insiders. The tequila's sleek branding was evident in the stylish setup behind her, with neon signage and luxurious decor adding a vibrant touch to the event. The event attracted a slew of stars including Amy Pejovik, Matt Suleau and influencer Lily May Mac. Despite her young age, Sammy has carved out a career as one of Australia's most successful beauty bloggers. In an interview with Vogue Australia, she said there's no real secret to her success, saying she just tries to be herself. 'Just do you. Everyone else is already taken,' she told the publication. 'There is no point being someone that you're not, it sounds cliche but truly people will be able to tell if you're in it for the wrong reasons or if you're being fake for the fame.' Sammy, 28, turned heads in a chic black-and-white ensemble that accentuated her bronzed glow The event was also attended by former Bachelor star Bella Varelis The star-studded event brought out the who's who of the Sydney social scene. Pictured: Tropicool agency founder Raul Gonzales with friend 'Find your passion and just do whatever makes you happy... not just what is trending.' But she did admit her job was every bit as fabulous as people might imagine it to be. 'Getting to travel the world with some iconic beautiful brands, working and creating content with my passions - beauty and fashion - and having flexibility,' she added, talking about the perks. Meanwhile, Imogen Anthony, Bachelor star Bella Varelis and Raul Gonzales also attended the launch party Jessica Alba was the epitome of elegance as she attended the Discobolo Awards in Rome, Italy on Saturday evening. The American actress, 43, looked sensational in a gorgeous floral gown as she graced the swanky red carpet. Jessica's look boasted a sheer overlay with perfectly placed embellishments and a black velvet bow to cinch her tiny waist. The stunner accentuated her dainty features with glamorous make-up, styled her brunette locks into loose curls and toted a leather handbag. Jessica forwent a necklace and let the outfit speak for itself opting instead for pair of dazzling diamond earrings. The event, which celebrates Italian excellence in cinema, honoured Jessica and her co-stars of new movie Maserati, including Anthony Hopkins and Andy Garcia. Jessica Alba, 43, was the epitome of elegance as she attended the Discobolo Awards in Rome, Italy on Saturday evening The American actress looked sensational in a gorgeous floral gown as she graced the swanky red carpet The film 'chronicles the Maserati family's journey, from its founding in 1914 to becoming a renowned Italian luxury car manufacturer, alongside rivals Ferrari and Lamborghini,' according to IMDb. Oscar winner Bobby Moresco directs. In a statement obtained by Deadline, Andrea said of the project: 'Working with such an extraordinary cast and filming in an iconic place like Cinecitta is the perfect way to honor the legacy of the Maserati family. Additionally, with Tuscany Film Studios VR technology, were creating an innovative cinematic experience deeply rooted in Italian heritage.' Production on the project began last month, with filming set to occur at Rome's Cinecitta studios in addition to locales Modena and Bologna, according to Deadline. Jessica is heading right back to work after enjoying a getaway to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with her husband Cash Warren and their children Honor, 16, Haven, 13, and son Hayes, six. She shared snaps from their trip to her Instagram on Monday, which featured plenty of fun beach photos, along with a picture of Jessica and her daughters posing with Cash serving as photographer. 'Mexico with my mains,' she captioned the post. In June, Jessica revealed if her children decided to pursue a career in showbiz, she admitted she would rather they stepped behind the camera. She told People: 'The thing is, I think if you tell your kid anything, they're going to do the opposite, right. If they do want to be a performer, then being able to be a producer and a writer, or a director.' Jessica's look boasted a sheer overlay with perfectly placed embellishments and a black velvet bow to cinch her tiny waist The event, which celebrates Italian excellence in cinema, honoured Jessica and her co-stars of new movie Maserati, including Anthony Hopkins and Andy Garcia (pictured) The film 'chronicles the Maserati family's journey, from its founding in 1914 to becoming a renowned Italian luxury car manufacturer She continued: 'I think having that leadership role is really important to the art and be part of the art in a way where they feel like they can have more autonomy and there's more dignity.' While Jessica and Honor are close now, in an interview with Real Simple in January, the Fantastic Four star revealed that she and her daughters went to therapy together, admitting that it 'put her in check' as a parent. 'Honor was probably 11, and we were arguing all the time about dumb stuff,' Jessica confessed to the magazine. 'And I was like, I don't want to live like this. This is not fun. I didnt want us to have a wedge between us. 'As her mother, when I say something, shes going to hear it as an argument or as me trying to control her. 'I wanted there to be someone who could explain things in a way I couldnt. 'What I said to Honor was, I want to be a better parent to you, and this is your forum to basically talk about everything that gets on your nerves that I do."' Ally Lewber has broken her silence after her boyfriend, James Kennedy, was arrested for misdemeanor domestic battery on Tuesday. The Vanderpump Rules alum, 32, has since been accused of throwing a woman 'to the ground' during the alleged incident that took place at a residence following Kathy Hilton's Christmas party, per TMZ. The name of the woman has yet to be revealed - and Kennedy was released after paying a $20,000 bail, according to police records. On Saturday, Lewber, 28 - who has been dating Kennedy since 2022 - spoke out on his arrest in a statement on her Instagram stories. She penned, 'Thank you to everyone who has reached out with love and support and for checking in on me.' 'I'm okay and taking the time I need right now. I deeply appreciate all the kindness and respect for my privacy during this time.' Ally Lewber, 28, broke her silence after her boyfriend, James Kennedy, 32, was arrested for misdemeanor domestic battery on Tuesday by the Burbank police department; seen on Tuesday in L.A. At this time, there has been no confirmation Lewber was the reported victim. Ally and James began dating in January 2022, but their romance wasn't confirmed until March of that year - three months after Kennedy's split from Rachel 'Raquel' Leviss. In July 2022, he told Us Weekly, 'We're really, truly best friends and I really do see it going the distance. I've always been true to myself.' 'So, if I didn't see anything going anywhere, I really wouldn't jump into something quickly. But I don't really put a time on anything in life. Like age, time is all relative. So it doesn't really matter.' The pair have been seen together on multiple occasions since going public with their relationship. The journalist also appeared alongside Kennedy in season 10 and 11 of Bravo's hit series, Vanderpump Rules. However, last month, it was revealed that the show will be gaining an entire new cast for the upcoming 12th season. After the announcement, James expressed on Instagram, 'I can't lie, I'm holding back some tears as I write this.' 'I've dedicated my life to this show and I'm forever grateful to everyone who tuned in. Although this is a bittersweet ending, for me, this is just the beginning! THANK YOU.' On Saturday, Lewber - who has been dating Kennedy since 2022 - spoke out on his arrest in a statement on her Instagram stories The Vanderpump Rules alum has since been accused of throwing a woman 'to the ground' during the alleged incident that took place at a residence following Kathy Hilton's Christmas party, per TMZ; seen in November in Beverly Hills Shortly before Lewber's recent statement on Saturday, additional information had come forward about the alleged incident that led to Kennedy's arrest on a domestic violence charge on Tuesday night. The Burbank Police Daily Arrest Log reported that an officer spoke with both Kennedy and a woman that night inside a residence after receiving a 9-1-1 call, according to TMZ. While there, the woman, whose name was not revealed, told investigators she had been picked up by her boyfriend and that he threw her to the ground. Police on the scene said they did not see any visible injuries on the alleged victim, but arrested Kennedy for misdemeanor domestic battery upon spouse/co-habitant. Officers were initially summoned to the residence on reports Kennedy had gotten into an argument with the woman and grabbed. James and Ally - who was not named in the police records - attended a party hosted by Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kathy Hilton at her home earlier that night. A source recently told People, 'James was acting super aggressive all night long. He was acting so erratic, running back and forth to the bar and body-checking people along the way.' Police on the scene said they did not see any visible injuries on the alleged victim, but arrested Kennedy for misdemeanor domestic battery upon spouse/co-habitant; seen in 2023 in Beverly Hills 'He appeared inebriated. Spent the evening mostly alone but when he did speak to people, he appeared irritated and rude.' He was notably released after paying a $20,000 bail, according to police records. Kennedy's attorney, Scott Leeman, tried to downplay the severity of the incident, telling the outlet, 'We understand that there were no injuries and we are hoping that, after careful review, the city's attorney will decide not to file formal charges.' On Thursday, attorneys for Kennedy's ex-fiancee Rachel Leviss issued a statement blaming Bravo, NBC and Evolution, the companies that produce and distribute Vanderpump Rules for turning a blind eye to the DJ's behavior. 'We are aware of James Kennedy's recent arrest for domestic violence,' the statement read according to Variety. 'This news is, unfortunately, not surprising. Rachels lawsuit (against former VPR stars Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix) describes, in significant detail, Mr. Kennedys long history of erratic, violent behavior and substance abuse.' 'Just as troubling, however, is that NBC and Evolution (the Vanderpump Rules production company), who have known about Mr. Kennedys troubling behavior all along, have been engaged in a multi-year cover-up on his behalf. They, too, bear responsibility.' On Thursday, attorneys for Kennedy's ex-fiancee Rachel Leviss issued a statement blaming Bravo, NBC and Evolution, the companies that produce and distribute Vanderpump Rules for turning a blind eye to the DJ's behavior; former couple seen in 2017 in L.A. She also claimed at the time, 'For the record, James has never physically hurt me or assaulted me. And we're good. We're happy'; seen earlier this month in West Hollywood In her 2020 book He's Making You Crazy: How to Get the Guy, Get Even, and Get Over It, Kennedy's former girlfriend, Kristen Doute, wrote about a former relationship without naming the partner. The Valley star described the troubled relationship as verbally abusive, adding 'And then it escalated. Broken furniture, shattered picture frames, doors slamming and holes punched in my wall.' 'Once that line had been crossed, it was only a matter of time before he put his hands on me: shoving, pushing, and physical restraint.' On Thursday, after news of Kennedy's arrest went public, Doute - who is expecting her first child with boyfriend Luke Broderick - posted a screenshot of the TMZ article and wrote 'FINALLY' on it. Real Housewives stars Teddi Mellencamp and Tamra Judge reported a fight they had witnessed in a limousine between Kennedy and Lewber earlier this year on their Popping Off podcast, alleging the argument had gotten physical. However, Lewber went on Scheana Shay's Scheananigans podcast and denied there was any physical altercation during the heated exchange. One day after Kennedy's arrest, Ally glammed up and flashed a cheerful smile while attending the Windsor event solo in Los Angeles (seen above) 'That never happened. There was no physical altercation,' she stated. 'Yes, we were in the car together.' 'I thought we were having fun. We were having fun. But then James and I did get into an argument, but there was no physical assault.' She also claimed at the time, 'For the record, James has never physically hurt me or assaulted me. And we're good. We're happy.' One day after Kennedy's arrest, Ally glammed up and flashed a cheerful smile while attending the Windsor event solo in Los Angeles. Chloe Sims enjoyed a night out with Jonathan Cheban in Mayfair on Saturday. The former TOWIE star, 43, was in great spirits as she explored the nightlife of the affluent London city with Kim Kardashian's best friend after heading back to the UK following a stint in LA. Chloe cut a stylish figure in a short black coat and shimmering pair of trousers whilst her blonde locks flowed free. Chloe linked arms with Jonathan 50, who cut a suave figure in a black jacket, shirt and completed the look with dark trousers and smart shoes. Jonathan's legal name is now Foodgod and he changed it in 2019 to match with the brand of his social media. Chloe finished off the look with a pair of simple boots as she carried with her a leather handbag and wore a gold necklace from Maya Brenner. Chloe Sims enjoyed a night out with Jonathan Chebun in Mayfair on Saturday as they cosied up together in the affluent London city The TOWIE star, 43, was in great spirits as she explored the nightlife with Kim Kardashian's best friend At one point, she turned and smiled at her friend as they enjoyed their time out together. When Jonathan turned round, his jacket revealed an abstract pattern on the back of it. The night out comes after Chloe revealed the real reason she abruptly pulled her daughter, 19, from filming The Only Way Is Essex. She told MailOnline she felt uncomfortable by how Madison was treated when she appeared on the ITVBe series and instantly regretted putting her child on TV at such a young age. In an exclusive interview, the mother-of-one said she didn't allow Madi to use social media until she was 16 years old and even now she can't bear the teen having an online profile. Meanwhile, podcast host Jonathan has made a career out of various culinary ventures but came to prominence as Kim's best friend on Keeping up with the Kardashians. Earlier this year, he posed with Bethenny Frankel at Heidi Klum's Halloween party in October in NYC. At one point, she turned and smiled at her friend as they enjoyed their time out together in the capital When Jonathan - whose legal name is now Foodgod - turned round, his jacket revealed an abstract pattern on the back of it This comes after the reality TV star posed with former Real Housewives star Bethenny Frankel at Heidi Klum's Halloween party in October in NYC Jonathan has been close friends with Kim Kardashian 20 years and he started appearing on TV with her in 2009 The year before, Bethenny had trashed reality superstar Kim. In December 2023 Frankel took aim at Kardashian over her lavish decorations for the annual Kardashian-Jenner Christmas Eve bash. 'God I am so glad she invited me to this. This looks really good Kim. Honestly some of your best work. Happy holidays!' she wrote on Instagram. Bethenny certainly seemed to be having fun as she panned around to show off the snowy Colorado city. It didn't end there as she captioned the funny video to her 3.3million followers: 'No one does holiday decorations like the Kardashians Happy Holidays! #kimkardashian #holidaydecor #keepitreal #humor #snow #happyholidays #holidays.' Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky have welcomed a new family member. The Spanish actress, 48, took to Instagram on Saturday to share the exciting news that she and Chris, 41, had a new dog. Elsa shared a series of images of the adorable puppy, as well as a few with the mother of three cuddling up with the new family member. 'Our new member of the family, a beautiful German Shepherd,' Elsa wrote in the caption. Many of the actress's fans took to the comments to express their delight at the pup's cuteness. 'Omg those floppy ears,' wrote one, while another said, 'Wow, looks like a wolf.' Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky have welcomed a new family member. Both pictured The Spanish actress, 48, took to Instagram on Saturday to share the exciting news that she and Chris, 41, had a new dog Meanwhile, someone else said, 'Oh my goshhh so fluffy!' However, some followers were not impressed with Elsa's choice to acquire the canine from a breeder. 'What rescue was he adopted from as surely you wouldnt have purchased off a breeder!!!!' one fan admonished. Another said, 'Dog lovers make it our business to spread the word of the RIGHT thing to do. Adopt, Always!!!' 'My exact thoughts,' someone else agreed, while other fans clapped back. 'Really? Like it's any of your business...ffs,' wrote one. 'Stop being a Karen, serious who gives a f***,' another follower said. 'Stop patronising people. Nothing wrong with ethical breeders,' wrote another one of Elsa's defenders. Elsa shared a series of images of the adorable puppy 'Our new member of the family, a beautiful German Shepherd,' Elsa wrote in the caption The new addition to the family joins Elsa, Chris, their twin sons Tristan and Sasha, 10, and daughter India, 12. The family live in Byron Bay in a sprawling $30million eight-bedroom mansion that sits on a massive 4.2 hectares of land in Broken Head. But Elsa revealed that she wasn't always convinced about moving Down Under and had one very specific condition for Chris before she relocated. Elsa, who is originally from Madrid, admitted she told Chris that she would only move to Australia if they lived on a sprawling farm where she could have horses. 'That was my deal with Chris,' she told the Courier Mail. 'I said I would move to Australia but I wanted to live on a property, a farm, and have horses and he knew that.' Elsa also gave a candid insight into her relationship with Chris and shared their secret to a happy marriage despite facing many challenges over the years. 'I think we all have the idea of this beautiful dream of a marriage and loving each other and it all being perfect but it's much more work than you think,' she said. Many of the actress's fans took to the comments to express their delight at the pup's cuteness 'Omg those floppy ears,' wrote one fan, while another said, 'Wow, looks like a wolf' 'It comes with so many challenges but it's beautiful to grow into those challenges and learn about each other and how we change with the years and how we adapt to each other. 'You can think from the outside that a marriage is perfect but they all have their things and they all need a lot of work.' Elsa and Chris will celebrate 14 years of marriage on December 22, though she confessed they rarely remember their anniversary. Even though it might seem like a relationship faux pas, Elsa insisted the date is easily forgotten because it's so close to Christmas and said they laugh it off every year. Gushing over her husband, Elsa also admitted that she has always wanted a 'partner for life' as she told how she wants to grow old with Thor actor Chris. Elsa and Chris got married in a spontaneous ceremony while in holiday in Australia in December 2010, just three months after they made their relationship public and ten months after they first met. They moved to Byron Bay five years later after buying their forever home in the coastal paradise for $7.6million. Ruth Langsford has revealed her mother has been rushed to hospital after suffering a fall in an emotional update on her Instagram on Saturday. The TV presenter, 64, revealed her mum Joan, 93, would be spending some time in hospital to recover after breaking her pelvis over the Christmas period. The Loose Women panellist posted a heartwarming video of her mother dancing and singing in the kitchen as she cut vegetables to her 1million followers. Alongside the clip Ruth explained that this year's Christmas was going to be different as she looks set to spend it without her mother. She wrote that Joan had recently had injured herself after a fall and would need to spend some time in hospital. The star revealed that this isn't the first time her mother has broken her pelvis but was hoping she would recover as well as she did last time. Ruth Langsford has revealed her mother has been rushed to hospital after suffering a fall in an emotional update on her Instagram on Saturday The TV presenter, 64, revealed her mum Joan, 93, would be spending some time in hospital to recover after breaking her pelvis over the Christmas period The Loose Women panellist posted a heartwarming video of her mother dancing and singing in the kitchen as she cut vegetables to her 1million followers Ruth wrote: 'No dancing in my kitchen peeling the veg for my darling Mum this Christmas.she's had a fall and fractured her pelvis! 'She's okish, no surgery required thank goodness but she needs rest and time to heal now. 'She's in hospital at the moment but I'm hoping to get her home soon. 'This time last year she fell and broke her hip but recovered wellshe's a very strong woman so I'm sure she'll recover from this too. 'Put's life and what's important into perspective eh? Happy Christmas! X x'. The news of Ruth's mother's fall comes after her former husband Eamonn Holmes sparked engagement rumours with his new girlfriend Katie Alexander. The presenter, 65, sparked speculation after Katie was spotted wearing a large ring on her engagement finger during a romantic getaway to Paris last week. The TV star has been dating counsellor Katie, 43, since his split from Ruth and has reportedly spoken openly of his hopes to tie the knot. Alongside the clip Ruth explained that this year's Christmas was going to look a little different this year after mother's nasty fall The news of Ruth's mother's fall comes after her former husband Eamonn Holmes sparked engagement rumours with his new girlfriend Katie Alexander (pictured) Eamonn and Loose Women star Ruth announced their plans to divorce in June after 14 years of marriage and 27 years together. 'Eamonn has been talking openly about his plans to marry Katie and has made it clear he wants to spend the rest of his life with her,' a source told The Sun. 'They're already living together and he knows it feels right. They have a very strong connection and get on very well. 'She has given him a real lust for life and she looks after him.' In pictures obtained by the publication, the couple headed to the Louvre, with Katie wearing a gold diamond ring on her engagement finger. The counsellor was not pictured wearing the band at a Christmas carol concert in West London on December 5. MailOnline has contacted Eamonn's representatives for comment. Katie has reportedly told friends she is in for 'the long haul' with the GB News host. Eamonn and Loose Women star Ruth announced their plans to divorce in June after 14 years of marriage and 27 years together(Ruth and Eamonn 2006) She has been helping Eamonn through the split from Ruth, with the couple heading on holiday together in recent months. But her friends say she is at pains to point out that their friendship has only grown close once the marriage was over in May. An onlooker said at the time: 'Katie certainly seems to be able to put a smile back on Eamonn's face. They seem genuinely besotted with each other.' The getaway reportedly left Eamonn's estranged wife Ruth shocked, with the Ibiza holiday occurring just four months after the former golden couple announced they were divorcing. They then made their first public appearance as a couple at The Irish Post Awards last month, but the former GMB presenter requested that photographers not take pictures of them together. Katie met Eamonn on X in 2015 after she commented on a post and it sparked a conversation. Last October he attended a charity fundraising event in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire and became a patron. Katie has worked for the charity as a therapist. Margarita Smith has been left heartbroken after her house was robbed and ransacked just days before Christmas. The former Love Island Australia star shared footage of the devastating aftermath of the burglary to her Instagram Stories this weekend. The 31-year-old's videos showed a police van out the front of her Melbourne home before officers headed inside to asses the damage. The house was absolutely trashed, with broken items strewn around the floor and Christmas gifts torn apart. 'Broken into right before Christmas. Spending the day with the police,' she wrote in one caption. Clearly distraught, the former reality show siren expressed her disgust at her home being violated. Margarita Smith (pictured) has been left heartbroken after her house was robbed and ransacked just days before Christmas A second post read: 'Imagine turning someone's house upside down like this after breaking in and stealing ALL their expensive items? Disgusting'. Margarita shot to fame after appearing on Channel Nine's Love Island Australia in 2019. She has since gone on to make a career for herself as an influencer and OnlyFans content creator. Last year, the stunner announced her engagement to her long-term boyfriend Jake Driessen. Margarita shared a loved-up video to Instagram capturing the precious moment Jake proposed to her while they were on holiday in Bali. The heartwarming footage shows Margarita meeting Jake at a scenic beachside location moments before he surprises her by proposing. Jake is seen kneeling on the ground and pulling out a ring, as Margarita immediately accepts his proposal and warmly embraces him. 'WE ARE ENGAGED! I still cry watching this. My favourite human ever flew to Bali and surprised me by asking me to be his wife,' she wrote next to the footage. The former Love Island Australia star shared footage of the devastating aftermath of the burglary to her Instagram Stories this weekend The 31-year-old's videos showed a police van out the front of her Melbourne home before officers headed inside to asses the damage The house was absolutely trashed, with broken items strewn around the floor and Christmas gifts torn apart 'Broken into right before Christmas. Spending the day with the police' she wrote in one caption A second post read: 'Imagine turning someone's house upside down like this after breaking in and stealing ALL their expensive items? Disgusting' 'I can't even describe the feeling. The most magical, overwhelming, love filled moment of my life... I love you forever Jake.' Many of Margarita's celebrity friends were quick to congratulate her on the milestone occasion. 'Congrats gorgeous girl!!! So happy for you!!!' wrote Love Island Australia co-star Anna McEvoy. 'Oh my God. My heart when you fall to your knees in his arms. How beautiful is this, congrats to you both beautiful,' added Married At First Sight star Amanda Micallef. The happy news came after Margarita announced she'd joined a fetish website where users can buy and sell images of feet. Last year, she tweeted a short clip of herself dressed in black bondage attire, complete with a whip, studded red-bottom heels and rabbit-inspired mask. Margarita shot to fame after appearing on Channel Nine's Love Island Australia in 2019 She has since gone on to make a career for herself as an influencer and OnlyFans content creator In the accompanying caption, Margarita said she was looking for 'obedient new subs' a term used in the BDSM community that refers to subservient sexual partners. She also encouraged fans to contact her for 'custom requests', before adding hashtags including #feetworship and #DominantWoman. In recent years, Smith revealed she has had Botox injected into her armpits to stop her from sweating. At the time, she posted to Instagram to thank her surgeon for the procedure as she enjoyed a quick jog in the warm weather. Margarita lifted her arms up to the camera and told her followers that she no longer gets damp in her pits thanks to her injectables. The brunette bombshell added that she hated the look of sweaty armpits. 'No sweat under my arms and do know why?' she said. 'Because I had a little visit to Cosmetic Avenue and that little issue has been resolved.' Margarita became a breakout star on Love Island Australia back in 2019, and has since been open about her use of cosmetic surgery. She recently posted a picture of herself posing in a bathroom wearing a purple bikini, and couldn't resist tagging the clinic where she got her breast implants. Margarita underwent the procedure at Cosmetic Avenue in Melbourne. It's unclear if Margarita was referring to a recent breast augmentation, or the one she had several years ago, before appearing on Love Island. She only had a brief stint on the Channel Nine dating show, entering the villa on day 28 and being dumped on day 33. Fearne Cotton was seen for the first time since announcing her shock split from husband Jesse Wood as they divorce after ten years of marriage. The presenter, 43, cut a sombre figure as she stepped out on Sunday with the couple's eight-year-old daughter Honey. Fearne, who was without her wedding ring, carried a carton of milk and newspaper after picking up some essentials with her little girl. The former Radio 2 star shocked fans by sharing the divorce announcement on Instagram on Friday - just days after she disclosed a health scare, revealing she had discovered two tumours on her jawline. Days later, Fearne braved the cold British weather by wrapping up in a pink and brown teddy bear coat which she teamed with a blue scarf and denim jeans. Meanwhile her daughter was spotted wearing a colourful pink coat, leggings and blue crops as they walked side by side down the street. Fearne Cotton was seen for the first time since announcing her shock split from husband Jesse Wood as they divorce after ten years of marriage The presenter, 43, cut a sombre figure as she stepped out on Sunday with the couple's eight-year-old daughter Honey Fearne, who was without her wedding ring, carried a carton of milk and newspaper after picking up some essentials with her little girl Fearne, 43, shocked fans by sharing the divorce announcement on Instagram on Friday - just days after she disclosed a health scare, revealing she had discovered two tumours on her jawline Fearne also shares son Rex, 11, with Jesse and she is also stepmother to his children Arthur, 21, and Lola, 18, from his first marriage. In the statement revealing the split Fearne told fans that their priority was their children. She posted on Instagram: 'It is with a heavy heart that I let you all know that Jesse and I are ending our marriage. Our priority has been and always will be our children. 'We please ask that you respect the privacy of our family at this time.' It comes after Fearne had reportedly feared for her marriage for some time before announcing the couple's split. Friends of the couple have told The Mail on Friday night that Fearne and Jesse had feared for their marriage for a while. It has emerged that the couple had faced challenges for several years, with Fearne previously admitting that their marriage had been 'suffering' as far back as 2019. Speaking at the time, Fearne said Jesse's demanding schedule with his band Reef had put a strain on their relationship which left them desperately 'clinging onto their marriage' in an unearthed interview. For the outing, the radio star was spotted without her wedding ring as she carried her purchases while wrapped up in a teddy brown and pink coat and a blue scarf Fearne also shares son Rex, 11, with Jesse and she is stepmother to his children Arthur, 21, and Lola, 18, from his first marriage (pictured 2019) It comes after reports that Fearne had feared for her marriage for some time before announcing the shock split from Jesse Friends of the couple have since told The Mail on Friday night that Fearne and Jesse had feared for their marriage for a while The couple's problems eventually came to a head with a two-hour 'screaming match' where they worried their 'love had gone'. The presenter candidly told readers in her column for Red Magazine: 'Love takes hard work - and no one wants to hear that'. She continued: 'This year, Jesse and I hit a rough patch - he was away, touring relentlessly, [with his band, Reef]. 'I was trying to keep my own career going while looking after our kids and we were both desperately clinging on to our marriage.' After the lengthy row, which took place in a local park, the pair broke down crying but the former Top Of The Pops host credited her husband's emotional side for them being so honest with each other. She added: 'In the midst of this gargantuan row, I think we both wondered where the love had gone and worried that it might not come back.' MailOnline has contacted representatives for Fearne and Jesse for comment. The news comes just three days after Jesse's band Reef announced they would be going on tour again in 2025 for their 30th anniversary. They will be touring the country beginning in Nottingham on October 16 and ending on November 8 in London. It has now emerged that the couple had faced challenges for several years, with Fearne previously admitting that their marriage had been 'suffering' as far back as 2019 Speaking at the time, Fearne said Jesse's demanding schedule with his band Reef had put a strain on their relationship which left them desperately 'clinging onto their marriage' in an unearthed interview; pictured 2018 After a lengthy row, which took place in a local park, the pair broke down crying but the former Top Of The Pops host credited her husband's emotional side for them being so honest with each other The news of the split comes just three days after Jesse's band Reef announced they would be going on tour again in 2025 for their 30th anniversary It comes after Fearne previously confessed the pandemic killed her and her husband's sex life in an unearthed podcast. Back in 2021 Fearne admitted the pair were struggling to find time for each other as she confessed 'sexy time' was no longer a happening. Speaking with Alan Carr on his podcast Life's A Beach, she said: 'Sexy time hasn't happened for so long in terms of me going anywhere. 'I think for me and my husband, booking into the local Travelodge would make us feel sexy at the moment.' Asked where they would go for a romantic trip abroad, she confessed the couple were struggling for time alone just the two of them. 'We have had no time alone because of the ridiculous pandemic but before all this craziness, Paris was our go-to. 'Not every weekend, maybe once a year. But it felt well special because it's so chic and beautiful.' 'It just has an air of something gorgeous, doesn't it? I love it there.' Fearne tied the knot with the musician, 48, who is the son of Rolling Stones member Ronnie Wood, in 2014 The presenter took to her Instagram stories on Friday to issue the statement and tell fans their priority is their children Fearne's shock split announcement comes just after the Happy Place podcaster had surgery to remove two tumours on her jawline. Jesse, who is the son of Rolling Stone rocker Ronnie Wood and model Krissy Findlay, is yet to speak out on their split. The couple, who tied the knot in a small London ceremony in 2014, celebrated their ten-year wedding anniversary in July. The pair met in 2011 while in Ibiza, with Jesse having recently separated from his first wife, actress Tilly Wood. Fearne previously said their first date consisted of vodka and cigarettes. But Jesse stopped drinking and both have been vegan since 2021. Jamie Foxx appeared to address an unsettling incident on Friday night that left him requiring stitches to his face. The incident unfolded at Mr. Chow, where the Oscar-winning actor, 57, was enjoying his birthday dinner when 'someone from another table threw a glass that hit him in the mouth,' a spokesperson confirmed to DailyMail.com. Despite the drama, Foxx quickly reassured his fans by posting on Instagram hours later with a message of positivity, making it clear the ordeal hadnt affected him. 'The devil is a lie,' he wrote. 'Cant win here thank you to everybody that prayed and checked on me when your light is shining bright they try to bring you darkness but they dont know that youre built for it the lights have been shining bright' Not letting the incident slow him down, Foxx also promoted his new comedy special, What Had Happened Was, which debuted last week and finally cleared up the mystery behind his near-fatal hospitalization in 2023. 'A huge thank you to everyone that has watched and been inspired by What Had Happened Was number 1 on @netflix! If you havent checked it out, please go check it out its from my heart and my soul' he added. Jamie Foxx appeared to address an unsettling incident on Friday night that left him requiring stitches to his face; (pictured 2023) Despite the drama, Foxx quickly reassured his fans by posting on Instagram hours later with a message of positivity, making it clear the ordeal hadnt affected him The post comes mere hours after Foxx's spokesperson told DailyMail.com that the actor 'had to get stitches and is recovering.' They added that 'police were called and the matter is now in law enforcements hands.' Authorities were called to Mr. Chow at around 10pm, but Foxx had left the premises by the time they reached the restaurant, law enforcement sources told TMZ. Foxx is claimed to have been listed as one of the parties involved in the alleged incident, in an assault report that was taken by the authorities. DailyMail.com has also reached out to Mr. Chow for comment. The claims come after Foxx finally revealed the reason behind his mystery hospitalization last year, explaining he suffered a stroke caused by a bleed on the brain. The Django Unchained actor was rushed to the ER in April 2023 after suffering a mystery 'medical complication', which his family decided to keep private at the time. Foxx has now revealed exactly what happened to him and admitted he lost 20 days' worth of memory and was unable to walk amid his terrifying health battle. Not letting the incident slow him down, Foxx also promoted his new comedy special, What Had Happened Was, which debuted last week and finally cleared up the mystery behind his near-fatal hospitalization in 2023 'Jamie Foxx was at his birthday dinner when someone from another table threw a glass that hit him in the mouth,' a spokesperson for the actor told DailyMail.com; pictured in London in February 2023 During an emotional scene on his Netflix special, What Had Happened Was... he recalled: 'On April 11, I was having a bad headache, and I asked my boy for Aspirin. 'I realized quickly that when you're in a medical emergency, your boys don't know what the f**k to do.' Foxx then confessed: 'I don't remember 20 days.' Becoming emotional, Foxx broke down in tears as he declared to the audience that he was 'back', adding: 'You don't know how good this feels.' The Hollywood star went on to admit it's still 'a mystery' what led to his brain bleed, adding: 'We still don't know exactly what happened to me.' Jamie Foxx has finally revealed the reason behind his mystery hospitalisation last year, sharing he suffered a stroke caused by a bleed on the brain Becoming emotional, Jamie broke down in tears as he declared to the audience that he was 'back', adding: 'You don't know how good this feels' After starting his sentence with 'What had happened was,' Jamie broke down in tears and was comforted by the applauding audience. He continued: 'Your life doesn't flash before you. It was kind of oddly peaceful. I saw the tunnel, but I didn't see the light. It was hot in that tunnel.' Jamie then quipped: 'S**t, am I going to the wrong place?' The Oscar-winning actor credited his sister Deidra with 'saving his life' after she drove him to Atlanta's Piedmont Hospital, where he underwent a life-saving procedure. Addressing why his family wanted to keep details of his health scare to themselves, he said: 'I was dizzy from the stroke, so my head would bob around, and my family thought everyone would "meme the f***" out of me."' Jamie went on to reveal that he vividly remembers waking up from his coma on May 4, and being unable to walk. He recalled: 'When I woke up, I found myself in a wheelchair. I couldn't walk.' Yet Jamie didn't want to believe he'd had a stroke and recounted his therapist telling him about his ego: 'You need to kill the old Jamie so the new Jamie can thrive.' He also reflected: 'God blessed me with money and fame, but when I forgot about God, He blessed me with a stroke.' Jamie went on to reveal that he vividly remembers waking up from his coma on May 4, and being unable to walk. He recalled: 'When I woke up, I found myself in a wheelchair' The Netflix special marks Jamie's big return to the stage following his hospitalization. 'If I can stay funny, I can stay alive,' he quipped in the first look teaser. 'This comedy event is a celebration of resilience, humor, and the power of community, reminding us all of the healing power of laughter,' a synopsis previously revealed. Taking to Instagram, Jamie revealed his heart and soul were 'filled with nothing but pure joy' after he 'had an opportunity to tell my side of the story' over three nights October 3-5 in Atlanta, GA. 'I haven't been on stage in 18 years but I needed the stage and I needed an audience that was made up of nothing but pure love and that's what you were,' Jamie gushed on October 13. 'When people ask me is this a stand-up comedy show I say, "No, it's an artistic explanation of something that went terribly wrong."' In a separate post on Tuesday, he shared: 'Personal thank you are in order. 'Just want to jump on and say thank you to everybody that prayed and now you get a chance to hear what it really was its a blessing to be in the position that Im in to be able to tell you my story in my way, so please go to Netflix right now And check out my special what had happened was. 'I hope the jokes make you laugh and I hope the story inspires you Its been a hell of a journey @netflix @netflixisajoke.' The comedy event is one of a number of forthcoming projects the A-list actor has on slate, as he headlines the comedy movie Back in Action for the streaming service in a reunion with Any Given Sunday and Annie co-star Cameron Diaz. The film is expected to begin streaming January 17, 2025. Jamie shared a message, saying: 'Just want to jump on and say thank you to everybody that prayed and now you get a chance to hear what it really was its a blessing to be in the position' Concerns about Jamie's health began on April 12, 2023 when his daughter announced in an Instagram post that he had a medical emergency while filming in Georgia but was 'already on his way to recovery'. In a statement written on behalf of her family, she explained: 'We wanted to share that my father, Jamie Foxx, experienced a medical complication yesterday. 'Luckily, due to quick action and great care, he is already on his way to recovery. We know how beloved he is and appreciate your prayers. The family asks for privacy during this time.' Jamie was hospitalised just a few weeks after he returned to the set of the trouble-hit thriller Back in Action, amid reports he had a 'meltdown' that allegedly caused his co-star Cameron, 50, to want to quit acting again. At the time of having to abort filming, Jamie was said by the LA Times to only have had eight days of shooting left. Days after his absence, Cameron was seen filming with his body double. The spy thriller shows the Charlie's Angels star and the Ray actor as ex-CIA agents who are now married with kids. They are drawn back into the spy business, however, but things get complicated because their children have no idea what they do for a living. In June, a close friend of Cameron's admitted to DailyMail.com that even the actress 'wasn't sure' what was going on with the project, adding that the starlet 'wasn't very proud of it' because of all the on-set drama that had transpired in the lead-up to Jamie's hospitalisation. 'Cameron has not spoken to Jamie at all and does not know anything other than what she hears,' the insider revealed. Jamie was hospitalised a few weeks after he returned to the set of thriller Back in Action, amid reports he had a 'meltdown' that allegedly caused co-star Cameron Diaz to want to quit acting The actress was - according to her friend - ready to quit acting for a second time when problems started occurring behind the scenes of Back In Action. The ongoing issues are said to have caused Cameron and Jamie to get into heated arguments on-set. Their disagreements were reportedly never resolved prior to Jamie's hospitalization, and the friend said that Cameron was suffering from huge 'guilt' over the fact that she and her pal never 'made amends'. Development on the movie commenced in June 2022, when it was revealed that Cameron would be coming out of retirement in order to appear in the feature. Production started around December that year and was halted the following April when Jamie suffered his medical emergency. The following month, Jamie took to social media to thank his fans for their support. The Hollywood star wrote on Instagram: 'Appreciate all the love!!! Feeling blessed [prayer and heart emojis] (sic).' In July 2023, Jamie issued an emotional three-minute video about his health after concern from fans. 'I went through something I never thought I would go through. I know a lot of people [were] waiting or wanting to hear an update, but to be honest with you, I didn't want you to see me like that man,' he admitted with tears in his eyes. The actor, who returned to work last month to film a commercial in Las Vegas, continued: 'I want you to see me laughing, having a good time, partying, cracking a joke, doing a movie, [or] a television show.' 'I didn't want you to see me with tubes running out of me and trying to figure out if I was going to make it through.' Stroke symptoms are commonly remembered under this four-letter acronym, FAST. Patients experiencing a stroke can often have their face drop on one side, struggle to lift both arms and have slurred speech, while time is essential, as immediate treatment for a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or minor stroke can substantially slash the risk of a much deadlier major stroke The father-of-one added that he went through 'hell and back' to survive and has experienced some 'potholes' on his 'road to recovery.' Jamie also praised his sister and daughter for 'saving' his life and keeping the details around his hospitalization private. 'To them, to God, to a lot of great medical people, I'm able to leave you this video,' Jamie added. 'I cannot tell you how great it feels to have your family kick in in such a way, and y'all know they kept it airtight, they didn't let nothing out, they protected me, and that's what I hope that everyone could have in moments like these.' He proceeded to show how his 'eyes are working just fine' by moving them from side to side, before making it clear that he is 'not paralyzed.' Speaking to fans directly, he said: 'I just want to say I love everybody and I love all the love that I got.' The actor got choked up as he warned: 'If you see me out from now on and every once in a while I just burst into tears, its just because its been tough, man. I was sick, man. But now I got my legs under me, so youre gonna see me out.' 'Man, I know they talk about people crying on videos... but I'm not going to do a take two, it is what is is,' he mused. 'Like I said, I want you to remember me for the jokes that I crack and the movies that I make some of them good, some of them ain't (I think I've got a good one out), and songs that I sing.' Foxx is pictured this September walking his daughter Corinne, 30, down the aisle for a wedding ceremony held at his home 'I'm here on earth because of some great people. I'm here on Earth because of God, man,' the performer concluded. 'I'm on way back.' Jamie captioned the video: 'Thank u a billion to everybody been a long road but all the prayers great people and God got me through.' The comedian was supported through his recovery by girlfriend Alyce Huckstepp. They were first romantically linked last year when they were spotted dining with a group of friends at Nobu in Malibu. Their romance reportedly got more serious when he suffered a stroke. Alyce'was totally there for him when he got sick, and they got very close after that,' a source told In Touch in March 2024. However, at the same time, the insider suggested their romance was fizzling out. 'She's still in the picture, and they see each other occasionally but to the same degree they were.' The source said that Jamie was focusing on his work following his health issues. 'He's grateful to be alive, but he's preoccupied with getting his career on track,' the insider said. 'It's odd to see him so sedate when he used to be such a womanizer. There's a part of Jamie that's sad about that, but he just can't do it anymore.' A month later, a source told People that their relationship is still strong and steady despite split rumors. 'Jamie still sees Alyce even though he is really busy working,' the insider claimed. 'Alyce is a sweetie, a great girl,' the source continued before adding that she 'couldn't be nicer or more perfect for' Jamie. Jessica Alves looked incredible in cameo bodysuit as she had platinum blonde locks revived in a glitzy hairdressing appointment in Marylebone on Sunday. The TV personality, 41, put on a very busty display in a figure-hugging one-piece that she paired with a set of green stilettos. She layered her garment over a floor-length black leather trench coat which featured a black fur lining around the collar. To accessorise, she paired her outfit with a black leather quilted Chanel handbag as she flaunted her luminous long hair. For her glitzy appearance to Neto Hair, she opted for full glam makeup and added a pop of colour with a red manicure. Her stunning appearance comes after she revealed she was left with a gaping hole in the side of her surgically-enhanced bottom after she was stung by a bee. Jessica Alves looked incredible in cameo bodysuit as she had platinum blonde locks revived in a glitzy hairdressing appointment in Marylebone on Sunday The TV personality, 41, put on a very busty display in a figure-hugging one-piece that she paired with a set of green stilettos Jessica was stung on the bottom which later became infected and saw the Brazilian beauty rushed to hospital. At first, the sting merely became swollen but soon a hole developed in the side of Jessica's bottom. The star, who is known for her love of cosmetic surgery, went to The Clinic Club on Harley Street to help smooth out the injury after the infection healed. Speaking to MailOnline, she said: 'I have 1000cc of hyaluronic acid which was able to even the scars and the imperfections in my bum after the bee sting. 'The professional at The Clinic Club London was very meticulous injecting the gel. He applied some local anesthesia and I was done in 40 minutes. 'The next day, I was resting for 24 hours on my stomach but I could do pretty much everything as normal. 'I am very happy with the results and now I'm getting ready to enjoy my hot Christmas in Brazil with my family. I fly out in two weeks.' Detailing the injury, Jessica explained: 'I was sunbathing at Ocean Club in Ibiza when I was bitten twice on one cheek two weeks ago. She layered her garment over a floor-length black leather trench coat which featured a black fur lining around the collar For her glitzy appearance to Neto Hair, she opted for full glam makeup and added a pop of colour with a red manicure (pictured with the owner) Her stunning appearance comes after she revealed she was left with a gaping hole in the side of her surgically-enhanced bottom after she was stung by a bee Jessica was stung on the bottom which later became infected and saw the Brazilian beauty rushed to hospital Shocking: Jessica's bottom X-ray shows that the implants are starting to come out of the giant hole in her bottom cheek Upset: Jessica shared a shot of her arm with a cannula in it, at Spring Valley Hospital, captioning it: 'Party is over' After her treatment to dea with the infection, Jessica said: 'I am very happy with the results and now I m getting ready to enjoy my hot Christmas in Brazil with my family' 'A big inflamed lump formed and so I went to hospital to have it drained with a needle before being put on antibiotics. 'I had to fly to Las Vegas for a PA at the Palms hotel where I also had my birthday celebrations with close friends who were able to fly out to join me. 'After few days, the lump came back and it exploded, creating a big hole in my bottom and exposing my implants. She added: 'I spent two days in the hospital in Las Vegas where I had intravenous antibiotics. The doctors there wanted to remove my bum implant because it got infected after I was stung.' Jessica's bottom implants had to be removed immediately, causing her anguish and feeling fearful because she will be forced to have yet more surgery. The TV screen queen has 2220cc implants and has said spending 1million in over 100 operations is all worth it as it's an 'investment in my happiness'. She previously wrote on Instagram: 'With regret to all my Las Vegas fans that for health reasons I had to cancel my PAs coming up this week and return to England. 'I was stung by a bee two weeks ago and it is making me ill now'. She also shared a shot of her arm with a cannula in it, at Spring Valley Hospital, captioning it: 'Party is over'. News / National by Staff reporter Harare regional magistrate Mr. Farai Gwitima will deliver his ruling on the bribery case involving Gwanda magistrate Talent Phiri on January 6, after the defence closed its case on Friday. Phiri, 35, is facing charges of soliciting a US$3,000 bribe from miner and Zanu-PF Gwanda North candidate, Lungisani Twominutes Ncube.The case is being handled by Mr. Gwitima following the recusal of Bulawayo magistrates. In the latest developments, the defence, led by Mr. Prince Butshe Dube of Mathonsi Ncube Law Chambers, called its final witness, Mr. Thembalami Khumalo, a lawyer from Gwanda.Mr. Khumalo testified that he was contacted by one of Phiri's relatives to assist Phiri following his arrest. He stated that he visited Gwanda Police Station at around 7 a.m., identified himself as a legal practitioner, and requested to see the trap authority, which was initially denied by a male police officer. A female officer later granted his request but denied his attempt to take a photo of the document. He also claimed that the trap authority lacked a stamp, a statement disputed by the prosecution.The State, represented by Mr. Acumen Khupe, presented a trap authority document stamped with a date of September 5, 2024, and signed by Superintendent K. Mpofu. Mr. Khupe argued that the stamp indicated the authority was issued before the arrest, accusing the witness of fabricating his account.Additionally, during cross-examination, it was revealed that the money allegedly used as the bribe was not recorded in the Occurrence Book or Exhibit Book, as required by law. Mr. Dube argued that the bribe money was never found on Phiri and suggested it was a fabrication by the arresting officers.The case centers on allegations that Phiri solicited the bribe from Ncube, who was facing a domestic violence case involving his ex-wife, Mrs. Qiniso Ncube. On August 27, Phiri allegedly granted an interim protection order against Ncube, attaching a warrant of arrest to the order. Subsequently, on September 4, Phiri reportedly contacted Ncube, offering assistance with the domestic violence case in exchange for money.Phiri allegedly demanded US$3,000, which Ncube negotiated down to US$2,500. The court was told that Ncube, with the assistance of the police, set up a trap, leading to Phiri's arrest after receiving the bribe money, which was reportedly found in his boxer shorts.The police have kept the money as an exhibit, and the case continues to unfold as magistrate Gwitima prepares to deliver his verdict in the coming weeks. Jocelyn Wildenstein displayed her smooth visage as she enjoyed and fiance Lloyd Klein attended a business lunch at the Royal Monceau in Paris on Wednesday. The Swiss socialite, 82, dubbed Catwoman due to her feline appearance, looked effortlessly stylish as she layered a fur coat over a plunging black top and trousers. Slipping her feet into boots she completed the ensemble with a fur hat and Louis Vuitton handbag. Meanwhile Lloyd, 57, matched in all black and wore a ski coat while shielding his eyes behind shades. It comes after Jocelyn claimed that she has 'never had plastic surgery and hates Botox' - after years of claiming her dramatic transformation was natural. And she has reiterated that claim in an interview with The Sun last month, stating not only has she not had work done, but she doesn't like Botox and fillers made her swell up. Jocelyn Wildenstein, 82, displayed her smooth visage as she enjoyed and fiance Lloyd Klein, 57, attended a business lunch at the Royal Monceau in Paris on Wednesday The Swiss socialite dubbed Catwoman due to her feline appearance, looked effortlessly stylish as she layered a fur coat over a plunging black top and trousers She said: 'I haven't had plastic surgery, I am scared of what can happen and I don't like to have something heavy, sometimes it is a bit heavy and terrible.' Jocelyne also said she has never had any fillers, and revealed friends of hers who have were not happy with them. 'I don't like the Botox,' she added. 'Everyone has a different reaction to it. I have had Botox only twice. I don't know if I am allergic, but when I had it, it did not go well with me. 'It was not a good result, my face swelled up.' She regularly shocks fans when she shares stunning throwback photos showcasing her beauty. Jocelyn rose to notoriety in the '90s during her high-profile divorce from art dealer Alec Wildenstein - and they reportedly received his-and-hers eye-lifts after only a year of marriage, according to a Vanity Fair article from 1998. In the same VF story, friends mused that she was trying to look more feline and like a 'jungle cat,' as she and her then-husband were both fascinated by the creatures. At the time, Alec accused, 'She was thinking that she could fix her face like a piece of furniture. Skin does not work that way. But she wouldn't listen.' Slipping her feet into boots she completed the ensemble with a fur hat and Louis Vuitton handbag Meanwhile Lloyd matched in all black and wore a ski coat while shielding his eyes behind shades It comes after Jocelyn claimed that she has 'never had plastic surgery and hates Botox ' - after years of claiming her dramatic transformation was natural (right in 1970s) She has frequently denied getting work done over the years and told DailyMail.com in 2018, 'I've always looked like Brigitte Bardot.' Utah-based Dr. Jerry Chidester, or 'Dr. Chiddy,' weighed in on claims she had work done, explaining the procedures Jocelyn could have potentially underwent - as well as possible complications. 'When a patient undergoes multiple or excessive procedures, especially to the face, it can lead to complications that may have both physical and psychological impacts in the short and long term,' Dr. Chiddy warned. While Dr. Chiddy has not treated her personally, based on her visible transformation he believes she may have received repeated facelifts, as well as eyelid surgeries, also known as blepharoplasty, cheek and chin implants, and repeated dermal filler injections. At one point, Jocelyn admitted to getting a facelift because her then-husband Alec 'hates to be with old people,' although she later said he told her 'that I look very young.' Dr. Chiddy also believes she's had an upper lip lift, as well as rhinoplasty surgery. 'These repeated alterations can eventually disrupt a person's natural facial proportions, as evidenced by her early photos prior to plastic surgery,' Dr. Chiddy said. She said: 'I haven't had plastic surgery, I am scared of what can happen and I don't like to have something heavy, sometimes it is a bit heavy and terrible' (pictured 1997) She has frequently denied getting work done over the years and told DailyMail.com in 2018, 'I've always looked like Brigitte Bardot' (pictured 1990) 'Additionally, each of these procedures carries its own risks, and performing them repeatedly or in combination can compound those risks, affecting both overall appearance and health.' 'While advancements in plastic surgery have made incredible transformations possible, it's vital to recognise limits and respect the body's natural structures to avoid complications,' Dr. Chiddy said. He explained that his role as a surgeon is 'not just to enhance but also to advise responsibly, ensuring patients understand the long-term implications of any procedure.' James Kennedy was back DJ-ing just days after he was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence. On Saturday, the 32-year-old Vanderpump Rules star was spinning records for a packed crowd at The Rave Eagles Club in Milwaukee. Despite being pulled from an upcoming January gig following the arrest, Kennedy made a return to the decks, flashing a smile as club-goers danced the night away. Videos shared by the venue showed the British reality star throwing his hands in the air, with the caption reading, 'PUMPED-up to have @itsjameskennedy throwing down!' The DJ set came just hours after DailyMail.com confirmed the cancellation of his January performance at Komodo Dallas, which Kennedy had promoted to his one million Instagram followers just a day prior. He also no longer appears on the LIV Nightclub calendar for January, having been removed from the schedule as of December 13, according to a fan site. James Kennedy was back DJ-ing just days after his recent arrest on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence On Saturday, the 32-year-old Vanderpump Rules star was spinning records for a packed crowd at The Rave Eagles Club in Milwaukee The DJ set also followed the arrest news from Friday, when the Burbank Police Department responded to a call about a 'man and woman arguing' at Kennedys residence around 11:30 p.m. Kennedy was arrested on a domestic violence charge, after attending Kathy Hilton's Christmas bash with girlfriend Ally Lewber on Tuesday. The Burbank Police Daily Arrest Log reported that an officer spoke with both Kennedy and a woman that night inside a residence after receiving a 9-1-1 call, according to TMZ. While there, the woman, whose name was not revealed, told investigators she had been picked up by her boyfriend and that he threw her to the ground. Police on the scene said they did not see any visible injuries on the alleged victim, but arrested Kennedy for misdemeanor domestic battery upon spouse/co-habitant. Officers were initially summoned to the residence on reports Kennedy had gotten into an argument with the woman and grabbed. At this time, there has been no confirmation Lewber was the reported victim. On Saturday, Lewber, 28 - who has been dating Kennedy since 2022 - spoke out on his arrest in a statement on her Instagram stories. She penned, 'Thank you to everyone who has reached out with love and support and for checking in on me.' 'I'm okay and taking the time I need right now. I deeply appreciate all the kindness and respect for my privacy during this time.' Kennedy was released after paying a $20,000 bail, according to police records. Kennedy's attorney, Scott Leeman, tried to downplay the severity of the incident, telling the outlet, 'We understand that there were no injuries and we are hoping that, after careful review, the city's attorney will decide not to file formal charges.' Videos shared by the venue showed the British reality star throwing his hands in the air, with the caption reading, 'PUMPED-up to have @itsjameskennedy throwing down!' More information has come to light regarding James Kennedy's arrest on a domestic violence charge on Tuesday. Burbank Police officers say they were told Kennedy had picked up the reported victim and threw her to the ground per TMZ (pictured in Los Angeles on December 10) On Thursday, attorneys for Kennedy's ex-fiancee Rachel Leviss, 30, issued a statement blaming Bravo, NBC and Evolution, the companies that produce and distribute Vanderpump Rules for turning a blind eye to the DJ's behavior. 'We are aware of James Kennedys recent arrest for domestic violence,' the statement read according to Variety. 'This news is, unfortunately, not surprising. Rachels lawsuit (against former VPR stars Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix) describes, in significant detail, Mr. Kennedys long history of erratic, violent behavior and substance abuse.' 'Just as troubling, however, is that NBC and Evolution (the Vanderpump Rules production company), who have known about Mr. Kennedys troubling behavior all along, have been engaged in a multi-year cover-up on his behalf. They, too, bear responsibility.' In her 2020 book Hes Making You Crazy: How to Get the Guy, Get Even, and Get Over It, Kennedy's former girlfriend Kristen Doute, 41, wrote about a former relationship without naming the partner. The Valley star described the troubled relationship as verbally abusive, adding 'And then it escalated.' She continued: 'Broken furniture, shattered picture frames, doors slamming and holes punched in my wall. 'Once that line had been crossed, it was only a matter of time before he put his hands on me: shoving, pushing, and physical restraint.' Kennedy, 32, a popular DJ, was released on $20,000 bail (Pictured in Beverly Hills in September 2023) The woman was not named in the report, but Kennedy had been seen with his girlfriend attending Kathy Hilton's Christmas party earlier that night (Pictured in West Hollywood December 3) Attorneys for Rachel Leviss, 30, Kennedy's former fiancee, issued a statement blaming Vanderpump Rules producers 'who have known about Mr. Kennedys troubling behavior all along, have been engaged in a multi-year cover-up on his behalf' (Pictured In Los Angeles in August 2021) Kristen Doute, 41, who dated previously dated Kennedy wrote about an unnamed partner whose anger resulted in 'Broken furniture, shattered picture frames, doors slamming and holes punched in my wall' in her book, Hes Making You Crazy On Thursday, after news of Kennedy's arrest went public, the reality star, who is expecting her first child with boyfriend Luke Broderick, 33, posted a screenshot of the TMZ article and wrote 'FINALLY' on it. Real Housewives stars Teddi Mellencamp and Tamra Judge reported a fight they had witnessed in a limousine between Kennedy and Lewber earlier this year on their Popping Off podcast, alleging the argument had gotten physical. However, Lewber went on Scheana Shay's Scheananigans podcast and denied there was any physical altercation during the heated exchange. 'For the record, James has never physically hurt me or assaulted me. And were good. Were happy,' she claimed at the time. Aussie actor Hugh Jackman has returned home just in time for the Christmas holidays. On Sunday, the Hollywood star, 56, was spotted visiting Speedos Cafe in the trendy seaside suburb of North Bondi. Exclusive photos obtained by Daily Mail Australia show Hugh dining with a male friend while blending in amongst the cafe-goers. Hugh was also accompanied by his two adopted children - Oscar, 24, and Ava, 19 - whom he shares with his estranged wife Deborra-Lee Furness. Oscar and Ava appear to be spending the holidays with their Wolverine actor father this year following their parents' split in September 2023. It is unclear if their mother is also returning to Australia for Christmas. Hugh and his children are likely staying at his stunning $12million North Bondi penthouse. Hugh Jackman has returned home just in time for the Christmas holidays The 56-year-old Hollywood star visited Speedos Cafe in North Bondi on Sunday Jackman was accompanied by his two adopted children Oscar, 24, and Ava, 19 (pictured), whom he shares with estranged wife Deborra-Lee Furness His kids appear to be spending Christmas with their dad this year following his split from Deb Hugh purchased the luxury low-rise apartment for $5.9million in 2015. The three-bedroom property has panoramic ocean views and luxury finishes throughout. For his beach outing, Hugh dressed comfortably in a fitted black shirt and a pair of shorts, while his son Oscar wore white shorts and a red plaid shirt paired with a brown bucket hat. The Greatest Showman star's daughter Ava was dressed in relax-fitted jeans and a loose white T-shirt. Hugh and his two kids seemed to be in good spirits and were seen happily chatting inside the cafe before exploring Bondi Beach. The trio were accompanied by Hugh's male friend as they strolled along the coastal walk. An eager fan also captured the family on Sunday as they dined at the Sydney hotspot. Hugh dressed comfortably for the outing in fitted black shirt and a pair of shorts Hugh scrolled his phone while leading the way to their destination, as his kids followed close behind Hugh's son Oscar wore white shorts and a red plaid shirt paired with a brown bucket hat The actor's son was listening to music as they walked along Bondi Beach The Greatest Showman star's daughter Ava was dressed in relax-fitted jeans and a loose white T-shirt Hugh looked like he was eager for a swim while holding a black and white beach towel In the footage, Hugh appeared to know the waitresses who work at the eatery. The sighting comes after reports that Hugh's ex-wife Deb is said to have been 'seething with rage' over his rumoured new romance with Sutton Foster. Hugh and Deb, 69, confirmed their separation after almost three decades together in September 2023, and he is now said to be dating Broadway star Sutton, 49. It has been claimed that Deb was enraged at being 'the last to know' about the relationship. According to Radaronline, Deb was especially unimpressed with Hugh's close friend Ryan Reynolds and his wife Blake Lively, who both allegedly 'kept quiet' about the rumoured romance. 'They kept their lips sealed out of loyalty to Hugh,' a source told the publication. 'Now she is seething with rage over being the last to know, Deb feels blindsided. She has a memory like a steel trap and isn't afraid to use it. 'Debs feels cheated by all three because someone could have told her what was happening and they all chose to keep their mouths shut,' they added. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Deborra and Ryan's representatives for comment. Ava pointed at some of the sights Bondi has to offer Glancing out to sea, Hugh looked intrigued to what, or who, his daughter was pointing at The group were accompanied by Hugh's male friend as they Hugh looked relaxed and animated throughout the catch up The group walked along the promenade and blended with locals who soaked up the sun on the hot summer day Hugh was reportedly planning to introduce Sutton to his and Deb's children over the festive period. However, Deb was allegedly 'not keen on the idea' with a source claiming that she does not want a 'blended' family Christmas. 'It's a delicate balancing act and he feels like if anyone is going to spend less time with the kids this year, it's him,' they added. The insider said Hugh and Sutton are determined to make their relationship work and are keeping things low-key at the moment. Hugh and Sutton took on the roles of Harold Hill and Marian Paroo in The Music Man, which ran from February 2022 to January 2023 at the Winter Garden Theatre in Manhattan. It comes amid claims that ex-wife Deborra-Lee Furness (pictured) is said to have been left 'seething with rage' over the Hollywood star's rumoured new romance with Sutton Foster Hugh, 56, and Deb, 69, confirmed their separation after almost three decades together in September 2023, and he is now said to be dating Sutton (pictured in February 2022) The pair have attended public events together, stepping out at the opening night of their show The Music Man on Broadway in February 2022. In September 2023, Hugh shocked fans when he filed for divorce from Deb. 'We have been blessed to share almost three decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage,' the couple said in a joint statement. 'Our journey now is shifting, and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth.' Samantha Armytage made her first appearance on Channel Nine's Today Show on Monday following her defection from Seven. And the veteran presenter, 48, kicked off the show by sharing a flirty exchange with her co-host Dan Anstey. After introducing herself to viewers, Sam - who recently announced her split from husband Richard Lavender - told Dan she had first met him at the Melbourne Cup. 'I can't remember that. How was I?' he asked. 'You were handsome as always,' a giggling Sam responded, before Dan said: 'That was someone else. You confused me with another Dan.' 'Yeah I have actually. We'll get to that later on but it's lovely to see you all here,' Sam quickly responded before she introduced the news headlines. Samantha Armytage made her first appearance on Channel Nine's Today Show on Monday following her defection to the network Following her appearance on the show, unimpressed fans flocked to social media to call for Sam to be removed as summer fill-in host. '@TheTodayShow off to channel 7 for a while. Please post when Armytage moves on and well come back,' one person wrote on X. 'Why is Sam Armytage on Ch9's brekky show? And why can't the media give a go to literally anyone except a few. Is Kochie getting a new plum job too?' another said. 'Sam Armytage on NOPE!' a third agreed. 'I moved from 7 to 9 because of Sam Armytage, so what do you go and do? Let us know when she's moved on and I'll start watching again,' another commented. Despite some backlash from viewers, others expressed their excitement to see Sam hosting the breakfast program. 'It's great to see Sam Armytage back on the TV sets as she is co-hosting summer series of #9Today,' one wrote. '@sam_armytage looking stunning today can she stay permanently,' another agreed, while one added: 'Loved it.' The veteran presenter, 48, kicked off the show by sharing a flirty exchange with her co-host Dan Anstey Channel Nine was reportedly plunged into back-to-back crisis meetings following the decision to bring Samantha onto the Today show as a summer fill-in co-host. The network's move has also sparked outrage among long-time staff, with insiders alleging the decision has created tension behind the scenes and left many feeling snubbed. While Nine insists the move is purely seasonal, speculation is rife that it could be a trial run to see if Samantha is the right fit to join Today permanently. The fall-out from the decision has been significant. 'There have been crisis meetings back-to-back since Sam was signed,' a source told Woman's Day earlier this month. 'The big bosses did not listen to the team when they objected to Sam coming on board.' Meanwhile, a well-placed source tells Daily Mail Australia that Nine has a strategic reasoning behind Samantha's appointment. 'Let's not pretend this isn't about ratings,' they said. 'If Sam manages to pull Today out of the shadow of Sunrise, even for a week, the network will see it as a win. For Sam, it's about proving she's still the queen of breakfast TV.' Unimpressed fans flocked to social media to call for Sam to be removed from the show following her debut as summer fill-in host Channel Nine was reportedly plunged into back-to-back crisis meetings following the decision to bring Samantha onto the Today show as a summer fill-in co-host One major source of resentment at her new network is the perception that Nine's existing talent has been overlooked. Many insiders were reportedly blindsided by Samantha's signing, particularly after she was chosen to host The Golden Bachelor, despite others at the network vying for the role. 'There is no harder slap-down than to put your hand up for hosting The Golden Bachelor and virtually be told you've got the gig, only to then read in the newspapers that Sam is their surprise pick,' the insider claimed. The tension reportedly extends to Today's regular hosts. Sarah Abo, 39, was allegedly upset earlier this year when she learned Samantha was being considered as her temporary replacement during a leave period. That plan was shelved after Sarah pushed back, with Nine opting for Sylvia Jeffreys as a 'safer option'. This time, however, Sarah appears to have accepted the decision, though insiders claim it hasn't been easy. 'If Sam wants it that much, she can have it,' a colleague reportedly said, adding that Sarah is resigned to the fact that Sam is being given prime opportunities at the network. Channel Nine and Samantha Armytage have been approached for comment. Sam's move to the network comes after she recently shocked fans when she and husband Richard Lavender split just weeks before their fourth anniversary Samantha's move to the network comes after she shocked fans when she and husband Richard split just weeks before their fourth anniversary. Their separation was planned to be leaked to a Sydney newspaper, but sources confirmed the news to Daily Mail Australia in advance. 'Yes Richard and I have separated. All breakups are hard, but its somewhat lessened by the fact its amicable and we wish the best for each other,' Armytage then told media. 'I appreciate you respecting our privacy. I wont be making any further comment.' While the news just emerged publicly, it is understood Armytage's television presenter friends have been comforting the star behind the scenes for some time. Samantha is no longer followed on Instagram by Richard's two daughters, Sascha and Grace, although the former couple still follow each other. She started dating Richard in April 2019, and they announced their engagement in June 2020, before tying the knot at his property in rural NSW six months later. A picturesque Montana town on the edge of Yellowstone National Park has resisted over-development with one neat trick. Despite a doubling of property prices in the area since the pandemic the tiny town of Silver Gate has seen notably minimal new properties being built nor a large amount of real estate transactions. This is because the population of officially 19 people have made a secret unofficial pact not to sell their homes or land to any outsiders. In order to buy in the one-bison town (his name is Jackson) you have to know a local, and they have to deem you worthy of selling to. 'In order to buy here you really need to know the person selling, or get to know them, one long-time local told DailyMail.com. 'It's the only way they can be sure you're not selling to a developer or someone just wanting a place for the holidays.' Another local, who also did not wish to be named, confirmed that locals are unwilling to sell to out-of-towners but that the issues were more complicated than personal preference. 'Silver Gate has definitely resisted development well, especially being so close to the park, no one wants big houses or hotels coming here so they won't sell to developers.' Silver Gate in Montana has a population of 19 people, according to the latest census data 'But it's about limited supply, insurance and tax too,' the local business owner explained. 'We tried to buy a property in Silver Gate a year ago but it was too expensive and it was too hard to insure. 'That property then took eight months to sell in the end.' 'If you want to buy there you have to come in with cash because of the issues with getting a mortgage and insuring the property' they explained. Living in Silver Gate is indeed not for the faint-hearted. Its nearest main road, the Beartooth Highway closes for seven months of the year due to the volume of snow, making trips to the larger grocery store a monthly occurrence in the winter. 'You do sometimes get people that come to Montana and underestimate the winter months in a place like this,' the first local explained. Property sales in the town are indeed low, but local real estate firm Wilson and Wilson recently sold a three bedroom cabin in the town. The cabin, with just 1.5 bathrooms and 0.29 acres of land was listed for $825,000 and sold in September, according to Redfin records. The area has seen a boon in tourism inspired by the immensely popular Yellowstone TV series Attractions such as the Grand Prismatic Spring brought 4.5 million visitors to the park last year In Montana it is not required to publicly list the sale price of a property, meaning it could exceed or have fetched less than the list price. However, prior to the recent sale the cabin had not been on the market for almost 30 years, and was valued at just $145,000 in 2014, according to Zillow records. The 1976 cabin, typical of the town, has quirky period features, including a pellet stove that heats the upstairs of the property. The town has spectacular uninterrupted views of the surrounding mountains as well as the charming Soda Butte Creek which trickles by. Suzy Hahn, a real estate agent who sells properties in Silver Gate and nearby Cooke City, has lived in the area for more than 30 years. Hahn says while locals enjoy the unspoilt beauty and don't want development the selling process is more complicated than personal preference. If a property is listed on the open market, the seller can't discriminate against buyers who express an interest. There are however, a lot of family trust's in the area, Hahn explained. These trusts help long-time property owners hand down their properties to the younger members of their families and avoid the open market. The national park's popularity has proved a double-edged sword, driving up property prices Silver Gate locals have resisted development despite being on the edge of the park The area is known as 'America's Serengeti' because of its abundance of stunning wildlife Hahn also noted that while locals don't want developers, much of the land is protected by various zoning and environmental regulations too. There is currently nothing on the open property market in Silver Gate, just one mile from the Northeast entrance to the park. The park's popularity, attracting more than 4.5 million visitors last year, has become a double-edged sword. Furthermore, during and after the pandemic, Montana and Wyoming saw an influx of people moving from out-of-state cities, as remote workers and young families looked for a different lifestyle among their natural beauty. The area has also seen a boon in tourism inspired by the immensely popular Yellowstone TV series, whose final series is currently airing. Small gateway communities such as Silver Gate and Cooke City saw resultant explosions in property valuations. Homes in the area are being listed for more 50 percent more than in 2020, according to the price history of properties currently or recently for sale on Zillow. Gardiner, a small community at the north west of the park, has seen its median property list prices rise a staggering 250 percent since 2017. The median home sale in the town is now more than $1 million, according to Realtor.com data. West Yellowstone in Montana - the nearest town to the park's famous attractions such as Old Faithful and the Grand Prismatic Spring - has seen home prices almost double since 2017. The median list price in the town reached $840,000 last year. Americans are being caught out by a cruel scam which could ruin Christmas. 'Card draining' is when criminals tamper with gift cards in stores, leading to shoppers giving totally worthless cards as presents. Crooks are temporarily stealing batches of gift cards from stores so they can make a note of the card number, as well as the PIN or activation code. At this point the cards are worthless as customers are yet to load cash onto them. But criminal gangs then return them to store shelves, knowing holiday shoppers will soon load them up with anything from $5 to $500 at popular retailers like Target and Walmart. Scammers also know that the recipients of gift cards are not likely to spend them immediately, by which time they will have spent the money loaded onto them. Last year, police across the country warned about a rise in these scams, which saw Americans lose hundreds of dollars, and confused recipients receive useless gift cards. And it appears this year is no different - with these scams costing shoppers and retailers over the holidays. 'Card draining' is when criminals tamper with gift cards in stores, leading to shoppers giving totally worthless cards as presents Alexis Cruz wanted to surprise a family member with a $100 gift card, which she picked up off the rack at her local Target in Maryland. 'I opened the card so I could put it in a birthday card, only to find that the last four digits of the card number had been scratched off,' she told WMAR-2 News. 'And then you flip it over, there's no CVV code, and you can actually kind of see some discoloration there where they have either scratched it off or put white out.' Cruz, who works as a family physician, said that when it was inside its card casing in the store, she could not tell it had been tampered with at all. The card was rendered useless to be used in person or online, and the money was lost to the scam. 'Essentially, I just gifted a scammer $100 without even knowing it,' she told the outlet. While Cruz added that losing $100 was 'not the end of the world,' she noted that the scam was even more cruel during the holiday season. 'There are going to be families that are purchasing hundreds of dollars' worth of gift cards. 'What about the single parents or the families with five or six kids that thought they were giving their kids a good Christmas and have now lost all that money?' she said. WMAR-2 News got in touch with Target, who said they could replace Cruz's gift card. The retailer also added that it is redesigning its gift cards to prevent fraud. Target gift cards will no longer include a printed security code. Instead, Target gift cards sold in store will have a blank space where these codes used to be. At checkout, a team member will apply a security access label to the gift card, which will reduce the potential for fraud, the company said. Alexis Cruz was scammed out of $100 when she bought a gift card at her local Target store Alexis explained how the card had been tampered with, so scammers had access to the money she had loaded onto it Some Americans have described the embarrassment of giving a gift card, only to find it has a $0 balance. Suzanne Gdovic told DailyMail.com last year how she bought a $200 Target gift card - which she did not realize had been tampered with - and gave it as a gift for a baby shower. It was then a couple of weeks later when she received a text from her friend's daughter, who she had gifted it to, saying that there was no money on the card. A message had also popped up on the cashier's screen saying that the gift card was connected to someone else's account. 'It was embarrassing,' Suzanne said. 'And I felt bad for her. You're ready to spend $200 and then all of a sudden it's not there. And then of course she had to pay for it.' Others have outlined the crushing experience of receiving a gift card that has been drained of its funds. TikTok user Tawnee posted a video last month where she detailed how she had received cards that had been tampered with at her baby shower. She was visibly upset in the video, and described how she had gone to Walmart to buy baby clothes with a $200 gift card, only to be told there was a $0 balance on it. 'To somebody who stays at home with their kids, living on one income, living in a studio, $200 is a lot of money,' she said. Suzanne Gdovic accidentally gave a worthless gift card as a present after it was targeted by criminals - which should have been worth $200 TikTok user Tawnee posted a video last month where she detailed how she had received cards that had been tampered with at her baby shower Retailers are trying to combat the issue by raising awareness among consumers and altering packaging to make it more secure HOW TO AVOID 'CARD DRAINING' SCAMS Make sure a card has not been tampered with - including scratches or scuff marks near the bar code on the back of the card Make sure the gift card is sealed and any protective cover on the pin code or activation code is intact Check to see that the full card is in the covering, and the activation code has not been cut off Keep the store receipt in case you discover the card has been compromised If you discover the card has been tampered with, report it to the gift card company and request the funds are frozen and a refund is issued Advertisement Tawnee also added how she had tried to use a $50 Target gift card she had been given, also to find it had been drained. 'Just be careful purchasing gift cards around the holidays because there's clearly someone sitting at their house on their computer taking people's gift cad numbers and taking it for themselves,' she said. In 2023, consumers reported losing a huge $217 million in gift card fraud, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Retailers are trying to combat the issue by raising awareness among consumers and altering packaging to make it more secure, but Maryland is the only state which has passed a law to help curb the scam. The Gift Card Scams Prevention Act of 2024, which will take effect in June next year, mandates secure packaging for most gift cards sold in person. This means that the numeric codes on cards should be concealed more effectively from scammers. It will also ensure retailers provide consumers with signage to keep scams top of mind when they are shopping, and to think and look for any sort of tampering, Cailey Locklair, president of the Maryland Retailers Alliance, told WMAR-2 News. When they go to check out with an employee, 'that employee will be mandated to have training around this, so that employee will also be looking for tampering or anything indicating fraud with that gift card,' she said. While Maryland is the only state to have enshrined these changes in law, Locklair is confident it will mean other states follow suit. 'It will change packaging nationally - it is not just a Maryland bill,' she told ProPublica. With Mamata vying for the leadership of the INDIA bloc supported by a number constituents, chances of the bloc succumbing to internal disputes are high The INDIA bloc, a coalition of 26 ideologically diverse parties, was created to counter the BJPs electoral dominance. In the 2024 general elections, the bloc achieved a significant milestone, reducing the BJPs tally to below 240 seats. However, this success has been tempered by internal discord, which now threatens the alliances fragile unity. A key figure in this unfolding drama is Mamata Banerjee, the dynamic leader of the Trinamool Congress (TMC). Her aspirations for leadership within the coalition have both galvanised and fractured its members. Mamata Banerjees National Ambitions Mamata Banerjees bid for prominence within the INDIA bloc stems from her desire to extend her influence beyond West Bengal and play a decisive role in shaping national politics. Her assertive style has invigorated some allies but has alienated others, exposing the persistent challenge of reconciling regional ambitions with a unified national strategy. Earlier, Banerjee proposed Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge as the blocs chairperson, a strategic move to diminish the influence of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, one of the coalitions key architects. This proposal, supported by leaders like Akhilesh Yadav and Arvind Kejriwal, showcased Banerjees ability to consolidate support. However, her growing clout has sparked unease among other leaders. For instance, Lalu Prasad Yadav, a staunch Congress ally, appears to be rethinking his loyalties. Such dynamics highlight the alliances precarious balance and the potential for further fractures. Lessons from the Past: UPA2 The INDIA blocs current challenges echo the struggles faced by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA2) during its tenure. In 2012, Mamata Banerjees dramatic exit from the UPA over policy disagreements underscored the inherent instability of coalition politics. Scandals and policy paralysis plagued UPA2, eroding its credibility and paving the way for Narendra Modis rise. As Banerjees ambitions take center stage, the INDIA bloc risks repeating history. If it fails to address its internal contradictions, it could suffer the same fate as UPA2, jeopardising its ability to present a united front against the BJP. BJPs Advantage Amid Opposition Discord The BJP stands to benefit from the INDIA blocs internal strife. While Banerjee wields considerable influence in West Bengal, Congress retains a broader national presence. A fragmented opposition could split anti-BJP votes, a scenario that would play into the saffron partys hands. Recent BJP gains in Maharashtra and Haryana underscore the blocs challenges, particularly for Congress, which has struggled to maintain dominance in key states. Seat-sharing disputes within the bloc further illustrate its lack of strategic coherence. For instance, the Aam Aadmi Partys unilateral candidate announcements in Delhi and Haryana have fueled tensions, revealing the alliances inability to present a united strategy. Mamata vs Congress: Mamata Banerjees leadership ambitions pose a paradox for Congress. Her energy and charisma could revitalise the bloc, but her assertiveness risks overshadowing Congresss central role. This tension is particularly pronounced in states like West Bengal and Kerala, where Congress directly competes with the TMC and the Left. Seat-sharing negotiations in overlapping constituencies could exacerbate divisions, straining the alliance further. For Congress, retaining relevance within the INDIA bloc will require a delicate balancing act: accommodating Banerjees influence without compromising its identity. Key Challenges for the INDIA Bloc The alliance faces several hurdles that could determine its survival: Leadership Struggles: The lack of consensus on a prime ministerial candidate risks deepening divisions. Unified Campaign Narrative: A focus on governance, economic policies, and social justice can resonate with voters more effectively than personal rivalries. Effective Coordination: Mechanisms for conflict resolution and decision-making must be strengthened. Balancing Regional and National Goals: Respecting regional aspirations while pursuing a cohesive national agenda is critical. A Test of Political Maturity: Mamata Banerjees ambitions underscore her political acumen and the complexities of coalition politics. While her leadership could energise the INDIA bloc, it also risks deepening divisions. Navigating this intricate web of regional and national aspirations will test the blocs political maturity. The upcoming state elections and the 2029 general elections will be pivotal in determining whether the INDIA bloc can overcome its internal strife and emerge as a credible alternative to the BJP. Resolving leadership disputes, crafting a compelling narrative, and presenting a unified front are critical to its success. (The writer is a policy analyst based in Shimla; views are personal) As allies like Iran pressured Assad for reforms, and Western nations explored conditional sanctions relief, Syria became a battleground of competing geopolitical manoeuvring By the end of November, the situation in Syria was dire. Government forces were on the brink of exhaustion, stretched thin by an economic crisis that spiralled out of control. Soldiers earned a paltry $7 a month, with even high-ranking officers receiving only $40. This was in blunt contrast to militia fighters funded by external powers, who earned up to $2,000 monthly. This glaring disparity revealed not just economic fault lines but the extent of foreign intervention sustaining these militias. Meanwhile, protests erupted across Suwayda province, historically a stronghold of Assad support, highlighting widespread famine, collapsing services, and the devaluation of the Syrian pound. Discontent was palpable, threatening to upend the regimes fragile grasp on power. Iran, Syrias long-time ally, reportedly pressured Assad to address these challenges. Tehrans warnings accentuated the erosion of public trust and a crumbling economy, urging decisive action. Yet Assad seemed increasingly aloof, allegedly seeking new alliances with Gulf nations, hoping these relationships would secure his future. By December, reports emerged that the United States and the United Arab Emirates were considering lifting sanctions on Assadbut only if he severed ties with Iran and halted arms transfers to Hezbollah. This diplomatic manoeuvre was a calculated strategy to weaken Assads regime further. Relief from Caesar sanctions was an unlikely prospect given Washingtons decade-long effort to dismantle the Assad family rule. The outcome was preordained: Assad was isolated, and the geopolitical chessboard advanced.The trajectory of Assads downfall mirrors a broader pattern in Western foreign policy. Leaders once celebrated as reformersfrom Saddam Hussein to Muammar Gaddafiare vilified when their geopolitical utility wanes. Assad, who was once lauded for fostering coexistence among Syrias religious and ethnic groups, became the Wests pariah. In 2010, Syria was a stable nation, ranked seventh on The New York Times 31 best places to visit. Assad met with Queen Elizabeth, hosted Nancy Pelosi, and welcomed Pope John Paul II. Yet the Wests affection was short-lived. As geopolitical calculations shifted, Assads regime was recast as the antithesis of democracy, paving the way for intervention. The Syrian conflict was never just a civil war. It was a proxy war fueled by external actors. Over 100,000 jihadists were funnelled into Syria, backed by a coalition of nations. The United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar allegedly provided financial and logistical support. Turkey and Jordan facilitated arms shipments and fighter transport. Western media amplified anti-Assad narratives, while the UK-backed White Helmets shaped public perceptions. Each player pursued its agenda, yet all converged on a singular goal: regime change. The motivations driving this coalition were diverse. The United States and Israel sought regional hegemony, neutralising perceived threats while advancing the Greater Israel project. Qatars pipeline ambitions clashed with Assads preference for an Iranian alternative, further entrenching divisions. These dynamics turned Syria into a battleground for competing interests, with devastating consequences for its people.By late 2013, the influx of foreign fighters intensified. Western nations grappled with their citizens joining extremist groups in Syria. The UK reported approximately 600 fighters, while France contributed around 1,200. Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden also faced significant outflows. However, the greatest contributions came from West Asia and North Africa, with Tunisia leading at 3,000 fighters, followed by Saudi Arabia at 2,500. Russias involvement, particularly from regions like Chechnya, underscored the conflicts global reach. The arms supply chain further exacerbated the war. Gulf states like Qatar and Saudi Arabia allegedly supplied weapons, supported by over 160 military cargo flights. These arms, transported through Turkey and Jordan, sustained rebel factions. European nations, such as Croatia, indirectly contributed by routing surplus weapons through Jordan. This complex web of arms smuggling empowered extremist groups, further destabilising Syria. Western hypocrisy was stark. While denouncing Assads regime, the United States supported moderate rebels aligned with Al Qaeda and ISIS. Declassified documents revealed this duplicity. In 2012, General Michael Flynns memo to the Pentagon warned that the opposition included jihadist factions. Similarly, Hillary Clintons advisor, Jake Sullivan, acknowledged in an email that Al Qaeda is on our side in Syria. The Wests support for these groups undercut its claims of promoting democracy, revealing a strategy rooted in destabilisation. Atrocity propaganda became a central tool in the anti-Assad narrative. Staged chemical attacks, amplified by the White Helmets, justified military intervention. Western media perpetuated these fabrications, obscuring the reality on the ground. Idlib province, under rebel control, became a dystopian preview of Syrias potential future: public executions, forced veiling of women, and sectarian slogans. This grim reality highlighted the consequences of regime change. Operation Timber Sycamore, the CIAs covert programme, exemplified Western duplicity. Billions of dollars in weapons were funnelled to extremist factions, prolonging the war. The irony was stark: the West, claiming to combat terrorism, empowered the very groups destabilising the region. Syrias devastation became a witness to the destructive nature of interventionist policies. Syrias collapse parallels other Western interventions. Iraqs 2003 invasion, justified by the false pretext of weapons of mass destruction, left the nation in tatters. Libya, once Africas wealthiest country, descended into anarchy following Gaddafis overthrowthese interventions, framed as humanitarian missions, unleashed chaos, empowering extremist factions and creating power vacuums.The broader motivations behind these actions lie in geopolitics. Syrias strategic location, its role as a buffer between Iran and Israel, and its proximity to oil-rich regions made it a prime target. The Wests desire to reshape the regions political structure has driven decades of intervention, often with catastrophic consequences. Meanwhile, allies like Saudi Arabia and Turkey, despite their human rights abuses, remain central to Western strategy, exposing the moral bankruptcy of interventionist policies. Syrias tragedy is a miniature of a global pattern. The collapse of nations like Iraq, Libya, and Syria reflects a broader system where sovereignty is sacrificed for strategic interests. Foreign interventions, far from promoting democracy or stability, have left legacies of destruction, displacement, and despair. The narrative of humanitarian intervention serves as a veneer, masking the true motives of power and greed. As the 50th anniversary of Irans 1979 revolution approaches in 2029, the stakes are higher than ever. Irans defiance of Western hegemony remains a critical factor in the regions future. The forces shaping West AsiaIsrael, Turkey, and Western powersare poised to challenge Irans resilience. Syrias collapse serves as both a warning and a call to scrutinise the ethics of intervention. The legacy of these actions is clear: a world shaped by greed, ambition, and the devastating cost of unchecked power. (The writer is a senior journalist and a policy analyst; views expressed are personal) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday charge-sheeted Hakam Khan alias Hakim Din, accused in the case relating to the terrorist attack on a bus carrying pilgrims from Shiv Khori, Ransoo to Katra. Hakim Din, a resident of the Bandrahi area of the Rajouri district, was arrested almost six months ago by the Jammu and Kashmir police for sheltering and providing logistics support to foreign terrorists behind the gruesome attack on a pilgrim bus on June 9, 2024. The foreign terrorists had paid a paltry sum of Rs 6000 to Hakim Din for acting as their guide and extending other logistic support. A total of nine pilgrims were killed and 41 others were injured in the terror attack which coincided with the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a third term in succession. According to a spokesman of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the agency has arrested accused Hakam Khan @ Hakim Din under various IPC and UA(P) Act sections. The Ministry of Home Affairs had handed over the probe in the case to the NIA. NIA investigations revealed, "Hakim Din had confessed to being part of the conspiracy behind the attack, which was executed by three terrorists with his active logistic support. Besides providing them with food and stay arrangements, he had helped the terrorists in identifying the attack spot, an NIA spokesman said. Further investigations in the case RC-02/2024/NIA/JMU are continuing. With controversies raging on the United States Department of Justice indicting Adani Group for bribing 265 Million Dollars to multiple solar energy companies in India, recent orders from the American authorities, shows that many US firms which gave the bribes in India and other countries, have settled the case by paying more than 300 per cent penalty to avoid prosecution. The US-based research and design firm Moog Inc was caught for bribery of more than half-a-Million Dollars to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Indian Railways settled their case with US Securities and Exchange Commission by paying more than 1.68 Million Dollars. The IT giant Oracle Corporation, caught for charges of corrupt practices and bribery of more than 6.8 Million Dollars in Indian Railways, and organisations in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Turkey, settled the case by paying a fine of 23 Million Dollars to the US Treasury as per the orders of US Securities and Exchange Commission. US-based chemical manufacturing company Albemarle Corporation was caught by the US Department of Justice for bribing Indian Oil Corporation and companies in Indonesia and Vietnam for more than 63.5 Million Dollars settled the case by paying a hefty fine of more than 198 million dollars to avoid prosecution. As per the orders on October 11, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Moog Inc through its Indian subsidiary Moog Motion Controls Private Limited (MMCPL) bribed officials in Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), South Central Railway and Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) under the Ministry of Railways to bag contracts. In August 2020, shortly after engaging Agent A, Moog brand was added to the supplier list for an upcoming South Central Railway (SCR) tender notice then tender notice listed Moog, along with one additional supplier for potential supplier for a specific part in the SCR tender In September 2020, Moog Incs India subsidiary MMCPL won the SCR contract for $34,323. In April 2022, Agent A invoiced MMCP for commission charges, which several MMCPL employees knew included the improper payments to Government officials to eliminate competition and win contract awards. The payments were falsely recorded as legitimate contractor services, says the SEC Order, adding that 10% was the bribe commission in the Railways contract. The SEC order detailing bribery in HAL says in November 2021, Moog bagged $ 1,399,328 valued contract for parts and services related to the April 2021 contract tender. Investigation found that 2.5% commission was received as a bribe by a HAL official. As per the eight page order, Moog Inc paid more than 5,00,000 Dollars as bribe for getting contracts in HAL and Railways. The US Department of Justices order dated September 28, 2023 says Albemarle Corporation bagged big contracts in Indian Oil Corporation and companies in Indonesia and Vietnam by corrupt practices and bribing of more than 63.5 million dollars. Albemarle is supplying refining solutions to more than 700 refineries across the world and dealing with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) from 2009 to 2017. The 46 page order says Albermale started paying bribes to IOC officials to get it removed from the Holiday List in 2009. Albemarle paid approximately $1.14 Million in commission to India intermediary company relating to Indian Oil Corporation business and obtained approximately $11.14 million in profits on that business between approximately 2009 and 2011, said the Order. Albemarle was caught for bribery by US authorities in 2017 for 63.5 Million Dollars and then settled the case in September 2023 by paying a hefty fine of more than 198 Million Dollars to avoid prosecution. The 46-page Order imposing fine on Albemarle says the US company also engaged in corrupt practices with an Indian private refinery. However the name of the private refinery is not mentioned in the Order. The September 27, 2022 dated Order of Securities and Exchange Commission says that the IT giant Oracle Corporation was engaged in corrupt practices and bribery in India, UAE and Turkey. In 2019, Oracle India sales employees also used an excessive discount scheme in connection with a transportation company, a majority of which was owned by the Indian Ministry of Railways One of the sales employees involved in the transaction maintained a spreadsheet that indicated $67,000 was the buffer available to potentially make payments to a specific Indian SOE (State Owned Entity) official. A total of approximately $330,000 was funneled to an entity with a reputation for paying SOE officials and another $62,000 was paid to an entity controlled by the sales employees, states the 10-page order of Securities and Exchange Commission imposing hefty fine of Rs.23 Million Dollars on Oracle, caught for bribery amount of 6.8 Million Dollars. The Punished News / National by Staff reporter Bulawayo Province has continued its strong performance in the 2024 Grade Seven examinations, with an impressive pass rate of 80.14%. This marks a notable improvement from last year's 79.60% pass rate. The 2024 results reflect the province's ongoing commitment to enhancing the quality of education, with 13 schools achieving a perfect 100% pass rate.Among the top-performing schools in the city were Dominican Convent, Coghlan, Fairview, The Pillar, Kumalo, ZRP Ross Camp, Amazon, Centenary, Maranatha, Queen Elizabeth SDA, Charlestone, Ezekiel Guti, and Sibanesezwe Primary Schools. Notably, Dominican Convent, Fairview, ZRP Ross Camp, Amazon, Queen Elizabeth SDA, Charlestone, and Sibanesezwe maintained their streak of 100% pass rates from 2023, continuing their outstanding performance.In contrast, the province saw a significant improvement from last year, when Tsetse Primary School in Khami District recorded a zero percent pass rate. The absence of zero percent pass rates this year is a testament to the province's focused efforts on addressing underperformance.Acting Provincial Education Director (PED) for Bulawayo, Mr. Lawrence Mkwala, praised the results in a preliminary analysis, highlighting that the province's strategy of intensified internal and external supervision had contributed to the success. He also emphasized the importance of adequate staffing and consistent oversight to maintain and improve these results. "We want to intensify both internal and external supervision of learners to ensure they continue recording good grades," he said.The province's total candidate pool for 2024 increased, with 13,627 learners sitting for the exams - 8,210 girls and 8,794 boys - compared to 12,820 candidates in 2023. While the overall pass rate improved, some schools, including Mangwabi, Hyde Park, Hope Fountain, White Stone, Aiselby, St. Peters, and Redbank, recorded pass rates below 50%, with Redbank achieving the lowest at 20%.To address these disparities and further improve results, Mr. Mkwala outlined plans to continue building on the progress made. The province intends to capacitate teachers, particularly in early childhood education, by promoting the Teaching Handwriting, Reading and Spellings Skills (THRASS) program. This program aims to enhance reading and spelling proficiency, especially for pre-school learners and students with special educational needs.Mr. Mkwala also highlighted the importance of holding regular workshops to equip Grade Seven teachers with the necessary skills and knowledge. Internal remediation at all educational levels will also be introduced to help boost students' grades and prepare them for higher academic challenges.Bulawayo's educational efforts are particularly commendable given the setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted learning across the country. The province has made significant strides in the wake of the pandemic, with its pass rate increasing from 67.4% in 2020 to 80.14% in 2024, marking a consistent upward trend.The continued rise in pass rates underscores Bulawayo Province's dedication to improving educational outcomes and providing quality education to its students, setting them on a path to success in their academic futures. Twentyone selected paddy procurement centers were started in the district on Sunday for paddy procurement work for farmers in Kharif marketing season 2024-2025. On this occasion, the inauguration of paddy procurement center at Ningani Lampas of Sadar block was done in the dignified presence of MLA representative Nishith Jaiswal and the inauguration of paddy procurement center at Senha Lampas was done in the dignified presence of MP representative Alok Sahu, MLA representative Bishunpur. On this occasion, District Supply Officer Gyan Shankar Jaiswal, District Cooperative Officer, concerned Block Development Officer and other dignitaries participated. At the launch of paddy procurement in both the lamps, detailed information about the scheme directed by the department was given. On the occasion, MP representative Alok Sahu said that a total of 21 paddy procurement centers including two FPOs and 19 LAMPS have been identified in Lohardaga district for purchasing paddy from farmers. Any farmer of the district can deposit his paddy at these centers and get better price for it. The government is giving a minimum support price of Rs 2300 per quintal of paddy (ordinary variety) to the farmers and a total price of Rs 2400 per quintal as a bonus of Rs 100 per quintal from the state government. For Grade A variety of paddy, a total of Rs 2420 is being given including Rs 2320 per quintal and bonus amount of Rs 100 per quintal. MLA representative Nishith Jaiswal said that farmers should take full advantage of paddy procurement centres. If you sell your paddy in the open market through middlemen at throwaway prices, you get only Rs 1700-1800 per quintal, which is much less than the price given by the government. Therefore, farmers should give their paddy only at the paddy procurement centers selected by the government and get a fair price for it. *Target of procurement of 2 lakh 50 thousand quintals of paddy* This year, the government has set a target of purchasing 2 lakh 50 thousand quintals of paddy in Lohardaga district. A total of 4068 farmers have been selected to achieve this target. Public surveyors have been deputed as observers at all 21 paddy procurement centres. Kamala Devi Rice Mill Lohardaga, Lohardaga Rice Mill Bhandara Lohardaga and Shreya Rice Mill Industries Nagari Ranchi have been selected to carry out the milling work of the procured paddy. *Two FPOs and 19 lamps made paddy procurement center* Two Farmer Producer Groups (FPOs) and 19 LAMPS have been selected as paddy procurement centers for purchasing paddy in the district. A total of 21 paddy procurement centers are Hesal Lamps Ltd., Ningani Lamps Ltd., Manho Lamps Ltd. in Lohardaga Sadar block, Kolsimri Lamps Ltd. in Kudu block, Kakargarh Lamps Ltd., Kudu Lamps Ltd., Lavagai Lamps Ltd., Chandlasso Lamps Ltd., in Kisco block. Kisco Lamps Ltd., Araya Lamps Ltd., Hesapidi Lamps Ltd., Kharki Lamps Ltd., Jora Sakhua FPO, Senha Lamps Ltd. in Senha block, Buti Lamps Ltd., Alaodi Lamps Ltd., Sukhsampada FPO, Badla Lamps Ltd., Sadhabe Lamps Ltd. in Kairo block, Hanhat Lamps Ltd. in Bhandara block. Bhauro Lamps Ltd. has been selected. A political slugfest erupted between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the BJP after Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah accusing the BJP-led Centre of settling "a large number of illegal Rohingyas" in different parts of the city and robbing the public of their rights and resources. With the AAP targeting Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri over his tweets and claiming that settling these refugees here was a "conscious decision" of the BJP-led NDA government, the minister accused AAP of indulging in "politics of diversion, false narratives and half-truths". Reacting to this, BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj slammed the Atishi and said the letter written by Chief Minister to Union Home Minister is proof of her administrative and political immaturity. It is highly unfortunate that the Chief Minister is misleading citizens on such a sensitive issue to hide the failures of her government. No Rohingya illegal migrant in Delhi has been allotted an EWS (Economically Weaker Section) house. The Ministry of Home Affairs clarified this matter in its press release on 17th August 2022, she said. The truth is that the Aam Aadmi Party government has been aiding the settlement of Rohingyasproviding them with water, electricity, and even ?10,000 in monthly financial assistance, Swaraj added. In the run-up to the Delhi Assembly polls due in February 2025, the ruling AAP and BJP have been hitting out at one another over the issue of illegal Rohingya and Bangladeshi people staying in the national capital. The BJP has already complained to the Election Commission about illegal Rohingyas and Bangladeshis registered as voters in Delhi "at the behest of AAP". Citing two tweets by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in 2022, Atishi alleged the Union government has settled a large number of illegal Rohingya refugees in different parts of the national capital by keeping the people and the government of Delhi in the dark. "This seems to be going on for the past several years. On August 17, 2022, Union Urban Development Minister Hardeep Puri published two tweets that clearly show that it is a 'conscious decision and policy' of the BJP government to settle these refugees in Delhi," she alleged in the letter to Shah. "From the post of Puri, it seems they were settled into EWS (Economically Backward Class) flats of Bakkarwala. These flats were meant for the poor people of Delhi. It appears that the rights and facilities meant for the people of Delhi are being given away to migrants," Atishi said. Puri also hit back with an X post on Sunday saying, "Aam Aadmi Party continues with its politics of diversion, false narratives and half-truths. Facts and actual position on illegal Rohingya migrants were immediately clarified through a tweet on the same day which they selectively chose to ignore, and continue to do so." "No Rohingya migrant has been given a government house in Delhi. In fact, contrary to the drummed-up AAP rhetoric they are actually the ones who play host to the illegal Rohingyas in Delhi, have settled them in large numbers, give them electricity and water, and even pay them Rs 10,000," he alleged. Atishi claimed these migrants would not just cause law-and-order problems for Delhiites but also "take away their jobs" and strain the city's limited resources. Citing media reports, she claimed that thousands of Rohingya migrants were crossing the India-Bangladesh border every day without any hindrance. "This shows how the BJP government has completely failed to protect our borders. If this situation continues, is our country in a position to handle such a large number of refugees? The answer is NO. Then why is the BJP government not doing anything to stop this illegal migration?" she asked Shah. The Delhi chief minister also asked how the immigrants, after crossing the international border, managed to reach Delhi thousands of kilometres away. Atishi said it was "most shocking" that the BJP-led Union government "settled" these Rohingyas in different parts of Delhi while the "party-appointed" lieutenant governor directed the Delhi Police to conduct a door-to-door survey to identify Rohingyas. She demanded Shah provide a complete list of Rohingyas settled in Delhi and said, On behalf of the people of Delhi, I demand that no illegal refugees should be settled in Delhi in future without consulting the people and government of Delhi. Last week, the Delhi LG Secretariat directed the chief secretary and police commissioner of Delhi to launch a two-month special drive to identify and take strict action against illegal Bangladeshi immigrants residing in the national capital. IIM Ranchi marked its 16th Foundation Day with a grand celebration, bringing together dignitaries, faculty, students, and alumni to honor the institute's legacy and vision for the future. The event featured an engaging mix of speeches, award ceremonies, and cultural performances, reflecting the institute's commitment to holistic development and responsible management. The celebrations began with a warm welcome to the distinguished dignitaries, including Honble Justice Deepak Roshan, Jharkhand High Court, Ranchi, as the Chief Guest; Dr. Shri Meenesh C. Shah, Chairman, National Dairy Development Board, as the Keynote Speaker; Prof. Deepak Kumar Shrivastava, Director of IIM Ranchi; and Om Prakash Singhania, Member of the Board, IIM Ranchi. The event commenced with the ceremonial lighting of the lamp, accompanied by Saraswati Vandana and the national song, setting a reverent tone for the day. In his welcome address, Prof. Deepak Kumar Shrivastava reflected on IIM Ranchis journey, emphasizing its focus on holistic development, social entrepreneurship, and its unique motto, Bahumukha Vikasa Gantavyam. He encouraged the audience to reflect on how responsible management can bring meaningful change to society. The event also recognized academic excellence, with rank holders for 2023-24 being felicitated, and a special token of gratitude was presented to Prof. Gaurav Manohar Marathe for completing 10 years of service to the institute. Dr. Shri Meenesh C. Shah delivered a thought-provoking keynote address, highlighting Indias progress toward becoming Viksit Bharat. He spoke about the critical role of the dairy industry in Indias development, emphasizing its contribution to womens empowerment, economic self-reliance, and compassionate practices. Dr. Shah encouraged students to embrace emerging changes brought by AI and the digital economy while fostering excellence in their chosen fields. Honble Justice Deepak Roshan, in his address, praised IIM Ranchis achievements and expressed optimism for its future. He emphasized the unique managerial skills of women and shared insights on self-actualization as a higher goal for individuals. The event concluded with the dignitaries being felicitated by the Director and Member of the Board, followed by a vote of thanks and the national anthem. The celebrations were capped off with vibrant cultural performances by the talented students of IIM Ranchi, showcasing the spirit and creativity of the institute. Ranchi Police has become active in the case of molestation of girl students outside Kanya Pathshala School located in Upper Bazaar, Ranchi. Police has identified the person who molested the girl students. Police said that action will also be taken against the person who gives protection or shelter to Firoz Ali Firoz Ali is a resident of lane number eight of Nala Road, Hindpiri. The State Police also announced reward to whoever gives information to the police about Firoz Ali. Police will give a reward of Rs 10,000. On the other hand, under the leadership of Kotwali Dy SP Prakash Soye, the police is conducting raids at possible hideouts to arrest Firoz Ali. Police has recovered his scooty. Chief Minister (CM) Hemant Soren has taken cognizance of the molestation of girl students of Kanya Pathshala School. CM has ordered Ranchi Police to take strict action against the accused and inform. After the order of the CM, police officers reached the spot on Saturday to investigate. It is worth noting that for the past several days, miscreants were harassing the girls outside the Kanya Pathshala School in Ranchi. The miscreants used to take advantage of the silence in the street from seven in the morning and try to misbehave with them. Due to this fear, the girls had stopped coming to school. The school teachers also went to the police station regarding this matter, but no action was taken. This entire incident has been captured in CCTV. The footage clearly shows how a miscreant is misbehaving with the girls. Assyrian Leader in Lebanon Urges US, Allies to Intervene to Stop Hezbollah Ibrahim Mrad, president of the Universal Syriac Union Party. The head of a political party and a Christian coalition group in Lebanon is calling on the U.S. and its Western allies to step in and deploy deterrent forces to permanently dismantle Hezbollah. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Ibrahim Mrad, president of the Universal Syriac Union Party and secretary general of the Lebanese Christian Front, said now is the time for the U.S., the U.K. and Germany to send troops in coordination with the United Nations and, alongside the Lebanese army, finally dismantle the terrorist group propped up by Iran. "If that [were] to be delayed, the Mullah could get, again, more power, and that will be, again, impossible [to dismantle Hezbollah]," Mrad said through a translator in reference to the leaders of the Islamic Republic, which is headed by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz claimed early last month that Hezbollah had been "defeated" in Lebanon after just over a month of targeted hits focused on destroying the terrorist group's strongholds in southern Lebanon and in the capital city of Beirut, chiefly in the Dahiyeh suburb. A shaky 13-point cease-fire was then agreed to late last month between Israel and Hezbollah that largely ended the strikes, though intermittent attacks have since been levied by both sides. But reports this month suggested that U.S. intelligence officials believe that Hezbollah, backed by Iran, has not made any move to dismantle its military operations in Lebanon -- a key pillar of the agreement -- and that it will likely look to rebuild its forces and stockpiles. U.S. intelligence reportedly showed that Hezbollah was continuing to recruit to its ranks even as it was taking heavy hits from Israel through November. It was also reported to be attempting to rearm itself through domestic production as well as smuggling efforts through Syria, though it is unclear how these efforts have been impacted by the deteriorating situation in the neighboring nation over the last week. The Christian Front, led by Mrad, said during a meeting at its headquarters in Beirut's Achrafieh neighborhood earlier this month that it does not believe the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah will hold. It is therefore urging the Lebanese members of Parliament to request the deployment of international forces amid "the anticipated failure of the cease-fire agreement." Mrad explained to Fox News Digital that while, by his estimate, roughly 70% of the country does not back Hezbollah, the government and the army are not strong enough to completely dismantle the terrorist group or to prevent it from posing a future threat to Israel, a situation that risks a repeat of past failures. Previous international agreements under U.N. Resolution 1559, signed in 2004, and Resolution 1701, signed in 2006, called for the disarmament and dissolution of all militia groups and for the deployment of U.N. and Lebanese forces to the south of the country to stop Hezbollah from gaining a hold in the areas bordering Israel. Both resolutions failed to be realized. "We know now, in this situation, the Lebanese army couldn't implement Resolution 1559 to force Hezbollah to [drop] their arms," Mrad told Fox News Digital through a translator. "That's why our demand for help is from the United Nations. They could come in and implement those two resolutions ... [but] we want Americans and Germans and the British to be present in these forces." Fox News Digital could not immediately reach the State Department for comment on whether the U.S. has been approached by Lebanon about a request to deploy U.S. troops. Concerns in Beirut that the cease-fire will fail coincided with threats levied this week by Israel's defense minister that Jerusalem will no longer distinguish between Lebanon and Hezbollah should the terrorist group break the agreement. When asked about the warning issued by Katz last week, the Lebanese Christian leader said this approach would be a "mistake" that could turn the tide against Jerusalem. "If they do that, then the Lebanese people will be against Israel. As I said before, most of the people are against Hezbollah now, not against Israel," he said. "If they target [civilians], that will be a mistake," he added, noting he did not believe Jerusalem will actually begin pursuing non-Hezbollah targets. News / National by Staff reporter The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has arrested Khumbulani Sibanda (39) for allegedly fabricating a robbery report involving the theft of US$287,000 and an unregistered Toyota Allion vehicle. The incident reportedly took place in Harare on December 11, 2024, with the stolen car later found abandoned in Mutoko.In a statement, ZRP national spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi revealed that investigations had determined the robbery was a hoax. Sibanda, according to Nyathi, had staged the robbery and traveled to Mutoko by public transport, where he used an identification card from a local bus company to create a false narrative."Upon arrival in Mutoko, Sibanda contacted a local business owner, claiming he was interested in purchasing the business's garage in Adbennie for US$900,000. He later told the businessperson that he had been robbed of the money," Nyathi explained.Further investigations uncovered that Sibanda had gone to great lengths to lend credibility to his fabricated story. He reportedly approached several businesspeople, private security firms, and property owners, asserting that he had significant cash reserves and was interested in purchasing residential and commercial properties in Harare.To add to the illusion, Sibanda even initiated the sale process with some property owners and hired private security companies to provide cash-in-transit services. His elaborate scheme was designed to gain trust and sympathy from his targets in a bid to manipulate them into handing over money.Nyathi emphasized that Sibanda's actions were an attempt to exploit the victims' goodwill, with the intention of deceiving them for financial gain. "The suspect's goal in faking the robbery was to exploit the victims' sympathy and manipulate them into giving him money," said Nyathi.The ZRP has urged the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities as investigations continue into Sibanda's actions. His arrest serves as a reminder of the lengths to which individuals may go to deceive others for personal gain. Delhi Chief Minister Atishi wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday, accusing the BJP-led Centre of settling "a large number of illegal Rohingyas" in different parts of the city. With the AAP targeting Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri over his tweets and claiming that settling these refugees here was a "conscious decision" of the BJP-led NDA government, the minister accused AAP of indulging in "politics of diversion, false narratives and half-truths". In the run-up to the Delhi Assembly polls due in February 2025, the ruling AAP and BJP have been hitting out at one another over the issue of illegal Rohingya and Bangladeshi people staying in the national capital. The BJP has already complained to the Election Commission about illegal Rohingyas and Bangladeshis registered as voters in Delhi "at the behest of AAP". Citing two tweets by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in 2022, Atishi alleged the Union government has settled a large number of illegal Rohingya refugees in different parts of the national capital by keeping the people and the government of Delhi in the dark. "This seems to be going on for the past several years. On August 17, 2022, Union Urban Development Minister Hardeep Puri published two tweets that clearly show that it is a 'conscious decision and policy' of the BJP government to settle these refugees in Delhi," she alleged in the letter to Shah. "From the post of Puri, it seems they were settled into EWS (Economically Backward Class) flats of Bakkarwala. These flats were meant for the poor people of Delhi. It appears that the rights and facilities meant for the people of Delhi are being given away to migrants," Atishi said. Puri hit back with an X post on Sunday saying, "Aam Aadmi Party continues with its politics of diversion, false narratives and half-truths. Facts and actual position on illegal Rohingya migrants were immediately clarified through a tweet on the same day which they selectively chose to ignore, and continue to do so." "No Rohingya migrant has been given a govt house in Delhi. In fact, contrary to the drummed-up AAP rhetoric they are actually the ones who play host to the illegal Rohingyas in Delhi, have settled them in large numbers, give them electricity and water, and even pay them Rs 10,000," he alleged. Atishi claimed these migrants would not just cause law-and-order problems for Delhiites but also "take away their jobs" and strain the city's limited resources. Citing media reports, she claimed that thousands of Rohingya migrants were crossing the India-Bangladesh border every day without any hindrance. "This shows how the BJP government has completely failed to protect our borders. If this situation continues, is our country in a position to handle such a large number of refugees? The answer is NO. Then why is the BJP government not doing anything to stop this illegal migration?" she asked Shah. The Delhi chief minister also asked how the immigrants, after crossing the international border, managed to reach Delhi thousands of kilometres away. "Were these illegal immigrants transported to different parts of India by the BJP government in a systematic manner by keeping the people of India in the dark? How many Rohingyas did you transport and relocate to Delhi?" she posed. Atishi said it was "most shocking" that the BJP-led Union government "settled" these Rohingyas in different parts of Delhi while the "party-appointed" lieutenant governor directed the Delhi Police to conduct a door-to-door survey to identify Rohingyas. She demanded Shah provide a complete list of Rohingyas settled in Delhi and emphasised that no illegal refugees should be settled in the city in future without consulting the people and the Delhi government. Last week, the Delhi LG Secretariat directed the chief secretary and police commissioner of Delhi to launch a two-month special drive to identify and take strict action against illegal Bangladeshi immigrants residing in the national capital. Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his death anniversary on Sunday, describing him as an inspiration for the country. Lauding the former deputy prime minister and home minister as an "iron man", Modi said his personality and work would continue to be an inspiration for the country's people for the unity and integrity of the nation and the fulfilment of the goal of a developed India. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday paid tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his death anniversary. In a post in Hindi on X, Adityanath said Patel's efforts to unite the country are the inspiration behind working towards building "Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat". "Humble tributes to the architect of modern India, farmer well-wisher, Iron Man, 'Bharat Ratna' Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel ji on his death anniversary! His contributions in giving a form to the unity, integrity and sovereignty of the nation will always inspire us to work towards building 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat'," the chief minister said. At a tribute meeting on Patel's death anniversary, Adityanath highlighted the country's first home minister's unwavering dedication to Mother India. "As a key member of the Constituent Assembly and the first home minister of independent India, Sardar Patel spearheaded the integration of more than 563 princely states into the Republic, laying the foundation for a unified and strong nation. The India we see today is a testament to Sardar Patel's vision, efforts and tireless commitment to the ideals of 'One India, Great India, Safe India'," he said. According to a press statement, the chief minister highlighted Patel's active participation in major movements for India's independence, including the Champaran Movement, Salt Satyagraha and Quit India Movement, during which he was also imprisoned. Adityanath also launched numerous public awareness campaigns aimed at ensuring the prosperity of farmers. He noted that Patel's vision laid the foundation for Gujarat's strong cooperative movement, which played a key role in empowering farmers and elevating them to new heights of prosperity. Adityanath further said Patel, a great son of Mother India, not only led the campaign for the country's unification but also ensured the restoration of its dignity, which was tarnished during the colonial period. He highlighted that the revival of the Somnath temple, a symbol of cultural resurgence, was part of this mission. The chief minister said if Patel was alive today, Article 370 of the Constitution would never have been imposed on Jammu and Kashmir. He lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for abrogating the provisions of the article on August 5, 2019, dismantling the foundation of terrorism and paving the way for a unified and strong India. Adityanath also highlighted that the Ram temple in Ayodhya is a significant part of a new, cultural India, drawing a parallel with the revival of the Somnath temple initiated by Patel in 1948. Patel, who was India's first deputy prime minister and home minister, breathed his last on December 15, 1950. Born in Gujarat's Nadiad in 1875, Patel was a pivotal figure in India's struggle for independence. Renowned for his exceptional leadership and unyielding commitment to national integration, he is fondly remembered as the "Iron Man of India". The "Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat" initiative was announced by the BJP-led Centre on October 31, 2015, on the 140th birth anniversary of Patel. It aims at enhancing interaction between people living in states and Union territories and promoting mutual understanding. News / National by Staff reporter A fire broke out at the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) headquarters in Harare early Sunday morning, causing significant damage to buildings and property, according to an official statement.The blaze, which struck the army complex located at Josiah Magama Tongogara Barracks (formerly known as KG6), began around 2:50 AM on December 15, 2024. Fortunately, no casualties have been reported.Army spokesman Colonel Alphios Makotore confirmed that fire fighters were quickly dispatched to the scene and successfully contained the fire. "The incident occurred in the early hours of December 15, 2024, at around 2:50 AM. Firefighters were dispatched and managed to contain the blaze. No reported casualties at the barracks," Makotore said.While the cause of the fire remains under investigation, the incident has raised concerns over the extent of the damage. "Damage to buildings and other valuable property was extensive," Presidency spokesman George Charamba stated on social media platform X.Makotore added that a thorough investigation would be conducted to determine the cause of the fire. "Investigations into the cause of the fire will soon be launched. The ZNA will continue giving updates as more information becomes available," he said.The fire has raised questions about the security of military facilities and the potential impact on the operations of the Zimbabwe National Army. Authorities are expected to release more details as investigations progress. News / National by Staff reporter NIGER has suspended the operations of the British media company, BBC, owing to the suspicion that the company is trying to disrupt the country's peace.Niger's government has suspended the UK-based broadcasting network, BBC, for three months, over its reporting of a terrorist attack that allegedly killed dozens of its soldiers and civilians."BBC broadcasts false information aimed at destabilizing social calm and undermining the troops' morale," said Raliou Sidi Mohamed, Niger's communications minister.His statement was aimed at local radio stations that rebroadcast BBC content. He instructed that they cut off all content that traces back to BBC.The British network on Wednesday reported that jihadists massacred 90 troops and up to 40 people in Chatoumane, located in the western Tera area bordering Burkina Faso and overflowing with armed rebels.However, Niger, on the same day, denied the details of the report, calling the allegations of the massacre "baseless assertions" and a "campaign of intoxication," as seen on AP News.This is hardly the first time Niger has had a running-in with foreign media.Niger vs western influenceIn September, Wassim Nasr, a France 24 journalist was served a lawsuit by the Alliance of the Sahel States (AES), which consists of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso.They alleged that the journalist was culpable for instigating acts of terrorism by contacting terrorists who are currently causing severe insecurity problems in the West African sub-region.These decisons to sanction Western media align with the AES's new political stance to expel as much Western influence as possible.The nations that make up the AES in recent years have all been switched to military rule, after successful coups.For Niger, a group of soldiers from the presidential guard announced the ousting of Bazoum, on the the 26th of July 2023.The country has since been governed by the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, which is being commanded by the guard's commander, Abdourahamane Tiani.However, on the 10th of August, Tiani issued an order establishing a transitional administration.Additionally, Niger, alongside fellow AES countries, opted to form their regional coalition outside of ECOWAS, despite being a part of West Africa.They did this noting that ECOWAS still had a strong affiliation with the West, which is counterproductive to what they are trying to achieve. Almost three out of four young people aged 14-29 in Ireland (73 per cent), including in Louth, are anxious when thinking about climate change, while one out of three are feeling hopeful regarding climate action. Thats according to newly released interim findings from the 2024 Youth Climate Justice Survey, a joint initiative between ECO-UNESCO and SpunOut.ie, which highlights how young people in Ireland feel about climate justice issues. The new data was announced by ECO-UNESCO Irelands leading environmental education youth organisation together with five other prominent national youth organisations Feachtas, Irish Girl Guides, the No Name Club, Poppintree Youth Project and Young Irish Filmmakers as part of ECO-UNESCOs annual Earth Gala climate justice event held on Saturday at the Irish Museum of Modern Art. The climate justice event was attended by special guest the Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin Donna Cooney, while Stefania Giannini, assistant director-general for education at UNESCO, welcomed participants to the day with a video message highlighting the importance of youth participation. A new Youth Climate Justice Manifesto drawn up at the Earth Gala brought together young people, scholars, policymakers, charity leaders and advocates from across the country to collaborate on solutions for a more sustainable and equitable future. The day celebrated young people action projects as ECO-UNESCO Youth Climate Advocates, and participants worked closely with noted illustrator and artist Maeve Clancy to develop a climate justice communications campaign with interactive comics. Partner organisations presented local climate action projects that they developed over the past months, which included a climate justice mural in Dublins Ballymun. A youth panel discussion on the topic of Voices for Change: How Can Young People be Advocacy Champions? was led by the UN Youth Delegate for Ireland and representatives from the Youth Advisory Panel at the Ombudsman for Childrens Office. Commenting, national director, ECO-UNESCO, Elaine Nevin said: We were thrilled to welcome over 70 young people from around Ireland to our annual Earth Gala, which is a fantastic opportunity for our Youth Climate Advocates to come together, to share their local action projects and to celebrate their achievements. This year, young people had the opportunity to speak with key experts and policy makers, and to develop a manifesto around climate and environmental issues. Our interim Youth Climate Justice Survey results for 2024 show that young people are feeling very anxious about climate change, including young people in Louth, but that one in three are also hopeful. This is important as young people can feel overwhelmed considering the climate and biodiversity loss, but it is important that organisations like ECO-UNESCO can provide a positive outlet and a channel through which young people can take action. The Youth Climate Justice Survey collects the views of more than 1,000 young people in Ireland aged 14-29 every year, including from Louth. The 2024 survey is running until 31st December and can be accessed here. The survey is also available in Irish and can be accessed here. The Earth Gala climate justice event is an in-person event which is part of the Youth Climate Advocate Programme at ECO-UNESCO, funded by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, through the Youth Climate Justice Fund. It is an annual celebration of youth-led climate action that fosters meaningful conversations on climate justice and advocacy. Saturdays Earth Gala showcased innovative projects addressing the climate crisis led by young people from ECO-UNESCO and partner bodies, including fellow national youth organisations Feachtas, Irish Girl Guides, the No Name Club, Poppintree Youth Project and Young Irish Filmmakers. For more information about ECO-UNESCO, see www.ecounesco.ie. After almost nine years of work, led by one man, which included searching through sources including birth records, marriage records, census forms, photographs, and gravedigger daily diaries, a massive project finally came to fruition last Thursday night, with the official launch at the County Hall in Dundalk of a free, searchable database of burials for St Patricks Cemetery in Dowdallshill, Dundalk. Jim Kerley, a committee member of the Old Dundalk Society, was behind the mammoth project, and spoke to the Dundalk Democrat ahead of the launch. A retired fireman in Dundalk Fire Station, Jim explained that he is also very interested in family trees and was often in St Patrick's Cemetery looking at gravestones and so on, but often found that headstones were worn away. Recognising the importance of retaining the information, he did some work and found that the burial records still existed, I went back to the [Old Dundalk Society ] committee and said, 'we need to do something about this to preserve the records and record them, and they said, that's a great idea, you go and do something about it!' And that was about eight years ago, close to nine. The results of the project can now be found at the website, https://arcg.is/1bmPy41. To begin the job, Jim first spoke to Paddy Donnelly, former Director of Service with Louth County Council for permission to have access to the records. He spoke to Lorraine McCann in the Archive Services, and Registrar Ciaran Rafferty, and also to Alan Hand in the Council library reference section and Pasty Bailey, sacristan in St Patricks. Jim also consulted the four local undertakers Quinns, McGeoughs, Shevlins and Dixons and members of the Old Dundalk Society. Above: Jim Kerley with his wife Jacinta, daughter Aoife, and sons Niall and Lorcan at the launch night St Patrick's Cemetery at Dowdallshill is the burial place of around 23,000 former residents of Dundalk and surrounding areas. The graveyard, which opened on Good Friday in 1895, contains over 11,000 graves. The information available on the website in relation to those buried at the graveyard, is made all the more remarkable when the amount of work that went into compiling it is explained. Jim explains a little bit about how to use the site and what information is available. In my case, if you punch in the surname Kerley, it will show up 11 graves in the graveyard with dots. Click on any one of them, it will tell you who all is in the grave. It will give you all the information, the date they died, the date they were buried, whether they were married, single, where they lived, right across the board. Any information we have in the books. It will tell you then, where the grave is, the section, it will tell you the row, it will tell you how many graves in from the path. It will tell you whether it is a double, a single or a triple. It will tell you if there is a headstone. For instance, if it is a big grave, you ended up might have, say ten people in a triple grave. There could be kids, etc. There could possibly be only a surname on the headstone, which you often see. Above: Jim Kerley with Enda Finn DKIT and Micheal Gosling, President of the Old Dundalk Society browsing through the digital register When you're looking down the information, say you pick Kerley and you go into one of the big graves, it's showing James Kerley, but then it will tell you how many people are in the grave. So if it says, say ten in that grave but you can only see six Kerleys, that means there's four people of different surnames in it, such as the daughter or a sister, things like this. It will tell you the grave number, so if you search by grave number, it will give you everybody that is in that grave, no matter what names they are. If you thought that was good, you then give the GPS coordinates, and even if there is no headstone, it will show you the piece of ground that they are buried in. Above: Willie Walsh Snr Executive Officer and David Jones Director of Services, Louth Co Council at the launch Once it was recognised that the body of work needed to get the database compiled was so immense, Jim contacted Louth Volunteers, who would transcribe the the records. So I would send two photographs and one page of the records to the volunteer and I would send them an excel sheet as well and they'd fill it in, he explained. They would fill out whatever they could make out, if they weren't sure they highlighted it in one colour, if they couldn't make it out they left it blank and so on. They'd send that back to us and then we'd cross reference it with either the grave number, other people that was gone into it, we'd look at the obituaries in the Dundalk Democrat, you would cross reference it in any way possible. Through meticulous referencing and cross referencing, Jim and the team finally got the data compiled. When we got the queries, at one stage I had 790, there were people who were outstanding, we know they died but their graves weren't matching. I'm now down to around 123 and of those we know we'll get more, there's one or two we won't. Getting the information into a database and onto a website was the next task. Jim's next port of call was to DkIT (Dundalk Institute of Technology), where he was introduced to Dr Brendan Ryder, Head of Department of Visual and Human-Centered Computing, and Dermot Logue and Enda Finn, of Department of Computing Science and Mathematics. Seeing the potential for the project, Jim was given the go ahead to pitch the idea to students to develop the idea as their final year project. Fourth year students Kieron Peters, Vitaliy Vasyltsiv, AbdulFatai Saliu and David Asare signed up to develop the website, database and Android App. Jim was happy to share the news that the work on the project helped six people get their degree at DkIT. The truly remarkable body of work carried out by Jim and those who assisted him can be seen and tried out at https://arcg.is/1bmPy41 where it is hosted by Louth County Council. Unlike the students at DkIT, Jim says he never got a degree, but laughingly adds I might get one of those complimentary ones now. Leading such an astounding body of work and the unique knowledge he has picked up in the process, one can only imagine that if anyone deserves an honorary doctorate as a result of this, Jim certainly does. Last week O Fiaich Institute in Dundalk welcomed over 30 universities and employers to its annual Career's Fair. With more than 800 students set to graduate in May, the event proved to be an invaluable platform for networking and exploration of diverse career paths. Students from O Fiaich Institute will graduate with either a QQI Level 5 or Level 6 Certificate, providing them with the flexibility to either pursue higher education at universities or step directly into the workforce. Representatives from renowned universities across Ireland and the UK eagerly engaged with OFI students, to offer the range of different pathways available to higher education. The event provided a unique opportunity for local employers and apprenticeships to interact with students, offering insights into the myriad of career options awaiting them upon graduation. Among the distinguished institutions present were DCU, DKIT, Maynooth University, IADT, TUS, Ulster University, University of Limerick, UCD, TUD, Trinity College, University of Galway, and National College of Ireland. The event was not only a success for the students but also for the diverse array of employers in attendance. Companies such as Bus Eireann, AMTCE, Renaissance Beauty, Skills to Advance, Staffline, Servisource, ESB, Dundalk Credit Union, Talbot Group, SUMI Trust, RSTC, St John of Gods, Irish Red Cross, An Garda Siochana, Moffett Automated, Employability Service and Irish Life were actively engaging with potential future employees. O Fiaich Institute believes the Career's Fair shows the importance of fostering connections, ensuring that graduating students are well-equipped to embark on successful career journeys. The diverse range of universities and employers in Dundalk, highlights the region's appeal as a hub for highly skilled graduates. As students of O Fiaich Institute prepare to graduate in May, the ripple effects of this successful event are expected to be felt for months to come, as students embark on new educational pursuits or join the workforce, armed with the knowledge and connections gained at the Career's Fair. Israel has said it will close its Dublin embassy, accusing Ireland of crossing every red line. Foreign minister Gideon Saar announced the closure in a statement due to the extreme anti-Israel policies of the Irish Government. Irish premier Simon Harris said he was deeply disappointed by the move, with deputy premier Micheal Martin stating there are no plans to close the Irish embassy in Israel. Mr Harris also said he utterly rejected the assertion that Ireland is anti-Israel. Earlier this year, the Irish Government officially recognised the Palestinian state and, this week, it emerged that Ireland will formally intervene in South Africas genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Israels ambassador to Dublin was recalled in May following the Palestinian state recognition. Mr Saar said: The actions and antisemitic rhetoric used by Ireland against Israel are rooted in the de-legitimisation and demonisation of the Jewish state, along with double standards. Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with Israel. Israel will invest its resources in advancing bilateral relations with countries worldwide according to priorities that also take into account the attitudes and actions of these states towards Israel. Mr Harris responded: I am deeply disappointed by the Israeli governments decision to close its embassy in Dublin. Irelands foreign policy is founded on our deep commitment to dialogue and to the peaceful resolution of disputes. Resident embassies play a very important role in that regard. Keeping channels open has never been more important so that we can better understand each others positions, even when we disagree. Ireland wants a two state solution and for Israel and Palestine to live in peace and security. Ireland will always speak up for human rights and international law. Nothing will distract from that. Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) December 15, 2024 He continued: I utterly reject the assertion that Ireland is anti-Israel. Ireland is pro-peace, pro-human rights and pro-international law. Ireland wants a two-state solution and for Israel and Palestine to live in peace and security. Ireland will always speak up for human rights and international law. Nothing will distract from that. Tanaiste Mr Martin said he believed in the importance of maintaining diplomatic channels of communication. He said: Irelands position on the conflict in the Middle East has always been guided by the principles of international law and the obligation on all states to adhere to international humanitarian law. This has been the case with regard to our response to the terrorist attack by Hamas in Israel on October 7 2023, and to the conduct by Israel of its military operations since then. The continuation of the war in Gaza and the loss of innocent lives is simply unacceptable and contravenes international law. It represents the collective punishment of the Palestinian people in Gaza. We need an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Mr Martin said Ireland and Israel will continue to maintain diplomatic relations, adding: Inherent in that is the right to agree and disagree on fundamental points. There are no plans to close Irelands embassy in Israel, which is carrying out important work. My daughter and I had a Magical Easter Adventure at Enchanted Kingdom last Easter Sunday, April 4, 2010 where we get to have a close encounter with a live white lion, Zoori. Zoori is barely a year old and lives at the Residence Inn at Tagaytay since he was a cub so he is very tame and is used to people already. He was at Enchanted Kingdom to meet us for the blessing of the Zooris Advenure, an interactive museum for kids where guest can have an interactive encounter with the mechanical white lions in different chambers of the museum. My daughter and I was able to pet Zoori for a bit and had a photo opp with him! Zoori is such a sweet white lion, I called it the way I call my pet cat mimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing and it looked right at me and I took a nice shot! Isnt he so adorable! I wanna hug him and take him home! He is like a giant kitty cat! Zooris care taker told us not to touch Zoori while taking a photo with him so he will not look back at us. But daughter wanted to touch him so if you notice I restrained her hand a bit. Not touching him is for photo qualitys sake and not because he will bite or claw you. You can have a close encounter with a white lion too if you visit Enchanted Kingdom now as Zoori will be staying there for as long as you want him there. Zooris adventure is a partnership of EK with the Yupangco group that brought Zoobic Safari and Residence Inn. Facts about White Lions 1. White Lions are a rare specie and can only be found in the Timbavati region. It is a genetic rarity and the light discoloration of their fur cannot be liken to albinism. 2. The cause of their discoloration of the white lion is still unidentified. 3. The White Lions belong to the Panthera leo. 4. The earliest recorded sighting of white lions in the Timbavati region was in 1938. However, the oral records of African elders indicate that these unique animals survived in this region for many centuries. 5. Since their discovery by the West, white lions and those lions carrying the unique gene have been hunted, and forcibly removed from their natural endemic habitat. 6. The last white lion was seen in the wild in 1994, after which time they were technically extinct in the wild. 7. Currently, there is no law nationally or internationally that protects the White Lions from extinction. (source: Global White Lion Protection Trust) Zooris Adventure Launch Photos: I know the feeling of free travels with all expense paid trip. Its living the dream! I couldnt thank how surprisingly great my 2016 was with all the amazing travel opportunity that came my way. If only I can bring everyone with me, or at least give them the same opportunity, I would. Fortunately, AirAsia Philippines has come up with their #ThankYou Christmas Campaign Blog Writing Competition . This gives the chance of a free travel plus pocket money to all Filipino Filipino blogger aged 18 above. Blogger must be a resident of the Philippines and at least have an existing blog for over a year with 20 post in it. To be very specific about the prize for this #ThankYou Christmas Campaign blog writing contest : The grand winner can win 2 round trip international tickets and PhP 20,000! The 2nd place can bring home 1 round trip international and 1 round trip domestic ticket plus PhP 10,000 while the 3rd place can get 2 round trip domestic tickets plus PhP 5,000! Here is the contest mechanics: Blog about the AirAsia #ThankYou campaign by: Watching and embedding the AirAsia #ThankYou campaign video posted on the AirAsia Philippines Facebook page to your blog: Sharing your thoughts about the video. Sharing who you want to thank this Christmas and why. Share your blog post entry on your Facebook account, tag the person you want to thank (if the person does not have a Facebook account then you can just mention him or her on the Facebook post) and use the hashtags #AirAsiaPH and #ThankYou. Make sure your Facebook account is in public setting. Register your entry by e-mailing hello@comcoglobal.com your full name, e-mail address, contact number, birth date and the title and URL of your blog entry. Deadline of publishing of blog post and submission of entries is on December 31, 2016. Entries will be rated according to Creativity (60%), Use of Media such as photos, videos, artworks, music etc. (20%), and Popularity (10%) which will be indicated by positive feedbacks or comments on the blog post. The deadline of submission is on December 31, 2016 and the announcement of winners is on January 06, 2017. To learn more about AiraAsia Philippines #ThankYou Christmas Campaign, visit the AirAsia Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/airasiaph/ Good luck bloggies! I might join (*wink wink) Stay gorgeous everyone! Happy Skin is the only homegrown makeup brand in the country that I know so far uses very cute makeup packaging and very punny makeup product names. Proving that is yet again the launch of their Eye Woke Up Like This makeup collection composing of 6 new eye makeup product to achieve that I woke up like this look a look people on socia media post showing how good looking they are effortlessly with the focus on the eyes that fresh and bright. 1. Happy Skin At Long Lash Supercurl Waterproof Mascara (Php999) The product that made us all surprised, curious and excited was the bristles free mascara wand. Tge wand is rod type and promises to coqt each lash from base to tip without clumping. The formula is smudge-proof, sweat proof, sebum resistant and tears resistant!!! made with Japanese nylon fiber to curl and lenghten lashes without drooping. I shall show a review of this product separately since like you I am curious how effecient and effective this product is. Although you can see a short clip of the after when I tried using this product on the event vlog I made posted above ?. Skip video until 7:30 to see the unique wand! 2. Happy Skin Say Eye Do Easy Eyeshadow Cushion Duo (Php699) A double ended eyeshadow pen to dress up your eyes on the go. No brush needed. Comea in two blendable shades, champagne and espresso, which can transworm your look from day to night in an instant. What makes it different is it is infused eith Argan Oil to nourish the lids and allow the product tp glide on smoothly. 3. Happy Skin Grooming Precision Tweezers (Php299) Just look at it and you know what it does! Kilay is life and so is this two-in-one tool. 4. Happy Skin Pretty Clean Inatant Makeup Eraser (Php499) Everyone should have this in their on-the-go makeup it. It is a life saver! It cleans up makeup mishaps especially smudging eye makeup really fast and efficient. Yes it is a miracle, and I am a believer. I saw it with my own two eyes! It is pen-type with silky, non-greasy formula with Argan Oil, dissolves even long wearong makeup ? 5. 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News / National by Staff reporter Lake Chivero Recreational Park has been rocked by the deaths of four rhinos, along with several other species, due to contamination from cyanobacteria in the water sources of the park. Despite intervention from veterinarians from the University of Zimbabwe and the Veterinary and Capture Unit, the contamination has taken a toll on the park's biodiversity.In addition to the tragic loss of the rhinos, other wildlife has been severely affected. Three zebras, four wildebeests, and four fish eagles have died, as well as goats and cattle from nearby farms. Efforts to mitigate the crisis by placing salt blocks, game nuts, and creating artificial water points with clean water have not been enough to deter the animals from drinking from the contaminated lake."The pollution challenges facing this lake require a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach," said a spokesperson for the authorities managing the park. "We urge the public and relevant authorities to understand the effects of pollution and to join us in advocating for better environmental practices to protect our biodiversity."In response to the ongoing crisis, temporary corrective measures have been implemented. However, authorities are calling for further action to protect the lake and its surrounding ecosystem.Lake Chivero is one of Zimbabwe's seven Ramsar sites, designated for its ecological importance. As the country prepares to host the Ramsar Convention CoP15 next July, the event presents a crucial opportunity to bolster efforts aimed at conserving the lake and addressing pollution.Authorities emphasize that this tragedy highlights the urgency of strengthening conservation efforts at Lake Chivero and calls on all stakeholders to support efforts to prevent further damage to the park's rich wildlife and ecosystem. Your honeymoon trip is sure to be one of the most memorable trips that you take with your spouse. Plus, it sets the tone for your marriage relationship in general. While you should be working within some type of budget so that you know how much you are actually spending, this is not the time to cut corners. Instead, save up so that you can afford one of these four amazing big budget trips that are sure to be different from any vacation you have ever experienced. Europe Europe is a fabulous place to travel even if you have visited there previously. You can hit many historical spots here, and find plenty to match every personality. If you enjoy the Old World feel, head to Vienna or Budapest. For pure romance, try the Ritz in Paris. If you have plenty of time to spare, try a long European tour custom-designed for your interests. African Safari While a safari may not have made it onto your initial list of honeymoon options, do not dismiss the idea simply because the two of you are not adventure lovers. You have a variety of options of where to travel for a safari, including Kenya, the Shaba National Reserve and Masai Mara. While you will enjoy seeing native wildlife and gorgeous vistas, you may be surprised at some of the romantic rooms where you and your love can get comfortable overnight. Bora Bora Bora Bora is perfect if you love to relax by the ocean. With ultra-private rooms located right on the water, you will have plenty of time to spend with your spouse enjoying the quiet and watching sea creatures. Many hotels offer private butlers and extravagant dining options. Dubai Dubai is the current hotspot of popular culture in the Middle East. Known for its pure extravagance, Dubai is a great option for your honeymoon if you want to relax in the lap of luxury, enjoy amazing spa services and get in some great shopping. Such places as the Armani Hotel Dubai and Atlantis, the Palm offer the most in elegance and exclusive beaches. Make sure to set aside time to relax on your honeymoon, and remember that this trip is all about the two of you. Be sure to plan activities, dining and travel that matches both of your personalities. For example, you may love adventure and want to do a lot of exploring during your trip. On the other hand, if you prefer restful relaxation, you may want to invest more money in a high-end hotel than you do into a travel guide. Treat your love to something special, and start your marriage out on the right foot. One New Years Eve many years ago, the Cork-based journalist and author, Mary Leland, remembers thinking that she was lonely. She hadnt been invited to any parties to welcome in the New Year. But then she thought of her three children sleeping upstairs in their Blackrock home and realised that she was anything but lonely. It made me change my whole feeling about New Years Eve and Christmas. Im perfectly content on my own. And I now say to my (grown-up) children that they dont have to come home and they dont have to invite me over. Im absolutely fine. I have church, I have friends and I have somebody to have dessert with. The children come home when they can but its an expensive business. Its lovely if they do come at Christmas but you shouldnt expect it or demand it. Mary believes that we can choose to be happy. Its about making the most of what you have and what you can do with it. That sounds as though I had it very methodically thought out. I hadnt. And besides, bringing up children alone combined with her career meant there wasnt much opportunity for Mary to indulge herself. What makes Mary sad is seeing marriages break up where the couple is reluctant to make it easier for one another, especially when there are children involved. Marys marriage break-up is not something she wants to talk about. But there was a silver cloud. It sounds terrible but the best times in my life were when the children were taken away for a fortnight with their dad (John OShea) because I had the whole two weeks to myself and didnt have to worry about anyone except the dog. That sort of freedom, for a busy writer trying to snatch tracts of time to write, was invaluable to Mary. And she was always glad to see the children return because she felt refreshed. It was almost as good as a holiday. Not everyone has that luxury of choice. I was lucky that (the marriage break-up) was amicable. Mary Leland has had a long career as a journalist A familiar sight on first nights at the theatre, particularly The Everyman where she always sits in the back row, pen and notebook in hand, reviewing plays for the Irish Times, Mary has had a lengthy and successful career. It included writing a column for the Sunday Independent. For seventeen years, she wrote about old houses and other properties for the Irish Examiner property pages, initially encouraged by the late editor and poet, Sean Dunne. Mary (83) continues to write about the arts for the Irish Times. While she says she is a writer first and a journalist second, she enjoys journalism too much to give it up. She was a member of the RTE authority from 1985 to 1990. And she has had a number of non-fiction books published, including At Home in Ireland, a selection of heritage features for the Irish Examiner. Speaking about the theatre scene in Cork, which she has been writing about for decades, Mary says the closure of Corcadorca theatre company is a terrible loss after 31 years of exciting site-specific plays, directed by Pat Kiernan. What of her literary work, her stylish lyrical writing? Mary has had two novels published; The Killeen in 1985 and Approaching Priests in 1991, as well as a short story collection, The Little Galloway Girls, published in the 1980s. Her short stories have appeared in a number of anthologies including the Faber Book of Best New Irish Short Stories 2006-7. That may not sound hugely prolific but Mary is always writing fiction as well as her newspaper work. And the many short stories she has written, starting off in the New Irish Writing pages of the Irish Press edited by David Marcus, take time. They are harder to write than novels, says Mary. She is currently working on something. She is not sure what shape it will take. Its outgrowing me and Im terrified its going to outlive me at this stage. Is she happy with it? Im happy to be doing it. Asked if she is a disciplined writer, Mary says she isnt. Thats the issue with having a family, I suppose. There are two strongly competing demands and obviously the family (which includes seven grandchildren) is the priority. But I always remember something David Marcus said. I complained to him once while I was writing a lot of short stories that people dont take me seriously. They think they can just knock at the door this is still happening and drop in expecting me to be able to trot over to them. David had no sympathy. He said that theyll take me seriously when I take myself seriously. And its true. Really great writers have been mostly able to make that choice. They pay for it in other ways. Mary is finding it hard, these days, to find a publisher for her fiction. She sent work to Irelands leading agent, Marianne Gunn OConnor, who said the writing was lovely but the novel was too quiet. Generous in her praise of contemporary Irish writers, Mary is a fan of Anne Enright, Sebastian Barry, Claire Kilroy and Kevin Barry. She hasnt yet read Kevins latest novel, The Heart in Winter, but gave copies of it as a gift to at least four people, all of whom said it is terrific. Mary, originally from Dillons Cross before moving to Blackrock when she was twelve, didnt go to university. She says that all three of her sisters could have made it to university, and one did later, but those were not the options at the time. And I dont think we felt deprived. Educated at South Presentation Convent and Miss OSullivans private school on the South Mall, Mary recalls an erudite teacher in the latter school, probably from the Oxbridge tradition, who encouraged her essay writing and poetry reading. I think she encouraged my parents to help me get into something that had a literary leaning. Marys father had started off working as a clerk at the then Cork Examiner, before becoming the company secretary and ultimately a director. Mary was thrown in at the deep end as a reporter with the Cork Examiner. It was skin of the teeth stuff. You were never quite sure. You were gullible and also, it was practically an all-male environment which made you feel uncomfortable and not quite sure what they were laughing about. At just seventeen, Mary was a bit of an innocent. I remember being sent to cover an inquest, she says, adding that there was teasing about going to see bodies. I went off to the city morgue, really anxious and scared. The coroner was John J Horgan. He treated me as though I had come for lunch. He brought me into his office and explained what a coroners inquest was. There was no body. The body was dead for months if not a year. Mary tagged along with court reporters on their beat, men such as Val Dorgan and Vincent Sullivan. Thats when I met Gerald Goldberg, again somebody who treated me as though I had just come to lunch. But it makes you like people because theyre being nice to you and helping you. And it was great training. The papers Maeve Curtis who would now be called a womens editor was covering domestic issues. She was expected to be covering knitting and strawberry cakes. It was the mid to late 60s and 70s, and Maeve was covering other (more weighty) matters. She was admirable and very sweet, a lovely person. She wasnt all sweetness. She had a real spine to her and must have been influential. But apart from the Cork Examiner, there was nowhere else in Cork for Mary to develop her career. So I applied for and got a job as a production assistant in Dublin with RTE. I stayed there for two years. I liked it because I got great experience there. Mary admiringly mentions the pioneering former RTE producer, Lelia Doolan. While Mary says there were opportunities at the national broadcaster, she didnt really avail of them. I got married and came back to Cork. But by that time, Mary had met people working at the Irish Times and started submitting articles to that paper on a speculative basis. They were published. The late editor, Donal Foley, was particularly encouraging. It was a heady time for female journalists. Mary name checks Mary Maher, Mary Holland, Mary Cummins, Mary Kenny (all the unholy Marys!) as well as Maeve Binchy and Nell McCafferty. There was a great collegiality, a sense of fellowship. Changes in technology and geography in the newspaper industry separated people and it became harder and harder to coalesce. But the friendships remained. On the subject of technology, Mary recalls frantic interviews with computer experts. You must remember me ringing you, Mary says, laughing. A case of the blind leading the blind! Soon after a conversation with freelance journalist Isabel Healy, the first person I knew to be using email, I was writing something for Declan Hassett or Dan Buckley (retired arts and features editors at the Examiner). In a mock querulous tone, Mary recalled asking: Do I have to send it by email? Gradually, she adds, the whole mystery lifted. Religion is important to Mary, although not the one in which she was brought up. She defected to the Church of Ireland from the Catholic Church. At a difficult time, support, at a time in my life when I needed it, came unfailingly from my family but not from where it might have been expected otherwise. People that Mary knew as Protestants made contact which was very welcome. Vatican Two and the drive for ecumenism of the time sharpened my awareness of other differences but were not in themselves deciding factors. I was always interested in religion but could never be described as devout and the transition was a gradual and lenient process. Such a change is not uncommon, after all, and for me, there was no formality, only mutual acceptance. Mary remembers some of her relatives being quite scandalised when I had refused to be churched (after giving birth). It was ridiculous, making a lie of the whole thing. I remember Fr Michael Cleary visiting maternity ward after maternity ward never afraid that hed find one of his own there saying youre wonderful, youre blessed, keep it up. It was sickening and he was never called out on it. (It is widely reported that Fr Cleary had fathered two children with his housekeeper.) Asked if she is a doting grandmother, Mary says: No. Certain things put you straight. I remember my daughter saying to her first child, granny is on the phone, would you like to say hello? And the answer was no, Im too busy. I felt a great weight lifted. I didnt have to have a stilted conversation with the child who was too busy. And a busy child is a happy child. What more could a busy grandmother wish for her grandchildren... This article appeared in this year's Holly Bough. The 2024 Holly Bough is now on sale and can be purchased here. A 41-year-old man who was convicted of carrying out 89 thefts was back before Cork District Court for stealing bottles of wine at three stores in the past three months. Judge Mary Dorgan sentenced Roy OCallaghan to four months in jail for his latest crimes. Judge Dorgan imposed a sentence of five months with the last month suspended. Sergeant Gearoid Davis said the accused had 296 previous convictions, of which 89 were for theft. Now he has pleaded guilty to stealing bottles of wine from Firgrove service station on September 28, at Maxol on Glasheen Road on October 13 and from Centra on Curraheen Road on October 26. Roy OCallaghan also admitted shoplifting at OConnors pharmacy on Curraheen Road on October 8. Frank Buttimer solicitor said the defendants problem is alcohol and he had been managing to stay off it but regressed around this time. He suggested that the thefts were at the lower end and that the accused admitted all of his wrongdoing. He has detoxed completely in five weeks in prison. When he is sober he is allowed to live at home with his mother. When he is not sober he is not. He has a long period of difficulty with alcohol. I would ask you to take into consideration his recovery while in prison, Mr Buttimer said in his submission to Judge Dorgan. A sentence of five months was imposed with the last month suspended. Mr OCallaghan is of no fixed address and of Bridgefield Close, Curraheen, Cork. Minister for public health, wellbeing and the national drugs strategy, Colm Burke is urging people to protect themselves this winter by availing of the quick and easy flu and Covid-19 vaccines. The free vaccines are available to be administered to eligible candidates from participating GPs and pharmacies, and are also available to healthcare workers at vaccination clinics in many workplaces. The incidence of flu are highest in those aged one to four years, followed by those aged 80 and above. According to figures provided by the Department of Health, notified influenza cases increased from 166 cases in week 47 to 277 cases in week 48. Mr Burke said that keeping up to date with vaccines, practicing good respiratory etiquette and staying home when sick are the main actions people should adhere to. By getting vaccinated we're helping prevent the spread of [the] flu and Covid-19 in our communities, which should also lighten the load on our health services during the winter," he said. Young children are particularly susceptible to severe illness from [the] flu, therefore, I urge parents to consider vaccinating their children - the influenza vaccine for children is administered as a nasal spray, which is quick and painless. See www2.hse.ie/screening-and-vaccinations for more. Cork has taken home the most awards at Bus Eireanns national annual GEM (Go the Extra Mile) Awards, which recognise excellent customer service, community impact, performance and forward-thinking. Cork winners include Janet Cooper, who took home the Wellbeing Award, Catherine Keating who won the Clerical Employee of the Year Award, and Austin Murphy who won the esteemed Hero Award for leaping into action to provide CPR to a customer in need, playing a crucial role in saving their life. The travel assistance team which began in Cork and has now been rolled out nationwide also won the Diversity and Inclusivity Award. Stephen Kent, Bus Eireann CEO said the achievements of those honoured "represent the very best of Bus Eireann". You inspire us all with your commitment, ingenuity and passion for excellence. Your dedication is at the heart of what makes us a trusted and valued public transport provider. As we look ahead, its clear that the future holds both opportunities and challenges. But what weve seen today reaffirms my belief that we have the talent, teamwork and resilience to achieve our ambitions. Together, we are building a Bus Eireann that is not only a leader in sustainable public transport but also an organisation where people are proud to worka place where careers flourish and where everyone feels valued. I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone across our organisation. Your hard work, collaboration, and dedication are what drive Bus Eireann forward. A woman who played a part in the burglary of the Creme French restaurant at MacCurtain St, where a till and cash were snatched, was sentenced to three months for her part in the crime. Donna Crowley, aged 33, of Cork Simon Community, pleaded guilty to the part she played in the burglary on February 9 at the premises. Sergeant Gearoid Davis said the premises was locked at the time when a man in Ms Crowleys company stole a till, till receipt printer, and 150 cash. The till was found later at Richmond Hill, Cork, but the printer and cash were not recovered. Sgt Davis accepted that Ms Crowley was not as seriously involved in carrying out the crime as the man who was with her at the time. Judge Mary Dorgan imposed a three-month sentence on her for her part in the crime. Cork County Council has announced funding opportunities of up to 30,000 for creative community projects. The initiative comes under the Creative Communities Programme Fund 2025, funded by Creative Ireland. This years programme will focus on new and ambitious projects that establish cultural and creative activities in communities across Cork county. The fund will assist projects that improve the quality of life and wellbeing in the community and that involve collaboration between community groups and the creative sector, such as artists, designers, makers, or arts organisations. Applications can be made for projects that will be one, two, or three years in duration, and will see a maximum award of 10,000 for a one-year project, 20,000 for a two-year project, or 30,000 for a three-year project, with a minimum award of 2,000, 4,000, and 6,000, respectively. The Mayor of the County of Cork, councillor Joe Carroll said: Cork County Council values the important role creativity plays in building vibrant communities. With the support of Creative Ireland, this scheme will encourage communities to come together to work on exciting new creative projects. Communities may be a specific place such as a town or village but can also be groups of people who share an identity, or those who share an experience. Applications for the fund can be made via Cork County Councils website www.corkcoco.ie, until Thursday, January 23. Two special information sessions in relation to the programme will take place online on December 18 at 1pm and on January 9 at 6:30pm. To register for the sessions, email creativeireland@corkcoco.ie. Opinion / Columnist It is surprising how the opposition political landscape is screaming about how Sengezo Tshabangu is selling the opposition broad day light. It is bad enough what Tshabangu is doing: it smells deep into the nostrils of decent people especially in Matabeleland. People fear to name the bad egg among them, that is Welshman Ncube. He lost all decency in Zimbabwe body politics long back. Ncube is concerned about the cash flows in the new Tshabangu leadership, and never about the renewal of a vibrant opposition. If it was possible, he would swindle Tshabangu every penny given by the government to the opposition CCC for himself.Tshabangu, in my opinion learnt fast that to sell to Zanu is a game in town. It is a script going rounds he has mustered well. With the assistance of a corrupt Zanu government hell bent to destroy the remnants of the opposition, he is creating havoc to the extent of losing his life in the process. I hardly believe that Tshabangu was poisoned by Zanu people. CCC has turned into dog-eat dog: the squabbles borders on cash-flows more that CCC party revival. Naivety is equally brutal, Tshabangu recalling of parliamentarians and senators, has nothing to do with the poor people purported to be serving. If Tshabangu is an implant; to my opinion he is, he learnt the self-serving political actions from his seniors in the MDC party, that, in politics it is eaten first and foremost, until the belly is fat. (Let me have men about me that are fat)Tshabangu must be told by decent people, especially from Matabeleland, that, what he is doing, getting thirty silver trappings from bloody hands of the likes of Mnangagwa has no blessing, be in heaven or earth. He is old enough to know the genocide activities of Zanu PF in Matabeleland, how many people died during the farm invasions, how opposition members of MDC lost limbs and life in the 2008 elections. If his conscience does not tell him to stop it, then Tshabangu is no different to Welshman Ncube. The difference being Welshman Ncube is calculative in his actions: he wants money by hook and crook; he has survived so long by selling what he could sell to the higher authorities. He has no qualms when chasing what he targets: the money. This time around, he is targeting Tshabangu to finish him with his legal mind; money will then be given to him wholly. Whether it is legally possible, he will make sure he uses all legalities he knows best in courts to get it for himself.I am writing this article in response to the article I have just read on Bulawayo24, written by Kennedy Kaitano. In my humble opinion, if Ncube's Deputy Presidency was nullified by the courts, we are at pains acknowledging the General Secretary position of Tshabangu in the CCC. Where did he come from? Both these two are not Bonafide politicians but chancers in the larger scheme of things. Their actions smack of implants of Zanu PF government that easily infiltrated in the shenanigans of CCC, unclear leadership inner fighting's; destroyed without much effort because it had weakened to all time low. Talking about Welshman Ncube's political timeline since 1999; to compare him with Jonathan Moyo, makes Jonathan a saint. There are several groundbreaking social transformations that benefited the people because of Jonathan s input. What has Tshabangu done since elected than about sacking parliamentarians, weakening the opposition in parliament, giving Zanu privilege to change the constitution that will enable Mnangagwa to seek another term in office. Moral destitution of the highest order.What is intriguing, Welshman Ncube did not take legal action against Tshabangu when he declared himself Secretary General of CCC. He goes on to accept the position of revolving presidency knowing he has no locus standi in CCC, nor is Tshabangu's position in the party as SG. The confusions and chaos in the party benefited Welshman Ncube, he managed to be packaged back into politics when he had fallen disgracefully the past years. It's all about finding a golden opportunity to be relevant again in the larger scheme of things. Welshman cannot relate to the voters or suffering people on the ground. His reputation as a formidable politician crumbled, even in Matabeleland. By Rachel Vickers-Price, PA Sunday's front pages focus on a range of stories from the Government looking to buy the Citywest Hotel to help accommodate asylum seekers to Fianna Fail being split over key Government roles. The Business Post report that the Government is interested in buying the Citywest Hotel to help deal with the current accommodation crisis around asylum seekers. Our front page today. Pick up a copy in stores or subscribe at https://t.co/LyVcHklEWC for these stories plus: State to buy Citywest Hotel to confront migrant crisis Murphys takes on Guinness in the UK Simon Harris eyes move to Foreign Affairs role pic.twitter.com/IoZtiEVEGD Business Post (@businessposthq) December 15, 2024 The Sunday Independent lead with Tanaiste Micheal Martin coming under pressure to convince his parliamentary party to support Independent TD Verona Murphys candidacy for the prestigious ceann comhairle role in the new Dail. The Irish Mail on Sunday report a coalition between Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Regional Independents is all but a done deal and will be sealed by a seat at the Cabinet table for an Independent. Morning, readers. Here's a look at today's front page of the Sunday Life.https://t.co/xu3HhdtoaD pic.twitter.com/LomHOjw23x Sunday Life (@TheSundayLife) December 15, 2024 In the UK, secret agent scandals, Britains building crisis, and the truth behind some of the UKs most haunted homes are just a few of the headlines that feature on newsstands this Sunday. The Sunday Express runs with a quote by Boris Johnson, who claims Keir Starmer poses a grave threat to Brexit and must be stopped from reshackling Britain to Brussels. Sunday Express: Boris warns of Keir Brexit threat #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/wvjZmoS5BV George Mann (@sgfmann) December 14, 2024 The Sun on Sunday shares some good news from TV presenter Eamonn Holmes, who seems to be preparing to propose to girlfriend Katie Alexander. People reports the woman who murdered 10-year-old Sara Sharif in 2023 has made a new friend behind bars at Belmarsh: Fellow child killer Lucy Letby. Sunday People: Sara killer is friends with Letby #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/yIoadee6ef George Mann (@sgfmann) December 14, 2024 The Observers headline tells of accusations against Labour, accusing the UK Government of making way for a new era of slum housing by converting office spaces into flats, without any planning permission. The Observer: PM condemned for allowing a new wave of slum housing #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/uMM1PSSR9q George Mann (@sgfmann) December 14, 2024 The Sunday Times leads with a piece on the Duke of Yorks supposed ties to an alleged Chinese spy for the third day running. The Sunday Times: Andrews Chinese spy confidant met two former prime ministers #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/yEaCOphySf George Mann (@sgfmann) December 14, 2024 The Sunday Telegraph leads with a piece on a longtime Foreign Office staffer, accused of fostering ties with a global propaganda network that spruiks Chinese Communist Party ideologies. The Sunday Telegraph: Chinese influencer at heart of Whitehall #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/4G9MvDhEpq George Mann (@sgfmann) December 14, 2024 The Sunday Mirror reports more than 1,000 women have been declared homeless by charity workers, which is almost double the Governments reported figure. The paper has dubbed the discrepancy Britains hidden scandal. Sunday Mirror: Hidden scandal of homeless woman #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/35QONgjzNS George Mann (@sgfmann) December 14, 2024 Lastly, the Daily Star Sunday splashes on Homes Under The Hammer host Martin Roberts and his visits to haunted homes for the sake of television, with one house bulldozed by the new owner in the wake of one hair-raising incident. (Photo: Courtesy CBN) Evangelist Pat Robertson, who once ran for the Republican Party nomination for U.S. president and who has played an important role in mobilizing conservative Christians to vote in the United States, has said that "God is not a Republican." Robertson made the remark during an interview with Fox News presenter Chris Wallace on Oct. 17, Premier Christian News reported on Oct. 19. The 91-year-old was asked if there were any negatives to tying Christian evangelicalism to the Republican party, to which he replied: "Well, I came to realise without question that God is not a Republican, that God loves everybody. "The trouble with, you know, getting involved in partisan politics is that half the electorate you're going to make mad at you. And I should be dealing with eternal matters and not secular politics." Robertson founded the Christian Broadcasting Network and featured in the Fox News program due to his recent decision to step down from leading the "The 700 Club," a daily talk show he founded in 1966. SON TAKING OVER He announced on the 60th anniversary of CBN's first broadcast that he is moving on to new projects. "Today's show will be my final as host of The 700 Club," said Robertson. "My replacement will be my very capable son, Gordon, who will take over as full-time host of the program." He is also the founder of advocacy group the Christian Coalition which wanted to mobilize Christians to get involved in politics. During the interview, Robertson admitted that "mobilizing Christians into the political arena" was one of his "biggest achievements." "It was thought before [that] politics was something dirty," he said. "We had enormous amount of influence and I think it was important." Robertson failed to become the Republican presidential nominee in 1988, losing against Bob Dole and George H.W. Bush. The televangelist will now focus on teaching at Regent University and will still appear on a monthly, interactive episode of The 700 Club. Robertson, founded CBN in 1960 as the first Christian television network in the United States, and was America's longest-running TV host. said CBN. He explained to Wallace how he believed God used a Christian talk show format to reach souls in a new and powerful way from the earliest days of CBN's broadcasts. "People would call in the things that were going on in their life... people would call in prayer, they would call in answers, and the interaction format is what we've been using ever since," he told Wallace. He said he founded the Christian Coalition to encourage American evangelicals to make a difference in politics. "The big thing I have done is mobilize Christians into the political arena," Robertson said. "We exploded across the country. We had an enormous amount of influence and I think it was important." Sunday, December 15, 2024 Whether democracy as we know it here in the West is a good governance model for every other country is a question that has been on my mind a lot lately. That is because a good number of my Ghanaian friends, including some highly educated ones, increasingly think that the answer is no. They point to the series of democratically held elections in the country over the past three decades that have produced one dysfunctional and corrupt government after another, with socio-economic conditions having gotten progressively worse in the nation. I have been a keen observer of Ghanaian politics over that period and I completely share their frustration. The sad truth is that, for the most part, people who go into politics in Ghana dont aspire to be democrats and promoters of social welfare. Instead, they are largely seekers of wealth. Brazen theft of public funds by politicians has been a constant occurrence throughout the decades. The skeptics who argue that the democracy on offer in Ghana is a sham, and that it should be ditched, say that the country needs to come up with an indigenous governance structure as a replacement. My chief concern is that the people in this camp have not offered any clear ideas about how to even begin the process of finding this alternative mode of government. And, would anything that replaces the current form of rule serve the peoples interest any better? I am unconvinced because it would still require human beings to operate it. After carefully watching how different types of ruling systems across the world function, I have concluded that regardless of its flaws, democracy is the best form of government. Therefore, I have generally been supportive of the efforts by America and other Western nations to promote it globally. Quite unfortunately, success has been mixed, at best. In many places, with Iraq and Afghanistan being the clearest examples, the efforts have created gigantic messes. The disastrous results have led many people to openly say that the West has no business telling people elsewhere how to govern themselves. That is a shame. While there is a lot that needs correction in the Western approach, abandoning the effort entirely would be a grave mistake. Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott is one Westerner who appears to have misgivings about the suitability of democracy for certain societies. In his recent Wall Street Journal article, he argued that it wasnt wrong to topple Saddam Husseins cruel regime. But he listed a number of reasons why Iraq became such a mess. The folly was failing to restore the monarchythe only form of government that works in the Arab worldor failing to hand the government to the least bad of Saddams generals, he cited as one of the causes. That was a pretty strong statement, and I found it quite baffling. Mr. Abbott seems to say that some societies can only function well under monarchies or rule by strongmen. There are indeed substantial numbers of people who think that democracy is predominantly a Western ideal, and that it is not suitable for some cultures. I strongly disagree with that view. Self-determination is a universally cherished principle. People everywhere, regardless of their ethnicity, religion, gender or other background, want the freedom to decide what to do with their lives. The women and girls of Afghanistan dont want some tribal chiefs deciding for them whether they should be educated or not. The furious reaction of South Koreans to their presidents bizarre decision to impose martial law ten days ago clearly demonstrates that it is not only Westerners who like to have a say in how they are governed. Based on everything I know, I am fully convinced that inclusive government, which is best epitomized by participatory democracy, is the best delivery vehicle for the autonomy that so many millions of people around the world crave. Monarchic or strongman rule can provide a veneer of stability at times. But there is plenty of evidence from around the world to show that the people who live under those systems dont necessarily appreciate the false serenity. They are often ruthlessly held under control through various forms of coercion. Social stability is certainly important. And yes, sometimes governments have to use some amount of force to maintain it. But the medicine prescribed to keep a society healthy cannot have such terrible side effects that it ends up killing the people. I have lived with people from the Middle East and other parts of the Muslim world. From my interactions with them, I learned that they cherish freedom as much as those of us here in the West do. By slamming the door so shut on whatever democratic aspirations they and their fellow nationals may have, Mr. Abbott has done them a great disservice. I sincerely hope that he didnt mean his statement that way. Bird flu has been confirmed in captive birds in Norfolk just days after the government declared an avian influenza prevention zone (AIPZ) across parts of England. Highly pathogenic avian influenza was detected at a premises near Cranworth on Saturday evening (14 December) following a string of cases in the county. The affected birds on the infected premises will be humanely culled and a 3km captive bird controlled zone has been put in place, Defra said. It comes after the government declared an AIPZ across East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk following an uptick in disease cases. It means it is now a legal requirement for all bird keepers within the zone to follow strict biosecurity measures to help protect their flocks, whatever type or size. The UKs chief veterinary officer said on Friday (13 December) that the AIPZ would help 'mitigate the risk of further outbreaks of disease occurring'. It follows a number of detections of highly-pathogenic avian influenza in poultry and wild and captive birds across these counties. The AIPZ means farmers and bird keepers must follow strict biosecurity measures to help protect flocks and mitigate the risk of further outbreaks. It does not include a requirement to house birds, unless farmers or keepers are also in a 3km protection zone. However, Defra said this was being kept under constant review, adding that further disease control measures would be based on the latest scientific evidence. The UK Health Security Agency also continues to advise that the risk to public health from the virus is very low. Christine Middlemiss, UK chief veterinary officer said: "All bird keepers in these areas must take action now to both prevent disease getting in to flocks and it spreading any further. Bird keepers must exercise robust biosecurity and remain alert for any signs of disease and report suspected disease immediately to the Animal and Plant Health Agency. What does the AIPZ mean? The zone means farmers and bird keepers across East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk must: Cleanse and disinfect clothing, footwear, equipment and vehicles before and after contact with poultry and captive birds if practical, use disposable protective clothing Reduce the movement of people, vehicles or equipment to and from areas where poultry and captive birds are kept, to minimise contamination from manure, slurry and other products Carry out effective vermin control in any areas where poultry and captive birds are kept Thoroughly cleanse and disinfect housing on a continuous basis Keep fresh disinfectant at the right concentration at all farm and poultry housing entry and exit points Minimise direct and indirect contact between poultry and captive birds and wild birds, including making sure all feed and water is not accessible to wild birds Prevent access by poultry to ponds and watercourses and ensure that birds are kept in fenced or enclosed areas The Kapoor clan met Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this week to invite him to the Raj Kapoor Film Festival, held to commemorate his 100th birth anniversary. Saif Ali Khan has now opened up about the meeting and revealed the discussion he had with the Prime Minister. The actor said, "He (PM) arrived after a day in Parliament, so I was wondering if he would be tired. But he put on a warm smile and was attentive and charming to us all. He continued, "I am happy I could have been a part of it through Kareena, Karishma and Ranbir. What a lovely honour for the family to have a stamp with Raj Sahab to commemorate his 100th birth anniversary." Kareena Kapoor Khan took PM Modi's autograph for Saif and her kids Taimur and Jeh. Recalling the same, Saif Ali Khan added, "He asked about my parents individually and said he thought we would bring Taimur and Jehangir to meet him! He signed a paper for them that Kareena asked him to. To me, he looked like he was working very hard running the country and still taking time to connect on this level. I asked him how much rest he got, and he said about three hours a night. It was a special day for me. We thanked him for taking out some of his valuable time to see us and give the family so much respect." Allu Arjun and Sneha Reddy visited megastar Chiranjeevi's house a day after the Pushpa 2 actor walked out of jail. Videos are doing the rounds of social media where they can be seen driving to the actor's uncle's house in Hyderabad. Allu Arjun and Sneha also posed with the veteran actor. Prior to this, Chiranjeevi's wife Surekha visited Allu Arjun's residence in Jubilee Hills after he was arrested. Icon Star @alluarjun along with his family met Megastar @KChiruTweets garu at his residence this afternoon! pic.twitter.com/qkcU2rehWv Team Allu Arjun (@TeamAAOfficial) December 15, 2024 The actor was arrested two days back in the Hyderabad theatre stampede case that killed a woman and injured her son. The stampede was caused when Allu Arjun and his team visited the Sandhya Theatre during the premiere of Pushpa 2: The Rule earlier this month. After his arrest, he was sent to a 14-day judicial custody but he was granted interim bail for 4 weeks on a personal bond of Rs 50,000. He spent the night in jail on 13th December and walked out the next day. After his bail, he addressed the media and said, "Were extremely sorry for the family and I will personally be there to support them in whatever way possible. It was purely accidental. I was inside a cinema theatre watching a film with my family and an accident happened outside. Its purely of no direct connection to me. Its purely accidental, purely unintentional. My love and sympathies are genuinely there with the family and I will be there to support them in whatever way possible." In a high-pressure business world, working with an abusive manager can often take a toll on employees. However, one study shows that encouraging the use of workplace social media along with offering flexible work arrangements can create a more resilient workforce thats better equipped to handle the challenges of even the harshest of managers read more Toxic behaviour from supervisors including public ridicule, unfair blame and angry outbursts can push talented employees to the brink, increasing the likelihood of disengagement and turnover. Imge for Representation. Pixabay In todays high-pressure business world, demands like meeting sales targets and managing customer relationships are challenging enough. But for some workers, the real battle is surviving the toll of an abusive manager. Toxic behaviour from supervisors including public ridicule, unfair blame and angry outbursts can push talented employees to the brink, increasing the likelihood of disengagement and turnover. Just consider the quiet quitting phenomenon of recent years. As business researchers interested in workplace dynamics, we set out to look into these troubling trends. Our goal was to explore strategies for mitigating the harmful impact of so-called jerk boss behaviours, such as insulting employees as soft for declining to work weekends. Advertisement Drawing from a survey of 237 business-to-business salespeople across multiple industries, our newly published work found two low-cost, high-impact remedies. The first is to encourage productive workplace social media use. The second is to offer flexible work arrangements. How social media can help In some workplaces, managers view workplace-based apps and larger platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn and Microsoft Teams as valuable tools for networking, promotion and coordination. In others, they criticise these spaces for encouraging cyberloafing. However, an underappreciated quality of social media is its role as a support system for workers facing toxic leadership. Journalist LV Anderson once aptly described Slack as a safe space for mild grousing about management, power dynamics and subtle inequities in the workplace. An underappreciated quality of social media is its role as a support system for workers facing toxic leadership. Representational image. AFP Our research strongly supports this sentiment, highlighting how online platforms enable employees to connect, vent and bypass the formalities of traditional email. Flexible work is an underappreciated hero Another key result was that flexible work can go a long way. Personalised work schedules and telecommuting options offer a buffer against the stress caused by abusive supervisors, we found. Its easy to understand how this works: Workers feel valued when offered a tailored schedule that meets their needs. This sense of being appreciated helps offset the emotional toll of working under a jerk boss. Workers feel valued when offered a tailored schedule that meets their needs. This sense of being appreciated helps offset the emotional toll of working under a jerk boss. Image for Representation/ Pixabay So its no surprise that more and more workplaces are adopting flexible work setups. An estimated 58 per cent of the American workforce or 92 million workers are currently in roles that offer a remote or hybrid setup, according to polling from McKinsey. The same survey found that 87 per cent of people accept offers to work remotely when given the option. Advertisement Impact on business These findings are a call to action for businesses, particularly as disgruntled employees reportedly cost US firms a whopping US$1.9 trillion annually. Our work suggests that encouraging the use of workplace social media along with offering flexible work arrangements can create a more resilient workforce thats better equipped to handle the challenges of even the harshest of managers. Using both techniques in tandem seems to provide the strongest protection. To be fair, these interventions dont directly tackle abusive bosses behaviour. Addressing that may require more complex solutions, such as targeted training and improved recruitment practices. But our research suggests that, as part of a larger suite of management reforms, social media and flexible work arrangements can go a long way toward creating more supportive, functional work environments. Advertisement Andrew Edelblum, Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of Dayton; Ashish Kalra, Assistant Professor of Management and Marketing, University of Dayton; Na Young Lee, Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of Dayton; Riley Dugan, Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of Dayton, and Sangsuk Yoon, Assistant Professor of Management and Marketing, University of Dayton This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Iran is using psychiatry to curb dissent by sending women who refuse to wear the Islamic headscarf to hijab removal treatment clinics. It is a historical tactic to use mental illness to treat women who challenge the system read more Iranian women walk on a street amid the implementation of the new hijab surveillance in Tehran, Iran, April 15, 2023. File Photo/Reuters The opening of a hijab removal treatment clinic to offer scientific and psychological treatment for Iranian women who refuse to wear a hijab was announced in November. There about what will happen at these centres. The news follows reports suggesting that women protesters are being tortured and forcibly medicated in state-run psychiatric services. The moves by the Iranian authorities come shortly after student Ahou Daryaei walked onto the street in her underwear as an act of protest after being assaulted by state forces enforcing Irans hijab laws. Advertisement In response, the spokesperson for the university where Daryaei is studying posted on X (formerly Twitter) saying that she had a mental disorder, and news reports said that she had been taken to a psychiatric ward. Iran targets dissenters In Iran, the mandatory hijab law has been a contentious point of resistance ever since the Islamic Revolution in 1978. But it has become much more widespread in the past two years after the killing of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the morality police for not wearing a hijab correctly, and died in custody. Women have been at the forefront of this resistance, engaging in protests as part of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. It has called for the abolition of compulsory hijab laws and an end to gender-based oppression. But rather than acknowledging these acts as legitimate political protests, the Iranian state has increasingly sought to frame them as symptoms of individual mental illness. In 2023, three actresses, Afsaneh Bayegan, Azadeh Samadi and Leila Bolukat, were arrested for appearing in public without the hijab. Iranian judges labelled them as mentally ill and imposed a sentence which required them to attend bi-weekly psychological counselling sessions. In another instance, a protester, Roya Zakeri, was taken to a psychiatric hospital in Tabriz after footage emerged of her shouting death to the dictator when harassed for not wearing a hijab. After being released on bail, she posted a video to say that the Islamic Republic has tried to portray me as mentally ill; I am in complete physical and mental health. Advertisement An Iranian woman walks on a street amid the implementation of the new hijab surveillance in Tehran, Iran, April 15, 2023. File Photo/Reuters Psychiatry as political weapon The political use of psychiatry is not uncommon, but rather part of a broader historical strategy employed by repressive states to counter dissent. In the Soviet Union, up to a third of political dissidents were arbitrarily branded as suffering from sluggish schizophrenia and incarcerated in psychiatric hospitals. And in China, political nonconformists and activists were subjected to psychological evaluations by police officers and then forcibly detained in special psychiatric hospitals in the 1990s. (Some suggest that these tactics continue today). The specific misuse of psychiatry to treat those women who challenge the system, however, is particularly relevant. It echoes feminist concerns about how psychiatry has labelled certain behaviour by women as mental illnesses throughout history. It has also unfairly categorised them as mad women. In my research, I argue that labelling women who challenge accepted ways of doing things as mad is a form of control. This strategy pressures women to conform to certain sets of expectations of how women should behave. Advertisement Controlling womens choices In Iran, the hijab is not simply about modesty or religious observance. It is about womens compliance to traditional roles. Women who reject the hijab are seen as rejecting these, and, by extension, rejecting the authority of the state. In response, the state reframes that rejection not as an act of civil disobedience but as a form of psychological instability. Womens choice to not wear a headscarf is presented to the public as a symptom of mental illness, such as an antisocial personality disorder, histrionic disorder or bipolar disorder. Legal scholar Amita Dhanda describes this as psychologising. This is a technique through which dissent is converted from a protest against society, to a reaction that originates solely from the dissenters troubled mind. This shifts the underlying problem and the legitimacy of that dissent away from being about the institution or society to being about the individual. Irans reframing of womens protests as manifestations of mental illness is an attempt to switch focus away from the issues that prompted those acts, such as the hijab laws, portraying them instead as mad women in need of correction. Advertisement The implications are immense. When womens protests are dismissed as symptoms of mental illness, it reinforces patriarchal values as well as structures and laws that seek to maintain control over womens bodies and voices. Framing women as mad and sending them to hijab removal treatment clinics not only attempts to undermine the power of those that protest and the legitimacy of their political and social grievances, but also perpetuates the same systems of oppression that Iranian women seek to dismantle. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Over the past week, two world leaders have seen their downfall. In Syria, Bashar al-Assad has been ousted after a rebel offensive. In South Korea, the parliament has voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol. We look at the crises in both nations and more in our weekly roundup from around the world read more A man carrying a child reacts, as people attend the first Friday prayers inside the Umayyad Mosque, after fighters of the ruling Syrian body ousted Bashar al-Assad, in the Damascus old city, Syria, on December 13. The country stares at uncertainty with rebels at the helm. Reuters We are nearing the end of 2024. Christmas is all around us but is the feeling growing? The headlines scream otherwise. In West Asia, the situation continues to get complicated. Its been a week now since the fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. The rebel forces at now at the helm. As the brutality of the Assad regime is uncovered, uncertainty continues to plague the nation. South Korea is in the midst of a political crisis. A fortnight after President Yoon Suk Yeols short-lived attempt to impose martial law, he has faced two impeachments. He survived the first last Saturday (December 7) but the parliament voted to impeach him yesterday (December 14). Advertisement In the US, the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is still grabbing headlines. A suspect identified as Luigi Magione was nabbed earlier this week after days of manhunt. Magione comes from an affluent family and is a former Ivy League student. What drove him to murder? We answer this and more in our weekly wrap from around the world. 1. The unthinkable happened in Syria. Rebel forces who started an offensive against pro-government forces gained ground and took one city after another. Last Sunday (December 8), they captured Damascus and ousted President Bashar al-Assad. He fled to Russia. Who is in control of the country now? And what happens next? We explain. An Israeli tank operates in Syria, as seen from Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, on Friday (December 12). Reuters 2. Syrians might be celebrating the fall of Assad. However, chaos continues to grip the nation. Israel is targeting the countrys military assets, from airfields to naval vessels. The Israeli forces have entered the demilitarised buffer zone in the Golan Heights, a region established after the 1973 Middle East war. What does Netanyahu have at stake in Syria? 3. The Assads have ruled Syria for 50 years. But now after the rebel offensive, Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma al-Assad have become pariahs, seeking refuge in Russia. The United Kingdom has closed its doors on the former Syrian first lady, who was born in the UK. She was once dubbed as the rose in the desert but now she is as hated. This is her story. Advertisement Syrias now ousted President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma during a visit to Our Lady of Saidnaya Monastery on Orthodox Easter day in Saidnaya, Syria, on April 24, 2022. Reuters 4. South Korea has descended into chaos over the last two weeks. It all started on December 3 when President Yoon Suk Yeol announced martial law in the country, only to withdraw it hours later. On Saturday (December 14), South Korean MPs voted to impeach him, in the second such attempt. So what happens next? Is this the end of Yoon? 5. The daylight murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson sent shockwaves across the US and beyond. For six days, the New York police were on the lookout for the killer. Earlier this week, they caught a suspect 26-year-old Luigi Mangione. Who is he and did chronic back pain drive him to murder? Our stories answer these questions. Advertisement 6. On 10 August 2023, 10-year-old Pakistani-British girl Sara Sharif was found dead in a bunk bed at her home in Surrey, Britain. Two days earlier, her father had beaten her and fled to Pakistan. Now Saras father and stepmother have been found guilty of murder. Their trial put the spotlight on the horrific treatment meted out to her. We take a look. Sara Sharif, a 10-year-old girl who was found dead in her home in Britain in August 2023, poses for a photo in an unknown location in this undated handout image of her from when she was for years old. Surrey Police/Handout via Reuters 7. Elon Musk is the worlds richest man. He has gotten richer. This week, he made history, becoming the first person with a net worth of over $400 billion. Thats more than the GDP of several countries. But how did he get here? Did Donald Trumps win have a role to play? This story takes a deep dive. Advertisement 8. India and Bangladesh have been allies. But a lot has changed since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina in August. Ties between the two neighbours are shaky. Amid this, Bangladeshs internet regulator has reversed a policy introduced by Hasina, which allowed the country to serve as a transit hub for high-speed internet supply to Indias Northeast. But why did Dhaka take this decision? How will it impact the two nations? Thats our reading list for this Sunday. If you like to understand the news better, bookmark this page for more such explainers. PS: 2024 has been dominated by news of war, geopolitical crises and disasters, some natural, some manmade. What can we expect from 2025? Heres what Nostradamus predicted Advertisement From January 8, non-European visitors including citizens of the US, Canada and Australia travelling to the UK will need to register to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) pre-arrival. The European Union is slated to roll out a similar programme from April for travellers from 60 nations including the UK, the US, Canada and Australia. Meanwhile, Bulgaria and Romania are set to become full-fledged members of the Schengen Zone read more Non-European travellers will have to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to enter the UK from 8 January. Reuters Planning to visit the UK or EU in 2025? A bunch of changes are in the offing that you should probably know about. Those travelling to the UK and EU will need to register before they arrive. Meanwhile, the Schengen Zone will also witness a change. https://youtu.be/lpxHxJhy9GQ?t=221 Lets take a closer look at the changes ahead. Pre-authorisation for UK According to TheTravel.com, non-European travellers will have to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to enter the UK from 8 January. This includes citizens of United States, Canada, Australia. The ETA scheme was previously applicable only to citizens of seven West Asian nations. Advertisement It is applicable all nationalities who do not require a visa for short stays. Travellers will have to fill out a form online and pay around $12.75 (Rs 1081) before touching down. As per the website, the ETA will likely be approved within hours. However, it could take up to three business days in some instances. The ETA would hold good for several trips to the UK for visits of up to six month. It would be valid for two years or till the persons passport expires whichever comes first. But theres more. From April 2, EU nationals too will need to get their ETA approved before entering the UK. BBC quoted the home office as saying that the goal was to check whether people are eligible to come to the UK before they leave their home nations thus creating a far more efficient system. Your ETA status will be confirmed before you get on the plane to the UK through a digital link to your passport. This, they say, will bring down the time taken and any mix-ups at border crossings. The home office also says that collecting the details of travellers will also help tighten security. Advertisement This expansion of ETA is a significant step forward in delivering a border thats efficient and fit for the digital age," Seema Malhotra, UK Minister for Migration and Citizenship, was quoted as saying by the outlet. Through light-touch screening before people step foot in the UK, we will keep our country safe while ensuring visitors have a smooth travel experience. European Union The UK isnt alone. The EU from April 2 is also slated to roll out a similar programme. This will be put in place for visa-exempt travellers from 60 nations including the UK, US, Canada and Australia and will apply to 30 EU member nations. This system, known as the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), will also require travellers to apply online. Advertisement Travellers will have to cough up $7.40 (Rs 627). Applications will take four days to be approved. According to Manchester News, a separate Entry/Exits Scheme (EES) will also be rolled out in 2025 in the EU. This automated IT system will be for non-EU nationals. European Union flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 1, 2023. File Image/Reuters It will take the place of passports being stamped at the border. The EES will also collect data from travellers including their personal details, where and when they entered and exited the EU, as well as biometric data including facial image and fingerprints. The EU has not given a date for the system to be launched. However, it has said that EES the will be rolled out in a phased manner. Advertisement The EC in December said it foresees a progressive start of operations of the EES over a period of six months, according to Travel Weekly In practice, that means that all member states will start operating the EES from day one at one or more border crossing points. Border authorities will progressively register in the system the data of third-country nationals crossing the borders, starting with at least 10per cent of border crossings, and reaching full registration of all individuals by the end of the six months period. During this period, travellers data will be electronically recorded only at the borders where the EES will operate. In parallel, passports will continue being stamped at all borders. Advertisement However, not everyone is happy with the changes. Im sad about [the digitisation of travel] and also concerned, Kita Jean, a frequent traveller and member of Nomadness Travel Tribe, an online community for travellers of colour told BBC. Passport stamps are a great way to document memories and look back at, but theyre also good for when processes and technology fails. Change in Schengen The Schengen Zone will also witness a change from January 1, 2025. Bulgaria and Romania are set to become full members of the Schengen zone after a 13-year wait. Bulgaria and Romania joined the Schengen area in March after years of negotiations, providing free access for travelers arriving in both countries by air or sea. Now, the EU has lifted land border controls on the two countries from next year. Created in 1985, the Schengen Zone comprises 29 members 25 of the 27 European Union member states as well as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. A banner reading Welcome to Schengen is displayed at the arrivals section of Henri Coanda International Airport in Otopeni near Bucharest, Romania, March 31, 2024. File Image/Reuters It is the worlds biggest area without internal border controls, where more than 400 million people can travel freely inside the zone. The two countries, both members of the European Union since 2007, were partially integrated into the free movement zone in March, opening up travel by air and sea without border checks. But Austria until this week held up their full entry over migration concerns, which meant that controls still applied at their land routes. Vienna announced Monday that it would not use its veto at Thursdays meeting of EU ministers, paving the way for the two to become full members from January 1, 2025. It is a historic moment to finally welcome Bulgaria and Romania, said Interior Minister Sandor Pinter of Hungary, whose country holds the EUs rotating presidency. Bucharest and Sofia fulfilled all technical criteria set out by Brussels in 2010, but spent more than a decade waiting to join the Schengen zone as various member states blocked their entry. With inputs from agenciesexpl The Indian Ministry of External Affairs described the visit as an opportunity to deepen the relationship between India and Sri Lanka, New Delhis closest maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean read more Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka held discussions with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Sunday (December 15), marking the start of his three-day visit to India. Dissanayakas visit, his first foreign trip since taking office, is expected to focus on enhancing cooperation in trade, investment, energy, and maritime security. He is scheduled to hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (December 16). Advertisement Held fruitful discussions tonight with @DrSJaishankar and Shri Ajit Doval on matters of mutual interest, Disanayaka said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. While no official details were provided, the discussions reportedly covered bilateral ties and expanding strategic cooperation between neighbours. During my official visit to India, I had the privilege of engaging in productive discussions with Finance Minister @nsitharaman, External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar, and National Security Advisor Shri Ajit Doval. Our conversations focused on strengthening Indo-Sri Lanka pic.twitter.com/A5mkZ4TS1D Anura Kumara Dissanayake (@anuradisanayake) December 15, 2024 Strengthening ties The Indian Ministry of External Affairs described the visit as an opportunity to deepen the relationship between India and Sri Lanka, New Delhis closest maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean. The ministry said the two nations developments are intertwined and stressed the importance of working together while respecting each others security interests and sensitivities. Advertisement Dissanayaka was welcomed at the Delhi airport by Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal called the visit a chance to add momentum to the people-centric partnership. In addition to meeting PM Modi, Dissanayaka will meet Indian President Droupadi Murmu, attend a business event in Delhi to promote investment, and visit Bodh Gaya. Tamil aspirations and economic support During the talks, India is expected to convey its expectations for Sri Lanka to address the aspirations of its Tamil community by implementing the 13th Amendment, which provides for devolution of power to Tamil-majority areas. The amendment was introduced following the 1987 Indo-Sri Lankan agreement. Advertisement India is also likely to reaffirm its commitment to assisting Sri Lanka in strengthening its economy, which has faced significant challenges in recent years. Maritime security and strategic concerns Maritime security cooperation is expected to feature prominently during the discussions, as India continues to strengthen its defense ties with Sri Lanka amid concerns over Chinas growing presence in the Indian Ocean. The docking of Chinese military vessels, including a missile and satellite tracking ship at Hambantota port in 2022 and a warship at Colombo port in 2023, has raised tensions in the region. India has responded by supporting Sri Lankas defense forces with capacity-building initiatives, including the provision of indigenously constructed Offshore Patrol Vessels. Advertisement Institutionalising the India-Indonesia maritime partnership will be crucial as both nations navigate an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape. Regular high-level dialogues, expanded training initiatives, and deeper defence-industrial collaboration must form the bedrock of this relationship read more From securing trade routes to advancing defence collaboration, India and Indonesia are charting a path toward peace, progress, and maritime stability. Representational image: PTI As maritime neighbours and rising economic powerhouses, India and Indonesia stand at the forefront of shaping the Indo-Pacifics future. Their strategic locations, expansive coastlines, and shared responsibilities for some of the busiest trade routes in the world make their partnership pivotal. Over the decades, their maritime ties have deepened, highlighting mutual interests in security, stability, and regional prosperity. This enduring relationship had its roots in the 1940s when India supported Indonesias struggle for independence. That solidarity has evolved into a comprehensive partnership, blending joint naval operations, capacity-building initiatives, and humanitarian collaboration. A notable instance of this cooperation was Indias response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, one of the most devastating natural disasters in recent history. Under Operation Gambhir, the Indian Navy deployed ships like INS Nirupak and INS Khukri to Aceh province, delivering life-saving aid and medical assistance. This mission saved lives and cemented a legacy of trust and friendship. Advertisement Admiral Dinesh K Tripathis official visit to Indonesia from December 15-18, 2024, marks a significant moment in this ongoing partnership. During his four-day visit, Admiral Tripathi is holding discussions with Indonesias Defence Minister, Lt Gen Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin (Retd), Commander of the Armed Forces General Agus Subiyanto, and Chief of the Indonesian Navy Admiral Muhammad Ali. These talks focus on strengthening naval cooperation, joint training initiatives, and addressing shared maritime challenges such as piracy, illegal fishing, and smuggling. Admiral Tripathis visit coincides with the 43rd India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT), underway along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) from December 10-18. This patrol highlights both nations commitment to ensuring maritime security and fostering operational coordination. Together, these developments reflect the immense potential of a partnership that continues to adapt and grow in response to evolving regional dynamics. Shared Challenges, Unified Vision India and Indonesia are vital stakeholders in securing sea lanes that serve as lifelines for global commerce. Recognising their strategic significance, the two nations signed the Shared Vision of India-Indonesia Maritime Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific in 2018. This landmark agreement reflects their commitment to upholding international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and to promoting maritime safety, sustainable development, and freedom of navigation. This vision has translated into tangible action through initiatives such as the annual Exercise Samudra Shakti, launched in 2018. The exercise has grown in size and complexity and includes advanced manoeuvres, coordinated weapon firings, and seamanship drills. These activities demonstrate enhanced interoperability and operational synergy, preparing both navies to address maritime challenges effectively. Advertisement The ongoing CORPAT patrols, a cornerstone of India-Indonesia naval cooperation, focus on combating transnational crimes such as piracy, smuggling, and illegal fishing. Beyond these tactical operations, the patrols emphasise a broader strategic alignment between Indias Act East policy and Indonesias Global Maritime Fulcrum initiative, which prioritises regional security and economic connectivity. The partnership is underpinned by a collective commitment to a free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific. India and Indonesia are leveraging their unique positions to foster regional stability, ensuring that maritime cooperation serves as a cornerstone for sustainable growth and shared prosperity. Humanitarian Efforts and Regional Stability Maritime security extends beyond defence, encompassing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) as a critical component. India has long demonstrated its role as a first responder in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), a capability that complements Indonesias own priorities. This shared ethos of compassion and readiness is a defining feature of their naval partnership. Advertisement Through the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), India and Indonesia have developed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for coordinated HADR missions. These protocols enable seamless collaboration during crises, ensuring timely and effective responses. Naval exercises increasingly include HADR simulations, reflecting both nations dedication to alleviating human suffering. Admiral Tripathis visit is expected to enhance these frameworks further, building on past successes like the 2004 tsunami response. Joint efforts to address natural disasters, from cyclones to tsunamis, embody Mahatma Gandhis wisdom: The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. This spirit of humanitarian cooperation strengthens trust and reinforces the partnerships role as a regional stabilising force. Advertisement A New Frontier While naval operations remain central to India-Indonesia relations, defence-industrial collaboration represents an emerging dimension of strategic growth. Both nations are moving toward indigenous defence procurement to enhance supply chain resilience and strategic autonomy. Indias Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) initiative provides a robust platform for joint ventures, technology-sharing, and defence exports. Indonesias reported interest in acquiring Indias BrahMos missile system highlights the partnerships growing depth. The BrahMos, renowned for its versatility and maritime strike capabilities, could significantly bolster Indonesias deterrence posture. Beyond procurement, the two nations have immense potential for collaboration in emerging technologies such as unmanned systems, AI-powered naval applications, and cybersecurity solutions. By pooling resources and expertise, India and Indonesia can accelerate innovation and secure their maritime domains against evolving threats. Advertisement The 7th India-Indonesia Joint Defence Cooperation Committee meeting in May 2024 reaffirmed this intent, with both nations committing to deepening defence-industrial ties. These collaborations reflect a proactive approach to addressing future challenges, ensuring that both countries remain resilient in a rapidly changing strategic environment. Admiral Tripathis Visit Admiral Tripathis visit symbolises the deepening relationship between India and Indonesia. His engagements with senior Indonesian leaders aim to build on existing frameworks, expand joint exercises, and enhance operational readiness. Key discussions include counter-piracy operations, illegal fishing, and drug trafficking, all of which threaten maritime stability. The timing of the visit, coinciding with the ongoing CORPAT patrol, emphasises its operational and symbolic significance. The visit reflects the nations shared commitment to a free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific by focusing on synchronised naval operations and shared maritime security challenges. Admiral Tripathis visit is not merely a diplomatic engagement but a reaffirmation of India and Indonesias broader strategic vision for the region. As resident powers in the IOR, they offer a stabilising counter-narrative to coercive and militaristic approaches elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific. The Road Ahead Institutionalising the India-Indonesia maritime partnership will be crucial as both nations navigate an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape. Regular high-level dialogues, expanded training initiatives, and deeper defence-industrial collaboration must form the bedrock of this relationship. Enhanced frameworks for operational coordination will enable both navies to address shared challenges effectively, from transnational crimes to humanitarian crises. As Alfred Thayer Mahan once observed, The Indian Ocean will be the key to the seven seas in the 21st century. The destiny of the world will be decided on its waters. India and Indonesias partnership embodies this sentiment, prioritising collective security, sustainable development, and the welfare of their people. Admiral Tripathis visit heralds a transformative era in India-Indonesia defence relations. Their partnership reflects a commitment to collective security, humanitarian outreach, and technological innovationa model for regional resilience and cooperation. From securing trade routes to advancing defence collaboration, India and Indonesia are charting a path toward peace, progress, and maritime stability. Together, they embody the promise of a brighter future anchored in trust, shared values, and a unified vision for the Indo-Pacific. Commander Rahul Verma (Retd) is an Emerging Technology and Prioritisation Scout for a leading Indian multinational corporation, focusing on advancing force modernisation through innovative technological applications and operational concepts. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. What separates the new Right from the old is that while the previous generation largely operated within the parameters defined by their intellectual adversaries, the current ones are redefining and rewriting their own path. Image: REUTERS The wings, Left and Right, are often problematic, being among the most used, misused and even abused words in the history of humankind. Today, the Left wing is synonymous with liberals, while the Right is used for conservatives. This shows the power of narrative settings that Leftism, which legitimises authoritarianism, enforced uniformity and wanton violence in the name of stateless and classless society, appropriates for itself the liberal space, while its opponents are condemned to be seen as anything but liberal. What further exposes the absurdity of the two terms, especially in the Indian context, is their origins during the French revolution: In the summer of 1789, when members of the French National Assembly met to draft a constitution, those who were not in favour of the royalty seated themselves to the presiding officers left, while those in favour sat to the right. Advertisement Abhijit Majumders book, Indias New Right: Powering the Current Wave of Nationalism and Civilisational Revival, further exposes the ludicrousness of the notionsLeft and Right. At the very beginning of the book, he clarifies, The books title is inaccurate, one must admit upfront. Bharat does not have a Right wing in the Western sense. Many nationalists (or Indics or dharmics, as many call themselves) do not endorse a pure laissez-faire economy without any protection for local industry of the poor. They have no problem with alternative sexuality, fluid gender, or abortion in the early stages if it is the mothers choice. They are all anti-Left, but one cannot define such a large and strong movement by what it is not. Many even have a problem with being narrowly defined as nationalists, as Bharats ancient wisdom and traditions transgress the nations boundaries into universalism. The word dharmic is too morally loaded for the comfort of some. Indic may not immediately connect with an international reader. So, we have used Right as a convenient, portable shorthand in Indias New Right, strictly to be understood in Bharats context. Indias New Right: Powering the Current Wave of Nationalism and Civilisational Revival | Author: Abhijit Majumder In Indias New Right, Majumder examines every aspect of the resurgent Right by interviewing its prominent actors in fields as diverse as history and economy, media and social media, queer and the conservative, minorities and nationalist voices in them, among others. The larger picture that he paints about the Right is that the new nationalists do not carry an emblem tattooed into their flesh. They are not an elite club or secret society. They are every person, everywherequietly wiping your floor in the morning, poring over a newspaper on the local train, teaching your child, sending forwards in your family WhatsApp group, giving you change back at a toll plaza, driving your cab, talking on TV or YouTube, playing PUBG with friends at a sleepover, ordering whisky sour at the bar, or making love to you. Say something snide about India, and they may snap at you or give you a cold glare. In a nutshell, new India largely encompasses the new Right, which has been in the line of fire of the minuscule but disproportionately influential Left-liberals. The battle is drawn on the Leftist narrative set by the weaponisation of Nehruvian secularism to create a wedge between those who believe in the idea of civilisational Bharat and those who dont, those who invent and institutionalise minorityhood to not just divide Hindus and Muslims but also between Muslims and the minorities within them who are the new, aspirational class seeking to look at things afresh rather than from narrow communal lines. The backbone of the book is its interviews, detailed and insightful, with Indias new Right. They just not only give a warm, personalised peep into the lives of these dharmic warriors but also an objective, dispassionate take on some of the major challenges posing the country. So, while we are told how Sanjeev Sanyal, in his younger days, was Kolkatas break-dancing champion and also had an instructor-grade licence for kayaking and canoeing, the interview makes it abundantly clear that history and economy remain ideological battlegrounds. J Sai Deepak, while talking about his life journey, emphasises, with profound clarity on Indias civilisational place in the world and that the nation has reached a critical inflection point in history. His one particular area of disappointment, however, is the continued state control of temple funds while minority religious trusts enjoy exemptions. He wonders why the (Indian) State believes that corruption is exclusively Hindu and limited to Hindu institutions. Advertisement Similarly, David Frawley makes an interesting comment about Mahatma Gandhi in Indias cultural/civilisational context. He says, I dont want to be critical of Gandhi, but Gandhi is not the best image for a country. Why? One, as a man in a loincloth, he doesnt represent economic development. You should have Goddess Laxmi or Ganesha on your money. And then Gandhi is a secular figure. But no secular figure wears a loincloth. Thats a religious figure. His many good teachings are there, but thats not a model the youth can follow. They are not going to be wearing a loincloth, they are not going to be spinning wheels. I think Aurobindo had a better model. You need a model here that can be spiritual, hip, educated, scientific, and technological, and able to deal with the whole world today. A strong but pertinent point, indeed. Advertisement Reading the book on the whole has been a satisfying experience, but two chapters, Nationalism and Mission Northeast and Bharats Queer and Conservative, have particularly stood out. These chapters talk about topics that are little-known in some cases and taboo in others. At the end of it all, one is not just aware of the innate strength and vitality of the Indic civilisation but also its accommodative, progressive outlook. One interesting aspect of Indias new Right has been its organic growth and evolution in the country. Unlike how the Left piggybacked on Indira Gandhis shoulders to infiltrate the countrys academic world, the new Right isnt the direct byproduct of political patronage, though there is no denying that the political development in the country since 2014 has a spillover effect on the overall intellectual sphere. Advertisement The Left could retain its pre-eminence not through intellectual heft (which it often claims) but through political patronage and networking. In the late 1960s and the 70s, when communists infiltrated the countrys academic, intellectual, and cultural institutions and think tanks en masse through political patronage and interference, the offices of PN Haksar and Nurul Hasan, the two Leftist stalwarts who should be credited for this turn of events, would look like the durbars of old except that conversation would be mouthed in Marxist jargon even though it could not hide the grovelling and cringing overtones that clung tenaciously to words and gestures, as Raj Thapar writes in her memoir All These Years. Advertisement They retained their monopolistic hold over Indias mindscape not through the supremacy of their ideas but through the sustainability of the political power that chose to patronise them. Since the 1990s, when the Congress, the biggest benefactor of the communist ecosystem, weakened politically, the Lefts hold over Indias mind, quite predictably, suffered a setback, too. Apart from the lack of political patronage, what has further made history writing a level playing field, especially in the last decade and a half, is the emergence of social media, which has democratised the world of ideas and opinions as never before. The younger nationalist intellectuals and writers, most of whom have considerable social media followings, could easily defy the Left-imposed intellectual curfew. They are not just competing with the Left-liberals, they are also beating them squarely on what was till the other day the exclusive communist turf. They arent camera shy and are equally articulate with a pen. They rule the TV and social media shows and write bestsellers much more consistently than Leftist intellectuals. Also, what separates the new Right from the old is that while the previous generation largely operated within the parameters defined by their intellectual adversaries, the current ones are redefining and rewriting their own path. Today, as we analyse the rise of the Right in India, as Abhijit Majumders seminal book does, one needs to look at the new nationalist, dharmic force as being largely the result of individual endeavours, rather than societal or governmental. There is no denying the force of the Right is only growing by the day, but it still needs a more concerted, organised response. One may find this individualistic approach from the fact that while an eclectic range of books is coming up from individual efforts challenging the old, statist, Leftist worldview, the same doesnt get reflected spontaneously in the sarkari NCERT books of the day. The gravity of the situation demands the Right to get it right institutionally as well. Individual efforts are fine, but the change wont be durable without creating a strong, vibrant academic, intellectual ecosystem. India still has miles to go. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. The Gwalior region is replete with stories of the past and volumes would be needed to do full justice. The Tansen Samaroh is a great starting point to come up close to a living aspect of Gwaliors heritage, the music of its gharana read more In mid-December, the historic city of Gwalior comes alive to the sound of classical Indian music. The iconic Tansen Samaroh showcases traditional Indian music in a celebration that has few parallels in India. This year, between December 15 and 19, the festival will mark its centenary and will go beyond Gwalior into various other cities and towns. It also offers a great opportunity to explore the region and some of its less-known spots. Advertisement One of these places is the village of Behat, 44 kilometres east of Gwalior. Outside the main inhabited area is a Shiva temple whose structure tilts more than a famed building in Italys Pisa. Behat is Tansens place of birth. The area around this Shiva temple was considered a sacred zone, a space for nine sages, one of whom was called Jhilmileshwar. Tilted Shiva Temple at Behat Legend has it that Tansens parents prayed at this shrine to beget a child. However, when the child originally named Ramtanu - was born, they did not complete their pledge and did not return to the temple for thanksgiving. Perhaps, consequently, the child seemed unable to speak. Both parents and Ramtanu himself did penance in the form of offering milk on the Linga within the shrine. Akbar watching as Tansen receives a lesson from Swami Haridas, Mughal style Rajasthani painting dating to the 1750s Years later, after his parents too had passed away, the young Ramtanu was blessed by Shiva at this shrine. He did not just gain his voice, but a melodious one at that. And the first sounds that he uttered caused the shrine itself to tilt. The legend goes further. Much later, when Emperor Akbar heard the story, he rebuilt the temple minus the tilt. Next morning, it was titled again. Once the Mughals weakened, the area came into the kingdom of Jats of Gohad. In the 1760s, a ruler called Chhatar Singh built a summer palace here. More a fortified garhi than a palace, the structure has a few cannons in place even today. At the Shiva Temple itself, which is still tilted, an enthusiastic priest is ever willing to recount folklore to any visitors. Advertisement Beyond failed attempts at straightening tilted buildings, it was Akbars son Jahangir who left a deeper Mughal footprint in the region. While still being Prince Salim, his rebellion against his father in 1600-01 made the first impact. Mughal nobleman and Akbars court chronicler Abul Fazl had pursued the errant prince into the region. He was ambushed and killed by the Bundela prince Bir Singh, a follower of Prince Salim. When Salim succeeded to the throne as Jahangir, Bir Singh was rewarded with the Bundela kingdom. When Jahangir visited the Bundela capital of Orchha, he was hosted by Bir Singh at a magnificent palace named Jahangir Mahal. An even more stunning, seven-storey palace built by Bir Singh - the Govind Mahal - stands at Datia, 76 kilometres from Gwalior. As for Abul Fazl, he paid the price for being on the wrong side in the Mughal game of thrones. His tomb is an ugly stone shed at Antri, 60 kilometres from the Govind Mahal that his killer erected. Advertisement Gwalior Fort itself served as a place to imprison political opponents during Jahangirs reign and beyond, a fact that spawned another host of stories. Chief among these is a story about Hargobind, the sixth guru of the Sikhs, who was a prisoner here. Also in prison with him were 52 other rulers. When Jahangir approved Guru Hargobinds release from prison, the guru stated that he would leave only if the other 52 were also released with him. Jahangirs counter condition was that only those who could hold the Gurus gowns tassel could follow him out of prison. Hargobind got a special robe made with 52 tassels and walked out with each of the 52 rulers holding one. The day is celebrated by the Sikhs as Datta Bandi Chhod Diwas, and a majestic gurudwara stands inside Gwalior fort to mark the day and place. Advertisement The mighty walls of Gwalior Fort Back to Datia, the Govind Mahal is a masterpiece of architectural design. A mix of Mughal and Rajput building styles, its intricate stone lattice work, arched doorways and domes are said to have even acted as inspiration for Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker when they began looking for ideas for building the British era New Delhi. Also said to have provided similar inspiration is a 11th century CE Yogini shrine at Mitaoli village, 35 kilometres north of Gwalior in Morena district. Built by the Kachchhapaghata dynasty, the temple is in the form of a series of concentric circles, a pattern that was unique to Yogini shrines that stretch from Madhya Pradesh to Odisha. The design is said to have been used in the plan for the old Indian Parliament building, designed by Herbert Baker. Advertisement Yogini temple at Mitaoli, in Morena Less than two hours from Gwalior is a place that takes us to a period long before the Mughals. Next to the Sindh River, which forms the western boundary of Bundelkhand, stands the excavated site of Pawaya. This is said to have been the ancient city of Padmavati, dating to the 4th century CE or even earlier. The city finds mention in several classical Sanskrit works such as the Harshacharita of Banabhatta etc. Of this ancient city, only some restored remains are around, but close at hand is the Dhumeshwar Temple built by the ubiquitous Bir Singh Bundela. The temple was restored by Gwaliors Scindia rulers in the 1930s. Pawaya is an atmospheric place. The sound of the fast-flowing river is everywhere. A few Mughal era tombs are seen amidst fields. Centuries old coins are still found here by farmers during the sowing season. With remains from the Gupta period to the Scindia influence, the place is like a microcosm of history. Dhumeshwar Temple at Pawaya, built by Bir Singh Bundela and restored in the 1930s by the Scindias The Gwalior region is replete with stories of the past and volumes would be needed to do full justice. The Tansen Samaroh is a great starting point to come up close to a living aspect of Gwaliors heritage, the music of its gharana. The author is a heritage explorer by inclination with a penchant for seeking obscure sites. A brand consultant by profession, he tweets @HiddenHeritage. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. The reconstruction of the nation and its major pillars, like armed forces, police, and judiciary; revitalising the economy; addressing the political vacuum; and ushering in an all-representative democratic government are the major challenges to be addressed by the new interim government read more A man carrying a child reacts, as people attend the first Friday prayers inside the Umayyad Mosque, after fighters of the ruling Syrian body ousted Bashar al-Assad, in the Damascus old city, Syria, on December 13. The country stares at uncertainty with rebels at the helm. Reuters In a lightning offensive commencing on November 27, 2024, from their safe locations in Idlib province, Turkey-backed Hayat Tehrir Al Sham (HTS) launched multiple attacks and captured Aleppo, the second largest city in Syria; pressed their attacks on Homs and Hama; and reached Damascus on December 8. What had not been achieved in 13 years, the armed opposition groups did in less than 13 days. The 24-year rule of Bashar Al Assad and the 54-year regime of the Assad family came to an abrupt end with Assad escaping with family to Russia. Advertisement The Syrian Civil War has resulted in nearly 650,000 deaths; more than half of its population (13 million) has been displaced once or multiple times. Nearly 6.7 million refugees have moved to the neighbouring countries of Turkey (3.5 million), Lebanon (1 million), Jordan (0.7 million), Iraq (0.3 million), Egypt (0.2 million), and North Africa (0.1 million). European countries have taken in a million refugees in Germany, Sweden, Austria, the Netherlands, Greece, and France. In August 2012, during my pre-induction briefing at UN Headquarters in New York as the Head of the Mission and Force Commander Designate of the UN peacekeeping mission at Golan Heights between Syria and Israel, I was told that the fall of the Assad regime was the writing on the wall. It could take a few weeks, if not days, to happen. That Assad regime continued for another 12 years because of the support of Hezbollah from Lebanon, Republican Guards, and wherewithal from Iran and moral and material support from Russia. While Hezbollah and Iran provided foot soldiers since 2012, Russia gave air support to engage opposition groups on the ground beginning in 2015. The minorities in Syria, Christians (10 per cent), Shias, including Alawis (12 per cent) and Druz (3 per cent) were strongly supporting the Assad regime to ensure their own security. 15 to 20 per cent of the majority Sunni population also supported the Assad regime since the affluent Sunni businessmen and bureaucrats were favoured by the government. Therefore, around 40 to 45 per cent of the population was with the regime all along, in a bid to survive and safeguard their own future. Abu Mohammad Al Jolani, the strong founding leader of HTS, joined Al Qaeda in 2003 and fought against the Americans in Iraq. In 2006, he was taken prisoner by the Americans and kept in jail for five years. Later he joined Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi to raise Jabhat Al Nusra, an offshoot of Al Qaeda in Syria. When Al Qaeda wanted to make a caliphate in Iraq and Syria, Jolani fell apart from Abu Bakr and Al Qaeda and took pains to reshape Al Nusra, an offshoot of Al Qaeda, into an indigenous and disciplined freedom-fighting group. Once Al Nusra was designated as a terrorist group, Jolani decided to rename the group as Jabhat Fateh Al Sham, which was rechristened as HTS in 2017 once all the other opposition groups merged with it. HTS has been autonomously ruling Idlib Province since 2016 through the Syrian Salvation Government. Advertisement In late November this year, HTS commenced the attacks on Syrian Arab Armed Forces (SAAF) and National Defence Force (NDF) positions east of Idlib into Aleppo Governorate. By December 1, Aleppo, the second largest city, fell to the rebels. The attacks were further pressed south onto Hama and Hom, which were captured by December 5 and 6, respectively, and Damascus fell in the wee hours of December 8. Throughout the offensive, SAAF and pro-government militias hardly gave any worthwhile resistance and just melted away. The morale of SAAF was at the lowest ebb as they were not paid wages for the last few months, and there were large-scale desertions of officers and men, some of whom switched sides and joined the HTS. Seeing the phenomenal success of HTS, the rebel groups in the South also launched offensives on December 3 on Daraa City, from where the unrest had started in 2011. These attacks also had very little resistance, and after the capture of Daraa, the rebels reached the outskirts of Damascus. In the northeast, the Kurdish militia group, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), advanced and captured the eastern city of Deir Ezzour. HTS has finally lived up to its name, which means Organisation for the Liberation of the Levant. Advertisement The timing of the offensive had been very thoughtfully chosen. The lame duck administration of President Joe Biden was thickly involved in bolstering the Ukrainians to use heavy weapons against the Russians in the last bid to secure gains before an impending ceasefire and trying to pester Israelis to go easy on offensives in Gaza and Lebanon. The Russians had pulled out the majority of their troops to be deployed in the Ukraine war. The Iranians and Hezbollah had been weakened by successive Israeli attacks, especially targeting leadership and strategic assets in the last few months. Therefore, without the active involvement of Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah, the ragtag SAAF stood little chance of holding against the ferocious, bold, and determined attacks by HTS. Advertisement Israel has quickly occupied the buffer zone in the Golan Heights, which was, hitherto, manned by the United Nations Disengagement and Observer Force (UNDOF), a contingency they have often rehearsed over the years. I had always advised Israelis against taking such a step and told them that they would end up making their new frontiers porous and open to guerrilla attacks. The future of UNDOF is being discussed at the Security Council in a series of closed-door meetings at the behest of Russia at the time of writing this article. UNDOF is putting up a brave front and still holding to its positions and posts under a determined Deputy Force Commander from India. Israel has also conducted numerous airstrikes in the last few days in Syria to target the war-waging material of the besieged country and to weaken it to an extent that Syria would never be a potential conventional threat to Israel in the future. However, in violating the sovereignty of Syria and destroying its military might, it is sowing the seeds of unabated sub-conventional threats from its northeastern neighbour. It is ironic that Jolani has his roots in the Golan, and while he has a major portion of Syria under his control, the Golan Heights have been completely occupied by Israel! Advertisement Mohammed Al Bashir, the erstwhile governor of Idlib, has been appointed the interim prime minister to facilitate a smooth and bloodless political transition. He has also prioritised getting the repatriation of Syrian refugees from the neighbouring countries. The biggest challenge for the new PM and the HTS is to form an inclusive government to accommodate all factions and communities, including Kurds in the north and northeast and other armed groups in the south. The reconstruction of the nation and its major pillars, like armed forces, police, and judiciary; revitalising the economy; addressing the political vacuum; and ushering in an all-representative democratic government are the major challenges to be addressed by the new interim government. Demobilisation, disarmament, reorientation, and rehabilitation of the various armed groups is a Herculean task. Stability, rule of law, order, and calmness need to be brought back to society. Gulf Cooperation Council countries should be giving generous grants for the reconstruction and redevelopment of the country. In the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, when opposition armed groups were making steady progress in their attacks from the north and south, Bashar Al Assad had declared, We build Damascus and the nation; if we are forced to leave, there will be no Damascus left. We will destroy it. He succeeded to a large extent in destroying suburbs of Damascus and other major cities of Syria wherever the rebels were in strong numbers in the last 13 years. Stability and reconstruction are going to be a nightmare for the new establishment in the war-torn country. The author was the head of the mission and force commander at the Golan Heights from 2012 to 2015. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. After Poland, Romania was the second largest net beneficiary of European funds in 2023 (approximately EUR 6 billion), according to an Euronews analysis showing that 17 EU states received more money from the Union budget than they contributed. Member states contribute to the EU budget and also receive funds from it. Some countries end up being net contributors, meaning they pay more than they receive, while others are net beneficiaries, receiving more than they contribute. According to the European Commission, the biggest contributors to the EU budget in 2023 were: Germany (EUR 33.8 billion), France (EUR 25.8 billion), Italy (EUR 18.8 billion) and Spain (EUR 13.6 billion). Nine countries contributed less than EUR 1 billion to the EU budget in 2023, with the lowest contributions coming from Malta (EUR 112 million), Cyprus (EUR 259 million) and Estonia (EUR 355 million). Among the beneficiaries, the top five countries included Poland alongside the four biggest contributors. France received EUR 16.5 billion, followed by Poland (EUR 14.1 billion), Germany (EUR 14 billion), Italy (EUR 12.8 billion) and Spain (EUR 12.1 billion). At the other end, three countries received less than EUR 1 billion from the EU budget: Malta (EUR 277 million), Cyprus (EUR 393 million) and Slovenia (EUR 952 million). Ten countries are net contributors Ten EU countries were net contributors, while 17 were net beneficiaries. The countries that contributed more to the EU budget than they received are: Germany (EUR 19.8 billion) France (EUR 9.3 billion) The Netherlands (EUR 6.3 billion) Italy (EUR 6 billion) Sweden (EUR 1.6 billion) Spain (EUR 12.1 billion) Austria (EUR 1.3 billion) Ireland (EUR 1.3 billion) Denmark (EUR 1.2 billion) Finland (EUR 0.8 billion) Poland was the main net recipient, receiving EUR 7.1 billion, followed by Romania (EUR 5.9 billion), Belgium (EUR 4.8 billion), Hungary (EUR 4.4 billion) and Greece (EUR 3.9 billion). The net contributors are mainly richer countries in western and northern Europe, while the net beneficiaries are mostly members in central and eastern Europe. With the exception of Belgium and Luxembourg, the geographical distribution also highlights an east-west economic divide, the new member states from Eastern Europe often being net beneficiaries. Contributions and benefits per capita When considering net contributions and payments per capita, the picture changes significantly due to the wide variation in population size among EU member states. In 2023, per capita contributions to the EU budget ranged from EUR 137, in Bulgaria, to EUR 688, in Luxembourg. A German citizen contributed EUR 403, a French citizen, EUR 378, an Italian, EUR 318, and a Spaniard, EUR 281. Looking at net contributions (contributions minus benefits, with contributions greater than benefits), the Netherlands ranked first in 2023, with each Dutch resident contributing EUR 350 more than they received. Ireland followed with a net contribution of EUR 240 per capita, followed by Germany (EUR 235), Denmark (EUR 210) and Sweden (EUR 156). Luxembourg stands out as the main net beneficiary (contributions minus benefits, with benefits greater than contributions) per capita. Net beneficiaries per capita ranged from EUR 129 in Slovenia to EUR 3,081 in Luxembourg an isolated case while Croatia, the second largest net recipient, received EUR 619 per capita. Although Poland was the largest net recipient in nominal terms, it ranked third from last (of the 17 net recipient countries) in terms of net payments per capita, with EUR 191.In the case of Romania, the net benefit per capita in 2023 was EUR 307. *** Rudderless Hindus are the victims of a systematic cleansing. The theology-driven madness will not stop unless the Hindus meet precarity in Bangladesh and decide to get converted or migrate read more The plight of the Hindus in Bangladesh undergirds apathy, indifference, and religiously inspired hatred. It engenders an experience of existential crisis. The unceasing recurrence thins the number to a precarious nonentity. The precarity of the Hindu women and children is disconcerting. The appalling reality that stares at the more vulnerable among the Hindu minorities raises apprehensions of faster deterioration of their demography. This illustrates the existence of a deep-seated hatred against the Hindus. Advertisement The history of this hatred dates back to Turko-Afghan General Bakhtiyar Khiljis conquest of Bengal in 1204. Bengals fate under the Delhi Sultanate, Bengal Sultanate (1338-1576), Mughal Subahdars (15741717), and Nawabs of Bengal (17171757) was sealed under religious grind. Forced conversion and religious intolerance acquired dramatic and uncanny consistency. Iconoclasm, exclusivism, and bigotry continued unabated with insane regularity. The Hindu resistance at the teeth of religious aggression persisted alongside. This persistence could restrict the conversion to a considerable extent. The respect for roots, cultural heritage, and the moral compass of dharma developed the grit to consume and confront the onslaught. But the weight and consistency of assaults, targeted attacks, economic restriction, isolationism, and incentivisation for conversion weakened the resistance and the will to guard their cultural identity and existence. It became difficult to protect their faith without political patronage. Against this background, the British East Company was perceived to bring a difference to the status quo. The colonial reality soon disenchanted the Hindus. The British resorted to Machiavellianism to ensure its lasting continuity. Bengal was not better under the British East India Company between 1757 (Plassey War) and 1857 (First War of Independence) from Robert Clive to Charles Canning. It was like from Scylla to Charybdis, from one distress to another. Evangelisation under the British was more determined and sophisticated. The British Raj between 1858 and 1947, from Lieutenant-Governor Frederick James Halliday to Governor Frederick Burrows underlined antipathy against Hindus. The Partition of Bengal by Curzon, the Viceroy of India, in 1905 was a weaponisation of communal faultlines to segregate Hindus and appease Muslims. The Partition was colonially portrayed as an electoral convenience. But in reality, it was designed to intensify the communal flame. The pre-existing communal faultline was exploited for the permanence of colonial rule. The British partitioned Bengal to support the separatist tendencies cultivated by the Muslims to encourage state formation along religious lines. Nawab of Dhaka, Khwaja Salimullah (1901-1915), supported this and wanted to carve out a Muslim province from India. The All-India Muslim League was formed in 1906 to cultivate the seeds of separatism. In the name of Muslim protectionism, its separatist motivation succeeded in partitioning India along the religious line in 1947. Therefore, the most calculated colonial move was to flare up communal tension and profit from these divides. The census that followed the Partition of Bengal in 1905 indicated a Hindu demography of 31.50 per cent. The census in 1921, 1931, and 1941 showed a decline of 30.60, 29.40, and 28 per cent, respectively. The Hindu population in 1945 was 28 per cent. It became 22 per cent in 1951. The year 1946 was horrific, and the years that followed were equally awful for Hindus. The Partition in 1947 exacerbated the Hindu existence. In Bengal, sloganeering of exclusivism corroborated with more determined and focused attacks on the Hindus. The riotous rage coloured by religious ideology was directed against the Hindus with impunity. Advertisement Muhammad Ali Jinnahs Direct Action Day and Prime Minister of Bengal Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardys (23 April 1946 - 14 August 1947) complicity in inflicting violence on the Hindus were indescribable because of the scale, gravity, and extendedness of horror singularly directed at the minority. Noakhali, in particular, was gut-wrenching. The conversion was intensified to destroy the Hindu pride, identity, and existence. The cultural terra firma of Bengal was completely changed. Kalshira, Nachole, Dhaka, Muladi, Sitakunda, Noakhali, Sylhet, Mymensingh, and Jessore experienced an uncontrollable consistency of violence. In 1974, the Hindu demography further thinned to 13.5 per cent. Today, it dwindles to less than 8 per cent. The 1971 Liberation War and the birth of Bangladesh was the worst nightmare for the Hindus. The 1971 Liberation War was another heart-wrenching Hindu genocide in the history of numerous genocides of the Hindus since Khilji. Advertisement With the birth of the new nation in 1971, the Hindus of Bangladesh considered it the end of Hindu atrocity. Contrary to their assumed difference, the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the rise of radical outfits like Jamaat-e-Islami and its affiliates, and the Bangladesh Nationalist Partys hand-in-glove attitude and encouragement of fundamentalism buried the liberation legacy and pursued the Pakistani line of exclusivism and religious bigotry. Under the presidency of Hussain Muhammad Ershad, Bangladesh was declared an Islamic state in 1988, shaking off the liberation legacy of secularism with its birth as a nation unchained from West Pakistans subservience and subjugation. Bangladesh, under parliamentary democracy in 1990, retained Islam as the state religion without making any reversal either by BNP or by Awami League. Advertisement Jogendranath Mandals brief euphoria after Partition in 1947 for being the Labour and Law Minister of Pakistan and long agony and disenchantment and return to India, realising the trap to which he was pushed and later thrown out, illustrated the tragic future for the Hindus in Bangladesh. A lesson could have been learnt from Mandals disillusionment. The unlearning led to the repeat of the liquidation of the Hindus. Targeting the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISCON) and allegedly calling it a religious fundamentalist organisation by the Yunus government gives the Islamic fanatics the free run to do anything and everything possible, from temple burning to the ghettoisation of Hindus, which is ironic and hypocritical. Advertisement The arrest of Hindu monks, Chinmoy Krishna Das and others, is a pre-meditated attempt to make the Hindu minority defenceless and voiceless. Rudderless Hindus are the victims of a systematic cleansing. This theology-driven madness will not stop unless the Hindus meet precarity in Bangladesh and decide to get converted or migrate. An atmosphere of fear and constant insecurity will dim the Hindu hope in Bangladesh. Before it dims to complete darkness, something must be done to keep the Hindu heritage alive before it gets completely sandwiched into a nonentity. Jajati K Pattnaik is an Associate Professor at the Centre for West Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Chandan K Panda is an Assistant Professor at Rajiv Gandhi University (A Central University), Itanagar. The views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. At least 5 people were killed after a shooting incident rocked a migration camp in Frances north. The 22-year-old alleged gunman surrendered himself to police soon after the incident read more At least five people were killed after a shooting incident rocked a migrant camp near the northern French city of Dunkirk. Shortly after the incident, a 22-year-old man claimed to be the gunman and handed himself to the authorities at the Ghyvelde police station, The Guardian reported. The alleged gunman surrendered at 5 pm (local time) on Saturday. Four people - two security guards and two migrants - were fatally shot on the Loon-Plage stretch of coastline near Dunkirk. According to AFP, the gunman also confessed to having committed an earlier shooting in the nearby town of Wormhout. Dunkirks Mayor Patrice Vergriete said that the authorities found a weapon in his car. However, the motive of the attack remains unclear. Advertisement Vergriete went on to describe the incident as a tragedy and said an individual coldly murdered several people in the area. Xavier Bertrand, head of the regions assembly, later confirmed on X that five people had died in a tragic event. Probe underway Emergency services are still stationed at the migrant camp as the authorities continue to investigate the matter. Loon-Plage is home to several temporary settlements housing migrants. It is located near Calais and the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the Channel. People attempting to reach the UK via small boats have used similar camps along Frances northern coast. According to the charity Care4Calais, refugees have been camping in the area for years, predominantly Kurdish or Afghan and including many families with small children. With inputs from agencies. Anti-Syrian sentiment has been rising in Turkey, where pressure on the government to reduce the refugee population is high read more Syrians arrive to cross into Syria from Turkey at the Cilvegozu border gate, near the town of Antakya, southern Turkey, Monday, 9 December 2024. (Photo: AP) More than 7,600 Syrian migrants returned to their homeland through Turkeys border in the five days following the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Turkeys interior minister said Sunday (December 15). In a statement posted on social media platform X, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya detailed the daily numbers of Syrians who returned voluntarily from Turkey between December 9 and 13, totaling 7,621. Turkey, which hosts nearly three million Syrian refugees who fled the countrys civil war since 2011, has expressed hope that Assads ousting will encourage more migrants to return home. Advertisement Rising border crossings AFP reported that hundreds of refugees gathering at the Cilvegozu border crossing, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Aleppo, on Monday. According to Yerlikaya, 1,259 migrants crossed into Syria that day. The following days saw increasing numbers: 1,669 on Tuesday, 1,293 on Wednesday, 1,553 on Thursday, and 1,847 on Friday. In response to the surge, Turkey expanded its daily border crossing capacity from 3,000 to between 15,000 and 20,000 within 48 hours of Assads fall, Yerlikaya said earlier in the week. Turkey, which shares a 900-kilometer (560-mile) border with Syria, has five operational border crossings and plans to open a sixth in the far west to ease the traffic. Political and social pressures Anti-Syrian sentiment has been rising in Turkey, where pressure on the government to reduce the refugee population is high. Officials are keen to facilitate returns, particularly from regions like Aleppo, which accounts for 42 per cent of the Syrian refugee population in Turkey, or around 1.24 million people, according to the interior ministry. The fall of Assad has brought renewed hope for some Syrian refugees to rebuild their lives in their homeland, though the broader implications of the political transition remain uncertain. With inputs from agencies South Korean lawmakers voted on Saturday to impeach Yoon over his brief declaration of martial law, which plunged the country into some of its worst political turmoil in decades read more President Joe Biden underscored the strength of the US relationship with South Korea during a call Saturday with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who became acting president after the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol. President Biden expressed his confidence that the Alliance will remain the linchpin for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region during Acting President Hans tenure, the White House said in a readout of the call. President Biden expressed his appreciation for the resiliency of democracy and the rule of law in the Republic of Korea and reaffirmed the ironclad commitment of the United States to the people of the Republic of Korea. Advertisement South Korean lawmakers voted on Saturday to impeach Yoon over his brief declaration of martial law, which plunged the country into some of its worst political turmoil in decades. Technocrat Han has stepped in as interim leader as a constitutional court deliberates over whether to permanently remove Yoon from office. The three military-led states reaffirmed their decision to leave ECOWAS, describing it as irreversible and accusing the bloc of being subservient to former colonial ruler France read more Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) flag is pictured during an extraordinary summit of ECOWAS to hear reports from recent missions to Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea following military coups in those countries, in Accra, Ghana March 25, 2022. Reuters West African leaders gathered Sunday (December 15) for a summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger prepared to finalise their withdrawal from the regional bloc. The impending exit of the three Sahel nations, set for January 2024, threatens to reshape security cooperation and free trade in a region increasingly plagued by jihadist insurgencies. The three military-led states reaffirmed their decision to leave ECOWAS, describing it as irreversible and accusing the bloc of being subservient to former colonial ruler France. Advertisement Their departure follows a year of strained relations, including ECOWAS threats of military intervention and sanctions after a coup in Niger in July 2023. Mediation efforts continue Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, appointed as a mediator by ECOWAS, attended the summit in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. He said last week that progress had been made in talks with the Sahel states, stressing the importance of maintaining relations amid ongoing security challenges. While the impending exit of Burkina, Faso, Mali and Niger from ECOWAS is disheartening, we commend the ongoing mediation efforts, ECOWAS commission president Omar Touray said at the summits opening. Togos President Faure Gnassingbe has also been mediating with the Sahel states, but the three nations did not announce plans to attend the Abuja summit. Instead, they held a separate ministerial meeting on Friday in Nigers capital, Niamey, where they reiterated their commitment to leaving ECOWAS. The ministers reiterate the irreversible decision to withdraw from ECOWAS and are committed to pursuing a process of reflection on the means of exiting in the best interests of their peoples, they said in a joint statement. The Alliance of Sahel states After breaking ties with France, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have formed their own confederation, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), and pivoted towards Russia for support. The three nations, which have all experienced military coups and ongoing jihadist insurgencies, view the alliance as a platform for shared security and governance. Guinea, another ECOWAS member run by a military government since a 2021 coup, has not announced plans to leave the bloc but has faced its own tensions with ECOWAS over delays in transitioning back to civilian rule. Advertisement Tensions over intervention ECOWASs relationship with the Sahel states worsened after the bloc imposed heavy sanctions and threatened military intervention following Nigers 2023 coup the regions sixth in three years. While some sanctions were eased earlier this year in a bid to restart dialogue, divisions persist within ECOWAS over how to address the military-led governments. Earlier this year, Nigerias top military commander met Nigers army chief to bolster security cooperation along their shared border, but broader ECOWAS efforts to mediate remain fraught with challenges. With inputs from agencies Germany has convicted several Assad government officials under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows for trials regardless of where the offences were committed read more A person gestures next to a burning picture of President Bashar al-Assad, after rebels seized the capital and ousted the president, in Qamishli, Syria, December 8, 2024. File Image/Reuters German ministers on Sunday said supporters of fallen president Bashar al-Assads government would face justice in Germany if they fled to the country after the toppling of the Syrian strongman. We will hold all of the regimes henchmen to account for their terrible crimes with the full force of the law, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told the weekly Bild am Sonntag. If henchmen of Assads terror regime try to flee to Germany, they must know that hardly any other state pursues their crimes as harshly as Germany, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told the same publication. Advertisement No one who has taken part in atrocities is safe from prosecution here, Faeser added. It is now particularly important for international security authorities and intelligence services to work together as closely as possible, Baerbock said. Germany has convicted several Assad government officials under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows for trials regardless of where the offences were committed. In January 2022, Germany jailed former Syrian colonel Anwar Raslan for life in the first global trial over state-sponsored torture in Syrian prisons. A year later in February 2023 in Berlin, a member of a government militia arrested in Germany in 2021 also received a life sentence for war crimes. A Syrian doctor, Alaa Moussa, is also currently on trial in Frankfurt accused of torture, murder and crimes against humanity in military hospitals. German authorities have also gone after people who were not part of Assads government for crimes committed in Syria since the civil war began in 2011. In December 2023, German prosecutors charged two Syrians with war crimes committed around Damascus as part of the Islamic State group. Germany is home to Europes largest Syrian diaspora, having taken in nearly a million people from the war-ravaged country. Indonesian police arrested the nine Australians in 2005, convicting them of attempting to smuggle more than eight kilograms (18 pounds) of heroin off the holiday island of Bali read more The five remaining members of the Australian Bali Nine drug ring flew home Sunday after 19 years in jail in Indonesia, ending an saga that had frayed relations between the two countries. Indonesian police arrested the nine Australians in 2005, convicting them of attempting to smuggle more than eight kilograms (18 pounds) of heroin off the holiday island of Bali. In a case that drew global attention to Indonesias unforgiving drug laws, two of the gang would eventually be executed by firing squad, while others served hefty prison sentences. Advertisement The Australian Government can confirm that Australian citizens, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen, and Michael Czugaj have returned to Australia, Canberra said in a statement. The men will have the opportunity to continue their personal rehabilitation and reintegration in Australia. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the men returned in the afternoon, and he had thanked Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto for his compassion. Australia shares Indonesias concern about the serious problem illicit drugs represents, Albanese said. The government will continue to cooperate with Indonesia to counter narcotics trafficking and transnational crime, he told reporters. These Australians spent more than 19 years in prison in Indonesia. It was time for them to come home. The Australian government did not give further details on the agreement with Jakarta. Firing squad An Indonesian minister told AFP the five men had left the country as prisoners but all the responsibilities for them had now passed to Australia. The men were accompanied on their flight home by three officials from the Australian embassy, another Indonesian official said. The Australian government said it had consistently advocated for the men and provided consular support to them and their families during their incarceration. Advertisement It asked the media to respect their privacy. Australias national broadcaster ABC said the men were now free, and would not have to serve further prison time at home. The men had been given temporary accommodation and had made voluntary undertakings to continue their rehabilitation, it said. It is not uncommon for foreigners to be arrested for drug offences in Bali, which attracts millions of visitors to its palm-fringed beaches every year. Muslim-majority Indonesia has some of the worlds toughest drug laws, including the death penalty for traffickers. Accused Bali Nine ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed by firing squad in 2015 despite repeated pleas from the Australian government, which recalled its ambassador at the time. Advertisement Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen died of cancer in 2018, months before Renae Lawrence was released after her sentence was commuted. Heroin-lined suitcase Australian police came under criticism after the Bali Nines arrests for alerting Indonesian authorities to the drug-smuggling ring despite the death penalty risk. The release of the Australians followed weeks of speculation that a deal for their return was in the works. In November, a senior Indonesian minister said Jakarta aimed to return prisoners from Australia, France and the Philippines by the end of this year. France last month requested the return of its citizen, Serge Atlaoui, a welder arrested in 2005 in a drugs factory outside Jakarta, according to a senior Indonesian minister. Advertisement Earlier this month, Indonesia signed an agreement with the Philippines for the return of mother of two Mary Jane Veloso, who was arrested in 2010 after the suitcase she was carrying was found to be lined with 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) of heroin. Israeli air raids have severely degraded Syrias military infrastructure, with reports suggesting that up to 70 per cent of its military capabilities have been destroyed read more Police officers stand on the rubble of a damaged building at the site of a rocket attack, in central Damascus' Kafr Sousa neighborhood, Syria. File image/Reuters Israeli airstrikes targeted dozens of sites in Syria overnight, hitting military installations, weapons depots, and naval assets, despite Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolanis statement that his group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), is not seeking conflict with Israel. The strikes followed comments by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, who said Israeli troops would remain stationed on Mount Hermon throughout the winter to secure positions they seized in the Golan Heights buffer zone last week. Due to what is happening in Syria, there is enormous security importance to our holding on to the peak, The Guardian quoted Katz as saying. Advertisement The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Israel fired 61 missiles in under five hours, targeting Syrian military headquarters, radar systems, and arms caches. Israeli strikes also reportedly hit facilities associated with Syrias missile and chemical weapons programs, as well as naval assets in Latakia. Rebel leader calls for stability Jolani, whose group played a key role in toppling Bashar al-Assads regime, accused Israel of using false pretexts for its attacks but stressed that HTS is focused on rebuilding Syria. There are no excuses for any foreign intervention in Syria now after the Iranians have left, The Guardian quoted Jolani as saying in an interview with Syrian state media. The priority at this stage is reconstruction and stability, not being drawn into disputes that could lead to further destruction. Jolani criticised Israels strikes as unwarranted and dangerous, warning they risk escalating regional tensions. International concern over escalation The United Nations and European nations, including France, Germany, and Spain, have urged Israel to withdraw from the buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, citing violations of Syrias sovereignty. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern over Israels actions, while the UN accused Israel of breaching a 1974 disengagement agreement that established the demilitarized zone. Israel, however, maintains that the agreement collapsed following the fall of Assads government. Responding to criticism, Israel Defence Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said, We arent intervening in what is happening in Syria. Our actions are solely focused on ensuring the security of Israeli citizens. Advertisement Halevi added that Israels deployment along the border from Mount Hermon to the tri-border area with Jordan is designed to prevent extremist groups from gaining a foothold near Israeli territory. Impact of Israeli strikes Israeli air raids have severely degraded Syrias military infrastructure, with reports suggesting that up to 70 per cent of its military capabilities have been destroyed. Western officials, who initially believed Israeli operations would be limited to chemical weapons and missile sites, were surprised by the scale of the campaign. Among the sites targeted were assets of the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center, a facility linked to advanced weapons development, and air force infrastructure. Advertisement US engages with Syrian rebel groups The airstrikes came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded talks with regional allies in Jordan, Turkey, and Iraq aimed at shaping Syrias post-Assad future. Blinken underscored the challenges of stabilising Syria while preventing further displacement and terrorism. We know that what happens inside of Syria can have powerful consequences well beyond its borders, Blinken said in Aqaba, Jordan. Blinken also confirmed contacts between the Biden administration and HTS, though he declined to provide details. He said the US sought to communicate messages to the group regarding its conduct and plans for governance during Syrias transition period. Advertisement Ireland has also been among the most outspoken critics of Israels response to the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas that sparked the war in Gaza read more Israels foreign ministry announced on Sunday that it was closing its embassy in Ireland, citing the Dublin governments extreme anti-Israeli policies, further straining tense relations between the two nations. Diplomatic ties between Ireland and Israel have deteriorated after a series of moves that included Ireland recognising a Palestinian state and backing an International Court of Justice case accusing Israel of genocide in the Gaza Strip. Ireland has also been among the most outspoken critics of Israels response to the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas that sparked the war in Gaza. Advertisement The decision to close Israels embassy in Dublin was made in light of the extreme anti-Israel policies of the Irish government, the foreign ministry said in a statement. The actions and antisemitic rhetoric used by Ireland against Israel are rooted in the delegitimisation and demonisation of the Jewish state, along with double standards, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in a statement. Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with Israel. In November, Irelands Prime Minister Simon Harris said the countrys authorities would detain his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu if he travelled to Ireland after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him. The ICC issued warrants for Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed between October 8, 2023, and May 20 this year in the Gaza Strip. Saar said Israel would invest its resources in building ties with other countries, and on Sunday announced the opening of an embassy in Moldova. Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris called the Israeli decision to close its Dublin embassy deeply regrettable. I utterly reject the assertion that Ireland is anti-Israel. Ireland is pro-peace, pro-human rights and pro-International law, he posted on X. Advertisement With inputs from agencies Nigers junta dismissed reports of the attack and deaths as baseless assertions and a campaign of intoxication read more Thirty-nine people have been killed in two attacks in recent days in western Niger, near the border with Burkina Faso, Niameys defence ministry said Saturday. Two horrific tragedies happened in the communities of Libiri and Kokorou, criminals cornered by constant operations by defence and security forces launched attacks on defenceless civilian populations, the defence ministry said in a statement. The barbaric acts saw 21 people killed in Libiri and 18 in Kokorou, including children, the ministry said. Advertisement The operations took place from December 12 to 14, the statement said without detailing when the attacks happened. The communities are located in the Tera border region, an area teeming with fighters which has been subjected to particularly bloody jihadist attacks in recent days. The frontier lands between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have long been a hideout for jihadists linked to the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda, who have waged an insurgent war against the government. One of the latest attacks saw gunmen kill 21 civilians in an assault on a goods convoy, local sources told AFP on December 7. On Wednesday, both the BBC and RFI reported that jihadists had killed 90 soldiers and over 40 civilians in Teras Chatoumane. Nigers junta dismissed reports of the attack and deaths as baseless assertions and a campaign of intoxication. Although AFP was unable to verify those numbers from an independent local source, a Western security source told AFP that 90 to 100 people died in Tuesdays attack. The military government suspended BBC radio for three months following its report, the latest in a slew of Western media to be sanctioned by the junta since it seized power in a July 2023 coup. Advertisement Most EU governments welcomed Bashar al-Assads fall but are considering whether they can work with the rebels who ousted him, including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist group that is designated a terrorist organisation by the EU read more France will send a team of diplomats to Syria on Tuesday to assess the political and security situation, the foreign ministry said, without specifying whom they would meet. Most EU governments welcomed Bashar al-Assads fall but are considering whether they can work with the rebels who ousted him, including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist group that is designated a terrorist organisation by the EU. A team of French diplomats will travel to Syria this Tuesday to mark Frances willingness to support the Syrian people, the ministry said, adding that they would report back to the foreign minister after a series of contacts there. Advertisement Since cutting ties with Assad in 2012, France has not sought to normalise ties with Syrias government and has backed a broadly secular exiled opposition and Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria. French officials have met representatives of such groups and Paris has said a political transition in Syria must be credible and inclusive, in line with a framework set out by the United Nations. Some diplomats say Frances relations with Syrias new rulers could benefit from the fact it never sought to normalise ties with Assad. Kagame and Tshisekedi last met in October in Paris but did not hold direct discussions. Angola mediated a fragile truce in August that temporarily stabilised the front line. However, both sides continued to exchange fire. Clashes have intensified since late October read more The planned talks between the leader of Democratic Repulic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi , and the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, have collapsed. Image sources: Agencies Planned peace talks on Sunday (December 15) between the leaders of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to address the ongoing conflict in eastern Congo were called off after negotiations hit a deadlock, officials said. The summit, hosted by Angolan President Joao Lourenco under the African Unions mediation efforts, was expected to pave the way for a deal to end fighting in eastern DRC, where a Rwanda-backed rebel group has caused widespread displacement and a humanitarian crisis since 2021. Advertisement However, by midday Sunday, the head of Angolas presidential media office announced that the meeting would not proceed as planned. Contrary to what we expected, the summit will no longer be held today, media officer Mario Jorge told reporters. He added that Lourenco had met with DRC President Felix Tshisekedi, but Rwandan President Paul Kagame was not present. Stalemate over M23 rebel dialogue According to Congolese officials, negotiations stalled over Rwandas demand that the DRC engage in direct talks with the M23 rebel group, which is largely ethnic Tutsi and has seized large parts of eastern DRC. There is a stalemate because the Rwandans have set as a precondition for the signing of an agreement that the DRC hold a direct dialogue with the M23, said Giscard Kusema, a spokesman for the Congolese presidency, speaking from Luanda. Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said on Friday (December 13) that Rwanda wanted a a firm commitment from the DRC to resume direct talks with the M23 within a well-defined framework and timeframe. The Congolese government has consistently accused Rwanda of backing the M23 militarily, a charge Kigali denies. AFP cited a Congolese government source as saying that resolving the conflict hinges on Rwanda withdrawing its alleged troops from Congolese territory. Advertisement If Kigali is in good faith in the negotiations and on its promise to withdraw its troops from Congolese soil, the conflict will end with the M23, and at the same time it will stop with Rwanda, the source said. Fragile truce in tatters Kagame and Tshisekedi last met in October in Paris but did not hold direct discussions. Angola mediated a fragile truce in August that temporarily stabilised the front line. However, both sides continued to exchange fire, and clashes have intensified since late October. The collapse of the talks highlights the persistent challenges to finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict, which has exacerbated humanitarian suffering in eastern DRC. Thousands remain displaced, with no end to the violence in sight. Advertisement With inputs from agencies At a conference on religion across the Mediterranean, the pontiff warned against varieties of spirituality that seek self-aggrandisement by fuelling polemics, narrow-mindedness, divisions and exclusivist attitudes read more People welcome Pope Francis for his visit in his popemobile at Boulevard Charles Bonaparte during his apostolic journey in Ajaccio, on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica, France. Reuters Pope Francis urged Catholic priests on Sunday to guard against spiritual groups that stoke political divisions, speaking during a one-day visit to Corsica, the first by a pontiff to the French Mediterranean island. At a conference on religion across the Mediterranean, the pontiff warned against varieties of spirituality that seek self-aggrandisement by fuelling polemics, narrow-mindedness, divisions and exclusivist attitudes. The Churchs pastors (are) called to be vigilant, to exercise discernment and to be constantly attentive to (these) popular forms of religiosity, the pope said. Advertisement Francis, making his third and probably last foreign trip of 2024, did not name any specific religious groups. Corsica, like much of France, has a long history of lay Catholic associations, known as confraternities. They usually focus on spiritual matters but sometimes play a role in local politics. The pope will spend about nine hours in Ajaccio, Corsicas capital, on Sunday. After attending the conference, he will celebrate an outdoor Mass with local Catholics and will also meet French President Emmanuel Macron. Visiting places that often do not draw international attention is part of Francis policy of highlighting people and problems in what he calls the peripheries of the world. Over his 11-year papacy he has still not visited most of the capitals of Western Europe, including Paris. Macron had invited Francis to attend the Dec. 7 reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral, five years after a devastating fire nearly destroyed the medieval building. The pope decided not to go, and the two will instead meet briefly at Ajaccios airport on Sunday before Francis heads back to Rome. Turns 88 on tuesday As is now normal, Francis, who turns 88 on Tuesday, left his plane on arrival in Corsica via an elevator and used a wheelchair while greeting officials on the tarmac. During a brief ride in an open-air popemobile from the airport, the pope waved at crowds on the street and appeared on good form, though he still has a small bruise on his chin, the result of what the Vatican described as a minor fall in his bedroom last week. Advertisement Corsica, famed for its steep, mountainous terrain and as the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte, is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean. It is one of Frances poorest regions, where about 20% of the population lives below the poverty line, according to government figures. The Vatican estimates that about 81% of Corsicas population of 356,000 is Catholic. There are 83 priests on the island and some 30 Catholic nuns, it says. Francis, originally from Argentina and the first pope from the Americas, has travelled widely around the Mediterranean since becoming pontiff in 2013, visiting Malta, the Greek island of Lesbos, and the Italian island of Lampedusa. Advertisement Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that North Korean troops are deployed in significant numbers in Russias Kursk region. The remarks came a day after reports emerged that Pyongyang had killed 300 Ukrainian soldiers as the war-stricken nation struggled to hold on to the Russian city read more As the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war escalates, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Moscow has started using North Korean troops in significant numbers. Zelenskyy noted that this is the first time North Korean troops have been used to conduct assaults on Ukrainian forces that are battling to hold on to their enclave in Russias Kursk region. The confirmation from Zelenskyy came a day after reports emerged that North Korean troops had reportedly killed 300 Ukrainian soldiers before reclaiming a Russian village. In his wartime address on Saturday, Zelenskyy emphasised that the active use of North Korean troops is the new escalation in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and called for a global response. Advertisement Today, we already have preliminary data that the Russians have begun to use North Korean soldiers in their assaults. A significant number of them, the Ukrainian leader said in an evening address. He mentioned that North Koreans were being used in combined Russian units and only on the Kursk front for now. We have information suggesting their use could extend to other parts of the front line," he added. Meanwhile, Russia has neither confirmed nor denied the reports that it is taking help from the North Korean troops. North Korean troops engage in active clashes Zelenskyys proclamation came a day after reports emerged that North Korean troops deployed to help Russia had reportedly killed some 300 Ukrainian soldiers before reclaiming a Russian village. Pro-Russian Telegram channel Romanov Light reported that North Korean soldiers stormed the Ukrainian-held village of Plyokhovo in Kursk like a hurricane," and eliminated Ukrainian forces deployed in the region, NK News. Vladimir Romanov, who runs the channel, claimed that the Norths special forces carried out the operation and clashes lasted for 2 hours. However, the North Korean troops did not take any prisoners in the latest clashes. Meanwhile, Ukraines General Staff confirmed clashes between Ukrainian and North Korean troops. Andrii Kovalenko, an official at Ukraines National Security and Defence Council, said the North Koreans had taken losses, but provided no numbers, Reuters. The Russians are counting on numbers and are trying to carry out assault operations with the help of the Koreans when the task of the Koreans is to run under the blows of our forces and occupy certain areas, Kovalenko wrote on Telegram. Just weeks before US President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House, the Ukrainian leader asked the West to put it into a stronger position and bridled at fears of escalation by Russia and North Korea. In essence, Moscow has dragged another state into this war, and to the fullest extent possible. And if this is not escalation, then what is the escalation that so many have been talking about? Zelenskyy exclaimed. Russias Emergency Ministry said more than 50 personnel and equipment, including Mi-8 helicopters and rescue tugboats, had been deployed to the area to assist read more A Russian oil tanker carrying thousands of tonnes of fuel oil split apart during a severe storm in the Kerch Strait on Sunday (December 15), spilling oil into the waters and leaving at least one crew member dead, officials said. The Volgoneft 212, a 136-meter tanker with 15 people aboard, broke in half, with its bow sinking and waves washing over the deck, according to footage published by Russian state media. The ship, built in 1969, ran aground in the strait between mainland Russia and Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Advertisement A second tanker, the Volgoneft 239, sustained damage and was left drifting in the same area. It has a crew of 14 and was built in 1973, officials said. Both Russian-flagged vessels have a loading capacity of approximately 4,200 tonnes of oil products. There was a spill of petroleum products, Russias federal shipping agency, Rosmorrechflot, said in a statement, adding that the storm had caused the accident. Search and rescue operations Russias Emergency Ministry said more than 50 personnel and equipment, including Mi-8 helicopters and rescue tugboats, had been deployed to the area to assist. The Kommersant newspaper reported that the Volgoneft 212 tanker was carrying about 4,300 tonnes of fuel oil when it broke apart. Official statements did not detail the extent of the spill or explain why the tanker sustained such significant damage. Unverified video circulating on Telegram showed blackened water amid stormy seas and a partially submerged tanker. Environmental concerns The spill has raised concerns about environmental damage in the Kerch Strait, a critical waterway linking the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Russian authorities have yet to release an assessment of the spills impact. The incident adds to the risks associated with aging oil tankers in challenging weather conditions. Both vessels involved were more than 50 years old. With inputs from agencies Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the countrys No. 2 official, took over presidential powers later Saturday. Han was appointed by Yoon, whose government has struggled to pass legislation in the opposition-controlled parliament read more South Koreas opposition leader on Sunday urged the Constitutional Court to rule swiftly on a bid to remove President Yoon Suk Yeol from office, a day after parliament voted to impeach him over a short-lived attempt to impose martial law. Yoons powers will be suspended until the court rules on the case, either removing Yoon from office or restoring his powers. The court has up to 180 to decide, and if hes dismissed, a national election to choose his successor must be held within 60 days. Advertisement Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the countrys No. 2 official, took over presidential powers later Saturday. Han was appointed by Yoon, whose government has struggled to pass legislation in the opposition-controlled parliament. Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party, told reporters Sunday that a swift ruling is the only way to minimize national chaos. Lee also proposed the creation of a national council where the government and the National Assembly would work together to stabilize state affairs. He said bipartisan cooperation is essential to navigating the political paralysis that has halted high-level diplomacy and spooked financial markets since Yoons martial law decree. Lee also said that the Democratic Party would not seek to impeach of Han, despite some calls to do so over his alleged inaction to prevent Yoons martial law enforcement. Lee said there was no need to introduce further political uncertainty. The Democratic Party will actively cooperate with all parties to stabilize state affairs and restore international trust, Lee said. The National Assembly and government will work together to quickly resolve the crisis that has swept across the Republic of Korea. Yoons Dec. 3 imposition of martial law, the first of its kind in more than four decades, lasted only six hours, but has caused massive political tumult, halted diplomatic activities and rattled financial markets. Yoon was forced to lift his decree after parliament unanimously voted to overturn it. Advertisement Yoon sent hundreds of troops and police officers to the parliament in an effort to stop the vote, but they withdrew after the parliament rejected Yoons decree. No major violence occurred. Opposition parties have accused Yoon of rebellion, and say that a president in South Korea is allowed to declare martial law only during wartime or similar emergencies and would have no right to suspend parliaments operations even in those cases. The conservative Yoon rejects the charges and says he aimed to issue a warning to the Democratic Party, which he has called an anti-state force as its used its control of parliament to impeach many top officials and hold up the governments budget bill for next year. Advertisement Grenell served as Trumps ambassador to Germany, a special presidential envoy for Serbia and Kosovo peace negotiations, and as acting director of national intelligence during Trumps 2017-2021 term read more Richard Grenell, a top advisor to former U.S. President Donald Trump and former Acting Director of National Intelligence. FIle image/ Reuters U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday he was picking Richard Grenell, his former intelligence chief, as presidential envoy for special missions, a post where he will likely drive policies toward some U.S. adversaries, including North Korea. Ric will work in some of the hottest spots around the World, including Venezuela and North Korea, Trump said on his Truth Social media platform without further describing the duties. A Trump transition source told Reuters that Grenell will also focus on tensions in the Balkans. Advertisement Grenell served as Trumps ambassador to Germany, a special presidential envoy for Serbia and Kosovo peace negotiations, and as acting director of national intelligence during Trumps 2017-2021 term. After campaigning for Trump ahead of the Nov. 5 election, he was a top contender for secretary of state, a job that went to U.S. Senator Marco Rubio. He was also considered for special envoy for the Ukraine war, which went to retired lieutenant general Keith Kellogg. Trump takes office next month. Presidents name presidential and special envoys to focus on global issues, crises or specific diplomatic efforts. North Korea and Venezuela are U.S. adversaries, though Reuters has reported that Trump has considered pursuing direct talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, hoping to reduce risks of armed conflict. What reciprocation Kim might offer Trump is unclear. The North Koreans ignored four years of outreach by U.S. President Joe Biden to start talks with no pre-conditions, and Kim is emboldened by an expanded missile arsenal and a much closer relationship with Russia. During his presidential campaign, Trump called Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro a dictator. Maduro said Trumps re-election was a new start for bilateral relations. Advertisement In his first term, Trump put in place harsher sanctions on the South American country, especially on its key oil industry. Maduro broke off relations in 2019. Grenell had previous interactions with Maduro associates. Reuters reported that in 2020 Grenell secretly met with a Maduro representative to try to work out the Venezuelan leaders peaceful exit from power after his 2018 re-election was considered a sham by most Western countries, but no agreement was reached. Republican U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty voiced quick support for Grenell, saying on X that he would do a great job dealing with some of the worlds toughest challenges. Several countries maintained diplomatic ties with Assads government during the 13-year conflict, while others reopened their diplomatic missions in recent years as they sought to normalise relations read more Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, nations have slowly been opening up to the rebel HTS. AP The United Kingdom has initiated diplomatic contact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist group that recently led the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, marking a significant shift in international engagement with Syrias new power structure. Foreign Secretary David Lammy confirmed the development, stating that while HTS remains a proscribed organisation in the UK, diplomatic channels are being used to communicate with the group as necessary. HTS remains a proscribed organisation, but we can have diplomatic contact, and so we do have diplomatic contact, as you would expect, Lammy said. Advertisement Broader international consensus This move comes amid a broader international reassessment of relations with Syria following Assads departure. The United States has confirmed direct contact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the rebel group that recently ousted President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the US is urging HTS to support the formation of an inclusive and representative transitional government, rather than assuming automatic leadership. France also announced that it would send a team of diplomats to Syria on Tuesday to assess the political and security situation, the foreign ministry said, without specifying whom they would meet. Most EU governments welcomed Bashar al-Assads fall but are considering whether they can work with the rebels who ousted him, including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist group that is designated a terrorist organisation by the EU. Turkey reopened its embassy in Syria on Saturday, becoming the first country to do so since the end of Bashar Assads rule last weekend. The Syrian insurgents who overthrew Assad had received vital help from Turkey. Several countries maintained diplomatic ties with Assads government during the 13-year conflict, while others reopened their diplomatic missions in recent years as they sought to normalise relations. Advertisement With inputs from agencies US President-elect Donald Trump was awarded $15 million after ABC News and its anchor George Stephanopoulos agreed to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by the Republican firebrand read more ABC News and its anchor George Stephanopoulos have agreed to pay US President-elect Donald Trump a whopping $15 million as part of a settlement in the defamation lawsuit filed by the Republican firebrand. The money will go to a foundation and museum established by Trump. In addition to this, both ABC News and Stephanopoulos agreed to issue statements of regret surrounding the case. The lawsuit surrounded a March interview Stephanopoulos had with South Carolinas Republican representative and Trump ally Nancy Mace in which he repeatedly claimed that the president-elect was found liable for rape. Stephanopoulos was talking about the lawsuit filed by the columnist E. Jean Carroll. The writer accused Trump of sexually assaulting and raping her at Bergdorf Goodman, a New York City department store, in the 1990s. Advertisement Last year, a New York jury found that Trump had sexually abused Carroll, but did not rape her. Trump was eventually ordered to pay $83.3 million after he was found liable for defamation claims. Following Stephanopouloss March interview, Trump filed a defamation lawsuit against the US network and Stephanopoulos, one of ABC Newss main anchors. A major win for Trump Soon after the lawsuit was filed, Stephanopoulos took a defiant stance on the matter. While speaking to talk show host Stephen Colbert in May, the journalist said that he would not be cowed out of doing my job because of a threat. According to the Saturday settlement, ABC News was obligated to transfer in the amount of fifteen million US dollars to be made to a presidential foundation and museum to be established by or for [Donald Trump], as presidents of the United States of America have established in the past . The settlement also maintained that ABC News and Stephanopoulos shall publicly publish the following statement by adding it as an editors note at the bottom of a March 10, 2024, online article [surrounding Stephanopouloss interview]: ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABCs This Week on March 10, 2024. The network was also asked to pay $1 million in Trumps attorney fees. Not only this, Trump is now allowed to file a dismissal of the lawsuit and take whatever other actions necessary to ensure that the action is dismissed in its entirety with prejudice. In a separate statement to The Hill, an ABC News spokesperson reacted to the news. We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing, the spokesperson averred. Trump is yet to publicly comment on the matter. Advertisement With inputs from agencies. President-elect Donald Trump picked Truth Social CEO David Nunes to lead the presidents intelligence advisory board. The former lawmaker led the US House Intelligence Committee during Trumps first stint in the White House read more Nunes will retain his position at Truth Social while he chairs the presidents intelligence advisory board, according to Trump. AFP President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday named chief of TruthSocial Devin Nunes to serve as the chair of the presidents intelligence advisory board. The former US lawmaker was a longtime Trump defender who led the House of Representatives intelligence committee during the president-elects first stint at the White House. While announcing his name for the post, Trump maintained that Nunes will continue to serve as the CEO of Truth Social while serving on the advisory panel. Advertisement During his time in the intelligence committee, Nunes alleged that the FBI conspired against Trump during its investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections. Devin will draw on his experience as former Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and his key role in exposing the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, to provide me with independent assessments of the effectiveness and propriety of the US Intelligence Communitys activities, Trump wrote in a TruthSocial post on Saturday. What Nunes new role will entail? The presidents intelligence advisory board is a White House panel which offers the president an independent assessment of intelligence agencies effectiveness and planning. On Saturday, Trump also made some other appointments in his incoming administration. He named IBM executive and former US Department of Homeland Security official Troy Edgar to serve as the departments deputy secretary, and businessman Bill White to serve as the US ambassador to Belgium. Edgar was Trumps former chief financial officer and served as an associate deputy undersecretary of management for homeland security. Meanwhile, White is the former CEO of the Intrepid Museum in New York City, the current CEO of the Constellations Group and a longtime friend of Trump. In his post on Truth Social, Trump mentioned that Edgar was previously the Mayor of Los Alamitos, California, where he helped me lead the City and County revolt against Sanctuary Cities in 2018. With inputs from agencies. The University of Virginia and a Jewish Israeli student who sued the school over claims he was the victim of virulent antisemitism on Grounds have settled out of court. Neither UVa nor counsel for second-year student Matan Goldstein would disclose the terms of that settlement to The Daily Progress. According to court records, the parties appear to have reached some agreement in late November, roughly six months after the lawsuit was filed in federal court. Judge Robert S. Ballou dismissed the case on Dec. 4, with each party responsible for their respective fees and costs. Goldsteins suit claims he was the victim of physical violence at the hands of antisemitic students. He accused UVa President Jim Ryan and Rector Robert Hardie of not only ignoring the violent hate-based, antisemitic hostile educational environment on Grounds, but gas-lighting Jewish students to the point that the Jewish community feared retaliation from President Ryan. Many of the claims are familiar to anyone following reports of the rise of antisemitism on U.S. college campuses since war broke out in the Middle East more than a year ago, after Palestinian terror group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, the worlds only Jewish nation-state, on Oct. 7, 2023. The bloody conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives overseas and stoked divisions at U.S. colleges, culminating in a spring semester of pro-Palestinian protests at UVa and elsewhere. Goldsteins suit claimed UVa administrators fostered the pro-Palestinian groups behind the protests, groups he said are sleeper cells taking orders directly from Hamas. While neither party to the case was willing to discuss the terms of the settlement, UVa spokesman Brian Coy shared a joint statement on behalf of the university and Goldstein. The parties have reached a resolution in this lawsuit, that statement reads. Matan Goldstein appreciates the steps the University, President, Rector, and the Board of Visitors have taken to combat antisemitism on Grounds. Asked what measures the university has implemented in order to combat antisemitism, Coy directed The Daily Progress to the webpage for the UVa Task Force on Religious Diversity and Belonging. That task force, commissioned last December by UVa Provost Ian Baucom to investigate a growing number of reports of antisemitic and Islamophobic attacks on Grounds, found that religious discrimination at UVa has increased 155% over the past academic year. In the 2022-2023 school year, there were nine reports of antisemitism on Grounds, according to the task forces final report issued in September. That jumped to 33 in the 2023-2024 school year. Already this semester, two students have been suspended after their Jewish housemate filed a police report claiming he was targeted and threatened once at gunpoint because of his religion. One of those students, Charlottesville resident Robert Romer, has been charged with brandishing a firearm, entering a property with the intent to damage its contents, issuing a threat and perpetrating a hate crime. The other student, Annandale resident Mohammad Tahoor Zafar, who acquired the gun, has not been charged with any crime to date. Both students have cases pending before the University Judiciary Committee, a student-run disciplinary organization. Included in the task forces September report are multiple recommendations to cool tensions on Grounds and make religious minorities feel more comfortable, such as expanding access to prayer and meditative spaces, increasing the number of kosher and halal foods in dining halls, and making more accommodations for religious minorities in both educational and recreational settings. None of those recommendations would necessarily resolve the wide-ranging complaints made in Goldsteins lawsuit. The pro-Hamas UVA students have turned what once was a beautiful bastion of enlightened freethinking and tolerance into a trash-laden wasteland of antisemitic and anti-Israeli hate, and Defendants UVA, Ryan, and Hardie allowed it to happen, reads a draft of the lawsuit obtained by The Daily Progress. According to Goldsteins suit: Pro-Hamas student groups have dedicated themselves to antisemitic objectives and making UVa an inhospitable place for Jews. Pro-Hamas demonstrations and events occurred on a weekly, if not daily, basis on Grounds. A protest encampment on Grounds that was planned, coordinated, and supported by Hamas made it impossible for people to access many UVa buildings without encountering antisemitic proclamations and utterances of hate. Antisemitism has thoroughly infected UVa, leaving Jewish students and faculty in constant fear of physical attack, violence, and even death. The lawsuit Goldsteins counsel originally drafted this past spring is noticeably different from the one dismissed this month. Originally submitted in May at 79 pages, Goldsteins lawsuit ballooned in size to 169 pages by the time the case was dismissed. The original suit largely referred to both the Students for Justice in Palestine and the Faculty for Justice in Palestine groups who helped organize pro-Palestinian protests on UVa Grounds as pro-Hamas. The amended version went a step further, alleging the groups were created and planted in the U.S. by Hamas as part of a decadeslong campaign to propagate antisemitic hate and the instigation of chaos in the soft underbelly of American society: elite college and university campuses. The Hamas conspiracy web in the United States mimics the structure and organization of criminal enterprises such as international drug cartels, reads the amended complaint. The groups use the dark web and other high-tech, encrypted, and secret portals and platforms to communicate with one another and conduct their operations in furtherance of Hamass mission. A month after the amended version of the suit was published, describing the two organizations as antisemitic hate groups who enjoy the full support of the university, court records show Goldstein dropped his complaints against both Justice for Palestine organizations, as well as Hardie. Ryan remained a defendant in the case, however. Goldsteins original complaint also sought compensation for the mental, emotional, psychological and financial damages he says he suffered due to the direct, proximate, and foreseeable result of the acts, errors, omissions, and breaches of duty by the Defendants. Whether he received any monetary compensation in his out-of-court settlement is not public knowledge. Charlottesville-based legal expert Dave Heilberg told The Daily Progress back in May that it is difficult to collect damages for the kinds of assault Goldstein claims to have suffered, including spitting, shoving and slapping all of which Goldstein alleges occurred at an Oct. 25, 2023, protest in front of UVas iconic Rotunda. That protest, organized by the Students for Justice in Palestine, involved hundreds of students voicing their opposition to Israels attack on the Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory of Gaza. Goldstein and a handful of other students joined a counterprotest, standing on the steps of the Rotunda holding an Israeli flag. The Daily Progress was reporting on the protest at the time and witnessed protesters jeering at Goldstein and other counterprotesters. Goldstein claims he was later physically assaulted at the protest, though The Daily Progress was not able to confirm that claim. Goldstein said he was shoved and slapped in the face before a UVa professor intervened in order to protect Matan and himself from imminent physical assault. In its motion to dismiss the lawsuit, UVa told the court that Goldstein was never able to name who allegedly assaulted him at the protest nor did he ever report the incident to UVa officials. Plaintiff has not alleged any specific facts that would show that either of these incidents even if they are particular to him are in any way traceable to the UVa Defendants, according to UVas motion. To substantiate its assertion, UVa filed a document titled Honor Charges, the contents of which have been sealed from the public. While its not clear what the document includes, it may be related to another UVa students failed attempt to challenge Goldsteins claims before the schools Honor Committee, another student-run disciplinary organization. Goldstein was represented in his case by the Charlottesville law firm of Brown & Gavalier. That same firm represented former UVa student Morgan Bettinger, who sued the university last year after she was expelled over a dispute at a Black Women Matter protest in 2020. Bettinger also settled out of court, and the terms of that settlement were also never released to the public. Correction This story was corrected to say University of Virginia Rector Robert Hardie was no longer a defendant in the case at the time it was dismissed. If Trump decides to privatize USPS, it would push hundreds of thousands of federal workers out of the government read more US President-elect Donald Trump has expressed his keen interest in privatizing the US Postal Service (USPS). Trump hinted at the move in recent weeks, highlighting the financial losses incurred by the government body. Three of Trumps close aides with knowledge of the matter told The Washington Post, that the president-elect is planning to shake up consumer shipping and business supply chains. If Trump decides to privatize USPS, it would push hundreds of thousands of federal workers out of the government. The source said that the Republican firebrand has discussed his desire to overhaul the body at his Mar-a-Lago estate with Howard Lutnick, his pick for commerce secretary and the co-chair of his presidential transition. Advertisement Earlier this month, Trump held a meeting with a group of transition officials and asked for their views on privatizing the agency. The source told The Washington Post that Trump believes USPS should not subsidize the organization. In 2019, Trump feuded with the nations mail carrier when he was in office. At that time, the president-elect forced USPS to hand over key functions including rate-setting, personnel decisions, labour relations and managing relationships with its largest clients to the Treasury Department. A system older than the United States It is pertinent to note that the postal system in the country is older than the United States. The body was founded in 1775 with Benjamin Franklin as its chief and revitalized with free rural delivery at the start of the 20th century. The body then transformed into a financially self-sustaining agency in 1970 designed to bind the nation together through the mail. Despite financial blows brought by the rise of the internet, the Postal Service continues to remain one of Americans most beloved federal agencies, second only to the National Park Service. However, as the Republicans push for federal cost-cutting, USPS has become the prime target of the GOPs wrath. The dying industry According to The Washington Post, in 2024, the Postal Service lost $9.5 billion and is stung by continued declines in mail volume and a slower-than-anticipated parcel shipping business, even as it made major new investments in modernized facilities and equipment. The agency now faces a whopping $80 billion in liabilities. Despite the figures, cutting off the Postal Service could upend the trillion-dollar e-commerce industry, hitting small businesses and rural consumers whose businesses and budgets make the agency the shipper of choice. Amazon, the Postal Services largest customer, uses the agency for last-mile delivery. Sometimes USPS is the only carrier that will deliver to far-flung reaches of the country. Not only this, attempts to privatize one of the most prominent parts of the federal government could spark political backlash in rural areas where Republicans have a stronghold. Federal officials from Alaska, for example, often invite postal executives to the Last Frontier to see how crucial the Postal Service is to the states economy, The Washington Post reported. Advertisement In the past, Trump has long had a tense relationship with the mail agency. While he was in office, Trump called USPS a joke. He went on to refer to the body as Amazons Delivery Boy. During the pandemic, the former president threatened to withhold emergency assistance from the Postal Service unless it quadrupled package prices. His then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, authorized a loan for the mail agency only in exchange for access to its confidential contracts with top customers. Hence, it is safe to say that USPS might be the prime target of Trumps second bid in the Oval Office. In an essay published by the New York Times, UnitedHealth Groups CEO, Andrew Witty, said that the slain executive cared about customers and was working towards making the system better read more Days after the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the leader of its parent company admitted that the US health system does not work as well as it should. In an essay published by the New York Times, UnitedHealth Groups CEO, Andrew Witty, said that the slain executive cared about customers and was working towards making the system better. Thompson was ambushed and fatally shot outside the Hilton Hotel where his company was holding its annual investors conference. The killing was seen as a violent expression of widespread anger in the insurance industry. In the article, Witty said that the company was still struggling to make sense of the killing. Advertisement He also mentioned that workers at the health insurance company are now facing vitriol and threats. The UnitedHealth Groups head made it clear that he understands peoples frustration yet described Thompson as part of the solution rather than someone deserving scorn. Witty holds the company responsible While recalling Thompsons humble beginnings, Witty said that his company shares responsibility for the lack of understanding of coverage decisions. His dad spent more than 40 years unloading trucks at grain elevators. BT, as we knew him, worked farm jobs as a kid and fished at a gravel pit with his brother. He never forgot where he came from because it was the needs of people who live in places like Jewell, Iowa, that he considered first in finding ways to improve care, Witty wrote. We know the health system does not work as well as it should, and we understand peoples frustrations with it. No one would design a system like the one we have. And no one did. Its a patchwork built over decades, he added. However, he insisted that despite all the drawbacks, it was still unfair that the companys workers had been barraged with threats even while grieving the loss of a colleague. No employees be they the people who answer customer calls or nurses who visit patients in their homes should have to fear for their and their loved ones safety, the company executive averred. Wittys remarks were published after a woman in Lakeland, Florida, was charged with threatening a worker at her own health insurance company, Blue Cross Blue Shield. The confrontational phone call between the woman and the company worker took place on December 10. Police at that time said that she cited words found on shell casings at the scene of Thompsons killing and said You people are next during the recorded call. Meanwhile, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione was arrested in Pennsylvania and is fighting attempts to extradite him to New York so he can face a murder charge in Thompsons killing. San Francisco police provided Mangiones name to the FBI on December 5, stating that the man was reported missing to them in November, the Associated Press reported. Mangione was eventually arrested on December 9. Thompsons survivors include a wife and two sons aged 16 and 19. Advertisement With inputs from the Associated Press. Despite all the mayhem that rattled South Korea before and after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeols impeachment, North Koreas state media remained silent over the matter. Is Pyongyang no longer interested in the political affairs transpiring in Seoul? read more While the world was left surprised by the political developments that transpired in South Korea in the span of a few weeks, the countrys arch-nemesis, North Korea, remained surprisingly mum about the whole ordeal. On Saturday, South Koreas National Assembly voted to impeach the countrys President Yoon Suk Yeol after his botched bid to impose martial law across the country. The move from the South Korean parliament marked an end to the protests that were calling for Yoons resignation. Despite all the mayhem, North Koreas state media remained radio silent over the matter. This marked a major contrast from its swift reporting of the 2016 impeachment proceedings of then-South Korean President Park Geun-hye. Advertisement As of Sunday morning, none of the Norths state media, including the Rodong Sinmun, the Norths main newspaper, and the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), had published reports on Yoons impeachment. This begged the question, of why Pyongyang is suddenly silent over the matter. Do they have any surprises up their sleeves? How North Korea reacted in past impeachments In December 2016, when Park was impeached from office, North Koreas propaganda outlet Uriminzokkiri reported on it just four hours after the South Korean National Assembly passed the impeachment motion. The KCNA website also carried an article on her impeachment later that night. At that time, North Korea quickly capitalised on the occasion and went on to paint South Korea as politically unstable and corrupt. Hence, the apparent silence on Yoons impeachment is seen by many as North Koreas way of distancing itself from the South in line with its declaration of inter-Korean ties as those between two hostile states. North Korean news outlets were also tight-lipped over Yoons declaration of martial law earlier this month. Why is North Korea silent? There can be two reasons for Pyongyangs silence over the political turmoil in Seoul: Pyongyang is more focused on building ties with Russia While Pyongyang still detests, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeols hardline stance, it no longer considers South Korea as a major focus. Part of the reason is that the North is currently busy renewing alliances with China and Russia. This was not the case in 2016 when North was completely isolated. Moreover, a major chunk of North Korean troops are currently helping Russia in fighting a war against Ukraine. Hence, Pyongyang would not be interested in causing any disruption in the Korean peninsula when some of its soldiers are fighting someone elses battle. North Korea's cost-benefit analysis while dealing with South ------------------------------------------------------------ While Pyongyang made many concerned by frequently testing ballistic missiles, its pattern of ensuring peace in the region was clear since the start of 2024. In January, North Korean Supreme Leader, Kim Jong Un made it clear that the hermit nation does not have any sort of plans to reunite with South Korea in the future, overturning a 70-year-old policy. Pyongyang subsequently sealed off the demilitarized zone by destroying roads, cutting power lines, and constructing border walls from the sole zone of cooperation in Kaesong. Interestingly, after cutting its formal ties, the North did not react in a confrontational manner against South Korean leaflets as it had done so previously. Instead, they decided to send trash balloons towards the South Korean border. Advertisement It is safe to say that North Korea is aware of the instability South will witness as Yoons impeachment case goes to the Constitution Court. This will also affect the US-Japan-South Korea trilateral cooperation that Yoon helped to foster during Bidens years. While Japan has already found a new PM, a change in leadership in both the United States and South Korea, will make the three nations start their rendezvous from scratch. This allows North Korea to bolster ties with China and Russia instead. Pyongyang also appears to be reassessing its cost-benefit calculus. With its munition factories working in full swing to help Russia, the North would avoid more sanctions from the West, especially the US. Hence, North Korea will only make a turnaround if the United States and South Korea can outbid Russias payments for North Korean participation in the war against Ukraine. Advertisement Overall, the silence from the North indicates that Pyongyang no longer considers political instability in Seoul, as an opportunity to propagate some sort of community revolution. This should be a learning experience for leaders of the South as they continue to remain paranoid about the North Korean influence within their political gambit. The whole saga indicates, that escalating tensions with South Korea is no longer the Norths priority. With inputs from agencies. LONDON, Dec. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a landmark announcement, the QStar project emerges as a revolutionary force, uniting Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and blockchain technology in an unprecedented fusion. Born from the innovative strides of OpenAI and now propelled by a dynamic, community-driven vision, QStar is set to redefine the landscape of both AI and cryptocurrency, paving the way for a bold, transformative future. Origins of QStar: A Journey from AGI to Cryptocurrency In November 2023, whispers of a groundbreaking project, Q*, emerged alongside revelations of advancements in GPT technology under OpenAI. Spearheaded by Sam Altman, the enigmatic Q* project promised to usher in an era of AGI capable of transcending humanitys greatest challenges, from healthcare innovations to the expansion of human capabilities. As the world speculated on Q*s transformative potential, the QStar token was borna memecoin encapsulating the revolutionary vision of integrating AGI and blockchain. The tokens inception faced initial hurdles. Launched amidst corporate turbulence, the original development team soon abandoned the project. Yet, the QStar community proved its resilience, taking up the mantle to reforge the projects future. By burning over 400 million tokens from its 10-billion supply, locking liquidity for decades, and renouncing contract ownership, the community laid a foundation of trust and long-term commitment. Community-Driven Resilience: A Rebirth In the wake of early challenges, the QStar community emerged as a driving force, reuniting investors, revamping resources, and breathing new life into the project. Key influencers and whale investors rallied behind the vision, amplifying its reach and solidifying its presence in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Notable figures like Elon Musk further propelled QStars journey. His mentions on X (formerly Twitter) in 2024 brought renewed attention, inspiring a wave of optimism and engagement. The community also embraced a significant rebranding effort, replacing its AI-generated logo with a professionally designed identity that reflects QStars bold ambitions. Pioneering Utilities: AGI and Gamified Experiences Central to QStars evolution are its innovative utilities, blending AGI capabilities with engaging gamified experiences. Two flagship products define this endeavor: QSTAR AGI Bot: Launched in beta in late November 2024, this intelligent assistant specializes in addressing crypto-related inquiries. Designed to evolve and surprise users, the AGI bot represents QStars commitment to harnessing cutting-edge technology for practical applications. QSTAR Click Bot Game: Debuted on November 26, 2024, this interactive game combines tapping mechanics, level progression, individual tasks, and mini-games, fostering community engagement and incentivizing token distribution in an entertaining manner. The Click-to-Earn model, also known as Tap-to-Earn (T2E), is an emerging trend in the crypto space that allows users to monetize their attention through simple interactions, such as tapping or clicking on their devices. This model offers an accessible entry point into the crypto ecosystem, enabling users to earn rewards with minimal effort. Building for the Future: Strengthening the Ecosystem To support its growing ecosystem, QStar has prioritized updates across major platforms such as CoinGecko, Dexscreener, Dextools, and CoinMarketCap. The team has meticulously crafted a roadmap that includes enhanced marketing efforts and continuous utility development. Diversity will be a strong point for QStar, as it spans categories such as Gaming, AI, Utility, and Meme. These categories encompass a wide range of fields, appealing to investors by offering both a sense of security and potential for expansion in each area. Leadership and Vision: Beyond Currency Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies, QStar envisions a paradigm where AGI and blockchain collaborate to redefine human interactions with technology. QStars vision transcends mere financial speculation. It seeks to create a transformative ecosystem that integrates digital assets, AI-driven utilities, and active community engagement. Recognizing the importance of its community, QStar places a strong emphasis on fostering collaboration, inclusivity, and shared growth, ensuring that every member plays a vital role in shaping the projects future. What Lies Ahead QStars journey is far from over. With plans to enhance its AI bot, expand gaming features, and launch large-scale marketing campaigns, the project aims to cement its status as a pioneering force in the cryptocurrency landscape. The unwavering support of its community and strategic partnerships positions QStar to achieve milestones that will shape the future of AGI and blockchain. Telegram bot: @qstarclickbo SOCIALS: Website: https://q-star.co/ X: https://x.com/QStarETH Telegram: https://t.me/QSTARTOKEN Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@qstar_eth Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/qstareth/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@QSTaR_ETH Media Contact: Name: Louis Edward Website: https://q-star.co/ Email: Contact@q-star.co Address: 7 University Way Marleyhouse Flat1A floor1 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/159afeb2-21f8-405a-991c-3023cd06c5eb